Minimalist News

Tesla Slides After Unexpectedly Raising 2026 CapEx Guidance To $25BN Update: In our original review of the Tesla earnings, which were solid enough to push the stock over $400 ahead of the earnings call, we said that something about the CapEx seemed off, namely that at just $2.5 billion in Q1 (and the reason why free cash flow was positive), Tesla's run-rate was about half behind its $20 billion full year capex projection. > TSLA free cash flow positive since Q1 capex was only $2.5BN, half the run-rate it should be implied by the $20BN guidance https://t.co/DI30b9ksR4 pic.twitter.com/xTIOQgSwy6 > > — zerohedge (@zerohedge) April

Voting Rights Groups Sue To Stop DOJ From Collecting State Voter Lists Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times, Voting rights groups filed a lawsuit on April 21 seeking to block the Department of Justice (DOJ) from collecting, compiling, and analyzing state voter registration lists. As of April 1, the DOJ has sued 30 states, including Washington, for failing to turn over voter rolls. The department has said the U.S. attorney general has congressional authority under the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to seek election records from states to check for improper voter registrations. The groups filed a complaint on April 21, accusing

Not So Fast: Virginia Judge Blocks Redistricting Referendum Update (1835ET): A Virginia judge ruled on Wednesday that the state’s redistricting referendum approved by voters a day earlier was invalid, nullifying the election results. "Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote," said Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, adding that the state would appeal.  As American Greatness notes further, Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that the referendum was likely unconstitutional as it violated procedural requirements in the Virginia Constitution, including the timing of the vote and the failure to publish the amendment three months before the prior general

Aaaand It's Gone... PE Shop Thoma Bravo Writes Off Over $5BN From 2021 SaaS Firm Acquisition Not a great night for SaaS... Given the eight straight days of gains for Software stocks, one could argue that the death of code-base companies was greatly exaggerated (cough -dead-cat bounce - cough), but not every boat is being lifted by this massive short-squeeze rebound JPMorgan Trader Brian Heavey said earlier that it "seems we are moving from 'SAAS is dead' to 'maybe they can co-exist'", but it appears one software firm is indeed 'no more'. In July 2021, Thoma Bravo took customer-experience (CX) software leader Medallia private

Harvard Creates Robot Ants That Work Like Real Insects To Build And Dismantle Complex Structures Authored by Mrigakshi Dixit via Interesting Engineering, Researchers at Harvard have developed a fleet of robotic ants that mimic the self-organizing behavior of social insects to build and dismantle structures without blueprints or central leadership. An illustration of how the collective, decentralized behavior of ants has inspired experiments with cooperative robots that can complete tasks without central control. Dubbed “RAnts”, these robotic ants have been designed by researchers from the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).  These are simple, decentralized robots that can spontaneously organize to

Embassy Tells Americans Still In Lebanon Depart Now While Flights Available As Ceasefire Collapsing The US-mediated Lebanon ceasefire is unraveling fast amid intensified fighting between Israel and Hezbollah on Thursday. This has resulted in the US embassy in Beirut issuing an urgent renewed security alert, urging US citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial flight options are still available. via AFP The statement explained the security situation "remains complex and can change quickly." It further said that those who don't or cannot leave must be prepared to encounter emergency situations, and also warned of unexploded ordnance which has resulted in the recent war. A 10-day ceasefire is still

Here's How Trump Can Nuke Virginia's New Gerrymandered Map... Authored by Matt Margolis via PJMedia.com, Virginia used to be a model of fair redistricting. That reputation is now gone. On Tuesday, Virginia Democrats passed a redistricting plan that transforms one of the most fairly apportioned states in the country into one of the most blatantly gerrymandered. Keep in mind that Virginia only narrowly backed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024 by roughly five points. Virginia is, in every way, a battleground state. Yet under the new map, nearly half the state’s voters effectively lose their voice. The new lines snake from densely packed,

Tit-For-Tat Assaults On Shipping Widen: US Intercepts 3 More 'Illicit' Tankers In Asian Waters, Iran Seizes Additional 2 In Hormuz SUMMARY * At least two fully laden Iranian tankers slip past US naval blockade, amid reports of more going dark, BBG reports, but Pentagon denies. * Reports of three more Iranian tankers being seized by US in Asian waters. Iran in turn seizes 2 more ships in Hormuz, citing "dangerous navigation". * Trump extends ceasefire by 3-5 days, per White House statement to Fox. Third US carrier precisely 3-5 day away from Mideast waters: Fox * IRGC seized the MSC Francesca and a

SaaS Stocks Slammed As ServiceNow Disappoints, Blames MidEast War Perhaps indicative of the fragility of the current rebound - as Software stocks have recently ripped higher for 8 straight days - SaaS stocks are all deeply in the red after-hours as ServiceNow - the potential poster-child for AI disruption - cut its margin outlook amid lackluster results, sending shares reeling. At first glance, it was a good print - the provider of business task management software posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of 97 cents a share, which was in-line with Wall Street estimates, according to FactSet. Revenue for the quarter rose 22% to $3.77

California Exposes Amazon's Alleged 'Retail Price Fixing' In Unredacted Court Filing California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday released a largely unredacted court filing packed with internal emails that allege Amazon strong-armed brands like Levi Strauss and Hanes into pressuring Walmart, Target and other rivals to raise prices - all to protect Amazon’s $2.66 trillion empire. The 19-page memorandum, filed in support of a preliminary injunction in San Francisco Superior Court, paints a picture of coordinated price elevation that Bonta calls “naked” and “per se illegal” under California’s Cartwright Act. The evidence builds on documents the Guardian first reported on last week,

