LONDON Increasing numbers of governments around the world are scrutinising Worldcoin, a crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO

Russian liquefied natural gas shipments to the European Union slumped last month due to plant maintenance and weaker

Europe’s top copper producer Aurubis AG warned it may face losses in the hundreds of millions of euros

Reforms are needed in Nigeria to increase competition and reduce the ability of large and dominant firms to

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s forces have been pushed back amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive, as deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar reported new “successes” in the south and east. “There have been some successes, in particular in the direction of Novodanylivka-Novoprokopivka,” Ms Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app, referring to two southeastern villages in the Zaporizhzhia region. Novoprokopivka lies further south of the strategic settlement of Robotyne, which Ukraine said on Monday it had liberated. Ms Maliar also said Kyiv’s forces were pressing on with their offensive operations south of the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May. The battlefield update comes on the same day the UK’s Ministry of Defence said Putin faced the largest attack on Russia since the start of the war, after it was hit by five separate drone strikes overnight on 29 and 30 August. The MoD said explosions were recorded in Moscow, Bryansk, and Ryazan, as well as at Pskov airbase close to the Estonian border. The government added that since many of these drones reached their targets, it “likely means Russian air defence is having difficulty detecting and destroying them”. Read More Putin’s forces pushed back in southern Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new long-range weapon The ‘Vampire’ rocket system helping Ukraine shoot down Russia’s kamikaze drones Ukraine pilot films moment drone flies into Russian truck

Elon Musk became vehemently “anti-woke” because of his daughter’s gender transition, according to a new book on the Tesla boss. The billionaire’s right-wing political leanings “were partly triggered” when his then-16-year-old child, Vivian Jenna Wilson, came out to her aunt. The claim was made by Mr Musk’s biographer, Walter Isaacson, in an excerpt from his book – entitled Elon Musk – published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. “Hey, I’m transgender, and my name is now Jenna,” she reportedly texted her aunt. “Don’t tell my dad.” Ms Wilson was granted a legal name and gender change last June and has severed all ties with her famous father. According to the book, Mr Musk brands his daughter a “Communist” who ended her relationship with him because she was brainwashed into “thinking that anyone rich is evil” by her $50,000-per-year school in California. Mr Musk said he “partly” blames the Crossroads School for Arts& Sciences for his daughter’s change in attitude towards him. “She went beyond socialism to being a full communist and thinking that anyone rich is evil,” said Mr Musk, who has a personal worth of $257.5bn. Mr Musk has previously blamed “woke” schools for his daughter’s transition, but it is the first time that he has named Crossroads. Mr Musk said that the rift with his daughter is the most painful thing he has experienced since the death of his first child at 10 weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome. Her mother is the Canadian writer Justine Wilson, who was married to Mr Musk from 2000 to 2008. The Independent has reached out to Crossroads for comment. Read More Twitter/X indicates it will start collecting ‘biometric information’ and ‘employment history’ KSI reveals how much money he made from Elon Musk’s new Twitter monetisation in August Tesla under federal probe over mysterious project to build ‘glass house’ for Elon Musk, report says ‘San Francisco will end up like Detroit’: Why Elon Musk and tech CEOs are fighting lawsuit on homeless crisis Elon Musk booed at video games contest as crowds shout: ‘Bring back Twitter!’ Why Elon Musk and tech CEOs are backing a lawsuit against anti-homelessness advocates Elon Musk booed at video games contest as crowds shout: ‘Bring back Twitter!’ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faces Black leaders' anger after racist killings in Jacksonville

Nigeria spends twice as much on debt repayments than on health and education combined, a report says.

The two cricketing arch rivals are set to play against each other in the Asia Cup on Saturday.

One inmate has been killed in an ongoing mass stabbing at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta where former President Donald Trump was booked and had his mug shot taken earlier this month. More follows...

