Minimalist News

Light At The End Of The Tunnel Emerges For US East After Weeks Of Winter Madness A sharp reversal in US natural gas futures was seen early Monday after skyrocketing prices in the second half of January, when dangerously cold air and a major winter storm triggered freeze-offs across critical NatGas infrastructure. The weather-driven supply disruptions coincided with a spike in heating demand, unleashing stress on power grids across much of the eastern US and driving NatGas spot prices sharply higher before the pullback, as well as power prices... The front-month NatGas contract plunged as much as 17% to $3.620 per million

"Never Seen Risk Like This Before In My Career", Ed Dowd Warns Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com, Former Wall Street money manager and financial analyst Ed Dowd of PhinanceTechnologies.com warned in December we were “At the Beginning of Credit Destruction Cycle.”  Renowned hedge fund BlackRock was the latest victim of credit destruction with this week’s headline that said, “BlackRock cuts value of private debt fund by 19%, waives fee.” Dowd is right—again. It’s going to get a lot worse, according to Dowd’s latest report called “US Economy Outlook 2026.”  Dowd says, “This is a big call, and what is going to happen does not happen that often..." > "  We

Waste Of The Day: NYC Healthcare Fund Is Out Of Cash Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations, Topline: Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander claims one of the city’s health insurance funds has “no path to solvency” after labor unions used it to cover pay raises, Weight Watchers and more. Key facts: New York’s taxpayer-funded Health Insurance Stabilization Fund owes $3.1 billion to outside vendors and the city that it’s unable to pay. The actual amount is likely much higher because expenses from 2024 and 2025 have not been totaled yet, according to Lander’s Dec. 30 audit. The fund was created in 1985

FTC Warns 42 Law Firms Over DEI Hiring The Trump administration is still going after DEI - or 'diversity, equity and inclusion' (i.e. white people are the scourge of the earth) - this time, in Big Law.  The office of the law firm Perkins Coie is seen in Washington, on April 10, 2025. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent letters to 42 law firms warning them about "potentially unfair and anticompetitive employment practices" involving DEI, after they all participated in an anti-white program run by "Diversity Lab," a "for-profit DEI-consultancy business."  > All of these firms recently participated in the

US Approves New Massive Arms Deals For Israel, Saudis - Bypasses Congressional Review Via The Cradle On Friday, the US government authorized significant arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia, amounting to approximately $15.7 billion, as the White House continues to escalate threats of war against Iran. The US State Department approved four arms packages for Israel totaling $6.67 billion, which includes a $3.8 billion deal for 30 Apache attack helicopters and a $1.98 billion sale of 3,250 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.  via Associated Press Additional approvals include $740 million for power packs for armored personnel carriers and $150 million for light utility helicopters. House Democratic

Hero British Bus Driver Fired For Stopping Thief And Protecting Passenger Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, In a nation where self-defense is apparently a fireable offense, Mark Hehir, a dedicated London bus driver, has been hailed as a hero by the public but sacked by his employer for daring to chase down a thief who snatched a passenger’s necklace. This absurdity highlights how the UK’s bureaucratic overlords prioritize corporate protocols over actual justice, leaving ordinary citizens vulnerable to rampant crime while the establishment looks the other way. Hehir’s act of bravery, which even the police deemed “proportionate and necessary,” has sparked petitions, fundraisers,

How Arctic Ice Loss Is Reshaping Global Shipping Not only does the Arctic hold significant oil and rare earth resources, thawing ice means that shipping routes can be reduced drastically. Since 1980, the Arctic’s minimal ice extent, its smallest point, has shrunk by 39%. At the same time, the Arctic is a strategic priority for Russia, both for freight transport and military security. More recently, President Trump has argued that Greenland - a territory he has threatened to acquire - is critical to U.S. security. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows how Arctic ice loss is redrawing shipping routes, based on data from multiple sources,

"Energy Suicide": Slovak PM Fico To Sue After Brussels Issues Total Ban On Russian Gas Via Remix News, Slovakia is obliged to stop taking over Russian gas by Nov. 1, 2027, at the latest, and according to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the EU decision to ban all gas from member states amounts to “energy suicide.” As a result, Bratislava will file a lawsuit at the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) against the newly adopted regulations. On Monday, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament formally adopted the new legislation on the gradual phase-out of Russian gas

A Panicking Oracle Plans To Raise Up To $50 Billion, As Its Stock And Bonds Crater Just over a month ago, on Dec 17, alongside the news that Abu Dhabi was set to invest billions in OpenAI thus preventing a year-end tech rout, we said that ORCL CDS - which on that day hit the widest level since the 2008 financial crisis at 156bps - "may have gone a bit too far"... > ORCL CDS limit down tomorrow (of course, there is no limit down in CDS). https://t.co/FQNgsek5Js > > — zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 18, 2025 ... and sure enough, for the next month or

San Francisco Ends $5M-A-Year Program That Supplied Alcohol To Homeless Addicts Sigh. It's not parody. It's San Francisco. The city is shutting down a controversial program that used millions in taxpayer funds to provide alcohol to homeless residents struggling with addiction, according to the NY Post. Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city will end the Managed Alcohol Program, which cost about $5 million each year and began during the COVID-19 pandemic. “For years, San Francisco was spending $5 million a year to provide alcohol to people who were struggling with homelessness and addiction — it doesn’t make sense, and we’re ending it,” Lurie told

Joe Rogan Defines Chaos In Minneapolis As "Color Revolution" Left-wing unrest in Minneapolis and elsewhere across the country - whether protests or riots over the past few weeks or over the last decade targeting President Trump and the America First agenda - is being framed as a color revolution operation fueled by dark-money-funded NGOs, and that narrative is now reaching a wider audience. Democrats are uneasy that this framing is gaining traction after the left-wing revolution was most recently discussed on The Joe Rogan Experience, where host Joe Rogan and guest Andrew Wilson, a conservative podcaster, discussed it. Rogan discussed how, shortly after