"Civic Action Requires More Than Textbooks": Chicago To Subsidize May Day Protests By Teachers Authored by Jonathan Turley, The Chicago Public Schools are facing a major truancy problem…among teachers. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was up in arms over suggestions that classes should be held on May 1 when teachers wanted to be out protesting. Called International Workers’ Day, May Day is a global day of protest for socialist, communist, and unionist groups. The CTU was upset when parents objected that canceling a day of class for teachers to join a political protest was a burden for working parents. These teachers believe that they are

Pentagon Denies Widespread Reports Of Iran's 'Dark' Tankers Breaching US Blockade Update(1510ET): The Pentagon has not been happy with today's media headlines that proclaimed Iranian 'dark' tankers (with their transponders switched off) have been able to penetrate and get past the US Navy's blockade. CENTCOM issued a late afternoon public message, stating: "Over past 24 hours, media reports have alleged that several commercial ships evaded the blockade, citing M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena as examples. These reports are inaccurate. Hero II and Hedy did not sail past the blockade as part of a flotilla that 'ferried' millions of

'Alligator Alcatraz' Can Continue Operating, Appeals Court Says Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times, A federal appeals court on Tuesday pulled a judge’s previous order to dismantle the high-profile detention center in the Florida Everglades for illegal immigrants, known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” In a 2–1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit sided with the Trump administration’s argument that there was minimal federal involvement in the facility’s construction, so a federal environmental review was not warranted. “Using state employees and state funds, Florida officials, on their own initiative, constructed a detention center at an airport on state property in

Tesla Earnings Preview: "Braced For A Miss" Tesla reports after the US market close on Wednesday and according to the UBS trading desk, there has been very little discussion around TSLA lately, with the stock drifting 14% lower for most of the year until last week, when it squeezed higher to trade just below $390.  The company has been the laggard among mega-cap peers despite still-lofty expectations. Consensus points to 1Q revenue of about $22.7 billion, with adjusted EPS around 38 cents and roughly 25 cents on a reported basis, even as deliveries of about 358,000 vehicles missed forecasts and flagged softer

Duffy Seeking $10 Billion From Congress To Revamp Air Traffic Control System Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on April 21 the department requires $10 billion in additional funding from Congress to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control with a new software system. Duffy told Reuters in an interview that the additional funding would go toward developing new software aimed at improving the efficiency of air travel and reducing flight delays. “This tool lets us see and then spread flights in a way that allows for way less disruption,” he told the news outlet. “We could

Two Armed Robbers Steal $1.8 Million From Brinks Armored Truck In Philadelphia Authored by Bryan Jung via PJMedia.com, Two masked men armed with rifles carried out a brazen daylight robbery of a Brinks armored truck  in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia, escaping with what authorities say could be as much as $1.8 million in cash. Philadelphia Police Department officials told ABC 6 that the robbery occurred around 9:45 a.m on April 21 on the 7200 block of Torresdale Avenue, as the Brinks truck was servicing a Budget Financial Center. Brinks is a national security and cash logistics company that transports money for banks and retailers. According to

Trump Deploys Five Defense Production Act Memos For American Energy President Trump signed five presidential determinations under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act on Monday. All five declare critical energy capacities essential to national defense and authorize federal purchases, commitments, and financing to cut through financing shortages, permitting delays, and supply chain choke points.  Any mention of renewables are noticeably absent, as the administration has been pounding the table on the reliability of coal and natural gas, especially through the recent winter storm... > "Sleep Tight, America. We Got This": NatGas And Coal Power Plants Prevented Grid Collapse During Historic Winter Blast

CIA Security Officer Files Lawsuit Against Steve Baker And The Blaze For Identifying Her As J6 Bomber Authored by 'sundance' via The Last Refuge, Steve Baker and The Blaze are being sued by former Capitol Hill police officer Shauni Kerkoff, who Baker accused of being the J6 pipe bomber based on “gait” analysis and other dubious claims. Mr Baker, a former FBI employee named Kyle Seraphin and Kentucky representative Thomas Massie also pushed the accusation, saying FBI Director Kash and other FBI officials were lying and an innocent guy was arrested. The arrested suspect, Brian J. Cole, Jr., confessed to the crimes. Yesterday, Shauni Kerkoff, who now works

"All Systems Go": Goldman Sees Improvement As Boeing Turnaround Gains Momo Boeing shares jumped as much as 5% after the company posted a smaller-than-expected first-quarter cash burn and delivered the most aircraft since 2019 (outdelivered Airbus for the first time in years), reinforcing the view that the turnaround is beginning to lift off. The CEO's earlier comment was "all systems go," while Goldman's initial read on the quarter pointed to "improvements." First-quarter earnings results show Boeing is gaining traction and is set to ramp up 737 production, a key step toward restoring its cash cow narrowbody jet production ... ... and reducing debt by

Solid 20Y Auction Stops Through With Above Average Foreign Demand The week's lone coupon auction priced at 1pm when the Treasury sold $13 BN in 20Y paper, in a solid if not stellar auction. The auction stopped at a high yield of 4.883%, up from 4.817% in March and the highest since last July. It also stopped through the 4.892% When Issued by 0.9bps, the highest since January. The bid to cover was 2.68, down from 2.76 in March but above the 2.63 six-auction average. The internals were also solid with Indirects taking 67.4% of the auction, down modestly from 69.2% last month but

Human rights groups have warned that the collective prosecutions violate due process and block defendants from accessing legal counsel A Salvadoran court on Tuesday began a collective trial of 486 alleged gang members, in one of the biggest mass trials under president Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang violence through controversial emergency powers. Prosecutors say the charges against alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13, span more than 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022, including a weekend that was El Salvador’s bloodiest since its civil war. Continue reading...

