Minimalist News

Panic Buying Sweeps India As War Disrupts Cooking Gas Supplies Long lines are forming outside cooking gas dealers across India as fears of shortages spread following disruptions to fuel imports linked to the war in the Middle East. At a small distribution shop in Pune, gas dealer Vishal Vilas Mandhare has watched demand surge in recent days. Customers arrive carrying empty cylinders, pressing him and his staff for answers about when the next delivery of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, will arrive. "The dealers are facing as much trouble as the customers," he told Bloomberg, “just a different kind.” India depends heavily on LPG

CDC: Little-Known Virus With No Vaccine Spreading In US Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is spreading in the United States, including in California and the Great Lakes region, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A person receives a vaccine in Los Angeles in a file photograph. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images Symptoms include cough, fever, and nasal congestion, and, unlike better-known respiratory viruses, HMPV does not have a vaccine or known treatments, the CDC stated. “There’s no specific treatment that’s generally recommended,” Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the University

New Mexico Bets Big On Fusion And Defense Startups New Mexico’s $70 billion sovereign wealth fund is making a major push to attract advanced technology industries to the state, betting that sectors such as nuclear fusion, defense systems, and advanced manufacturing can generate both financial returns and local economic growth, according to Bloomberg. A centerpiece of the effort is a proposed $1 billion research and manufacturing campus by startup Pacific Fusion near Albuquerque. The company is working to commercialize nuclear fusion, the reaction that powers the sun and stars, though practical power generation remains years away. To help support the effort, the

School Branded 1st Grader 'Racist' Over 'Any Life Matters Drawing; Court Slams Principal Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, When a 7-year-old’s heartfelt sketch promoting equality gets twisted into “racism” by leftist school officials, it’s a chilling sign of how far indoctrination has gone—now finally overturned in a resounding First Amendment victory. This case exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of progressive education: punishing a child for daring to change “Black Lives Matter” into a message of universal value, all while claiming to champion inclusion. In 2021, at Viejo Elementary School in California, a first grader identified as BB created a simple drawing after her class

UBS And Goldman Map The Paralysis Across Hormuz Chokepoint The second week of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is coming to a close, with no visible off-ramp yet emerging, even as the White House continues to project victory. Goldman now expects the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz to persist for three weeks, a timeline that suggests further intensification of what the IEA has already described as an unprecedented global energy shock. Focusing on the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, data from UBS and Goldman desks show that flows through the critical waterway remain muted by the end of the week. Current situation in

The Order Of Battle Authored by James Howard Kunstler, Don’t lose your shit over mines in the Strait of Hormuz and the oil price shooting up. Iran has many thousands of mines. But something has to lay them out in the water. Iran has no more naval ships. They have small boats. The US can see everything moving on the surface, or sitting at docks. We are blowing them up methodically. The news outlets who want the US to fail in this operation (because: Trump) want you to think that we had no plan for dealing with this problem. That’s not so. There

401(k) Hardship Withdrawals Hit Record High The AI bubble and data center buildout have helped catapult equity markets to new highs (pre-Middle East conflict), minting a record number of 401(k) millionaires. However, beneath the surface, hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans have also climbed to a record, reinforcing the view that the K-shaped economy is becoming more entrenched. Vanguard's How America Saves 2025 report shows that hardship withdrawal activity "increased to a new high" of 6% in 2025, up from 4.8% in 2024 and about 2% before the pandemic. The increase marks the sixth straight annual rise since Congress eased the rules in 2018

29% Of Americans Have Finally Figured Out The Problem... 71% To Go Authored by James Hickman via SchiffSovereign.com, A new Gallup poll finds that 29% of Americans now say government itself is the country’s biggest problem. That’s a higher percentage than people who think America’s biggest problem is the economy. Or immigration. Or inflation. Think about that for a moment. The institution whose entire job is to solve problems has become, in the eyes of the public, the single biggest problem of all. Joseph Tainter described exactly this phenomenon in his 1988 book, The Collapse of Complex Societies. Tainter studied empires from Rome to the Maya

'President Boasberg' Protects Powell, Quashes DOJ 'Pressure Campaign' Subpoena Over Fed Renovation Another day, another activist judge deciding they're the president...  On Friday, chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has blocked subpoenas issued by the Trump Justice Department to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the Fed Board of Governor Boasberg claims that the subpoenas were served for an improper, pretextual purpose, and that "a mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning," and that the government produced “essentially

META Delays AI Rollout Because It Sucks, May License Gemini; Musk Reboots xAI 'From The Foundations Up' Mark Zuckerberg bet the farm on AI supremacy, and this year's crop is infested with bugs. According to a new report, Meta has quietly pushed back the launch of its next-generation foundational AI model, internally code-named Avocado, from this month until at least May. The reason? Internal tests showed it underperforming on key benchmarks for reasoning, coding, and writing - trailing rivals like Google's Gemini 3.0, even as it beat Meta's own prior efforts and older Google models. > The model, code-named Avocado, outperformed Meta’s previous A.I.

