Haze turns Indonesia skies orange, shuts schools in East Timor

Inquirer.net - Oct 15, 2026

PALANGKARAYA, Indonesia – Thick haze turned the skies in Indonesia’s Palangkaraya apocalyptic shades of yellow and orange on Thursday, reducing visibility to a few dozen metres as wildfires cause a regional air pollution crisis. Kuala Lumpur topped monitoring site IQAir’s ranking of most polluted major global cities by Thursday, followed closely by Singapore, and with

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Katie Zacharia's debut shows pitfalls and possibilities of White House press secretary's role
Oct 15, 2026
Katie Zacharia's debut shows pitfalls and possibilities of White House press secretary's role

President Donald Trump's new press secretary stepped to the podium, the eyes of a packed room of journalists — and many in their audiences — upon her. She smiled broadly at the sea of faces both probing and friendly. With that, Katie Zacharia went live and became the official voice of the world's most powerful person. Fourteen minutes and just three questioners later, she was done. In the aftermath, it was clear that the former Newsmax commentator accomplished at least one thing: She put the “brief” back in briefing. In her debut Tuesday, Zacharia looked downward and often read directly from a script. She paused and grinned when she uttered the words “Department of War.” She stumbled on a question about her background and mixed up the words “husband” and “president.” The few questions she took were nonconfrontational and from media outlets that have been sympathetic to the Republican president. In short: She made no memorable impression — or at least, to hear some tell it, not the one she likely wanted. This would not be an easy job under any circumstances. Trump m

The first new sunscreen type in 25 years has arrived on US store shelves
Oct 15, 2026
The first new sunscreen type in 25 years has arrived on US store shelves

WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than a quarter-century, Americans have a new option when shopping for sunscreen: a skin-protecting chemical that’s long been a go-to option in Europe and other parts of the world. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved bemotrizinol — sometimes called BEMT — in June. The first sunscreens containing it are now hitting U.S. store shelves, including formulas from Neutrogena and other manufacturers. Dermatologists say the chemical fills an important market gap by offering broad protection, like the most well-established sunscreen ingredients, but without their cosmetic downsides, including white streaking. BEMT has decades of safety data behind it, including studies showing it has minimal absorption into the skin. That’s been a concern with some older sun-blocking chemicals. “It’s not a brand-new ingredient that you’re going to be the first person to try,” said Dr. Jennifer Stein, a dermatologist at NYU Langone Health. Here’s what to know: New ingredient offers broad protection without streaks To be effective, sunscreens must pr

Cornell president admits he never followed up on gang rape allegation ahead of no-confidence debate
Oct 15, 2026
Cornell president admits he never followed up on gang rape allegation ahead of no-confidence debate

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff knew in 2024 that a student had reported being gang raped at a fraternity house, but never followed up to learn what had happened to her or whether any of the accused students had been punished. In an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, a day before Cornell’s Faculty Senate was set to begin debating a no-confidence resolution in his administration, Kotlikoff acknowledged that he did not know until recently that the woman had dropped out of Cornell or that students had been expelled or suspended over the incident. Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations involving drug use and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house in a November 2024 message to the Cornell community, saying criminal and university investigations were underway. He subsequently convened a presidential task force to examine how Cornell handles sexual assault, but said this week that he never followed up to learn the outcomes of the criminal or Title IX investigations into the woman’s allegations. Case has drawn

Wall Street tumbles as hot inflation data feeds worries about Fed rate hikes
Oct 15, 2026
Wall Street tumbles as hot inflation data feeds worries about Fed rate hikes

Hotter-than-expected inflation data sent Wall Street tumbling on Wednesday, with worries about more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve pummeling shares of Oracle, CoreWeave and other AI stocks sensitive to higher borrowing costs. Increased bets that the Fed will have to further hike rates to tame inflation dealt a sharp blow to some of the market's biggest gainers of 2026. Oracle lost 7.3 percent, while AI-infrastructure firms CoreWeave and Nebius tumbled 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Dell dropped 12 percent and Hewlett Packard Enterprise lost 7.6 percent after Barclays downgraded the AI server makers to "equal-weight" from "overweight." The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index dropped almost 4 percent, down for a sixth straight session and on track for its longest losing streak since May 2025. US consumer prices accelerated in September as the cost of gasoline surged and price pressures broadened beyond energy, data from the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics showed. Interest rate traders are pricing in a 37 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates at i

Oil prices gain on attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iran's new tactics to target tankers
Oct 15, 2026
Oil prices gain on attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iran's new tactics to target tankers

NEW YORK — Oil prices rose on Wednesday after the Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco's headquarters and Iran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships and keep oil prices high. Brent crude futures were up 87 cents, or 0.82 percent, at $106.56 a barrel by 1:25 p.m. ET (1725 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.46, or 1.55 percent, to $95.60, touching a three-week high. Attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-allied Houthis are driving up oil prices, said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with the Price Futures Group. "We're seeing a lot of fear trade today," he added. Iranian officials declined to provide details of the new strategy to target ships, but one said Iran had started using different offensive tactics about 10 days ago. Gulf oil flows excluding Iran surged in September to more than 81 percent of prewar levels, data showed, led by a recovery in Saudi exports. Iranian exports fell to zero owing to a U.S. blockade. "More crude reaching international markets does not necessarily mean more oil is being produced," Saxo

US stocks drop to their worst day since July as inflation worsens
Oct 15, 2026
US stocks drop to their worst day since July as inflation worsens

