Minimalist News

Judge Blocks Trump Admin's 'Orwellian' Supply Chain Risk Label On Anthropic - For Now It looks like Anthropic isn't as radioactive to other defense contractors - for now, and on paper.  In a sharply worded 43-page order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin (Biden) of the Northern District of California granted Anthropic PBC's motion for a preliminary injunction, blocking key punitive measures imposed by the Trump administration after the AI company publicly refused to lift safety restrictions on its Claude model. Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; PHotograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/Getty Images Lin minced no words on the supply-chain label - the core of the dispute: >

BYD And VinFast Race To Dominate Southeast Asia's EV Market BYD and VinFast are rapidly expanding their presence in Southeast Asia, where electric vehicles are gaining traction and competition is intensifying, according to Nikkei. Both companies have emerged as the fastest-growing car brands in the region’s six largest markets in 2025, with sales rising about 95% for BYD and 90% for VinFast compared with the previous year. VinFast sold more than 100,000 vehicles across countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, while BYD delivered roughly 70,000 units. Together, they account for around 7% of total vehicle sales in a regional market of approximately

Former Taiwanese Presidential Candidate Sentenced To 17 Years In Corruption Case Authored by Dorothy Li & Frank Fang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Taipei court on March 26 found a former presidential candidate guilty of corruption-related charges and sentenced him to 17 years in prison, a verdict that has attracted domestic media attention amid the ongoing political deadlock in Taiwan. Ko Wen-je, former Taipei mayor who ran in Taiwan's presidential race in 2024, leaves the Taipei District Court in Taipei on March 26, 2026. Song Pi-lung/The Epoch Times Ko Wen-je, former mayor of Taipei, was convicted on four counts,

AirGas Declares Force Majeure On Helium Shipments As Qatar Production Collapses Earlier this week we reported that global chip production was in peril as "Qatar Warns Helium Exports Set To Collapse." Best known as the gas that makes party balloons float, helium is far more important as a key input in chipmaking, space rockets and medical imaging. The problem is that Qatar supplies a third of the world’s helium, and the Gulf nation had to halt production after Iranian strikes against the region’s energy producing infrastructure crippled its LNG production which is critical to make helium, leading Qatar’s state-owned gas company to warn

Fetterman Says Some Democrats Possibly Afraid To Reopen DHS Due To Party Activists Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times, Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday night that activist pressure within his own party is prolonging the partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, offering his observations from within the Democratic caucus for why the standoff has stretched into its sixth week. Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity” on March. 25, the Pennsylvania Democrat said ongoing protests against the Trump administration—such as the “No Kings” rallies nationwide—have left some senators unwilling to vote to restore DHS funding. He said they “might be afraid to

Data Shows Where ICE Has Been More Effective... And Why Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump “is seeking to lower the profile of his mass deportation effort, and has directed his top advisers to adopt a new approach on one of his central campaign promises.” According to the report, Trump has had conversations with his top advisors and First Lady Melania Trump in which he’s indicated that he’s “become convinced that some of his administration’s deportation policies have gone too far, and voters don’t like the term ‘mass deportation.’” > The desire for an immigration reset is being

Trump To Sign Order To Pay TSA Agents Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), President Donald Trump plans to sign an order that will pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents who have not received a check since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entered a partial shutdown in mid-February. “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on March 26. More than 3,120

Woke Star Trek Series Canceled After Embarrassing Critical Failure "Get Woke, Go Broke" wins once again.  For many years the political left in Hollywood along with the allied progressive media argued that wokeness was the dominant social trend of our era.  They claimed that any company that refused to adapt to the new far-left "modern audience" would be choking on the dust of companies that wrapped themselves in the rainbow flag.  They asserted that the entertainment industry had to change and reflect this new ideological movement if they wanted to remain relevant and profitable.  In reality, it was all a lie.  The woke

IOC Bars Transgender Athletes From Women's Events For Olympic Games Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Only females will be allowed in women’s events at the Olympics, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). People take part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear arguments in two cases in which states have banned males from participating in female-only sports, in Washington on Jan. 13, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times The March 26 decision by the committee excludes transgender-identifying individuals who were born male who may have sought to compete in the international events.  “Eligibility for any

Philippines Declares State Of Emergency As Energy Crisis Looms As we outlined in our recent analysis on Australia's dangerous vulnerability to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, most of Asia is heavily exposed and faces an unprecedented energy crisis should the war in Iran continue to prevent safe passage of oil and natural gas from the Gulf.  As Australia debates the potential for a national emergency, the Philippines has already declared one. This week, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 110, declaring a state of national emergency as a targeted measure focused on the energy sector in response to

Iranian TV Declares 'One Million' Soldiers Have Mobilized To Create 'Hell For American Forces' The US-Israel war against Iran is nearly one month in, and amid the ongoing escalating threats and warnings Iran is touting that it is able to tap more than one million fighters for a potential ground confrontation with the United States, according to Tasnim News Agency citing a military source. Some 7,000 additional US troops, mainly Marines and elite Army Airborne troops, are currently headed toward the region, amid speculation that President Trump will order a military operation to forcibly open the Strait of Hormuz, which could involve a

United Airlines CEO Warns Summer Airfares Will Spike, Tells Travelers To Book Now United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told ABC News on Wednesday that the month-long U.S.-Iran conflict and the resulting spike in jet fuel prices are set to push domestic summer airfares higher. Kirby told ABC that ticket prices will have to rise by 20% to offset the more than 80% jump in jet fuel prices since the conflict began late last month. He said travelers should lock in their ticket prices now, before fares move higher. Jet Fuel NY Buckeye MOC (New York Buckeye Pipeline jet fuel benchmark)  In a separate report,