"Negotiations Underway": Cuban President Acknowledges U.S. Talks Amid Fuel Supply Crisis Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated on state television that his government has entered talks with the Trump administration, aimed at "finding solutions through dialogue" to longstanding bilateral differences between the two neighboring countries. This admission comes as the Caribbean island faces crude oil and diesel stockpiles running dry by the end of the month, after Trump's multi-month crude shipment blockade sharply tightened pressure on the communist regime in Havana. In a speech broadcast on Cuban state TV, Díaz-Canel said that discussions with the Trump administration were intended to "determine the willingness

56% Of Americans Now Suspect COVID-19 'Vaccines' Caused Mass-Deaths Authored by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, Public opinion is shifting... and they want action. A new Rasmussen survey of 1,158 likely U.S. voters - conducted September 7–9, 2025, with a ±3% margin of error - reveals that 56% believe side effects from the COVID-19 shots have likely caused a significant number of unexplained deaths. Nearly one-third (32%) say it’s very likely. Only 35% still dismiss the idea. This shows that what was once called a “conspiracy theory” has become the mainstream view. The majority of Americans now believe vaccine harms are real and widespread. Support for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reflects

Trump Admin Sues California To Block Electric Vehicle Mandate Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, The Justice and Transportation Departments filed a lawsuit against California on Thursday to stop what they say is an illegal electric vehicle (EV) requirement, alleging that the state is mandating fuel economy standards that federal law places in the exclusive domain of the federal government. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the lawsuit, which was filed for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The suit takes aim at regulations formulated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which mandates automakers

Michigan Synagogue Attack Suspect Was Naturalized US Citizen From Lebanon, CNN Immediately Blamed Trump An armed man who allegedly rammed his truck into a Michigan synagogue on March 12 has been identified as a naturalized United States citizen born in Lebanon, according to federal officials. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, was fatally shot by security officers after he drove through a hallway at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit in a vehicle that then caught fire, authorities said. The Epoch Times' Rachel Roberts reports that none of the synagogue’s staff, teachers, or the 140 children at its daycare center were injured, according

US Senate Votes To Include CBDC Ban In Bipartisan Housing Bill Authored by Vince Quill via CoinTelegraph.com, The United States Senate voted on Thursday to include an amendment in the 21st Century Road to Housing Act that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The CBDC prohibition will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2030, according to the amendment in the bill. The legislation, which passed 89-10, stated: > “The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or a Federal Reserve Bank may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially

Weekend At Bernie's In Iran As IRGC Now Run The Country, Use Strait As Toll Road By Ben Picton, senior market strategist at Rabobank Mine, Yours Major US, European and Asian equity indices all closed in the red yesterday as Brent crude prices again breached the $100/bbl level. Ten year sovereign yields were sharply higher for most countries (Sweden being an exception), with UK Gilts conspicuous for posting an 8.7bps increase. Short end yields rose even faster as markets priced in higher policy rate paths. Canadian two year yields were up 9.8bps and in New Zealand yields rose 10.1bps. Canada now has 41bps worth

Italian Diplomatic Sources Deny Talks With Iran To Open Hormuz Update(1140ET): Italy denies talks with Iran, but still nothing official on a public level from government ministers: > No negotiations are under way with Iran to guarantee safe passage through the Hormuz Strait for Italian ships or oil tankers, an Italian Foreign Ministry source has told Reuters, denying a report in The Financial Times. > > “In their diplomatic contacts, Italian leaders want to favour the conditions for a general military de-escalation, but there is no under-the-table negotiation aimed at preserving only some merchant ships at the expense of others,” the source said. *

Job Openings Unexpectedly Surge By Almost 400K: Biggest Increase Since 2024 Is the mini recession in the US job market ending?  After slumping in late 2025, it has been a rocky road for the US labor market, especially after the February payrolls print shocked with how bad it was. But according to the latest JOLTS job openings and turnover report published by the BLS moments ago, by the time the February NFP picture was taking place, the seeds of a recovery may have been planted already thanks to a surge in US job openings, which rose by 396K in January, the biggest

Pentagon Confirms All 6 Crew Dead As Pro-Iran Iraqi Militants Claim They Downed US Refueling Plane Update(1030ET): The Pentagon has just confirmed two additional deaths in Thursday's downing of a KC-135 refueling tanker aircraft over Western Iraq. This brings the total deaths to six in the incident, which marks the single deadliest aerial event for the US side in the war. > US: ALL CREW MEMBERS OF KC-135 LOSS IN IRAQ CONFIRMED DECEASED The Pentagon has further reiterated its stance it was not enemy or friendly fire. * * * The overnight confirmation that a US KC-135 went down over Western Iraq marks the single deadliest

"Massive Culling" Imminent For Alt Managers, Soros Fund CEO Warns Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, Dawn Fitzpatrick says overallocated LPs, frozen distributions, and mounting margin-call risk are converging into a sector-wide shakeout. Such will eventually separate survivors from the casualties. I used Claude to source data on private credit and equity funds, sources disclosed at the end. In July 2024, I penned an article entitled “Private Equity: Why Am I So Lucky,” which began with: > “Lately, I have been getting many questions about investing in private equity. Such is common during raging bull markets, as individuals seek higher rates of return than the market generates. Also, during these periods,

Bolivian interior ministry says Sebastián Marset is being extradited to US, where he’s wanted for money laundering * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Sebastián Marset, an alleged Uruguayan drug trafficker and one of South America’s most wanted criminals, has been arrested in Bolivia. Marset, 34, is accused of trafficking tonnes of cocaine from South America to Europe, and also of having ordered the murder of a Paraguayan prosecutor who was shot dead as he honeymooned on a Colombian beach in 2022. Continue reading...

Oscar, Ana and their children fled violence for safety in the US. Now Oscar, afraid and alone, is back in Honduras – ‘at the mercy of God and his will’ As soon as Oscar’s deportation flight landed at the La Lima airport in Honduras, he put on his baseball cap. On the airport shuttle toward the terminal, he pulled his cap even lower – trying to obscure his face at various police checkpoints. His parents picked him up in a car, and drove him to a lodging they had arranged for him – miles away from his family home. He has hardly

Negotiations aimed to ‘find solutions to the bilateral differences’ between the countries, Miguel Díaz-Canel said Cuban officials have held talks with the US government, the country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, confirmed on Friday, amid growing pain inflicted by a punishing US fuel blockade and frequent power failures. “These talks have been aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences we have between the two nations,” Díaz-Canel said in a prerecorded statement to senior Communist officials. Continue reading...