The former leader of a Philadelphia chapter of the neo-fascist gang the Proud Boys who stormed the halls of Congress on January 6 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Zachary Rehl, the son and grandson of Philadelphia police officers who used pepper spray against law enforcement outside the US Capitol then lied on the witness stand about it, had called for “firing squads” for “traitors” who wanted to “steal” the 2020 election from Donald Trump. He was convicted of seditious conspiracy earlier this year alongside three other members and allies of the group for their roles in an assault that federal prosecutors said “unleashed a force on the Capitol that was calculated to exert their political will on elected officials by force” to “undo the results of a democratic election.” US District Judge Timothy Kelly determined that Rehl committed perjury during the trial when he denied assaulting anyone. Video evidence appeared to show him using a chemical spray against police as the mob broke through barricades and marched to the Capitol. Rehl’s sentence is among the largest against defendants connected to the attack on the US Capitol during a joint session of Congress as lawmakers convened to certify election results. Joe Biggs, a prominent figure within the Proud Boys who marched to the Capitol alongside Rehl, was sentenced to 17 years in prison on 31 August, now the second longest sentence for a January 6 defendant to date. Judge Kelly also issued that sentence. The sentences for Biggs and Rehl are 15 years below sentencing guidelines and roughly half of what prosecutors have asked in their cases. A jury had convicted both Rehl and Biggs on the treason-related charge of seditious conspiracy as well as conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding; conspiracy to use force, intimidation or threats to prevent officers from discharging their duties; interference with law enforcement during civil disorder; and destruction of government property. Sentencing guidelines suggested Rehl could face 30 years to life in prison. Federal prosecutors sought 30 years. Prosecutors also had sought 33 years for Biggs and former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who is scheduled to be sentenced on 5 September. Co-defendants Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola will be sentenced on 1 September. Proud Boys emerged as what one former member called the “foot soldiers of the right” using the guise of male-dominated drinking clubs to wield threats and physical violence against political enemies, particularly antifascist organizers, while rallying against LGBT+ people and employing white nationalist and antisemitic tropes. “They turned that vigilantism from antifa to law enforcement and the government itself,” Assistant US Attorney Erik Kenerson told Judge Kelly. “Mr Rehl embraced that vigilantism, and he eventually used it to try to impose his vision of America by force.” Pennsylvania-area Proud Boys played an outsized role in the attack, from planning in group chats to joining the mob that breached barricades and broke into the Capitol on 6 January, 2021. In messages on social media, Rehl called for “firing squads for the traitors that are trying to steal the election.” “F*** ‘em, storm the Capitol,” Rehl shouted into a video he recorded moments after breaching a police line. Minutes later, video captures him firing what appears to be chemical spray towards officers in his path. Pezzola seized a riot shield from an officer and used it to break a window, through which the first members of the mob entered the Capitol, according to an indictment. Once inside, Rehl posed for selfies with other members of the Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter and smoked cigarettes as rioters broke into the office of Democratic US Senator Jeff Merkley. “Looking back, it sucked,” Rehl wrote in a message to Philadelphia chapter members the day after the attack. “We should have held the Capitol … Everyone shoulda showed up armed and took the country back the right way.” During the trial, Rehl expressed regret for his actions that day, admitting that he felt much differently about the assault in the months that followed than he did in its immediate aftermath as he celebrated with other Proud Boys. At his sentencing hearing, he broke down in tears, pointing to the baseless narrative of election fraud and manipulation that fuelled the attack in the first place, and apologizing to his family who suffered in its wake. “Politicians spread lies about elections,” he said. “I fell for it hook, line and sinker … It cost me everything.” Read More Proud Boy Joe Biggs sentenced to 17 years in prison for Jan 6 seditious conspiracy Who is Enrique Tarrio? Ex-Proud Boys leader faces longest prison sentence yet for January 6 ‘Donald Trump’s army’: Proud Boys members face decades in prison for January 6 sedition

Julie Ertz retires from professional football.

More than 9700 pounds of cocaine were seized by the Mexican Navy after a high-speed chase across the Pacific Ocean resulted in a huge drug bust. Footage captured by the Mexican Navy shows two operations taking place off the Pacific coast of Mexico near Oaxaca, chasing down the boats at rapid speed. The Navy then used helicopters to lower down to board and take control of the vessels. After a two-day operation that took place last week on 22 and 23 August, the Navy secured three boats. Eleven people were detained and turned over to the prosecutors. Along with the large quantity of cocaine, 1,300 gallons of fuel was also found on the boats. According to the UN, the global production of cocaine has dramatically increased over the past two years since its downturn during the Covid-19 pandemic. When cocaine is imported into Mexico, it is often trafficked inland toward the United States concealed in vehicles, although maritime vessels have also been used as well. Drug-related violence has increased recently, with convenience stores, trucks and cars being set alight by drug cartels in Michoacan to block roads and enforce extortion demands. Three men and three youths aged 16 and 17 were arrested during the attack. 1,200 troops were sent by the Mexican Government after the weekend to disperse the cartels from blocking the roads. Read More Help us find loved ones missing after decades of violence in Mexico, mothers tell government Mexico sends 1,200 more troops to Michoacan state after weekend of cartel violence Mexican Navy hopes to expand net-snagging hooks to protect endangered vaquita porpoises