The US deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, has held a second in-person meeting with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, as calls mount for full transparency over the federal investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche met Maxwell behind closed doors on Thursday and again on Friday at the federal prosecutor’s office inside the courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for her…

Children under the age of 16 will be banned from having YouTube accounts from December, following a major policy reversal by the Albanese government. The Google-owned platform had previously been exempt from Australia’s national under-16s social media ban, but will now be included alongside other major services such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. The change will be formally announced on Wednesday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister…

More than 30 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced following days of relentless rainfall and severe flooding in Beijing and its neighbouring regions, according to Chinese state media. State broadcaster CCTV reported that 28 people were confirmed dead in the Miyun district on the city’s northern outskirts, with an additional two fatalities in Yanqing district as of midnight on Monday. Both districts lie far from central…

A gunman opened fire inside a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday evening, killing four people, including an off-duty New York police officer, before turning the gun on himself. Authorities confirmed the attack occurred at 345 Park Avenue, a highrise that houses the headquarters of the National Football League (NFL) and several prominent financial firms. The shooter, identified as 27 year old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, reportedly drove cross-country before arriving…

The United States government has reiterated that using a tourist visa with the primary intention of giving birth in the country is not permitted, warning that such actions may result in visa denial and long-term immigration consequences. This cautionary message was delivered via an official statement posted on the X (formerly Twitter) page of the country’s Mission in Nigeria on Monday. It forms part of a broader effort by the government…

Thailand and Cambodia have reached an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire agreement following high-level peace talks hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang have officially commenced this week, marking a symbolic deepening of diplomatic and military relations between Russia and North Korea, as well as offering Russian travellers a rare new international route. The inaugural flight, operated by Russia’s Nordwind Airlines, departed from Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow on Sunday and arrived in the North Korean capital approximately eight hours later, according to the airport’s official website. Russia’s…

Three people were killed and several others injured when a regional passenger train derailed in a forested area of southwestern Germany on Sunday evening, according to police. Approximately 100 passengers were on board when the train left the tracks at around 6:10pm local time near the town of Riedlingen, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Initially, authorities reported four fatalities, but later corrected the figure to three. Details regarding the number…

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder and chairman of Amazon, has completed a colossal round of stock sales worth nearly $5.7 billion (£4.4 billion), marking one of the largest insider share divestments of 2025. The sale, carried out under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plan, began shortly after Bezos wed his partner in a high-profile ceremony in Venice this June. His initial offload amounted to $737 million worth of Amazon shares. According…

US President Donald Trump has called for the prosecution of former Vice President Kamala Harris, along with celebrities Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, and Reverend Al Sharpton, alleging they received illegal payments for endorsements during the 2024 presidential election. In a fiery post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump claimed that Harris’ campaign had paid millions to the stars for their public support, payments he insists amounted to illegal endorsements.…

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has poured cold water on speculation that he is gearing up for a presidential bid in 2028, instead throwing his support behind Vice President JD Vance as a potential Republican nominee. Speaking during an interview on Fox News’ My View with Lara Trump, Rubio, a former 2016 presidential contender, praised Vance’s performance in office and expressed hope that the vice president will enter the…

The death toll from a brutal attack on a Catholic church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has climbed to 34, according to local civil society leaders, with fears that the number may yet rise. The assault, believed to have been carried out by Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, took place in the early hours of the morning in Komanda, a town in Ituri province. According to Dieudonné…