By Alex Lawler LONDON Oil fell on Thursday as worries about weakening demand in a global economic slowdown

WASHINGTON U.S. consumer spending accelerated in July, but slowing inflation strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep

Fake signs warning of falling rocks and jellyfish are being put up in Mallorca in a bid to keep British tourists off beaches in the popular holiday hotspot. Alert posters have been put up across the island but include small print in Catalan saying they are not real. “Open beach. Not to jellyfish nor foreigners,” says one. Another in Cala Murta, northwest Mallorca, reads: “Come in. The danger is not of a landslide, it is of overcrowding.” Another bogus sign says that bays are closed to the public or that it takes two hours and 53 minutes to walk to a beach that is in fact just about 100 yards away. The signs were put up by the anti-capitalist activist group Caterva, which hit out at tennis star Rafael Nadal for opening a tourism business and restaurant on the island. The group said in a statement: “Capitalism uses tourism to the extreme to dry out the territory and extract the maximum surplus value from workers. “There are culprits and it is necessary to name them, such as the hoteliers or the Rafael Nadals who are as complicit as the Balearic government.” Located in the western Mediterranean Sea, Mallorca is the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands and has a local population of about 876,000, about half of whom live in the capital, Palma de Mallorca. Tourism accounts for some 75 per cent of the island’s total economic output. In 2016 about 14 million people visited the island, with German and English tourists making up the bulk of the numbers at 23 per cent and 22 per cent respectively. Last month travellers heading to the popular island were warned of extremely warm conditions as a heatwave gripped vast swathes of southern Europe. Holidaymakers were warned of “extreme risk” in certain parts of the island after temperatures hit 44.8C in Llubi, just north of the Balearic Island’s centre, on 18 July, with a thermal sensation of 48C. Growing mass tourism and the associated increase in demand for water have repeatedly led to water shortages in the past. Read More Police hunt taxi driver after British teenager sexually assaulted in Magaluf Mallorca issues ‘extreme risk’ warning as holiday companies insist normal terms apply for cancellations Tourists are packing European hotspots. And Americans don't mind the higher prices and crowds Police hunt taxi driver after British teenager sexually assaulted in Magaluf Ukraine-Russia war: ‘Convict’ assault squads straining Kyiv’s forces in northeast Smoke billows from Tenerife wildfire as firefighters battle to contain blaze

Tim Cook describes his first experience with Apple’s forthcoming Vision Pro headset as an “aha moment”. The mixed reality device, he claims, has the potential to usher in an entirely new era of computing, having a profound impact on the way we work, communicate and experience the world – just like the iPhone did 16 years ago. And for it to succeed, just like the iPhone, it’s going to need apps. The Apple CEO is in London at the end of a whirlwind European tour to meet with app developers that he hopes will be among the first to realise his ambitions for the Vision Pro. The UK has the largest developer community in Europe, and as he meets three of them, he is clearly curious about their apps. It is a common sight with Cook: app developers on their best behaviour, nervous with anticipation, instantly relaxing as he focuses on them, genuinely interested, warming to his encouragement and questioning. “I think the apps today are outstanding,” he says. “It’s a reminder of the empowerment of the App Store. I’m still amazed that an entrepreneur in any country in the world in a basement can start a company and it can be global,” he snaps his fingers, “like that.” Cook likes to talk about Apple’s app developers because he takes pride in the jobs created by the Apple ecosystem. Estimates suggest that half a million jobs are now directly connected to the iOS app economy, which is up nearly 70 per cent compared to 2019. UK app developers have earned nearly £7.5 billion from their apps, Apple says. When Cook took over from Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011, the app economy was still in its infancy: Instagram was less than a year old and apps like Deliveroo and Tinder did not even exist yet. Just over a decade later Apple’s App Store is now facilitating more than $1 trillion in billings and sales annually, helping the company to become the richest in the world. Among the app developers showing off their creations at Apple’s Battersea Power Station headquarters is Joseph Mambwe, whose fitness app Gym Streak aims to manage your workout for you. Mambwe says that, at the app’s core is a demonstration that “resilience is a superpower that is available to everyone, along with persistence and the will to keep going.” The app uses augmented reality (AR) to create videos where the animated figure demonstrating the exercises appears to be working out in your living room. Also in attendance is Andy Weekes, the creator of Night Sky, which also uses AR to make stars, planets and even the International Space Station appear onscreen as you point your iPhone at the place they are in the sky. It can send reminders and messages so you can share what you see – and even what you can’t – with friends and family. There is a regular refrain from the developers about the Apple Vision Pro, which is set to launch early next year: Something like Night Sky could be jaw-droppingly good on the spatial computing headset, with its immersive, wraparound display. Cook says they’re looking forward to it. “We have developer labs in London and Munich, and we’re seeing some incredible work. There’s so much excitement out there.” The tech boss says Vision Pro has become part of his nightly routine, helping him understand how it could become an industry-defining product. “There are huge differences in how people look at it, depending on if they’re read about it or actually tried it,” he says. “I believe even more about how profound spatial computing is. When you’ve tried it, it’s an aha moment, and you only have a few of those in a lifetime.” Throughout the app demonstrations, the developers talk about the support they receive from Apple. “These apps,” Cook says afterwards, “allow developers to make people more sustainable, give somebody educational knowhow about space or even democratise personal training. These are big ideas. These apps are great collaborations, but our whole company is based on collaboration.We really believe one plus one equals three. “We’ve always viewed ourselves as tool makers,” he adds. “So to make tools that allow other people to change the world in their own way and for us to have a role in that makes my heart sing… We’ve always believed our tools should be as easy to use as our products, so we try to make the developer tools simple. It’s the developer’s idea that’s the big lift, not the act of doing it themselves. It’s great to see the validation of that playing out.” Through the powerful processors in the latest iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Cook believes Apple iOS is now “the best gaming platform out there”. Games also form a major part of Vision Pro’s appeal, allowing users to interact and compete within an entirely new dimension. “There’s significant excitement about our role in gaming, and we’re very serious about it,” he says. “This is not a hobby for us. We’re putting all of ourselves out there.” Read More ‘I saw the future. It left me in tears’ Tim Cook says Vision Pro release is on track: ‘I watched Ted Lasso Season 3 on it’ New discovery is ‘holy grail’ breakthrough in search for aliens, scientist say Musk confirms he is cutting election integrity staff from X/Twitter ahead of 2024

