Outside the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manila earlier this year, five people were arrested as hundreds of activists chanting “Junk Pax Silica!” clashed with anti-riot police. Inside, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr hobnobbed with some 600 investors, industry leaders and officials at a US-sponsored forum, urging them to sink their money into the US-led scheme. The Philippines is planning to build a sprawling 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) “Pax Silica” technology hub near a former American...

US Air Force personnel at the RAF Lakenheath base in Britain responded to “suspected unauthorised drone activity” on Friday evening, although no personnel, aircraft or infrastructure were affected, a US Air Force spokesman said. “We continue ‌to work closely with our host nation counterparts to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, US and host nation civilians, contractors and all of our families,” the spokesman added by email. The British Ministry of Defence was not...

SpaceX launched Starship towards orbit on Friday in its boldest test yet: a 22-hour flight that aimed to capture the entire rocket in a move meant to accelerate moon and Mars travel. But Elon Musk’s company had to lower its expectations when the first part of the double catch flopped. The first-stage booster malfunctioned and instead of returning to its Texas pad several minutes after lift-off, it ended up in the Gulf of Mexico after an automatic abort. Despite the setback, the bullet-shaped...

US lawmakers have been demanding answers about potential national security risks and White House oversight of advanced chip exports to China following revelations that former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was in a relationship with a businesswoman suspected of working for Chinese intelligence. Three Republican House committee chairmen and Senate Banking Committee chairman Tim Scott separately sent letters Thursday seeking testimony from Huang. “As reports continue to come to light...

When G7 leaders gathered at the French resort of Evian-les-Bains in June, Donald Trump arrived late but wasted no time in grabbing the spotlight. With a cheeky declaration, “I am the boss”, the US president drew a ripple of awkward laughter from around the table. Months earlier, in his September 2025 address to the UN General Assembly, he told the gathering that “your countries are going to hell”. His lengthy speech blended boasts about his own record with sharp criticism of allies’ policies,...

Air travel across the United States came to a halt on Friday afternoon after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered all flights grounded because of a communications breakdown at the regional centres that manage the country’s air traffic. Citing “extraordinary circumstances” and “reasons of safety”, the FAA said in a notice that the halt would stay in place until at least 11pm Eastern time on Friday. In a social media post, the agency described the problem as a temporary...

The European Commission is moving to shield its industrial machinery and chemical sectors from Chinese imports, and is weighing a “kill switch” mechanism. Together with Washington, Brussels has settled into a familiar narrative: a record trade deficit with China is framed as proof of its “overcapacity” and attributed to state subsidies that allegedly tilt the global playing field. For European Union audiences frustrated by stagnant domestic manufacturing, this argument sounds intuitive. Held up...