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As the Rohingya influx completes nine years and nnow enters its tenth year, Bangladesh has urged the international community to keep the pressure on Myanmar so that the refugees can be sent back. Bangladesh government and stakeholders said that the country cannot shoulder the burden of the protracted Rohingya crisis indefinitely on its own. Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, attended the event titled “The Rohingya Exodus: Challenges and the Future of this Protracted Crisis”, jointly organised with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) in Cox’s Bazar. Siam opined that the international community must “sustain meaningful political and diplomatic pressure on Myanmar to create conditions for their safe and dignified return.”&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bangladesh-urges-stronger-bimstec-security-cooperation-amid-rohingya-crisis-regional-threats-at-delhi-nsas-meet-1784271233757">Bangladesh urges stronger BIMSTEC security cooperation amid Rohingya crisis, regional threats at Delhi NSAs meet</a>&nbsp;The event was also attended by representatives from UN agencies, donor agencies, INGOs, NGOs, local representatives, Rohingya leaders and other humanitarian actors. The crisis demands an action-oriented and time-bound roadmap, developed through robust coordination among the government, UN, donors, humanitarian organisations and other relevant stakeholders, the speakers said. They said preparing the Rohingya population for eventual repatriation requires investment in education, skills development, vocational capacities and digital learning. A durable solution ultimately lies in a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return to their homeland, said the speakers.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/around-126-000-rohingya-registered-with-unhcr-in-malaysia-1785474718626">Around 126,000 Rohingya registered with UNHCR in Malaysia</a>&nbsp;"We are from the government and the country... We are trying to keep the issue alive in international and regional forums. And the way we look forward to is to keep the diplomatic pressure on so that at some point they will be able to return", Siam told ANI. "The funding is decreasing, we all know that, but we are trying to gather more support for increased funding. And we are talking to our bilateral partners, our international partners, to increase the funding for the Rohingyas in the camps", Siam added.<h2>Rohingya Issue raised in Delhi</h2>Last month, Bangladesh called for deeper regional collaboration on security issues including the Rohingya refugee crisis at the fifth meeting of BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs in New Delhi. In a detailed country statement, Dr Shamsul Islam, Defence Adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and head of the delegation, stressed that security and development in the Bay of Bengal region are “inseparable,” and highlighted the “prolonged crissis.” This prolonged crisis is an exceptional humanitarian issue," he said. He urged all BIMSTEC member states to collectively create conditions for the Rohingyas' return. The meeting, chaired by India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, brought together security chiefs from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand to address evolving non-traditional security challenges in the region.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam urged sustained international pressure on Myanmar for the safe, dignified return of Rohingya refugees, warning that Bangladesh cannot bear the protracted crisis alone as funding declines and camps face worsening humanitarian conditions.

As the Rohingya influx completes nine years and nnow enters its tenth year, Bangladesh has urged the international community to keep the pressure on Myanmar so that the refugees can be sent back. Bangladesh government and stakeholders said that the country cannot shoulder the burden of the protracted Rohingya crisis indefinitely on its own. Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam, attended the event titled “The Rohingya Exodus: Challenges and the Future of this Protracted Crisis”, jointly organised with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) in Cox’s Bazar. Siam opined that the international community must “sustain meaningful political and diplomatic pressure on Myanmar to create conditions for their safe and dignified return.” Also Read: Bangladesh urges stronger BIMSTEC security cooperation amid Rohingya crisis, regional threats at Delhi NSAs meet The event was also attended by representatives from UN agencies, donor agencies, INGOs, NGOs, local representatives, Rohingya leaders and other humanitarian actors. The crisis demands an action-oriented and time-bound roadmap, developed through robust coordination among the government, UN, donors, humanitarian organisations and other relevant stakeholders, the speakers said. They said preparing the Rohingya population for eventual repatriation requires investment in education, skills development, vocational capacities and digital learning. A durable solution ultimately lies in a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return to their homeland, said the speakers. Also Read: Around 126,000 Rohingya registered with UNHCR in Malaysia "We are from the government and the country... We are trying to keep the issue alive in international and regional forums. And the way we look forward to is to keep the diplomatic pressure on so that at some point they will be able to return", Siam told ANI. "The funding is decreasing, we all know that, but we are trying to gather more support for increased funding. And we are talking to our bilateral partners, our international partners, to increase the funding for the Rohingyas in the camps", Siam added. Rohingya Issue raised in Delhi Last month, Bangladesh called for deeper regional collaboration on security issues including the Rohingya refugee crisis at the fifth meeting of BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs in New Delhi. In a detailed country statement, Dr Shamsul Islam, Defence Adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and head of the delegation, stressed that security and development in the Bay of Bengal region are “inseparable,” and highlighted the “prolonged crissis.” This prolonged crisis is an exceptional humanitarian issue," he said. He urged all BIMSTEC member states to collectively create conditions for the Rohingyas' return. The meeting, chaired by India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, brought together security chiefs from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand to address evolving non-traditional security challenges in the region.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam urged sustained international pressure on Myanmar for the safe, dignified return of Rohingya refugees, warning that Bangladesh cannot bear the protracted crisis alone as funding declines and camps face worsening humanitarian conditions.

'Keep the diplomatic pressure on': Bangladesh urges global pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya return as crisis enters 10th year

The US Supreme Court on Monday (Aug 24)gave President Donald Trump a temporary victory in his effort to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections, allowing key parts of his executive order to move forward while the broader legal battle continues.The court's 6-3 decision lifted a lower court's injunction that had blocked parts of Trump's March 31 executive order, which seeks to impose new federal requirements on mail-in ballots. The justices did not rule that the order is ultimately constitutional.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/canada-us-trade-war-ontario-premier-doug-ford-slams-trump-calls-him-a-dictator-and-king-of-bankruptcies-1787618087063">Canada-US trade war: Ontario Premier Doug Ford slams Trump, calls him a 'dictator' and 'king of bankruptcies'</a><h2>What does Trump's order seek to change?</h2>The executive order directs the federal government to create lists of eligible voters and requires the US Postal Service to deliver mail-in or absentee ballots only to voters whose names appear on the relevant lists.It also calls for new federal requirements covering ballot envelopes and directs the investigation and prosecution of election officials who provide federal ballots to people deemed ineligible.The order has faced challenges from Democratic-led states, which argue that election administration is primarily controlled by states and Congress, rather than the president.<h2>Supreme Court leaves final ruling open</h2>The Supreme Court's unsigned opinion said the lower court lacked jurisdiction to block the administration from attempting to implement the order. But the justices stopped short of deciding whether the measures themselves are lawful.Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/america-s-debt-hits-a-staggering-40-trillion-is-the-us-heading-for-a-crisis-1787187559842">America's debt hits a staggering $40 trillion for the first time. Is the US heading for a crisis?</a>"The Court's disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful," the court said. "On that score, time will tell," they added. The three liberal justices dissented to the verdict.<h2>Legal battle is far from over</h2>The ruling does not clear the way for every part of Trump's order. A separate injunction affecting the Postal Service's implementation of key provisions remains in place, meaning further court proceedings could still alter how much of the order takes effect before the midterms.Democratic leaders condemned the Supreme Court's decision. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "disgrace", while California Governor Gavin Newsom said his state would pursue another legal challenge.Trump has long attacked mail-in voting, repeatedly claiming without evidence that it is vulnerable to fraud. Yet he has also used mail voting himself, including during a Republican primary in Florida this month. Notably, with the November elections approaching, the legal fight over his voting order could have major implications for states that rely heavily on mail ballots.

Donald Trump has won a temporary legal boost in his fight to restrict mail-in voting, just months before the US midterms. But the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether the president's election order is ultimately constitutional.

The US Supreme Court on Monday (Aug 24)gave President Donald Trump a temporary victory in his effort to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections, allowing key parts of his executive order to move forward while the broader legal battle continues. The court's 6-3 decision lifted a lower court's injunction that had blocked parts of Trump's March 31 executive order, which seeks to impose new federal requirements on mail-in ballots. The justices did not rule that the order is ultimately constitutional. Also read | Canada-US trade war: Ontario Premier Doug Ford slams Trump, calls him a 'dictator' and 'king of bankruptcies' What does Trump's order seek to change? The executive order directs the federal government to create lists of eligible voters and requires the US Postal Service to deliver mail-in or absentee ballots only to voters whose names appear on the relevant lists. It also calls for new federal requirements covering ballot envelopes and directs the investigation and prosecution of election officials who provide federal ballots to people deemed ineligible. The order has faced challenges from Democratic-led states, which argue that election administration is primarily controlled by states and Congress, rather than the president. Supreme Court leaves final ruling open The Supreme Court's unsigned opinion said the lower court lacked jurisdiction to block the administration from attempting to implement the order. But the justices stopped short of deciding whether the measures themselves are lawful. Also read | America's debt hits a staggering $40 trillion for the first time. Is the US heading for a crisis? "The Court's disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful," the court said. "On that score, time will tell," they added. The three liberal justices dissented to the verdict. Legal battle is far from over The ruling does not clear the way for every part of Trump's order. A separate injunction affecting the Postal Service's implementation of key provisions remains in place, meaning further court proceedings could still alter how much of the order takes effect before the midterms. Democratic leaders condemned the Supreme Court's decision. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "disgrace", while California Governor Gavin Newsom said his state would pursue another legal challenge. Trump has long attacked mail-in voting, repeatedly claiming without evidence that it is vulnerable to fraud. Yet he has also used mail voting himself, including during a Republican primary in Florida this month. Notably, with the November elections approaching, the legal fight over his voting order could have major implications for states that rely heavily on mail ballots.

Donald Trump has won a temporary legal boost in his fight to restrict mail-in voting, just months before the US midterms. But the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether the president's election order is ultimately constitutional.

US Supreme Court gives Trump temporary win on mail-in voting restrictions

Latest News Today Live Updates: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has launched a fierce attack on US President Donald Trump, calling him a "bully", "dictator" and "loser" as tensions over tariffs and stalled Canada-US trade talks intensify. Trump has warned Canada of "far worse" consequences, while Ford said he was ready for the confrontation.The US Supreme Court meanwhile has handed Trump a temporary victory on mail-in voting restrictions, allowing parts of his executive order to move forward while leaving its ultimate legality unresolved.US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington is not ruling out military strikes against Iran or in the Strait of Hormuz as the US increases economic pressure on Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also launched "Operation Economic Outcast" to target Iran's financial lifelines.In India's Rajasthan's, at least 27 children fell ill after allegedly consuming a mid-day meal at a government school in Kota. Officials said the children experienced symptoms including vomiting, dizziness and headaches, while a probe into the food quality has been launched.Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi to brief him on the state's flood damage. The Centre assured Assam of support for relief, rehabilitation and restoration efforts.

Waterlogged roads, waist-deep water and crawling traffic - heavy rain in Delhi on Monday brought life to a standstill. But it is not over. The national capital is once again witnessing rain, which is expected to intensify through the day. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for the capital, warning of lightning, thunderstorms with gusty winds and heavy rain.

Delhi witnesses heavy rain for 2nd day, Red Alert issued

Asian stocks traded mixed on Tuesday while oil prices edged higher as investors assessed the US campaign to economically isolate Iran and stalled efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.Iran impactOil prices rose after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an "economic D-Day" against Tehran, with sanctions targeting Iran's digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping sectors. The threat has added to concerns over energy supplies and inflation.Nvidia in focusTech stocks remained under pressure ahead of Nvidia's earnings, with investors watching whether the chip giant can meet high expectations surrounding the AI boom. Seoul's tech-heavy market fell sharply, while Tokyo and Sydney posted gains.MarketsBrent crude rose 0.5% to $92.59 a barrel, while WTI gained 0.7% to $85.57. The Nikkei edged up 0.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3%. &nbsp;

Asian stocks waver, oil rises as markets track Iran tensions and Nvidia results

Days after a Bihar school meal incident made headlines, another mid-day meal scare has emerged in Rajasthan. At least 27 children in Kota complained of vomiting, dizziness and headaches after eating at a government school.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/rajasthan-mid-day-meal-scare-27-school-children-fall-ill-in-kota-days-after-bihar-surf-in-food-incident-1787622814591">All we know</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn1.wionews.com/prod/wion/images/2026/20260825/image-1787624401323.png?rect=(0,0,1200,900)"></figure>

Rajasthan mid-day meal scare: 27 school children fall ill in Kota days after Bihar surf in food incident

Ontario Premier Doug Ford launched a fierce attack on US President Donald Trump on Monday (Aug 24), calling him a "bully", "dictator" and "loser" as tensions between Canada and the United States intensified over tariffs and stalled trade talks.Ford's comments came after Trump described Ford as the "less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother" of the late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/canada-us-trade-war-ontario-premier-doug-ford-slams-trump-calls-him-a-dictator-and-king-of-bankruptcies-1787618087063">Here's what he said</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn1.wionews.com/prod/wion/images/2026/20260825/image-1787619671863.png?rect=(0,0,1200,900)"></figure>

Canada-US trade war: Ontario Premier Doug Ford slams Trump, calls him a 'dictator' and 'king of bankruptcies'

The US Supreme Court on Monday (Aug 24)gave President Donald Trump a temporary victory in his effort to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections, allowing key parts of his executive order to move forward while the broader legal battle continues.<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-supreme-court-gives-trump-temporary-win-on-mail-in-voting-restrictions-1787620685760">All you need to know</a><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn1.wionews.com/prod/wion/images/2026/20260825/image-1787620793080.png?rect=(0,0,1200,900)"></figure>

Latest News Today Live Updates: Stay connected to WION News for the latest updates from India and around the globe, including major developments in Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, global security, diplomacy, energy markets, and other breaking stories shaping the world.

Latest News Today Live Updates: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has launched a fierce attack on US President Donald Trump, calling him a "bully", "dictator" and "loser" as tensions over tariffs and stalled Canada-US trade talks intensify. Trump has warned Canada of "far worse" consequences, while Ford said he was ready for the confrontation. The US Supreme Court meanwhile has handed Trump a temporary victory on mail-in voting restrictions, allowing parts of his executive order to move forward while leaving its ultimate legality unresolved. US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington is not ruling out military strikes against Iran or in the Strait of Hormuz as the US increases economic pressure on Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also launched "Operation Economic Outcast" to target Iran's financial lifelines. In India's Rajasthan's, at least 27 children fell ill after allegedly consuming a mid-day meal at a government school in Kota. Officials said the children experienced symptoms including vomiting, dizziness and headaches, while a probe into the food quality has been launched. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi to brief him on the state's flood damage. The Centre assured Assam of support for relief, rehabilitation and restoration efforts.

Latest News Today Live Updates: Stay connected to WION News for the latest updates from India and around the globe, including major developments in Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, global security, diplomacy, energy markets, and other breaking stories shaping the world.

LIVE Updates | Latest India & World News Today: Hegseth threatens Iran, US-Canada trade tensions and more

Ontario Premier Doug Ford launched a fierce attack on US President Donald Trump on Monday (Aug 24), calling him a "bully", "dictator" and "loser" as tensions between Canada and the United States intensified over tariffs and stalled trade talks.Ford's comments came after Trump publicly criticised the Ontario premier on Truth Social, escalating an already bitter dispute between the two countries. Trump had described Ford as the "less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother" of the late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. The post followed comments by Ford in which he told an Ottawa radio programme that Trump could "kiss my ass".Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-don-t-need-canada-they-need-us-trump-announces-50-tariffs-on-imported-cars-trucks-from-canada-starting-jan-2027-1787583181567">Trump announces 50% tariffs on imported cars, trucks from Canada</a><h2>Ford hits back at Trump</h2>Speaking at a news conference in Hamilton, Ford initially said he would not respond to a "dictator" and "bully". He then launched into a lengthy response directed at the US president."I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass," Ford said.He accused Trump of "tariffing his own people" and criticised the US president's record on business. "I am not going to take any advice off a guy that is the king of bankruptcies," Ford said.Ford also told Americans that he believed Trump's trade policies would hurt US workers and urged voters to consider that when they cast ballots in the upcoming midterm elections.<h2>Trump warns Canada of 'far worse' consequences</h2>Trump, meanwhile, said Canada "couldn't survive" without the US and accused Ford and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of refusing to cooperate with Washington.Calling them "Governor Carney and his flunky, Ford", Trump warned: "Someone should get these clowns to 'fall in line' or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!"Ford responded by saying he was ready for the confrontation. "Good. I have been in this game a lot longer than he has," he said, adding: "Bring it on."Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/foolish-to-fight-trump-admin-escalates-trade-war-warning-to-canada-after-talks-breakdown-1787500955103">Trump admin escalates trade war warning to Canada after talks breakdown</a><h2>Trade war pushes tensions higher</h2>The personal clash comes as Canada and the US remain locked in a wider trade dispute. Trump has threatened to impose a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian vehicles by 2027, while Canada has announced retaliatory measures.Talks on a new trade agreement broke down on Friday after Carney accused Washington of making last-minute changes that were "unfair, uneconomic" and raised questions about the reliability of any deal.Ford backed Carney's decision not to accept what he called a bad agreement, but acknowledged that prolonged trade tensions would bring economic pain. He urged Ottawa to take steps to protect affected industries and said Canada needed to keep "everything on the table", including measures involving electricity, fuel, potash and uranium."This is about survival right now," Ford said.

The Canada-US trade fight has turned deeply personal. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has fired back at Donald Trump with a string of insults after the US president threatened Canada with "far worse" consequences.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford launched a fierce attack on US President Donald Trump on Monday (Aug 24), calling him a "bully", "dictator" and "loser" as tensions between Canada and the United States intensified over tariffs and stalled trade talks. Ford's comments came after Trump publicly criticised the Ontario premier on Truth Social, escalating an already bitter dispute between the two countries. Trump had described Ford as the "less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother" of the late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. The post followed comments by Ford in which he told an Ottawa radio programme that Trump could "kiss my ass". Also read | Trump announces 50% tariffs on imported cars, trucks from Canada Ford hits back at Trump Speaking at a news conference in Hamilton, Ford initially said he would not respond to a "dictator" and "bully". He then launched into a lengthy response directed at the US president. "I have a lot of real estate on my ass, so he has a lot of room to kiss my ass," Ford said. He accused Trump of "tariffing his own people" and criticised the US president's record on business. "I am not going to take any advice off a guy that is the king of bankruptcies," Ford said. Ford also told Americans that he believed Trump's trade policies would hurt US workers and urged voters to consider that when they cast ballots in the upcoming midterm elections. Trump warns Canada of 'far worse' consequences Trump, meanwhile, said Canada "couldn't survive" without the US and accused Ford and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of refusing to cooperate with Washington. Calling them "Governor Carney and his flunky, Ford", Trump warned: "Someone should get these clowns to 'fall in line' or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!" Ford responded by saying he was ready for the confrontation. "Good. I have been in this game a lot longer than he has," he said, adding: "Bring it on." Also read | Trump admin escalates trade war warning to Canada after talks breakdown Trade war pushes tensions higher The personal clash comes as Canada and the US remain locked in a wider trade dispute. Trump has threatened to impose a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian vehicles by 2027, while Canada has announced retaliatory measures. Talks on a new trade agreement broke down on Friday after Carney accused Washington of making last-minute changes that were "unfair, uneconomic" and raised questions about the reliability of any deal. Ford backed Carney's decision not to accept what he called a bad agreement, but acknowledged that prolonged trade tensions would bring economic pain. He urged Ottawa to take steps to protect affected industries and said Canada needed to keep "everything on the table", including measures involving electricity, fuel, potash and uranium. "This is about survival right now," Ford said.

