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World News – 19 August 2025

  • Trump Says No Need for Cease-Fire Before Peace Deal in Meeting With Zelenskyy: Trump said he will speak to Putin after his meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders. He added that he had just communicated indirectly with the Russian president.
  • Russia Claims to Have Dealt Fresh Blow to Ukrainian Sapsan Missile Sites: Russian forces have struck a storage site in Ukraine allegedly housing domestically produced Sapsan ballistic missiles, Moscow’s defense ministry claimed on Aug. 17.
  • Truck Driver Faces Deportation Following Car Crash: A semi-truck driver faces deportation after allegedly making an illegal U-turn in St. Lucie County, Florida, which led to a crash that left three people dead, state authorities said.
  • Trump Says Xi Made Huge Promise to Him: U.S. President Donald Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised him that China will refrain from invading Taiwan for the next four years.
  • Hawks arrest suspects in Nelson Mandela Bay kidnapping: Two people were arrested in a major breakthrough for the Hawks after a spate of kidnappings in Nelson Mandela Bay over the past year.
  • Trump Meets European Leaders to Discuss Security Guarantees, Possible Territory Exchanges: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni credited Trump with changing the Russian position on peace talks. “I think it is an important day, a new phase, after three years and a half.
  • Small Business Lending Faces Mixed Signals Amid Economic Shifts: Small businesses in the United States encountered growing challenges accessing credit in June, according to Equifax’s latest small business lending index. Lending volumes fell by 3.3 percent month over month.
  • DOJ Won’t Appeal Judge’s Order on Concealed Carry Ban in Post Offices: The Department of Justice (DOJ) last week said it will dismiss its appeal in a case challenging the federal ban on the concealed carry of a firearm in U.S. Postal.
  • Stephen Miller Says Trump’s DC Crackdown Will Also Target Graffiti: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington will include a renewed effort to eliminate graffiti, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Aug. 17.
  • Donald Trump has offered American assistance in providing security for Ukraine as part of any peace deal with Russia. Announced in front of the press, before closed talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, the news would go against Ukraine’s stated preference of a ceasefire first, and play straight into Moscow’s current prerequisites for an end to war.
  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Vladimir Putin is to meet Zelensky within the next two weeks. Russia had been utterly uninterested in pursuing such a meeting, but Putin evidently agreed to as much, in a call with Trump.
  • Air Canada’s union leader said he would rather go to jail than be forced to end a cabin crew strike that sends crews back to work. The union said the strike would continue until Air Canada renegotiates on wages and unpaid work.
  • The Los Angeles “ketamine queen” accused of dealing the lethal drugs to Matthew Perry is to plead guilty. Jasveen Sangha is the fifth and final defendant to reach a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. She was originally set to stand trial in September along with Perry’s assistant, two doctors and an intermediary.
  • The Springboks could face a loose forward shortage if any more players go down after Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit were ruled out of Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against Australia in Cape Town.
  • A 47-year-old arrested on suspicion of racially abusing Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo has been given conditional bail and banned from attending soccer matches, Merseyside Police said.
  • Canada’s inflation cooled to 1.7% in July, thanks to tumbling gas prices and a scrapped carbon levy. Economists cheered core inflation dipping under 3%, fuelling bets the Bank of Canada may finally cut rates come September.
  • Switzerland may finally ditch its “dirty money” stigma by joining Britain’s anti-kleptocracy task force. Already on observer status, the country is weighing full membership of the IACCC — a move that would let Swiss sleuths share intel and chase stolen billions.
  • More than 40,000 people have signed a petition to block France from loaning the fragile Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum, warning the 11th-century treasure — already torn and holed — could unravel under Macron’s art-for-diplomacy gesture.
  • Carlos Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open after top seed Jannik Sinner retired while trailing 5-0 in the first set of their final on Monday due to illness.
  • Asian stocks and oil dipped Tuesday ahead of a pivotal central bankers’ gathering and glimmers of diplomacy that could ease Russia-Ukraine tensions.
  • Gold prices were little changed on Tuesday, holding steady.
  • European equity futures posted modest gains.
  • OpenAI is spicing up India’s tech scene with ChatGPT Go – a cheaper R80.72 (₹399) monthly plan offering turbocharged messages, extra images and zippier replies.
  • SoftBank is injecting R35.3-billion ($2-billion) into Intel, giving the struggling US chipmaker a badly needed lifeline. The stake makes SoftBank a top-10 shareholder and signals its bullish AI bets.
  • UK house prices dropped again, but at a gentler rate than previous months. Record stock levels and tax worries are keeping buyers cautious despite cheaper mortgages (4.49% for a two-year fixed rate).
  • Rachel Reeves is considering replacing stamp duty with a new property tax that would apply to the sale of homes worth more than £500,000, the Guardian has been told.
  • Exposure to pornography has increased since the introduction of UK rules to protect the public online, with children as young as six seeing it by accident, research by the children’s commissioner for England has found.
