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Trump’s crypto windfall showcases his ability to turn loyalty into power
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Trump’s crypto windfall showcases his ability to turn loyalty into power

Like many people outside the United States, I admire much of what it represents: open debate, strong institutions, energetic politics and the belief that public power should be restrained by rules. That is why watching the US today is so extraordinary. Consider US President Donald Trump’s meme coin. Nearly a million accounts that bought the $TRUMP coin have lost money, according to a report in The New York Times based on analysis of blockchain transactions. Their collective losses have been...

Taylor Swift paid US$160,000 police bill for her wedding, New York mayor says
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Taylor Swift paid US$160,000 police bill for her wedding, New York mayor says

Critics of the billionaire pop star had questioned if taxpayers were on the hook for security costs at her weekend extravaganza Taylor Swift shelled out six figures to cover the cost of NYPD officers and other city resources required to protect her massive Madison Square Garden wedding to Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce earlier this month, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani revealed. The Grammy winner “has paid already the cost of the permit that was lodged, which was over US$160,000 for that event and for the response to that event”, Mamdani said during a Friday press conference, after a reporter asked him whether Swift would compensate New York for the police overtime. “That was a permit that was finalised, I think, in just the days before the event itself,” he added. Mamdani’s comments came one week after the singer’s wedding day on July 3, which required an increased police presence and the closure of several streets in the Midtown area while the couple exchanged vows inside the Garden. Their rehearsal dinner, which seemingly occurred the night prior, saw a similar law enforcement presence as well as roadblocks, meant to protect the privacy of Swift, Kelce and their around 1,000 guests.

Assassinations unleashed under Trump haunt Iran war endgame
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Assassinations unleashed under Trump haunt Iran war endgame

The killing of Iran’s leader and top general and the capture of Venezuela’s president mark a new paradigm in international relations Shortly before US President Donald Trump ended a ceasefire with Iran this week, Israeli officials presented his team with intelligence indicating Tehran was hatching new plots to kill him. It was not the first such warning. US law enforcement and intelligence agencies have tracked evidence for years of Iranian efforts to target the president, with signals only increasing since the start of the war. Their desire to target Trump and his top aides began six years ago, just outside Baghdad International Airport, when the president ordered a drone strike that killed Iran’s most powerful general. The assassination of Qassem Soleimani brought the two countries to the brink of war. Yet even as full-scale war was averted, top Iranian officials vowed revenge for the strike, authorising attempts on the lives not just of the president, but of his secretary of state and national security adviser, among others, even after they had left office.

Runner gored in the face at Spain’s San Fermin bull run festival
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Runner gored in the face at Spain’s San Fermin bull run festival

12 others needed medical treatment for an assortment of knocks, after the huge animals charged through crowds of thrill-seekers A runner was gored in the face and many more were fortunate to not be seriously injured during a chaotic bull run at Spain’s San Fermin festival on Saturday. The six bulls and accompanying steers charged through crowds of thrill-seekers who packed the narrow street course in Pamplona. The huge animals knocked down bodies to the cobblestones, and stumbling runners caused several pile-ups during the two-and-a-half-minute run from the pen to the bull ring where bullfighters will kill the bulls later in the day. One runner was pierced by a horn in the face, while 12 more people needed medical treatment for an assortment of knocks, according to the University of Navarra Hospital. A black bull broke away from the pack early in the 875-metre (957-yard) run and ploughed into a group of people, smacking one full in the side of the face with a horn.

US Democrat Ro Khanna ‘detained’ by Israeli settlers during West Bank visit
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US Democrat Ro Khanna ‘detained’ by Israeli settlers during West Bank visit

US progressive lawmaker Ro Khanna said ⁠he was detained by Israeli settlers this week as he sought out an ‘unfiltered’ look at the Israeli occupation US Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna said ⁠he was detained by Israeli settlers armed with US-made rifles during a West Bank visit this week that he cast as an unfiltered look at the human toll of Israeli occupation as he weighs a 2028 presidential run. Speaking with reporters on Thursday in a Palestinian village, Khanna said his group’s van was surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles a day earlier while touring a part of the southern West Bank where residents face frequent settler attacks. “We were at a village that ‌Israeli settlers had destroyed, they had destroyed the school, they had destroyed that village, and we were just looking at it,” said Khanna, a progressive lawmaker from California in the US House of Representatives. “And these hoodlums come in with machine guns – M4, an American-made machine gun – and they detain us. They block off the road. And then they call the IDF and the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans,” Khanna said, referring to the Israeli military.

Formal China-US G2 framework key to ‘guarantee’ world peace: top Beijing adviser
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Formal China-US G2 framework key to ‘guarantee’ world peace: top Beijing adviser

Noted political scientist Zheng Yongnian argues that de facto ‘Group of Two’ structure has already emerged between the rival powers Zheng Yongnian, a noted Chinese political scientist, said the world was faced with four intertwined challenges – geopolitical conflicts, increasingly “religionised” societies, imbalances in the global economy and the fading of the UN-centred governance system. He characterised this collective breakdown as a “crisis of modernity”. A pressing question was how to move beyond the US’ or European Union’s bilateral trade disputes with Beijing, to rebalance the global economy by having all three sides work together, Zheng told the Baichuan Forum in Shenzhen, southern China, on Saturday. Zheng, dean of the school of public policy at Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, argued that China and the United States might each adopt an “open-source” approach to international development, applying their strategies to regions where they held a distinct comparative advantage.

