Minimalist News

15 States Sue RFK Jr. Over Changes To Vaccine Schedule Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times, California and 14 other states on Feb. 24 sued federal health agencies and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the recently revised childhood vaccine schedule. Federal officials violated federal law by not consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel before downgrading recommendations for six vaccines in January, the plaintiffs said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in northern California. The updated CDC vaccine schedule “will damage public health by decreasing vaccine uptake and increasing rates of vaccine-preventable diseases, including

Watch: Dems Double-Down On Refusing To Put Americans First After SOTU Meltdown Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Democrats’ disdain for American priorities hit new lows during President Trump’s State of the Union, where many refused to stand for victims of illegal alien crime or even basic protections for citizens. Now, they’re doubling down with excuses that expose their true allegiances. Building on their po-faced refusals to applaud pretty much any commons sense statement during the speech - as we detailed in our previous coverage - top Democrats are now openly trashing the address as ‘divisive’ while justifying their boycott. According to reports, roughly half of House and

Trump Claims Iran Developing Missiles To Hit US, Contradicting Intel Reports With nuclear talks hanging in the balance, and the potential for yet another US war of choice in the Middle East, President Donald Trump escalated the rhetoric Tuesday night, warning that Iran is moving beyond just regional missile capabilities and setting its sights farther west by developing missiles capable of hitting the United States. During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Trump claimed, "They've already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of

Mexico's Sheinbaum Weighs Legal Action After Musk Alleges Cartel Ties Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she is considering legal action after tech billionaire Elon Musk alleged on social media that she was taking orders from drug cartels. Speaking at a Feb. 24 news conference in Mexico City, Sheinbaum said government lawyers were reviewing the matter. > “We’re considering whether to take some legal action,” she said. > > “The lawyers are looking into it, but what matters to me is what the people say, honestly.” Musk’s allegation of Sheinbaum’s cartel subservience followed the capture and killing of Jalisco

Iran's Nuclear Complex: A Post-12-Day War Refresher The June 13-24, 2025, “12-Day War” was a direct escalation of long-standing tensions. Israel launched Operation Rising Lion with massive airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets, later joined by U.S. strikes on June 22 targeting key enrichment and conversion sites.  The campaign aimed to degrade Iran’s nuclear program, which the IAEA had declared non-compliant days earlier. While physical damage was extensive, Iran retained its scientific expertise, much of its enriched uranium stockpile (~400 kg of 60% Highly enriched uranium, HEU) and is now fortifying deeper underground facilities. With U.S.-Iran talks ongoing and satellite imagery showing repair

College Cannot Force CA Professor To Embed DEI Practices In Classroom, Judge Rules Authored by Jennifer Kabbany via The College Fix, A California community college professor cannot be required to embed diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility practices in his classroom, a federal judge has ruled. The decision is the latest development in a nearly three-year-old lawsuit filed by Daymon Johnson, a history professor at Bakersfield College, part of the Kern Community College District. Johnson is also faculty lead of the Renegade Institute for Liberty. Two California Code of Regulations provisions would require Johnson to employ teaching, learning, and professional practices reflecting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, or DEIA, as

"You Owe Us" Is The Mantra Of The Left Via The Daily Signal, This is a lightly edited transcript of a segment from today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words” from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to Hanson’s own YouTube channel to watch past episodes. Sami Winc: Two things that came together for me. One was [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani’s 9.5% increase in the property tax for New Yorkers, but not that alone. I’m sure our audience has read about that. But I was looking at Power Line. I always like to give a shout-out to them because they have

In Critical Minerals, US Transitions From Lender To Market-Maker A 13-page report from FTI Consulting is providing some insight on how the U.S. government has rewritten the rules for critical minerals. Our readers have been ahead of this curve for months. We have covered the accelerating U.S. push extensively, including our heads up way back in July to keep an eye on MP Materials and USA Rare Earth Corp. Our article was immediately followed by the Pentagon investing in MP Materials and eventually the U.S. government investing in USA Rare Earth. We even noted some abnormal call buying in USAR just before

Watch: Congressional Testimony Abruptly Cut Off After Covert Iran Ops Revealed Via TheGrayZone Damon Wilson, the head of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), was interrupted by a member of Congress during a House oversight hearing on Tuesday after revealing that his agency "began supporting the deployment [and] operation of about 200 Starlinks early on" amid the violence which swept through Iran last month. Before he could finish the sentence, he was cut off by the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Rep. Lois Frankel, who told Wilson: "You know what, I’m going to interrupt you

Fetterman Slams Dems For 'Yelling And Screaming' During SOTU More than 70 Democrats skipped President Donald Trump's 2026 State of the Union address Tuesday night, with some participating in rival events. But, most of the caucus did show up at the Capitol, delivering a masterclass in theatrical contempt: stone-faced silence, open heckling, and a near-universal refusal to applaud anything the president said.  Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), however, chose to be the adult in the Democrat caucus by standing and applauding when Trump said something he agreed with. He then condemned the "yelling and screaming" from some Democrats, adding "I don’t care if it’s

'The Mirage' Of Manufactured Calm And The Disconnect Between Markets And Reality Authored by Erik Ghirarduzzi, The newest form of subliminal messaging — and how we play into it every single day Turn on the news any morning — any morning — and within sixty seconds you will be told that somewhere, something is the most extreme version of itself that has ever existed. The drought is the driest on record. The rainfall is the wettest in a century. The storm is historic. The heat is unprecedented. The cold snap is generational. Tomorrow, a different city will be the hottest, the snowiest, the