Mexico to investigate possible breach of its constitution and assess US’s role in anti-drug operation near Chihuahua Mexico has launched an investigation into a possible breach of its constitution as it was reported that two US embassy officials who died in a car accident while returning from a raid on a drug lab with local officials in the border state of Chihuahua were CIA operatives. The accident happened early on Sunday, as the officials were driving back from the scene of the raid. Their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged down a 200 metre ravine in the mountains near Chihuahua’s border

Conservatives and former provincial premiers among those PM names to advisory committee on economic relations Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, says his new advisory committee on economic relations with the United States will draw on the “best advice and the broadest perspectives” as the country braces for what many expect will be tense trade negotiations with its southern neighbour. The 24-member advisory committee, announced on Tuesday, shows the prime minister’s eagerness to reach across the political spectrum to ensure Canada is “well positioned to advance its interests” at the looming trade talks. Continue reading...

An Ecuadorian fishing crew describe their ordeal as victims of Trump’s purported war on ‘narcoterrorists’ By 4pm, the light was softening over the Pacific, and the crew of the Don Maca were finishing a long day hauling in lines of swordfish and albacore. Down in the hold, the mood had settled into the familiar rhythm of a fishing day drawing to a close. “We were just working, waiting for the last trawler to return,” said Jhonny Sebastián Palacios, one of the fishers. “Everything was perfectly fine.” Continue reading...

At least four more injured at world heritage site in latest violent incident as country prepares to co-host World Cup One Canadian tourist has been killed and six other people were wounded by gunfire after an armed man opened fire at one of Mexico’s most famous tourist destinations, the Teotihuacán pyramids near Mexico City. The shooting – the latest violent incident to affect Mexico as it prepares to co-host the football World Cup in June – took place on Monday lunchtime and was captured in mobile phone videos. Continue reading...

Karex produces more than 5 billion condoms annually and is a supplier to leading brands like Durex and Trojan, as well as the NHS The world’s top condom producer, Malaysia’s Karex Bhd, plans to raise prices by 20% to 30% and possibly further if supply chain disruptions drag on due to the Iran war, its chief executive has said. Karex is also seeing a surge in condom demand as rising freight costs and shipping delays have left many of its customers with lower stockpiles than usual, CEO Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The Australian government has been urged to take stronger action to protect overseas students from political repression The Australian government has been urged to take stronger action to protect Chinese international students from political repression by authorities on their return after a Chinese student was allegedly sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for joining pro-democracy protests in Australia. The student, who the Guardian has chosen not to name, lost contact with his friends in Sydney after returning to China in December 2024. Continue reading...

Jose Ramos-Horta urged by opposition to explain diplomatic passport given to businessman behind resort project, who denies any involvement with organised crime Timor-Leste’s opposition has questioned how foreign investors in a proposed cryptocurrency resort obtained prime beachfront real estate in the country’s capital, and has called on the president to explain why he issued a diplomatic passport to a Chinese businessman involved in the project. Speaking in parliament in Dili on Monday, Fretilin opposition party MP Florentino Ximenes da Costa “Sinarai” raised concerns about the proposed AB Digital Technology Resort, which was the subject of a months-long investigation by the Guardian and

Democrat led Hawaii from 1973 to 1986, coinciding with the party’s rise to power in the state George R Ariyoshi – Hawaii’s former governor and the nation’s first Asian American governor – has died at age 100. Ariyoshi, a Democrat who led the state from 1973 to 1986, died peacefully while surrounded by family on Sunday night, according to a statement Monday from the current governor, Josh Green. Continue reading...

Actor, who has publicly objected to plans to fast-track project near his farm, says he has received personal abuse The actor Sam Neill says he has received threats of violence from supporters of a controversial goldmine that could be opened several kilometres away from his farm in New Zealand’s Central Otago district, after he publicly objected to the government’s plans to fast-track the mine. The Australian mining company Santana Minerals is pushing to expedite a 85-hectare (210-acre) open-cast goldmine, called Bendigo-Ophir, in the Dunstan mountains, an area described as “outstanding natural landscape” by the Central Otago district council. Continue reading...

Robbie Buck and Wendy Harmer pay tribute to ABC radio presenter and musician who had been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Follow today’s news live * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast James Valentine’s family has released a statement after his death. Here’s what they had to say: James passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family, who adored him. Throughout his illness, James did it his way, which lasted all the way until the end when he made the choice to do Voluntary Assisted Dying. Both he and his family are grateful he was given the option to go

Family reveal Valentine, who retired in February for treatment for a recurring cancer, used voluntary assisted dying * James Valentine – obituary * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Broadcaster and saxophonist James Valentine has died three months after retiring from ABC radio, after 25 years of hosting Sydney’s Afternoons program. Valentine, 64, had been a fixture on the public broadcaster since he joined as host of the Afternoon Show for kids on ABC TV in 1987 after a decade of playing in bands including the Models. Continue

NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review finds * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Two state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found. This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region, where scientists

Exclusive: Corrective Services investigates how Richard Guilliatt of The Australian was able to interview Rob and Karen Gilfillan for Shadow of Doubt * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Corrective Services New South Wales is investigating how a journalist from The Australian was able to interview a man and a woman convicted of abusing their daughter for a podcast that raised questions about their guilt. After legal restrictions were lifted last month, the victim said the podcast had been highly detrimental to her mental health. Continue reading...