  • Leaked WhatsApp messages show Conservative MPs are worried that their party’s “piss-poor” messaging over asylum-seeker hotels is making the party look silly. It follows the release of an advert by Conservative campaign headquarters last week, making claims that have since been challenged as exaggerations, such as that asylum seekers receive free driving lessons and free PlayStation consoles.
  • Bolivia’s presidential election will go to a runoff, with two rightwing candidates seemingly the top runners. It’s an unprecedented scenario after nearly two decades of leftist rule by the Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas).
  • Relentless heat and disastrous wildfires continue to ravage southern Europe, with one-quarter of weather stations in Spain recording 40C temperatures and above, the latest in a series of disasters exacerbated by climate breakdown amid a continental rollback of green policies.
  • Lukas Nmecha’s 84th-minute penalty gave Leeds a 1-0 win over Everton on their return to the Premier League.
  • Carlos Alcaraz has won the Cincinnati Open for the first time in his career after his great rival, world No 1, Jannik Sinner was forced to retire from their highly anticipated final with illness while trailing 0-5 in the opening set.
  • Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu will face each other in the first round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles.
  • A new report shows just how impactful a raft of groundbreaking welfare policies by former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador have been. Obrador’s policies, which included a tripling of the minimum wage, and a system of cash transfers for vulnerable groups, made a measurable impact on the lives of millions of everyday Mexicans, according to a dispatch by reporter Oscar Lopez.
  •  South Africa is in serious trouble: South Africa is facing some of the highest US tariffs among major emerging markets, making its citrus and automotive sectors effectively uncompetitive in the world’s largest economy.
  • Petrol price pain coming for South Africa: The imposition of US tariffs on 90 countries could severely disrupt South Africa’s fuel supply chain, leading to shortages and higher prices.
  • South Africa flushing R20 billion down the drain: Researchers from the Bureau for Economic Research said the government’s allocation of over R20 billion to the chronically mismanaged and underperforming SETA system represents a massive opportunity cost.
  • State-owned South African airline to be shut down: After four years of failed rescue attempts and legal challenges, the low-cost airline Mango plans to undergo a structured wind-down.
  • Even domestic workers are leaving South Africa: Domestic workers in South Africa are following other professions and looking overseas for better prospects.
  • First major South African city gets approval to start saying goodbye to Eskom: The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is the first in the country to get the go-ahead to procure power from independent power producers.
  • Poorly trained police cost taxpayers nearly R2 billion: South Africa taxpayers paid out over R1.9 billion for police misconduct in five years.
  • Standard Bank’s crown jewel shooting the lights out: Standard Bank’s Corporate and Investment Banking division contributes over half of group headline earnings and is spearheading the bank’s R450 billion sustainable energy and infrastructure financing push.
  • Iconic South African company sees shares plunge 19% in one day: Aveng’s shares plunged by 18.64% after reporting a R975 million headline loss for the year ended June 2025, driven by major project losses in Southeast Asia and Australia.
  • Foreigners pumping money into South African bonds: Foreign investors are flooding into South Africa’s government bond market to take advantage of one of the best emerging-market trades of recent years.
  • MTN shares plunge amid South African pain: MTN’s shares plunged after revenue at its South African unit fell, prompting the continent’s biggest mobile-phone operator to revamp its management.
  • Texas Redistricting Effort: Dozens of Texas Democrats returned to Austin yesterday after a two-week walkout to block Republican-led redistricting efforts. Their return gives the Texas House the attendance needed to vote on a congressional map designed to shift five districts from Democratic to Republican ahead of the 2026 elections.
  • Rip Current Risk: Hurricane Erin is projected to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents across the US East Coast this week before turning northeastward into the North Atlantic. Erin remains a Category 4 storm as of this writing, passing by the southeastern Bahamas yesterday. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 130 to 156 mph.
  • Soho House Deal: Soho House, a private members club operator, is set to be taken private in a $2.7B deal led by New York-based MCR Hotels, with actor Ashton Kutcher joining the board. The move, announced yesterday, follows a turbulent market run since Soho House’s 2021 debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
  • Google’s great clarity cleanup: Billions of entities vanished from Google’s Knowledge Graph in June 2025.
  • Google Ads to end manual language targeting in Search campaigns: Search campaigns will soon drop manual language settings, leaving AI to automatically detect and target user languages.
  • TikTok limits posts to five hashtags: Creators and brands will need to be more strategic in choosing hashtags, as TikTok shifts focus to relevance over volume.
  • Eskom launches first-ever Renewable Energy Offtake Programme: Eskom has announced the launch of its first-ever Renewable Energy…
  • Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen says South Africa’s agricultural exports to US demonstrates resilience despite global trade challenges
  • Minister Chikunga recovering after health scare at Y20 summit
  • MSNBC to change name to MSNOW, which stands for “My Source for News, Opinion, and the World,” as part of Comcast’s spinoff from NBCUniversal
  • Texas and Penn State lead all schools with three players apiece selected to college football’s AP Preseason All-America team, with the regular season set to begin Saturday.
