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World News

Fresh news brought to you daily from around the world. Hot news, breaking stories as they happen.

Deadly Nepal Floods Leave 291 Foreigners Missing

At least three American tourists are reported among a preliminary toll of 384 people missing after serious flash flooding in Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board said.

The flooding struck the northern Rasuwa district, near the border with Tibet, at around 8.30am local time on Wednesday, authorities said.
Preliminary Missing Figures
In a statement posted on X, the tourism board said the preliminary count includes 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali nationals.
Among the foreign nationals listed as missing were tourists from India, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the Netherlands and Australia, the statement added.
The tourism board said local tourism and law enforcement authorities were working to verify the whereabouts and safety status of tourists and travellers who were in, or travelling through, the affected areas.
Americans With Fishtail Tours
The board said the three Americans were travelling with a Nepali company called Fishtail Tours and Travel.
The agency confirmed to ABC News that three American nationals are among the missing tourists travelling with it. The company said efforts to locate and rescue those people are ongoing, but did not provide additional details about their possible whereabouts or wellbeing.
A separate update from the US Embassy in Kathmandu said it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and devastation caused by the flooding. The embassy added that it was tracking developments and in close contact with Nepali authorities.
The mission also urged Americans to avoid the affected areas and said it was working “to account for U.S. citizens who may have been affected.”
Rescue Operations Continue
Rescue work for people affected by the floods continued, with aircraft used as part of the response, according to the Nepali Army. In a post on X on Wednesday, the army urged people to remain highly vigilant and stay in safe places.
The floods were also reported to have caused casualties on the Chinese side of the border at the Gyirong border crossing, according to Xinhua News Agency, citing local information.
Xinhua said President Xi Jinping ordered search and rescue efforts for those reported missing.

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26 August 2026
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Ukraine Resumes Moscow Drone Strikes After Ratcliffe Visit

Ukraine resumed drone strikes targeting Moscow overnight into Wednesday morning, hours after the departure of a plane carrying CIA Director John Ratcliffe from the Russian capital, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said.

Sobyanin said at least 10 drones were shot down as they approached Moscow. He added that emergency services were working at sites where debris fell.
Ratcliffe Visit And Halt Request
The attack pause appears to have been tied to Ratcliffe’s unannounced visit to Moscow on Tuesday morning. According to a Ukrainian official, Ukraine agreed to a US request to refrain from launching drone or missile strikes against Moscow during the CIA director’s visit.
Ratcliffe’s aircraft landed at Vnukovo airport on Tuesday and departed a few hours later, data from Flightradar24 showed.
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CIA Chief John Ratcliffe Travels to Moscow for Talks

Drones Downed Over Moscow
Sobyanin reported the interceptions in the early hours of Wednesday on Telegram. He said emergency services specialists were responding to the crash locations.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said flight restrictions were introduced at three of Moscow’s four international airports during the night. The affected airports were Domodedovo, Zhukovsky and Vnukovo.
The restrictions were reported as temporary and were issued as drones were intercepted over the city.
Airport Closures Spread Beyond Moscow
Rosaviatsiya also posted that flight restrictions were implemented at airports across several regions, including Kaluga, Tambov, Penza, Saratov, Saransk, Cheboksary, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and Yaroslavl.
Russian officials said drones intercepted over Moscow were among a wider set of attacks claimed to have been stopped during the night. The Russian Defence Ministry said it had shot down 426 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The ministry said the interceptions covered 15 Russian regions and included occupied Crimea.
Wildberries Site In Tambov Region Hit
Among the reported targets was a Wildberries e-commerce facility in Kotovsk, in the Tambov region. Wildberries said in a statement that it had confirmed the latest attack and that it had suspended all new shipments to the affected distribution centre.
Local authorities also reported damage and fire following the strike. Yevgeny Pervyshov, the governor of the region, said on Telegram that the attack sparked a fire at the Wildberries logistics centre, with flames spreading across an area of more than 100,000 square metres.
Elsewhere, Russian media reported an attack on a major oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the city of Kstovoa. The reports did not provide additional details in the material cited.

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26 August 2026
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US Sends Saudi Nuclear Deal to Congress for Review

The Trump administration formally sent a proposed US-Saudi nuclear energy agreement to Congress on Monday, while saying the deal would only proceed if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords, an administration official told ABC News.

Two sources familiar with the move also said the text of the proposed agreement was transmitted on Monday.
The landmark US-Saudi nuclear agreement was finalised last month under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee have 90 days of continuous session to review the proposed deal, although the review timeline can be paused, which has been done before.
Finalised And Signed Last Month
The agreement was finalised on 22 July, the US Energy Department said. It was signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman the following day.
On 23 July, however, President Donald Trump introduced a new condition. He announced that the nuclear deal would be contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, a requirement that was not included in the version previously agreed.
Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Abraham Accords would involve normalising relations with Israel. Saudi policy has opposed such steps in the absence of Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.
Condition Added After Finalisation
In a briefing to ABC on Tuesday, the administration official said the president’s stance had not changed, adding that the nuclear agreement “will only move forward if Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords”.
It was not immediately clear why the administration transmitted the agreement to Congress now, given that the deal was finalised more than a month ago and Saudi Arabia has not publicly indicated any intention to join the Accords.
Civil Nuclear Co-operation, Enrichment Debate
Under the agreement, the United States would be able to partner with Saudi Arabia on developing the kingdom’s civil nuclear energy programme.
US officials previously told ABC that the deal leaves open the possibility of Saudi Arabia enriching uranium domestically in the future. Such a prospect could heighten concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation.
Trump has said, though, that enrichment would not occur under the agreement. “There will be no enrichment of material!” he wrote in a social media post last month.
The transmission of the proposed agreement to Congress was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

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26 August 2026
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Israel-Linked Fake US Thinktank Targets AI Chatbots

A website marketed under the name of a US thinktank that does not appear to exist has published more than 560,000 words in nine days, according to analysis, in an effort designed to steer AI chatbots toward pro-Israel arguments.

The site, calling itself the Hanover Institute for Public Policy, presents Israel’s positions on topics including allegations involving Palestinian prisoners, claims of Israeli war crimes and whether Israel deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza. The material is framed in a quasi-academic style and is laid out with citations to organisations and documents, while avoiding conclusions that rely on legal findings. The existence of the project was first reported on 14 August.
Fake Thinktank, Rapid Output
Guardian analysis found that between 6 and 14 August the Hanover Institute published 124 reports totalling more than 560,000 words, averaging around 4,500 words each. On 12 and 13 August alone, it published 73 reports amounting to almost 354,000 words in two days. No further material was posted after the initial run.
Most headlines begin with question wording similar to prompts used in chatbot searches, including queries such as “Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism?” and “Is Israel Carrying Out a Genocide in Gaza?”
The reports frequently use caveats, including statements that no court has issued a verdict on claims such as genocide or apartheid, appearing in 20 of the 124 reports in the Guardian’s count. Casualty and aid figures are also attributed to “a party to the events” in 55 reports, including cases where Israel’s own figures are used.
One study on antisemitic comments on European media Facebook pages is cited heavily across the website, according to the analysis. The study is referenced 454 times across 88 of the 124 reports, including in articles about seemingly unrelated topics.
Targeting Chatbots through Search and Training Data
The Guardian reported that the site initially carried an AI-readable file intended for machine indexing, but it did not describe the Hanover Institute. It later replaced that file with a version written for machine readers, and the earlier platform name it referenced was removed.
The underlying approach described by researchers is twofold: publishing pages that chatbots may cite, and placing material into large repositories that can feed training data for commercial AI models. The analysis said an earlier network of sites had already appeared repeatedly in Common Crawl’s index, the repository used by model developers, and that the Hanover Institute’s reports were posted after that particular crawl closed, placing them at the start of a new phase of the pipeline.
Tests described by the Guardian found that when users asked for new research, ChatGPT’s web-enabled chatbot provided links to some Hanover reports but also warned of “significant controversy” about who funds the institute and why it exists, including linking to reporting from the Quincy Institute.
Foreign Agent Registration and Funding Trail
The New York media production company Piro Inc filed the Hanover Institute website with the US Department of Justice this month under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a 1938 law requiring disclosure by those working for foreign governments. The filing identifies material distributed for the Israeli government.
Piro is described as contracted for $1m across two work orders, the Guardian said, but this is presented as part of a much larger effort. Both Piro and another firm associated with former Trump campaign staff are subcontractors to Havas Media Germany GmbH, ultimately held by Havas NV.
Justice filings cited by the Guardian show Havas named intermediaries across multiple foreign-agent registrations, and record payments to subcontractors including $15m in six instalments for Clock Tower X and $9,892,335 for Targeted Communications Global.
In Israel, procurement records cited by the Guardian show the advertising agency LaPam awarding Havas entities contracts without competitive tender across several years, including large sums for planning and purchases of media abroad. The Guardian also reported that Israel officials have questioned the effectiveness of overseas public diplomacy and of efforts to game AI systems.
Israeli Doubts and Shifting US Views
Israel’s foreign ministry said it does not run “influence operations” in the United States and that it follows American law, while Piro’s co-founder Daniel Rosenberg said the firm was retained to provide accurate, sourced information and counter misinformation.
The Guardian said the push comes as US polling has turned against Israel’s positions, citing shifts in sympathy ratings and increasing majorities describing unfavourable views of Israel, alongside rising shares saying Israel’s Gaza military actions amount to genocide.

