Minimalist News

Bessent Says Americans To See 'Substantial Refunds' Next Year, No Risk Of Recession Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Nov. 23 said the government shutdown that ended earlier this month will not create a recession risk for the broader U.S. economy and that American families would see “substantial refunds” next year. In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Bessent said that while portions of the U.S. economy, such as housing, were in a recession because of elevated interest rates, he did not expect the broader U.S. economy to plunge into a recession in the coming

Europe's Counter-Plan For Ukraine Peace Leaves Door Wide Open For NATO Admission Even as the Trump White House is busy in Europe trying to get NATO and EU states on board its 28-point peace plan which controversially demands the Ukrainian side cede territory, the Europeans have leaked their own counter-plan which proposes much less in the way of compromise with Russia. The UK, France, and Germany have put forward their own counter-proposal, and the draft differs sharply from the US version. Like with prior proposed deals, it contains terms which Moscow is expected to flatly reject, mostly notably it does not provide guarantees that

Lutnick: Decision On Nvidia's AI H200 Chip China Sales Now Sits On Trump's Desk Building on last week's Bloomberg report that White House officials are quietly discussing whether to let Nvidia sell its advanced H200 AI chips to China - a complete 180 from the previous administration - US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV earlier that the final decision to authorize those shipments now sits on President Trump's desk. Lutnick spoke on a wide range of topics on Bloomberg TV earlier today, noting that the decision to authorize the sale of Nvidia's H200 chips to China is now on President Trump's desk. "Lots

Spiraling Costs And A Broken Insurance Market - What Went Wrong With Obamacare Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times, The government shutdown might be over, but the political and financial problems that dog Obamacare haven’t gone away. Congress is now debating a second extension of the temporary tax credits that have shielded Obamacare users from rising costs for five years. Without the subsidies, Democrats say millions of Americans will be priced out of the health insurance market at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. President Donald Trump and other Republicans don’t want an extension; they want a transformational change that

Futures Rise As Bullish Sentiment Returns After Rollercoaster Week US equity futures are higher, but off their overnight highs, as the market looks to rebound from its worst week since early Oct; sentiment was lifted after shares of Alibaba jumped 4.7% in Hong Kong after a strong debut for its AI app; also boosting futs was a spike in December rate cut hopes and bullish comments from Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson. Still, after a bruising week, and with key macro data delayed until after the December FOMC, bulls are tentative as the S&P is -3.5% MTD, its worst monthly performance since March. As of

Two Investing Titans Issue The Same Warning Authored by Peter Reagan, When Ray Dalio and Jeff Gundlach – two legendary investors with wildly different worldviews – start warning about the same thing, it’s worth paying attention. Both say today’s economy is distorted, and warn that “illusory wealth” may vanish when reality hits… A question for you: In what world would billionaire investing legends Ray Dalio and Jeffrey Gundlach come to the same conclusion about the economy? Answer: This one. Now, if you’re not familiar with either of these financial giants, a little background may be useful. Ray Dalio is the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s

Novo Nordisk Plunges After Ozempic Pill Fails Alzheimer's Trials - Shares Suffer Worst Year Ever Shares of Novo Nordisk in Copenhagen plunged the most in nearly four months after top-line results from a two-year analysis of the evoke and evoke+ Phase 3 trials, a pill version of Ozempic, showed the treatment failed to slow progression in early-stage symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. The studies, which enrolled 3,808 adults over two years, found improvements in Alzheimer's-related biomarkers but no meaningful impact on cognitive decline, as measured by the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR-SB) score.  "While treatment with semaglutide resulted in improvement of Alzheimer's disease-related biomarkers in both trials,

BHP Scraps Anglo Takeover Attempt (Again) - UBS Raises Question: What's Next? The world's largest global diversified miner, BHP Group, has abandoned a renewed takeover approach for Anglo American, ending a brief effort to disrupt Anglo's planned $60-billion merger with Canada's Teck Resources. BHP confirmed earlier that it had held preliminary discussions with Anglo, but said it was now "no longer considering a combination of the two companies" and would focus on its existing portfolio, according to a Bloomberg report.  On Sunday, the outlet reported: > The regulatory statement followed a Bloomberg News report on Sunday that BHP — which had already failed in a bid

'They Threw A Grenade – Now Feign Outrage' – No Sympathy For TikTok Traitors Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) lit into Democrats Friday on Capitol Hill, blasting their viral video urging military mutiny against President Trump as a cynical “grenade” lobbed for clicks and clout—then dismissing their crocodile tears over Trump’s jail threats as “BS” with zero moral high ground. Speaking to reporters amid the seditious uproar that saw Trump vow prison for the “traitors”, Donalds refused to entertain their victim act. “I’m not going to give them any standing about ‘how do they feel?’ That’s BS! They KNEW what they

College-Educated Oversupply Crisis Worsens  The widening mismatch between an oversupply of college-educated workers and a deepening shortage of talent for non-degree, hands-on jobs has grown even more pronounced. Bloomberg reports that the latest delayed BLS data shows a sharp deterioration in white-collar jobs, especially those holding four-year degrees, now making up a record 25% of all unemployed - or about 1.9 million folks, the highest level since 1992. The unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders climbed to 2.8% in September, while joblessness for other education groups remained relatively the same. Young degree-holders are getting squeezed the most: unemployment for ages 20 to 24 jumped to 9.2%,

FAA Prepared For Busiest Thanksgiving Travel In 15 Years Authored by T.J.Muscaro via The Epoch Times, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing for the busiest Thanksgiving holiday travel period in 15 years. More than 360,000 flights are scheduled between Monday, Nov. 24, and Tuesday, Dec. 2, delivering people to and from their destinations across the country. Flights are set to peak on Nov. 25, with more than 52,000 flights alone, and Nov. 26 is expected to be nearly as busy, with more than 50,000 flights scheduled. Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, is expected to see the lowest air traffic that week, with the administration

