Minimalist News

China In Talks With Iran For Safe Passage Through Hormuz, As WH Scrambles To Contain Rising Energy Prices Summary: * Early reports now indicating Iranian strikes at the U.S. Camp Victory base in Baghdad. As “continuous explosions” were reportedly heard. * Pentagon chief Hegseth: US has just begun to fight in Iran and Iran is wrong in its calculations if it thinks we can't continue the war. CENTCOM: operation "going well" and moving "at a fast pace". * House votes against war powers: The US House of Representatives has rejected an effort to curb President Donald Trump's ability to wage war

Central Banks Can't Stop Wars Authored by Alexander Salter via TheDailyEconomy.org, Every time conflict erupts in the Middle East and oil prices jump, the same anxiety follows: will central banks respond with tighter money? It’s an understandable fear. Households dislike inflation, and policymakers are tasked with maintaining price stability. But when inflation is driven by geopolitical crises — such as war in Iran or disruptions to global shipping lanes — the source is not excessive demand. It is a supply shock. And monetary policy is impotent before such disruptions. When oil supply tightens or transport costs surge, the economy becomes poorer. Energy becomes more expensive to extract and

Watch: Marine Veteran Protesting Iran War Suffers Broken Arm In Scuffle With GOP Senator It's merely less than a week in to the Iran war and Trump's Operation Epic Fury, being done in cooperation with Israel, and much of the whole Middle East region is on fire. The blowback has been fierce, and as the energy supply disruptions compound and begin to be felt at the gas pumps in American, we expect growing blowback among the US domestic public as well. Washington has already expended untold blood and treasure in the horrific two-decade long quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan, and US interventions

Cost of Living Crisis Continues As Job Market Wanes Authored by Mac Slavo via shtfplan.com, The cost of living crisis is continuing with no end in sight. People used to use their tax refunds for trips or fun experiences, but now they have to either save the money, pay off debt, or use it to keep the lights on or buy groceries. The sad state of most Americans’ financial status is getting progressively worse, too, as it’s often psychologically damaging as well as economically. Two-thirds of young Americans no longer believe they will ever be able to afford to live where they want.

Plot Twist: Kuwaiti Fighter Jet Shot Down All Three US F-15s In a remarkable feat, a single Kuwaiti F/A-18 Super Hornet took out all three of the American F-15s that were shot down over Kuwait on Sunday, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. The new narrative replaces the initial reports that attributed the shootdowns to a Kuwaiti Patriot missile battery.  Launching just three missiles, a single pilot went three-for-three, destroying the trio of F-15E Strike Eagles, which were purchased for something like a combined $93 million in 1998 dollars, or $187 million today. New F-15EX models go for

The Duke Lacrosse Case Exposed The Rot In Higher Education, The Media, And The Justice System Authored by William L. Anderson via the Mises Institute, Twenty years ago this month, the infamous Duke Lacrosse Case exploded on the Duke University campus, with three members of the university’s lacrosse team falsely accused of raping and assaulting a black stripper. It took more than a year to exonerate those young men, but only after the false charges had ruined lives and exposed elite higher education in the US. As one who wrote nearly 100 articles on this case and who was interviewed on talk shows,

Texas Dem's Senate Bid Hits Turbulence: 'God is Nonbinary' Zealot Hands Republicans A Golden Ticket Democrats needed a winner in Texas. They may have nominated a liability instead. James Talarico barely had time to savor his primary win over Rep. Jasmine Crockett before the Republican opposition research machine started doing what it does best. Within hours of the Associated Press calling the race, an avalanche of old tweets and video clips had already begun circulating - and Republicans are practically giddy.  The first batch of video ammunition came courtesy of Senate Republicans, who surfaced a clip of Talarico invoking Scripture to defend gender

AI Agents Prefer Bitcoin Over Fiat: New Study Authored by Martin Young via Cointelegraph, A new study from the Bitcoin Policy Institute indicates that artificial intelligence models prefer Bitcoin over stablecoins and other forms of money for different financial situations, with very few showing a preference for fiat currency.  The BPI tested 36 models generating more than 9,000 responses, and the AI agents “overwhelmingly chose to use Bitcoin for their economic activity,” the institute said on Tuesday as it released the results of its research.  The study found that 48.3% of AI models chose to use Bitcoin overall, and it was the most selected

Data Center Hunter: Iran Expands Drone Target List, From AWS To Microsoft Facilities Iranian state-affiliated media says the IRGC has targeted Microsoft data centers in the Gulf region with kamikaze drones, days after IRGC drone strikes hit Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates. This underscores a new escalation: commercial data centers no longer appear to be off-limits, a risk we warned readers a little more than a month ago. "The targeting of Amazon and Microsoft in these operations has dealt a serious blow to the enemy's technological and information infrastructure," Fars News Agency said in a Telegram post, as quoted