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26 August 2026
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Major Scottish Gangland Figure Steven Daniel Arrested

One of Scotland's most prominent gangland figures has been arrested during an early morning police operation in Glasgow.

Steven "Bonzo" Daniel, 46, was taken into custody at about 06:00 at his home in Robroyston, in the north of the city.
Daniel is understood to lead the Daniel crime family, which has been involved in a long-running violent feud with the rival Lyons family spanning 25 years.
Police arrested him in connection with serious and organised crime, firearms and drugs offences. The arrest was part of Operation Venetic, a major UK-wide operation targeting organised crime groups.
Early morning police raid
BBC Scotland News accompanied officers during the operation, which began shortly before sunrise.
Dozens of officers were briefed at a nearby police station before travelling in convoy to Daniel's home.
Two uniformed officers first approached the property and spoke to Daniel through a first-floor window. An officer accompanied by a police dog then moved towards the house.
Daniel left the property through the front door moments later and was taken into the rear of a police van.
A second man, 39-year-old Steven Gordon, was arrested at the same time in Garthamlock, less than four miles from Daniel's home.
Gordon was arrested in connection with serious and organised crime, firearms and drugs offences, as well as conspiracy to murder.
Police pledge further action
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Ferry said the operation demonstrated police commitment to tackling serious and organised crime.
He said the chief constable had made clear that people involved in such criminal activity would be brought to justice.
"This enforcement action underlines that commitment," Ferry said.
He added that police would continue using "every tool and tactic available" to pursue those involved in serious criminality and seeking to profit from harm caused to Scottish communities.
More than 60 arrests since 2020
The Scottish arm of Operation Venetic has led to more than 60 arrests since 2020.
The operation began after the National Crime Agency penetrated a secret communications system used by criminals.
Daniel was previously seriously injured in May 2017 when he suffered severe facial wounds after being attacked following a 100mph car chase through Glasgow.

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26 August 2026
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Canada Tests The Limits Of US Power Under Trump

Canada’s escalating retaliation over trade is testing how far the Trump administration can push even a close ally, as a leaked account of Vice-President JD Vance’s remarks fuels tension ahead of tariff deadlines.
Leaked Comments Add Heat To Talks
Two days before US-Canada trade talks collapsed, Vance told an audience at a private fundraiser that Prime Minister Mark Carney was “a very sweet guy”. In an audio recording leaked to the Canadian Press, Vance reportedly added that Carney “comes in and puffs his chest out and says: ‘I’m going to, like, out-tough Donald Trump.’” The recording described the approach as “hilarious” because, Vance said, Canadians “climb down on a lot of issues”.
The comments attracted widespread attention in Canada, though they were not confirmed as the immediate trigger for Carney’s officials to end talks and leave over the weekend. What followed was a sharp break in negotiations for a new trade agreement and a new round of tariffs between neighbours whose two-way trade totals more than $872bn (£640bn) a year.
Why Trump Is Pressing Canada
Friction between Washington and Ottawa has long roots in Donald Trump’s first term and the negotiations that produced the USMCA, the deal that replaced NAFTA. The current conflict is also linked to personal clashes between Trump and Justin Trudeau, then Canada’s prime minister. Trump at the time derided Trudeau as “governor” and called Canada America’s “51st State”.
Behind the insults, administration officials also pursued a wider geopolitical view in which the United States was entitled to exert economic and political influence in its region. Officials said Canada was contributing too little to regional defence while benefiting disproportionately from trade with the United States.
Within that framework, Trump has repeatedly connected economic security and national security. “If you listen to really anybody in state, treasury, or commerce [departments], you will hear the phrase ‘economic security is national security’,” said Drew Delong, head of corporate statecraft at the Kearney Foresight think tank. As North American negotiations continued early this year, Trump’s focus shifted to military interventions in Venezuela and then the Middle East, but the approach to imposing pressure for national benefit has remained.
Power Limits, Retaliation, And The Chokepoint Test
The broader lesson, analysts say, is that power can be constrained when opponents still have ways to retaliate. The Trump administration is facing a comparable test in both military and economic settings, according to DeLong, despite differences between disputes over trade and conflicts in places such as Iran.
In Iran’s case, he said, leverage lies in threatening global commerce by targeting US partners and maritime chokepoints, including the Strait of Hormuz. With Canada, the mechanism is economic pain. Tuesday’s targeted tariffs were described as an initial step, with further measures possible, including restricting US access to Canadian energy and critical minerals and encouraging consumer boycotts of American goods.
DeLong said the underlying logic is spreading as governments shift toward “economic security” strategies, where countries look for “game of chokepoints and leverage angles” across supply chains.
At present, negotiators have limited clear off-ramps. Trump has accused Canada of “ripping off” the US, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford retaliated by telling the American president to “kiss my ass”. Imran Bayoumi, deputy director of the GeoStrategy Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said pushing allies and partners away can make them pursue new relationships instead of conceding.
The timing of escalation may also matter. Canada’s new tariffs are due to take effect in two weeks, while the main US response—an increase to 50% on Canadian-built vehicles and auto parts—is not scheduled until early 2027. Talks had shown progress until Friday night, offering a narrow window to restart negotiations before the next tranche of tariffs.
Deadlines Ahead Of US Midterms
A more immediate political deadline comes from November’s US midterm elections. Democratic gains could limit Trump’s room for manoeuvre, while unexpected Republican success could strengthen his position. Ottawa appears to be betting on the former, calculating that fear of a midterm blowout in industrial battlegrounds including Michigan and Ohio will pressure Trump to step back before ballots are cast.
Bayoumi said Canada does not face the kind of internal political divisions that the administration might have expected, and that Carney has “a lot of political runway” to secure a deal.
There is also another scenario: Canada could keep reducing reliance on the United States. Carney has said: “We cannot depend on traditional alliances when the rules of the game have fundamentally changed.”
Mexico, by contrast, appears to be pursuing deeper economic integration with the US. Other trading partners, including allies in Europe and Asia, are watching Canada’s resistance, DeLong said, adding that “ten years from now, this is going to be taught in classrooms” as North America may move toward “bifurcating paths” rather than reconverging.

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26 August 2026
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Trump Administration Threatens Kennedy Center Demolition

The Trump administration has told a federal court that it could pursue demolishing the Kennedy Centre in Washington if a judge rules that the venue cannot close for a two-year renovation.
In court papers filed on Monday, Justice Department attorney Brantley T. Mayers referred to the building as “decrepit” and argued that repairs led by the administration are needed to prevent further deterioration.
Court Filing Raises Demolition Prospect
Mayers said that, without renovations, the centre would keep degrading into what he described as an unsafe, decrepit structure, which would then need to be taken down. He added that a later decision would be required on what to build at the site, citing an outdoor amphitheatre overlooking the Potomac River as one possibility.
He also argued that recognising President Donald Trump for updating the venue is integral to keeping the project funded and staffed. In the filing, Mayers said that if Trump did not receive recognition, donors would leave, contributions would dry up, and structural rehabilitation would stop.
“The Trump Administration is ready to go but, without it, the Kennedy Center cannot be saved,” Mayers said, according to the documents.
Naming Dispute Underpins Lawsuit
The administration’s position aligns with the federal government’s response to a lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and an ex officio member of the Kennedy Centre board.
Beatty’s case challenges the legality of adding Trump’s name to the building without explicit permission from Congress. She also said the overhaul plan for a two-year closure was not clearly presented to the board.
Beatty’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the administration’s demolition threat.
Previous Ruling And Inscription Decision
Earlier this year, a judge ruled that the president’s name could not legally be added to the Kennedy Centre and ordered related signage to be removed.
Instead of taking down the lettering, it was covered with a tarp. Following that, the board—described in the case as largely appointed by Trump—voted to add an inscription beneath the Kennedy Centre’s name reading: “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
The latest filing underscores that the administration is seeking to tie the renovation timeline to court acceptance of its approach, including the prospect of Trump recognition, while Beatty’s lawsuit argues those steps were unlawful.
The next court hearing on the Kennedy Centre’s future is scheduled for Thursday.

