Minimalist News

RFK Jr. Announces He's Ending Emergency Liability Protection For COVID-19 Vaccine Makers Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is ending emergency declarations for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and medical devices, after determining that the circumstances that resulted in the declarations are no longer in place. The health secretary in office in early 2020 issued emergency declarations, providing liability protections for companies that made products for COVID-19 and enabling regulators to issue emergency authorizations, which have a lower evidentiary threshold than regular approval. The declarations were extended multiple times, most recently in 2024 by

US Lifts Restrictions On Anthropic's Fable, Mythos AI Models The US government removed foreign access restrictions on Anthropic’s Fable and Mythos AI models, clearing it for wider distribution after the AI company resolved the Trump administration’s safety controls, less than ‌three weeks after the company was ordered to suspend access to its most advanced AI models over national security risks. On June 12, the Commerce Department imposed an export control rule via a private letter requiring the company to obtain US permission before allowing any foreign national, regardless of location, to access those two models and before it could be

xAI Rolls Out Data Center Dividend For Residents Around Memphis Colossus xAI Memphis, Elon Musk's supercomputing and data center complex in the Memphis metro area - better known as Colossus - appears to be testing a version of the " data center dividend " for residents in the surrounding community. The offer of Starlink service with no upfront hardware costs and a substantial monthly discount appears to be an attempt by xAI to turn local goodwill into political insulation, as AI data centers face growing scrutiny over soaring power demand, grid strain, and other neighborhood-level impacts. "As SpaceX continues to

San Francisco Archdiocese Agrees To $395 Million Abuse Settlement Authored by Owen Evans via The Epoch Times, The Archdiocese of San Francisco has agreed to pay $395 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials, in what the plaintiffs’ lawyers described as the largest per-survivor settlement. The plaintiffs’ attorneys said on June 29 that San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will have to write an apology letter to each survivor as part of the settlement. The settlement also requires the archdiocese to implement a series of child protection and transparency reforms. The settlement comes three

El Nino Heat Wave Fuels HVAC Boom: Goldman Maps The Trade We have already provided readers with plenty of color on El Niño (see here and here ), a weather phenomenon that could pressure harvest yields and potentially reignite food inflation later this year. El Niño tends to raise temperatures and intensify weather extremes, worsening drought in some regions while amplifying heavy rainfall in others. Now comes the question of how to profit beyond the agri markets. Goldman analysts led by Brian Singer penned a note for clients titled "Heat Waves Could Further Amplify HVAC Demand," in which they laid

It’s Time To Stop Pretending That Migrants Are Entitled To Equal Citizenship Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us Yet another civil conflict is brewing this week as the Supreme Court tackles a number of foreign citizenship debates, including Temporary Protection Status (TPS) and Birthright Citizenship. The court has ruled that hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants residing in the US under TPS are no longer safe from mass deportations (a win). But, they have also ruled in favor of migrant anchor babies (a big loss). Both issues deal with changing American perceptions on what is “constitutional” when it

Democrat Politicians Are Being Attacked By The Woke Mob They Helped Create If modern history has taught us anything, it's that one should never align one's self with zealots. They might be useful for creating momentum and pushing your agenda forward at the time, but eventually they will deem you inadequate to their standards, because frankly, no one is actually capable of meeting their standards. The political left's shift into radical communism (and radical Islam) is accelerating rapidly, with a number of incumbent and "centrist" Democrat politicians being unseated by "Democratic Socialists" in the primaries in states like New York.

Whistleblower Documents Highlight Serious Safety Concerns For NIH Virus Lab In Montana Authored by Paul D. Thacker via The DisInformation Chronicle , Internal documents from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spotlight growing public alarm about safety and the labs that perform dangerous virus studies. Last month, I broke a story that exposed NIH virologist Vincent Munster , who faced an FBI investigation after he was caught bringing back deadly viruses from Africa to his NIH lab in Montana, Rocky Mountain Laboratories. New documents show Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) continues to be plagued with safety problems, and NIH executives at

Today's Colorado Primaries Could Impact The Midterm Elections Nationwide Colorado Democrats vote Tuesday in primaries that could hand Republicans their most useful campaign weapon of the 2026 midterms: proof that the socialist wave crashing through New York City was never just a New York problem. An election worker sorts ballots for the US midterm election in Grand Junction, Colorado, on November 8, 2022. [File: Jason Connolly/AFP] Three weeks ago, the Democratic Socialists of America notched a trio of wins in New York City that sent establishment Democrats into a panic. Darializa Avila Chevalier knocked off Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of

The Next Oil Rally Could Be Driven By Stockpile Refilling Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com, The Middle East conflict has disrupted more than 1 billion barrels of oil supply, but China's massive strategic crude stockpile helped offset the shock by sharply reducing imports, preventing oil prices from surging even higher. Countries are now racing to build or replenish strategic petroleum reserves, with the IEA planning to refill the 400 million barrels it released during the crisis and major importers like India looking to expand their emergency stockpiles. This wave of reserve rebuilding could create a major new source of

Largest US Power Grid Declares Emergency To Prevent Blackouts A mega heat dome is set to descend on the eastern half of the U.S., prompting the Energy Department to issue two emergency orders to reduce the risk of rolling blackouts in the Mid-Atlantic area as PJM Interconnection braces for record power demand. DOE's first order directs the PJM region, which serves 67 million people across 13 states, "to dispatch specified units and to order their operation as needed to maintain reliability." PJM has implemented several alerts and actions to maintain reliable system operations throughout this week’s forecasted extreme heat and

The Kids Are Not Okay With AI, And They Know It... Authored by Kay Rubacek via The Epoch Times , Eric Schmidt hadn't finished the word "artificial" before the booing started. A child uses a laptop in a file photo. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images The former Google CEO stood at the University of Arizona's commencement last month, ready to deliver the kind of speech he had probably given a dozen times before: AI as the next great transformation, graduates as its rightful authors. He got as far as telling them the technology would "touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every

