Seven Palestinians, including two children, have been detained by Israeli forces in overnight and predawn raids across the West Bank, according to Palestinian local sources.

Israeli settlers separately assaulted a Palestinian man and his wife on their own farmland on Saturday.

The couple was attacked in the al-Zarqa area of Beitillu, northwest of Ramallah, when a group of settlers stormed the farm where they were working, leaving both with injuries and bruising that required hospital treatment.

The latest settler attacks and raids by Israeli forces are a single day’s snapshot of activity now unfolding “in every direction” across the occupied West Bank, said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah.

Odeh said Israeli military jeeps were roaming constantly through Ramallah on Saturday, as soldiers used tear gas inside a supermarket in the city. This level of everyday disruption, she said, has become difficult to separate from the settlement expansion driving it.

Settlers have erected another illegal outpost this week, Odeh added, the 12th such construction in the past seven days alone.

The military raids that produced Saturday’s detentions spanned three governorates at once. In Tubas, forces searched a family home in the town of Tammun and detained a 16-year-old; in Nablus, four Palestinians were picked up in predawn raids on the villages of Urif, Einabus and Burqa; and in Bethlehem, a second 16-year-old was detained in Wadi Fukin, with another man held at the Container Checkpoint.

In the nearby town of Asira ash Shamaliya, troops went further still, storming dozens of homes overnight and converting one house into a makeshift field interrogation centre, security sources told Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Further south, in Khashem al-Daraj near Hebron, Israeli forces chased down and detained 11 workers, beating them in the process, according to local activist Osama Makhamreh.

Israeli settlers, meanwhile, were active on parallel fronts.

In Surif, near Hebron, residents from the Bat Ayin outpost set fire to one car, damaged another, and sprayed racist graffiti on a house, the town’s mayor, Hazem Ghneimat, said.

Later on Saturday, three young Palestinian men were assaulted with pepper spray on the road between al-Mughayyir and Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, after settlers rammed their vehicle with an all-terrain vehicle – an attack that village council head Amin Abu Aliya said has become almost a daily occurrence along that stretch of road.

In Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, Israeli authorities forced three residents to demolish their own homes rather than face the fines and costs of a state-led demolition, which, Palestinians say, is a practice used routinely to sidestep Israel’s near-total refusal to grant them building permits.

Saturday’s events fit a pattern that rights monitors have been documenting for months. Palestinian sources recorded more than 11,000 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank in the first half of this year alone, with Hebron, Ramallah and Nablus the worst affected.

The figures echo recent United Nations warnings – including from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has said settler violence and forced displacement are accelerating alongside plans to expand and legalise outposts, all of which the UN maintains have no legal validity under international law.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham added his own criticism on Saturday, calling the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Palestine “unacceptable” and saying his government was weighing further measures on Israeli settlements, including possible restrictions on arms exports.

United States President Donald Trump has criticised his own Department of Justice after it decided to drop criminal charges against a former Olympic athlete for the alleged vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.

Trump voiced his opposition to the decision on Saturday, a day after US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced she was dismissing the charges against 67-year-old competitive canoeist David Hearn.

Pirro said the damage was the result of “a botched installation and not vandalism”, contradicting both her own previous statements and claims made following Hearn’s June 19 arrest.

On Saturday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social page that he disagreed “100 percent” with Pirro, although he did not directly reference Hearn. Instead, he maintained that vandalism had been committed at the Reflecting Pool.

“To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM,” Trump wrote. “There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!”

He followed his statement by posting a video showing an individual, though not Hearn, sticking a hand into the Reflecting Pool.

He also shared a photo of the numbers “86 47” etched into the lawn of the nearby National Mall, which has been interpreted as a call to “86” — or “nix” — the 47th president by removing him from his office.

There is no evidence that the numbers on the lawn are related to the Reflecting Pool, which has become a major political flashpoint for Trump.

Through a series of controversial renovation projects, Trump has sought to physically transform Washington, DC, including by resurfacing the pool.

He initially used the pool’s condition and previous renovation projects to criticise past presidents.

But his own attempt to fix the Reflecting Pool instantly attracted scrutiny, particularly after Trump hand-picked a company he had previously used in a private capacity.

It had never before received a government contract, and the multimillion-dollar deal was awarded without a competitive bidding process, as is standard.

Upon the renovation’s completion, problems soon emerged. The Reflecting Pool’s new lining quickly appeared to peel, and algae blooms sprouted in early June.

Trump repeatedly blamed the situation on “vandals”. The announcement of at least seven arrests connected to the pool sparked accusations of political scapegoating.

Hearn, who represented the US three times at the Olympics, emerged as the most high-profile case.

The athlete said he was bicycling past the Reflecting Pool when he stopped, reached in and felt the peeling sealant. He has denied committing any vandalism, with his lawyers calling his arrest an attempt to distract from the shoddy renovation work.

Pirro, a former Fox News host and Trump loyalist, had initially accused Hearn of “forcefully and violently” ripping the pool’s liner, decrying his actions as “an affront to the dignity of our shared history”.

In their court filings, federal prosecutors alleged that the damage Hearn caused exceeded $1,000, justifying federal charges.

They further claimed that all of the damage done to the Reflecting Pool had been caused by vandals.

Pirro struck a far different tone in her filing on Friday. She claimed she had received new information, leading her to dramatically pivot.

“It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the [Department of Interior] provided additional documents to the [US Attorney’s Office for Washington, DC] indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor,” Pirro wrote.

The Department of the Interior’s documents, she continued, showed “that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism”.

Pirro further blamed the damage on pressure to finish the project by July 4, a date that coincides with US Independence Day and the country’s 250th anniversary.

“The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” Pirro wrote.

SHANIA Twain has recalled being “kicked around” by her parents as she shared harrowing details of her abusive childhood.

Thanks to her catchy songs, the legendary singer has paved the way to huge female stars, including Taylor Swift – but behind the glittery cowboy boots lies a tragic past with childhood poverty and abuse.

The star, 60, explained her parents loved each other but they fought a lot, and they got violent often.

She said she witnessed brutal fights between her mother, Sharon, and stepfather, Jerry Twain, and that their violence often included her and her sisters, Jill and Carrie Ann, who were “smacked” and “kicked around a lot.”