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26 August 2026
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China Slams US Sanctions on Iran and Trading Partners

China has condemned new US economic sanctions targeting Iran and trading partners, including Beijing, and said it would take steps to protect its interests.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China was “firmly opposed” to what it called “illegal unilateral sanctions”, adding that it would use “all necessary measures” to safeguard its rights. His comments came after the US Treasury said on Monday it would widen restrictions on Iran-related financial activity.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that countries working financially with Iran would face isolation. He also said banks and businesses that did not cut ties with Tehran would be affected, describing the package as the most significant financial offensive against Iran.
Bessent did not single out specific states when announcing the measures, but he said US President Donald Trump planned to contact world leaders with requests to end their interactions with Iran’s regime. Asked about Chinese banks in particular, Bessent said: “No one was above the reach of US sanctions.”
China Ties With Iran, and US Frictions
China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, though the trade has fallen since the US blockade of Iran’s ports. Lin said cooperation between China and Iran had long been carried out under international law and should not be disrupted.
The announcement also comes ahead of planned talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month, raising concerns in Washington about possible retaliation.
US officials are likely mindful that China processes most of the world’s rare earths and other critical minerals used in the manufacture of many high-tech products. China has already tightened export controls on rare earths as part of previous trade negotiations with the US.
Iranian Officials Say They Are Ready
Iran responded by saying it was prepared for the wider sanctions. Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh told state television that Tehran had a two-year plan to manage the impact and said it had “tools” to deal with the situation. He added that Iran had been “waiting for these plans for a long time”.
Bessent said the Treasury had identified financial routes, facilitators and networks used by Iran to evade sanctions in order to trade oil. He said new restrictions would be imposed on nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels.
The US has branded the action “Operation Economic Outcast”, describing it as an “economic D-Day” against Iran.
Conflict, Ceasefire Expiry and Shipping Disruptions
The move follows almost six months after the start of the Iran war. The conflict has contributed to higher oil prices globally, with Tehran effectively blocking exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to international trade. The US has also slowed shipping through a naval blockade.
Efforts to end the conflict through diplomacy have failed. A 60-day ceasefire expired last week without a settlement.
In describing the sanctions, Bessent said the US was “ending” what he called the Iranian threat, saying America was no longer managing it. Britain’s Chancellor John Healey said the UK supported US work towards a diplomatic solution and welcomed efforts to increase pressure.
Analysts Question Near-Term Impact
Even before China’s response, some analysts said the new measures may not quickly change Iran’s energy revenue.
David Oxley, chief climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, told the BBC that the direct effect on Iranian oil income would likely be limited in the short term. He cited the fact that about 90% of Iran’s oil goes to China, adding that Beijing has not previously recognised US sanctions on Iran and is unlikely to change.
Ali Vaez, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the International Crisis Group, said China generally opposes unilateral sanctions and would only comply with multilateral or international measures. He also said Iran’s neighbours, including Pakistan, Turkey and Iraq, could not afford to sever ties with Tehran despite wanting good relations with Washington.
Other potential affected trading partners, including India and Russia, had not responded to the US announcement at the time of reporting.

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26 August 2026
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CIA Chief John Ratcliffe Travels to Moscow for Talks

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, has travelled to Moscow for unannounced talks, CBS reported, citing coverage from the BBC’s US news partner.

Ratcliffe arrived in the Russian capital earlier on Tuesday, according to the report. Neither the US government nor Moscow has confirmed the purpose of the visit or any intended meetings.
In-person discussions between senior American and Russian officials are rare, and the US has not said who Ratcliffe would meet while in Russia.
Flight Tracking Links Trip To Large US Aircraft
Flight tracking data cited by the report indicated that a large US military aircraft flew to Russia on Tuesday after leaving the United States via Latvia. The plane departed later the same day.
Social media videos showed a C-17 transport aircraft approaching Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport. FlightRadar24 data indicated the aircraft left Riga airport at 05:50 GMT and appeared to land in Moscow at around 07:04 GMT. It then returned to Riga shortly before 17:00 GMT.
Additional footage posted online purported to show a diplomatic motorcade moving through Moscow, but neither government has commented on the allegation.
US Asked Ukraine To Pause Strikes
Ahead of Ratcliffe’s trip, the US told Ukraine that a senior delegation would travel to Moscow and asked Kyiv to suspend strikes until the delegation had left, a senior Ukrainian official told CBS.
The report did not specify the delegation’s composition or the length of the requested pause.
The BBC said it had contacted the CIA, the White House and the Pentagon for comment.
Possible Priorities For Talks
Ratcliffe’s visit is thought to be his first trip to Russia as CIA director, although the BBC said he has maintained contact with his intelligence counterparts in Moscow.
John Foreman, a former British military attaché to Moscow who served from 2019 to 2022, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that the visit could be focused on what he called “escalation management”, citing speculation that recent drone activity in Germany could be linked to Russia.
Foreman said such a high-ranking US official was not normally sent to Moscow unannounced at short notice unless “something is up”.
He added that the trip could also concern the release of US detainees held in Russia.
Ratcliffe previously played a role in negotiations for the release of Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina, who was jailed in Russia for more than a year after being accused of supporting Ukraine.
The CIA was also involved in a 2024 prisoner swap with Russia that led to the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as well as former US marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
Background On US-Russia Relations
Relations between the US and Russia have been strained since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, Russia has faced international economic sanctions and has been isolated on the world stage.
Ratcliffe is among the highest-ranking US officials reported to have visited Russia during President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska last year, but the meeting did not produce a breakthrough. Subsequent US-led peace efforts involving Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled.

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26 August 2026
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Trump Says Strait of Hormuz Is Now Clear of Mines

US President Donald Trump says the US Navy has removed or detonated all mines in the Strait of Hormuz, warning that any new mine-laying activity by Iran would be met with immediate destruction.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Iran had been informed that ships or boats placing fresh mines would be targeted “immediately and systematically”. There was no response from Iran.
Mine Clearing and Shipping Risks
The Strait of Hormuz is a key shipping lane linking the Gulf to global markets. Iran has largely halted passage since the war in the Middle East began on 28 February, when the US and Israel carried out air strikes against Iran.
The disruption has contributed to sharp swings in oil prices worldwide. Trump has repeatedly said the US has control over the area, while Iran has fired at vessels it says attempted to cross without its permission.
War, Sanctions and Failed Negotiations
The closure of the strait followed a wider escalation. Iran also retaliated against Israel and US bases in the region, as well as against US Arab allies in the Gulf. A ceasefire designed to enable talks to end the conflict collapsed, with intermittent exchanges of fire reported between the US and Iran.
This week, the US announced additional economic sanctions against Iran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said any country that provided financial support to Iran would be isolated.
Washington’s move comes after an Iran-US Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June. The 14-point document set a 60-day deadline to agree a deal on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, before broader negotiations on the nuclear issue—an allegation that Iran is seeking to build a weapon, which Tehran has consistently denied.
That deadline has now passed. Iran and the US did not reach agreement, and talks broke down, a development Trump linked to the sanctions aimed at weakening Tehran.
Iran says it has been ready for the wider measures. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran was “fully prepared” and that the sanctions would result in “another defeat” for the US. The Iranian economy, however, has faced strain from the conflict and from a blockade of Iranian ports that the US has been maintaining for weeks to restrict trade.
China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, said it opposed what it called US “illegal unilateral sanctions” and warned it would take “all necessary measures” to protect its interests. The US announcement arrives ahead of planned talks between Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping next month. The US may be concerned about possible Chinese retaliation, given Beijing’s role in processing most of the world’s rare earths and other critical minerals used in high-tech manufacturing. China has previously tightened rare earth export controls as part of trade negotiations with the US.
Iran Seeks Control, Oman Discusses Corridor
Iran has said it wants full authority over the Strait of Hormuz, a position rejected by the US and most other countries that say the passage is international waters and that transit should remain unimpeded as before the war.
Until recently, based on the MoU, Iran took part in talks with Oman—an American ally—on a mechanism for administering the strait. Those discussions have not produced an agreement. Trump also threatened last week to bomb Oman “if it gets in the way” of his administration’s own talks with Iran over the issue.
On Tuesday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said he hoped Oman and Iran would soon announce a temporary shipping corridor after meeting Iran’s counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Albusaidi said he expected “practical arrangements” to restore safe navigation, with future management and a permanent solution to follow.
Araghchi confirmed the meeting, saying talks covered “regional solutions” and included representatives from Pakistan and Oman. He said the discussions addressed future management of the strait, plans for a new corridor and a joint mine-clearing operation.
Speaking after the meeting on state television, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabad said the route into the Gulf would be via Iranian waters, with the exit through Omani territorial waters, adding that ships would pass through Iranian waters on both routes. He said the south corridor—recommended by the US to shipping firms and near Oman’s coast—would be “closed”. Gharibabad said the meeting does not mean the strait would reopen immediately, that no military vessels would be allowed, and that only commercial ships could transit.
He described the arrangement as temporary, saying Iran and Oman would negotiate a new permanent route within 60 days to replace the previous maritime traffic plan. If Iran’s requests were not met, he said, the strait would be closed.


