A Chinese firm is reportedly a leading contender to buy Thames Water if the heavily indebted company collapses in coming weeks.
Hong Kong’s CKI, which invests in power and other utility companies in the UK, is among those lining up to acquire the water and sewerage supplier if it enters a special administration regime (SAR), according to the Times.
It has reportedly said it would be prepared to operate under tougher penalties for environmental breaches than Thames’s class A creditors, who have put together their own purchase bid.
The creditor group has said the company cannot afford to operate with an expected £1bn of fines coming down the track, which are levied by the regulator for breaches such as illegally dumping sewage. In May, Thames was hit with a record £104m fine over environmental breaches involving sewage spills.
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, has in recent months stepped up preparations for the possibility of putting Thames into SAR – effectively a form of temporary nationalisation.
On Tuesday the government confirmed it had appointed FTI Consulting to make contingency plans for a potential collapse. The appointment indicates that FTI is the first choice to act as administrator if the government enacted an SAR, although a court would ultimately approve such a step.
Thames, which supplies 16 million customers in London and south-east England, has been racing to pull together a deal to avoid financial collapse.
The government has been trying to avoid such an outcome, with the Treasury threatening that a potential £4bn bill from the SAR could be forced on to Reed’s department. This process would ensure that the taps stayed on for customers but would heap immediate costs on to the government.
Thames faced embarrassment earlier this year when its preferred bidder, KKR, pulled out of a deal at the last minute. Now, its class A creditors, who hold the bulk of the company’s senior debt, are in talks with the regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, about a deal to inject capital into the company, which has £17.7bn of net debts and regulatory gearing of 84.4%.
CKI has previously expressed interest in buying the company and wrote to Sir Adrian Montague, the chair of Thames, when KKR pulled out earlier this summer.
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The private infrastructure giant had previously been eliminated from the process despite tabling a multibillion-pound proposal, as Thames chose KKR as a preferred bidder and entered exclusive talks with the company.
Ministers are said to be reassured by CKI’s extensive experience in operating assets at scale, such as UK Power Networks, but some MPs have raised concerns about the Beijing links of the network. The former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith previously said on social media that a CKI acquisition “should be avoided at all costs”. The Chinese government’s sovereign wealth fund owns 9% of Thames Water.
Thames Water and CKI have been contacted for comment.
Six men and three women have died in a blast at an explosives factory near the Brazilian city of Curitiba, in southern Paraná state, emergency officials say.
The explosion happened on Tuesday morning local time when a number of people were on shift in the factory.
Seven people were also injured and emergency personnel with sniffer dogs searched for the nine missing workers, but given the devastating damage at the site, Paraná’s security minister later announced that there was “no longer any hope of finding survivors”.
The company that owns the factory, Enaex, said it was investigating what could have caused the explosion.
The blast in Quatro Barras, near the state capital, Curitiba, happened just before 06:00 local time (09:00 GMT).
Residents from nearby towns reported being woken up by the sound.
“Within a radius of approximately 1.5km (0.9 miles), we have houses that were hit, with broken windows, damaged structures, and a huge shock wave,” a spokeswoman for the fire department said.
She added that the blast had opened up a crater at the site.
Enaex makes explosives for civilian purposes used in construction and mining.
The firm expressed its condolences to the families of the victims and said it would work with the relevant authorities to clarify what had caused the explosion.
The local authorities said that the firm had all the necessary licences to operate at the site, where it had been operating for five decades.
The countdown to the start of La Liga is on. After a perfect preseason, Hansi Flick’s team are now ready to begin the official campaign with their first league game of 2025/26 away at Real Mallorca.
Barça’s preparations for the game continue with Hansi Flick’s team eyeing up their first three points of the campaign. In Wednesday’s session at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper,Toni Fernández, Guille Fernández, Dro and Jofre Torrents from the Barça Atlètic squad all took part. The youngsters all featured and impressed on the recent Asia Tour and continue to work under the watchful eye of coach Hansi Flick. After the session in the morning local time, the squad attended to internal media duties.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has rejected circulating political rumours, assuring that the government will complete its term, and called on all political parties to work together for Pakistan’s progress.
