Minimalist News

Rotation, pAIn, Or Smooth Sailing? Submitted by Peter Tchir of Academy Securities PAIN AHEAD? Last weekend we published pAIn Ahead? which had two major problems: 1. It is a bad idea to start a title with a small letter, as our publishing system is designed to force Capital Letters in titles, including the first word of the report. 2. It is more than a little embarrassing to have a title “pAIn Ahead” out there as stocks opened strong and went higher throughout the next few days with the Nasdaq 100 closing up 790 points! But, on the week, the index fell slightly, making last

Virginia Neighborhood Shocked By Massive Home Addition Built For Three-Generation Family Multigenerational living has surged to a record high, with 17% of 2024 buyers purchasing homes designed for multiple generations, according to the National Association of Realtors.  Families are increasingly combining households to cope with elevated living costs, caregiving demands, and even the need to reconnect as a family unit. This trend is being fueled by a housing market that remains frozen for many first-time buyers - caught between high mortgage rates and record high prices - pushing more families to pool resources and live under one roof. The multigenerational home trend is being fueled by a

The Debt-Reduction Playbook: Can Today's Governments Learn From The Past? Authored by Joe Sullivan-Bissett via BondVigiliantes.com, Government debt levels continue to linger in uncomfortable territory across developed markets, with fiscal deficits stubbornly high despite reasonably resilient growth and employment – especially when compared to past norms. This is not a post-crisis or post-war moment, yet debt levels resemble those of an economy fighting its way out of recession. Runaway levels of debt, and the question of how they can be contained, could well be the defining macro story of the next decade. This not only has implications for public finances, but also the trajectory of

US 'In Trouble' - Ford CEO Can't Find 5,000 Mechanics For $120k Jobs Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley has sounded an alarm about the state of the US job market, saying Ford has been unable to fill 5,000 mechanic jobs paying $120,000 a year. Those $120,000 salaries are nearly double the US average.  “We are in trouble in our country. We are not talking about this enough,” said Farley in an appearance last week on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast. He said the shortage of qualified manual laborers isn't confined to Ford, but is something businesses across the nation are struggling with.  >

Watch: Media Leftists Tip-Toe Around Trump Amid Lawsuit Fears Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Leftist media figures are increasingly walking on eggshells when discussing President Trump, hastily retracting or clarifying statements to avoid potential defamation lawsuits that could bankrupt their networks.  In recent clips, MSNBC’s Jen Psaki and CNN anchors have been caught mid-sentence backpedaling on inflammatory remarks tying Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, signaling a broader chill in media rhetoric as Trump’s legal victories mount. During a segment on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” the host quickly corrected herself after implying Trump was among “predators” linked to Epstein.  > ? LMAO! Jen Psaki sees a multi-MILLION

Data Center Volatility, Batteries And The Electric Grid's New Reality Published at UtilityDive and authored by Amanda Simonian of TerraFlow Energy, a Texas-based developer of long-duration energy storage solutions. I spent most of September on the road, from RE+ in Las Vegas to Climate Week NYC, Houston Energy and Climate Week and Data Center World Power in San Antonio. Four different audiences, four very different rooms, but one conversation that always found its way to the surface: power. Not just how much we need, but what kind. The quality, the stability and the very real stress being placed on a grid that

Beginning Of A Revolution? Populist Revolt Shocks Mexico Chaos erupted in front of Mexico's National Palace in Mexico City on Saturday after anti-corruption protests turned violent following the recent cartel murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo. Protesters are furious with leftist President Claudia Sheinbaum, while the government blames right-wing business interests for stoking the unrest. Reuters reports that 120 people and 100 police officers were injured outside the National Palace when a large group of anti-government protesters led by Gen Zers clashed with Sheinbaum's security forces. > The National Palace in Mexico is under siege by its citizens amid discontentment with Claudia Sheinbaum. > > Follow: @AFpost >

The Pentagon's European Drawdown Won't Alleviate Russia's Security Concerns Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack, The Romanian Defense Minister recently confirmed that the US will withdraw around half of its 2,000 troops as part of its plans to reprioritize Asia, which could include drawdowns from other countries as well. It was assessed last February that “Trump Is Unlikely To Pull All US Troops Out Of Central Europe Or Abandon NATO’s Article 5” since retaining a minimal presence in this region is psychologically reassuring for those countries that fear Russia and can also function as “a tripwire for deterring aggression”. This is especially true for aspiring regional leader

Goldman Sees Brighter US Housing Outlook Taking Shape For 2026 Conversations around the housing market this week revolved around Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte floating the idea of 50-year mortgages, pitched by the Trump administration as a clever way to make homes more "affordable" by lowering monthly payments, expanding access, and attracting more buyers. But stretching mortgages out for roughly 65% of the average U.S. life expectancy is not affordable in the long run. Our conversations with readers this week focused on the deepening downturn in the home improvement industry. This slide could deepen into a sharper contraction and may signal

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Free To Leave France As Travel Ban Lifted: Report Authored by Helen Partz via CoinTelegraph.com, French authorities have reportedly lifted Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s travel ban amid an ongoing investigation into the messaging platform. Durov had been ordered to remain in France following his arrest in Paris in August last year, facing multiple charges related to his operation of Telegram. Durov was previously granted temporary exemptions, and French authorities have now fully lifted restrictions on his travel, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. As part of the latest decision, dated Monday, officials also removed the requirement for Durov to regularly check in at a local police station,