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26 August 2026
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Canada Escalates Trade War With $20B US Tariffs

Canada has introduced retaliatory tariffs on roughly $20 billion of American goods, alongside new support for businesses and workers, as Washington and Ottawa move further into a trade dispute between the two countries.

The measures, announced on Tuesday, match the latest U.S. duties on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Canada said the counter-tariffs will apply from September 8 and will cover imports across around 700 product categories.
Tariffs Begin On September 8
Canada’s retaliation comes after the Trump administration imposed new 50% tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian imports, effective from Saturday, following talks between the two countries that ended without agreement.
Canada’s new duties run at three rates, depending on the product. The government said imports subject to the package will face 15%, 25% or 50% tariffs.
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the response would be paired with support aimed at protecting workers, farmers, families and firms. He said Canada would apply counter-tariffs “dollar-for-dollar” and provide a “multi-billion” assistance package in parallel.
The White House and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Scope Of Goods And Sector Impact
Canada said the counter-tariffs were calculated using 2024 trade figures. The affected goods account for nearly 4.5% of Canada’s imports from the United States.
The Canadian measures include a 50% tariff rate on steel, aluminium, furniture and clothing. A 25% rate will apply to cheese, appliances and some seafood, while a 15% rate covers electronics and tools.
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Carney Says U.S. Wants to 'Destroy' Canadian Industries
Industry analysis suggests the U.S. tariffs are narrower in relative terms, affecting about 5% of Canada’s exports to the United States. However, trade analysts said the impact could be concentrated in sectors already under pressure, including wood products such as kitchen cabinet manufacturers.
Canada’s list of retaliatory items also includes prepared foods, perfumes and toiletries, plastics, lumber, wood pulp and paper products, carpets and clothing.
Political Pressure Cited By Ministers
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the Canadian tariffs were designed mainly to protect domestic businesses, but also to increase leverage ahead of U.S. midterm elections on November 3.
Joly said Canadian retailers should ensure competitors do not access the Canadian market “in a better way than” their own products. She added that some of the targeted goods were selected to apply pressure to states in the United States.
C$7.5 Billion Support Package
Alongside the tariffs, Canada unveiled a C$7.5 billion package of measures intended to support small and medium-sized businesses, with funding focused on improving company cash flow and backing workers affected by the new duties.
A federal lender, the Business Development Bank of Canada, will provide part of the assistance, including interest-free loans ranging from C$2.5 million to C$5 million.
Joly said businesses would not be required to repay for 36 months, a period that would extend through to the end of the Trump administration’s term.

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26 August 2026
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Dolly Parton, Country Music Legend, Dies Aged 80

Dolly Parton has died aged 80, with her death confirmed on Tuesday in a video posted on Instagram by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also served as her head of security.

Parton died on Tuesday morning after being admitted last Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ. Her loved ones began travelling to Nashville after her hospitalisation was made known, though some were unable to reach her while she was alive.
Announcement From Family
In the Instagram video, Seaver said the format of the announcement was something Parton had asked him to prepare years earlier. He described her as having “lived in the light” and said she was now “in the arms of Jesus”, alongside her late husband, Carl Dean, as well as her parents and others who had already died.
Family sources said a private service for close friends and relatives would be held in Nashville within the following days.
Six-Decade Career And Signature Hits
Parton, often billed as the “Queen of Country”, built an illustrious recording and performance career spanning six decades. She was especially associated with hits including Jolene and 9 to 5, both of which helped cement her place in mainstream American music.
Her songwriting also reached beyond country audiences. 9 to 5, written and recorded for the film of the same name in 1980, later won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The track also received multiple Grammy Awards, including Country Song of the Year and Female Country Vocal of the Year.


Picture courtesy of The Independant

Another of her best-known songs, I Will Always Love You, was written after Parton split with her former business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner as she moved towards a solo career. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in June 1974 and again in October 1982. It later became a global hit again when Whitney Houston recorded it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard, with the soundtrack album going on to be certified 18 times platinum.
Parton also became known for control of her music rights. She previously said that Elvis Presley was not able to record his own version of I Will Always Love You after a request that she sign over half of the publishing rights, which she refused.
Health Woes And Plans To Continue
Parton’s death followed months of health problems that led her to withdraw from a run of public appearances, prompting concern among fans. In an interview published shortly before her death, she said she still had “so many things” she wanted to achieve and intended to keep working “as long as” she could. She also said she had health issues that she did not focus on while she was looking after Carl.
In September 2025, Parton told fans she would postpone her Las Vegas residency originally scheduled for December until September 2026, saying her doctors had told her she needed several procedures. In October, her sister Freida asked the public to pray for Dolly after she had been unwell, before Parton
posted a video at an Opry-related ad shoot to reassure supporters.


Courtesy of Instagram Mick Jagger
Early Life, Marriage And Tributes
Born on 19 January 1946 in Pittman Center, Tennessee, Parton was the fourth of 12 children raised in the Great Smoky Mountains. She recalled sleeping on straw beds and living without running water, gas or electricity. Her first single, Puppy Love, was released when she was 13, after she had begun appearing on radio and local television.
Parton met Carl Dean at a Nashville laundromat in 1964 and they married in 1966. Dean died in March 2025 after nearly 60 years of marriage.
Tributes followed from fellow musicians and celebrities, including country artists and performers, as well as public figures who wrote about her music and her support for others.


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26 August 2026
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Putin Signs Decree Allowing State Control of Infrastructure

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that would allow the state to take temporary control of critical infrastructure if private owners fail to safeguard it against Ukrainian drone attacks or restore it after strikes.

The decree, announced late on Monday, is aimed at infrastructure deemed essential to national security and economic stability. It covers a range of sectors, including energy and fuel facilities, industrial sites, communications, transport and logistics.
Scope Of The decree
The measure applies where private operators do not meet security requirements linked to drone threats, or where repair work is not carried out following attacks. It is designed to enable government involvement for a limited period while specific security problems are addressed.
Russia has faced months of increasingly intensive Ukrainian strikes targeting sites across the country. Kyiv has used long-range domestically developed drones to hit oil infrastructure and other vital facilities, contributing to fuel shortages and disrupting major commercial centres.
At the same time, Ukraine has been subject to repeated Russian aerial attacks that have damaged homes and struck the power grid ahead of winter preparations, as the war entered its fifth year.
Kremlin Says It Is Not Nationalisation
The Kremlin said the decree does not amount to nationalisation of companies or a change of ownership. Denis Manturov, the deputy prime minister, said the government’s role would be limited to “involvement of the state in the management of an enterprise” to solve specific security issues.
Manturov added that the mechanism would not be used broadly and would involve “targeted, carefully considered decisions” at the highest level.
The Kremlin’s aim has not been fully clarified. However, the sectors listed in the decree extend beyond oil and energy to include industrial, communications and transport-linked assets.
Pressure On Owners And Security Motives
A Russian political analyst, Abbas Gallyamov, said the move could be a tactical way to push owners of repeatedly struck facilities to finance repairs rather than delay investment. He argued that if refineries have already been hit multiple times, owners may hesitate to fund reconstruction they fear could be damaged again.
Gallyamov said the effect for business could be an ultimatum: if companies do not pay for restoration, the state may take control of the assets under the decree.
He also suggested that the Kremlin could be seeking additional pressure on firms to do more on air defence, given the difficulty of protecting large parts of Russia comprehensively.
Latest Strikes And Other Measures
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Tuesday its forces struck facilities connected to the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region overnight, causing a fire. Krasnodar governor Veniamin Kondratyev said a blaze broke out at an oil refinery in the town of Afipsky.
Russia has also sought to cushion the wider economic impact of the conflict. The government has raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep the budget deficit under control, while the decree could potentially generate additional revenue if damaged assets are brought under state management.
Separately, the Finance Ministry proposed on Monday extending deadlines for tax and insurance payments for Wildberries and businesses selling through the platform. The proposal followed Ukrainian strikes on warehouse sites linked to the retailer that hit both the company and thousands of associated sellers.
In May, as deep Ukrainian drone strikes unsettled Moscow, Russian lawmakers approved a bill allowing the Central Bank, state-controlled Sberbank and other financial services to install air-defence systems on their premises to fend off drone attacks.
RBC reported in May, citing anonymous sources within and close to Russia’s Defence Ministry, that a mechanism had been set up for businesses to procure weapons and equipment to protect against Ukrainian drones, a step Russian officials and lawmakers have said companies should be able to take.