Speaking to the media in Lahore during the Urs of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh (RA), Dar said Allah had granted Pakistan remarkable success, including a decisive victory over India in a four-day war. He noted improvements in the economy and diplomatic progress, stating this momentum would continue until Pakistan emerged as a strong fortress of Islam on the world stage.
Responding to a question about reports of Mohsin Naqvi becoming Prime Minister and Nawaz Sharif being made President, Dar said such claims were false and warned against spreading disinformation. He emphasized that until something is proven, it should not be propagated.
He reiterated that taking up arms against the state and its institutions amounted to rebellion, adding that legal cases against PTI members would be decided by the courts. The Deputy Prime Minister urged political unity, stressing that much time had already been wasted in internal tussles.
Dar revealed that a U.S. delegation had recently visited the Foreign Office to discuss terrorism, where Pakistan presented substantial evidence linking the Majeed Brigade to the BLA and incidents such as the Jaffar Express attack. He said this compelled the U.S. to designate the Majeed Brigade as a terrorist organization, following which Pakistan made an official announcement.
On Gaza, Dar said the government, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the Foreign Ministry had strongly condemned Israel’s occupation and raised a firm voice at the global level. He added that an emergency OIC meeting would soon be held in Jeddah on the matter.
Regarding water disputes, Dar said the National Security Committee had declared that any obstruction of Pakistan’s water would be considered an act of war. He reminded that India had approached an international forum over the Indus Waters Treaty but later tried to withdraw, which Pakistan did not allow. He asserted the treaty could not be altered or terminated under international law, and that Pakistan’s 240 million people would not accept losing even a single drop of their water.
Field Marshal Asim Munir (right) receives the Patriotic War Medal from Azerbaijan’s top commander at GHQ. — ISPR
Azerbaijan military commander meets Field Marshal at GHQ: ISPR.
COAS congratulates Gen Karim on Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal.
Gen Karim lauds army for success in Op Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
Azerbaijan’s First Deputy Minister of Defence and Chief of the General Staff Colonel General Karim Valiyev has conferred the prestigious ‘Patriotic War Medal’ on Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on behalf of President IIham Aliyev in recognition of his contributions in bilateral military cooperation, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Azerbaijan top commander met Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to discuss matters of mutual interest.
During the meeting, the two military leaders discussed matters of mutual interest, with a focus on the prevailing global and regional security environment.
COAS Munir reaffirmed Pakistan’s deep fraternal bonds with Azerbaijan and reiterated the country’s resolve to further consolidate bilateral relations.
“COAS congratulated the visiting dignitary on the successful conclusion of the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” the press release read.
Colonel-General Valiyev praised the Pakistan Armed Forces for their professionalism and success in Marka-e-Haq — the period of conflict with India from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the May 10 conclusion of operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
The delegation extended best wishes for Pakistan’s upcoming Independence Day and victory celebrations.
The Field Marshal thanked Azerbaijan’s leadership and people for standing together with the people of Pakistan during Marka-e-Haq and for sending the Azeri contingent to participate in the Independence Day ceremony, the statement added.
According to the ISPR statement, both leaders expressed a shared commitment to advancing defence cooperation and promoting joint efforts for regional peace and stability.
India’s PV Sindhu will take on Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova while Lakshya Sen will face Shi Yuqi of the People’s Republic of China in their respective opening round matches at the BWF World Championships 2025 later this month.
Organised by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the BWF World Championships is the most prestigious badminton competition held annually, barring the Olympic years.
It offers the most badminton world ranking points along with the Olympics and crowns the senior world champions of a particular calendar year.
The draws for the Badminton World Championships 2025, scheduled to be held in Paris between August 25 and 31, were announced on Wednesday.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, 15th in the women’s singles rankings, is the sole Indian in the women’s section and will face world No. 66 and two-time European junior champion Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria in her opening round match.
Sindhu is a former world champion, having won the women’s singles title in 2019.
The Indian badminton player also finished runners up in the two years preceding her world title and bagged bronze medals in 2013 and 2014.
Sindhu, however, has struggled for form in the 2025 season. Her best run on the BWF World Tour this year was a quarter-final finish at the Indian Open back in January.