Democrat Wins Texas Special Election, Eroding GOP's Slim House Majority Republicans' thin majority in the US House grew slimmer still on Saturday, as a special election in Texas has filled a long-vacant seat with a Democrat who's vowed to "tear ICE up from the roots."  Progressive leftist Christian Menefee will represent Texas's 18th Congressional District, after beating fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards in a runoff election for a seat that's been vacant since Democrat Sylvester Turner died last March. The development comes as new polls show Democrats with a national edge heading into November's midterms.  While the black-and-Latino-dominated Houston-area district was predestined to send another

Is An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust Right For You? Are You Super Rich? Authored by Javier Simon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) can allow affluent individuals to pass on wealth to heirs while keeping it outside of their taxable estate. This could help them reduce or avoid the estate tax upon death, which can be as high as 40 percent. Photo Smoothies/Shutterstock It also can help you pass over assets to individuals with special needs without affecting their eligibility for government programs like Medicaid or Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). But it may not be the best for

Hollywood Celebrities Are Losing Their Minds And Calling For "Revolution" As the information age barrels forward the age of the celebrity is coming to a close.  Largely because Hollywood elites do not understand how to navigate social media and their true personalities always bubble to the surface.  With no agents or managers to filter their impulsive opinions, narcissistic celebrities readily expose themselves and their stupidity.   The glamour and mystique of the entertainment world is dead, and celebrities killed it. One unexpected consequence of the decline of Hollywood is that the apparatus of adult pretenders (actors) is starting to go dangerously insane.  Big budget

Isaacman: NASA Aims To Build 'Martian Outpost' On Mars With Nuclear Propulsion Authored by T.J. Muscaro via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced his agency’s commitment to developing a nuclear propulsion system for missions to Mars within the next three years. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (L) speaks at a press conference at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Jan. 17, 2026. (T.J. Muscaro/The Epoch Times). “Before the end of @POTUS‘ term, @NASA will lay the foundation of a ’transcontinental railroad' to Mars,” Isaacman wrote on X on Jan. 30. “By utilizing nuclear electric propulsion, our nation will have the tools necessary

How Easy Is It To Open A Daycare In Minnesota? Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Minnesota is facing heavy scrutiny after the Trump administration accused bad actors in the state of exploiting federal funds from child-focused programs for personal gain. The Minneapolis skyline, on Jan. 11, 2026. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Dec. 29, 2025, that 98 people—85 of Somali descent— were indicted in welfare fraud cases in the state. Minnesota was home to the “largest COVID-19 fraud case” in America, as 78 defendants—72 of Somalian descent—were accused of pocketing $300 million to $400 million dollars of

Trump Says Federal Authorities Won't Respond To Protests In Democrat-Led Cities Unless Asked Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), President Donald Trump on Saturday announced federal authorities will not intervene in protests in Democrat-led jurisdictions, but will continue to forcefully protect federal property. Federal officers in front of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on Jan. 9, 2026. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times “I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask

House Speaker Says He Has Votes To End Government Shutdown This Week House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that he is confident that the House will end the partial government shutdown that was initiated on Saturday after Congress failed to approve a measure to keep the government funded. “We’ll get this done by Tuesday, I’m convinced,” Speaker Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We do have to do it by a rule process, which will probably have to be on our own.” However, Johnson did tell NBC's "Meet The Press" that “we have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town," seemingly referring to transportation problems related

The Boomcession: Why Americans Hate What Looks Like An Economic Boom Authored by Matt Stoller via The BIG Newsletter, The models used by policymakers to understand wages, economic growth, and consumer spending are misleading. That's why corporate America is having a party, and everyone else is mad. On Friday, Donald Trump nominated candidate Kevin Walsh to become Chair of the Federal Reserve. Warsh is mostly an orthodox Wall Street GOP pick, though he is married to the billionaire heiress of the Estee Lauder fortune and was named in the Epstein files. He’s perceived not as a Trump loyalist but as an avatar of capital; here’s

Lutnick Too? New Epstein Files Reveal Trip To Pedo Island After He Said He Cut Ties We're gonna need a bigger cork board.  As far as massive distractions go, the latest Epstein files release seems to be all anyone is talking about. Not only do they mix random and salacious claims called into the FBI tip line (which could have been lodged by anyone for any reason - so you should assign low value to those), there are tons of new, high-value details - largely exposing people for lying about their relationship with Epstein.  Related: > Latest Epstein Release Catches Goldman's Top Lawyer In Massive Lie > > Latest Epstein Emails Reveal

Rightwing populist elected in landslide after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to cocaine trade Rightwing populist Laura Fernández has won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernández’s nearest rival, centre-right economist Álvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40% needed to avoid a runoff. Continue reading...

Ahead of a major exhibition in London documenting the South American wetland as it faces unprecedented threat, Lalo de Almeida recounts the stories behind his award-winning images Lalo de Almeida is a documentary photographer based in São Paulo, Brazil. In 2021 his photo essay Pantanal Ablaze was awarded first place in the environment stories category at the World Press Photo contest. In 2022, he won the Eugene Smith grant in humanistic photography and World Press Photo’s long-term project award for his work Amazonian Dystopia, which documents the exploitation of the world’s largest tropical forest. I have been photographing socio-environmental issues for more

After stories revealed high levels of contamination in neighborhood around factory processing US toxic waste, government announces sweeping array of tactics The Mexican government has announced it will pursue a sweeping array of tactics to combat industrial pollution, from $4.8m in fines against a plant processing US hazardous waste to the rollout of a new industrial air-monitoring system, following investigations by the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab, a Mexican investigative unit. Those stories revealed high levels of heavy-metal contamination in the neighborhood around the factory, Zinc Nacional, in the Monterrey metropolitan area, and showed the broader extent of industrial pollution in the

