Minimalist News

When Reagan (Wisely) Cut & Run From The Middle East After Marine Barracks Bombing Authored by Jim Bovard In his recent comments justifying a preventive war against Iran, President Donald Trump declared, "In 1983, Iran’s proxies carried out the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel." Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has invoked that attack numerous times. The 1983 Beirut barracks attack is one of the most cited and least understood pretexts for the new war with Iran.    That bombing was one of President Ronald Reagan's biggest foreign debacles. Lebanon had been wracked by a brutal civil war

US Aims To Exhume And Identify 88 USS Arizona Crew Members Buried As Unknowns After Pearl Harbor The U.S. military plans to exhume the remains of 88 sailors and Marines killed aboard the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, part of a renewed effort to identify servicemen who were buried as unknowns in the aftermath of the assault. A grave marker for an unknown casualty from the USS Arizona is shown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, on July 15, 2021, in Honolulu. Caleb Jones/AP Photo The remains, currently interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of

'Small Price To Pay': Trump Says Surging Oil Prices Will 'Drop Rapidly' Once Iran Nuke Threat Over It seems someone tapped the President on the shoulder given this afternoon's explosive opening in futures and he has posted X that spiking oil prices are a "small price to pay" for world peace, adding that prices "will drop rapidly" once the Iran nuclear threat is over. It's Sunday night and the much-hoped for de-escalation has not happened. This has triggered an explosive move higher in WTI... ...topping $110 for the first time since June 2022... (Goldman nailed that call) US equity futures have dramatically 'broken the box'... Treasury

Conscientious Objector Group: Phone 'Ringing Off Hook' As Huge Mobilization Underway An 80-year-old nonprofit that advises conscientious objectors says its phone is "ringing off the hook" as American service members who object to the US-and-Israel-initiated war on Iran are seeking guidance on how to avoid being a part of it. Ominously, the group's executive director says the breadth of force mobilization is much like the run-up to the ground invasion of Iraq.   "Phone has been ringing off the hook," wrote Center on Conscience & War executive director Mike Prysner on X. "A LOT more units have just been activated for deployment than

The Oil Island That Could Break Iran Authored by Scott Walden via E&E News, One of President Donald Trump’s most potent moves for crippling the Iranian regime may involve seizing a tiny island where gazelles run free near oil infrastructure. The 5-mile strip of land known as Kharg Island is home to Iran’s most important oil facility, an export terminal in the Persian Gulf that handles up to 90 percent of the nation’s crude. It’s a cornerstone of Iran’s economy and a major source of revenue for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a pillar of the regime that experts say could put down the

'Dems Want Net-Zero... This Is It': Secretary Wright Urges Indian Point Nuclear Plant Restart In a press conference at the shuttered Indian Point site, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) urged the immediate rebuilding and reopening of the Indian Point nuclear plant, framing it as a practical fix for New York’s self-inflicted energy woes. “Nuclear power is the cleanest source of energy,” Wright stated. “The Democrats want to talk about net-zero carbon emissions — this is it. 
And they have a responsibility. If they are serious about bringing down costs, costs that they drove up, they have a responsibility

Operation Epic Fury - Déjà Vu Authored by Martin A. Perryman via RealClearDefense, In February, the Republican President, after conducting military operations against the government of a foreign power, appealed directly to the armed forces and to the citizens to rise and overthrow the regime. While this sounds ripped from Saturday’s headlines, it occurred in 1991, the President was George H. W. Bush, the foreign power was Iraq, and the encouragement was directed to the Kurdish population of the northern provinces. The Kurds answered the call, believing the regime was ripe for change. In March and April, the uncoordinated uprising, consisting of several

Credit - A Little Bit Louder Now Submitted by Peter Tchir of Academy Securities CREDIT 'Hey, hey, A, yeah, yahhh... you make me wanna shout!!' After a tumultuous week, if there was one thing we could do for you, it is put a song in your head that hopefully makes you smile. Seriously, a song featured in Animal House and Wedding Crashers should make you smile, at least for a moment. This week’s T-Report follows up last weekend’s Is Credit Whispering? Or Shouting? We examined the risks to credit markets, from several angles, and explored potential vulnerabilities. The main focus was on the risk of potential

Xi Hints At More Top Purges, Issues Warning To 'Corrupt Elements' In Chinese Army One of the big themes to come out of China over the past several months (and even years) has been Chinese President Xi Jinping's (apparently ongoing) sweeping purge of PLA military command ranks on the basis of "corruption" - or rather what is most probably perceived disloyalty. Already there's been several top dismissals including the firings of multiple members of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and dozens of generals - some even placed under house arrest, as well as a broad purge of the Chinese Communist Party. Xi this weekend hinted

Deutsche Bank Warns Energy Shock "Existential Threat" To Airlines, May Force Some To Ground Fleets Flight disruptions tied to Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East exceeded 14,000 by the end of last week. While there were early signs of normalization by mid-week, the global aviation industry remains disrupted, with some of the weakest airlines facing an increased risk that surging energy prices could lead to the idling of commercial jet fleets. The epicenter of the disruption is Persian Gulf airports and airlines. As of Friday, ten countries had closed their airspace, either partially or completely, since Operation Epic Fury against Iran

Waste Of The Day: DEI Contractors Remain In Military's K-12 Schools Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations, Topline: Controversial education firms that helped embed diversity, equity and inclusion principles in K-12 military schools during President Joe Biden’s administration are still working with the Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, and received a total of $171,175 in 2025. Key facts: Thomas M. Brady, the director of DoDEA from 2014 to 2024, announced in 2020 that DEI “must be a foundational premise in every aspect of our organization.” Changes to that affect were quickly made to the curriculum of DoDEA, which runs 161 schools for

