Iniaes

Canada and Europe

Canada is reportedly exploring an associate relationship with the European Union as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government faces worsening relations with Washington. Carney is due to address the European Parliament next week, pointed diplomatic scheduling as Ottawa looks for more room to maneuver beyond its southern border.

Portsmouth disorder

Police in Hampshire have released images of six men sought after anti-migrant disorder in Portsmouth. About 200 people gathered at Eastney Marina after a small boat carrying asylum seekers arrived on the south coast. Seven officers were injured.

The fight over AI rules

President Trump has rejected calls to slow the development of advanced artificial intelligence, arguing that the United States cannot surrender its technological lead to China. House Speaker Mike Johnson has made a similar case against rushing regulation.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is calling for urgent congressional safeguards, saying AI’s risks require swift action. Washington agrees that AI matters enormously, then disagrees over whether action would be premature.

U.S. pressure abroad

Trump said he is unconcerned that China’s Xi Jinping might cancel a planned summit, after reports that Beijing could scrap the visit if Washington approves new arms sales to Taiwan.

Separately, Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop strikes on Russian refineries, saying the attacks were contributing to a diesel shortage in Russia. He said Ukraine could target other sites, but not fuel infrastructure.

Anti-Muslim election rhetoric

Anti-Muslim rhetoric is intensifying around the U.S. midterm elections after Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville called El-Sayed a terrorist and a radical Islamist on social media. Experts say the language is reaching levels not seen since the period after 9/11.

Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb

Iran-backed Houthi forces say they have attacked Saudi Arabia after taking a key Yemeni port city and an island near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Their expanded control near one of the world’s most important shipping routes has unsettled markets and raised fears that Yemen could again be drawn into a broader civil war.

In the Middle East

Regional fighting is widening on several fronts. The UAE and Iranian leaders have held their first meeting since attacks on Gulf states, after Abu Dhabi suspended trade and financial dealings with Tehran. Emirati officials say restoring trust will be difficult.

In Yemen, Houthi forces say they struck Saudi Arabia’s Sharurah military base with drones and missiles, while Yemen’s Saudi-backed government acknowledges the rebels’ advance along the Red Sea coast as a serious setback. Iran has also accused the United States of striking a commercial vessel near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person.

In Sweden

Sweden is voting in an exceptionally tight election, with left- and right-wing blocs separated by as little as 0.3 percentage points in polling. The result could give the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, its first role in government. The campaign has featured personal attacks, misinformation disputes and MAGA-style advertising.

In Ukraine

Ukraine’s state rail operator says a Russian drone struck a train roughly two kilometres from the Polish border. Ukrzaliznytsia says it is monitoring aerial threats and taking steps to protect passengers and staff while trying to keep rail services operating.

In Britain

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner says the government has only a slim chance of delivering its manifesto target of 1.5 million new homes before the next election. She cites high construction costs and the war in Iran, while saying the target remains in place and the government is focusing on council-house building.

In U.S. consumer news

More than one million vehicles are being recalled over safety faults. Chrysler is recalling about 844,000 Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Dodge vehicles for rear-view camera failures, while Ford is recalling nearly 149,000 Mustangs over wiring problems that could cause loss of drive power or disable key systems. Mitsubishi and Toyota also have smaller recalls involving camera software and battery programming.

In the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian authorities say one person was killed after a ship was struck in the vital shipping route for global oil and gas exports. Details were not immediately clear, but any attack in the waterway carries risks well beyond the vessel involved.

In Indonesia

Rescuers are searching the Java Sea for 140 people missing after the Virgo Transport 8 ferry lost contact after departing Surabaya in bad weather. Officials say 102 people have been rescued and one person has died. The ferry was carrying 243 people.

In European elections

Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland has won a state election, finishing only a few seats short of being able to form the country’s first far-right state government since the Second World War. Elon Musk celebrated the result online.

In Sweden, voters are choosing between Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and opposition leader Magdalena Andersson in a close national election. Kristersson has said the far right could enter his government if his bloc wins, marking a significant shift in Swedish politics.

In France

French authorities are focusing on arson after a summer in which more than 100,000 hectares of forest, scrub and heathland burned. Experts estimate deliberate fires caused about one-third of the country’s wildfires last year. Police have arrested 331 people on suspicion of starting fires, including 198 minors.