Shania said on NPR’s Wild Card with Rachel Martin podcast: “If I was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, definitely. I mean, both my parents were pretty harsh physically.”

She added: “‘It was very violent. So my mom, you know, she would lose clumps of hair.

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“She was bruised often in the face and… it was pretty bad sometimes.

“I mean, our house would shake. Those walls would shake.

“It’s very traumatic. It gets loud and scary, like a really bad thunderstorm.”

It’s not the first time Shania has spoken about the violence within her childhood.

Shania was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1965, one of three girls to parents Sharon and Clarence Edwards.

However her parents divorced when Shania was two and her mother’s second husband, Jerry Twain, adopted the sisters.

Their home life was wrecked by poverty, with Shania and her sisters often going to school hungry.

So when Sharon spotted her daughter had a talent for music, she knew she had found a way to make money to help the family.

“Really, my mother was the one that made me get on stage,” Shania recently told The Independent. “I did not want to be in the spotlight. I was petrified of it.” 

From just eight, Shania would be woken up to perform in bars after midnight.

“I would go to do the after-hours set and everyone was already intoxicated,” the five-time Grammy winner revealed.

“It was not fun,” Shania continued of those early shows. “I had school the next day, and my parents would often fight.”

Shania quickly learned that if she came back home with no money from her gigs it meant trouble.

“If I didn’t earn anything from it, it was going to be a domestic problem,” Shania explained.

“We were living hand to mouth.”

Tragically, Jerry wasn’t just violent towards wife Sharon, once beating her unconscious.

Shania recalled how her cruel stepfather would also make her walk around the house topless and touch her inappropriately.

“He just had issues… It was like he was two people,” she told 60 Minutes. 

“I would get physically involved sometimes with my parents’ fights… I just thought that he would kill her. One of these times – he was gonna kill her.”

“I hid myself and I would flatten my boobs,” she told The Sunday Times in an emotional interview.

“I would wear bras that were too small for me, and I’d wear two, play it down until there was nothing girl about me. Make it easier to go unnoticed.”

“It was terrible – you didn’t want to be a girl in my house.”

Aged 22, Shania was about to get her big break when her parents were both tragically killed in a car crash.

She had to return home to care for her younger siblings and Shania became ”a single mum overnight,” she recalled.

She added: “It was a very touch and go period in my life.

“It was a lot of pressure. I barely slept.”

But despite the setbacks, Shania didn’t give up on her dream.

Once her sisters were old enough, she compiled a demo tape to present to Nashville music execs and within a few months they had snatched her up.

It was the first step to Shania finally becoming the international country pop superstar the world knows today. 

PORTLAND, Ore. — Sophie Cunningham said she’s unconcerned that the rallies against transgender participation in women’s sports that have accompanied the Indiana’s Fever’s recent games are a distraction for the WNBA team.

Cunningham made the comments before the Fever’s game Friday night against the Portland Fire. Outside, a group rallied for the second consecutive game in support of Cunningham and her recent comments about transgender athletes.

“I think at the end of the day, I come in and I do my job,” Cunningham said. “I think everyone who knows me personally, they know that I’m full of love. I’m bubbly. I love the people around me. I love basketball. I love inspiring the next generation and doing that in a positive light. And so that doesn’t even cross my mind. Doesn’t cross my teammates’ minds.

“And again, I’m here to play basketball, but I’m also here to be me, and I’m not gonna like shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don’t agree with that.”

Portland’s rally came after a similar rally for Cunningham earlier in the week before the Fever’s game at the Seattle Storm. Both rallies only attracted about two dozen participants and a bevy of onlookers.

“I have honestly had nothing to do with them,” Cunningham said. “I think it’s people just practicing their rights of freedom of speech and doing what other fans have been doing since the WNBA has started. And so props to them, props to everyone who is able to be competent and be bold and courageous enough to to speak their truths.”

People rally in Portland to support WNBA star Sophie Cunningham after her comments on transgender athletes in women’s sports.

(Craig Mitchelldyer / Associated Press)

Another rally was planned for Sunday in Minneapolis when the Fever play the Minnesota Lynx.

In Seattle on Tuesday, two Cunningham supporters sat courtside at Climate Change Arena holding signs. A co-owner of the Storm, Celeste Keaton was later fined an undisclosed amount and suspended for five games by the WNBA for an exchange with the two supporters.

The Storm also apologized for the incident, but did not provide details about the exchange, releasing a statement that said: “We remain committed to creating a welcoming and respectful environment for anyone who attends a Storm game.”

The Seattle rally promoted statewide ballot initiative, IL26-638, that would bar transgender students from participating in girls’ athletics at Washington schools. It also praised Cunningham, who voiced support for barring transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports in recent interviews.

“I am here to be a cheerleader for Sophie Cunningham, who has so bravely put her head above the parapet to protect women and girls in our sports and in our locker rooms,” said Amy Souza, who was among those at the Portland rally. “I was an organizer of this event, I was a co-organizer of the Seattle event. I’m also here, standing in solidarity with those teen girls who, unfortunately, were harassed when they were just trying to be fans of the sport, fans of Sophie Cunningham.”

Cunningham was booed by the Moda Center crowd in Portland when she entered the game midway though the first quarter. Many waved small pink, blue and white transgender flags.

The Fever defeated the Fire 112-98 for their fifth straight win. Cunningham finished with 13 points and Caitlin Clark had her fourth career triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Coach Stephanie White said she was concerned that the controversy was distracting from the team’s play.

“You know there is a frustration, of course, because we want to we want to talk about basketball and we want to continue to work on our game and we want to continue to grow as a team.,” White said. “But I also understand this is part of our growth edge as a league, right?

“It’s part of our growth as a league, and we have to to be able to manage, we have to be able to insulate as much as we can, and then we have to be able to lead with conversation.”

July 31 (Asia Today) — People Power Party floor leader Chung Jeom-sik on Friday accused South Korea’s governing party of seeking to abolish prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority to help President Lee Jae-myung avoid his criminal trials.