Measuring Poverty Correctly Reveals A Hard Truth About The Welfare State Authored by Tyler Turman via TheDailyEconomy.org, America has spent more than $20 trillion on fighting poverty since the introduction of President Johnson’s Great Society program in 1964. Sixty years later, how are we doing? That depends, as it turns out, on how you measure it. Last month, Senator Kennedy (R-LA) introduced a bill that would require the Census Bureau to report a new poverty metric as an alternative to the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) by including both cash and non-cash welfare benefits in its calculations. As Kennedy points out, this is a much-needed fix. The OPM’s methodological weaknesses are well

Republican Lawmakers Led By Nancy Mace Begin To Break With Trump On Iran War: 'We Were Misled' Republican lawmakers are belatedly starting to wake up to the potential for the United States to once again get bogged down in yet another Middle East quagmire, but this time with a country double the size of Iraq (both in geography and population). GOP Rep. Nancy Mace has led the charge this week, blasting any potential Trump admin move to put American boots on the ground, warning she will vehemently oppose new war funding if American troops are deployed in Iran. "I'll be voting against the funding

Can The Courts Delete Democracy? Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times, Our forefathers had the idea of creating a government of, by, and for the people. The crucial tool to make this possible was the vote: The people would have their way, within law, and through their elected representatives. The idea was rooted in the ancient idea of democracy but with a republican twist—it would not be mob rule. There would be checks and balances. There would be inviolable rights. Everyone on the planet Earth at the time said that this would never work—you need a king or a dictator or some other

Ukraine Government Schemed To Funnel War Aid To Biden Campaign According to a newly declassified intelligence report, U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications from Ukrainian government officials back in 2022 discussing a scheme to siphon off hundreds of millions in American taxpayer dollars. The funds, earmarked for clean energy projects in the war-torn country, were allegedly redirected to the United States to benefit Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee.  The report, obtained by Just the News, summarizes raw intercepts gathered by U.S. spy agencies in late 2022. Officials familiar with the material say the communications are not believed to

Pentagon Weighs Sending Another 10,000 Ground Troops To Middle East, Suggests Seizing Iran-Controlled Islands SUMMARY * The Pentagon is looking at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give the US President more military options even as he weighs peace talks with Tehran, according to unnamed Department of War officials     * The earlier five-day deadline for resumption of US attacks on Iranian energy has now been moved to ten days (it was set to expire Fri/Sat). The following was issued by President Trump late Thursday afternoon on Truth Social. "As per Iranian Government request,

O'Keefe Catches Skid Row Fraudsters Paying Homeless People To Forge Signatures On Ballots Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness, Paid activists in Los Angeles, California, have been caught on hidden camera paying homeless people on skid row to forge signatures of registered voters on ballot initiatives. O’Keefe Media Group (OMG) released part Two of its undercover investigation into the Democrats’ blatant election fraud operation in L.A. on Tuesday. President Trump shared the report on Truth Social, commenting “terrible!” California’s Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Steve Hilton commented on X: “They paid homeless people cash and drugs on Skid Row to forge your signature. Your name. Your vote. Stolen

Iran Earning $139 Million A Day From Oil As Hormuz Crisis Locks Out Rivals By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice Iran’s oil exports have not collapsed and are fetching much higher prices than before the war, handing Tehran handsome extra revenues from its crude, which is the only one unimpeded from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Unlike all other Gulf producers, Iran is passing its oil through the Strait of Hormuz and its export volumes remain resilient. Steady volumes and higher prices have been bringing millions of dollars of additional oil revenues for the Islamic Republic since the war began, as oil prices jumped

Microsoft Freezes Hiring In Cloud And Sales As Stock Suffers Worst Start To Year On Record Microsoft shares were trading lower Thursday afternoon, leaving the stock deeper in bear-market territory and down about 24% on the year. Seasonal data suggests it is the worst start to a year for Microsoft on record.  A new report from The Information says Microsoft executives have instructed managers across major divisions, including Azure cloud and North American sales, to freeze hiring as part of a broader effort to reduce costs and boost margins ahead of the June fiscal year-end.  Microsoft employees who spoke with the outlet said

Navy searching for two boats that left Isla Mujeres last week bound for Havana with nine crew members of different nationalities on board Mexico’s navy said on Thursday it had activated a search-and-rescue operation in the Caribbean to locate two sailboats carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba after the vessels failed to arrive in Havana as scheduled. In a statement, the navy said the two boats left Isla Mujeres, in the Mexican Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, last week bound for Havana with nine crew members of different nationalities on board. Continue reading...

Petition seeks accountability from Salvadorian authorities over human rights violations at notorious Cecot facility A group of 18 Venezuelan men whom the US expelled a notorious Salvadorian mega-prison are demanding that Salvadorian authorities be held internationally accountable for violation of human rights – detailing new allegations of torture, sexual assault and medical neglect. A new petition, filed on Thursday before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleges that El Salvador violated the human rights of these men, who were expelled to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) last year without charge. Continue reading...

President’s popularity top of mind at another weird and wild cabinet meeting – riff on merits of Sharpies included They have become so notorious for displays of flattery and obsequiousness that critics have drawn comparisons with North Korea. Thursday’s cabinet meeting at the White House was no different. Doug Burgum, the US interior secretary, outflanked his fellow praise singers by saying he believes that Venezuela – which the US attacked in January – intends to honour the president with a statue. Continue reading...