Joey Pete of Sunchild First Nation said king seemed ‘committed to learning’ after meeting Indigenous leaders King Charles has expressed concern over a simmering separatist movement in western Canada, according to Indigenous leaders who met the head of state at Buckingham Palace. Members of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations travelled to London from their territories in the province of Alberta to raise the alarm over the secessionist movement, arguing that it ignores key agreements signed between First Nations and the crown nearly 150 years ago. Continue reading...

Company that runs the sites says it has ‘no reason to believe there is a correlation between the donors’ passing and plasma donation’ Two people have died in Canada after donating plasma at a chain of clinics that has been under scrutiny by federal inspectors for failing to keep accurate records, screen donors or maintain its machines. While experts say the deaths are exceedingly rare, critics say Canada’s embrace of private companies to handle blood products reflects a “slow collapse of a system that has been the envy of the world”. Continue reading...

The move, which lowers fees to 25%, is a breakthrough for Chinese developers Tencent and ByteDance * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Apple announced late on Thursday it would lower the commission fees collected in its App Store in mainland China. The move follows pressure from regulators in the tech company’s second-largest market, as well as global scrutiny of its payment requirements. Fees for in-app purchases and paid transactions will be lowered to 25% from 30% starting on Sunday, Apple said in a statement on its blog for developers. Continue reading...

In China, one social media trend hangs on the idea that a life in the US is always one step from disaster, while another in the US has gen Z revelling in Chinese lifestyle hacks Across two online worlds that are normally splintered, over the last few months there has been a mirroring of sorts. On TikTok and Instagram, young people are diving into the joys of Chinese culture – from drinking hot water to playing mahjong – all under the banner of “Chinamaxxing”. On the Chinese internet, however, the US is losing its decades-long grip on soft power, and is

Viral video of girl being shoved by fellow pedestrian has reignited debate over butsukari – with experts blaming stress and gender dynamics It starts out as a heartwarming clip. A young girl, clearly delighted to be in Tokyo, beams as she makes a peace sign to the camera. Seconds later, she is shoved to the ground from behind by a woman wearing a surgical mask. The assailant doesn’t skip a beat, striding out of shot of the clip filmed by the girl’s mother. This was no accidental clash of shoulders in a crowded place, but one of the most visible examples of

From fuel caps to four-day work weeks, the Middle East conflict has left the world’s top crude oil importing region desperate to shore up supplies Donald Trump has scrambled in recent days to reassure the world that the economic impact of his war on Iran can be contained. Sure, one of the most important waterways in global trade has, in effect, been shut for almost two weeks – but it might reopen before long. In the meantime, US oil-related sanctions on “some countries” will be lifted. And besides, the entire conflict could be over soon. Continue reading...

New legislation will require schools to use Mandarin by default, taking priority over minority ethnic languages such as Tibetan, Uyghur and Mongolian China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), the state legislature, will vote on Thursday on a suite of new laws agreed at this year’s annual two sessions gathering, including a piece of legislation that will diminish the role of minority ethnic languages in the education system. NPC delegates are expected to approve a new ethnic unity law, along with a new environmental code and the 15th five-year plan, the economic planning document for 2026-2030. Delegates have spent the last week debating Beijing’s

Commuters on Craigieburn, Upfield, Ballarat and Seymour lines will be first to test tap-and-go technology * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Melbourne is finally poised to join other Australian cities in the tap-and-go era, with the state government confirming public trials for contactless credit and debit card payments will launch for suburban rail commuters on Monday. Commuters on the Craigieburn, Upfield, Ballarat and Seymour lines will be the first to test the technology, allowing them to bypass the physical Myki card in favour of paying via a debit or credit card, smartphone or smartwatch. Continue reading...

Accusations were false and primary cause of major meat supplier ‘panicking’ and cancelling contract, Victorian judge finds on balance of probabilities * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A halal certifier wrongly accused a rival of being connected to Islamic extremism to secure the business of a major meat supplier, a Victorian court has found. The Victorian county court ruled that the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria (ICCV) suffered from malicious or injurious falsehood when Midfield Meats cancelled a lucrative halal certification contract primarily because its managing director was told the Australian federal police were investigating the

NSW premier says latest distribution calculation, with a reduction in the state’s share of revenue relative to its population, is unfair and ‘past its use-by date’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s richest state will receive an extra $5.5bn in GST revenue thanks to a sweetheart deal struck with Western Australia in 2018, as the New South Wales premier attacked the latest distribution calculation as unfair and “past its use-by date”. The Commonwealth Grants Commission on Friday released its recommendations on how a projected $102.5bn in goods and services tax should be carved up between

This blog is now closed * Australia to release nearly 20% of fuel stockpile as Bowen insists country ‘nowhere near’ running out * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Joyce says surge in support for One Nation reflects will of the people, not political jostling Barnaby Joyce spoke to RN Breakfast this morning about One Nation’s targets in the next federal election. We want to win seats wherever they are. We have no real target against National seats or Liberal seats, but we want to give people the option to vote for

In an essay for Crikey, the former Australian of the Year says the PM is a ‘turncoat’ who is ‘capitulating to foreign powers’ amid the US-Israel war on Iran * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Grace Tame has said “we’re living in an Orwellian nightmare” in a scathing critique of the prime minister and his government’s position on the war in the Middle East. In an essay published in Crikey on Friday, the advocate for sexual abuse survivors and human rights activist accused Anthony Albanese of being a “coward” and a “turncoat” for refusing to condemn

Campaigners welcome Keir Starmer’s backing of ‘Philomena’s law’ to protect payments for those who accept compensation Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes can continue to receive benefits in the UK after Downing Street agreed to protect payments. Keir Starmer bowed to pressure from campaigners to back a bill known as Philomena’s law, which would ringfence survivors’ benefits if they accepted compensation from Dublin. Continue reading...