Iraqi Supply Loss Could Expose The Real Limits Of OPEC Spare Capacity Authored by Julianne Geiger via OilPrice.com, Iraq has already begun shutting in production as exports through the Strait of Hormuz become increasingly constrained. Roughly 1.5 million barrels per day are reportedly offline, and officials have warned that figure could approach 3 million bpd if disruptions persist. At 3 million bpd, this becomes one of the largest sudden supply losses in the modern market outside of sanctions or war. Iraq’s total crude production has been running near 4.0–4.3 million bpd, according to recent OPEC secondary-source data. Exports typically average between 3.2 and 3.4

Americans Are Plundering Their 401(k) Savings In "Record" Numbers More Americans are tapping their retirement savings to deal with financial emergencies, according to the Wall Street Journal. Last year, a record 6% of workers in 401(k) plans administered by Vanguard took hardship withdrawals, up from 4.8% in 2024 and about 2% before the pandemic. The figures point to a mixed financial picture: many Americans are doing well, but a growing share are under pressure. At the same time, retirement balances have climbed alongside strong markets, and more workers are participating in 401(k) plans. As a result, those accounts are increasingly becoming a financial

House Votes Down Iran War Powers Measure, Soon On Heels Of Similar Senate Res. Defeat Update(1714ET): So essentially Congress is not even going to have a robust War Powers debate as war in Iran and the Gulf keeps escalating: > The House on Thursday rejected an effort to advance legislation that would restrict President Trump from using further military action in Iran. > > The failed vote amounts to an endorsement of Trump's military campaign in Iran from Congress, which has the constitutional authority to declare war. > > * The 212-219 vote [largely on partisan lines] comes one day after the Senate rejected a similar measure, mainly along party lines. * * * It's

100% Of Audited Medicaid Claims For Autism Care In Colorado Were Improper Or Flawed: Report Authored by Sylvia Xu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Colorado’s Medicaid program made an estimated $77.8 million in improper payments and another $207.4 million in potentially improper payments for autism therapy, according to a February report from the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. A sign in front of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services building in Woodlawn, Md., on March 19, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images Auditors investigated $289.5 million in Medicaid payments from 2022 to 2023 that paid for more than 1

US Ambassador To UN Threatens Iran Counterpart: 'Better Watch Himself In New York City' Trump's Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has issued a veiled threat to his Iranian counterpart, and the clip is going viral, which is likely to further delay the potential for any talks toward halting the war - which at this point still seem non-existent. The spat first erupted Sunday, when Waltz ripped into Iran's UN Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani, coming just a day after Operation Epic Fury started and the bombs were unleashed on Tehran. Screengrab via The Australian Walz had said at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council,

Systemic Risk: A 12-Order Cascading Analysis Of A Zero-Flow Strait Of Hormuz Closure Authored by Craig Tindale via X: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The modern world order, having organized itself around efficiency, cost minimization, and logistical precision, has created a machinery of dependence so extreme that the interruption of one narrow corridor can propagate outward into a general crisis of civilization. What appears at first as a maritime blockade is in fact the exposure of the entire global system as a hierarchy of brittle interdependencies. Oil and LNG fail as inputs into electricity, fertilizer, shipping, chemicals, mining, manufacturing, and state finance. As an example, The global polyester chain

Indiana Governor Signs Bill Allowing Crypto In Retirement Plans Authored by Stephen Katte via Cointelegraph, Indiana will start allowing certain retirement and savings plans to include crypto investments and has enacted stronger legal protections for the crypto industry under a newly signed bill.  Governor Mike Braun signed House Bill 1042 into law on Tuesday, after it passed the legislature last Thursday. The legislation requires Indiana’s state public retirement and savings plans to offer self-brokerage accounts with at least one crypto investment option by July 2027. According to the bill’s description, this requirement applies to the legislators’ defined contribution plan, the Hoosier START plan, certain

UBS Discusses Next Maritime Chokepoint Investors Should Watch A lot of attention has centered on the Strait of Hormuz since the waterway was effectively shut not only by the IRGC drone threat, but mostly because maritime insurers are withdrawing war-risk coverage across the region. Our focus now shifts to the other critical maritime chokepoints. If Washington can pressure Iranian oil flows and, by extension, curb China's cheap Gulf crude flows, then the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea also emerge as potential flashpoints that traders can no longer afford to ignore. For more color on which critical maritime chokepoints and geopolitical flashpoints