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25 August 2026
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Lockerbie Trial Delayed Again Over New Evidence

The trial of a Libyan man accused over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has been postponed for a third time, after new evidence emerged days before jury selection was due to begin in Washington DC.

Jury selection had been scheduled to start on Wednesday, but the court has now set a new start date for January next year, according to the BBC.
New Evidence prompts Further Delay
The postponement follows disclosure of “newly discovered evidence” that was not previously known to the defence or prosecutors, with the information coming to light on Friday 21 August.
Abu Agila Mohammad Kheir Al-Marim denies building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988, killing 270 people.


Abu Agila Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi. Source Facebook

His legal team told the court that constitutional and ethical obligations require the defence to investigate the development. They said they met Al-Marimi on Sunday and he agreed they should seek the adjournment.
The trial judge, Dabney Friedrich, granted the request and set aside the planned start date, highlighting the potential importance of the new material.
What Lawyers And Judge Said
Friedrich’s decision also underlined that an end-of-week postponement would be difficult after months of preparation and extended pre-trial legal proceedings.
For the families of the victims and for Al-Marimi, the latest delay raises the prospect that a verdict could be reached only in the spring.
Al-Marimi has been held in US custody since 2022. He was originally due to stand trial in May 2025, but that date was put aside after a joint request by the prosecution and defence citing the complexity of the case and Al-Marimi’s ill health.
The trial was later pencilled in for April this year, but was called off again after the defence asked for additional time to prepare.
Background To The Lockerbie Case
Pan Am 103 was travelling from Heathrow to New York when a bomb exploded in the aircraft’s forward hold, breaking the plane apart at about 31,000 feet.
All 259 people on board—passengers and crew—died. Another 11 people were killed on the ground in Lockerbie after wreckage fell on homes.
Of the victims, 190 were American and 43 were from the UK. Nearly four decades on, the attack remains the worst terrorist incident and mass murder in British history.
The bombing has been investigated through a joint effort between Scottish and US authorities since December 1988. Prosecutors from the Crown Office and detectives from Police Scotland were due to travel to Washington for the trial, with Scottish witnesses expected to be among the first to give evidence.
Laura Buchan, head of the Lockerbie investigation team at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said the adjournment would be disappointing for families and those who have followed the case, adding that it would not be appropriate to comment on the reasons because the matter remains before the court. She said Scottish prosecutors and police officers remain committed to supporting the pursuit of justice.
Links To The Earlier Scottish Trial
The case has also been tied to proceedings at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands in the early 2000s. Three judges heard the matter there after the Libyan men were brought to face trial in Scotland.
Following eight months of hearings, the court concluded the attack was state-sponsored terrorism carried out by members of the Libyan intelligence service. Abdulbasset Al-Megrahi was convicted of mass murder and jailed for life. He later died from cancer in 2012 after being released on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government.
A second defendant, Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah, was acquitted and returned to Tripoli.
The US government says Al-Marimi admitted involvement when he was questioned in a Libyan detention facility in 2012. The alleged confession was handed to Scottish investigators in 2017 and is central to the prosecution case. Al-Marimi has said the confession is false and was made under duress, but judge Friedrich ruled it can be admitted as evidence.
Ahead of the new scheduled start date, campaigner Kara Weipz, president of the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 group, said she was shocked by the postponement and urged families to stay hopeful that they will be able to see the trial completed.

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25 August 2026
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41 Injured as Tornado Tears Through Southern France

A tornado swept through parts of southwestern France on Monday, injuring 41 people and damaging hundreds of homes, authorities said.

French officials had issued an orange weather warning for storms across the south-west, with outages and disruption to travel reported in multiple areas. In the Aude region, officials cancelled the third stage of the Vuelta a España cycling race after a hailstorm forced riders to take shelter.
Hardest Hit In Pomas
The storm caused the greatest damage in the village of Pomas, which has a population of about 1,000. Local estimates said around 300 homes were damaged, with some roofs torn off.
More than 120 emergency workers were sent to the scene, local authorities said. Of the 41 injured, 15 were taken to hospital.
The injured included a pregnant woman who was hurt after her house collapsed, her husband told AFP.


Wind Speeds Recorded Near Arquettes-en-Val
The national weather service, Meteo-France, said winds reached up to 73 miles per hour in the nearby village of Arquettes-en-Val.
France experiences several dozen tornadoes each year on average, according to previous estimates.
Travel Disrupted Across Southern France
Storms across southern France disrupted transport networks, with trains delayed and roads closed. Airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and even Paris reported delays and cancellations, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said.
Officials said power cuts affected multiple communities. An estimated 2,800 homes were left without electricity across 10 villages.

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25 August 2026
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Trump Admin Prepares Mass Visa Revocation for 200K Foreigners

The Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourism visas for up to 200,000 people who have applied for asylum in the United States or are seeking asylum there, the Associated Press reported.

The measure would target non-immigrant visas held by foreign nationals who entered on short-term visas and later sought asylum to remain in the country, potentially marking the largest mass visa revocation of its kind.
The State Department is expected to announce the action, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to revoke B1 and B2 visas issued since 2016, according to two US officials and department documents seen by the AP.
State Department Plans Rolling Revocations
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the department was working with DHS to identify and revoke visas held by foreigners who “came to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently”.
Pigott declined to give a specific total, adding that the number of revocations would be “dynamic” and carried out on a rolling basis.
Under the approach described by officials, the visa revocations are linked to asylum applications filed after the person received a B1 or B2 visa, covering those seeking asylum while in the US under the business or tourism categories.
Revocations Not Immediate Deportations
The officials told the AP that removing the visas would not lead to immediate deportation. They said pending asylum cases would be recategorised so they would no longer be treated as claims from people admitted as business or tourism travellers.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on social media that “people in the U.S. and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims”. He said asylum was not intended to serve as a “loophole” to bypass immigration rules, describing it as a narrow protection for people facing persecution based on specific grounds.
Landau also said the asylum system has been “swamped” by claims that take years to process, during which time applicants typically are able to work and have families while their cases are adjudicated.
Requirements for Current Visa Applicants
The AP reported that people applying for B1 and B2 visas are being asked to confirm they will not seek asylum in the United States and to show they plan to return to their home countries.
The State Department’s planned action follows earlier steps by the Trump administration to restrict asylum-related pathways since the president returned to the White House last year.
Past Visa Revocations and Asylum Access Changes
Since then, the State Department has revoked about 175,000 visas for people convicted or accused of various crimes, as well as for those who have spoken out against US policies in the Middle East, according to the report.
Last month, the administration also began limiting asylum seekers’ access to interviews that were intended to assess their claims. Instead, officers were directed to route migrants into immigration court proceedings for deportation cases, according to the AP. The report said that process could move people through the court system without an opportunity to present their arguments to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

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25 August 2026
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Soldier’s Wife Deported as Military Families Face Crackdown

The wife of an active-duty Army sergeant and mother of a 6-year-old was deported to Honduras on Monday, according to the sergeant and the Department of Homeland Security.

Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez said his wife, Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, was removed from the United States. He said her deportation has come amid what advocacy groups describe as increased immigration enforcement affecting the spouses and parents of military personnel.
Turcios Juarez confirmed that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Villafranca outside a Walmart in July while their daughter was watching. He said Villafranca left Honduras in 2016 because of violent crime there.
After attending high school in the United States, Turcios Juarez joined the Army and became a US citizen in 2024 following a nine-month deployment to the Middle East. He said he had begun pursuing citizenship for his wife, hoping his service would help speed up her naturalisation process.
A DHS spokesperson said the department had removed Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo in line with US law. In a statement, DHS said ICE conducted a targeted operation on July 11 to arrest her, adding that she illegally entered the country in 2016 and had been released under the Obama administration.
Turcios Juarez Says Wife Was Targeted In July
Turcios Juarez said his wife had been “supportive” throughout his military service, including during his deployment, and he argued she was not a threat. He said the family’s focus was keeping them together.
He and other military families described fears that enforcement actions are reaching into households where one parent serves in uniform.
An Associated Press investigation reported that President Donald Trump’s second-term deportation campaign has swept up more than 50 parents and spouses of service members, with at least six deported.
Other Cases Involve Detention Of Spouses
Danitza James, chief executive of Repatriate Our Patriots, which works with Families United to help service members reunite with relatives, said the group also relies on contacting Congress for assistance. She said it is working with eight active-duty service members and one veteran whose family members were detained as of 20 August.
ABC News spoke with families involved in two cases. In one, Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, stationed at Fort Polk in Louisiana, said his wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, was taken into custody in front of him during an appointment to be interviewed for a green card.
Jaramillo said Lopes Eliaser arrived in the US from São Paulo, Brazil, in 2019 on a tourist visa and overstayed while he worked to pursue her legal status. He said she spent two days in Pickens County Jail in Georgia before being transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, where she slept in a large room with around 80 people for about six weeks.


Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo's wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser was taken into custody in front of Jaramillo, who was dressed in uniform. Picture courtesy of ABCnews

He said that on 13 July, ICE put her on a bus to Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana and flew her to Bogotá, Colombia, before her final trip to Brazil. He said she used someone else’s phone to call him during a layover. Jaramillo said he was in contact with Sen. Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran, before and during the case.
Kelly’s office told ABC News that its team established communications with the ICE field office and provided updates to Jaramillo. ABC News reported that DHS did not respond to a request for comment on Lopes Eliaser’s case at the time.
Policy And Citizenship Pathway Under Scrutiny
The reported cases test an approach long described as protecting military families within the immigration system. The National Military Family Association says undocumented parents and spouses of service members have generally been shielded from deportation under policies adopted by both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Military recruiters have also promoted service as a route to citizenship, and lawmakers have created pathways for troops and certain relatives. Green card holders may join the US military, and troops can apply for naturalisation after one year of honourable service.
A DHS spokesperson said in response to another recent ICE arrest that having a family member in the military is not an automatic exemption from immigration enforcement, adding that military service by an immediate relative does not grant parole, lawful status or immunity.
Racial and ethnic minorities make up a growing share of the force. In the Army, Hispanic recruits rose from about 19% of new enlistments in 2020 to nearly 27% last year, based on internal data reviewed by ABC News. Department of Homeland Security figures cited by ABC News show naturalisations connected to military service more than tripled from about 4,500 in 2020 to 16,000 in 2024.
Congress Seeks Explanations
Congressional Democrats have raised questions about whether the Pentagon and DHS are coordinating enforcement affecting service members and their families. In a letter sent on 9 August to DHS, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, they said they would investigate whether such coordination is occurring.
James said that addressing the issue requires legislative or policy change rather than individual case interventions.

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25 August 2026
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Reform UK Proposes British-Born Priority For Social Homes

Reform UK has said it would prioritise British-born people under 35 when allocating social housing if it entered government, alongside other groups including former members of the armed forces and married couples with children.

The party set out plans alongside leader Deputy Leader Richard Tice, who also outlined a proposal to build 50,000 affordable social homes per year. Reform said the plan could be delivered without new taxes or extra borrowing.
Allocation Rules For Social Housing
Reform’s policy would change the rules that determine who receives a social home in England. It said at least half of all social homes would be reserved for British-born applicants aged under 35.
Under the wider priority list, it said preference would also be given to married couples, veterans, victims of domestic violence and care leavers.
Tice argued the approach should move away from allocations based on need alone towards “suitability”, with British families, workers and veterans placed at the front of the queue.
Reform also claimed that overseas nationals currently occupy a large share of social housing. It said there were 540,000 social homes occupied by foreign nationals, and pointed to the English Housing Survey figure that 88.5% of main householders in 2024/25 were UK or Irish nationals, meaning about 11.5% were non-UK or Irish nationals.
Plans To Build 50,000 Homes A Year
At a news conference, Tice said Reform aimed to deliver 50,000 affordable social homes each year. He said this would require investment of £10bn a year.
Reform said it would raise money by reintroducing the Right to Buy scheme from the 1980s, allowing tenants to purchase council homes at a discount. The party said proceeds would be reinvested into building new affordable homes.
Tice said a third of the funding would come from housing authorities, while the final third would be raised via local government pension schemes. He added that reinvestment from Right to Buy sales would cover part of the overall investment needed for the ten-year programme.
Criticism From Labour, Tories And Others
Labour criticised the proposals as “unworkable and unserious”, arguing they could leave British citizens without a place to live. A Labour spokesperson also said the plan would create a £10bn blackhole in public finances and would involve years of dispute with the European Union.
The Conservatives said Reform was trying to “catch up” with its own approach. The Tories have also said they would revoke the right of foreign nationals to social housing, while their plan would allow Irish citizens and some EU nationals to remain. They said this would free up around 230,000 homes.
Sir James Cleverly, the Conservatives’ shadow housing secretary, said the party already had plans to ensure British nationals were prioritised, and argued that Reform’s policy was a delayed version of similar proposals.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson Gideon Amos said Reform’s plan was a “cruel gimmick”.
Green MP Siân Berry said the party would instead end Right to Buy, build and buy hundreds of thousands of new council homes, and introduce rent controls. She described Reform’s proposals as racist and said they would create a two-tier system in which people born in the UK are treated differently from others.

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25 August 2026
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UK Drone Factories Face Attack Threat, Kremlin Adviser Says

A Kremlin adviser has said UK drone factories producing equipment for Ukraine could face attacks by “unknown sources”, linking the risk to the UK’s decision to share missile component blueprints with Kyiv.

Andrei Fedorov, a former deputy foreign minister, said Russia was under “serious” pressure to take “certain measures” following the sharing of technical information relating to British cruise missile parts. He made the comments on BBC Newsnight and said the pressure was coming from “public opinion polls”, journalists and wider media coverage.
Kremlin Adviser Links action to Missile Blueprint Sharing
Fedorov said any response could be “semi-military” in nature, adding that the attacks on sites involved in drone production might not be carried out by Russia itself. Asked what such an action could involve, he replied: “It could take the form of something might happen with enterprises, with factories which are producing drones for Ukraine.”
He added that those factories “could be attacked not by Russia, but by from unknown sources”.
The remarks came as the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticised the UK’s plan to provide technical blueprints connected to a French version of the Storm Shadow cruise missile. Peskov said the decision blocked even “the slightest progress” towards peace talks.
He also said Russia’s military was already gathering information to locate any missile production sites and destroy them.
The UK has agreed to hand over blueprints for British-made components for the Scalp missile, a version used by France that is based on the UK’s Storm Shadow. According to the UK’s agreement, the blueprints would allow Ukraine to manufacture the long-range weapon components domestically.
Burnham to press Trump on Ukraine Defence Needs
Responding to the comments, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”
Burnham said he plans to travel to the United States next month with European leaders to lobby US President Donald Trump on Ukraine’s defence requirements. He told reporters the trip was expected to go ahead, though he said the details were not “fully confirmed”. It would be his first visit to the US since taking office in July.
Burnham’s announcement followed his official visit to Ukraine on Monday, during which he met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and chaired the first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, established by the UK and France under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.
Patriots supply concerns and wider air-defence push
Burnham has reiterated UK support for Ukraine after escalating Russian strikes in recent weeks, including an attack on a shopping centre last week that killed at least 16 people.
Ukraine has relied heavily on American supplies of Patriot interceptor missiles to defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks. Officials say stockpiles are running low, with the availability affected by the war in Iran, leaving Ukraine more exposed to Russian strikes.
Zelensky has said he is hoping to secure 300 Patriot missiles ahead of winter, when Russia is expected to step up attacks on energy infrastructure, as it has done in previous years.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Burnham said he felt the situation was “really confident” of being “fixable”. He said, however, that the solution would not depend solely on the United States, arguing that other countries could contribute if coordinated through negotiations.
He referred to Trump’s July reversal after the US had been considering allowing Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles. In that earlier period, Trump had later said there had been no agreement for Ukraine to manufacture the system and that it would be a difficult decision because of the technology involved.
After a meeting in Ukraine, Burnham and co-chairs French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said their group aims to strengthen Kyiv’s air defences as an “urgent priority”. They also condemned Moscow’s “systemic and escalating strikes” against Ukraine’s cities, critical infrastructure and civilians, and pledged to “constrain Russia’s war chest” through sanctions and actions targeting the “shadow fleet”.
Ahead of his trip, Burnham said on Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence that the UK would stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. He also said the country’s friendship with Ukraine would “long outlast Russia’s illegal war” and that the UK would not back down until there is a “just and lasting peace”.

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25 August 2026
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Supreme Court Allows Trump Mail-Vote Curbs To Start

The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that President Donald Trump may begin carrying out parts of an executive order aimed at tightening rules for voting by mail. The court said further legal challenges could still delay or block the measures before the November midterm election.