The Canada-US trade fight has turned deeply personal. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has fired back at Donald Trump with a string of insults after the US president threatened Canada with "far worse" consequences.

Amazon raised the price of the Echo Dot by 60 per cent, to $79.99. It did so overnight, without an announcement, and when asked it pointed to the cost of memory.&nbsp;It is not wrong about the cost of memory. It is also one of the reasons memory costs what it does.&nbsp;What Changed&nbsp;The increases ran across four product lines. The 16GB Kindle went from $109.99 to $149.99. The Kindle Paperwhite went from $159.99 to $199.99. The Fire TV Stick HD rose from $34.99 to $39.99, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max from $59.99 to $84.99, and the Fire TV Cube from $139.99 to $199.99. Eero networking hardware was also repriced.&nbsp;Amazon's explanation was that the consumer electronics industry is 'facing significant increases in memory and storage component costs', and that after 'absorbing these increases for as long as we could, we recently adjusted pricing across our product lines'.&nbsp;That statement is accurate. Memory prices have risen sharply, and every device maker is dealing with the same input cost.&nbsp;Where The Shortage Comes From&nbsp;Memory is manufactured on fixed capacity that takes years and billions to expand. When demand rises faster than fabs can be built, the price moves.&nbsp;What has moved demand is AI infrastructure. Training and serving large models consumes high-bandwidth memory in volumes that did not exist three years ago, and the companies buying it are not price-sensitive in the way a consumer electronics manufacturer is. A hyperscaler ordering memory for a data centre will pay what is asked, because the alternative is idle GPUs worth far more than the memory.&nbsp;Consumer devices compete for the remainder. An Echo Dot and an AI accelerator are not made from identical parts, but they draw on overlapping supply, shared fabrication capacity and the same manufacturers' allocation decisions. When the high-margin customer expands, the low-margin one pays more or waits.&nbsp;Amazon is spending in the region of $220 billion on AI infrastructure this year. It is among the largest single sources of the demand it is now citing as the reason its speakers cost more.&nbsp;Why That Is Not Hypocrisy, Exactly&nbsp;It is worth resisting the easy version of this story, because the mechanism is more interesting than the irony.&nbsp;Amazon's devices division and its cloud division are not coordinating a squeeze. The devices business genuinely faces higher input costs and has genuinely absorbed them for a period. The cloud business genuinely needs memory to serve customers who are paying for AI capacity. Both are behaving rationally.&nbsp;The point is structural rather than moral. When one part of an industry can outbid every other part for a shared input, the cost surfaces somewhere — and it surfaces where the buyer has least power. In this case that is a household buying a $50 speaker, who has no idea their purchase is competing with a data centre.&nbsp;The End Of A Business Model&nbsp;There is a second consequence, and it may outlast the shortage.&nbsp;Amazon's hardware strategy was never about hardware margin. Echo, Fire TV and Kindle were sold at or below cost to place Amazon inside the home, where the returns come from what people buy, watch and read afterwards. Cheap devices were the entry fee for an ecosystem.&nbsp;A 60 per cent increase on the cheapest device in that range breaks the logic. A $79.99 Echo Dot is not an impulse purchase in the way a $49.99 one was, and the whole strategy depended on the impulse.&nbsp;Either Amazon has decided the ecosystem is established enough to survive being charged for, or the component costs have simply made the subsidy unaffordable. Neither reading suggests a return to the old prices when memory eases.&nbsp;The Wider Pattern&nbsp;The same pressure is visible further up the supply chain, and it is producing acquisitions.&nbsp;nVent has agreed to buy Maverick Power, an electrical infrastructure company with roughly $700 million in projected revenue, for $1.75 billion plus up to $550 million in performance payments. Infineon has acquired C2i Semiconductors, a Bengaluru startup specialising in power management for AI data centres.&nbsp;Power distribution and thermal management were unglamorous businesses eighteen months ago. They are being bought now because data centre construction has made them scarce, in the same way memory became scarce.&nbsp;What It Means&nbsp;The AI build-out has largely been discussed as something happening to companies — capital expenditure, valuations, chip supply. The Echo Dot is the point at which it becomes something happening to households.&nbsp;It will not be the last such point. Memory sits in phones, laptops, televisions and cars. Electrical equipment sits in every building anyone constructs. An infrastructure boom of this size does not stay inside the industry that started it, and the mechanism by which it escapes is price.

Amazon raised Echo, Kindle, Fire TV and eero prices by up to 60 per cent, citing memory and storage component costs. It is also spending around $220 billion on AI infrastructure this year — a principal cause of that shortage.

Amazon raised the price of the Echo Dot by 60 per cent, to $79.99. It did so overnight, without an announcement, and when asked it pointed to the cost of memory. It is not wrong about the cost of memory. It is also one of the reasons memory costs what it does. What Changed The increases ran across four product lines. The 16GB Kindle went from $109.99 to $149.99. The Kindle Paperwhite went from $159.99 to $199.99. The Fire TV Stick HD rose from $34.99 to $39.99, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max from $59.99 to $84.99, and the Fire TV Cube from $139.99 to $199.99. Eero networking hardware was also repriced. Amazon's explanation was that the consumer electronics industry is 'facing significant increases in memory and storage component costs', and that after 'absorbing these increases for as long as we could, we recently adjusted pricing across our product lines'. That statement is accurate. Memory prices have risen sharply, and every device maker is dealing with the same input cost. Where The Shortage Comes From Memory is manufactured on fixed capacity that takes years and billions to expand. When demand rises faster than fabs can be built, the price moves. What has moved demand is AI infrastructure. Training and serving large models consumes high-bandwidth memory in volumes that did not exist three years ago, and the companies buying it are not price-sensitive in the way a consumer electronics manufacturer is. A hyperscaler ordering memory for a data centre will pay what is asked, because the alternative is idle GPUs worth far more than the memory. Consumer devices compete for the remainder. An Echo Dot and an AI accelerator are not made from identical parts, but they draw on overlapping supply, shared fabrication capacity and the same manufacturers' allocation decisions. When the high-margin customer expands, the low-margin one pays more or waits. Amazon is spending in the region of $220 billion on AI infrastructure this year. It is among the largest single sources of the demand it is now citing as the reason its speakers cost more. Why That Is Not Hypocrisy, Exactly It is worth resisting the easy version of this story, because the mechanism is more interesting than the irony. Amazon's devices division and its cloud division are not coordinating a squeeze. The devices business genuinely faces higher input costs and has genuinely absorbed them for a period. The cloud business genuinely needs memory to serve customers who are paying for AI capacity. Both are behaving rationally. The point is structural rather than moral. When one part of an industry can outbid every other part for a shared input, the cost surfaces somewhere — and it surfaces where the buyer has least power. In this case that is a household buying a $50 speaker, who has no idea their purchase is competing with a data centre. The End Of A Business Model There is a second consequence, and it may outlast the shortage. Amazon's hardware strategy was never about hardware margin. Echo, Fire TV and Kindle were sold at or below cost to place Amazon inside the home, where the returns come from what people buy, watch and read afterwards. Cheap devices were the entry fee for an ecosystem. A 60 per cent increase on the cheapest device in that range breaks the logic. A $79.99 Echo Dot is not an impulse purchase in the way a $49.99 one was, and the whole strategy depended on the impulse. Either Amazon has decided the ecosystem is established enough to survive being charged for, or the component costs have simply made the subsidy unaffordable. Neither reading suggests a return to the old prices when memory eases. The Wider Pattern The same pressure is visible further up the supply chain, and it is producing acquisitions. nVent has agreed to buy Maverick Power, an electrical infrastructure company with roughly $700 million in projected revenue, for $1.75 billion plus up to $550 million in performance payments. Infineon has acquired C2i Semiconductors, a Bengaluru startup specialising in power management for AI data centres. Power distribution and thermal management were unglamorous businesses eighteen months ago. They are being bought now because data centre construction has made them scarce, in the same way memory became scarce. What It Means The AI build-out has largely been discussed as something happening to companies — capital expenditure, valuations, chip supply. The Echo Dot is the point at which it becomes something happening to households. It will not be the last such point. Memory sits in phones, laptops, televisions and cars. Electrical equipment sits in every building anyone constructs. An infrastructure boom of this size does not stay inside the industry that started it, and the mechanism by which it escapes is price.

Amazon has raised prices across Echo, Kindle, Fire TV and eero, by as much as 60 per cent, blaming significant increases in memory and storage component costs. The Echo Dot went to $79.99 overnight. The same company is spending roughly $220 billion on AI infrastructure this year, which is among the principal causes of the memory shortage it is citing.

Amazon is spending $220 billion on AI! Your Echo Dot just went up 60% to pay for the memory

Export controls on advanced chips rest on an assumption that is rarely stated: that the companies selling the hardware are the ones enforcing the rules.&nbsp;An indictment filed in Taiwan on August 24 tests that assumption directly.&nbsp;The Charges&nbsp;The Keelung District Prosecutors' Office has indicted nine people over the alleged illegal resale to buyers in China of Supermicro AI servers fitted with Nvidia's B300 graphics processors, a class of hardware barred from export to Chinese customers.&nbsp;The accused include a distribution manager surnamed Chang at Nvidia's Taiwan office, two sales managers surnamed Lin and Wang at the Taiwan branch of Supermicro Computer, and the chief executive of Albatron Technology, a Supermicro distributor.&nbsp;Eight of the nine face charges of breach of trust and document forgery. Three of those also face embezzlement charges.&nbsp;These are allegations. None has been tested at trial, and everyone charged is entitled to the presumption of innocence.&nbsp;The Route&nbsp;The detail that makes the case significant is the logistics, because it is the most complete public account so far of how restricted American hardware is alleged to move through Taiwan's distribution chain to Chinese end users.&nbsp;Prosecutors say 74 servers containing the restricted chips reached China. Fifty were routed through Indonesia. Eight went via Japan. The remainder were shipped directly to the mainland.&nbsp;A further 56 servers were intercepted by customs at Taiwan's border before they left.&nbsp;Routing through a third country is the oldest technique in export evasion and the hardest to stop, because the paperwork at each leg can be individually unremarkable. A shipment to Indonesia is a shipment to Indonesia. What makes it a violation is where it goes next, and that is not visible on the document the exporter signs — which is why document forgery sits among the charges.&nbsp;Why The Employer Detail Matters&nbsp;The alleged participants were not outside brokers who acquired hardware on a grey market. According to the indictment they held positions inside the distribution chain itself — at the chipmaker's local office, at the server manufacturer's local branch, and at an authorised distributor.&nbsp;That is the part with implications beyond this case.&nbsp;American export controls are enforced substantially through the companies subject to them. Firms are required to know their customers, verify end users, and refuse sales that would breach the rules. The regime depends on that internal compliance functioning, because customs authorities cannot inspect the ultimate destination of every server that leaves Taiwan.&nbsp;If diversion can be organised by people holding the roles designed to prevent it, the control is only as strong as the individual staff administering it at each link. That is a materially weaker proposition than the policy assumes.&nbsp;It Is Not An Isolated Case&nbsp;The indictment lands five months after the United States Justice Department charged Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw, known as Wally Liaw, and two others in a parallel diversion scheme prosecutors valued at $2.5 billion.&nbsp;Two separate proceedings, in two jurisdictions, both concerning restricted hardware reaching China through the same manufacturer's distribution network, suggest a pattern rather than an aberration.&nbsp;The Awkward Timing&nbsp;This arrives in the same month that Washington's legal export channel to China has been running at a fraction of capacity.&nbsp;Nvidia's H200 chips were approved for sale to around ten cleared Chinese buyers under a framework that routes them through United States territory for screening and returns 25 per cent of the revenue to the Treasury. ByteDance and Tencent have each taken roughly 10,000 units against licences permitting 75,000 — about 13 per cent of what they are allowed to buy.&nbsp;So the legal route is underused while the illegal one is being prosecuted. Those two facts are not contradictory, and read together they say something specific: the demand is concentrated on the hardware that remains restricted, not on the hardware Washington has agreed to release.&nbsp;The B300 is a generation ahead of the H200. That is what was allegedly being smuggled, and no framework exists to sell it legally.&nbsp;What Follows&nbsp;The practical consequence for Nvidia and Supermicro is compliance cost. Both will face pressure to demonstrate that internal controls at regional offices and authorised distributors can withstand exactly this kind of failure, and both are likely to face questions from American regulators about supervision of their own staff.&nbsp;The broader consequence is for the policy. There is a live legislative effort in Washington to close a separate gap — the Remote Access Security Act, which would treat renting compute remotely as an export event, and which passed the House in January.&nbsp;That bill addresses chips that never move. This indictment concerns chips that did. A control regime being extended to cover remote access, while physical diversion is allegedly being organised from inside the distribution chain, is a regime with more perimeter than it can currently police.

Keelung prosecutors indicted nine over the alleged resale to China of Supermicro servers carrying restricted Nvidia B300 chips. They say 74 servers were smuggled, 50 via Indonesia, and 56 more were stopped at the border.

Export controls on advanced chips rest on an assumption that is rarely stated: that the companies selling the hardware are the ones enforcing the rules. An indictment filed in Taiwan on August 24 tests that assumption directly. The Charges The Keelung District Prosecutors' Office has indicted nine people over the alleged illegal resale to buyers in China of Supermicro AI servers fitted with Nvidia's B300 graphics processors, a class of hardware barred from export to Chinese customers. The accused include a distribution manager surnamed Chang at Nvidia's Taiwan office, two sales managers surnamed Lin and Wang at the Taiwan branch of Supermicro Computer, and the chief executive of Albatron Technology, a Supermicro distributor. Eight of the nine face charges of breach of trust and document forgery. Three of those also face embezzlement charges. These are allegations. None has been tested at trial, and everyone charged is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The Route The detail that makes the case significant is the logistics, because it is the most complete public account so far of how restricted American hardware is alleged to move through Taiwan's distribution chain to Chinese end users. Prosecutors say 74 servers containing the restricted chips reached China. Fifty were routed through Indonesia. Eight went via Japan. The remainder were shipped directly to the mainland. A further 56 servers were intercepted by customs at Taiwan's border before they left. Routing through a third country is the oldest technique in export evasion and the hardest to stop, because the paperwork at each leg can be individually unremarkable. A shipment to Indonesia is a shipment to Indonesia. What makes it a violation is where it goes next, and that is not visible on the document the exporter signs — which is why document forgery sits among the charges. Why The Employer Detail Matters The alleged participants were not outside brokers who acquired hardware on a grey market. According to the indictment they held positions inside the distribution chain itself — at the chipmaker's local office, at the server manufacturer's local branch, and at an authorised distributor. That is the part with implications beyond this case. American export controls are enforced substantially through the companies subject to them. Firms are required to know their customers, verify end users, and refuse sales that would breach the rules. The regime depends on that internal compliance functioning, because customs authorities cannot inspect the ultimate destination of every server that leaves Taiwan. If diversion can be organised by people holding the roles designed to prevent it, the control is only as strong as the individual staff administering it at each link. That is a materially weaker proposition than the policy assumes. It Is Not An Isolated Case The indictment lands five months after the United States Justice Department charged Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw, known as Wally Liaw, and two others in a parallel diversion scheme prosecutors valued at $2.5 billion. Two separate proceedings, in two jurisdictions, both concerning restricted hardware reaching China through the same manufacturer's distribution network, suggest a pattern rather than an aberration. The Awkward Timing This arrives in the same month that Washington's legal export channel to China has been running at a fraction of capacity. Nvidia's H200 chips were approved for sale to around ten cleared Chinese buyers under a framework that routes them through United States territory for screening and returns 25 per cent of the revenue to the Treasury. ByteDance and Tencent have each taken roughly 10,000 units against licences permitting 75,000 — about 13 per cent of what they are allowed to buy. So the legal route is underused while the illegal one is being prosecuted. Those two facts are not contradictory, and read together they say something specific: the demand is concentrated on the hardware that remains restricted, not on the hardware Washington has agreed to release. The B300 is a generation ahead of the H200. That is what was allegedly being smuggled, and no framework exists to sell it legally. What Follows The practical consequence for Nvidia and Supermicro is compliance cost. Both will face pressure to demonstrate that internal controls at regional offices and authorised distributors can withstand exactly this kind of failure, and both are likely to face questions from American regulators about supervision of their own staff. The broader consequence is for the policy. There is a live legislative effort in Washington to close a separate gap — the Remote Access Security Act, which would treat renting compute remotely as an export event, and which passed the House in January. That bill addresses chips that never move. This indictment concerns chips that did. A control regime being extended to cover remote access, while physical diversion is allegedly being organised from inside the distribution chain, is a regime with more perimeter than it can currently police.

Keelung prosecutors have indicted nine people over the alleged illegal resale to China of Supermicro servers carrying Nvidia's restricted B300 chips. The accused include a distribution manager at Nvidia's Taiwan office and two sales managers at Supermicro's Taiwan branch. Prosecutors say 74 servers were smuggled, 50 of them routed through Indonesia, and 56 more were intercepted at the border.