The Passive Aggressive Market: Bogle's Warning Came True Authored by Michael Lebowitz via realinvestmentadvice.com, Since the pandemic, the line between passive investing and aggressive speculation has blurred. The current bout of speculative fervor extends beyond financial markets. For instance, we see the same impulse in the explosion of sports betting and the surge in event-betting sites like Kalshi and Polymarket. In the investment arena, margin debt is at record highs (as shown below), and zero-day-to-expiry (0DTE) stock options now account for approximately 50 percent of all options volume. Furthermore, the number of leveraged ETFs and their trading volumes have risen sharply. To wit,

China Guides Down: Beijing Drops Economic Growth Target To Lowest Level In 35 Years China just admitted what we've been reporting for years: the old growth engine is sputtering, and the world's second-largest economy is officially shifting into a lower gear. At the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday, Premier Li Qiang unveiled a 2026 GDP growth target of 4.5% to 5% - the lowest benchmark since 1991 and the first time in over three decades Beijing has dared to set anything below 5%. The announcement came at the start of the National People's Congress, a meeting of China's

Oil Is "Beginning To Flow" From Venezuela, Trump Says Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times, Oil is “beginning to flow” from Venezuela, with the United States and Venezuela engaging in a professional and dedicated manner on the issue, President Donald Trump said in a March 4 post on Truth Social. “Delcy Rodríguez, who is the President of Venezuela, is doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well,” Trump wrote. Rodríguez became the leader of Venezuela in January after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. Maduro is currently facing charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking in the

Critics sceptical Pentagon chief’s plan for increased military force – amid rising US intervention – will stop drug gangs Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has urged Latin American countries to adopt a more aggressive approach against drug cartels, warning that the Trump administration may otherwise act unilaterally in the region. Hegseth’s remarks come in a context of escalating US intervention in the region, both militarily and in elections, which culminated in the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro – the first US ground military attack on a South American country. Continue reading...

The country’s network of footpaths is growing – with hopes they will develop local economies and better preserve the environment Follow the yellow footprints along Brazil’s newest long-distance trail, and they will take you through lush green forests and sandy shrubland, past sweeping vistas and bizarre rock formations, into grottos and rural communities. Spanning 186km (115 miles) of paths once used by 19th-century merchants, the Caminhos da Ibiapaba is the first waymarked long-distance footpath in Brazil’s north-east region, adding to a growing network of hiking trails in the country. Continue reading...

Latest outage darkens island facing dwindling oil reserves and increasing pressure from Washington A blackout hit the western half of Cuba on Wednesday, leaving millions of people in Havana and beyond without power in the latest outage to affect an island struggling with dwindling oil reserves and a crumbling electricity grid. The government’s Electric Union confirmed the outage on social platform X, saying it affected people from the western city of Pinar del Rio to the central town of Camaguey. Continue reading...

Detainees accused of coming from the US with intent to sow chaos and attack military units on Communist-ruled island Cuban prosecutors have formally charged six people with crimes of terrorism after a US-flagged speedboat was involved in a deadly shootout with Cuba’s coast guard last week. The US-based Cuban defendants are accused of packing a boat with weapons and heading toward Cuba in hopes of destabilising the government in Havana. Continue reading...

US Southern Command said joint mission with Ecuador involves ‘decisive action’ against illicit drug trafficking US and Ecuadorian forces have launched joint operations to combat drug trafficking, the US Southern Command said on Tuesday, but neither side gave more details. Southern Command, which encompasses 31 countries through South and Central America and the Caribbean, said in a statement on X that the “decisive action” was aimed at combating illicit drug trafficking. Continue reading...

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...

Pacific island says the US weakened its proposal to advance a key climate ruling but vows to hold major polluters accountable The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort. The US has demanded that Vanuatu, an archipelago in the south Pacific, drop its UN draft resolution that calls on the world to implement a landmark international court of justice (ICJ) ruling from last year that countries could face paying reparations if they fail

Reports of attack on US registered tanker in Gulf lifts crude by 3% to $84 a barrel as gas price also starts to climb * Business live – latest updates * Middle East crisis – live updates Stock markets have rebounded in Asia after days of heavy losses driven by the war in the Middle East, but oil and gas prices have continued to climb amid disruption to supplies. South Korea’s KOSPI, which posted its biggest ever fall on Tuesday of 12%, rose by almost 10% on Thursday, while Japan’s Nikkei climbed by 1.9%. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific

Japanese baby macaque, who appeared to find comfort in the djungelskog toy after being rejected by his mother, seems to be mixing more with his peers Punch, a baby macaque that stole the hearts of animal lovers around the world, is outgrowing his Ikea djungelskog plushie that comforted him after he was initially rejected by his mother and other monkeys at a zoo in Japan. Images of the seven-month-old dragging around a toy bigger than him drew attention to the residents of Ichikawa city zoo near Tokyo. When other monkeys shooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan, hugging

‘High-quality growth’ target of 4.5-5% outlined at Two Sessions as Chinese premier talks of complex situations at home and abroad * What are China’s Two Sessions and why do they matter? China has set its target for GDP growth to a record low of 4.5-5%, the first time since 1991 that the figure has dropped below 5%, reflecting an economic strategy that is shifting away from export-led growth to a model that leaders hope will be more resilient to external shocks. Li Qiang, China’s premier, announced the target for 2026 in the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s annual

Jacinta Allan says the program will make it easier for women to access contraceptives, as well as save time and money. Follow the latest updates live * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast New Israeli ambassador to Australia says war with Iran will continue ‘as long as we need’ Israel’s new ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, said the conflict between the country and Iran will continue “as long as we need” to achieve multiple objectives, including removing the threat of Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The people of Iran must decide their future. We’re not deciding for

Recusal application against district court judge Penelope Wass yet to be determined amid row with DPP * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast New South Wales’ top prosecutor has been given the green light to continue her fight to get a senior judge removed from a historical sexual offences trial on the grounds of apprehended bias. The ruling from the NSW supreme court is the latest development in a long-running row between the director of public prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, and district court judge Penelope Wass. The

BoM issues flood watch covering most of Queensland while NT authorities warn houses and roads could be inundated * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Queensland and Northern Territory towns are being warned to prepare for major flooding as multiple tropical lows across northern Australia unleash a deluge. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a flood watch covering most of Queensland, with major flood warnings in place across several river catchments including the Flinders, Georgina and Thomson rivers and the Eyre and Cooper creeks. Continue reading...

Several sites now state they are ‘not currently accepting new account registrations in your region’ when accessed from Australia * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A number of adult websites have begun blocking users in Australia in preparation for new codes requiring age verification from Monday. Guardian Australia has confirmed RedTube, YouPorn, and Tube8 all had notices on their sites when visited from an Australian IP address on Friday stating they are “not currently accepting new account registrations in your region”. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese confirms ADF members were on vessel but says ‘no Australian personnel’ took part in attacks on Iran * Middle East crisis – live updates * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese has confirmed that three Australians were on a US submarine that sank an Iranian warship, after the Labor government earlier refused to comment on reports that emerged on Thursday. The prime minister said the Australian defence force personnel were on the submarine as part of an Aukus training program. Continue reading...

As the Spanish PM decries the war in Iran, other politicians are unable – or unwilling – to speak against the US president On Wednesday morning, Pedro Sánchez delivered a 10-minute televised address with the rather bland title: “An institutional declaration by the prime minister to assess recent international events.” The speech’s words, however, were anything but beige. Hours after Donald Trump had threatened to cut off trade with Spain over its government’s refusal to allow two jointly operated bases in Andalucía to be used to strike Iran, Sánchez set out his thinking. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president orders equipment and expertise to be provided to US in return to diplomatic support against Russia, saying ‘we help to defend from war those who help us’ The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Various countries, including the US, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against the Iranian drones, Zelenskyy said late on Wednesday. He said he has spoken in recent days to the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation. Continue reading...

F-35 pilot based in Cyprus becomes first to destroy a target in combat – and celebrates with a single beer In the clear skies above Jordan on Monday night, a British F-35 pilot made a small piece of history. Flying for four hours alongside two Typhoons, the radar picked up two Shahed drones. The squadron tactics instructor – whom the Guardian is not naming – hit the drones with two Asraam missiles. In doing so he became the first pilot of the Royal Air Force’s stealth fighter jet to destroy a target in combat. It was, he said, very high stakes. In

Lawmakers will outlaw use of 31 meat-related names as part of efforts to help livestock farmers in food supply markets EU lawmakers have agreed to ban meaty names such as steak and bacon for vegetarian and vegan foods, but “veggie burgers” and “meat-free sausages” will remain on the table. Negotiators from the European parliament and EU council of ministers found a recipe for compromise on rules for food names on Thursday, although critics said they were creating needless complexity. Continue reading...

The court of justice said Portugal had committed serious infringements of EU environmental law Portugal has been fined €10m (£8.7m) by the EU’s court of justice for failing to comply with environmental laws that require it to protect biodiversity. It has also been ordered to pay €41,250 a day until it complies with a previous court order made in 2019. The court said it was imposing the maximum fine possible to “encourage” Portugal to bring the infringement to an end. Continue reading...

