Iran war: Trump dismisses concerns over conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier

President Donald Trump dismissed concerns on Friday over living conditions and the mental health of service members on a US aircraft carrier deployed against Iran, while confirming the ship would soon rotate out.

Asked by reporters whether family members were worried about the situation on the USS Abraham Lincoln, Trump said “no, they’re not”.

Trump also rejected the idea that the ship – now in its ninth month at sea – had been deployed for too long. “No, no, no, not nearly enough,” he

A US sailor scrubs an EA-18G Growler on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on Sunday. Photo: US Navy via Reuters

Italian police recover stolen Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse artworks worth millions

Italian authorities recovered three artworks by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse worth millions of euros that were stolen earlier this year from a private museum near the northern city of Parma, police said on Friday.

A statement from the Italian Carabinieri’s art recovery squad said the artworks were discovered during searches ordered by prosecutors, but no details were given. The investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, Brazilian police said late on Thursday that they had located eight stolen works by Matisse following an apartment raid outside Sao Paulo. The two law enforcement operations


Luigi Mangione pleads guilty in federal case, admits killing insurance CEO

Luigi Mangione admitted in court on Friday to killing a health insurance executive and pleaded guilty to federal charges of ‌stalking the executive with the intent to kill him.

The guilty plea will avert a federal trial in the closely watched case over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a brazen crime that was condemned by public officials but became emblematic of Americans’ frustration with health insurance industry practices. It could also allow him to seek dismissal of state murder charges and delay an coming trial in that ⁠case.

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A sticker with images of Luigi Mangione is seen on a pole outside Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Friday. Resolving the federal case ⁠could allow Mangione to seek dismissal of the murder charge under New York’s double jeopardy law. Photo: Reuters

URA posts HK$338 million operating surplus after three years of losses

Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has recorded an operating surplus of HK$338 million (US$43.3 million) for the 2025-26 financial year, after reporting three straight years of losses.

At a banquet on Friday to mark the statutory body’s 25th anniversary, chairman Chow Chung-kong announced that the URA had returned to profit in the 2025-26 financial year, recording an operating surplus to fund ongoing


How a US crackdown is upending plans for Chinese ‘birth tourists’

Prospective parents face growing uncertainty over whether their plans to secure broader education options for their children remain viable

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Reports emerged on Chinese social media of pregnant women being turned away at US border checkpoints in the past week. Photo: Getty Images

Li, a woman in her late twenties from southwestern China, is anxious about her coming interview for a 10-year US visa.

She has big plans for her travels – a weeks-long stay next year that would be her first visit to the country – followed by a planned return trip


Pilot dies after helicopter crash in German forest

No one else was on the helicopter, which was carrying out liming work on the forest

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The wreckage of a helicopter lies in a wooded area in Germany’s Ore Mountains while doing liming work on Friday. Photo: dpa

A helicopter pilot has died after crashing in a forest in eastern Germany while carrying out liming work, the police directorate in the city of Chemnitz said on Friday.

Workers managed to pull the man from the helicopter after the impact, police said. Despite immediate first aid administered at the scene, the man died from


Bomb-disposal team, light public housing unit win chief executive’s award

A bomb-disposal team and a unit behind Hong Kong’s light public housing scheme have won this year’s chief executive’s award, praised for embodying civil servants’ professional spirit in “rising to challenges and pursuing excellence”.

City leader John Lee Ka-chiu presented the Chief Executive’s Award for Exemplary Performance to the two interdepartmental teams at a ceremony on Friday.

Lee praised them for fulfilling their duties with a steadfast sense of mission and exceptional competence, winning public trust through tangible results.


Multi-property owner loses HK$10 million after fraudster poses as possible tenant

A woman in Hong Kong who owned multiple properties has lost HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) after being scammed by a fraudster posing as a prospective tenant.

The force revealed on Friday that the 64-year-old retiree, whose properties consisted of residential, commercial and parking spaces, was contacted via WhatsApp by a scammer in May in response to a rental listing she posted on Facebook.

Police said that while no tenancy agreement was signed, the con artist struck up a friendship with


Toxic gas leak kills 8 at Bangladesh ship-breaking yard

Ship-breaking in Bangladesh has long faced global criticism due to its unsafe and environmentally damaging practices

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Relatives mourn after a toxic gas leak killed at least eight people at Ferdaus shipyard in Bangladesh’s Chittagong on Friday. Photo: AFP

At least eight workers have died following a toxic gas leak at a ship-breaking yard in the southeastern Bangladeshi district of Chattogram, officials said on Friday.

The incident occurred at the Ferdaus Steel Shipbreaking Yard in Sitakund subdistrict, an area that hosts many ship-breaking yards where old vessels mostly imported from around

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China, Brazil to launch 24/7 disaster early warning satellite for South America

The project will place Brazil among a small number of countries capable of developing and operating geostationary satellites

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Residents look out at the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River amid a drought in Humaita, Amazonas state. Brazil has teamed up with China to create a geostationary satellite that can predict extreme weather events. Photo: AP

Emiliano Martínez Viademonte

After almost four decades of international cooperation in space affairs , Brazil and China have unveiled details of a new project to launch a powerful meteorological and environmental satellite.

It will be capable of monitoring the whole of South America, according to the space sciences department at Brazil’s National Institute