Announcing a major overhaul of the scheme, health minister Mark Butler said it was costing ‘too much and is growing too fast’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast At least 160,000 people are expected to be removed from the national disability insurance scheme by 2030, as the Albanese government looks to claw back savings by changing who can access the scheme. The health minister, Mark Butler, unveiled a massive overhaul of the $50bn scheme on Wednesday, announcing the growth rate will be brought down to just

Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dare A tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank. Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria. Continue reading...

Lawyers for oligarch claim freezing of £5.3bn of assets ‘unfair and abusive’ amid row over use of funds for Ukraine Roman Abramovich has gone to the European court of human rights (ECHR), claiming that a criminal investigation into his financial affairs by the Jersey authorities has breached his human rights, according to reports. The former owner of Chelsea FC, who is under UK sanctions over his links to Vladimir Putin, is being investigated in Jersey over allegations of corruption and money laundering. Continue reading...

European Union formal procedures expected to conclude on Thursday as Druzhba pipeline reopens During his press conference, Fico also doubles down on his criticism of the incoming Hungarian government led by Péter Magyar, in a further sign that the relations between Bratislava and Budapest could change dramatically in the next few months. Fico has been close friends with Orbán, often teaming up with him on energy issues, but it doesn’t look like this Slovak-Hungarian partnership will continue under the new management in Budapest. Continue reading...

Agreement for urgently needed loan reached after Ukraine resumed pumping Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia EU member states have reached agreement on unblocking an urgently needed €90bn (£78bn) loan for Kyiv and a new package of sanctions against Moscow after Ukraine resumed pumping Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, prompting Budapest to lift its veto. Cyprus, which holds the bloc’s rotating presidency, said member states’ ambassadors had agreed to launch “written procedures” for the final approval of the loan and the sanctions package, with formal signoff on both due by Thursday afternoon. Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s conflict with Iran could speed the EU’s green revolution – if panicking governments can hold their nerve on clean energy • Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here A surge in demand for electric vehicles across Europe may be evidence of what George Monbiot greeted as the silver lining of the Iran war. Sales of electric cars in continental Europe rose by 51% in March. The International Energy Agency has called the disruption in the strait of Hormuz the “biggest energy crisis in history”, but it appears, on one level, to be accelerating Europe’s green revolution.

White House says Trump ‘understands Iran is in a very weak position’; state media says the ships have been transferred to Iran’s coast * ‘Impossible’ to reopen strait of Hormuz amid ‘flagrant’ ceasefire breaches, Iran says If you’re just joining us, here’s the main news of the day. It is 9.30am in Tehran, 9am in Jerusalem and Beirut, and 2am in Washington DC. Donald Trump unilaterally said he is extending the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran, even as the US military maintains its blockade of Iranian ports. Trump made the announcement as ceasefire talks looked

Amal Khalil had been buried in rubble after an Israeli strike that also injured another journalist, Zeinab Faraj Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed a journalist on Wednesday after rescuers were blocked from accessing the building where she was buried under rubble because of further Israeli fire, according to several witnesses. Amal Khalil was covering developments near the town of al-Tayri with the photographer Zeinab Faraj when an Israeli strike hit the vehicle in front of them. Continue reading...

Iranian forces seize two ships in critical waterway as Washington and Tehran maintain separate blockades * Middle East crisis – live updates Iranian forces have seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz as the US and Iran doubled down on imposing separate blockades of the shipping waterway. The standoff over the strait – through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied fossil gas passed through during peacetime – has raised doubts about whether stalled peace negotiations will resume. Continue reading...

Iran’s goal is to maintain chokehold on the global economy, even as some say it could run out of oil storage by Sunday * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump’s indefinite shelving of the plan to bomb Iran’s bridges and power stations on Tuesday night is being widely described as leaving the conflict in limbo, but that is anything but the truth. Pakistan insists the prospect of talks in Islamabad has not evaporated, and positive messages are still being exchanged, but in the meantime the site of kinetic activity has switched from land to sea. Continue reading...

Local officials and witnesses say attackers shot at students first then at those who arrived to help Two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old schoolboy, have been killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli settlers opened fire near a school amid mounting assaults on education in the territory, witnesses and local officials have said. The Palestinian health ministry said Aws al-Naasan, 14, and Jihad Abu Naim, 32, were killed in the attack on the village of al-Mughayyir, in which three others were wounded. The head of the local council told Reuters that Israeli settlers had entered the village and opened fire near a

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

Activists say clamp down on period products to target insurgents is gender-based violence and violates rights Myanmar’s military regime is expanding its ban on the distribution of period products, claiming they are being used to treat wounded resistance fighters, according to local activists. The south-east Asian country has been locked in civil war since 2021, when the military usurped the democratic government and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents. Artillery fire, the burning of townships and arbitrary arrests have become common in the years since then. Continue reading...

Opposition accuses Narendra Modi government of using quotas as cover for redrawing electoral map The Indian government has failed to pass a bill to increase female representation in parliament after being accused of using the plan as a guise to redraw the country’s electoral map. It was the first time in 12 years in power that a constitutional amendment proposed by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government was not passed by parliament. Continue reading...

Trawler set off from Bangladesh and reportedly capsized due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding About 250 people are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, according to the UN’s refugee and migration agencies. The agencies said the trawler carrying more than 250 men, women and children reportedly sank due to harsh weather and overcrowding. It had departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was bound for Malaysia. Continue reading...

NHS struggling to cope with record numbers, which Cancer Research UK says puts progress on survival rates at risk The number of people in the UK being diagnosed with cancer has reached a record high, with one person diagnosed every 80 seconds, a report reveals. Cancer Research UK found that more than 403,000 people were being diagnosed with the disease each year, largely due to a growing and ageing population, as people are more likely to develop cancer as they get older. Continue reading...