NVDA Pumps And Dumps Despite Smashing Estimates And Blowout Guidance Update 7:00pm. NVDA stock is back to flat, erasing all of its post earnings gains, after what some attribute as a lackluster conference call. Specifically, according to Bloomberg, the company "hasn’t offered many details on the outlook provided that Blackwell and Rubin revenue would exceed $500 billion. Opening comments from CFO Colette Kress that competitors in China are “making progress” and have the potential to disrupt the global AI industry in the long run have also taken some wind out of the stock’s sails." Other call highlights noted by Bloomberg include: * Company

"Regime Must Be Relegated To Dustbin Of History": Florida Congressman Erupts After Cuba Attacks U.S. Speedboat Update (1605ET): Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez blasted the Cuban regime shortly after news hit the wires that Cuban border guards aboard a vessel had fired on and killed four people and injured six on a U.S.-linked speedboat off Cuba's north coast. The Cuban Embassy in the U.S. did not specify the exact timing of the incident in its X post. "The dictatorship in Cuba has just attacked a boat from Florida & murdered those on board," Gimenez wrote on X, adding, "This regime must be relegated

Supertanker Rates Hit Six-Year High: Here's What Driving It Global very large crude carrier (VLCC) rates have jumped to six-year highs due to two recent catalysts: first, a growing war-risk premium tied to the possibility of a US-Iran conflict, and second, ongoing consolidation in fleet ownership that is tightening vessel availability. Let's begin by noting that war-risk insurance premiums are rapidly being priced into VLCC tanker rates. The Strait of Hormuz has once again come into focus as the world's most important energy chokepoint, where any flare-up in a US-Iran conflict could prompt Iranian commanders to shut the strait down, sparking what

Outrage In Sacramento: California Parole Board Grants Release Of Serial Child Rapist Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness, The California Parole Board’s decision to release a serial child molester who used candy and toys to lure children as young as three years old has sparked outrage from victims, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials. David Allen Funston, 64, was convicted in 1999 of sixteen counts of kidnapping and child molestation after a horrific crime spree in Sacramento County, during which he kidnapped, raped, and beat eight children aged 3 to 7. The judge described him as “the monster parents fear the most” and sentenced him

SpaceX Official Reveals New Details About Next-Gen Cell Service SpaceX satellite policy lead Udrivolf Pica told participants in the International Telecommunication Union Space Connect webcast about the next-generation Starlink direct-to-device cellular service for smartphones. The revelation of the new service follows SpaceX's October 2025 U.S. trademark filing for "STARLINK MOBILE" and comes as Elon Musk has recently hinted at Starlink mobile ambitions. "We are aiming at peak speeds of 150 Mbps per user," Pica said, adding, "So something incredible if you think about the link budgets from space to the mobile phone." PCMag reporter Michael Kan was the first to report Pica's comments,

Hezbollah Will Stay Out Of US-Iran Fight, But Only If Strikes 'Limited' As the Trump White House weighs its options against Tehran, Hezbollah is signaling it may not be eager to open another front - at least not immediately, issuing a rare message which seeks to calm the mood in the region. A senior Hezbollah official told AFP that the Iran-backed group would stay out of the fight if the United States conducts only "limited" strikes against Iran - a notable caveat, but which leaves the door open if escalation goes further. The past several years of the Gaza war saw Hezbollah enter

Goldman's Top DEI Exec Out Days After Bank Scraps Woke Board Policy Days after the firm announced that they were scrapping DEI requirements for new board members, and six years after the death of George Floyd that ushered in institutionalized virtue-signaling, the bank's head of DEI is leaving.  Megan Hogan, who's been at the firm 12 years, is taking her shtick to Morgan Stanley according to Business Insider, which Hogan confirmed via email, telling the outlet that Morgan Stanley had extended "an amazing opportunity" to her in talent development.  She will report to Morgan's head of talent development, Susan Reid, the firm's global head of talent, and

CME Halts All Metals, NatGas Markets Due To "Technical Issues" At around 1300ET, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) halted trading of all metals and NatGas contracts (futures and options) due to 'technical issues'. Additionally, all day orders and GTDs with today’s date will be cancelled. All GTCs that have been acknowledged will remain working. Since the halt, spot prices for gold have declined... NatGas futures trading has re-opened (lower)... CME says that Globex Metals futures and options markets will Pre-open at 13:31 Central Time and Open at 13:45 Central Time. Developing... Tyler Durden Wed, 02/25/2026 - 14:26

"I Did Nothing Illicit": Bill Gates Begins Apology Tour Over His Epstein Ties A week after Bill Gates abruptly pulled out as a keynote speaker at a high-profile global AI summit in India, the left-wing billionaire finally mustered enough nerve to "take responsibility for his actions" over his ties to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a town hall meeting with Gates Foundation employees. The Wall Street Journal reports that Gates told employees at a town hall event for the foundation on Tuesday that he never spent time with Epstein's victims, and never visited Epstein's island. He revealed that Epstein later

Rare clash off island’s coast took place amid US oil embargo and heightened tensions between two countries Cuban forces killed four exiles and wounded six others who sailed into its waters onboard a Florida-registered speedboat and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the country’s government said, at a time of heightened tensions with the US. Cuba’s interior ministry said the group was comprised of anti-government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted for plotting attacks. They came from the US dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights, it said. Continue reading...

João Francisco Inácio Brazão and Domingos Inácio Brazão sentenced for murder of Marielle Franco, a gay Black woman and rising political star Two influential Brazilian politician brothers have been convicted by Brazil’s supreme court of ordering the murder of Marielle Franco, the Rio de Janeiro city councillor, nearly eight years ago. João Francisco Inácio Brazão, the former congressman known as Chiquinho, and the former adviser to Rio’s court of auditors Domingos Inácio Brazão were sentenced to 76 years and three months in prison for the murders of Franco, 38, and her driver, Anderson Gomes, 39. Continue reading...

