Minimalist News

Massive Mushroom Cloud 'Test' Blast Rattles Uninformed Residents Outside Jerusalem Late Saturday night, a massive explosion and a bright fireball illuminated the skies over Israel's Beit Shemesh, deeply rattling local residents and setting off rampant speculation in local media and online commentary. The area lies just 19 miles west of Jerusalem, close enough to be located within Jerusalem District. Curiously, the state-owned Tomer rocket propulsion defense ministry-linked firm subsequently sought clarify that the blast was actually a controlled , pre-planned test and that authorities were notified in advance. However, community members have complained about receiving absolutely no warning , and

AI vs Affordability And Rates By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities Last week, we contemplated, for the first time, that we might need to Understand Universal Basic Income . The timing was very good as on Monday, South Korea floated the idea of transferring some AI-driven tax revenue to its citizens. As uncertainty around jobs, income, and costs continue to weigh on overall confidence, expect this subject to get more airtime in the political arena. The concept of UBI does go hand in hand with two competing themes: AI and Affordability. China, Iran, and a Whole Lotta Nothing Iran took

Axios Warns Cuba Stockpiled 300 Attack Drones With Crosshairs On U.S. Homeland Well, well, well. On Feb. 3, we first asked whether a Cuban Missile Crisis 2.0 was quietly taking shape on the collapsed, communist-run Caribbean island of Cuba. But instead of Soviet missiles , we warned that Havana may be stockpiling Russian-made Geranium one-way attack drones with the operational range to threaten major U.S. oil and gas refineries in the Gulf of America, key military bases, data centers, power grid infrastructure, and potentially even Washington, D.C. Nearly three and a half months ago, we laid out the framework for

Remember: In A Crisis, Everyone Will Consider Themselves 'The Good Guys' Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via substack, The state has two monopolies it must protect whatever the cost: the monopoly on decreeing what is legal tender and on force. We’re entering an era in which push comes to shove will lead to immovable objects encountering irresistible forces . All sorts of verities and vanities will be bulldozed as kicking the can down the road descends into desperation to stave off collapse, a desperation that unleashes second order effects the desperate did not anticipate. The only responses at this late

Americans Face The Highest Memorial Day Gas Prices On Record The nationwide average price of regular gasoline marginally increased on Thursday, after five straight days of decline, the American Automobile Association (AAA) said in a May 14 statement. The national average price is “at the same range as it was in 2022, the year gas prices hit record highs. Travelers are preparing to hit the road in record numbers next week, and drivers will be facing the highest Memorial Day gas prices in four years,” AAA said. On Friday, prices declined less than a cent to $4.52 per gallon from

Market Leadership Is Narrow, Increasing Summer Risk Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, 📈 Technical Backdrop – Friday Selloff Tests The Tape The S&P 500 closed Friday at 7,408.50 , surrendering Thursday’s historic first close above 7,500 with a 1.24% decline. The semiconductor names that powered the rally became the source of Friday’s selling. Intel fell 5%, Micron 4%, AMD 3%, and Nvidia 4.4%. From a purely technical standpoint, Friday’s reversal was the first real distribution day in three weeks and the mean-reversion signal we have been flagging. The deviation numbers are the story. At 7.0% above the 50-DMA (6,921)

Attack Drone Hits Near UAE Nuclear Power Plant Abu Dhabi authorities report that a kamikaze drone struck an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Al Dhafra. Officials said there were no injuries, no impact on radiological safety levels, and no disruption to plant operations. Dubai-based newspaper Gulf News cited the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, which said the one-way drone attack on the Arab world's first commercial nuclear facility did not affect the safety of the nuclear power plant or the readiness of its essential systems. FANR added that all systems were operating

Most Americans Can't Afford New Homes Most Americans can’t afford a new home. A new analysis from the National Association of Home Builders ( NAHB ) shows that 65% of U.S. households are priced out of newly built homes, based on current prices and mortgage rates. In some parts of the country, the situation is even more extreme. More than 80% of households can’t afford a new home, highlighting how widespread the affordability gap has become. This map, via Visual Capitalist's Dorosthy Neufeld, shows where Americans are being priced out and where barriers to homeownership are highest. Ranked: Where Americans

Mayor Sadiq Khan Claims London Devolving Into A Sh*thole Is Just AI-Driven Rage-Bait Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has claimed that the decline of the city is a myth and that it’s all just lies being spread by MAGA supporters, Russia, and China through AI-generated content. In a fresh escalation of his war on inconvenient truths, Khan pointed to a surge in online posts highlighting anti-immigration realities, claiming foreign actors and Trump backers are behind it. He insists the dystopian image of lawless streets and cultural erosion is purely fabricated. “You’ve got state actors,” Khan

Audemars Piguet x Swatch's Affordable Watch Launch Sparks Lines Across World Luxury watchmakers Audemars Piguet and Swatch have done the unthinkable: unveiling a new, affordable collaboration aimed at younger buyers, with prices ranging from $400 to, of course, $420. Called the "Royal Pop," the affordable handheld watch inspired by pop art is clearly a mass-market move aimed at stimulating the Swiss watch market after muted activity over the last few years, following the massive run-up fueled by cheap money during the pandemic. Keep in mind that the average Audemars Piguet watch is priced at about $36,000 on the secondary market,

Is A Future War Between The US And Europe Unavoidable? Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us, For those who might have been out of the loop over the past few months, there is a war going on between the US and Europe. Largely, it’s western European governments that are the problem – They started the conflict, they continue to perpetuate the conflict, and they tend to cry victim when they suffer any consequences for it. It’s clear that the European elites have a distaste for US policy. From anti-woke reforms and immigration restrictions to geopolitical interactions, when Americans voted en