The campaign, fronted by a CGI squirrel, is part of government initiative to boost financial risk taking, amid fears UK growth is being stymied * Nils Pratley: the ‘Savvy Squirrel looks a hit too tame’ City firms are pinning their hopes on a government-endorsed advertising blitz fronted by a finance “savvy” CGI squirrel to encourage cautious British savers to shift out of cash and start investing. The long-awaited retail investment campaign, which will cost up to £50m, is part of the chancellor Rachel Reeves’ nationwide push to encourage more financial risk taking, amid fears risk-averse consumers are losing out and ultimately stymying

Nine people in total arrested over alleged conspiracy concerning unspecified site connected to Jewish community Two further arrests have been made in relation to an alleged conspiracy to commit arson at a site connected to the Jewish community, the Metropolitan police have said. The latest arrests, made by counter-terrorism police investigating the alleged arson conspiracy, were of a man aged 19 and another aged 26. They were detained in Watford on Tuesday and remain in custody. Continue reading...

Three-year deal includes funding for a riot squad to ‘disperse’ people trying to board small boats The UK government has agreed to pay France another £660m to curb the number of asylum seekers travelling across the Channel, including plans to fund a riot squad to “contain and disperse” people trying to board small boats. Under a three-year deal to be signed on Thursday by the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, 1,100 enforcement, intelligence and military officers – an increase of 40% – will be employed to track down smuggling gangs and people seeking refuge. Continue reading...

Independent review into Bristol Brunel academy finds Damien Egan visit was postponed over safeguarding concerns An independent inquiry into a Bristol secondary school that found itself at the centre of a media storm after postponing a visit by a local Jewish MP has found no evidence of antisemitism or influence from lobby groups. Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East and vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, was due to visit Bristol Brunel academy (BBA) last September to talk to students about democracy and his work in parliament. Continue reading...

Amid Iran blockade, John C Phelan has been immediately replaced with undersecretary Hung Cao, says Pentagon on social media with no explanation * Sign up for the Breaking News US email Also today, we can expect the Senate to vote on another war powers resolution, to curb the Trump administration’s war in Iran. Led by Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, this will be upper chamber Democrats’ fifth attempt to pass a resolution. Louisiana v Callais: A high-stakes voting rights case in which the court’s conservative majority appears poised to gut one of the most powerful provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Trump v

Exit of John Phelan, navy’s top civilian official, comes a week after Pete Hegseth fired army’s top officer The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that the navy’s top civilian official, John Phelan, the secretary of the navy, is leaving his job. In a statement posted to social media, Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said Phelan was “departing the administration, effective immediately”. Continue reading...

Measure will also limit device use during passing periods, lunch and recess and block YouTube on district devices * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The Los Angeles unified school district’s board passed a resolution on Tuesday to curb students’ classroom screen time for the upcoming school year, in the latest effort nationwide to address adverse effects from excessive device use. The measure, which passed 6-0 at a Tuesday school board meeting, will set daily and weekly screen time limits for students based on grade level, prohibit elementary and middle school students from

* US special envoy Zampolli hopes for Italy involvement * Doubts remain over Iran’s participation An envoy to the US President Donald Trump has asked Fifa to replace Iran with Italy in the upcoming World Cup, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The plan is an effort to repair ties between Trump and Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni after the two fell out amid the American president’s attacks against Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Continue reading...

Autopsy of Celeste Rivas Hernandez finally released after law enforcement had requested it be sealed in November * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old girl whom the singer D4vd is charged with killing, died from penetrating injuries, according to an autopsy report released on Wednesday after a months-long delay. The Los Angeles county medical examiner’s office had in December determined that her death was a homicide caused by multiple penetrating injuries. The office was unable to release the report as it was sealed by a judge at the

Peru’s foreign and defence ministers resigned on Wednesday in protest over the decision by the government to stall a US$3.5 billion deal for the purchase of 24 US F-16 fighter jets. The ministers said Peru’s reputation was in jeopardy after interim president Jose Maria Balcazar said on Tuesday that he would leave it up to the winner of June’s presidential run-off to finalise the agreement. Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela told RPP radio he stood down “because the political decision made by Mr...

The United States is concerned that several African countries revoked overflight clearances for Taiwan’s leader at mainland China’s behest, the US State Department said on Wednesday, calling the incident an abuse of the international civil aviation system. Taiwan this week said the Seychelles, Mauritius ‌and Madagascar unilaterally revoked flight permits for leader William Lai Ching-te’s aircraft to cross airspace they manage on a planned trip to eSwatini, one of Taiwan’s allies. It is the first...

On the tourist-packed ⁠Rock of Gibraltar, one of the most common sights is monkeys ⁠begging for food – and sometimes stealing sweet and salty snacks from unsuspecting visitors. Scientists now have documented an unusual behaviour among these macaques that may help them ward off a bellyache from all this junk food. Researchers said the monkeys have been observed eating soil more frequently, a behaviour they said may help the macaques avoid stomach upset from consuming human snacks. They found that...

A second French soldier died on Wednesday from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said. A first soldier, staff sergeant Florian Montorio, was shot dead in the Saturday ambush, for which Hezbollah has denied responsibility. “Corporal Anicet Girardin … brought home yesterday from Lebanon, where he was badly wounded by Hezbollah fighters, died this morning of the consequences of his wounds,” Macron posted on X. One...