Taiwan has indicted an Nvidia manager over servers routed to China through Indonesia

Xiaomi announced three of its own chips this week. The design work is Chinese. The manufacturing is not, and that is the whole story of China's semiconductor position in one product launch.&nbsp;What Was Announced&nbsp;The Xring O3, unveiled on August 24, is built on TSMC's N3P three-nanometre node — 24 billion transistors on a die of 133 square millimetres, with LPDDR6 memory support. Xiaomi says it has entered mass production.&nbsp;Two more were confirmed alongside it. The Xring O100 is a six-nanometre neural processing unit intended to run MiMo, Xiaomi's own large language model, directly on consumer devices. The Xring D100 is a three-nanometre chip for autonomous driving. Both have completed development and are scheduled for deployment next year.&nbsp;TSMC has been contracted to manufacture all three.&nbsp;The Investment&nbsp;Xiaomi has now put more than 20 billion yuan — roughly $3 billion — into the Xring programme. Its semiconductor design unit has grown to more than 3,000 people, up from 2,500 a year ago.&nbsp;That is a serious commitment by the standards of any phone maker. Only a handful of companies design their own flagship silicon at all: Apple, Samsung, Google to a degree, Huawei. Xiaomi has spent three years and $3 billion to join a very short list.&nbsp;The Number That Complicates It&nbsp;The O3 is aimed at an upcoming foldable phone, with production in the region of 200,000 to 300,000 units.&nbsp;That is not a mass-market chip programme. Apple ships more iPhones in a morning. At those volumes the per-unit economics are dreadful, and the O3 cannot be understood as a commercial product in the ordinary sense.&nbsp;It is better read as a capability demonstration — proof that Xiaomi can design a competitive flagship processor, aimed at reducing its dependence on Qualcomm over time and at competing with Huawei in the premium foldable segment where Chinese brands are fighting hardest.&nbsp;Designing Is Not Making&nbsp;The part that matters strategically is the one Xiaomi cannot solve with money.&nbsp;A three-nanometre chip requires extreme ultraviolet lithography. Those machines are made by one company, ASML in the Netherlands, and export controls prevent their sale to Chinese foundries. SMIC, China's most advanced domestic manufacturer, has produced seven-nanometre parts using older equipment and multi-patterning, at yields and costs that make the approach difficult to scale.&nbsp;So a Chinese company designing a leading-edge chip has one realistic route to production: TSMC, in Taiwan, using equipment China cannot buy.&nbsp;Every Xring chip announced this week depends on that arrangement continuing.&nbsp;The Exposure&nbsp;This is worth stating plainly because it cuts against how these announcements are usually reported.&nbsp;A Chinese national champion investing $3 billion to design its own silicon reads as a self-sufficiency story. It is closer to the opposite. Xiaomi has moved the dependency from buying finished chips from Qualcomm to buying manufacturing capacity from a Taiwanese firm operating under American export rules — a supply chain with more political exposure, not less, however much design capability sits behind it.&nbsp;The same week made that exposure concrete elsewhere. Taiwanese prosecutors indicted nine people over restricted Nvidia server hardware allegedly routed to China through Indonesia and Japan, including employees at the Taiwan offices of the companies involved. And Nvidia's H200s, cleared for legal sale to approved Chinese buyers, are moving at around 13 per cent of licensed volume.&nbsp;Every one of those stories runs through the same chokepoint.&nbsp;What Would Actually Change It&nbsp;Domestic fabrication at leading-edge nodes is the only thing that would, and nothing announced this week moves toward it.&nbsp;China is investing enormously in that problem, and it is not obviously unsolvable — lithography is engineering rather than physics, and the country has closed harder gaps before. But it is a decade-scale undertaking, and the O3 shipping on TSMC N3P in 2026 is evidence of where the gap currently stands rather than of it narrowing.&nbsp;The honest summary of Xiaomi's announcement is that China can now design chips as good as almost anyone's, and still cannot make them.

Xiaomi unveiled the Xring O3, a 3nm processor with 24 billion transistors, plus a neural chip and an autonomous-driving chip. It has invested over 20 billion yuan and grown its chip unit past 3,000 people. TSMC manufactures all three.

Xiaomi announced three of its own chips this week. The design work is Chinese. The manufacturing is not, and that is the whole story of China's semiconductor position in one product launch. What Was Announced The Xring O3, unveiled on August 24, is built on TSMC's N3P three-nanometre node — 24 billion transistors on a die of 133 square millimetres, with LPDDR6 memory support. Xiaomi says it has entered mass production. Two more were confirmed alongside it. The Xring O100 is a six-nanometre neural processing unit intended to run MiMo, Xiaomi's own large language model, directly on consumer devices. The Xring D100 is a three-nanometre chip for autonomous driving. Both have completed development and are scheduled for deployment next year. TSMC has been contracted to manufacture all three. The Investment Xiaomi has now put more than 20 billion yuan — roughly $3 billion — into the Xring programme. Its semiconductor design unit has grown to more than 3,000 people, up from 2,500 a year ago. That is a serious commitment by the standards of any phone maker. Only a handful of companies design their own flagship silicon at all: Apple, Samsung, Google to a degree, Huawei. Xiaomi has spent three years and $3 billion to join a very short list. The Number That Complicates It The O3 is aimed at an upcoming foldable phone, with production in the region of 200,000 to 300,000 units. That is not a mass-market chip programme. Apple ships more iPhones in a morning. At those volumes the per-unit economics are dreadful, and the O3 cannot be understood as a commercial product in the ordinary sense. It is better read as a capability demonstration — proof that Xiaomi can design a competitive flagship processor, aimed at reducing its dependence on Qualcomm over time and at competing with Huawei in the premium foldable segment where Chinese brands are fighting hardest. Designing Is Not Making The part that matters strategically is the one Xiaomi cannot solve with money. A three-nanometre chip requires extreme ultraviolet lithography. Those machines are made by one company, ASML in the Netherlands, and export controls prevent their sale to Chinese foundries. SMIC, China's most advanced domestic manufacturer, has produced seven-nanometre parts using older equipment and multi-patterning, at yields and costs that make the approach difficult to scale. So a Chinese company designing a leading-edge chip has one realistic route to production: TSMC, in Taiwan, using equipment China cannot buy. Every Xring chip announced this week depends on that arrangement continuing. The Exposure This is worth stating plainly because it cuts against how these announcements are usually reported. A Chinese national champion investing $3 billion to design its own silicon reads as a self-sufficiency story. It is closer to the opposite. Xiaomi has moved the dependency from buying finished chips from Qualcomm to buying manufacturing capacity from a Taiwanese firm operating under American export rules — a supply chain with more political exposure, not less, however much design capability sits behind it. The same week made that exposure concrete elsewhere. Taiwanese prosecutors indicted nine people over restricted Nvidia server hardware allegedly routed to China through Indonesia and Japan, including employees at the Taiwan offices of the companies involved. And Nvidia's H200s, cleared for legal sale to approved Chinese buyers, are moving at around 13 per cent of licensed volume. Every one of those stories runs through the same chokepoint. What Would Actually Change It Domestic fabrication at leading-edge nodes is the only thing that would, and nothing announced this week moves toward it. China is investing enormously in that problem, and it is not obviously unsolvable — lithography is engineering rather than physics, and the country has closed harder gaps before. But it is a decade-scale undertaking, and the O3 shipping on TSMC N3P in 2026 is evidence of where the gap currently stands rather than of it narrowing. The honest summary of Xiaomi's announcement is that China can now design chips as good as almost anyone's, and still cannot make them.

Xiaomi unveiled the Xring O3 on August 24, a 3-nanometre processor with 24 billion transistors on a 133 square millimetre die, alongside a neural chip and an autonomous-driving chip. It has put more than 20 billion yuan into the programme and grown its chip unit past 3,000 people. Every one of the chips is manufactured by TSMC in Taiwan.

Xiaomi has spent $3 billion designing its own chips! It still has to build them in Taiwan

A headless white machine called Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds this week. Usain Bolt's world record, set in 2009, is 9.58.&nbsp;Two robots from Honor's Lightning platform also finished under Bolt's mark. The following day, Tiangong Ultra ran 400 metres in 38.15 seconds — nearly five seconds inside the human record.&nbsp;In other events at the same games, robots struggled to pick up beans.&nbsp;Both halves of that are the story.&nbsp;What Happened&nbsp;The second World Humanoid Robot Games ran from August 22 to 26 at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval, the venue built for the 2022 Winter Olympics and known as the Ice Ribbon. More than 2,000 humanoid robots competed.&nbsp;Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, won its heat with the 9.39-second run. The time was reported by CCTV, the state broadcaster.&nbsp;One detail from the sprint is more significant than the time. A robot arrived at its own running posture — arms held near the face, hips driving forward — through reinforcement learning. No engineer designed that gait. The machine found it by trying.&nbsp;The Comparison Is Not What It Looks Like&nbsp;Before the record framing runs away with itself, it is worth being precise about what was and was not achieved.&nbsp;A humanoid robot sprinting on a track is not doing what a sprinter does. It is not constrained by reaction time at the blocks in the way a human is, it is not limited by biological muscle recovery or oxygen, and the competition conditions, timing methodology and permitted assistance are not those of a World Athletics event. The comparison is a headline device, and the organisers know it.&nbsp;The times also come via a state broadcaster covering a domestic showcase, which is not a reason to disbelieve them but is a reason to note the source rather than treat the figure as independently ratified.&nbsp;What is genuinely notable is narrower and more interesting: bipedal locomotion at speed, on a machine that taught itself the gait, is a hard control problem that was not solved at this level three years ago.&nbsp;Moravec's Paradox, Live&nbsp;The bean-handling failures are not comic relief. They are the central finding.&nbsp;Robotics has a decades-old observation named after Hans Moravec: the things humans find hard, machines find easy, and the things humans find effortless, machines find nearly impossible. Chess fell to computers before laundry. Sprinting is a dynamics problem with a clear objective function and a simulator that can run it a billion times. Picking up a bean is a problem of contact, friction, deformation and touch, where the feedback is subtle and the failure modes are endless.&nbsp;This is why humanoid robots have been demonstrating impressive gymnastics for years while doing almost no useful work. The gap is not power or speed. It is hands.&nbsp;A robot that outruns Bolt and cannot reliably grip a small object is not close to replacing a warehouse worker, and the sprint record does not indicate otherwise. It indicates that one narrow class of problem has been solved well.&nbsp;The Money Says Something Different&nbsp;The industry is being funded as though the manipulation problem is nearly solved.&nbsp;XPeng's robotics business has raised more than $900 million in its first external round, at a valuation above $6.3 billion. IDG Capital and Gaorong Ventures led it, with Tencent and Alibaba participating strategically. The company is targeting production of its IRON humanoid before the end of 2026.&nbsp;That is a serious amount of capital for a product category with no established commercial application, from investors who are not naive about Chinese manufacturing.&nbsp;The bet is that manipulation follows locomotion — that the same reinforcement learning methods which produced a self-taught sprint will, given enough simulation and enough data, produce reliable hands. That is a plausible bet. It is not yet an evidenced one, and the beans are the evidence for the other side.&nbsp;Why China Is Where This Is Happening&nbsp;The concentration is not accidental.&nbsp;China dominates humanoid robot production, and the United States banned imports of new Chinese humanoids in July, closing that market to the manufacturers that shipped most of the world's units. The result is a protected domestic market on one side and a large excluded producer base on the other, both racing.&nbsp;A games event with 2,000 machines in an Olympic venue is industrial policy conducted as spectacle. It generates the data, the engineering competition and the public narrative simultaneously, and it does so in a country that can also build the things at volume.&nbsp;What To Watch Instead Of The Sprint Times&nbsp;The meaningful benchmark for humanoid robotics is not speed. It is whether a machine can perform an unstructured manipulation task, in an environment it has not seen, at a reliability rate high enough to be worth paying for.&nbsp;Nobody has demonstrated that. The sprint records show the field has become very good at the part that was always going to be easier.&nbsp;Tiangong Ultra ran faster than the fastest human who has ever lived. It is still, in the way that matters commercially, less useful than a person who can pick things up.

Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds at Beijing's World Humanoid Robot Games, against Bolt's 9.58. The same machines failed at fine manipulation — the problem robotics has never solved.

A headless white machine called Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds this week. Usain Bolt's world record, set in 2009, is 9.58. Two robots from Honor's Lightning platform also finished under Bolt's mark. The following day, Tiangong Ultra ran 400 metres in 38.15 seconds — nearly five seconds inside the human record. In other events at the same games, robots struggled to pick up beans. Both halves of that are the story. What Happened The second World Humanoid Robot Games ran from August 22 to 26 at Beijing's National Speed Skating Oval, the venue built for the 2022 Winter Olympics and known as the Ice Ribbon. More than 2,000 humanoid robots competed. Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, won its heat with the 9.39-second run. The time was reported by CCTV, the state broadcaster. One detail from the sprint is more significant than the time. A robot arrived at its own running posture — arms held near the face, hips driving forward — through reinforcement learning. No engineer designed that gait. The machine found it by trying. The Comparison Is Not What It Looks Like Before the record framing runs away with itself, it is worth being precise about what was and was not achieved. A humanoid robot sprinting on a track is not doing what a sprinter does. It is not constrained by reaction time at the blocks in the way a human is, it is not limited by biological muscle recovery or oxygen, and the competition conditions, timing methodology and permitted assistance are not those of a World Athletics event. The comparison is a headline device, and the organisers know it. The times also come via a state broadcaster covering a domestic showcase, which is not a reason to disbelieve them but is a reason to note the source rather than treat the figure as independently ratified. What is genuinely notable is narrower and more interesting: bipedal locomotion at speed, on a machine that taught itself the gait, is a hard control problem that was not solved at this level three years ago. Moravec's Paradox, Live The bean-handling failures are not comic relief. They are the central finding. Robotics has a decades-old observation named after Hans Moravec: the things humans find hard, machines find easy, and the things humans find effortless, machines find nearly impossible. Chess fell to computers before laundry. Sprinting is a dynamics problem with a clear objective function and a simulator that can run it a billion times. Picking up a bean is a problem of contact, friction, deformation and touch, where the feedback is subtle and the failure modes are endless. This is why humanoid robots have been demonstrating impressive gymnastics for years while doing almost no useful work. The gap is not power or speed. It is hands. A robot that outruns Bolt and cannot reliably grip a small object is not close to replacing a warehouse worker, and the sprint record does not indicate otherwise. It indicates that one narrow class of problem has been solved well. The Money Says Something Different The industry is being funded as though the manipulation problem is nearly solved. XPeng's robotics business has raised more than $900 million in its first external round, at a valuation above $6.3 billion. IDG Capital and Gaorong Ventures led it, with Tencent and Alibaba participating strategically. The company is targeting production of its IRON humanoid before the end of 2026. That is a serious amount of capital for a product category with no established commercial application, from investors who are not naive about Chinese manufacturing. The bet is that manipulation follows locomotion — that the same reinforcement learning methods which produced a self-taught sprint will, given enough simulation and enough data, produce reliable hands. That is a plausible bet. It is not yet an evidenced one, and the beans are the evidence for the other side. Why China Is Where This Is Happening The concentration is not accidental. China dominates humanoid robot production, and the United States banned imports of new Chinese humanoids in July, closing that market to the manufacturers that shipped most of the world's units. The result is a protected domestic market on one side and a large excluded producer base on the other, both racing. A games event with 2,000 machines in an Olympic venue is industrial policy conducted as spectacle. It generates the data, the engineering competition and the public narrative simultaneously, and it does so in a country that can also build the things at volume. What To Watch Instead Of The Sprint Times The meaningful benchmark for humanoid robotics is not speed. It is whether a machine can perform an unstructured manipulation task, in an environment it has not seen, at a reliability rate high enough to be worth paying for. Nobody has demonstrated that. The sprint records show the field has become very good at the part that was always going to be easier. Tiangong Ultra ran faster than the fastest human who has ever lived. It is still, in the way that matters commercially, less useful than a person who can pick things up.

At the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, a headless machine called Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds according to state broadcaster CCTV, against Usain Bolt's 9.58-second record. Two robots from Honor's Lightning platform also finished under it. The same competition showed the machines failing at tasks requiring fine manipulation — the oldest and least solved problem in robotics.

Two Chinese robots ran 100 metres faster than Usain Bolt! Then they lost to a bowl of beans

New Zealand has introduced legislation that would require social media companies to establish that their users are over 16, and would fine them up to a tenth of their worldwide revenue if they fail.&nbsp;What The Bill Does&nbsp;Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the Online Safety Bill on August 24. It applies to platforms designated as high-risk — Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook among them — and requires them to take reasonable steps to check that account holders are aged 16 or above.&nbsp;The permitted verification methods are broad: existing account information, facial age estimation, digital identity services and formal identification documents.&nbsp;Platforms would separately be required to assess the risks their services pose and report on how those risks are being reduced.&nbsp;The penalty for non-compliance is up to 10 per cent of global revenue.&nbsp;'We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,' Luxon said. 'Social media is exposing them to harmful content, addictive technology and pressures they are not equipped to deal with and it's affecting their family life, mental health, sleep and education.'&nbsp;The Design Choice That Matters&nbsp;It is worth being precise about the mechanism, because it differs from how such measures are usually described.&nbsp;This is not a prohibition on children. No under-16 is committing an offence by holding an account, and no parent is liable. The obligation falls entirely on the platform, and the offence is failing to take reasonable steps to check.&nbsp;That structure is deliberate and it is the same one Australia adopted. It avoids the enforcement problem of policing millions of households, and it places the duty on the small number of entities that can actually be fined. It also means the standard is 'reasonable steps' rather than certainty, which is what makes the law workable and simultaneously what will be argued about for years.&nbsp;The Verification Problem Nobody Has Solved&nbsp;Age assurance at national scale is genuinely difficult, and the difficulty is not technical squeamishness.&nbsp;Facial age estimation infers age from an image. It is imprecise near the threshold — the gap between a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old is exactly where the error rate is worst — and accuracy varies across skin tones and ethnicities, which converts a technical limitation into a discrimination problem.&nbsp;Formal identification works, and creates a different harm: it ends anonymous participation for everyone, including adults, and requires platforms to hold or process identity documents at a scale that makes them attractive targets. Every large identity database eventually leaks.&nbsp;Digital identity services sit between the two and depend on infrastructure most countries do not have.&nbsp;There is no option on that list without a serious cost, and the bill delegates the choice to the companies while holding them liable for the outcome.&nbsp;The Political Arithmetic&nbsp;The bill may not pass.&nbsp;New Zealand First, a partner in Luxon's coalition, has said it will not support it. Without that support the numbers are not obviously there, and it is not clear the legislation will secure a majority.&nbsp;That is a meaningful caveat on all of the above. An introduced bill is a statement of intent, not a law, and this one enters a parliament where one of the government's own partners has already declined.&nbsp;Where This Sits Internationally&nbsp;New Zealand is not acting alone, and the timing is not coincidental.&nbsp;Australia has legislated in this direction. The United Kingdom has moved on age assurance through its own online safety regime. And in the United States, a trial is currently running in Oakland in which 29 states are asking a federal court to order Meta to strip specific design features out of Instagram and Facebook — infinite scroll, autoplay, ephemeral content, beauty filters — on the argument that they were engineered to be addictive to minors.&nbsp;Two different theories of the same problem are being tested simultaneously. New Zealand's says the answer is keeping children off the platforms. The American litigation says the answer is changing what the platforms do.&nbsp;They are not equivalent. An age gate leaves the product unchanged for everyone over the threshold, on the premise that the design is acceptable for adults. The American case argues the design itself is the harm.&nbsp;For India, which has a stricter statutory threshold than either — the Digital Personal Data Protection Act treats anyone under 18 as a child and bans behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising aimed at them — the interest is in whether any of these regimes produces workable verification. India's own rules on that point remain unnotified, and the reason is precisely the problem New Zealand has just handed to the platforms.