Four-day Caricom summit dominated by debate about US interventions in the region as military strikes against suspected drug boats continue US interventions dominated speeches at a summit of 15 nations from the Caribbean and the Americas on Tuesday, as the region’s leaders met amid deadly military strikes against suspected drug boats and an oil blockade on Cuba. During the opening ceremony of the four-day Caricom summit in St Kitts and Nevis, leaders of the regional bloc called for a strategic collaborations to deal with the impact of recent US policies. Continue reading...

Firefighters search for 39 people missing in debris after river burst and houses were swept away Three firefighters pulled a man’s body from the mud amid the rubble of houses swept away in a landslide in south-eastern Brazil, where 30 people died and 39 were still missing on Tuesday after torrential rains. A river in the state of Minas Gerais burst its banks and streets became raging currents of brown water after an overnight downpour in a region that has seen record rain this month. Continue reading...

Chiquinho and Domingos Brazão accused of ordering shooting of Marielle Franco and her driver in 2018 Brazil’s supreme court has opened the trial of politicians accused of ordering the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro councillor Marielle Franco, a case that exposed deep ties between politics and organised crime in the city. Franco, an activist who grew up in a favela and became an outspoken critic of Rio’s powerful militia groups, was 38 when she was shot dead in the city centre alongside her driver, Anderson Gomes. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former New Zealand PM ‘based out of Australia’, according to spokesperson, after rumours she was looking for houses in Sydney The former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is living in Australia with her family, a spokesperson has confirmed. “The family has been travelling for a few years now,” her office told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Tommy Schaefer released early from sentence for murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack and will face US federal charges Indonesia has freed and deported a US man after he spent 11 years in prison for the premeditated murder of his then girlfriend’s mother on the tourist island of Bali, and he will now faces federal charges in the US. Tommy Schaefer was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Bali for the 2014 murder of Sheila von Wiese-Mack, the mother of Heather Mack, during a luxury holiday, in a case that became known as the Bali suitcase murder. Prosecutors allege the couple were

Surface-to-air missiles, which are capable of shooting down aircraft and ballistic missiles, will be located on Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island Japan will deploy missiles to a tiny island near Taiwan within five years, its defence minister has said, in a move that is likely to inflame tensions with China. The surface-to-air missiles, which are capable of shooting down aircraft and ballistic missiles, will be located on Yonaguni – Japan’s westernmost island – by March 2031, Shinjiro Koizumi said. Continue reading...

Rebound in the country – which has been having demographic crisis – said to be partly because of 3.6 million born between 1991 and 1995 having children South Korea recorded 254,500 births in 2025, the largest annual increase in 15 years, driven largely by a temporarily enlarged generation – known as “echo boomers” – now in their early thirties, alongside marriage rates recovering from Covid-era delays. The country’s fertility rate – the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime – rose to 0.80 from 0.75 last year, returning to the 0.8 range for the first time

Critics say proposal to fold department into a new ‘mega ministry’ will dilute accountability and put nature protections at risk New Zealand’s government is seeking to abolish its dedicated environment ministry to cut down on bureaucracy, a move critics say could dilute environmental protections. Under the plan, the department would be folded into a new “mega-ministry” that will cover housing, urban development, transport, local government and the environment. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed * Grace Tame says ‘spare me the condescension, old man’ after Albanese defends ‘difficult’ comment * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Advocate for gambling reform reiterates calls for regulator and ban on ads Reverend Tim Costello, the chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, spoke to RN Breakfast this morning about efforts to combat gambling, including the rollout of BetStop, a self-exclusion register. We are literally saturated. You know, sadly, gambling companies now even own our kids … Right at the moment, you have the farcical situation that under 16, you can’t

Lawyer for protest groups argues state needs to prove it was ‘rational to prevent all protests’ to achieve social cohesion * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Lawyers for three protest groups have argued a Minns government law which effectively banned marches in Sydney’s CBD made its own objective of enhancing social cohesion “worse”. On Thursday the NSW court of appeal heard the constitutional challenge against the anti-protest law, which was passed in the wake of the Bondi terror. Continue reading...

PM clarifies remark but says he disagrees with some language the 2021 Australian of the Year has used * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has said “we all know what you meant” after the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, claimed he meant to describe her “difficult life” when he labelled her “difficult”. Speaking in Melbourne on Thursday morning, the prime minister said he had not meant to describe Tame as “difficult” at a News Corp event on Wednesday, when

Son of Nathaniel and Stacey Train says he is ‘hoping for a quick sale to someone who will be respectful of the property, considering its history’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The site of the Wieambilla ambush, Queensland’s worst police shooting, is up for sale. In 2022, conspiracy theorists Gareth, Stacey and Nathaniel Train killed constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow at their remote property at 251 Wains Road, about 300km west of Brisbane. Continue reading...

Former airline pilot faces retrial over death of 73-year-old Carol Clay in 2020 * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A former airline pilot accused of killing a camper should be released on bail to live with his son ahead of an application for a permanent stay in the case, a Victorian court has heard. Former Jetstar pilot Gregory Lynn appeared in the Victorian supreme court on Thursday as his lawyers argued that he should be freed from custody for the first time in almost three years. Continue

Antonio Tejero, who has died aged 93, was part of rightwing network whose efforts were thwarted by King Juan Carlos The Spanish officer who led his armed followers into the Spanish congress in a failed military coup in 1981 has died on the same day that the socialist-led government declassified documents relating to the murky attempt to overthrow the country’s post-Franco democracy. Antonio Tejero, who died aged 93, was part of a network of rightwing police and military officers whose efforts to seize power were thwarted after King Juan Carlos refused to support the coup and ordered the generals to obey the

Peter Kyle signs cooperation deal on competition and says it is not a case of being nostalgic for pre-Brexit past The British public are “not nostalgic” for the pre-Brexit past but are pragmatic and want to move forward and “deepen” ties with the EU on trade and the economy, the business secretary, Peter Kyle, has said. Signing an agreement in Brussels to cooperate closely on competition issues, Kyle said he thought the deal was “a real vindication of the reset and the relationships that have emerged between the EU and the UK” since Labour came to power. Continue reading...