The first proper show since Valentino’s death is about the late designer, about beauty – and about Michele’s mother Valentino Garavani wanted to make beautiful clothes for the women who could afford them. The perpetually tanned designer, whose vision of jet set glamour was matched only by his own yacht-and-pug lifestyle, died in January. So there was an obvious logic in taking the first proper catwalk show since his death off the fashion week schedule and back to Rome, where he lived, worked, and died. Milan and Paris may be the capitals of European style, but Rome looks better. Garavani left his

Traditionally jovial affair poses potential debacle for Irish leader at odds with US over foreign policy, tax and immigration For Ireland’s leaders, it has long been the highlight of the political calendar: a love-fest in Washington with hosts who sport shamrocks and toast Saint Patrick. Irish delegations are traditionally received on Capitol Hill and at the White House in a blaze of goodwill and backslapping that has them wishing every day was 17 March. Continue reading...

Calls for Alexandra Căpitănescu’s Choke Me to be banned as campaigners say lyrics are ‘dangerous’ and ‘reckless’ Romania’s Eurovision entry Choke Me has been labelled “dangerous” and “reckless” for appearing to glamorise sexual strangulation, an unsafe practice that can lead to brain injury and death. Campaigners against sexual violence said the entry, in which the words “choke me” are repeated 30 times during the three-minute song, was “playing fast and loose with young women’s lives”. Continue reading...

Austrian officials took action after airline ignored court order to pay €890 to unnamed women Bailiffs have boarded a Ryanair aircraft after the airline refused to pay compensation to a passenger whose flight was delayed. Austrian officials took action after the budget carrier ignored a court order to pay the unnamed woman €890 (£742) in legal costs and compensation for a delayed flight two years ago. Continue reading...

Tehran residents report relentless bombing with US and Israeli planes launching wave of attacks * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump has said Iran will be hit “very hard” in the coming days, describing leaders of the regime as “deranged scumbags” who it was a “great honor” to kill, as Tehran residents reported relentless bombing and violence continued to spiral across the Middle East. The US president’s comments, which signaled an intensification of the US-Israeli campaign, came as Israeli and US warplanes launched successive waves of attacks on the Iranian capital and elsewhere on Friday. One strike reportedly hit close

White House contends with reality of shoddy preparations for war and unclear conditions for victory * Middle East crisis – live updates * Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email As US and Israeli jets descended to deliver the opening salvos of the war in Iran, Donald Trump’s back-of-the-envelope plan for regime change in Tehran was about to run into the reality of the largest US intervention in the Middle East since the start of the Iraq war in 2003. That reality came quickly. Continue reading...

US defense head is eager to frame operation as a success – and slam journalists for not portraying it in a positive light * Has the pro-Maga media turned on the Pentagon over Iran? * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Pete Hegseth on Friday again claimed the US military campaign against Iran has been an unprecedented success, using a Pentagon press conference to accuse journalists of downplaying Washington’s supposed gains on the battlefield. Speaking alongside the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, the US defense secretary claimed Iran had been left

Number of American troops killed in war on Iran after incident in western desert now stands at 13 * Middle East live blog – latest updates * US politics – live updates All six crew members onboard a US military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq were killed, the US military has said. The KC-135 military refuelling plane crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire. Continue reading...

Armed groups appear to have increased their firepower as they carry out raids deep in Hamas-controlled territory Pro-Israel Palestinian militia have launched repeated raids, clandestine assassination and abduction operations deep inside parts of Gaza controlled by Hamas in recent months, with new operations launched recently despite the outbreak of conflict with Iran. The militia, which are all based in eastern parts of Gaza that are under Israeli control after a ceasefire came into effect in October, have received significant logistic support from Israel since last year but appear to have increased their firepower, allowing new and more aggressive attacks in recent weeks. Continue

Under new Taliban laws, a husband is allowed to beat his wife as long as it is not done with ‘obscene force’, which the woman must prove in court The shocking level of physical violence against women permitted under the Taliban’s new laws has been revealed this week by the case of a woman in northern Afghanistan, who said she was beaten with a cable wire by her husband and told by a judge: “You want a divorce just because of that? … A little anger and a few beatings won’t kill you.” Farzana* said her husband was quick-tempered and often resorted

Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra party secures thumping victory in first poll since gen Z protests that toppled government Balendra Shah, the rapper turned politician and popular figurehead of a gen Z revolution, looks set to become Nepal’s next prime minister after his party won by an unprecedented margin. Shah, known widely as Balen, and his Rastriya Swatantra party (RSP) secured a rare landslide victory in the first election since youth-led protests during which dozens were killed and the former government was toppled. Continue reading...

‘Stopgap measure’ designed to keep oil flowing into global market as Middle East crisis disrupts crude shipments * Business live – latest updates The US has temporarily allowed India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea in an effort to keep global supplies flowing and temper further price increases. The US treasury has issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil, having previously imposed heavy sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Urgent request to dock is submitted by vessel after US submarine sank Iranian warship in same area on Tuesday * Middle East crisis – live updates Sri Lanka has evacuated 208 crew members from an Iranian navy vessel that made an emergency request to dock, a day after a US submarine strike sank another Iranian frigate, killing more than 80 people on board. Sri Lanka’s president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on Thursday confirmed that the country’s navy would take over Iranian military support ship IRIS Bushehr and allow it to dock at the north-eastern port of Trincomalee. Continue reading...

