Minimalist News

GOP Divide Deepens Over Venezuela: Ron Johnson Says "Get Rid of Maduro" While Rand Paul Calls It "Offensive War Of Choice" Authored by Liam Cosgrove, Tensions are brewing within the Republican party over the Trump administration's stance on Venezuela - with some populist conservatives like Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) supporting all out regime change in the South American country, while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has explicitly rejected regime change.  Via BBC Most republicans have thus far granted Trump leeway on the strikes which the administration says are strictly targeting cartel boats, however there are rumblings among the party that if regime change or a

The Washington Post's Attack On Veterans' Integrity Authored by William Taylor via RealClearDefense, On the eve of Veterans Day, a moment meant for gratitude and reflection, The Washington Post doubled down on its campaign against those who have served, accusing America’s Veterans of feigning mental health injuries as a means to secure disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The article, one in an unrelenting series of Veteran attack articles from the Post this fall, is disheartening and injurious to those who have sacrificed their minds and bodies for our country. The series sparked an immediate backlash, with veterans and advocates

China Debuts First Locally Built GE-Designed Gas Turbine China has launched its first power plant using an advanced gas turbine manufactured domestically, marking a major step toward reducing dependence on foreign technology amid a global equipment shortage, according to Bloomberg. China Energy Investment Corp. commissioned the Anji Power Plant, which operates two GE-designed turbines of roughly 400 megawatts each. Bloomberg writes that the turbine design comes from GE Vernova, which formed a joint venture with state-owned Harbin Electric in 2019 to localize production and supply up to a dozen units annually. The achievement advances China’s long-running effort to build its own gas-turbine industry at

The Link Between Transgenderism and Autism Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Chloe Cole grew up a tomboy, was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by age 7, and referred for autism screening by age 17. Chloe Cole, who began transitioning at age 12 and now regrets surgically removing her breasts, holds testosterone medication used for transgender patients in Northern California on Aug. 26, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times Cole began identifying as a boy during adolescence and sought physical changes to match. Doctors readily consented to medical intervention. They prescribed puberty blockers and testosterone at age 13. At 15,

Billions Spent By One-Party-Rule Maryland Democrats With Little Oversight The one-party rule of 'Democratic Kings' in Maryland continues to reveal an optically displeasing truth about these leftist activists masquerading as competent politicians, who are anything but, and their epic mismanagement of state finances has only occurred because of limited oversight into their radical agendas. Fox Baltimore reports that a state legislative audit uncovered major concerns about the oversight of billions of dollars spent by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and his rudderless leftist allies in Annapolis, who champion everything from failed climate-crisis policies to wokeism to gender identity agendas to social justice and criminal

US Data Center Power Demand Could Reach 106 GW By 2035 By Brian Martucci of UtilityDive Summary: * U.S. data center power demand could reach 106 GW in 2035, BloombergNEF said Monday in one of the more aggressive load growth estimates to date. The U.S. had about 25 GW of operating data centers in 2024, Bloom Energy said earlier this year. * BloombergNEF’s latest forecast is 36% higher than its previous prediction, released in April. The jump is due in part to the higher average size of the 150 significant U.S. data center projects announced in the past year, over a quarter

"What The F**k Just Happened?" Homeless Man Violently Attacks NYU Student Walking To Class A 20-year-old New York University student was violently assaulted from behind while walking to class on Lower Manhattan’s Broadway on Monday morning. The alleged victim, Amelia Lewis, posted on TikTok about the broad daylight assault, telling her followers that she was listening to music through headphones shortly before 9:30 a.m. when a man struck her forcefully, grabbed her by the hair, and threw her to the sidewalk before fleeing. “As I’m walking, like with my headphones on listening to music, I feel something slap me so hard, like literally

Judge Restricts Immigration Arrests In DC Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A federal judge on Dec. 2 ordered the Trump administration to stop making warrantless immigration arrests in the District of Columbia without probable cause. Federal officers arrest a man in the District of Columbia on Aug. 30, 2025. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the plaintiffs made a strong case that immigration officers have been arresting immigrants without warrants or conducting assessments to determine if each individual poses a flight risk. Federal law states that an officer can

Jack Smith Subpoenaed For Deposition Before House Judiciary Committee, Jordan Says Jack Smith has been called to the House for a deposition before the House Judiciary Committee, after Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) fired off a subpoena to the former special counsel.  Strongly worded something... In a Wednesday letter to Smith, Jordan instructed him to show up before the House committee on Dec. 17 at 10am ET. "Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter," Jordan wrote in the letter to Smith which he also posted to his X account. "Based

Trump To Roll Back Biden-Era Fuel Standards, Admin Says It Will Save Americans $109 Billion Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), President Donald Trump will eliminate fuel standard regulations imposed by President Joe Biden when he signs an executive order on Dec. 3 in the Oval Office. Ben Birchall/PA His directive will reduce the number of miles a vehicle must travel on a mile of gasoline, a move that will mitigate car price increases of about $1,000 and save Americans approximately $109 billion, according to administration officials. Representatives from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are expected to join the president for

Prediction Platform Polymarket Rolls Out US App Today After CFTC Approval Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform, has officially launched a U.S.-focused app following approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  > Against all odds. > > Polymarket’s U.S app is now being rolled out to those on the waitlist. > > We’re launching with sports — followed by markets on everything. pic.twitter.com/WOoVMszrqc > > — Polymarket (@Polymarket) December 3, 2025 The move lifts nearly four years of restrictions preventing American users from participating in its blockchain-powered prediction markets. Initially available in the App Store under the sports category, the app allows U.S. users to place bets on sports events,

