Category: World

A federal judge has stopped the Trump administration from imposing fixed limits on how long foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists may remain in the United States, blocking a major immigration rule one day before it was due to take effect. U. S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston issued a preliminary injunction on Monday, September 14, finding that the Department of Homeland Security had relied on “exceptionally weak” rationales and had failed to meet requirements of the Administrative

A new round of 50 per cent US tariffs on Canadian goods took effect early Tuesday, adding the levy to 110 tariff items while removing 10 others from the list. The changes, effective from 12.01am Eastern Time on September 15, cover products including selected cheeses, motorboats, all-terrain vehicles, furniture, mattresses, lamps, aluminium products, paper goods and iron or steel structures. They form part of a package of measures signed by President Donald Trump on September 8 after Canada activated retaliatory tariffs

Bob Mackie, the Emmy- and Tony-winning designer who transformed television and stage costuming with flamboyant creations for Cher, Carol Burnett, died on Monday in Palm Springs, California. He was 87. A representative for Mackie said he died of pneumonia at 10.40am on September 14. His team announced his death through his official social media account, saying he had spent his life fulfilling his ambition to be a fashion and costume designer. Mackie’s death prompted tributes from performers whose public images were closely

Zurich Airport has moved two autonomous electric shuttle buses to Level 4 operation without a driver or safety monitor on board, shifting human oversight entirely to a remote control centre after an 18-month testing programme. The airport said the first fully automated runs began in early September, marking the latest stage of a pilot launched with autonomous-driving technology company WeRide in March 2025. The two Robobus vehicles now handle their defined airside route independently, while trained personnel monitor operations from a

The US Supreme Court has refused to let the Postal Service enforce new restrictions on mail-in ballots before the November midterm elections, leaving in place a lower-court order that bars the rules while legal challenges continue. The justices on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s emergency request to lift an injunction imposed by US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. The court said in an unsigned order that the government was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to Talwani’s

US Senator Bernie Sanders and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon will appear at a Washington gathering on Tuesday, joining labour, religious and political figures calling for controls over advanced artificial intelligence. The Pro-Human Assembly, organised by the Future of Life Institute, is expected to bring together participants who rarely share a political platform but have converged around concerns that advancing AI could threaten jobs, autonomy, democratic institutions and public safety. Organisers say the meeting will focus on keeping humans in control

Chevron’s Australia president expects liquefied natural gas prices to remain elevated for about six months as war-driven disruption to Middle East supply keeps the global market tight. Balaji Krishnamurthy, who leads Chevron’s Australian operations, said at the Gastech conference in Bangkok on Monday that higher prices were likely to persist while the market adjusts to reduced Qatari exports and constrained shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. He said Australian LNG was commanding a premium because of its proximity to major Asian

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday that its air defences had intercepted and destroyed an MQ-1 unmanned aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, adding another disputed military incident to the escalating confrontation with the United States around the strategic waterway. The IRGC said its Aerospace Force used a new air-defence system operating under Iran’s integrated air-defence network to engage the aircraft above the strait. It did not disclose the precise location, altitude, time of interception or the weapon used,

Austria has denied entry to Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami, preventing him from addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency’s annual General Conference in Vienna after a travel-ban exemption was not approved. Eslami, Iran’s vice-president for nuclear affairs and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, had been expected to speak at the opening of the five-day gathering on Monday. Iran’s state news agency said on Saturday that he had left Tehran for Vienna to attend the conference and hold meetings

President Donald Trump has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, arguing that the strikes are worsening a global diesel shortage as fuel prices climb sharply in the United States. Trump said on Sunday that he had already spoken directly with Zelenskyy about the issue and wanted Ukraine to select other targets inside Russia. Speaking during a visit to Ireland, he said Ukrainian attacks were reducing Russian diesel supplies and “hurting the world”. “Mr Zelensky has to do

General aviation manufacturers posted higher aircraft shipments and sharply stronger billings in the first half of 2026, although weaker piston-aircraft deliveries left the industry's performance uneven across major segments. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association said manufacturers delivered 1,458 aeroplanes worldwide through the second quarter, up 1.7 per cent from 1,433 in the same period of 2025. Aeroplane billings climbed 15.5 per cent to $14.3 billion from $12.4 billion, showing that revenue growth outpaced the modest increase in unit deliveries. Business jets produced