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks dropped to their worst day since July on Wednesday following the latest signal that inflation is getting worse. The S&P 500 sank 1.1 percent for a fifth loss in the six days since setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points, or 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.9 percent as stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry led the way lower. Stocks felt pressure from rising yields in the bond market, where worries grew after a report said U.S. consumers had to pay prices for fuel, food and other costs of living last month that were 3.7 percent higher overall than a year earlier. That means inflation accelerated from its 3.4 percent rate in August and was worse than the 3.6 percent that economists expected. Inflation has remained more painful than anyone would like since the economy catapulted out of the crevasse created by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s accelerated recently in part because of jumps in fuel prices caused by the war with Iran, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude added 0.4 percent Wednesday to $106.06. Tha

Zelenskyy says 'we count' on US partnership, urges Starlink switch-on
Oct 15, 2026
Zelenskyy says 'we count' on US partnership, urges Starlink switch-on

LONDON — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine counts on its partnership with the United States despite agreeing he felt betrayed by President Donald Trump over an "energy ceasefire" and Russian diesel deal. In London — where he received a highly symbolic show of support from the British government — Zelenskyy also called on U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk to restore the Starlink system used on the battlefield, which Kyiv says has been slowed down. After meeting King Charles III, Zelenskyy told U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Downing Street that Ukraine had endured "massive attacks today and it is a pity we had also some difficulties," a reference to strained ties with Washington. Ukraine has accused the U.S. of helping Russia by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes and hobbling its military response through changes to the Starlink system it uses on the battlefield. "We count on (our) partnership with the United States," Zelenskyy told Burnham during remarks captured on camera before a closed-door bilateral meeting. "We just want to be very honest,

Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia faces scrutiny over claims she's a lawyer
Oct 15, 2026
Trump press secretary Katie Zacharia faces scrutiny over claims she's a lawyer

NEW YORK — The new White House press secretary is facing mounting questions about her background and resume as she transitions into her role as the public face of the Trump administration. Katie Zacharia has long described herself as a lawyer as she has worked to establish herself as a commentator for conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax. But so far, she and the White House have offered no evidence that she passed the bar exam in any state or in China, where she worked for a large law firm years ago. The questions add to the confusion surrounding President Donald Trump's decision to hire Zacharia, who had worked for his social media company for only a few months when he announced her appointment and whose debut at the podium on Tuesday has been widely panned. Afterward, the president was asked by reporters where Zacharia had passed the bar exam, following a report by the independent outlet Popular Information that she did not appear to be licensed in any state. Trump stepped aside to allow Zacharia to answer. “When I moved to China," she responded over the sound of Marine On

Trump claims again Korea to invest in Alaska LNG project under trade deal
Oct 15, 2026
Trump claims again Korea to invest in Alaska LNG project under trade deal

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Korea will invest $50 billion in a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska as part of an investment agreement with Washington, despite uncertainty over Seoul's participation. "This 50 Billion Dollar Infrastructure Investment from The Republic of Korea is part of their Trade and Investment Deal with me," Trump wrote on Truth Social, while describing his visit to Alaska for a campaign rally on Tuesday. The remarks were the latest from the Trump administration claiming that Korea is committed to the Alaska LNG project. Seoul has maintained that its participation remains subject to a commercial viability review. Trump also said that Taiwan has agreed to invest $4.4 billion in equity into the project, calling it the "greatest project in Alaska history." White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia also said Tuesday that $54 billion was tied to the Alaska LNG project as part of a Korean energy investment package. "President Trump also unveiled a Korea energy investment package of up to $200 billion in the United States.

Iran-backed Houthis strike Saudi oil company Aramco's headquarters, officials say
Oct 15, 2026
Iran-backed Houthis strike Saudi oil company Aramco's headquarters, officials say

CAIRO — Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in an overnight strike, two regional officials said Wednesday, damaging the offices of the firm’s chief executive and other top officials. The strike, in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran, was the latest demonstration of the Houthis' ability to attack high-profile targets. There were no casualties in the attack, which the officials said damaged the building's top three floors. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter with the media. The Houthis had warned earlier they were targeting Dhahran with a ballistic missile. Late Wednesday evening, Houthi-run broadcaster al-Masirah reported strikes on the capital Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia. The Saudi coalition has not commented on the strikes. The sight of smoke rising from some of Saudi Arabia’s most sensitive facilities in recent days has rattled the region and global markets while increasing questions for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he's evaluating whether the U.S. s

US producer prices post big gains after consumer price rise
Oct 15, 2026
US producer prices post big gains after consumer price rise

WASHINGTON — Following Tuesday's report on consumer price inflation, the U.S. Labor Department released a separate report on Thursday showing producer prices in the United States shot up by much more than expected in the month of September. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand jumped by 1.3 percent in September after rising by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in August. Economists had expected producer prices to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. The report also said the annual rate of growth by producer prices surged to 6.3 percent in September from an upwardly revised 5.6 percent in August. The annual rate of growth was expected to hold steady at the 5.4 percent originally reported for the previous month.

School roof collapse kills at least 34, injures more than 50 in Pakistan
Oct 15, 2026
School roof collapse kills at least 34, injures more than 50 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The roof of a private school collapsed in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, killing at least 34 children and a teacher and injuring more than 50 other people in the deadliest incident of its kind in the country, authorities and a hospital official said. The children killed or injured at Al-Khair school were between 6 and 12 years old, while the oldest was 14, Lady Reading Hospital spokesman Mohammad Asim said. Some of the injured were in critical condition, he said. The hospital declared an emergency as medical staff treated the wounded. Hours after the collapse in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, rescue officials said that everyone trapped beneath the rubble had been pulled out and crews were clearing the debris. Mahwish Zaman, an injured teacher speaking from a hospital bed, said that the three-story school had an estimated 1,200 students enrolled in nursery through fifth grade. She told The Associated Press that she was in her classroom when the roof collapsed and felt as if the sky had fallen. She regained consciousn

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