Wave Of Cybertruck Owners Report "Zero Ability To Charge" As Power Conversion System Nightmare Deepens For months, several auto news outlets and EV forums and auto-focused YouTubers have been tracking what some are calling a " hidden time bomb " inside Tesla's Cybertruck : a growing number of owner complaints linked to Power Conversion System failures . The PCS failure, according to those reports, can paralyze charging and key electrical functions, in some cases leaving the roughly 7,000-pound stainless truck immobilized until service or replacement parts are available. " Tesla is risking a backlash from Cybertruck owners affected by Power

Deflation Is Not The Villain - The Overleveraged Fiat System Is Authored by Nick Giambruno via International Man , It is important to clarify something here. While mainstream economists, the financial media, academia, and other gatekeepers of the rotten fiat currency system howl about the dangers of deflation, it is worth taking a moment to consider whether it is really such a bad thing. First, it is important to define our terms. The correct and true meaning of inflation is an increase in the money supply. So the correct and true meaning of deflation is a decrease in the money

Buffett Delays Midyear Donation To Gates Foundation Amid Epstein Controversy Warren Buffett has funneled roughly $48 billion into the Gates Foundation from 2006 to 2025, typically through annual midyear transfers of Berkshire Hathaway shares. However, this year, for the first time in two decades, Buffett is reportedly delaying his usual donation as he waits for the outcome of a review into the foundation's ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new Wall Street Journal report . The delay comes as Buffett's relationship with Gates, a longtime friend, has reportedly become strained since the release of Justice

The New Socialists: Elite, Ungrateful, And Toxic As Ever Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness , Win some blue-state and blue-city races, and the cocky new socialist Jacobins believe that they have either already taken over the Democratic Party or will soon absorb it. And in reaction to these new swarms, an increasingly terrified and ossified old Democrat guard either limps away from the hive or invites them in to take over more. It is fascinating but ultimately depressing to watch old-style Democrats say or do anything to avoid the new mob of Robespierres. Democrat candidates who recently

Katz Says Israel Could Be Back At War With Iran 'Tomorrow' Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that the Israeli military was ready to restart the war against Iran and that it could happen as soon as "tomorrow" . Katz vowed that Israel would bomb Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh if Hezbollah rockets were fired into northern Israel and that the IDF was prepared to respond if that prompted Iranian attacks on northern Israel. Katz visiting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon on February 2, 2025. Israeli Defense Ministry photo "There is no

Trading Giant Susquehanna Lost Over $70 Million To Mystery Insider Traders Trading giant Susquehanna Investment Group said it was attempting to unmask the identities of individuals it claims made at least $100 million trading on inside information about a Chinese government crackdown on cross-border brokerages last month. The Pennsylvania-based market-maker, which says it was the counterparty on most of the alleged insider trades, sued 100 John Doe defendants in Manhattan federal court on Monday. Susquehanna is seeking to recover more than $70 million it says it lost to what it believes is one of the largest insider-trading schemes in recent

Here We Go Again: Taiwan Raids Super Micro In AI Chip Probe Taiwan has intensified its efforts to stop advanced AI hardware from reaching China, carrying out raids at the local offices of Super Micro Computer and several businesses connected to an investigation into the movement of servers equipped with NVIDIA chips, according to Bloomberg . Investigators searched multiple business locations and the homes of six individuals as part of the inquiry. While prosecutors did not publicly identify those involved, a source familiar with the matter said Super Micro's Taiwan office was among the locations searched. The company said it

Trump Threatens 'Big Problems' For Gasoline Retailers If They Don't Cut Prices Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times, President Donald Trump on Tuesday demanded that gasoline retailers immediately lower prices at the pump, warning of “big problems” if they fail to pass along the benefits of falling crude oil prices to consumers. In an early-morning post on Truth Social, Trump said gasoline prices remain too high despite U.S. crude oil trading at about $68 a barrel and continuing to decline. “Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote. “They’re too high considering that Oil is now

Preliminary analysis of satellite data suggests magnitude of natural disaster could dwarf official estimates More than 58,000 buildings may have been damaged and destroyed by the twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week, according to a preliminary analysis of satellite data that suggests the scale of the destruction could dwarf official estimates. Last Wednesday’s back-to-back quakes – which measured magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 – killed at least 1,943 people, injured more than 10,571, and left tens of thousands missing amid the rubble. The UN migration agency has said that up to 6.8 million people could be affected by the disasters,

The vessel, thought to have been carrying 10 people, did not issue a mayday call before sinking in the strait of Georgia Search teams in Canada have launched a recovery effort for six people believed to have drowned in a “bizarre” sinking of a fishing charter off the coast of Vancouver. Police and rescue crews praised a couple who were passing in their yacht for making a critical mayday call and saving stranded passengers by pulling them onboard their craft. Continue reading...

The 51-year-old daughter of late president Alberto Fujimori secured the top office after authorities spent weeks reviewing contested ballots Peru’s conservative president-elect Keiko Fujimori has vowed to restore “order and hope” after defeating left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez, in the latest victory for a resurgent Latin American right. Fujimori won the 7 June presidential runoff by the slimmest of margins, outpolling Sanchez by fewer than 50,000 votes out of the more than 18 million ballots cast, the final results showed. Continue reading...