Sweden’s centre-left opposition held a narrow lead early Monday after a national election that could determine whether the far-right Sweden Democrats enter government for the first time, leaving the final result dependent on remaining ballots. Preliminary figures from the Swedish Election Authority put the opposition bloc led by Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson ahead of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s governing alliance, with the margin narrow enough to keep both sides from claiming victory. With votes counted from 6,195 of Sweden’s 6,312 election districts,

Indonesian rescuers were searching the Java Sea on Sunday for 140 people missing after the passenger vessel Virgo Transport 8 sank during severe weather, with 102 survivors rescued and one person confirmed dead. The ship was carrying 243 people when it lost contact early on September 13 while sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency. Authorities said the vessel later sank, prompting a large-scale operation involving rescue ships, naval

Nepal has put the reconstruction requirement from the devastating August 26 floods at about $4.78 billion, sharply exceeding the government's initial estimate of direct physical damage and economic losses. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the figure came from a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment prepared after floods tore through northern river valleys, destroying homes, transport links, hydropower facilities and other critical infrastructure. The assessment estimated direct damage at about $1.8 billion and associated losses at roughly $883 million. Of the reconstruction

BRICS leaders have adopted a joint declaration expressing deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East and urging maximum restraint, securing consensus among members including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The New Delhi Declaration, approved on Saturday at the 18th BRICS Summit, called on all sides to avoid actions that could further aggravate the situation and reaffirmed support for resolving international disputes through dialogue, consultation and diplomacy. The wording reflected differing national positions while establishing a common

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is shifting from network-building to large-scale adoption, targeting faster transaction growth as its reach extends across more than 30 African countries. PAPSS chief executive Mike Ogbalu III said the system’s next strategic phase, beginning in 2027, will focus on activating its expanding network, widening use among banks, fintechs and businesses, and developing high-volume payment corridors. The platform now connects 24 national and regional central banks, more than 200 commercial banks and payment service providers, and

Vice-President JD Vance has emerged from the Republican midterm convention in Dallas with his standing as a potential 2028 presidential contender enhanced, after a keynote speech drew chants from delegates and fresh praise from President Donald Trump. Vance used Thursday night’s address to present himself as a defender of Trump’s political movement while urging Republicans to stay united ahead of the November midterm elections. Delegates repeatedly chanted his name and, at one point, “48”, a reference to the next presidential number

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting the BRICS summit in New Delhi with Russia and China displaying a closer strategic alignment, adding pressure to India’s effort to preserve strong ties with Moscow while managing a cautious thaw with Beijing and maintaining partnerships with the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin met Modi on Friday, a day before the leaders’ summit, and the two reviewed cooperation spanning trade, defence, energy, space, mobility and multilateral coordination. They also discussed the Programme for Economic Cooperation

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea on Saturday, a day after South Korea, the United States and Japan completed a five-day trilateral military exercise. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were detected at about 5.20am from the Wonsan area on North Korea's east coast. They flew roughly 250 kilometres before falling into the sea, while South Korean and US authorities continued analysing their precise specifications. The military said intelligence authorities in Seoul and Washington

FirstRand’s full-year earnings fell as provisions tied to its UK motor finance business offset strong growth across its core operations in South Africa and the rest of Africa. The financial services group said earnings on its previously reported basis declined 5% to R39.7 billion for the year ended June 30, 2026, after it booked an additional provision linked to potential customer redress in Britain. Return on equity on that basis was 18.3%, within the group’s stated target range. FirstRand recognised an additional

Cocoa futures strengthened after Ghana’s cocoa regulator proposed a roughly 6 per cent increase in the price paid to farmers for the 2026/27 season, prompting short covering as traders assessed the implications for supplies and cross-border bean flows. The proposed farmgate price would rise to 2,737 cedis for a 64-kilogram bag from the current 2,587 cedis, according to people familiar with the plan. The change remains subject to approval by Ghana’s finance minister and has not yet been formally announced by