Sabalenka beats Pegula to reach US Open final

14 min agoIsrael said it destroyed an underground Hezbollah complex at the Ali Taher ridge in South Lebanon, 15 kilometers from the border, using 1,100 tons of explosives. The operation involved two tunnels more than 2 kilometers long, where Israeli forces said they found dozens of Iran-made rockets. The explosion registered as a 4.1 magnitude seismic event and was felt across South Lebanon and in Beirut.

44 min agoIceland's government will introduce legislation in February 2027 to permanently ban whaling in its waters. Only Norway and Japan would then permit commercial whaling. The proposal follows a 2023 government report finding that harpooned whales took two hours to die, which prompted a temporary suspension of hunts that year.

1 h agoThe Saudi Crown Prince called President Trump twice to request American military strikes against Houthis approaching the Bab al-Mandab strait, but Trump declined the request. The US administration said it has no intention to intervene directly.

2 h agoRepublican lawmakers plan to bring the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act to the House floor next week to address electricity bill increases tied to data center expansion. Government officials nationwide face pressure to prevent data center power costs from being passed to households.

3 h agoAryna Sabalenka advanced to the US Open final on Thursday with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jessica Pegula, extending her winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 20 matches. The top seed is bidding to become only the third woman to win three consecutive US Open titles, joining Chris Evert and Serena Williams.

3 h agoGlobal bond yields hit three-year highs and stock markets fell on Friday as oil prices climbed to a four-month peak, prompting investors to expect more aggressive interest rate increases from central banks. Brent crude jumped 6 per cent overnight to $109.97 a barrel, driven by restricted flows through the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi control of a Yemeni port threatening Saudi exports.

4 h agoA shortage of air traffic controllers forced Sydney Airport to restrict flight operations on Friday morning, causing cancellations and delays including six cancelled Qantas flights. The disruptions come as the airport faces scrutiny over six near-misses in recent weeks, with air traffic controllers on duty during a July incident flagged as facing high fatigue risk.

4 h agoA documentary by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday to a 25-minute standing ovation. The film NAZA draws on interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistle-blowers to examine how an AI system called Lavender was used to identify targets for assassination in Gaza.

4 h agoKevin Reddington asked the judge to declare Lindsay Clancy not guilty by reason of insanity after a jury deadlock forced a mistrial in the Massachusetts woman's murder trial. Eleven of 12 jurors were prepared to acquit Clancy, but one holdout prevented a unanimous verdict after more than seven days of deliberations.

5 h agoAt $19.3 billion, Oracle's first-quarter revenue exceeded the Street's $19.14 billion average forecast, lifted by robust enterprise appetite for cloud services. The company raised its full-year profit outlook and deployed 850 megawatts of data center capacity during the June-August period.