Early results may be released from Friday after first election since gen z protests forced Nepal’s then-PM to quit Nearly six months after a wave of unprecedented gen Z-led protests forced Nepal’s then prime minister to quit, people have voted in a general election that is shaping up to be a high-stakes showdown between the entrenched old guard and a powerful youth movement. “The voting process has been concluded peacefully and enthusiastically,” said the chief election commissioner, Ram Prasad Bhandari. It appeared the turnout was only about 60%, according to initial estimates, the lowest in more than two decades. Continue reading...

Trade body attends meeting with Rachel Reeves, hours after saying it was pulling out over suggestions of price gouging • Watchdog puts UK fuel retailers ‘on notice’ over profiteering from Iran war The trade body for the UK’s petrol station industry has got into a row with the government after claiming the “inflammatory language” used by ministers to describe rising pump prices may have incited abuse against forecourt staff. The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said ministers had for several days suggested that forecourts might be “price gouging” and “ripping off” motorists as global oil markets have surged in response to the war in

Exclusive: Chancellor plans help for vulnerable and low-income customers due to conflict in Middle East Rachel Reeves will set out extra support next week for households across the UK facing a surge in the cost of heating oil due to the conflict in the Middle East. The chancellor is expected to set out plans to assist those on low incomes or with other vulnerabilities, particularly in rural areas. The help will be delivered in England via councils using the new crisis and resilience fund. Continue reading...

Trio captured relaxing around a wooden table in photo believed to have been taken on Martha’s Vineyard Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson have been pictured in bathrobes alongside Jeffrey Epstein, in the first known photograph of them together. The trio were captured relaxing outside at a wooden table with mugs decorated with the American flag in the newly unearthed photograph believed to have been taken on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off Cape Cod in Massachusetts that is favoured by the wealthy. Continue reading...

Mayor says he will encourage Met to scale down his official vehicle alongside plans for new charges for big cars The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said he would be encouraging the Met to abandon his armoured car in favour of a smaller vehicle as he signalled a clampdown on driving SUVs in London. Khan and Transport for London are considering options including additional charges on outsize vehicles to tackle the increasing numbers of SUVs on London’s roads, primarily to address road safety but also to address concerns about parking and congestion. Continue reading...

The prime minister issues the statement after a fuel trade body earlier withdrew from a meeting with the chancellor today Even before Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury on Iran unleashed higher oil prices, threatening the outlook for growth and inflation, the UK economy was flatlining. That’s the bleak message in the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed zero GDP growth in January. Continue reading...

US president threatens to attack oil infrastructure on the island unless passage through strait of Hormuz is unblocked * How have you been affected by the latest Middle East events? Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry is saying that two drones have been intercepted and destroyed in the eastern region. More now after reports of explosions in Dubai on Friday morning: thick black smoke rose over the financial hub’s skyline after what authorities described as a fire in an industrial area of the city-state. Continue reading...

North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis and Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren call for end of investigations into Federal Reserve leader * Sign up for the Breaking US News email Both Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine were asked today about energy secretary Chris Wright’s comments to CNBC on Thursday, where he said that the US Navy cannot escort ships through the strait of Hormuz now but it was “quite likely” that could happen by the end of the month. Gen Caine appeared to agree with Wright’s assessment, calling the waterway a “tactically complex environment”. Continue reading...

Sources tell Reuters layoffs could affect 20% or more of company as plans reflect broader tensions within big tech Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalized, the people said. Continue reading...

President says forces ‘obliterated’ military targets on Kharg Island and warned its oil infrastructure could be next * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump said Friday that US forces have “obliterated” military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island and warned that the oil infrastructure there could be next. “For reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,” Trump wrote on social media. “However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.” Continue reading...

President thanks Grenell for ‘outstanding work’ and says Matt Floca, vice-president of operations, will take over Donald Trump has announced that Ric Grenell, the longtime Republican foreign policy adviser who oversaw far-reaching changes at the Kennedy Center, which prompted many artists to abandon the performing arts venue, will be replaced by Matt Floca, vice-president of operations at the center. Trump made the announcement on social media that he has replaced Grenell, thanking him for the “outstanding work he has done”. Floca was photographed in December personally overseeing the addition of Trump’s name to the center’s facade. Grenell’s departure comes as the Kennedy

An alleged cocaine boss with a US$2 million bounty on his head was captured by Bolivian forces as the Andean nation renews cooperation with the US after decades of hostility. Dozens of antinarcotics police raided two houses in Santa Cruz in the early hours of Friday, with snipers positioned on nearby rooftops. Their target, Uruguayan citizen Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, was immediately put on a plane to be transferred to the US by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Bolivia’s President...

A photograph of Britain’s former prince Andrew and veteran politician Peter Mandelson sitting in bathrobes alongside late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was unearthed on Friday in previously published documents. The image is believed to be the first known photograph of the two men with Epstein. They are both currently engulfed in scandal in the UK over their ties to their mutual friend. The undated photograph, first reported by ITV News, shows King Charles’ disgraced brother and Britain’s former...

Iran ⁠has allowed two Indian-flagged liquefied ⁠petroleum gas carriers to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠four sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, a rare exception to the Iranian blockade that has disrupted global energy supplies. The Indian-flagged LPG tanker Shivalik crossed the Strait under escort from the Indian Navy, said two of the sources, and the second vessel, Nanda Devi, was expected to clear in the ‌next few hours. Since the United States and Israel launched a...

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has pneumonia and is receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, a hospital in the capital, Brasilia, said on Friday. Earlier in the day, Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Flavio, said on social media that his father was being transferred from prison to the hospital after waking up with chills and vomiting. “I ask for prayers that it not be anything serious,” Flavio wrote. He has said he would run for president this year, and recent polls show him and President...

