High levels of debt on essential UK bills are the ‘new normal’, warn campaigners

• A rare convergence of voices, including India’s RSS leadership, Kashmiri figures, and over 100 eminent citizens, has created a potential opening to reset India–Pakistan relations. • The article argues that current Track II talks must evolve into a structured dialogue to move beyond temporary diplomatic pauses.

• Sudan is currently experiencing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, which some observers describe as the gravest of recent times. • The crisis is characterized by widespread mass starvation, with 825,000 children specifically facing severe acute starvation.

• The White House has appointed Harvard astronomer and cosmologist Avi Loeb to lead a new scientific advisory council investigating the national security risks posed by UFOs. • Loeb, a former head of Harvard’s astronomy department known for his controversial theories on alien visits, will lead the study into mysterious orbs reported by military personnel.

• Col. Saikat K. Bose argues that the United Nations' value is often underestimated because critics focus on its failure to prevent major wars. • The author highlights that the UN's true strength lies in its routine, less visible functions, such as providing global coordination, legal frameworks, and trust to prevent smaller crises from escalating.

• A growing number of "UN Sceptics" are questioning the continued relevance of the United Nations due to its perceived inability to stop global violence. • The organization's helplessness is highlighted by the ongoing bloodshed and instability in Gaza, Lebanon, and the invasion-shattered regions of Ukraine.

• The UN Secretary-General introduced the preliminary report from the Independent Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and welcomed the General Assembly's decision to reform the organization's financial rules. • In Lebanon, thousands of displaced people continue to rely on humanitarian aid, with UN agencies and first responders providing food, water, emergency shelter, and psychological support.

• The UK government is facing accusations of failing to prevent the UAE from supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the ongoing conflict in Sudan. • Evidence including satellite imagery, leaked documents, and on-the-ground footage has been used to trace the movement of arms into the region.

• UN relief chief Martin Griffiths has sounded an alarm regarding the escalation of violence in Sudan's North Kordofan region. • He emphasized that humanitarian workers must be granted safe, unimpeded access to reach vulnerable populations affected by the conflict.

Memo calls for ‘surge’ of analysts after agents in January seized hundreds of boxes containing Fulton county ballotsThe FBI has asked its field offices across the country to dedicate more than 200 staffers to its investigation of the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton county.A memo obtained Thursday by the Associated Press calls for the FBI to “surge” 260 investigative analysts and staff operations specialists to the effort, which it described as a “priority investigation.” Continue reading...

Scandal has engulfed the state party as Deeming resists calls to apologise to fellow MP Matthew Guy over an assault allegationA Liberal MP has launched an 11th-hour court challenge against her own party before a meeting to decide her fate after she made an assault allegation against a former leader.Moira Deeming has lodged a legal action against Victorian Liberal party state president, Brian Loughnane, which is listed to be heard in the Victorian supreme court on Friday morning. Continue reading...

One of 11 surviving copies of ‘Exeter printing’ and only one known outside US was taken from American privateer shipFor Michael Scurr, a volunteer at the National Archives in Kew, west London, it was “just a boring old Thursday morning” when he sat down in late May to catalogue a collection of documents from the British national collection that had never previously been recorded in detail.As he opened a volume of 18th-century Royal Navy correspondence, however, Scurr unfolded a document whose opening words he recognised. “In Congress, July 4, 1776. A declaration by the representatives of the United States of America …” Continue reading...

President, in latest AI-generated social media post, targets prominent celebrities who have spoken out against himDonald Trump on Thursday posted an AI-generated social media video portraying himself as a doctor who claims to have cured some of his most prominent celebrity critics – including Rosie O’Donnell – of the fictional condition “Trump derangement syndrome”.Outside the AI fantasy, O’Donnell said her assessment of the president remained unchanged. In a statement, she offered her own diagnosis: “He’s quite ill-and getting worse daily. The 25th amendment exists for exactly this reason. Remove. Impeach. Convict.” Continue reading...