New Zealand police say they believe a fire that killed at least six people in a Wellington hostel was arson and launched a homicide investigation

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Former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about US nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, following his presidency, ABC reported Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron apparently isn't happy that the European Union head office plans to hire an American expert as its chief competition economist

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Max Verstappen has hit back at criticism of his dominance and set the target of remaining unbeaten for the final nine races of the season. The all-conquering Dutchman will become the first driver in history to win 10 consecutive races if he takes the chequered flag at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen has been in imperious form this year, winning 11 of the 13 rounds staged as he closes in on a hat-trick of World Championships. With a lead of 183 points heading into this weekend’s race in Monza there is a chance he could even close out the title with six rounds still remaining at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24. However, Verstappen’s emphatic streak has led to suggestions that the sport has become boring. But responding to the accusations in an interview with the PA news agency, Verstappen, 25, said: “They cannot appreciate dominance or just people executing their jobs. “It is nothing really new in Formula One, and I cannot do much with those kind of comments. Does it bother me? No. It would probably be worse if they were talking about other stuff. I am enjoying what I am doing and I hope I can do it for a while. “I don’t want it to stop. We have another good opportunity this weekend. I believe I can win every single race.” Verstappen’s victory on his home track in Zandvoort – which drew him level with Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins – was among the very best of the 46 of his career so far. At one stage, he was lapping four seconds faster than Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull, and two seconds quicker than anybody else. His virtuoso display in the inclement conditions prompted double world champion Fernando Alonso to say Verstappen’s achievements are being underestimated. “It is not about getting the recognition because I know how hard it is to do,” said Verstappen. “If it was very easy, more drivers would have won nine in a row, and more teams would have done it, and that is not the case. “It hasn’t been straightforward either. In Zandvoort especially, a lot of things could have gone wrong, and in the end we still handled that really well. “I never thought I would get to nine. I remember watching Seb do it, and I was like, ‘Jesus Christ, that is extremely difficult’, and now I am here and it is amazing.” Verstappen will share the grid with long-time rival Lewis Hamilton for at least another two seasons after the British driver signed a new £50million-a-year deal to remain with Mercedes. The contract extension will take Hamilton beyond his 40th birthday, and provides the possibility of a championship rematch with Verstappen if Mercedes can somehow close the gap to Red Bull. Hamilton, who was denied an eighth world title after race director Michael Masi failed to follow the correct rules in Abu Dhabi in 2021, alluded to “unfinished business” after signing his latest deal. Twenty months on from F1’s most contentious race, does Verstappen – who, on new tyres, had to pass Hamilton on the final lap to take the title – feel his maiden championship triumph was tainted? “It was not like it was given to me,” he said. “I still had to do it. “People always have short memories and they can forget a lot of stuff very quickly. “It was a great year, and we had a lot of great battles with two teams going at it and that was amazing for Formula One. “But you will always have a winner, and you will always have a loser. That is how this sport works, and I was also ready to lose. “It was a 50-50 chance and it fell my way. But in the future I could be in a situation where it doesn’t fall my way and that is how life goes. “I don’t really care a lot about other people’s opinions. I only care about people that are very close to me so whatever people say or write, I am like ‘whatever’. “I grew up my whole life wanting to be a Formula One driver and I will do everything it takes to try and be successful at it. “I make my choices and my decisions and that is why I am very relaxed about these things. I go home, I switch off from Formula One, and I am happy with my career. And when I come back to the race weekends I do my thing, and that is it.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How Max Verstappen equalled Sebastien Vettel’s record for consecutive race wins Max Verstappen reveals Sebastian Vettel prediction as he closes on GP record run Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in F1 history – Lando Norris

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Israel’s Defense Ministry has said it has secured its largest-ever defense deal selling a sophisticated missile defense system to Germany for $3.5 billion after the United States approved the deal

