Author: Andrew Rogers

The UK housing market is showing signs of slowing as buyers and sellers adopt a “wait and see” approach ahead of next month’s budget, amid speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could raise property taxes. Data from Rightmove showed that in September, both new buyer inquiries and new seller listings fell by 5% compared with the same month last year. The property website described the market as “resilient” but noted that the typical post-summer bounce in activity has not materialised. Property expert Colleen Babcock of Rightmove said the slowdown is most noticeable in the south of England, where potential buyers are…

Centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 58, has won Bolivia’s presidential runoff, marking a historic shift to the right after almost 20 years of leftist rule by the Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party. With over 97% of ballots counted in the preliminary tally, Paz Pereira received 54.6% of the vote, defeating former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who secured 45.4%. The electoral court noted that these figures are preliminary, as the official count requires a full public review of all votes at polling stations. The court has up to seven days to release the final results. Speaking to supporters in La Paz…

Donald Trump suggested that the war in Ukraine could end if the country agreed to cede parts of its Donbas region to Russia. His remarks came after a tense White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said the Donbas region is already “cut up” and suggested leaving it as it is for now. He added that both sides should stop fighting, go home, and halt the killing. Trump’s stance marked a shift from his comments in September. He had previously said Ukraine could reclaim all its territories and even…

Millions of Americans marched across every state on Saturday to protest the Trump administration, raising concerns about authoritarianism in the United States. Protesters carried banners, signs, and even inflatable costumes, including bananas, SpongeBob SquarePants, and frogs, a symbol of resistance that started in Portland, Oregon. The marches drew widespread attention as participants signed a giant banner featuring the US Constitution’s preamble and joined marching bands along city streets. Organizers described the turnout as a powerful display of democratic engagement and peaceful dissent. The rallies mark a shift from six months ago, when Democrats struggled to counter Republican control of the…

Repair work has started on damaged power lines to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after the site experienced its longest outage since Russia invaded in March 2022. The UN nuclear watchdog said the outage, which began on September 23, cut off the plant’s connection to the national grid for the 10th time. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Russia and Ukraine set up local ceasefire zones to allow the repairs to proceed safely. Rafael Grossi, IAEA chief, said both sides cooperated to ensure the complex repair plan could move forward. “Restoring off-site power is crucial for nuclear safety and…

The Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court on Friday to allow the deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois. The request comes as the president seeks to expand the use of military forces in more Democratic-led cities. In an emergency filing, the Justice Department urged the court to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked several hundred National Guard troops from being sent to the Chicago area. The district judge questioned whether the administration’s reasons for sending troops were justified based on local conditions. A federal appeals court upheld the decision on Thursday, keeping the deployment on hold as…

Los Angeles county has agreed to pay $828 million to settle more than 400 sexual abuse claims against county employees. This follows a historic $4 billion settlement approved in April, the largest of its kind in U.S. history. The April settlement involved roughly 11,000 claimants who alleged sexual abuse in juvenile facilities in Los Angeles over several decades. The new agreement is pending approval from the county board of supervisors and the county claims board. “Our settlements aim to compensate victims while safeguarding taxpayers from fraud,” said Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. County officials…

US President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India will stop buying oil from Russia, signaling a potential shift in global energy trade. Trump added that he plans to encourage China to take similar steps as Washington seeks to curb Moscow’s oil revenues. India and China are the largest buyers of Russian seaborne crude, benefiting from discounted prices after Europe largely stopped purchasing Russian oil due to US and EU sanctions following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump has recently targeted India for its continued purchases of Russian oil, imposing tariffs on Indian exports…

San Francisco city leaders have strongly rejected President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy federal troops, calling it an unnecessary and unwelcome move. Trump suggested the Bay Area city could face military intervention to address crime, repeating claims that the city has become unsafe. Speaking at the White House with FBI director Kash Patel, Trump said, “I’m going to be strongly recommending… that you start looking at San Francisco… one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and now it’s a mess… Every American deserves to live in a community where they’re not afraid of being mugged, murdered,…

Hamas has confirmed it has returned all Israeli hostage bodies it can access, saying specialized equipment is needed to recover others from Gaza’s heavily damaged areas. The announcement comes amid warnings from Israel that fighting could resume if the ceasefire agreement is not fully respected. Two additional bodies were handed over on Wednesday, adding to the seven previously returned by Hamas. Israel also received one body it said was not a former hostage. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, stated that it had fulfilled its commitment by returning all living hostages and all accessible corpses. It added that retrieving…