  • Final defendant in Matthew Perry’s October 2023 drug overdose case, the “Ketamine Queen,” pleads guilty to five federal charges, including ketamine distribution.
  • Tennessee Valley Authority enters a deal with Google and nuclear startup Kairos Power to purchase electricity from a small modular reactor slated for 2030, marking the first US utility offtake agreement with an advanced nuclear plant.
  • Surgery-free alternative to LASIK that uses electricity instead of lasers to reshape the cornea proves effective on rabbit eyeballs; initial results suggest the method could be a promising technique for correcting human vision.
  • Largest-ever space antenna, spanning 39 feet, deployed to detect changes within fractions of an inch on Earth’s surface, such as shifting ice sheets and subtle movements caused by earthquakes, landslides, and volcanoes.
  • US stock markets close near flatline (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq +0.0%) as investors await annual policy speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the central bank’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, summit Friday.
  • OpenAI employees, current and former, look to sell $6B worth of shares to an investor group in a deal that values the AI company at $500B.
  • GoodRx shares jump 37.3% after online pharmacy announces it will begin selling Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
  • Novo Nordisk shares rise 3.7% following US approval of Wegovy to treat MASH liver disease.
  • President Donald Trump says the US will help provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia, encourages territory swaps; see other takeaways from Trump’s meeting with leaders of Ukraine and Europe.
  • Cable news channel Newsmax agrees to pay $67M to settle defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems over 2020 election claims.
  • Texas declares the end of its measles outbreak, which has sickened 762 people since January, state data reveals; last confirmed case was reported July 1.
  • President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the US would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end Russia’s war there, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear. Read our takeaways from yesterday’s talks.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a meeting of Ukraine’s coalition of the willing, the French president’s office said.
  • Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages held in Gaza and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian official source said. Israel is studying Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
  • President Donald Trump’s approval rating held at 40% in recent weeks, matching the lowest level of his current term, amid weak ratings from Hispanic voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
  • Democratic lawmakers in Texas returned to the state, ending a two-week walkout that broke quorum and temporarily blocked Republican efforts to redraw congressional maps at the behest of the president.
  • Residents of a northwestern Pakistani district where devastating floods have killed more than 200 people said they were too scared to go back to their deluged homes as authorities warned of more rains to come.
  • There is an upward trend in India-China relations and Beijing has promised to address New Delhi’s needs on rare earths, a top Indian official and a source said, as the neighbours rebuild ties that were damaged by a 2020 border clash.
  • As US debt swells and the White House leans on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, investors are weighing the risk of “fiscal dominance,” a scenario where keeping government financing cheap eclipses the fight against inflation.
  • Air Canada’s unionized flight attendants have reached an agreement with the country’s largest carrier, ending the first strike by its cabin crew in 40 years that had upended travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
  • Nvidia is developing a new AI chip for China based on its latest Blackwell architecture that will be more powerful than the H20 model it is currently allowed to sell there, two people briefed on the matter said.
  • S&P Global affirmed its ‘AA+’ credit rating on the US, saying the revenue from Trump’s tariffs will offset the fiscal hit from his recent tax-cut and spending bill.
  • Intel is getting a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank in a major vote of confidence for the troubled US chipmaker that is in the middle of a turnaround effort.
  • Britain has dropped its demand for the iPhone maker Apple to provide a “backdoor” that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said.
  • The planned $3.9 billion takeover of Deliveroo by US meal delivery firm DoorDash will be reviewed under the European Union’s simplified merger procedure, EU Commission documents showed.
  • Sweden’s landmark Kiruna Church has begun a two-day trip to a new home, inching down an Arctic road to save its wooden walls from ground subsidence and the expansion of the world’s largest underground iron ore mine.
  • The principal of Hoërskool Roodepoort was stabbed in the hand while trying to stop an attack from pupils of West Ridge High School. Six matric boys have since been served with suspension letters. Only in South Africa.
  • E-hailing drivers are marching in central Johannesburg, calling on the provincial government to regulate the industry to stop the exploitation they face under app companies.
  • Russia has lobbed 10 missiles and 270 drones at Ukraine, in Moscow’s largest attack this month. So, that Nobel Peace Prize Trump wants so badly is coming when?
  • Israel is studying Hamas’ response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, which includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza.
  • Authorities dismantle major transnational rhino horn trafficking network as six suspects appeared in the Pretoria magistrate’s court.
  • NHLS targets 50% reduction in toxicology backlog by 2025/26
  • Alleged extortionists nabbed in Western Cape – Police arrested suspected extortionists in Lower Crossroads…
  • The South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Northern Cape warns of increase of ATM-related scams.