Wisconsin Man Who Killed Parents To Fund 'Satanic' Trump Assassination Attempt Sentenced A Wisconsin teenager who murdered his parents and stole their money to fund his plan to kill President Trump with a bomb was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. Nikita Casap, 18, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting deaths of his mother, Tatiana Casap, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer, last year. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped seven other charges, including two counts of hiding a corpse and theft.  Investigators in the case say that Casap had put together a deranged fantasy whereby he

How To Ensure A Harmonious Future With AI Authored by Peter Solomon via RealClearWire.com, Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents human civilization with many spectacular benefits as well as the potential for significant dangers. AI can increase productivity, efficiency, creativity and research results in many industries. In medicine, AI can enhance the accuracy of diagnoses, design individualized treatments, and accelerate drug development. But AI will lead to significant job losses and could reduce privacy. And AI agents have encouraged human suicide, lied to users, and have been employed to create scams as well as deep fakes, including photos and videos. Several tragic cases of

Iran Picks Khamenei's Son As Next Supreme Leader Update (1745ET): As was rumored and widely expected, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba, will become Iran’s next supreme leader, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency announced, taking over after his father was killed in an attack by the US and Israel. Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the third person to lead the Islamic Republic and the first example of hereditary succession since the overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy in the 1979 revolution. In other words, it appears that Iran overthrew a monarchy 47 years ago to institute a... monarchy. Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected the country’s

Brazil At A Historical Crossroads Authored by Deborah Palma via the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), Brazil finds itself at a historical crossroads that demands a rigorous analysis of its institutional structures. The release of the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), record-breaking data from the Impostômetro, and the persistence of an authoritarian labor framework expose a system of economic asphyxiation and moral erosion. The State, under the pretext of protecting the citizen, in reality hinders their initiative, their property, and their future. The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual report published by the organization to assess perceived levels of public-sector corruption worldwide, provides important

US Energy Chief Says Oil 'Fear Premium' Over Iran Is Temporary, Says Prices To Fall In 'Weeks, Not Months' Energy Secretary Chris Wright made the rounds on network TV Sunday to reassure viewers that the sharp rise in oil and gas prices due to the Iran war - which Trump has no problem sticking US consumers with for a while - would prove short-lived, and has downplayed the spike as a transient "fear premium" vs. a fundamental supply issue. In conversations to CBS, CNN, and Fox News, wright emphasized that global energy markets remain well-supplied despite disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow waterway

Cuba Is Negotiating Deal With US, Trump Says Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times, U.S. President Donald Trump said March 8 that the Cuban government is negotiating a deal with him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Speaking at his “Shield of the Americas” gathering of Latin American leaders in Miami, Florida, Trump said that Cuba is “at the end of the line” due to Venezuela cutting off oil deliveries after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. “As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,”

After Dems Record-Breaking (And Useless) Drain, Schumer 'Demands' Trump Release Oil From The SPR 'Immediately' In 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted global oil supplies and drove US gasoline prices to record highs above $5 per gallon in June, the Biden administration authorized unprecedented releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to ease fuel costs as the 2022 Midterm elections loomed (and Democrat approval ratings slid). The historic drawdown announced in March was the largest SPR release in history, and was pitched as 'bridging supply shortfalls while global production ramped up'... While Biden, Schumer and their pals all claimed to understand

Kremlin: "We Are Not Neutral. We Support Iran." Russia says it stands with its ally Iran, at a moment Washington officials are outraged at reports that Moscow is supporting Tehran with targeting intelligence related to US bases and Pentagon assets in the region amid Operation Epic Fury. That allegation was first reported by The Washington Post days ago. President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin had announced late Friday, amid the escalating US-Israeli attacks on Iran. In the call Putin expressed "deep condolences" over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, members of his

Scientists Train Lab-Grown Human Brain Cells To Play Doom Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, In a development that sounds like a Black Mirror script, Australian biotech firm Cortical Labs has taught clusters of human brain cells – grown in a lab – to interact with the iconic video game Doom. With roots in earlier work that had these “mini-brains” mastering Pong, the leap to Doom signals rapid progress in biological computing. Critics worry this tech, backed by agendas that prioritize efficiency over ethics, might pave the way for dytopian nightmare scenarios where values of self-reliance and human dignity fall by the wayside. The breakthrough involves roughly 800,000

Funding cuts, US political pressure and bureaucratic delays have left thousands of Haitians facing prolonged uncertainty in Tapachula A year ago, when Jean Baptiste Gensley stepped off a bus in Tapachula, Mexico’s southern city on the border with Guatemala, he carried a small backpack and the hope that his journey was finally over. In his native Haiti, Gensley, 37, worked as a radio journalist and social worker, analyzing the effects of gang violence in some of Port-au-Prince’s most dangerous neighborhoods. With time, as his research led to police intervention, he caught the attention of the city’s gangs. Continue reading...

Most residents of Canadian province wanted change for years – Trump’s unneighbourly rhetoric helped seal the deal Since 1918, the clocks in Creston, a town in eastern British Columbia, ran an hour ahead of nearby communities for half the year. For the other six months, they slipped back into sync. Not because the town changed them but because its neighbours changed back and forth from daylight saving time. Creston was an outlier: a community that effectively created its own time zone. But when residents in most parts of the province shift their clocks forward on Sunday, they will be doing it for

Explosion happened in pre-dawn hours at Dalí nightclub in the province of Trujillo along Peru’s northern coast A bombing at a nightclub in Peru has injured 33 people, including minors, authorities said Saturday. The explosion happened in the pre-dawn hours at the Dalí nightclub in the province of Trujillo along Peru’s northern coast, according to a statement from the local emergency operations center. Continue reading...

