01/09/2025 News

  

25/08/2025 News

Hello everyone. This blog is about news that I find out that happen today, that I find myself pretty interesting, and I will report every so often on the blogs I create. I get news off Google and Bing news when I through my usual daily news check. Keep in mind that most information I may gather may not be true and that I'm just summarizing what I find online off Google and Bing.

Ukraine war latest: EU boss told she should 'know better' over comments on post-war troops: "Those are things you don't discuss", Germany's defence minister said about the EU chief's comments on troops in Ukraine, after she claimed there are "pretty precise plans". Meanwhile, Russia is accused of interfering with a plane carrying the EU Commission boss. Follow the latest below.

China and India relations still confuse politicians.

China and India are still wondering they are Friends or foes. As the optics of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit suggest China and India have much in common, but it still raises flags and questions if they are really friends.

'Bullying' US at odds with Chinese economic summit, expert says

The head of a Chinese think tank has dedicated to the research and promotion of Beijing. He has told Sky News that Donald Trump's actions towards the "Global South" countries amounts to bullying.

Speaking to lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim, Victor Gao says that the "great success" of this week's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation economic summit in Tianjin is the promotion of international cooperation among its members.

This, he says, is in contrast to the position of a " certain country ", which Gao says " really wants to impose its version of the truth to all the other countries, sometimes even by holding a gun at their heads " , " No country should really indulge in the fantasy that it is the sole polarity in the world of today, " he says.

Gao's words sort of echoes those of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had also called out the " bullying behaviour " of unarmed countries this week.

Hakim says this is clearly a "veiled stab" at the US and Donald Trump, but Gao disagrees. " I don't think it is veiled. It's very explicit, " he says.

" I think there is only one country in the world which really is bullying around many countries in the world, launching the world tariff war... and then it tries to impose itself on other countries as if whatever it dictates should be the real truth." , " This is not the rule of law that most of us really wants to live. "

Memorial service had been held for murdered Ukrainian politician

There had been memorial ceremonies have been held in Lviv and Kyiv this evening in memory of the murdered Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy. Mourners had gathered in the central squares of both cities, with a minute's silence held. On an improvised stage in Kyiv, lamps, baskets of flowers and photos of Parubiy were laid, while a video about his life was shown on a big screen. The Ukrainian president Zelensky had described Saturday's attack as a " terrible murder " and said a suspect has since been arrested. 

UK welcomes Trump dedication for peace in Ukraine - as security guarantee talks 'ongoing'

On the first day back from summer recess, John Healey has been giving a statement to the House of Commons on Ukraine. The defence secretary updates MPs on the various meetings and summits held at a leaders' level during the summer, including Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to London and Sir Keir Starmer's trip to Washington.

He says the UK welcomes US President Donald Trump's " dedication to bringing this terrible war to an end ", " We also strongly welcome his commitment to make security guarantees, as he says, 'very secure' with the Europeans, " he adds. 'We don't want to make the Russians wiser'

Healey says discussions are ongoing on how Ukraine's allies can protect any potential peace deal. " We look for contributions to be further confirmed," he says. " , " Much of the shape of any deployment of any coalition of the willing will depend on the terms of a peace agreement. " , " At this stage, I won't want to offer any more public detail on that, as that would only reinforce Putin's hand and make the Russians wiser. "

Now what is the SCO?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation ( SCO ) is a 10-member political, economic and international security group which started off in 1996 to settle border disputes after the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended.

Originally, it was named the Shanghai Five, it was formed by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It evolved in 2001, naming itself the SCO and including Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were part of its 2017 expansion, with Iran added in 2023 and Belarus in 2024.

It's also got 14 key dialogue partners, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. Not far off half of the world's population (roughly 43%) is represented by the members, as is nearly a quarter (about 23%) of the globe's economic output as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). It meets annually, makes decisions by consensus and is having its largest-ever summit now.

Home secretary announces shakeup of family reunion rules for asylum seekers to deter Channel crossings: Yvette Cooper says people smugglers are using the promise of family reunion to promote dangerous small boat crossings in the Channel.

The home secretary has announced a shake up of family reunions rules for refugees in a bid to deter the small boat crossings. While Yvette Cooper has said that people smugglers were using the promise of family reunions to promote their dangerous journeys across the Channel.

While addressing the House of Commons, Ms Cooper has said that the government would now suspend new applications under the existing family reunion route for refugees until a new framework had been introduced. She had highlighted how refugee families had been arriving in to the UK and that they were seeking homelessness assistance, putting more pressure on to the local authorities and that was " not sustainable. "

Ms Cooper had told the MPs the government would deliver an asylum policy statement later this year, which would set out a brand new system for the family migration, with the aim of having at least " some of those changes in place for the spring. " She said that it would look at the contribution requirements and whether there should be longer periods before newly granted refugees can apply for a family reunion.

" Even just before the pandemic, refugees who applied to bring family to the UK did so on average more than one or two years after they had been granted protection, long enough for them to be able to get jobs or find housing, or be able to provide their family with some support, " she explained.