Chung called the proposed revision to the Criminal Procedure Act “an unprecedentedly harmful law” that would remain a disgrace in the country’s constitutional history.

He also demanded the withdrawal of a separate bill that would shorten the review period for legislation designated for fast-track consideration, calling it a measure that would turn the National Assembly into a rubber stamp.

“In a few hours, the filibuster will be forcibly ended through collusion by the broader governing bloc and this unprecedentedly harmful law will pass,” Chung said at a People Power Party floor strategy meeting.

He claimed that more than half of the public opposed eliminating prosecutors’ supplementary investigative authority but that the Democratic Party was disregarding public opinion.

The bill would bar prosecutors from conducting additional investigations after police transfer a case to them. Prosecutors would instead be able to request that police conduct further investigative work.

Supporters say the measure would complete the separation of investigative and prosecutorial authority and strengthen defendants’ rights. Opponents say it could delay investigations and weaken protections for crime victims.

Chung focused particularly on a provision governing when courts may dismiss criminal indictments.

He accused the Democratic Party of quietly adding language during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee that could make it easier to terminate the president’s pending trials.

“Is the ‘working National Assembly’ advocated by the Democratic Party merely a legislature creating an escape route to erase President Lee Jae-myung’s trials?” Chung said.

The claim that the provision was designed to end Lee’s cases represents the opposition party’s interpretation of the legislation.

Chung said ordinary citizens could suffer from inadequate or delayed investigations if prosecutors lost their supplementary investigative authority while powerful figures could escape legal scrutiny.

He described the bill as “the end of the rule of law.”

Opposition plans second filibuster

Chung also criticized a revision to the National Assembly Act scheduled to follow the criminal procedure bill.

The legislation would reduce the maximum review period for fast-track bills from 330 days to 90 days.

“This is an authoritarian law intended to turn the National Assembly more quickly into a machine that raises its hand and follows orders,” Chung said.

The fast-track system was introduced to prevent legislation from being blocked indefinitely while preserving time for negotiations among political parties.

Chung said the Democratic Party’s proposal would destroy that balance and encourage the hasty passage of legislation.

“There is a saying that trying to arrive 10 minutes earlier can send you 10 years too soon,” he said. “If legislation is rushed, the country could suffer lasting consequences.”

He called the proposal a “rubber-stamp National Assembly law” and said it should be withdrawn.

The People Power Party planned to begin a second filibuster immediately after debate ended on the Criminal Procedure Act revision.

Choi Eun-seok, the party’s senior floor spokesperson, said the filibuster against the National Assembly Act revision was expected to begin at about 5 p.m.

Chung also rejected a demand from Democratic Party members of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee that People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook be removed from the committee.

He called the demand an improper attempt to interfere with the opposition party’s committee assignments.

“The Democratic Party must abandon its authoritarian belief that the National Assembly is its property or its plaything,” Chung said.

Election commission investigation

The People Power Party said it would move quickly to establish a recommendation committee for a special counsel investigation of the National Election Commission.

The National Assembly approved the investigation bill Thursday through an agreement between the governing and opposition parties.

The investigation is expected to examine a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections and other allegations involving the election commission.

Choi said the party was reviewing potential candidates from several perspectives.

“We will work to establish the recommendation committee and launch the investigation as quickly as possible,” he said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260731010011674

On Fleming, who, like Root, holds national records for matches and wins as Test captain, he added: “I’ve admired him from afar, first as a player and recently as a coach. To get the chance to work together is going to be great fun.

“Once I’d spoken to Stephen about it and saw his energy and excitement for it and saw we’re very aligned on it, I got excited very quickly.”

Root and Fleming inherit a side in disarray, with series defeats in Australia and at home by New Zealand – which brought criticism of England’s carefree playing style – coupled with a run of off-field disciplinary issues bringing the Bazball era to a disappointing conclusion when captain Stokes retired in June and coach Brendon McCullum was sacked a fortnight later.

The duo had previously overseen a resurgence in the Test side, winning 10 of their first 11 matches, and Root hopes he and Fleming can take inspiration from their tenure, rather than starting from scratch.

“Hopefully we can work and build on a lot of the good things that have happened over the last four years,” Root said.

“I think Brendon and Ben did a brilliant job, in many ways, of turning things around and getting us in a position where hopefully now we can carry that forward in a slightly different way.”

Expanding on his approach to his second captaincy in an in-house interview with the England & Wales Cricket Board, Root said: “The last four years have been the most fun I’ve had in professional cricket and a big part of that was down to the way they [McCullum and Stokes] got me to see the game.

“Clearly, the last little while is probably what’s fresh in everyone’s mind but you’re looking at a four-year period where we did a lot of amazing things. I’ve taken a lot from that and I feel it will be a big part of how I want to approach things moving forward as a leader of this team.

“The thing that stands out the most for me is the shift in mindset that was created around how we want to play the game – trying to strip the fear away from things, make sure guys feel that they can really just allow their talent to come out as frequently as possible and in big moments in games. The more that can happen, the better.

“If we can do that alongside recognising when the right time is to put pressure back on teams, or when the right time is to soak it up and to maybe play situations slightly differently, become a little bit smarter in certain areas, then I think we’ll be a very formidable team and a very difficult team to break down and to beat.”

Viewers have been left furious over the Channel 4 announcement, ahead of upcoming documentary The Great ADHD Myth?

An upcoming Channel 4 documentary has been blasted by viewers for suggesting a “dangerous” message.

The broadcaster has announced a programme on ADHD, titled The Great ADHD Myth?, which has sparked immense backlash.

The documentary, according to Channel 4, “seeks to determine whether ADHD is a genuine neurodevelopmental disorder, or a social construct”.

It apparently asks: “With so many questions on what ADHD is, should we really be giving so many children powerful psychiatric drugs to medicate it?”

This comes after the NHS released information about the number of people affected by ADHD. Data from May 2025 reports that it is estimated that 2,498,000 people in England have ADHD, including those without a diagnosis.

Of those, an estimated 741,000 are children and young people aged between five and 24. The report also stated that in March 2025, up to 20,000 people were newly referred for an ADHD assessment to mental health services, an increase of 13.5% from the previous year.