In Miami, president calls for regional cooperation to counter Chinese economic and political interests Donald Trump changed the channel from Iran to the western hemisphere on Saturday, convening a gathering of Latin American leaders at his Miami-area golf club to discuss regional interests and establishing what he called a “counter-cartel coalition”. “Just as we formed a coalition to eradicate Isis, we now need a coalition to eradicate the cartels,” he told 12 regional leaders gathered at what the White House called the “Shield of the Americas” summit. Continue reading...

California state superintendent says mother and sons arrested during ICE check-in and deported to Colombia California’s superintendent is calling for the return of a hearing-impaired six-year-old after he, his mother and his five-year-old sibling were detained on Tuesday while reporting for their check-in at an ICE office in San Francisco and deported to Colombia. Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez and her sons were arrested during their visit to ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (Isap), said Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP). A relative who was waiting outside for Gutierrez and her sons was unable to hand off the assistive devices necessary for

Kasasa island, in the Seto Inland Sea, has only seven residents but its fate is strongly intertwined with relations between Tokyo and Beijing His island home is shrouded in mist, but his union jack woolly hat makes Hideya Yagi easy to spot as he greets the approaching boat. The 80-year-old, a former president of a construction company, is pleased to see the small group of passengers disembark, mainly because he is one of only seven registered residents at their destination, Kasasa island. Kasasa is known as the “Hawaii” of Japan’s inland sea because of its warm climate and beautiful coastline. Yagi and

* Masataka Yoshida’s late HR helps seal 4-3 win * Naruhito first emperor in 60 years to attend baseball Masataka Yoshida’s late home run triggered a comeback win for Japan over Australia at the World Baseball Classic on Sunday, with Emperor Naruhito making a rare appearance. The underdog Aussies struck first in the sixth inning of the group stage game when outfielder Aaron Whitefield came home after a throwing error by Japan’s catcher, Kenya Wakatsuki. But in the seventh, Yoshida connected with a two-run shot over right centre field. Japan put on two more insurance runs in the eighth, and hung

Platforms include YouTube, TikTok and Instagram as communication minister says ‘our children face real threats’ Indonesia will ban social media for children under 16, its communication and digital affairs minister said on Friday. Meutya Hafid said in a statement to media said that she signed a government regulation that will mean children under the age of 16 can no longer have accounts on high-risk digital platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Roblox and Bigo Live, a popular livestreaming site. With a population of about 285 million, the fourth-highest in the world, the south-east Asian nation represents a significant market for

South-east Asian country limits air conditioning and travel for public officials amid soaring fuel prices * Middle East crisis – live updates The Philippines is searching for ways to conserve energy in response to surging fuel costs, with public officials ordered to cut back on air conditioning usage and reduce travel. All national government agencies, state universities and colleges, and local government branches have been told to reduce fuel consumption by at least 10% in response to the crisis in the Middle East. Government offices have been told to adopt flexible work arrangements, and to set air conditioning units no lower than 24

Decision marks end of years-long legal saga for 78-year-old critic of Chinese Communist party Jimmy Lai, the prominent pro-democracy activist who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong, has said he will not appeal his conviction. The decision marks the end of a years-long legal saga for the 78-year-old critic of the Chinese Communist party (CCP), and opens the door for political negotiations to his release. Continue reading...

Greens senator sounds warning as Labor expected to announce possible defence measures to protect Gulf countries within days * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Greens say sending military support to Gulf countries would only serve Donald Trump’s interests in the growing Iran war, as international law experts warn assistance would mean Australia was legally part of the conflict. Cabinet’s national security committee met on Monday to consider requests for Australia to provide help to countries feeling the brunt of Tehran’s missile attack, sparked by bombings ordered by the US president and Israel. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed * ASX plunges $90bn amid spike in oil prices over Middle East crisis * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Man charged with murder after alleged stabbing in Sydney’s inner west A man was charged with murder after an alleged stabbing in Sydney’s inner west on Sunday. I think it’s important to work through this calmly, to understand the intelligence and the briefings that the government has to get to this juncture … If you’re going to send Australian personnel to a conflict, that is one of the most important decisions any government

Lawyer for 24-year-old asks for identifying details of mother and siblings to be kept secret for their ‘mental and physical safety’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Family members of the alleged Bondi attacker have been granted an interim order suppressing their names and home and work addresses to protect their mental and physical safety. The public defender Richard Wilson SC made the application for a permanent suppression order for Naveed Akram’s mother, brother and sister at Downing Centre local court on Monday. Continue reading...

Schools and highways close and Territorians living near major rivers leave amid possibly record-breaking rain * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Katherine’s mayor has warned locals to be wary of flood waters inundating the town after a crocodile was spotted on the local football oval, while residents are being warned to boil their water amid the record-breaking deluge. As rain and storms continued to soak the Top End on Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology issued major flood warnings for thousands of Territorians near the Katherine, Daly

Benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closes down by 2.85%, marking the single biggest one-day drop since Donald Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs announcement * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australian shares plunged on Monday, wiping about $90bn from the value of the ASX, after a sharp rise in oil prices caused by the Middle East conflict sparked concerns of a breakout in global inflation. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 2.85% to fall below the 8,600 point mark, marking the single biggest one-day drop since the announcement of Donald

President of Antwerp court makes comments after anonymous judge warned country was turning into ‘a narco-state’ International drug crime poses a danger to social stability in Belgium, a senior judge has said, after his colleague warned the country was evolving into “a narco-state” where mafia groups were forming “a parallel force” in society. Bart Willocx, the president of the Antwerp court of appeal, said Belgium was vulnerable to criminality from drug smuggling through the city’s vast port, one of the main entry points into Europe for cocaine smugglers. Continue reading...