While, " In Denmark and Switzerland, currently those granted humanitarian protection are not able to apply to bring family for at least two years after their protection has been granted. But here in the UK now, however, those applications come in on average in around a month after protection has been granted, often even before a newly granted refugee has left the asylum accommodation. "

" As a consequence, refugee families who arrive are far more likely to be seeking homelessness assistance. " , " And some councils are finding that more than a quarter of their family homelessness applications are linked to refugee family reunion. That is not sustainable. "

The home secretary continued: " Therefore, we are bringing forward new immigration rules this week to temporarily suspend new applications under the existing dedicated refugee family reunion route. " , " Until the new framework is introduced, refugees will be covered by the same family migration rules and conditions as everyone else. "

The move comes as the government struggles to cope with the continued arrival of small boats in the Channel, which have reached 29,003 - the highest on record for this point in a year.

There is palpable anger in certain communities at the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, most notably in Epping, Essex, where there were protests at the weekend after the government successfully overturned a temporary injunction which would have blocked asylum seekers from staying at the Bell Hotel.

The protests prompted Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, to warn there was a " genuine threat to public order. " , " He has promised to deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers in the first parliament of a Reform UK government if he wins the next election - a plan opponents have criticised as unworkable.

The home secretary said the government was working " at pace " to end the use of all asylum hotels, and said they would be closed " for good " under a " controlled, managed and orderly programme - driving down inflow into the asylum system, clearing the appeals backlog... and continuing to increase returns. "

She then further added; " I understand and agree with local councils and communities who want the asylum hotels in their communities closed because we need to close all asylum hotels, and we need to do so for good, but that must be done in a controlled and orderly manner, and not through a return to the previous government's chaos that led to the opening of hotels in the first place. "

' Things are getting worse ' In response, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Channel crossings were up 38% on the previous year, adding: " Things are not getting any better, they are getting worse. " He said " tweaking the family reunion rules is not enough " and referred again to the Tories' Rwanda scheme, which Labour scrapped on winning office.

The Russia-Ukraine war has reshaped global trade and forged new alliances: The consequences of the 2022 invasion by Russia has changed not only trading relationships but sparked fundamental shifts in alliances too, Ed Conway writes.

The vast majority of policymakers in Westminster, let alone elsewhere around the UK, have never even heard of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the geopolitical grouping currently holding its summit at Tianjin, but here are some reasons on why we should all be paying considerable attention to it.

Because the more attention you pay to this grouping and the more you realise about the 10 Eurasian states - most notably China, Russia and India the more you start to realise that the long term consequences of the war in Ukraine might well reach far beyond Europe's borders, changing the contours of the world as we know it.

The best place to begin with this is in February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Back then, there were a few important hallmarks in the global economy. The amount of goods exported to Russia by the G7 - the equivalent grouping of rich, industrialized nations - was about the same as China's exports. Europe was too busy buying tons of oil, which most being Russian oil.

But roll on to today and the G7 exports to Russia oil have gone to nearly zero ( a consequence due to the sanctions placed on to Russia. Russian assets, including the government bonds previously owned by the Russian central banks have also been confiscated and their fate wrangled over. But the Chinese exports to Russia, far form falling or even flat lining, has even risen sharply, with most of Exports of Chinese transportation equipment are nearly up 500%. Mean while India has gone from importing from next to no Russian oil, to relying on the country for the majority of its crude imports.

It is a fact that so much of India's oil is now being imported from Russia and that the US has said it will impose " secondary tariffs " on to India, doubting the level of tariffs paid on Indian goods imported into America to 50%, which is one of the highest levels in the world. The upshot of Ukraine, in other words isn't just about how misery the war is, but also the economic crisis war in Europe. With it's sharp divergence in economic strategies around the world, some countries, most notably the members of the SCO, or more known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, has decided to double down on their economic relationship with Russia, with others have forsworn Russian business.

Now what is exactly the SCO?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a ten-member political, economic and international security group which started off in 1996 to settle border disputes after the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended.

Originally named the Shanghai Five it was formed by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It evolved in 2001, naming itself the SCO and including Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were part of its 2017 expansion, with Iran added in 2023 and Belarus in 2024. It's also got 14 key dialogue partners, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Not far off half of the world's population (roughly 43%) is represented by the members, as is nearly a quarter (about 23%) of the globe's economic output as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). It meets annually, makes decisions by consensus and is having its largest-ever summit at present.

And in so doing, many of those Asian nations have begun to envisage something that they had never quite imagined before; and economic future that doesn't depend on the American financial infrastructure. As there was a time where the Asian nations were one of the biggest buyers of American government debt, in part to provide them with the dollars that they needed to buy crude oil from biggest producers, which is generally denominated in the US currency. But which since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has decided to sell its oil without denominating it in dollars.

At the same time, many of these Asian nations have reduced their purchases of the US debt, and indeed, part of the explanation of the recent rise in the US and UK government bond yields is that there is simply less demand fro them from foreign investors than there used to be. The world is changing, and its foundation what we used to call globalisation are now shifting faster and more rapid than ever.