After Tucker Carlson Exposé, FBI Director Patel Says Trump Rally Shooter Thomas Crooks Acted Alone The same day that Tucker Carlson told America more than the FBI has about Donald Trump's attempted assassin, Thomas Crooks, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that Crooks 'acted alone' in planning and conducting the attack.  FBI director Kash Patel (L) and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (R) speak during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on Nov. 12, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times Patel posted to X on Friday:  > "Over 480 FBI employees were involved in the Thomas Crooks investigation. Employees conducted over 1,000 interviews, addressed over

A US Think-Tank Considers Armenia & Kazakhstan To Be Key Players For Containing Russia Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack, They’re fearmongering about Russia’s intentions towards those two in parallel with proposing closer US ties with them. The Washington Post recently published a piece fearmongering that Putin’s “next stop” after Ukraine might be Armenia and/or Kazakhstan, which they released in the run-up to the C5+1 Summit in DC between the five Central Asian leaders and Trump. It was written by Seth Cropsey and Joseph Epstein, the president of the Yorktown Institute and the director of the Turan Research Center therein. Their organization focuses on “great power competition”, “military supremacy”,

The Foreign Worker Scam Exposes Trump's Economic Achilles Heel Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us, If you really want to counter the chaos grifters of the political left in the US, then you have to be willing to offer a coherent and consistent plan which dissolves the chaos they thrive on. Planning eases instability. Consistency defeats confusion. Clarity squashes disorder. The public needs to see a comprehensive list of standards, actions and goals and they don’t like it when their leaders suddenly derail the train. When it comes to economics, vision is meaningless. Every idiot out there has an economic “vision”, very few

'A Sharp Escalation': Americans Starting To Revolt Against Data Centers As the cost of electricity continues to skyrocket, Georgia voters delivered a political surprise on Election Day - elevating Democrat Peter Hubbard to the state’s Public Service Commission. Hubbard notably ran on rising utility costs and the spread of data centers, and his victory, along with another Democratic win in a separate statewide race, marks the first time in nearly twenty years the party has captured statewide office in Georgia. Democrat Peter Hubbard speaks at a candidate forum for the Georgia Public Service Commission runoff in Fayetteville, Ga., on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP

Chaos: The Trump Doctrine For Latin America Authored by Roger D. Harris via AntiWar.com, The US, under Trump, is unapologetically an empire operating without pretense. International law is for losers. A newly minted War Department, deploying the most lethal killing machine in world history, need not hide behind the sham of promoting democracy. Recall that in 2023 Trump boasted: “When I left, Venezuela was ready to collapse. We would have taken it over, we would have gotten all that oil.” As CEO of the capitalist bloc, Trump’s mission is not about to be restrained by respect for sovereignty. There is only one inviolate global sovereign; all

The Socialist Mayor Clown Show Is Truly Something To Behold The progressive left never admits they are wrong and they always double down on failure.  This is the mindset that continues to lead Democrats down a path of self destruction along with the cities they inhabit. One cannot separate the ongoing decline of US cities from far-left policies; one precipitates the other.  The implosion of Joe Biden's faux presidency and the defeat of the Kamala Harris campaign left Democrats reeling and searching for answers, but it didn't take long for them to dismiss the idea of self reflection and come to the

US Needs More Gas Infrastructure, Storage To Support Electric Grid: NARUC By Robert Walton of UtilityDive Summary: * The United States needs additional natural gas pipeline infrastructure and storage opportunities to reliably meet the growing demand for energy, a National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners task force report concluded on Wednesday. * NARUC’s Gas-Electric Alignment for Reliability task force, or GEAR, was formed in 2023 in an effort to improve coordination between the two interwoven energy sectors, with an ultimate goal of bolstering grid reliability. * The report includes nine recommendations but stopped short of advocating for a Gas Reliability Organization akin to

Epstein Backfire Intensifies: He Was Live-Texting With House Democrat During 2019 'Get Trump' Hearing What a week in Epstein news...  After Democrats dumped a new trove of emails to try and show that President Trump was much better friends with the dead sex offender than he let on, we've learned a few things.  1. Trump was clearly pals with Epstein for a while. We've seen endless pictures of them hanging out.  2. They had a serious falling out, as evidence (in the new emails) by...  3. Epstein was helping Democrats with their efforts to hurt Trump with dirt, which we now learn extended to... 4. Texting with Del.

Obamacare Is A Disaster, Just As Expected Authored by Stephen Soukup via American Greatness, Just over 15 years ago, when the Democrat-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate were debating the healthcare proposals offered by the Democrat president, nearly everyone on the political right was unified in opposition. It may well have been the last time the right was united on anything, but it was indeed unified and resolute. Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (MN) warned that “This monstrosity of a bill will not only destroy the private healthcare market, it will lead to massive increases in premiums and rationed care.” Congressman (and eventual vice-presidential nominee

Redistricting Could Determine 2026 Elections: Here's What Each State Is Doing Authored by Jackson Richman and Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times, The future control of the U.S. House of Representatives hangs in the balance as states move to redistrict their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. A spate of redistricting efforts began earlier this year when Texas approved a map that would grow Republicans’ control of the state’s House delegation. California then responded in kind, approving a map to increase Democrats’ control by the same margins. Since then, a flurry of other states have finalized redistricting, are moving toward doing so,

Marina Silva says contentious plan would be ‘ethical answer’ to climate crisis but does not commit Brazil to it Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva, has urged all countries to have the courage to address the need for a fossil fuel phaseout, calling the drawing up of a roadmap for it an “ethical” response to the climate crisis. She emphasised, however, that the process would be voluntary for those governments that wished to participate, and “self-determined”. Continue reading...