New Zealand's Online Safety Bill would require Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook to verify users are over 16, with fines up to 10 per cent of global revenue. A coalition partner has already said it will not support it.

New Zealand has introduced legislation that would require social media companies to establish that their users are over 16, and would fine them up to a tenth of their worldwide revenue if they fail. What The Bill Does Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the Online Safety Bill on August 24. It applies to platforms designated as high-risk — Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook among them — and requires them to take reasonable steps to check that account holders are aged 16 or above. The permitted verification methods are broad: existing account information, facial age estimation, digital identity services and formal identification documents. Platforms would separately be required to assess the risks their services pose and report on how those risks are being reduced. The penalty for non-compliance is up to 10 per cent of global revenue. 'We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,' Luxon said. 'Social media is exposing them to harmful content, addictive technology and pressures they are not equipped to deal with and it's affecting their family life, mental health, sleep and education.' The Design Choice That Matters It is worth being precise about the mechanism, because it differs from how such measures are usually described. This is not a prohibition on children. No under-16 is committing an offence by holding an account, and no parent is liable. The obligation falls entirely on the platform, and the offence is failing to take reasonable steps to check. That structure is deliberate and it is the same one Australia adopted. It avoids the enforcement problem of policing millions of households, and it places the duty on the small number of entities that can actually be fined. It also means the standard is 'reasonable steps' rather than certainty, which is what makes the law workable and simultaneously what will be argued about for years. The Verification Problem Nobody Has Solved Age assurance at national scale is genuinely difficult, and the difficulty is not technical squeamishness. Facial age estimation infers age from an image. It is imprecise near the threshold — the gap between a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old is exactly where the error rate is worst — and accuracy varies across skin tones and ethnicities, which converts a technical limitation into a discrimination problem. Formal identification works, and creates a different harm: it ends anonymous participation for everyone, including adults, and requires platforms to hold or process identity documents at a scale that makes them attractive targets. Every large identity database eventually leaks. Digital identity services sit between the two and depend on infrastructure most countries do not have. There is no option on that list without a serious cost, and the bill delegates the choice to the companies while holding them liable for the outcome. The Political Arithmetic The bill may not pass. New Zealand First, a partner in Luxon's coalition, has said it will not support it. Without that support the numbers are not obviously there, and it is not clear the legislation will secure a majority. That is a meaningful caveat on all of the above. An introduced bill is a statement of intent, not a law, and this one enters a parliament where one of the government's own partners has already declined. Where This Sits Internationally New Zealand is not acting alone, and the timing is not coincidental. Australia has legislated in this direction. The United Kingdom has moved on age assurance through its own online safety regime. And in the United States, a trial is currently running in Oakland in which 29 states are asking a federal court to order Meta to strip specific design features out of Instagram and Facebook — infinite scroll, autoplay, ephemeral content, beauty filters — on the argument that they were engineered to be addictive to minors. Two different theories of the same problem are being tested simultaneously. New Zealand's says the answer is keeping children off the platforms. The American litigation says the answer is changing what the platforms do. They are not equivalent. An age gate leaves the product unchanged for everyone over the threshold, on the premise that the design is acceptable for adults. The American case argues the design itself is the harm. For India, which has a stricter statutory threshold than either — the Digital Personal Data Protection Act treats anyone under 18 as a child and bans behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising aimed at them — the interest is in whether any of these regimes produces workable verification. India's own rules on that point remain unnotified, and the reason is precisely the problem New Zealand has just handed to the platforms.

New Zealand's government has introduced the Online Safety Bill, requiring high-risk platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook to take reasonable steps to verify users are over 16, using methods from facial age estimation to formal ID. Non-compliance would carry fines of up to 10 per cent of global revenue. A coalition partner has said it will not support the bill.

New Zealand wants platforms to prove your child is over 16, or lose 10% of global revenue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran went after his family and tried to assassinate one of his two sons. Netanyahu made the revelation during a phone interview with the pro-government Channel 14 while discussing security arrangements for his family and other political figures ahead of the country’s elections.The remarks came after months of strict gag orders around security-related matters.&nbsp;&nbsp;Netanyahu, however, did not identify which of his two sons was allegedly targeted, nor did he provide details about when or how the attempt took place.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-plans-to-impose-7-5-overcapacity-tariff-on-china-ahead-of-xi-trump-summit-in-sept-1787596040031">US plans to impose 7.5% overcapacity tariff on China ahead of Xi-Trump summit in Sept</a>&nbsp;The Israeli prime minister's comments came as questions were being raised over the security provided to political figures and members of his family. The Israeli security agency Shin Bet has approved extended protection for Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and their two sons.&nbsp;“Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu said, without providing further details.“Therefore, the security they get is not a luxury,” he adds, seemingly defending an agreement reached with the Shin Bet to provide his sons, alongside his wife, Sara, with security protection for at least five years, even if he loses the upcoming election. Without that security, “they would succeed,” he said, referring to the would-be assassins.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-admin-proposes-hiking-h-1b-visa-fee-to-over-100-000-indians-brace-for-impact-1787587379674">Trump admin proposes hiking H-1B visa fee to over $100,000, Indians brace for impact</a>&nbsp;It is unclear which of Netanyahu’s sons—Yair or Avner—was allegedly targeted, or when and how the purported assassination attempt took place.While Avner lives in Israel, Yair has spent much of the past few years in Miami and is known for his hardline right-wing commentary.The alleged assassination plot has been known to the Israeli security establishment for several months but was barred from publication by the military censor, said a report.&nbsp;<h2>Palestinian planning to commit terror attack in Israel nabbed: IDF&nbsp;</h2>&nbsp;Israeli commandos nabbed a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday morning who the military says was planning to carry out a terror attack in Israel.The suspect was identified as Imam Hazem, the son of Fathi Hazem, who was killed while trying to stab Israeli troops in Jenin last week. Fathi’s other son, Imam’s brother Raad Hazem, is a terrorist who killed three Israelis in Tel Aviv in 2022.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-sets-stage-for-new-sanctions-unveiling-says-iran-is-completely-collapsing-1787581553591">Trump sets stage for new sanctions unveiling, says Iran is ‘completely collapsing’</a>&nbsp;Following Fathi’s killing, Imam “expressed his intentions to carry out a terror attack against Israeli civilians and security forces,” the military said.Soldiers of the Duvdevan Commando Unit apprehended Imam, the army said.In a separate raid in the village of Sanur near Jenin on Sunday, troops detained a Palestinian who was planning a terror attack against Israeli civilians.

The Israeli prime minister's comments came as questions were being raised over the security provided to political figures and members of his family. The Israeli security agency Shin Bet has approved extended protection for Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and their two sons.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran went after his family and tried to assassinate one of his two sons. Netanyahu made the revelation during a phone interview with the pro-government Channel 14 while discussing security arrangements for his family and other political figures ahead of the country’s elections. The remarks came after months of strict gag orders around security-related matters. Netanyahu, however, did not identify which of his two sons was allegedly targeted, nor did he provide details about when or how the attempt took place. Also Read: US plans to impose 7.5% overcapacity tariff on China ahead of Xi-Trump summit in Sept The Israeli prime minister's comments came as questions were being raised over the security provided to political figures and members of his family. The Israeli security agency Shin Bet has approved extended protection for Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and their two sons. “Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu said, without providing further details. “Therefore, the security they get is not a luxury,” he adds, seemingly defending an agreement reached with the Shin Bet to provide his sons, alongside his wife, Sara, with security protection for at least five years, even if he loses the upcoming election. Without that security, “they would succeed,” he said, referring to the would-be assassins. Also Read: Trump admin proposes hiking H-1B visa fee to over $100,000, Indians brace for impact It is unclear which of Netanyahu’s sons—Yair or Avner—was allegedly targeted, or when and how the purported assassination attempt took place. While Avner lives in Israel, Yair has spent much of the past few years in Miami and is known for his hardline right-wing commentary. The alleged assassination plot has been known to the Israeli security establishment for several months but was barred from publication by the military censor, said a report. Palestinian planning to commit terror attack in Israel nabbed: IDF Israeli commandos nabbed a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday morning who the military says was planning to carry out a terror attack in Israel. The suspect was identified as Imam Hazem, the son of Fathi Hazem, who was killed while trying to stab Israeli troops in Jenin last week. Fathi’s other son, Imam’s brother Raad Hazem, is a terrorist who killed three Israelis in Tel Aviv in 2022. Also Read: Trump sets stage for new sanctions unveiling, says Iran is ‘completely collapsing’ Following Fathi’s killing, Imam “expressed his intentions to carry out a terror attack against Israeli civilians and security forces,” the military said. Soldiers of the Duvdevan Commando Unit apprehended Imam, the army said. In a separate raid in the village of Sanur near Jenin on Sunday, troops detained a Palestinian who was planning a terror attack against Israeli civilians.

The Israeli prime minister's comments came as questions were being raised over the security provided to political figures and members of his family. The Israeli security agency Shin Bet has approved extended protection for Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and their two sons.

‘Iran tried to assassinate one of my sons,’ says Benjamin Netanyahu, justifies security cover

Nvidia sells the hardware almost every AI company depends on. Over the past nine months it has been quietly acquiring positions in the companies that use it.&nbsp;The Three Moves&nbsp;Nvidia is reported to be in discussions over an investment in Perplexity, the AI search company, as part of a financing round that could value it above $30 billion. The round would reportedly be worth several billion dollars, with Nvidia among the prospective investors.&nbsp;That follows a $6 billion technology and investment agreement with Poolside concluded this month, which included an investment component of roughly $1 billion and moved more than 100 engineers onto Nvidia's Nemotron model programme.&nbsp;And it follows a comparable arrangement with Groq in December.&nbsp;In the Perplexity case, Nvidia is reported to have first explored paying billions to license the company's technology and hire specific talent, before pivoting towards a conventional equity stake — the same sequence reported in the Poolside deal.&nbsp;One caution before drawing conclusions from any of this: the Perplexity discussions are reported rather than announced. Nothing establishes that Nvidia has committed capital, how much it might invest, or whether the talks conclude in a transaction at all.&nbsp;What Perplexity Is Worth Now&nbsp;The valuation is doing a lot of work in this story, so it is worth examining.&nbsp;Perplexity's annualised revenue has risen to more than $750 million, from under $250 million at the start of the year. A significant part of that growth is attributed to Perplexity Computer, a cloud-based agent professionals use to automate tasks on a machine.&nbsp;A round above $30 billion would represent an increase of more than half over its last raise roughly a year ago.&nbsp;That is roughly forty times revenue, on a business growing threefold in eight months, in a category — AI search — where the incumbent is Google and the challenger has no distribution advantage. Whether that is a sensible price depends entirely on whether the agent product, rather than the search product, turns out to be what people pay for.&nbsp;The Pattern, Not The Deals&nbsp;Any one of these arrangements is ordinary corporate investment. Three in nine months, structured the same way, is a strategy.&nbsp;The shape is consistent: identify a company doing something valuable on top of Nvidia hardware, explore acquiring the technology and the people directly, and settle on a structure that secures access to both without a full acquisition.&nbsp;Taken together they describe a company that has decided selling compute is not sufficient. The reasoning is not hard to reconstruct. Nvidia's position rests on being the place AI runs, and that position is under more pressure than its results suggest — Qualcomm has bought its way into the software layer, AMD holds large commitments from OpenAI and Meta, the hyperscalers are all shipping custom silicon, and OpenAI has just put its fastest public tier on Cerebras hardware rather than GPUs.&nbsp;A chipmaker facing that has two options. Defend the margin on chips, or own more of what the chips are for.&nbsp;The Conflict It Creates&nbsp;The difficulty with owning the layer above your own product is that your customers live there.&nbsp;Nvidia sells to every laboratory and cloud provider building AI. If it also holds equity in an AI search company, a coding company and a model programme of its own, it is a supplier competing with the businesses it supplies — with better information about their compute consumption than any of them have about each other.&nbsp;This is the structural problem that has attached to every dominant platform that moved up its own stack. It rarely produces immediate friction, because customers with no alternative supplier do not complain loudly. It produces regulatory attention eventually, and it gives competitors an argument they did not previously have.&nbsp;The open-weight dimension adds to it. Nvidia is reported to be putting significant money behind open-weight model work, and the Poolside engineers went to its Nemotron effort. A company that supplies the hardware for closed frontier models while funding open alternatives to them occupies both sides of the industry's central commercial argument.&nbsp;What To Watch&nbsp;The question is not whether these deals close. It is whether the structure keeps repeating.&nbsp;If a fourth and fifth arrangement follow the same template over the next two quarters, Nvidia will have converted its cash position into a portfolio spanning search, coding, inference and models — the entire layer its customers occupy — without triggering the scrutiny a series of outright acquisitions would attract.&nbsp;That is a considerable amount of the AI industry to assemble through investment agreements. It is being done in public, deal by deal, and each one on its own looks unremarkable.

Nvidia is reported in talks over a Perplexity stake above $30 billion, weeks after a $6 billion Poolside agreement that moved 100-plus engineers to its Nemotron effort, and months after a similar Groq deal.

Nvidia sells the hardware almost every AI company depends on. Over the past nine months it has been quietly acquiring positions in the companies that use it. The Three Moves Nvidia is reported to be in discussions over an investment in Perplexity, the AI search company, as part of a financing round that could value it above $30 billion. The round would reportedly be worth several billion dollars, with Nvidia among the prospective investors. That follows a $6 billion technology and investment agreement with Poolside concluded this month, which included an investment component of roughly $1 billion and moved more than 100 engineers onto Nvidia's Nemotron model programme. And it follows a comparable arrangement with Groq in December. In the Perplexity case, Nvidia is reported to have first explored paying billions to license the company's technology and hire specific talent, before pivoting towards a conventional equity stake — the same sequence reported in the Poolside deal. One caution before drawing conclusions from any of this: the Perplexity discussions are reported rather than announced. Nothing establishes that Nvidia has committed capital, how much it might invest, or whether the talks conclude in a transaction at all. What Perplexity Is Worth Now The valuation is doing a lot of work in this story, so it is worth examining. Perplexity's annualised revenue has risen to more than $750 million, from under $250 million at the start of the year. A significant part of that growth is attributed to Perplexity Computer, a cloud-based agent professionals use to automate tasks on a machine. A round above $30 billion would represent an increase of more than half over its last raise roughly a year ago. That is roughly forty times revenue, on a business growing threefold in eight months, in a category — AI search — where the incumbent is Google and the challenger has no distribution advantage. Whether that is a sensible price depends entirely on whether the agent product, rather than the search product, turns out to be what people pay for. The Pattern, Not The Deals Any one of these arrangements is ordinary corporate investment. Three in nine months, structured the same way, is a strategy. The shape is consistent: identify a company doing something valuable on top of Nvidia hardware, explore acquiring the technology and the people directly, and settle on a structure that secures access to both without a full acquisition. Taken together they describe a company that has decided selling compute is not sufficient. The reasoning is not hard to reconstruct. Nvidia's position rests on being the place AI runs, and that position is under more pressure than its results suggest — Qualcomm has bought its way into the software layer, AMD holds large commitments from OpenAI and Meta, the hyperscalers are all shipping custom silicon, and OpenAI has just put its fastest public tier on Cerebras hardware rather than GPUs. A chipmaker facing that has two options. Defend the margin on chips, or own more of what the chips are for. The Conflict It Creates The difficulty with owning the layer above your own product is that your customers live there. Nvidia sells to every laboratory and cloud provider building AI. If it also holds equity in an AI search company, a coding company and a model programme of its own, it is a supplier competing with the businesses it supplies — with better information about their compute consumption than any of them have about each other. This is the structural problem that has attached to every dominant platform that moved up its own stack. It rarely produces immediate friction, because customers with no alternative supplier do not complain loudly. It produces regulatory attention eventually, and it gives competitors an argument they did not previously have. The open-weight dimension adds to it. Nvidia is reported to be putting significant money behind open-weight model work, and the Poolside engineers went to its Nemotron effort. A company that supplies the hardware for closed frontier models while funding open alternatives to them occupies both sides of the industry's central commercial argument. What To Watch The question is not whether these deals close. It is whether the structure keeps repeating. If a fourth and fifth arrangement follow the same template over the next two quarters, Nvidia will have converted its cash position into a portfolio spanning search, coding, inference and models — the entire layer its customers occupy — without triggering the scrutiny a series of outright acquisitions would attract. That is a considerable amount of the AI industry to assemble through investment agreements. It is being done in public, deal by deal, and each one on its own looks unremarkable.

Nvidia is reported to be in talks over an equity stake in Perplexity at a valuation above $30 billion, weeks after a $6 billion technology and investment agreement with Poolside that moved more than 100 engineers onto Nvidia's own model effort. Together with a similar arrangement with Groq in December, it describes a company expanding from selling compute to owning what runs on it.

Nvidia is buying the layer above its own chips

The company that hosts most of the world's openly available AI models is testing what someone would pay for it.&nbsp;Hugging Face is exploring a sale at a valuation of $13 billion or more and has engaged a bank to gauge bidder interest, according to a report published on August 24. No transaction has been agreed and no prospective buyers have been identified.&nbsp;What Is Actually For Sale&nbsp;Hugging Face is not a frontier laboratory. It does not compete with OpenAI, Anthropic or Google on model capability, and its commercial products — compute, enterprise hosting, access to inference providers — are modest businesses by the standards of this industry.&nbsp;What it owns is distribution.&nbsp;As of August 14 the platform hosted more than three million models and over a million datasets. Roughly 1.18 million models were added during 2025 alone, more than the cumulative total of every prior year combined, and 2026 is on pace to add another million.&nbsp;That is where open-weight AI lives. When a Chinese laboratory publishes a model that matches American systems, it appears there. When a researcher wants to reproduce a result, they pull the weights from there. When a company evaluates an open alternative to a paid API, that is where the evaluation starts.&nbsp;The valuation is not being placed on the software. It is being placed on the position.&nbsp;The Number&nbsp;Hugging Face was last valued at $4.5 billion in 2023. A sale at $13 billion would be close to a tripling in three years.&nbsp;By the standards of AI valuations that is unremarkable — Anthropic's run rate has grown fourteenfold in twelve months, and a $30 billion-plus round is currently being discussed for a company with $750 million in annualised revenue. Against that backdrop, $13 billion for the industry's model registry looks cheap rather than rich.&nbsp;Which is itself worth noticing. If the distribution layer for all open AI is worth a fraction of what individual model companies command, the market is pricing models as the scarce asset and distribution as commodity infrastructure. The history of technology suggests that ordering is usually the wrong way round.&nbsp;The Problem With Selling It&nbsp;Hugging Face's value rests on something an owner would find difficult to preserve.&nbsp;It works because it is neutral ground. Every major laboratory publishes there, including ones that compete directly with each other. Meta, Alibaba, Mistral, Moonshot and Google all use the same registry, and so do tens of thousands of academic and independent developers who have no commercial relationship with any of them.&nbsp;That neutrality is the product. A registry owned by one of the frontier laboratories, or by a cloud provider that sells inference, is no longer a neutral place to publish — it is a competitor's warehouse. The rational response from rival labs would be to reduce dependence on it, and the migration would not need to be complete to be damaging.&nbsp;So the buyer that would pay most for Hugging Face is probably the buyer whose ownership would erode it fastest. That is an awkward auction dynamic, and it constrains who can credibly bid.&nbsp;Who Could Buy It Without Breaking It&nbsp;The options narrow quickly.&nbsp;A cloud provider already selling model hosting has an obvious strategic interest and an obvious conflict. A chipmaker has a subtler one: Nvidia is currently reported to be putting significant money behind open-weight model work, has just concluded a $6 billion technology and investment agreement with Poolside that moved more than 100 engineers onto its own model effort, and is in talks over an equity stake in Perplexity. A company assembling that portfolio would find a model registry a natural addition and would face the same neutrality problem as anyone else.&nbsp;Private equity or a consortium structure would preserve independence better and pay less. A foundation or non-profit structure would preserve it best and pay least.&nbsp;There is also the possibility that nothing happens. Engaging a bank to test interest is not a decision to sell, and companies run this exercise to establish a price without acting on it.&nbsp;Why It Matters Beyond The Company&nbsp;Open-weight models have become the main counterweight to concentration in AI. When a laboratory publishes weights anyone can download, run locally and modify, it removes the ability of any single company to control who uses that capability and on what terms.&nbsp;That counterweight depends on distribution nobody controls. A registry is not glamorous infrastructure, but it is the point at which openly published models become openly available ones, and there is no comparable alternative at scale.&nbsp;The question raised by a sale is not who ends up owning Hugging Face. It is whether the open AI ecosystem should be depending on a single venture-funded company for the layer that makes it function — and whether the answer only becomes obvious once that company has a new owner.

