Minimalist News

US Govt. Lab Launches Advanced Battery Lab To Help Power Grid Authored by Georgina Jedikovska via Interesting Engineering , The US has recently launched a new battery production line, which is expected to help researchers develop safer and cheaper energy storage technologies for the electric grid. PNNL's new prismatic cell line will allow researchers and industry partners to create, test and demonstrate real-world prismatic cells at an industrially relevant scale. (Andrea Starr/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) The new line is housed at the Grid Storage Launchpad (GSL), a 93,000-square-foot research facility. It is run by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Pacific

Samsung Joins Blue-State Exodus, Moves U.S. HQ From New Jersey To Texas We're still trying to settle on a name for the new "Rust Belt" for blue states, where high taxes, de-growth climate policies, permitting paralysis, and an obsession with woke governance have sparked a historic outflow of people, businesses, and capital to red states. The old Rust Belt was hollowed out by decades of deindustrialization. This new version in blue states is being hollowed out by self-inflicted progressive policy failures after policy failures after policy failures. The latest, and one of the most abrupt examples, is South Korean tech

US Special Ops Fields Caliber-Swapping MK24 Rifle For 7.62 Combat And 6.5 Range Authored by Aamir Khollam via Interesting Engineering , A new rifle heading to U.S. special operations forces can switch between 7.62mm NATO and 6.5mm Creedmoor ammunition in roughly a minute , giving operators a way to adapt to changing mission requirements without carrying separate weapon systems. MK24 modular rifle (LMT Defense on Facebook) The weapon, known as the MK24 Medium Range Gas Gun Assault (MRGG-A), will begin reaching units before the end of the fiscal year. U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) selected the platform to replace the

Lefty Tech Rag Panics As Manhattan Institute Pivots From Killing DEI To Crushing NGO-Funded Riots Left-leaning Condé Nast , through Wired , appears to be running narrative cover for the protest-industrial complex, gaslighting readers over efforts to impose real penalties on chaos and disorder stemming from protests and riots. Wired reporter Ali Winston's target is the Manhattan Institute. She appears to be upset that the Manhattan Institute is pushing for new state laws that make vandalism, blocking roadways, and trespassing during riots and protests felony offenses. ❗️ TOTAL anarchy in Los Angeles Rioters are smashing windows, setting cars on FIRE

Colonoscopy: The Most Used Screening Test For Colon Cancer, Here Are The Benefits And Risks Authored by Mercura Wang via The Epoch Times , Medically reviewed by Jimmy Almond, M.D. Colonoscopy is the most widely used screening test for colon cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. It is considered the gold standard and is more accurate than two other common screening methods - stool tests and sigmoidoscopy - because it allows doctors to see the entire colon and remove any potentially problematic polyps during the same procedure. However, there is ongoing debate

Is John Cornyn Trying To Sabotage Ken Paxton? Texas Republicans handed Sen. John Cornyn one of the most humiliating defeats in the state's modern political history in this year's primary runoff. A week after being clobbered by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, he is amplifying a Libertarian candidate, in an apparent attempt to siphon conservative votes from Ken Paxton in the general election in November. In a post on X, Cornyn shared a Houston Public Media interview profiling Libertarian nominee Ted Brown, whose 2026 Senate campaign is built around courting conservatives dissatisfied with the Republican primary results. The article itself

Amazon Plans Data Center In Wheatfield, Indiana; Will Pay $1.25BN To Reduce Energy Cost Impact On Local Payers By Georgia Butler of DataCenterDynamics Amazon Web Services (AWS) is seeking to develop a data center campus in Wheatfield, Indiana. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, the cloud giant has purchased more land in India. Located in Jasper County and southwest of Michigan City, Wheatfield is a small town and has a population of around 900 as per the 2020 census. AWS presented its plans for the data center during a recent open house at Kankakee Valley High School, as

Andrew Left's Conviction Could Change The Rules For Every Market Commentator...But How? Andrew Left's fraud conviction is sending shockwaves through the activist short-selling community, not simply because of the verdict itself, but because it has exposed deep uncertainty about what market commentators are legally allowed to do, according to the Financial Times . For years, activist short sellers operated in an area where investors would build positions, publish research or opinions about a stock, and trade around the market reaction. These practices were often viewed as part of the normal functioning of financial markets. After all, being short carries with

Scientists Boost Battery, Fuel Cell Performance By Over 300% Authored by Neetika Walter via Interesting Engineering , Researchers in South Korea have developed a new catalyst design strategy that boosts the efficiency of reactions used in batteries and hydrogen fuel cells without changing the catalyst itself. New catalyst approach could improve fuel cells and batteries (Representational image) Shutterstock The team, led by Professor Seung Jun Hwang of POSTECH and Professor Jaeyune Ryu of Seoul National University, found that adjusting the electrical environment around a catalyst can significantly improve its performance . The approach could help reduce energy losses in next-generation

Central Bank Gold Buying Rebounds In April From Dramatic March Selloff First the good news: according to the latest World Gold Council update , central banks, a key pillar of the bullish case for gold, have returned to adding holdings in April after notable selling in March sent the price of the precious metal tumbling. The 17 ton purchase represents a turnaround from steep sales in March, which at nearly 30 tons were the largest monthly gold sales in years, driven almost entirely by Turkey. Poland remained the top buyer in the month, while China accelerated its pace of purchases.