The penultimate reason to pay attention to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is that while once upon a time its members accounted for a small fraction of global economic output, today that fraction is on the rise. Indeed, if you adjust economic output to account for purchasing power, the share of global GDP accounted for by the nations meeting in Tianjin is close to overtaking the share of GDP accounted for by the world's advanced nations.

And the final thing to note - something that would have seemed completely implausible only a few years ago - is that China and India, once sworn rivals, are edging closer to an economic rapprochement. With India now facing swingeing tariffs from the US, New Delhi sees little downside in a rare trip to China, to cement relations with Beijing. This is a seismic moment in geopolitics. For a long time, the world's two most populous nations were at loggerheads. Now they are increasingly moving in lockstep with each other.

That is a consequence few would have guessed at when Russia invaded Ukraine. Yet it could be of enormous importance for geopolitics in future decades.

McLaren F1 arm valued at over £3bn in stake sale: Mumtalakat and CYVN Holdings are buying out the minority stakes in McLaren Racing owned by MSP Sports Capital and other investors at a valuation underlining its resurgent performance, Sky News can exclusively reveal..

The McLaren Formula One team has been valued at over an insane £3 billion pounds on a deal that will reap a stellar return for the investors that which helped bail out its parent company during the pandemic.

Sky News can also exclusively reveal that the McLaren Group's owners, Mumtalakat, the Bahraini sovereign wealth fund, and Abu Dhabi based automotive investment group CYVN Holdings are to buy out an insane 30% stake in McLaren Racing that they do not already own. Sources has said that the deal, which will give the two Gulf investors full ownership of McLaren Racing could be potentially announced as soon as Tuesday.

If this is potentially confirmed, a transaction would value McLaren Racing at over £3 billion pounds the sources had said, underlining the resurgent performance of its motorsport operations under chief executive Zak Brown.

The McLaren driver Oscar Piastri won the last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, with McLaren holding an apparently impregnable grip on this year's F1 constructors championship. Briton Lando Norris sits in second place in the driver's rankings, just behind his Australian team mate.

The deal will involve Mumtalakat and CYVN acquiring the stakes in McLaren Racing which is currently owned by the MSP Sports Capital, Ares Investment Management, UBS O'Connor and a number of other small shareholders. MSP Sports Capital spearheaded a deal announced in 2020 to buy an initial 15% stake in McLaren Racing which gave the business a post money valuation of a high £560 million pounds.

The deal had provided urgently needed capital to the wider McLaren Group, whose automotive arm's finances were placed in a parlous state by the pandemic. McLaren Group engineered a series of capital injections, the sale of it's Applied Technologies division and the sale and leaseback of its spectacular Surrey headquarters in a bid to strengthen its balance sheet. The £3 billion plus valuation at which the 30% stake is expected to change hands this week can really reflect the stronger financial position of the broader McLaren Group,m as well as the phenomenal performances of the McLaren Racing business.

McLaren Racing is owned by the McLaren Group Ltd, while McLaren Group Holdings, the entity owned by CYVN, in turns own 100% of the McLaren Automotive. Sports financiers said that it would also underline the growing investor appetite for F1 related assets, with Aston Martin saying that in July it would sell its stakes in eponymous Grand Prix team which has a valuation of £2.4 billion pounds. There has also been speculation about the future of Red Bull's investment in the sport, and about Ineos's long term commitment to the Mercedes F1 team.

Some of the minority investors in the McLaren Racing acquired their stakes in 2021 and will also bank a handsome windfall from the sale to McLaren Group. Mumtalakat will also retain the controlling stake in McLaren Racing after the buyout of the minority investors, according to the insiders. The deal will also further simplify the ownership of one of the most famous names in the global luxury car industry.

Bankers have talked up the prospect of a McLaren public listing for years, but its repeated needed to tap private shareholders for funding and the supply chain challenges which have hindered its recovery mean that an IPO is still likely to be several years away.

As during the COVID 19 pandemic, the company was forced in to a far reaching restructuring that saw hundreds of jobs axed. Founded in 1963 by Bruce McLaren, the group's name is among the most famous in motorsport.

During the half a century of competing during in F1, it has won the constructors championship numerous times, while its drivers have included the likes of Mika Hakkinen, Lewis Hamilton, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna. In total, the team has won more than 200 Grands Prix, three Indianapolis 500s and the Le Mans 24 Hours on its debut. The company saw its separate divisions reunited the following the departure in 2017 of Ron Dennis. The veteran McLaren boss who had steered its F1 team throughout the most successful periods of F1 team in its history.

Mr Dennis has also offloaded his stake in a £275 million pounds deal following a bitter dispute with some fellow shareholders. McLaren Racing declined to comment on the dispute.

Those are some news that I found interesting today throughout Bing and Google. These news are mainly mixed up on what I found, but I mainly tried to focus on financial news and the economic world. With whats happening with the Ukraine and Russian war, and the new SCO that is challenging the US dominance in Asia and India helping fund Russia its war by buying loads of Oil from Russia. With McLaren Racing being bought out by a rich Bahraini man and the history of the McLaren Racing and its impact during COVID 19. I hope over time I should be able to adapt and learn to make these more shorter, summarized and hopefully, more informative. Thank you for reading.