More than 100 people removed on ICE flight were being held in hotel in La Guaira when earthquakes struck More than 100 people just deported from the United States were being held in a hotel when earthquakes struck Venezuela, setting off a scramble to find survivors and bodies buried in the rubble, according to survivors. A deportation flight from Miami arrived in Venezuela hours before Wednesday’s earthquakes. Onboard were 146 Venezuelans, including 19 women and seven children, according to ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First, which tracks deportation flights. They were transported to a hotel in La

Caracas and La Guaira affected by 4.6-magnitude tremor as death toll passes 1,700 and humanitarian crisis grows A strong aftershock has rattled northern Venezuela, sending terrified residents racing on to the streets five days after the twin earthquakes that killed 1,719 people, left tens of thousands missing and triggered a growing humanitarian emergency. The aftershock early on Monday – which the US Geological Survey measured at a magnitude of 4.6 – shook the capital, Caracas, and the devastated port city of La Guaira, where rescue crews are still hoping to pull as many survivors as possible from the rubble. Colombia’s

Beijing, whose stockpiles and renewables industry allowed it to withstand energy shock, is now gaining from global solar and EV push China has emerged as the sole winner in Asia from the strait of Hormuz crisis, according to a report published on Tuesday. The report by the geopolitical consulting firm Asia Group concluded that China had weathered the storm of the global commodities crisis resulting from the closure of the Middle Eastern waterway, and also stood to gain from the economic and geopolitical trends sparked by the wider conflict. Continue reading...

Police say there are similarities but no evidence of links between Thunchanok Donhomla’s alleged murder and two other deaths in past two years in same region Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Thai police are investigating whether an Australian man charged with murdering a 17-year-old girl could be linked to two unsolved cases in the region. Police colonel Anek Srathongyoo, a superintendent of Pattaya City police station, told the Guardian on Tuesday that although there was no evidence linking Simon Peter Carman to the cases in neighbouring regions, they were investigating the possibility given

Guo Wengui, who gained fans for criticising China’s Communist party, was found guilty in 2024 on nine charges including money laundering A US federal court has sentenced exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui to 30 years in prison, after he was convicted of defrauding thousands of people out of more than $1bn. In July 2024 , a jury unanimously found Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, guilty on nine of 12 charges, including securities offences, wire fraud and money laundering. The FBI arrested Guo, who is in his fifties, in March 2023 at his luxury Manhattan apartment

Two sides agree to try to make bilateral relationship ‘more balanced’ after weeks of threats The EU and China have agreed to enter three months of talks to try to avoid a trade war over the bloc’s €360bn (£310bn) annual import/export imbalance. In their first joint statement in seven years, the two sides agreed in Brussels to open a formal trade consultation after weeks of threats and recriminations from China if the EU imposed any measures to stop the flood of goods and components into the bloc. Continue reading...

Value of some chip manufacturers have tripled, or more, driving Asia Pacific stock markets sharply higher Shares in chipmakers have surged in the first half of this year as investors piled into companies that make the hardware underpinning the AI boom, according to analysis. Investors have driven up the value of semiconductor and memory chip manufacturers, whose profits have soared during 2026, at the expense of some large software companies, which have fallen out of favour this year. Continue reading...

Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Albanese says charges against EY employees who accessed PM’s bank account details ‘appropriate’ It’s not just KPMG in (boiling) hot water right now; EY is also in the spotlight, after two of its graduate employees on secondment at the Commonwealth Bank allegedly used the bank’s systems to access the personal details of Anthony Albanese . The two employees have been sacked. It’s before the courts and I’m not about to go into the detail of that. It’s appropriate that charges have been laid …accessing

Survey shows two-point fall in vote amid concern about Pauline Hanson’s links to Gina Rinehart and ability to run country Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australians have emphatically rejected some of One Nation’s key policies, including shutting down SBS and ending multiculturalism, with voters raising concerns about Pauline Hanson’s closeness to the billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart and whether the party has the skills needed to run the country, according to a new poll. But even as the latest Guardian Essential poll finds voters

Parliamentary inquiry recommends new laws to police behaviour at polling booths Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast New laws are needed to police behaviour at polling booths after Australia’s democracy came “under assault” at last year’s federal election – including from third parties such as Plymouth Brethren Christian Church members and rightwing lobby group Advance – the chair of a parliamentary inquiry has said. The proposed new code of conduct for campaigners was among several recommendations in the interim report from the Labor-led committee reviewing

Past and present leaders of wealthy nations such as UK and Germany have argued their actions are insignificant On first hearing, it is a position that sounds reasonable. “When our share of global emissions is less than 1%,” Rishi Sunak argued when he was the UK prime minister in 2023, “how can it be right that British citizens are now being told to sacrifice even more than others?” Sunak is not the only world leader to have cited such figures while delaying cuts to pollution. In 2019, Scott Morrison, Australia’s then prime minister, used his country’s 1.3% of global emissions

More than half of homes taken to auction not selling while median property price in Adelaide started to slide in June Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast House prices are now falling in four capital cities with the Adelaide market beginning to slide in June, while Sydney values have dropped by $48,000 since the start of the year. Data from Cotality, released on Wednesday, showed Sydney and Melbourne recorded their biggest one-month decline in values since August 2022, falling 1.2% and 1% respectively. Continue reading...

European powers resist Trump administration’s pick for high representative after incumbent pushed out Diplomats from the US and Europe have been unable to resolve their differences and agree on a new top international envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a standoff which has become a transatlantic test of wills over influence in the Balkans. A meeting in Sarajevo to select a new high representative, a post with far-reaching powers, ended without a compromise, in a spat that has undermined western cohesion in the region in the Trump era. Continue reading...

