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  • Israeli press review: Israel’s genocide in Gaza costs over $140bn

    Israeli press review: Israel’s genocide in Gaza costs over $140bn

    A new economic investigation published by Israeli outlet *TheMarker* on Sunday has delivered staggering projections for the total financial cost of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, with the current toll already hitting 420 billion shekels ($114 billion) and on track to surpass 500 billion shekels in the near future.

    The findings come alongside sharp internal criticism of Israeli military strategy ahead of planned long-term defense budget increases. A former Israeli army chief speaking to *TheMarker* linked the massive costs to the military’s high-profile failure to prevent the October 2023 Hamas-led attack, arguing that the security gap created by that failure has forced major budget expansions. “If we had received enough security, there would probably be no need to double the defence budget over the coming decade,” one senior economic expert told the outlet. Defense budget data shows the ministry’s annual allocation has already surged to more than 175 billion shekels for 2026, marking the third consecutive year of spending above that threshold and a more than 100% increase from the 84 billion shekel budget allocated in 2022.

    While analysts have yet to draw a definitive link between the increased defense spending and improved long-term security for Israel, senior officials acknowledged to *TheMarker* that “similar or better results could have been achieved in a shorter war.” The report specifically calls out the Israeli military’s unnecessarily costly and wasteful operational approach in the early months of the conflict: the campaign opened with an unprecedented barrage of aerial and artillery bombardment, and the military mobilized roughly 220,000 reserve troops – a deployment that drove a massive surge in operational costs. “In the first weeks, too much fire was used,” a retired senior Israeli army officer stated, referring to the opening phase of the war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The officer also confirmed that the intensive early bombardment quickly left Israeli forces with critical shortages of tank ammunition and aerial bombs.

    Separately, on the same day the cost report was released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party launched a high-stakes public billboard campaign framing the upcoming election as a battle against foreign leaders the party labels enemies of Israel. Netanyahu himself shared an image of the massive Tel Aviv billboard via the social platform X, confirming the list of figures featured: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, and even recently elected New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani. The billboard’s slogan reads directly: “They want Netanyahu to lose. Don’t let them win.” The following day, Netanyahu followed up the campaign rollout with a video clip highlighting past comments from Erdogan and Mamdani, where Erdogan compared Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Mamdani labeled the Israeli prime minister a war criminal. Netanyahu repeated the campaign’s core slogan in the video’s caption.

    In another development spanning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli newspaper *Haaretz* reported Monday that the Jerusalem municipality has seized control of a large UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) complex containing a school and clinic in the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem. According to Roland Friedrich, UNRWA’s director for the occupied West Bank, municipal officials changed the locks on the complex and began repair work without prior authorization from the UN agency. Friedrich emphasized that the complex is UN property that holds legal immunity under international law, which strictly prohibits unauthorized entry or seizure of UN assets.

    Both the school and clinic at the site were shut down by Israeli authorities over the past year, with the municipality promising it would replace the UN-run services for the camp’s 20,000 residents. But *Haaretz* confirmed that the municipality has yet to open a new school to serve the camp’s school-aged children, leaving hundreds of students without access to formal education. “Over the years, UNRWA has invested enormous sums in establishing and developing these buildings,” Friedrich added, expressing deep concern over what he calls a deliberate violation of international law by the municipal government. For its part, the Jerusalem municipality rejected Friedrich’s claims, arguing that UNRWA constructed the complex on privately owned Israeli land without compensation and that it plans to build a new public school for camp residents on the seized site.

    In a piece of positive archaeological news also reported Sunday by *Haaretz*, researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved large-scale Islamic-era commercial and industrial complex beneath a football stadium car park in Ramat Gan, a city just east of Tel Aviv. The 2,500-square-metre site dates to the late seventh or early eighth century CE, a period when the region was under early Muslim rule.

    Excavations at the site have uncovered paved streets, ceramic kilns, retail shopfronts, and large storage warehouses, all laid out in a clear planned grid. IAA researchers say the site’s uniform construction indicates it was planned and funded by a central regional authority with substantial resources. “The main phase at the site was planned in detail and in advance by engineers. It was built with the knowledge of the regional authorities, and perhaps even at their initiative and with their funding,” a lead IAA researcher told *Haaretz*. The site is believed to have served as a key economic hub for travelers and merchants moving along the main trade route between Jerusalem and Ramla, which was the regional administrative capital at the time.