Deposed Venezuelan president and his wife, who both pleaded not guilty, were captured by US military in January The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday for his “narco-terrorism” case after his capture by US military forces earlier this year. The hearing opened with the defense and prosecution arguing over whether Maduro should be allowed to use Venezuelan government funds to pay for his defense. The defense has insisted that the US is violating the deposed leader’s constitutional rights by blocking government money from being used for his legal costs. Continue reading...

Quebec’s legislature passes vote calling on Michael Rousseau to step down, citing ‘lack of respect for the French language’ and families in mourning * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The chief executive of Air Canada has apologized for his inability to express himself in French after politicians called for his resignation for his English-only message of condolence after Sunday’s deadly crash in New York. But lawmakers in Canada’s lone francophone province rejected the mea culpa as “too little too late” and overwhelmingly passed a motion calling for the head of Canada’s flagship

Malcolm Turnbull asks defence department official what Australia would do if the promised Virginia-class and Aukus-class submarines don’t arrive * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia will be left with no submarines if it abandons the Aukus deal with the US and UK, a senior defence official has warned, declining to publicly countenance an alternative plan if Australia’s promised nuclear-powered fleet does not arrive under Australian command. “Defence has been directed to pursue Aukus and we are pursuing Aukus and that’s our plan. I would not

US president says he will host Chinese leader in a reciprocal visit later this year * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump will meet Xi Jinping in May during the US president’s first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip that had been postponed due to the Iran war. Trump was initially slated to travel next week, but will now visit Beijing on 14 and 15 May, he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. Trump said he would host the Chinese leader in a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Indonesia reports growing number of attempts by Chinese nationals to organise boat journeys, as Australian authorities refuse to reveal details * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Australian government has refused to reveal how many Chinese nationals have arrived in Australia by boat since 2024, saying that disclosing the figure may harm relations with other countries. However, reports by Indonesian police show that there has been a consistent trend of Chinese nationals attempting to reach Australia through Indonesia as an alternative to “zouxian”, or “walking

UK urged to tackle transnational repression, as dissidents say Beijing has targeted them with tax bills and other threats “I didn’t feel safe, even though I’m not based in Hong Kong any more,” said Christopher Mung Siu-tat after getting tax bills from Hong Kong authorities. “The regime can reach me by their long arms wherever I am.” Siu-tat, the executive director at the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, a UK-based NGO, fled Beijing’s sweeping national security laws years ago. The letters are the latest example of a series of transnational repression (TNR) tactics the 54-year-old has faced in recent years. Continue reading...

President’s declaration allows officials to tackle fuel hoarding or profiteering, while energy secretary says country will lean more heavily on coal * Middle East crisis – live updates The Philippines president, Ferdinand Marcos, has declared a state of “national energy emergency” as a result of the Middle East war, which his administration said posed “an imminent danger of a critically low energy supply”. The state of emergency, which will initially last for a year, was declared just hours after the country’s energy secretary said the Philippines planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as

This blog is now closed * Pauline Hanson’s One Nation likely to win second South Australian seat * Albanese government says fuel supply ‘same, if not higher’ in coming weeks as Coalition calls for halving of excise * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Power outages in Sydney after storms hit city overnight Power outages continue across Sydney this morning after heavy storms battered the city and surrounding areas overnight. Continue reading...

The 42-year-old is the 26th person charged after February rally against Israeli president that led to violent clashes between police and protesters * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Lawyers have raised concerns that New South Wales police used heavy-handed tactics when arresting an anti-Isaac Herzog protester this week, after eight tactical officers were sent to their home at 5am and “smashed the door open”. The 42-year-old was the 26th person to be charged after the protest at Sydney town hall in February against the visiting Israeli

Latest figures from ACCC show diesel and unleaded petrol prices across the five largest cities up 10% and 8% respectively * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The prime minister and energy minister moved to reassure the public about normal or even higher levels of fuel supply in the coming weeks, as the Coalition escalated calls for a cut to the fuel excise and the government downplayed the prospect of any major restrictions on petrol sales. It comes as the latest figures from the consumer watchdog showed

East coast slammed on Thursday night with wind and rain, with more warnings in place for Friday * Cyclone Narelle to make landfall today and bring possible flash flooding to Perth * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Thousands of Australians woke without power on Friday after a series of wild autumn storms soaked communities in multiple states – and the high country recorded its first big snowfall of 2026. While many storm watchers kept their eyes on the west and the path of Tropical Cyclone Narelle,

Broadcaster takes Kiis FM to court to argue licensee was wrong to terminate him for serious breach of contract * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media newsletter here Kyle Sandilands’ court case was not an occasion for a “royal commission” into his career and he just wants to get back to work quickly, the shock jock’s lawyers have told the federal court. Sandilands, who was earning $10m a year to front the Kyle and Jackie O Show, has taken Kiis FM to court to argue the licensee, Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation

Noelia Castillo, 25, a paraplegic, had suffered from psychiatric illness and lived in constant pain A Spanish woman who spent months fighting her father for the right to euthanasia after being sexually assaulted and becoming paraplegic has finally ended her life on her own terms by means of an assisted death. Noelia Castillo, 25, had struggled with psychiatric illness since she was a teenager and tried to kill herself in October 2022 after being sexually assaulted. The attempt left her in constant pain and using a wheelchair. Eighteen months later, she used Spain’s euthanasia law, which was introduced in 2021, to secure

Investigative reporter Szabolcs Panyi covered story alleging foreign minister had passed information to Sergei Lavrov The Hungarian government has filed charges against one of the country’s most prominent investigative journalists, accusing him of spying for Ukraine, as officials grapple with the fallout of allegations that Budapest shared confidential EU information with Moscow. The claims of espionage cap off a tumultuous week in Hungarian politics, in which relations with the EU plummeted to new lows and polls suggested that Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party is still lagging behind in support before next month’s election. Continue reading...