Normally safe principality left reeling from apartment blast that also injured Vadym Iermolaiev’s wife and child ‘He isn’t political’: the Ukrainian-born oligarch targeted by a Monaco bomber An international search is under way for a suspected bomber after a Ukrainian tycoon and his family were injured in an explosion in Monaco in an unprecedented attack that has shaken the normally ultra-safe principality. Stéphane Thibault, Monaco’s public prosecutor, told reporters that a man entered an apartment block on Monday evening, left a package in the lobby and walked away. Moments later, as three occupants of a ground-floor flat approached the entrance,

Cristina Guarda says delegation was denied access to cells in offshore detention facility, at which six people have attempted suicide An Italian MEP has questioned whether the Italian government is trying to “hide the truth” about conditions at an offshore migrant detention centre in Albania after a delegation she was part of said they were prevented from conducting a full inspection. Cristina Guarda, from Italy’s Greens and Left Alliance (AVS), said staff at the Italian-run facility in Gjadër had refused to give MEPs from the Greens/EFA group key information, such as how many people were being held at the centre,

Authorities are still searching to identify the suspect of an alleged assassination attempt of a Ukrainian business tycoon in Madrid More than 1 million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers have applied to regularise their status in Spain under a government programme to harness and defend the benefits of immigration at a time when most European countries are pulling up the drawbridge. “The fact that more than 1 million people submitted applications shows just how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was.” Continue reading...

Questions remain as to why somebody would want to kill Vadym Iermolaiev, who has a personal fortune of $225m Monaco in shock after parcel bomb injures Ukrainian-born business leader Nobody paid much attention to the man with the backpack, as he approached the entrance to a beige-coloured Monaco apartment building. It was 9pm, Monday. The street – rue Révérend-Père-Louis-Frolla – is located in a quiet hillside part of the wealthy principality, close to the border with France. The man left his bag on the front steps. Soon afterwards, the Ukrainian-born oligarch Vadym Iermolaiev emerged, together with his wife and their

US president posts that meeting will take place on Tuesday in Qatari capital after exchange of fire in strait of Hormuz Iran is jealously competing with Oman as decision-maker over strait of Hormuz Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hold talks in Doha after the US and Tehran traded fire in the strait of Hormuz this weekend, threatening the collapse of a ceasefire meant to keep the strait open and pave the way for peace talks. In a terse post on Truth Social, the US president claimed the meetings would take place in the Qatari capital, as

Tehran believes it should control the shipping route but its neighbour has its own plans for reopening it The strait of Hormuz is Iran’s chief bargaining tool in the negotiations with the US and so it was always likely to be the greatest point of contention. Every inch of the 24-mile-wide waterway is being contested in a test of wills and patience. For Iran, the continuation of the dispute is not a problem so long as it does not lose control. Continue reading...

Tehran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait amid efforts to open strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct oversight Fresh hostilities in Gulf suggest US-Iran memorandum was too broadly worded A new round of escalating strikes between Iran and the US has continued, further undermining the fragile interim peace agreement between the two countries, and prompting Donald Trump to threaten violence that would ensure Iran “will no longer exist”. On Sunday, Tehran launched drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait after new US strikes on sites in southern Iran, and threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war. Trump said

Document appears to have been subject to conflicting interpretations on key issues of Lebanon ceasefire and strait of Hormuz Middle East crisis live – latest updates The sudden eruption of fresh hostilities in the Gulf – just 10 days after Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict – threatens to put the two countries back on the path to war . It appears the deliberately opaque wording in the memorandum has been unable to withstand the pressure of conflicting interpretations, and as a result supporters of the deal inside Tehran are on the back

Iran attacked Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, and threatened a ‘complete halt’ to talks US and Iran trade strikes as both sides accuse the other of endangering ceasefire We will soon be closing this liveblog, but you’ll be able to stay up-to-date with our ongoing coverage of the Middle East here. Here is a summary of today’s events: Iran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic , and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. US president Donald

Local officials said preliminary reports showed the centre was unregistered and operating inside a privately owned residential building Fourteen children died after ⁠the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in Pakistan’s eastern city of ⁠Lahore on Tuesday, ⁠rescue ​officials have said, as authorities opened the way for a possible negligence ⁠investigation. Punjab’s emergency service said rescuers found children and a 30-year-old female teacher ⁠under the rubble of the private after-school facility. The ​children killed were aged ‌five to ‌16 with most below nine. Continue reading...

Government hopes for 30% of city’s fleet to be electric by 2030, in move hailed as ‘gamechanger’ on air pollution The unruly chaos of Delhi’s roads would be unrecognisable without the rickshaws and scooters that zip through India’s capital in their millions, emitting toxic fumes in their wake. But now, ambitious policies aim to give the city’s most recognisable vehicles an environmental makeover. On Monday, Delhi’s government announced plans to eventually ban petrol scooters, motorbikes and autorickshaws in favour of those running on electricity, in an attempt to bring down dangerously high pollution levels in the city by the end

Exclusive: Activist tells of his life as one of India’s most prominent political prisoners and his opposition to the government of Narendra Modi Prison is hardest at sunset. As the thousands of prisoners incarcerated in Delhi’s most infamous jail are cast out of their cells and forced into the dank yard until darkness falls, prisoner number 626714 feels the punishing dread begin to rise. Yet the inmate – better known as Umar Khalid – was recently moved to discover that another political prisoner, exiled at a camp thousands of miles from India, wrote of the very same feeling more than

Pakistan says strikes were aimed at a terrorist group while Taliban condemn ‘cowardly act of aggression’ Pakistani airstrikes in three eastern provinces of Afghanistan killed 36 civilians and wounded 163 others, Afghan officials have said, as attacks between the two countries showed no sign of abating. Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the operations on Sunday night were aimed at a terrorist group his country blamed for a deadly militant attack in Karachi that killed three security personnel over the weekend. Continue reading...

Fears hard-won gains in reducing child mortality over 20 years are at risk after end of USAID funding for nutrition programmes Child malnutrition in Nepal has reached “alarming” levels, according to the largest ever survey of under-fives in the country. The new figures came just over a year after USAID, the former US flagship agency closed by the Trump administration in 2025, stopped funding work on child nutrition in Nepal. Continue reading...

