Minimalist News

5Y Auction Tails Despite Jump In Foreign Demand, Yields Hit Session High After a mediocre 2Y auction to start the week's coupon issuance this morning, moments ago the Treasury sold 5Y notes in another average auction. The sale of $70BN in 5 Year paper stopped at a high yield of 3.955%, down fractionally from 3.980% last month, and tailing the When Issued 3.950% by 0.5bps. This was an improvement from last month's 1.4bps tail, but more concerningly this was the 11th tail in a row for 5Y issues. The bid to cover was also on the muted side, at 2.330, up from 2.287,

Supreme Court To Review Geofencing In Pivotal Case For Privacy Rights Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times, The Supreme Court on April 27 will hear oral arguments in a case with major implications for privacy rights—and how law enforcement uses Americans’ cell phone data while investigating crimes. The case, Chatrie v. United States, centers on law enforcement’s use of “geofencing warrants”—judge-authorized requests for cell phone location data near the scene of a crime. Okello Chatrie told the Supreme Court that the government’s use of these warrants, which resulted in a criminal conviction over his robbing a bank while his smart phone was

Apple Fixes Bug That Allowed FBI To Read Deleted Signal Messages Authored by Brian Quarmby via CoinTelegraph.com, Tech giant Apple has fixed a security flaw that had allowed the FBI to access a Signal user’s deleted messages through their phone’s push notification database, despite the app being deleted and messages being set to disappear. In a security advisory released on Wednesday, Apple said it had fixed a bug that allowed “notifications marked for deletion” to be “unexpectedly retained on the device.” In an X post on Wednesday, Signal said the update fixed the issue that made a user’s messages retrievable by law enforcement. "Apple's advisory confirmed that

Supreme Court Hands Texas GOP Redistricting Win, While Virginia Judge Backs Democrats The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted Republicans a significant boost in the ongoing battle over congressional boundaries, issuing a summary reversal that allows Texas to proceed with its 2025 mid-decade congressional map for the November 2026 elections. In the case, Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens, the justices overturned a federal district court’s earlier injunction against the new boundaries. The majority referenced its own prior opinion from late 2025 in the same litigation, while Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson noted their disagreement with the outcome. The Texas map, redrawn

Average 2Y Auction Is A Big Improvement From Last Month's Debale In today's first of two coupon auctions (due to the week's truncated schedule as the Fed is on Wednesday), the US Treasury sold $69BN in 2 year paper in a mediocre auction, yet one which was notably stronger than last month's issuance. The sale stopped at a high yield of 3.812%, down from last month's 3.936% and tailing the When Issued 3.811% by 0.1bps. This however was a big improvement from last month's 1.8bps tail, which was the biggest since March 2023.  The bid to cover was 2.653, a notable improvent from

Rubio Insists US 'Will Not Tolerate' Deal Which Makes Iran Gatekeeper Over Hormuz, As Putin Tells Araghchi Tehran 'Fighting For Its Sovereignty'  SUMMARY * Putin tells FM Araghchi that he's been in contact with the new Supreme Leader, and says Iran fighting for 'sovereignty' * After a weekend of stalemate malaise, Iran reportedly offers new proposal for opening ship traffic, while postponing the thorny nuclear issue; Rubio says 'will not tolerate' Iran control of strait * Trump says peace could come via telephone rather than face-to-face meetings, also warning Iranian oil infrastructure could explode from within unless flow resumes; Tehran later says Trump has

Germany's Merz Says US 'Humiliated' By Iranians & Trump Lacks Strategy, Exit Plan German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a rare moment torched US foreign policy and the Trump administration's Iran war gambit. There's been plenty of criticism out of Europe since Operation Epic Fury kicked off on February 28, but Merz's Monday words are especially direct and scathing. He proclaimed that Iran's leadership was embarrassing the US, claiming it was prompting US officials to travel to Pakistan and then return without achieving any outcome. "The Iranians are obviously very skilled ⁠at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans

Hold The Horses By Rabobank There are five G10 central bank meetings scheduled this week and not a single policy move is expected between them. That said, the signalling of policymakers will be crucial. For each of the BoJ, Fed, BoC, ECB and the BoE, the market will be watching to see how rate setters are gauging the two sided the risks to growth and inflation implied by the Iran war. It remains Rabo’s view that the Fed will likely cut rates again this year. This outcome may have been made a little easier by the weekend announcement from Senator Tillis regarding

MAHA Advocates To Converge In Washington For 'People Vs. Poison' Rally Authored by Jeff Louderbeck via The Epoch Times, A bipartisan crowd of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) proponents is set to converge on the U.S. Supreme Court steps on the morning of April 27 and bring attention to the Trump administration’s handling of glyphosate and alleged health hazards stemming from use of the chemical. Glyphosate is the main chemical in Roundup, a product made by Bayer subsidiary Monsanto. As the Supreme Court commences oral arguments about whether Bayer should be held legally liable for not letting its customers know that glyphosate could cause

"Blockbuster Week" Preview: Fed, ECB, BOJ On Deck, Earnings Avalanche, GDP, PCE Tomorrow marks exactly two months since the strikes on Iran began. As DB's Jim Reid writes, while there is currently a rolling, open ended ceasefire that started on 8 April, the risk of it collapsing at any point remains real. Just as the weekend news looked like it was leaning negatively though, last night reports came through that Iran have offered the US a fresh proposal to reopen the strait and end the war. However as Axios and others reported, this proposal postpones talks on nuclear capabilities. So it’s