Country is already suffering acute fuel shortage; experts say complete cutoff will be ‘catastrophic’ to its infrastructure It’s just gone midday on Linea, one of the main roads through Havana’s Vedado neighbourhood, and Javier Peña and Ysil Ribas have been waiting since 6am outside a petrol station. They’re passing the time fixing a leak on Ribas’s 1955 gold and white Mercury. A tanker has pulled up on the forecourt in front of them, and so the queue behind is growing fast. Although this station only takes US dollars, at a cost far out of reach of most Cubans, Peña says it’s their

Voters to choose president and 57 members of congress, with current president’s hardline pick Laura Fernández expected to win first round Costa Rica heads to the polls on Sunday in an election dominated by increasing insecurity and warnings of an authoritarian turn in a country long seen as a model of liberal democracy in the region. Crime is a big concern for many voters as criminal groups battle to control lucrative cocaine trafficking routes to Europe and the US, casting a shadow on the Central American country famous for its wildlife tourism. Continue reading...

About 20 countries including G7 states in talks on rare earths including calls for US to guarantee minimum price Ministers from the US, EU, UK, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will meet in Washington this week to discuss a strategic alliance over critical minerals. The summit is being seen as a step to repair transatlantic ties fractured by a year of conflict with Donald Trump and pave the way for other alliances to help countries de-risk from China, including one centred on steel. Continue reading...

Plaintiffs in case say they were lured from Japan, exploited for labour and cut off from families for generations It has been more than six decades since Eiko Kawasaki left Japan to begin a new life in North Korea. Then 17, she was among tens of thousands of people with Korean heritage who had been lured to the communist state by the promise of a “paradise on Earth”. Instead, they encountered something closer to a living hell. They were denied basic human rights and forced to endure extreme hardship. Official promises of free education and healthcare plus guaranteed jobs and housing had

PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewards The last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material. Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town. Continue reading...

Prime minister suggests US president was ‘talking more about Canada’ when asked for reaction to Beijing visit Prominent Hong Kong and Uyghur activists living in exile in the UK have accused Starmer of seeking China’s desperate approval, after the prime minister visited Beijing for the first time in eight years this week. Pro-democracy campaigner and prominent critic of the Communist Party, Finn Lau said the Hong Kong community is disappointed by Starmer’s visit, but unsurprised by the government’s “short sightedness”. “While British citizen Jimmy Lai remains imprisoned and Uyghurs continue to suffer atrocity crimes, we take no comfort in this decision and will

Starmer confirms immediate removal, but it is unclear if sanctions remain on former MP, academic and barrister China has lifted the sanctions it imposed on serving British MPs and peers in a significant sign of warming relations after Keir Starmer travelled to Beijing for landmark talks with Xi Jinping. Nine UK citizens were banned from China in 2021, including five Conservative MPs and two members of the House of Lords, targeted for highlighting human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur community. Continue reading...

Nationals leader met with Liberal counterpart less than two weeks after spectacularly blowing up the Coalition * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Liberals and Nationals are set to sit apart when federal parliament returns on Tuesday after Sussan Ley and David Littleproud couldn’t land a deal to immediately reform the fractured Coalition. The two leaders held face-to-face talks on Monday night about reuniting the parties, less than a fortnight after Littleproud declared the political alliance was “untenable” under Ley’s leadership following a split over Labor’s

Exclusive: Jess Wilson will no longer speak at Across Victoria Alliance conference in Horsham due to ‘unavoidable scheduling conflict’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has pulled out of an event headlined by Barnaby Joyce, after the premier accused her of “cosying up” to One Nation. A spokesperson for the Victorian opposition on Monday confirmed Wilson would no longer be speaking at the Across Victoria Alliance conference in Horsham on 9 February due to an “unavoidable scheduling conflict”. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed * Victorian opposition leader pulls out of event headlined by Barnaby Joyce after premier accuses her of ‘cosying up’ to One Nation * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Real estate agents in Australia using apps that leave millions of lease documents at risk, digital researcher says Australian platforms used by real estate agents to upload documentation for renters and landlords are leaving people’s personal information exposed in hyperlinks accessible online. Continue reading...

‘I need to focus on getting better, on being with family and friends and making sure that I’m giving my health my best shot’, Afternoons host says * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Broadcaster and saxophonist James Valentine is retiring from the ABC after almost 40 years, due to cancer, ending 25 years of hosting Sydney’s Afternoons program on ABC Radio. Valentine, 64, has been a fixture on the public broadcaster since he joined as host of the Afternoon Show for kids on ABC TV in

Woman, 22, thought to have suffered a cardiac arrest after being dragged along the snow and suspended mid-air * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An Australian woman has died after a ski lift accident in a Japanese resort after her backpack got caught and she was left hanging mid-air. The 22-year-old snowboarder sustained critical injuries at the Tsugaike ski resort in Otari near Nagano on Friday. Continue reading...

Former Italian PM and ECB chief says Europe must urgently unify on defence and foreign affairs Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country’s energy system remained “seriously” challenged by the impact of recent Russian strikes. More than 200 buildings are still without heating in Kyiv, as temperatures plummeted to -17 Celsius, with “crews from many regions of Ukraine … deployed for the repair work.” “Europe absolutely can defend yourself. Please stop whining. Why is this so much whingeing about [on], you know, if the US leave, what are we going to do? Come on. … Europe … why are we so scared: ‘please, don’t leave

Marius Borg Høiby arrested on suspicion of assault, making threats with knife and violating restraining order, police say The son of Norway’s crown princess, Marius Borg Høiby, has been arrested on new charges just days before the start of his rape trial. The Oslo police district said Høiby had been arrested on Sunday evening on suspicion of assault, making threats with a knife and violating a restraining order. Continue reading...