  • After Trump Tariff Hit, Lesotho Turns to Asia and Other Markets

    Bloomberg
    The Southern African Customs Union, a free-trade bloc that comprises Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and South Africa, is a priority market, and its members are “positively responding to us,” he said.

  • 08/19/2025: Much-Needed Rain Heading our Way!

    NEWS10 ABC
    The Latest Storm Tracker Forecast from Meteorologist Kevin Appleby: While the feel in the air today will be very similar to how we started the work week, Mother …

  • WY Dept. Of Family Services Hosting Virtual Town Hall Regarding LIEAP State Plan

    Sheridan Media
    The town hall will be held Wednesday, August 20th, from 6 until 7pm. LIEAP helps eligible Wyoming households pay for a portion of winter heating costs, and public input will guide how the state administers …

  • Why cloudbursts have killed hundreds in Pakistan and India this monsoon season

    Reuters
    ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Massive, sudden downpours of rain known as cloudbursts have struck Pakistan and India during this monsoon season, killing hundreds of people in the flash floods and landslides they have triggered.

  • Israel attacks displacement shelters to force Palestinians to southern Gaza

    Aljazeera.com
    Israel is ethnically cleansing the central neighborhood of Zeitoun in Gaza by bombing homes and displacement centres. A Palestinian man carries the body of a child. A Palestinian man carries the body of his seven-year-old nephew killed in an Israeli …

  • Trump Administration Live Updates: More Republican-Led States Pledge National Guard Troops for DC

    The New York Times
    Washington, D.C.: Hundreds more National Guard troops were expected to deploy in Washington this week after the governors of Mississippi and Louisiana joined three other Republican-led states in supporting President Trump’s crackdown in the capital.

  • 11 mining companies fined for environmental crimes

    Agência de Informação de Moçambique
    Maputo, 19 Aug (AIM) – The Mozambican authorities have a further six mining companies for pollution, bringing to 11 the number of companies penalized for environmental crimes in the central province of Manica. According to Grácio Cune, National Mining …

  • Two Illinois players hit huge lottery wins — including a record $1.55M jackpot

    FOX 32 Chicago
    Another player matched all five numbers in Sunday’s Lucky Day Lotto midday drawing to win $550,000; the winning ticket was sold at MK Simplemart in Chicago. In total, more than 15,800 winning tickets were …