House Passes Dem Resolution to Block U.S. Military Action Against Iran In Narrow Vote The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on June 3 directing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from armed hostilities with Iran, in a closely divided 215–208 vote. Four Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the measure, which invokes the 1973 War Powers Resolution to require President Donald Trump to either end the operations or seek explicit congressional approval to continue them. The resolution comes amid ongoing tensions in the region. Although Washington and Tehran announced a ceasefire on April 7, U.S. forces have enforced an armed

Broadcom Crashes After AI Chip Revenue Forecast Misses Broadcaom stock is plunging in after-hours trading, after the company reported Q2 results which delivered a disappointing forecast for AI chip revenue, signaling that the company is either progressing more slowly than anticipated in the burgeoning industry, or that unlike its peers, is actually truthful in predicting the potential of the AI bubble. The historicals were ok: in the fiscal second quarter, which ended May 3, sales rose 48% to $22.2 billion, just barely beating the $22.1 estimate. AI semiconductor revenue was $10.8 billion, also just barely above estimates of $10.7 billion.

SPLC Employee Funneled $1.2 Million To Neo-Nazi Lover - And More: DOJ Superseding Indictment The Southern Poverty Law Center built a massive empire - ballooning to over $787 million in assets - by promising donors it was the frontline defender against "hate" and white supremacy. But according to the Department of Justice's superseding indictment , the organization allegedly funneled millions in tax-exempt donor dollars to the very extremists it publicly condemned. The Juiciest Revelation: The $1.2 Million Romantic Entanglement One of the most shocking details involves "F-9" - a field source affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Alliance . The SPLC

Federal Inspection Reportedly Finds Delaney Hall In Compliance On Virtually All Standards Authored by Jonathan Turley via JonathanTurley.org , Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill has repeatedly claimed that conditions in the Delaney Hall ICE facility are abhorrent, inhuman, and intolerable. Democratic leaders claimed that the conditions were so horrific that there was a hunger strike going on. As is often the case, there is a closed loop of information fueling such claims. The media ran allegations from advocacy groups, politicians repeated the media reports as fact, and then lawyers cited both as the basis for a lawsuit to shut down the

India Throws Open The Bond Gates: Modi Slashes Foreign Investor Taxes In Scramble To Halt Rupee Collapse Having spent the better part of a decade assuring the world that the Indian growth miracle was self-sustaining, structurally sound, and impervious to the “fragile five” indignities of yesteryear, New Delhi has quietly arrived at the only conclusion that ever follows a currency in freefall: print incentives, slash taxes, and beg foreigners to please, please come back. According to Bloomberg , India is poised to announce a suite of measures to lure foreign capital - reducing taxes and removing ownership caps on certain

California's 'Wealth' Tax Is Coming For Everyone Authored by Edward Ring via American Greatness , If you own property in California, you're not safe. A new ballot measure will empower the state to confiscate a percentage of the assets of any resident, even though its initial provisions don't communicate that intent. California's "One-Time Wealth Tax for State-Funded Healthcare, Education, and Food Assistance Programs Initiative," which has already qualified for the November ballot, is even worse than it appears. It's not as if appearances aren't bad enough. The explicit intent of the initiative already chased at least six billionaires out of

Gold Dethrones The King: ECB Confirms Barbarous Relic Has Overtaken Treasuries As Top Global Reserve Asset In what can only be described as the latest humiliating blow to the crumbling Pax Americana, gold has officially overtaken US government bonds as the world's top reserve asset. The FT reports that, according to a fresh report from the European Central Bank released Tuesday, bullion now accounts for 27% of global central bank reserves at the end of 2025 - up sharply from 20% the prior year. US Treasuries, once the untouchable king of the reserve world, have been knocked down to 22%

Never Let Politicians Decide What Is True Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker , We are living through an age that has abandoned the dedicated pursuit of truth . Our politicians and news personalities talk about "the narrative." Our academies teach young minds to accept "expert opinion." Our philosophers argue that truth is "subjective." Social theorists argue that truth is an "illusion" that powerful people use to control others. Whenever I hear Democrat Senator Cory Booker all riled up on television, he's talking about "her truth," "his truth," or even "their truth" - as if a hundred conflicting descriptions

IBM Announces Five-Year, $10BN Quantum Investment IBM is set to invest more than $10 billion in quantum computing over the next five years. According to the company, the investment will cover R&D, capex, manufacturing scaling, ecosystem partnerships, and M&A; areas that IBM says will help accelerate its quantum roadmap beyond 2029, when it expects to deliver the world's first large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. The announcement comes two weeks after the US government signed letters of intent with nine quantum computing companies, including IBM. That agreement will see IBM receive $1bn from the Department of Commerce, the largest funding agreement of

Uber Introduces $1,500 Monthly Cap On AI Coding Tools After Budget Blowout Uber has set a $1,500 monthly cap on employee spending for specific AI coding tools after the company exhausted its entire 2026 budget for those tools in the first four months of the year. The limits apply to agentic coding platforms such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and Cursor, according to Stocktwits . Prior to the caps, some engineers were generating monthly bills between $500 and $2,000 in token consumption as adoption of the tools surged following their rollout in late 2025. In April, Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga

North Carolina judge said Levi Mendez-Maldonado failed to show up in court – even after being told he had died in 2024 An immigration judge in Charlotte, North Carolina , recently ordered the deportation of a young man who was killed in 2024, citing his failure to appear in court. Judge Amy Lee ordered the removal of Levi Mendez-Maldonado in absentia on 21 May. Mendez-Maldonado, originally from Honduras, came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor at age 17 and was murdered in a shooting in November 2024. Continue reading...

