Donald Trump’s Texas rally rocked by repeated protests
The Guardian •

Donald Trump’s Texas rally rocked by repeated protests

Trump briefly stepped away from the microphone after one protester appeared to approach the stageDonald Trump’s latest campaign rally was rocked by repeated protests on Wednesday as the US president urged Texas voters to back embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton.At least half a dozen demonstrators interrupted the US president during his remarks in San Antonio, with some led away by police. One wa...

Workers, mostly Indian, building US consulate in Milan agree to record settlement
SCMP •

Workers, mostly Indian, building US consulate in Milan agree to record settlement

Foreign workers building the vast new US consulate compound in Milan signed agreements at a Milan hotel Wednesday securing payouts averaging €45,000 (US$50,400) each for alleged labour abuses while working for an American construction company. More than 60 labourers, mostly from India, signed the deals Wednesday to receive their share of a €31 million (nearly US$35 million) settlement agreed last ...

China boss gifts top employees new BMWs to protect them from harsh weather commutes
SCMP •

China boss gifts top employees new BMWs to protect them from harsh weather commutes

A restaurant boss in China has received widespread online admiration for gifting brand-new BMWs to her top-performing employees because she hated seeing them brave harsh weather on electric bikes during their commutes. Ma Yanli, owner of a beef hotpot chain headquartered in Jiaozuo, in central Henan province, took some of her workers to collect their new BMWs on September 24. The cars, each priced...

Will Huanggang Port opening boost spending at Shenzhen’s border retail shops?

Will Huanggang Port opening boost spending at Shenzhen’s border retail shops?

SCMP •

Retail businesses in Shenzhen are gearing up for the imminent opening of the revamped Huanggang Port at the border Hong Kong shares with mainland China, but some fear the area still lacks commercial appeal to make travellers stay. After six years of redevelopment, the expanded checkpoint is due to open on October 12, according to a source. It will adopt the “joint inspection” model for immigration...

The ‘G2’ illusion? After Xi-Trump summit, China wants equality while the US seeks deals

The ‘G2’ illusion? After Xi-Trump summit, China wants equality while the US seeks deals

SCMP •

Washington and Beijing may have signed an agreement built around “reciprocity”. But a more consequential question remains unresolved: does it mean equal status for Beijing? Countries without a seat at the table are watching that ambiguity closely. The spectacle of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington – the tarmac greeting, the flyovers, the state dinner – has been interpreted l...

WHO seeks answers and clarity over plague lab death in Russia

WHO seeks answers and clarity over plague lab death in Russia

NBC News •

The World Health Organization is pushing for more answers and clarity in the plague death that happened in a lab in Russia. NBC News' Dr. Akshay Syal has more on what we know about the illness and what WHO is seeking from Russia.  

OpenAI used AI to help write email warning Australian government AI had hacked its websites

OpenAI used AI to help write email warning Australian government AI had hacked its websites

The Guardian •

Exclusive: Revelation comes after company’s executive told parliamentary inquiry he did not believe AI had been used to write messageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOpenAI used AI to help write the email to the Australian government advising that its AI agent had hacked into key departmental websites, Guardian Australia can reveal.On Tuesday, one of the company’s executi...

Trump repeats his false claim that Iran could destroy Los Angeles or San Diego – as it happened

Trump repeats his false claim that Iran could destroy Los Angeles or San Diego – as it happened

The Guardian •

This live blog is now closed.Sign up for the Breaking News US emailTonight, we’ll have another set of midterm debates. In Iowa, we’ll see the Republican nominee for US Senate, Ashley Hinson, face off against Democrat Josh Turek, a state representative and Paralympian at 8pm ET.The race has become one of the most competitive of this cycle, despite the fact a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate election in...

Boy, 13, rescued after climbing onto air-conditioning unit to escape fire in flat

Boy, 13, rescued after climbing onto air-conditioning unit to escape fire in flat

SCMP •

Hong Kong firefighters have rescued a 13-year-old boy who climbed out a window onto the air-conditioning unit to escape a fire that broke out in his flat, while his mother has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect. Police received reports at 7.54pm on Wednesday that a fire had broken out in a flat at Tsui To House, one of the blocks of Tsui Ping (North) Estate in Kwun Tong. Online footage sh...