Lakshya Sen, 21st in the men’s singles badminton rankings, was handed a tough opening round draw against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of the People’s Republic of China.
A semi-finalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Lahshya won a bronze medal at the 2021 badminton world championships in Huelva.
The other Indian in the men’s singles draw, world No. 34 HS Prannoy, will take on world Joakim Oldorff of Finland. HS Prannoy is a world championships bronze medallist from 2023.
India’s top doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received an opening round bye, while Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruben Kumar will meet the Chinese Taipei pair Liu Kuang Heng and Yang Po Han.
The winner of the match between Hariharan Amsakarunan-Ruben Kumar and Liu Kuang Heng-Yang Po Han will face Satwik-Chirag in the second round.
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were the first Indian pair to win a medal in the men’s doubles event at the badminton world championships after settling for a bronze in Tokyo back in 2022.
The women’s doubles draw pitted Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda against Bulgaria’s Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva, while Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra will face French duo Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante in the first round.
World No. 17 Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto received an opening-round bye in the mixed doubles section.
India’s other entry in the mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde, will take on Ng Weng Chi and Leong Iok Chong of Macau China.
India have won a total of 14 medals – one gold, four silver and nine bronze in the BWF World Championships in the past.
Prakash Padukone won India’s first medal in the BWF World Championships in 1983 when he bagged bronze.
BWF World Championships 2025 draw for Indian shuttlers
70% to 80% of women diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer experience disease recurrence following initial treatment. Image credit:
Ovarian cancer is one of the most challenging malignancies in oncology. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, it is still the deadliest gynaecologic cancer, claiming about 13,000 U.S. lives each year. In far too many patients, the story is heartbreakingly familiar: an initial response to platinum-based chemotherapy is followed by recurrence within one or two years, leaving fewer and less effective treatment options available.
In fact, 70% to 80% of women diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer experience disease recurrence following initial treatment. Resistance to existing therapies is the major cause of death. Immunotherapy, which works to turn the immune system against the tumour, has revolutionised therapy for melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer and others, but has yet to achieve a similar impact in ovarian cancer. The reason for the historic underperformance of immunotherapy in ovarian cancer likely lies in its hostile tumour microenvironment (TME), which actively suppresses anti-tumour immune responses.
But now, a new therapeutic paradigm is emerging that fuses the innate tumour-homing and infiltrating ability of stem cells with the precision and programmability of bioengineered medicine. At the forefront of this shift is a novel approach: synthetic, allogeneic induced mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) engineered not just to reach tumours, but to reprogramme the tumour microenvironment itself – turning sites of immune suppression into hubs of immune activation.
Why ovarian cancer has been so hard to crack
To appreciate the potential of iMSC-based therapies, first, it’s important to understand why ovarian cancer is so challenging. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage – Stage 3 or 4 – at which point the disease has already spread deep throughout the abdominal cavity. The current standard of care, typically involving a combination of aggressive surgery followed by a combination chemotherapy regimen, offers only temporary control. Recurrence is not the exception, but the norm.
Targeted therapies, such as PARP inhibitors and anti-angiogenic agents, have expanded treatment options for some patients, but their benefits are often limited and short-lived. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, which have transformed the management of other solid tumour malignancies, have shown only modest success with ovarian cancer due to the immunosuppressive TME. Ovarian tumours are typically immunologically ‘cold’. In other words, they have few infiltrating T cells and actively suppress immune activity through processes such as TGF-beta secretion and recruitment of immunosuppressive tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) and regulatory T cells.
Furthermore, many therapies fail to reach the tumour’s core. Ovarian tumours are notorious for their dense extracellular matrix and fibrotic stroma that create a physical barrier to drug delivery. This two-pronged challenge of immune evasion and poor penetrability has kept ovarian cancer on the wrong side of survival rates for decades, despite persistent effort.
The rise – and fall – of early MSC therapies
MSCs have been of particular interest in regenerative medicine because of their natural ability to home in on sites of inflammation, tissue damage, and notably, tumours. This natural migration makes MSCs uniquely suited for delivering therapeutic cargo directly into the TME, where traditional therapies often struggle to reach.