Emergency meeting called to discuss festival’s ‘future direction’ after series of controversies The organisation that manages the Berlin film festival is to meet for talks amid reports that its American director faces dismissal after a series of rows over Gaza. In a statement on Wednesday, the office of Germany’s federal government commissioner for culture and media said the emergency meeting on Thursday had been called to debate the “future direction of the Berlinale”. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was looking to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline but “it was not so fast,” Reuters reported. Shipments of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia have been cut off since 27 January, when Kyiv says a Russian strike hit pipeline equipment in western Ukraine. Continue reading...

Drinks maker reduces sales and profit forecast for second time in four months amid weak demand in US and China Diageo has slashed its dividend and cut its annual sales and profit forecast for the second time in four months, as the maker of Guinness warned of capacity constraints affecting drinkers of “the black stuff” in London pubs. The world’s largest spirits maker – which owns brands including Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky and Don Julio tequila – lost more than £5bn of its market value on Wednesday as it reported weak demand in the US and China in the first results

Tehran insists deal is possible if Trump abides by preconditions agreed with Witkoff and Kushner Iran enters critical talks on its nuclear programme with the US on Thursday, insisting a deal is in reach as long as Washington sticks by its willingness to concede Iran’s symbolic right to enrich uranium, allow Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and not to impose controls on Iran’s ballistic missile programme. The three preconditions for success are seen as critical by Iranian diplomats, but it remains unclear whether Trump accepts these parameters. Continue reading...

Committee to Protect Journalists report says Israel also to blame for 81% of ‘intentionally targeted’ journalist killings * The deadly toll on journalists in the Gaza war A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed in the course of their work in 2025, two-thirds of them by Israeli forces, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). It was the second consecutive year in which killings of members of the press reached unprecedented levels, and the second year running in which Israel was responsible for roughly two-thirds of the total, the New York-based independent organisation, which documents attacks on journalists worldwide,

Israel welcomes move described by Palestinian Authority as undermining possibility of an independent state The US will provide on-site consular services in two Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank for the first time, breaking with previous policy, in a move that has been criticised by Palestinian officials as “a clear violation of international law”. In a post on X, the US embassy in Jerusalem said that as part of an initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, it would provide Americans with routine passport services in the West Bank settlement of Efrat on Friday “for one day only”. Continue reading...

Hamas to almost certainly reject plan described in Israeli press, say experts, as no guarantee Israel will withdraw on surrender of weapons Progress in the Gaza peace plan has stalled over disagreements on how Hamas should be disarmed, with Israel threatening to go back to full-scale war if the condition is not carried out quickly. The second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire, which Washington declared had begun in January, was meant to involve Hamas disarming, Israeli forces withdrawing, and a Palestinian interim administration moving into Gaza backed by a Palestinian police force and an international stabilisation force (ISF). Continue reading...

Opposition campaigners claim top figures in regime use state wealth to fund lifestyles counter to those they preach Members of Iran’s ruling elite have been accused of brazen hypocrisy by allegedly using the state’s wealth to help to fund their adult children’s lives in the west while presiding over growing economic misery and repression at home. Opposition campaigners made the accusation against some of the clerical regime’s most powerful figures as a military confrontation with the US appears increasingly likely. Donald Trump has deployed a vast armada in the Middle East and confirmed he is considering strikes. Continue reading...

Proposal approved by Modi government will bring official English name into line with Malayalam language The Indian state of Kerala, known as “God’s own country” for its golden beaches and lush tea plantations, is to be given a new name. Narendra Modi’s cabinet has approved a proposal to change the southern coastal state’s name from Kerala to Keralam. The move will bring the official English name into line with how it is pronounced in Malayalam, the primary language spoken by the state’s estimated population of 35 million. Continue reading...

Dominic Ethan Stewart was among 19 killed when vehicle veered off road and plunged down mountainside Tributes have been paid to a young British hiker who was among 19 people killed when a packed passenger bus veered off a treacherous stretch of road and plunged 200 metres down a steep mountainside in Nepal. Twenty-five others were injured in the pre-dawn crash in the Himalayan foothills on Monday. The bus was carrying 44 people, including a number of tourists. Continue reading...

Motorway stretch plays music as a safety feature but those close to it say ‘intrusive’ noise is constant and distressing Residents of one of India’s most upmarket neighbourhoods say the country’s first “musical road” has turned their daily lives into a nightmare soundtrack. A stretch of Mumbai’s recently opened Coastal Road seafront expressway has been engineered to play the pulsating Oscar-winning tune Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire when vehicles drive on it at lower speeds. Continue reading...

‘Intelligence-based, selective operations’ carried out against Pakistani Taliban camps, says information ministry Pakistan launched multiple airstrikes on Saturday night targeting militants in neighbouring Afghanistan, where the government reported children were among dozens of people killed and wounded. Islamabad did not say precisely where the strikes were carried out or provide other details. Continue reading...

Google, Anthropic and OpenAI bosses to mingle with global south leaders wrestling for control over technology Silicon Valley tech billionaires will land in Delhi this week for an AI summit hosted by India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, where leaders of the global south will wrestle for control over the fast-developing technology. During the week-long AI Impact Summit, attended by thousands of tech executives, government officials and AI safety experts, tech companies valued at trillions of dollars will rub along with leaders of countries such as Kenya and Indonesia, where average wages dip well below $1,000 a month. Continue reading...