Luxembourgers Are The World's Biggest Coffee Drinkers The global coffee market continues to grow, but consumption patterns vary widely across countries. Northern European nations dominate the upper tiers, driven by a long-standing café culture and high per-capita spending. Meanwhile, large emerging markets drink far less per person despite being major producers. This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, ranks 65 countries by their daily coffee consumption per capita in 2025, showing how drinking habits differ around the world. The table below also includes data on lifetime coffee consumption, and average cup prices. The data for this ranking comes from Cafely. EUROPE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE GLOBAL

UK Greenlights First Rolls-Royce SMR Project Despite US Pushback Authored by Felicity Bradstock via OilPrice.com, * UK selects Rolls-Royce as preferred SMR developer and launches its first project at Wylfa, aiming for mid-2030s power generation. * The decision triggers criticism from the Trump administration, which pushed for U.S. firm Westinghouse to lead the project. * Despite diplomatic friction, the UK says SMRs will anchor a domestic nuclear revival and leave room for future collaboration with U.S. developers. After selecting Rolls-Royce as the United Kingdom’s preferred bidder to build the country’s first small modular reactors (SMRs), the government has confirmed the start of

G20 In South Africa Ends With A Whimper After Trump Snubs Event South Africa is back in the news yet again, and facing embarrassment yet again.  South Africa's far-left government was hoping that the G20 Summit held this week in Johannesburg would elevate the country's global position and garner them international attention (and funding).  It is the first time in history that the G20 has been held in South Africa.     However, the Trump Administration has made it clear that the South African event is a nothing-burger and the real G20 will be held in the US (in Florida) in 2026.  The meeting was

Why'd Kazakhstan Join The Abraham Accords When It Already Recognizes Israel? Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack, Many observers were surprised after Kazakhstan joined the Abraham Accords during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s trip to DC to attend the latest C5+1 Summit since it’s already recognized Israel since 1992. The Presidential and Foreign Ministry websites shed more light on this decision. The first wrote that “By joining the Abraham Accords, Kazakhstan seeks to contribute to overcoming confrontation, promoting dialogue, and supporting international law based on the principles of the UN Charter.” It added that “The decision of Kazakhstan does not affect the country’s bilateral commitments with any state and represents a

Taiwan Minister Says 'Consensus' Reached With US To Shield Chips From Tariffs Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Taiwanese National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen said that Taiwan and the United States have reached a “consensus” to keep tariffs off Taipei’s semiconductor industry. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Oct. 20, 2021. AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File In a Financial Times interview published on Nov. 20, Wu said that Taiwan will support the United States in building its chip industry, and in return, the United States will offer tariff relief for the island’s semiconductor

Hamas Threatens 'Ceasefire Is Over' Amid Rising Israeli Airstrikes Hamas is threatening the collapse the US-backed ceasefire after a series of Israeli airstrikes and a rising death toll in Gaza over much of the past week. However, Israel's military in fresh Sunday statements has said it is Hamas terrorists repeatedly violating the truce. "The agreement is over and [Hamas] is ready to fight," Hamas sources have been cited in regional outlets as saying. Hamas has reportedly communicated its stance to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, that it is ready to end the ceasefire. Via Reuters But Israeli media in follow-up stated, "Hamas later that evening

Geoengineering Is No Longer Just A Theory Authored by Mollie Engelhart via The Epoch Times, Most people check the weather the way they check traffic or the time. Rain might mean rearranging plans or canceling a child’s T-ball game. A cold snap might simply mean pulling out a sweater or your favorite tweed jacket. Weather, for most people, is an inconvenience or a conversation starter. Because when you need water, you turn on a faucet. When you’re cold or hot, you adjust the thermostat. Weather becomes background noise rather than a force that shapes survival. For farmers, weather is everything. We don’t just look

MTA Hunts For $675 Million Worth Of Loose Change In Subway Seat Cushions Because the universe is nothing if not predictable, we’re back with yet another episode of “New York’s transit agency attempts first grade math.” The MTA has once again found itself rummaging through the sofa cushions of the nation’s largest transit network, searching for spare millions, according to Bloomberg. If it feels like we’re constantly writing about their chronic cash-management drama, that’s because… we are.  New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is now targeting $675 million in additional cuts over the next four years, aiming to trim anything that can reasonably be

US State Department Designates "DEI" As A Violation Of Human Rights There is no way for a government to enforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies without also discriminating against certain groups of people.  DEI, by its very nature, is anti-merit, anti-success and pro-privilege.  Of course, the groups that are most commonly discriminated against under DEI quotas are mostly white, male and straight.  The assumption being that white dudes are widely considered "fair game" by the rest of society.  This dynamic creates a never-ending cycle of people clamoring for oppression status rather than personal integrity and accomplishment.  To win in life, you must

Seventy percent of Americans oppose to US military action in Venezuela, CBS News/YouGov poll finds; Trump administration labels Maduro as member of foreign terrorist organization The president was online early today, and fired off a Truth Social post at 5:38am touting the economic impact that his sweeping tariffs will soon have on the country. He also noted that countries’ efforts to stockpile US goods ahead of the levies kicking in was “wearing thin”. “These payments will be RECORD SETTING, and put our Nation on a new and unprecedented course,” he wrote. “This Tariff POWER will bring America National Security and Wealth the

Star of The Harder They Come had hits including You Can Get It If You Really Want and I Can See Clearly Now Jimmy Cliff, the singer and actor whose mellifluous voice helped to turn reggae into a global phenomenon, has died aged 81. A message from his wife Latifa Chambers on Instagram reads: “It’s with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia. I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him. To all his fans around the world, please