In a 10-page decision issued without a signed opinion, the court framed its ruling as narrow. But it also kept alive the possibility that the administration will ultimately pursue the full set of policies set out in the order signed in March, which would give the US Postal Service and the Department of Homeland Security expanded roles in election administration.
Limited Decision, Ongoing Court Battles
The court’s ruling means the Trump administration can move ahead with an element of the order that states had challenged in court. Those challenges will now continue on a faster or different timetable, depending on how lower courts respond to the next steps in the litigation.
The court left open that additional aspects of the executive order could still face obstacles, particularly after legal hurdles already identified in prior cases. It cautioned that if the Postal Service’s final rule harms states, they may seek further judicial review.
DHS Eligibility Lists And USPS Envelope Tracking
One part of the March order directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile, state by state, lists of voters the department believes are eligible to vote in jurisdictions led by Democrats that brought the lawsuit. The Supreme Court said the administration could proceed with that proposal for the time being.
Another part of the executive order instructs the Postal Service to require states that want to send ballots through the mail to provide their own lists of eligible voters to the agency. The order also calls for ballot envelope markings that allow votes to be tracked.
The Supreme Court allowed the Postal Service to implement that aspect of the plan, even though a lower court had blocked it nationwide in a separate case. As a result, additional proceedings are likely, with the prospect of more urgent appeals aimed at reaching the Supreme Court quickly.
Election Cases Draw Sharp Dissent
Monday’s decision drew opposition from the Supreme Court’s three liberal justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, argued that the dispute was about whether the executive branch could legally interfere with states’ management of the November 2026 elections, while the majority focused only on timing.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote separately and used stronger language to criticise what she described as the ruling’s effect on the midterm election process. In her dissent, she warned that the court’s approach injects “Kafkaesque nightmare” conditions into election litigation, describing what she said was inconsistency in how the court treats challenges arriving too early or too late.
This year’s election-related disputes at the Supreme Court have intensified, including a separate late-April ruling in which the court’s conservative majority gutted the Voting Rights Act in a decision on Louisiana’s congressional districts. Liberal justices dissented in that case as well.
March Order, State Challenges, And Next Steps
The March executive order requires states to submit eligible voter lists to the Postal Service, and says the Postal Service would not deliver ballots mailed to people not on those lists. It also directs states to include tracking barcodes on ballot envelopes.
The order further directs the federal government to prioritise prosecution of state election officials who send or receive ballots for non-citizens or others ineligible to vote, and it tells DHS to create separate eligibility lists of what it describes as US citizen voters in each state.
The administration has argued in court filings that a state’s failure to use those DHS lists would not, by itself, be a crime, while adding that it could be used as “relevant evidence” in related prosecutions.
Federal courts in Boston blocked the order’s implementation in 23 Democratic-led states that challenged it, but an appeals court in Washington, DC allowed the plan to proceed. The administration filed its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court on 27 July.
Alongside that case, a separate lawsuit brought by non-partisan voter advocacy groups is before the Boston court. Judge Indira Talwani, nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction there that blocks the Postal Service directives nationwide.
The Justice Department told the Supreme Court it should decide the Democratic-led states’ case in a way that would also resolve the separate advocacy groups’ lawsuit. The Supreme Court’s Monday order provided limited guidance on that request.
The government had also argued the challenge was not yet ripe because the Postal Service had not completed its final regulations and DHS was still deciding whether it could compile the relevant citizenship-based data. That argument weakened after the Postal Service issued a 95-page rule on Friday, describing how it would require tracking bar codes and participation in a postal eligibility portal using state-provided data.
In some states, deadlines for beginning to transmit mail ballots are weeks away.

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25 August 2026
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Burnham Accuses Russia of ‘Outrageous Threats’ in Kyiv

Andy Burnham accused Russia of making “outrageous threats” against the UK during his first overseas visit as prime minister, as he appeared in Kyiv to mark Ukraine’s 35th Independence Day. Speaking in front of St Sophia cathedral, Burnham said Ukraine’s struggle echoed Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany, and he vowed continued UK support despite what he described as Russian intimidation.

Kyiv was also braced for further Russian missile strikes on Monday, as Independence Day events took place with other European leaders in attendance alongside Burnham. Details of the commemorations were not published amid fears of an attack.
Declassified Missile Components And New Data Deal
Burnham said Britain would give Ukraine newly declassified information covering British-manufactured components used in long-range cruise missiles, including Storm Shadow/Scalp systems. He said the information would help Kyiv improve its ability to make its own version, although he indicated this could take years.
As part of the trip, Burnham was also due to sign a deal to share Ukrainian battlefield data with the UK’s Ministry of Defence and selected private companies, to support training of artificial intelligence models.
Russia’s response was immediate. Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the exchange would “fuel the fire” and undermine any effort towards a peace arrangement.
Coalition Call For Patriot Missiles
While in Kyiv, Burnham joined a conference call with 34 leaders from the “coalition of the willing”, countries that have promised support if there is a truce with Russia. He urged other states to help Kyiv secure more US-made Patriot air-defence missiles, describing the group’s work as focused on drawing on national stocks and coordinating with allies outside the coalition to expand supply.
Burnham also sought to deflect suggestions that he was raising tensions through his language. He said the declassification of the missile blueprints continued long-standing UK policy of backing Ukraine, and argued that Britain’s approach would not change with a new prime minister. He said standing firmly was in Britain’s interests.
Russia’s Warnings, Diplomatic Fallout, And Wider Context
Moscow said it would identify and destroy missile production sites tied to the new capabilities. Peskov told reporters that Britain was supporting the “Kyiv regime” and accused London of adding to the pressure rather than helping the prospects for a settlement.
The trip came against a wider backdrop of reported military and political strain in Ukraine. Kyiv has said Russia is building up ballistic missiles and is considering mobilising an additional 300,000 soldiers, with the weapons used to hit infrastructure and warehouses and to attack the capital.
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Burnham did not press countries including Spain and Greece to hand over their own Patriot stockpiles directly, saying the UK did not have systems that would allow it to transfer equipment in that way, while noting other nations face different threats.
The visit also included additional European coordination: Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz were set to attend the coalition meeting by video link. Burnham travelled to Kyiv with António Costa, president of the European Council, and Luc Frieden, prime minister of Luxembourg.
In the diplomatic sphere, Russia said it had withdrawn its ambassador to Britain, Andrey Kelin, with no replacement yet named, while the UK said its ambassador in Moscow would remain in post.
Ukraine’s leadership also faces internal debate. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is dealing with what officials described as his biggest domestic challenge since the war began, after his former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for elections. Zelenskyy has said any poll risks splitting the country and would be “a tsunami for the state”.

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25 August 2026
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Zelensky Warns Wartime Elections Could Destroy Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that holding elections while Russia’s war against the country is ongoing would “destroy” Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters, he argued that elections during fighting would split the state. “If we want to destroy the country, then we can move towards elections during this kind of war”, Zelensky said, adding that a vote at this time would act as a “tsunami” for state institutions.
Strategy Focused On Ending The War
Zelensky said his approach is to steer Ukraine towards an end to the war and to safeguard an independent, sovereign state. He also said elections carry major risks and should not be held while the conflict continues.
Law Bars Votes During Wartime
Ukrainian law forbids the country from holding elections during wartime. In polling released earlier this month by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 57% of Ukrainians said they want elections after the war ends.
Fedorov Calls For a Wartime Poll
Zelensky’s remarks followed calls from his ousted former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who urged Ukraine to hold a wartime vote in an address last week, NBC News reported. Zelensky said he believed some of Fedorov’s actions were misguided.
“I really had and still have a very positive attitude toward Mykhailo,” Zelensky told reporters. He said Fedorov, or people around him, were “pushed into the wrong things”.
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Ukraine Ex-Defence Minister Calls For Wartime Elections
Zelensky also appeared to link Fedorov to a meeting involving Starlink and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk. He said Fedorov told him that SpaceX had agreed to let Ukraine use Starlink on Russian territory. Zelensky said he raised the matter with President Donald Trump and later told reporters that Musk rejected the plan, accusing Zelensky of misleading Trump. Zelensky said the episode was among the factors behind “some of the steps” that led to Fedorov leaving his post.
Fedorov has increasingly positioned himself as a rival to Zelensky. Politico reported that on Tuesday he told Ukrainians they could not “endlessly” live in a state where they do not understand why decisions are made.
Debate Over Corruption and Democracy
In a Sunday interview with the BBC, Fedorov said Zelensky has “questions to answer” about corruption within the government. He also argued that Ukrainian elections should not be “the hostage of” Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying: “If I cannot share my ideas and be open about them with my own society, then what are we fighting for?”
Zelensky was first elected in 2019 after defeating incumbent President Petro Poroshenko in a landslide victory. Before entering politics, he was a comedian and television personality.
He previously said Ukraine was ready for elections after Trump made similar comments. In December, after a phone call with Trump, Zelensky told US reporters: “I am ready for elections... I personally have the will and readiness to do this.”