Democrats Devastated After Supreme Court Rejects Attempt To Revive Virginia Congressional Map Hammering the last nail in the coffin of what could have been a significant midterm factor, the US Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia Democrats' request to use a new congressional district map, which was drawn to flip four House seats into Democratic control. 🚨 IT'S OFFICIAL, WE WIN! "The US Supreme Court moments ago has ruled AGAINST Virginia Democrats when it comes to reviving their pro-Democrat redistricting map ahead of the 2026 midterms." WOULD'VE BEEN: 10D-1R MAP WILL REMAIN AS: 6D-5R Another Dem embarrassment. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/sfWWvumcnJ —

China Confirms Boeing Jet Deal, Agrees To Cut Select Levies & Expand Agri Trade Summary: China, U.S. Agree To Cut Levies On Select Products , Expand Agricultural Trade China, U.S. Reach Boeing Jet Purchase Agreement U.S. And China Agree To Establish Trade And Investment Boards Trump-Xi Summit Delivers Modest Trade Wins China Responds With Agreements To Purchase Jets, Cut Levies, Expand Trade One day after President Trump left Beijing, following his multi-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China's Commerce Ministry released new details about agreements it had reached to purchaseU.S.. planes and farm goods . CHINA, US REACH ARRANGEMENTS

Washington's Joint Operation Against ISIS In Nigeria Sends A Message To The Sahelian Alliance Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack, The scenario of a US-backed Nigerian anti-terrorist intervention in Mali is becoming increasingly likely. Trump announced over the weekend that the US and Nigeria carried out a joint operation against ISIS’ second-highest figure, which his counterpart Bola Ahmed Tinubu disclosed took place in the northeast Lake Chad Basin where its ally Boko Haram recently killed over 20 Chadian troops . This is the US’ second military operation in Nigeria after Trump authorized bombing ISIS in Northwest Nigeria on Christmas Day,

Establishment Media Outraged By White House Sponsored Christian Prayer Event The mainstream media's outrage over religious expressions by government institutions and politicians is highly selective. At bottom, it the event is Christian, they attack. If it's any other religion, they applaud. Did the mainstream media publish indignant diatribes when leftist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani held Muslim dinners at City Hall and Gracie Manor for Ramadan? The answer is no, of course they didn't. Because Islam is celebrated by modern liberal movements and Christianity is despised. And, it's important to take note of what leftists hate, because if they hate it,

America's Medicine Supply Chain Is A National Security Vulnerability Authored by Will Coggin via RealClearDefense , The Chinese government is tightening the screws on American investment in its artificial intelligence sector . The core purpose is to keep U.S. capital out of technologies it deems “strategically sensitive” to national security. The protective action is a reminder that Washington also needs to prioritize insulating our own critical sectors from foreign adversaries. Few industries are more important to our national security than healthcare. More than 131 million people - nearly two-thirds of all U.S. adults - use prescription medications. Yet the United

The WHO Drums Up Fear With Ebola After Hantavirus Scare Fails One of the biggest mistakes globalists made in their bid for perpetual medical authoritarianism during the Covid pandemic was reveling a bit too much. Numerous high level officials from the WEF, WHO, the Imperial College of London and an army of politicians were giddy with excitement and bragged publicly about all the power they were going to grab as the masses huddled in fear of a virus with a 99.8% average survival rate. This arrogance cost them, triggering an awakening of millions of former skeptics who are now avid

The Trans Delusion: A Philosophical Nail In Its Coffin Authored by Chris Milton via The Daily Sceptic The arguments in philosopher Thomas Nagel’s seminal 1974 essay ‘ What is it Like to be Bat? ‘ can help us answer the question of whether a human born with XY chromosomes and a male body can be, can become or can know what it’s like to be a woman, or can know what inhabiting the world is like for a woman. Nagel - who randomly chose bats from the list of mammals - began from the premise that if an organism has

Solar Power Generation To Exceed Coal For First Time In Texas Grids Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Annual electricity power generation from utility-scale solar projects is predicted to exceed output from coal for the first time ever in 2026 on grids run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). An aerial view of the Amazon Fort Powhatan Solar Farm in Disputanta, Va., on Aug. 19, 2022. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images This year, solar power generation within the ERCOT-run grids , which cover most of the state, is expected to be 78 billion kilowatt

Nearly 2,500 Pounds Of Cocaine, 105 Pounds Of Marijuana Seized In Joint Operation By US Forces Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), U.S. forces seized around 2,500 pounds of cocaine and 105 pounds of marijuana in two separate maritime operations involving foreign nations. In one operation, the Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) South and the Drug Enforcement Administration identified a drug runner from Colombia transporting narcotics. Forces from the Dominican Republic interdicted the vessel, while USS Billing secured the jettisoned cargo, JIATF South said in a May 12 post on X. Around 326 kilograms (approx. 718

Four months after Trump’s surprise raid, a political thaw has descended – but mingled with hope is trepidation for what comes next When Ángel Linares heard a strange buzz followed by an explosion, his first thought was that neighbours were setting off fireworks to celebrate the new year. Then his windows shattered, the building’s walls shook and its facade was ripped off, sending him flying on to the ground of an apartment suddenly reduced to rubble. His 85-year-old mother, Jesucita, feared Venezuela’s northern coast had been devastated by an earthquake, like the one she remembers from 1967. Continue reading...