PM says Europe must ‘step up’ and signals he wants to work more closely with other states to build military capability The UK should consider re-entering talks for a defence pact with the EU, Keir Starmer has said, arguing that Europe needs to “step up and do more” to defend itself in uncertain times. The prime minister signalled that he wanted to work more collaboratively with other European countries to increase defence spending and build up military capability, and doing so through the EU’s scheme is one option available. Continue reading...

Mette-Marit apologises for ‘poor judgment’ as documents reportedly include scores of email exchanges with child sex offender Norway’s crown princess has become embroiled in another scandal after newly unsealed files appeared to show her years of extensive contact with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The latest tranche of Epstein files, released on Friday by the US justice department, appear to include nearly 1,000 mentions of the crown princess, Mette-Marit. Continue reading...

Employees of Ukraine’s largest private energy firm, DTEK, were travelling about 40 miles from frontline, says police A Russian drone attack on a bus carrying mine workers in Ukraine’s central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region has killed at least 12 people, officials said. The bus was driving about 40 miles (65km) from the frontline, according to police. Images published by Ukraine’s state emergency service showed what appeared to be an empty bus, its side windows shattered and windscreen hanging from the front. Continue reading...

The trip comes as the Gaza ceasefire agreement edges forward More than 400 European former top diplomats and officials have urged the EU to increase pressure on Israel to end “excesses and unremitting violations of international law” over Gaza and the West Bank. The statement, due to be sent to EU leaders on Monday, calls on the bloc and its member states to take action in line with its support for a UN resolution for a two-state solution and a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. Continue reading...

US naval battle group gathers off Iran’s shores as supreme leader in Tehran warns attack would spark regional war Donald Trump has said Iran is talking to the US, hinting at a deal that would avoid the use of military strikes, as Iran’s supreme leader warned that any attack by the US would spark a regional war. The US president’s comments came as Washington deployed a naval battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off Iran’s shores, after Trump’s threats to intervene in Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests. Continue reading...

Officials say Gaza residents travelling on foot only will be allowed through border point, which was shut in May 2024 Gaza’s main border crossing in Rafah will reopen for Palestinians on Monday, Israel has said, with preparations under way at the war-ravaged territory’s gateway, which has been mostly closed for almost two years. Before the war, the Rafah crossing with Egypt was the only direct exit point for most Palestinians in Gaza to reach the outside world as well as a key entry point for aid. It has been largely shut since May 2024. Continue reading...

Pressure mounts after government said it would publish names of those killed during recent unrest Calls are growing inside Iran for an independent inquiry into the number of people killed during recent protests after the government said it would oversee the publication of the names of the deceased. The highly unusual government move, announced on Thursday, is designed to head off claims that crimes against humanity have been committed and that as many as 30,000 Iranians have been killed. Iran’s official death toll released by the Martyr’s Foundation is 3,117, including members of the security services. Continue reading...

Nick Carter says easing controls on MDMA will allow drug to be used as alternative treatment for those with PTSD A former head of the British military is calling for the government to ease restrictions on the party drug MDMA so that it can be tested more cheaply as a treatment for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Sir Nick Carter, who was chief of the defence staff until 2021, said existing regulations meant a single gram of “medical grade” MDMA cost about £10,000 compared with a street price of about £40, inflating the cost of trials. Continue reading...

Officials say calm restored to province day after dozens killed in suicide and gun attacks in at least 10 cities Pakistan’s security forces have intensified their operations against separatist militants in Balochistan province who launched a large-scale assault on Saturday in which at least 31 civilians and 17 security personnel were killed. A day after the militants carried out suicide attacks in the heart of the province’s capital, Quetta, the chief minister of the south-western region, Sarfraz Bugti, said 145 people he described as militants had been killed in 40 hours and that their bodies were in the custody of the authorities. Continue

Five years after the junta’s coup, the civil war devastating Myanmar has reached a turning point. The military is carrying out large-scale counter-offensives across the country to reclaim territory seized by pro-democracy rebels of various ethnic and religious backgrounds In Tanintharyi, the southernmost region of Myanmar, the local resistance has managed to contain the military. After five years of guerrilla warfare, the revolutionary youth there remain determined to restore democracy through armed struggle. A long, narrow stretch of land at the southern tip of Myanmar, between the Andaman Sea to the west and Thailand to the east, Tanintharyi region is one of

* Concern raised over politicisation of sport * Bangladesh pulled out of men’s World T20 after row Bangladesh’s withdrawal from the men’s T20 World Cup could have implications for India’s 2036 Olympic bid amid concern at the International Olympic Committee over the potential politicisation of sport. Bangladesh pulled out of next month’s tournament last weekend after the International Cricket Council declined a request to move their group matches from India to the co-hosts Sri Lanka, after a long-running political row triggered by Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to remove the Bangladeshi bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their Indian Premier League squad. Continue reading...

Human rights groups and some western countries have denounced the election, the first held since the 2021 coup, describing it as neither free nor fair Myanmar’s military-backed party has completed a sweeping victory in the country’s three-phase general election, state media said, cementing an outcome long expected after a tightly controlled political process held during civil war and widespread repression. The Union and Solidarity Party (USDP) dominated all phases of the vote, winning an overwhelming majority in the two legislative chambers in Myanmar. It secured 232 of the 263 seats up for grabs in the lower Pyithu Hluttaw house and 109 of

Voting ends in month-long poll derided internationally as sham designed to cement army’s grip on power Voting in Myanmar has ended with the military-backed party expected to win a landslide victory after a month-long election that has been widely derided as a sham designed to cement the army’s grip on power. The junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, has rejected criticism of the vote, saying it has the support of the public and presenting it as a return to democracy and stability. Continue reading...

