The new road to diplomatic legitimacy runs through trade

• A devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Colombia, resulting in more than 160 deaths, while Typhoon Dolphin forced the evacuation of over one million people in China. • NOAA reported that July 2026 was the hottest month ever documented in the U.S., highlighting escalating climate trends.

• Former Indonesian Ambassador Dr. Wajid Fauzi delivered a presentation at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) analyzing the historical and geopolitical drivers of Middle East conflicts. • He specifically highlighted the conflict in Yemen, explaining how domestic strife evolved into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Rise in new mine proposals, mainly in states of Odisha and Jharkhand, comes despite plateau in global demandEnough new coalmining projects were proposed last year to increase global supplies by 2.5bn tonnes a year, an increase of 11% from the year before, even as demand for coal plateaus, according to a new report.Global Energy Monitor, an NGO, found that India ignited a rise in new coalmine proposals in 2025 despite a global slowdown in the number of mine openings because of falling demand for the fossil fuel. Continue reading...

Many of those affected in England and Wales think offences are not treated with the seriousness they deserve, says commissionerBereaved families or seriously injured victims of road crime feel “forgotten by the system” with offences not treated with the seriousness they deserve, an official review has found.The victims’ commissioner for England and Wales found that many of the thousands afflicted each year by criminal driving felt that “the harm they had suffered mattered less” than that from other serious crimes. Continue reading...

Hakainde Hichilema is bidding for second term, but feud between him and family of Edgar Lungu, who died in 2025, continuesAs Zambians go to the polls, the ghost of the current president’s predecessor hangs over the elections.Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is bidding for a second term leading the southern African country after defeating his arch-rival Edgar Lungu by a landslide in 2021. Continue reading...

Victorian corruption watchdog alleges weapon was used to hit man’s head, with another officer accused of kneeing him in same incident last yearTwo Victorian police officers have been charged with assault after allegedly using a Taser and knee to repeatedly strike a man in the head during an arrest last year.In a statement, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission said it had charged the two officers after an investigation into the force used during an arrest of an Indigenous man in Melbourne’s east last August. Continue reading...

McKenna West initially agreed to an abortion after diagnosis, but then fled to state where abortion is illegal and broke contact with biological parents, attorney allegesA surrogate mother who traveled to Texas, where abortion is illegal, claiming she was pressured to end the pregnancy after the discovery of a severe heart defect, gave birth on Wednesday to a baby boy.The child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, confirmed the birth through their lawyer, while denying they forced McKenna West, who is from Alaska, to undergo an abortion, the Texas Tribune reported. Continue reading...

Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney tells Icac corruption inquiry that Christain factional group driven by ‘a calling … a duty’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA factional ally of the federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has told a corruption inquiry a group of Christian Liberal power brokers who allegedly solicited illegal political donations were “spectacularly unsuccessful in their ambitions”.The Catholic Schools NSW chief executive, Dallas McInerney, told the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption on Thursday that the Reformers’ model was never correct. Continue reading...

Telco board cuts senior executive bonuses by total $1.3m after tech fail that affected millionsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTelstra has paid its chief executive, Vicki Brady, $6.8m for the year ending in June, after docking 20% of her bonus in response to the network’s nationwide outage in July.The company reported financial results on Thursday. Its board met on Monday and decided to cut Brady’s bonus by $607,000 – but she still took home a $700,000 pay rise as she was awarded a total of $6.1m the year before. Continue reading...

Attorney general grants former army lawyer’s release after 27 months in jail Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDavid McBride, the former army lawyer jailed for his role in stealing secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war and leaking them to the media, has been released from prison in Canberra on Thursday.McBride was sentenced to a maximum five years and eight months in jail in May 2024, but is being released on parole after serving his full non-parole period of 27 months. Continue reading...

Kelce’s remarks on his marriage to Swift at Madison Square Garden comes weeks after the event, which remains shrouded in mysteryAmerican football star Travis Kelce has described his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as “the best night of my life.”“I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us,” the Kansas City Chiefs player told a briefing. Continue reading...