The US Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to continue construction of his White House ballroom project for now, temporarily pausing a judicial order that would halt much of the development. The court’s action, known as an administrative stay, gives the justices additional time to consider the administration’s formal request to let it continue working on the US$400 million ballroom while a lawsuit by a historic preservation ‌group seeking to stop the project...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday it was time to end the months-long Middle East war with the US because Tehran appeared to be in a stronger position than Washington. Talks between the long-time foes remain on hold, and the war started by the US and Israel in February has been locked in a stalemate. Tehran is keeping the key Strait of Hormuz partially shut, and Washington is persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran. “It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we...

Turkey has sought an international arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of “genocide” linked to Israel’s interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the justice minister announced Friday. Turkey has become a virulent critic of Israel’s war in Gaza. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has frequently accused Netanyahu of “genocide”. Israel’s interception of the flotilla carrying some 430 activists in May sparked an international outcry. France, Italy and Australia...

Southeast Asian leaders have long insisted they will not be forced to pick sides in the great-power rivalry between the US and China. But their posture is about to be further tested. This time, the battleground is AI. While Washington wants the region locked into Pax Silica – its bid to build a China-free artificial intelligence supply chain – Beijing wants its neighbours to join China’s own World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico). Sources told the South China Morning Post...

An 18-year-old man armed with a sword attacked students at a Swedish high school on Friday, killing one person and injuring three, and police shot and detained him as media reported the attacker was a former student at the school. The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at the Brinell high school in the central Swedish town of Fagersta, which has about 13,000 residents. The ‌school had just reopened after summer recess, and for some students, it was their first day. Police told a press...

A former assistant warden at a residential home for the intellectually disabled in Hong Kong has been accused of raping a resident multiple times two years ago. Chung Pui-kei has been charged with five counts of rape of a mentally incapacitated woman who lived at a home in Tai Po linked to the Hong Chi Association, an NGO, between July and August 2024. Prosecutor Human Lam Hiu-man outlined the five alleged incidents at the High Court on Friday and called a psychiatrist and a clinical...

Tesla has issued the largest-ever product recall in mainland China’s electric vehicle (EV) market, as Elon Musk’s firm pledges to fix a door-handle issue affecting nearly 3 million cars. The massive recall comes as Chinese regulators move to ban retractable car door handles over safety fears, after a fatal incident last year in which a driver was left trapped inside a burning vehicle as passers-by were unable to open the car doors. While Tesla is not the only company affected by the move, the US...