US Treasury’s Scott Bessent ‘will lose’ battle with bond markets, former mentor warns
The Guardian

US Treasury’s Scott Bessent ‘will lose’ battle with bond markets, former mentor warns

Trump ally should cut budget deficit rather than try to suppress bond yields, says billionaire Stanley DruckenmillerScott Bessent’s attempt to calm the bond markets and push down America’s cost of borrowing have attracted a rebuke from the US Treasury secretary’s former mentor.Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who worked with Bessent at George Soros’s fund management firm in the 1990s, h...

‘Children were in pieces’: memories still raw 6 months after Iran school strike
SCMP

‘Children were in pieces’: memories still raw 6 months after Iran school strike

For months, Masoumeh Zakeri has endlessly replayed the last night she spent with her nine-year-old daughter before she was killed in a strike on her school during the opening hours of the US-Israel war with Iran. Motahreh excitedly talked about coming holidays, planned weddings and the clothes she wanted to buy. She had a Ramadan pre-fast meal shortly before dawn and then Zakeri tucked her into be...

‘Enough is enough’: 121 Indigenous Victorians have died by suicide in the past five years

‘Enough is enough’: 121 Indigenous Victorians have died by suicide in the past five years

The Guardian

Royal commission recommended First Nations healing centres in 2021 but the Indigenous health service says the state has ‘done nothing’ to fund itFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOn the steps of Victorian parliament stood 121 empty chairs, marking the number of Indigenous lives lost to suicide in the state in the past f...

Spanish workers spend equivalent of 231 days paying taxes, study says

Euronews

Tax Freedom Day fell on 20 August, according to Fundación Civismo. The think tank says the average worker’s tax burden has increased by 54 days since 2018, partly because of higher social contributions and income tax thresholds failing to keep pace with inflation.

Burnham plans trip to New York as Ukraine pleads for US-made missiles

Burnham plans trip to New York as Ukraine pleads for US-made missiles

The Guardian

UK prime minister ‘likely’ to travel to US in September, after meeting Zelenskyy and saying supply problem is ‘fixable’Andy Burnham has said he plans to travel to the US next month to join European leaders lobbying Donald Trump to supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles.The UK prime minister told Bloomberg he was “looking forward to going to New York” in September, which is when the UN General Assemb...

Reader Q&A: ask international correspondent Luke Harding a question now

Reader Q&A: ask international correspondent Luke Harding a question now

The Guardian

The Guardian’s senior international reporter Luke Harding will be answering your questions live from 1pm BST. Ask him about his new book on Trump and Putin, the state of the war in Ukraine, or his career reporting from Kyiv, Moscow and around the worldAsk a question: log in or sign up hereLuke Harding, author and award-winning foreign correspondent, has covered wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Sy...

America proposes new US$103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

America proposes new US$103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

SCMP

The US has proposed a new US$103,265 fee for H-1B visa petitions – a move that could ramp up the cost of hiring skilled foreign workers, with Chinese and Indian professionals particularly hard hit. It comes at a sensitive time for US-China relations, with visas already a long-running source of friction and Beijing stepping up efforts to attract global tech talent as competition intensifies between...

US proposes new US$103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

US proposes new US$103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

SCMP

The US has proposed a new US$103,265 fee for H-1B visa petitions – a move that could ramp up the cost of hiring skilled foreign workers, with Chinese and Indian professionals particularly hard hit. It comes at a sensitive time for US-China relations, with visas already a long-running source of friction and Beijing stepping up efforts to attract global tech talent as competition intensifies between...

US proposes new $103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

US proposes new $103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals

SCMP

The US has proposed a new US$103,265 fee for H-1B visa petitions – a move that could ramp up the cost of hiring skilled foreign workers, with Chinese and Indian professionals particularly hard hit. It comes at a sensitive time for US-China relations, with visas already a long-running source of friction and Beijing stepping up efforts to attract global tech talent as competition intensifies between...

How full equity buyouts could help China’s cooling bubble tea sector turn a new leaf

How full equity buyouts could help China’s cooling bubble tea sector turn a new leaf

SCMP

Fuelled by the bubble tea boom in recent years and an intensely competitive market, financial investors have shown growing interest in major brands, shifting their playbook from early-stage bets and initial public offering (IPO) subscriptions to full equity buyouts. Growth of mid to high single digits was now forecast for the sector in China, down from double-digit growth in previous years, analys...

Meet Jeremiah Bents, the Minnesota student who recreated Mars soil to test water cleanup

Meet Jeremiah Bents, the Minnesota student who recreated Mars soil to test water cleanup

Times of India

Jeremiah Bents, a Minnesota student, explored water filtration using Mars soil simulant. His project examined ammonia removal from contaminated water in a laboratory setting. This innovative work earned him the Earth Systems Science Award at a state science fair. He received guidance from university researchers and a NASA scientist. Bents' experiment demonstrated a practical application for future...

US Treasury’s Scott Bessent ‘making mistake’ interfering with bond markets, former mentor warns

US Treasury’s Scott Bessent ‘making mistake’ interfering with bond markets, former mentor warns

The Guardian

Trump ally should cut budget deficit rather than try to suppress bond yields, says billionaire Stanley DruckenmillerScott Bessent’s attempt to calm the bond markets and push down America’s cost of borrowing have attracted a rebuke from the US Treasury secretary’s former mentor.Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who worked with Bessent at George Soros’s fund management firm in the 1990s, h...

Man denied parole a second time over anti-Israel graffiti despite judge’s scathing critique of case

Man denied parole a second time over anti-Israel graffiti despite judge’s scathing critique of case

The Guardian

NSW parole authority says Mohommed Farhat followed ‘extremist ideology of antisemitic character’ while separately judge ruled ‘Fuk Israel’ was ‘political comment’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Sydney man convicted of writing “Fuk Israel” on cars and setting another vehicle alight has had his release on parole rejec...

Australia news live: Man arrested after allegedly attacking woman and boy in Melbourne CBD; Richmond denies players ‘making light’ of Swans scandal in footage

Australia news live: Man arrested after allegedly attacking woman and boy in Melbourne CBD; Richmond denies players ‘making light’ of Swans scandal in footage

The Guardian

Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNumber of NSW households in urgent need of priority housing hits highest level in over a yearThe number of NSW households in urgent need of priority social housing has reached 13,776, the highest in more than a year.The waitlist has sat [at] around 70,000 since May. Anyone reading that as stability should look at wh...

Scientists turn plastic waste into protein cookies; food can tackle hunger and feed space crews

Scientists turn plastic waste into protein cookies; food can tackle hunger and feed space crews

Times of India

Researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are developing protein-rich cookies made using plastic waste and agricultural waste. Called µBites, the cookies use PET plastic from bottles and discarded corn stalks and leaves. Programmed yeasts convert processed waste into proteins, fats, acids and flavouring molecules. The NASA-linked project is aimed at developing food for resource-limite...

“I deceived people, I lied”: Woman pretended to be a child for years, convicted of fraud

“I deceived people, I lied”: Woman pretended to be a child for years, convicted of fraud

Times of India

In a shocking case from Brazil, Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was found guilty of fraud and assuming a false identity, having lived undetected as a child for years. Although she confessed to her masquerade, she maintained that her motivations were rooted in personal vulnerability rather than dishonesty. The court, however, sentenced her to prison for her deceptive actions, highlighting the seriou...