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August 20, 2026
China Evergrande Founder Hui Ka Yan Sentenced to Life in Prison for Financial Crimes
ALSO READ:
China Sentences Evergrande Founder to Life in Prison: Hui Ka Yan’s punishment caps the downfall of a property empire whose collapse set off a prolonged crisis in the Chinese economy. »
Trump’s Approach to Foreign Policy Is Upending Traditional Alliances, Institutions and Norms
Australian Tells Americans Why They’re Hated by the Rest of the World in Fiery Rant
Very strong language alert!
I have said it before and I will say it again: Trump is TRASH. So what does that say about the Americans who re-elected him into office? I’ll let you decide. — © Mark Alexander
U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America’s Borrowing Binge Continues
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump’s promises to restore fiscal order and reduce the amount of America’s debt burden have been undercut by spending on the Iran war, tax cuts and tariff refunds.
America’s gross national debt topped $40 trillion for the first time on Wednesday, an ominous milestone for an economy that sits on a shaky fiscal foundation after decades of borrowing to pay for the rising costs of the military, social safety net programs and President Trump’s tax cuts.
This year alone, the United States is on track to borrow more than $2 trillion to help pay for its obligations, including spending on the war in Iran and the sweeping tax cuts that Republicans enacted in 2025. Soaring interest payments to investors who have purchased America’s debt now make up about half of that red ink, pushing the United States into a deeper financial hole.
Whether the mounting debt load is a problem to be solved or a function of America’s economic strength remains a matter of debate. Deficits are also a point of political gamesmanship, with Republicans most passionate about eliminating them when they are out of power.
“The scariest thing about this is how we’re starting to see the debt spiral begin,” said Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which supports deficit reduction, referring to interest on the debt.
The inability of lawmakers to confront the debt comes with long-term risks. While the United States remains the world’s largest economy, its mounting debt load could lead investors to demand higher interest rates for U.S. bonds or raise questions about the nation’s creditworthiness, which could erode confidence in the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. » | Alan Rappeport | Reporting from Washington | Wednesday, August 19, 2026
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America’s gross national debt topped $40 trillion for the first time on Wednesday, an ominous milestone for an economy that sits on a shaky fiscal foundation after decades of borrowing to pay for the rising costs of the military, social safety net programs and President Trump’s tax cuts.
This year alone, the United States is on track to borrow more than $2 trillion to help pay for its obligations, including spending on the war in Iran and the sweeping tax cuts that Republicans enacted in 2025. Soaring interest payments to investors who have purchased America’s debt now make up about half of that red ink, pushing the United States into a deeper financial hole.
Whether the mounting debt load is a problem to be solved or a function of America’s economic strength remains a matter of debate. Deficits are also a point of political gamesmanship, with Republicans most passionate about eliminating them when they are out of power.
“The scariest thing about this is how we’re starting to see the debt spiral begin,” said Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which supports deficit reduction, referring to interest on the debt.
The inability of lawmakers to confront the debt comes with long-term risks. While the United States remains the world’s largest economy, its mounting debt load could lead investors to demand higher interest rates for U.S. bonds or raise questions about the nation’s creditworthiness, which could erode confidence in the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. » | Alan Rappeport | Reporting from Washington | Wednesday, August 19, 2026
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August 19, 2026
UAE Accuses Iran of Ballistic Missile Attacks | The Palki Sharma Show | IGR | India Global Review
Andy Burnham Offers Beds for Homeless for Christmas in National Drive to End Rough Sleeping
August 19, 2026 | Andy Burnham has declared ending rough sleeping his moral mission as he announces a national drive to give everyone on the streets an offer of a bed this winter.
The new Prime Minister said the scheme will "get everyone in for Christmas" with emergency accommodation and help rolled out in England later this year.
Downing Street said under the support - backed by £442million - areas with the greatest need will receive the largest share in order to get people out of the cold in winter.
Mr Burnham will also convene a "first of its kind" national summit in the autumn months on ending rough sleeping, officials added. They said it would bring together leaders from business, finance, health and faith communities to ask how they can all play a role.
The new Prime Minister said the scheme will "get everyone in for Christmas" with emergency accommodation and help rolled out in England later this year.