Iraq emerges as key front in new and often clandestine confrontation after launching dozens of attacks Iran-backed militias around the Middle East are intensifying attacks against Israel, the US and their allies, in retaliation for the ongoing joint US-Israeli offensive against Tehran as the war draws in new armed actors, threatening wider chaos and violence. Israel and the US have targeted Iran’s network of militant groups, with Iraq emerging as a key front in this new and often clandestine confrontation. Continue reading...

This liveblog is closed. Follow live coverage of the Middle East crisis here Iran says it has targeted Kurdish groups in Iraq and warned “separatist groups” against action in the widening war. Tehran said on Thursday it had hit Iraq-based Kurdish groups “opposed to the revolution”, as reports said the US was looking to arm Kurdish militias to infiltrate Iran. We will not tolerate them in any way. Continue reading...

‘Stopgap measure’ designed to keep oil flowing into global market as Middle East crisis disrupts crude shipments The US treasury issued a 30-day waiver on Thursday allowing India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea. “To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the treasury department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement posted to social media. Continue reading...

Residents fled Lebanese capital in panic before assaults on claimed Hezbollah targets while Tehran continues to launch retaliatory attacks * Middle East crisis – live updates Israel has launched massive strikes against the southern suburbs of Beirut just hours after its military ordered the entire population of the area – more than 500,000 people – to evacuate immediately. The Israel Defense Forces had told all residents of the area to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately”, prompting an exodus of the Lebanese capital’s population in scenes of panic, before its warplanes launched strikes against what it claimed were Hezbollah targets

FTSE 100 and France’s CAC down 1.5%; Germany’s DAX and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 1.6%; the Dow Jones was down 2% * Middle East crisis – live updates A market sell-off resumed on both sides of the Atlantic on Thursday as fears mounted that there would be no quick resolution to the conflict in the Middle East. Early gains in European markets, which had followed a rebound in Asia, were wiped out in later trading and Wall Street was also trading sharply lower by early afternoon in New York. 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

With 46% of Nepal’s population under the age of 24, the election will be a test of whether their hopes and frustrations are being taken seriously In the unassuming, dusty lanes of the Nepali city of Damak, an unprecedented political showdown is unfolding. Pitting an old political heavyweight against a rapper-turned-politician with a penchant for dark sunglasses and sharp suits, the battle is one that could completely reshape the country’s politics. As Nepal heads into its most gripping election in years, at the forefront stands Balendra Shah, the 35-year-old known simply as Balen. He rose to fame as a popular rapper whose

Sporadic clashes reported in several provinces in Afghanistan as both sides give conflicting death tolls Afghanistan has said it had thwarted Pakistan’s attempted airstrikes on Bagram airbase, the former US military base north of Kabul, as cross-border fighting between the two countries stretched into a fourth day. Months of clashes have flared up again since Thursday, when Afghanistan launched attacks along the frontier and Pakistani forces hit back on the border and from the skies. Pakistan has declared it is in “open war” with Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Taliban offer to resolve dispute via dialogue after Pakistan bombed cities in Afghanistan in latest escalation with its neighbour Washington endorsed Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” after it bombed major cities across Afghanistan amid heightened tensions between the two hostile neighbours. The Taliban government in Kabul stressed it was ready to negotiate on Friday as violence intensified between the two countries. Continue reading...

Briton with cancer operated on by doctor located 1,500 miles away using four-armed robot fitted with 3D camera The patient was in Gibraltar. The surgeon was in London. The outcome was a remarkable triumph for remote robotic surgery that saved the life of a 62-year-old football fan with prostate cancer. Inside the operating theatre at St Bernard’s, the only hospital in the British overseas territory, a hi-tech robot with four arms, and fitted with a 3D camera, removed the prostate of Briton Paul Buxton, who moved to Gibraltar 40 years ago. Continue reading...

Joani Reid steps back while internal inquiry takes place following freeing of husband David Taylor on bail until May The MP whose husband was arrested this week on suspicion of spying for China has resigned the Labour whip while an internal investigation is carried out. Joani Reid, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, said on Thursday night she would temporarily stand down from the parliamentary party while the inquiry takes place. Continue reading...

After the Greens’ byelection win, PM’s failure to make a progressive offer has angered Labour’s soft-left majority But for the Iran crisis, Labour’s first major policy announcement since the party’s calamitous defeat in the Gorton and Denton byelection would have been arguably the biggest political story of the week. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, pressed ahead with what is intended to be the party’s full-throated answer to the competition it faces from Reform UK as she declared an end to permanent refugee status and the removal of state support from some asylum seekers. Continue reading...