European parliament votes in favour of sending refused asylum seekers to offshore hubs, in ‘historic setback for refugee rights’ People with no right to stay in the EU could be detained for up to two years or sent to offshore centres described by experts as possible “human rights black holes” under plans voted for by the European parliament on Thursday. An alliance of mostly centre-right and far-right lawmakers voted for a proposal to increase returns of undocumented migrants to their home countries, in a further sign of strain on the grand coalition of centrist political forces that has traditionally driven EU lawmaking. Continue

Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen, who was fined €1,800, was supported by conservative US group Alliance Defending Freedom A Finnish member of parliament has been found guilty by the country’s supreme court of inciting hatred after claiming that homosexuality was a “developmental disorder”, in a conviction that prompted criticism from far-right government ministers. Päivi Räsänen, of the Christian Democrats, made the claims in a pamphlet first published in 2004 and reproduced on the website of the Luther Foundation Finland and the Finnish Evangelical Mission Diocese in 2007. Continue reading...

European Commission says social messaging app is exposing children to grooming and sexual exploitation Brussels has opened an investigation into Snapchat over concerns the social messaging app is exposing children to grooming, sexual exploitation and other criminality. In a separate decision on Thursday, the European Commission also said four pornographic websites were failing to prevent minors seeing adult content, harming young people’s mental health and fuelling negative gender attitudes. Continue reading...

US president says he is extending deadline for strait of Hormuz to reopen to 6 April; Houthis tell Lloyd’s List ‘no reason’ to prevent Saudi oil using Red Sea route * Full report: Trump extends deadline * Analysis: Trump pitches peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-ramp More now on India slashing taxes on diesel and petrol amid the global disruption in energy supplies: finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the move would “provide protection to consumers from rise in prices”. The country is one of the world’s largest crude oil importers and relies on foreign suppliers for more than 85%

President claims talks with Tehran regime are ‘going very well’ and says he is pausing ‘Energy Plant destruction’ * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump has extended his deadline for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz by 10 days to 6 April after saying talks are “going very well”. The president made the statement on Thursday in a social media post, saying: “As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” Trump said

This blog is closed. Follow our new liveblog here An Iranian envoy has said South Korean ships can pass through the strait of Hormuz only after coordinating with Tehran, the Yonhap News Agency has reported. Such an agreement had to be reached in advance of the transit, said Saeed Khuzechi, the Iranian ambassador to South Korea, at a press conference in response to a question about guarantees for South Korean vessels to navigate the vital conduit for oil. Continue reading...

US president says he is ‘very disappointed’ as he again lashes out at allies’ lack of involvement in Iran war * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump has dismissed British warships as “toys” in his latest jibe at Nato countries for their lack of involvement in the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, he claimed he had told the UK: “Don’t bother, we don’t need it.” Trump has previously alleged that he requested two aircraft carriers from the UK that Keir Starmer had initially rejected and then offered

Aipac-backed lawmakers denounce ‘extremist’ violence in West Bank as support for Israel becomes a political liability As Israeli settlers ramp up violent attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, often as Israeli forces stand by, denunciations are mounting in the US, even from Democratic legislators and public figures who are typically staunch defenders of Israel. In recent days, dozens of settlers have torched homes and vehicles and attacked Palestinians in apparently coordinated attacks. Since the start of the month, Israeli settlers and police have killed at least 10 Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, including two young brothers and their

Balendra Shah, 35, is a symbol of change in country whose government was toppled last year in youth-led uprising Nepal’s rapper turned politician Balendra Shah, who is about to be sworn in as prime minister, has issued his first post-election message in the form of a rap urging unity. Hours before the release he swore an oath as a newly elected lawmaker, and he is due to become the Himalayan republic’s new prime minister on Friday. Continue reading...

Marco Rubio welcomes release of Dennis Coyle, who was detained in January last year for violating unspecified laws Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have released the American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul on Tuesday, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s supreme court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient”. Continue reading...

From a shop owner in India to a community worker in New South Wales, rising fuel prices are forcing people to ration oil usage * Middle East crisis – live updates Alagesan, 35, needs liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to run his roadside drink and snack shop in Coimbatore, India, but with the fuel shortage since the US-Israel attacks on Iran, he worries his business could fold. “I am far away from the Middle East, but my life is affected,” he said. “The gas cylinder is not available because of the war. I don’t know what to do.” Continue reading...

At least 400 killed in Pakistan’s strike on drug rehab centre, Taliban say, with families searching unmarked mass graves Sohrab Faqiri spent Eid, the Muslim festival to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, looking for the grave of his brother, killed in a massive Pakistan airstrike on Kabul this week. Pakistan’s bombardment campaign, on what it says is terrorist and military infrastructure in neighbouring Afghanistan, appeared to have gone catastrophically wrong. A rehabilitation centre for drug addicts was hit on Monday night, according to the United Nations and the Afghan authorities. The UN’s preliminary death toll is 143 people,

Karachi particularly badly affected with 18 people killed, more than 50mm of rain and winds gusting up to 60mph Unseasonally wet weather struck southern Pakistan and north-west India on Wednesday, as heavy rain rolled in from the west, accompanied by thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds. Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was particularly badly affected, locally recording more than 50mm of rain with winds gusting up to 60mph. Walls, buildings, and a pedestrian bridge collapsed, with flooding and power outages across the city. At least 18 people were killed and several more injured, many by structural collapses, with other deaths attributed to a fallen

National Trust says one year after reintroduction they are enriching habitats and may be having kits this summer They were released this time last year with fanfare, much hope and also, perhaps, a little trepidation. Twelve months on, there have been ups and downs for the first beavers to be (officially) reintroduced into the wild in England since the semiaquatic mammals were hunted to extinction 400 years ago. Continue reading...