Downing Street said under the support - backed by £442million - areas with the greatest need will receive the largest share in order to get people out of the cold in winter.
Mr Burnham will also convene a "first of its kind" national summit in the autumn months on ending rough sleeping, officials added. They said it would bring together leaders from business, finance, health and faith communities to ask how they can all play a role.
Geneva Super-rich Rocked by Luxury Home Burglary Spree
SWI: The Lake Geneva region is fighting a growing number of violent home robberies of its wealthiest residents, which threaten the area’s reputation as a haven for the ultra-rich and have inflamed suspicions across the border with France.
Swiss authorities are turning to video footage, number-plate recognition and tougher border policing as they try to crack down on the “homejackings”, which have shocked the normally peaceful area.
The attacks typically involve intruders breaking into occupied homes and threatening residents – sometimes at gunpoint – before escaping with watches, jewellery and other valuables across the border to France.
Private bankers, commodities traders and other wealthy executives are among those who have been targeted, fuelling concern in a region that is home to some of the world’s biggest banks and trading houses. Companies including Pictet and Trafigura have raised concerns about the attacks with authorities, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The extreme violence of the attacks has prompted some politicians to call for targeted checks at the French border and prompted many wealthy communities to hire private security.
“This trend has recently become much more organised, targeted and common,” said Florence Bettschart-Narbel, a member of the legislature in the canton of Vaud, on the north side of Lake Geneva. “We are concerned about the impact on Switzerland’s attractiveness to foreigners and companies.” » | Mercedes Ruehl, Financial Times | Monday, August 17, 2026
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
ALSO READ:
Switzerland’s super-rich: essential contributors or a social threat?: Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. However, its wealth is distributed very unevenly: the richest 1% own 45% of total assets. At the same time, this elite group contributes a significant share of the country’s tax revenue. Swiss public broadcaster, SRF, takes a closer look. »
Steve Rosenberg: Swan Lake and a Coup: Russian Papers Remember August 1991
August 18, 2026
August 17, 2026
Democracy Now! "The Nerd Reich": Author Gil Durán on Big Tech Fascism, Peter Thiel, JD Vance & the War on Democracy
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August 16, 2026
August 15, 2026
Trump Threatens to Declare Strait of Hormuz ‘Territory of the United States’
THE GUARDIAN: Seriousness of remark made in New York on Friday, and whether it signaled new policy position, not clear
Screenshot taken from this Guardian article. | Donald Trump at the David S Mack Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York, on Friday. Photograph: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Donald Trump has threatened to declare the strait of Hormuz as “a territory of the United States” as his administration struggles to conclude the war with Iran.
During a speech at a police academy on Long Island, New York, on Friday, the US president said he would “pretty soon” designate the waterway – a crucial chokepoint for global trade, through which about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies typically pass – a US territory.
The comment came as peace talks with Iran remain at an impasse following failed negotiations, with Tehran refusing to reopen the strait, which has been all but closed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.
Almost six months into the war, there is little indication that negotiations will soon yield peace, as Iranian officials continue to defy Trump’s demands. The US has been blockading Iranian shipping and ports in recent months in an effort to pile economic pressure on Tehran.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said on Friday. “Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”
The seriousness of Trump’s remark, and whether it signaled a new policy position for his administration, was not immediately clear. » | Maya Yang | Friday, August 14, 2026
Trump wants it all: Venezuela, Panama, Cuba, Canada, Greenland, the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s rare earth minerals, and all the billions he can filch, pilfer, and steal! This dude works on one simple principle: what mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine also! Trump is a natural born schemer! — © Mark Alexander
Donald Trump has threatened to declare the strait of Hormuz as “a territory of the United States” as his administration struggles to conclude the war with Iran.
During a speech at a police academy on Long Island, New York, on Friday, the US president said he would “pretty soon” designate the waterway – a crucial chokepoint for global trade, through which about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies typically pass – a US territory.
The comment came as peace talks with Iran remain at an impasse following failed negotiations, with Tehran refusing to reopen the strait, which has been all but closed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.