CMA says it wants to ensure market ‘working well for consumers’ as more Britons forced to seek private care The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a review into the £8bn private dentistry market after the price of a consultation increased by nearly 25% over a two-year period. One in five people in Great Britain sought private dental care in 2024 in part because they could not access NHS treatment. Announcing its investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it wanted to make sure the market was “working well for UK consumers”. Continue reading...

John Healey lambasts opposition politicians for seeking to turn Donald Trump and the US against Keir Starmer * US-Israel war on Iran – live updates The defence secretary, John Healey, has accused opposition politicians of deliberately undermining the UK’s relationship with Donald Trump, saying it was “unpatriotic” for MPs to seek to turn the US against Keir Starmer. Healey, speaking to the Guardian at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which was hit by a drone strike over the weekend, said he had been shocked at the way politicians like Nigel Farage had sought to “undermine” the UK’s relationship with the

US issues 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to buy Russian oil; IDF says it is striking Dahiya neighborhood in southern suburbs of Beirut * Tell us: how have you been affected by the latest events in the Middle East? Two Japanese nationals have been detained in Iran, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday and requested the early release of both people. Japan hasn’t confirmed the names of the two citizens, but said one person had been detained before the US-Israel military strikes on Iran. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. * Trump news at a glance: president shows Kristi Noem the door, but already has another job lined up for her * Markwayne Mullin, Maga ‘warrior’ and ICE defender, to replace Kristi Noem * Minneapolis killings and deportation outrage: Kristi Noem’s scandal-plagued DHS tenure * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Donald Trump said that he would endorse a candidate in the heated Texas GOP runoff “soon”. This comes as neither the four-term incumbent, senator John Cornyn, or the state attorney general, Ken Paxton, received 50% of

Early in a life of service, LaFayette did the risky groundwork for the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama Bernard LaFayette, the advance man who did the risky groundwork for the voter registration campaign in Selma, Alabama, that culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has died. Bernard LaFayette III said his father died Thursday morning of a heart attack. He was 85. Continue reading...

Suspect identified as Ivan Miller, 22, found after he was tracked in one of the victims’ vehicles, authorities say * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Authorities have charged a 22-year-old man with aggravated murder in the killings of three women found dead in Utah on Wednesday following a search that extended into three states. The suspect has been identified as Ivan Miller of Blakesburg, Iowa. Continue reading...

Backlash grew against homeland security secretary after slew of controversies from Trump’s immigration crackdown Kristi Noem’s year-long tenure as homeland security secretary has been plagued by controversies as she led an aggressive immigration crackdown that hasprompted protests and lawsuits. There have been scandals, legally dubious deportations condemned by human rights groups, taxpayer-funded publicity campaigns, and false claims about US citizens. Continue reading...

Donald Trump and his attorney general were sued on Thursday by retail investors in two social media rivals of TikTok seeking to reverse the US president’s approval of a deal by the company’s Chinese owner ByteDance to form a majority American-owned joint venture. The lawsuit, the ‌first legal challenge to the deal, argues that Trump’s approval last year violated requirements set out in a 2024 divestiture law. Two California residents who hold shares in Alphabet and Meta Platforms sued, backed by...

Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun reached a US$10 million settlement to resolve a US Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud case over his trading activity. Thursday’s settlement requires court approval, with the payment ‌made by one of Sun’s companies. It came as President Donald Trump, a Republican, pushes to make the US a global hub for the cryptocurrency industry. Sun and his companies did not admit or deny wrongdoing, the SEC said in a letter to US District Judge Edgardo...

A group of 24 US states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday in the first legal challenge to his newly imposed 10 per cent global tariffs, alleging that the president cannot sidestep a recent US Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of his previous tariffs on imported goods by citing new legal authority, according to ‌the states. The Democratic-led states, including New York, California and Oregon, argued that the new tariffs, which Trump announced immediately after the...

One of the top ⁠officials overseeing Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi ⁠Noem, will leave her role, the US president said on Thursday, a major staffing move that raises questions about the direction of the Republican president’s immigration agenda. “I am pleased to announce that the Highly Respected United States Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), effective March 31,...

The US has asked Ukraine for help fending off Iranian drone attacks in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday, adding that he had ordered expert support to be given. During Russia’s four-year invasion, Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone interceptors – aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air – that it says are world-leading. Zelensky on Tuesday offered US allies in the Middle East a swap of some of their air defence...

The US will not give India the same kind of economic advantages it gave China, which allowed that country to emerge as a major competitor, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on Thursday, signalling Washington’s cautiousness in negotiations over a trade deal. While the US wants to work with India to unlock its “limitless potential,” India should understand that “we are not going to make the same mistakes with India that we made with China 20 years ago”, Landau said at the Raisina...