Number fell 23% year on year in 2025 but waste companies say recycling systems still under strain from sheer volume More than 6m vapes and vape pods are still being discarded every week in the UK, with waste management companies warning the sheer volume continues to strain recycling systems despite the ban on disposable e-cigarettes. According to research by the recycling campaign group Material Focus, the 6.3m vapes and pods thrown away each week in 2025 represented a 23% reduction from the previous year. Continue reading...

Ministers urged to work with survivor groups on formal apology as many victims are nearing end of their lives The UK government must urgently issue a formal apology for the state’s role in forced adoption as many victims are nearing the end of their lives, a cross-party group of MPs has said. A report from the education select committee said ministers should provide an initial commitment to an apology and begin working with survivor groups as quickly as possible on its wording. Continue reading...

The decision follows activist pressure as Palantir faces growing scrutiny over NHS and UK government deals * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox New York City’s public hospital system announced that it would not be renewing its contract with Palantir as controversy mounts in the UK over the data analytics and AI firm’s government contract. The president of the US’ largest municipal public healthcare system, Dr Mitchell Katz, testified last week before the New York city council that the agreement with Palantir would expire in October. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer promises help for parents in limiting children’s online activity as government issues guidance to families Parents will be told to limit screen time for children under five to no more than an hour a day under new government advice, as the prime minister promises parents will not be left to battle screens alone. Screen time for children under two should be avoided other than for shared activities encouraging interaction, families will also be advised. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can read our latest story here * Sign up for the Breaking News US email We are awaiting the start of Donald Trump’s latest cabinet meeting, which was due to start at 10am eastern time. This will be the 11th such session Trump has staged since re-entering the White House in January last year. Previous meetings have been open and freewheeling – as well as newsworthy. The Pentagon is preparing plans for a “final blow” in the war with Iran that could include deploying ground troops and a massive bombing campaign, Axios reports, citing four sources

Vote came after Trump said he would sign an order directing agency’s new secretary to pay TSA agents * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The Senate again failed to advance a bill to fund part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has now been shut down for almost six weeks. The latest vote came just hours after Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order instructing Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, to immediately pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents during the shutdown, a move that could ease the immediate

Lawmakers earlier passed bill to rename 31 March holiday following sexual abuse allegations against labor leader California governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Thursday renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in the wake of shocking allegations that the labor leader sexually abused women and young girls. The bill, passed by the state senate earlier on Thursday, authorized the renaming ahead of the state holiday on 31 March. The state has observed the holiday honoring Chavez, who in the 1960s built a major farm-worker labor rights movement California’s agricultural heartland, for more than two decades. Continue reading...

With two unprecedented trial defeats, big tech firms face crisis akin to that faced by cigarette makers in the 1990s In the span of just two days, the most powerful social media company in the world faced a more severe public reckoning than it has in years. Jurors in California and New Mexico gave back-to-back verdicts this week that for the first time ever found Meta liable for products that inflict harm on young people. For years, lawmakers, parents and advocates have raised red flags over how social media can hurt children, but now the tech firms are being held to account

Face-off is over company’s refusal to let defense department use its Claude AI model in autonomous weapons systems A federal judge in California sided with Anthropic in its case against the Department of Defense on Thursday, ordering a temporary pause on the government’s punitive measures against the artificial intelligence firm. Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic’s request for a temporary injunction while the northern district court of California hears the company’s case. Anthropic argued that the Department of Defense and Donald Trump violated its first amendment rights in declaring the company a supply chain risk and ordering government agencies to cease using its

A British police force said on Thursday it would reopen a probe into rape and sexual assault allegations made by women against self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate between 2014 and 2015. It is the latest in a slew of investigations into Tate, a British-US citizen who promotes his divisive views to millions of followers on social media. “Hertfordshire Constabulary can confirm that a decision has been made to reinvestigate allegations made by women between 2014 and 2015 relating to...

The US Treasury Department plans to put US President Donald Trump’s signature on all new US paper currency, the agency announced on Thursday. The move would be a first for a sitting president, since traditionally, US paper currency carries the signatures of the Treasury secretary and the treasurer, not the president. The news was first reported by Vanity Fair. It was the latest instance of Trump putting his name and likeness on American cultural institutions, following his renaming of the US...

US President Donald Trump said he would sign an order to pay Transportation Security Administration officers in a bid to alleviate disruptions at US airports with lawmakers in Congress deadlocked on how to end a partial government shutdown. “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullen, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump declared in a social...

The US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a close call between a United Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter in California, the agency said on Thursday, in the latest incident between a passenger jet and a military aircraft. The FAA said ‌a United Boeing 737-800 jet on Tuesday at 8.40pm was on final approach to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California when a Black Hawk crossed in front of the plane. Flightradar24, a flight tracking site, said the aircraft were 160...

US President Donald Trump denied on Thursday that he was desperate for a deal with Iran, swinging between threats and diplomacy, while presenting a series of “boats of oil” that reportedly made it through the blocked Strait of Hormuz as an Iranian “gift” – a reveal that he teased a day earlier. This comes as the war he and Israel launched against Iran approaches the one-month mark with little end in sight, driving oil prices up globally and further unsettling the global economy. “I read a story...