The person was on board the MV Hondius, the center of the outbreak that has claimed three lives Canadian officials said on Saturday that a test for one of the four Canadians currently quarantining in British Columbia after being exposed to the hantavirus while on board the cruise ship where the outbreak occurred indicated a positive result. Speaking at a news conference , Dr Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, said the individual developed mild symptoms, including fever and headache, two days ago, and that the individual and their partner, who had also been on board the cruise ship

Trump administration move echoes indictment of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro as fuel crisis racks Cuba Tensions between Cuba and US seem set to rise further amid reports that Raúl Castro, the country’s 94-year-old former president, may soon face the type of indictment that led to the US abduction of the Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January. Although Raúl is officially retired, he remains the most potent figure in Cuban politics following the death of his brother Fidel in 2016, and by targeting him Washington appears to be heaping pressure on Cuba’s communist leadership at the end of an already extraordinarily intense

Record heat in North and Central America coincides with egg-sized hailstones in eastern China Extreme weather across several parts of the world this week has brought record-breaking temperatures to Honduras, North America and Indonesia. Honduras smashed its all-time May maximum temperature record earlier this month – only for it to be broken again on 13 May in Choluteca, known as the furnace of Central America. Temperatures climbed to 42.2C (107.9F), surpassing the previous record of 42.1C. With intense heat forecast to persist over the coming weeks, more records are expected to fall. Continue reading...

All victims of US strikes in eastern Pacific and the Caribbean identified so far came from extremely poor communities Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email A five-month investigation has named 13 previously unidentified victims of US attacks on boats allegedly carrying narcotics in a campaign that has killed nearly 200 people in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. It is unclear if the US has ever identified any of its 194 victims before attacking them, and the names of just three had previously emerged, after their families launched legal cases against the White House. Continue reading...

Naegohyang FC due to play Suwon FC in semi-final of Asian Women’s Champions League on Wednesday A North Korean women’s football club has arrived in South Korea for an AFC Women’s Champions League semi-final, marking the first visit by athletes from the isolated state to the South in eight years. The delegation of 27 players and 12 staff entered the country on Sunday before Wednesday’s match between Naegohyang FC and South Korea’s Suwon FC Women in Suwon. Continue reading...

Thai authorities say 32 others injured near Makkasan station after freight train strikes bus and fire breaks out At least eight people were killed and 32 others were injured in Thailand after a freight train struck a bus at a rail crossing in Bangkok, rescue officials and a deputy transport minister said. Firefighters and rescue crews were dispatched as flames engulfed the bus and nearby vehicles close to the airport rail link’s Makkasan station, officials said, adding that the collision also involved cars and motorcycles. Continue reading...

Family and supporters had hoped the US president could help free the 78-year-old British citizen during summit talks in Beijing Donald Trump raised the case of jailed Hong Kong democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping but was told it “is a tough one”. Family and supporters of the 78-year-old British citizen had hoped the US president could help secure his release. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Colorado governor commutes sentence of election denier Tina Peters Sign up for the Breaking News US email Jamieson Greer also said US export controls on semiconductor chips were not a major topic of discussions with Chinese officials in Beijing . The US trade representative’s comments to Bloomberg on Friday suggest a breakthrough on selling Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips to China remains far away, Reuters is reporting, despite Nvidia chief Jensen Huang ’s last-minute invitation to Donald Trump ’s Beijing trip this week. This was not a major topic of discussion at the bilateral meeting.

Change reflects both transformation of US in Trump era and China’s increasing confidence on world stage Asked before he departed for Beijing if he would raise with the Chinese president the case of Jimmy Lai , the pro-democracy activist jailed in Hong Kong, Donald Trump said: “I’ll bring him up.” But, the US president added: “It’s like saying to me, ‘If Comey ever went to jail, would you let him out?’ It might be a hard one for me.” Trump was referring to James B Comey, a former FBI director and a frequent target of Trump’s ire. Continue reading...

Cigarettes kill 66 Australians every day, coalition says, criticising MPs who heard evidence from Philip Morris in secret Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Big tobacco is exploiting fears of the illicit market to unwind longstanding health policies, leading health campaigners have warned, amid a parliamentary inquiry which took secret evidence from the cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris. A coalition of 15 health organisations including the Cancer Council and the Heart Foundation, as well as health experts and researchers, have accused the industry of trying to reshape public debate to push for major cuts to

‘He’s having a great time with his new 47% equity,’ one entrepreneur jokes, warning that some startups may leave Australia behind Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Tech entrepreneurs have mocked the government’s capital gains tax changes by posting AI-generated photos of Anthony Albanese as their “new founder” and warning that increased taxes could push people away from working for new businesses or send startups overseas. Startups and entrepreneurs may yet receive a carve-out in the federal government’s planned changes to the CGT discount , with the prime minister saying he wanted to support

Steven Mattaboni, 38, was a ‘one-of-a-kind gentleman’ and devoted parent to two young daughters, his wife Shirene says Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A father of two young daughters, husband and avid fisher has been identified as the victim of a fatal shark attack at Rottnest Island in Western Australia. Steven Mattaboni, 38, a surveyor from Perth, was in the water at Horseshoe Reef about 9.55am on Saturday when he was believed to have been bitten by a shark, police said. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Jim Chalmers says the opposition’s policy to index tax brackets would cost the budget a quarter of a trillion dollars over 10 years, while claiming that the government is returning bracket creep to taxpayers. It’s a slightly tricky position, as Angus Taylor argues that Labor is “betraying” itself because the high figure is actually how much the government is keeping and spending through bracket creep ever year. This is a government that returns bracket creep when it is responsible to do that. That

Outcry follows release of previously secret documents naming Port Kembla as preferred east coast Aukus base As Aukus spending and delays blow out, will Australia’s nuclear submarines ever materialise? Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A labour union has expressed alarm about newly released documents that reveal Port Kembla to be a preferred Australian base for nuclear-powered submarines, saying it would “place a massive target on our backs”. The South Coast Labour Council has warned federal and state politicians of “political fallout” should they proceed