At least nine cities to pursue full bans as emergency decree gives decisive veto powers to mayors and local councils Romania’s government has overhauled gambling regulations through an emergency decree allowing municipalities to restrict or ban betting shops and slot machine halls in the biggest tightening of the industry the country has seen. Licensed operators must now obtain not only a national permit but also local authorisation to open a gambling venue, giving mayors and local councils a decisive veto power. Officials say more than 200 localities could pursue full bans. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president hopes for reciprocal support for Kyiv in repelling Russian forces. What we know on day 1,474 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv’s drone experts will be on site in the Middle East “next week”, as he seeks US air defence missiles in exchange for drone expertise. Ukraine is facing a shortage of the expensive US PAC-3 air defence ammunition and Kyiv fears a longer Middle East war could disrupt supplies even further. When asked how exactly he wants to help the United States and its Gulf allies repel the drones, Zelensky said: “It is too early

National Gas insists storage broadly in line with levels for time of year despite disruption for tankers carrying LNG Great Britain has only two days of fossil gas stored after a decline in energy reserves, as more tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) are diverted from their course to Europe towards Asia because of the Iran war. Great Britain had 6,999 gigawatt hours (GWh) of fossil gas stored on Saturday, according to figures from National Gas, which owns and operates the gas national transmission system. This compares with 9,105 GWh a year earlier. Continue reading...

No country in Europe is likely to be affected more than Cyprus, the nearest EU member to the Middle East The season has barely begun but Ayia Napa is beginning to feel the pulse. Tourists are trickling back, enjoying the Cypriot resort’s sunsets, eateries and shoreline views. On the seafront, Vassilis Georgiou is busy overseeing the construction of a new ramp for the jetskis that are a highlight of his water sports business. Last year, more than 500,000 holidaymakers visited the beachside booth, snapping up tickets for the boat cruises and parasailing also on offer. Continue reading...

Move could lead to escalation of war as Donald Trump has already called Mojtaba Khamenei an unacceptable choice * Middle East crisis - live updates Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been chosen as his successor, as the war entered its 10th day and fresh missile and drone strikes reverberated across the Middle East. Members of the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran’s highest authority announced the decision on Sunday, calling on Iranians to rally behind him and preserve national unity. Continue reading...

Iran has named hardliner Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader; Donald Trump says oil price spike ‘a small price to pay’ as markets tumble * Full report: Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba chosen as Iran’s new supreme leader * Tell us: how have you been affected by the latest events in the Middle East? Donald Trump has said a decision on when to end the war with Iran will be a “mutual” one he’ll make together with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel has reported. It said Trump also claimed in a brief telephone interview on Sunday that Iran would have

Donald Trump insists surge in energy prices is ‘very small price to pay’ as Middle East conflict sparks fresh stock market sell-off * Business live – latest updates Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the US-Israel war with Iran continued to rattle global markets and leading economies moved to tackle a worsening energy supply crisis. A weekend of escalating violence in the Middle East intensified concerns around a sustained supply crunch, propelling oil prices to their highest level in four years and triggering a deep stock market sell-off. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: Across the Iranian diaspora, reactions to the escalating conflict reveal a complex mix of fear, grief and deep political ambivalence Good morning. War has broken out in the Middle East. As the Iran war broadens and spills out into neighbouring countries, media agencies have rightly focused on trying to understand how the conflict came about, where bombs have fallen, and how many have died, while many states globally fear spikes in energy prices and wonder how the war will impact their economies. What can easily get lost are the voices of the people directly affected. Iran | Mojtaba Khamenei, the

This liveblog is closed. Follow the latest coverage on our new liveblog here. The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes “across Iran” on Sunday, targeting military sites. A military statement said it had “initiated a wave of strikes targeting the Iranian terror regime military infrastructure across Iran”. Continue reading...

Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra party secures thumping victory in first poll since gen Z protests that toppled government Balendra Shah, the rapper turned politician and popular figurehead of a gen Z revolution, looks set to become Nepal’s next prime minister after his party won by an unprecedented margin. Shah, known widely as Balen, and his Rastriya Swatantra party (RSP) secured a rare landslide victory in the first election since youth-led protests during which dozens were killed and the former government was toppled. Continue reading...

‘Stopgap measure’ designed to keep oil flowing into global market as Middle East crisis disrupts crude shipments * Business live – latest updates The US has temporarily allowed India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea in an effort to keep global supplies flowing and temper further price increases. The US treasury has issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil, having previously imposed heavy sanctions related to the war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Urgent request to dock is submitted by vessel after US submarine sank Iranian warship in same area on Tuesday * Middle East crisis – live updates Sri Lanka has evacuated 208 crew members from an Iranian navy vessel that made an emergency request to dock, a day after a US submarine strike sank another Iranian frigate, killing more than 80 people on board. Sri Lanka’s president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on Thursday confirmed that the country’s navy would take over Iranian military support ship IRIS Bushehr and allow it to dock at the north-eastern port of Trincomalee. Continue reading...

Early results may be released from Friday after first election since gen z protests forced Nepal’s then-PM to quit Nearly six months after a wave of unprecedented gen Z-led protests forced Nepal’s then prime minister to quit, people have voted in a general election that is shaping up to be a high-stakes showdown between the entrenched old guard and a powerful youth movement. “The voting process has been concluded peacefully and enthusiastically,” said the chief election commissioner, Ram Prasad Bhandari. It appeared the turnout was only about 60%, according to initial estimates, the lowest in more than two decades. Continue reading...