Watch: MSNBC Worries Trump Will "Make America White Again" Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, MSNBC pundits unleashed hysterical race-baiting smears Wednesday after President Trump clamped down on unchecked migration from failed states. The network, actually called MSNOW now, is in full panic mode, accusing Trump’s tough immigration enforcement of being a “white nationalist agenda” designed to “make America WHITE again.”  The leftist network’s meltdown comes amid ICE operations targeting Somali migrants in Minnesota, where Trump has vowed to root out threats to American safety and culture. In a segment on “Chris Jansing Reports,” Princeton University professor and MSNBC contributor Eddie Glaude Jr. railed against

DOE's Hyperspeed Reactors As the rate of data center development rises, more states should be following the Texas example, where each data center must have its own “behind the meter” onsite power generation. Instead, it appears data center development will continue to grossly outpace the rate of production for on-site electricity generation in most states. > To prevent skyrocketing electric bills, every state has to follow the Texas example: each data center must have its own "behind the meter" onsite power generation. > > “We believe data centers should pay for the full cost of their power,” Dominion Energy spokesperson Aaron Ruby… https://t.co/0u1owTeAs8

The AI Economy And The Public Risk Few Are Willing To Admit Authored by Mark Keenan via GlobalResearch.ca, Artificial intelligence is being sold as the technology that will “change everything.” Yet while a handful of firms are profiting enormously from the AI boom, the financial risk may already be shifting to the public. The louder the promises become, the quieter another possibility seems to be: What if AI is not accelerating the global economy - but masking its slow down? The headlines declare that AI is transforming medicine, education, logistics, finance, and culture. But when I speak with people in ordinary jobs, a different

Jan. 6 Defendant Sues Federal Government Over Alleged Abuses In Custody Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times, A former Jan. 6 defendant who alleges he was repeatedly abused in custody is suing the federal government for almost $18 million. Ryan Samsel of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was convicted in September 2024 of civil disorder-related offenses in connection with the civil disturbance at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and was incarcerated and awaiting sentencing when President Donald Trump pardoned him on Jan. 20 of this year. The civil legal process in Samsel’s case was initiated when the Department of Justice (DOJ) was served

F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes In Southern California Southern California's ABC7 reports that an F-16 fighter jet has crashed near Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake. > #BREAKINGNEWS: San Bernardino County firefighters responding to reports of crash possibly involving F-16 aircraft near China Lake https://t.co/Dh7bmvLASE > > — ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) December 3, 2025 Breaking911 has posted what appear to be images of the aftermath of the jet crash. > Reports of an F-16C Fighting Falcon from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds crashed near Trona Airport, south of Death Valley, California. The pilot reportedly ejected safely, suffered minor injuries, and was taken to a

9 In 10 College Students Think 'Words Can Be Violence'; Survey Authored by Gabrielle Temaat via The College Fix, Nine out of ten undergraduate students think that “words can be violence” at least “somewhat,” according to a new Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression survey.  The poll also showed that ideological gaps between left-leaning and right-leaning students are widening. When respondents were asked how much the statement “words can be violence” describes their thoughts, 47 percent answered with “completely” or “mostly.” Twenty-eight percent said it describes their thoughts “somewhat,” and 15 percent said “slightly.” Additionally, around 59 percent of students said “silence is violence” describes their views

Rep. Henry Cuellar Assures Democrats He's Still Loyal After Trump Pardons Him From Money Laundering, FARA Case Earlier Wednesday, President Trump announced on Truth Social that he's pardoning Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who was charged along with his wife in May 2024 for allegedly partaking in two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering.  Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) gives an interview in Laredo, Texas, on Oct. 9, 2019. Veronica Cardenas/Reuters Specifically, they were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery of a federal official and to have a public official act as an agent of a foreign principal required to register under

"Get Rid Of It" - Trump Suggests He'll Soon Slash/End Income Tax Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, President Trump signaled Tuesday that the federal income tax could soon be history. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Trump laid out a vision of economic freedom powered by massive tariff revenues from foreign nations— putting America First instead of bleeding hardworking citizens dry to fund globalist giveaways. With tariffs surging and billions pouring in from trade deals, Trump is paving the way for a tax revolution that could explode the economy overnight. The President’s declaration came during a press gaggle at the White

House Dems Release 'Selective' Never-Before-Seen Epstein Island Pictures, Video Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released a cache of never-before-seen photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein's infamous island (dropbox link here), saying in a statement "These new images are a disturbing look into the world of Jeffrey Epstein and his island. We are releasing these photos and videos to ensure public transparency in our investigation and to help piece together the full picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes." "We won’t stop fighting until we deliver justice for the survivors." which is weird because they didn't care about Epstein's victims until very recently.  >

Images and videos taken in 2020, a year after he died in jail, show the late sex offender’s home * US politics – live updates House Democrats released photos and videos from Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island on Wednesday, offering a rare glimpse into a secretive place where Epstein is alleged to have trafficked young girls. The new images and videos show Epstein’s home, including bedrooms, a telephone, what appears to be an office or library, and a chalkboard on which the words “fin”, “intellectual”, “deception” and “power” are written. Several photos show a room with a dentist chair and masks hanging

Gustavo Petro responded to intimations by US president of military strikes on Colombian soil to fight drug trafficking Colombia’s president has warned Donald Trump that he risked “waking the jaguar” after the US leader suggested that any country he believed was making illegal drugs destined for the US was liable to a military attack. During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the US president said that military strikes on land targets inside Venezuela would “start very soon”. Trump also warned that any country producing narcotics was a potential target, singling out Colombia, which has long been a close ally in Washington’s “war on

Defense secretary says he ‘moved on to my next meeting’ as sensitive military operation was under way; top Democrat calls Hegseth ‘spineless’ and ‘a national embarrassment’. This blog is now closed. * White House ‘selling out’ admiral to shield Hegseth over strikes, officials say * Trump threatens strikes on any country he claims makes drugs for US Joseph Gedeon is a politics breaking news reporter based in Washington The FBI director, Kash Patel, is “in over his head” and leading a “chronically under-performing” agency paralyzed by fear and plummeting morale, according to a scathing 115-page report compiled by a national alliance of