Canal+ head says he will not work with hundreds of actors and directors who signed protest against Vincent Bolloré’s political sway The head of France’s biggest film producer, Canal+, has said the group will no longer work with hundreds of cinema figures who signed a petition voicing concern over the growing influence of the rightwing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré. The open letter, published earlier this week to coincide with the opening of the Cannes film festival, was signed by more than 600 figures , including the actor-director Juliette Binoche, the director and photographer Raymond Depardon, the French-Iranian film-maker Sepideh Farsi

Bulgaria’s first-ever win in European song contest delivers ray of hope at turbulent time after years of political instability Bulgarians have rejoiced in their country’s first victory at the Eurovision song contest as fans welcomed home the singer whose party anthem Bangaranga proved an unexpected breakthrough hit. “Dara is yet more proof that Bulgaria can win,” declared the new prime minister, Rumen Radev, of Darina Nikolaeva Yotova, known simply as Dara. He hailed “a young artist who, thanks to her talent and professionalism, has managed to rise above all the complexities and prejudices surrounding the [Eurovision] voting process”. Continue reading...

Wave of almost 600 drones launched across 14 regions, after Moscow’s deadly three-day attack on Ukraine last week One of Ukraine’s largest ever drone strikes against Russia’s regions, including Moscow, has killed at least four people and wounded a dozen more, the Russian authorities have said. The wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones struck overnight across 14 Russian regions, as well as the Crimean peninsula and the Black and Azov seas, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday, with the area around the capital among the worst-hit. Continue reading...

Humpback stranded on sandbank was unlikely to survive, experts had said, recommending it be left to die in peace The German authorities have defended their decision to allow a risky rescue attempt of a stranded whale to go ahead, despite experts warning it was “inadvisable” because the animal was hurt and unlikely to survive. The saga of the whale, known as Timmy, had gripped Germany since the beached humpback was spotted stranded on Timmendorfer beach, a sandbank in shallow waters near the coast, nearly two months ago . Continue reading...

Campaigners say symbolism of Magyar inauguration must translate into real change for Roma rights after years of Orbán discrimination The clutch of young Roma boys in black bow ties were lined up beneath the ornate arches and royal frescoes of Hungary’s dazzling parliament. Moments after Péter Magyar was sworn in, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power, the young musicians launched into the unofficial anthem of Roma in Hungary, leaving many MPs wiping away tears. It was an extraordinary moment – one that fused the nationwide hope for change with the longstanding aspirations of the country’s most

Abu Dhabi denounces ‘dangerous escalation’ as Iran war ceasefire grows more precarious The United Arab Emirates has blamed a fire near its nuclear power plant on a drone launched by Iran or one of its proxies in what the UAE called a “dangerous escalation”. The fire was just outside the Barakah nuclear plant and caused no injuries or radiation alerts, but it came at an extremely tense moment in the sixth week of a ceasefire in the Iran war, with peace talks stalled and Donald Trump voicing impatience at the deadlock. Continue reading...

Three paramedics at health centre among dead, while Hamas military chief Izz al-Din al-Haddad killed in Gaza strike Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, killing at least six people, including three paramedics working at a health centre, just hours after its envoys had agreed with the Lebanese government to extend a ceasefire . Israel also said it had killed the Hamas military chief, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, in a targeted strike in Gaza on Friday. Continue reading...

Statement following ‘productive’ talks in Washington comes as Israel launches strikes on southern city of Tyre Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 45-day extension of their ceasefire after another round of talks in Washington, the US state department has said. It came after two “productive” days of talks, and more negotiations would be held from 2-3 June, the department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. Continue reading...

The film-maker, who won the Grand Prix for A Hero in 2021, condemned both the killing of protesters and the conflict’s bombing campaigns during a Cannes press conference Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has described the deaths of civilians in Iran as “extremely cruel and tragic” during a press conference at the Cannes film festival. Farhadi, whose new Paris-set drama Parallel Tales premiered on the Croisette on Thursday night, was asked about working free from censorship in France, the war involving Iran, the US and Israel, and the repression of protesters in his native country. Continue reading...

Muscat silent about plans – opposed by US – to charge fee and demand details on nationality of all transiting ships Oman has been caught in geopolitical crossfire after Iran said it was coordinating with the Gulf state over the future management of the strait of Hormuz, including Tehran’s plans to impose fees on commercial shipping. The Omani exclave of Musandam lies to the south of the contested waterway, which normally carries a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil traffic but has been blockaded for 10 weeks since the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February. Continue reading...

Gautam Adani, richest man in Asia, was accused of conspiring to pay $250m in bribes to Indian government officials The US Department of Justice is dropping its fraud charges against the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, the richest man in Asia, after he hired a new legal team led by Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, according to new reports. In an undisclosed April meeting at the justice department, Trump’s personal lawyer, Robert J Giuffra Jr, said that Adani would invest $10bn in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the charges against him, according to the New York Times

Stone being paid $50,000 a month to ‘rebuild’ relations between Washington and Myanmar’s military-backed government The US lobbyist Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of Donald Trump, has been condemned for accepting $50,000 a month to “rebuild” relations between Washington and Myanmar’s military-backed government. Myanmar’s leaders have been internationally isolated since seizing power in a coup in 2021 , and have repeatedly been accused of atrocities that may amount to war crimes . Activists say the military rulers, which recently held widely condemned “sham” elections , are now trying to reassert themselves abroad. Continue reading...