Brazil’s former president says he took a soldering iron to electronic tag as he was hallucinating that it was bugged Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has claimed he took a soldering iron to his electronic ankle monitor after having a substance-induced “psychotic attack” that caused him to hallucinate that the device was bugged. Bolsonaro made the claim during a custody hearing on Sunday, 24 hours after he was arrested at his home in the capital, Brasília, amid suspicions he was planning to abscond to a foreign embassy to avoid being sent to jail to serve a 27-year sentence for masterminding a

Reaching agreement in divisive political landscape shows ‘climate cooperation is alive and kicking’, says UN climate chief The world is not winning the fight against the climate crisis but it is still in that fight, the UN climate chief has said in Belém, Brazil, after a bitterly contested Cop30 reached a deal. Countries at Cop30 failed to bring the curtain down on the fossil fuel age amid opposition from some countries led by Saudi Arabia, and they underdelivered on a flagship hope – at a conference held in the Amazon – to chart an end to deforestation. Continue reading...

Did the talks succeed or fail? The verdict must take account of the geopolitical minefield they took place in Cop30 in Belém wrapped up on Saturday night more than 24 hours later than planned, and with an Amazonian rainstorm thundering down on the conference centre. The UN structure just about held, as it has done these past three weeks despite fire, savage tropical heat and blistering political attacks on the multilateral system of global environmental governance. Dozens of agreements were gavelled through on the final day, as the most collective form of humanity worked to resolve the most complex and dangerous challenge

* 21-year-old beats grand champion Hoshoryu * Wrestler uses ring name Aonishiki Arata Danylo Yavhusishyn has become the first Ukrainian to win a sumo tournament in Japan. The 21-year-old, who fled the war in Ukraine three years ago, won the Kyushu tournament after a tie-breaking victory over grand champion Hoshoryu from Mongolia. Continue reading...

Despite the US’s economic success, income inequality remains breathtaking. But this is no glitch – it’s the system The Chinese did rather well in the age of globalization. In 1990, 943 million people there lived on less than $3 a day measured in 2021 dollars – 83% of the population, according to the World Bank. By 2019, the number was brought down to zero. Unfortunately, the United States was not as successful. More than 4 million Americans – 1.25% of the population – must make ends meet with less than $3 a day, more than three times as many as 35

Environment ministry says most of the deaths were in the mountainous central province of Dak Lak The death toll from major flooding in Vietnam has risen to 90, with 12 more people missing, the environment ministry said on Sunday after days of heavy rain and landslides. Relentless rain has lashed south-central Vietnam since late October and popular holiday destinations have been hit by several rounds of flooding. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Kanak leader Christian Tein, who was freed from prison in June, says France is ‘deliberately dragging out’ re-issue of his passport A pro-independence leader from the French overseas territory of New Caledonia has accused the French government of “deliberately dragging out” his passport application, preventing him from flying home after his release from prison. Christian Tein, an Indigenous Kanak leader, was arrested in New Caledonia in June 2024 over allegations that he had instigated the deadly pro-independence protests that had taken place on the island a month earlier. Continue reading...

From Scott Morrison’s ‘on-water matters’ to the Albanese government’s MOU with Nauru, successive governments’ attitude to legitimate scrutiny has been one of hostility * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Offshore, secrecy dominates. But it doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. In February, Australia brokered a new offshore arrangement with Nauru, striking a deal to send members of the so-called NZYQ cohort – non-citizens with criminal histories – to the Pacific island. Australia would give Nauru more than $400m in exchange. Continue reading...

Providers report a median operating loss of nearly 4% in the last financial year – with losses totalling about 12% over five years * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Not-for-profit disability services that support some of the most vulnerable Australians are being forced to close and exit the national disability insurance scheme because of untenably low price caps for NDIS services, one of the architects of the scheme has warned. “For some years, many of us in the sector have been telling the National Disability Insurance Agency that flaws in their pricing are contributing to not-for-profit

Research by Choice suggests 53% of people either regretted a purchase or had a negative experience during the sales, as other experts warn against overspending and scams * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast More than half (53%) of Australians have regretted a purchase or had a negative experience during Black Friday sales, a Choice survey has found. The consumer advocate warned shoppers to be wary of “unmissable” deals and other strategies that create a false sense of urgency, with businesses already rolling out early discounts before Black Friday sales officially start on 28 November. Misleading “store-wide” or

Labor MP backs independent’s call for cheaper energy on the east coast by forcing producers to sell cheaper fuel for Australian use * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Ed Husic has demanded strong action to end “profiteering” among gas exporters and to force them to sell cheaper fuel for Australian use, as the former industry minister broke ranks with his Labor colleagues to support an independent MP’s motion regarding energy prices on the east coast. In a stinging rebuke to what he called Australia’s “timid” approach to gas market regulation, Husic delivered an impassioned speech in

Servicing a new mortgage eats up 45% of a median household’s pre-tax income, up from 26% in September 2020, the analysis reveals * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The average Australian household needs to dedicate nearly twice as much of their income to paying their mortgage than they did five years ago, according to a new report. The latest findings from property research firm Cotality come as the Albanese government comes under increasing pressure to find ways to accelerate the supply of new homes to ease price pressures. Continue reading...

The victim was treated by NSW paramedics for wounds to his thigh but died at the scene * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A 15-year-old young person is under arrest after a teenage boy was fatally stabbed in the leg in Sydney’s north-west on Monday afternoon. Speaking to the media on Monday evening, Supt Naomi Moore said the 17-year-old was stabbed in the thigh and the alleged offender then fled. The 17-year-old was treated by New South Wales paramedics but died at the scene. Continue reading...