Report from the FT says confidential document outlining plans in the wake of the financial crash were released as part of Epstein files Peter Mandelson “leaked a sensitive UK government document to Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary that proposed £20bn of asset sales and revealed Labour’s tax policy plans”, the Financial Times is reporting. In his story, Jim Pickard says: The memo, dubbed “Business Issues”, was written on June 13 2009 by Nick Butler, who at the time was special adviser to the then prime minister Gordon Brown. The confidential document, which was released by the US Department of Justice as part

Businessman, who says he is a ‘big, bullish believer’, would combine Scunthorpe steelworks with Italian plant * Business news – latest updates The British investor Michael Flacks is reportedly “very” interested in buying British Steel and combining it with another plant in Italy, in a deal that would create one of Europe’s largest metals groups. The businessman’s Miami-based investment group, Flacks Group, specialises in buying distressed companies and is working with bankers to prepare a bid for government-controlled Scunthorpe steelworks, the Financial Times reported. Continue reading...

Volunteer workers say increasing case numbers and dozens of dead birds raise fears spread is wider than recorded Members of the public and charity volunteers are working to contain a suspected outbreak of bird flu among swans in the Thames Valley, amid signs that confirmed cases are continuing to rise. Since October, 324 cases of bird flu in swans have been recorded by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha), which is sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Of these, 39 were recorded in the first four weeks of 2026 alone. Continue reading...

PM believes ex-Labour minister should not be member of House of Lords or use title, No 10 spokesperson says * UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer has suggested that Peter Mandelson should resign from the House of Lords and that the upper chamber should urgently modernise its disciplinary procedures to strip him of his peerage. The cabinet secretary, the UK’s most senior civil servant, will also investigate Mandelson’s actions as business secretary when Labour was last in power, after emails to Jeffrey Epstein about government policy emerged. Continue reading...

Labour suspended Norris, 66, last year after his original arrest on suspicion of child sexual abuse offences Dan Norris, a former Labour minister and now an independent MP, has been rearrested on suspicion of rape, sexual assault, voyeurism and upskirting, it is understood. Labour suspended Norris, 66, who defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg at the last election, last year after his original arrest. Continue reading...

President calls host a ‘pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C’ after jibe about his connections to late sex offender at ceremony One quick note, Donald Trump is in Washington today. He’ll take part in signing time today, but that’s not open to the press. We’ll let you know if that changes. At present, we’re not expecting to hear from the president today. Continue reading...

Deputy US attorney general says the government cannot ‘just create evidence’ but victims’ attorney accuses government of hiding perpetrators while exposing survivors. Plus, the Mormon women who fought a Republican-led redistricting initiative in Utah – and won Good morning. The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, told ABC News yesterday that prosecutors’ review of the Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking case “is over”, and in a separate interview to CNN said “victims want to be made whole”. “And we want that,” Blanche said. “But that doesn’t mean we can just create evidence or that we can just kind of come up with a

The US president tried to kill offshore wind projects – now four are back under construction Construction has resumed on four offshore wind mega-projects after they survived a near fatal attack by Donald Trump’s administration thanks to rulings by federal judges. These are being seen as victories for clean energy amid a wider war being waged on it by the Trump administration. The wind farms are considered critical by grid planners as America faces an energy affordability crisis. Together, the four projects will contribute nearly five gigawatts of energy to the east coast, enough to power 3.5 million homes. Continue reading...

Providers are arranging home visits and telehealth as neighbors pick up prescriptions, groceries and diapers A public health crisis is unfolding in Minnesota as people targeted by federal agents are afraid to seek healthcare while some healthcare staff are also fearful for their safety at work. Community organizations and health providers are now arranging home visits, telehealth appointments and other alternate care. Continue reading...

Heather Jones of Alabama says two-year probation agreement leaves her ‘free and clear’ of legal matter An Alabama woman has resolved a misdemeanor case that authorities opened against her within days of speaking out about a Roman Catholic priest whom she accused of predatory behavior. Heather Jones had publicly recounted that she was 17 when the priest, Robert “Bob” Sullivan, arranged to provide her financial support in exchange for companionship including sex – prompting him to resign from the clergy in November. Continue reading...

Norway’s crown princess, whose son goes on trial on Tuesday on rape charges, has found herself embroiled in another scandal after newly unsealed files revealed her unexpected friendship with late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The latest scandal has even raised questions about whether Mette-Marit, a commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, could still become queen one day. Her name appears at least 1,000 times in the millions of new Epstein documents released by the US Department of...

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has sought to douse public speculation after his name appeared in a newly released email exchange involving Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted US sex offender whose web of connections to the rich and powerful remains a source of scandal years after his death. Anwar was among several world figures – including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, billionaire Bill Gates and Britain’s disgraced former prince Andrew – mentioned in a tranche of Epstein-related...

US President Donald Trump said ‍on Sunday he planned to close the John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts for two years for reconstruction starting in July. The national arts and entertainment centre in Washington has been marked by turmoil in recent months following Trump’s appointment of himself as chairman, his push to change the organisation’s focus, plans for reconstruction, ⁠and the board’s addition of his name to the institution. Under Trump’s plan, the centre would close...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s visa-free waivers spark Korean travel boom, underpin tourism revival 2. China’s PLA tightens fuel rules as US investigates cause of twin air crashes 3. Failures on 2 fronts led to Hong Kong’s seat belt U-turn, experts say 4. China’s new YJ-18C missile: a logistics killer for US Navy? 5....

The Republican National Committee has vastly outpaced Democrats in the crush for cash ahead of the midterm elections, holding a nearly US$100 million advantage at the close of 2025, according to year-end filings to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). As Democrats have struggled in the Trump era, the RNC tallied US$172 million raised in 2025, with US$95 million cash on hand at year’s end. In contrast, the Democratic National Committee posted US$145 million for the year, with US$14 million on...