Hugging Face is testing buyer interest at a valuation of $13 billion or more, up from $4.5 billion in 2023. It hosts over three million models and functions as the distribution layer for open AI — a position an owner would struggle to preserve.

The company that hosts most of the world's openly available AI models is testing what someone would pay for it. Hugging Face is exploring a sale at a valuation of $13 billion or more and has engaged a bank to gauge bidder interest, according to a report published on August 24. No transaction has been agreed and no prospective buyers have been identified. What Is Actually For Sale Hugging Face is not a frontier laboratory. It does not compete with OpenAI, Anthropic or Google on model capability, and its commercial products — compute, enterprise hosting, access to inference providers — are modest businesses by the standards of this industry. What it owns is distribution. As of August 14 the platform hosted more than three million models and over a million datasets. Roughly 1.18 million models were added during 2025 alone, more than the cumulative total of every prior year combined, and 2026 is on pace to add another million. That is where open-weight AI lives. When a Chinese laboratory publishes a model that matches American systems, it appears there. When a researcher wants to reproduce a result, they pull the weights from there. When a company evaluates an open alternative to a paid API, that is where the evaluation starts. The valuation is not being placed on the software. It is being placed on the position. The Number Hugging Face was last valued at $4.5 billion in 2023. A sale at $13 billion would be close to a tripling in three years. By the standards of AI valuations that is unremarkable — Anthropic's run rate has grown fourteenfold in twelve months, and a $30 billion-plus round is currently being discussed for a company with $750 million in annualised revenue. Against that backdrop, $13 billion for the industry's model registry looks cheap rather than rich. Which is itself worth noticing. If the distribution layer for all open AI is worth a fraction of what individual model companies command, the market is pricing models as the scarce asset and distribution as commodity infrastructure. The history of technology suggests that ordering is usually the wrong way round. The Problem With Selling It Hugging Face's value rests on something an owner would find difficult to preserve. It works because it is neutral ground. Every major laboratory publishes there, including ones that compete directly with each other. Meta, Alibaba, Mistral, Moonshot and Google all use the same registry, and so do tens of thousands of academic and independent developers who have no commercial relationship with any of them. That neutrality is the product. A registry owned by one of the frontier laboratories, or by a cloud provider that sells inference, is no longer a neutral place to publish — it is a competitor's warehouse. The rational response from rival labs would be to reduce dependence on it, and the migration would not need to be complete to be damaging. So the buyer that would pay most for Hugging Face is probably the buyer whose ownership would erode it fastest. That is an awkward auction dynamic, and it constrains who can credibly bid. Who Could Buy It Without Breaking It The options narrow quickly. A cloud provider already selling model hosting has an obvious strategic interest and an obvious conflict. A chipmaker has a subtler one: Nvidia is currently reported to be putting significant money behind open-weight model work, has just concluded a $6 billion technology and investment agreement with Poolside that moved more than 100 engineers onto its own model effort, and is in talks over an equity stake in Perplexity. A company assembling that portfolio would find a model registry a natural addition and would face the same neutrality problem as anyone else. Private equity or a consortium structure would preserve independence better and pay less. A foundation or non-profit structure would preserve it best and pay least. There is also the possibility that nothing happens. Engaging a bank to test interest is not a decision to sell, and companies run this exercise to establish a price without acting on it. Why It Matters Beyond The Company Open-weight models have become the main counterweight to concentration in AI. When a laboratory publishes weights anyone can download, run locally and modify, it removes the ability of any single company to control who uses that capability and on what terms. That counterweight depends on distribution nobody controls. A registry is not glamorous infrastructure, but it is the point at which openly published models become openly available ones, and there is no comparable alternative at scale. The question raised by a sale is not who ends up owning Hugging Face. It is whether the open AI ecosystem should be depending on a single venture-funded company for the layer that makes it function — and whether the answer only becomes obvious once that company has a new owner.

Hugging Face is exploring a sale that could value it at $13 billion or more, up from $4.5 billion in 2023, and has engaged a bank to test bidder interest. No deal has been agreed and no buyers have been named. The platform hosts more than three million models and a million datasets, and functions as the distribution layer for open AI rather than as a laboratory of its own.

Hugging Face is exploring a sale! It hosts three million AI models

A special tribunal in Bangladesh's capital on Monday ordered three senior journalists to remain in jail pending trial in a case tied to the mass uprising that toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, a decision human rights groups say represents a dangerous escalation in the criminalisation of journalism in the country.<h3>The Tribunal's Order &nbsp;</h3>The International Crimes Tribunal-2 directed that Mozammel Babu, editor-in-chief of private broadcaster Ekattor Television; Farzana Rupa, the channel's principal correspondent; and Shyamal Dutta, editor of the daily Bhorer Kagoj and former general secretary of the National Press Club in Dhaka, be shown as formally arrested and sent to jail in the crimes-against-humanity case. The order came after the three appeared before the tribunal, which set October 25 for the next court proceedings and asked investigators to submit their findings against the journalists.Prosecutor Faruk Ahmed told the tribunal that production warrants had been issued against the three on August 17 in connection with the case, and that prosecutors sought to have them shown as arrested and sent to jail once they appeared on Monday. The three have effectively been held without trial for roughly two years, having initially been detained on separate charges shortly after Hasina's fall.&nbsp;<h3>&nbsp;What They Are Accused Of</h3>&nbsp;The case centers on a press conference held at Hasina's official residence, Gono Bhaban, on July 14, 2024, at which she discussed the civil service quota issue and referred to protesters using a term students considered disparaging. Those remarks triggered protests that same night. Prosecutors allege the three journalists abetted the crimes that followed, and that they helped produce a "counter-narrative" against the student movement between July 14 and August 5, 2024 — the day Hasina was ousted and fled to India.&nbsp;Rights monitors describe the underlying conduct in starker terms. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said prosecutors allege the journalists asked Hasina provocative questions at the July 14 press conference that prompted her disparaging remarks about demonstrators, ahead of a bloody crackdown that followed.&nbsp;This is only one strand of a wider legal net. Rupa and Babu have separately been held in pre-trial detention since August and September 2024 in connection with murder cases linked to deaths during the uprising, and were also shown arrested in a case tied to the 2013 crackdown on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka, based on their broadcast coverage of those events. Dutta has been detained since September 2024 and faces multiple murder cases stemming from his journalism.&nbsp;The stakes are severe. Because the tribunal — originally created in 2010 to try 1971 Liberation War crimes — has no sentencing guidelines for specific offenses, the journalists could face the death penalty if convicted.&nbsp;<h3>Human Rights Groups Cry Foul</h3>&nbsp;CPJ has been among the most vocal critics of the case. Its Asia-Pacific program coordinator, Kunal Majumder, called the prosecution deeply troubling, saying: "Launching a crimes-against-humanity case against journalists Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa for simply asking questions at a press conference is outrageous and deeply troubling."&nbsp;Majumder added that editorial decisions, even partisan ones, should not be treated as crimes, warning that criminalizing editorial judgment sets a dangerous precedent and undermines Bangladesh's standing as a democracy.&nbsp;Other organizations have echoed the concern. JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France said the allegations against the three journalists concern statements, questions and media content linked to the uprising, and argued that journalism-related conduct should not attract such grave charges without specific, credible evidence of individual criminal responsibility.&nbsp;Broader civil society coalitions have raised similar alarms about the pattern of detentions. A joint statement noted that Rupa, Babu, Rupa's husband and fellow Ekattor journalist Shakil Ahmed, and Dutta have all been held in pre-trial detention since mid-2024 in connection with numerous murder cases tied to the uprising, without any charge sheet served and no clear explanation of how their reporting could constitute murder. The groups called on the government to release journalists detained solely for peaceful reporting and the exercise of their rights.&nbsp;<h3>Bangladesh's Democratic Transition: Where Does Press Freedom Stand? &nbsp;</h3>The case against Babu, Rupa and Dutta is emblematic of a much larger reckoning inside Bangladesh's media since Hasina's fall. At least four Bangladeshi journalists whose coverage was seen as supportive of Hasina and her Awami League party were detained soon after the interim government took power in August 2024, with CPJ warning at the time that the cases appeared baseless and retaliatory. More than two dozen journalists were separately named in a complaint filed at the tribunal over alleged involvement in crimes against humanity and genocide during the protests, with 28 others facing related investigations.&nbsp;The toll of prolonged detention has become a rallying point for press freedom advocates. On World Press Freedom Day this year, the Daily Star reported that five senior journalists had spent between 593 and 620 days in detention without formal charges over deaths linked to the July uprising. Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Dutta and Babu are accused in connection with the killing of a 21-year-old opposition activist in Mirpur on August 5, 2024, the day Hasina fled — despite the case file describing the victim as shot by security forces and ruling-party activists, not by journalists.&nbsp;Legal experts inside Bangladesh have questioned the basis for many of these prosecutions. Manzil Morshed, president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh and a senior Supreme Court advocate, said: “The accusations made by the interim government labelling journalists as collaborators of the previous administration are not clearly established.” He added that many such cases appear to be politically motivated.&nbsp;Independent analysis has drawn attention to the political undercurrents shaping the tribunal's docket. A June report noted that Rupa and Babu were produced before the tribunal on May 14 and remanded back into custody after prosecutors alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and forced disappearances, despite already having spent over 21 months in pre-charge detention on separate murder allegations tied to the crackdown. The report also noted that while government figures acknowledged 11 deaths in the Dhaka-area unrest, Human Rights Watch documented at least 58 deaths — including eight members of the security forces — and that no security personnel have been held accountable for the killings, even as journalists face capital charges.&nbsp;The political backdrop has also shifted since the uprising. The interim government, and the new administration of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman — who was sworn in on February 17, 2026 — reconstituted the tribunal and amended its founding law to enable prosecution of figures linked to the ousted Awami League government, including Hasina herself, who was later sentenced to death on charges of crimes against humanity and was tried in absentia after fleeing to India. In May 2025, mass protests pushed authorities to amend the tribunal's governing law to allow prosecution of political parties, and the Awami League itself was subsequently banned from political activity pending the tribunal's verdicts.Taken together, the case against Babu, Rupa and Dutta sits at the intersection of two competing narratives about Bangladesh's post-Hasina transition: a government-led effort to deliver accountability for a bloody crackdown that killed hundreds of protesters, and what press freedom groups describe as a widening campaign that treats journalism critical of the student-led movement — however partisan — as criminal complicity in mass atrocity. With the tribunal's next hearing set for October 25 and formal charges against the three journalists still pending, that tension is likely to remain one of the defining tests of press freedom in Bangladesh's new political order. &nbsp;

A Bangladesh tribunal has ordered three journalists to be held in custody until trial, escalating international concerns over press freedom and judicial overreach in the country

A special tribunal in Bangladesh's capital on Monday ordered three senior journalists to remain in jail pending trial in a case tied to the mass uprising that toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, a decision human rights groups say represents a dangerous escalation in the criminalisation of journalism in the country. The Tribunal's Order The International Crimes Tribunal-2 directed that Mozammel Babu, editor-in-chief of private broadcaster Ekattor Television; Farzana Rupa, the channel's principal correspondent; and Shyamal Dutta, editor of the daily Bhorer Kagoj and former general secretary of the National Press Club in Dhaka, be shown as formally arrested and sent to jail in the crimes-against-humanity case. The order came after the three appeared before the tribunal, which set October 25 for the next court proceedings and asked investigators to submit their findings against the journalists. Prosecutor Faruk Ahmed told the tribunal that production warrants had been issued against the three on August 17 in connection with the case, and that prosecutors sought to have them shown as arrested and sent to jail once they appeared on Monday. The three have effectively been held without trial for roughly two years, having initially been detained on separate charges shortly after Hasina's fall. What They Are Accused Of The case centers on a press conference held at Hasina's official residence, Gono Bhaban, on July 14, 2024, at which she discussed the civil service quota issue and referred to protesters using a term students considered disparaging. Those remarks triggered protests that same night. Prosecutors allege the three journalists abetted the crimes that followed, and that they helped produce a "counter-narrative" against the student movement between July 14 and August 5, 2024 — the day Hasina was ousted and fled to India. Rights monitors describe the underlying conduct in starker terms. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said prosecutors allege the journalists asked Hasina provocative questions at the July 14 press conference that prompted her disparaging remarks about demonstrators, ahead of a bloody crackdown that followed. This is only one strand of a wider legal net. Rupa and Babu have separately been held in pre-trial detention since August and September 2024 in connection with murder cases linked to deaths during the uprising, and were also shown arrested in a case tied to the 2013 crackdown on a Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka, based on their broadcast coverage of those events. Dutta has been detained since September 2024 and faces multiple murder cases stemming from his journalism. The stakes are severe. Because the tribunal — originally created in 2010 to try 1971 Liberation War crimes — has no sentencing guidelines for specific offenses, the journalists could face the death penalty if convicted. Human Rights Groups Cry Foul CPJ has been among the most vocal critics of the case. Its Asia-Pacific program coordinator, Kunal Majumder, called the prosecution deeply troubling, saying: "Launching a crimes-against-humanity case against journalists Shyamal Dutta, Mozammel Babu, and Farzana Rupa for simply asking questions at a press conference is outrageous and deeply troubling." Majumder added that editorial decisions, even partisan ones, should not be treated as crimes, warning that criminalizing editorial judgment sets a dangerous precedent and undermines Bangladesh's standing as a democracy. Other organizations have echoed the concern. JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France said the allegations against the three journalists concern statements, questions and media content linked to the uprising, and argued that journalism-related conduct should not attract such grave charges without specific, credible evidence of individual criminal responsibility. Broader civil society coalitions have raised similar alarms about the pattern of detentions. A joint statement noted that Rupa, Babu, Rupa's husband and fellow Ekattor journalist Shakil Ahmed, and Dutta have all been held in pre-trial detention since mid-2024 in connection with numerous murder cases tied to the uprising, without any charge sheet served and no clear explanation of how their reporting could constitute murder. The groups called on the government to release journalists detained solely for peaceful reporting and the exercise of their rights. Bangladesh's Democratic Transition: Where Does Press Freedom Stand? The case against Babu, Rupa and Dutta is emblematic of a much larger reckoning inside Bangladesh's media since Hasina's fall. At least four Bangladeshi journalists whose coverage was seen as supportive of Hasina and her Awami League party were detained soon after the interim government took power in August 2024, with CPJ warning at the time that the cases appeared baseless and retaliatory. More than two dozen journalists were separately named in a complaint filed at the tribunal over alleged involvement in crimes against humanity and genocide during the protests, with 28 others facing related investigations. The toll of prolonged detention has become a rallying point for press freedom advocates. On World Press Freedom Day this year, the Daily Star reported that five senior journalists had spent between 593 and 620 days in detention without formal charges over deaths linked to the July uprising. Rupa, Shakil Ahmed, Dutta and Babu are accused in connection with the killing of a 21-year-old opposition activist in Mirpur on August 5, 2024, the day Hasina fled — despite the case file describing the victim as shot by security forces and ruling-party activists, not by journalists. Legal experts inside Bangladesh have questioned the basis for many of these prosecutions. Manzil Morshed, president of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh and a senior Supreme Court advocate, said: “The accusations made by the interim government labelling journalists as collaborators of the previous administration are not clearly established.” He added that many such cases appear to be politically motivated. Independent analysis has drawn attention to the political undercurrents shaping the tribunal's docket. A June report noted that Rupa and Babu were produced before the tribunal on May 14 and remanded back into custody after prosecutors alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and forced disappearances, despite already having spent over 21 months in pre-charge detention on separate murder allegations tied to the crackdown. The report also noted that while government figures acknowledged 11 deaths in the Dhaka-area unrest, Human Rights Watch documented at least 58 deaths — including eight members of the security forces — and that no security personnel have been held accountable for the killings, even as journalists face capital charges. The political backdrop has also shifted since the uprising. The interim government, and the new administration of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman — who was sworn in on February 17, 2026 — reconstituted the tribunal and amended its founding law to enable prosecution of figures linked to the ousted Awami League government, including Hasina herself, who was later sentenced to death on charges of crimes against humanity and was tried in absentia after fleeing to India. In May 2025, mass protests pushed authorities to amend the tribunal's governing law to allow prosecution of political parties, and the Awami League itself was subsequently banned from political activity pending the tribunal's verdicts. Taken together, the case against Babu, Rupa and Dutta sits at the intersection of two competing narratives about Bangladesh's post-Hasina transition: a government-led effort to deliver accountability for a bloody crackdown that killed hundreds of protesters, and what press freedom groups describe as a widening campaign that treats journalism critical of the student-led movement — however partisan — as criminal complicity in mass atrocity. With the tribunal's next hearing set for October 25 and formal charges against the three journalists still pending, that tension is likely to remain one of the defining tests of press freedom in Bangladesh's new political order.