Ukraine has been cornered into weighing terms it cannot accept and faces threat of losing its most important ally The Kremlin has barely lifted a finger in recent days. It hasn’t needed to. The 28-point US-Russia peace proposal, leaked to the media last week, has thrown Washington, Kyiv and European capitals into disarray, creating precisely the conditions Vladimir Putin has long sought: a negotiating table sharply tilted in the Russian president’s favour, with Ukraine cornered into weighing terms it cannot accept and the threat of losing its most important ally hanging over its head. Continue reading...

Swedish PM says Russia ‘must be forced to the negotiating table’ as European leaders meet in Angola to discuss Geneva talks * US and Ukraine promise ‘updated’ peace framework after criticism of pro-Russian points in original plan Russian air defences downed a Ukrainian drone en route to Moscow on Monday, the city’s mayor said as reported by Reuters, forcing three airports that serve the capital to temporarily restrict all incoming and outgoing flights. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement that emergency services were working at the scene of the downed drone. Continue reading...

Some of Russia’s maximalist demands have been removed from original 28-point proposal, it is understood Ukraine has significantly amended the US “peace plan” to end the conflict, removing some of Russia’s maximalist demands, people familiar with the negotiations said, as European leaders warned on Monday that no deal could be reached quickly. Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet Donald Trump in the White House later this week, sources indicated, amid a flurry of calls between Kyiv and Washington. Ukraine is pressing for Europe to be involved in the talks. Continue reading...

Blow to leftist coalition government of PM Pedro Sánchez, who appointed Álvaro García Ortiz in 2022 Spain’s chief prosecutor has announced his resignation after the supreme court found him guilty last week of leaking confidential information in a case involving a businessman who is the boyfriend of a prominent rightwing politician. The unprecedented case is a blow to the coalition government of the socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who appointed Álvaro García Ortiz in 2022 and has defended his innocence repeatedly. Continue reading...

Report dashes hopes for new use for blockbuster weight-loss drug * Business live – latest updates Novo Nordisk shares slumped on Monday after the drugmaker said the pill version of its weight-loss drug Ozempic had failed to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in two large studies. The Danish company said patients who took the drug did not see their disease progress more slowly, dashing hopes for a new use for the blockbuster diabetes drug. Continue reading...

Embassy’s employment of Gila Ben-Yakov Phillips is potentially violation of UK sanctions law, say experts The British embassy in Tel Aviv may have broken both UK sanctions law and UK government security policies by employing an Israeli citizen who owns a home in an illegal settlement in occupied Palestine, legal experts have said. The embassy’s deputy head of corporate services and HR, Gila Ben-Yakov Phillips, moved to Kerem Reim in 2022. She listed a house she bought there as her home address on financial documents at the time. Continue reading...

Militant group confirms Haytham Ali Tabatabai was killed in attack that dramatically escalates tensions in the region Israel targeted one of Hezbollah’s most senior military commanders in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, dramatically escalating tensions with the group almost exactly a year after a ceasefire ended 14 months of clashes. The Israeli military said several hours after the attack that Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s chief of staff, was killed in the strike in Lebanese capital. Continue reading...

Unable to reunite with their families in Gaza due to the closed border, Palestinian workers have spent two years in a refugee camp at Nablus stadium Inside a dim locker room at the Nablus municipal stadium, in the occupied West Bank, the television rarely goes dark, streaming day and night the relentless news from Gaza. Gathered in front of it are a group of men from Khan Younis. For more than two years, they have lived in this stadium converted into a refugee camp, their lives suspended between exile and the war they watched on a screen. They are mostly construction workers

‘Severe lack’ in territory where Israeli strikes have killed more than 50 people and injured over 100 in recent days Hospitals in Gaza are running out of essential supplies, with new waves of Israeli airstrikes killing more than 50 people and injuring more than 100 in recent days, medical and aid workers in the devastated Palestinian territory have said. Medics said on Sunday that stocks of gauze, antiseptics, thermometers and antibiotics were running low. Continue reading...

Pageantry and trillion-dollar promises reveal how Washington’s loyalties may be tilting toward the Gulf The White House welcome bestowed on the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was the most lavish of the Trump presidency, and a gaudily clear statement of its foreign policy priorities. It was billed as a mere working visit, but it was more extravagant than any previous state visit. The president greeted the prince on the south lawn, the White House’s biggest stage. There were uniformed men on horses bearing flags and a flypast of fighter jets. Continue reading...

India’s prime minister among those paying tribute to celebrated actor whose career spanned six decades Dharmendra, one of the most enduring stars of India’s Bollywood cinema, has died at the age of 89. Born Dharam Singh Deol, but later known as Dharmendra, he rose to fame in the 1960s and became one of the most celebrated and popular stars of Indian cinema in a career that spanned six decades. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tshering Tobgay says his country is doing ‘a lot more than our fair share’ on climate and west must cut emissions ‘for the happiness of your people’ The wealthy western countries most responsible for the climate crisis would improve the health and happiness of their citizens by prioritising environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth, according to the prime minister of Bhutan, the world’s first carbon-negative nation. Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy and biodiversity hotspot situated high in the eastern Himalayas, is among the world’s most ambitious climate leaders thanks to its people’s connection with nature and a strong political focus on

Hasina sentenced in absentia by court in Dhaka over deadly crackdown on student-led uprising last year Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Dhaka for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. A three-judge bench of the country’s international crimes tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities as she oversaw a crackdown on anti-government protesters last year. Continue reading...

The accidental explosion comes days after a deadly car blast in New Delhi which killed at least eight people near the city’s historic Red Fort At least nine people were killed and 32 injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police have announced. The blast occurred in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, the region’s main city, late on Friday while a team of forensic experts and police were examining the explosive material, said Nalin Prabhat, the region’s police director general. He ruled out any foul play, saying it was an accident. Continue reading...