Singer has likened live show to theatre rather than a conventional concert but fans have criticised the performances and lack of crowd interaction Lily Allen has defended the live tour of her latest album West End Girl, after fans complained about feeling short-changed by the 55-minute shows that have no crowd interaction. Allen is currently on the UK leg of the world tour for the album that was inspired by her divorce from the actor David Harbour. The show sees her perform the 45-minute album in its entirety, without speaking to the crowd or performing any of her back catalogue.

Doctors say survey shows need for morning-after pill to be available at corner shops, petrol stations and supermarkets Almost half of the UK population believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception on a Sunday, while nearly two-thirds think they would struggle after 10pm, according to a survey. The research, carried out by YouGov, found that only 7% of people believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception during the daytime on a weekday. Continue reading...

Ahead of England’s first knockout game of the World Cup, Love Letter to England celebrates what English people have in common What does it mean to be English? Ahead of England’s first knockout game of the World Cup, Ian McKellen and the award-winning playwright James Graham have released a short film that attempts to answer that deceptively simple question. The film, Love Letter to England, explores and celebrates what people across the country have in common. It draws on early contributions to the National Conversation, a UK-wide initiative that began last month . Continue reading...

Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome is underdiagnosed and inconsistenly managed, according to Nice Up to 4 million women with irregular periods should be investigated for polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, according to new NHS guidance . PMOS, previously known as polycystic ovarian syndrome, is believed to affect up to 13% of reproductive age women , the World Health Organization estimates. Continue reading...

Visit to monarch planned for 6 September and will take Jamaica’s mission for reparatory justice to the ‘next level’ Jamaican officials will travel to the UK in September to formally lodge an unprecedented petition with King Charles to seek legal guidance on their slavery reparations claim from Britain, the country’s government announced on Tuesday. Speaking in the parliament of the Caribbean nation, Olivia Grange, the culture minister, confirmed that the trip was planned for 6 September, and was intended to take Jamaica’s mission for reparatory justice to the next level. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Supreme court upholds birthright citizenship , allows states to ban trans women from female sports and ends limits on federal campaign spending What to know about birthright citizenship – explained Sign up for the Breaking News US email The supreme court’s decision to reject Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook yesterday is part of a long-running battle over the independence of the central bank. Trump repeatedly attacked former chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates fast enough, calling him a “moron” on social media. Powell’s term ended in May this

President unveils plans for Dallas summit, in break with tradition of conventions only in presidential election years Donald Trump has announced that Republicans will stage their first ever national convention ahead of the midterm elections, a move aimed at energizing voters as the party fights to hold its narrow congressional majorities in November. The two-day gathering will take place in Dallas on 9 and 10 September, marking a break from the longstanding tradition of holding national conventions only during presidential election years. Trump confirmed the plans on Tuesday in a Truth Social post, describing Dallas as “One of my favorite

Justices to consider whether bans on AR-15s and similar semi-automatic firearms violate second amendment The US supreme court will consider whether bans on AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic firearms are constitutional. The justices said on Tuesday they will hear appeals challenging bans in Connecticut and the Chicago area in the next term. Continue reading...

President’s crypto ventures have eclipsed in revenue much of his property portfolio that took decades to accumulate Donald Trump raked in more than $1bn from his crypto businesses last year, a federal filing released Monday shows, giving a substantial boost to his annual income. In his second term, the president and his family have heavily invested in digital money and various crypto businesses with Trump announcing at the start of 2025 that he wanted the US to be the “crypto capital of the world”. Trump’s crypto earnings are in addition to profit from his legal settlements, real estate and royalty

Two sides yet to have face-to-face meeting since signing deal to reopen strait of Hormuz Talks at an indirect level between US and Iranian officials over unfreezing at least $6bn Iranian assets will recommence on Wednesday in Doha, Iran has said. The two sides are yet to have their first face-to-face meeting since signing a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait of Hormuz. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Qatar on Tuesday for talks covering regional issues including the Iran ceasefire and Lebanon, but Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, stressed these were with

When I was still working from the South China Morning Post’s office in Hong Kong, I fought with my expat colleagues throughout the summer over control of the thermostat. There were basically two tribes. I generalise here a bit, but essentially the locals wanted it freezing, which admittedly was bad for the environment and rather excessive. The expats, however, wanted it just a few degrees lower than outside, which seemed to defeat the purpose of air conditioning. When my late boss Simon, who was...

The United States is expected to formally decline to extend its free-trade agreement with Mexico and Canada on Wednesday, starting a years-long process that could wind down the trade zone unless the three governments agree on sweeping changes. Trade chiefs from the three countries are due to meet virtually on the sixth anniversary of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, with Washington widely expected not to confirm that it wants to keep the pact in its current form. The move stops short...

Blake Lively is seeking US$8 million in legal costs from actor and director Justin Baldoni after resolving their dispute over the acrimonious production of their 2024 film It Ends With Us. Lively’s lawyers disclosed the amount, covering nearly US$7.5 million in lawyers’ fees from two law firms that represented her and about US$500,000 in other expenses, in a court filing on Tuesday. Lively and Baldoni settled last month just before a trial was to start in federal court in Manhattan on Lively’s...

French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday against a renewed debate in favour of the death penalty and said he was appalled by the rising number of executions around the world. Addressing the ninth World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris, Macron said opposition to capital punishment is needed “because today this debate is resurfacing in our societies”. “Because today many in our societies once again believe that the death penalty is a solution, amid a confusion of principles...