A Bangladesh tribunal has ordered three journalists to be held in custody until trial, escalating international concerns over press freedom and judicial overreach in the country

Bangladesh tribunal orders three journalists held until trial, deepening press freedom concerns

The United States is all set to impose a 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods over allegations of excess manufacturing capacity ahead of a summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping next month. The imposition would restore Trump’s second-term duties on China to around 20%, a level Beijing has previously said is consistent with its trade truce with Washington.&nbsp;The 7.5% tariff is besides the other levies imposed during Trump’s first term and extended during the Biden administration.&nbsp;The move will revive Trump’s protectionist trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his previous import taxes on products from China and dozens of other economies.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-admin-proposes-hiking-h-1b-visa-fee-to-over-100-000-indians-brace-for-impact-1787587379674">Trump admin proposes hiking H-1B visa fee to over $100,000, Indians brace for impact</a>&nbsp;Exact rates are yet to be finalized, said people in the know of things, while speaking on condition of anonymity.&nbsp;&nbsp;As Trump is known to make last-minute demands or changes to trade announcements, one option under contemplation is announcing a higher duty rate for China and later suspending part of it in order to reduce the effective rate to 7.5%.&nbsp;Moreover, Beijing and Washington are also looking to extend their pact, which established a one-year truce that’s set to expire on Nov. 10.&nbsp;In March, the Trump administration launched an investigation into more than a dozen major trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over excess capacity concerns.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-sets-stage-for-new-sanctions-unveiling-says-iran-is-completely-collapsing-1787581553591">Trump sets stage for new sanctions unveiling, says Iran is ‘completely collapsing’</a><h2>Trump and Xi to meet in Washington on Sept. 24</h2>&nbsp;Officials are hoping to publish the results of the excess capacity inquiry before the meeting between Trump and Xi in Washington on Sept. 24.&nbsp;Trump is rebuilding a tariff wall that was struck down when the Supreme Court in February ruled his global levies, issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, violated the US Constitution. The president’s temporary 10% global tariffs expired in July, and were also deemed illegal by a trade court.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-to-enter-new-phase-in-iran-war-very-soon-says-house-speaker-mike-johnson-1787516303936">‘We took the head off the snake’: US to enter ‘new phase’ in Iran war very soon, says Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;In July, the Trump administration imposed a 12.5% tariff on Chinese goods, citing inadequate efforts to address forced labour practices. Beijing criticised the move but stopped short of announcing retaliatory measures.&nbsp;Section 301 allows the US Trade Representative, under the direction of the president, to impose tariffs in response to other nations’ trade measures it deems discriminatory to American businesses or in violation of US rights under international trade agreements.

The 7.5% tariff is besides the other levies imposed during Trump’s first term and extended by the Biden administration. The move will revive Trump’s protectionist trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his previous import taxes on products from China and dozens of other economies.

The United States is all set to impose a 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods over allegations of excess manufacturing capacity ahead of a summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping next month. The imposition would restore Trump’s second-term duties on China to around 20%, a level Beijing has previously said is consistent with its trade truce with Washington. The 7.5% tariff is besides the other levies imposed during Trump’s first term and extended during the Biden administration. The move will revive Trump’s protectionist trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his previous import taxes on products from China and dozens of other economies. Also Read: Trump admin proposes hiking H-1B visa fee to over $100,000, Indians brace for impact Exact rates are yet to be finalized, said people in the know of things, while speaking on condition of anonymity. As Trump is known to make last-minute demands or changes to trade announcements, one option under contemplation is announcing a higher duty rate for China and later suspending part of it in order to reduce the effective rate to 7.5%. Moreover, Beijing and Washington are also looking to extend their pact, which established a one-year truce that’s set to expire on Nov. 10. In March, the Trump administration launched an investigation into more than a dozen major trading partners under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 over excess capacity concerns. Also Read: Trump sets stage for new sanctions unveiling, says Iran is ‘completely collapsing’ Trump and Xi to meet in Washington on Sept. 24 Officials are hoping to publish the results of the excess capacity inquiry before the meeting between Trump and Xi in Washington on Sept. 24. Trump is rebuilding a tariff wall that was struck down when the Supreme Court in February ruled his global levies, issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, violated the US Constitution. The president’s temporary 10% global tariffs expired in July, and were also deemed illegal by a trade court. Also Read: ‘We took the head off the snake’: US to enter ‘new phase’ in Iran war very soon, says Speaker Mike Johnson In July, the Trump administration imposed a 12.5% tariff on Chinese goods, citing inadequate efforts to address forced labour practices. Beijing criticised the move but stopped short of announcing retaliatory measures. Section 301 allows the US Trade Representative, under the direction of the president, to impose tariffs in response to other nations’ trade measures it deems discriminatory to American businesses or in violation of US rights under international trade agreements.

The 7.5% tariff is besides the other levies imposed during Trump’s first term and extended by the Biden administration. The move will revive Trump’s protectionist trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his previous import taxes on products from China and dozens of other economies.

US plans to impose 7.5% overcapacity tariff on China ahead of Xi-Trump summit in Sept

A 26-second clip of US President Donald Trump and the First Lady at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix has gone viral. The two were passionately discussing or arguing about something, which has drawn speculation from many, as White House aide Natalie Harp was also present with the President and the First Lady, along with other members of the Trump family at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, DC, on Sunday, August 23, 2026. Melania seemed cold, and President Trump is seen leaning in to speak to her.&nbsp;This incident has sparked speculation online about the relationship between Trump and Melania, which had reportedly been facing turbulence. This was the first time Melania appeared in public in months. In a later clip, when Harp was seen bringing Trump his phone, Melania could be seen getting up and moving away.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ghalibaf-mocks-trump-make-america-hungry-again-1787588633211">Iran’s Ghalibaf mocks Trump's economic sanction campaign: ‘Make America Hungry Again’</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Melania Trump is fed up with Donald Trump. She is visibly angry with him in this clip. <a href="https://t.co/fHoE32hkw6">pic.twitter.com/fHoE32hkw6</a>&mdash; War Dog (@WarDogwtf) <a href="https://x.com/WarDogwtf/status/2091810516012290326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">This <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/Melania?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Melania</a> clip just got a whole lot worse. You’ve seen the footage of her looking visibly pissed, standing up, and practically bolting out of the room. That alone was already telling. But right after that sitting footage was reported, the audio that follows is pure gold:… <a href="https://t.co/yrVxdlgdCh">pic.twitter.com/yrVxdlgdCh</a>&mdash; Mahalaxmi Ramanathan (@MahalaxmiRaman) <a href="https://x.com/MahalaxmiRaman/status/2091881458587803777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One user wrote: "She wanted EVERYONE to know how p****d she was lol." Another user wrote, "To me it looks like they are having a serious discussion about something," while a third commented: "I don't think I've ever seen them interact this much in public."Forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman analysed the viral 26-second clip for The Daily Mirror and claimed that it appears to him deeply frustrated exchange between the presidential couple. Melania supposedly remarked to US President Donald Trump,"That's the problem, people react," to which Trump responded: "We'll knock it off."Melania responded in a "snappy" tone: “Are you?” She went on to say: "It happened two times," to which Donald replied: "I know." Then in one final remark, Melania reportedly said: "I can't take any more."This incident comes just after reports of a letter from Trump's aide, Natalie Harp, to Donald Trump were reported by the New York Times. Harp reportedly referred to Trump as &nbsp;"guardian and protector" and &nbsp;showed deep devotion: "you are all that matters to me"

A 26-second clip of Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix has sparked online speculation about a possible confrontation between the Presidential couple.

A 26-second clip of US President Donald Trump and the First Lady at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix has gone viral. The two were passionately discussing or arguing about something, which has drawn speculation from many, as White House aide Natalie Harp was also present with the President and the First Lady, along with other members of the Trump family at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, DC, on Sunday, August 23, 2026. Melania seemed cold, and President Trump is seen leaning in to speak to her. This incident has sparked speculation online about the relationship between Trump and Melania, which had reportedly been facing turbulence. This was the first time Melania appeared in public in months. In a later clip, when Harp was seen bringing Trump his phone, Melania could be seen getting up and moving away. Also Read: Iran’s Ghalibaf mocks Trump's economic sanction campaign: ‘Make America Hungry Again’

A 26-second clip of Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix has sparked online speculation about a possible confrontation between the Presidential couple.

'I can't take any more':Trump and Melania arguing over Natalie Harp at 250 Grand Prix?

A retired schoolteacher, his wife, their 23-year-old daughter, and 12-year-old son were found strangled inside their locked home in Rangpur city on Saturday night- the father's body on the roof, the mother and daughter on the staircase, the boy hidden beneath a bed. Police now believe two cousins climbed onto the roof from a neighbouring building carrying tablets of Yaba, a cheap methamphetamine-based stimulant widely trafficked in Bangladesh, and killed the family with a gamchha, a traditional cotton scarf, after the homeowner caught them there.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/bangladesh-horror-four-of-family-found-dead-inside-locked-house-in-rangpur-1787486148135/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/bangladesh-horror-four-of-family-found-dead-inside-locked-house-in-rangpur-1787486148135/embed</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;The victims Ganapati Chakraborty, 65, a retired Zilla School teacher who had gone on to practice homeopathy; his wife Pritilata, 50; daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 23; and son Priyam, 12 — were discovered around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday at their home in the Daspara (Machhuapara) area. Two suspects, cousins identified as Mughdho and Siddhartha, have since been taken into custody, though police have yet to issue a final, official determination of motive or cause of death.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/when-two-sides-find-common-ground-india-s-eam-jaishankar-responds-as-bangladesh-links-hasina-s-extradition-to-pm-rahman-s-visit-1787465762584">When two sides find common ground...': India's EAM Jaishankar responds as Bangladesh links Hasina's extradition to PM Rahman's visit</a>&nbsp;In the immediate aftermath, investigators offered few answers. OC Nazmul Kader of Kotwali Police Station, whose officers were among the first responders alongside the Criminal Investigation Department and Detective Branch, told reporters at the time: "For now, we have recovered the bodies of four people. We have not yet been able to establish any details about the incident." No cause of death, motive, or manner of death had been officially confirmed at that stage, and the bodies were sent for autopsy while forensic and CID teams examined the scene.&nbsp;Soma Chakraborty, the retired teacher's niece, said she had last spoken with her uncle on Thursday afternoon, before the deaths. Recounting her arrival at the house, she said: "After receiving the news on Saturday night, I came here and saw his body. The bodies of my aunt, sister and brother were also lying there. My uncle had no enemies."&nbsp;Police initially treated the case as a possible robbery gone wrong, noting that the home's lights had been switched off and belongings left scattered- details investigators believed may have been staged to look like a burglary. Sanatan Chakrabarty, deputy commissioner of Rangpur Metropolitan Police and head of the Detective Branch, said the department suspected all four victims had been strangled.&nbsp;As the investigation progressed, the two cousins were taken into custody. Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud detailed the emerging theory at a press briefing on Sunday. Investigators now believe the two men climbed onto the roof of the Chakraborty house on Thursday from a neighbouring building, carrying Yaba tablets. According to this account, Ganapati Chakraborty heard noise on the roof and went up to investigate, confronting the two men he found there. Police allege the suspects strangled him with the gamchha, and that the commotion drew his wife to the scene, where she too was strangled, followed by their daughter and son.&nbsp;While the drug-related theory has emerged as the leading line of inquiry, police have not issued a final, official determination of motive or cause of death. Autopsy results from Rangpur Medical College Hospital are still awaited, and the CID, Detective Branch and local police continue to investigate.

Four members of a family, including retired schoolteacher Ganapati Chakraborty, were found murdered in their locked Rangpur home. Police have detained two suspects in connection with the horrific strangulation.

A retired schoolteacher, his wife, their 23-year-old daughter, and 12-year-old son were found strangled inside their locked home in Rangpur city on Saturday night- the father's body on the roof, the mother and daughter on the staircase, the boy hidden beneath a bed. Police now believe two cousins climbed onto the roof from a neighbouring building carrying tablets of Yaba, a cheap methamphetamine-based stimulant widely trafficked in Bangladesh, and killed the family with a gamchha, a traditional cotton scarf, after the homeowner caught them there. https://www.wionews.com/videos/bangladesh-horror-four-of-family-found-dead-inside-locked-house-in-rangpur-1787486148135/embed The victims Ganapati Chakraborty, 65, a retired Zilla School teacher who had gone on to practice homeopathy; his wife Pritilata, 50; daughter Agami Chakraborty Prarthi, 23; and son Priyam, 12 — were discovered around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday at their home in the Daspara (Machhuapara) area. Two suspects, cousins identified as Mughdho and Siddhartha, have since been taken into custody, though police have yet to issue a final, official determination of motive or cause of death. Also read: When two sides find common ground...': India's EAM Jaishankar responds as Bangladesh links Hasina's extradition to PM Rahman's visit In the immediate aftermath, investigators offered few answers. OC Nazmul Kader of Kotwali Police Station, whose officers were among the first responders alongside the Criminal Investigation Department and Detective Branch, told reporters at the time: "For now, we have recovered the bodies of four people. We have not yet been able to establish any details about the incident." No cause of death, motive, or manner of death had been officially confirmed at that stage, and the bodies were sent for autopsy while forensic and CID teams examined the scene. Soma Chakraborty, the retired teacher's niece, said she had last spoken with her uncle on Thursday afternoon, before the deaths. Recounting her arrival at the house, she said: "After receiving the news on Saturday night, I came here and saw his body. The bodies of my aunt, sister and brother were also lying there. My uncle had no enemies." Police initially treated the case as a possible robbery gone wrong, noting that the home's lights had been switched off and belongings left scattered- details investigators believed may have been staged to look like a burglary. Sanatan Chakrabarty, deputy commissioner of Rangpur Metropolitan Police and head of the Detective Branch, said the department suspected all four victims had been strangled. As the investigation progressed, the two cousins were taken into custody. Rangpur Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mabud detailed the emerging theory at a press briefing on Sunday. Investigators now believe the two men climbed onto the roof of the Chakraborty house on Thursday from a neighbouring building, carrying Yaba tablets. According to this account, Ganapati Chakraborty heard noise on the roof and went up to investigate, confronting the two men he found there. Police allege the suspects strangled him with the gamchha, and that the commotion drew his wife to the scene, where she too was strangled, followed by their daughter and son. While the drug-related theory has emerged as the leading line of inquiry, police have not issued a final, official determination of motive or cause of death. Autopsy results from Rangpur Medical College Hospital are still awaited, and the CID, Detective Branch and local police continue to investigate.

Four members of a family, including retired schoolteacher Ganapati Chakraborty, were found murdered in their locked Rangpur home. Police have detained two suspects in connection with the horrific strangulation.

Retired teacher went to check noise on roof, found family dead by morning

In a few minutes from now, the so-called economic D-Day for Iran will kick in, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set to unveil major economic sanctions on Iran. Trump claims that Iran is “completely collapsing”. But Tehran has asserted that this tactic will fail and threatened to shut down all oil exports from West Asia.Without detailing specific measures, Bessent has signalled that the US would also target nations that practise appeasement by engaging with Iran’s economy and financial system.China, though, drew the red line. Opposing the imposition of fresh sanctions against Iran, Beijing argued that they would escalate tensions and called upon all parties to exercise restraint and return to talks.Now, why is China’s stance so crucial?According to reports, Beijing helped push Tehran to the negotiating table for a ceasefire in April. Being Iran’s largest trading partner, which purchases roughly 90 per cent of its crude oil, China has high stakes in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.Another key question arises: Can Trump bypass China’s opposition and go ahead with the economic sanctions? Since his visit to Beijing in May, the US President has been keen on China buying American soybeans, oil as well as Boeing jets. For America, China’s supply of critical minerals is also vital, as they are essential components in the production of weapons, which have been depleted by the war.Going against Beijing at this juncture might put all this at risk. It is also worth noting that Xi is set to meet Trump at the White House in September.Ahead of America’s announcement, mediation efforts continue.Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir arrived in Tehran, where he met Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni. According to Reuters, Trump spoke to Munir last week, with the US seeking Pakistan’s influence to bring Iran back to talks.Tensions persisted in West Asia, though. For instance, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a ballistic missile at a Saudi Arabia-flagged tanker in the Red Sea. This led to a fire breaking out on the vessel. The Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia last month.On its part, Iran blacklisted 45 tankers for breaking its rules while crossing the Strait of Hormuz and warned other vessels not to transit this strategic waterway without its permission. It stressed that these vessels could be fined and have their cargo confiscated as well. Additionally, Iran threatened other countries against joining new US efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy.Meanwhile, Iran clarified that it was yet to receive a formal invitation to join the Makkah Defence Pact signed by Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. However, Tehran did not rule out negotiations with these countries for the overall security of the region.America’s fresh threat of economic sanctions also comes at a time when the Iranian rial has fallen to a historic low, crossing two million rials against the US dollar. This has raised fresh concerns about inflation, purchasing power and the Iranian government’s ability to stabilise the economy.Food has become very expensive, with the price of rice up by 60 per cent since the war began.Now, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also acknowledged the issues arising from the current impasse. He linked the MOU with the US to Iran’s economic prospects, saying that his country was not able to attract investment at present.People on the streets of Iran also expressed their anguish over the current state of affairs.With both the US and Iran unwilling to budge from their positions, West Asia continues to remain on edge.

Iran faces fresh US sanctions as Washington threatens economic pressure and China urges restraint, while Tehran warns of retaliation and tensions persist over the Strait of Hormuz.

In a few minutes from now, the so-called economic D-Day for Iran will kick in, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set to unveil major economic sanctions on Iran. Trump claims that Iran is “completely collapsing”. But Tehran has asserted that this tactic will fail and threatened to shut down all oil exports from West Asia. Without detailing specific measures, Bessent has signalled that the US would also target nations that practise appeasement by engaging with Iran’s economy and financial system. China, though, drew the red line. Opposing the imposition of fresh sanctions against Iran, Beijing argued that they would escalate tensions and called upon all parties to exercise restraint and return to talks. Now, why is China’s stance so crucial? According to reports, Beijing helped push Tehran to the negotiating table for a ceasefire in April. Being Iran’s largest trading partner, which purchases roughly 90 per cent of its crude oil, China has high stakes in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Another key question arises: Can Trump bypass China’s opposition and go ahead with the economic sanctions? Since his visit to Beijing in May, the US President has been keen on China buying American soybeans, oil as well as Boeing jets. For America, China’s supply of critical minerals is also vital, as they are essential components in the production of weapons, which have been depleted by the war. Going against Beijing at this juncture might put all this at risk. It is also worth noting that Xi is set to meet Trump at the White House in September. Ahead of America’s announcement, mediation efforts continue. Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir arrived in Tehran, where he met Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni. According to Reuters, Trump spoke to Munir last week, with the US seeking Pakistan’s influence to bring Iran back to talks. Tensions persisted in West Asia, though. For instance, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a ballistic missile at a Saudi Arabia-flagged tanker in the Red Sea. This led to a fire breaking out on the vessel. The Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia last month. On its part, Iran blacklisted 45 tankers for breaking its rules while crossing the Strait of Hormuz and warned other vessels not to transit this strategic waterway without its permission. It stressed that these vessels could be fined and have their cargo confiscated as well. Additionally, Iran threatened other countries against joining new US efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy. Meanwhile, Iran clarified that it was yet to receive a formal invitation to join the Makkah Defence Pact signed by Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. However, Tehran did not rule out negotiations with these countries for the overall security of the region. America’s fresh threat of economic sanctions also comes at a time when the Iranian rial has fallen to a historic low, crossing two million rials against the US dollar. This has raised fresh concerns about inflation, purchasing power and the Iranian government’s ability to stabilise the economy. Food has become very expensive, with the price of rice up by 60 per cent since the war began. Now, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also acknowledged the issues arising from the current impasse. He linked the MOU with the US to Iran’s economic prospects, saying that his country was not able to attract investment at present. People on the streets of Iran also expressed their anguish over the current state of affairs. With both the US and Iran unwilling to budge from their positions, West Asia continues to remain on edge.