Turmoil and violence rocks state after prime minister Narendra Modi’s party claimed victory in legislative election Tensions have been high in the Indian state of West Bengal after a top political aide from Narendra Modi’s party was shot dead in the street and hundreds were arrested as violence broke out following elections this week. The prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) claimed victory in the West Bengal elections on Monday , defeating Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had ruled over the state legislature for 15 years. Continue reading...

Mamata Banerjee says Narendra Modi’s party ‘forcefully captured’ election that ended her party’s 15 years in power A political showdown is taking place in the Indian state of West Bengal as the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, India’s most powerful female politician, has refused to resign after she lost elections to the prime minister’s party this week. Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) won an overwhelming victory on Monday in state elections in West Bengal, where Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party (TMC) have been in power for 15 years. Continue reading...

Result in key Indian state is set to have significant implications for the country’s political landscape Narendra Modi’s party has won a resounding election victory in West Bengal, a state which had been a rare opposition stronghold, expanding his unrivalled consolidation of power across the country. It is the first time that the Indian prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) has won assembly elections in West Bengal, a large and politically significant state in eastern India. Continue reading...

Reform, which won more than 50% of the local election vote, is likely to focus heavily on immigration and Brexit Andy Burnham faces a perilous race to win the Makerfield seat, his allies have said, as he gears up to fight a byelection that could decide the long-term future of Labour and the country. The Greater Manchester mayor is likely to be confirmed as Labour’s candidate for the north-west constituency later this week, but those close to him say he faces an uphill battle to beat Reform UK. Nigel Farage’s party won more than 50% of the vote at the

Excluding capital would be ‘missed opportunity’, says Sadiq Khan, given existing assets and ‘world-class infrastructure’ The mayor of London has criticised plans to explore a bid for the north of England to host the Olympics, saying that excluding London would be a “missed opportunity”. Ministers have commissioned an assessment by UK Sport which could inform a bid for the international sporting event in the 2040s. If the campaign were successful, it would be the first time the Olympic Games and Paralympics were hosted in Britain since London 2012. Continue reading...

Officers were allegedly racially abused at Tommy Robinson march, which failed to draw huge numbers it was hoping for Tommy Robinson’s “unite the kingdom” rally failed to get the huge numbers it wanted to march through London, with police confident that the crowd at his protest on Saturday was less than half the size of that at an event last year. The far-right rally happened on the same day as a pro-Palestinian march, and the Metropolitan police said 43 arrests were made during the two events. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Families of men facing death penalty join opposition to proposals to run courses for defence ministry The families of two scholars facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia have appealed to the University of Cambridge to drop proposals to run staff training courses for Riyadh’s defence ministry. The Guardian revealed last week that Cambridge’s Judge business school has been authorised to offer “leadership development” and “innovation management” training for the Saudi defence ministry’s staff, despite internal opposition within the university over the kingdom’s record on human rights and academic freedom. Continue reading...

Exhibition explores how artists mainly known for their paintings helped revive a skill that had fallen out of fashion They may be best known for their vibrant oil paintings but an exhibition opening in the English West Country is focusing instead on the subtle printmaking skills of artists such as Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. More than 50 prints created mainly by impressionists, post-impressionists and cubists are going on display at the Holburne Museum in Bath. Continue reading...

Emergency crews responding to incident involving aircraft during weekend air show at military base in western Idaho Emergency crews responded Sunday to an incident involving aircraft during a weekend air show at a military base in western Idaho, officials said. The Mountain Home air force base said in a social media post that it was locked down following the unspecified incident during the gunfighter skies air show. Responders were on the scene and an investigation was underway. Continue reading...

White House-backed event billed as ‘One Nation Under God’ criticized for blurring lines between church and state Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally on Sunday billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God”. Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event’s Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation’s founders alongside a white cross. Continue reading...

US president writes ‘vote the bum out’ as congressman faces close race against Trump-endorsed Republican With two days to go before the next big test of Donald Trump ’s iron grip over his party, the president went head-to-head on Sunday with his nemesis, Thomas Massie the Kentucky congressman who is in a fight for his political life in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Over an eight-hour period starting in the early hours of Sunday, Trump took to his bully pulpit on Truth Social to taunt Massie, one of very few senior Republicans who has dared to defy him . Massie is the

Disruption of Long Island Rail Road continues ahead of Monday rush hour as Governor Kathy Hochul says, ‘I did not want a strike’ The shutdown of the Long Island Rail Road, North America’s largest commuter rail system, continued into a second day on Sunday after unionized workers went on strike for the first time in three decades a day earlier. The railroad, which serves New York City and its eastern suburbs, ceased operations just after midnight Friday after five unions representing about half its workforce walked off the job. Continue reading...

After record losses last year, beekeepers report a warm winter has led to bees ‘waking up earlier’ this year After a series of record-breaking US heatwaves , the 2026 bee swarm season in North America has started 17 days earlier than last year, pushing beekeepers to adapt to a rapidly shifting season while raising new questions about how honeybees are responding to the climate crisis. According to a new report published by Swarmed, a tracking network of more than 10,000 beekeepers, focused on safe and ethical honeybee relocation, this year’s unusually early swarm season follows several years of record colony

A drone strike targeted the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah nuclear power plant on Sunday, setting an electrical generator ablaze on its perimeter and again straining the shaky ceasefire in the Iran war. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which caused no radiological release nor injuries, authorities in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, said. However, suspicion immediately fell on Iran, which has been increasingly threatening the UAE over recent days as the country hosted...