Tillis Gives Warsh Green Light After DOJ Drops Powell Inquiry The last roadblock to Kevin Warsh's nomination to lead the Federal Reserve is getting out of the way, as North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis (R) said on Sunday that he's ready to lend his support towards Warsh's confirmation.  Tillis had refused to advance Warsh or any other Fed nominee until the DOJ dropped its investigation into current chair, Jerome Powell over cost overruns in a renovation of the Fed's headquarters. After DC US attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday that the matter would be dropped, Tillis told NBC's Meet the Press that he was ready to

Starmer Faces 'Sleaze Inquiry' Vote Over Epstein Pal Mandelson's Appointment Trouble has been brewing for UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador - despite Mandelson's well-known past associations with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, a senior New Labour figure and former EU Trade Commissioner, has long faced questions over his friendship with sex-offender Epstein, and these ties were public knowledge when Starmer nominated him for the prestigious Washington role. While Starmer admitted he was aware of the relationship, he says Mandelson "lied repeatedly" about the extent - leading to Mandelson's ouster in September of last

Microsoft Slides After Amending OpenAI Partnership, Will No Longer Pay Revenue Share Microsoft and OpenAI announced an amended agreement to "simplify" their partnership structure and to change Microsoft’s license to be non-exclusive and it no longer paying a revenue share to OpenAI. As a result of the amendment, Microsoft remains OpenAI’s primary cloud partner, and OpenAI products will ship first on Azure. Microsoft will continue to have a license to OpenAI IP for models and products through 2032. Revenue share payments from OpenAI to Microsoft continue through 2030. Microsoft will also continue to participate directly in OpenAI’s growth as a major shareholder. Here is the

Musk, Altman Court Battle Commences Over The Future Of OpenAI Authored by Beige Luciano-Adams via The Epoch Times, A contentious battle years in the making between Tesla owner Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman begins this week before a federal court in Oakland, California, where nine jurors will be asked to decide whether Altman and others betrayed OpenAI’s founding mission as a nonprofit artificial intelligence (AI) lab dedicated to the public good. The outcome could have a profound impact, not just for OpenAI—the creator of ChatGPT, currently valued at $852 billion and poised for a public offering—but for the broader, dizzyingly high-stakes

"This Is Not Normal": China's DeepSeek Cuts New AI Model Fees, Again DeepSeek senior researcher Victor Chen announced on X that the company's newly released DeepSeek-V4-Pro model will be offered at a huge discount over the next week, a move that threatens to unleash an AI platform price war just as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are rolling out newer, more expensive models. "Second price drop in two days! On top of the base 75% off, stack an extra 90% discount for cache hits. That brings it down to just 0.003625 USD/0.025 RMB per 1M input tokens with cache hit ~ 🎉💰 Go

Futures Flat At All Time Highs Ahead Of Huge Week, Semis Set For 19th Day Of Gains Risk sentiment improved overnight on another Axios report that Iran has given the US a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with more detailed nuclear talks expected later. Oil pares early gains, and US equity futures jumped although they have also pared gains since and are trading flat as traders await a huge week of earnings (44% of the S&P by mkt cap is set to report) and central bank decisions (Fed, BOJ, ECB, BOE and BOC all expected to keep rates on hold). As of

Israel Bombs Deep Into Lebanon For First Time Of 3-Week Ceasefire There's supposed to be a 3-week Lebanon ceasefire in effect, but that increasingly appears something merely on paper or in name only, as Israel has stepped up and expanded its attacks on Lebanon - now for the first time of the ceasefire including strikes on the far away Beqaa Valley. "The IDF says it has launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley and several areas of southern Lebanon," Israeli media confirms Monday. "The strikes come following repeated Hezbollah attacks on IDF troops and Israel during the

Beijing Abruptly Blocks Meta's $2BN Takeover Deal Of Manus AI In Move That Will "Chill" China AI Sector With just weeks to go before the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, China's National Development and Reform Commission unexpectedly blocked Meta Platforms' acquisition of the AI-agent startup Manus on Monday morning, signaling that Beijing has no problem with tightening control over high-value AI assets in a move that could have a profound chilling effect on Chinese M&A activity for years.  According to the FT, the decision marks an extraordinary late-stage intervention by Beijing, involving two non-Chinese companies. Meta had already begun to integrate software from

Battered Budget Airlines Ask White House For $2.5 Billion Lifeline Budget airlines have requested a $2.5 billion relief package from the Trump administration following a meeting with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy early last week. This comes as elevated jet fuel prices squeeze operations, and after President Trump confirmed late last week that a possible U.S. takeover of bankrupt Spirit Airlines is under consideration. The Wall Street Journal reports that a group of budget airlines, including Frontier and Avelo, has requested federal support in exchange for convertible equity stakes in the airlines. The $2.5 billion figure is based on extra fuel costs if

WHCA Shooter's Tweets Found, Suggesting Radicalization Fueled By Democratic Messaging Update:  > * Shooter's archived tweets emerge  > > * Shooter's Manifesto explained about Trump admin target kill list. He wrote, "prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest" ...  > > * Shooter's intent was to Target Trump & admin officials  > > * Shooter donated to "Harris for President" via ActBlue  > > * Shooter apprehended and taken into custody. Carrying shotgun, handgun and several knives.  > > * The shooter has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance California > > * No injuries to Trump or any guests. > >

Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico was not aware of US participation until four officials were killed in car crash Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said on Monday that her government told the United States, in a diplomatic note, that the unauthorized presence of US officials at an anti-narcotics operation in the northern state of Chihuahua should not be repeated. The incident came to light after two US officials, along with two Mexican officials, were killed in a car crash on 19 April after the operation. Sheinbaum has said the federal government was not aware of the participation of the US officials, who were widely

Cocaine-trafficking rebels blamed for worst attack on civilians in decades, which also left 56 people injured The death toll in a Colombian highway bombing blamed on cocaine-trafficking rebels has risen to 21, the government said on Monday, in the country’s worst attack on civilians in decades and just ahead of elections. The attack on Saturday left 56 injured and buses and vans mangled on the Pan-American Highway, in the restive south-western Cauca department. Continue reading...

Military video shows boat moving swiftly in water before explosion leaves it in flames The US military said on Sunday three men were killed when it struck a boat it claimed was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This latest strike – which follows dozens of similar attacks on alleged drug boats in recent months – brings the US campaign’s death toll to at least 185, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

The court sided with a Canadian hiker who deliberately challenged the order imposed to curb spread of wildfires As wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods. As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C$25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary. Continue reading...

OpenAI said the company had identified an account using abuse-detection efforts, but determined at the time it didn’t meet threshold for legal referral The head of OpenAI has written a letter apologizing that his company didn’t alert law enforcement about the online behavior of a person who shot and killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. In the letter posted on Friday, Sam Altman expressed his deepest condolences to the entire community. Continue reading...

Hundreds of senior staff in territory benefit from nearly £30,000-a-year grant per child not available to staff in group’s other hubs * Business live – latest updates HSBC is reportedly reviewing a perk that covers school fees for bankers in Hong Kong as part of a big overhaul of the bank under its chief executive, Georges Elhedery. Europe’s largest bank is considering whether to scrap the perk for new employees or make changes to total compensation, Bloomberg News reported. No decisions have been made yet. Continue reading...

Woman’s body found in Iwate prefecture last week, soon after a police officer was injured in bear attack nearby Rested but famished bears emerging from hibernation in Japan are already coming into contact with humans, with the pace of sightings outstripping that seen in 2025, a record year for bear attacks. According to media reports, the animals have been spotted with surprising frequency in urban areas in the country’s north-east, with authorities urging caution among people planning to spend the coming Golden Week public holidays in the countryside. Continue reading...

The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walk The world watched earlier this month as Nasa sent four astronauts around the moon – but to actually land on the surface the US is once again in a space race, this time with China. And China may well win. Both countries plan to build inhabited lunar bases – the first settlement on another celestial body – as well as searching for rare resources and using the deep space environment to test technology for future crewed missions to Mars. Continue reading...

After a two-year wait, video of a young male crossing above a road gives hope that critically endangered species can survive habitat fragmentation The critically endangered Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a canopy bridge to cross a road. In 2024, conservationists in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra in Indonesia built the bridge high over the Lagan-Pagindar road, which provides an essential route for local people but which became a barrier for animals. Continue reading...

As domestic sales slow, manufacturers are investing in AI and seeking growth in technology and in overseas markets At the world’s biggest car fair, which opened in Beijing on Friday, there were hundreds of manufacturers, more than 1,000 vehicles, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts – and hardly anyone behind a wheel. China’s car companies have cornered the domestic electric vehicle market, and are increasingly visible on the global stage. Now they are turning their attention to what they are betting is the future of mobility: autonomous driving. Continue reading...

Noongar woman Mary Ann Miller died of sepsis, while homeless to avoid an allegedly abusive ex-partner * Warning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have died The family of an Aboriginal mother of seven who died just weeks after giving birth say the Western Australian government knew she was experiencing domestic violence and fearing for her safety weeks before her death. Mary Ann Miller died of sepsis in Fiona Stanley hospital on 28 March, two weeks after giving birth to her son and after she was allegedly assaulted and had her nose broken by her former partner.

Former prime minister says policies will lose support without continued lower prices but sees some hope in US experience under Trump * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Kevin Rudd has described Donald Trump’s cuts to support for green industries as “unfortunate”, warning that Australians would conclude the clean transition was “bullshit” if it did not offer tangible benefits to their lives. But – in some of his first comments since finishing his term as Australia’s ambassador to the US – the former prime minister said climate policies would have staying power if they delivered affordable prices,

Images in Helen Polley’s post included a marching band, people laying wreaths and ex-serving members giving speeches set to a track by US rapper Chingy * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A federal Labor senator has deleted a social media video which mistakenly included audio of an explicit rap song over a carousel of photos of Anzac Day commemorations. Senator Helen Polley, a former shadow minister and current chair of parliament’s committee on law enforcement, posted a video compilation of images paying respect to Australia’s defence forces. Continue reading...