Almost 1,700 British ⁠investors are suing ⁠Binance and founder ⁠Zhao Changpeng for at least £150 million (US$200 million), alleging the crypto trading platform sold them risky, complex derivative products without regulatory authorisation. The claimants, some ‌of whom said they had lost tens of thousands of pounds, allege Binance entities knowingly sold investments such as leveraged products, which can amplify gains or losses, from late 2019 and promoted ⁠them in breach of the Financial Services...

Britain said on Tuesday it could intervene in Paramount Skydance’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, potentially holding up the US$110 billion deal after the US and China gave it the green light. The move could see the deal referred to the UK’s antitrust regulator, which made headlines in 2023 when it blocked Microsoft’s US$69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard to the fury of the two US companies. It later changed its mind after Microsoft amended its...

The US Supreme Court has again struck down campaign spending limits, this ⁠time rejecting federal restrictions on coordinated spending between political parties and their candidates on free speech grounds. The ruling on Tuesday comes as major Republican committees head towards the November midterm elections with a significant cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts. Siding with Vice-President J.D. Vance and other Republican challengers, the court ruled 6-3 that a cap on the amount of...

The US Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for ⁠states to impose restrictions on transgender student athletes, upholding laws in West Virginia and Idaho banning them from female sports teams. It delivered a major victory to conservatives in one of the country’s most fiercely contested culture-war battles. The justices overturned decisions by lower courts siding with transgender students who challenged the bans in the two states as violating the US Constitution and a federal...

Almost a week after two devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, survivors were still being found alive by rescuers that have come from abroad to help. Salvadorean rescuers reached a 44-year-old man trapped under the rubble of a shopping centre in the coastal city of Maiquetía in the early hours of Tuesday, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele wrote on the platform X. The man had been supplied with water through a tube while rescuers found a way to reach him safely. Workers from the Ecuadorian...

The Russian luxury yacht Graceful, said to be the personal vessel of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has appeared on radar for the first time in almost four years, Danish public broadcaster DR reported. According to data from Marinetraffic.com, the vessel sailed along the northern coast of Denmark on Monday. DR reported that from Sunday morning it had been accompanied by two Russian warships as well as alternately by the Danish navy and the German coastguard. “The armed forces routinely...

When people talk about the race for artificial intelligence, they usually focus on software. Headlines revolve around ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek or the latest breakthrough model. Governments announce AI strategies and investors pour billions into start-ups promising to transform everything from medicine to education. Nonetheless, the most consequential battle in the AI age may not be over algorithms at all. It may be over the machines. Behind every chatbot response and AI-generated image lies a...

Iraqi oil stranded by the Middle East conflict has escaped the Persian Gulf over the past ten days as transit via the Strait of Hormuz eased during an uneasy US-Iran ceasefire. Vessels carrying about 14 million barrels of Iraqi oil exited the Gulf in the latter part of June and are now carrying crude to buyers in Asia, Europe and the US, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. That is the equivalent of about 1.4 million barrels a day over the 10-day period. All cargoes loaded...

Thousands of people joined anti-migrant protests in South Africa on Tuesday, watched over by a massive police contingent that was deployed to prevent violence and intimidation. The demonstrations in Johannesburg, Pretoria, the port cities of Durban and Cape Town and other towns were called by an organisation known as March and March to demand that all undocumented foreigners leave the country. The rallies, which marked the culmination of weeks of protests that have displaced thousands of mainly...

Self-flying fighter jets, uncrewed submarines and drones are at the centre of Britain’s future military under a defence plan announced on Tuesday that reflects a world of conflicts transformed by technology. Prime Minister Keir Starmer – who is expected to leave office next month after losing the support of MPs – unveiled his long-delayed Defence Investment Plan. Defence spending will ⁠increase to nearly £80 billion (US$105.85 billion) a ‌year by 2029, putting it on a ‌path to hit three per cent...

When late Venezuelan ⁠leader Hugo Chavez built this coastal housing development bearing his name as part of his socialist revolution, residents found ⁠a fresh start after deadly floods had decimated the area more than a decade earlier. But after two back-to-back earthquakes flattened parts of the 1,100-unit complex last Wednesday, engineers have urged the Venezuelan government to swiftly audit similar public housing that is still standing. “I lost my whole apartment,” said Yelsa Rojas, who since...

A passenger jet reported striking a drone while approaching JFK International Airport on Monday, and just hours later, a helicopter pilot alerted a close call with a remote-control plane near the same airport. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the first incident that happened as a JetBlue plane passed through 3,000 feet (914 metres) Monday morning while it was crossing the coastline. The plane landed safely in New York without any additional help, and no damage was found when...

A self-exiled billionaire Chinese business tycoon once believed to be among China’s wealthiest men was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in a US prison for a massive financial fraud that a federal judge said cost over 1,000 people worldwide hundreds of millions of dollars. Guo Wengui, who fled China a decade ago and reinvented himself as a US-based Communist Party critic, was sentenced in a Manhattan courtroom packed with his supporters by Judge Analisa Torres. She said he “preyed on those seeking...

The parents of a seven-year-old Michigan boy who weighed 116kg (255 pounds) when he died have been charged with murder, torture and child abuse, prosecutors said. “Clearly the parents were feeding the child improperly, to say the least,” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said on Monday. “He wasn’t getting the nutrition he needed.” Casper O’Brien died in November after first responders were called to the family’s home in Flint because he had stopped breathing, prosecutors said. His parents –...

A blast from an explosive device wounded Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev and two others in Monaco on Monday, authorities said, in a “deliberate” act unprecedented in the principality. Three people including a teenager were wounded in the explosion that struck around 9pm local time in a residential building on a street along the border with France. A source close to the investigation who asked not to be named said that one of those wounded was Yermolaiev. Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe...

