A judge on Wednesday authorised the payment of a multimillion-dollar award to magazine writer E. Jean Carroll to satisfy a 2023 civil verdict in which a jury found US President ‌Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ordered the disbursement of nearly US$5.8 million to the former Elle magazine advice columnist, representing the original US$5 million verdict plus interest. The funds had been held in escrow while Trump appealed the...

British anti-immigrant politician Nigel Farage faces the embarrassing prospect of going head-to-head with perennial joke candidate Count Binface in a by-election after he decided to quit parliament. His surprise move threatened to backfire on Wednesday after other heavyweight parties confirmed they would not contest the vote for Farage’s seat in southeast England. Count Binface, a self-described “intergalactic space warrior”, is the only other person to have said so far that they would run. In a...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was leaving Turkey aboard an older Air Force One aircraft rather than a recently renovated Qatari-donated jet, an unexpected switch that renewed scrutiny of the costly, fast-tracked retrofit. The trip to Turkey, the first international travel ‌for the new plane, took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, a country that borders Turkey. The switch follows months of scrutiny over the luxury gift intended to serve as a temporary replacement while...

The Pitt led all nominees with 25 in a dominant second season, while Hacks led all comedies with 24 for its final season as the Emmy nominations were announced on Wednesday. HBO Max’s emergency room series The Pitt was a rookie upstart last year with big wins including best drama series, best actor for Noah Wyle and best supporting actress for Katherine LaNasa. Already a beloved veteran show, it owned this year’s acting categories. Wyle was nominated again, as was LaNasa. Taylor Dearden, Fiona...

Spain remained calm in the face of US President Donald Trump’s latest attack on Wednesday – which saw him order a halt to all trade with the country – as Madrid stressed its relationship with Washington remained “positive”. Trump called Spain a “wasted cause” and “hopeless, bad people” during comments to reporters ahead of a Nato leaders’ meeting in Ankara, and ordered officials to cut off trade with the country – the second time Trump has made such a threat since March. The US leader has...

Hong Kong’s rail operator has launched a new advertising campaign featuring veteran actor Kent Cheng Jak-si, aiming to discourage the long-standing commuter habit of walking on escalators after reports of more than 500 related accidents annually. In the MTR Corporation’s promotional video, to be shown in stations and on social media, the 75-year-old actor demonstrates safe escalator use, drawing on a catchphrase from his role as the ancient Chinese politician Dong Zhao in a 2012 TVB...

Civilian and navy searchers off Pakistan’s coast on Wednesday located and recovered wreckage of a cargo plane that disappeared while approaching the southern port of Karachi, and a search continues for five missing crew members, officials said. The aircraft operated by the private carrier K2 Airways had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and reported a navigational system problem before losing contact with air traffic control late on Tuesday. The Pakistani navy and civilian teams...