Headline
Canadian Rapper Sentenced To 10 Years For Shooting US Artist, Megan Thee Stallion

Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, convicted of shooting US artist Megan Thee Stallion in the feet during a drunken argument after a Hollywood party, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison.
A Los Angeles judge handed down the sentence after hearing how Lanez had ordered the hip-hop star to “Dance, bitch” as he shot at her several times while she stood on the road.
The sentencing follows Lanez’s conviction in December for assault with a semiautomatic firearm, discharging a firearm with gross negligence, and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
Prosecutors had requested a 13-year sentence, claiming Lanez had caused physical and emotional scarring to the “WAP” performer.
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Lanez’s attorneys had asked for him to be given probation or three years in prison, and mandatory rehab, including for alcohol addiction.
In a protracted sentencing hearing that began Monday, Judge David Herriford said he had received more than 70 letters on Lanez’s behalf, including from his celebrity friends.
One was from musician Iggy Azalea, whom he said had requested a sentence that was “transformational, not life-destroying.”
Another came from Lanez’s young son.
But the judge ordered Lanez — who has been in jail since his conviction — to serve a decade behind bars.
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He said the prosecution had proven two aggravating factors, involving the use of weapon and a particularly vulnerable victim, but had not proven that the crime involved a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness.
Megan Thee Stallion — whose real name is Megan Pete — had been in a car with Lanez, his bodyguard and her friend Kelsey Harris after a party at Kylie Jenner’s luxury home in July 2020.
She and Lanez — whose real name is Daystar Peterson — had developed an intimate relationship in the months before the incident.
Harris, who only learned of the sexual relationship that night, had a “crush” on Lanez, she told the court, and an argument then erupted in the car, with Megan Thee Stallion demanding to be let out of the vehicle.
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The “Savage” rapper said she saw Lanez pointing a gun at her and opening fire “after he said, ‘Dance, bitch.’”
Megan Thee Stallion told the court during the trial she felt she had “been turned into some kind of villain,” in the wake of the shooting, with the male-dominated rap world frequently seeming to be against her.
In a statement read in court Monday, she said she had not experienced “a single day of peace” since she was shot in July 2020.
“He not only shot me. He made a mockery of my trauma,” she said.
Headline
US Opposes Palestinian State Recognition, Says It’s Reward For Hamas

United States President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where they discussed differing views on the future of Gaza and Palestinian statehood.
CNN reports that Trump rejected the two-state solution to the crisis in Gaza, saying the idea portrays “reward” for Hamas.
France recently joined the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Portugal to officially recognise the Palestinian state.
Trump opened the Tuesday bilateral meeting by praising Macron’s diplomatic efforts, claiming the French leader had helped him prevent global conflicts.
“Emmanuel has actually helped me with a couple of the wars,” Trump said, in response to Macron’s recent remark that if the US president wants a Nobel Peace Prize, he should “put an end to the war in Gaza.”
When asked about Palestinian statehood, and his latest remarks, it would be a “gift to Hamas,” Trump again pushed back strongly.
“Well, I think it honors Hamas, and you can’t do that because of October 7. You can’t do that. But we want our hostages back,” Trump said.
“You always have to remember, people forget October 7 was one of the most savage days in the history of the world,” the US president said.
In response, Macron, seated beside Trump, emphasised that recognising a Palestinian state does not mean ignoring Hamas’ October 2023 attacks on Israel.
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas militant group attacked Israel, which has since launched offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation.
Headline
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Is Dead

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz, has died at the age of 82.
According to a statement from the Royal Court, the revered cleric passed away on Tuesday morning.
Born in Mecca in November 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz rose to become one of the most influential religious authorities in the Kingdom.
He served as head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.
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He was the third cleric to occupy the office of Grand Mufti after Sheikh Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Shaikh and Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz.
In its tribute, the Royal Court said King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had extended condolences to the Sheikh’s family, the people of Saudi Arabia, and the wider Muslim world.
“With his passing, the Kingdom and the Islamic world have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of science, Islam, and Muslims,” the statement read.
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A funeral prayer is scheduled to be held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh after the Asr prayer on Tuesday.
King Salman has also directed that funeral prayers be observed simultaneously at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, and in all mosques across the Kingdom.
The Grand Mufti is regarded as Saudi Arabia’s most senior and authoritative religious figure. Appointed by the King, the officeholder also chairs the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas.
Headline
Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.
The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.
Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.
In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.
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Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.
According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.
Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.
“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.
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In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.
Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.
This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.
The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.
That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.
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Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.
The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.
Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.
Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.
These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.
AFP
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