Investigators believe an explosion that killed 13 people may be linked to group operating in the disputed region Police have carried out raids and made several arrests across the Indian region of Kashmir in the aftermath of a car explosion in Delhi that left 13 people dead. On Wednesday, the Indian government confirmed it was treating the blast as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The explosion took place outside one of India’s most significant monuments during rush hour on Monday evening. Continue reading...

Stopping use of jabs brings regained weight plus loss of benefits regarding ‘bad’ cholesterol and blood pressure People who stop using the weight-loss jab Mounjaro not only tend to regain weight, but experience a reversal in other health improvements too, research suggests. Mounjaro, which contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, has become a popular medication for weight loss, with studies suggesting that it can help people lose an average of 20% of their body weight after 72 weeks of treatment. Continue reading...

US president has threatened to sue broadcaster but Michael Prescott does not agree with Trump’s assessment that programme tarnished his reputation Caroline Daniel is also asked about her views on editorial bias. “My experience was the BBC took issues of impartiality extremely seriously,” she said. Continue reading...

West Midlands police’s assistant chief constable says threat of violence by Maccabi fans was more important consideration Badenoch says the government should be cutting regulation. And she claims she can do this because, when she was business secretary, she was able to cut regulation. As an example, she says she ruled about mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. Fewer and fewer people are working to support more and more people out of work and living on welfare. The rider is getting heavier than the horse. Continue reading...

Unimetals, which operates at 27 UK locations, files winding–up petition after failing to find a buyer * Business live – latest updates More than 650 workers face the prospect of redundancy after the scrap metals group Unimetals filed for compulsory liquidation. The owners of Unimetals Recycling (UK) filed a winding-up petition for the business on Monday, after failing to find a buyer. Continue reading...

Oliver Chu from California first person to have the one-off treatment for Hunter syndrome Doctors are cautiously optimistic about a groundbreaking gene therapy for children affected by a devastating inherited disorder after seeing positive results in the first boy to receive the treatment. Three-year-old Oliver Chu from California became the first patient to have the therapy nine months ago as part of a clinical trial run by researchers in Manchester. It is too early to call the therapy a success, but doctors are encouraged by his progress so far. Continue reading...

Police had issued alert after Morgan Geyser cut off monitoring bracelet, and was reportedly located at a truck stop The Wisconsin woman who admitted to repeatedly stabbing a sixth-grade classmate to delight the fictional online horror character Slender Man in 2014 has been caught after authorities said she cut off a monitoring bracelet and left her group home. Morgan Geyser, 23, was found in Posen, Illinois, on Sunday evening, authorities said. Police in Madison, Wisconsin, had issued an alert for Geyser earlier in the day, saying she had last been seen with an adult acquaintance on Saturday evening. The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue

Man arrested in Houston is alleged to have used fake ID to demand $400 from woman who had given him massage A church employee is under arrest in Houston, Texas, after being accused of posing as an ICE agent to extort money from a woman he had booked to give him a massage. Donald Doolittle, 58, a safety director at the Gateway Community church in Webster, south-east of Houston, has been charged with impersonating a public servant. Continue reading...

Jon M Chu’s sequel, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, is the second biggest US opening of the year and the biggest international opening for a stage musical adaptation The extraordinary promotional juggernaut for Wicked: For Good, Jon M Chu’s sequel to the 2024 first instalment of his Broadway adaptation, appears to have paid off, with the film this weekend smashing box office records held by its predecessor. Its global total at the end of the weekend stands at $226m, considerably up on the $164.2m earned by its predecessor. The major change was in the domestic takings: while last year’s film took

He called one a ‘piggy’ after being questioned about the files, and reacted furiously to another during a meeting with the Saudi crown prince Since the early days of his political career, Donald Trump has been critical of the media, but in recent days his hostility has reached a new peak – particularly when it comes to questions about his association with the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Trump invoked the phrase “piggy” – a term he has used before – to describe a female reporter on Friday, and has aggressively responded to at least one other female reporter over the past week, including

Senators cited Reuters reporting that Meta itself estimated its platforms were involved in a third of all scams in the US US senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have asked the heads of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate revenue from ads on Facebook and Instagram that promote scams and banned goods. “The FTC and SEC should immediately open investigations and, if the reporting is accurate, pursue vigorous enforcement action where appropriate” to force Meta to disgorge profits, pay penalties and agree to cease running such advertisements, Hawley and Blumenthal wrote in a letter

Amid the climate crisis, China’s quiet leadership in the fight for a sustainable future offers a reason for optimism, particularly for the Global South. After two weeks of contentious negotiations, Cop30 in Brazil concluded with an uneasy deal that sidestepped any mention of fossil fuels, exposing deep divisions and mounting frustrations. Indeed, even as Cop30 convened, the world was already suffering “summit fatigue”. After decades of lofty declarations and limited follow-through, many question...

Israel’s military announced the dismissal of three generals and disciplinary actions against several other senior officers over their failure to prevent the October 2023 assault by Hamas, the deadliest attack in the country’s history. The move comes two weeks after Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir called for a “systemic investigation” into the failures that led to the onslaught, even as the government dragged its feet on establishing a state commission of inquiry despite public pressure. The...

Alibaba Group Holding’s logistics arm, Cainiao, has expanded its parcel delivery service to eight African countries – including Morocco, Ghana and Nigeria – as it races to give Chinese e-commerce merchants a cheaper, more reliable way to reach the fast-growing continent. The company planned to extend the service to South Africa and Egypt by the end of December, Cainiao said in a statement over the weekend. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Cainiao said underdeveloped logistics...