The Channel 4 programme, featuring NHS psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton, will be looking into “why” the traits of ADHD exist.

A press release for The Great ADHD Myth? States: “While the traits of ADHD undeniably exist – the question is why they exist. Is ADHD actually a neurodevelopmental disorder? Do people with ADHD have differently wired brains? Or does our world – with phones, ultra-processed food, and regimented education system – serve as the catalyst for certain responses and patterns of behaviour? And with such uncertainty around the condition, should we really be giving children mind-altering drugs to treat it?”

The documentary hears from medical experts who are questioning “the conventional narrative” around ADHD, and will follow a young family who “want to see whether holistic lifestyle changes can eliminate one boy’s use of ADHD medication”.

Dr Pemberton said: “As a psychiatrist, I’ve watched ADHD go from a diagnosis that was only occasionally made and after careful assessment, to one that is increasingly demanded and dispensed, and I wanted to understand why. There’s no doubt that the people seeking these diagnoses are genuinely struggling; that isn’t in question. What the film asks is whether ADHD is really the best explanation for that struggle and my hope is that we come away with permission to ask better questions about what modern life is doing to all of us.”

The Channel 4 announcement has left some social media users appalled, with one writing: “The endless hostility toward people with ADHD, autism, and anxiety is reaching a terrifying point.” Another said: “Who signed off on this man? I don’t even have ADHD and I’m outrageously offended.”

One person blasted: “What ableist bulls**t is this, @Channel4??” Someone else said: “More demonising and minimising those with mental health struggles. Fabulous.” One person called it “absolutely disgusting”, while another said it was “incredibly hurtful”.

Another wrote: “I don’t have ADHD, but I never thought Channel 4 would stoop so low.” Yet another echoed: “Demonising neurodivergence. What a time to be alive.” Someone else said: ““Myth? It’s not a myth if you have ADHD. What a way to frame it.”

Another person called the documentary “irresponsible and dangerous,” as someone else wrote: “As someone recently diagnosed, I am already sick and tired of ADHD being framed as “not real”. It made school utter hell for me, and impacts my day to day life. Why Channel 4 seem intent on pushing stuff like this I will never know.”

Other people expressed their interest in the show, with one saying: “I’ve been diagnosed and I wonder this too!” Someone else said: “The outrage this has caused illustrates why it is needed. No diagnostic neurodevelopmental process has ever been established as constitute of ADHD, despite what is implied and many have been led to believe. The question posed by the doc, then, is entirely legitimate.”

In a statement, a Channel 4 spokesperson said: “This documentary does not deny the lived experience of people with ADHD traits, but does hear from a group of senior medical and academic experts – many of whom work or have worked with the NHS or have held presidential roles at professional membership bodies – who seek to question whether ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. They also ask whether modern living has contributed to a rise in diagnoses, and whether there may be better alternatives for children than medication.”

Nylah Moore has been a standout flag football and girls’ basketball player at Eagle Rock High. Now comes the arrival of her freshman sister, Cinzia, which means fans in the bleachers might want to start designing and creating signs to wave each time one or the other scores a touchdown or makes a basket. It will be great exercise for the arms considering how many times the two figure to come through this season.

Nylah, who is 5-foot-11, is Eagle Rock’s versatile quarterback and scoring guard. She helped Eagle Rock to a 20-2 record last season, passing for 51 touchdowns as a junior. The basketball team went 10-0 in the Northern League. She averaged 15 points.

With the Moore sisters, Eagle Rock deserves the favorite’s role to win the City Section Open Division flag football title and compete with Birmingham and Westchester for an Open Division girls’ basketball title. Cinzia, who is 5-9, also excels in both sports.

Their mother, Christine Moore, was principal of the year at Luther Burbank Middle School in 2023 for Region 16. Coaches remember her bringing a young Nylah to sporting events years ago. Her biggest challenge will be finding time to watch her two daughters perform in two sports in her new job serving as region director for the Eagle Rock/Highland Park Network.

Eagle Rock’s rise in flag football is no surprise. The school has been able to attract multisport athletes with speed and versatility. Basketball is where this season a surprise could happen. Coach Julie Wilkins has her biggest team ever after the arrival of 5-10 Marlborough transfer Amelie Cash. She also has a 6-1 player. Since Wilkins coaches both flag football and girls’ basketball, she’s always looking for “volunteers” to play both sports (wink, wink).

That’s how the successful teams in flag football have emerged — getting players from softball, soccer, track and field, and volleyball to join the sport. And it’s working.

Monroe had 20 players come out last season. This year, at least 36 have been practicing. Coach Jose Ruiz always asks Leo Hernandez, the track and field and cross country coach, for recommendations on his athletes as potential flag football players. Now that middle schools feeding Monroe have flag football programs, the numbers are expected to continue to rise.

July 31 (Asia Today) — Japan launched its National Intelligence Bureau on Friday, creating a central command to collect government intelligence, coordinate analysis and determine national intelligence priorities.

The bureau reports directly to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and was created by upgrading the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.

It has about 730 personnel and is headed by Kazuya Hara, a former National Police Agency official who served as director of Cabinet intelligence.

Hara’s career has included assignments at Japanese embassies in Russia and the United States as well as positions in the Defense Intelligence Headquarters and the National Police Agency’s foreign affairs division.

Japan also launched a National Intelligence Council chaired by Takaichi. Its members include Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, the foreign and defense ministers, the chair of the National Public Safety Commission and other relevant Cabinet members.

The National Intelligence Bureau will serve as the council’s secretariat.

The government is expected to begin drafting Japan’s first national intelligence strategy, setting basic principles and priorities for intelligence activities. It is also considering legislation intended to counter foreign espionage.

The council will deliberate on foreign intelligence operations and information considered important to national security.

A coordinator, not an overseas spy agency

Despite its name, the National Intelligence Bureau is not designed to operate like the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Its central function is to ensure that ministries and agencies provide information in a timely manner and to integrate that material into assessments for policymakers.

The bureau will coordinate the government’s intelligence activities and provide analysis to the prime minister. It has not been granted new authority to establish independent overseas stations, recruit and manage foreign agents or conduct covert operations.