Russia’s capital and the surrounding Moscow region came under record drone attacks overnight, leaving at least three people killed and over a dozen wounded. Residential buildings were damaged across several suburbs and Moscow’s oil refinery was targeted in a rare strike, according to local authorities. Operations at all four Moscow airports faced rolling disruptions from late on Saturday but have resumed operations after dozens of flight cancellations and delays. Attacks on other Russian regions...

US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing with a delegation of leading American tech executives should not be read as a throwback to transactional diplomacy. It points to something more consequential. After years of rhetoric about economic separation, the reality is becoming harder to ignore: the United States and China are not decoupling. They are learning how to compete while remaining deeply entangled. For much of the past decade, Washington has framed its China policy around technological...

The World Health Organization declared an international health emergency on Sunday over an outbreak of an Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed more than 80 and for which there is no vaccine. Fears of further spread grew when a laboratory on Sunday confirmed a case in the major eastern DRC city of Goma, which is controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia. A total of 88 deaths and 336 suspected cases of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever have so far been...

US President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr succeeded in their efforts to defeat Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana’s Republican primary, a signal of the enduring strength of the president’s hold on his party despite an unpopular war and soaring fuel prices. Cassidy was one of seven Republican senators in 2021 who voted to convict Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection on January 6 that year. He placed last in a three-way race on Saturday against Representative...

The launch of limited edition Swatch watches descended into chaos on Saturday in several European cities and New York, with French police firing tear gas to restore order at one store near Paris. Hundreds of people waited through the night – and in some cases for several days – hoping to get their hands on the “Royal Pop” timepieces, made in collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet. In France, lines of hundreds of people formed through the night in several cities and a police source...

Three polls firmly caught my attention over the past month or so. Each was conducted by a different outlet and addressed different questions. However, taken together, they tell one overarching story – implicitly, but unmistakably. Beyond an assortment of data, the story is about direction. The first was a CNN poll. It showed that 76 per cent of Americans now see high prices and the cost of living as their country’s most serious economic problem. Even more striking, nearly seven in 10 expect a...

Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time on Saturday in a final overshadowed by five countries’ boycott over Gaza, claiming a dramatic ‌victory despite another big public vote for Israel that secured it second place. The garish and usually good-natured competition involving pop acts from countries across Europe and beyond, now in its 70th year, has been plunged into crisis by a dispute over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, a response to ⁠the Hamas-led attack on October 7,...

One of four Canadians who returned home from a cruise ship where there was a hantavirus outbreak received a “presumptive positive” test result for the virus, Canadian officials said on Saturday. Results from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg to confirm the case are expected to come over the weekend, said Bonnie Henry, the public health officer for the province of British Columbia. “Clearly this is not what we hoped for, but it is what we planned for,” Henry said. The person, one member...

A Rwandan suspect charged in connection with the 1994 genocide died in a hospital while in custody in The Hague, Netherlands, a UN court said on Saturday, three years after the court declared him unfit to continue standing trial. Felicien Kabuga, 91, was accused of encouraging and bankrolling the mass killing of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority. His trial began in 2022, nearly three decades after the 100-day massacre that left 800,000 dead. In 2023, the judges declared him unfit to continue standing...

A humpback whale that underwent a rescue operation in Germany two weeks ago after beaching itself there has been found dead near a Danish island, officials said on Saturday. “It can now be confirmed that the stranded humpback whale near Anholt is the same whale that was previously stranded in Germany and was the subject of rescue attempts,” said Jane Hansen, division head at the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The whale, dubbed “Timmy” in German media, was initially spotted stuck on a...

⁠A man drove a car into a crowd in the northern Italian city of Modena, injuring at least eight people, four of whom are in serious condition, police said. The driver – a 30-year-old born ‌in Bergamo and of North African origin, who had moved to the province that includes Modena – attempted to flee after the car crashed into a shop window, Modena’s mayor told broadcaster RaiNews24. The fleeing driver was stopped by some pedestrians, one of whom he attacked with a knife and slightly ⁠injured. The...

Israel’s military on Saturday said it had killed the chief of Hamas’ military wing in an air strike on Gaza the previous day, the most senior Hamas official killed by Israel since ‌an October US-backed ceasefire agreement that was meant to halt fighting. A senior Hamas official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was born in 1970, was killed in the attack. Hamas Gaza spokesperson Hazem Qassem later said in a video statement published on Facebook that...

China and the United States have agreed to establish trade and investment councils, committing in principle to match each other’s tariff cuts on a reciprocal basis. “The two sides will use the Trade Council as a forum to discuss issues such as tariff reductions on specific products,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday, without providing further details. The world’s two largest economies also made progress on agricultural trade and aircraft, the statement added. The two...

China’s purchase of “double-digit billions” in American agricultural products touted by US officials following President Donald Trump’s state visit to Beijing appears to be a marginal addition after factoring in previous commitments, analysts said, adding that new orders could reduce the country’s reliance on Brazil for soybeans and other items. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on ‌Friday that he expects to see China buy a 10-figure sum in agricultural products annually over the next...

At least 80 deaths have been reported in Congo’s new Ebola disease outbreak in the eastern Ituri province, authorities said, as health workers raced to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease on Saturday. Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday, with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases. In Ituri’s capital, Bunia, locals recounted their fears amid constant burials. “Every day, people are dying … and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury...

The former Secretary of Public Security for Mexico’s Sinaloa state appeared in a US court on Friday, days after his arrest in Arizona on charges he and other officials took bribes to help the Sinaloa Cartel smuggle vast quantities of drugs into the US. Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, 66, was not required to enter a plea during his initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan. He was ordered jailed but could request bail at a later date. He is due back in court on June 1. A message seeking comment...