Booing by rightwing groups of Indigenous leaders giving welcome to country speeches marred ceremonies for a second year running * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An anti-immigration group has claimed it did not “organise” booing at welcome to country ceremonies at Anzac Day dawn services despite a social media post asking followers “how loud will you be this year”. Booing by rightwing groups of Indigenous elders giving welcome to country speeches marred Anzac Day ceremonies for a second year running, and sparked another public debate about their role at public events. Uncle Ray Minniecon, who served

This blog is now closed * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Firefighters say two missing in Blue Mountains house fire are children Back to that house fire in the Blue Mountains we reported earlier: Firefighters are moving into the home with hose lines to gain access to the areas where they can search for the unaccounted for people. When I thought about it a bit more as the … day rolled on, I couldn’t help but feel a bit angry about it as well, which I think is a human response to a tragic set of circumstances. I don’t

German chancellor suggests Trump administration is being outwitted at negotiating table by Tehran * US politics live – latest updates The US is being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership, according to Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor, who suggested the Trump administration was being outwitted at the negotiating table by Tehran. Two days ago Donald Trump cancelled a trip by US negotiators to Islamabad for indirect talks with an Iranian delegation. A previous round in the Pakistani capital two weeks earlier, when JD Vance, the American vice-president, led the US delegation, broke up without progress. Continue reading...

Families say ‘Ulm 5’ have been detained under extreme prison conditions since arrest last September Five pro-Palestinian activists have appeared in court over an attack on an Israeli arms company in Germany, charged with causing approximately €1m of damage. Prosecutors say the defendants, aged 25 to 40, trespassed and yelled pro-Palestinian statements as they destroyed office equipment, sensitive measuring devices and smashed windows at a site linked to Elbit Systems in the southern city of Ulm. Continue reading...

China sold goods worth about $148bn to EU in first quarter of year, but imported just $65bn The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc. New data showed China’s trade surplus – where its exports to the EU exceeded imports from the bloc – was $83bn (£61bn) in the first three months of 2026. Continue reading...

Across country, at least 14 have been injured as Zelenskyy highlights importance of air defences Top EU officials and Hungary’s incoming government will discuss on Wednesday the changes Budapest needs to push through to release €17bn in EU funds that have been blocked due to rule-of-law concerns under the outgoing government of Viktor Orbán. Some of the frozen funds, such as €11bn euros ($13bn) from the post-pandemic Recovery Fund, must be drawn by mid-August, or be irrevocably lost, Reuters noted. Continue reading...

Critics hit out at ‘dire’ situation in the country which has the strictest laws around abortion in western Europe Rights campaigners have affixed lockboxes containing abortion pills to sites across Malta, in a campaign designed to highlight the country’s near-total ban on abortion. The 15 black boxes aim to provide practical help to women grappling with the EU’s strictest abortion laws; anyone who is less than nine weeks pregnant and in need of an abortion is invited to send an email to obtain the location and codes to access the pills. Continue reading...

Sources say country wants US to end its blockade as part of proposal but has not addressed its nuclear programme Iran is proposing that shipping companies should pay charges for specific services when they cross the strait of Hormuz, in a move that would enable it to raise money from shipping traffic without presenting the payment as a toll. Iran’s framing is designed to maximise political and legal support for the plan it is developing with Oman. Iran has made a solution to its demands an essential precondition to winding down the conflict, including an end to its effective blockade of the

Rightwing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid announce new party before Knesset vote expected later this year The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing the prospect of running against a rightwing-centrist super coalition in elections later this year after two of his most formidable political rivals combined forces in an attempt to oust him, inviting a third party leader to join them. In a move that some analysts compared to the centre-right coalition that removed Viktor Orbán from power in Hungary, the former prime ministers – rightwing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid – issued statements announcing the merger of their

Engineer and two drivers killed in recent weeks as scarcity of clean water fuels spread of preventable diseases Israeli forces in Gaza killed a water engineer and two drivers who transported water to displaced families over four days in mid-April, exacerbating severe shortages of clean water that are fuelling the spread of preventable disease. Israeli limits on the shipment of soap, washing powder and other hygiene products into Gaza have also forced prices up, adding to the challenge of keeping clean and avoiding infection in overcrowded shelters and tent encampments. Continue reading...

The Israeli government and Hezbollah have traded blame over breaches to the truce, which is set to run for several more weeks Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed 14 people on Sunday, the deadliest day since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force over a week ago. The health ministry said the dead on Sunday included two women and two children, adding that 37 other people were wounded. Israel said one of its soldiers was also killed. Continue reading...

Deepening sense of deadlock despite regional diplomacy as Washington and Tehran show no signs of compromise Hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations between Iran and the US faded further on Sunday, amid a deepening sense of deadlock in the nearly two-month-long conflict despite intense regional diplomatic activity. Washington and Tehran appear unwilling to moderate rhetoric or make concessions, and there are no negotiations scheduled that might bring the war to a definitive end. Continue reading...

Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbers A large ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak. The serac between base camp and camp one was unstable and risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s department of mountaineering on Friday. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry calls remarks of rightwing podcast host shared by Trump ‘uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste’ The Indian government has denounced a social media post shared by Donald Trump that described India as a “hellhole”, calling the comments inappropriate and “in poor taste”. On Wednesday, Trump posted a four-page transcription of remarks made by the conservative podcast host Michael Savage that denounced the US constitutional right to citizenship of everyone born in the country. Continue reading...

British foreign secretary told to impose new measures as ruble-pegged cryptocurrency A7A5 is supported in country More than 20 MPs and peers have called on the foreign secretary to take action against institutions and individuals in Kyrgyzstan allegedly facilitating large-scale Russian sanctions evasion. They urged the UK to levy personal sanctions against three top Kyrgyz officials for their alleged role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion more broadly, and more specifically for allowing Kyrgyzstan to host infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency A7A5. Continue reading...