Japan already possesses extensive intelligence capabilities, but they remain divided among several government organizations.

The Foreign Ministry gathers diplomatic intelligence through Japanese missions overseas. The Defense Intelligence Headquarters handles signals, satellite and imagery intelligence.

The Public Security Intelligence Agency and the National Police Agency monitor international terrorism, foreign intelligence services and counterintelligence threats.

The new bureau will bring information collected by those organizations together, but it will not operate its own overseas human intelligence network.

Its role is therefore closer to that of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence than the CIA.

The U.S. intelligence director’s office coordinates multiple intelligence agencies and provides national intelligence assessments to the president. The CIA collects foreign human intelligence, conducts analysis and may carry out covert operations under presidential authorization.

Separate foreign intelligence service planned

The governing Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have proposed establishing a separate foreign intelligence agency by the end of fiscal 2027.

That proposal underscores the operational limitations of the National Intelligence Bureau.

A second agency would not be necessary if the new bureau already possessed capabilities comparable to those of the CIA or Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6.

What Japan established Friday was essentially an intelligence command center.

Combining diplomatic reports, satellite and signals intelligence, information supplied by allies and publicly available material could improve the speed and accuracy of government assessments.

However, detecting changes in the intentions of foreign leaders before they become visible often requires human sources inside foreign governments and institutions.

Japan’s existing ministries and agencies will continue to supply most of the information analyzed by the bureau until the government creates an organization capable of independently collecting intelligence overseas.

Oversight remains a concern

The bureau’s expanded authority has also raised questions about oversight.

During legislative deliberations, lawmakers raised concerns about privacy, political neutrality and mechanisms allowing the Diet or independent institutions to review intelligence activities after they occur.

Those questions will become more significant if Japan adopts anti-espionage legislation or establishes a foreign intelligence service.

The government would need to define who may be monitored, what information may be collected and how citizens’ rights will be protected.

The launch of the National Intelligence Bureau strengthens the central leadership of Japan’s intelligence system.

Its effectiveness, however, will still depend largely on information collected by existing ministries, agencies and allied countries.

Japan has created a larger brain for its intelligence system, but it has not yet given that system independent arms and legs capable of gathering secrets overseas.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260731010011670

Saturday’s netball results mean Jamaica and New Zealand will battle it out for the gold on Sunday during some of the final medal awards of the tournament.

England will also try to deny Australia a consolation bronze, before teams transform the Hydro from a netball court back to a gig venue for the closing ceremony on Sunday night.

The venue will be turned around in just six hours.

It has been a scaled-down version of the Games, with 215 medals awarded across 10 sports, however it has hosted a record 47 para-sports events.

Glasgow stepped in to host the tournament – for the second time in eight years – when Australian state Victoria pulled out due to soaring costs.

King Charles and Queen Camilla emerged from a Tardis during the spectacular opening ceremony last Thursday.

Flags from 74 nations and territories were carried into the arena during the event, which also featured the Loch Ness monster and performances from Nathan Evans, Tom Walker and KT Tunstall.

Who pissed off Ariana Grande? Well, who didn’t?

On her new album, “Petal,” the pop superstar opens the spigot on what she’s described as an “unfiltered rage” to blast any number of feckless exes, a prying public obsessed with her body and her personal life — and not least herself for allowing anyone the power to hurt her in the first place.

“Tell me who’s to blame — is it the people or myself?” she wonders against the icy synth stabs of the title track.

Her answer, delivered as a sneering little aside: “Yeah.”

“Petal” marks a dramatic shift from Grande’s previous LP, 2024’s “Eternal Sunshine,” a tender and melancholy electro-pop collection that laid out a kind of emotional philosophy of heartbreak. She recorded the new album with the same team — the hit-making writer-producers Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin — but here they go for a murkier, more percussive sound to match Grande’s dark mood.

Tolling electric guitar accompanies her in “Freak” as she muses on “all of the life I’ve been denied,” while “Oh Well” puts a jittery U.K. garage beat under her sneering farewell to an unnamed antagonist: “Good luck on your way to hell.” In “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 when Grande released it as “Petal’s” lead single, she sings, “I’ve held your projections when you’ve felt so insecure,” over a trudging groove that moves like a funeral march.

These downcast observations arrive at what would seem to be a professional high point for Grande, who recently wrapped her extended stay in the “Wicked”-verse and who’s in the middle of a tour that’s drawn adoring fans to arenas across the country.

But perhaps that’s the point: Almost every song on “Petal” can be interpreted two ways — as a story about a broken relationship between two people or as a tale about the toxic connection between an idol and her audience. (More than once did this record make me think about Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department.”)

“My pain is music — do you hear me everywhere?” Grande asks in “Warning Signs (Interlude),” which climaxes with a pithy diagnosis of pop stardom in the parasocial age: “You don’t deserve me / You know you don’t, you never have / But I want you to feel me / I wish someone could hear me.”

Complaints about celebrity can be pretty tedious, of course; sometimes it feels as though famous pop singers have forgotten how to write about anything other than life in the social-media fishbowl.

Yet “Petal” gets some creative traction from how Grande chooses to use her voice; instead of belting, she rarely rises above a whisper, which gives a spooky, slightly creepy quality to her thoughts on being endlessly scrutinized. The airiness of her singing provides some comedy too in a hard-edged song such as “Like I Do,” where after noting that “all that s— talk keeps me well-fed,” she tells whoever needs to hear it, “No one f— you like I do.”

Having gotten all this off her chest, Grande finishes the album by allowing in some light: Over a zippy new wave arrangement, “Bad Thing (Bunny Hop)” ponders the renewing energy of a fresh romance — or maybe a rekindled old one — while the glistening “Nowhere, Nobody” has her taking deep breaths with a lover she’s convinced might finally give her what she needs.

“Convinced” is probably the wrong word.

“Hard to believe in a perfect ending,” she admits, “But that’s all right.”

Bill (Spaceman) Lee, presidential candidate of the Rhinoceros Party, is turning his attention to the environment. According to USA Today, he’s telling people to imagine the Earth as a single-cell organism on its way to decay.

“For every smokestack in Gary, Ind., we need a Tums factory next door putting out antacid to absorb the pollution,” said Lee, a former pitcher for the Montreal Expos.