Peru’s conservative president-elect Keiko Fujimori vowed to restore “order and hope” as final results showed she narrowly won the election in the latest victory for a resurgent Latin American right. She inherits the task of running a country hit by powerful organised crime gangs and chronic political instability, as it burned through eight presidents in the past decade. Her win also means the name Fujimori is back in the presidential palace more than two decades after the fall of her late...

More than 100 people just deported from the United States were being held in a hotel when earthquakes struck Venezuela, setting off a scramble to find survivors and bodies buried in the rubble, according to survivors. A deportation flight from Miami arrived in Venezuela hours before Wednesday’s earthquakes. On board were 146 Venezuelans, including 19 women and seven children, according to ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First, which tracks deportation flights. They were...

Lutao Cen was swimming off Margarita Island, where he has lived for four decades, when twin earthquakes measuring above magnitude 7 struck northern Venezuela within two minutes. Only after returning to shore did he learn what had happened. Messages flooded his WeChat feed. Friends in Caracas, Valencia and Maracay described buildings collapsing and streets filled with dust. Then came the news he had feared most. A close friend in La Guaira, chairman of the local Chinese association, had been...

The recent visit of Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, carried the task of accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis. This is not another urban expansion, but a strategic test of whether Hong Kong can reinvent its role in the nation’s innovation landscape. At its core, the Northern Metropolis bears a dual mission. For Hong Kong, it must become a growth engine, creating a third curve of development, beyond finance and real estate, by nurturing original...

Alex Murdaugh was back in court Monday on charges he killed his wife and son, appearing silently at a pretrial hearing that was mostly short on substance but long on spectacle as the true-crime sensation continues to captivate. Murdaugh’s murder convictions and sentence of life in prison were overturned last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court. On Monday, a new judge laid out a timeline for hearings set the retrial to begin April 5. She also nailed down deadlines for making sure the...

Swiss authorities on Monday returned 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in a ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos, the latest addition to the nation’s growing collection of repatriated treasures. Countries across Africa have been pushing in recent years for the restitution of artefacts and artworks taken during the colonial period – including Nigeria’s famed Benin Bronzes, which were looted as spoils of war by the British and today are scattered in museums and private collections across the...

A law professor known for his expansive views of presidential power and for decades-old memos that justified harsh interrogation techniques after the September 11 terror attacks says he will be advising a team of prosecutors investigating whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against President Donald Trump. John Yoo confirmed in an email to Associated Press on Monday that he would be assisting Joe diGenova in an ongoing investigation into whether officials who over...

French police on Monday detained a couple after their 15-month-old twin daughters died of suspected dehydration, a source close to the investigation said. The couple’s four other children, aged three, four, five and six, were hospitalised with dehydration but were not in life-threatening condition, the source said. The parents alerted emergency services in the northern town of Beuvrages after discovering the twins in their beds, a police source said. Preliminary findings indicate that the...

In a bid to cool searing trade tensions, the European Union and China have launched a new ministerial-level platform for solving grievances, with Brussels insisting that disputes over trade imbalances, export controls and intellectual property must deliver “tangible results” by October. On Monday, in the middle of marathon talks in the Belgian capital, the sides issued a rare joint statement, in which they announced four initial workstreams, focused on trade and investment balancing, export...

Penelope Keith, a comic performer who shone as flinty but lovable upper-crust characters in British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born, has died aged 86. Keith’s family said on Monday that she had been diagnosed with cancer and died at her home in Surrey, near London. Keith began her acting career onstage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 but she found her greatest fame on television. She won a Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award in 1977 for The Good...

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has visited Russia and then China following a series of public exchanges with Ukraine, meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing and Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Valdai residence. Lukashenko told Xi that being in China was for him “like coming home”, Belarusian journalists accompanying the delegation reported on Monday. Xi said China supported Belarus in preserving its state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, according to...

The US Supreme Court on Monday fortified President Donald Trump’s powers to fire members of independent government agencies, but carved out protections for the Federal Reserve by blocking the firing of Governor Lisa Cook. In a 6-3 ruling, the court’s conservative majority rejected a challenge by Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, ruling that Trump had the power to fire “subordinates who exercise the President’s power”. The decision is expected to have wide-ranging...

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a push by President Donald Trump to throw out a jury’s finding that he sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s and later defamed her. The High Court declined to take up the case in a brief, unexplained order, as is typical. There were no noted dissents. Trump’s lawyers had argued that allegations leading to the US$5 million verdict were propped up by “highly inflammatory” evidentiary rulings, including...

Russian missiles and drones killed at least 11 civilians and injured 40 others in Ukraine on Monday in what President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “horrific attacks”, while the nation’s energy grid buckled under temperatures in excess of 36 degrees Celsius, hit by the deadly heatwave that has afflicted much of Europe. Russian drone and missile attacks have decimated Ukraine’s energy network since Moscow invaded in February 2022, causing tens of billions of dollars worth of damage and leading...

Six people were killed in a shooting on Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said. Five people – four women and a man – died at the scene of the shooting. A sixth, also an adult, died later in hospital. A main suspect was arrested, while another two people were subject to “police measures” on suspicion of involvement, police said in a statement without elaborating. They said several people were wounded, some of them seriously, German news agency dpa...

The deadly heatwave that’s set temperature records across western Europe for more than a week has shifted east to scorch Hungary, Romania and the Balkans. Hungary’s Budapest is expected to top 40 degrees Celsius (104F) on Tuesday, according to models from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Belgrade in Serbia and Bucharest in Romania will reach 38 degrees and 37 degrees, respectively, on Monday. Red warnings for extreme heat have been issued in Poland, Hungary, Romania,...

Andy Burnham, Britain’s presumptive next prime minister, has set out details giving more powers to local government as part of a plan to spread wealth and economic growth. Saying Westminster “is not working” and is “broken”, he set out a sweeping economic vision in a key speech from Manchester – where he was mayor for nine years – to bring voters, colleagues and financial markets up to speed with his ideas during his rapid progress towards power. “We need to change politics and we need to do it...