Almost six months into the war, there is little indication that negotiations will soon yield peace, as Iranian officials continue to defy Trump’s demands. The US has been blockading Iranian shipping and ports in recent months in an effort to pile economic pressure on Tehran.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said on Friday. “Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”
The seriousness of Trump’s remark, and whether it signaled a new policy position for his administration, was not immediately clear. » | Maya Yang | Friday, August 14, 2026
Trump wants it all: Venezuela, Panama, Cuba, Canada, Greenland, the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s rare earth minerals, and all the billions he can filch, pilfer, and steal! This dude works on one simple principle: what mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine also! Trump is a natural born schemer! — © Mark Alexander
August 14, 2026
« Ils font plus de 50 % de la fréquentation des hôtels de la Côte d’Azur » : comment les touristes américains sont devenus une clientèle en or pour la France
LE FIGARO : DÉCRYPTAGE - Les visiteurs étrangers, en particulier américains, sont de plus en plus nombreux dans l’Hexagone et permettent de dynamiser l’été.
À Nice, la promenade des Anglais a de plus en plus un air d’Amérique. Pour le plus grand bonheur des professionnels du tourisme. Disposant d’un fort pouvoir d’achat, les Américains sont la nouvelle coqueluche de la Côte d’Azur : les palaces ne peuvent plus s’en passer; les restaurateurs adorent leurs généreux pourboires. « En juillet et août, leurs arrivées progressent de 14% par rapport à l’année dernière, devant les Canadiens (+12%) et les Chinois (+9%), confie François de Canson, président du Comité régional de tourisme Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Les visiteurs internationaux les plus nombreux restent les Allemands. Mais les Américains contribuent le plus aux retombées économiques. Ils apprécient notre patrimoine, la gastronomie et notre art de vivre. En plus, ils viennent toute l’année, et pas seulement l’été ». » | Par Mathilde Visseyrias | vendredi 14 août 2026
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Powerball-Jackpot geknackt: Spieler aus Illinois räumt 1,04 Milliarden Dollar ab
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Ein Los aus einer Kleinstadt am Mississippi holt den achtgrößten Jackpot in der Geschichte von Powerball. Der Gewinner hat ein Jahr Zeit, sich zu melden.
Dieser Screenshot stammt aus diesem Artikel. | Powerball-Lotteriescheine liegen in einem Lebensmittelgeschäft zum Ausfüllen aus. | © Jenny Kane/AP
Ein Lottospieler mit einem im US-Bundesstaat Illinois im Mittleren Westen der USA verkauften Los hat den Powerball-Jackpot von 1,04 Milliarden Dollar gewonnen. Das teilte die staatliche Lotteriegesellschaft Illinois Lottery am Donnerstag in Chicago mit. Es handelt sich nach ihren Angaben um den zweitgrößten Lotteriegewinn in der Geschichte des Bundesstaates.
Das Gewinnlos wurde demnach in einer Filiale der Supermarktkette Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh in der Stadt Quincy verkauft, rund 200 Kilometer nördlich von St. Louis am Fluss Mississippi gelegen. Bei der Ziehung am Mittwoch tippte der Spieler alle sechs Gewinnzahlen richtig. Der Verkäufer des Loses erhält nach Angaben der Lotteriegesellschaft eine Prämie von 500.000 Dollar. » | Peter Steiniger | Donnerstag, 13. August 2026
Ein Lottospieler mit einem im US-Bundesstaat Illinois im Mittleren Westen der USA verkauften Los hat den Powerball-Jackpot von 1,04 Milliarden Dollar gewonnen. Das teilte die staatliche Lotteriegesellschaft Illinois Lottery am Donnerstag in Chicago mit. Es handelt sich nach ihren Angaben um den zweitgrößten Lotteriegewinn in der Geschichte des Bundesstaates.
Das Gewinnlos wurde demnach in einer Filiale der Supermarktkette Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh in der Stadt Quincy verkauft, rund 200 Kilometer nördlich von St. Louis am Fluss Mississippi gelegen. Bei der Ziehung am Mittwoch tippte der Spieler alle sechs Gewinnzahlen richtig. Der Verkäufer des Loses erhält nach Angaben der Lotteriegesellschaft eine Prämie von 500.000 Dollar. » | Peter Steiniger | Donnerstag, 13. August 2026
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