Renewed fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces has cut off 800,000 people from vital UN food assistance, while some frontline hospitals have admitted more than 700 war-wounded patients in a single week. The escalation, which began in September, has devastated areas including Taiz, Marib and Yemen’s Red Sea coast, with more…
Iran’s Islamic Republic has sentenced 23-year-old accounting student Najmeh Amini to death for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad in a social media post, as human rights organizations warn that the regime is increasingly using executions to suppress dissent. Amini was arrested in Mashhad in February 2026 following anti-government protests and investigations by Iran’s cyber police. She…
Britain’s Competition Appeal Tribunal has allowed part of a renewed antitrust lawsuit against Apple and Amazon to move forward. The case concerns allegations that Apple and Amazon reached an agreement in 2018 that restricted which third-party sellers could offer Apple and Beats products on Amazon’s UK marketplace. The claimant argues that the agreement reduced competition…
The chief executives of OpenAI and Anthropic have been asked to appear before an Australian Senate inquiry examining the risks and impact of artificial intelligence. Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Anthropic, received written requests to attend the inquiry’s public hearings in Canberra, according to people involved with…
Tobacco companies remain some of the most powerful corporations in the global consumer market, despite growing public awareness of the health dangers associated with smoking. Their influence is built on financial strength, international distribution networks, sophisticated marketing, legal resources, political lobbying and the ability to adapt quickly to new consumer trends. The industry’s power helps…
Republicans are heading toward the 2026 midterm elections with a political strategy heavily centered on President Donald Trump, while the party has yet to present voters with a broad, clearly defined legislative agenda. At the Republican Party’s first midterm convention in Dallas, Trump and party leaders focused much of their messaging on attacking Democrats, energizing…
India is reportedly preparing to host the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, but the gathering comes at a difficult moment for a group that has spent years presenting itself as an increasingly influential voice for the Global South. The expanded bloc now includes countries with sharply different strategic interests,…
Singapore’s ambitious push into high-tech agriculture is facing a basic commercial question: can locally grown vegetables compete with cheaper imports? The issue has come into sharper focus following the opening of Greenphyto’s S$80 million indoor vertical farm in Jurong. The five-storey facility stands about 23.3 metres tall and is designed to produce up to 2,000…
Singapore is preparing to redevelop a sizeable stretch of state-owned land along the Punggol East waterfront, with five residential-zoned plots covering about 25 hectares potentially capable of accommodating more than 8,000 homes. The plots extend from the Tampines Expressway towards Tebing Lane and along Sungei Serangoon. Under Singapore’s Master Plan 2025, the sites are designated…
The Japanese yen strengthened sharply against the US dollar on Thursday as financial markets increased expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could raise interest rates later this month. The yen climbed to around 155.6 per US dollar, marking its strongest level in about a month. The move followed a nearly 1% gain in the…