  • Mediators await Israeli response to new Gaza ceasefire proposal

    BBC News
    Arab mediators are awaiting a formal response from Israel after Hamas said it had accepted a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. The plan was presented by Qatar and Egypt, which are trying to avert a major new Israeli offensive …

  • Iowa weather: Humidity lingers until the weekend

    KCCI Des Moines
    The temperatures will not be as high as what we had this last weekend, but we will still have the muggy feel. Highs will be in the 80s this afternoon but heat index values should still climb into the 90s. Feels like temps should stay in the upper 80s and …

  • Twenty bodies found in Pakistan mountain village after cloudburst flooding

    Yahoo News
    The toll contributed to a total of 358 deaths in the floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since Friday – more than 200 of them in the worst hit district of Buner. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority says 30 …

  • Twenty bodies found in Pakistan mountain village after cloudburst flooding

    Reuters
    PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Rescue workers on Tuesday recovered more bodies from a mountain village in northwest Pakistan where flash floods triggered by a cloudburst brought down homes and buildings, bringing the death toll there to at …

  • At least 25 rescued after boat capsizes in Nigeria, dozens presumed dead

    Reuters
    MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Aug 19 (Reuters) – At least 25 people have been rescued and 25 others are still missing two days after a boat carrying about 50 passengers capsized in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto State, emergency services said on Tuesday.

  • Foreign Minister IWAYA’s Attendance at the TICAD 9 Ministerial Preparatory Meeting

    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
    On August 19 (Tuesday), commencing at 3:10 p.m. for approximately 1 hour, the TICAD 9 Ministerial Preparatory Meeting was held in Yokohama, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, IWAYA Takeshi, attended the meeting as a Co-chair. The overview of the meeting …

  • Fewer foreign tourists are visiting Boston this summer. Some blame Trump

    WBUR
    Over the past 14 years, Brian Burgess has met people from nearly every nation while leading tours on Boston’s historic Freedom Trail. But this summer, as the manager of Tours by Foot Boston, he’s seen far fewer foreign visitors.

  • Live Updates: European Leaders to Discuss Protections for Ukraine After White House Talks

    The New York Times
    After hastily arranged meetings with President Trump produced little tangible progress toward peace, Ukraine’s allies focused on security guarantees to keep Russia from invading again. Share full article. Image Four men in dark suits walk across a red …

  • Hamas accepts Arab ceasefire proposal on Gaza as Palestinian death toll passes 62000

    ABC News
    Hamas said it had accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip but Israel has indicated its stance on the war has not changed. Egypt said mediators were “exerting extensive efforts” to revive a US proposal for a 60-day …

  • Self-Defense Force members die at training ground in southwestern Japan

    NHK WORLD
    Two members of Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force were found unconscious at a training ground in Oita Prefecture on Monday and later confirmed dead. They reportedly had no obvious external injuries. The GSDF is investigating the cause of their deaths.

  • Still no Plastics Treaty: How the fossil fuel industry keeps polluting negotiations

    Greenpeace International
    It’s time for world leaders to confront the elephant in the UN Global Plastics Treaty negotiation room: Big Oil. After two long weeks, world governments could not come to an agreement on how to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.

  • DC’s crime numbers are all the buzz. But how do we interpret them accurately?

    NPR
    It has been a week since Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., and deployed the National Guard to patrol the city’s streets. In its reasoning for the move, the White House described crime …

  • Redefining Climate Finance – A Dual Mandate for the Dual Transition

    afripoli.org
    Africa’s energy transition is unfolding along two distinct but interdependent tracks. One runs through substations, power pools and sovereign investment plans. The other advances less visibly – through solar rooftops, battery kits, pay-as-you-go …

  • The Founders of This New Development Say You Must Be White to Live There

    The New York Times
    In the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, nearly an hour from the closest city, a small group of homesteaders is building an exclusive community from scratch. Applicants to the community are screened with an in-person interview, a criminal-background check, …

  • Watch: Destruction in Pakistan after flash floods that have killed hundreds

    BBC News
    Flash floods in northwest Pakistan have destroyed homes, swept away vehicles and left widespread destruction. At least 314 people have been killed in flooding since Friday, with the majority of fatalities recorded in Pakistan’s Buner district.