Beijing is probably sighing with relief following US President Donald Trump’s postponement of his visit to China for “a month or so”. Initially, Trump had tried to threaten China for not joining a proposed naval escort campaign in the Strait of Hormuz, but quickly changed his tone after recognising the absurdity of such a demand. Not even the United States’ closest allies are willing to lend a hand. However, Beijing is even more frustrated with Washington’s lack of clarity and Trump’s hazy...

A 25-year-old woman who has been paraplegic since a failed suicide attempt underwent euthanasia in Spain on Thursday, after her father lost a lengthy legal battle to stop the procedure, Spanish media reported. Her case was the first to reach a Spanish court for consideration since Spain became one of the few countries to legalise euthanasia in 2021, a law fiercely opposed by the Catholic Church. The woman, identified as Noelia, died shortly after 6pm at a hospital in Sant Pere de Ribes in the...

A man who fled to China and his sister have been charged after an explosive device was left outside a gate at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa this month. Their mother was detained for deportation, having overstayed her visa, a federal prosecutor said on Thursday. Alen Zheng, 20, and Ann Mary Zheng, 27, were charged Wednesday in separate federal indictments. The sister was arrested upon her return from China, where she flew with her brother after the threat. Both have US citizenship, US Attorney...

Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro cut a relaxed figure Thursday as he returned to a federal court in New York for his second appearance since his capture by US forces in an extraordinary nighttime raid. During the one-hour hearing, the judge indicated he would not dismiss the case over Maduro and his wife’s apparent inability to afford their legal bill without aid from the Venezuelan government. The former leader, 63, and wife Cilia Flores have been held in a Brooklyn jail for almost...

China warned Mexico on Thursday it could impose retaliatory measures after concluding a formal investigation into tariffs Mexico imposed on more than 1,400 categories of Asian goods, in a dispute that threatens to complicate Mexico City’s parallel negotiations to renew its trade agreement with the United States. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said the tariffs, which range from 5 to 50 per cent on 1,463 product categories in force since January 1, restrict the entry of Chinese goods,...

Scientists have used a tiny plastic “obstacle course” to test how much sperm would struggle to navigate during sex in the weightlessness of space. Some particularly resilient sperm still made it through the course, suggesting that conceiving children in space will still be possible, according to research published on Thursday. However, a bigger problem could be that the development of embryos after fertilisation was harmed by a lack of gravity, the Australian team of researchers found. With...

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday it was reintroducing testing for gender to determine eligibility to compete in the female category, preventing transgender women from competing. The screening will mean Olympic women’s sports at the 2028 Los Angeles Games will be limited to biological females, which would also rule out those with differences in sexual development (DSD) from competing. The IOC is abandoning rules it brought in in 2021 which allowed individual federations...

Britain’s decision to block a £1.5 billion (US$2 billion) plan by Chinese clean energy giant Mingyang to build the UK’s largest wind turbine factory in Scotland highlights the mounting challenges of doing business with China in an era of deepening global mistrust, analysts said. The move was likely the result of direct pressure from Washington, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The US-Israeli war in Iran and the subsequent energy crisis had raised hopes for the project to be...

The Iran war’s oil shock has dramatically increased the security risk for oil-dependent countries, incentivising a turn towards renewable energy. This impact will outlast the war and oil price spikes because the world knows this war will recur. China will be the biggest beneficiary and its exports are likely to do very well this year, offsetting losses from buying higher-priced oil. A fifth of the global supply of oil and liquefied natural gas plus a third of seaborne fertilisers traditionally...

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has close ties with both US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, fears US-led Ukraine peace talks may be over, he said in an interview published on Thursday. “It may be due to the war in Iran, which is drawing a lot of attention away from the war in Ukraine. But it may also be that the negotiations have come to a halt because they’ve reached the end of the road and are not making any further progress,” Stubb said in the...

US President Donald Trump said he would visit China from May 14 to May 15, including a meeting with President Xi Jinping, after delaying the trip by about six weeks because of the war on Iran. The new schedule is a day shorter than the original three-day visit that was due to start on March 31. China didn’t join the White House in announcing the trip. It rarely makes statements about planned visits more than a few days ahead of the arrival date. “I look very much forward to spending time with...

For the second year in a row, Asia’s vulnerability to global shocks is a source of concern. Almost exactly a year since US President Donald Trump launched his assault on the global trading system, the external dependencies of leading Asian economies have once again dimmed the outlook for the region. Early last year, analysts were worried about Asia’s heavy reliance on exports to the United States. Morgan Stanley pointed out that seven of the 10 countries running the largest trade surpluses with...

Even as Donald Trump pushes for talks to end the war against Iran, the US has ordered thousands of troops to the region, fuelling fears that the American president is gearing up for exactly the sort of risky ground invasion that he once campaigned against. Trump on Thursday warned Iran to “get serious soon” in talks to end the war, as he once again criticised Nato allies for not joining in the conflict. Trump insisted Iran was actively talking with the United States on a deal to end the nearly...

As the US-Israeli war on Iran continues, China’s top legislator, Zhao Leji, has told the Boao Forum for Asia – a high-level gathering of governments and business leaders – that power politics should be rejected in favour of economic development and conflicts should be resolved through negotiations. “The people of Asia, having endured the scourge of war and chaos, deeply understand the value of peace and stability,” said Zhao, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, China’s...