Two major protests are taking place on Saturday in London, with the Metropolitan Police warning it may be one of its busiest days in recent years. Tens of thousands of people are expected to march for Unite the Kingdom, an event arranged by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, and the annual pro-Palestine Nakba Day march. London’s Metropolitan Police is drafting more than 4,000 officers to police the two events, a scale of operation it said was “unprecedented...

US and Nigerian forces killed a leader of Islamic State in Nigeria in a mission carried out on Friday, US President Donald Trump said. Trump announced the joint operation in Africa’s most populous country in a late-night social media post that offered few details. He said Abu Bakr al-Mainuki was second in command of Isis globally and “thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.” Al-Mainuki was viewed as a key figure in IS...

Czech police have arrested a man suspected of stealing an almost 800-year-old religious relic from a Catholic church and encasing it in concrete. According to a police spokeswoman on Friday, the suspect admitted taking the skull, which is revered by believers as a relic of Saint Zdislava of Lemberk, from the Church of St Lawrence in the northern Czech town of Jablonne v Podjestedi on Tuesday. Investigators used special equipment to confirm the skull was hidden inside a solid concrete block...

Clavicular, the “looksmaxxing” influencer and streamer whose real name is Braden Eric Peters, has reached a resolution in the misdemeanour case filed after a video posted online apparently showed him repeatedly shooting an alligator while on an airboat in the US Everglades. On March 26 in the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area, Peters was among a group of men on an airboat that had stopped near an alligator that did not appear to be moving, according to videos posted on...

Google’s YouTube and Snap reached agreements to settle the first lawsuit headed to trial over claims that addiction to top social media platforms has disrupted learning and pushed public schools to spend massive sums fighting a mental health crisis, according to court filings. TikTok and Meta Platforms were also sued by the rural Kentucky school district that brought the case, which is set to go to trial on June 12 in federal court in Oakland, California. The trial will serve as a test case for...

US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In the latest instalment of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we explore the massive upswing in capital expenditures across Asia that is driving a broad shift in economic power. When US President Donald Trump made his...

Hollywood star John Travolta was given a surprise lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival Friday as he premiered the first movie he has ever directed. The man who became an icon overnight with Saturday Night Fever was visibly moved as he accepted the honorary Palme d’Or before the screening of Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which is based on a book about his first experience in an airliner. “I just can’t believe it. This is beyond the Oscar, really,” he said as he accepted the...

What comes to mind when you think of China, Japan and South Korea? This was a question posed in a second-year sociology seminar during my time at Bristol, and it has stayed with me ever since. We were split into three groups and given 10 minutes to create posters capturing our immediate associations. Japan came first. Sketches of anime, sushi platters and temples appeared. My classmates spoke with enthusiasm, drawing on travel memories or aspirations to visit. A country that, less than a century...

Prime Minister Mark Carney and the leader of Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province took a major step on Friday towards building an oil pipeline that could substantially increase crude exports to Asia. Expanding overseas energy exports has emerged as a key part of Carney’s strategy to reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the US, but plans for a new pipeline are facing stiff resistance over environmental concerns. Alberta’s conservative Premier Danielle Smith was a relentless critic of Carney’s...

Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire and hold new talks on a political settlement, the US announced on Friday, even as Israel carried out new strikes that it insists are not subject to the truce. Israel has been pounding Lebanon and invaded its south in response to fire from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia movement that is not part of the ceasefire diplomacy. Envoys from Israel and Lebanon’s government, which has struggled to restrain Hezbollah, met for two days in Washington and...

Harvey Weinstein’s third trial in New York over allegations he used his Hollywood clout to prey upon and sexually abuse women ended ‌in a mistrial on Friday, after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on a charge he raped the aspiring actress Jessica Mann. Weinstein, 74, was a top film producer until sexual misconduct allegations led to his downfall and fuelled a wider social movement that encouraged women to come forward with accounts of sexual abuse by ⁠powerful men. The case, brought by...

Peru’s leftist ⁠presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez will face ⁠Keiko Fujimori in the June run-off after narrowly securing second place in April’s first-round vote, official results showed Friday, with 100 per cent of votes tallied. The month-long count led to allegations of fraud in ‌the politically turbulent South American nation, notably from right-wing candidate Rafael Lopez Aliaga, who narrowly trailed Sanchez for much of the counting process. Fujimori, the daughter of late former...

Blink and you might miss the few stone walls that are all that is left of the village that Yusuf Abu Hamam’s family was forced to flee when he was an infant in 1948. The village, al-Joura, was demolished by the Israeli military at the time. It has since vanished under neighbourhoods of the southern Israeli city of Ashqelon and the grounds of a national park. The neighbourhood where Abu Hamam’s family ended up, and where he spent most of his life, now lies also largely in ruins. Buildings in the...

Thirty-four European states plus Australia, Costa Rica and the EU said on Friday they would join a future special tribunal for Ukraine to prosecute Russia over its invasion of the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an accord with the Council of Europe last year to create a legal body to prosecute the “crime of aggression” in the invasion Russia launched in February 2022. The Council of Ministers, comprising foreign ministers from the organisation’s 46-member states, in a...

Fans of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace all have their own reasons for loving the epic novel. Some read it as a story of personal growth, reflected in Prince Andrei’s spiritual quest. Others favour its portrayal of the Russian aristocracy in the early 19th century. As for myself, the novel punctured the myth of the military genius – not just Napoleon’s. The book’s final section on Tolstoy’s philosophy of history presented the most significant challenge to G.W.F. Hegel – specifically regarding French...