Release of convicted cocaine trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández is latest US interference in election and comes despite Trump’s apparent ‘war on drugs’ * Analysis: Trump’s pardon of Honduras’s ex-president shows counter-drug effort is ‘based on lies and hypocrisy’ A former president of Honduras who was convicted of drug trafficking has walked free from a US prison after receiving a pardon from Donald Trump, as the country’s presidential election remained on a knife edge with the US-backed candidate leading by 515 votes. Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”,

US defense secretary posted meme depicting beloved children’s character aiming rocket launcher at set of boats * Pete Hegseth told US soldiers in Iraq to ignore legal advice on rules of engagement A post on social media by US defense secretary Pete Hegseth, depicting a beloved children’s character aiming a rocket launcher at a cluster of boats, has elicited condemnation from the book’s Canadian publisher. Hegseth’s post of the mocked cover of a Franklin the Turtle book titled Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists prompted disbelief and outrage. The image shows a smiling anthropomorphic turtle in military helmet and vest, with a US flag

Seizures and warrants involve Chinese-Cambodian tycoon Chen Zhi, who heads US-sanctioned Prince Group, and Cambodians Kok An and Yim Leak Thailand has seized assets worth more than $300m, including shares in a major regional energy company, and issued arrest warrants for 42 people in a high-profile push against regional scam networks, officials said on Wednesday. Parts of south-east Asia, including the border areas between Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, have become hubs for online fraud, with criminal networks earning billions from illegal compounds where trafficking victims are often forced to work. Continue reading...

Commission unveils €3bn strategy to de-risk and diversify supply chains for critical rare earth metals and elements * Business live – latest updates The EU is considering legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China to insulate Europe from future hostile acts, the industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, says. He made his remarks as the European Commission unveiled a €3bn (£2.63bn) strategy to reduce its dependency on China for critical raw materials amid a global scramble caused by Beijing’s “weaponisation” of supplies of everything from chips to rare earths. Continue reading...

Questions raised about permanency of 76-year-old’s appointment and ‘leadership stability at critical juncture for bank’ * Business live – latest updates HSBC has appointed the former KPMG partner Brendan Nelson as its chair after a prolonged search process that left one of the world’s biggest banks without a permanent executive in the top role for months. The decision to appoint Nelson, who has been serving as interim chair, came as a surprise, after a protracted hunt for a permanent successor for Mark Tucker which involved courting external candidates including the former chancellor George Osborne and the head of Goldman Sachs’s Asia-Pacific division,

Malaysian transport ministry says robotics company Ocean Infinity will restart search operation on 30 December The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume this month, the Malaysian transport ministry has said, more than a decade after the plane disappeared in one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. In a statement on Wednesday, the transport ministry confirmed that the marine robotics company Ocean Infinity, based in the UK and US, would resume a search of the seabed from 30 December, over a period of 55 days, with operations conducted intermittently. Continue reading...

New date to approve site near Tower Bridge in London aligns with Keir Starmer’s planned visit to Beijing The government has delayed its decision on whether to approve China’s super-embassy in London until January, when Keir Starmer is expected to visit Beijing. Ministers are expected to greenlight the controversial plans after formal submissions by the Home Office and Foreign Office raised no objections on security grounds. Continue reading...

A Christian charity executive who wrote the book Daddy’s Little Toy says her novel referred to infant role play by adults rather than child abuse * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A book written by a Christian charity marketing executive contained references to “sexual stuff” with a young child, the police officer tasked with reading the novel has said. Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, 34, is fighting child abuse charges brought over the book Daddy’s Little Toy which she wrote under the pen name Tori Woods. Continue reading...

Follow today’s news live * Accused childcare paedophile Joshua Dale Brown charged with 83 new offences * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Chalmers says GDP growth figures ‘very positive and very promising’ Chalmers also said he was encouraged by the release of national accounts figures yesterday, which showed annual GDP growth hitting 2.1%, even though the quarterly pace of growth was a disappointing 0.4%. The reason for that is because the overwhelming story of these national accounts was a very substantial recovery in the private sector. We saw business investment absolutely galloping. We saw investment in the

Exclusive: President of National party’s youth branch says many children in regional and remote areas rely on social media to stay connected * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The federal Nationals’ youth branch has called to dump the under-16s social media ban, amid a growing Coalition push against the world-leading laws coming into effect from next week. Coalition members including leader Sussan Ley, Andrew Bragg and Matt Canavan have voiced alarm at the looming 10 December commencement, despite the opposition waving through parliament legislation that specified

New South Wales south coast faces highest heatwave category, with extreme temperatures forecast elsewhere, including in Western Australia and the NT * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Communities across large parts of Australia have been urged to take precautions as temperatures begin to soar ahead of severe and extreme heatwave conditions, with parts of western Sydney expected to reach the low 40s by Saturday. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued heatwave warnings in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with an extreme warning

Lack of local content is notable this year in the music platform’s analysis of users’ personal music, podcast and audiobook choices * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email It may be Fred Again, Donna Summer or Barkaa. Your musical “listening age” could be 21, 57 or three. You have listened to 14 minutes or 40,000. But it’s not likely to feature much Australian content. Continue reading...