US President Donald Trump called on Iran’s armed forces on Thursday to surrender or face the consequences and urged the nation’s diplomats to request asylum at their postings around the world. “I’m once again calling on all members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the military and the police, to lay down their arms,” Trump said. “So you’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity, or you’ll face absolutely guaranteed death, and I don’t want to see that.” Speaking at the White House at a sports...

Azerbaijan warned on Thursday that it was preparing unspecified response measures after a pair of Iranian drones flew across its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave, raising concern about further spillover of the ‌conflict in the Middle East. “These attacks will not remain unanswered,” the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said in a statement. It added that it was investigating the types of drones used in the attack, and “preparing the necessary response measures to protect the...

European powers said ⁠on Thursday they would work together to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and send naval and other assets to protect Cyprus as the expanding US-Iran war entered its sixth day. The conflict – which has widened beyond Gulf states to the Mediterranean, where a drone strike hit a British airbase on Cyprus on Monday, and as far afield as Asia – has convulsed global markets and sent oil and gas prices soaring. Italy, ‌Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to...

The sinking of an Iranian warship by a US submarine off Sri Lanka’s coast has raised concerns across South and Southeast Asia that the Middle East conflict may be expanding into the Indian Ocean, while also intensifying political pressure in India for a stronger response. Analysts said the strike’s location near key sea lanes linking Asia with the Gulf had heightened fears the conflict could spill into waters vital to regional trade while also raising doubts in New Delhi over its cautious...

A Berlin court on Thursday jailed a Syrian man for 13 years for a jihadist-inspired knife attack on a Spanish tourist at the German capital’s Holocaust memorial. The 20-year-old suspect, named only as Wassim Al M., was convicted of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and attempted membership of a terrorist organisation, the court said. The stabbing in February 2025 inflamed an already heated debate on migration just a few days before a general election in Germany. Presiding judge Doris Husch...

Professor Pan Guang has spent decades focused on Jewish studies, the Middle East and its ties with China. Among his many roles, Pan is founding director of a research centre on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. This interview first appeared in SCMP Plus. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. Amid recent events in Iran, how do you assess the impact on China? Will China’s “petroyuan” settlement encounter problems, and what of the risks to the Belt and Road...

For sheer escalatory potential, look no further than the speed at which the six-day-old war in Iran has drawn in countries across the Middle East, causing the biggest energy shock since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While the long-term consequences of military action by the United States and Israel against Iran are unpredictable, worst-case scenarios for the global economy and markets have begun to unfold. Although the least important thing about any war is how it affects...

James Talarico barely mentioned Donald Trump when he finally got to give his victory speech on Wednesday night as Democrats’ nominee for US Senate in Texas. But the 36-year-old state lawmaker is now a frontman for the left’s opposition to Trump, not just in his own state but around the country. With his victory over US congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, the state lawmaker from Austin will test whether a smiling message of unity and change is enough to answer voters’ frustrations amid discord at...

A mine collapse on Tuesday at a major coltan mining site in eastern DR Congo left at least 200 dead, according to Congolese authorities, a number disputed by the rebel group that controls the mine. The collapse took place on Tuesday at the Rubaya mines, which are controlled by the M23 rebels, according to a press release from the Ministry of Mines on Wednesday. Fanny Kaj, a senior official in the M23 rebel group, which controls the mines, disputed the figure and said that the collapse was caused...

The Iranian warship IRIS Dena was in the Indian Ocean when a Los Angeles-class US attack submarine fired an MK-48 torpedo, setting off a massive explosion that lifted the ship’s stern out of the water before sinking the vessel. The US Defence Department highlighted the attack – releasing black-and-white video footage that showed the USS Charlotte’s strike – to draw attention to a key element of its campaign against Iran: eliminating the country’s navy to keep the country from impeding the flow...

The unfolding Iran war has ricocheted across the region and beyond, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel, many reporting casualties, and key embassies, economic engines and passageways closing down. Off the coast of Sri Lanka, a US submarine sank an Iranian warship as the war intensified and its footprint grew. Foreign governments have for days urged their citizens to leave Middle East countries on any available commercial...

The bombs falling on Iran have extinguished any remaining doubt. The US-Israeli military campaign has ignited a major regional war. This explosion of violence is the ultimate rebuke to a central promise of US President Donald Trump’s second term: that America could disengage from distant quagmires to focus on confronting China. Over a year into this administration, the strategic picture affirms the conclusion I reached last summer: America’s hoped-for single-minded containment of China lies in...