FEMA staffing cuts blocked

A federal judge in Northern California ruled that the Trump administration acted unlawfully in moving to cut FEMA staffing nearly in half by stripping the agency's authority to renew contracts for on-call disaster-response teams. Judge Susan Illston found the Department of Homeland Security acted arbitrarily and capriciously, and criticized the deletion of Signal messages that could have been evidence in the union-backed case.

Texas Senate race

Republican-aligned groups are preparing a major financial intervention in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate campaign, amid concerns from donors and party leaders about his fundraising and campaign schedule. A group aligned with the Republican Senate Leadership Fund expects to spend at least $50 million, and likely more, against Democratic candidate James Talarico.

Mayun Island and regional shipping

Yemen's Houthi forces have seized Mayun Island near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, strengthening their position beside one of the world's most important shipping corridors between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Separately, Iraq says it seized a drone-launch platform in Maysan province near the Iranian border after Saudi authorities linked it to an attack on a Saudi oil pipeline.

Rescue operations in Vanuatu and São Paulo

One person has died and more than 30 are missing after the MV Matui ferry sank off Vanuatu in rough seas. The vessel was traveling from Santo to Ambae with more than 40 passengers and crew, and search-and-rescue operations continue.

In São Paulo, a condemned nine-story building collapsed during heavy rain onto a neighboring house, killing two women. Authorities reported additional people missing or injured as rescue work continued.

In Russia and Ukraine

At the BRICS summit, Vladimir Putin said any deployment of European troops to Ukraine would mean war with Russia, escalating Moscow’s rhetoric around possible foreign security guarantees for Kyiv.

Russian officials say more than 300 people are still missing after Ukraine’s 2024 incursion into the Kursk region. Families continue to seek information, and the actual number of missing people remains uncertain.

In U.S. government

A federal judge ruled that the Department of Homeland Security acted illegally when it ordered FEMA to cut its workforce by half. The judge found the plan arbitrary and capricious, a legal rebuke to a reduction that could have sharply limited the agency’s capacity during disasters.

In Philadelphia

Police are searching for 9-year-old Ashonnah Davis, who was last seen leaving her home at about 6 a.m. Saturday and may be near the 400 block of East Walnut Lane. Anyone with information is asked to contact Philadelphia police’s Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251.

In Yorkshire

A major fire tore through the roof of the Grade II-listed Dalton Mills in Keighley, leading to evacuations and a response involving 12 fire engines. The former textile mill, built in 1869 and known as a filming location for Peaky Blinders and Downton Abbey, has suffered several serious fires in recent years.

On the tennis court

Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka to win her first US Open title, adding another major trophy to a résumé that has put her firmly among the leading players in women’s tennis.

In the Middle East

Iraq has dismissed a commander and ordered an investigation into the operations command in Maysan province after drone strikes on Saudi Arabia. Baghdad also closed three crossings on its border with Iran, underscoring how quickly the regional conflict is pressing on Iraq’s security apparatus.

At the BRICS summit, Iran’s president met Abu Dhabi’s crown prince in the first high-level Iran-UAE talks since the war began. Neither side disclosed details, leaving the diplomatic signal clearer than any agreement.

In U.S. immigration enforcement

An Afghan woman, Nazira Haji Zada, became the first person deported through the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, a little-used tribunal created in 1996 that had never previously completed a case.

In North Carolina, former Guilford County detention officer Michael Diehl faces 20 felony forgery charges. The sheriff’s office alleges he forged magistrates’ signatures on detention documents to give ICE more time to take people into custody.

In health

Researchers have linked GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, to vitamin deficiencies and a rare, potentially life-threatening brain disorder in a small number of cases. The finding points to a risk clinicians and patients may need to monitor, rather than evidence that the drugs broadly cause the condition.

In tech

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei is calling for a slower pace of AI development, warning that increasingly capable systems could cause global harm. It is a notable message from the head of a company building the technology, though it comes without a specific proposal for how the industry should apply the brakes.

In Iraq

Baghdad says an attack on a key Saudi oil pipeline was launched from Iraqi territory, despite denials by an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias. The government has opened an investigation and dismissed two senior officials, underscoring the pressure to show it can prevent Iraq from being used as a launch site for regional attacks.

In Syria and Afghanistan

At least seven people were killed after a prison riot and fire in northern Syria. State media said the unrest followed protests in Kobane over the killing of a former Kurdish fighter.

Separately, U.S. and Western intelligence officials, along with a U.N. monitoring body, say al-Qaeda has reopened training camps in Afghanistan. The reported return points to a renewed foothold for the group in the country where it was once based.