Nine-country poll finds half of people believe risk of war with Russia is high and three-quarters want to stay in EU Nearly half of Europeans see Donald Trump as “an enemy of Europe”, rather more rate the risk of war with Russia as high and more than two-thirds believe their country would not be able to defend itself in the event of such a war, a survey has found. The nine-country poll for the Paris-based European affairs debate platform Le Grand Continent also found that nearly three-quarters of respondents wanted their country to stay in the EU, with almost as many saying

Trump’s comments come after an hours-long meeting at the Kremlin between US envoys and Vladimir Putin failed to achieve a breakthrough * Analysis: the Ukraine peace deal has stumbled yet again over an inevitable obstacle: Putin The path ahead for Ukraine peace talks is unclear, Donald Trump has said, after what he called “reasonably good” talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US envoys which nonetheless failed to achieve a breakthrough After their hours-long meeting at the Kremlin on Tuesday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, were set to meet top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Florida on

Monarch welcomed German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and promised both nations’ support for Ukraine The UK and Germany are ready to “bolster Europe” against the threat of further Russian aggression and both nations “stand” with Ukraine, King Charles said as he hosted the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The visit comes at a difficult time for Europe in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and will aim to underscore the Kensington treaty signed in July – the first formal pact between the UK and Germany since the second world war – which sets out plans for closer cooperation on migration, defence, trade and

Leaders focus on bolstering Ukraine’s finances as US-Russia talks to end war make little progress The European Commission will move ahead with controversial plans to fund Ukraine with a loan based on Russia’s frozen assets, but in a concession to concerns raised by Belgium, which hosts most of the assets, the EU executive has also proposed another option: an EU loan based on common borrowing. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday the two proposals would ensure “Ukraine has the means to defend [itself] and take forward peace negotiations from a position of strength”. Continue reading...

Russian leader’s rejection of latest peace proposal was predictable and shows the Kremlin continues to hold the trump card Before the harsh white glare of the Kremlin reception room came a telling prologue: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s self-described “deal guys”, being led by Kremlin officials through the sparkling streets of a festive Moscow. Wasn’t it lovely, Vladimir Putin asked later, as both sides sat down to a five-hour negotiation that seems to have led right back to where they started. “It’s a magnificent city,” Witkoff replied. Then the cameras cut out. Continue reading...

Agency says missile struck citizens in Khan Younis, as Israel reports targeting ‘Hamas terrorist’ after clash with militants An Israeli strike on Palestinian territory has killed five people including two children, Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP on Wednesday. “Five citizens, including two children, killed and others injured, some seriously, as a result of an Israeli missile strike,” in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP. Continue reading...

Group including Margaret Atwood, Ian McKellen and Richard Branson sign open letter to free Marwan Barghouti More than 200 leading cultural figures have come together to call for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Palestinian leader seen as capable of uniting factions and bringing the best hope to the stalled mission of creating a Palestinian state. The prestigious and diverse group calling for his release in an open letter includes a variety of prominent names, including the writers Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor and Mark Ruffalo, and

Iranian film-maker won Cannes film festival’s Palme D’Or prize earlier this year for It Was Just an Accident Iran has sentenced the Palme d’Or-winning film-maker Jafar Panahi in absentia to one year in prison and a travel ban over “propaganda activities” against the country. The sentence includes a two-year ban on leaving Iran and prohibition of Panahi from membership of any political or social groups, his lawyer Mostafa Nili said, adding that they would file an appeal. Continue reading...

Group beaten in early hours of morning in village where they volunteered to help protect Palestinians from settler violence Italy and Canada have raised concerns about the treatment of their citizens who were beaten and robbed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Three Italians and a Canadian were attacked early on Sunday morning in the village of Ein al-Duyuk, near Jericho, where they had volunteered to help protect the Palestinian population from intensifying settler violence. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, Iran grapples with one of worst droughts and temperatures fall 10C below normal in US More heavy rainfall is expected in Sri Lanka in the coming days, likely resulting in further damage across the country. It comes after torrential rainfall in south-east Asia triggered catastrophic flash floods and landslides that have affected millions, killing more than 300 people in Indonesia and 160 in Thailand, with hundreds more still missing. Parts of North Sumatra, Indonesia, were hit with rainfall totals of 800mm over four days, with other areas also experiencing heavy rainfall. Continue reading...

Apple among big tech companies reportedly refusing to install Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app on their devices A political outcry has erupted in India after the government mandated large technology companies to install a state-owned app on smartphones that has led to surveillance fears among opposition MPs and activists. Manufacturers including Apple, Samsung and Xiomi have 90 days to comply with the order to preload the government’s Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, on every phone in India. Continue reading...

Many uncertain about the future after losing everything in the country’s deadliest natural disaster for years When the rains began, Layani Rasika Niroshani was not worried. The 36-year-old mother of two was used to the heavy monsoon showers that drench Sri Lanka’s hilly central region of Badulla every year. But as it kept pounding down without stopping, the family started to feel jittery. Some relocated to a relative’s house, but her brother and his wife decided to stay behind to collect the valuables. As they were inside, a landslide hit the family home. Continue reading...

Critics voice concern as government says its Sanchar Saathi app combats cybersecurity threats for 1.2bn telecom users India’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates. In tackling a recent surge of cybercrime and hacking, India is joining authorities worldwide, most recently in Russia, to frame rules blocking the use of stolen phones for fraud or promoting state-backed government service apps. Continue reading...

Millions of people affected by torrential rainfall in Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia * How cyclones and monsoon rains combined to devastate parts of Asia – visual guide Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed military personnel as they race to help victims of devastating flooding that has killed more than 1,100 people across four countries in Asia. Millions of people have been affected by a combination of tropical cyclones and heavy monsoon rains in Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, Thailand and Malaysia in recent days. Continue reading...

MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London denies allegations and condemns ‘flawed and farcical’ trial * What led to Bangladesh trial of Tulip Siddiq in her absence? A court in Bangladesh has sentenced the British MP Tulip Siddiq to two years in jail after a judge ruled she was complicit in corrupt land deals with her aunt, the country’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. In a ruling on Monday, a judge found Siddiq, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate, guilty of misusing her “special influence” as a British politician to coerce Hasina into giving valuable pieces of land to her mother,

Naccom members accommodated record 4,434 refugees and migrants in 2024-25 but could not house another 3,450 Thousands of refugees are facing a growing homelessness crisis, according to a network of more than 100 organisations across the UK who say homelessness has more than doubled among refugees in the last two years. Naccom, the national charity of 140 frontline refugee and migrant organisations, blames the increase on “near-constant government policy changes” and the introduction of eVisas, which some refugees have not been able to activate in order to access vital services and support. Continue reading...

Incidents rose from four in 2023 to 28 in 2024 as 22 Serco officers also investigated for serious misconduct at Gatwick centre There has been a sevenfold increase in serious incidents at an immigration detention centre near Gatwick airport, a watchdog report has revealed. There were 28 serious incidents at Gatwick immigration removal centre in 2024 compared with four recorded in 2023, the report from the independent monitoring board said. These included large protests and men jumping on to anti-suicide netting. On 12 occasions the National Tactical Response Group, a specialist unit to deal with protests and other serious problems, was called

Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’ The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports. Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported. He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit. The figure has

Survey shows rise in GPs using tools such as ChatGPT to produce appointment summaries and assist with diagnosis Almost three in 10 GPs in the UK are using AI tools such as ChatGPT in consultations with patients, even though it could lead to them making mistakes and being sued, a study reveals. The rapid adoption of AI to ease workloads is happening alongside a “wild west” lack of regulation of the technology, which is leaving GPs unaware which tools are safe to use. That is the conclusion of research by the Nuffield Trust thinktank, based on a survey of 2,108 family doctors

Vincent Chan, 45, admits 26 offences from 2022 to 2024 at Bright Horizons, Finchley Road, with two children he attacked yet to be identified * Warning: this article contains descriptions of offences readers may find distressing The families of toddlers at a nursery where a paedophile attacked sleeping children have demanded to know how he was able to abuse “innocent victims who could not fight back”. They said they were sickened by the discovery that the early-years worker Vincent Chan had apparently passed vetting procedures, and demanded answers about why safeguarding systems had failed so comprehensively. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. * Trump news at a glance: Hegseth remains in hot seat over Signal chat leak, boat strikes * Trump officials say second strike aimed to destroy suspected drug boat instead of crew The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it had started its immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans today. In a statement, the department said Operation Catahoula Crunch would target “criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies”. New Orleans is the latest Democratic-run city (albeit in a Republican-led state) to see federal immigration agents on its streets. Most recently, the Trump administration targeted Charlotte,

Protest guard fired at armed man he mistakenly believed to be threat to protesters but accidentally killed a bystander A safety volunteer accused of fatally shooting a man taking part in a June No Kings protest in Salt Lake City, while firing at another armed man he believed to be a threat, was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday. Matthew Scott Alder, 43, was charged with one count of manslaughter. Alder opened fire during the protest on 14 June after seeing another man, Arturo Gamboa, carrying a rifle. Alder told investigators that he believed Gamboa, 24, was about to commit a mass shooting,

Officials hew closely to secret memo which gives legal cover to firing on boats even if it would kill people on board Trump administration officials have defended carrying out a follow-up strike on a drug boat that killed survivors on 2 September by arguing that its objective was to ensure the complete destruction of the boat, an action the Pentagon had internal legal approval to conduct. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a briefing on Monday that Adm Frank Bradley, who oversaw the operation and gave the order for the second strike, directed it to sink the boat. Continue reading...

Gregory Bovino, border patrol chief and face of Trump’s mass deportation efforts, seen patrolling French Quarter Federal agents descended on New Orleans on Wednesday, making Louisiana’s most populous city the latest front in the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on immigrant communities. Masked agents patrolled a heavily Latino suburb in marked and unmarked vehicles, and a resident told the Associated Press he watched agents arresting men outside a home improvement store in New Orleans – a familiar scene that has played out in several major cities in recent months. Continue reading...

Report says defense secretary violated policies in sharing secret information in March on planned airstrike in Yemen A widely awaited Department of Defense report concluded that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, violated departmental policies when he shared secret information in a Signal messaging chat in March that included details of a planned airstrike in Yemen against Houthi fighters, said a source familiar with the report. The Signal chat was disclosed after a reporter for the Atlantic was added as a member. It also included JD Vance, the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, and the then-national security adviser, Mike Waltz. The report did not

The path ahead for Ukraine peace talks is unclear, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, after what he called “reasonably good” talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US envoys. The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Putin accepted some US proposals aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and was prepared to keep working to find a compromise. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner spent hours at the Kremlin, departing in the early hours of...

Witnesses at a US trade agency hearing are pushing officials to put economic security high on the agenda to counter China ahead of a high-stakes review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The hearing convened by the Office of the US Trade Representative on Wednesday – the first public session before next July’s joint review of the free trade deal – kicks off three days of testimony from more than 140 representatives from business, think tanks, academia and advocacy groups. “One...

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said he was unsure whether China would accept the company’s H200 artificial intelligence chips should the United States relax restrictions on sales of the processors, following a meeting Wednesday with US President Donald Trump. Addressing reporters at the US Capitol, Huang said he and Trump talked about export controls but declined to offer specifics. The Nvidia chief’s meeting with the president comes after Trump administration officials discussed...

A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the Friends star’s overdose death was sentenced to 2½ years in prison on Wednesday. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence plus two years of probation to 44-year-old Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles. The judge emphasised that Plasencia did not provide the ketamine that killed Perry, but told him: “You and others helped Mr Perry on the road to such an ending by continuing to...

The Pentagon’s watchdog found that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth put American personnel and their mission at risk when he used the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive information about a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen, two people familiar with the findings said on Wednesday. Hegseth, however, has the ability to declassify material and the report did not find he did so improperly, according to one of the people familiar with the report’s findings who spoke on condition...