    While researchers have not yet uncovered the site’s original name or detailed information about the communities that used it, dating analysis confirms it was first abandoned in the ninth century, briefly repopulated as a residential neighborhood in the 10th century, and permanently abandoned by the 11th century. The discovery offers unprecedented new insight into early Islamic economic and urban development in the historic Palestine region.

  • Ukraine aims a drone blitz at Moscow while Russian missiles kill 10 in a Ukrainian village

    Ukraine aims a drone blitz at Moscow while Russian missiles kill 10 in a Ukrainian village

    In the latest escalation of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict now in its fifth year, Ukrainian forces have carried out one of the largest drone barrages against Russian territory since the full-scale invasion began, launching nearly 800 unmanned aerial vehicles just 48 hours after a similarly large-scale attack, Ukrainian officials confirmed Tuesday. The surge in long-range aerial attacks comes as frontline combat across the 1,250-kilometer eastern and southern front lines remains largely constrained by the widespread deployment of drones and ground-based robotic systems that deter large-scale infantry and armored movements, military analysts note.

    Simultaneously, a Russian ballistic missile strike on the village of Pechenihy in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region left at least 10 civilians dead and 17 others wounded, leveling multiple residential properties and damaging local infrastructure, regional military officials reported. The attack marks one of the deadliest Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets in recent weeks, compounding a rising toll of non-combatant casualties across the country.

    Over the past 12 months, Ukraine has ramped up production and deployment of domestically manufactured long-range drones, designed to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. This domestic drone development program has drawn international attention, with governments and defense manufacturers across the globe noting the innovative effectiveness of Ukraine’s technology. Kyiv’s strategic goal with these sustained deep strikes is to bring the tangible consequences of the war to the Russian general public, building domestic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to enter good-faith peace negotiations. To date, however, Putin has shown no public indication of willingness to end the invasion or negotiate a ceasefire on terms acceptable to Ukraine.

    “Putin continues to drag out the war instead of accepting Ukraine’s realistic ceasefire proposals and ending the bloodshed,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote in a social media post on platform X Tuesday.

    Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported that its air defense systems intercepted all 791 Ukrainian drones launched overnight, across multiple Russian regions, the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula, and the Black and Azov Seas. An Associated Press tally ranks the attack as the second-largest Ukrainian drone strike on Russian territory since January 2025. More than 600 of the drones were directed toward the wider Moscow region, where 180 were shot down, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed, offering no additional details on damage or casualties. No deaths or major infrastructure damage were reported within the city of Moscow itself, while three civilians suffered injuries in the surrounding Moscow Oblast, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov confirmed.

    The overnight drone strike sparked a fire at an industrial warehouse operated by Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce retailer. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly targeted the company’s storage facilities across Russia, arguing that the depots provide logistical support to Russian military operations. Wildberries issued a statement downplaying the impact, saying the facility only sustained minor damage.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Russian missile attack on Pechenihy as a deliberate “brutal attack” on civilians. In addition to the 10 fatalities, the strike damaged 10 private homes, a neighborhood cafe, a local post office, a retail store, and at least seven civilian vehicles, Kharkiv regional military head Oleh Syniehubov told reporters. “We will definitely respond to this Russian strike,” Zelenskyy said in a social media statement.

    Separately, Ukraine’s National Police reported Tuesday that three additional civilians were killed and three more wounded in 24 hours of Russian attacks across the northern Sumy region, which included drone strikes and an improvised explosive device detonation. The continuing cycle of attacks underscores the ongoing breakdown of any potential diplomatic path to de-escalation, as both sides ramp up long-range strikes to force concessions on the battlefield.

    Reporting contributions were provided by Hatton from Lisbon, Portugal. Additional coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is available via the Associated Press’ dedicated hub.

  • British couple killed in helicopter crash on Greek island, local media report

    British couple killed in helicopter crash on Greek island, local media report

    A devastating helicopter crash on the popular Greek holiday island of Sifnos has claimed three lives, including a British couple who had only just married and were on their honeymoon, and a Greek pilot, local media outlets have confirmed. The private aircraft went down mere meters from a designated landing pad on Monday, triggering a immediate emergency response that would recover all three victims by the end of the day.

    According to Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini, the couple departed Markopoulo, a village located just outside of Athens, for the short flight to Sifnos, a Cycladic island known for its quiet beaches and traditional Cycladic architecture that draws thousands of international tourists each year. Greek fire service officials confirmed that search and recovery teams retrieved three bodies from the crash site on Monday afternoon, though authorities have not yet publicly released the identities of the deceased.