Experts say Muslims and other minorities have been disproportionately deleted from the electoral roll ahead of the West Bengal elections this week Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote ahead of a critical state election this week, after a controversial electoral revision described by critics as a “bloodless political genocide” and mass disenfranchisement of minorities. In West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names have been deleted from the register, more than 10% of the electorate. While many were dead or duplicates, about 2.7 million people have challenged their expulsions, but still been

Islamabad has seized chance to act as mediator in Iran war and hopes to reap diplomatic and economic benefits As Pakistan works frantically to narrow differences between Iran and the US in its newfound role as global peacemaker, it is also seeking to recast its diplomatic standing and attract business. Pakistani officials, mediating between an unpredictable US president and hardliners in Tehran, were on Monday trying to coax both sides to put the conditions in place for a second round of talks in Islamabad this week, including easing the standoff in the strait of Hormuz. Pakistan was optimistic that the meeting would

Ellen Mulvey ran up huge betting losses online and wrote ‘addiction is the worst disease’ before she died A family is calling for wholesale reform of the gambling industry after an inquest heard details of the life and death of Ellen Mulvey, a “generous and caring” woman with a high-flying City job who also had a secret addiction. Mulvey’s family believe she lost hundreds of thousands of pounds gambling without their knowledge, first via mainstream operators and then on unlicensed platforms. Continue reading...

Long-running dispute could be resolved as improved offer is made to workers, who first began strike in January 2025 The end of the year-long Birmingham bin strike is now “within sight”, the city council leader has said after committing to an improved offer for refuse workers. On Monday, John Cotton, the Labour leader of Birmingham city council, said a new, improved offer could be made to workers that he hoped would “end the strike once and for all”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sources say chancellor is examining exceptional measures to protect household budgets Rachel Reeves is considering imposing a one-year rent freeze on private sector homes amid growing alarm in government about the impact of the Iran war on voters’ budgets. Landlords in England would be banned from raising rents for a limited period of time under the proposals, which are being debated within government as part of a major cost of living package to be launched in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

Sources say staff have been asked to pack up final stock and equipment after waves of closures Jewellery and accessories chain Claire’s is closing its final UK stores on Tuesday with the loss of more than 1,000 jobs and ending three decades on British high streets. Sources said staff at Claire’s, which had 154 stores when it collapsed in January, had been asked to pack up the final stock and equipment with the remaining outlets to formally close on Tuesday after successive waves of closures in recent weeks. Continue reading...

John Edwards says he is fully cooperating with ICO’s independent inquiry into ‘HR matters’ The UK’s information commissioner has stepped back from his job after the data protection regulator launched an independent workplace investigation into unspecified “HR matters”. John Edwards, the national watchdog for information rights, data privacy and transparency among public bodies, said he was cooperating with the investigation in a post on his LinkedIn account. Continue reading...

Alleged shooter, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, charged with three federal crimes in White House press gala attack The suspected gunman who tried to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner appeared in federal court and was charged with three federal crimes on Monday, including attempting to assassinate the president. The alleged shooter, identified by law enforcement agencies as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance in southern California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the US president, transportation of firearms to commit a felony, and unlawful discharge of a firearm during violence. Continue reading...

King Charles and Queen Camilla visiting US for four days with any meeting between king and president to be off-camera to avoid awkwardness * King Charles arrives in Washington for state visit fraught with tension * Sign up for the Breaking News US email Here’s more about the timing of King Charles’s visit today with Donald Trump at the White House. According to Trump’s official schedule, the president will greet King Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House at 4.15pm ET. Shortly after, they’ll have tea and then tour a beehive at the White House. Continue reading...

The British monarch and Queen Camilla come to a city still reeling from shooting at dinner attended by Trump King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Monday for a state visit in Washington, a city still rattled by a weekend shooting and a transatlantic alliance showing fresh signs of strain. British flags could be seen lining lamp-posts outside the White House, where Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, were set to host the royals for a private tea and a tour of the newly expanded White House beehive on the south lawn. Continue reading...

Residents and visitors in California alert each other whenever they spot the above average size animal at Pier 39 A gigantic 2,000lb steller sea lion nicknamed “Chonkers” has become an unexpected local celebrity after taking up residence in the San Francisco Bay. The massive sea lion swam up to a dock on Pier 39 in San Francisco around a month ago and has remained in the area since, drawing attention from residents, visitors and social media users who have been sharing frequent photos and videos of the animal looming over its peers. Continue reading...

After she had to travel out of state to access care, Rachel Fulton joined the Center for Reproductive Rights’ suit, which an appeal has now halted indefinitely It was the worst day of Rachel Fulton’s life. She stood outside her doctor’s office, reeling with the news that her dearly wanted pregnancy needed to end. But her day would, somehow, become even worse: Fulton lives in Tennessee, where abortion is banned except for very narrow threats to the patient’s life. She had to travel hours to another state to receive care from an unfamiliar doctor far from home. Fulton joined a lawsuit, along

Archaeologists at the ancient Roman site of Pompeii have used artificial intelligence for the first time to digitally reconstruct the face of a victim of the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that smothered the city, offering a new way to understand one of history’s most famous natural disasters. The digital portrait represents an older man who was among two victims discovered as they attempted to flee the city towards the coast of what is now Italy during the volcanic eruption. Researchers...

Nato is considering ending its recent practice of holding annual summits, six sources told Reuters, a move that could avoid a potentially tense encounter with US President Donald Trump in his final year in office. Trump’s administration has engaged repeatedly in scathing criticism of many of the US-led defence alliance’s 31 other members, most recently berating some for not providing more help to US military operations against Iran. The frequency of Nato ‌summits has varied over the alliance’s...