With corrupt police on the streets and shopkeepers forced to pay gangs, president has vowed to tackle crime that now affects all parts of society It was about 11pm and Luis* was about to get into an Uber to go home when the police car pulled up. One of the officers frisked him and produced two plastic bags with what looked like drugs: one contained some sort of powder, the other little crystals. Luis had never seen them before. Luis, who asked not to use his real name for fear of reprisals, insisted that the drugs weren’t his, but the

Members of Jalisco New Generation cartel used fake retail store in San Diego as front for trafficking drugs, officials say Federal prosecutors have charged four suspects with trafficking more than one ton of cocaine for the Jalisco New Generation cartel using a fake retail store in San Diego as a front for a sophisticated tunnel that ran across the border to Tijuana, Mexico. The defendants include two Mexican nationals and two Americans charged with conspiring to traffic drugs across the US-Mexico border. The suspects, who range in age from 18 to 32, all face sentences that could put them in

US claims world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in ‘unreasonable’ trade practices that ‘restrict US commerce’ Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The Trump administration proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil , charging that the world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are “unreasonable’’ and that “burden or restrict US commerce”. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he received the decision “with indignation”. The Brazil president also blamed the decision by the US administration on his rival in October’s elections, Flávio Bolsonaro , the senator who visited Washington last week. The senator is the son of former

ICC’s decision comes amid growing concerns the team is being influenced by members of a notorious gang in India Cricket’s international governing body has suspended Canada over what it described as “serious breaches of its membership obligations”, dealing the latest blow to an organization that critics say has become a “laughing stock” within the sport. The suspension also comes amid growing concerns that one of Canada’s fastest-growing sports is being influenced by members of a notorious gang that operates with impunity from an Indian prison cell . Continue reading...

The Middle East is Japan’s main source of crude oil, from which naphtha is extracted and used to make items including printing ink and plastics Takeaways, supermarkets, and bakeries in Japan are running out of plastic bags, trays and food service gloves amid widening shortages of the key plastic ingredient, naphtha, due to the Middle East crisis. The food sector accounts for nearly one-third of Japan’s annual plastic use of more than 8m tonnes, and price rises and shortages are hitting hard across the industry and beyond. Some outlets have begun offering perks to customers who bring their own bags,

Powerful winds and rain expected in parts of Japan and Australia, while temperatures in Spain could hit 40C A powerful tropical storm is forecast to track near Okinawa, Japan, on Monday before moving towards the south-east of the country. Typhoon Jangmi (also known as Typhoon No 6) has formed within the monsoonal gyre over the Philippine Sea. A monsoonal gyre is a large, slow-rotating weather system that spawns typhoons through smaller vortices formed within it. This flow can intensify storms. Such typhoons are typically characterised by broad areas of low pressure and extensive wind fields, often without a distinct eye.

Shinjiro Koizumi says Japan valued as a ‘peace-loving’ nation while China expands military capabilities ‘without sufficient transparency’ Japan’s defence minister took a veiled swipe at China on Sunday, pledging to keep strengthening the military despite Beijing’s criticism of Tokyo’s increasingly muscular security stance. Under the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi , Japan has quickened its pivot to a more proactive defence policy, further shaking off – with US encouragement – its pacifist outlook in place since the end of the second world war. Continue reading...

Minister at Singapore defence summit also reveals Australia to buy only secondhand Aukus submarines from US Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The defence minister, Richard Marles, has said the “seabed is a battlefield” in a combative speech urging Beijing to be more transparent about its maritime operations, and taking aim at weak international controls over so-called “shadow-fleet” vessels. The warning came as the US, UK and Australia announced a new Aukus project to develop new underwater drone technology to protect undersea cables. Continue reading...

Two still missing as divers make their way deeper into cave through muddy water and sharp rocks to find them Four more miners who were trapped in a flooded cave in Laos for 10 days have been freed by divers, but two people are still missing as rescuers continue to crawl through narrow, deluged tunnels and sharp rocks to find them. The first of the party of seven men was rescued on Friday in a perilous rescue mission which has required teams to drain water from the cave and navigate collapse hazards. Continue reading...

Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Jim Chalmers ’ budget bill will face debate and a vote in the House today, and he poses the legislation as a “really simple choice” for the Coalition. As we know, the government has set up the bill as a wedge for the opposition, by including both tax changes to CGT and negative gearing and tax cuts for workers. Really simple choice in the parliament today: Labor lower taxes on workers, a fair go for first home buyers. The Coalition opposing both of those

The state’s commissioner for children and young people raised the alarm about cycles of ineffective referrals to voluntary services and closed reports in 35 cases of children who died after interactions with the system Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Victoria’s most at-risk children are falling through the cracks of a child protection system straining under increased demand and funding shortfalls, new reports show, as advocates warn of “stunning” gaps in data and lack of carer support. The state’s commissioner for children and young people

NSW police appeal after comprehensive class action loss in 2025 when force admitted music festival search of Raya Meredith was unlawful and unjustified Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The state of New South Wales is arguing that police have the power to forcibly move body parts when conducting a strip-search, as it seeks to appeal a landmark class action ruling. Thursday was the first day of a two-day hearing where NSW is seeking leave to appeal after losing a class action brought by Slater

Light from nearly 4m galaxies measured as it twisted and travelled through intergalactic space Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A cosmic map of magnetic fields – the largest ever produced – could help scientists delve into one of the major and most mysterious forces in the universe. A global team led by Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO charted the magnetic fields by measuring light from nearly 4m galaxies as it twisted and travelled through intergalactic space. Continue reading...

High court dismisses organisation’s injunction attempt against designation as a hate group Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Neo-Nazi group White Australia has lost its bid for temporary immunity from anti-hate laws passed after the Bondi terror attack which it says will render it “extinct”. The organisation, which has been seeking to register as a political party, had asked the high court to temporarily block its designation as a prohibited hate group. Continue reading...