    Images from the crash site shared via Reuters show emergency responders and local residents working to extinguish a thick plume of black smoke that billowed from the burning wreckage after impact. By Monday evening, firefighters had fully put out the post-crash blaze, clearing the site for official investigators to begin their work.

    Speaking to local Greek news outlet Newsit shortly after arriving at the scene, Sifnos’ deputy mayor described the extent of the destruction, noting that almost “nothing left” of the private helicopter after the impact and subsequent fire. He also shared details on the recovery effort: two of the victims were found trapped within the twisted wreckage, while the third was located a short distance from the main crash site.

    Officials have launched a full formal investigation to pinpoint the exact cause of the crash, with investigators yet to release any preliminary findings on mechanical failure, weather conditions, or pilot error as potential contributing factors. The BBC has reached out to three key stakeholders for additional comment on the incident: the UK Foreign Office, which supports British citizens affected by tragedies abroad, Greek national civil aviation authorities, and the company that operated the helicopter. As of Tuesday morning, no parties have issued a formal public response to the tragedy.

  • Hayden Panettiere’s ex Wladimir Klitschko says family in ‘profound shock and grief’

    Hayden Panettiere’s ex Wladimir Klitschko says family in ‘profound shock and grief’

    The global entertainment community is reeling from the sudden passing of beloved actor Hayden Panettiere, who died at her home in Greenville, South Carolina this past Sunday at the age of 36. Local law enforcement has confirmed no initial evidence of foul play or suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, though official cause of death remains pending following an autopsy that recorded no signs of physical trauma. First responder dispatch audio reveals emergency teams responded to a report of cardiac arrest linked to a suspected overdose, marking a tragic end to years of the star’s well-documented public battle with substance use disorder.

    In one of the most high-profile tributes shared in the wake of Panettiere’s death, former heavyweight world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko — her ex-partner and father of their 11-year-old daughter Kaya — opened up about the profound loss that has left his family in deep shock and overwhelming grief.

    “Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon,” Klitschko wrote in his public statement. “Though she was no longer my partner, she remained an important part of my life, and she is the mother of our child. She built an incredible career through immense natural talent, while also grappling with the harsh, unforgiving darker sides of this incredibly demanding entertainment industry.”

    Klitschko’s tribute also addressed the future for their young daughter, confirming that “To Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person Hayden truly was.” He extended his condolences to Panettiere’s family, friends and millions of fans around the world, closing with a quiet request: “I ask everyone to please respect our family’s feelings and privacy during this incredibly difficult time. Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace.”

    The pair first crossed paths in 2009 at a Los Angeles industry party when Panettiere was 19 years old, with Klitschko 13 years her senior. They announced their engagement in 2013, welcomed Kaya in 2014, and never married. Following their daughter’s birth, Panettiere developed severe postpartum depression that exacerbated her struggles with alcohol dependence. Though Klitschko supported her in accessing treatment, when Kaya was three years old, he requested full custody of the child, a request Panettiere reluctantly agreed to.

    In her autobiography published earlier this year, Panettiere opened up about the devastating pain of that arrangement: “Not being under the same roof with her every day has been the most gut-wrenching experience of my life… I grieve that I’m not the mother I thought I’d be, and definitely not the mother I want to be. Trust me, no one should ever have to raise a child on FaceTime.” She added that despite the distance, the deep mother-daughter bond she shared with Kaya never broke.

    In the hours after the news of Panettiere’s death was made public on Monday, an outpouring of tributes flooded social media from co-stars, colleagues and fans who worked with her across her nearly three-decade career. Getting her start as a child actor, Panettiere landed early roles in hit feature films including *Remember the Titans* and *Raising Helen*, before catapulting to global fame for her lead roles in two iconic series: the supernatural drama *Heroes* and the country music drama *Nashville*.

    Connie Britton, Panettiere’s on-screen co-lead in *Nashville*, shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram alongside photos of the pair performing together on stage. “This was Hayden. Bursting with brilliance, shining so bright,” she wrote. “I have no words for this sad song. Just heartbreak. I love you girl. Sleep easy now.”

    Masi Oka, who starred opposite Panettiere in *Heroes*, echoed that grief in a post to X (formerly Twitter). “I had the privilege of working closely with her, and I’ll always remember her for her beautiful spirit, immense talent, and the joyful energy she brought to everything she did and the people around her,” he wrote. “She was way wiser beyond her years and now gone too soon… Rest in peace, Hayden.”