Frigate goes down off Sri Lanka as Washington and Israel step up their offensive and promise to hit ‘deeper’ targets in Iran * Middle East crisis – live updates A torpedo fired by a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the south coast of Sri Lanka as the Trump administration followed through on its threats to destroy Tehran’s military and political leadership. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack on the Iris Dena. The frigate was sailing in international waters as it returned from a naval exercise organised by India in the Bay of Bengal. The torpedo strike

US among three countries so far backing measure triggered by Middle East war, according to reports * Iran war drives oil prices above $100 a barrel * Business live – latest updates G7 finance ministers are preparing to discuss the release of emergency oil reserves, according to reports, after the US-Israel war with Iran sent the price of crude above $100 (£75) for the first time since 2022. The ministers will discuss the release of the reserves in a call coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA), according to a report from the Financial Times. Continue reading...

Figure above 40% every week since early January as report says situation ‘no longer in freefall nor in recovery’ Workers are heading back to offices across the UK in droves, pushing office occupancy to the highest since before the Covid-19 pandemic, as an expert described the numbers as “no longer in freefall nor in recovery mode but settling”. Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chasehave led the push with strict return-to-office mandates despite anger among many employees about being ordered back to the office five days a week. Companies in other sectors have also increased days in the office but

David Weaver says proposed jury reforms and slow progress on equality risk eroding support in marginal seats Labour is in “deep trouble” with Black voters, a former government adviser has warned, saying the party is at risk of being seen as “accepting the normalisation of racism”. David Weaver, who is the chair of Operation Black Vote (OBV), said the government’s plans to restrict juries would “heighten, normalise and embed” racial disproportionality in the justice system and that Black voters were saying: “We don’t know what Labour stands for any more.” Continue reading...

Network Rail said Scotland’s busiest station would remain closed ‘until further notice’ Travel disruption is expected to last throughout Monday after a large fire broke out near Glasgow Central station on Sunday. National Rail said that the station would remain closed with “no estimate on when the station will reopen” after the blaze at a vape shop in Union Street. Continue reading...

Huge improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment have driven the fall, Cancer Research UK says The rate of people dying from cancer in the UK has fallen by almost a third since the 1980s amid seismic progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, a report has found. About 247 in every 100,000 people die from cancer each year, a 29% drop from the peak in 1989 of about 355 per 100,000, according to an analysis by Cancer Research UK (CRUK). Continue reading...

Musician behind Vietnam war protest hit I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag dead from Parkinson’s complications, his wife confirms “Country Joe” McDonald, a hippy rock star of the 1960s whose protest track I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag rebuked the Vietnam war and became a highlight of the Woodstock music festival, died on Sunday. He was 84. McDonald died in Berkeley, California. His death from complications of Parkinson’s disease was reported by Kathy McDonald, his wife of 43 years, in a statement issued by his publicist. Continue reading...

Conservative outlet aired footage of president saluting at similar ceremony in December for at least three broadcasts Fox News used old video of Donald Trump in multiple reports on Saturday and Sunday, concealing from viewers that the commander-in-chief wore a golf hat throughout a ceremony on Saturday in which he saluted six flag-draped transfer cases carrying the remains of the first US troops to die in his war on Iran. The president had stirred outrage online by failing to remove his Trump-brand white hat during the ritual homecoming at Dover air force base in Delaware on Saturday for six army reserve soldiers

Two men are in custody in connection with incident after anti-Islam demonstrators clashed with counterprotesters New York police have confirmed that an improvised explosive device was thrown outside Zohran Mamdani’s official residence on Saturday when anti-Islam demonstrators, led by rightwing influencer Jake Lang, clashed with counterprotesters. New York police commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that a preliminary bomb squad analysis of the device that was ignited and thrown during the protest had “determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb”. Continue reading...

Chris Wright says price increase would last weeks, not months, and that US would not target Iran’s energy industry Chris Wright, the US Department of Energy secretary, said on Sunday that the spike in energy prices would last weeks, at the worst, not months, and that the US would not target Iran’s energy industry. His comments come amid rising anxiety that Iran’s response to the US-Israel strikes, which caused a reduction in shipping through the strait of Hormuz and production slowdowns in some oil and gas producing states in the Middle East, may cause broad economic turbulence and higher inflation. Continue reading...

Lake, whom Trump appointed without Senate confirmation to run Voice of America parent agency, cut over 1,000 jobs A federal judge ruled Saturday that Kari Lake unlawfully led the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for several months last year and voided mass layoffs and other actions taken during that period to dismantle the agency. The US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is an independent federal agency that oversees the Voice of America (VOA), the US’s largest and oldest international broadcaster, and provides grants to Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other news agencies. Continue reading...

A home-made explosive thrown near anti-Islam protesters outside the New York mayor’s home was a viable device “that could have caused serious injury or death”, police said on Sunday. Two suspicious devices were thrown by a man identified by police as Emir Balat near the protest on Saturday led by a far-right influencer to oppose public Muslim prayer. An Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene heard Balat shout “Allahu akbar” (“God is the greatest”) during the incident, which is under...

Authorities in Peru on Sunday said they have arrested three people following the bombing of a nightclub as the number of those injured rose to 44. The explosion happened early on Saturday at the Dali nightclub in the city of Trujillo in La Libertad region, which has the largest gold-producing area in Peru and is rife with extortion and illegal mining. La Libertad Regional Health Management confirmed that those injured rose from 33 to 44, including three minors between the ages of 16 and 17. At...

Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signalling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old US-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above US$100 a barrel. Mojtaba, a cleric with influence inside Iran’s security forces and vast business networks under his father, had been viewed as a front runner in the lead-up to Sunday’s vote by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics tasked with choosing Ali Khamenei’s successor. “By a...

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump held a call on Sunday about the Middle East war, the UK government said, after fierce criticism of the British premier by the US leader. Trump had insulted Starmer over the latter’s initial refusal to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28. “The leaders began by discussing the latest situation in the Middle East and the military cooperation between the UK and US through the use of RAF bases in...

President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on Monday, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island EU member days ago. Macron will meet his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show “solidarity” and detail moves to “strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean”, the Elysee said on Sunday. The visit will take place as the war pitting the US and Israel...

Sixty-one years after state troopers attacked Civil Rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, thousands are gathering in the Alabama city this weekend, amid new concerns about the future of the Voting Rights Act. The March 7, 1965, violence that became known as Bloody Sunday shocked the nation and helped spur passage of the landmark legislation that dismantled barriers to voting for Black Americans in the Jim Crow South. But this year’s anniversary celebrations – events run all...

As missiles and drones curtail energy production across the Persian Gulf, analysts warn that water, not oil, may be the resource most at risk in the energy-rich but arid region. On Sunday, Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants. Earlier, Iran said a US air strike had damaged an Iranian plant. Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, putting individual systems that supply water to millions within range of Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without...

Megan Worthy still recalls singing in a choir in the Australian capital, Canberra, as she was growing up. Now, as a rare form of early-onset dementia chips away at her vision and other brain functions, the 58-year-old is transported back to her musical youth as she and her daughter, Bronte, sing together with other people with neurological conditions in an Amsterdam concert hall, the Concertgebouw. “It’s pretty brutal,” Worthy said of her rare neurological condition. “I’m starting to lose...

The escalating conflict in the Middle East is having a direct impact on China’s access to sulphur – a raw material for producing fertiliser – just as the country enters its vital spring planting season. With China sourcing a large chunk of its sulphur from the Persian Gulf, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is already sending prices for the chemical shooting upwards as Chinese buyers complain of tightening supplies. China relies on imports for 47 per cent of its sulphur supply,...

Political efforts to cripple Turkey’s main opposition and lock up its presidential candidate will never stifle the people’s frustration with the government and their growing demand for change, Istanbul’s jailed mayor has said in an interview. “An irreversible process for a change in power has begun in Turkey and it won’t stop until it is complete. I cannot stop it … nor can the ruling party nor the judiciary,” Ekrem Imamoglu said in a written response to Agence France-Presse questions conveyed...

Sri Lanka discharged from hospital 22 Iranian sailors who were plucked from life rafts after their warship was sunk by a US submarine, officials said on Sunday. The sailors were treated at Karapitiya Hospital in the southern port city of Galle since Wednesday after the IRIS Dena was torpedoed just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. “Another 10 are still undergoing treatment,” said a medical officer at the hospital. He said the bodies of 84 Iranians retrieved from the Indian Ocean were also...

The US embassy in Oslo was hit by an explosion in the early hours of Sunday but no one was injured, police in the Norwegian capital said, adding the cause was not immediately known. The blast occurred around 1am local time and caused only “minor material damage” to one of the building’s entrances, Oslo police said in a statement. Investigators were examining the scene, while dogs, drones, and helicopters were involved in the search “for one or more potential perpetrators”, it said. “Police view...

A federal judge ruled ⁠on Saturday that Kari Lake’s ⁠leadership of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) ⁠for much of last year violated federal law, invalidating a sweeping series of actions she took to cut staff and end many operations at its Voice of America (VOA) unit. In another blow to the Donald Trump administration’s attempts to diminish various government agencies, US District Judge Royce Lamberth granted ‌a summary judgment in favour of plaintiffs – including VOA journalists and a...

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had killed three key commanders from the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in a strike on a hotel in central Beirut, which it said left five Guards dead. “Overnight, the Israeli Navy, directed by precise IDF (Israel Defence Forces) intelligence, conducted a precise strike in Beirut, Lebanon, targeting five commanders from the IRGC’s Lebanon Corps and Palestine Corps while they were meeting at a hotel in Beirut,” the military said. In a...

Gulf nations reported missile and drone attacks on Sunday, while Iran vowed to press on with strikes against neighbouring countries as the regional war entered its second week. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait all reported new attacks, after loud explosions were heard in Dubai and Bahrain’s Manama a day earlier. Kuwait’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its crude production, as the country’s military said on Sunday it had responded “to a wave of hostile drones that...

US President Donald Trump said he had told Kurdish forces not to enter the Iran war as the US and Israel continued launching strikes against Tehran. “The war is complicated enough without having – getting the Kurds involved,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday on his way back to Florida after attending a military service for six fallen US soldiers. “We’re very friendly with the Kurds, as you know, but we don’t want to make the war any more complex than it already is. I have...

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivered his latest budget on February 25. Over the past decade, under his stewardship, Hong Kong has weathered multiple economic shocks and recently returned to a respectable growth rate of 3.5 per cent. Yet the tasks ahead are formidable: addressing a structural fiscal deficit in the city’s capital account while ensuring sufficient resources for future growth, all against an increasingly volatile and dangerous global backdrop. Article 107 of Hong Kong’s...

The Iran war exploded further late on Saturday as pillars of flame rose above an oil storage facility in Tehran and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” for the next phase of the week-old conflict. Iranian state media confirmed the strike as video footage showed the horizon glowing against the night sky. Israel’s military confirmed new strikes that shook neighbourhoods in Tehran’s east and south but did not immediately comment on targets. It appeared to be the...