Conservation groups say work has begun in protected coastal area, while prime minister insists project will bring jobs and investment Protests in Albania over a proposed luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are set to intensify after opponents rejected an offer from the country’s prime minister “to discuss solutions”. Thousands took to the streets of Tirana for a third straight day on Wednesday, some of them brandishing inflatable flamingos in a nod to feared environmental damage, amid mounting calls for the project to be blocked. Continue reading...

German director says he recognises actor should have been better protected during filming of Wrong Move German director Wim Wenders has withdrawn from circulation his 1975 film Wrong Move, because of a scene featuring a child actor topless who was 13 at the time of filming. The director said in a statement released on Wednesday: “Streaming, TV and distribution partners have been instructed to no longer make the film publicly accessible.” Continue reading...

Operation will use specially built container to protect fragile 11th-century embroidery As the Bayeux tapestry wends its way across the Channel in a top secret operation there will be no jolts, no bumps, no shakes or vibrations – unlike the voyage of William the Conqueror whose 1066 victory at Hastings the artefact recounts. “Nothing has been left to chance,” Catherine Pégard, the French minister of culture, told a gathering to mark the historic loan, which will be physically achieved with the tapestry, which is really an embroidery, transported in a specially constructed cradle within a container, the minister said. Continue

​The first heatwaves of the season reveal how ​ill-prepared governments across the continent are to protect people from increasingly dangerous temperatures • Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Meteorological summer has begun, ushered in with scorching heat that struck before spring was up. Although western Europe is now mostly free from last week’s heat dome – which shattered temperature records for May in the UK and Ireland – it is already bracing for yet another sweltering summer . Oppressive days, restless nights and furious fires are brewing. On Tuesday, the World Meteorological Organisation warned

Petrol station attack in Calabria throws spotlight on widespread exploitation of foreign farm labourers The exploitation of farm workers in Italy has come under the spotlight again after four men – three Afghans and one from Pakistan – were allegedly burned alive in a car at a petrol station in Calabria. The attack was captured by a surveillance camera at the garage in Amendolara, close to Cosenza. Two Pakistani nationals have been arrested on charges of aggravated murder, according to public prosecutor Alessandro D’Alessio. Continue reading...

The US said the ceasefire was contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire to end hostilities, the Trump administration has announced, as the US looks to overcome one of the largest barriers to reaching a broader deal to end the war with Iran. The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of fire from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah armed group and the evacuation of all its fighters from the area south of the Litani river in south Lebanon , a joint statement released by the US

Sultanate says talks with Tehran are limited to lawful management of waterway, but Washington has doubts about neutrality Oman is resisting US pressure to break its links with Iran, and insists it has only been negotiating with Tehran on a future management system for the strait of Hormuz that would be compliant with international law. The aim would be to implement any regime after consulting the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO). Traditionally Oman, a longtime US ally that shares stewardship of the strait, has adopted the role of a back-channel mediator allowing it to remain neutral in disputes that have

This blog is now closed. See our full report on the latest Middle East news The Kuwaiti defence ministry said it intercepted 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones launched by Iran today. A drone and missile attack on Kuwait’s international airport killed one person, which Kuwaiti authorities identified as an Indian national. It is the first reported death in a Gulf state since the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April. Continue reading...

Stunning rebuke to president as lawmakers vote 215-208 for measure forcing him to seek congressional approval The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces. The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats. The dissident Republicans were Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Tom Barrett of Michigan. Continue reading...

US and Iran exchange more strikes but Trump says he is not looking to escalate and there is no need for boots on the ground Kuwait’s military said Iranian strikes that hit a terminal at its international airport killed at least one person and wounded 63 in the first deadly attack in the Gulf since a ceasefire on 8 April came into effect. The US and Iran also exchanged fresh missile and drone strikes, further jeopardising efforts to secure a new ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran. Continue reading...

Truck was carrying Afghan families returning Pakistan when it overturned, official says A truck overturned in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 18 people on board including 10 children, a provincial official told Agence France-Presse. Deadly traffic crashes are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving and a lack of regulation. Continue reading...

New digital marking system is aimed at reducing human errors but many students say it has resulted in wrong grades A national outcry has erupted in India after more than 400,000 students requested copies of their answer sheets amid mounting complaints of errors in the marking of the country’s most important school-leaving examinations. Within days of the grade 12 exam results being issued, students began reporting marking discrepancies they linked to a new digital marking system. Continue reading...

Rare albino buffalo spared due to security concerns over unusual level of public interest in 700kg animal A rare albino buffalo in Bangladesh nicknamed “Donald Trump” for its distinctive blond tuft has been spared from Eid al-Adha sacrifice after a last-minute government intervention, according to a home ministry official. The nearly 700kg (1,543lb) animal had already been sold for ritual slaughter when authorities stepped in, citing security concerns after a surge of public interest before Thursday’s festival. Continue reading...

Lack of Pfas regulations raised in parliament after Guardian revealed former Miteni plant bought by Indian company Protests over the production of cancer-linked Pfas chemicals have spread across India, after an investigation revealed that an Italian factory shut down due to an environmental scandal was bought by an Indian company and partly rebuilt. At the end of last year, the Guardian revealed that the former Miteni plant in Vicenza had been acquired by the Indian company Laxmi Organic Industries. The factory produced Pfas and was shut down in 2018 after being linked to one of Italy’s worst environmental contamination scandals.