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Philippe Clement praised Rangers for the way they dealt with a “tricky” trip to Livingston as he called on the Scottish football authorities to consider implementing Sunday evening kick-off times for teams playing in Europe on a Thursday. The Rangers boss watched his team run out comfortable 2-0 winners at the Tony Macaroni Arena less than 72 hours after an energy-sapping 2-1 victory over Sparta Prague in the Europa League. Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian and the Ibrox side have all had to contend with playing domestic matches on Sunday afternoons after Thursday night European fixtures this term, and Clement feels Scotland should follow the lead of other leagues by allowing teams more recovery time in such situations. “I think it’s better for Scottish football to do it that way,” said the Belgian. “They do it in Belgium and in other leagues. “People who have never played may think, ‘what is the difference between six hours or eight hours more?’ but it’s a big difference in the recovery of a body, these hours of sleep and recovery because it’s a really short time for players to recover. “We play every three days, we will have a schedule of 12 games in about 38 days (after the international break) so recovery is an important part of it. The food, the drink, the cryo, when to sleep. “It’s important I think in every league that teams that play in Europe on Thursday evening play on the Sunday evening. In a lot of leagues, that’s done so it’s maybe something we can see in the future.” Clement made four changes for the Livingston game and admitted his team selection was influenced by the gruelling impact of the Sparta match. “Yes, because for example, Danilo did 1,300 metres of high-intensity runs on Thursday so if I let him start today I take a risk, for example,” he said. “Of course, I looked at that.” The win at Livingston came courtesy of a first-half goal from Cyriel Dessers and a second-half penalty from James Tavernier, who had missed an earlier spot-kick. Rangers also had first-half goals from Connor Goldson and Ross McCausland – on his first start – ruled out following VAR reviews. “It was a tricky game, with the circumstances with the (plastic) pitch which is not an advantage for us with the football we want to play,” said Clement. “Also kick-off at 12 o’clock after a European night. Also having European success and then playing domestically, it’s sometimes dangerous in the heads of the players. “So the team showed a really good mentality and the right spirit to play a very mature game because we didn’t give away anything and we deserved to win, clearly. “Also when you miss a penalty and a goal is disallowed, sometimes you get in dangerous games for losing points because the circumstances are not on your side. At the end, it’s a very positive afternoon.” Livingston go into the international break after suffering a fifth consecutive defeat. Manager David Martindale – who rued a “disappointing” first-half performance – is unfazed by their current predicament. “This is not an abnormal situation for us,” he said. “Yes, we are bottom of the league on goal difference, but we have gone on spells where we’ve not won a game in five in most seasons. “We just need to get back on track. I am not big on stats or data, it’s about one game at a time and what we can control. Hopefully that will lead to performances, which leads to results.”

Video from an Ohio school's hallway camera shows a school employee chasing a 3-year-old down the hall and hitting him in the head from behind, knocking him to the ground, an attorney for the boy's family alleges.

Scientists have urged people not to speculate about why Iberian orcas have been ramming into vessels, warning that demonising them could put the already endangered animal at risk. Orcas coming into contact with vessels n the Mediterranean are most likely being playful and are not “attacking” the boats as previously speculated, after more than 250 boats have been damaged by the species since 2020. Experts have warned the idea that the orcas intend to do harm could lead to the creatures being harmed by humans, after footage showing a sailor opening fire on a pod earlier this month. One theory proposed by marine scientists is that the orcas’ behaviour is a ‘cultural fad’ and will likely go away as attention over the animals decreases. There are 15 orcas believed to be responsible for the recent rammings, with damage varying from teeth marks to the sinking of five boats entirely. In an open letter, the scientists said: “We urge the media and public to avoid projecting narratives onto these animals. In the absence of further evidence, people should not assume they understand the animals’ motivations. “We are concerned that factual errors related to these interactions are being repeated in the media … we believe this narrative inappropriately projects human motivations onto these whales and we are concerned that perpetuating it will lead to punitive responses by mariners or managers.” Scientists remain baffled over the behaviour of the orcas off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, but agree they are likely being playful and socialising with each other instead of acting aggressively, the letter says. “The whales have shown a wide range of behaviours during the interactions, many of them consistent with playful social behaviour,” the letter continues. “There is no evidence of an identifiable ‘leader’ of these interactions. Despite the damage to vessels, we believe characterising the interactions as ‘attacks’ is misleading. “ Orcas (and other dolphin species) elsewhere have been known to develop cultural ‘fads’ (novel behaviour that briefly persists and expands within a population—an analogy might be fashion trends in people), such as carrying dead fish on their heads. While these vessel interactions may be a similar phenomenon, they are persisting longer than typical fad behaviour, expanding within the population and escalating in impact. Nevertheless, it is possible the behaviour, as previous fads have, will disappear as suddenly as it appeared. Of the fifteen orcas believed to be responsible for the rammings, 11 are calves and four are adult females. Iberian orcas are considered critically endangered, with possibly less than 40 in their population. Earlier in June a sailor told how his yacht was thrown around like a “rag doll” by orcas near Gibraltar, as the mammals tore off its rudders. “I noticed a fin then noticed a light bump and then a very big bump and looked round and there was a very large whale pushing along the back and trying to bite the rudder,” he told BBC Radio 4. “Then we lost the second rudder so we had no mechanism of steering the boat and the whales were in charge of the boat and they pushed us around like a rag doll,” he added. Read More Shark attacks swimmer in shallows of popular Spanish holiday beach Fisherman airlifted to hospital after shark bite off coast of Portugal Lolita the orca dies after spending more than half a century in captivity Russia says 10 bodies and flight recorders recovered from Prigozhin jet crash site Tourist sprays football graffiti on 460-year-old Italian landmark Belarus president says he warned Wagner chief to watch out for threats – Ukraine live