Reform UK bans three journalists who have criticised party from its conference

• France, serving as the President of the Security Council for September, announced a work programme focused on addressing critical issues in Haiti, Iran, and Sudan. • The agenda was detailed by the French representative during a press conference held at the UN Headquarters.

• Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) convened for a summit in Bishkek, where they condemned sanctions and attacks targeting Iran. • The group asserted their "inalienable right" to develop, produce, and utilize atomic energy for peaceful purposes, arguing that restrictive measures are contrary to international law.

Fair to say the current sell-off is international, but the PM has said little yet to make investors rethink the UK’s statusIt’s too soon to say the bond markets have turned on Andy Burnham. Tuesday’s spike in gilt yields, taking the UK’s 30-year borrowing costs to their highest level since 1998, was part of an international sell-off of government debt.The main contributors are well-known. The Iran war, by increasing the cost of energy, has overturned the comforting start-of-the-year thesis of falling global inflation and interest rates. A plunging Japanese yen has kicked away another assumed source of financial stability. The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, hasn’t calmed nerves with his solo, and so far futile, attempt to bring down US yields. Meanwhile, the early stage of the AI revolution is an exercise in issuing squillions of debt before long-term returns on capital can possibly be assessed meaningfully. Continue reading...

The government’s increasingly hostile stance towards the Kremlin has drawn criticism from the far right – and the far leftEven before the German government laid the blame this week on Russia for an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport, the topic of German ties to Moscow was high on the political agenda.But the timing of the unsurprising yet explosive Leipzig announcement – days before a key regional vote – has exposed the extent to which German politics is polarised on the issue. Continue reading...

Various laws and 250 years of tradition prevent the likeness of living people from appearing on currency. Donald Trump and Scott Bessent don’t want you to worry about thatThis was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every WednesdayTwo hallmarks of Donald Trump’s second-term: the president’s enthusiasm for putting his name and face on things, and his cavalier approach to established law.Today the president is once again combining both those interests, as the government releases a $1 coin bearing his image, an item of currency which scholars say should be illegal, but which is happening anyway. How many times have you heard that in the last 18 months? Continue reading...

While leaders focused on Hasan Piker, two of the party’s more conservative members salvaged a GOP measure that was poised to failHouse Democratic leaders have spent the past few weeks waging a bitter campaign against their own left flank over a leftwing streamer. On Tuesday, it was the party’s center-right who blindsided them.Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, announced late on Tuesday that he had asked the Democratic caucus’s committee on caucus rules to consider punishing the retiring Jared Golden of Maine and Blue Dog Coalition leader Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington after the pair sided with Republicans on a procedural vote that had appeared doomed. Continue reading...

Actor says the press baron’s daughter Elisabeth told him her father was pleased, ‘but he hadn’t seen the film at that point’Rupert Murdoch is “very happy” that he’s being portrayed by Guy Pearce in a new film about the origins of British tabloid the Sun, the Australian actor has said.Speaking at the Venice film festival ahead of the premiere of 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle’s Ink, Pearce said he had been messaging with the media tycoon’s daughter Elisabeth “and she did say ‘Dad’s very happy that you’re playing him’.” Continue reading...

Landmark lawsuit claims tech company’s pay-setting system has breached privacy laws and pushed down earningsUber drivers have launched a landmark legal action against the ride-hailing company claiming they live in “constant fear” of a “soulless” algorithm it uses to set pay and allocate jobs.Drivers from the UK, the Netherlands and other countries have joined the compensation claim that could run into billions of dollars. It alleges an AI-powered pay-setting system breaches data protection laws and pushes down their earnings. Continue reading...

Teachers and parents have warned against AI use in schools over concerns of ‘cognitive surrender’New York City will ban students’ use of artificial intelligence in public schools through eighth grade, typically age 13 or 14. The prohibition is scheduled to be announced Wednesday and will go into effect next week.The change is part of a sweeping overhaul of the use of technology in the US’ largest school district, which enrolls roughly 900,000 students a year. In another policy shift, classrooms will keep students off laptops or tablets through the third grade, age nine or 10. The city’s public school technology policies are closely watched by the rest of the United States. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader dismisses criticism of his failure to register £5m gift as a sign of a ‘complainants’ society’Nigel Farage has compared his situation to that of Donald Trump being pursued by investigators for years, saying both of them are “outsiders” up against “the system”, as he admitted having become tetchy and aggrieved this summer.The Reform UK leader has been under huge scrutiny over his finances after failing to declare a £5m gift from the Thailand-based donor Christopher Harborne and further financial support from a friend, the fraudster George Cottrell, before the last election. Continue reading...

Top medical groups band together to ease confusion from Trump administration’s changing immunization adviceLeading US medical groups are urging people to get updated flu and Covid-19 vaccinations this fall, banding together Wednesday to issue shot guidelines – and highlight the science behind them – saying they hope to ease confusion caused by the Trump administration’s changing advice.Flu vaccinations are beginning and the latest coronavirus shots are starting to arrive after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this year’s updated versions last week. Winter also brings another vaccine-preventable risk called RSV. Continue reading...