Senior lawyers call on prime minister to request Indian prosecutors drop charges that would breach double jeopardy rule Four senior lawyers, including the former attorney general Dominic Grieve, have written to Keir Starmer urging him to request that Indian prosecutors drop charges against the British national Jagtar Singh Johal on the basis that continued prosecution would be in manifest breach of the double jeopardy rule which prevents someone being tried twice for the same offence. Johal has been held in an Indian jail for eight years, and in March last year was acquitted of the terrorist charges laid against him

Lord Mann’s review prompts new training for health bosses and restrictions on political symbols on uniforms The NHS is taking action to tackle antisemitism after a government-ordered report found that Jewish patients and staff face “routine ostracism” in the service. Anti-Jewish hatred in the NHS means some patients hide their identity and staff “suffer in silence”, a review by Lord Mann, the government’s adviser on antisemitism, has found. Continue reading...

No service expected on Circle or Piccadilly lines with Metropolitan and Central lines also badly affected A London Underground drivers’ strike has brought another day of transport disruption to the capital on Thursday. Transport for London (TfL) had urged the RMT union to call off the strike , the second 24-hour stoppage this week in a dispute over the introduction of a four-day working week. Continue reading...

Protest over killing of Nowak and his treatment by police was attended by several far-right leaders, anti-immigrant influencers and known fascists Some of those who attended a protest in Southampton on Tuesday night were ordinary members of the public, appalled at the killing of Henry Nowak and his treatment at the hands of the police – who handcuffed him after a false accusation of racism by his killer, Vickrum Digwa. But the protest, which turned violent, was also attended by several far-right leaders, anti-immigrant influencers and known fascists. Eleven police officers and a police dog were injured as protesters threw

Success would establish for first time that a betting firm had duty of care to customers with signs of problem gambling The widow of a gambling addict who took his own life after falling £18,000 into debt begins a legal claim on Thursday against Betfair that could have far-reaching consequences for the UK’s gambling industry. Luke Ashton, 40, from Leicester, died in April 2021 after suffering from a gambling disorder that led him to place thousands of bets with the company, which sent him promotional “free” bets. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123,

Bosses believe having single booking process will drive up ticket sales for all festivals to offset funding squeeze The Edinburgh festivals hope to launch a single box office for all the city’s 11 festivals to make it simpler to buy tickets and profit from the “lake” of customer data they hold. Festival directors hope a universal box office will allow them to increase ticket sales and attract a wealthy corporate sponsor, such as Mastercard, to offset deep cuts in public funding they expect to see in coming years. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Sign up for the Breaking News US email Iowa voters cast their ballots in yesterday’s heated primaries, setting up for months of fervent campaigning ahead of the November midterms in contests that could determine the balance of power in Congress. A red state that the GOP has dominated for the past decade, Democrats believe they can be competitive in three of its four House races, its Senate election, and the contest to replace Kim Reynolds, the retiring Republican governor. Continue reading...

Incumbent leads in primary, but with less than 50% of votes must face either Spencer Pratt or Nithya Raman Los Angeles’s high-profile mayoral contest remained unsettled Wednesday evening as the city waited to learn who will join incumbent Karen Bass in November’s general election. Bass came out ahead in Tuesday’s heated primary but, after securing less than 50% of the vote, she’ll have to defend her seat against either Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star, or progressive city council member Nithya Raman. As of Wednesday evening, with more than 60% of votes counted, Pratt had secured just under 30%

Silicon Valley is fighting against regulation, taxes and growth of AI and will benefit from having political leverage Silicon Valley had a big night in California’s primary election, proving that the tens of millions of dollars funding candidates across the state was money well spent. While the tech industry’s preferred candidate for governor came in a scant sixth place, donations to smaller elections proved to be a successful strategy. Tech billionaires have in past months thrown their full weight into politics as the industry fights regulations, taxation and promotes the unfettered growth of artificial intelligence. Getting the right candidates in

Measure expected to succeed next week represents major rebuke to big tech as local disquiet over AI boom grows Seattle’s city government is on the verge of passing a year-long ban on the construction of new datacenters, the largest city yet in the US to consider such a moratorium as nationwide backlash grows. Four companies sought to build five large datacenters in areas serviced by Seattle’s public utility; if approved, they would have consumed approximately a third of the city’s current daily demand for electricity. Continue reading...

El Dorado blaze that burned 22,744 acres and claimed the life of a firefighter was ignited by an illegal device Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Nearly six years after a couple’s gender-reveal stunt sparked a deadly wildfire in southern California , the companies that sold the pyrotechnic device have agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement. The Hubbard, Ohio-based Wholesale Fireworks Corp and its subsidiary American Fireworks Wholesale LLC have agreed to pay more than $4m, the US attorney’s office in the central district of California announced on Tuesday. A third company, the Miami-based Pink or Blue Gender

Since the Ukraine war began in 2022, Asia has been watching conflict as if enrolled in a study course. We have heard every argument: Nato enlargement, Russian insecurity, Ukrainian sovereignty, European fear, American power, energy politics, sanctions, nationalism and resistance. We have watched Gaza burn. We have watched the United States capture Venezuela’s president and defend the act as lawful. We have watched Iran absorb attacks and retaliate. For Asians, these are no longer distant events....

US ⁠President Donald Trump suggested he might keep the Ultimate Fighting Championship cage-fighting arena being built on the lawn of the White House as a permanent fixture. The Republican compared ‌the structure, which is being built for a night of cage fighting to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence – on Trump’s 80th birthday – to France’s Eiffel Tower which was supposed to have been dismantled 20 years after it was built in ⁠1889. “We’re building something in front of the White House...

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said ⁠on Wednesday that Hungary ⁠and Ukraine reached an agreement on the ⁠rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, which could allow approval of the first cluster, or a group of negotiating chapters, in Ukraine’s EU accession talks. The agreement marks a potential breakthrough in a long-running dispute over minority rights that had strained ‌ties between Budapest and Kyiv and complicated Hungary’s support for Ukraine’s EU ambitions. Every step of the...