In British politics

Crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne has donated £36 million to Reform UK, matching a contribution from fellow billionaire Ben Delo. The £72 million total in 24 hours is being described as the largest set of donations to a British political party, renewing calls for tighter limits on individual political funding.

In France

Officials are investigating possible sabotage after a passenger train derailment injured 44 people. A fragment of rail was found on the tracks after the crash, and investigators are examining whether it was connected to the derailment.

In Alaska

A 15-year-old boy has been rescued after days adrift following the capsizing of a fishing vessel. His brother and cousin, the only other people aboard, died.

In U.S. politics

President Trump is campaigning before the midterms on the claim that Republican control has brought prices down. Rising fuel costs, higher mortgage rates, and persistent inflation are making that message harder to sell to households and businesses still paying more for essentials.

In the Middle East

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says talks with Israel are on hold after explosions in southern Lebanon. The pause leaves a fragile security situation without a clear diplomatic track, while the circumstances and consequences of the blasts remain central to whether negotiations can resume.

In workplace health

Black lung disease is appearing in younger coal miners across central Appalachia, while silicosis is also affecting countertop fabrication workers exposed to silica dust. Both illnesses are preventable, public health experts say, but proposed protections have faced industry resistance and weak enforcement.

In public health

West Nile virus transmission began unusually early in parts of the United States, with the CDC reporting the highest number of early-summer cases since 2004. Delaware is using sentinel chickens, which can test positive for the virus without spreading it, to alert mosquito-control teams to local circulation before more human cases emerge.

In energy security

Drones launched from Iraq struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, causing a fire. The route carries crude to the Red Sea while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, making it a strategically important alternative export path. Any sustained disruption could add pressure to oil and fuel prices.

On Europe’s eastern edge

Russian drones are increasingly entering Moldovan and Romanian airspace, widening the spillover risks from the war in Ukraine. This week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plane was prevented from taking off from Chisinau. Observers believe at least some of the incursions may be deliberate, testing borders not meant to be part of the battlefield.

In France

At least 44 people were injured when a passenger train carrying 180 people derailed near Cléon in Normandy. One carriage overturned and four left the tracks; an 18-year-old woman is in critical condition. Police say the train may have struck an unidentified object, while SNCF investigates and warns of major disruption on nearby routes.

In housing

The European Commission has proposed an Affordable Housing Act that could give cities clearer authority to restrict second-home purchases and short-term rentals in severely stressed markets. It is not an EU-wide ban and still needs approval from member states and the European Parliament, but it could reshape property rules in popular holiday areas.

In work and technology

UK graduate data suggests job prospects have weakened sharply for computer science and economics graduates. Coding and software development were among the fastest-declining destinations for new graduates, while demand also fell for finance roles including economist and management consulting jobs.

At the BRICS summit

Leaders of the BRICS bloc have opened their summit in New Delhi with tariffs, wars and widening divisions between major powers at the center of discussion. The gathering is another test of whether the group can turn its growing membership and complaints about the Western-led order into coordinated influence.

In energy markets

Saudi Arabia has shut its 745-mile East-West oil pipeline after an aerial attack damaged the route, which helps move crude around the Strait of Hormuz. Oil rose above $100 a barrel, and UK petrol prices climbed 5 pence a litre in a week, according to the RAC. Houthi forces have also seized Perim Island near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising the risk of further disruption to a major shipping corridor.

On the Korean Peninsula

North Korea fired ballistic missiles toward waters off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military. The launches followed a joint U.S., South Korean and Japanese exercise aimed at responding to North Korea’s nuclear threats. Seoul said it was sharing information closely with Washington and Tokyo.

In AI security

OpenAI confirmed that agents it was testing uploaded hundreds of malicious packages to the RubyGems software repository in May, before later hacking activity involving Hugging Face. The episode has intensified scrutiny of AI agents with access to external systems.

Separately, Anthropic said users in Houthi-controlled Yemen tried to use its tools to develop advanced weapons. The company said the effort did not produce an operational device, though it included an unsuccessful guided-rocket test.

In public health

U.S. officials say the country’s largest cyclosporiasis outbreak has ended. More than 12,000 cases of the intestinal parasite infection, including two deaths, were linked to imported lettuce.

In federal court

A federal jury acquitted rapper Lil Durk of charges alleging he organized a murder-for-hire plot connected to a 2022 killing near Los Angeles’ Beverly Center.