Former British prime minister David Cameron has revealed he was successfully treated for prostate cancer as he backed a targeted screening programme for the United Kingdom’s most common cancer in males. Cameron was urged to get tested by his wife, Samantha, after the pair heard the founder of Soho House, Nick Jones, speaking about his experience with cancer during a radio interview a year ago, The Times reported. The politician had a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, an MRI scan and then a...

The US is poised to supply Saudi Arabia with its most advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets, a move that analysts say reflects a new era of Middle East policy in which countering Chinese influence is fast becoming as important for Washington as maintaining Israeli military superiority. It would make Saudi Arabia only the second country in the region, after Israel, to operate the fifth-generation jet. US President Donald Trump announced the decision following a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s visiting...

A joint declaration at the Cop30 summit in Brazil – reached without United States participation after Washington again pulled out of the Paris climate pact – has kept fragile climate cooperation alive for the Global South, even as the talks fell short of a fossil fuel phase-out. Observers said the outcome revealed both the limits of a strained multilateral system and the room that still existed for developing nations to influence the global energy transition, with several pointing to the UN...

By December 1, Russia is likely to approve and present its long-term road map for developing its rare earth sector, following President Vladimir Putin’s directive to the cabinet on November 4. On the surface, this is a domestic industrial policy story about catching up in the hi-tech arena. However, this view misses the woods for the trees. This road map is a sophisticated geostrategic manoeuvre, a single stone aimed at three strategic birds: reclaiming autonomy over strategic resources,...

Plans for a new nationwide UK digital ID are sparking widespread public concern, but some critics including far-right politicians are fuelling fears with unproven claims that it will be used to boost government control over people’s lives. They have warned that a digital ID would be used to store data on vaccinations and carbon footprint and limit access to flying and food, which the government has vehemently denied. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September said the ID card would be...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Disaster’: Egyptian exhibition at Hong Kong museum descends into chaos 2. ‘Limited alternatives’: why Japan will struggle to replace China’s tourists 3. Malaysia’s poorest state prepares a poll shock for the prime minister 4. China team simulates large-scale electronic warfare against Musk’s...

Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last week have escaped and have been reunited with their parents, the Catholic Church and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday. But around 253 of the kidnapped children, along with 12 staff members and teachers, were still with the kidnappers, said CAN Chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school. In a statement, Yohanna said the pupils escaped on Friday and...

A close ally of Bosnia’s Serb Republic separatist leader Milorad Dodik won a snap presidential election in a tight race with opposition candidate, the election commission said on Sunday, citing preliminary results. “According to preliminary, unofficial and incomplete results, Sinisa Karan won 50.89 per cent of the votes,” Jovan Kalaba, the commission’s president, said at a news conference. Kalaba said that opposition candidate Branko Blanusa of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) won 47.81 per cent...

Nicholas Lardy is a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, both Washington-based think tanks. He has studied the Chinese economy extensively, publishing several books on its growth and development since the late 1970s. His most recent, 2019’s The State Strikes Back, posits a rollback of Beijing’s economic reforms via renewed government intervention into the market. This interview first appeared in SCMP...

Slovenians on Sunday rejected in a referendum a law that allowed terminally ill patients to end their lives, according to preliminary results released by the election authorities. The near-complete count showed that around 53 per cent voted against the law while around 46 per cent supported it. The no-votes also represented more than 20 per cent of 1.7 million eligible voters in Slovenia, which is requested by the election rules. Turnout was nearly 41 per cent, the State Electoral Commission...

South Korea, under President Lee Jae-myung, has repeatedly proclaimed its desire to improve relations and re-engage in diplomacy with North Korea. Yet a landmark agreement with Washington formalised last week reveals a starkly different priority: advancing military capabilities that will almost certainly drive the two Koreas further apart. The United States has officially approved South Korea’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines while supporting Seoul’s efforts to secure uranium enrichment...

International airlines increasingly cancelled flights to Venezuela on Sunday after the US Federal Aviation Administration warned pilots to use caution when flying in the country’s airspace because of worsening security and heightened military activity. Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Airlines Association in Venezuela, said six carriers have indefinitely suspended flights: TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, Gol and Caribbean. Turkish Airlines suspended flights from November 24 to 28. She did not...

South African police are investigating claims that a daughter of ex-president Jacob Zuma was involved in recruiting men to join Russian mercenaries in the Ukraine war, they said on Sunday. The allegations against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, an MP in her father’s MK political party, were made by one of her sisters in an affidavit asking for a formal investigation, police said. It claimed Zuma-Sambudla and two other people were involved in recruiting 17 South Africans whom the presidency said this...

Pressure is increasing for Andrew, the former British prince, to give evidence to a US congressional committee investigating the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after Britain’s prime minister suggested he should testify. Keir Starmer declined to comment directly about King Charles’ disgraced younger brother but told reporters travelling with him for the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Johannesburg that as a “general principle” people should provide evidence to investigators. “I don’t comment...

The United States and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war with Russia that apparently modified an earlier plan drafted by the Trump administration which Kyiv and its allies saw as too sympathetic to Moscow. In a joint statement released on Sunday after talks in Geneva between US and Ukrainian delegations, the two sides said their discussion was “highly productive” and said they would continue in coming days. They did not provide specifics about a...

Israel on Sunday struck Lebanon’s capital for the first time since June, saying it killed Hezbollah’s chief of staff Haytham Tabtabai and warning the Iran-backed militant group not to rearm and rebuild a year after their latest war. The strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed five people and wounded 25 others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Hezbollah confirmed Tabtabai’s death. Earlier it said the strike, launched almost exactly a year after a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war,...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the world can make progress on a range of issues without the US, and that consensus reached at a Group of 20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg this weekend carries weight despite a boycott by President Donald Trump’s administration. South Africa, the G20 host this year, defied the US by releasing a declaration from the meeting. Trump ordered the stay away after repeating a debunked claim that White Afrikaner farmers in South Africa are being subjected to a...