Yemen’s Houthis claim strikes on Saudi airports, killing 3

Yemen’s Houthis claim strikes on Saudi airports, killing 3

SCMP •

Saudi authorities said Wednesday three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom’s international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs. The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed a wave of attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure in recent weeks, which came as Riyadh-backed forces pressed a counteroffensive against the gro...

Houthi strikes on Saudi airports leave 3 dead, dozens wounded

Houthi strikes on Saudi airports leave 3 dead, dozens wounded

SCMP •

Saudi authorities said Wednesday that three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom’s international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs. The Iran-backed fighters earlier took responsibility for a flurry of attacks that included firing a ballistic missile at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport as the confli...

Jurors in Beau Lamarre-Condon murder case shown photos of decomposed bodies

Jurors in Beau Lamarre-Condon murder case shown photos of decomposed bodies

The Guardian •

Former NSW police officer has pleaded not guilty to the February 2024 murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in SydneyPhotographs of the decomposed bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies have been shown to 15 jurors tasked with deciding whether the two men were murdered.Former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the February 2024 murders of Baird, 26, and Davies, 29. C...

Trump repeats his false claim that Iran could destroy Los Angeles or San Diego – live

Trump repeats his false claim that Iran could destroy Los Angeles or San Diego – live

The Guardian •

President tells Texas rally crowd that Iran, which has no nuclear weapons, ‘would use it’ to attack US citiesSign up for the Breaking News US emailTonight, we’ll have another set of midterm debates. In Iowa, we’ll see the Republican nominee for US Senate, Ashley Hinson, face off against Democrat Josh Turek, a state representative and Paralympian at 8pm ET.The race has become one of the most compet...

Protect the middle? Why Southeast Asia should care about a vulnerable class

Protect the middle? Why Southeast Asia should care about a vulnerable class

SCMP •

As households across Southeast Asia face rising prices, higher borrowing costs and insecure jobs, analysts say governments should do more to protect a middle class that drives consumer spending but can fall between the cracks of social protection systems designed primarily for poorer households. The issue has come into sharper focus in the Philippines, where the Asian Development Bank Institute (A...

Texas kills man in first US execution since botched lethal injection of Christa Pike

Texas kills man in first US execution since botched lethal injection of Christa Pike

The Guardian •

Jamaal Howard, 46, executed by fatal dose of pentobarbital after lawyers’ bid for stay had been deniedA Texas man was put to death Wednesday in the first US execution since the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee last week.Jamaal Howard, 46, was pronounced dead after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital, a sedative, at the state prison in Huntsville. Continue reading...

Elon Musk hits out at ‘certain oligarchs’ for blocking Starlink in India

Elon Musk hits out at ‘certain oligarchs’ for blocking Starlink in India

SCMP •

Elon Musk accused unnamed rivals of blocking SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband network in India, an apparent swipe at billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal. SpaceX has been awaiting approval from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to offer Starlink service in India, where companies controlled by Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Mittal’s Bharti Airtel have spent years buildi...

Beyond the summit: how US-China relations could still unravel

Beyond the summit: how US-China relations could still unravel

SCMP •

This year’s Chinese National Day reception in Washington felt noticeably jollier than those I have attended in recent years. The mood was more relaxed and Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng’s opening speech was upbeat. He even joked about the panda ambassadors at his own expense. The cheerful tone followed President Xi Jinping’s short but successful state visit to the US, during which his counterpart, Pr...

End ‘wholesale restrictions’ on Chinese EVs in US, experts say

End ‘wholesale restrictions’ on Chinese EVs in US, experts say

SCMP •

The United States should engage with Chinese carmakers and battery manufacturers “strategically”, using targeted safeguards instead of the current “wholesale restrictions”, which could lead US carmakers to lose global market share, according to experts. “We need to consider strategic partnerships,” said John Helveston, an associate professor at George Washington University, during a discussion on ...

Datacentre company Firmus’s high flying valuation may be coming back down to earth ahead of expected ASX debut

Datacentre company Firmus’s high flying valuation may be coming back down to earth ahead of expected ASX debut

The Guardian •

Sources say Firmus is slashing its price and may even shelve initial public offering altogetherThe momentum behind Firmus Technologies’ high-flying valuation is showing severe cracks just weeks out from its anticipated ASX debut.Multiple sources briefed on the matter told Guardian Australia the AI datacentre company is slashing its valuation to entice sceptical investors – or may even shelve its i...