UK to introduce special rape and serious sexual offence courts, amid low prosecution rate

Watch: Timelapse shows typhoon barrelling towards Japan

The typhoon is passing Japan's eastern coast, bringing major disruption and heavy rainfall in its wake.

Airlines criticise air traffic control as second glitch causes more disruption in UK

Airlines are angry about the delays, with EasyJet saying the latest incident "once again calls into question the resilience" of the system.

UK to introduce special rape and serious sexual offence courts, amid low prosecution rate

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced dedicated courts for sexual offence cases. These new courts aim to expedite convictions and reduce case backlogs significantly. Specialized training will be provided to court personnel for handling sensitive cases. Victims will receive a dedicated point of contact throughout the legal process. This initiative supports the government's commitment to reducing violence against women.

An 8,000-acre South Carolina forest was bought for conservation after drawing developer interest

In a move to prioritize environmental sustainability, Georgetown County officials are backing a substantial acquisition of 4,148 acres in Carvers Bay, which will be transformed into a state forest. Another expansive parcel on Waccamaw Neck is also earmarked for conservation. Officials assert that the benefits of long-term land preservation significantly outweigh the potential revenue from taxes, ensuring the safeguarding of precious natural resources in the region.

London Fashion Week 2026: The five trends we'll see in spring

As London Fashion Week comes to a close, here are the biggest trends for your wardrobe.

Trump goes off air: US TV networks suspend coverage after White House bans CNN

Rubio meets Japanese and Korean allies ahead of Trump China summit

NEW YORK — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met the foreign ministers of Asian allies South Korea and Japan in New York on Monday ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week. Analysts say the U.S. allies are anxious that Trump may offer concessions to Xi including over Taiwan and trade in return for an economic win with Beijing. Officials say both Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung are keen to see the U.S. president during the UN General Assembly in New York, where all three are scheduled to speak on Tuesday. Trump hosts Xi at the White House in Washington on Thursday. In addition to concerns about Taiwan, allies will be scrutinizing any trade announcements from the summit for their impact on competitiveness relative to China, analysts said. Even a modest reduction in trade barriers for Beijing could erode their positions. Rubio and his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun and Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi posed for photos but did not take questions from reporters before their meeting at a New Yo

Wall Street nears record as oil prices, bond yields ease

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are climbing with markets worldwide on Monday after oil prices and yields in the bond market gave back some of their jumps from last week. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent and pulled within 0.9 percent of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 193 points, or 0.4 percent, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.6 percent higher. They got help from the price for a barrel of Brent oil falling 3.4 percent to $100.29. While that’s still much higher than its roughly $72 price from earlier this summer, it’s down from the nearly $110 it touched last week. Oil prices are swinging up and down as some crude from the Middle East is able to sail through the Strait of Hormuz , though nowhere nearly as much as the industry and customers would like because of the war with Iran. Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson said another leg higher in prices for oil, gasoline and other refined products is the main risk he sees in the near term that could keep the U.S. stock market from rising to his forecasted target for the year’s end

US networks halt Trump coverage over White House ban

WASHINGTON — Major American television networks on Monday suspended their involvement in a rotation of broadcasters covering President Donald Trump, as three leading news outlets went to court over being banned from the White House. Broadcasters CNN and MS NOW, along with news outlet Politico, filed suit after Trump last week ordered them to be barred from the presidential complex. "This ban could not be a more direct assault on the First Amendment nor a more blatant violation of our most fundamental constitutional principles," the organizations said in a court filing. Shortly afterward, the five major U.S. broadcasters said they were halting "pool" coverage of the White House in solidarity with CNN. CNN had been scheduled to serve Monday as the White House TV pool, a rotating assignment in which a broadcaster films on behalf of all television outlets for the day. "The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting," ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC said

AMD joins $1 trillion club as chipmakers rally on AI-driven demand

Advanced Micro Devices soared past $1 trillion in market capitalization for the first time on Monday, joining a small group of chipmakers to reach the milestone, as investors bet on its expanding role in AI computing. AMD shares were last up 9.6 percent at $613.31, scaling a record high. The milestone caps a stellar rally for the Santa Clara, California-based company, regarded as the closest rival to AI bellwether Nvidia for graphics processing units. It becomes only the fourth US chipmaker to top a $1 trillion valuation, after Nvidia, Broadcom and Micron. Nvidia crossed the mark in 2023 and is now the world's most valuable company, worth more than $5 trillion. "Money is moving back into the AI trade," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC in New York. Enthusiasm for chipmakers cooled in recent months as markets scrutinized AI spending by hyperscalers. Higher oil prices linked to the US-Iran conflict and expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates added to the pressure. But now investors believe AI is the only area that can work in a Federal Reserve-induced economic s

Google opens pre-orders for $899 Googlebook laptops built around Gemini AI

Alphabet's Google on Monday opened pre-orders for Googlebook, its new premium laptop category for Android users built around the company's Gemini AI tools. Starting at $899, initial models from Acer, Asus, Dell , HP and Lenovo will run on Intel or Qualcomm processors with up to 14 hours of battery life, the company said. The launch comes as Apple moves deeper into lower-priced laptops with its $699 MacBook Neo, adding competition in a market where Chromebook makers have long targeted students and budget-conscious consumers on affordability and simplicity. Googlebook extends that formula into premium laptops with more powerful hardware, AI features and tighter Android integration — Google's latest push for a flagship ChromeOS showcase after the Pixelbook in 2017 and Pixelbook Go in 2019. The lineup includes Gemini tools that can help users draft and organize text, ask questions about content on their screens and resume tasks from an Android phone. It is built on the Android technology stack paired with desktop foundations from ChromeOS, aiming to make switching between phones and compute

CNN, MS NOW, Politico sue over denied White House access, citing First Amendment

NEW YORK — CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Monday sued President Donald Trump’s administration after they were barred from covering the White House over the weekend, saying the selective ban was “a blatant violation” of the First Amendment. The administration’s announcement of the bans Friday and the White House’s subsequent actions over the weekend represented a clear escalation of Trump’s long-running efforts — in the courts and through administrative action — to restrict news coverage he finds objectionable or, in his words, “fake news.” They were also the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States, where the government is constitutionally forbidden from restricting the press. The Constitution, the banned news outlets said in their lawsuit, “does not allow a president or any other government official to deprive the press of their First Amendment rights and liberty and property interests with no notice or process based solely on his dislike of the content of their reporting.” The three outlets filed the joint lawsuit two days after their repo