If elected, Lee said he would name writer Hunter S. Thompson as his vice president.

“Nobody knows more about vice than he does,” Lee said.

Kinerism-of-Week: The latest from New York Mets announcer Ralph Kiner: “We’ll be right back after this word from Manufacturer Hangovers.”

Said Chicago quarterback Jim McMahon, when asked about the heroics of former teammate Doug Flutie in New England’s win last Sunday: “Who? Oh, Bambi. It was great, wasn’t it? He’s America’s midget again. You guys send that quote out to New England for me.”

The Bears visit New England Oct. 30.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Mike Boddicker, on Game 3 mound opponent Bob Welch of Oakland: “He is hyper out there. He digs a hole in front of the rubber that you could hide a tiger in.”

New York Mets pitcher Ron Darling claims ABC’s Jim Palmer went too far in criticizing David Cone for writing the column that stirred up the Dodgers.

“He isn’t Mother Teresa,” Darling said of the former Baltimore pitcher.

Trivia Time: Who is the only catcher to win the Gold Glove in both the American and National leagues? (Answer below.)

80 Years Ago Today: On Oct. 8, 1908, the Chicago Cubs won the National League pennant when Mordecai (Three Finger) Brown beat Christy Mathewson, 4-2, in the playoff of the disputed game in which Fred Merkle made his memorable boner.

In the Sept. 23 game, with the score 1-1 in the ninth inning, Merkle failed to touch second base when a teammate delivered an apparent game-winning hit for the Giants. The Cubs retrieved the ball and touched second base, forcing Merkle and negating the run.

New York fans, thinking their team had won, swarmed the field, which led to the halting of the tie game. It was made up after the other teams had completed their seasons, with the Giants and the Cubs tied for first with 98-55 records.

From Baltimore outfielder Jim Traber, whose soft single broke up the second-straight no-hit bid by Toronto’s Dave Stieb: “A month from now, I’ll remember hitting .216, not breaking up a no-hitter.”

Add Forgettable Quotes: Said Lou Piniella when he was named manager of the New York Yankees June 23: “I expect to be here a good while.”

Trivia Answer: Bob Boone. He’s won Gold Gloves twice with the Philadelphia Phillies and three times with the Angels.

Quotebook

“Late Night’s” David Letterman: “Baseball was an exhibition sport in the Olympics this year–sort of like it was in Baltimore.”

Aug. 1 (UPI) — Two ransom notes sent by people claiming to be the kidnappers of Nancy Guthrie were released Friday by local police in hopes of generating new leads.

The second note, which was sent Feb. 6, told the Guthrie family that Nancy Guthrie died soon after she was kidnapped.

“We believe it was heart related,” the note said. “She is buried in nature now. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace. We are truly sorry.”

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was the mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie. She was kidnapped from her home near Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 1. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department marked six months since the kidnapping on Thursday and reiterated that the investigation is ongoing.

The family posted a new plea on Instagram Saturday.

“This is our beautiful Mom. Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since,” the post said. “Every day, we wake up and try to be strong and go on — because that’s what our joyful and resilient Mom taught us to do. But make no mistake — our hearts are in ruins.”

The post asks that people review the letters for possible recognition.

“We are begging for help. We are desperate. We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes. Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual — perhaps with someone they deeply love. … There is a way to end this situation and do the right thing. Please. Bring her home,” the post said.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department posted the emailed ransom notes on X for the public to view, as well as a list of behaviors that could signal involvement.

The first note, which was sent on Feb. 2 to a local news outlet, noted that there was a white smartwatch on the floor at the foot of her bed, and that the backyard floodlight had been destroyed. It demanded $4 million in bitcoin by Feb. 5.

“Do not play games, law enforcement will not be able to help you,” the note threatened.

In July, a California man pleaded guilty to sending phony ransom notes to the Guthrie family to harass them.

Choosing an Arctic cruise to Svalbard means comparing operators whose actual ice access, passenger capacity, and wildlife programming vary more than their brochures suggest. Polar bear sightings, walrus colonies, and ice-edge cruising depend directly on hull capability and itinerary design — not just cabin category.

What separates a genuinely strong Svalbard operator from an average one:

• Ice-class hull rating enabling pack ice approaches where bears concentrate in summer
• Passenger capacity under 200 for efficient, low-impact Zodiac landings
• Naturalist teams experienced specifically in Svalbard wildlife behavior
• All-inclusive coverage of kayaking, parka, and boot loans

7 Best Operators for Svalbard in 2026

Swan Hellenic

Travelers booking an Arctic cruise to Svalbard with Swan Hellenic choose a boutique operator purpose-built for ice-edge access. SH Diana and SH Vega carry approximately 152 guests each with PC5 Polar Class hulls, reaching the northern pack ice where polar bear sightings concentrate during summer months.

What’s included on every voyage:

• Daily Zodiac landings and ice-edge cruising
• Kayaking where conditions allow
• Expedition parka to keep, boot loans, and heated mud room
• All meals, premium beverages, and gratuities

Onboard scientists from the SETI Institute partnership frame the voyage through a scientific lens rarely found on Arctic itineraries, while glaciologists explain retreating ice fronts firsthand. At 152 guests, bear sightings rarely turn into crowded viewing scrums the way they can on larger ships.

Hurtigruten Expeditions

Lindblad Expeditions–National Geographic

Quark Expeditions

Oceanwide Expeditions

Ponant

Aurora Expeditions

What to Check Before Booking a Svalbard Voyage

Book Your Svalbard Arctic Cruise with Swan Hellenic

BRITNEY Spears bares it all while showing off her risque dance moves to fans on social media. 

The toxic hitmaker, 44, stripped off to just trousers and a hat, a day after flashing her boobs on a horse riding trip.

In a number of dance videos uploaded to the popstars Instagram page, Britney was snapped performing some racy dance moves for the camera. 

One clip saw her twerk around on the floor whilst whipping her long blonde locks back and forth. 

Dressed in a cropped pink T-shirt and mini black shorts, Britney shows off a fast paced dance routine as she moves to the track Mi Gente.

Another video shows the star outside in a bikini as she stares into the camera lens.