The 68th annual Grammy Awards are taking place on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and spirits were high from the jump after a few back-to-back, history-making moments. “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters won best song written for visual media, marking the first time a K-pop act has won a Grammy. The songwriters delivered their acceptance speech in both English and Korean, highlighting the song’s bilingual appeal. Best music film went to the documentary Music by John Williams, which...

As global trade fragments and tariffs return, economic power is increasingly defined not by financial scale alone, but by productive strength. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, leaders spoke openly about a harsher world order. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng warned that trade wars have no winners. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a new security architecture amid rising protectionism. French President Emmanuel Macron described a world becoming more...

Iguanas stunned by cold temperatures dropped from trees in usually balmy Florida on Sunday as icy conditions blasted southern US states, dumping nearly a half metre of snow in some areas and whipping up high winds that caused traffic chaos. The heaviest snows were reported in North Carolina - a state that rarely sees snow other than in its highest elevations. The city of Lexington saw 40cm (16 inches), and Faust in the state’s Walnut Mountains got 56cm (22 inches). State Governor Josh Stein...

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was hopeful of agreeing a deal with Iran after the country’s supreme leader warned that any US attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional war. Following the Iranian authorities’ deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump has threatened military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East. Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday likened the recent protests to...

One of the Oscar-nominated screenwriters of the Iranian drama It Was Just an Accident has been arrested in Tehran just weeks before the Academy Awards. Representatives for the film on Sunday said Mehdi Mahmoudian was arrested on Saturday. No details on the charges against Mahmoudian were available but his arrest came just days after Mahmoudian and 16 others signed a statement condemning Islamic Republic leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the regime’s violent crackdown on demonstrators. Two other...

A Russian drone strike on a bus carrying miners ‌killed at least 12 people, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced new peace talks amid uncertainty over a Russian suspension ‍of attacks on energy infrastructure. First Deputy Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the strike in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region was a “cynical and targeted” attack on energy workers. Their employer DTEK said the victims were finishing a shift. Kyiv is under US...

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father have returned to their home in a Minneapolis suburb after ‍being detained by US immigration officers and held at a detention facility in Texas, a lawmaker said on Sunday. A federal judge on Saturday ordered the release of Adrian Conejo Arias and his son, whom immigration officers detained during a Minnesota raid. US Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, wrote in ⁠a social media post that he picked them up on Saturday night at the detention...

US House ‍Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday he believes he has the Republican votes to end a partial government shutdown within days and that the chamber will debate Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms for two weeks after that. “I’m confident that we’ll do it at ⁠least by Tuesday. We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town,” Johnson said on NBC’s Meet the Press. Transport problems are persisting following a snowstorm that affected travel in the southeastern US. The...

Former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson quit the Labour Party Sunday, seeking to avoid causing it “further embarrassment” after newly released US documents revived scrutiny of his connection to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, 72, who was sacked as Britain’s ambassador to the United States last year over his ties to Epstein, allegedly received several payments from Epstein in the early 2000s, according to documents released on Friday by the US Department of Justice...

The Nigerian army said on Sunday it killed a top commander of Boko Haram and 10 members of the Islamic extremist group in a night raid in the northeastern part of the country. Abu Khalid, a commander of Boko Haram in the Sambisa Forest in Borno state, was a key figure within “the terrorist hierarchy, coordinating operations and logistics in the Sambisa axis,” army spokesman Sani Uba said in a statement. The soldiers attacked the Boko Haram militants on Saturday night in the Kodunga area of Borno...

Iraq’s parliament has again postponed the election of the country’s new president, state media reported on Sunday, amid intense political horse-trading and US pressure over the new prime minister. It was the second time parliament has delayed the presidential vote, which had first been due last week. A journalist in the parliament said the required quorum was not reached on Sunday. The vote was therefore delayed, according to the official INA press agency, which did not say whether a new date...

US President Donald Trump is bringing back the law of the jungle to the world as he systematically dismantles the post-war rules-based international order built and forged by the United States and its allies. His speech last month at Davos, Switzerland, contained a blunt message: the US was done “keeping the whole world afloat”, where “everybody took advantage of the United States”. Trump is unabashed about what he wants. He flexed American muscle and ignored international norms by abducting...

French IT company Capgemini will sell its US ‌subsidiary Capgemini Government Solutions, it said on Sunday, after coming ‍under pressure to explain a contract the latter signed with US immigration enforcement agency ICE. French lawmakers, including Finance Minister Roland Lescure, had asked the company to shed light on the contract amid concern over the tactics used by ICE agents following the fatal shooting of two US citizens in Minnesota last month. “Capgemini considered that the usual legal...

Almost a decade after launching the Vision 2030 programme to diversify its oil-dependent economy, Saudi Arabia is redirecting its spending away from attention-grabbing futuristic urban projects into sectors that hold more promise to deliver results. Since last year, the programme has undergone a review following a US$8 billion writedown at the end of 2024. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has scaled down glitzy projects significantly, such as the US$500 billion 170km (105 mile) long...

Marius Borg Hoiby, the son of Norway’s future queen from a previous relationship, was initially welcomed into the royal family, but now, facing trial accused of four rapes, he has become a liability. The 29-year-old, who was born before his mother Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby married Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, goes on trial in Oslo’s district court on Tuesday accused of 38 counts, including four rapes and assaults against ex-girlfriends. He was arrested on August 4, 2024, suspected of assaulting...

Come Thursday, barring a last-minute change, the final treaty in the world that restricted nuclear weapon deployment will be over. New START, the last nuclear treaty between Washington and Moscow after decades of agreements dating to the Cold War, is set to expire, and with it restrictions on the two top nuclear powers. The expiration comes as President Donald Trump, vowing “America first”, smashes through international agreements that limit the United States, although in the case of New START,...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday that disgraced former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should testify in the US Congress over what he knows about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Asked on the final day of a visit this week to China and Japan whether King Charles’ brother should answer US lawmakers’ questions about his knowledge of the American financier’s wrongdoing, Starmer replied “yes”. “I’ve always said anybody that [has] got information should be...