Gulf nations on Saturday reported new missile and drone attacks, while Iran vowed to press on with its strikes against neighbouring countries. Loud explosions were heard in Dubai, the Qatari capital Doha and Bahrain, while attacks were later reported in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, where the national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to production. The attacks came despite Iran’s president earlier apologising to Gulf countries for prior strikes, saying they would no longer...

Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet is the front runner to take home the golden statuette for Marty Supreme – but he definitely has not won fans in the ballet and opera worlds. In a town hall discussion late last month with Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey hosted by CNN and Variety, the 30-year-old Chalamet was discussing the future of movie theatres and whether the advent of streaming will spell doom for cinemas. “If people want to see it – like Barbie, like Oppenheimer – they’re going to go see it...

US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Latin American nations to use military power against the “cancer” of drug cartels and offered to support them with US missile strikes targeting narco kingpins. Trump, currently waging a war with Iran, laid out a muscular position for advancing Washington’s interests in the western hemisphere, pronouncing that communist-led Cuba was “in its last moments of life” and advocating tough action by allies against organised crime blighting the region. He...

With further negotiations pencilled in with the US and perhaps assuming that any assassination attempt would take place at night, Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was at his complex in Tehran last Saturday morning. It would be his last. An air strike obliterated the compound in Tehran where a gathering of key decision-makers was taking place, killing Khamenei, his wife and other top officials. As the US and Israel have pounded Iran with thousands of attacks over the last week, some details...

More United States bombers have landed in Britain after a week of strikes on Iran by the US and Israel. A first 146ft B-1 Lancer arrived at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Friday evening and three more followed on Saturday morning. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has granted permission for “defensive” US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases. The huge plane, capable of carrying 24 cruise missiles, weighs 86 metric tons and is the fastest bomber in the US Air Force, according...

One of Britain’s most notorious child killers, Ian Huntley, has died following an attack in prison where he was serving a life sentence, police said. Huntley murdered 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in eastern England in 2002, in a case that horrified the country. Fifty-two-year-old Huntley suffered serious injuries when he was assaulted at Frankland maximum security prison in the north-eastern city of Durham on February 26. He “died in hospital this morning”, a spokesperson...

The Iran war has declared the death of the old global order. Europe wasn’t even consulted before Washington struck Iran alongside Israel – proof the continent is trapped between moral outrage and geopolitical irrelevance. If Europe wants to matter, it must shift its gaze eastwards, redefining China not as a binary adversary but as a balancing power. This is the path from Atlantic dependence to Eurasian relevance. For China, too, this moment is pivotal. US President Donald Trump has launched wars...

At least 23 people were killed in flash flooding overnight in the capital Nairobi, police said Saturday, amid search and rescue operations and widespread devastation. Torrential rains lashed the city late on Friday, turning major streets into rivers and flooding thousands of homes and businesses. Rescue teams were still pulling out bodies and rescuing trapped residents on Saturday, while reporters saw heavily damaged roads and infrastructure from the city’s vast slums to upmarket areas like...

Iran’s president said on Saturday that a demand by the United States for an unconditional surrender is a “dream that they should take to their grave”. President Masoud Pezeshkian made the statement in a pre-recorded address aired by state television. He also apologised for Iran’s attacks on regional countries, saying that Tehran would halt them and suggesting they were caused by miscommunication in the ranks. He blamed the killing of the country’s supreme leader and other top officials for what...

At least seven people were killed and 10 others, including three children, were wounded on Saturday by a Russian missile that hit a five-storey residential building in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and called for an international response. He said that Russia struck Ukraine overnight with 29 missiles and 480 drones, targeting energy facilities in Kyiv and other central regions, with damage reported in at least seven...

If financial markets can survive the United States’ war on Iran and Russia’s war against Ukraine, does this mean that financial crashes have become a thing of the past? Or have markets just not grasped the true nature of the current threats to the financial system? The latter is almost certainly the case, as former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein suggested when he said in a recent Financial Times interview that people had “got more complacent” about financial risks since the 2008 crisis. It is...

President Donald Trump has plunged the United States into its most significant conflict in decades over a “feeling”. It is not his political opponents saying this, but the White House itself. Throughout the first week of the war with Iran, the US president has prioritised impulse and emotion over explanations and reasoning. “I hope you’re impressed,” Trump, a former reality TV host, told an ABC News reporter on Thursday. “How do you like the performance?” Official government accounts are posting...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for former British prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed from the royal line of succession over his “deplorable” links to Jeffrey Epstein. The former duke was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations he shared sensitive information with the paedophile financier while serving as the UK’s trade envoy. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Carney said: “I certainly think his actions are deplorable and...

Alyssa Ramos’ evacuation from Kuwait took 48 hours and carried her across four continents. The US government did not help with any part of it, the travel blogger said. “They keep going on the news and saying they’re doing everything they can to get Americans out,” Ramos said after landing in Miami on Thursday. “I know for a fact they’re not.” She said she repeatedly messaged the US embassy in Kuwait before being directed to the consular section, which told her it could not help her leave the...

Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with US intelligence on the matter. The officials, who were not authorised to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that US intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information as the US and Israel continue their bombardment and Iran...

The US ⁠customs agency is readying a system within 45 days to process refunds on President Donald Trump’s tariffs that were struck down as illegal, a customs official said in a court filing on Friday. The declaration by Customs and Border Protection official Brandon Lord came just before government lawyers met with a federal trade judge to try to hammer out a broad settlement process for returning US$166 billion in tariff ‌payments to around 330,000 importers. Last month, the US Supreme Court...