The Trump administration has sought to minimise the impact of the Strait of Hormuz’s effective closure while offering few details on how it might restore oil flows through the strategic waterway. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News aired on Friday, urging oil tankers to “show some guts.” Trump said Washington was still considering escorting ships through the strait but did not indicate whether a decision had been made. “We would do it...

Long before the US and Israel ⁠attacked Iran, the Islamic Republic had devised its own weapon: holding the world’s main ⁠oil lifeline hostage to offset its foes’ military superiority, three regional sources familiar with Iranian planning said. For decades, Iran has signalled that if pushed into a confrontation, it would restrict tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint where its adversaries are most exposed because disruptions there reverberate instantly through global energy...

The US economy grew at a significantly slower pace than initially estimated for the final months of 2025, government data showed on Friday, a major downgrade that comes as fallout from war in the Middle East looms. US gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 0.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. This was sharply down from its earlier estimated 1.4 per cent over the October to December period. It also indicates that the world’s biggest economy was on a weaker...

Ships near the Strait of Hormuz are broadcasting Chinese affiliations in an apparent bid to avoid attack, at a time when Iran’s new supreme leader vows to keep the strategic waterway closed. The crews of at least 11 vessels sitting in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf had their transponders set to announce Chinese links on Friday afternoon, according to Kpler’s MarineTraffic data platform. The broadcasts were a defensive measure, said Cui Shoujun, director of the Institute of International...

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Friday that his government has held recent talks with the US, marking the first time the Caribbean country confirms such speculation. He said the talks “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges”. He did not elaborate on those factors. Diaz-Canel said no petroleum shipments have arrived on the island in the past three months, which he blamed on...

The US-Israeli attacks on Iran have profound implications for the global governance order. For America, the world’s mightiest power, to attack another nation without congressional or UN approval condemns the rules-based order to the dustbin of history. Governance is about checks and balance by rules, self-restraint or simply a humble appreciation that waging “forever wars” often ends up in self-destruction. War is such an extreme and costly measure it should only be undertaken after careful...

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has accused Russia and Iran of attempting to “hijack the global economy” as Tehran continued to blockade a major oil shipping route. Iran’s new supreme leader has vowed to continue attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for ongoing US-Israeli strikes on his country. The blockade has seen oil prices jump to around US$100 per barrel, threatening higher inflation across the globe. Speaking to the media during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the UK...

Japan’s unilateral decision to release oil from its emergency stockpiles highlights its vulnerability to prolonged supply disruptions and may leave it more exposed to economic pressure from China amid tense bilateral relations, according to analysts. Tokyo announced earlier this week that it planned to release a total of 80 million barrels starting March 16, marking the first time it would independently tap its national reserves. The decision came ahead of a coordinated response by the...

Spare a thought for the iceberg A23a which, after an extraordinary 40-year life voyaging around the southern Atlantic Ocean, is this month expected to die unnoticed close to the island of South Georgia, a mess of “brash ice, small icebergs and bergy bits”. A23a was one of the largest “megabergs” to be spawned in our lifetimes. When it broke away from the Filchner Ice Shelf into the Weddell Sea in Western Antarctica in 1986, it covered an area of around 4,000 sq km – about the size of Hong Kong...

Nasa cleared its moon rocket on Thursday for an April launch with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs. The 98-metre (322-foot) rocket will roll out of the hangar and back to the pad next week at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, leading to a launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity’s first trip to the moon in more than 50 years. The timing is interesting. From the end of March, US President Donald Trump is slated to visit China and meet with President Xi...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why have China’s arms imports plummeted 72% over the past 5 years? Beijing’s arms imports have nose-dived by nearly three-quarters over the past five years, as it has replaced overseas weapons purchases with domestic technology,...

The United States has imposed sanctions on two companies and six individuals for their roles in operations that used information technology workers in foreign countries to raise money for North Korea. The Treasury Department said the schemes, orchestrated by the North Korean government, had systematically defrauded US businesses and generated revenue to fund North Korea’s weapons programmes, including nearly US$800 million in 2024. The department also accused workers associated with North Korea...

California Governor Gavin Newsom said there was no imminent threat to the state, despite a warning from the FBI that Iran could send drones to the west coast in retaliation for war. Newsom said drone issues “have always been top of mind”. “We’ve been aware of that information. … It’s all about a posture of preparedness for worst-case scenarios,” the governor said on Wednesday. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently warned police departments about Iran and a possible California...

All six crew ⁠members aboard a US military refuelling ⁠aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are confirmed to have been killed, the US military said on Friday. A US military refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but ‌was not the result of hostile or friendly fire. The deaths add to the seven US service members who have already been killed as part of US operations against Iran which began on February 28. “The...

Serbia’s president confirmed late on Thursday that his country possesses Chinese supersonic surface-attack cruise missiles, after photos of the weapons attached to Serbian fighter jets leaked online. Photos, which began circulating on social media and defence blogs earlier this week, showed missiles believed to be Chinese-made CM-400AKG cruise missiles attached to Serbia’s Russian-made MiG-29 planes. “We have things we do not show,” President Aleksandar Vucic told Serbia’s national broadcaster...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday issued ⁠a veiled threat to kill Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei even as he acknowledged that Israel’s joint air war with the US may not lead to a collapse of Tehran’s clerical government. Holding his first press conference since the start of the war, ‌the Israeli leader said that Iran was “no longer the same” after nearly two weeks of bombardment and that Tehran had suffered blows to its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij...