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Britney prances around to piano music before abruptly smacking her behind. 

The series of video clips then take an even raunchier turn with Britney posting a video of her topless. 

The singer edited symbols over her breasts to conceal her modesty as they flash on and off the screen. 

Britney goes on to move her arms in a rhythmic style dance sliding her hands across her breasts and stomach, 

What seems to be a dance routine is met with occasional chants from the Star.

In some frames the hitmaker almost exposes herself multiple times throughout the racy display. 

The Gimme More songstress turned off the comments on the post, but it has already been liked by over 60k fans. 

Britney is no stranger to going topless on her Instagram page, just a day ago the singer flashed her boobs while on a horse riding trip. 

The clip, which sent fans into a frenzy, showed Britney sitting on a horse as she exposed her chest. 

She pulled her red top down whilst basking in the sun covering her modestly simply with just two diamond emoji’s. 

Sticking her tongue out she was all smiles as she galloped through a dirt road backdrop. 

Many fans took to X reeling over the video, one user said: “I really can’t believe that Britney posted her boobs on top of a horse on Instagram.”

“Brittney spears be riding horses in Malibu, top off in just a skirt I wanna be her,” penned another. 

“That top was so hanging on for dear life, we all know Britney doesn’t wear a bra a lot,” added a third. 

Many also came to the singer’s defence, one fan commented: “Leave her alone. Let her be naked. She’s ok.”

Financial companies remained in the spotlight this week as investors digested quarterly results from payment companies, insurers, exchanges, brokers, and asset managers.

Major names including PayPal (PYPL), Visa (V), Robinhood (HOOD), S&P Global (

For California businesses, 2020 will be a year of reckoning.

Sweeping new laws curbing longtime employment practices take effect, aimed at reducing economic inequality and giving workers more power in their jobs.

Under one, companies could be forced to reclassify hundreds of thousands of independent contractors as employees with broad labor law protections. Under another, bosses could no longer force workers into closed-door arbitration proceedings, a tactic which protects businesses from costly lawsuits.

The new laws are about “job quality — what it means to work in a just workplace,” said California Labor Secretary Julie Su. “California leads the way on labor standards and we’re not going to let employers do end runs around those standards. We want to support businesses who look at their role in a holistic and humane sense.”

Many new measures, she added, are “not big splashy things, but day-to-day things.” She cited a law giving working mothers a place to express breast milk besides a bathroom. And a law making it easier for firefighters and other first responders to gain workers’ compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Other new statutes ban discrimination based on hairstyle, such as Afros, braids, cornrows and dreadlocks; grant organ donors additional guaranteed leave; and extend whistleblower protection to patient rights advocates at county mental health centers.

The California Chamber of Commerce, a leading voice for business, picked its fights. It did not list Assembly Bill 5, the independent contractor bill, on its annual “job killer” list, preferring to help negotiate for a slew of professionals, such as doctors and real estate agents, to gain exemptions.

“We felt it was important to participate in the compromise,” said Chamber President and Chief Executive Allan Zaremberg. “This is a work in progress, and it will continue to be.”

But the chamber, along with the National Retail Federation and other business groups, filed suit against Assembly Bill 51, the first-in-the-nation law preventing companies from making workers sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. And it helped defeat other bills favored by the Legislature’s labor-friendly majority, including one extending unemployment benefits to striking workers and another curbing the University of California’s ability to hire temporary workers.

“A lot of employers feel the rules are complex and tough to deal with,” Zaremberg said. “Our job is to make sure laws are reasonable and fair … and they can afford to stay in business. From that perspective, it has been a successful year.”

Here are a few of the changes coming to California workplaces in 2020:

Minimum wages

On Jan. 1, the statewide minimum wage steps up to $13 an hour for employers with more than 26 employees, and to $12 an hour for those with 26 or fewer employees. The increases are mandated by a 2016 law that gradually raises the floor to $15 an hour for nearly all workers by 2023.

Several local jurisdictions have higher minimums including the city and county of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Malibu and Pasadena, all of which will raise them on July 1 to $14.25 an hour for small employers and $15 an hour for large employers.

“People talk about prosperity and GDP growth, but that’s not enough,” Su said. “One in 3 California workers makes less than $15 an hour. That is not how we want to build an economy.”

Some 2.6 million Californians will be due a raise in January under the statewide floor, according to a UC Berkeley study. California will have the nation’s second-highest minimum next year after Washington state’s $13.50.

Meanwhile, several large businesses have already raised their floors to $15 an hour or more, including Costco, Spectrum, Amazon and Disneyland Resort.

Independent contractors

In April 2018, the California Supreme Court dropped a bomb on a vast swath of companies, from Uber and Lyft to yoga studios and hair salons, which have built their businesses on independent contractors. To classify workers as contractors rather than employees subject to minimum wage and overtime laws, companies would have to satisfy a strict three-pronged test.

Under the “ABC test,” a business may only contract with independent contractors who satisfy all three of these conditions: a) they are free from control and direction of the hiring entity; b) they perform work outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and c) they are customarily engaged in an independently established business of the same nature as that of the work involved.

The court decision set off a scramble in the Legislature. Backed by labor unions that see an opportunity to organize newly empowered employees, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) authored AB 5 to codify the decision, expanding it to areas such as workers’ compensation and unemployment and disability insurance.

Even under a previous, looser standard, state officials estimated misclassification was costing California some $7 billion a year in payroll taxes. Companies also avoid paying federal Social Security and Medicare taxes for contractors.

“Structural reform was necessary because more and more companies want to reduce their obligations,” Gonzalez said. “We’re playing whack-a-mole trying to protect workers while companies try to get more profit for shareholders.”

A lobbying frenzy led to exemptions for some professions in which workers have more negotiating power or autonomy than in low-wage jobs. Among them: lawyers, accountants, architects, dentists, insurance brokers and engineers.

But the Legislature declined to exempt app-based ride-hailing or food delivery companies, whose workers complain they often earn less than minimum wage and are subject to arbitrary dismissals. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart, arguing that they are technology companies, not transportation employers like taxi businesses, set aside $110 million to mount a ballot initiative exempting them from the law.