Democrats in the US Congress released photos and videos on Wednesday showing the luxury island home where convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein allegedly forced underage girls into sex with powerful men. The images of Epstein’s former Caribbean hideaway shed little new light on the complex scandal. However, they could add pressure on the Trump administration to comply with a requirement to release all the investigative files compiled during years of probes into Epstein’s activities – with...

Honduran television presenter Salvador Nasralla widened a narrow lead Wednesday over Trump-backed rival Nasry Asfura as the counting of votes cast in a weekend presidential election dragged into a third day. With nearly 80 per cent of the count from Sunday’s voting completed, Nasralla was leading fellow right-winger Asfura with 40.34 per cent to 39.57 per cent, according to the CNE election council. The CNE has come under fire from US President Donald Trump after announcing Monday that a partial...

Israel received a body that Hamas said was one of the last two deceased hostages in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as Israel said it would allow Gaza’s gateway to Egypt to open once all hostages were returned. A body has been transferred by the Red Cross to the Israeli military and will undergo forensic identification, a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. Hamas also handed over remains on Tuesday, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said were not of any...

A majority of Australians, Japanese and Indians believe US President Donald Trump’s second term has been bad for their countries, and more Australians see the US as harmful than helpful in Asia, a survey of people in the four countries reported on Thursday. The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney polled 1,000 people in each of the four Quad nations: Australia, Japan, India, and the US. It found the region has been shaken by disruptive US developments but still backs...

Cuba has begun to restore power after a partial collapse of its electrical grid on Wednesday that left capital Havana and much of western Cuba in the dark, the latest incident in an energy crisis that has left millions suffering from prolonged blackouts for months. Top energy official Lazaro Guerra said a main transmission line connecting Havana with the country’s largest power plant in Matanzas failed around 5am, but that workers had begun restoring power by midmorning. “We already have a...

Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks in decades on Wednesday under the auspices of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism, though Lebanon’s premier cautioned the new diplomatic contact did not amount to broader peace discussions. The two sides met at the UN peacekeeping force’s headquarters in Lebanon’s Naqura near the border with Israel, where the guarantors of the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah regularly convene. Lebanon and...

A high-profile case against two British men accused of spying for China collapsed because of “systemic failures” and not a government conspiracy, a UK parliamentary inquiry concluded on Wednesday. The handling of the case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry was at times “shambolic” and reforms are needed to prevent “similar issues” happening again, the cross-party committee of MPs and members of the House of Lords said in its report. Ex-parliamentary researcher Cash and China-based...

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Beijing for his three-day visit to China on Wednesday – and he is not coming alone. Alongside his wife Brigitte, the French leader is bringing a delegation of more than 80 people, including multiple ministers and nearly 40 CEOs from across the corporate world. Despite rising trade tensions between China and Europe, the long guestlist signals that Macron is travelling to Beijing looking to do business – and hints at France’s likely priorities. From...

A 13-year-old boy executed a man found guilty of killing his family in front of a cheering crowd in Afghanistan, in a chilling detail revealed after the event. The public execution, echoing the worst days of Taliban rule, was of a man who the Supreme Court ruled had killed 13 members of the same family, including nine children and their mother. About 80,000 people, including relatives of the victims, attended the execution in the sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost on Tuesday. The...

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and US citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety. The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration – a core feature of US President Donald Trump’s political platform. The list of countries includes...

Once, when pop diva Faye Wong was seen reading on a plane, the book reportedly on her lap was the perennial local bestseller Art of Thinking by Lee Tien-ming. Food critic, columnist and media personality Benny Li Shun-Yan reportedly said that after learning of her interest, he introduced Wong to Lee, arguably Hong Kong’s most famous philosopher, who passed away last week at the age of 80. I remember that some were surprised by Wong’s philosophical interests. Actually, mainland entertainers often...

US President Donald Trump and his administration on Tuesday seized on China’s recent ban on select Brazilian soybean shipments, touting it as proof they had won Beijing back over to US suppliers even though official data shows China has only resumed American purchases modestly. At a lengthy, end-of-year cabinet meeting, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that “just a couple of days ago, China announced that they were going to halt all purchases from Brazil because they had found some...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday he had watched the first US strike in September on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in real time but did not see survivors in the water or the second lethal strike that he described as being carried out in the “fog of war”. Hegseth, speaking at a cabinet meeting alongside US President Donald Trump, defended the follow-up strike that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny from Congress and concerns about the legality of the administration’s moves. The...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said any country trafficking illegal drugs into the United States could be attacked. “Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack,” Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting at the White House, after raising the issue of cocaine from Colombia. Colombian President Gustavo Petro shot back at Trump in a social media post, arguing the South American nation destroys a drug-producing laboratory every 40 minutes – “without...

The suspect accused of shooting two National Guard members in an ambush in downtown Washington last week was charged on Tuesday with murder and other offences as he made his first court appearance, appearing remotely from a hospital bed. A judge ordered Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, held in custody without bond, citing the “sheer terror” of the shooting blocks from the White House that killed one member of the National Guard and critically injured a second. Lakanwal pleaded not guilty to all...

With domestic profits narrowing and production capacity expanding, China’s firms are continuing to widen their overseas footprints in search of new, more lucrative markets. In this series, we examine China Inc.’s next phase of “going global” and the complex, challenging international environment its companies have chosen to enter. China, known as the “world’s factory” after decades spent manufacturing and shipping much of the world’s consumer goods, is now going a step further: as a number of...

A rare crystal and diamond Faberge egg crafted for Russia’s ruling family before it was toppled by revolution shattered records on Tuesday as it sold at auction for £22.9 million (US$30.2 million). The Winter Egg, which was compared to the iconic Mona Lisa, was just one of seven of the opulent ovoids remaining in private hands, Christie’s London auction house said. The 10cm (four-inch) tall egg is made from finely carved rock crystal, covered in a delicate snowflake motif wrought in platinum and...