The war in Iran is not just another Middle Eastern crisis. It is a window into what world politics looks like when rules are weakest and power is most concentrated. Washington has spoken in the language of surrender and coercion, European governments have called for restraint and respect for international law, and Asian powers have scrambled to keep energy flows moving through a Strait of Hormuz that has nearly ground to a halt. What this reveals is not a functioning rules-based order. It is a...

ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) students in an Old Dominion University classroom subdued and killed the shooter who killed one person and wounded two others, the FBI announced on Thursday. Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Norfolk field office, said at a news conference that the suspect identified by authorities as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh shouted “Allahu akbar” before the shooting. Then the ROTC students stopped him, showing “extreme...

A 41-year-old man was killed Thursday after ramming his pickup truck into a synagogue on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan, causing a blaze and triggering a huge police response. US media reported the assailant had recently lost family members in an Israeli strike in Lebanon, as part of the ongoing Middle East war. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security identified the assailant as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, who was born in Lebanon, came to Detroit in 2011 on a visa granted to...

A UK judge on Thursday jailed for 13 years a mother-of-10 who forced a vulnerable woman to work as a “house slave” for more than two decades. Amanda Wixon subjected the woman, who was a teenager when the ordeal began, to more than 25 years of abuse at her squalid home in Gloucestershire, western England. The 56-year-old forced the victim, who has a learning disability, to do manual labour, regularly assaulted her and deprived her of food and healthcare, it emerged during an earlier 13-day...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has taken responsibility for his “mistake” in sending Peter Mandelson to Washington as ambassador, as Downing Street denied there was a “cover-up” in the release of files related to the appointment. The prime minister is facing fresh questions about his judgment in giving Mandelson the ambassadorship despite being warned of a “general reputational risk” because of his relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In his first public appearance since the...

Iran’s new supreme leader has vowed to keep blocking the Strait of Hormuz, attack US bases and avenge the blood of its martyrs in his first statement since succeeding his father. US President Donald Trump responded with an insult and threat soon after. “The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used,” Mojtaba Khamenei said about the strategic waterway, which carries about a fifth of global oil shipments. Khamenei urged Iran’s Gulf neighbours to close US military bases in the...

A man was arrested with more ⁠than 2,200 live ⁠garden ants in his ⁠luggage at Nairobi’s main airport this week amid a rise in cases of smuggling of the insects in Kenya. Chinese national Zhang Kequn, 27, was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta ‌International Airport on Tuesday while he was trying to leave the country, court filings on Thursday showed. Immigration officials flagged a “stop order” on Zhang’s passport after he evaded arrest in Kenya last year. Ant aficionados pay large sums to ⁠maintain...

The opening week of the war against Iran cost the United States more than US$11.3 billion, lawmakers were told in a Pentagon briefing, according to a New York Times report underscoring the pace at which the conflict is consuming weapons and resources. The Times, citing unnamed sources familiar with Tuesday’s closed-door briefing, said members of Congress were told that the figure excludes many costs connected with the build-up to the strikes – suggesting the final tally for the first week could...

Airlines around the world are increasing fares and raising fuel surcharges as the Iran war sends oil prices swinging wildly and stokes fears of jet fuel shortages if the fighting persists. The cost of plane tickets may jump as much as 9 per cent, said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association industry group. Fuel costs account for about a quarter of the expenses paid by carriers. Demand for alternative routes that bypass the Middle East is also surging,...

Zhao Tong is a senior fellow with the Nuclear Policy Programme at Washington-based think tank the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and its East Asia-based research centre on contemporary China, Carnegie China. His research focuses on strategic security issues, including nuclear weapons policy, deterrence, arms control, non-proliferation, missile defence, hypersonic weapons, regional security in the Asia-Pacific and China’s security and foreign policy. SCMP Plus readers get early access...

A Tehran resident in her 30s agreed to share her thoughts with Agence France-Presse about the ongoing war and daily life. Her identity has been withheld for her protection. Here is an edited transcript of the conversation. How is daily life in Tehran? People left in waves, especially those who were next to targets. The financial situation is very bad. My job has been halted and I am spending out of my savings. Going away has costs too, so this may be one of the reasons why people are leaving...

Filipino sailor George Miranda was racing to help a stricken vessel aboard the tugboat Mussafah 2 when he last spoke to his wife and young daughter. The 46-year-old, whose small ship was struck by a pair of missiles this week in the Strait of Hormuz, is the only seafarer from the Philippines known to be missing in the Middle East war, the government says. But more than 6,000 others from the country that supplies a quarter of the world’s sailors are still working in the conflict zone and...

A UN-backed panel of independent experts focusing on racial discrimination has said that racist hate speech by US President Donald Trump and other American political leaders, along with a crackdown on immigration in the United States, have led to “grave human rights violations”. The Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued its decision on Wednesday and urged the US to suspend immigration enforcement operations at, and near, schools, hospitals, and faith-based...

Outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out a deadly missile strike on a junior school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the conflict, according to a US official and a second person briefed on findings of a preliminary US military investigation into the incident. The bombing of the school and its casualties involving children has become a focal point of the war, and if ultimately confirmed to be at the hands of the US,...

Since the war in the Middle East began nearly two weeks ago, the phone at Ron Hubbard’s bomb shelter company in Texas has not stopped ringing. Foreign and US clients are rushing to buy his bunkers, seeking refuge in case of air raids, nuclear fallout or apocalypse. With the United States and Israel pounding Iran, and Tehran retaliating with strikes across the region, Hubbard has seen demand for his product soar, mostly from Gulf nation clients in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab...

The Trump administration on Wednesday opened a new trade investigation into manufacturing in foreign countries – an effort that comes after the Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump’s previous use of tariffs by declaring an economic emergency. Trump and his team have made clear that they’re seeking to replace the hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenues after the Supreme Court’s February ruling by using different laws to establish new tariffs. In this case, the...

