- How protests over a popular minister’s firing sparked Ukraine’s sudden military reset AP News
- A Mandate for Change and a Monumental Test for Ukraine’s New Military Chief The New York Times
- Why is Zelensky firing top leaders as Ukraine’s outlook improves? The Washington Post
- Ousted Ukrainian defence chief digs in against Zelenskiy Reuters
- Zelenskyy Bows to Pressure for New Model Army to Confront Russia Bloomberg.com
Kemi Badenoch ‘has to adapt’ her rhetoric to take on Andy Burnham
Conservative leader is becoming more confident and forging a message for her party, but faces a new opponent
“So, Andy Burnham seems like a nice guy.” Those were the slightly unexpected opening words of Kemi Badenoch’s first speech since the change in prime minister. But make no mistake: she was there to bury her opponent.
Even Badenoch-sceptics inside the Conservative party and farther afield agree the Tory leader is becoming more confident, and has been able to forge an increasingly coherent message for her party, one based on a promise of economic competence.
Continue reading...Saudis must recognise Israel for nuclear deal, says Trump
The US president says the landmark agreement to help Saudis develop nuclear energy is dependent on it joining the Abraham Accords.
Secret Service agent on Vance’s detail under investigation
Agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing info in MS Now report about vice-president’s helicopter trip
A Secret Service agent assigned to JD Vance’s protective detail is “the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security”, according to the Secret Service chief of communications.
The agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing information that appeared in an MS Now report about the vice-president’s planned Marine Corps helicopter trip with his son to a golf lesson, a source told CNN.
Continue reading...Southport killer Axel Rudakubana moved to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital
Exclusive: Clinical assessments concluded Rudakubana could not be safely managed in prison, sources say
The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital after clinical assessment, the Guardian can disclose.
He was transferred to Broadmoor high-security hospital from the category A prison Belmarsh this week after it was concluded that he could not be managed safely in a prison environment, sources confirmed.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s ousted defence minister insists on being reinstated
Mykhailo Fedorov refuses President Zelensky's offer to accept an alternative post, as the battle of wills continues.
Minnesota man sentenced to life for killing Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman
Vance Boelter receives two life terms after admitting politically motivated killings and shootings
The Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to killing a top Democratic lawmaker and her husband was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison on Thursday, a little over a year after the political attacks.
Vance Boelter, 59, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in June to the six counts related to the killings of the former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shootings of state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
Continue reading...China Rewrites the ‘Soft Power’ Playbook for the A.I. Age – The New York Times
- China Rewrites the ‘Soft Power’ Playbook for the A.I. Age The New York Times
- China’s Xi pursues AI diplomacy to woo global south Financial Times
- Shanghai science forum photos show China’s AI and robotics advances in rivalry with US AP News
- China's AI doctrine is a challenge for Europe Le Monde.fr
- Xi pitches China as leader of new global AI order, challenging US dominance Reuters
‘Customers prefer AI chatbots,’ says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre jobs axed
CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins
The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres.
Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month.
Continue reading...Mayor shot dead in Mexico months after surviving assassination attempt
Valentín Lavín Romero is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in 2024
A mayor was shot dead on Wednesday in the Mexican state of Morelos after having survived a previous assassination attempt earlier this year. He is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in October 2024.
Valentín Lavín Romero, who was from the Green party, an ally of the ruling leftwing Morena party, was wounded at the end of January when hitmen shot him at a petrol station on a motorway.
Continue reading...Teen jailed for exam cheating in Guinea dies after sickle cell complications, father says
Mamadou Djouma Bah, 17, was arrested and sentenced to prison for exam fraud earlier this month.
Ex-governor convicted of murdering a pregnant student in Kenya
Okoth Obado was found guilty of killing Sharon Otieno with whom he had had an affair.
Nicaragua’s legislature debates barring opposition from elections
The move comes days after President Daniel Ortega demanded 'a wall, a blockade' against opposition parties.
Oil prices hit $100 for the first time since May
The price of Brent crude rose more than 6% on Thursday as the war in the Middle East continues to escalate.
Owner of Viking ship used in The Odyssey says studio has not paid bill for damage
Swedish nonprofit alleges cost to repair replica was $6,000 but Universal – which made $264m on film’s opening weekend – has not stumped up
The Swedish owners of a Viking longship replica that features in the Hollywood blockbuster The Odyssey say they feel “forgotten” after film-makers allegedly returned the vessel damaged and failed to foot the bill for repairs.
In nearly three decades at sea, the warship Glad av Gillberga – based on a wreck from around 1040 found in Denmark’s Roskilde fjord – has successfully sailed the North Sea, the Baltic and even voyaged to Canada.
Continue reading...Wildfire spreads near popular French tourist town as thousands are evacuated – AP News
- Wildfire spreads near popular French tourist town as thousands are evacuated AP News
- France evacuates 20,000 as wildfires spread in south-west BBC
- More than 10,000 flee wildfire near popular French tourist town The Seattle Times
- Thousands of tourists forced to evacuate as fire rages in southwest France France 24
- France wildfires force evacuation of over 20,000 people from tourist town Al Jazeera
Pauline Hanson blames ‘fake news’ media for her bad press. But serious leaders have to own their actions
In a fortnight of rolling blunders, the One Nation leader digs deep into the Trump playbook of blame-shifting
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There’s apparently only one thing to blame for Pauline Hanson’s string of bad headlines in recent weeks, from her decision to pal around with the far-right convicted criminal Tommy Robinson to her description of domestic violence on Wednesday as a “two-way street”.
According to the One Nation leader, it’s of course not Hanson herself who is to blame.
Continue reading...Murdoch and Musk in the crosshairs at Venice film festival
Danny Boyle’s drama about the acquisition of the Sun and a four-hour Elon Musk documentary will premiere alongside new films from Martin McDonagh and Werner Herzog – but only one female director has a movie in competition
The Venice film festival promises to take a swing at media moguls of the print and digital era this year, with Trainspotting director Danny Boyle’s new film about Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of the Sun and a new documentary about Elon Musk included in the lineup of the films for the festival’s 83rd edition.
In Boyle’s Ink, which will open the festival on the Lido on 2 September, Australian actor Guy Pearce plays compatriot newspaper tycoon Murdoch, whose purchase of the Sun in 1969 sensationalised the media landscape and transformed public life in Britain. The script is written by Olivier award-winning playwright and screenwriter James Graham (Dear England, Brexit: The Uncivil War).
Continue reading...A Turkish governor is sacked over photos in snug cycling shorts. Many want him reinstated – AP News
- A Turkish governor is sacked over photos in snug cycling shorts. Many want him reinstated AP News
- On your bike! Turkish governor fired after wearing Lycra cycling tights The Telegraph
- Thousands sign petition supporting Turkish governor after cycling tights row BBC
- Erdoğan dismisses governor after criticism over cycling outfit Bianet
- AP Trending SummaryBrief at 11:02 a.m. EDT wdtimes.com
Israeli security minister joins Jewish extremists as they storm al-Aqsa mosque compound
Far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was among thousands who gathered at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site
Israel’s far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, joined thousands of Jewish extremists who stormed Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Thursday.
Escorted by armed police, they prayed, waved the Israeli flag and sang the national anthem in a provocative display of political power.
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