Two Thatcher-years episodes of Peter Flannery’s award-winning TV series to be adapted for Newcastle stage It is regarded as one of the greatest British television series ever made, exploring the decline of the Labour party, sleaze, social decay, dodgy developers, injustice and how idealism can so easily turn to disillusionment and cynicism. Our Friends in the North will return this year in a new guise and will be just as relevant, its writer believes, as it was 30 years ago. Continue reading...

Zack Polanski says Labour deliberately splitting left vote despite polls giving Greens a narrow lead over Reform The polls have opened in the three-way battle for Gorton and Denton in south-east Manchester in one of the most unpredictable byelections in years. The Green party leader Zack Polanski said his party was “neck and neck” with Reform UK to overturn Labour’s 13,000-vote majority, and that Labour will need to “search their conscience” if Reform UK wins.Keir Starmer’s party has targeted left-leaning voters in the Greater Manchester seat with claims that only Labour can see off Nigel Farage’s Reform, saying that a vote for

Resembling cigarette packet warnings, the ads highlight dangers and urge people to email MPs Mumsnet has launched a campaign to introduce a ban on social media for under-16s featuring health warnings in the style of those on cigarette packets. The deliberately provocative national advertising campaign calls for all social media to be banned for children under the age of 16. The images on billboards and social media make a number of stark statements related to health. Continue reading...

Polls put seat in three-way dead heat with Labour facing threats from Reform and Green party in once safe seat The Gorton and Denton byelection is the biggest electoral test yet for Keir Starmer before what are expected to be disastrous results for Labour in the May local elections. Polls put the race in a three-way dead heat, making it nearly impossible to call. The vote is particularly symbolic because of the threat Labour faces from Reform UK and the Green party in a once safe seat. Should Labour lose, it will put the spotlight back on Starmer’s decision to block Andy

A new mini power station and lithium extraction facility near Redruth are set to bolster green energy and create jobs Just outside the perimeter fence stand the hulking remains of grand stone engine houses, a testament to Cornwall’s proud tin and copper mining history. But inside is a shiny new mini power station and lithium extraction plant that is once again accessing rich underground resources in the far south-west of Britain. Continue reading...

Dismissals follow revelations that FBI subpoenaed records of Patel and Susie Wiles before Trump returned to office At least 10 FBI employees connected to an investigation of Donald Trump have reportedly been dismissed following revelations that the agency subpoenaed personal records of current FBI director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in the years before Trump returned to office. The ousters, reported by CBS News and CNN, were linked to the federal investigation led by former justice department special counsel Jack Smith into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents that were found at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort after

This blog has closed. Read more here * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox A newly revealed diplomatic cable calls on US diplomats to work against attempts by foreign nations to regulate how US tech companies handle their citizens’ data, as “data sovereignty initiatives” gather steam in Europe over security concerns. More from Reuters: President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered U.S. diplomats to lobby against attempts to regulate U.S. tech companies’ handling of foreigners’ data, saying in an internal diplomatic cable seen by Reuters that such efforts could interfere with artificial intelligence-related services. Experts say

Plaintiff says ‘addictive design’ of Meta and YouTube hooked her before she was 10, causing depression and body dysmorphia For the first time, a jury will hear testimony this week from a young woman who alleges social media companies intentionally create addictive products, harming children. The witness taking the stand, known by her initials KGM, is the lead plaintiff in an expansive lawsuit against Meta – which owns Instagram and Facebook – and YouTube currently at trial in Los Angeles. KGM, who is now 20, alleges that she became addicted to social media apps before she was 10 and would spend hours

Actor, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, says taking her 15-year-old daughter to school has become her ‘favourite thing to do’ Christina Applegate has revealed that she is now largely confined to her bed, five years after she was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. In an interview with People magazine before the release of her memoir, the 54-year-old actor said she spends a lot of her days in bed due to the pain that comes with movement. The Guardian will run an extract from Christina Applegate’s memoir, You With the Sad Eyes, on 28 February Continue reading...

Vice-president makes announcement with Mehmet Oz, who says other states will be next after Minnesota JD Vance announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” more than a quarter-billion dollars in Medicaid reimbursements to the state of Minnesota, escalating Donald Trump’s newly announced “war on fraud”. Vance said the action was to ensure Minnesota was “a good steward of the American people’s tax money”, part of its crackdown on the state following a fraud scandal linked to residents of the Somali community in Minneapolis, which prompted the administration to send thousands of federal immigration agents into Minneapolis and that resulted

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he and US President Donald Trump agreed that the next session of trilateral talks in March on a war settlement should lead to a meeting of the countries’ leaders. Zelensky, speaking after a phone conversation with Trump, said the three-sided talks with Russia and the United States would take place early next month. US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also took part in the ‌phone call. “We expect this meeting to create an...

Cuba’s coastguard shot dead four people and injured six others travelling in a US-registered speedboat in an exchange of fire off the Cuban coast on Wednesday, the interior ministry in Havana said. The “illegal” Florida-registered boat was detected one nautical mile from Falcones Cay in Villa Clara province, the ministry said in a brief statement. As a coastguard vessel approached to identify the boat “shots were fired from the boat”, injuring the commander of the Cuban vessel, the ministry...

Former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers has resigned from his teaching post at Harvard University over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Ivy League institution said on Wednesday. Summers, who ran the US Treasury under former president Bill Clinton, was revealed in the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice to have had extensive exchanges with the now-deceased financier. Clinton will testify before a congressional committee on Epstein on Friday while his...

The Pentagon plans to spend an additional US$12.6 billion to improve surveillance of China’s military manoeuvres, submarines and satellites as the US tries to counter the “unprecedented Chinese military build-up” in Asia, according to a budget document sent to Congress. The funds, approved by Congress outside the normal budget process, are designed to improve US military readiness, offensive cyber capabilities and surveillance efforts across the Indo-Pacific. It will also help expand operations...