  • INSO Statement on World Humanitarian Day: If we are to truly act for humanity, we must act now for Gaza

    ReliefWeb
    As highlighted by the UN Secretary General, 2024 has once again proven to be the deadliest year on record for humanitarians, with at least 390 aid workers killed1. Behind these horrific numbers, however, lies one key driver: Gaza.

  • Global talks on plastic pollution end without a treaty

    Mongabay-India
    After 10 days of negotiations in Geneva to develop a strategy to end plastic pollution, countries failed to reach a consensus on a treaty. The prominent issues of contention were plastic production, the use of toxic chemicals, the phase-out of …

  • Air Canada flight attendants’ union says it will risk jail time to strike for a better deal

    CBC.ca
    A man helps another man with a baggage cart outside an airport during a protest. Striking flight attendants are protesting outside Canadian airports, including Pearson International Airport in Toronto. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian …

  • Oil and Gas Expansion in the Colombian Amazon

    IISD Reporting Services
    Defend and restore biodiversity: protect at least all key biodiversity areas with effective area-based conservation measures, strengthen the environmental standards for new licences, expand environmental governance schemes in Indigenous territories, and …

  • Child malnutrition is a sign of conflict to come: Nigerian study links climate change, food and violence

    Down To Earth Magazine
    The research suggests using malnutrition indicators as early warning signs to prevent conflict, emphasising the need for nutrition-sensitive climate adaptation strategies. The pathway from climate change to violent …

  • AI Killing the Media Star?

    The Australia Institute
    Join Dr Richard Denniss, Clive Marshall and Emma Cowdroy as they discuss how ‘fake news’ is here for real, and the Murdoch empire’s grand plans to use ‘clone journalists’.

  • Swiatek adds Cincinnati crown to her portfolio

    beIN SPORTS AUSTRALIA
    Polish star Iga Swiatek rallied to defeat No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 49 minutes to win her first Cincinnati Open title. She is the first Polish player in the Open era to win a singles title at the event.

  • TICAD African development conference to open Wed. in Yokohama

    NHK WORLD
    The Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD, is held every three years. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is to co-chair this year’s meeting. Japan’s foreign ministry says it has invited 49 …

  • Zelensky says he’s ready for Putin talks as Europe welcomes Trump’s security guarantees

    BBC News
    Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders have held talks with Donald Trump in the White House about ending the war in Ukraine. Zelensky says the talks with Trump were the “best” so far – Trump calls the talks “very good”.

  • Why can’t the world get its act together on plastics? – podcast

    The Guardian
    Presented and produced by Madeleine Finlay, with Karen McVeigh; sound design by Joel Cox; executive producer Ellie Bury. Tue 19 Aug 2025 00.00 EDT. Share. 00:00:00 00:00:00. After three years of negotiating, talks over a global plastics treaty …

  • Mississippi becomes fourth state to send National Guard to DC

    Yahoo News
    Joining forces from three other Republican-led states, the Mississippi National Guard will deploy 200 troops to Washington as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing federal policing and immigration overhaul in the nation’s capital. Mississippi Gov.

  • Swiatek’s aces key as she triumphs in Cincinnati

    Sky Sports
    Swiatek defeated Jasmine Paolini 7-5 6-4 in Cincinnati, at an event where she had never previously gone past the semi-finals in six attempts, to claim her 24th career trophy and 11th in a WTA Masters 1000 tournament.

  • Statement by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ai in Sudan, Luca Renda (19 August 2025)

    ReliefWeb
    The war in Sudan has become one of the deadliest for aid workers anywhere in the world. Since the current conflict began in April 2023, more than 120 humanitarian personnel have been killed — nearly all of them Sudanese.

  • Journalist among four killed in Israeli shelling on western Gaza

    english.wafa.ps
    GAZA, August 19, 2025 (WAFA) – Four Palestinian civilians, including a journalist, were killed on Monday evening in Israeli shelling on Sabra neighborhood in western Gaza, according to WAFA correspondent. He said that Israeli tanks shelled Sabra, …

  • Singapore cements trade and manufacturing links with Africa

    african.business
    The Lagos Free Zone is operated by Tolaram, a Singapore-based conglomerate. The sprawling 850-hectare site, which sits adjacent to the Chinese-operated Lekki Port, offers various tax and customs incentives for companies that set-up manufacturing facilities …