Early clinical efforts with MSCs were hindered by significant limitations. Autologous MSCs – derived from a patient’s own tissue – were slow to manufacture, costly, and inconsistent in quality. Allogeneic MSCs – derived from one or more donors – offered improved scalability and reduced time-to-treatment but often triggered immune responses or failed to persist long enough in vivo to be therapeutically effective. Both approaches lacked the potency and batch-to-batch consistency needed for clinical success.
As such, despite early promise, MSC-based treatments struggled to deliver on their potential – until now. Recent breakthroughs in cell engineering and synthetic biology have enabled improved MSC treatments.
A new-generation platform: synthetic allogeneic iMSCs
Recent advances in stem cell engineering have radically improved upon the MSC paradigm. Synthetic, allogeneic iMSCs represent a new-generation cell therapy that overcomes the critical limitations of past approaches.
iMSCs are derived from engineered induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) – adult cells that have been reprogrammed to a stem cell-like state and engineered through the application of synthetic biology tools to maximise their function, persistence, and specificity before being differentiated into MSCs for large-scale expansion. Crucially, they are allogeneic – manufactured from a single healthy donor source and scaled to enable off-the-shelf availability with consistent, reproducible performance across batches.
Synthetic iMSCs engineered to secrete immune-stimulating cytokines like IL-7 and IL-15 can migrate into the tumour, secrete their therapeutic cargo directly into the microenvironment, and activate T cells in situ – potentially rendering ‘cold’ tumours ‘hot’ and susceptible to immune attack.
Strong early evidence from ASCO
New preclinical data reported at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting highlighted the potential of iMSC-based therapies to penetrate the ovarian TME and activate robust immune responses. In one example, iMSCs engineered to express IL-7 and IL-15 drove vigorous T cell infiltration in mouse models of ovarian cancer, reducing tumour burden and improving survival. These cytokines are well established for their role in promoting T cell expansion, resisting exhaustion, and preserving cytotoxic function – all essential for long-lasting anti-tumour immunity. Interestingly, iMSCs homed selectively to tumour tissue, concentrating cytokine activity where it’s needed most and limiting systemic exposure and off-target toxicities.
Another presentation demonstrated the in vivo stability of iMSCs, solving one of the key limitations of earlier MSC platforms. In animal models, the cells persisted long enough to induce a therapeutic effect, yet did so without eliciting an intense immune rejection. Collectively, these findings suggest that synthetic iMSCs could serve as a powerful adjunct to existing ovarian cancer treatments – and potentially serve as a standalone therapeutic alternative.
A future that’s tumour-targeted and immune-activated
For decades, the conventional approach to treating ovarian cancer has been systemic: flood the body with chemotherapy or immunotherapy and hope that enough reaches the tumour to have an impact. Synthetic iMSCs disrupt this model by delivering anti-cancer agents directly to the tumour, concentrating activity where it’s needed most and minimising collateral damage to healthy tissue.
This precision-guided strategy is also highly adaptable for combination regimens. Imagine pairing iMSCs with checkpoint inhibitors or PARP inhibitors to maximise efficacy, deploying them in the maintenance setting to prevent relapse by sustained immune vigilance. As synthetic biology becomes increasingly mature, the payloads iMSCs can deliver are virtually limitless, from cytokines to gene-editing machinery, RNA therapeutics, or tumour antigens that stimulate immune memory, all with a level of control, consistency, and customisation that was previously unthinkable.
Looking ahead
The journey to revolutionising the treatment of ovarian cancer will not be easy. But the emergence of allogeneic iMSCs marks a meaningful leap forward in our ability to target hard-to-treat tumours. Rather than fighting the tumour from the outside in, these engineered cells allow us to go in and fight it from the inside out, armed with the tools to reprogramme the microenvironment and reawaken the immune system.
For patients facing relapse or resistance, this approach may offer what they previously lacked: a genuine second chance. And for the broader oncology community, it could signal a new era in which engineered cell therapies move from the forefront to the foundation of cancer care.
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JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) – Soon, we’re entering the homestretch.
