Trump Pushes Voter ID Order, UK Wins Record Warship Deal, Stablecoin Risks Flagged, Kpop Demon Hunter becomes Netflix's Most Viewed Film Ever

1st September 2025

 Donald Trump vows to impose nationwide voter ID rules through an executive order, sparking constitutional questions. The UK lands its largest-ever warship export deal with Norway, boosting jobs and NATO security ties. Economists warn stablecoins could pose bailout risks without tighter regulation. And Kpop becomes Netflix's most viewed film Ever. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines

• Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

  
  

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will issue an executive order requiring voter identification for every vote. “Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!!” Trump said on Truth Social. “Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military,” he added.

Trump has long questioned the U.S. electoral system and continues to falsely claim that his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud. He and his Republican allies have also made baseless claims about non-citizens voting illegally, though such cases are extremely rare. For years, Trump has called for eliminating electronic voting machines in favor of paper ballots and hand counts — a process election officials argue is time-consuming, costly, and less accurate than machine counting.

Earlier in August, Trump pledged to issue an executive order to end the use of mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. However, federal elections are administered at the state level, and it is unclear whether the president has the constitutional authority to enact such measures. The Nov. 3, 2026, elections will mark the first nationwide referendum on Trump’s domestic and foreign policies since his return to power in January. Democrats are aiming to break Republicans’ control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate to block Trump’s agenda. Reuters

• UK Secures Its Largest-Ever Warship Deal From Norway

The UK has secured a £10 billion deal to supply the Norwegian navy with at least five new Type 26 frigates. The agreement is the UK’s “biggest ever warship export deal by value,” according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), while Norway described it as its largest “defense capability investment” to date.

The deal will support 4,000 UK jobs “well into the 2030s,” including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards, where the frigates will be built. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the agreement a win for national security and UK workers, praising “the thousands of people across the country who are delivering this next-generation capability for our Armed Forces, our Norwegian partners, and NATO.”

The MoD said more than 400 British businesses, including 103 in Scotland, will be involved. Defense minister Luke Pollard described it as “the biggest British warship deal in history” and “a huge vote of confidence in British workers and the defense industry.” The UK beat out rivals France, Germany, and the United States for the contract, creating a combined UK-Norwegian fleet of 13 anti-submarine frigates to operate jointly in northern Europe — significantly strengthening NATO’s northern flank.

The warships, designed to detect, track, and destroy enemy submarines, will begin delivery in 2030. UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the navies would “train, operate, deter, and, if necessary, fight together” under the deal. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who informed Starmer of the decision in a phone call, called it “a historic strengthening of the defense cooperation between our two countries.” Financial Times

• Stablecoins Could Trigger Taxpayer Bailouts, Warns Nobel Laureate

The rising prominence of stablecoins in the U.S. financial system has drawn warnings from Nobel laureates and regulators, who caution that inadequate oversight could eventually force government bailouts. Stablecoins, which already facilitate billions in daily transactions, are projected to reach a market value of up to $2 trillion by 2028.

The debate continues over whether the Federal Reserve should issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or allow private innovation to lead. Advocates argue a CBDC could enhance the dollar’s global standing and improve monetary policy, while critics warn it could enable government surveillance and erode financial privacy. Former Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that real-time transaction tracking raises significant civil liberty concerns.

The regulatory landscape is shifting with the introduction of the GENIUS Act, which provides a legal framework for stablecoin issuance and consumer protections. While this paves the way for broader adoption, regulators warn that without balanced, forward-looking rules, systemic risks could rise — potentially forcing taxpayer-backed interventions.

Meanwhile, DeFi platforms and tokenization technologies are emerging as tools to fill gaps left by declining traditional deposits, offering real-time settlement and transparency. For banks, adapting to this evolving ecosystem while maintaining core safeguards will be key to staying competitive. Financial Times

• Kpop Demon Hunters becomes Netflix's most viewed film ever

KPop Demon Hunters has climbed "up, up, up" Netflix's charts to become its most viewed movie ever, the streaming platform says. Since its release in June, the animated musical has been watched more than 236 million times, overtaking the action comedy Red Notice to take the top spot. It is the latest in a series of chart-topping achievements by the film, which has become a surprise global hit. Songs from the movie have also been some of the most streamed online on Spotify, while the track Golden hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100earlier this month.

Produced by Sony Pictures Animation, Kpop Demon Hunters follows the adventures of fictional K-pop girl band Huntr/x as its three members use their music and fighting skills to protect humans from demons. It was launched in June with a relatively low-key premiere at Netflix's Tudum theatre in Los Angeles. But over the summer the film gained momentum through word of mouth, boosted by viral videos and memes on social media.

Many have praised it for its eye-catching animation and its depiction of both traditional and modern Korean culture. But the biggest attraction for many has been the movie's catchy K-pop songs. Some of the soundtrack's producers and songwriters are K-pop industry veterans who have worked with groups such as BTS and Twice. Maggie Kang, the Korean-Canadian co-director of the film, previously said that they had wanted the film's music to be "really incredible and really speak to the K-pop fans and be legitimately fit into the K-pop space".

Capitalising on the songs' popularity, Netflix released a sing-along version of Kpop Demon Hunters in cinemas in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand last weekend.  This netted Netflix its first number one film at the US box office. It has since released the sing-along version worldwide on its platform. Many songs on the soundtrack have entered the top 10 of Spotify's global chart, with Golden currently still at number one. That track, along with Your Idol by Saja Boys, the arch enemies of Huntr/x in the film, have at different times topped the US Spotify chart.

This has made Huntr/x and Saja Boys the highest charting female and male K-pop groups in US Spotify history - surpassing real-life K-pop juggernauts BTS and Blackpink.

The Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack has also become the first to have four simultaneous Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. BBC

Minor Headlines 

• Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy — second time in a year as turnaround fails Yahoo.Finance

  
  

• Tesla cuts price for long-range RWD Model 3 in China  Reuters

  
  

• Tencent Partner Plays Out Said to Eye Funds at $150 Million Value Bloomberg

  
  

• Norway selects British-made frigates to beef up maritime defence in a $13.5 billion deal Reuters

  
  

• BYD's shares slide after steep fall in quarterly profit Reuters

  
  

• Shares in Samsung and SK Hynix drop after the US makes it harder to make chips in China Reuters

  
  

• India’s Russian oil imports set to rise in September in defiance of the US Reuters

  
  

• Australian report raises concerns over age-verification software ahead of teen social ban Reuters

  
  

• Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani hospitalized after crash Reuters