Clashes erupt between protesters and riot police in the capital as rallies take place in cities across the country At least 120 people were injured as thousands of gen Z protesters took to the streets of Mexico City and across the country to voice their anger at corruption and the drug violence that claims tens of thousands of Mexican lives each year. Saturday’s rallies, which took place in dozens of cities from Tijuana in the north to Oaxaca in the south drew large crowds, with some demonstrators carrying the One Piece pirate flag that has become a global symbol of the youth

Voters face seemingly extreme choice between communist and rightwing frontrunners, who both promise to fight foreign gangs Chileans began voting for a new president and parliament on Sunday, in a contest expected to favour the hard right as candidates play on popular fears over organised crime and immigration. It is the first of an expected two rounds of presidential elections, as polls show none of the candidates clearing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff scheduled for 14 December. Continue reading...

CRC mission will seek to deepen public understanding of Britain’s colonial legacy and its lasting impact A delegation from the body leading the Caribbean’s slavery reparations movement will be in the UK next week for a “historic” first official visit to advocate for former British colonies. The Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC) will be meeting with UK parliamentarians, Caribbean diplomats, academics and civil society groups from 17 to 20 November. Continue reading...

Sonia Guajajara tells Cop30 the rights of traditional communities must be maintained in the face of exploitation by the mining industry Countries must recognise the demarcation of Indigenous lands as a key component of tackling the climate crisis, and civil society must help in the defence of such lands against mining interests, Brazil’s minister for Indigenous peoples has said. Sonia Guajajara, a longtime Indigenous activist before being appointed a minister by President Lula da Silva, said: “[Among the goals of the Cop30 summit is] a request that countries recognise the demarcation of Indigenous lands as climate policy.” Continue reading...

Activity around Japanese-held islands, also claimed by China, comes after PM Sanae Takaichi said Japan might respond militarily to an invasion of Taiwan China has sent its coast guard through the waters of the Senkaku islands and military drones past outlying Japanese territory as Beijing ramps up tensions over the Japanese prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan. On Sunday the Chinese coastguard said its ships made a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters of the Senkaku, which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China as the Diaoyu islands. Continue reading...

Bangkok had earlier said it was suspending ceasefire, accusing Cambodia of laying landmines along the border The US has put pressure on Thailand to recommit to a ceasefire with Cambodia, warning trade talks could be halted as Washington seeks to keep a Donald Trump-brokered truce agreement from falling apart. Earlier this week, Thailand said that it was suspending the ceasefire deal, accusing Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the border, including one it said wounded a Thai soldier on patrol, who lost a foot in the explosion. Continue reading...

Sanae Takaichi says the use of force against Taiwan could warrant a military response from Tokyo China has advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, escalating a diplomatic feud sparked by comments from Tokyo’s new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan. Sanae Takaichi told Japan’s parliament on 7 November that the use of force against the self-ruled island claimed by China could warrant a military response from Tokyo. Japan has since said its position on Taiwan – just 100km from the nearest Japanese island – is unchanged. Continue reading...

Reaction follows Wall Street’s worst day in a month and unprecedented slump in investment in China * Business live – latest updates Global markets suffered another day of volatile trading after a tech sell-off that fuelled Wall Street’s worst day in a month and weak economic data from China showed an unprecedented slump in investment. The FTSE 100 fell by 1.1% in London, closing down about 100 points at 9,698, as bellwether banking stocks tumbled. Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest slumped between 2.7% and 3.6%. Continue reading...

Vincent Karremans called semiconductor supply chain crisis a ‘wake-up call for western leaders’ The Chinese government has expressed “extreme disappointment” with the Dutch minister at the heart of a row over chip supply to the car industry. A spokesperson for the ministry of commerce was responding to a Guardian interview with Vincent Karremans on Thursday in which the politician described the standoff between China and the European Union as a “wake-up call” for western leaders. Continue reading...

Schools closed after asbestos detected in samples from commercial sand products. Follow today’s news live * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Government to pay for removal of gas from 20 student residential buildings The federal government will pay to remove gas from 20 student residential buildings in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, part of what is being dubbed Australia’s largest apartment electrification project. Electrifying residential accommodation is essential to the task of reducing emissions and future-proofing Australian homes; it also makes them cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in. As Australia’s renewable, reliable and sustainable energy

Exclusive: Detectives investigated ‘veracity and motive’ of Brisbane woman’s allegations of domestic violence and coercive control – even after the horrifying attack that killed her and her children * Broken trust: how police failed Hannah Clarke and other women they were supposed to protect – video * Read more from Guardian Australia’s two-year investigation here * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast New evidence uncovered by Guardian Australia reveals serious police failings in the lead-up to the murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children that were overlooked by the coronial inquest and never investigated by

Thousands of people affected by actions of Panthera Finance, before it was acquired by new owners Francom Group * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast One of Australia’s largest debt collecting firms attempted to claw back more than 200,000 individual debts in Victoria while allegedly banned from doing so by the state’s regulator, Guardian Australia can reveal. Affected consumers who paid the company could be entitled to refunds if the collection activity is found to be in breach of the state ban. Continue reading...