    Beth Chamberlin, who worked alongside Panettiere as her on-screen mother for three years on the long-running US soap opera *Guiding Light*, remembered the young star’s extraordinary work ethic even as a child. “She was the most brilliant child actor I’ve ever seen,” Chamberlin shared online. “The things she could do, the way she could remember 20+ pages of dialogue, day after day. Even on days where the director would make huge last-minute cuts to scenes between rehearsal and taping, Hayden never once forgot a line or missed her blocking. The adults would, but not Hayden. I felt blessed to work with her.”

    Justin Chatwin, Panettiere’s co-star in her final feature film *Sleepwalker*, released earlier this year, opened up about seeing her struggle with addiction during the 2025 production. “Hayden seemed different when I met her this time than when I crossed paths with her in the early years,” Chatwin told *People* magazine. “I’ve been sober for 15 years, so I know this world of addiction, and Hollywood — it takes, and it takes from youth. I could tell she was struggling… I also know that she was really lonely.”

    As investigations into her cause of death continue, the entertainment community and fans alike remain united in mourning the loss of a talented performer whose career was cut far too short.

  • Officers told not to pursue car on wrong side of motorway, says police body

    Officers told not to pursue car on wrong side of motorway, says police body

    A devastating head-on collision on Ireland’s M9 motorway has claimed the lives of five teenagers and left four other people critically injured, triggering renewed calls for urgent action to address rising road fatalities across the Republic of Ireland. The crash unfolded shortly after 3:00 a.m. local time on Sunday between Junction 3 and Junction 4 on the M9 Northbound, in County Kildare, following a series of attempted interventions by Irish police, known as An Garda Síochána, to stop the vehicle carrying the teenagers.

    Details of the incident have been outlined by the Garda Representative Association (GRA), the body that represents rank-and-file Gardaí. According to GRA Assistant General Secretary Tara McManus, officers had encountered the teenagers’ vehicle multiple hours before the collision and made several attempts to stop it, including deploying stinger spike devices to disable the car. After the vehicle took evasive action and began traveling the wrong direction down the motorway, command and control centers issued a mandatory order for officers to disengage the pursuit.

    McManus explained that this disengagement policy aligns with existing standard operating procedures for Gardaí, noting that roads policing officers do not receive formal training for high-speed vehicle pursuits. She added that officers face severe personal and professional risks if they choose to proceed with a pursuit outside of approved training guidelines.

    Irish national broadcaster RTÉ News has released the identities of the five deceased teenagers: Joe Carthy from Athy, County Kildare; Alex McCarthy from Carlow; Kamil Pustkowski from Limerick; and Jeremy O’Brien and Jack Kennedy. The four injured victims, two women in their 30s, one woman in her 20s, and a 7-year-old boy, are all from Carlow. Two of the injured are currently listed in critical condition, while the remaining two are considered to be in serious but stable condition.

    McManus described the scene first responders encountered as horrific, adding that many of the Gardaí who attended the crash will likely require long-term psychological counseling to process the trauma of what they witnessed, with impacts potentially lasting months or even years. The GRA has also publicly stated its support for stronger road safety legislation, including harsher criminal penalties and longer driving bans for those convicted of dangerous road behavior.

    The tragedy has prompted fresh calls for systemic change from road safety advocates, including Leo Lieghio, vice president of the Irish Road Victims Association. Lieghio, who lost his own 16-year-old daughter Marsia to a fatal road incident in Dublin in 2005, spoke of the overwhelming grief now facing the families of those killed and injured in the M9 crash. “Their lives have been turned upside down through no fault of their own. They will be going through hell,” he said.

    Lieghio pushed for urgent policy shifts that prioritize early intervention and clear consequences for reckless or criminal driving. He proposed targeted structural reform programs for young people engaging in dangerous road activity, alongside a broader cultural push for greater personal responsibility among all drivers. Lieghio also emphasized that bystanders have a role to play, urging members of the public to report dangerous driving they witness to authorities.

    Latest road safety data underscores the growing scale of the crisis: as of mid-August 2026, 123 people have died in road incidents across the Republic of Ireland, an 18-year increase compared to the same period in 2025. An Garda Síochána has been approached for additional comment on the incident and existing pursuit policies, and formal investigations into the crash are ongoing.