Russia and the US did not reach a compromise on a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine after a five-hour Kremlin meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s top envoys, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Trump has repeatedly complained that ending Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II has been one of the elusive foreign policy aims of his presidency. The US president has at times scolded both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Talks in Moscow between...

Pope Leo urged US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force. Leo, the first US pope, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there. The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans. The socialist Venezuelan president has denied...

The EU’s former foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has been charged along with two others in a probe into “fraud and corruption” over contracts to train future European diplomats. “The three individuals were formally notified of the accusations against them,” said a statement Wednesday from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) a day after their detention in Brussels. “The accusations concern procurement fraud and corruption, conflict of interest and violation of professional...

US President Donald Trump, who has cast himself as a relentless foe of illegal drugs, has pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, freeing him from a 45-year sentence for conspiring to import tonnes of cocaine into the United States. Trump’s extraordinary move risked weakening US credibility in Latin America, could embolden corrupt actors, and is likely to draw criticism that he is undercutting decades of US efforts to fight transnational drug networks. Trump told reporters at...

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s sweeping effort to modernise Saudi Arabia’s economy draws direct inspiration from the Singapore model pioneered by Lee Kuan Yew, a senior Saudi political adviser has said. Mohammed Khalid Alyahya, an adviser to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, described the late Singaporean leader’s pragmatic and results-driven governance as a template for Riyadh’s ambitions. “We have studied [Singapore] for 50 years – the way the country has invested in...

A US admiral acting under the authority of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a “double-tap” military operation that targeted survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug smuggling boat, the White House said on Monday. The legality of the Trump administration’s deadly strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific has already been questioned, and reports of the follow-up attack on survivors have triggered further accusations of a possible war crime. A total...

A Brazilian teenager was mauled to death by a lioness in full view of zoo visitors after scaling a six-metre wall and safety fencing and shimmying down a tree into the enclosure, authorities said. Gerson de Melo Machado, 19, struggled with severe mental health issues and dreamed of being a lion tamer, according to those who knew him. The municipal government of the northeastern coastal city of Joao Pessoa said Machado had “deliberately invaded the lioness’s enclosure” at the Arruda Camara...

Lebanon is bracing for intensified Israeli attacks in the new year, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration set a December 31 deadline for Hezbollah to disarm, following its assassination of the group’s military commander. Rather than heralding another land invasion like a year ago, however, analysts say the military ultimatum issued by Defence Minister Israel Katz last week aims to further diminish the role of Hezbollah – and its creator Iran – in Lebanon’s national...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he expected to discuss “key issues” with Donald Trump as the American-led push to end Russia’s war on Ukraine accelerated, with the US president’s envoy heading to Moscow. Ukraine’s negotiator Rustem Umerov said “significant progress” had been achieved in two days of talks with US officials on Trump’s plan to end the war, even though more work was needed on “challenging” issues. The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet...

Police in Britain will be able to require illegal migrants to remove their coats and allow mouth searches at British ports so officers can look for mobile phones or SIM cards and gather intelligence on their journey, the government said on Monday. The Home Office (interior ministry) said the new powers would support investigations aimed at dismantling criminal gangs suspected of smuggling migrants across the Channel. It said the gangs frequently use phone contacts and social media to recruit...

A businessman who has US President Donald Trump’s backing for the presidency of Honduras was locked in a “technical tie” with a right-wing TV host after a preliminary vote count, the Central American country’s electoral body said on Monday. Nasry Asfura, 67, led 72-year-old rival Salvador Nasralla by just 515 votes, making it a “technical tie”, National Electoral Council (CNE) head Ana Paola Hall said on X after a partial digital tally of Sunday’s down-to-the-wire ballot. She called for...

Luigi Mangione watched stoically in court on Monday as prosecutors played surveillance videos showing the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York pavement last year and Mangione’s arrest five days later at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. The videos, including footage from the restaurant previously unseen by the press or the public, kicked off a hearing on Mangione’s fight to bar evidence from his state murder trial, including the gun prosecutors say matches the one used in the...

The European Union has formally terminated a long-running dispute with China at the World Trade Organization, centred on Beijing’s alleged coercion of Lithuania in 2021. In a statement circulated to WTO members, the bloc said it was abandoning the case “considering the key objectives behind this dispute have been met and relevant trade has resumed”. The case arose after Lithuania permitted the opening of a controversially named “Taiwanese Representative Office” in its capital, Vilnius. Soon...

Brazil’s central bank president, Gabriel Galipolo, said on Monday that China is exporting “disinflation or even deflation” to Brazil through a surge in low-cost imports, easing inflation. Speaking at an economics forum in Sao Paulo, Galipolo said Brazilian imports from China have grown while their prices have fallen, easing inflation in the short term but reflecting deeper imbalances in global trade. “It is, in a sense, offsetting an impact that would otherwise be even greater, both for the...

US President Donald Trump has invited Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House in the “near future”, the prime minister’s office said on Monday, soon after Trump said Israel should maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria. A visit to the White House would mark the Israeli prime minister’s fifth since Trump returned to office in January. The two leaders have publicly projected a close relationship, though US and Israeli sources have said Trump has at times expressed frustration with...

US President Donald Trump on Monday launched the US presidency of the Group of 20 by wiping clean the website of outgoing host South Africa, which he is not inviting to next year’s summit. The G20 website now simply has a picture of Trump in black and white that says “Miami 2026” and “The Best Is Yet to Come”, the title of the song popularised by Frank Sinatra. Trump refused all US attendance at last month’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, denouncing the post-apartheid government’s treatment of the...