Chinese battery cell manufacturers are poised to benefit from the US-Israeli war in Iran, according to Fitch Ratings, even as fierce competition, overcapacity and thin margins weigh on some downstream firms. Global demand for energy storage was set to rise, driven by high oil prices and rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, said Wang Ying, a managing director at the credit rating agency. “We believe that China’s leading energy storage cell manufacturers will be the bigger...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted on Wednesday he would not resign, claiming allegations of misleading MPs over his appointment of a party loyalist as UK envoy to Washington had been “put to bed”. Starmer’s remarks in parliament came as the beleaguered premier faced fresh calls to step down over his admitted error of judgment in appointing veteran former politician Peter Mandelson to the coveted post. The premier spoke to lawmakers a day after the foreign ministry’s most senior...

Authorities have found the body of one of the six missing crew members from a cargo ship that overturned near the Northern Mariana Islands during a typhoon. US Air Force divers “used an underwater remotely operated drone to search the interior of the vessel” and recovered the body on Tuesday, the US Coast Guard said in a news release. Additional divers from the Japan Coast Guard further examined the ship. They did not find any additional crew members, the US Coast Guard said. “Coastguard...

Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, underscoring the ongoing threat to global energy supplies and complicating efforts to bring the United States and Iran together for talks to end the war. The attacks, which Iranian media said were carried out by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, came after US President Donald Trump said the US would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran, due to expire on Wednesday. But Trump said the US would continue to blockade...

A French campaign group said on Wednesday it has sued companies selling nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas – using what the activists alleged was “deceptive” marketing targeting young people, despite the health impacts. The Antoine Alleno Association – a road safety group headed by Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alleno, whose son was killed in 2022 by a speeding driver – said it had filed the legal action against the companies behind Cream Deluxe, which markets colourful canisters of the...

US President Donald Trump announced a last-minute indefinite extension of a ceasefire with Iran and downplayed reports about an intercepted ship carrying a “gift from China” to Tehran. The US would avoid military action against Iran “until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal”, Trump said on social media on Tuesday. He cited a request from Pakistan as a reason for reversing earlier threats to resume bombing if no deal was reached. Prospects for new...

US Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh’s policy vision – outlined during his Senate confirmation hearing – signals an extension of “America First” into monetary policy, Chinese analysts said. “Warsh’s policy proposals … mark a shift from acting as a ‘global central bank’ supplying unlimited liquidity worldwide to a new approach focused on tightly controlling the overall monetary spigot, prioritising domestic productivity and emphasising monetary sovereignty,” analysts at China...

In the spring of 2026, amid a fragile ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump continues to insist that the United States is untouched by disruptions in the Persian Gulf. “We don’t use it”, he has claimed, echoing years of “energy dominance” rhetoric. The numbers tell a different story. The United States remains a net importer of crude oil. Its refineries are engineered for the medium sour barrels that flow through the Hormuz Strait. And the global price shock triggered by the...

Mexico’s government said it was bolstering security at tourist sites after a man opened fire on tourists at pyramids outside Mexico City less than two months before the Fifa World Cup. The Monday shooting, carried out by a lone gunman on top of one of the Teotihuacan pyramids – a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of Mexico’s most frequented tourist attractions – killed one Canadian tourist and injured a dozen more. It also set off a flurry of questions the next morning by reporters to Mexican...

Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state. The decision to launch an investigation came after prosecutors reviewed exchanges between OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT and the suspected gunman, who opened fire at Florida State University last year, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier. “If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said. Florida law...

A notorious North Korean hacking group is likely behind the theft of nearly US$300 million in cryptocurrency over the weekend, an affected party has said, in the biggest known crypto heist this year. It is the latest such incident linked to North Korea, whose sophisticated cybercrime programme uses stolen cryptocurrency to help fund its nuclear weapons development, according to a United Nations panel. Digital currency news site CoinDesk said the heist on the vault of online investment tool...

Pope Leo on Tuesday used the fourth and final leg of his Africa tour in Equatorial Guinea to denounce the “colonisation” of Africa’s minerals and the “lust for power” in a country whose president has been in office since 1979. Adoring crowds in the largely Catholic country lined the road from the airport into the administrative capital, Malabo, cheering the first pope to visit since St John Paul II in 1982. Wearing his formal red mozzetta cape, Leo thrilled the flag-waving masses by arriving at...

The satirical faux-news site The Onion has signed a new, restructured deal to take over Infowars from conspiracy peddler Alex Jones. Under the new terms, the Onion would license Infowars from Gregory Milligan, the court-appointed manager of the site since August 2025, instead of buying its assets outright for US$1.75 million, as parent company Global Tetrahedron initially tried to do in a 2024 auction. Under the new agreement, submitted Monday to Texas state Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, Global...

A US appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Texas can require the Bible’s Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, a win for Christian conservatives who want their faith in classrooms. The 120-page decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals came in response to the legal battle that sprang up after a Texas law, Senate Bill 10 (SB10), required the scripture be posted in every classroom – which met legal challenges from families of diverse faiths with children in public schools. The...

Both chambers of Britain’s parliament have approved a bill that would ban children aged 17 and under from buying cigarettes during their lifetime. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill aims to stop anyone born after January 1, 2009 (now aged 17) from taking up smoking. Health minister Wes Streeting called this a “historic moment for the nation’s health” that will lead to the “first smoke-free generation, protected from a lifetime of addiction and harm”. When it gets royal assent and becomes law, it would...

Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said it fired rockets and drones into northern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the Israeli military of violating a ceasefire ahead of US-mediated talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments this week. The Israeli military earlier said Iran-aligned Hezbollah had fired several rockets towards its troops operating in southern Lebanon, in what it described as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement. It was not immediately clear if the incidents were the...

A year ago, after more than a decade in the United Kingdom and several years in the United States – including time working for the United Nations in New York City – I returned to Asia and arrived in Hong Kong expecting it to also be a leading hub for international relations. Hong Kong is often described as a “superconnector” between China and the world. Yet in one crucial domain – the study and practice of international relations – the city remains a paradox: globally connected, intellectually...