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South Africa assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said on Friday scrum-half Cobus Reinach was in a good place before this weekend's Rugby World Cup semi-final despite receiving...

A top Russian official has addressed the whereabouts of a senior general who has not been seen in public since the Wagner mutiny. Andrei Kartapolov, head of the state Duma defence committee, said that general Sergei Surovikin is “resting” and “not available right now”. It follows reports that Wagner boss Yevgeny Priogozhin has likely been murdered or incarcerated after leading a failed rebellion against the Kremlin regime. General Surovikin is known to have a close relationship with Mr Priogozhin who last month ordered his soldiers to march on Moscow in what the Kremlin referred to as an aborted mutiny. The incident formed part of an ongoing feud with Russia’s top military brass about its strategy in the Ukraine war. Media reports claim Mr Surovikin was being interrogated by security forces at an unknown location over his connection to warlord Mr Priogozhin. However, the British Ministry of Defence suggested Mr Surovikin had been “sidelined following the mutiny”, the Guardian reported. The ministry cited the “increased public profile” of his deputy Viktor Afzalov as evidence of why he has disappeared from public view. In a televised appearance, Afzalov was shown briefing chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov on July 10, according to the ministry. “Afzalov’s increased public profile, while Surovikin’s whereabouts remains unclear, adds further weight to the hypothesis that Surovikin has been sidelined following the mutiny,” it said. Meanwhile, Russian major general Ivan Popov, who was the commander of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army fighting near Zaporizhzhia, has said that he was fired as a commander after telling his superiors “the truth” about the dire situation on the frontlines in Ukraine. Maj Gen Popov told his troops in an audio statement that he was dismissed after a meeting with the top military brass in what he described as a “treacherous” stab in the back to the Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. He added that the military leadership was angered by his frank talk about the challenges faced by his forces. “The top officers apparently saw me as a source of threat and rapidly issued an order to get rid of me, which was signed by the defence minister in just one day,” he said. Read More Russia-Ukraine war – live: Wagner forces training soldiers in Belarus after Prigozhin exile Wagner mercenaries are in Belarus and training the country’s soldiers Putin wants to attend an August summit. Host country South Africa doesn't want to have to arrest him The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Yuri Gurriel had consecutive run-scoring hits in the ninth inning as Miami rallied to take a 2-1 lead over the New York Mets, but the game was suspended by rain at 12:58 a.m. after a 3-hour, 17-minute delay

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapons and for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting the United States in what he described as a “new Cold War.”

'I mean, I do not in any way support them but I knew they were gonna show up to the premiere of their own movie eventually,' a user wrote

Dillon Brooks is in his villain era. He recently went off on his former organization, the Memphis Grizzlies.

Bob Barker, the "Price Is Right" host whose silky-smooth command, impish sense of humor and advocacy for animal welfare issues made him a beloved fixture on television for more than 35 years, has died. He was 99.