Nick Dametto says he is proud to ‘build the capital of northern Australia’ after byelection triggered by resignation of controversial former mayor * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Townsville has voted decisively against its former controversial mayor and instead looks likely to elect a bodybuilding, bull-riding former state MP from the populist right in what has been described as one of the biggest swings in Australian electoral history. Nick Dametto, 42, who was the deputy leader of Katter’s Australian Party’s and a Queensland parliamentarian before resigning

This blog is now closed * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Total fire ban in parts of New South Wales While a storm system continues to affect parts of New South Wales’ east, the state’s west faces extreme fire danger. I expect it will be pretty much what the Nationals have wanted all along because it’s been really clear that they have set the agenda in terms of the energy and climate policy of the Liberal Party. I’m genuinely concerned and genuinely disappointed that this has happened because we do need to take action on climate change. I think

Move threatens to throw open parts of secretive legal battle on Channel island about ex-Chelsea owner’s wealth The former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is making a claim of “conspiracy” against the government of Jersey after the crown dependency launched a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption and money laundering in connection with the original source of the oligarch’s wealth. The latest move threatens to throw open parts of a secretive legal battle on the Channel island about the tycoon’s rise to become one of the world’s richest people, which emerged in September after a Switzerland federal criminal court ordered the release of

Survivors group had called on firm Felzmann to ‘show some basic decency’ and halt ‘cynical and shameless’ event Poland’s foreign minister said on Sunday that an “offensive” auction of Holocaust artefacts in Germany has been cancelled, relaying information from his German counterpart, after complaints from Holocaust survivors. Radosław Sikorski made the comments on X, saying he and German foreign minister Johann Wadephul “agreed that such a scandal must be prevented”. Continue reading...

Gardaí appeal for witnesses and Simon Harris pays tribute to first responders after two-vehicle collision on Saturday Ireland is in mourning after a road crash killed five people in their early 20s and left three other people injured. The two-vehicle collision happened at about 9pm on Saturday on a road near Dundalk in County Louth. Continue reading...

President to overhaul state energy firms after $100m kickback scheme alleged by anti-corruption investigators Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a plan to clean up Ukraine’s energy sector after an $100m (£76bn) kickback scheme was alleged by anti-corruption investigators, in the worst scandal of his presidency. Over the weekend, the Ukrainian president announced an overhaul of key state energy companies including a complete change of management at Energoatom, the nuclear power operator at the centre of the alleged criminal scheme. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy says Nataliia Khodemchuk is victim of ‘new tragedy caused by Kremlin’, four decades after disaster The widow of the first Soviet engineer to die in the Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion was killed on Friday in Russia’s massive drone and missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Nataliia Khodemchuk as the victim of a “new tragedy caused by the Kremlin”, nearly four decades after her husband, Valerii, was killed inside Chornobyl’s nuclear reactor number four. Continue reading...

Iran’s foreign minister says it has had requests to reopen negotiations, which collapsed after nuclear site bombings Tehran is willing to restart nuclear talks with Washington as long as it is treated with “dignity and respect”, Iran’s foreign minister has told the Guardian. Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy worked, and disclosed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to reopen negotiations with the Trump administration. He said Iran did not have any undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for security reasons. Continue reading...

Natalie Boucly says supplies are ready but only about half of what is needed is getting into territory Israel is breaching international law by continuing to impose restrictions on aid flows into Gaza, where the population remains critically short of food and life-saving goods as winter sets in, a senior official at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said. In an interview during a recent visit to Brussels, Natalie Boucly, an Unrwa deputy commissioner general, said the whole world – including the EU and US – needed to increase the pressure on Israel’s government to ensure the unrestricted flow of aid

Exclusive: Almost all Palestinians have been displaced to ‘red zone’ where no reconstruction is planned The US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza into a “green zone” under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a “red zone” to be left in ruins. Foreign forces will initially deploy alongside Israeli soldiers in the east of Gaza, leaving the devastated strip divided by the current Israeli-controlled “yellow line”, according to US military planning documents seen by the Guardian and sources briefed on American plans. Continue reading...

Malak A Tantesh, 20, ‘showed immense talent and bravery’, said judges at Media Freedom awards in London The UK’s Society of Editors has named Malak A Tantesh, the Guardian’s former Gaza correspondent, as young journalist of the year in the national press category at this year’s Media Freedom awards. The judges said Tantesh “showed immense talent and bravery in some of the hardest conditions ever faced by a journalist, she continued to report while having to forage for food and facing the constant risk of bombing and the threat of targeted killing”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ramsi Woodcock, who calls for an ‘end’ to Israel and military intervention against it, says the university violated his first amendment rights A tenured law professor sued the University of Kentucky on Thursday after he was banned from teaching and from the law school for comments he made about Israel, including characterizations of the state as a “colonization project” and calls for the world to wage war against it. In a lawsuit filed in federal court, Ramsi Woodcock, an antitrust law scholar, argued that the public university violated his first amendment and due process rights when it abruptly placed him under

The accidental explosion comes days after a deadly car blast in New Delhi which killed at least eight people near the city’s historic Red Fort At least nine people were killed and 32 injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police have announced. The blast occurred in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, the region’s main city, late on Friday while a team of forensic experts and police were examining the explosive material, said Nalin Prabhat, the region’s police director general. He ruled out any foul play, saying it was an accident. Continue reading...

Investigators believe an explosion that killed 13 people may be linked to group operating in the disputed region Police have carried out raids and made several arrests across the Indian region of Kashmir in the aftermath of a car explosion in Delhi that left 13 people dead. On Wednesday, the Indian government confirmed it was treating the blast as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The explosion took place outside one of India’s most significant monuments during rush hour on Monday evening. Continue reading...

