News Feeds

BYD shares slide as China's EV price war hits profits Shares in Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD slid by as much as 8% on Monday after it reported a drop in profit because of a price war in China's car sector. The carmaker had on Friday reported that its net profit fell to 6.4bn yuan ($900m; £660m) between April and June, down 30% from a year earlier. BYD said in its filing that "increased price competition" among China's EV brands had impacted the industry. The Shenzhen-based manufacturer is facing an increasingly crowded market, competing against local rivals Nio and XPeng and US carmaker Tesla, which have all slashed prices to draw buyers. EV makers have subsidised car dealers and offered zero-interest loans to buyers as the industry becomes increasingly cutthroat. It has prompted warnings from Beijing, which urged automakers to stop the aggressive discounts in order to protect the economy. Average car prices in China have fallen by around 19% over the past t...

  The first game to feel truly cinematic is back - years after its creator left The series pioneered cinematics in gaming by blending cutting-edge cutscenes, voice acting and dynamic camera angles to create something that would have looked more at home on the big screen at the time. Metal Gear tackled themes not commonly seen in games, such as nuclear disarmament and child soldiers, and posed philosophical questions while also leveraging offbeat humour. The games would often break the fourth wall and ask players to find solutions to puzzles in unusual ways - such as looking on the back cover of the game's physical box. The series' significant place in gaming history meant fans were stunned when its creator Hideo Kojima quit game publisher Konami in an acrimonious split in 2015. One of gaming's biggest titles was left directionless - and there's been no game in the best-selling series since. But now, a decade later, Konami has released a remake of the third game in the s...

'It's almost like a weapon': How the blonde bombshell has symbolised desire and danger Western culture, she says, has built a whole mythology around female blondeness − from religious iconography and fairy tales, to art and advertising − that has told specific stories about what it means to be blonde. In cinema's early years, comedies such as Platinum Blonde (1931) and Bombshell (1933), starring Jean Harlow, embedded concepts of the dazzling, devastatingly beautiful blonde into the cultural vernacular. "The idea that you're a bombshell, it's almost like a weapon," says Nead. "On the one hand, it is this kind of ideal, but at the same time, it's also threatening."   Before Harlow, there was another − more natural-looking − blonde on the scene: Mary Pickford, whose amber curls helped earn her the moniker of "America's Sweetheart". But while Pickford played the guileless girl waiting to be rescued, Harlow's peroxide blonde ...

Canada intends to recognise Palestinian state at UN General Assembly: Carney Canada plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday, a dramatic policy shift that was immediately rejected by Israel. Carney said the move was necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a long-standing Canadian goal that was "being eroded before our eyes." "Canada intends to recognise the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025," the prime minister said. It makes Canada the third country, following recent announcements by France and the United Kingdom, that could recognise a Palestinian state in September. Carney said the worsening suffering of civilians in Gaza left "no room for delay in coordinated international action to support peace." Israel blasted Canada's announcement as part of a "distor...

Third round of Bangladesh-US tariff talks begins in Washington The third round of formal discussions between Bangladesh and the United States on tariff-related issues began in Washington on Tuesday at 2:00 pm local time. Earlier, an informal session was held at 12:30 pm, with discussions scheduled to continue until 5:30 pm.The next round of talks will resume on Wednesday at 9:00 am local time.The Bangladesh delegation, led by Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin, arrived in Washington on Tuesday morning. The delegation also includes National Security Adviser to the Chief Adviser and High Representative on the Rohingya Crisis Dr Khalilur Rahman, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Dr Nazneen Kauser Chowdhury.Officials from different ministries and departments in Dhaka are also participating virtually.The US side is being led by Assistant Trade Representative Brendan Lynch, accompanied by officials from trade and customs-related departm...

Caitlin Clark stalker sentenced to more than 2 years in prison A Texas man who sent harassing online messages to basketball superstar Caitlin Clark has been sentenced to serve 2.5 years in prison. Michael Lewis, 55, was arrested in January in Indianapolis, only one mile away from where Clark's team, the Indiana Fever, play their matches. Authorities said that Lewis sent hundreds of threatening and sexually explicit messages to Clark over the course of a month. Clark told police she had to alter her appearance in public due to her fear of the threats. Lewis denied to police that the posts were threatening, saying that he was writing them for "just the same reason everybody makes posts". He also told police that he had "an imaginary relationship" with Clark. During a contentious court hearing on Monday, Lewis told the judge that he wanted Clark to "be safe", aimed to point out holes in her security and claimed he had "never threatened her, I've ...