  • Ship attacked during Strait of Hormuz transit and other news from the Middle East

    Ship attacked during Strait of Hormuz transit and other news from the Middle East

    In a sharp escalation of maritime insecurity in one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, an unidentified projectile struck a commercial vessel early Tuesday as it transited the Strait of Hormuz off the Omani coast, the United Kingdom’s official maritime trade monitoring agency UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has confirmed. The attack damaged the ship’s engine room and left one crew member injured or killed, a detail that authorities have not yet clarified. No group or nation has immediately claimed responsibility for the strike, but it underscores the persistent risk facing global shipping through the waterway even as diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the ongoing Iran war creep forward. Omani coast guard teams have deployed to assist the remaining crew, and local authorities have launched a formal investigation into the incident. UKMTO has not released public details about the vessel’s identity, ownership, or cargo, and confirmed that no oil pollution or environmental damage has been detected from the damaged ship, easing short-term fears of a major ecological spill in the Persian Gulf.

    The Strait of Hormuz, which carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded crude oil supplies before the outbreak of the Iran war, has effectively been a closed conflict zone since a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran on February 28. Both the U.S. and Iran have restricted commercial traffic through the passage: Washington currently maintains a full blockade of all Iranian-flagged shipping transiting the waterway. With formal U.S.-Iran peace negotiations stalled after a 60-day negotiating window expired late Monday with no extension agreed and the two sides remaining far apart on core issues, Iran has pursued separate bilateral talks with Oman to craft a new framework for managing shipping through the strait. Iranian officials confirmed Monday that a joint statement on the proposed framework is in the final stages of drafting.

    That diplomatic progress has sparked an extraordinary angry reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump. According to unconfirmed reports from a telephone interview with Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, Trump threatened that the United States would carry out bombing strikes against Oman if the Omani government “gets in the way” of U.S. strategic interests in the region.

    As the standoff intensifies, Turkey has publicly pushed for a return to diplomatic negotiations. Late Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Trump by phone to urge continued diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. A formal statement from the Turkish presidential communications office confirmed that Erdogan emphasized the critical need for maximum diplomatic engagement to defuse rising tensions, expressed Turkey’s hope that negotiations would resume, and committed to continuing Turkish support for all regional peace efforts. Erdogan also raised concerns about escalating Israeli military operations targeting Palestinian communities as international efforts work to implement the second phase of the existing Gaza ceasefire agreement.

    Turkey, a NATO member that shares a land border with Iran, recently signed a landmark collective defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan earlier this month. The pact states that any armed attack against one of the three signatory nations will be considered an attack against all three. In a surprising move, Trump publicly praised the agreement in a social media post, saying it “shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way.” During his call with Trump, Erdogan reaffirmed that the tripartite agreement is intended to strengthen collective action for regional stability and security.

  • Australian sharemarket falls for fifth day despite surging healthcare stocks, record BHP profit

    Australian sharemarket falls for fifth day despite surging healthcare stocks, record BHP profit