Cabinet says explosion near Red Fort that killed 12 is suspected to have been perpetrated by ‘anti-national forces’ India has confirmed it is treating the explosion that killed 12 people outside Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The statement by the cabinet, led by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, confirmed mounting speculation that a terrorist attack was behind the blast that took place during peak time in one of the capital’s busiest areas and outside one of India’s major landmarks. Continue reading...

Critics say constitutional amendment, which will also limit supreme court’s independence, is ‘funeral for democracy’ Pakistan’s parliament has passed a controversial amendment to its constitution that will expand the powers of the army chief and grant him lifelong legal immunity while limiting the independence of the supreme court, in a move critics described as a “funeral for democracy”. Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief who is widely seen as a de facto ruler of the country, was the main benefactor from the 27th constitutional amendment, which was passed by the parliamentary lower house on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Pakistani ministers attribute deadly suicide attack to Indian state terrorism but India denies claim Pakistan has opened an investigation into the suicide attack that killed 12 people outside district court buildings in Islamabad, after the prime minister made unsubstantiated claims that “Indian state terrorism” was behind the blast. The attack took place in the middle of the day on Tuesday as the area was thrumming with people. The bomber made several attempts to get inside the buildings before detonating a device next to a police car, killing 12 people and injuring 27. Continue reading...

Force said to have agreed to £20,000 payout to parents who complained about daughter’s school in Borehamwood A police force has reportedly admitted it unlawfully arrested two parents in front of their nine-year-old daughter after they complained about her school on WhatsApp. Rosalind Levine and her partner, Maxie Allen, said they were held at a police station for 11 hours over the complaints about their daughter’s primary school. Continue reading...

Shabana Mahmood to unveil new proposals modelled on Denmark’s controversial system • What changes to the UK asylum system are being proposed? Refugees who have established lives with homes and families in the UK – including Ukrainians – will face having to return if their home countries become safe, the home secretary has said. Shabana Mahmood said the asylum system was “out of control and putting huge pressure on communities” as she announced plans to end the permanent status of refugees, who would need to reapply to remain in Britain every two and a half years. Continue reading...

Not ‘appropriate’ to use licence fee payer’s money to pay US president after threat to sue for up to $5bn, says peer The BBC should not pay any money to Donald Trump, the former BBC director general Tony Hall has said. The US president has said he plans to sue the BBC for up to $5bn (£3.8bn) despite receiving the apology he demanded over a misleading Panorama edit of his 6 January speech. Continue reading...

Flood warnings still in place in England and Wales, with plunging temperatures leading to possible snow and ice Cold Arctic air has begun to sweep across the UK, bringing freezing temperatures as emergency services continue to deal with severe flooding caused by Storm Claudia. On Saturday, a major incident was declared in Monmouth, south-east Wales, where people were rescued or evacuated from homes that were flooded during torrential rain on Friday. It was rescinded on Sunday afternoon, the fire service said. Continue reading...

Former deputy PM hits out at ‘arrogant tittle-tattle’ over the past week and says she has ‘not gone away’ Allies of Angela Rayner say the former deputy prime minister will seek to renew her public profile in the coming months and would be likely to run in a future leadership contest. In her first major interview this weekend, Rayner condemned the “arrogant tittle-tattle” and Labour infighting dominating the past week. Rayner, often considered as a potential successor to Keir Starmer, declined to rule out running for the job or returning to frontline politics, saying she had “not gone away”. Continue reading...

Thomas Massie says move could be Trump’s ‘last-ditch effort’ to keep Epstein files from becoming public Republican congressman Thomas Massie challenged Donald Trump on Sunday over whether the US president is making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the full files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation. Massie and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives leading the bipartisan push to make all the files held by the government public both raised fresh concerns about the latest actions by the White House. Continue reading...

Trump administration has made the Democratic-led city its latest target despite fierce objections from local leaders A top border patrol commander touted dozens of arrests in North Carolina’s largest city on Sunday as Charlotte residents reported a surge of encounters with federal immigration agents near churches and apartment complexes. The Trump administration has made the Democratic-led city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement crackdown it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and the fact that crime rates in the city are steadily declining. The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

* 29-year-old was shot after incident in Midtown * Police say dispute outside restaurant turned violent New York Jets player Kris Boyd is hospitalized in critical situation after being shot in the early hours of Sunday morning. The NYPD said the 29-year-old was shot in the abdomen around 2am on West 38th Street in Midtown. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition. Continue reading...

Congresswoman, a longtime Trump ally, pushes back on president’s remarks labeling her a traitor and a lunatic Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Sunday called Donald Trump’s remarks labeling her a traitor and a lunatic “hurtful” but said she hopes she and the US president can “make up”, despite stark differences over policy and the release of documents about Jeffrey Epstein. Greene, a longtime ally and fierce defender of Trump and the “Make America great again” (Maga) base, pushed back against his name-calling in her first interview since Trump withdrew his support for her on Friday. Continue reading...

Long after his conviction for sexual abuse, people in royalty, academia, business, journalism and politics sought his ear He got by with a little help from his friends. From British royalty to White House alumni, from a Silicon Valley investor to a leftwing academic, connections and influence were the ultimate currency for Jeffrey Epstein. Yet none appeared to challenge Epstein over his horrific crimes. If silence is complicity, the casual disdain of the elite circles he moved in spoke volumes. Continue reading...