Portugal and Austria defeated Germany for seats on the powerful but deeply divided UN Security Council on Wednesday in a hotly contested race after intense campaigning. The 10 rotating seats on the 15-member Security Council are earmarked for different regions of the world. The assembly elects five countries by secret ballot every year to serve two-year terms alongside the council’s five permanent veto-wielding members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. In the other...

Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russia are causing “panic” for the Kremlin, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday, saying Moscow was lashing out at Kyiv with increased attacks. Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in St Petersburg on Wednesday as officials gathered for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s flagship economic conference in the city. “It clearly shows also panic on the Russian side – why they are increasing the terrorist attacks that they’re doing in Ukraine is...

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva thanked China for clearing the country’s beef of foot-and-mouth disease and fired a barb at US President Donald Trump, saying “I will sell to someone else”, after Washington announced new tariffs on Brazilian goods. Lula made the remarks on Tuesday, hours after Beijing announced wider access for Brazilian beef to the world’s biggest market for the product. “As God writes straight with crooked lines, nothing comes free for a Christian man like me....

German filmmaker Wim Wenders on Wednesday said he has pulled his 1975 movie The Wrong Move over a nude scene featuring a then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski. Kinski, now 65, has urged Wenders to re-edit the film. Last month, she told the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung: “That was my first film, he was my first director and he didn’t protect me”. Wenders, the acclaimed director behind Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire, issued a statement apologising to Kinski. “I recognise that Nastassja...

US President ⁠Donald Trump said ⁠in a podcast interview aired on Wednesday that Vice-President J.D. Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, teaming up for a 2028 presidential run, would be ‌unbeatable. Both men are seen as contenders for the 2028 Republican nomination, and Rubio’s recent turn at the White House podium drew praise from Republicans and even some Democrats who noted his smooth performance, which included quips and ⁠a 1990s hip-hop reference to describe Iran’s negotiating...

A man holding hostages inside a building in California that houses a bank branch and school district office has been shot and killed by the FBI, police said on Wednesday. The suspect was killed in “an officer-involved shooting involving Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel”, the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement. The stand-off ended about 12 hours after police were called to the building, police said. All the hostages are free and none was harmed, police said. The stand-off...

Kenya’s health minister said on Wednesday that the US-funded quarantine centre would proceed, days after deadly protests erupted over the project. The US-built facility at Kenya’s Laikipia Air Base was due to open last week, according to US officials, to quarantine Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is battling a major Ebola outbreak. But it has been temporarily blocked by a court order, and triggered protests on Monday that killed two people, according to a...

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday presented her new cabinet, which for the first time in Danish history included more women than men. Following months of talks after inconclusive elections in March, incumbent Frederiksen said on Monday she had managed to form a minority government between her Social Democrats, the Socialist People’s Party, the centre-left Radikale Venstre and the centrist Moderates. On Wednesday, Frederiksen announced the names of the new ministers. “It is...

Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in St Petersburg early Wednesday morning as officials gathered for a flagship economic forum in the city, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said. Some 20,000 guests from 130 countries are set to attend the three-day annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) – an event once dubbed “Russia’s Davos” – which starts on Wednesday. The Kremlin vowed to respond to the strikes, which came a day after a barrage of Russian missiles and drones...

Britain’s Sikh community has rejected calls to strip them of the rights to carry a ceremonial knife – known as the kirpan – as outrage snowballs over the murder of an 18-year-old student by a Sikh man. Vickrum Singh Digwa, 23, was handed a life sentence by a judge on Tuesday for stabbing to death Henry Nowak, an accountancy student, in Southampton in December 2025. The murder case has reopened a debate over race, religion and identity in the UK. Far-right figureheads, populist political leaders...

CBS News has terminated the ⁠contract of 60 Minutes correspondent ⁠Scott Pelley, two sources at ⁠the network said on Tuesday, joining more than half a dozen departures in recent weeks. “Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you,” the show’s ‌executive producer, Nick Bilton, wrote in a Tuesday email to Pelley that was seen by Reuters. “I therefore write on behalf of CBS News, Inc. (“CBS”) to inform you that your employment with CBS is...

Video of a dying student who was handcuffed by British police after being stabbed by a Sikh man and falsely accused of racially abusing his murderer sparked outrage on Tuesday, with protesters throwing bricks at police. Eighteen-year-old Henry Nowak was heard repeatedly telling officers: “I can’t breathe” in police bodycam footage captured as he lay mortally wounded in December after a night out with his football team members. Far-right figures have seized on the case, including firebrand Tommy...

For years, Hong Kong’s obituary has been repeatedly written by international commentators. Geopolitical tensions, pandemic isolation, concerns over capital flight and questions surrounding the city’s future contributed to a narrative of irreversible decline. In many Western analyses, the assumption that Hong Kong’s best days as an international financial centre were behind it became almost automatic. Yet the latest global wealth management data tells a very different story. According to...

Gulf hostilities ⁠flared again on Wednesday as Iranian attacks on Kuwait damaged its airport and injured dozens while the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, with diplomacy to halt the war showing little sign of progress. The attacks are the latest to test a shaky ceasefire as the strait remains largely closed more than three months after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Flights at Kuwait International Airport were suspended after an Iranian drone and missile...

The Trump administration on Tuesday formally appealed against a judge’s order for refunds of the US president’s global tariffs after they were struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. At stake is some US$166 billion in revenue. A refunds system handled by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has already begun to process repayments. Last month, the CBP said in a court filing that it was on track to process about US$85 billion in repayments, with US$20.6 billion approved for...