    Australia’s benchmark share index has extended its downward run to five consecutive trading sessions, defying strong gains across the healthcare sector and a bumper full-year result from global mining giant BHP that failed to reverse broader market momentum on Tuesday. The flagship S&P/ASX 200 edged down 3.20 points, a marginal 0.04% drop, to close at 9070.00, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 4.80 points, or 0.05%, to settle at 9274.20. The Australian dollar traded at roughly 70.97 U.S. cents by market close. The trading day delivered a deeply mixed session for Australia’s 11 market sectors, with five closing in positive territory and six finishing lower. Leading all gainers by a wide margin, the healthcare sector surged 7.81% overall, while the energy sector posted a more modest 0.99% rise. The materials sector also recorded mild growth, driven entirely by strong investor demand for BHP shares following the miner’s latest earnings release. BHP closed 2.65% higher at $63.85 per share, though other major local mining players failed to share in the upward momentum: Rio Tinto slipped 0.55% to $167.40, while Fortescue Metals Group fell 0.39% to $17.68. Even with BHP’s share gain, copper prices closed 0.55% lower at $6.57 per pound. Biotech and blood products giant CSL, the heaviest-weighted stock in the healthcare sector, led the sector’s explosive rally despite posting a significant annual net loss. CSL shares jumped 17.25% to close at $157.82, recovering a large portion of the losses the stock has recorded over the past 12 months. Cochlear, the leading implant manufacturer, saw its shares rally 7.58% to $141.20 after releasing an upbeat earnings update, while medical imaging tech firm Pro Medicus gained 11.88% to $196.75 following an annual report that showed a 24.1% rise in underlying profit to $144.7 million. Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments and capital markets at VanEck, noted that the sharp rally in CSL shares was surprising given the company’s weak bottom-line results in the annual report. “CSL was slightly ahead of analyst expectations, but the market really latched onto the company’s guidance for strong growth next year, and that pushed shares up by a huge amount, nearly erasing the entire drop the stock has seen over the past year,” Hannah explained. “It’s quite incredible. I think you have to question whether the size of the market movement actually reflects the underlying earnings results we’ve seen this earnings season. Right now, companies are under enormous pressure to deliver strong results; if they don’t, investors punish them quite heavily on the market.” Hannah added that the small gain in the energy sector could be traced directly to a recent rally in global crude oil prices, which hit $91 U.S. per barrel ahead of Tuesday’s market close. “That always gives a boost to energy stocks broadly,” he said, “paired with BHP’s stronger-than-expected result, that was enough to keep the sector in positive territory.” The heavyweight financial sector was one of the biggest drags on the benchmark index, with Australia’s so-called Big Four banks all closing in negative territory. Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 1.44%, ANZ dropped 0.53%, and Westpac declined 1.17%, while National Australia Bank also posted a small single-digit loss. In other individual company news, A2 Milk Company recovered 8.58% on Tuesday after falling 3.26% in the previous session following its own earnings release. Infrastructure firm Reliance Worldwide saw its shares soar 24.65% to $4.50 per share after Canadian global investment giant Brookfield announced a $4.1 billion takeover bid for the company.

  • Ex-Australia batter Warner fined for drink-driving

    Ex-Australia batter Warner fined for drink-driving

    One of Australian cricket’s most recognizable former stars, David Warner, has been handed a court sentence following his guilty plea to a drink-driving charge stemming from an Easter Sunday incident in Sydney earlier this year. The 39-year-old, who retired from all forms of international cricket in 2024, was arrested after failing a random roadside breath test that revealed his blood alcohol concentration was more than double New South Wales’ legal limit. Court documents detail that Warner was driving his family home from a private social gathering when he pulled over at a breath testing checkpoint, and made an attempt to swap seats with a female passenger in his vehicle before officers could approach, a move that was confirmed during Tuesday’s hearing at Waverley Local Court.

    In her ruling, Judge Clare Farnan imposed an A$1,500 fine (equivalent to roughly £1,109) and ordered Warner to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, a breathalyzer-linked system that blocks a car from starting if it detects any alcohol in the driver’s system. While Judge Farnan acknowledged that Warner presents a low risk of reoffending, she emphasized the need for strict sentencing, noting that drink-driving remains a leading cause of fatal road accidents across New South Wales. The judge also highlighted that the offence was considered aggravated by the presence of Warner’s children in the car at the time of the stop.

    Warner’s legal team had argued ahead of the sentencing that the former batter should avoid a formal criminal conviction, claiming that extensive negative media coverage of the incident had already harmed his commercial and broadcasting opportunities. Currently, Warner works as a cricket commentator for Fox Sports Australia, most recently covering Bangladesh’s historic Test match victory over Australia in Darwin earlier this year. He also continues to hold captaincy roles in elite domestic T20 competitions, leading both the Pakistan Super League’s Karachi Kings and Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) Sydney Thunder.

    Notably, Sydney Thunder is owned by Cricket New South Wales, which partners with the New South Wales state government on a public awareness campaign aimed at reducing drink-driving across the state. In an official statement released after the court verdict, Cricket NSW reaffirmed its commitment to road safety: “Our organisation is a strong advocate of safe driving, including avoiding drink-driving. We continue to take this incident seriously, including educating all players on the importance of safe driving.”

    During his 16-year international cricket career, Warner built a legacy as one of Australia’s most explosive opening batters, appearing in 383 matches across Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International formats for the national side. He amassed 8,786 runs and 26 centuries in 112 Test matches, and added another 6,932 runs and 22 centuries in 159 ODI innings, cementing his place as one of the country’s top run-scorers in modern cricket history.

