newsmart – Latest News

abc.net.au | 1 hrs. 5 min. ago

North Korean workers sold into Russia then stripped of wages, report finds

Russian brokers are advertising North Korean workers to companies as part of a forced labour program being used to fund Pyongyang's ballistic missile program, a new report has alleged.

theguardian.com | 1 hrs. 56 min. ago

Country diary: A new chapter for the farm – we’re going organic

Andrea Meanwell | Tebay, Cumbria: Historically it’s been a tricky thing for hill farms to do, but we’ve always run ours on organic principles, and now we’re fully convertingFrom 1 November we have change happening on our farm. We have decided to become an organic farm and have started the two-year conversion process with the Soil Association.

We’ve always run the farm on organic principles, but now, with our small shop selling our beef, lamb and pork, we’ve decided that we will convert, prioritising soil health and biodiversity without the use of chemicals.It has historically been tricky for hill farms to go organic because many are on commons with shared grazing and no physical boundaries between “hefts”, and with shared routes to and from the fell.

Now the certifiers are keen to be flexible and adapt, so we have decided to give it a go. The process is funded by the government’s sustainable farming incentive scheme, which we were lucky to get into this year as so many farmers missed out. Continue reading...

scmp.com | 2 hrs. ago

Hong Kong poised for capital inflow amid unrest in France, Middle East war: AllianzGI

Recent unrest in Europe and the Middle East war could prompt investors to seek greater diversification, potentially driving capital inflows to Asian markets including mainland China and Hong Kong in coming months, according to a senior executive of Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI), one of Europe’s largest fund houses.

Julie Koo, head of distribution in Asia-Pacific for the company, said the recent protests in France, Italy and Spain would lead investors to review and adjust their exposure to...

theguardian.com | 2 hrs. 34 min. ago

Thames Water creditors to vote on emergency £2.4bn loan as cash runs low

Campaigners say costly new funds will lead to higher bills, which company deniesA group of creditors to troubled Thames Water are poised to vote on whether to grant an emergency £2.4bn loan to keep the company afloat, as campaigners raise concerns it could add £40 to each household’s bills in interest alone.A consortium of creditors, called London & Valley Water, will vote on Thursday on whether to increase a funding facility for the debt-laden utility company to £5.4bn to keep it operating to autumn 2027. Continue reading...

iol.co.za | 3 hrs. 45 min. ago

Woman accused of hitting ex-husband loses claim to his R5.2 million pension fund

Ex-wife forfeits claim to school principal’s GEPF pension interest after short marriage.

livemint.com | 5 hrs. 48 min. ago

DA hike from 60% to 63%: How central government employees can use extra salary to build savings and secure their future

The DA hike from 60% to 63% will increase monthly payments for central government employees in 2026. Employees can use the extra salary to build savings, invest through recurring deposits and mutual fund SIPs or increase their emergency corpus.

thehindu.com | 6 hrs. 41 min. ago

ED attaches land, buildings of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur in money laundering case

“ED found that funds meant for public works were diverted to the University, government works were executed on its private campus, and funds from contractors who had been allotted government contracts were routed back to the Trust as donations,” the statement said

timesofindia.indiatimes.com | 6 hrs. 50 min. ago

Sunshine Buns, started in 2022 by four Utah friends, raised $7 million

Sunshine Buns has successfully secured $7 million in Series A funding, allowing them to broaden their store presence. Founded by four friends using a family cinnamon roll recipe, their frozen delights are now featured in major retailers like Target and Costco. This new funding will support production and marketing efforts, and the founders attribute their success to local mentors and the nurturing startup community in Utah.

nypost.com | 8 hrs. 43 min. ago

Google parent Alphabet tumbles after profit disappoints, warns AI is battering its cash flow

Alphabet's cash burn was driven by spending to boost cloud capacity and fund AI research.

ft.com | 9 hrs. 7 min. ago

Healey hits banks and savers to fund modest Budget handout

Chancellor opts for limited household relief as fiscal watchdog warns of ‘pretty grim’ picture for living standards

theguardian.com | 9 hrs. 33 min. ago

New book makes fiery claims about Jared Kushner’s finances in Trump’s first term

Kushner threatens to sue, denying allegations that two slush funds were set up to influence his Middle East roleA new book containing incendiary claims about Jared Kushner’s financial dealings during Donald Trump’s first term has ignited a political and media firestorm.The book by author Matthew Cole is called Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East and was released in the US this week.