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25 August 2026
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US Treasury Imposes Sweeping Sanctions on Iran

The United States has announced a new round of sanctions targeting Iran’s financial links, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warning it amounted to “the single greatest financial offensive ever”.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Monday, Bessent said the measures, described as “Operation Economic Outcast”, were designed to cut off Iran’s ability to trade and finance activities linked to the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Treasury said the US would sever all economic ties with Iran, and warned that any country seeking to partner financially with Iran would face isolation. Bessent framed the step as a choice for Tehran between “complete global isolation” or “a path back to normalcy” through rejoining the global economy.
New Sanctions Package
Bessent said the Treasury Department had mapped networks, facilitators and financial channels used by Iran to evade US sanctions tied to trading oil.
The announcement includes determinations against five sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. The Treasury also imposed sanctions on almost 60 entities, individuals and vessels.
Bessent said the action would “tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue” for the IRGC and the wider Iranian regime. He also warned governments and organisations that assist or trade with Iran that they could not “claim they are blind to enabling this activity”.
He declined to name specific countries, but said President Donald Trump would contact world leaders with requests to stop interactions with the Iranian regime. Bessent said the US would allow time for governments and businesses to understand the new sanctions, but added that changes would “move very quickly”.
Oil Flows And Hormuz Warning
The latest US threat comes after shifting deadlines and reversals from the White House in efforts to end the conflict.
As fighting has continued, global oil prices have risen. In response to the most recent warning, Iran said it would shut down all oil exports from the region if the war continued. The Iranian regime also warned shipping not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without its permission, according to Reuters.
About one fifth of the world’s oil and gas typically moves through the strait, a narrow waterway south of Iran. The flow has been effectively blocked since the conflict began at the end of February, contributing to higher oil prices worldwide.
Impact And Previous US Moves
David Oxley, chief climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, said the sanctions package would likely have limited immediate effect on Iran’s energy revenues. He pointed to a renewed US naval blockade already restricting Iran’s oil exports, calling the impact of what he termed “economic D-Day” a “damp squib”.
Oxley said about 90% of Iran’s oil goes to China, adding that China has not recognised US sanctions in the past and was unlikely to change course quickly.
Previous US warnings during the conflict have included remarks by Trump in April, when he said “a whole civilisation will die tonight” unless Iran agreed a deal to end the war and unblock the Strait of Hormuz. The US later backed away from that position after mediator Pakistan intervened and called for further diplomacy.
The economic fallout is also being felt in the US and abroad. Higher oil prices have added to concerns about the cost of living, with petrol and diesel prices higher than a year ago. In the US, gasoline prices have passed $4 a gallon, according to the report, and affordability is a major issue for voters ahead of November’s mid-term elections. On Monday, Brent crude was $92 a barrel.
Last week, Bessent also said the US government would intervene in bond markets by buying back more government debt to boost demand and lower borrowing rates, but officials said long-term borrowing costs rose again the day after.
Iran’s economy is already subject to tough US sanctions. In 2015, Barack Obama and several allies agreed a deal with Iran that lifted many sanctions in return for limits on Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018 and reinstated sanctions, calling the deal “defective at its core”. During Joe Biden’s presidency, attempts to revive the arrangement did not succeed.
In April, the Trump administration imposed further sanctions on foreign banks and firms doing business with Tehran after it became clear that military operations had not led the Iranian regime to back down.

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25 August 2026
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British Man Killed Fighting for Russia in Ukraine

A British national has been killed in Ukraine while fighting for Russia, according to reports. Bradley Townsend, 33, died after an attack by a remote-controlled FPV drone in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, with his death on 10 June described as possibly the first fatality of a British citizen fighting for Russia in the conflict.

Townsend left his home in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, earlier this year after telling his family he was going to Romania, the Yorkshire Post reported.
Foreign Office Says It Is In Contact With Family
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said it was aware of reports that a British national had died in Ukraine and that it was in contact with his family.
The confirmation came as Andy Burnham arrived in Kyiv for his first foreign trip as UK prime minister.
The visit coincides with the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union.
The FCDO said it advised against all travel to Russia, adding that its ability to provide consular support in these circumstances is severely limited.
Recruitment Video Linked To Russian Account
Details of Townsend’s background and his decision to fight for Russia emerged through a video shared online on 4 April. The clip, uploaded to a Russian recruitment account, showed Townsend alongside Ben Stimson and Aiden Minnis.
Townsend described himself in the video as “a normal working-class lad from Yorkshire”. Filmed by Stimson, with Minnis interviewing him, Townsend discussed leaving the UK to fight in the war.
In the video, he said he believed he probably would not be able to go home and that he expected to face persecution if he returned. He also said he was not on a “suicide mission”, while acknowledging that such outcomes could happen.
The video reflected a wider pattern of foreign involvement on both sides of the war. Stimson, from Oldham, and Minnis, from Wiltshire, are believed to have been the first British nationals to fight for Russian President Vladimir Putin after his full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Both men were reported to have been granted Russian citizenship for fighting in the occupied Donbas region.
Stimson had previously been jailed in the UK in 2015 for joining pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
UK Warnings On Fighting In Ukraine
Townsend’s death was announced by Minnis in a social media post, using Townsend’s call sign, Badger.
The FCDO said its travel advice for Ukraine warns that travelling there to fight or to assist people engaged in the war may amount to offences under UK legislation. It added that a person could be prosecuted on their return to the UK.
It noted that British fatalities during the conflict have previously involved people fighting for Ukraine following Russia’s attacks since 2022.
Townsend is thought to be the second man from Yorkshire to die during the war. The first was 18-year-old James Wilton, from Huddersfield, who was killed in 2024 after volunteering to fight for Ukraine.
The government has also agreed to hand over blueprints for British-made components for the Scalp missile, the French version of the Storm Shadow cruise missile. The move is intended to allow Ukraine to produce the weapon domestically.

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25 August 2026
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Carney Says U.S. Wants to 'Destroy' Canadian Industries

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada is still working on options to retaliate against US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on Canadian goods, while adding that he is prepared to continue trade talks if Washington changes its stance.

Speaking at a news conference in Quebec on Monday, Carney said he was continuing discussions with US negotiators. He added that there is a mutually beneficial deal possible, but only on terms Canada considers fair.
US Plans more Auto Tariffs From January
The discussions with U.S. negotiators revealed that Trump wants to destroy Canada’s major industries — steel, aluminum and autos — with unfair terms, Carney said.
Carney told reporters that the government is aiming for a settlement that respects Canada’s sovereignty and independence and uses the countries’ complementary strengths rather than breaking up industries for short-term gain.
His remarks came hours after Trump said he would raise tariffs on Canadian-made autos to 50 per cent from 1 January. Trump also said auto parts would face tariffs, reversing the current approach.
At present, the 25 per cent tariff applies only to non-US content within finished vehicles, while auto parts crossing the border remain tariff-free.
The warning came after the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of Canadian exports from Saturday morning. The measures cover products including furniture, plastics, plywood and electrical equipment.
The two sides had held talks aimed at preventing the new levies, but negotiations ended on Friday, with each side blaming the other for the breakdown.
Canada’s Counter-Tariffs and Possible Targets
Carney said his government has pledged to respond with counter-tariffs by 8 September, covering American steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, electronics and pulp and paper. He said officials are still preparing the detailed list of goods.
He also said the government will provide support for industries affected by the new US duties.
Carney argued that the negotiation approach was unacceptable, saying Canada would not accept terms that treat Canadian industry as subordinate to the US or that create ongoing disadvantages compared with US producers.
While Canada is considering retaliation, Carney said he preferred to try “positive” steps first, including building new coast guard vessels using Canadian steel, which he announced with Quebec’s premier.
He said the government is examining a range of options and did not rule out measures involving critical minerals, energy or other exports to the US.
“The strategic and symbolic scope of reprisals are very important,” Carney said, adding that Canada would seek action “where there’s sensitivity”. He acknowledged that matching the US dollar-for-dollar would be difficult given the size of the American economy, suggesting Canada’s response may need to be more targeted.
Negotiations, Social Media Pressure and Sector Fallout
Carney previously said talks collapsed for several reasons. Negotiators discussed reducing US auto tariffs to 15 per cent, but the US would not extend the relief to medium- to heavy-duty trucks, including vehicles produced at Ford Motor Co.’s plant in suburban Toronto.
He also said the US pushed to limit Canada’s ability to strike trade deals with other countries and made demands relating to cultural and French-language issues that Canada rejected.
While Carney was speaking, Trump again posted on social media, referring to Carney as “governor” and criticising Ontario Premier Doug Ford, warning of consequences for Canada.
The US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said Canada made late demands that overturned the draft agreement. Greer said the proposal would have cut tariffs on autos, steel, aluminium and lumber and set cooperation on export controls, digital trade and joint tariffs. It would also have started formal talks to renew the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which Trump negotiated in his first term but declined to renew this year.
Parts of Canada’s economy have already been hit by losses and layoffs linked to earlier sectoral tariffs, including Ontario auto plants and steel mills. Some smaller manufacturers had been protected earlier because US exemptions applied to goods shipped under CUSMA, but the new 50 per cent levies—ordered under a rarely used 1930 Tariff Act provision—do not follow that framework.
Carney said that if Trump follows through with 50 per cent auto tariffs, the move would disrupt supply chains that have connected the two countries’ auto sectors for decades.

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25 August 2026
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