A rare earths deal between the US and China will “hopefully” be done by Thanksgiving, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in remarks that were broadcast on Sunday. Bessent’s comments follow a framework agreement announced last month in which Washington agreed not to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and China would hold off on an export licensing regime for crucial rare earths minerals and magnets. “I am confident that post our meeting in Korea between the two leaders, President...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a US-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence. Netanyahu spoke two days after Israel’s key ally the United States and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft UN resolution backing President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, saying the process offered a route to Palestinian statehood. The 15-member UN...

When President Xi Jinping commissioned the Fujian on November 5, China became only the second nation to have an aircraft carrier with an electromagnetic catapult system. It is also notable that, last month, two navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz crashed into the South China Sea. These events crystallise a strategic reality often obscured by aggregate force comparisons: the relevant naval balance is not between the 11 US aircraft carriers and China’s three, but between what the United States can...

Chileans are voting in a presidential election on Sunday that is pitting the governing leftist coalition against an array of right-wing candidates and will also redefine the country’s legislature. Polls opened at 8am and are expected to close at 6pm, but will remain open if there are voting queues. Initial results are expected quickly with a full count within hours. There are eight candidates in the race and none are expected to get the 50 per cent plus one vote needed to win the election...

Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring home 1,200 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations. “We are … counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.” Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on Saturday he held...

After two years of robust growth fuelled by military spending on the war in Ukraine, Russia’s economy is slowing. Oil revenues are down, the budget deficit is up and defence spending has levelled off. The Kremlin needs money to keep its finances steady – and it is clear where President Vladimir Putin intends to get it: at the cash register, from ordinary people and small businesses. An increase in value-added tax to 22 per cent from 20 per cent is expected to add as much as 1 trillion roubles...

President Donald Trump was eager to claim victory this week after the record-long US government shutdown ended on his terms. But almost immediately, the White House was forced to battle a familiar bogeyman: Jeffrey Epstein. A trove of emails released by Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday reignited questions about Trump’s relationship with the disgraced financier and how much the president knew about Epstein’s alleged abuse of girls. While the White House swiftly dismissed...

When Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump met in Busan, South Korea, on October 30, they spent nearly two hours discussing rare earths, fentanyl and trade. Taiwan, the one issue most likely to bring the world’s two largest powers into direct conflict, never came up. That silence was the message. It revealed how both leaders prefer to manage rivalry through quiet understanding rather than confrontation. The approach reduces the risk of war but narrows Taiwan’s options. The...

A new deployment of federal agents arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday as part of US President Donald Trump’s expanding immigration enforcement campaign, marking the latest push to carry out large-scale arrests in Democratic-led cities. “We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed,” Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. She did not provide any details of the...

Alice Wong, a disability rights activist and author whose independence and writing inspired others, has died. She was 51. Wong died on Friday because of an infection at a hospital in San Francisco, said Sandy Ho, a close friend who has been in touch with Wong’s family. Ho called her friend a “luminary of the disability justice movement” who wanted to see a world where people with disabilities, especially those from marginalised demographics who were people of colour, LGBTQ and immigrants, could...

Britain will drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, the Labour government announced late on Saturday, under new plans aimed at slashing irregular immigration and countering the hard-right. The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer comes under pressure from surging popularity for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party. “I’ll end the UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” interior...

After US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands in Busan last month, the headlines highlighted smiles and tariff rollbacks. Washington hailed it as a “massive victory”, saying China had pledged to buy 12 million tonnes of American soybeans by January and at least 25 million tonnes annually for the next three years. Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade surged and farmers in the US Midwest cheered. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared that “our great soybean...

Colombia’s human rights ombudswoman said on Saturday that seven children were killed in a controversial air strike against a rebel group in the country’s south earlier this week, as the administration of President Gustavo Petro steps up efforts to regain control of rural areas in Guaviare province. In a statement, ombudswoman Iris Marin said the minors killed in the strike against the Farc-EMC rebel group had been forcibly recruited and were being used as “human shields”. Marin called on the...

Republican US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene accused President Donald Trump on Saturday of putting her life in danger, saying his online criticism has triggered a wave of threats against her. Greene, once a long-time Trump loyalist and Maga (Make America Great Again) stalwart who has more recently taken positions at odds with the US president, said she has been contacted by private security firms warning about her safety. “Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats...

Pope Leo told a group of leading Hollywood actors and filmmakers on Saturday that cinemas were struggling to survive and that more should be done to protect them and preserve the shared experience of watching films. Screen stars Cate Blanchett, Monica Bellucci, Chris Pine and Viggo Mortensen were among those invited to the private Vatican audience, along with award-winning directors Spike Lee, Gus Van Sant and Sally Potter. Leo, the first US pope, said cinema was a vital “workshop of hope” at a...

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Belem on Saturday to press for action from negotiators holding tough talks at the United Nations’ Cop30 climate conference in the Amazonian city. Under a baking sun, indigenous people mixed with activists gathered in a festive atmosphere, blasting music from speakers, carrying a giant beach ball of Earth and holding a flag of Brazil emblazoned with the words “Protected Amazon”. It was the first major protest outside the annual climate talks...

Tourists will not have to pay a tax for their dogs in the Italian region of South Tyrol after the regional government withdrew a planned new regulation. The regulation would have required a daily fee of €1.50 (US$1.70) for each dog brought to the region from next year. Italy’s northernmost province, where most people speak German, is a particularly popular holiday destination for German and Austrian tourists. The dog tourist tax was part of a new overall regulation. In 2026, a dog tax was to be...