China’s shipyards are emerging as beneficiaries from the US-Israeli war on Iran, securing new orders as crude transport bottlenecks worsen and global demand for large oil tankers rises. With the United States and Iran effectively blockading the Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint that handles about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil – shipping companies are racing to expand capacity, particularly in very large crude carriers (VLCCs) capable of transporting about 2 million barrels of oil per...

US President Donald Trump and many of his leading Christian supporters and top Republicans are taking part this week in a marathon reading of the Bible in an America 250-themed event billed as encouraging a “return to the spiritual foundation that has shaped our country”. The America Reads the Bible event – with each participant reading a passage aloud – is being live-streamed from the Museum of the Bible in Washington and other locations. It featured a video of Trump from the Oval Office on...

The United States House Select Committee on China recently released a report on artificial intelligence. Titled “Buy What It Can, Steal What It Must: China’s Campaign to Acquire Frontier AI Capabilities”, it captures a hardening view in Washington that Beijing’s artificial intelligence rise is closely tied to both market access and security concerns. Whether fully substantiated or not, such beliefs are increasingly shaping the policy lens through which technology competition between the two...

A Canadian who was detained in China for nearly three years warned that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s electric vehicle deal risks creating a strategic dependency that the Asian superpower can exploit for political coercion. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat who was imprisoned from 2018 to 2021, said on Tuesday that the agreement would lead to unfair competition and the erosion of Canada’s industrial base. Carney announced during a January trip to Beijing that Canada would accept an initial quota...

A Democratic lawmaker resigned on Tuesday, becoming the third member of the US House of Representatives to step down in just over a week as a wave of ethics scandals engulfs Congress. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida announced her immediate resignation ahead of a scheduled disciplinary hearing by the House Ethics Committee, which had been weighing potential sanctions over a string of campaign finance violations. Her departure follows the recent resignations of Democrat Eric Swalwell and...

Prosecutors in the rape retrial of disgraced US movie mogul Harvey Weinstein told Tuesday how he wielded his power to prey on then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann. Weinstein, a central figure of abuse allegations that spurred the #MeToo movement, appeared at the New York courtroom in a wheelchair due to ill health. He is being retried on a count of third-degree rape against Mann that allegedly happened in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel room. Last June, a judge declared a mistrial on the charge after...

The Israeli military on Tuesday said two soldiers would receive 30 days of military detention and be removed from combat duty over the destruction of a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon. The decision comes after widespread condemnation of a photo shared online showing an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross. The sculpture was located in the Christian village of Debl in south Lebanon, near the border with...

Federal Reserve chief nominee Kevin Warsh ⁠called for “regime change” at the US central bank, including a new approach for controlling inflation and a communications ⁠overhaul that may discourage his colleagues from saying too much about the direction of monetary policy. Warsh’s comments during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee left key questions about his nomination unresolved. Republican Senator Thom Tillis used his full time to explain why he would not vote for the...

A former top ⁠foreign ministry official said on Tuesday he had faced “constant pressure” from UK Prime Minister Keir ⁠Starmer’s office to speed up the appointment of his pick as the ambassador to the US, deepening a row that threatens the British leader. A war of words over who should ultimately take the blame for appointing Labour veteran Peter Mandelson to Britain’s highest diplomatic post despite his history and known ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has piled pressure on Starmer,...

EU’s top court ruled on Tuesday that anti-LGBTQ legislation Hungary enacted in 2021 breached the bloc’s rules, including an article which sets out the fundamental values on which the EU is founded. The European Commission, 16 of 27 member states and the European Parliament took Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the law, in what has been billed as the largest human rights case in the bloc’s history. Originally aimed at toughening punishments for child abuse, the law was amended...

China’s recent diplomatic efforts in the Middle East have led to speculation over whether its global strategy has shifted. There is consensus that China is stepping into a leadership role and trying to play peacemaker. Meanwhile, a few sceptics point out that the US-Israel war on Iran is not about China and has only exposed how thin Beijing’s influence is in the region. We’ve been here before. In the last decade, with each moment of conflict in the Middle East and North Africa, from Syria to...

When the Duchess of York gave birth to a baby girl exactly 100 years ago, nobody expected that the young princess would one day sit on the throne. Queen Elizabeth II would eventually become Britain’s longest serving monarch, reigning for over 70 years. A hundred years on, the South China Morning Post looks back at how it covered the queen during her life, beginning with the announcement of her birth in the newspaper on April 22, 1926. Training the heiress to Britain’s throne This article,...

There is a tendency to portray the global artificial intelligence (AI) landscape as consisting of two bitter rivals – China and the United States. The remaining 80 per cent of the world’s population, by virtue of their supposed dearth of scale, research and other critical overheads, are purportedly followers with no agency. The reality is more complex. The emerging global AI order is neither unipolar nor strictly bipolar. Instead, it is characterised by a swathe of middle powers hedging their...

Iran’s firing on two Indian-flagged oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz has raised fresh questions about how far Tehran can protect even friendly shipping as the conflict pushes closer to maritime chaos. The attack on Saturday has been especially awkward for Tehran because New Delhi is not an adversary and still maintains working ties, including renewed oil purchases in recent weeks under a temporary US sanctions waiver. Analysts said the attack on Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald was likely a case...

Another Democrat is exiting the crowded contest for California governor. Betty Yee – a former state controller – announced on Monday she was suspending her campaign, just over a week after fellow Democrat and former US congressman Eric Swalwell left the race following sexual assault allegations that he denies. Yee, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents, was vying to be the first woman to hold the state’s highest office. But she lagged in fundraising and failed to break into...