Canada and Mexico on Tuesday called for a 16-year renewal of the North American free trade agreement with the United States, in hopes of binding the three countries to a pact that US President Donald Trump has openly questioned. The agreement is vital for Canada and Mexico, as the US is their main trading partner and the destination for 75 and 80 per cent of their exports, respectively. In a letter Monday, Ottawa’s minister in charge of Canada-US trade Dominic LeBlanc said: “Canada recommends...

The US Justice Department on Tuesday dropped a contentious plan to create a US$1.8 billion compensation programme that critics had denounced as a “slush fund” for President Donald Trump’s political allies. “We are not moving forward with the fund,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said during testimony before a House committee. The about-face is a setback for one of Trump’s most divisive second term initiatives, which had drawn criticism from Democrats, legal experts and numerous Republicans...

They went to war together against Iran, but Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s relationship is under strain after the US president reportedly called the Israeli premier “crazy”. Trump unleashed a profane tirade over the phone at Netanyahu over Israel’s threats to bomb the Lebanese capital Beirut, fearing it would undermine talks with Tehran, the Axios news outlet and ABC News reported. It underscored the increasingly shaky ties between two right-wing allies with lots to lose politically from...

In a move that could rattle global grain markets, China and neighbouring Kazakhstan – Central Asia’s largest grain producer and a key Belt and Road Initiative partner – agreed last week to establish a joint grain-trading platform during talks in Astana. The two sides also discussed long-term supply contracts, logistics hubs, dry ports and technology cooperation in storage and processing. Although full details remain limited, reports indicate the platform will be modelled on China’s state-managed...

Brazil has won wider access to the world’s biggest beef market after China recognised the entire country as free of foot-and-mouth disease, though a new quota will still cap prices. The decision was announced on Tuesday by China’s General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and was communicated during Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira’s visit to Beijing. After a risk analysis, Beijing lifted the restriction on northern Brazil and recognised the...

US President Donald Trump will attend ⁠the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on July 24, he said in a social media post on Tuesday, after the annual event was postponed following a shooting. The black-tie gathering of journalists and politicians in Washington was postponed after a ‌suspect stormed a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun outside the event on April 25, with Trump present. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were safely rushed out of the dinner. In a...

There is an 80 per cent chance of the warming El Nino phenomenon developing between June and August, increasing the risk of extreme weather events, the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday. “Fuelled by unusually warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific, El Nino conditions are developing and are set to influence global temperature and rainfall patterns,” the United Nations’ WMO weather and climate agency said. Forecasts from the WMO global network “indicate a pronounced shift...

The Trump administration has proposed a new punitive tariff of 25 per cent on many imports from Brazil, after deciding its practices were unfair on a range of issues from digital trade to illegal deforestation, top trade official Jamieson Greer said late on Monday. The measures, under the Section 301 trade statute, cover areas such as electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, intellectual property protection and ethanol market access as well, the Office of the United States Trade...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Brussels agrees on tougher China trade policy, as Beijing vows retaliation The European Commission agreed on a tough new approach to trade relations with China in May, at a rare Beijing-focused debate among Brussels’ leadership. The trade-focused orientation debate is seen internally as the...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. US casts Cuba as China-linked security threat while still pushing for talks One day after the United States brought criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro over the 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio...

A surge in gang-related shootings and bombings over the last decade, dozens of which were carried out by minors, has set Sweden apart from its European peers and left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill. The government, in power since 2022 and heading into a tight election in September where crime is a key issue, says the softly-softly approach of the past has failed and it is time to get ‌tough by sending children aged under 15 to prison rather than into social...

Places well-endowed with natural resources don’t usually become great powers or world-conquering empires. If anything, many suffer from the “resource curse”, which corrupts the domestic elite and invites foreign intervention, exploitation or outright colonisation. Like people, communities or nations that have fought to overcome adversity and disadvantages often become the most successful. Challenges – whether natural, geographical, social or military – make them fighters and winners. New...

The wide-ranging geopolitical rivalry between Beijing and Washington could soon expand into biotechnology, raising the prospect of fresh tensions even as American pharmaceutical firms have turned to China’s fast-growing industry for new drug candidates. Biotech in the world’s second-largest economy has long been viewed as a predominantly low-cost manufacturing base with opportunities arising from its vast domestic market. But years of sustained investment, cost advantages and faster development...

A Kenyan court blocked on Tuesday for another three weeks a proposed US Ebola quarantine facility that has triggered protests killing two people and ordered the government to disclose its agreement with Washington. The proposed 50-bed unit on an air force base in central Kenya for Americans exposed to the virus in Democratic Republic of Congo or Uganda ‌has angered many Kenyans. They accuse the US of offloading the health risk of caring for patients. A Kenyan court last week temporarily...

The head of the World Health Organization on Monday concluded his visit to Democratic Republic of Congo by briefing the president on the response to the Ebola outbreak, which an aid agency warned was likely much larger than official figures show. The outbreak, already the third-largest on record, persisted for weeks undetected, say health officials, who were behind the curve and ‌struggling to bring it under control. Arriving in DR Congo last week, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus...

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles early on Tuesday, killing 23 people and wounding 130, and President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow could launch a new assault for the second night in a row. The strikes on cities including Kyiv and Dnipro followed Russian warnings of “systematic” attacks on the capital after a drone attack on a dormitory in Ukraine’s Russian-held region of Luhansk last month. Kyiv denies targeting the dormitory. It was the third heavy assault...