Baumkuchen originated in Germany but has become a wildly popular sweet in Japan, where a prisoner of war on a small western island started making the treat that has thrived in its new homeland. Today, the confectionery known as “tree cake” because of the resemblance to a trunk with rings is considered a symbol of longevity and prosperity in Japan, where Baumkuchen festivals are regularly held. Japanese adaptations, including those using matcha and sweet potatoes, are popular gifts at weddings...

Powerful explosions tore through an industrial estate near Argentina’s capital on Friday, sparking a huge blaze and injuring more than 20 people. Thick billows of black smoke rose hundreds of metres into the night sky, illuminated orange from the massive blaze, observed Agence France-Presse reporters near the site, which is close to the country’s busiest international airport just outside Buenos Aires. “The explosions and fire breaking out in the different factories are huge,” said Gaston...

The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 artefacts to indigenous peoples from Canada as part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress indigenous culture in the Americas. Pope Leo gave the artefacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, and supporting documentation to a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops during an audience. According to a joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church, the pieces were a gift and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas turns 90 on Saturday, still holding authoritarian power in tiny pockets of the West Bank, but marginalised and weakened by Israel, deeply unpopular among Palestinians, and struggling for a say in a post-war Gaza Strip. The world’s second-oldest serving president – after Cameroon’s 92-year-old Paul Biya – Abbas has been in office for 20 years, and for nearly the entire time has failed to hold elections. His weakness has left Palestinians leaderless, critics...

In a recording studio in Dhaka, voice-over artist Rubaiya Matin Gity dubs the latest Turkish soap opera to become a megahit in Bangladesh – a pop culture trend that reflects growing ties between the two countries. “Yasmeen! Yasmeen! I have fallen in love ...” the 32-year-old actor cried in Bangla, her eyes fixed on the screen playing new episodes of the Turkish drama Kara Sevda, or Endless Love, which has captivated millions of viewers in the South Asian nation. The success of Turkish shows,...

Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme – which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Supreme Court judge – failed only due to a lack of support from...

Protesters in Pokemon costumes stomped around the United Nations climate conference on Friday to send a message to Japan: end financing of coal and natural gas projects across Southeast Asia and other regions of the Global South. The Stop Japan’s Dirty Energy Plans protest aligned with the first of two thematic days with a focus on energy during the annual climate conference known as Cop30, held this year in Belem on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon. Organisers of the protest said the...

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would likely sue the BBC next week for as much as US$5 billion after the British broadcaster admitted it wrongly edited a video of a speech he gave but insisted there was no legal basis for his claim. The British Broadcasting Corporation has been plunged into its biggest crisis in decades after two senior leaders resigned following accusations of bias, including over the editing of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the...

US President Donald Trump said he had made “progress” on Venezuela in regard to halting the flow of drugs amid speculation that his administration was preparing to strike targets in the country. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday he had “sort of made up my mind” when asked if he had come to a decision on next steps with Venezuela. “I can’t tell you what it is, but we made a lot of progress with Venezuela in terms of stopping drugs from pouring in.” The US has called Venezuela’s...

As 161 finalised hopefuls compete in Hong Kong’s second “patriots-only” Legislative Council elections, they will have just a few weeks to make themselves and their policy platforms known to the wider public. Some with political backgrounds already have exposure, but it may be limited to the district level. Of the candidates, 49 are district councillors, a high number that is more than three times the 14 in 2021. Thirty-two of them are competing in direct or geographical elections. Name...

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was scrapping US tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits and a broad swathe of other commodities – a dramatic move that comes amid mounting pressure on his administration to better combat high consumer prices. Trump has built his second term around imposing steep levies on goods imported into the US in hopes of encouraging domestic production and lifting the economy. His abrupt retreat from his signature tariff policy on so many staples key to...

A team of researchers has uncovered what they say is the first reported use of artificial intelligence to direct a hacking campaign in a largely automated fashion. The AI company Anthropic said this week that it had disrupted a cyber operation that its researchers had linked to the Chinese government. The operation involved the use of an artificial intelligence system to direct the hacking campaigns, which researchers called a disturbing development that could greatly expand the reach of...

The crisis surrounding the chipmaker Nexperia erupted into a war of words on Friday, with the company’s Chinese and Dutch arms trading barbs, while Beijing slammed the Dutch minister involved. The fiery exchange, which took place over several hours late on Friday evening, will raise tensions ahead of crunch government talks in the Chinese capital next week aimed at resolving the future of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-based company that makes legacy chips vital to the automotive industry. It shows...

A bus rammed into a bus stop queue during Stockholm’s afternoon rush hour on Friday, killing three people and injuring three others, police said. The driver had been arrested and a manslaughter investigation opened, according to police. But they gave no other details of the traumatic incident in the Ostermalm district of the Swedish capital. Shortly after the crash, a swarm of police officers, ambulances and emergency vehicles descended on the scene. Media images showed rescue crews crouched...

Donald Trump said Friday he knew “nothing” about an email from Jeffrey Epstein suggesting the US president knew about the disgraced financier’s sexual abuse. “I know nothing about that. They would have announced that a long time ago,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked what Epstein meant in a 2019 email saying “of course he knew about the girls”. Trump has sought to shift the focus from his relationship with the convicted sex offender, asking the US Justice Department to...