Student of the Year Awards: past winners gather to celebrate decades of excellence
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Student of the Year Awards: past winners gather to celebrate decades of excellence

‘Every time I see the other winners of the Student of the Year Awards, I am surprised to see they have improved every time,’ 1985 winner Dr Chan Mui-tong says Generations of alumni returned to the stage on Saturday to mark the 45th anniversary of the Student of the Year Awards, celebrating a decades-long history of recognising high-achieving Hong Kong pupils who have gone on to become distinguished professionals, from medical experts and acclaimed musicians to Olympic athletes. Among the returning alumni was Dr Chan Mui-tong, a general surgeon in Hong Kong, who received the grand prize in 1985 while studying at Ying Wa College. He noted that the awards did not originally have as many categories to recognise diverse talents. “Every time I see the other winners of the Student of the Year Awards, I am surprised to see they have improved every time. They perform much better than me, and better than the years before them,” the 59-year-old said. “Seeing them, I feel there is a lot of hope in the younger generation in Hong Kong.” This year’s theme was “Leadership in Action: Shaping the Possible”. The awards also set a record, attracting more than 900 nominations from 181 schools.

Vietnam tourist speedboat capsizes, killing 15 Indian tourists
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Vietnam tourist speedboat capsizes, killing 15 Indian tourists

The speedboat carried 32 Indian tourists and four crew members when it overturned about 400 metres from Hon May Rut Ngoai Island in southern Vietnam A boat returning from an island trip in southern Vietnam capsized on Saturday, killing 15 Indian tourists less than half a kilometre (0.30 mile) from shore, as passengers shouted for help, officials and a witness said. The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists and four crew members when it overturned on Saturday afternoon shortly after leaving Hon May Rut Ngoai Island, which is near Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, authorities were quoted as saying. “The boat had not even gone half a kilometre when it just tipped over,” Ashish Kumar, an Indian who witnessed the accident, said over the phone. “We screamed, ‘Help! Help!’” He said nearby boats immediately rushed to the rescue. “But by then it was too late,” he said. Kumar said that there was no emergency medical care available at the shore when survivors were brought back. He said that at least some of the passengers were on a company tour organised by their employer, which makes smartphones and other electronics. Three of his friends were on the boat. “Two have died, and the other, I was told, is critical,” he said.

‘Observatoly’ street sign error prompts Highways Department to review checks
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‘Observatoly’ street sign error prompts Highways Department to review checks

Department says contractor had made marker based on ‘old, scratched’ street sign and vows to improve verification steps Hong Kong authorities have said that a street sign mistakenly spelled as “Observatoly” was due to a contractor relying on an “old, scratched” marker to make the new one, a slip-up that has amused residents online. Images shared by residents on social media showed the street sign for Observatory Road in Tsim Sha Tsui erroneously written as “Observatoly”, prompting online comments poking fun at the mistake. “It will become ‘Lavatory Road’,” one user wrote with a pair of chuckling emojis. When the South China Morning Post visited the area on Saturday, the sign had already been removed by authorities. When approached for comment, the Highways Department said that immediately upon receiving notice of the spelling mistake, it had instructed the contractor to remove the sign, which had been erected in June, “to avoid confusion”.

What happened before Chinese semiconductor scientist Wang Danhao took his life in the US?
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What happened before Chinese semiconductor scientist Wang Danhao took his life in the US?

Promising researcher’s family and friends still await police report, which could provide critical details about events leading to his death The remains of the 31-year-old University of Michigan (UMich) semiconductor scientist – remembered by colleagues as a gifted, hard-working researcher with a bright future – are now with his mother, his only immediate family member, who raised him as a single parent, according to a source familiar with the matter. Both Wang’s mother and fiancée, whom he had planned to marry this summer in China, suffered severe emotional distress following his death, said the source, a legal professional based in Michigan who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the case. Wang had secured a faculty position at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, his alma mater, and was planning to wrap up his research in the United States before flying back to China in May, the source said. Since 2022, Wang had worked in Zetian Mi’s lab at UMich as a postdoctoral researcher to develop advanced semiconductor materials that could enable more efficient electronics and next-generation light-based technologies. His work was featured on the university’s website in 2024 and 2025.

Trump subpoenas journalists over Qatari Air Force One reporting
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Trump subpoenas journalists over Qatari Air Force One reporting

The Trump administration has subpoenaed several New York Times journalists after their report on security concerns involving the new Air Force One The Trump administration has subpoenaed several New York Times journalists after their report on security concerns involving the new Air Force One, according to the paper. The new jet, which President Donald Trump received as a gift from Qatar, entered service last week. The subpoenas issued on Friday seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday. Federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes. There was no immediate response from the White House or Department of Justice to requests for comment on Saturday. “The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” David McCraw, a lawyer for the Times, said in a statement. Issuing subpoenas represents a major escalation in the Republican president’s effort to threaten independent news organisations by leveraging the power of the federal government against them.

China’s Long March-10B rocket feat lights up social media: is SpaceX set to lose crown?
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China’s Long March-10B rocket feat lights up social media: is SpaceX set to lose crown?

The space race just became a real race again, says one online commentator, after net-and-cable recovery of rocket booster sparks awe Instead of adopting methods pioneered by Elon Musk’s US-based SpaceX, the Chinese mission used a first-of-its-kind, sea-based net-and-cable system to allow for a more adaptable recovery. Reusing rocket boosters can significantly lower the cost of space missions, making massive satellite constellation deployments, deep-space exploration and crewed moon landings financially viable. The news quickly gained traction online, after state news agency Xinhua released footage showing the falling booster being snatched mid-air by a moving net at sea.