The United States and Iran both warned they were ready for war as the clock ticked down on a ceasefire on Tuesday, with uncertainty over whether talks that US President Donald Trump had announced would resume in Pakistan. The White House said US Vice-President J.D. Vance was ready to fly back to Islamabad, which was preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets. However, Tehran’s government declined to confirm that it would...

As the US-Israel war on Iran raises global concerns about energy security, a new report has found that the clean power sector is rapidly gaining ground and emerging as a solution for nations looking to reduce their reliance on oil and gas imports. The world passed a significant turning point in 2025 as clean power generation rose faster than global demand for electricity, preventing an increase in fossil fuel generation, according to the study by London-based energy think tank Ember released on...

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that planned talks with Israel aimed to end hostilities and the occupation in southern Lebanon, even as Hezbollah and its supporters rejected the negotiations. Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has sharply criticised the Lebanese government’s negotiations with Israel, which were set to enter a second round on Thursday. After the first round of talks last week, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day truce pausing more than six weeks of war...

US Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, the administration announced on Monday, after a series of alleged abuses of her position’s power, including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job. Chavez-DeRemer is the third Trump cabinet member to leave her post after Trump fired his embattled homeland security secretary Kristi Noem in March and ousted Pam Bondi as attorney general earlier this month. “While my time serving in the...

Apple on Monday announced that Tim Cook will step down as the tech giant’s chief executive officer in September, handing the top job to company veteran John Ternus. The announcement answers long-simmering questions about a successor for 65-year-old Cook, who said he will become executive chairman of the board when he cedes Apple’s CEO position. “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company,” Cook said in a...

A gunman killed a Canadian tourist and wounded six other people on Monday at Mexico’s famed Teotihuacan archaeological site, authorities said. The gunman killed himself after opening fire at the heavily visited destination in central Mexico, home to pre-Aztecan pyramids, according to a security official. The shooting occurred on the Pyramid of the Moon, a 45-metre-high monument visitors were allowed to climb using steep steps carved of volcanic rock. Six people were wounded by gunfire and taken...

A senior Cuban diplomat on Monday confirmed recent talks in Havana with US officials, as the communist-led island faces a deep crisis over President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign. “I can confirm that a meeting between delegations from Cuba and the United States was recently held here in Cuba,” Alejandro Garcia, the foreign ministry’s under-director of Cuba-US affairs, told the Communist Party newspaper Granma. Garcia said that the negotiators included assistant secretaries from the US State...

One person died and six were injured on Monday after a trolleybus veered off the road and crashed into a supermarket in Salzburg, Austria’s Red Cross said. “One person died despite attempts to resuscitate,” a Red Cross spokeswoman said. Police said in a statement the dead person was a local passer-by aged 55. One of the six injured was the bus driver, who they said they were hoping to question, they added. A police report referred to a medical emergency as the possible cause of the accident....

A planned fight among young people escalated into a mass shooting at a North Carolina park Monday morning that left two teenage boys dead and five other people injured, authorities said. Winston-Salem police Captain Kevin Burns said a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old died at the scene after being shot around 10am at Leinbach Park, near a middle school. Five others between the ages of 14 and 19 were shot and suffered injuries ranging from critical to minor, Burns said at a news conference. Four of...

A decades-old law allows the president to wage war without congressional approval for 60 days, then limits his options for continuing. President Trump may seek to get around it.

President Trump’s threats have given way (for the moment, at least) to a more conciliatory tone about Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz.

The bureau said it is not pursuing a case, but the scrutiny is an example of the Trump administration weighing whether to criminalize routine news gathering.

Northern Virginia carried the measure to victory even as turnout in Democratic areas lagged and nearly all of the state shifted right from last year’s governor’s race.

The prediction market said the candidates violated new rules. The platform and its competitors face growing scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators over how political betting is policed.

A victory for Democrats in Virginia has left Republicans grumbling about their strategy and looking to the next phase of a coast-to-coast battle.

Even as the party faces a worrisome political environment and its candidates are outraised by Democratic ones, powerful Republican groups and super PACs have built a colossal advantage.

Shauni Kerkhoff was wrongfully implicated in the notorious Capitol Hill pipe-bomb case. Can she ever fully move on?

A law meant to end surprise medical billing accidentally created a multibillion-dollar industry that is making doctors richer.

The Los Angeles police sought to keep the findings secret for months as they investigated the singer D4vd, who was charged this week with the murder of the teenager.

Before the Justice Department filed charges against it, the group had faced scandal and critiques from both the left and the right.

Promoters of free birthing reject any type of medical intervention during pregnancy or delivery. The movement has been trending on social media, but critics warn it poses serious risks.

Utah Valley University was thrilled that Sharon McMahon, a best-selling author, would speak at its graduation. And then her old posts resurfaced.

The budding field is turning dreams into reality for older adults who are eager to age in place, filling caregiving gaps and easing minds as America ages rapidly.

Don’t retreat from the world; engage it.

Why petty theft might be the new political protest.

He was the eldest original member of the Osmonds, a family singing group that hit it big in the 1970s with songs like “One Bad Apple.”

Fire crews melted a 25-foot-tall ice structure erected to promote the rapper’s forthcoming album, “Iceman,” less than a week after an explosion for a Drake music video shook part of the city.

Representative Ro Khanna had asked Buckingham Palace for a private meeting between the victims and King Charles during his planned visit to the U.S. next week.

As many as 30 others were treated at a hospital and at the scene after a “chemical release” of hydrogen sulfide at a plant in Nitro, W.Va., the authorities said.