A five-year-old boy and his father must be released by Tuesday from the Texas centre where they have been held after being detained by immigration officers in Minnesota, a federal judge ordered Saturday in a ruling that harshly criticised US President Donald Trump’s administration’s approach to enforcement. Images of Liam Conejo Ramos, with a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack being surrounded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights on January...

The India–EU trade agreement marks a significant moment in the development of the global political economy. Described by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the “mother of all deals”, the agreement links one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies with the world’s biggest single market. Yet, within hours of Brussels and New Delhi announcing their “strategic partnership”, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused the EU of putting trade ahead of the Ukrainian people....

A fresh cache of files released on Friday related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contains documents that refer to numerous high-profile figures. US President Donald Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk and Britain’s former prince Andrew are among those making headlines after being named in the documents. Here are key details about some of the others mentioned, none of whom has been accused of wrongdoing: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates In a draft email...

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joked on Saturday that she does not look like an angel, after a row blew up in the media over a restored fresco in a Rome church. Some of Italy’s press have been asking whether the premier served as inspiration for a cherub painted in a chapel in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, located a few metres (yards) from the main building of the Italian government. The basilica is one of the oldest Christian churches in the city. The newspaper La Repubblica...

Britain’s former prince Andrew was again engulfed by the Epstein scandal on Saturday, after newly released files included photographs of him kneeling on all fours over a woman lying on the floor. The images were among millions of new documents disclosed Friday by the US Justice Department from the Jeffrey Epstein files, which also featured the late sex offender proposing in 2010 that the then prince meet a Russian woman. That was two years after the disgraced US financier had pleaded guilty in...

An explosion that hit a building in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday was caused by a gas leak, according to a preliminary assessment, the local head of the fire department said. Earlier, Iranian state media reported that at least one person had been killed and ⁠14 injured in the blast, which comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s crackdown earlier this month on nationwide protests and over the country’s nuclear programme. “This [gas...

A documentary about a community resisting an immigration raid in Scotland has won an award at a major film festival. Everybody To Kenmure Street was recognised with the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance at the Sundance Film Festival in the US. The film documents events on May 13, 2021, when hundreds of people gathered in Kenmure Street in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow to prevent two of their neighbours being detained. The two men were released after protesters...

Ukraine’s power grid experienced mass outages on Saturday after a “technical malfunction” caused electrical lines between Moldova, Romania and Ukraine to fail, Ukraine’s energy minister said. The outages knocked out water supplies to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and prompted a complete shutdown of the city’s metro network, paralysing transport for thousands. “Today at 10.42am a technical malfunction occurred, causing a simultaneous shutdown of the 400-kilovolt line between the power grids of Romania...

Labubu toymaker Pop Mart plans to establish its European headquarters in London, as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met the company’s founder during a high-profile China visit aimed at rebuilding Britain’s economic ties with the world’s second largest economy. That plan was revealed at a closed-door CEO round table on Friday during the UK-China Business Forum, where Starmer met a group of Chinese business leaders that included Pop Mart founder and CEO Wang Ning. “London stands at the heart of the...

Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians including several children on Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire, a day after Israel accused Hamas of new truce violations. The strikes hit locations throughout Gaza, including an apartment building in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis, said officials at hospitals that received the bodies. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. Another airstrike hit a...

The leaders of Japan and Britain agreed on Saturday on the urgent need for their countries and like-minded partners to cooperate in strengthening supply chains of critical minerals, as Tokyo seeks to align more closely with London in the face of China’s growing clout. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told a joint press event with her British counterpart Keir Starmer after their meeting in Tokyo that they affirmed the two nations will strategically promote cybersecurity cooperation and set up a new...

A landslide earlier this week collapsed several mines at a major coltan mining site in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), leaving at least 200 people dead, rebel authorities said on Saturday. The collapse took place on Wednesday at the Rubaya mines, which are controlled by the M23 rebels, said Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesman for the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu province. He said the landslide was caused by heavy rains. “For now, there are more than 200 dead, some of whom...

Wingtech Technology, the Chinese owner of chipmaker Nexperia, is expected to post a loss of between 9 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) and 13.5 billion yuan in 2025, owing to the Dutch government’s takeover of the semiconductor firm, the Shanghai-listed company said in a statement on Friday. Wingtech said that its authority over the chipmaker continues to be “temporarily restricted” since the October 7 ruling of the Dutch Enterprise Chamber, a special division of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal,...

A Nevada jury on Friday convicted Dances With Wolves actor Nathan Chasing Horse of sexually assaulting indigenous women and girls in a case that sent shock waves through Indian Country. The jurors in Las Vegas found Chasing Horse guilty of 13 of the 21 charges he faced. Most of the guilty verdicts centred on Chasing Horse’s conduct with a victim who was 14 years old when he began assaulting her. He was acquitted of some sexual assault charges when the main victim was older and lived with him and...

There was no mayday call from the commercial fishing vessel Lily Jean as it navigated the frigid Atlantic Ocean on Friday morning on its way home to Gloucester, Massachusetts, America’s oldest fishing port. The US Coast Guard was notified by the boat’s beacon that alerts when it hits the water. When rescuers arrived they found one person dead, floating in the water, along with a debris field and an empty lifeboat. Six people remain missing. The fate of the Lily Jean, a 22-metre (72-foot) fishing...

The Trump administration has approved a massive new series of arms sales to Israel totalling US$6.67 billion and to Saudi Arabia worth US$9 billion. The State Department announced the sales to America’s allies in the Middle East late on Friday as tensions rise in the region over the possibility of US military strikes on Iran. They were made public after the department notified Congress of its approval of the sales earlier in the day. The sales also come as President Donald Trump pushes ahead...