Bill Gates has admitted making a “huge mistake” in associating with Jeffrey Epstein, telling staff at his charity foundation that he had affairs with two Russian women but denying involvement in the disgraced financier’s crimes. The Microsoft co-founder is among the prominent names appearing in documents released by the US Justice Department that revealed close friendships, illicit financial dealings and private photos with convicted sex offender Epstein. In a town hall on Tuesday with staff at...

Canada’s aviation regulator certified the remaining Gulfstream private jet models that US President Donald Trump asked it to approve, a move which let the White House claim a win in its trade dispute with Canada. The certifications of Gulfstream’s GVIII-700 and GVIII-800 models, the largest business aircraft made by the unit of General Dynamics, were issued on Monday by Transport Canada. Trump said on January 29 that Canada had “wrongfully, illegally” refused to certify Gulfstream jets. Unless...

Ali Shamkhani, who taunted Israel after ⁠being pulled alive from the rubble of his Tehran home ⁠following a strike in June 2025, has survived at the centre of Iranian policymaking during ⁠its most testing military confrontations and diplomatic endeavours. The 70-year-old former Revolutionary Guard commander is a trusted adviser to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a high-stakes stand-off with the US that could determine whether the Islamic Republic, born from revolution in 1979, survives...

The new year is not off to a good start. In January, US president Donald Trump ordered the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and now there is a massive US military build-up in the Middle East, apparently aimed at Iran. One aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the region, with another one on the way. However, there does appear to be a silver lining to the stand-off. Unlike last year, when US bombers struck Iranian nuclear facilities during the conflict between Iran and...

As the United States assembles its greatest military firepower in decades in the Middle East, Iranians are warily awaiting the next round of talks with the US in Geneva this week – negotiations that many see as a last chance for their ruling theocracy to strike a deal with US President Donald Trump. Some say the situation feels hopeless. Battered by decades of sanctions, heightened by Trump’s 2018 decision to withdraw from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, Iranians also just suffered...

US President Donald Trump briefly laid out ⁠his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying he would not allow the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism to have a nuclear weapon. Even while assembling a massive military force in the Middle East, Trump has done little to explain to the American public why he might be leading the US into its most aggressive action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. In his speech, Trump...

Norway’s former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland has been admitted to hospital due to the stress caused by the Epstein scandal, the NTB news agency and others cited his lawyer as saying on Tuesday. Jagland is one of the most prominent figures to have been implicated by the release of files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Norwegian authorities are investigating allegations of serious corruption. The former top politician is said to have stayed at Epstein’s apartments in Paris and New...

This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. US President Donald Trump delivered the traditional State of the Union address to a divided Congress, reviewing his first year in office and outlining priorities ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. In the longest speech of its kind, Trump spoke of a “golden age of America”, saying...

It has been a sad time for the legions of fans of Noam Chomsky, having to see their hero in a photo hobnobbing with the late paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein inside the latter’s private jet. The picture and their email exchanges were part of millions of pages released by the US Justice Department from its so-called Epstein files. So far, the most high-profile fallouts have been, understandably, the arrest of the former Prince Andrew, the public disgrace of British Labour Party...

US military forces boarded a third sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. An organisation that tracks ship movements said the vessel was the only tanker left to pursue after more than a dozen fled the coast of Venezuela following the capture of the South American country’s authoritarian then-president, Nicolas Maduro. The boarding is the 10th interdiction of an oil...

The maxim, “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must”, attributed to the Athenian historian Thucydides, described the reality of world politics for millennia. Today there are forces that wish to see a return to a world where “might equals right”. The European Union, born out of the ashes of war to secure lasting peace, stands for a different vision. We are convinced that the rules-based international order is a historic achievement. Despite not being perfect, this order and...

New York police are investigating after officers were pelted with snowballs while responding to a massive snowball fight at Washington Square Park in Manhattan, as a winter storm blanketed the Northeast in snow. A video of the fracas shows two uniformed officers pacing a walkway in the park on Monday as snowballs fly at them from all directions, hitting the officers and covering them in snow. The officers, growing visibly frustrated, shoved at least two people to the ground as snowballs...

The Louvre Museum’s director resigned on Tuesday after months of pressure following the October theft of the French crown jewels, as the world’s most visited museum faced widening scrutiny over security failures, labour unrest and a suspected ticket fraud scheme. Laurence des Cars quit after a punishing year for the former royal palace - the high-profile jewels heist from the Apollo Gallery, a mid-February burst pipe near the Mona Lisa, water leaks damaging priceless books, staff walkouts and a...

The European Union’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic has railed against the bloc’s glacial trade defences, warning that years-long probes and rigid rules will not protect the bloc from China’s increasingly fierce export machine. Speaking in the European Parliament on Tuesday, Sefcovic lashed out at Beijing’s “unsustainable” trade surplus and called for an urgent overhaul of world trading rules to account for “overcapacities”, “unfair trade policies” and “state subsidies”. He confirmed, meanwhile,...

Russia ⁠accused Ukraine on Tuesday of trying ⁠to obtain a nuclear weapon with help from Britain and France, an allegation Kyiv called an absurd lie. A French foreign ministry spokesman said the allegation was “blatant disinformation”. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “There’s no truth ‌to this.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously criticised Kyiv’s decision to give up its former Soviet nuclear arsenal in the 1990s without obtaining proper, binding...

Today show host Savannah Guthrie said her family is now offering a US$1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Arizona home more than three weeks ago. Savannah Guthrie said on Tuesday that her family was still holding out for a miracle and hopes her mother will be found alive, but she also acknowledged that they realise it might be too late. “She may already be gone,” Savannah Guthrie said in a social media post. “She may...