The United States and Switzerland said on Friday that they had reached an agreement to sharply lower tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, with the Alpine nation vowing to invest US$200 billion in the US to win over the White House. The deal was announced a day after talks in Washington, where Swiss economy minister Guy Parmelin visited in hopes of easing steep duties the Trump administration rolled out this year. Trump shocked Switzerland in August when he slapped an added 39 per cent...

US President Donald Trump’s administration said on Friday it was formally withdrawing a plan by his predecessor to require airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when US flight disruptions are caused by carriers. In December 2024, the US Transportation Department (DOT) under then-president Joe Biden sought public comment on writing rules to require airlines to pay US$200 to US$300 for domestic delays of at least three hours and up to US$775 for longer delays. In September, the USDOT first...

China’s flagship sovereign wealth fund has moved three of its managing directors to new, subordinate roles, sources told the Post, with the heads of the fund’s fixed income, private equity and public relations departments all taking new non-managerial positions. All have extensive overseas work experience, and none have reached the statutory retirement age. More reorganising could be on the horizon at China Investment Corporation (CIC), the sources said on condition of anonymity, including those...

The Sino-Dutch row over the control of the Chinese-owned, Netherlands-based chipmaker Nexperia deepened on Friday, as the company’s China units accused the head office of “malicious sabotage” and “shirking responsibilities”. This latest development threatened to put at risk a meeting between the Dutch and Chinese sides early next week in Beijing. The Netherlands’ Minister of Economic Affairs, Vincent Karremans, on Thursday said the dialogue was aimed at finding a “mutually agreeable solution” to...

From regulating the price of chicken to levying fees on cigarettes, Hamas is seeking to widen control over Gaza as US plans for its future slowly take shape, Gazans say, adding to rivals’ doubts over whether it will cede authority as promised. After a ceasefire began last month, Hamas swiftly reestablished its hold over areas from which Israel withdrew, killing dozens of Palestinians it accused of collaborating with Israel, theft or other crimes. Foreign powers demand the group disarm and leave...

As China and the Netherlands prepare to hold talks next week over the Nexperia chipmaker dispute, Beijing has the patience to resolve the issue through multiple rounds of negotiations to ensure the case remains isolated, analysts said. On Thursday, Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans said a senior government delegation would visit Beijing “to continue our efforts to find a mutually agreeable solution”. The Dutch government took the unusual step of seizing control of Nexperia from its...

Spectating from afar during the Cop30 UN climate summit in Belem on the edge of Brazil’s Amazon forests, it is easy to despair. Despite 30 years of concerted global diplomacy and exhaustive scientific evidence of the gravity of global warming, carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, as do global temperatures. Brazil’s rainforest continues to burn. Global oil and gas production remains robust. Governments procrastinate and funding promises still fail to materialise. Worst of all, the world’s...

Russia struck blocks of residential buildings across the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight, killing at least six people in what President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed as a “heinous attack” that deliberately targeted civilians. Moscow has fired record missile and drone barrages in recent months, hitting energy and rail infrastructure, as well as residential areas, knocking out power for tens of thousands across the country as temperatures plunge. It was one of the largest attacks on Kyiv since...

With Nasa’s International Space Station set to come out of service in 2030, American aerospace firm Vast has stepped into a frenzied race for the world’s first commercial space station. Haven-1 - a mini station scheduled for launch in May 2026 - has been designed for comfort, according to Andrew Feustel, a former Nasa astronaut now an adviser at Vast. “It has a three-year lifespan, and over that period of time, we plan to visit the spacecraft with multiple crews of four, four at a time,” he said...

The United States on Thursday designated four entities in Germany, Italy and Greece as global terrorists, accusing them of being “violent Antifa groups” as US President Donald Trump takes aim at left-wing groups. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement he had designated German-based Antifa Ost as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists”, along with three other groups in Greece and Italy, in an effort to build on Trump’s “commitment to confront Antifa’s campaign of political...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. In world first, Chinese scientists find rare earth minerals from a living plant A Chinese-led team of scientists says it has found a naturally formed mineral with rare earth elements in a fern, a world first that offers a “green...

The United States is launching a major new military and surveillance campaign in the Western Hemisphere, deploying an unprecedented mix of robotic air and sea vessels to counter Latin American drug-trafficking cartels. Called Operation Southern Spear, the initiative was formally announced on Thursday night by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said through his X account that the mission followed a direct order from US President Donald Trump. “President Trump ordered action - and the...

Adolf Hitler most likely suffered from the genetic condition Kallmann Syndrome that can manifest itself in undescended testicles and a micropenis, researchers and documentary makers said on Thursday, following DNA testing of the Nazi dictator’s blood. The new research also quashed the suggestion that Hitler had Jewish ancestry. Popular World War II songs often mocked Hitler’s anatomy, but lacked any scientific basis. The findings by an international team of scientists and historians now appear...

James Watson’s legacy is a cautionary tale against letting a profound discovery shape your entire worldview.

A Christian answer to Trumpism is beginning to emerge.

Mr. Boyd was wounded early on Sunday in a shooting in Midtown Manhattan. He is in his first year as a defensive player with the team after signing in March.

Mr. Duncan was elected clerk of the criminal court in New Orleans on Saturday, ousting an incumbent who claimed Mr. Duncan had never been cleared of the murder that sent him to prison.

Three other people, including an 11-year-old boy, were wounded in the shooting on Saturday night, city officials said. It was unclear whether the police had made any arrests.

Predatory lenders often take part in schemes that enable them to circumvent state lending laws and charge borrowers sky-high interest rates.