This year started with a bang – from the United States’ intervention in Venezuela and the investigation opened against US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to US President Donald Trump’s renewed claims on Greenland and the potential for US action following instability in Iran. Amid these crises, gold prices are now over US$5,500 per ounce, up over 27 per cent from the price on January 1. This comes after the price of gold jumped by 65 per cent in 2025 after soaring by 27 per cent in...

Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez ‌on Friday announced a proposed “amnesty law” for hundreds of prisoners in the country, and said the infamous Helicoide detention centre in the capital Caracas, which rights groups have long denounced as the site of prisoner abuse, would be converted into a centre for sport and social services. “May it be a law that serves to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, violence and extremism. May it serve to restore justice in our country and...

The man who dumped a five-year-old girl in the Everglades – leaving her to be killed by alligators – had his life spared by a jury on Friday afternoon in a Miami-Dade courtroom. Harrel Braddy, 76, sat quietly when the verdict was read, briefly putting down his head before looking up at the ceiling. His eyes appeared to water. Braddy hugged his lawyers as the jury walked out of the courtroom. The girl’s mother, who testified about the horrific details of Braddy’s attack, was not in the...

Former Google software engineer Ding Linwei was convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco ‌on Thursday of stealing AI trade secrets from the US tech ‍giant to benefit two Chinese companies he was secretly working for, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday. Ding, a 38-year-old Chinese national, was found guilty after an 11-day trial ⁠of seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets for stealing thousands of pages of confidential information. Each...

Three news items caught my eye over the past few days. The European Union is finally ready to totally ban the import of Russian natural gas. (You mean they have still been buying Russian gas?) The new National Defence Strategy put out by the Pentagon says the United States will de-prioritise Europe – which must address its own regional security needs – and focus on deterring China. And former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder wrote a piece in a newspaper that ended up drawing a lot of flak for...

Washington on Friday welcomed a Panamanian court ruling cancelling a contract held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings to operate two ports along the Panama Canal, a decision seen as a boost to the United States’ efforts to counter Chinese influence in the western hemisphere. The reaction came as Panama’s government sought to reassure workers and investors on the ground that trade and jobs would not be affected. “The United States is encouraged by the recent Panamanian...

Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian-born comic actress and SCTV alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two Home Alone films and won an Emmy as the dramatically ditsy wealthy matriarch Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek died on Friday. She was 71. O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles “following a brief illness”, according to a statement from her agency, Creative Artists Agency. Further details were not immediately available. O’Hara’s career was launched at the Second City in Toronto...

How four reporters are examining the most secretive branch of government — and the nine justices who shape the law.

In Minneapolis and St. Paul, business owners work to lift up a community that has been roiled by the presence of thousands of immigration agents.

The Minnesota-based retail chain has avoided criticizing anyone, even after federal agents detained two employees at a local store. Its new C.E.O. faces pressure to do more.

Addison Rae tapped into 2000s pop energy, Justin Bieber stripped things down and Bad Bunny got choked up at the 68th annual awards.

Feathered gowns, sequined suits, freed nipples and more.

A complete rundown of the artists, albums, songs and videos that took home trophies at the 68th annual awards.

President Trump declared the awards ceremony “virtually unwatchable” and accused Mr. Noah of defamation over a joke he made that appeared to tie the president to Jeffrey Epstein.

Gustavo Petro of Colombia and President Trump have had a tense relationship that escalated into threats by Mr. Trump, before easing. Anything could happen at their Feb. 3 meeting.

The president’s announcement came after the center has been rocked by cancellations and boycotts by performers, contributors and audience members.

The photos, which showed young women or possibly teenagers with their faces visible, were largely removed after The New York Times began notifying the Justice Department.

The New York Times found more than 5,300 files with references to Mr. Trump and related terms. They include salacious and unverified claims, as well as documents that had already been made public.

Several large American manufacturers are thriving despite the threat of higher costs. Smaller ones are struggling.

Five charts show the impact on the economy after a year of sweeping trade changes by the Trump administration

India is overcoming its aversion to free-trade deals to cozy up with Canada and other middle powers.

Beijing wants to lead the world in developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence, but it also wants companies to adhere to an increasingly complex set of rules.

Taylor Rehmet, a machinist and union leader, pulled off a stunning State Senate win in Fort Worth and its suburbs. He is among several political outsiders seeking office.

The covert base offers new evidence of how the Sudanese conflict is morphing into a theater for high-tech warfare, driven by foreign interests.

We preview the Winter Olympics.

Nearly 15,000 workers have been off the job at some of New York’s top hospitals for three weeks, but signs of progress have emerged in negotiations.

Striking New York City nurses say they are being maligned as greedy, while hospital officials say they are not taking into account sharp reductions in federal funding.

More than 30 people have died across three Southern states in connection with last week’s storm, and thousands remain without power.

Even in summer, moving crews have to contend with walk-up apartments, double-parking and sofas that won’t fit through narrow hallways. It’s a lot worse right now.

The 50 units in Upper Manhattan will house single people who may be reluctant to stay in group shelters.

Nick, a Tibetan spaniel, is a therapy dog at a senior living center in Washington. He is one of several champion show dogs that have busy lives outside of the competition.

For nearly a century, photographers for The New York Times have captured an annual extravaganza that is a red carpet gala, sporting event and fashion show rolled into one.

On the limits of executive power.

Laura Fernández’s victory was driven by a crisis in which Costa Rica’s reputation for peace has been tarred by record-breaking violence.

Mr. Soltani, 26, was arrested last month as Iran brutally repressed anti-government demonstrations.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen on Saturday night near her home in Tucson, Ariz., the authorities said.

The coyote struggled onto the rocky shore this month. It is the first documented coyote on Alcatraz since the island was transferred to the National Park Service in 1972.