  • Philippine student killed in livestreamed school shooting

    Philippine student killed in livestreamed school shooting

    A horrific act of school violence has shaken the southern Philippines after a teenage student killed a fellow classmate in a livestreamed attack earlier this week before turning the gun on himself, law enforcement and school officials confirmed Tuesday.\n\nThe tragedy unfolded at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, a private Catholic high school located in Zamboanga City on western Mindanao island, marking the second fatal school shooting in the country in just two months.\n\nRegional police spokesperson Shella Chang shared initial details of the incident with reporters, noting that the gunman first targeted his victim directly inside their classroom. After firing the fatal shots at the victim, the suspect moved to the building’s fifth floor and took his own life, Chang explained.\n\nPhilippine Interior Secretary Victor Remulla later confirmed that the ninth-grade suspect broadcast the entire attack live on social media via his personal Facebook account. Platform administrators have already taken the suspect’s account offline to prevent further spread of the graphic footage. Local media outlets that obtained portions of the livestream reported the footage was filmed in a first-person perspective, mimicking the style of popular first-person shooter video games. The video shows the gunman moving through a campus hallway before aiming into the occupied classroom and opening fire, prompting uniformed students to scream and flee the room in panic. As of Wednesday, authorities have not released a full count of any additional injuries from the chaotic scene.\n\nNational law enforcement teams have launched a full investigation into the attack, with three core priorities: uncovering the suspect’s motive, tracing the origin and legal ownership of the weapon used, and determining how the firearm was smuggled past campus security checkpoints. Police have not yet released the ages of either the suspect or the victim, pending notification of their next of kin.\n\nAteneo de Zamboanga president Father Guillrey Andal confirmed the two fatalities in an official briefing, saying the entire school community is reeling from the unexpected violence. “We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” Andal told reporters outside the campus Tuesday. “Our team is working closely with police to formally identify both individuals so we can first notify and support their families.”\n\nAndal added that the attack had left the entire campus community shaken, saying “this incident has caused deep concern and worry across our school.” In a striking note, he shared that campus security teams had been actively preparing for an active shooter simulation exercise before the attack, as part of a national push to improve school safety.\n\nThe June mass shooting in the central Philippines, which left three teen students dead and 20 more wounded, prompted dozens of schools across the country, including Ateneo de Zamboanga, to roll out active shooter preparedness drills just last month. While school shootings remain extremely rare in the Philippines, the back-to-back attacks have raised new alarms over campus safety and illegal firearms access.\n\nAlthough the Philippine government enforces strict regulations on legal gun ownership, officials have long struggled to crack down on a thriving illegal black market for unregistered firearms across the archipelago.

  • King Harald of Norway is hospitalized for treatment in connection with a blood disease

    King Harald of Norway is hospitalized for treatment in connection with a blood disease

    OSLO, Norway — Norway’s centuries-old monarchy has entered a temporary period of adjusted leadership after the royal palace confirmed Monday that 89-year-old King Harald V has been hospitalized to treat complications linked to a chronic blood condition.

    In an official public statement released shortly after the king was admitted to Oslo’s National Hospital on Monday afternoon, palace officials outlined the sequence of events that led to the inpatient stay. For several weeks, the monarch has undergone cortisone treatment to manage hemolytic anemia, a rare blood disorder that causes premature destruction of red blood cells. The ongoing medication has resulted in problematic fluid buildup throughout his body, a side effect that requires targeted, monitored medical intervention only available in a hospital setting.

    The statement also confirmed that King Harald has already been on official sick leave for two weeks, and that the line of succession has been activated for the interim. Crown Prince Haakon, the king’s only son and next in line to the Norwegian throne, will serve as regent, handling all official state duties and constitutional responsibilities during the monarch’s recovery.

    This latest hospitalization marks the latest in a string of health incidents for the long-serving monarch over the past three years. The king has a documented history of recurring health issues that have required inpatient care both abroad and at home. Earlier this year, in February, he was admitted to a local hospital during a winter holiday in Spain’s Canary Islands, where he received treatment for an acute skin infection.

    Two years prior, while on a private vacation with his wife Queen Sonja in Malaysia, the king experienced a cardiac event that required urgent medical intervention. Local clinicians fitted him with a temporary pacemaker to stabilize his condition before he was evacuated back to Norway on a specialized medical repatriation flight, where he received a permanent pacemaker in a Norwegian hospital.

    King Harald has held the position of Norway’s head of state since 1991, when he succeeded his father King Olav V following Olav’s death. At 89, he is one of the oldest ruling monarchs in Europe, and his long reign has spanned more than three decades of social and political change across the Scandinavian nation.