The head of Britain’s financial watchdog resigned on Monday after his agency last week inadvertently released the key details of finance minister Rachel Reeves’ annual tax-and-spending budget statement ahead of time. Richard Hughes said he wanted to help the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to recover quickly from the lapse which an investigation linked to IT weaknesses and leadership failures. “I have, therefore, decided it is in the best interest of the OBR for me to resign as its chair...

Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla will this week host the German president for a state visit, with the format reverting to normal after royal elements of US President Donald Trump’s stay were restricted to the Windsor estate. Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, former judge Elke Budenbender, will be formally welcomed by Charles and Camilla on an open-air royal dais in the centre of the Berkshire town, before enjoying a carriage ride through the streets, past the crowds, to the...

The United States and Britain announced a deal on Monday to secure zero tariffs on British pharmaceutical products and medical technology in return for Britain spending more on medicines and overhauling how it values drugs. Under the agreement, Britain will raise the net price it pays for new US medicines by 25 per cent. In return, UK-made medicines, drug ingredients and medical technology will be exempt from Section 232 sectoral tariffs and any future Section 301 country tariffs. “The United...

A federal appeal court on Monday determined that Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to US President Donald Trump, was unlawfully appointed as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey and disqualified her from supervising cases, in a rebuke to the Trump administration. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest blow to Trump and his Justice Department as they seek to install loyalists to oversee key US Attorney’s offices...

Roughly one-third of European companies in China affected by Beijing’s expanding export control regime intend to diversify their supply chains, with firms concerned about supply chain disruptions, long delivery delays and rising costs, a new survey has found. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China found in a flash survey of 131 member companies that more than half expected to be hit by Chinese export controls, with the group calling for policymakers to find a long-term solution to...

Oxford University Press has named “rage bait’’ as its word of the year, capturing the internet zeitgeist of 2025. The phrase refers to online content that is “deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive,” with the aim of driving traffic to a particular social media account, Oxford said in a statement. “The person producing it will bask in the millions, quite often, of comments and shares and even likes sometimes,’’ lexicographer Susie Dent told...

Russia’s accusation that the United States and Germany are recruiting Filipino mercenaries to fight in Ukraine is almost certainly disinformation, analysts say. Yet the claim exposes how easily Southeast Asian nations can be drawn into the information crossfire of global conflicts – becoming unwitting pawns in great-power narratives that shape opinions far beyond the battlefield. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that “US representatives” had enlisted Filipinos to join...

Workers installed Mr. Trump’s name to a Washington building on Wednesday, thrusting the institute back into the spotlight as it is set to host the signing of a peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The president wanted Moscow and Kyiv to come to terms by Thanksgiving. Negotiations are now stalled, leaving the White House to decide if an agreement is possible anytime soon.

The Trump administration, which crippled Russia’s oil sales to India with sanctions, will be watching Mr. Putin’s talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The European Union has a proposal for how to turn Russian frozen assets into a giant loan for Ukraine. If it fails, it could further weaken Europe’s global image.

In publicizing the photos and videos, Democrats in Congress appeared to be intensifying pressure on the Justice Department to release its files on the Epstein case.

The billionaire real estate developer’s relationship with Mr. Epstein is in the spotlight, with the release of emails and images of Mr. Epstein’s private home in the Caribbean.

In a court filing, a lawyer for the onetime companion of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein said she would seek to be released from her minimum-security federal lockup.

Our film critics rank their 10 favorites of the year.

“One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme” and “Sentimental Value” are almost certain to be nominated. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.

Twelve former commissioners, in a New England Journal of Medicine article, said they were “deeply concerned” by a leaked memo from the agency’s vaccine regulator.

Members of a vaccine advisory committee handpicked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will discuss revising the childhood immunization schedule this week. Here’s what to know.

Afghan immigrants in the United States believed they were safe. A deadly shooting that authorities say was carried out by an Afghan has thrown their futures into doubt.

It is unclear how long the effort will last in Louisiana, where the Republican governor has welcomed the agents with open arms even as immigrant communities fear what might come.

Most Somalis in the state are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, making the pool of people who would be subject to removal small. And the frigid weather may limit agents’ search.

The flights with Venezuelans who had been living in the United States arrived at a time of airspace safety concerns as the U.S. military pressures Venezuela’s leader.

President Trump’s economic policies and artificial intelligence were among the central topics at the gathering of business and political leaders.

William Hendrix wanted a life in politics. He found it, with the Young Republicans.

In a sign of China’s role in the city, officials have tried to stamp out calls for accountability over a catastrophe that killed at least 159 people.

Israel had agreed to open the Rafah crossing as part of the October cease-fire deal with Hamas but kept it closed. Egypt denied that the border would reopen soon.

The doctor, Salvador Plasencia, had asked “I wonder how much this moron will pay” before supplying the drug to Mr. Perry, who became increasingly reliant on it before his death.

Dean Whetzel, 82, had known Dana Escoffier, 79, for decades. When Mr. Whetzel bumped into him near their Village apartments, Mr. Escoffier shoved him, the police said, and he fell to the ground.

He is best known as a former Hollywood power broker, but Ovitz has filled his Beverly Hills home with a collection that shows how serious he is about art.

Centrist governments are failing badly in Europe’s leading economies, setting the stage for a far-right sweep.

In the right hands, the pardon power is too strong. In the wrong hands, it is disastrous.

Also, Dick Van Dyke shares his secrets to aging well. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.

The separatists were battling to secure the region’s oil fields, residents and the group’s officials said. Their swift advance could be a turning point in Yemen’s decade-long civil war.

The plaintiffs, white and Asian students, said they would qualify for scholarships given out by the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, but for their race.

As a member of Booker T. & the MG’s and as a producer, he played a pivotal role in the rise of Stax Records, a storied force in R&B in the 1960s and ’70s.