Rescue teams in the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives searched for a second day Friday for the bodies of four missing Italians following the country’s deadliest diving accident, officials said. Italy’s foreign ministry said on Thursday night that five citizens had died while diving, with Maldivian authorities recovering one body. Maldives Minister of Tourism Mohamed Ameen said coastguard officers and security forces were scouring remote seas around where the divers were reported missing...

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the continent’s top public health body, on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far. The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the organisation said in a statement. The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. The disease it...

Shortly after US President Donald Trump departed Beijing, China’s ruling Communist Party has called for strengthening the real economy – particularly manufacturing – to gain a competitive edge in the global economy. An article in Qiushi, set to be published on Saturday, curated selections from past speeches by President Xi Jinping to reiterate “our economy was built on the real economy and it must continue to rely on it for the future,” state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Friday. “At...

Finland warned the public of drones possibly entering its airspace, for the first time near the capital city Helsinki, in the early hours of Friday. Flights were disrupted at the country’s biggest airport, Helsinki-Vantaa, and about 1.8 million residents of southern Finland were told to remain indoors after overnight Ukrainian strikes on Russia near Finland prompted concern that unmanned aircraft had strayed into the country. The emergency warning was issued at 3.49am local time and authorities...

Most readers of foreign news pages this weekend will be assuming that US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing has been dominating everyone’s attention. But across Asia, Trump, with his massive business entourage, was not the only act in town this week. At least two other major sets of meetings should not be overlooked. First, in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was hosting foreign ministers from the 10 Brics economies and a growing community...

Before he even entered the race, Andy Burnham was the favourite to unseat Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister. The mayor of Greater Manchester led opinion polls and was the front runner among bookmakers and Polymarket. Late Thursday, the biggest obstacle fell away: Labour MP Josh Simons quit the House of Commons, clearing the way for Burnham to win a seat in Parliament, a requirement for the top job. Arriving in London this week as Starmer’s government wobbled, Burnham has kept a low...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. The message China wants to send by hosting Trump at Temple of Heaven In Chinese diplomacy, historic venues are rarely just backdrops, and are often interpreted as rich in symbolism, carrying messages about history and bilateral...

The United States cast Israel-Lebanon talks held in Washington ⁠on Thursday as “productive and positive” and a State Department official said more discussions aimed at ending their conflict will continue on Friday. A senior Lebanese official said earlier that Lebanon will demand that US ally Israel cease fire in the face-to-face talks, as Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah continued to trade blows despite a US-backed truce declared last month. An Israeli government spokesperson said the talks were...

The head of the CIA visited Cuba on Thursday, an extraordinary step-up in contact between Washington and Havana as the communist-run island reels from US pressure, declaring that it was out of oil. John Ratcliffe’s ‌trip appeared to be only the second visit by a CIA director to Cuba since former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Ratcliffe met with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, grandson of former president Raul Castro, Interior Minister Lazaro Alvarez Casas and the head of Cuban...

In recent years, the Brics grouping has attracted attention as it adds members and positions itself as the voice of the Global South. At a Brics forum held in Beijing last month, officials discussed expanding trade within the grouping. Such initiatives reflect both an impulse to reduce exposure to external shocks linked to the US dollar and a long-term ambition to reshape global finance. These gatherings are as much about signalling intent as delivering substance. Brics wants to be seen as a...

A tourist from Washington state is facing federal charges after a witness recorded what prosecutors say was a video of him hurling a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal just off a Maui beach last week. Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, made arrangements to surrender in the Seattle area on Wednesday as special agents with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were seeking to arrest him, Assistant US Attorney Aislinn Affinito in Honolulu said. He is charged with...

The head of US Border Patrol, the agency tasked with securing the nation’s frontiers and increasingly tapped by the Trump administration for immigration operations in American cities, announced his resignation on Thursday. Michael Banks’ decision, announced in a Fox News interview and later confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security, was the latest leadership shake-up of officials implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and came as the Republican administration appeared...

US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping offered to help broker an end to the Iran conflict and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring how Middle East tensions have become intertwined with a broader effort by Washington and Beijing to steady relations. In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity set to air on Thursday evening in the US, Trump said Xi had personally expressed willingness to assist amid mounting concerns over disruptions in...

One fateful decision 100 years ago created parallel lives. How does a family broken by the bizarre rules of racism heal itself after three generations apart?

Gov. Jared Polis’s decision to commute the sentence of Tina Peters came after months of tense discussions, including one with President Trump.

Our simulations debunk the notion that the act created artificial minority districts that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

The defeat showed the president’s dominance in his party, even as a broader range of views about Mr. Trump could be a major Republican liability in the midterms.

He was defeated in the Republican primary in Louisiana on Saturday. Representative Julia Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming are now in a runoff for the party’s nomination.

Terakeet, a reputation management firm, used online tricks to downplay the friendship of the Goldman Sachs general counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It wasn’t enough.

Here is what we know about the sexual predator whose secrets spurred an international reckoning over money, power and complicity. Check back for updates.

Just a day after the announcement, cases were confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. There is no approved vaccine for this species of Ebola.

Derek Klena was a successful actor with a Tony nomination to his name. But he’s found a bigger audience with the barnstorming baseball sensation.

There is a shared sense of precarity that lies beneath the envy and distrust.

For this to happen, however, both men would need personality transplants.

Seattle voters elected Mayor Katie Wilson as tensions rose over wealth inequality, but as Starbucks, one of the city’s most iconic companies, expands in Nashville, she is finding her limits.

Using cash grants and subsidized loans, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is trying to increase the birthrate. It’s not working.

Video shared on social media showed the jets striking each other and spinning toward the ground. At least four parachutes were deployed before the planes crashed.

What you should know about the federal government’s pilot program offering GLP-1s solely for weight loss.