I am a sucker for all kinds of humour, including tasteless jokes. But I draw the line at sick jokes being reported as serious news. As far as those jokes go, the Monday appearance of US first lady Melania Trump as chair of a United Nations Security Council meeting takes the cake. The topic of her speech? Children, technology and education in conflict. She declared that the US “stands with all of the children throughout the world”. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. The cynicism and...

The US unexpectedly lost jobs in February while unemployment edged up, government data showed Friday, piling pressure on President Donald Trump’s economic agenda as key midterm elections approach. The world’s biggest economy shed 92,000 jobs last month, in a sharp reversal from the job growth of 126,000 in January, the Labour Department said. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, crept up to 4.4 per cent from 4.3 per cent. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett insisted Friday that the US...

US President Donald Trump said Friday Cuba was next on his agenda after Iran, predicting that the communist-run island, crippled by a US energy blockade, is “gonna fall pretty soon”. “They want to make a deal so badly,” Trump told CNN in a phone interview, a day after suggesting that he would turn to an unspecified project for Cuba after the war against Iran. “We’re really focused on this one right now. We’ve got plenty of time, but Cuba’s ready – after 50 years,” he added, explaining that...

US President Donald Trump has demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender”, a dramatic escalation of his demands a week into the war he launched alongside Israel, which said on Friday that it had struck and destroyed the underground military bunker of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Trump made the remarks on social media just hours after Iran’s president announced that unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts, one of the first signals of any diplomatic initiative to end the...

Beijing has pledged to expand imports and use its vast market to help other countries boost exports to the world’s second-largest economy – a move that could help balance global trade at a time when China’s export machine faces growing scrutiny. Beijing also planned to diversify markets and nurture new trade drivers such as artificial intelligence, seeking to stabilise trade as global supply chains come under mounting pressure from geopolitical conflicts, officials said. Commerce Minister Wang...

The United Nations on Friday demanded swift investigations into fatal Israeli strikes across Lebanon to decide if they followed international law. “The devastating impact of this renewed conflict is already before our eyes, with civilians paying a painfully heavy price,” UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva. “We urge the parties to step back from the brink of a major escalation of this conflict in Lebanon.” Her comments came as fresh Israeli strikes battered...

Two tankers loaded with fuel from Reliance Industries in India ⁠that were headed to Europe ⁠made U-turns and are now bound for ⁠Asia, according to two trade sources and ship-tracking data, as the refiner capitalises on firm Asian margins with the Iran war squeezing supply. The Advantage Life, which loaded around 100,000 metric tons (745,000 barrels) of diesel at Reliance’s Jamnagar refinery on February 28, is currently bound for Singapore, ‌according to Kpler, LSEG data and two trade...

Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from an Iranian vessel to shore on Friday after the ship sought help while anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a US submarine. Sri Lanka navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said the sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were being brought first to the port of Colombo and the ship will later be moved to an eastern port on the island. “The disembarkation is in...

Four men were arrested in Britain on Friday on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service by spying on locations and people linked to London’s Jewish community, police said. The men – one Iranian national and three dual British-Iranians – were arrested by counterterrorism police at three separate addresses in the UK capital, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The force’s head of counterterrorism policing, Helen Flanagan, said the arrests were “part of a long-running...

As the world’s largest oil and gas importer, China undoubtedly faces a significant disruption, what with the US-Israeli war on Iran and its cascading impact across the Gulf. But it could have been worse. Beijing has worked unstintingly for well over a decade to build energy self-reliance and reduce the role of fossil fuels in powering the country’s manufacturing economy. For leaders gathered in Beijing for the annual parliamentary “two sessions” meetings, which will endorse China’s 15th...

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Citing national security, an unusual executive order gave protection to the herbicide Roundup. It also protected the U.S.’s only supply of a controversial, highly flammable munition.

The attack, in the eastern Pacific, was part of a continuing campaign by the U.S. Southern Command to target people suspected of smuggling drugs, and raised the overall death toll to at least 156.

J. Todd Inman, who was prominent in the investigation of the midair collision in Washington last year, said no reason was given for his firing two years into his term on the transportation safety board.

President Trump thinks Republicans should control voting procedures in parts of the United States. But where? Here are some possibilities.

Food is bringing thousands of people together to an unexpected place: a plaza west of Toronto. Some fear it’s tearing a neighborhood apart.

Prosecutors accuse the former Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of leading a criminal scheme. His supporters say Turkey’s president is trying to eliminate a political foe.

The device that emitted smoke during a protest near Gracie Mansion Saturday was designed to be deadly, three people with knowledge of the investigation said.

Josh Payne, the chief executive of Nscale, raised $2 billion from investors. Sheryl Sandberg, the former Facebook executive, is joining his board.

It’s more than the Jeep Wave: Miatas can wink with their pop-up headlights, and Porsche owners have their own waves, but only for the right cars.

Elliott Hill is traveling the globe to meet with leagues, teams and athletes to rebuild connections and spur a turnaround for the world’s largest athletic-wear company.

The Trump administration failed to plan for evacuating either its diplomats or its citizens and did not adequately warn either.

The showdown between the Pentagon and Anthropic is a window into how unprepared we are for the questions we are facing.

After a frigid, snowy, seemingly interminable winter, the first taste of mild air had people shedding layers and flocking to parks.

The teacher’s family “supports getting the charges dropped for all involved,” after a planned toilet-paper prank became a fatal car accident.

The blaze that started near Scotland’s busiest station was under control, but officials said they expected train service to be disrupted through Monday.

One of the starring acts at Woodstock, he and his band, the Fish, came out of the Bay Area’s psychedelic rock scene. He went on to a long career as a solo artist.