Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

China’s producer price inflation accelerated in August, with factory-gate prices rising 3.8% year on year as energy costs remained elevated amid supply risks linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the producer price index increased from 3.5% in July, exceeding the 3.6% rise forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. Consumer price growth also strengthened. The consumer price index rose 0.8% from a year earlier, up from 0.5% in July and in line with expectations. On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.4%, reversing a 0.1% decline in July…

Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz have drawn attention at the Venice Film Festival with Bunker, a psychological thriller in which the real-life husband and wife play a couple whose marriage begins to fracture under pressure. Directed by Florian Zeller, the film had its world premiere in competition on Tuesday. The 126-minute production, made in English and Spanish, also stars Stephen Graham and Paul Dano. Bardem plays Miguel, a celebrated Spanish architect living in London with his publisher wife, Sofia, played by Cruz, and their two daughters. Their apparently comfortable life begins to unravel when Miguel accepts a lucrative commission from…

The United Nations General Assembly has backed a resolution encouraging wider use of the Equal Earth projection, a world map designed to show the relative size of continents more accurately than the familiar Mercator map. The non-binding measure was approved on 4 September 2026 by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions. It does not outlaw the Mercator projection or require countries, schools or mapmakers to replace it. Equal Earth projection backed by UN Equal Earth is an “equal-area” projection, meaning it preserves the relative size of land masses when the globe is represented on a flat surface. Under the…

Young visitors to the September 11 memorial in New York have described the attacks as a subject surrounded by uncertainty and conspiracy theories, highlighting the growing challenge of preserving an event that is now a quarter of a century old. At the memorial in Lower Manhattan, where two reflecting pools mark the footprints of the World Trade Centre towers, some people born after the attacks said they were unsure what had happened on September 11, 2001. Enrique Subiran, 25, from Spain, visited the site with Maria Nieto, 23. He said the attacks remained significant but added that he was not…

Blanche d’Alpuget, the Australian author and widow of former prime minister Bob Hawke, has died aged 82, her family has announced. The award-winning writer asked her family to share a final message to Australia. It read: “Our highest calling and greatest achievement is love, the rule of life. Love one another.” D’Alpuget is survived by her son, Louis Pratt, from her first marriage to diplomat and journalist Tony Pratt, along with three stepchildren and several step-grandchildren. Her death comes seven years after Hawke, who led Australia from 1983 to 1991 and died aged 89 in May 2019. The couple had…

Microsoft is introducing age-awareness APIs for Windows 11 that will allow applications to identify whether a user is a child, teenager or adult without being given their full date of birth. The system uses information linked to a Microsoft account and returns broad age categories, including under 10, 10 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 to 17 and 18 or over. Microsoft says the approach is designed to provide apps with only the age information needed for a particular feature, rather than exposing sensitive personal details. Developers will be able to use the GetUserAgeRangeAsync function to retrieve a user’s age…

The United Nations General Assembly has backed a non-binding resolution encouraging the use of the Equal Earth projection, a world map designed to represent the relative size of continents more accurately. The measure passed on 4 September with 164 countries in favour, the United States opposed and six abstentions. ([please.untaint.us](https://please.untaint.us/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpress.un.org%2Fen%2F2026%2Fga12779.doc.htm&utm_source=openai)) Sponsored by Togo and supported by the African Union, the resolution seeks to challenge the dominance of the Mercator projection, which has been widely used since the 16th century. Equal Earth map backed by UN vote Mercator was developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for maritime navigation. It preserves direction,…

Australia’s first NFL regular-season game is prompting a feast of American-inspired comfort food, with fans preparing fully loaded snacks for Friday’s meeting between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. The historic fixture will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday 11 September, giving supporters a chance to turn the occasion into an all-day celebration built around indulgent, shareable dishes. Loaded snacks for the NFL’s Melbourne debut The food line-up puts fries firmly at the centre, alongside stacked favourites designed for casual eating while the game unfolds. The emphasis is on generous portions, bold toppings and familiar…

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of ordering “senseless terror” after Russian missiles struck Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, killing civilians just days after a temporary pause in attacks during US-led peace efforts. At least two people were killed and 10 injured in the capital, where explosions were heard for almost five hours. Buildings were damaged and fires broke out across several districts, while a residential block was among the sites hit. Ukraine said its air defences destroyed 31 of 32 Russian cruise missiles during the assault. However, ballistic missiles penetrated the country’s defences, highlighting Kyiv’s continuing shortage of interceptors…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has openly endorsed using America’s financial strength as a foreign policy instrument, saying Washington can deploy its balance sheet to build alliances and influence political and economic outcomes abroad. Speaking at the SMU Cox School of Business in Dallas on Tuesday, Mr Bessent said the administration’s objective was to create stronger allies in the Western Hemisphere. “I believe that I can use the balance sheet of the US for foreign policy,” he said. He pointed to Argentina as an early example, saying President Javier Milei’s government had “sound policies”. The United States established a currency…