An excerpt was published by Vanity Fair last Thursday, and immediately drew a furious response from Kushner, who called its claims “completely insane”. The book contains numerous allegations about Kushner, whose father-in-law is Trump and who has served as one of his top diplomatic envoys in the Middle East – the most explosive of which are claims linking him to huge bank accounts allegedly funded by Gulf states.

Continue reading...

atlanticcouncil.org | 9 hrs. 40 min. ago

The Board of Peace for Gaza is not a commercial enterprise. It should stop acting like one.

The Board of Peace is missing the infrastructure, funding, and security guarantees it needs to make progress on its mission. The post The Board of Peace for Gaza is not a commercial enterprise. It should stop acting like one. appeared first on Atlantic Council.

scmp.com | 10 hrs. 37 min. ago

Hegseth pledges stronger military framework with Philippines, but lacks details

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced additional military cooperation funding for the Philippines and agreed with Manila on efforts for enhanced interoperability between their forces on Wednesday, as Washington sought to strengthen its defence posture along the first island chain. The Pentagon disclosed neither the size of the funding increase nor a timetable for the coordination initiative following Hegseth’s meeting with Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr in Cebu on the...

bbc.co.uk | 11 hrs. 24 min. ago

The main announcements from the Budget - and how they will be funded

The BBC's Joe Pike explains key things outlined by the Chancellor.

pewresearch.org | 13 hrs. 25 min. ago

Methodology

This is a Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/. National Cross-Sectional Surveys Most of this report focuses on how often U.S. adults say they go to religious services, […]

dailymail.com | 13 hrs. 31 min. ago

Autumn Budget 2026 live updates: Kemi Badenoch says country is 'overspent' as Chancellor launches tax raid on savers to fund cost of living

LIVE UPDATES: Kemi Badenoch has accused Labour of leaving Britain 'overspent, overborrowed, overtaxed' as Chancellor John Healey unveiled a tax raid on savers, landlords and banks.

livemint.com | 13 hrs. 59 min. ago

Mutual fund direct plans to become default on AMC apps from November 1; what investors need to know

SEBI will make direct mutual fund plans the default option on asset management companies’ digital platforms from November 1. Investors choosing regular plans must be informed about their higher expense ratios, chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.

ft.com | 14 hrs. 1 min. ago

Sovereign wealth funds to be taxed on UK property investments

Change is set to hit countries such as the Gulf states that are big property investors in Britain

dailymail.com | 14 hrs. 4 min. ago

Healey hammers struggling workers, savers and landlords to fund energy bailouts as tax burden heads to new record high - but benefits escape cuts

John Healey is struggling to balance the books amid the Middle East crisis and Andy Burnham's spending ambitions.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com | 14 hrs. 5 min. ago

Madonna’s charity opened a children’s surgery centre in Malawi. It now does 2,000+ operations a year

Madonna's charity, Raising Malawi, has established the Mercy James Centre for Paediatric Surgery and Intensive Care in Malawi. This facility performs over 2,000 life-saving surgeries each year at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital. The centre not only conducts surgeries but also serves as a training site for local medical professionals.

Raising Malawi is currently raising funds to expand services and hire more specialist staff.

marketwatch.com | 14 hrs. 11 min. ago

Wendy’s buyout offer suggests the burger chain’s overhaul could be very expensive

Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management has made a $1.4 billion offer for Wendy’s and says the company “requires significant capital investment” to get back on track.

koreatimes.co.kr | 14 hrs. 33 min. ago

US stocks hold steady ahead of Fed rate decision

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are drifting Wednesday as the countdown ticks toward this afternoon’s announcement from the Federal Reserve on what it will do with interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent and pulled within 1 percent of its all-time high, which was set earlier this month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 149 points, or 0.3 percent, as of 12:46 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged. The day’s highlight will likely be what the Federal Reserve says, if anything, about where interest rates are heading. The Fed raised its main interest rate last month for the first time in three years in hopes of slowing the high inflation that’s squeezing the economy and discouraging Americans.

The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will leave the federal funds rate alone at this meeting, and the question is whether it will give hints about what may happen at later meetings. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, though, has been adamant since taking over the Fed about wanting it to give fewer indications about its future moves.

Wall Street cares so

businessinsider.com | 14 hrs. 43 min. ago

AI coding startup Cognition is weighing a new funding round at a $70 billion to $80 billion valuation

The potential jump in valuation and investor interest underscores the frenzy around AI coding.

marketwatch.com | 15 hrs. 16 min. ago

Bullish on Anthropic but don’t want to wait until the IPO? Here’s how you can invest today.