A small plane crashed on Monday in South Sudan near the capital Juba, killing all 13 passengers and the pilot, local officials said. On top of instability, conflict and poverty, South Sudan also lacks reliable transport infrastructure with frequent plane crashes attributed to overloading and bad weather. The plane was a Cessna that departed Juba International Airport at 9.15am local time and crashed about 20km (12 miles) from the capital with no survivors, the South Sudanese Civil Aviation...

Britain’s parliament will vote on Tuesday on a possible inquiry into Prime Minister Keir Starmer, looking at whether he misled the House of Commons ‌over the appointment of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson. Any such inquiry could have serious implications for Starmer’s future. He has so far resisted pressure to quit over his decision to hire Mandelson, but if found to have knowingly misled parliament his position would likely become untenable. House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he...

The bitter legal fight between Elon Musk ⁠and the leadingAIe firm, OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, may come down ⁠to a few pages in one executive’s personal diary. “This is the only chance we have to get out from Elon,” wrote Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and a co-founder, in the autumn of 2017. “Is he the ‘glorious leader’ that I would pick?” Brockman’s diary entry is part of the thousands of pages of internal documents revealed in court since Musk, one of the original co-founders of OpenAI,...

The Strait of Hormuz is usually described as a chokepoint. Today, it is more than that. It is the hinge point between war and peace in the Gulf. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade passes through this narrow waterway. When it was secure, the global economy barely noticed it. As soon as it was threatened, prices jumped, shipping costs rose and military tensions spread beyond the region. Today, the issue is even larger than economics. If the status of the strait is left unresolved,...

US law enforcement officials are reassessing security arrangements after ⁠a gunman opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, raising questions about ⁠how he was able to get so close to an event attended by President Donald Trump, cabinet members and lawmakers. Two former Secret Service agents and three senior US officials told Reuters on Sunday that federal agents appeared to carry out their plan to protect the president effectively on Saturday night, stopping the...

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. As DJI duels Insta360, China sharpens global hardware edge amid US scrutiny 2. Did China just hint that its next aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered? 3. Reverend Derek Li, father of injured Hong Kong Mirror dancer Mo Li, dies 4. 3 killed in Japanese Type 10 tank blast that has military...

Two of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most formidable political rivals said on Sunday they were joining forces in a bid to oust his coalition government in the coming election expected later this year. The former prime ministers - right-wing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid - issued statements announcing the merger of their parties, Bennett 2026 and There is a Future. “We are standing here together for the sake of our ‌children. The State of Israel must change direction,”...

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Sunday killed 14 people, the deadliest day since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war came into force over a week ago. It came as Israel and the Iran-backed group traded fresh accusations of breaching the fragile truce, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was “vigorously” targeting Hezbollah and the group vowing to keep responding to “violations”. Israel’s military has carried out repeated strikes...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country would continue to support Russia’s policies and he discussed the international political situation with Russia’s defence minister, state media KCNA reported on Monday. A Russian delegation including Defence Minister Andrei Belousov attended a completion ceremony for a ‌‌memorial honouring North Korean soldiers killed while fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged an incursion in 2024, KCNA said. Russia launched a full-scale...

US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned US$400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House. “It’s time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said plainly on Sunday on social media, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic...

Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules Eastern...

The ⁠Italian government has extradited to ⁠the United States a Chinese man wanted by authorities there on hacking charges that include stealing Covid-19 medical research, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The source ‌declined to say when Xu Zewei was flown out of Italy, saying only that he was already in the United States. The move follows a ruling by a top Italian court earlier this month allowing the extradition. Xu was arrested in Milan on July 3 at ⁠the request of US...

The state visit by Britain’s King Charles to the US would take place as planned, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday, following a shooting at a Washington media gala. The incident late on Saturday at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association came less than 48 hours before Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to the United States. The palace said Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump, the first lady Melania and other guests were unharmed and later on...

Mali’s military rulers faced a security crisis on Sunday after coordinated nationwide attacks by jihadist fighters and separatist rebels this weekend killed the defence minister and reportedly left a key northern town in rebel hands. There was no word from the junta leader General Assimi Goita, who has not been seen since the attacks began at dawn on Saturday. The offensive, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of...

Strikes across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia over the past day killed at least 16 people, authorities said on Sunday as the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster prompted new warnings about risks posed by attacks near the plant during Russia’s more than four-year invasion of its neighbour. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the anniversary with a warning that Russian attacks risk repeating history. “Russia is once again bringing the world to the brink of...

The China-Europe railway network has evolved in the past decade from a nascent logistical experiment into a growing commercial alternative to maritime and air freight. In the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, it might now be assuming an unanticipated role as a key security provider for transcontinental supply chains. What began as sporadic trial runs has matured into a sprawling web of rail connections that currently links 235 cities across 26 European countries with more than 120 Chinese...

The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad opened in Damascus on Sunday. Atef Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad, and who is also a cousin of the former president, appeared in the courtroom to face charges related to “crimes against the Syrian people,” the state-run news agency SANA reported. Najib was in that position in 2011 when...

People streamed into the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol laid out on the ground as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath. Residents show up for the vigil each year despite wartime curfews and official warnings against large gatherings during Russia’s war on Ukraine. The April 26, 1986 disaster...