  • Joint donor statement on the situation in and around El Fasher, Sudan, by 30 donors

    ReliefWeb
    EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, Minister of International Development of Norway, Åsmund Aukrust, Minister for Africa of the United Kingdom, Lord Collins of Highbury, …

  • Briefing to UN Security Council on the Situation in South Sudan

    Crisis Group
    Thank you, Mr President. I am honoured to address the Security Council today on behalf of the International Crisis Group. Our organisation, now commemorating its thirtieth anniversary, is committed to the prevention, mitigation and resolution of deadly …

  • Saudi Aramco employee named lead author of global climate report

    POLITICO.eu
    A long-standing employee of the world’s largest oil company will hold the pen on a crucial chapter of the next review of global climate science. Sudanese economist Mustafa Babiker, who has worked for the Saudi Aramco oil company for almost two decades, …

  • National Guard from Republican states heading to DC: What you need to know

    USA TODAY
    Hundreds of National Guard members from Republican-led states will join federal troops on the ground in Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital. Trump seized control of the District’s police …

  • Trump claims to be setting up meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin after talks with European leaders end – live

    The Guardian
    US president says he began arrangements for bilateral meeting after calling Vladimir Putin following talks with European leaders at White House. Trump tells Zelenskyy ceasefire not needed for Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

  • Treaty talks stall, but Australia presses on with plastics action

    PKN Packaging News
    While UN negotiations to deliver a legally binding plastics treaty have ended in deadlock, Australia remains aligned with the High Ambition Coalition and is progressing domestic efforts on recycling infrastructure and circular economy policy – though …

  • Five things to know about the starvation in Gaza

    ReliefWeb
    What we’ve learned about this man-made crisis from our work treating and screening for malnutrition. Starvation is underway in Gaza as a result of Israeli authorities’ deliberate weaponization of food. In hospitals and clinics, both patients and staff …

  • Frustrations Mount for 500000 Passengers Affected by Air Canada Strike

    The New York Times
    Exhausted-looking airline passengers sit with their piles of luggage in an airport. Canceled flights have affected hundreds of thousands of passengers as the labor dispute between Air Canada and its flight attendants continues …

  • Vietnam opens Southeast Asia’s largest national data center

    Vietnamnet
    On the afternoon of August 18, the Ministry of Public Security held the grand opening of National Data Center No.1, officially launching its core data infrastructure. This event marks a major milestone in the formation …

  • WFP Mozambique: Emergency Response External Situation Report (18 August 2025)

    ReliefWeb
    Amid the triple crisis affecting Mozambique (conflict, climate shocks, and a deteriorating socio-economic situation), the latest IPC results indicate that over 2 million people are currently food insecure (IPC 3+) in Mozambique (April-September 2025).

  • Mississippi and Louisiana Will Send National Guard Troops to DC

    The New York Times
    The governors of Mississippi and Louisiana said on Monday that they would deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, joining three other Republican-led states that have recently heeded President Trump’s request to fill the nation’s capital …

  • HRW calls on Senegal to uphold displaced community’s right to adequate housing

    JURIST
    HRW on Monday called for the government of Senegal to provide adequate housing to a community displaced by rising sea levels, where 1,000 residents have lived in temporary housing without economic access since 2016. The group called on the World Bank …

  • Google for Startups Accelerator Program Opens 2025 Applications for South African Founders

    iAfrica.com
    … South Africa that are leveraging AI to create critical solutions for the region. The program will offer a comprehensive support system that …

  • South Africa could see short-term benefits from US tariffs, such as lower coffee prices

    The Mail & Guardian
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Comments

  1. Iran: You have two cows. When the US finds out, they impose sanctions on you on charges of running an illicit methane-powered missile program.

  2. Van der Merwe is approached by SANRAL one day who want to build a new highway through his donkey farm. Van is really concerned with how his donkeys can get from one side of the farm to the other without having to cross the highway and risk being injured or killed. He is promised that they will build bridges the highway so that his donkeys can cross under the highway. Van agrees and gives them the go-ahead.

    The highway is built and a year later the same rep goes to the farm to go see how Van and his donkeys are. He eventually finds Van under one of these bridges chipping away at the roof of the tunnel with a hammer and chisel.

    \”Mnr Van de Merwe, what are you doing damaging the highway bridge?\”