ETFs and other funds currently available to ordinary investors offer exposure to Anthropic.

euromaidanpress.com | 15 hrs. 18 min. ago

Russia abducts Ukrainian children, and the Netherlands now funds UN search for them as part of new €1.2 billion aid package

Dutch companies get a way into rebuilding Ukraine: €136 million for partnerships and more export insurance in a new aid package.

dailymail.com | 15 hrs. 43 min. ago

Home Office gets £150million for more large-scale asylum centres, as Tories warn it shows Labour has 'no intention whatsoever' of stopping and deporting illegal immigrants

The Treasury said the extra funds would allow the Home Office to carry on closing controversial asylum hotels.

ft.com | 16 hrs. 15 min. ago

[$] Mubadala Capital dealmaker to launch his own venture fund

Ibrahim Ajami, a senior executive at the private capital arm Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, is set to leave next year

dailymail.com | 16 hrs. 18 min. ago

More than half of Britons oppose senior doctors strikes, poll finds, as figures show health unions amassing huge war chests to fund crippling walkouts

Nearly four in ten (58 per cent) of the public told pollster YouGov they either 'strongly' or 'somewhat' oppose next month's walkout by consultants.

nytimes.com | 16 hrs. 23 min. ago

[$] From Senate Candidates, Surprising Stances on Fixing Social Security

Congress needs a plan to prevent the program’s funds from running short by 2032. Many Senate candidates have shared their positions — some of them unexpected.

nypost.com | 16 hrs. 25 min. ago

Faith coalition presses Gavin Newsom to join Trump school choice program: ‘California dollars should stay in California’

More than 100 faith and school leaders say billions in California tax dollars could fund students in other states if Newsom sits out Trump’s program.

thehindu.com | 17 hrs. 31 min. ago

Kerala High Court directs State committee to resume negotiations with MSC Elsa 3 owners to release funds deposited for risk assessment and other costs

The Liberian-flagged ship that sunk had caused extensive marine and coastal pollution on the shores of Keralam and Tamil Nadu

pewresearch.org | 17 hrs. 38 min. ago

Acknowledgments

This is a Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/. This report is based on Pew Research Center’s National Public Opinion Reference Surveys (NPORS) (conducted annually from 2020 through […]

foxnews.com | 17 hrs. 55 min. ago

Who’s funding America’s protest unrest? Fox Nation's new 'Riot Inc.' follows the money to find out

Fox Nation's "Riot Inc." follows the money behind America's most disruptive protests, exposing billionaire funding and alleged foreign influence.

theage.com.au | 18 hrs. 21 min. ago

The late-night letter that blindsided Melbourne principals over classroom support

Six weeks from the end of the school year, principals and teachers say they have been blindsided by a government decision to reduce disability support funding.

kyivindependent.com | 19 hrs. 25 min. ago

Ukraine’s parliament approves 2027 state budget in first reading

With security and defense allocations accounting for around two-thirds of planned expenditure and a projected deficit of nearly Hr 1.7 trillion ($37 billion), the budget highlights the challenge of funding the war while maintaining economic stability and meeting social commitments.

globalnews.ca | 19 hrs. 25 min. ago

Ontario pauses some skills training funding for unemployed people: career colleges

The Ford government is pausing at least some funding through Better Jobs Ontario, which helps unemployed people get skills training.

scmp.com | 20 hrs. 32 min. ago

JPMAM plans more active ETFs in China after debut fund hits US$300 million cap on day one

JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) expects to launch more actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in mainland China after its first such fund there hit the 2 billion yuan (US$300 million) fundraising cap on the first day of sales, its China chief said. “The first launch is just an opening move in a much bigger game,” Desiree Wang, the firm’s CEO for China, said in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.

Any active strategy that suits the ETF vehicle and meets investor...

livemint.com | 20 hrs. 37 min. ago

Choosing equity mutual funds: Why long-term returns matter, but 1-year performance also deserves a look; experts explain

Equity mutual funds can deliver strong 3- and 5-year returns yet struggle over one year. Does this signal a temporary market setback or deeper portfolio issues? Experts explain the warning signs investors should watch for before investing or exiting their current holdings. 

iol.co.za | 20 hrs. 41 min. ago

Japan’s $21bn Bet on Malta: What It Signals for US Chip Manufacturing

Japan will fund up to $21bn for two GlobalFoundries fabs in New York; capital is secured, but skilled labour and 2029 timelines are the real test

foxnews.com | 20 hrs. 52 min. ago

Greta Thunberg’s radical turn deserves scrutiny, not applause

From Paris protests to Gaza flotillas, Greta Thunberg's activist shift raises unanswered questions about funding and ties to extremist movements.