Iran faces fresh US sanctions as Washington threatens economic pressure and China urges restraint, while Tehran warns of retaliation and tensions persist over the Strait of Hormuz.

China 'trumps' Trump on Iran sanctions, calls for return to talks | Gravitas

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday (August 24) unveiled plans for the ‘economic asphyxiation’ of Iran, widening Washington's secondary sanctions campaign and warning countries that refuse to participate of potential consequences. Bessent's remarks came nearly six months into the war with Tehran, which has reached a stalemate amid stalled peace negotiations and Iran's restrictions on much of the traffic through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.&nbsp;"Around the globe, our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent told a press conference on Monday. “We are going to hold everyone accountable, and this is economic asphyxiation of this regime.” Scott Bessent said countries that choose not to join the US sanctions campaign would "share in the isolation" of Iran. He also said President Trump was contacting world leaders to urge them to halt their dealings with Tehran.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-discovers-7-5-trillion-cubic-feet-of-natural-gas-amid-war-and-sanctions-gravitas-1787590491328">Iran discovers 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas amid war and sanctions | Gravitas</a>&nbsp;The Treasury Department said on Monday (August 24) it had 'issued determinations against five critical sectors, digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, that the Iranian regime uses to try to prop up its failing economy." Scott Bessent also warned that any entity "that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system."&nbsp;Asked whether Chinese banks doing business with Iran could face sanctions, Scott Bessent responded that “no one is above the reach of US sanctions.” Earlier, Bessent described the escalating campaign against Tehran as an ‘economic D-Day’ in an opinion piece published by the Financial Times. The United States and Israel launched the Middle East war with a major wave of strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026, prompting Iranian retaliation across the region.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to cripple Iran’s economy as he outlined a major new pressure campaign against Tehran, nearly six months into a war that has settled into a stalemate

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday (August 24) unveiled plans for the ‘economic asphyxiation’ of Iran, widening Washington's secondary sanctions campaign and warning countries that refuse to participate of potential consequences. Bessent's remarks came nearly six months into the war with Tehran, which has reached a stalemate amid stalled peace negotiations and Iran's restrictions on much of the traffic through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. "Around the globe, our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent told a press conference on Monday. “We are going to hold everyone accountable, and this is economic asphyxiation of this regime.” Scott Bessent said countries that choose not to join the US sanctions campaign would "share in the isolation" of Iran. He also said President Trump was contacting world leaders to urge them to halt their dealings with Tehran. Also Read: Iran discovers 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas amid war and sanctions | Gravitas The Treasury Department said on Monday (August 24) it had 'issued determinations against five critical sectors, digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, that the Iranian regime uses to try to prop up its failing economy." Scott Bessent also warned that any entity "that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system." Asked whether Chinese banks doing business with Iran could face sanctions, Scott Bessent responded that “no one is above the reach of US sanctions.” Earlier, Bessent described the escalating campaign against Tehran as an ‘economic D-Day’ in an opinion piece published by the Financial Times. The United States and Israel launched the Middle East war with a major wave of strikes against Iran on February 28, 2026, prompting Iranian retaliation across the region.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to cripple Iran’s economy as he outlined a major new pressure campaign against Tehran, nearly six months into a war that has settled into a stalemate

'We will block every source of revenue for Iran': Scott Bessent announces new sanctions after warning of ‘economic D-Day’ for Tehran

Even as Iran faces crippling US sanctions amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, it has struck a jackpot as far as new gas reserves are concerned, potentially adding a new stream of revenue in the future.&nbsp;Iran's oil minister Mohsen Paknejad announced the discovery of 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the south of Iran's Fars province. Based on an estimated recovery rate of 72%, he revealed that around 5.7 trillion cubic feet of gas could be extracted.&nbsp;According to him, this gas field could produce around one billion cubic feet of natural gas per day for 15 years.&nbsp;Now, this is not the first time new gas reserves have been discovered in Iran's Fars province.&nbsp;In October last year, 10 trillion cubic feet of gas was found in the Pazan gas field of this province. However, nearly 75% of the country's natural gas reserves are concentrated in South Pars natural gas field, which it shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.&nbsp;It is the world's largest natural gas field.&nbsp;According to the US Energy Information Administration, Iran's estimated proven natural gas reserves stand at 1,200 trillion cubic feet, second only to Russia.&nbsp;Why is the latest discovery vital for Iran?&nbsp;The country's energy sector has taken a hit, owing to the US-Israeli strikes, with a daily reduction of 230 million cubic metres of natural gas production.&nbsp;At the peak of the war, even the South Pars natural gas field was attacked by Israel. Since then, Iran has been carrying out repairs to its damaged energy infrastructure.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

While Iran is the third-largest natural gas producer after America and Russia, it is also one of the world's largest gas consumers. For instance, 94% of the gas that it produces is consumed domestically. This is because Iranian households are heavily dependent on gas for cooking and heating. According to the International Energy Agency, the residential sector accounted for 41.5% of the overall gas consumption, followed by industry with 36%. This is not all. About 85% of Iran's electricity is generated by gas-fired power plants. According to reports, though, production of gas from the new site in Fars is likely to be years away, as Iran lacks sufficient investment and technology in field and upstream infrastructure development. Its export capacity is also limited, with Turkiye and Iraq being the main buyers of Iranian natural gas. However, Iran's oil and gas industry has remained resilient by using artificial intelligence to boost output. Recently, Iranian researchers developed an indigenous, smart production management system. It integrates wells, pipelines, and surface processing facilities and adjusts operating conditions to maximise efficiency. According to the researchers, this can increase oil recovery in surface storage facilities by up to 59% over a 20-year production period besides reducing maintenance costs.

Iran's oil minister Mohsen Paknejad announced the discovery of 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the south of Iran's Fars province. Based on an estimated recovery rate of 72%, he revealed that around 5.7 trillion cubic feet of gas could be extracted.

Even as Iran faces crippling US sanctions amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, it has struck a jackpot as far as new gas reserves are concerned, potentially adding a new stream of revenue in the future. Iran's oil minister Mohsen Paknejad announced the discovery of 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the south of Iran's Fars province. Based on an estimated recovery rate of 72%, he revealed that around 5.7 trillion cubic feet of gas could be extracted. According to him, this gas field could produce around one billion cubic feet of natural gas per day for 15 years. Now, this is not the first time new gas reserves have been discovered in Iran's Fars province. In October last year, 10 trillion cubic feet of gas was found in the Pazan gas field of this province. However, nearly 75% of the country's natural gas reserves are concentrated in South Pars natural gas field, which it shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf. It is the world's largest natural gas field. According to the US Energy Information Administration, Iran's estimated proven natural gas reserves stand at 1,200 trillion cubic feet, second only to Russia. Why is the latest discovery vital for Iran? The country's energy sector has taken a hit, owing to the US-Israeli strikes, with a daily reduction of 230 million cubic metres of natural gas production. At the peak of the war, even the South Pars natural gas field was attacked by Israel. Since then, Iran has been carrying out repairs to its damaged energy infrastructure.

Iran's oil minister Mohsen Paknejad announced the discovery of 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the south of Iran's Fars province. Based on an estimated recovery rate of 72%, he revealed that around 5.7 trillion cubic feet of gas could be extracted.

Iran discovers 7.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas amid war and sanctions | Gravitas

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has mocked US President Donald Trump’s economic sanction campaign. In response to Trump's reposting an edited excerpt from Ghalibaf’s remarks about Iran’s economic situation. In a social media post, he restyled Trump's famous Make America Great Again catchphrase to “Make America Hungry Again”.Ghalibaf shared a picture claiming that 47 million people in the United States face hunger and 16 million US children are among those affected by poverty and the cost-of-living crisis. Ghalibaf stressed that Trump can not cover up “defeats” using false claims.This reaction came in response to Trump sharing an edited excerpt from Ghalibaf's remark during a meeting with Iranian and Iraqi businesspeople, with Ghalibaf saying: “We are hungry and we do not have the ability to resist.”According to Iranian media, Ghalibaf was not describing hunger as the current condition of the Iranian people. Rather, he was emphasising the need to strengthen the economy. Both security and economic strength must be maintained simultaneously. He said that the US has failed militarily and is now engaging in psychological and economic warfare.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/revanth-reddy-returns-hyderabad-mea-denies-us-visit-clearance-1787578195030">'Insult' to 4 crore people of Telangana: Why CM Revanth Reddy's US visit clearance was denied</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">MAKE AMERICA HUNGRY AGAIN! You can’t cover up defeats with false claims. <a href="https://t.co/LBclafRt3B">pic.twitter.com/LBclafRt3B</a>&mdash; محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) <a href="https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2091846882876145880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<h2>Iran will strike on US energy chokepoints and vital interests: IRGC</h2>Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said that the country's missile capability remains intact and any attack at Iran's infrastructure will result in “heavy strikes” on US energy chokepoints and vital interests. He further added that Iran's missile production continues and the US plan for new economic sanctions against Tehran amounts to "an implicit admission" of Washington's failure on the military front.&nbsp;"We can easily establish economic relations with countries. There is no concern regarding the economic situation," said Mohebbi, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.“Today, the US understands very well that if it carries out its threats against Iran’s infrastructure, it will face heavy strategic strikes on energy chokepoints and its vital interests.” He continued, “The most important achievement of this war was transferring vulnerability to the enemy’s vital infrastructure and affiliated centres."

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked Donald Trump with a “Make America Hungry Again” remark after the US president shared an edited clip of his comments indicating that Iran was hungry.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has mocked US President Donald Trump’s economic sanction campaign. In response to Trump's reposting an edited excerpt from Ghalibaf’s remarks about Iran’s economic situation. In a social media post, he restyled Trump's famous Make America Great Again catchphrase to “Make America Hungry Again”. Ghalibaf shared a picture claiming that 47 million people in the United States face hunger and 16 million US children are among those affected by poverty and the cost-of-living crisis. Ghalibaf stressed that Trump can not cover up “defeats” using false claims. This reaction came in response to Trump sharing an edited excerpt from Ghalibaf's remark during a meeting with Iranian and Iraqi businesspeople, with Ghalibaf saying: “We are hungry and we do not have the ability to resist.” According to Iranian media, Ghalibaf was not describing hunger as the current condition of the Iranian people. Rather, he was emphasising the need to strengthen the economy. Both security and economic strength must be maintained simultaneously. He said that the US has failed militarily and is now engaging in psychological and economic warfare. Also Read: 'Insult' to 4 crore people of Telangana: Why CM Revanth Reddy's US visit clearance was denied

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked Donald Trump with a “Make America Hungry Again” remark after the US president shared an edited clip of his comments indicating that Iran was hungry.

Iran’s Ghalibaf mocks Trump's economic sanction campaign: ‘Make America Hungry Again’

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's possible visit to India for the BRICS Summit in September, India's national security advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on a crucial two-day visit with both countries eyeing a reset in their bilateral ties. Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold the 25th round of special representatives' talks on the dispute over the India-China border spanning three thousand four hundred and eighty eight kilometres.&nbsp;During this visit, Doval will also call on China's Vice President Han Zheng. While relations between New Delhi and Beijing had come under severe strain after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, both sides have taken steps to stabilise ties. For instance, direct flights between India and China have resumed and the Kailash Mansarovar yatra has restarted. The last round of talks between Doval and Wang took place in New Delhi in August 2025. Back then, they reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas to promote overall development of the bilateral relationship.&nbsp;On that occasion, they also agreed to re-open trade through the three designated trading points of Lipulekh pass, Shipki La pass and Nathu La pass and facilitate trade and investment flows. Doval's visit also assumes significance as it may lay the groundwork for Xi's potential visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit next month where he can meet PM Modi. Now, the two leaders last met in China's Tianjin in August last year on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/ajit-doval-to-hold-border-talks-in-china-ahead-of-xi-s-possible-india-visit-1787593240596/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/ajit-doval-to-hold-border-talks-in-china-ahead-of-xi-s-possible-india-visit-1787593240596/embed</a>&nbsp;Back then, PM Modi affirmed that ties between the two countries are heading in a positive direction. Prior to that, PM Modi met Xi in October 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia's Kazan. It is worth noting that seven years have elapsed since Xi Jinping's last visit to India. Have a look at these visuals from October 2019. As the Chinese President arrived in Chennai for a Summit with PM Modi, he was welcomed by traditional dancers and musicians. The two leaders met in Tamil Nadu's Mahabalipuram, which is known for its historic temples and architecture. Adorning a traditional Tamil attire, PM Modi took Xi on a tour around UNESCO world heritage-listed monuments in this town.&nbsp;Xi who was dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers watched an Indian cultural show alongside PM Modi. On the next day, both leaders held talks in Mahabalipuram itself as part of their summit. Now, friction between both countries have been brewing over Arunachal Pradesh as well. Earlier in August, India rejected China's criticism of its decision to formally identify 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh on official maps.&nbsp;New Delhi stressed that the state is an inalienable and integral part of India and nothing can change this indisputable reality. Recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made India's position amply clear. He emphasised that peace and tranquility in border areas is a pre-requisite for good relations between India and China.

Ajit Doval visits Beijing for India-China border talks as ties improve ahead of Xi Jinping's possible India visit for the BRICS summit

Ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's possible visit to India for the BRICS Summit in September, India's national security advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on a crucial two-day visit with both countries eyeing a reset in their bilateral ties. Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold the 25th round of special representatives' talks on the dispute over the India-China border spanning three thousand four hundred and eighty eight kilometres. During this visit, Doval will also call on China's Vice President Han Zheng. While relations between New Delhi and Beijing had come under severe strain after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, both sides have taken steps to stabilise ties. For instance, direct flights between India and China have resumed and the Kailash Mansarovar yatra has restarted. The last round of talks between Doval and Wang took place in New Delhi in August 2025. Back then, they reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas to promote overall development of the bilateral relationship. On that occasion, they also agreed to re-open trade through the three designated trading points of Lipulekh pass, Shipki La pass and Nathu La pass and facilitate trade and investment flows. Doval's visit also assumes significance as it may lay the groundwork for Xi's potential visit to New Delhi for the BRICS summit next month where he can meet PM Modi. Now, the two leaders last met in China's Tianjin in August last year on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. https://www.wionews.com/videos/ajit-doval-to-hold-border-talks-in-china-ahead-of-xi-s-possible-india-visit-1787593240596/embed Back then, PM Modi affirmed that ties between the two countries are heading in a positive direction. Prior to that, PM Modi met Xi in October 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia's Kazan. It is worth noting that seven years have elapsed since Xi Jinping's last visit to India. Have a look at these visuals from October 2019. As the Chinese President arrived in Chennai for a Summit with PM Modi, he was welcomed by traditional dancers and musicians. The two leaders met in Tamil Nadu's Mahabalipuram, which is known for its historic temples and architecture. Adorning a traditional Tamil attire, PM Modi took Xi on a tour around UNESCO world heritage-listed monuments in this town. Xi who was dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers watched an Indian cultural show alongside PM Modi. On the next day, both leaders held talks in Mahabalipuram itself as part of their summit. Now, friction between both countries have been brewing over Arunachal Pradesh as well. Earlier in August, India rejected China's criticism of its decision to formally identify 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh on official maps. New Delhi stressed that the state is an inalienable and integral part of India and nothing can change this indisputable reality. Recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made India's position amply clear. He emphasised that peace and tranquility in border areas is a pre-requisite for good relations between India and China.

Ajit Doval's Beijing visit aims to strengthen India-China ties and prepare for Xi Jinping's possible India visit for the BRICS summit

Gravitas | Ajit Doval to hold border talks in China, all eyes on Xi's possible India visit

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday proposed raising the fee for certain H-1B visa applications to $103,265. The proposal that was posted in the Federal Register on Monday would turn the controversial $100,000 H-1B payment introduced by the Donald Trump administration last year into a formal regulatory requirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;The proposed rule will now enter a 30-day public comment period, after which DHS could finalise it by the end of the year. The move comes amid growing uncertainty around the H-1B programme, particularly for Indian professionals who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-sets-stage-for-new-sanctions-unveiling-says-iran-is-completely-collapsing-1787581553591">Trump sets stage for new sanctions unveiling, says Iran is ‘completely collapsing’</a>&nbsp;The proposed $103,265 charge follows Trump’s 2025 proclamation that imposed a $100,000 payment for certain new H-1B petitions. Although that proclamation is due to expire in September, it instructed DHS to pursue regulations that would make the payment permanent.&nbsp;The fee has already become the subject of a legal battle. On June 8, 2026, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated agency guidance implementing the $100,000 payment requirement in State of California v. Mullin.&nbsp;DHS challenged the decision and sought a stay from the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.&nbsp;The First Circuit rejected the government’s request on July 24. DHS said it disagrees with the ruling but will comply with the court’s order while it considers its next steps. The department has also made clear that if the court order is eventually lifted, it still intends to collect the payment.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-to-enter-new-phase-in-iran-war-very-soon-says-house-speaker-mike-johnson-1787516303936">‘We took the head off the snake’: US to enter ‘new phase’ in Iran war very soon, says Speaker Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;Meanwhile, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B cap and 20,000 master’s cap for fiscal year 2027. The proposed fee is therefore arriving alongside a broader tightening of the H-1B system, which has become increasingly difficult for employers and prospective migrants to navigate.&nbsp;&nbsp;For Indian professionals, the proposed fee adds to a series of changes affecting the traditional route from education and employment in the US to long-term residency. The H-1B programme has historically been a major pathway for Indian engineers, technology workers, researchers, financial professionals, and healthcare workers seeking employment in the US. But higher costs, tighter selection rules, and greater scrutiny are making the route more selective and unpredictable.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-orchestrating-sabotage-attacks-at-european-arms-plants-to-sow-discord-report-1787511138908">Russia orchestrating sabotage attacks at European arms plants to sow discord: Report</a>&nbsp;India-based IT consulting companies whose business models rely heavily on sending employees to US client sites are already facing the heat.&nbsp;&nbsp;The proposed End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026 could add another layer of restrictions if enacted. The bill would call for a three-year pause on new H-1B visas, reduce the annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000 and introduce a minimum annual salary threshold of $200,000.&nbsp;The shift is important for Indians because they account for more than 70 per cent of all H-1B visa beneficiaries. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 399,402 H-1B petitions in 2024, out of which Indian-born beneficiaries claimed 71 per cent.&nbsp;More than 5.2 million people of Indian origin live in the US, according to recent estimates based on US Census data.