The Iran war has deflected global attention from Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour Ukraine as Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II enters its fifth year and an emboldened Kremlin undertakes a spring offensive. The past week showed that neither side was easing up. Russia on Tuesday fired almost 1,000 drones and 34 missiles at Ukraine in one of the war’s biggest bombardments. The following day Ukraine launched almost 400 drones in the largest reported overnight attack on Russian...

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday designated the transatlantic African slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity”, despite opposition by the United States and some European countries. In a move advocates hailed as a step towards healing and possible reparations, the resolution was adopted to applause by a vote of 123 in favour, three against and 52 abstentions. The US, Israel and Argentina opposed the measure, while Britain and EU member states abstained. Ghana’s President John...

The Transportation Security Administration warned that US airport security was under severe strain as a weeks-long Department of Homeland Security funding shutdown drives staffing shortages, long wait times and mounting disruptions across the United States. “This has led to the highest wait times in TSA history, with some wait times greater than 4½ hours,” Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers on Wednesday, adding the agency has already lost more than 480 transportation security...

Professor Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University has repeatedly warned that the US dollar is approaching a crisis of legitimacy. Having written extensively on the global recession in the late 2000s, Rogoff has turned his focus to the US currency’s increasingly unstable place at the top of the world’s financial hierarchy. A former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and a chess grandmaster, he published Our Dollar, Your Problem in May last year. In this interview, Rogoff elaborates...

On most nights, the sound that defines Tehran is not conversation or traffic. Instead, it is a distant explosion, a jet overhead, a pause in the rhythm of ordinary life. A few days ago, that distance collapsed. An explosion in eastern Tehran, where I live, shattered the windows of our home. Glass fell across my books and laptop, damaging it beyond repair. For a moment, the abstract language of conflict became immediate and physical. And yet, almost as quickly, life resumed. The city has not...

The US-Israeli war in Iran could weaken the US dollar’s historic dominance in the oil-rich Middle East and bolster a “petroyuan” alternative backed by China’s currency, according to analysts at a leading European bank. Fallout from the nearly month-long conflict was testing the “foundations of the petrodollar regime”, while damage to Gulf economies “could encourage an unwind in their foreign asset savings”, Deutsche Bank analysts said in a research note published on Tuesday. “If the Gulf moves...

The US Justice Department has settled for roughly US$1.2 million a lawsuit from Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump who pleaded guilty during the Republican’s first term to lying to the FBI about his conversations with a top Russian diplomat and was later pardoned. Court papers filed Wednesday do not reveal the settlement amount, but a person familiar with the matter, who spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose nonpublic...

US President Donald Trump will not attend a major annual gathering of American conservatives for the first time in a decade, a White House official said on Wednesday. The Republican billionaire has been a marquee fixture at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) since 2016, but will miss this year’s edition due to a busy schedule amid the “ongoing Iran conflict”, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The conference this year is being held from Wednesday to Saturday...

Beijing’s long-standing geopolitical playbook – stay in your lane, avoid military entanglement, prepare exhaustively and issue bland “win-win” statements about the UN charter and calls to talk not fight – could see China emerge favourably from the Iran war, said economists, analysts and former US officials, as the conflict enters its fourth week with little end in sight and the US barrelling ahead. “People always say that China doesn’t understand the Mideast,” said Jeremy Chan, senior analyst...

Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 years in prison by a Paris criminal court for the rape of three women. The verdict marks the latest fall from grace for the former Oxford University professor, who faces a string of rape allegations in Switzerland and France and has already been convicted in the former. A charismatic yet controversial figure in European Islam, Ramadan has always maintained his innocence. While he had been on trial in Paris since March 2 for...

The United States on Wednesday offered ⁠a reward of up to US$3 million and possible relocation in exchange for information on the financial activities of Haiti’s Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif criminal groups. Washington has designated both groups, which bring together hundreds of gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince, agricultural Artibonite ‌region and central Haiti, as terrorist organisations. The US announcement marks a shift in tactics as previous bounties have been focused on individual gang...

A tearful Savannah Guthrie, in her first interview since her 84-year-old mother was apparently abducted from her Arizona home, said that “someone needs to do the right thing” and come forward with information to help the investigation. “We are in agony,” she told NBC News colleague Hoda Kotb in a portion of the interview aired Wednesday on the Today show. She said she wakes up in the middle of each night thinking of what her mother went through. NBC said Wednesday that a full interview with its...

Newly released records in the ⁠now-dismissed classified documents case against US President Donald Trump raise fresh concerns over national security risks and potential private business motivations, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said. The records, handed over by the US Department of Justice as part of the Republican-led panel’s investigation into former US Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump, show FBI investigators said in a 2023 memo that the classified...

Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including strikes that hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire. Iran’s defiance came as Israel launched air strikes on Tehran and as the United States deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state TV that his government has not engaged in talks to end the...

A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of an addictive design of their social media platforms, ordering the companies to pay US$6 million in damages, including US$3 million in punitive damages. The verdict handed plaintiffs in more than a thousand similar pending cases significant leverage - and signalled to the broader tech industry that juries were prepared to hold social media companies accountable for the mental health toll of their...

The woman alleged to have shot up Rihanna’s luxury Los Angeles home pleaded not guilty to attempted murder when she appeared in court on Wednesday, as details emerged of a near miss for the global megastar. The “Umbrella” singer and her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, were in an Airstream trailer on the sprawling property when 35-year-old Ivanna Lisette Ortiz is alleged to have opened fire. Rihanna told police she heard the sound of several rounds hitting the trailer, and opened the curtains to find...