Denmark’s Social Democratic leader ⁠Mette Frederiksen said on Monday ⁠she has agreed to form a centre-left coalition government, maintaining her grip on power amid a crisis in ties with US President Donald Trump over the future of Greenland. The deal to form a minority cabinet gives Frederiksen a third ‌consecutive term as prime minister, ending months of uncertainty after a March election in which 12 parties won seats in the Danish parliament. “I have been to see His Majesty the King and...

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim on Monday slammed the Trump administration for potentially allowing advanced American AI chips to ‌be sent to overseas units of Chinese firms, and called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify to Congress on the issue, according to a statement. In a surprise move, the Department of ⁠Commerce, which oversees US exports, on Sunday issued guidance to ‌close a potential loophole that may have led companies to export the world’s most advanced...

China’s top diplomat said on Monday that Beijing and Brasilia should “jointly repel external challenges”, as the two countries opened a high-level strategic dialogue in Beijing. Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remark during a visit by his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, who arrived in the Chinese capital this weekend for the fifth Global Strategic Dialogue between the two governments. “Practical cooperation in all areas has been steadily enhanced, and the two peoples have never been so...

“You have absolutely no idea of what you’re talking about. The whole point of Pax Silica is to partner with countries who are good at doing different things because everyone wins from a secure supply chain,” wrote US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg on a social media website in response to an online critic of the US strategic initiative with the Philippines. The spirited exchange came after Manila’s reported rejection of a request to extend diplomatic immunity to US...

US President Donald Trump’s nearly US$1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of alleged government “weaponisation” has been put on hold after the White House faced fierce opposition from Republicans in Congress, three sources familiar with the plan said on Monday. The rare rebuke of Trump demonstrated some Republicans’ increased willingness to flex their political power against the president, particularly after his endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John...

China’s SAIC Motor plans to set ⁠up a car ⁠factory in Spain’s ⁠northwestern region of Galicia that would be its first production facility in the European Union, the regional government said on Monday. Galicia’s leader Alfonso Rueda said his administration ‌had given strategic priority to the project, with an initial investment envisaged at around €200 million (US$232 million). The project, which includes a logistics hub, still requires the central government’s approval for foreign direct...

The US decision to classify two Brazilian gangs as terrorist organisations is a political one aimed at boosting an ally of US President Donald Trump, the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, politicians and analysts say. The gangs join eight other Latin American organised crime groups designated by the US as foreign terrorist organisations. But unlike the rest, they do not operate in the United States. The listing of First Capital Command, known as PCC, and Red Command, or CV,...

US President Donald Trump has suffered a partial legal setback in his push to exclude transgender people from the military. The Trump administration may not remove the plaintiffs who brought the case from active military service, a federal appeals court in Washington said on Monday. The wider ban remains in place for now, however, giving the administration time to appeal. The ruling partly upheld a lower court decision that found the exclusion of transgender people from military service violated...

The US State Department plans to drastically slash the number of US embassies and consulates in Africa that can process visas for foreigners seeking to go to the United States. The almost 50 US embassies and consulates that are processing visa applications will be reduced to 20 in the coming weeks, according to three US officials and an internal memo obtained by Associated Press. There is not yet a set date for the change, but it is expected in June, according to the officials, who were not...

Efforts to negotiate an end to war in the Middle East appeared in limbo on Tuesday, after Iran-linked media reported that Tehran had suspended contact with Washington over Israel’s expanding offensive in Lebanon, even as US President Donald Trump insisted talks were continuing “at a rapid pace” and claimed to have helped broker a halt to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The conflicting accounts highlighted the fragile state of negotiations aimed at ending more than three months of...

US rapper Travis Scott angered fans in Istanbul after a performance that barely lasted 20 minutes, with the audience booing as he left the stage early on Monday, footage on social media showed. On his first tour of Turkey, the 35-year-old hip-hop star made his Istanbul debut late on Sunday and was to hold another event in the western Izmir resort on Monday. The Istanbul event was billed as “a performance that goes beyond a classic concert” with a limited audience of just 2,500 fans, according to...

Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said on Tuesday that the administration was “not moving forward with the fund, period,” after the plan drew bipartisan backlash.

Critics say it is unseemly for retired judges to trade on the prestige of their former positions.

Originally estimated to cost $2.4 million, the government will now spend $5 million to restore the bronzes in time for Independence Day.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani lent his political star power to an unusual TV ad promoting three Democrats running for House seats in New York City.

The $135 share price means Elon Musk’s rocket maker is poised to exceed the 2019 initial public offering of Saudi Aramco in both valuation and money raised.

Mehdi Taj said his federation has been dealing with FIFA, not the United States, in trying to obtain visas for Iran to play in the tournament that begins next week.

In her first public comments on the firing, Ms. Weiss, the CBS News editor in chief, said that the longtime correspondent had “broken” the trust in the newsroom.

In an emergency ruling on Tuesday night, the court’s conservative majority gave a first glimpse into congressional district battles under a weakened Voting Rights Act.

The presidential center that opens this month seems out of step with the zeitgeist of the moment and produces emotional reactions among the discontented of the Trump era.

The governor said the Department of Homeland Security’s actions at Delaney Hall raise “serious questions.”

A report by the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog described officers putting one man in a chokehold and stabbing another with a pen.

The immigrants had been working as fruit pickers in southern Italy, the authorities said, apparently as part of a system of criminal labor trafficking.

A challenging art market is forcing even an established player to contract.

The longer we go without oil from the Persian Gulf, the less we’ll need it.

The fecklessness of Washington leaders contrasts with the courage of doctors, nurses and aid workers in places like Congo.

Michael Kosta wasn’t impressed to see that the L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt “got a second-season pickup” after Tuesday’s midterms.

The New World screwworm was found in a calf in South Texas, the Agriculture Department said, the first case in the country since the 1960s.