In the span of a few days earlier this month, developments that usually sit in separate policy compartments began to converge. Abu Dhabi’s crown prince arrived in Beijing as President Xi Jinping used the visit to set out China’s four-point position on the Iran war. Pakistan, now central to keeping US-Iran diplomacy alive, said no date was fixed for the next round of talks. Washington escalated pressure on buyers of Iranian oil and the banks handling related funds. Reports circulated of yuan use...

The shooting on Saturday night of a Secret Service agent at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner raises questions yet again about the protection afforded to America’s political leaders at a time of increased political violence. Hundreds of agents from several law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting the annual bash, which US President Donald Trump headlined this year. Yet a suspect with a shotgun and other weapons ‌managed to get just a floor above the Washington...

The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump. Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the...

Watch a cheap commercial drone destroy a battle tank on the frontlines in Ukraine, or a cut-price Iranian Shahed menace Tel Aviv, then ask yourself why Southeast Asia’s defence ministries are suddenly very interested in unmanned aerial vehicles. The answer was on full display last week at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, where vendors from Abu Dhabi to Pretoria were chasing deals in one of the global arms trade’s hottest emerging markets. “There is huge demand from the...

It was meant to be a glitzy Saturday night at a Washington ballroom featuring President Donald Trump, but the glamour was shattered by gunshots that left guests diving to the floor and the US leader bundled out by security personnel. Trump was seated on the dais at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner – the first time he is attending as president – when loud bangs disrupted the revelry and caused him and others on stage to look up in alarm. Video captured by news outlets...

Student mental health is a matter of great concern. According to the latest data from the Education Bureau, the number of secondary students with mental health issues has doubled over the past five years, from 660 in 2020-21 to 1,330 in 2024-25. In recent years, the government and various stakeholders in society have worked to halt the continued rise in student suicides. However, the number of suspected suicide cases still rose by 10 per cent between 2024 and 2025, from 28 to 31. To help...

US President Donald Trump and other top administration officials were likely targets of a gunman who tried to storm a White House correspondents’ dinner, the acting US attorney general said on Sunday, after a major security breach in the heart of Washington. Chaos erupted at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night as shots were fired near a security checkpoint outside the subterranean ballroom where the glitzy, high-profile event was being held. Secret Service agents, weapons drawn, rushed to...

The death toll ⁠from an explosives ⁠attack on a highway ⁠in southwestern Colombia rose to 20 on Sunday, authorities said, as the government blamed a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla ‌group for the bombing. The attack happened on Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on a bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. So far, 15 women and five men are among the victims, according to Octavio Guzman, governor of the region of Cauca. He wrote on...

Lebanese state media reported a series of new Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday night, after attacks earlier in the day killed six people despite a recently extended ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The new attacks followed orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to “forcefully attack Hezbollah targets” after the army accused it of breaching the truce. Lebanon’s health ministry had said earlier that “Israeli enemy strikes on a...

Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would not take up his seat in parliament following his party’s landslide defeat in this month’s election but wants to stay on as Fidesz’s leader to lead a process of “renewal”. The most dominant figure in Hungarian politics since the fall of communism in 1989, Orban has sat in Hungary’s legislature for 36 years without interruption, serving as prime minister for the past sixteen years. “I’m not needed in parliament now but in the...

A former University of South Florida student has been charged with killing his roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend – two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappeared earlier this month, authorities said Saturday. Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, is facing two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, students at USF, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa,...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad again on Sunday, just hours after US President Donald Trump told his special envoys not to go to Pakistan for ceasefire talks. Araghchi had left Pakistan’s capital on Saturday night after meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Pakistan has been trying to get US and Iranian officials back to the negotiating table after Trump last week announced that a two-week...

Pope Leo has called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty on Saturday, a day after the US administration mulled expanding the penalty. “The dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed,” Leo said in a video message marking the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois. “The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves...

Palestinians on Saturday buried a woman pregnant with twins and two of her children who were among at least 13 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. The toll on Friday included two men who were killed in Gaza City, and eight others killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to local hospitals. Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said the eight people, including four police officers, were killed after Israel targeted a police vehicle. While the heaviest fighting has mostly...

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry says Afghans who helped America’s war effort and have been stuck in Qatar in the hope of reaching the United States can safely return to Afghanistan. The statement on Saturday by foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi comes after reports emerged that the Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send 1,100 Afghans who assisted the US during its war in Afghanistan, and relatives of US service members, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An...

An attack by “unknown armed terrorists” has been carried out on military barracks and other targets in the capital Bamako, the military in Mali reported on Saturday. Attacks had also occurred in other locations in the country, the general staff reported. Fighting was ongoing, a brief statement said. Witnesses reported intense fighting in a town near the capital where junta leader General Assimi Goita lives, and in other key cities. Mali, a landlocked West African country, has been ruled by a...

Every time a European leader lands in Beijing with a business delegation, the same speculation follows: is the Atlantic consensus beginning to crack? Is part of Europe drifting towards China and away from Washington? In Spain’s case, the drama expires on contact with the record. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s four visits to Beijing in four years have not produced a European pivot, a strategic vision or a narrower trade imbalance. They have produced market access for agricultural goods. Call it...

Argentina has called for talks with the UK over the Falkland Islands after reports the US could review its position on the South Atlantic territory in retaliation for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s lack of support for the war in Iran. Downing Street had earlier insisted the sovereignty of the Falklands was “not in question”. That came after a leaked internal Pentagon email set out options for President Donald Trump’s administration to punish Nato allies for refusing to join the US-Israeli strikes...

Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least six people, officials said on Saturday, most of them in an attack on a residential building in the eastern city of Dnipro. Over 30 people were injured, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia launched 47 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as 619 drones of various types. Ukraine has been warding off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. Air raid sirens sounded across the country with residents urged to...

Financial markets, stock markets especially, appear able to defy gravity despite the global geopolitical and economic situation. A plethora of institutional and individual explanations have been offered as to why, but most seem to miss the point. Which is, at least in part, that we have created a kind of monster in the asset management industry, which channels a glut of global savings into a limited number of investment areas and which, by virtue of these captive inflows, is able to maintain...

An unusual series of cargoes of military-grade fuel that is due to sail from the US across the Pacific Ocean illustrates how far the war in Iran has disrupted the global oil supply chain. A request for offers to ship 235,000 barrels of jet fuel from Cherry Point in Blaine, Washington, where BP has a refinery, to Subic Bay in the Philippines, a strategic access point and logistics hub for US naval operations, was issued on Thursday, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The cargo is...

More than 4 million small parcels from China have arrived at the freight airport in Liege, Belgium, every day since the beginning of the year. On the receiving end, the Belgian customs inspection team at the airport has only 80 members. Belgium’s top customs official, Kristian Vanderwaeren, said the airport, close to the Netherlands, Germany and France, was built, in part, to cater to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Shein, Temu and Alibaba. But the “explosion” in the number of small parcels...

Amid the rubble of the US-Israel war on Iran, a new Middle East appears to be taking shape as a constellation of regional powers jockey for a seat at the table. Led by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the grouping stretches from the Gulf across the Caucasus to Central and South Asia, binding together countries with overlapping interests, interlocking partnerships and a shared conviction: that the post-war order should not be dictated exclusively by the US-Israel alliance or Iran and its battered but...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the United States of ⁠abandoning internationally recognised diplomatic ⁠conventions in pursuit of its ⁠own interests, particularly in dominating energy markets, in an interview broadcast on Friday. Lavrov, interviewed by Russian state television, said Washington, in its dealings with Latin America and the Middle East, was “taking us back to a world where ‌nothing existed” in international law. “The United States has officially declared that no one...

The World Health Organization announced on Friday that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time. Artemether-lumefantrine is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest victims of the mosquito-borne disease. “The prequalification designation indicates that the medicine meets international standards of quality, safety and efficacy,” the WHO said in a statement. Up to now, infants have been treated with...

Despite a cease-fire, Israel and Hezbollah have been trading attacks almost daily.

The agency’s prestigious research office spent decades doing scientific work insulated from political pressure. Now it’s being dismantled.

Field staff at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission say they are being pressured to bring politically charged cases, even with little evidence.

The Trump administration had said it needed the information for an antisemitism investigation.

A new therapy has the potential to cure hundreds of diseases — and even reverse aging.

After once backing liberal causes, the Google co-founder has praised President Trump, donated to Republicans and spent $57 million to try to block a California billionaire tax.

The Republican-controlled Legislature is meeting in Tallahassee this week to vote on the map, which would apply for the 2026 midterms if passed.

Oral arguments on Monday morning lasted about an hour. It was not clear how justices would rule.

Geofence searches allow law enforcement to find suspects and witnesses by sweeping up location data from cellphone users near crime scenes.

There’s plenty of great Creole and Cajun food, of course, but also outstanding Vietnamese, Indian and Trinbagonian cuisine.

Our current favorites in one of the greatest food cities in the world.

The culinary capital of South Florida has outstanding Cuban and Caribbean cuisine — of course — but also world-class Japanese, Italian, Ethiopian and more.

The sovereign wealth fund announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney will be far smaller than ones in other oil producers like Norway and the Middle East.

Canada has opened a route to citizenship for people who can prove they have a Canada-born ancestor. Millions could qualify, and Americans are already lining up to apply.

Oakland, Calif., where Elon Musk’s trial against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, starts on Monday, is not exactly known as a hub of the tech industry.

The widening movement is pulling in people from all walks of life, united by a worry that Big Tech will cash in while average Americans bear the costs.

We ended up in a Colombian mine controlled by a drug cartel.

As prices for the precious metal soar, the industry’s guardrails have broken down.

Three reporters followed supply chains to reveal that the U.S. Mint buys gold that comes from foreign pawn shops and drug dealers, then claims it is from the United States.

What constitutes unacceptable behavior? And how many accusers does it take for an allegation to be believed? Societal standards remain nebulous.

Movie watchers are often left wondering why today’s films look murkier than films of years past. Here’s how some experts diagnose the issue.

Before the rise of GLP-1s, obesity experts didn’t study the internal buzz that compels people to eat. Now that food noise is being switched off, they want to understand it.

Revenge-based criminal cases against the president’s enemies have not come to fruition. That’s where the U.S. attorneys come in.

A shelter for men near Bellevue Hospital is closing. It is a symbol of an approach to homelessness that the Mamdani administration hopes to leave behind.

The remains have not yet been identified, but a former University of South Florida student has been charged in connection with the murders of Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon.

Even as the electric vehicle market has slumped, there are more long-range E.V.s under $40,000 than ever before.

Areas around St. Louis could face tornadoes, forecasters said. Dangerous weather has unfolded across the Midwest in recent days.