The skeleton of famed French musketeer Charles de Batz de Castelmore d’Artagnan may have been found in front of a church altar in the Dutch city of Maastricht, church officials and an archaeologist said on Wednesday. Workers ‌discovered a grave containing human remains beneath tiles after part of the floor of St Peter and Paul Church subsided in February, triggering a race to identify the skeleton through DNA testing. “This has truly become a top-level investigation, in which we want to be...

A former nurse made history on Wednesday when she was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world’s 85 million-strong Anglican community. Sarah Mullally, 63, formally steps into the role after an abuse scandal led to the departure of her predecessor. The former midwife was formally installed in the historic ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England in front of around 2,000 people including heir to the throne Prince...

The BBC named a former Google executive with no television or journalism experience as its next director general on Wednesday. The long-expected appointment of Matt Brittin to the high-profile role comes as the under-fire British broadcaster faces drastic shifts in the media landscape and a US$10 billion lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump. Brittin, 57, said he was honoured to be appointed at a “moment of real risk, yet also real opportunity”. “Now, more than ever, we need a thriving...

US President Donald Trump appointed Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to a council that will weigh ‌in on AI policy and other issues, the White House said on Wednesday. Google co-founder Sergey Brin and AMD CEO Lisa Su are also part of the initial batch of 13 members from the industry named to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Trump ⁠has made securing US leadership in artificial...

China has accused Mexico of imposing trade and investment barriers through tariff hikes on its goods, a sign the friction between the two trading partners – fuelled by escalating pressure from Washington under US President Donald Trump – is continuing to build. The Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday that the Mexican government’s measures to raise tariffs on imports from countries not party to its free trade agreements constitute a breach of trade rules. The move primarily affects...

For much of the post-war era, the architecture of global governance rested on the simple assumption that the United States would support the systems it largely designed and uphold the rules it helped to create. The first Trump administration was no isolated incident. Now, from the vantage point of 2026, amid the US-Israel attack on Iran and the subsequent closing of the Strait of Hormuz, it is quite clear that there is little sign of an appetite in Washington for the US to once again safeguard...

British police said on Wednesday they had arrested two men over a London arson attack on four volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation. The arrests came after police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility by a little-known Islamist group which has possible links to Iran. The ambulances were set on fire early Monday while they were parked next to a synagogue in an area of London with a large Jewish population. The Metropolitan Police said two men aged 47 and 45...

Almost 80 per cent of the Chinese companies operating in the European Union plan to expand their investment there, even though most complain about policy uncertainty, according to a report published on Tuesday by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) and the China Economic Information Service. The result stands in sharp contrast to similar reports published by the European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) – despite companies from both sides complaining about obstacles such as...

The second Chinese-owned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier has transited the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran, according to industry sources and vessel-tracking data, amid conflicting claims over access to the vital trade corridor. Tehran has largely blocked the strategic waterway in retaliation for Washington and Tel Aviv’s strikes, causing widespread disruption to global shipping – though Iranian officials have recently promised safe passage for vessels...

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, encouraged his Iranian counterpart to pursue negotiations with the United States as conflict in the Middle East threatens to enter a second month. “Talking is better than fighting,” Wang told Abbas Araghchi by phone on Tuesday, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. “All parties should seize every opportunity to begin the peace process as soon as possible.” Confusion surrounds the status of peace talks, as Iran has derided a reported US 15-point ceasefire plan...

President Trump waxed on about the virtues of the pen, calling it more economical and a better instrument than the fancier writing tools preferred by his predecessors.

A jumble of emissaries — a friend, a family member, a dove and a hawk — on the Iran crisis reflects President Trump’s improvisational approach.

For centuries, an Omani exclave has been defined by a peculiar duality: rugged isolation and proximity to one of the world’s most important trade routes.

President Trump said on Thursday he would delay an imminent deadline to begin attacking Iran’s power grid.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine skepticism is posing challenges for the Trump administration. Top health jobs are unfilled, and a court has blocked his vaccine schedule changes.

The episode, involving a group of sperm whales, adds to evidence that humans aren’t the only species that gets some form of assistance during and after delivery.

Regulators, pilots and others in aviation have worried about the kind of runway accident that happened at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday.

Michael Rousseau said he was “deeply saddened” that his inability to speak French had diverted attention from the families’ grief.

With a third of the global supply offline because of the war in Iran, gas companies are scrambling to assure critical A.I. chip makers there will be no disruptions.

The decision is an early victory for the artificial intelligence company in a rancorous legal battle with the Department of Defense.

President Trump wants to restrict voting by mail, which he says amounts to “cheating.” But he defended his own use of the practice in a special election this week.

Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff and a Republican running for governor, is examining votes from 2025 after unsubstantiated claims of fraud.

Her interview on the “Today” show came more than 50 days after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was taken from her home near Tucson, Ariz.

Bishops are trying to understand what’s behind the wave. People joining the church described their reasons as highly personal.

A few qualities, including a sense of purpose, seem to have real benefits — especially as you age.

Nations are looking for alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz.

Open-ended military conflict in Europe could, at some point, intersect with open-ended military conflict in the Middle East.

A leaked report on the deadly violence and mass arson that broke out last year has put the new leader under pressure to ensure accountability.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation to rename Cesar Chavez Day as “Farmworkers Day,” moving quickly before the March 31 holiday.

Statehood had been a key issue in this tiny Danish archipelago before President Trump threatened Greenland. Now, Faroese voters are focused more on their own economy than geopolitics.

The board terminated Markus Hinterhäuser’s contract early, leaving the leadership of the world’s largest classical music festival in limbo for now.