Chinese ⁠drone maker DJI said on Tuesday that it had ⁠filed suit challenging the US Federal Communications Commission decision to bar imports of all of its new models and critical components. The ban also includes products from Autel, another China-based drone maker. DJI, the world’s largest drone maker, said in a statement ‌it had challenged the FCC decision in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. “It carelessly restricts DJI’s business in the US and summarily denies US customers access...

The UK government said on Tuesday it supported the release of documents on ex-prince Andrew’s past role as a trade envoy, hours after a veteran politician was quizzed by police in the widening Jeffrey Epstein scandal. US authorities last month published millions of files related to the late sex offender Epstein, containing revelations that have rocked British political and royal circles. It has ramped up pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to release its own vetting...

It’s no surprise that US President Donald Trump came out swinging after the Supreme Court’s stunning rebuke struck at the core of his economic agenda. It delivered his most consequential legal setback by blocking him from invoking emergency powers to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs on trading partners. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), enacted in 1977, allows the president to regulate economic transactions after declaring a national emergency in response to an...

President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the four-year anniversary of the Ukraine war by accusing Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of trying to take over Ukraine, saying he had failed to achieve this and other war goals. In a video address that showed Ukrainians carrying out acts of resistance against Russian soldiers in the opening days of the conflict, Zelensky added that Ukraine was ready to do “everything” it could to secure a strong, lasting peace. Hundreds of thousands have died since Russia...

France’s feud with the US ambassador to Paris took another turn on Tuesday with the French foreign minister saying the top US diplomat in France must explain himself after ignoring a French summons. The minister suggested that Ambassador Charles Kushner will not have access to French government officials until he complies. French authorities had summoned Kushner, the father of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, for a meeting on Monday evening over comments from the...

In the early days of 2026, there has been an unexpected turn in China’s global relations. Some US allies have started reaching out to China just as China faced complications in ties with some friendly countries in the Global South. The underlying cause for both trends is the Trump administration’s imperial behaviour. With the dramatic abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and US President Donald Trump’s wish to control Venezuela’s oil, China’s economic stake in one of its closest...

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, unleashing the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. As the conflict reaches its four-year mark, here’s a look at the state of the conflict and some of the consequences for both countries. Destruction The war has resulted in widespread destruction in Ukraine. Entire cities in Ukraine’s east and south, among them Bakhmut, Toretsk and Vovchansk, have been reduced to rubble by fighting. The World Health Organization has...

When Brazilian K-pop fan Tami spotted a social media post last month selling a rare Polaroid photo signed by ZeroBaseOne member Zhang Hao, she jumped at the opportunity. The seller identified himself as a South Korean named Park Chae-ah, according to the Chosun Daily newspaper. She transferred the money. Then Park switched his account to private and vanished. Tami* is far from alone. Across Brazil, home to one of Latin America’s most passionate Korean pop culture communities, scammers have found...

US President Donald Trump has pushed back on reports that the Pentagon was concerned that an extended military campaign against Iran could prove difficult, even as he insisted his preference was still to strike a diplomatic deal. “Everything that has been written about a potential War with Iran has been written incorrectly, and purposefully so,” Trump said in a social media post on Monday. “I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it...

A girlfriend of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the powerful leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel who was killed by the Mexican military, was key to finding him in Tapalpa, a picturesque village of holiday homes in western Mexico. The 59-year-old Oseguera, nicknamed “El Mencho”, was wounded in a clash with soldiers on Sunday and died while being airlifted to hospital. The operation was launched when Mexican military intelligence agents, supported by the US military’s Northern Command, learned...

After being sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for national security offences on February 9, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying will decide if he wishes to appeal. He may challenge his convictions and/or sentences and has about two weeks to make up his mind. Given the length of his trial (156 days), the mountain of evidence and the legal issues, it will take time for any appeal to be resolved. Meanwhile, foreign actors have turned their attention to securing Lai’s early release. The lead...

An unidentified assailant detonated an explosive device next to a patrol vehicle in Moscow early Tuesday, killing himself and a police officer, and leaving two other officers injured, officials said. The attack happened minutes after midnight near the Savyolovsky Train Station in the Russian capital’s downtown, according to Moscow’s branch of the Interior Ministry. It said the assailant approached a traffic police vehicle and detonated an explosive device, killing an officer on the spot and...

A day after the Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful drug lord, the picturesque town where it happened was a study in contrasts. Tourist shops in Tapalpa were open Monday, and workers were on the job. But gunshots also rang out, and in the street was a dead man lying beside a bullet-pocked vehicle. Meanwhile, heavily armed Mexican security forces kept up their battle with cartel gunmen following the killing that sparked a surge in violence and put the country on edge. Cartel fighters...

Prosecutors portrayed a Utah mother and children’s book author as a money-hungry killer Monday on the first day of a murder trial in her husband’s death, while her defence team urged jurors not to make judgments before hearing her side. Kouri Richins, 35, faces a slew of charges for allegedly killing her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl in March 2022 at their home just outside the ski town of Park City. She has vehemently denied the allegations. Prosecutors say she slipped five times the...

Authorities in the northern Portuguese city of Porto have discovered the body of a woman believed to have died two years ago in her flat, national media reported on Monday. The remains were found on January 21, according to Correio da Manhã newspaper and other outlets, citing local officials. The diabetic woman is thought to have died at the age of 73. The exact circumstances of her death are still unclear. The alarm was raised by a doctor at a health centre after the woman failed to attend...

African nations have long been asking: who really opens their market, on what terms and how fast? Earlier this month, China provided a clear answer when it stated that starting on May 1, China will apply zero tariffs on imports from 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations. For years, Western governments have promised to rethink their partnerships with their African counterparts, tying positive language about equality and sustainability to complex trade frameworks. China...