The proposed rule will now enter a 30-day public comment period, after which DHS could finalise it by the end of the year. The move comes amid growing uncertainty around the H-1B programme, particularly for Indian professionals who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday proposed raising the fee for certain H-1B visa applications to $103,265. The proposal that was posted in the Federal Register on Monday would turn the controversial $100,000 H-1B payment introduced by the Donald Trump administration last year into a formal regulatory requirement. The proposed rule will now enter a 30-day public comment period, after which DHS could finalise it by the end of the year. The move comes amid growing uncertainty around the H-1B programme, particularly for Indian professionals who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries. Also Read: Trump sets stage for new sanctions unveiling, says Iran is ‘completely collapsing’ The proposed $103,265 charge follows Trump’s 2025 proclamation that imposed a $100,000 payment for certain new H-1B petitions. Although that proclamation is due to expire in September, it instructed DHS to pursue regulations that would make the payment permanent. The fee has already become the subject of a legal battle. On June 8, 2026, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated agency guidance implementing the $100,000 payment requirement in State of California v. Mullin. DHS challenged the decision and sought a stay from the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The First Circuit rejected the government’s request on July 24. DHS said it disagrees with the ruling but will comply with the court’s order while it considers its next steps. The department has also made clear that if the court order is eventually lifted, it still intends to collect the payment. Also Read: ‘We took the head off the snake’: US to enter ‘new phase’ in Iran war very soon, says Speaker Mike Johnson Meanwhile, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B cap and 20,000 master’s cap for fiscal year 2027. The proposed fee is therefore arriving alongside a broader tightening of the H-1B system, which has become increasingly difficult for employers and prospective migrants to navigate. For Indian professionals, the proposed fee adds to a series of changes affecting the traditional route from education and employment in the US to long-term residency. The H-1B programme has historically been a major pathway for Indian engineers, technology workers, researchers, financial professionals, and healthcare workers seeking employment in the US. But higher costs, tighter selection rules, and greater scrutiny are making the route more selective and unpredictable. Also Read: Russia orchestrating sabotage attacks at European arms plants to sow discord: Report India-based IT consulting companies whose business models rely heavily on sending employees to US client sites are already facing the heat. The proposed End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026 could add another layer of restrictions if enacted. The bill would call for a three-year pause on new H-1B visas, reduce the annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000 and introduce a minimum annual salary threshold of $200,000. The shift is important for Indians because they account for more than 70 per cent of all H-1B visa beneficiaries. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 399,402 H-1B petitions in 2024, out of which Indian-born beneficiaries claimed 71 per cent. More than 5.2 million people of Indian origin live in the US, according to recent estimates based on US Census data.

The proposed rule will now enter a 30-day public comment period, after which DHS could finalise it by the end of the year. The move comes amid growing uncertainty around the H-1B programme, particularly for Indian professionals who account for the largest share of H-1B beneficiaries.

Trump admin proposes hiking H-1B visa fee to over $100,000, Indians brace for impact

Is Iran going to collapse? Is US President Donald Trump finally ending the war? Big questions with no clear answers. Iran is certainly more economically impacted and weaker than America. Yet, President Trump's new D-day sanctions may have become an old, rusted weapon. For more than 40 years, Washington has tried to force Tehran to change through economic pressure. It began after the 1979 hostage crisis, when President Jimmy Carter froze around $12 billion in Iranian assets. Then in the 1980s, US expanded trade restrictions. Then came sanctions targeting Iran's banks, oil industry, military and nuclear programme. &nbsp;Bit by bit, US has managed to pressure Iran, but never completely destroy it. America's biggest success though came before the 2015 nuclear deal. American, European and international sanctions cut deeply into Iranian economy, reduced its oil exports and isolated its banking system. That pressure helped bring Iran to the negotiating table. So, is Trump going to win against Iran this time? Well, so far he hasn't been able to.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-with-the-d-day-sanctions-all-eyes-are-on-how-iran-is-impacted-1787589665855/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-with-the-d-day-sanctions-all-eyes-are-on-how-iran-is-impacted-1787589665855/embed</a>&nbsp;When Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear agreement in 2018, it expected Iran to give in. But the regime did not. It suffered enormously, but the regime survived. Now, Washington is trying again. Is Iran isolated? Not really. China can play spoiler in American strategy. You see, China is Iran's biggest oil customer. Even under heavy American pressure, Chinese buyers have continued purchasing Iranian crude oil. Vladimir putin is also Iran's ally. An increasing number of countries are questioning why America must decide for them. America's adversaries will not let Trump win.&nbsp;So, will these new sanctions hurt Iran? Yes. But will economic pain automatically bring political surrender? History reflects no. Essentially, the battle over Iran has become much more than Iran. It is now a battle of who gets to set the rules of the new world order, and America certainly seems to be losing that power.&nbsp;

Will Iran collapse under Trump’s new sanctions? Explore America’s economic pressure, China’s role, Iran’s resilience and the prospects of ending the war

Is Iran going to collapse? Is US President Donald Trump finally ending the war? Big questions with no clear answers. Iran is certainly more economically impacted and weaker than America. Yet, President Trump's new D-day sanctions may have become an old, rusted weapon. For more than 40 years, Washington has tried to force Tehran to change through economic pressure. It began after the 1979 hostage crisis, when President Jimmy Carter froze around $12 billion in Iranian assets. Then in the 1980s, US expanded trade restrictions. Then came sanctions targeting Iran's banks, oil industry, military and nuclear programme. Bit by bit, US has managed to pressure Iran, but never completely destroy it. America's biggest success though came before the 2015 nuclear deal. American, European and international sanctions cut deeply into Iranian economy, reduced its oil exports and isolated its banking system. That pressure helped bring Iran to the negotiating table. So, is Trump going to win against Iran this time? Well, so far he hasn't been able to. https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-with-the-d-day-sanctions-all-eyes-are-on-how-iran-is-impacted-1787589665855/embed When Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear agreement in 2018, it expected Iran to give in. But the regime did not. It suffered enormously, but the regime survived. Now, Washington is trying again. Is Iran isolated? Not really. China can play spoiler in American strategy. You see, China is Iran's biggest oil customer. Even under heavy American pressure, Chinese buyers have continued purchasing Iranian crude oil. Vladimir putin is also Iran's ally. An increasing number of countries are questioning why America must decide for them. America's adversaries will not let Trump win. So, will these new sanctions hurt Iran? Yes. But will economic pain automatically bring political surrender? History reflects no. Essentially, the battle over Iran has become much more than Iran. It is now a battle of who gets to set the rules of the new world order, and America certainly seems to be losing that power.

Trump’s Iran sanctions are intensifying economic pressure, but history, China and Russia raise doubts over whether Tehran will surrender or collapse

The Verdict: Is Trump ending the Iran war or starting a bigger economic battle?

The physical war between the US and Iran may be on the back burner for now, but Washington has now deployed a different kind of warfare. Donald Trump and the American administration are calling it the 'economic D-Day' for Iran, as the country threatens the most intense wave of sanctions on Tehran. But the question is this: with Iran's history of dealing with sanctions already, will the latest move from the US change enough to subdue the Iranian leadership into an agreement with Trump?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-turns-to-economic-warfare-pressures-world-to-isolate-iran-1787590548480/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-turns-to-economic-warfare-pressures-world-to-isolate-iran-1787590548480/embed</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Let's begin with the latest Trump post on Truth Social. Instead of a long rant, the US President has, at the moment, put out a single statement: 'Iran is completely collapsing!!!' This of course, is in reference to the fresh wave of economic sanctions that the US has planned to further crumble Iran economically.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bessent-repeats-trump-s-economic-d-day-threat-as-iran-warns-us-allies-of-act-of-war-1787539908590">US Treasury Secretary Bessent repeats Trump's 'Economic D-Day' threat as Iran warns US allies of 'act of war'</a>&nbsp;Iran has been bracing for the sanctions for days, issuing a series of strongly worded warnings and threatening retaliation. It has said that if the economic war continues, not a single drop of Iranian oil will be exported; neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf. Iran's top national security official has suggested Tehran still has more cards to play. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the bullying under President Trump is no different from that under previous US administrations.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Remember, Iran has lived under US sanctions for decades, since 1979. But the country's top leadership appears to be looking at a shift in historic alliances on two fronts: strengthening the relationships that exist and smoothing out any wrinkles in historically complicated ties.&nbsp;Just days after Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Agreement, reports suggest Iran has received an invitation to join the new security alliance. Iran's Foreign Ministry then confirmed that doors have been opened for negotiations, although there is no formal invitation to join yet.&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/foolish-to-fight-trump-admin-escalates-trade-war-warning-to-canada-after-talks-breakdown-1787500955103">‘Foolish to fight’: Trump admin escalates trade war warning to Canada after talks breakdown</a>&nbsp;Secondly, Iraq has proposed a unified security coordination council with Iran and Saudi Arabia aimed at rebuilding trust between the regional rivals. Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji told state TV that the initiative seeks to address what he called a 'crisis of confidence,' between Tehran and Riyadh.&nbsp;For Iran's leadership, the outlook is not just about bearing the brunt of economic sanctions. It is now about retaliation. Retaliation that can be seen in the latest post by Iran Parliament Speaker MB Ghalibaf. There is poster with data on America's hunger situation, and inadvertently mocks domestic problems continue to mount for the US, while the administration plans sanctions against Iran's population.

The US plans a massive wave of economic sanctions against Iran, prompting Tehran to threaten a total oil export shutdown while exploring regional security alliances with Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

The physical war between the US and Iran may be on the back burner for now, but Washington has now deployed a different kind of warfare. Donald Trump and the American administration are calling it the 'economic D-Day' for Iran, as the country threatens the most intense wave of sanctions on Tehran. But the question is this: with Iran's history of dealing with sanctions already, will the latest move from the US change enough to subdue the Iranian leadership into an agreement with Trump? https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-iran-war-trump-turns-to-economic-warfare-pressures-world-to-isolate-iran-1787590548480/embed Let's begin with the latest Trump post on Truth Social. Instead of a long rant, the US President has, at the moment, put out a single statement: 'Iran is completely collapsing!!!' This of course, is in reference to the fresh wave of economic sanctions that the US has planned to further crumble Iran economically. Also read: US Treasury Secretary Bessent repeats Trump's 'Economic D-Day' threat as Iran warns US allies of 'act of war' Iran has been bracing for the sanctions for days, issuing a series of strongly worded warnings and threatening retaliation. It has said that if the economic war continues, not a single drop of Iranian oil will be exported; neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf. Iran's top national security official has suggested Tehran still has more cards to play. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the bullying under President Trump is no different from that under previous US administrations.

The US plans a massive wave of economic sanctions against Iran, prompting Tehran to threaten a total oil export shutdown while exploring regional security alliances with Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Economic D-Day: US prepares intense Iran sanctions as Tehran warns of oil export blockade | Race To Power

Russia on Sunday claimed that Su-35s have struck a US-made Patriot Defence system within Ukrainian territory. A Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile supposedly struck a Ukrainian MIM-104 Patriot long-range air defence system from about 125 kms away. The attack was carried out on August 23 at the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. The claim is yet to be confirmed by Ukraine, and the extent of damage at the target is disputed. Some reports have described it as a separate radar station instead of a Patriot component.According to Military Watch magazine, Russian Forces have released footage showing a Su-35 launching the missile at what they identified as components of a Ukrainian Patriot system. The claim that it was struck from 125 kms comes from the target range indicator displayed on the Su-35’s Head-Up Display (HUD) in the leaked or released cockpit video. The claim comes as Ukraine is experiencing a severe shortage of Patriot missile defence systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been intensely lobbying Western allies for access to deeper US stockpiles and hundreds of additional interceptors.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/revanth-reddy-returns-hyderabad-mea-denies-us-visit-clearance-1787578195030">'Insult' to 4 crore people of Telangana: Why CM Revanth Reddy's US visit clearance was denied</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Su-35S firing Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile at the Patriot SAM. According to the target range cue, the missile was fired from ~125 km. Due to the dynamic launch zone, minimum launch range is ~55 km. There is no mark showing maximum launch range, so it can be 200 km or above. <a href="https://t.co/q6DZ6r4alr">pic.twitter.com/q6DZ6r4alr</a>&mdash; Flanker (@Su_35S_Flanker) <a href="https://x.com/Su_35S_Flanker/status/2090848550527603059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<h2>Why is the Kh- 31PM missile lethal?</h2>Russia deployed the Kh-31PM, a high-speed, anti-radiation missile (ARM) explicitly engineered to target and home in on enemy radar emissions. It does not transmit a radar signal to find its target, which is a major advantage. An aircraft launching a conventional active-radar missile must potentially expose itself to lock on to the target, but an ARM uses electromagnetic radiation from enemy radar systems.The missile has a minimum range of 55 kms to a maximum range of 300 kms. The missile is an upgrade of the Soviet-era Kh-31P. It retains the high speed and improves the seeker and propulsion system. It has a top speed of Mach 4 and uses a solid-fuel rocket booster to accelerate rapidly after launch; then the booster is discarded, and a ramjet sustainer takes over. This gives the missile a high-speed thrust, making it extremely hard to intercept.&nbsp;

Russia claims a Su-35 fighter jet struck a US-made Patriot air defence system in Odesa with a Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile from around 125 km away.

Russia on Sunday claimed that Su-35s have struck a US-made Patriot Defence system within Ukrainian territory. A Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile supposedly struck a Ukrainian MIM-104 Patriot long-range air defence system from about 125 kms away. The attack was carried out on August 23 at the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. The claim is yet to be confirmed by Ukraine, and the extent of damage at the target is disputed. Some reports have described it as a separate radar station instead of a Patriot component. According to Military Watch magazine, Russian Forces have released footage showing a Su-35 launching the missile at what they identified as components of a Ukrainian Patriot system. The claim that it was struck from 125 kms comes from the target range indicator displayed on the Su-35’s Head-Up Display (HUD) in the leaked or released cockpit video. The claim comes as Ukraine is experiencing a severe shortage of Patriot missile defence systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been intensely lobbying Western allies for access to deeper US stockpiles and hundreds of additional interceptors. Also Read: 'Insult' to 4 crore people of Telangana: Why CM Revanth Reddy's US visit clearance was denied

Russia claims a Su-35 fighter jet struck a US-made Patriot air defence system in Odesa with a Kh-31PM anti-radiation missile from around 125 km away.

Russia claims Su-35 struck US-made Patriot system with Kh-31PM missile from 125 km away

The father of Indian national Gurdeep Singh, who was in New York for about a decade, was shot during a pizza delivery. The fatal shooting occurred on Friday night (Aug 21) near Stanley Avenue in the East New York neighbourhood. The Consulate General of India in New York confirmed the tragedy and expressed deep condolences and assured support to the bereaved family.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/28-year-old-from-punjab-s-kapurthala-district-shot-dead-while-delivering-pizza-1787543732742/embed">https://www.wionews.com/videos/28-year-old-from-punjab-s-kapurthala-district-shot-dead-while-delivering-pizza-1787543732742/embed</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Pyare Lal, Gurdeep's father, urged the government to give justice to his child. Speaking to news agency ANI, “It had been 8-9 years since he went to New York. He used to deliver pizza there. He had gone to deliver pizza and had asked for its payment; the customer didn't pay up and shot him dead. I urge the government to provide justice for my child. We are a poor family. I also urge the Govt to take strict punishment against the culprits and have his body brought back from the US.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><a href="https://x.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WATCH</a> | Kapurthala, Punjab: Pyare Lal, father of deceased Gurdeep Singh, says, "...It had been 8-9 years since he went to New York. He used to deliver pizza there. He had gone to deliver pizza and had asked for its payment; the customer didn't pay up and shot him dead. I urge… <a href="https://t.co/fCW1qw9MOD">pic.twitter.com/fCW1qw9MOD</a>— ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://x.com/ANI/status/2091810949145706893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

&nbsp;Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/19-year-old-uc-santa-cruz-student-alli-renee-singh-dies-after-car-plunges-off-cliff-near-steamer-lane-1787570132638">19-year-old Indian-origin UC Santa Cruz student dies after car plunges off cliff in US</a><h3>Consular support and community reaction</h3>Following the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Gurdeep Singh, representatives from the Consulate General of India in New York confirmed they are coordinating directly with local law enforcement and the victim’s family to assist with paperwork, emergency visas for relatives, and the expedited repatriation of his body back to Punjab. Members of the South Asian immigrant community and local Punjabi association leaders in New York expressed mounting concern over the incident, pointing out the growing safety risks faced by night-shift workers, delivery personnel, and ride-share drivers in the city. &nbsp;Community advocates have called on local authorities to increase night-time police patrols and improve lighting in high-crime commercial zones across Brooklyn. Back in Jabowal village, Kapurthala, family members remembered Singh as a hardworking individual who moved to the United States seeking better economic opportunities to support his family back home. Local political leaders in Punjab have also appealed to the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure the family receives full diplomatic and logistics support during the process.

The father of 27-year-old Indian national Gurdeep Singh, who was shot dead in Brooklyn over a pizza payment dispute, demands justice and government help to repatriate his son's body from the US.

The father of Indian national Gurdeep Singh, who was in New York for about a decade, was shot during a pizza delivery. The fatal shooting occurred on Friday night (Aug 21) near Stanley Avenue in the East New York neighbourhood. The Consulate General of India in New York confirmed the tragedy and expressed deep condolences and assured support to the bereaved family. https://www.wionews.com/videos/28-year-old-from-punjab-s-kapurthala-district-shot-dead-while-delivering-pizza-1787543732742/embed Pyare Lal, Gurdeep's father, urged the government to give justice to his child. Speaking to news agency ANI, “It had been 8-9 years since he went to New York. He used to deliver pizza there. He had gone to deliver pizza and had asked for its payment; the customer didn't pay up and shot him dead. I urge the government to provide justice for my child. We are a poor family. I also urge the Govt to take strict punishment against the culprits and have his body brought back from the US.”

The father of 27-year-old Indian national Gurdeep Singh, who was shot dead in Brooklyn over a pizza payment dispute, demands justice and government help to repatriate his son's body from the US.

‘Customer shot him dead over payment’: Father of Indian pizza delivery agent killed in New York speaks out

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