Expect the race to get even more intense as the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 heads into the Final Phase beginning Monday.
Right from the very first game of the Qualification to Quarter-Finals, all qualified teams are sure to fight like there’s no tomorrow – all in the name of glory in Asian basketball’s grandest stage.
Who’s your pick to become champions? Vote for them now!
As a person who covers consumer tech for a living, I get to use a few dozen smartphones every year. While I almost always advise on which is the new best smartphone, the majority of consumers don’t upgrade every year. I have friends and family who tell me they don’t want to upgrade and ask, “How can I make my current phone faster?” I finally have an answer.
Also: I test dozens of Android phones every year: Here’s how Google, Samsung, and more stack up
I don’t get to use review devices for long, but I have picked up tips and tricks from years of experience that can help boost the speed of your old Android phone. Before you ask, it doesn’t involve rooting your device. These tips are easy to implement for both tech-savvy consumers and the average Joe.
If your Android phone has started feeling slow, you should primarily focus on clearing its storage. And if you’re unsure about where to begin, here are a few things you can do to make your old Android phone faster.
1. Delete unused apps
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
Over time, phones can collect a lot of unused apps and leave you with a cluttered space. You might have used a QR scanner app from a restaurant on your years-old trip or a photo editing app that is no longer in use. It is best to uninstall such apps to clear space on your Android phone.
Also: I found a Google Maps alternative that won’t track you or drain your battery – and it’s free
Decluttering your Android phone can make it faster because it won’t need to allocate resources to apps that are no longer in use. Uninstalling such APKs will lead to better resource management and thus, a faster phone. You can go to Settings > Storage > Apps to see the list of installed apps and uninstall the ones you don’t need anymore. On the app screen, you can also long-press on such forgotten apps and go to App Info > Uninstall.
2. Clear more storage
Old Android phones tend to collect a lot of junk, whether it be through files or long-forgotten photos of school notes. After deleting unused apps, you should aim to clear space by going through the files and photos saved on your Android phone.
Also: How to clear your Android phone cache (and why it’s the easiest way to speed it up)
You can go to your phone’s File app to check what’s saved. The Downloads folder often houses the most junk from long-forgotten PDF files, photos, etc. There are two more spaces you should check to clear the storage.
Offload photos from your phone and save them to an external drive or the cloud. This helps create a backup of your memories and clear space on your old Android phone.
Clear the app cache. For the unaware, cache is bits of data that an app saves so it is quicker to operate the next time you open it. I recommend clearing the cache for less-used apps with no saved login information. You can go to Settings > Storage > App > Clear Cache to save more space.
3. Check for updates
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
Make sure your Android phone is up to date on the OS front. Keeping it up to date will make it snappier and install the latest security protocols. You can go to Settings > General > System Update to check and install the latest available software version.
Also: I changed 12 settings on my Android phone to instantly extend the battery life
Once you have removed the uninstalled apps and updated your old Android phone to the latest OS version, you should go to the Google Play Store and update the remaining apps. It is important to use the latest available versions of these apps to have access to the latest features, better performance, and improved security.
4. Bonus: Adjust the animation speed
June Wan/ZDNET
You can enable or disable a few settings to make your phone feel faster, including Developer options to change the animation speed. This is slightly more complicated than the rest of the settings mentioned above, but it can make your phone feel significantly faster.
You need to enable Developer options by going to Settings > About phone > Tap on Software information > and then tap your Build number seven times. This should enable the Developer options, so you can now access different animation scale settings.
Now, go to the Drawing section within Developer options and scroll down until you find the Window animation scale. Tap on it and set the animation to 0.5x, so apps and window pop-ups run faster.
Also: Android phone feeling slow? How I changed one setting to instantly double the speed
You can also adjust the Transition animation scale to minimize the speed of moving between home screen panels and within apps. Plus, minimize the Animator duration scale to make opening and closing apps, unlocking the phone, and other general UI animations snappier.
Changing these settings will give your old Android phone a new life. Once adjusted, it should feel faster, with added zip in day-to-day tasks. If you want to give it a refresh, I recommend messing around with your home screen, changing the wallpaper, and adjusting more settings to help it last longer.