The United States on Monday accused China of dramatically swelling its nuclear arsenal and doubled down on claims that Beijing had conducted secret nuclear tests, demanding again it be part of any future arms control treaty. Washington said the lapsing earlier this month of New Start – the last treaty between top nuclear powers the United States and Russia – presented the possibility of striking a “better agreement” including Beijing. Christopher Yeaw, the US assistant secretary of state for...

The British Academy Film Awards and BBC apologised on Monday for a racial slur that was broadcast during Sunday’s show while two stars of the film Sinners were on stage. The Tourette syndrome campaigner who shouted the slur said he was “deeply mortified” and what he said was “not a reflection of my personal beliefs”. The highly offensive word could be heard as Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, who are both black, were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday’s...

The son of US film director Rob Reiner pleaded not guilty to the fatal stabbing of both of his parents when he appeared in a Los Angeles court on Monday. Nick Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder over the double killing that sent shock waves through Hollywood days before Christmas. The 32-year-old was arrested on December 14 after the bodies of his filmmaker father and his mother, photographer Michele Singer Reiner, were discovered at their home in the upmarket Brentwood neighbourhood...

A US judge permanently barred the Justice Department on Monday from releasing a prosecutor’s report on the criminal case accusing US President Donald Trump of unlawfully retaining classified documents following his first term in office. Florida-based US District Judge Aileen Cannon found that releasing the report would be a “manifest injustice” to the Republican president and two ‌former associates who were charged alongside him because it would detail substantial allegations of criminal...

Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson was arrested ⁠by London police on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, 72, was fired from the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein started to become clear. Police earlier this month began a criminal investigation into Mandelson after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s...

Panama on Monday took control of two ports at the Atlantic and Pacific entrances of the Panama Canal after a Supreme Court ruling voided the concession of their Hong Kong-based operator, a move Washington officials said was “in line with President Donald Trump’s drive to curb Chinese influence” over the strategic waterway. A decree published in the official gazette authorises the Panama Maritime Authority to occupy and run the ports of Balboa and Cristobal for “reasons of urgent social...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who heads to Beijing this week, had warned last year in relation to China that economic dependencies make Germany “susceptible to blackmail”. As chancellor, he confronts an export model under strain, a deteriorating transatlantic environment and the fiscal reality that moral posturing does not sustain an industrial economy. Merz has never been shy about stating where he stands. As chairman of the non-profit Atlantik-Brucke from 2009 to 2019, he boosted the view...

A new Dutch government took power on Monday, with 38-year-old centrist Rob Jetten sworn in as the country’s youngest-ever prime minister and the first openly gay one. Jetten pulled off a stunning election win in October, coming from behind to dethrone the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) led by firebrand politician Geert Wilders by a razor-thin margin. The snap election was called after the PVV withdrew from the previous coalition, the Netherlands’ most right-wing government in recent history,...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already begun” World War III, in an interview with British broadcaster BBC. Speaking in Kyiv over the weekend ahead of the fourth anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, Zelensky said that his view of the conflict was different from that of US President Donald Trump. “We have different views regarding a third world war,” Zelensky said in the interview, translated...

Documents released by the Justice Department briefly mention a woman’s unverified accusation that Donald J. Trump assaulted her in the 1980s, when she was a minor. But several memos related to her account are not in the files.

The former first lady, senator and secretary of state had no dealings with Jeffrey Epstein but is once again under pressure to answer for the actions and relationships of her husband.

Mr. Summers, former president of the school, had stepped back from teaching after documents showed a closer relationship to Jeffrey Epstein than previously known. He will leave at the end of the academic year.

Mr. Kerrey has left his role as chairman of the company, Monolith, after Justice Department documents showed he had met and corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein.

The findings may help explain why this group has such exceptional memory.

President Emmanuel Macron has championed a refurbishment of the museum, but the fallout from a sensational heist has put his plans at risk.

Total profit for the fiscal year was $120 billion, the company said. Three years ago, it was just $4.4 billion.

The investigation appears to be related to a $6 million contract the district had with a tech start-up whose staff had ties to the superintendent, Alberto Carvalho.

The foreign roots of the men accused of killing 15 at a Jewish event have helped make Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party more palatable for some Australians.

Times reporters visiting Tapalpa found a serene town in shock after Sunday’s raid on its outskirts left dozens dead and people fleeing. And, surprisingly, no police or military presence where the battle took place.

The owners have put a 67-year-old nudist colony on the market, hoping a new steward can help it shed its troubled past.

Palestinians and Israelis on the right and left all say that the move is a step toward legitimizing the Israeli settlements, which most of the world considers illegal.

Community groups are opposing proposals to expand the decades-old Cross Bronx Expressway in favor of more limited repairs and improvements to local streets.

Ending more than four decades of conjecture, the Spanish government moved to publish documents from a long-secret investigation of a failed 1981 coup.

He held Spain’s Parliament hostage for 18 hours on Feb. 23, 1981, before surrendering after it became clear that he had little support from the country’s armed forces.

Sanae Takaichi’s political rise presages a stronger Japan that could reshape the strategic balance in Asia and help deter Chinese aggression.

Ezra Klein and Aaron Retica react to Trump’s 2026 State of the Union speech.

The North Korean leader said that his country can get along well with the United States as long as Washington accepts it as a nuclear weapons state.

A parliamentary by-election in Gorton and Denton, outside Manchester, will test support for Britain’s prime minister at a moment of intense political pressure.

Thirty seals, primarily weaned pups, have died since late last week, scientists said.

Mr. Lai was sentenced on Feb. 9. Weeks later, a court quashed a separate fraud conviction against him, a ruling that did not shorten his imprisonment.