On November 16, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier, sailed into the Caribbean to join Operation Southern Spear – the largest US military deployment in the Caribbean since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Donald Trump is, however, a very different president from John F. Kennedy. Whereas Kennedy endorsed the burden of American exceptionalism to “assure the survival and the success of liberty” at “any price” or “hardship”, Trump promises to prioritise “America...

From Finland opening diplomatic outposts in Senegal to Czech instructors training Mauritanian security forces, a group of smaller European nations has joined a global scramble for influence in Africa. Estonia, Romania and Malta are among European Union countries that have sought to boost their presence on the continent over the past five years, revamping diplomatic and trade links. “There is a wave of second-generation Africa policy refreshes completed and … under way,” said Alex Vines of the...

Italy’s centre-left opposition is testing out a big-tent alliance, guessing it’s the best way to unseat Giorgia Meloni at the next general election. The rest is still being worked out. The alliance pulls together parties with disparate political beliefs – the centre-left Democrats, the populist Five Star Movement, the left-wing Greens and Left Alliance and several smaller groups. The goal is to rally behind single, strategically chosen candidates and consolidate the anti-Meloni vote. The plan...

On his first full day in jail, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro told a judge on Sunday he had violated his ankle monitoring the day before at his house arrest because of a nervous breakdown and hallucinations caused by a change in his medication. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the 70-year-old leader’s pre-emptive jailing on Saturday for he is considered a flight risk. Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison in September for attempting a coup to remain in the...

The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, according to four US officials, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Reuters was not able to establish the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor whether US President Donald Trump had made a final decision to act. Reports of looming action have proliferated in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean amid...

European leaders and other allies told the US that its peace plan for Ukraine needed “additional work”, in a rushed bid to try and slow walk a Trump administration determined to give concessions to Russia and impose terms by Thanksgiving. They issued a statement at a Group of 20 summit in South Africa that US President Donald Trump blew off but where many of them were headed to when the controversial details of the 28-point peace plan were leaked. The US set an ultimatum for Thursday. In...

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was enlisting the help of legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus to spruce up the courses at Joint Base Andrews – adding a site long known as the “president’s golf course” to his long list of construction projects. The president took an aerial tour of the Courses at Andrews aboard Marine One and promised, “We’re going to do some work” there, as well as to other parts of the base. “We’re doing some fix-up of the base, which it needs. We’re gonna try and...

John F. Kennedy’s granddaughter disclosed on Saturday that she has terminal cancer, writing in an essay in The New Yorker that one of her doctors said she might live for about another year. Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, and Edwin Schlossberg, wrote that she was diagnosed in May 2024 at 34. After the birth of her second child, her doctor noticed her white blood cell count was high. It turned out to be acute myeloid leukaemia with a rare mutation,...

Irish fashion designer Paul Costelloe, personal designer to the late Princess Diana who became a fixture at London Fashion Week for four decades, has died aged 80, his family said in a statement on Saturday. Costelloe was appointed as Diana’s personal designer in 1983, shortly after establishing his own label, Paul Costelloe Collections, and their collaboration continued until her death in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Costelloe, who led the development of all his collections from his studio in...

Israeli air strikes in Gaza killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 80, local health authorities said on Saturday, in a further test of a fragile ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel. Witnesses and medical staff said the first attack hit a car in the densely populated Rimal neighbourhood, setting it ablaze. It was not immediately clear whether the five dead were passengers of the car or included passers-by. Dozens of people rushed to extinguish the fire and...

Brazil’s Cop30 presidency pushed through a compromise climate deal on Saturday that would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming but omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it. In securing the accord, Brazil hoped to demonstrate global unity in addressing climate change impacts even after the world’s biggest historic emitter, the United States, declined to send an official delegation. Acknowledging that the deal left many frustrated, the head of the UN climate...

Left-leaning social media users have amplified an AI-generated audio clip purporting to show US President Donald Trump screaming at US officials to block the release of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, researchers said on Friday. In recent weeks, renewed public furore over the so-called Epstein files has consumed US politics, spurring a showdown between lawmakers and Trump, a former friend of the late convicted sex offender. “Not releasing the Epstein files,” a...

Ukraine and the US will soon meet in Switzerland to discuss Washington’s plan for ending the war with Russia, which currently heeds some of Russia’s hardline demands, Kyiv said on Saturday. US President Donald Trump gave Ukraine less than a week to approve the 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year conflict, which would see the invaded country ceding territory, cutting its army and pledging to never join Nato. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s European allies, who were not included in drafting the...

Gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 students and teachers in one of the largest mass kidnappings in Nigeria, a Christian group said on Saturday, as security fears mounted in Africa’s most populous nation. The early Friday raid on St Mary’s co-education school in Niger state in central Nigeria came after gunmen on Monday stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier reported 227 people seized, but the new number...

Britain’s former prime minister Boris Johnson slammed an inquiry report critical of his government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as “hopelessly incoherent” in a social media post on Saturday. “More than three years after the end of the pandemic, they are still wrangling about what went wrong,” Johnson, 61, also wrote in an article for the Daily Mail tabloid, days after the inquiry slammed his government for its “chaotic” response to the global pandemic costing thousands of lives. The...

All crew members have been evacuated from the container ship One Henry Hudson after a fire and explosion disrupted the vessel’s power and crane operations at San Pedro port on Friday, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said. Hazardous materials have been identified in several bays at the port, and firefighters are wearing protective gear and using self-contained breathing equipment. Marine units continue cooling the ship’s exterior, with no personnel allowed below deck, the LAFD said. TV...

Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the pre-emptive arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday, with a judge claiming he was intent on escaping just days before he was set to begin his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt. The 70-year-old politician was taken to the headquarters of the country’s federal police in the capital, Brasilia, from his house arrest. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case, said in his ruling that Bolsonaro’s ankle monitor,...

Chinese investment is still being actively welcomed in Ireland, the head of a major business organisation said, even as the wider European Union adopts a more cautious attitude and Dublin walks a tightrope to maintain ties with both the US and China amid a wide-ranging rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. “We’re firmly open for business within the EU rules, that is an unambiguous position,” Mary Rose Burke, CEO of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, told the Post in an interview last...

Authorities on Friday arrested seven bodyguards suspected of being involved in the assassination earlier this month of a popular mayor in west-central Mexico whom they were supposed to be protecting. At least five of the suspects were seen being arrested by state and federal authorities in Uruapan on Friday, steps away from the site where Mayor Carlos Manzo was killed during Day of the Dead festivities on November 1. Later, the Michoacan state prosecutor’s office said in a brief statement that...

This article was first published on November 22, 1995 By David Wallen and other agencies New blow to monarchy as Diana admits adultery Princess Diana’s frank admission of adultery, her graphic description of a three-year battle with bulimia, and her certainty she will never be queen left Britons reeling and dealt a new blow to the monarchy. In an unprecedented hour-long interview watched by 20 million people, including Hong Kong subscribers to Cable TV, Diana spoke candidly about her failed...

James Watson was probably racist and sexist, but possibly no worse than many people. He was just less inhibited in saying such things out loud. Such views got him into serious trouble late in his life. He was cancelled before “cancel culture” was a thing. But in criticising Watson – a towering figure in 20th-century science who died early this month aged 97 – you need first to understand two things: the evolution – pun intended – of biology from its inherent Western racism to its more recent...

An Ohio jury found a white police officer not guilty of murder on Friday in the 2023 fatal shooting of a pregnant black woman suspected of shoplifting from a supermarket, lawyers in the case and court records said. Connor Grubb, an officer with the Blendon Township Police Department, was also cleared of involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault charges in the death of Ta’Kiya Young, Grubb’s lawyer Mark Collins said. The case drew national attention because of the circumstances and has...

Former president Mauricio Macri warned on Friday that Argentina could weaken its export base if it distances itself from China, sharpening his public split with President Javier Milei. Macri argued that China remains central to Argentina’s sales of soy, beef and other raw materials, goods the US already produces in abundance. “China is more complementary than the United States for Argentina. I do not think it is good to interrupt that process,” he said. A long-time Milei ally, Macri was...

In 2004, Joshua Cooper Ramo, now co-CEO of Kissinger Associates, coined the term “Beijing Consensus” as an alternative to the Washington Consensus, the neoliberal framework of economic policies devised in the 1980s by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and US Treasury. China had just joined the World Trade Organization and, within the country, there was considerable scepticism that a Beijing Consensus existed. Come 2007, and as the global financial crisis broke out – first with the US...

US officials are having early discussions on whether to let Nvidia sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, according to people familiar with the matter, a contentious potential move that would mark a major win for the world’s most valuable company. US President Donald Trump’s team had held internal talks about H200 chip shipments to the Asian country in recent days, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive matter. No final decision had been made, the...

The White House now has conflicting approaches for Associated Press journalists as it fights the news service in court over access to presidential events.

While the two sides reached a broad agreement months ago, American officials will visit Brussels this week to discuss the details. Europe has a wish list, but so does the United States.

From Sweden to Brazil, six small companies talk about how they are communicating with their U.S. customers amid uncertainty over Trump’s changing tariffs.

A combination of strategic planning, good timing and a long-awaited product helped the maker of electronic story boxes weather the onset of tariffs.

Bitcoin and other digital tokens have lost more than $1 trillion in value in recent weeks, raising concerns about a wider market fallout.

Reporters and editors shared the holiday dishes they love. Here are their recommendations for Thanksgiving side dishes, turkey and more.

As frustrations among corrections officers mount, abusive treatment of inmates is rising and becoming more vicious, records and interviews show.

State prison guards say they are doing so because their jobs have become more dangerous. A New York Times analysis points to a different reality.

Financial and social incentives can nudge doctors away from the operating room.

After Oakland, Calif., reneged on a contract allowing coal shipments, a Kentucky company went under. Courts say the city must now pay hundreds of millions of dollars.

The indictment of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff shocked many power players in California. Now, some wonder how far the investigation will spread.

President Trump tried to keep the former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, out of prison. He failed, and now he is moving on.

His Grammy-winning records as well as his starring role in the cult movie “The Harder They Come” in 1972 boosted a career spanning seven decades.

The Renaissance artist painted more than 100 figures in the Sistine Chapel ceiling, yet studies for only a handful remain. Could this five-inch drawing at Christie’s be one?

Conservation can be tough when a property is passed down informally over generations. A growing effort is helping families sort it all out.

Caregivers are at the brink of despair.

Democrats also have to shed the last vestiges of woke.

We explain the Trump administration’s latest push to end the war.

Those with the sleep condition were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. But one treatment was found to help.

Mr. Cotton oversaw the rebuilding of LaGuardia Airport and several other major infrastructure projects in the New York City region.

The government acted quickly to tamp down reprisals in the central city of Homs as it tries to manage repeated waves of bloodshed involving minority groups.

Young adults who engaged in a social media “detox” reported reductions in depression, anxiety and insomnia, though it was unclear how long the effects would last.