Supporters of AB 5, a California law requiring companies to reclassify many independent contractors as employees, rally in August in Sacramento.

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Trucking associations, freelance writers and photographers filed suits to avoid the new law’s strictures.

“AB 5 fundamentally disrupts the right of Californians to have independent working relationships with their clients or employers,” said Sen. Mike Morrell (R-Rancho Cucamonga). By favoring some industries over others, he added, “Sacramento Democrats embrace a slide towards socialism.”

Gonzalez said she is open to changes in the bill next year, including an exemption for musicians — but not for app-based ride-hailing and delivery giants. “We will continue to clarify this law, but rest assured, it won’t be repealed,” she added.

Arbitration

Former Gov. Jerry Brown twice vetoed bills to curb the exploding practice of mandatory arbitration, which allows companies to make employees resolve disputes in a private, closed-door session rather than in public court proceedings.

Brown argued that a U.S. Supreme Court decision allows the practice. And businesses contend that in conflicts over wages, discrimination, disability, harassment and other issues, arbitration saves them, and workers, the needless expense of class-action lawsuits.

But in the last year, allegations of sexual harassment and assaults by serial perpetrators, many of whom were protected by arbitration agreements, fueled public outrage, as in the cases of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves. At Google, 20,000 workers staged a global walkout demanding an end to forced arbitration. Other tech workers, including at Los Angeles’ Riot Games, followed suit.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new version of the law, which avoids invalidating existing agreements. “AB 51 just prohibits firing or threatening employees who refuse to sign,” said UC Berkeley law professor Catherine Fisk. “Forced arbitration is clearly used as a device to prevent workers from bringing claims. So it allows companies to violate the law.”

But Zaremberg argues: ”Our employment laws are more complex than those in the rest of the country. People make honest mistakes every day trying to comply with them. With arbitration, they can be resolved through an expedited process.”

An estimated 67% of California workplaces had mandatory arbitration policies in 2018, higher than the national average, and the number may have grown this year as attorneys advised companies to get ahead of the new law.

A new activist strategy this year — filing thousands of individual arbitration claims against Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Postmates — hit companies with millions of dollars in processing fees. Companies used to dealing with employee grievances one by one refused to pay. A new law, Senate Bill 707, imposes stiff penalties on businesses that stall payments, and allows workers to then take their grievances to court.

#MeToo

#MeToo scandals lent impetus to other measures besides the arbitration statute.

Under current law, workers have a year to file complaints of discrimination, harassment and retaliation in court. AB 9 extends the deadline to three years. Brown had vetoed the bill in 2018, saying claims should be filed “while memories and evidence are fresh.” Victim advocates contend a year is often insufficient for workers to come to terms with what happened to them and seek counsel.

Often companies will require a worker who gains a financial settlement for harassment or discrimination to quit his or her job. Assembly Bill 749 prohibits “no re-hire” clauses affecting the “aggrieved employee.”

Assembly Bill 547 requires training for janitors to be conducted by their peers. “We’ve seen reports of rape on the night shift,” Su said. “This law means immigrant women with lived experience will make the training real. So companies can’t just pay lip service to training, letting people go through the motions and check a box.”

Child-care workers

Home-based child-care workers are not covered by federal labor law. Now, some 40,000 private family day-care providers, paid by California to service more than 360,000 low-income children, will gain the right to bargain collectively with the state under Assembly Bill 378.

The new law sets the stage for California’s largest union election since 1997, when home-care workers were granted the right to bargain over wages and working conditions. Child-care workers, who are largely Latino and African American, earn close to minimum wage — pushing many out of the industry. The new law will lead to “creating quality jobs, not poverty jobs,” said Assemblywoman Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), the bill’s author.

Corporate diversity

Senate Bill 826, enacted last year, requires publicly traded companies headquartered in California to have at least one woman on their boards of directors by January 2020. By the end of 2021, boards with five directors must include two women, and boards with six or more directors need to include three women.

Noncompliant companies could be fined as much as $100,000.

Several European countries have similar laws. But California’s is the first U.S. board diversity mandate. When the law passed, 188 of 650 affected California companies had all-male boards, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission compiled by Clemson University scholars.

Two conservative groups, the Pacific Legal Foundation and Judicial Watch, have filed lawsuits to overturn the statute, but businesses have largely complied. According to Clemson finance professor Daniel Greene, just 32 companies had failed to add any female directors as of Dec. 26.

“I love to eat street food so much,” said Thaim chef-owner Ruethai Boonlieng. “I go back to Thailand all the time, and I always ask my friends, “Hey, don’t take me to the mall — take me to street food. It’s a true food for my soul, and people make the street food with care.”

Boonlieng’s Thaim is a portmanteau of “Thai” and “I am.” While some of her recipes are traditional — such as her mom’s preparation of Sukhothai pad Thai — others are modern spins, like brightening her sweet-spicy mango salad with fresh dill or turning her childhood favorite, egg tofu, into a deep-fried egg custard.

The chef grew up in Bangkok and learned to cook by watching her mother prepare home meals, then took pastry courses in Thailand as an adult. Boonlieng studied finance but entered the restaurant industry to help an aunt and a friend open a Thai restaurant — then discovered she loved it. She opened multiple restaurants in the Bay Area, then moved to Los Angeles to help open another and never wanted to leave.

As an owner of sweets-focused cafe U Dessert Story, with two locations in the Bay Area, Boonlieng wanted to incorporate some of her signature desserts at Thaim, too. Look for Thai tea panna cotta, matcha lava cakes and more.

Jaden Soong, a rising junior golfer at St. Francis High, charged from behind on the leaderboard to win the prestigious Junior PGA Championships in Frisco, Texas, on Friday.

He entered the final round with a two-stroke lead but was down by four strokes with nine holes to play. He regained the lead with a birdie putt at No. 17 and finished the four rounds at seven-under par.

Soong won the CIF state individual championship as a freshman. He did not compete in the CIF event this past season, focusing on traveling around the country to compete in junior tournaments.

By winning the Junior PGA, he earns an exemption to compete at the 2027 Tulum Championship on the PGA Korn Ferry Tour. The same course Soong won on will be used next year for the PGA Championship.