As more patients recover from the world’s largest recorded Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, doctors are beginning to piece together how the rare virus behaves, offering the clearest picture yet of one of the disease’s least-studied strains. The number of recoveries reported by Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) health authorities almost doubled in a week, rising to 148 on Thursday from 80 on June 18, even as treatment centres admit dozens of patients daily. ⁠The DRC said late on ⁠Sunday that...

The critical 72-hour window for finding survivors of the powerful twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela had mostly closed by Monday, leaving international teams facing a grim race against time to pull anyone else alive from the debris. The death toll has surpassed 1,450 and nearly 200 buildings have completely collapsed. On Monday, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared the rescue ⁠of 21-year-old Aaron Levi from a collapsed building in the disaster-stricken state of La Guaira. “This rescue...

Every few minutes, the mortuary owner’s phone rings. Since a record-smashing heatwave started taking lives and storage space for bodies in Paris and beyond, the funeral directors and mourning families calling him mostly have the same question: do you have room for one more? With all 32 places in his cold room taken, Zouhaeir Hertelli reluctantly has to gently say “Non”, over and over and over again. “We’re facing a really catastrophic situation,” he said. “I’m getting hundreds of calls.” As the...

Nasa is racing to save an ageing telescope from falling back to Earth with a daring rescue mission. The US$30 million salvage operation gets under way as soon as this week with the planned launch of a robotic lifesaver. Nasa hired start-up Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit where it can continue hunting for some of the universe’s biggest explosions. A three-armed spacecraft built by Katalyst will chase after Swift once it takes off from an atoll in the...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s AI-powered laser mosquito zapper goes viral after crowdfunding success 2. Why Malaysia’s tourism boom lives and dies on a Chinese app 3. As Europe sizzles amid extreme heat, the hunt for China’s aircon remains elusive 4. Cathay Pacific says sorry to actor Wu Chun over 3-day luggage delay...

The public consultation for Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s last policy address of his current term is under way. Will he, for example, listen to the people about whether the baby bonus, one of the initiatives aimed at raising the birth rate and which is set to expire in October, should continue? Lee did say in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post that his government plans to “collect wisdom” before deciding. According to the chief executive, Hong Kong experienced a 10 per...

Sovereign wealth funds and central banks managing US$29 trillion in assets are turning to energy assets, and raising concerns about the dollar, in a portfolio reassessment driven by unprecedented geopolitical shifts, according to a survey ‌published on Monday by independent global investment management firm Invesco. The survey of 90 sovereign wealth funds and 54 central banks showed an increasing focus on diversification, and investment portfolios that can “take a hit and still hold it together”...

Iranian and US technical teams working on the implementation of an interim peace deal are expected to meet in Doha in the coming days, after tit-for-tat weekend strikes threatened to derail the fragile accord. The exchanges have underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered agreement to end the conflict that has killed thousands and snarled the flow of oil shipments through the vital Strait of Hormuz. Although a ceasefire took effect in April, sporadic violence has flared up in the Gulf...

US President Donald Trump lashed out on Sunday at Washington’s presumptive next mayor, calling her a communist who would destroy the capital city, even as he touted grandiose building projects including the refurbishment of a golf course. Trump said in the Truth Social post that he would meet Janeese Lewis George, who prevailed in the Democratic Party mayoral primary on Tuesday which all but assures that she will win November’s election in the heavily Democratic city. But Trump warned that he...

The court’s decision involving laws from West Virginia and Idaho has implications for 25 other states with similar restrictions on transgender female athletes joining women’s sports teams.

The justices rejected some of President Trump’s signature initiatives, but delivered lasting, long-sought conservative wins.

Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, unseated Representative Diana DeGette in a Democratic primary to represent the Denver area.

Phil Weiser beat Senator Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary, presenting himself as the stronger foil for President Trump.

Manny Rutinel, a state representative and former activist, will face Representative Gabe Evans, a Republican seen as vulnerable, in the fall.

After a salacious report about Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, his Democratic rival, James Talarico, seized on the news — but focused on corruption and affordability.

After months of mystery, the New Jersey representative broke his silence about the undisclosed health issue that prompted his 117-day absence.

Representative Thomas Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican, has finally reappeared in Congress. Questions remain about his nearly four-month absence from public life, which he said was due to depression.

Representative Thomas Kean Jr. announced he had been hospitalized for depression. More than one in four U.S. adults report having been diagnosed with the condition.

The move allows Anthropic to bring its most powerful technologies back online, de-escalating a feud with the Trump administration.

A Republican blockade derailed a Pentagon policy bill and other legislation as the far right pressed for action on a voting bill championed by President Trump.

Two federal courts have blocked a new Trump administration rule that could have narrowed eligibility for a student loan forgiveness program for public servants.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order that aims to protect people who work outdoors. Temperatures this week could exceed 100 degrees.

Surrounded by the devastation of Venezuela’s earthquakes, emergency specialists from California, Virginia and Florida work with locals to search for survivors.

U.S. officials called a bid by María Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, to return to earthquake-battered Venezuela a “political stunt” that has distracted from recovery efforts.

Health care workers worry that illnesses like cholera could spread in areas where clean water was already in short supply, and last week’s earthquakes destroyed water systems.

New details have emerged about the celebration at Madison Square Garden, widely believed to be a wedding, including a dress code.

It’s time to update Learned Hand’s great “Spirit of Liberty” address.

The Constitution is clear. People who are born in this country and subject to its laws are citizens.

A body-worn camera recording shows Dianna Russini, formerly an “insider” for The Athletic, talking football with an officer and avoiding a citation.