The UN Security Council on Wednesday called for Iran to halt its attacks on Gulf states, in a resolution that did not mention US or Israeli strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran’s ambassador to decry a “blatant misuse” of the international body. The resolution, passed by 13 votes with two abstentions, “demands the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan”. It also “condemns any actions...

An Iran-linked hacking group claimed responsibility Wednesday for a cyberattack on US medical technology giant Stryker, saying it had extracted 50 terabytes of data in retaliation for military strikes on Iran. “Our major cyber operation has been executed with complete success,” Handala said in a statement. It described the hack as retribution for what it called “the brutal attack on the Minab school” in Iran, where authorities said more than 150 people were killed, and for “ongoing cyber...

From school shootings to synagogue bombings, leading AI chatbots helped researchers plot violent attacks, according to a study published on Wednesday that highlighted the technology’s potential for real-world harm. Researchers from the non-profit watchdog Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and CNN posed as 13-year-old boys in the United States and Ireland to test 10 chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI. Testing showed that eight of those chatbots...

Chilean President Gabriel Boric left La Moneda presidential palace for the last time on Wednesday, ending a four-year term with a call for national unity that most observers took as a reference to the Chinese undersea cable dispute that defined his final weeks in office. “I wish success to the incoming government, success for Chile, and may our homeland always come first, above any interest, above any disagreement,” Boric said from the palace courtyard, where he arrived with his partner, Paula...

Norwegian police said on Wednesday that three brothers had been arrested on suspicion of a “terrorist bombing” over a weekend explosion at the US embassy in Oslo that caused minor damage but no injuries. Police prosecutor Christian Hatlo told a press conference the brothers, who were Norwegian citizens of Iraqi origin, had been arrested in Oslo around 3.30pm and that police were investigating the motive. “We are still working from several hypotheses. One of them is whether this is an order from...

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has urged civilians to keep clear of all port facilities in Iran, an announcement that drew a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of Gulf-wide retaliatory strikes if those sites are targeted. On Wednesday, CENTCOM said that the Iran was using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations, which would make the ports legitimate military targets under international law. Civilians should immediately avoid all port facilities, and Iranian...

Iran cannot take part in the 2026 World Cup after co-host the United States launched air strikes against the country alongside Israel, killing its leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday. The US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran almost two weeks ago, killing the Islamic Republic’s ‌supreme leader, leading to a region-wide conflict in the Gulf. “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we...

Logistics companies in China are feeling the strain from the US-Israeli war on Iran, as volatile crude prices and disrupted transport routes ripple through global supply chains. With e-commerce cargo stranded in the Middle East and freight rates skyrocketing, industry insiders said they expect the fallout to last months, even as US President Donald Trump signalled the war could end soon. While some saw opportunities in alternative Central Asian corridors, Chinese businesses reliant on the region...

Documents released on Wednesday by the British government show officials believed there was a “reputational risk” to appointing Peter Mandelson as the US ambassador because of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The concerns were raised in a document sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in December 2024 before he appointed Mandelson to the role, seen as vital to establish a good relationship with the administration of US President Donald Trump. The document also spelled...

“I didn’t breathe until I knew all of the kids were OK,” one teacher recalled after a truck crashed through the doors of a Michigan synagogue this week.

The man, a U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, lost family members during an airstrike there last week. The attack on a Michigan synagogue rattled Jewish communities across America.

Days before the antisemitic violence, an imam recalled seeing Ayman Mohamad Ghazali at a service for his relatives who had been killed in the war in Lebanon.

In the industry where René Redzepi reigned, fellow chefs are debating how, and how much, restaurant kitchens can change.

Will Mair, who studies aging, lost almost all his research funds when the White House cracked down on Harvard. He was wholly unprepared for the upheaval that followed.

Lt. Col. Brandon Shah flew hundreds of combat missions as a war-zone helicopter pilot before being shot and killed in his Old Dominion University classroom by a radicalized military veteran.

Before opening fire in a university classroom, the gunman asked people if they were there for a Reserve Officers Training Corps event, court documents said.

A formal tally on Friday showed Sam Page ahead of Phil Berger, the powerful longtime leader of the State Senate. A recount is expected but experts say that is unlikely to flip the results.

Wait, that’s not the real James Talarico …

The school also said that it would review policies about philanthropy and donor engagement after new revelations about the disgraced financier were made public.

In the years after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution, Jeffrey Epstein rebuilt his reputation by hosting gatherings with leaders in all sorts of trades, including comedy.

It’s a movie about Black feminist revolutionaries that some Black feminists are calling a 911 emergency.

For Diane Warren, the work is the reward. But after 16 losses, an original song Oscar would be nice, too.

Venezuela gave Trump a taste of success. This isn’t the first time an American president has gotten hooked on overthrowing foreign governments.

Palisades fire victims want to raise money for disaster hardening. Their idea could be a model — if it can get past L.A.’s most vexing housing problems.

The soil keeps shifting in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. For the right buyer, that presents a great opportunity, at least for the time being.

A tech company made a deepfake of my mind. I’m fighting back.

The war in Iran is a victory for the Israeli prime minister.

Plus, Cuba is in talks with the U.S. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.

The ground delays, which also affected the airport serving Richmond, Va., were expected to last until at least midnight, according to the F.A.A., which said the smell had affected air traffic controllers.

The guilty verdicts marked the first time that terrorism charges had been successfully brought against purported members of antifa.

The teacher’s relatives said they supported “getting the charges dropped for all involved” after a student prank led to his death last week in Georgia.

In a 40-year career that brought him two Pulitzers, he reported from trouble spots around the world, eloquently conveying the chaos of war.