Beijing says more than 470 Chinese nationals have been safely evacuated from Iran as the conflict with the US and Israel escalates. The Chinese embassy is helping citizens leave via designated land routes and border crossings. Meanwhile, Chinese officials are urging all remaining citizens in Iran to step up safety precautions, register with the embassy and leave the country “as soon as possible”.

The House Oversight Committee voted on Wednesday to subpoena US Attorney General Pam Bondi to answer questions over the Justice Department’s handling of files regarding the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. Five Republicans joined Democrats to support the subpoena proposed by Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace in a sign of continued frustration among conservatives with the department’s review and release of a tranche of documents related to the disgraced financier. The move...

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is taking aim at foreign-based call centres with a proposed English proficiency requirement for overseas employees and limits on the volume of calls they can handle. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said on Wednesday the proposed rules will encourage communications providers regulated by the agency to bring call centre jobs back to the US and place guard rails on the operations that remain abroad. “Americans get frustrated when they call a US business...

When German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Beijing for his first visit to China last week, it came at a moment of heightened geopolitical attention. With US President Donald Trump expected to visit Beijing in late March or early April, European leaders are watching closely for possible shifts in transatlantic relations and trade policy. Against this anxious backdrop, Merz’s meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing offered something the global stage has been deeply...

Russia could halt gas supplies to Europe right now amid a spike in energy prices triggered by the Iran crisis, President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday, linking the possible decision to the European Union wanting to ban purchases of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas. Oil and gas prices have soared following the ‌US and Israeli attack on Iran and Tehran’s strikes on Gulf Arab neighbours. The conflict has paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and forced the shutdown of Qatar’s...

As China and the United States compete to shape the future of artificial intelligence, Africa’s rapidly expanding digital landscape is emerging as a new arena for their rivalry, far from the technology hubs of Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. With a growing population, expanding internet access and linguistic diversity, Africa is increasingly seen as a critical region for AI development, according to analysts. Early infrastructure and platform decisions can shape the future of emerging technology...

Google is facing a lawsuit from the family of a 36-year-old Florida man who allegedly considered carrying out a “mass casualty attack” and ultimately killed himself under the influence of the company’s Gemini chatbot. According to a suit filed on Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, California, Jonathan Gavalas began using Gemini for ordinary purposes like help with his writing. But two months of interactions sent him into a dangerous spiral, during which he scoped out a possible violent...

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that President Donald Trump’s plan to increase a broad 10 per cent tariff rate to 15 per cent is likely to be implemented this week. “That’s likely sometime this week,” Bessent said on Wednesday on CNBC in response to a question about when the increase to 15 per cent would be made. Bessent’s comments offer the clearest indication yet regarding when the US will follow through on Trump’s pledge to raise tariffs. The president last month imposed a 10 per...

Iran postponed the funeral of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike last weekend, citing expectations of large crowds. The three-day ceremony had been scheduled to start at 10pm local time at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla, a mosque in Tehran, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Wednesday. State television later said the proceedings were being delayed “due to the expected unprecedented presence of mourners”, and a new time would be...

A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by Nato air defence systems, Turkish officials said on Wednesday. The defence ministry said it had been “engaged and neutralised by Nato air-and-missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean”. It did not specify the missile’s intended target. A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been “aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered...

The latest exchange of air strikes and border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan has once again pushed the region to the brink, reviving a dread among those who have lived through this cycle before, the continuation of a war that never truly ended. The so-called war on terror has been waged for over two decades, with no end in sight. Since 2001, the war has claimed more than 33,000 civilian and security forces lives in Pakistan and displaced millions internally. Yet a fundamental question...

Three men suspected of spying for China were arrested on Wednesday, London police said. One of the three men is the husband of a lawmaker from the governing Labour Party. The three allegedly assisted a foreign intelligence service in violation of the National Security Act of 2023, Metropolitan Police said. Police did not name the suspects because they have not been charged. But they said one was a 39-year-old arrested in London, another was a 68-year-old arrested in Powys, Wales, and the third,...

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Wednesday accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of failing to show “solidarity” with Madrid in the face of criticism from US President Donald Trump. Albares told broadcaster RTVE that he had communicated his “surprise” over the chancellor’s response to Trump’s tirade against Spain in a White House meeting on Tuesday. “When you share a currency, a common trade policy and a common market with another country, you expect the same solidarity that...

The US military has said that it has hit nearly 2,000 targets inside Iran since Saturday. More than 1,000 people have been killed, including some whom US President Donald Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country. While numerous government and military sites have been targeted - including the facility where Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the operation - the intensity of the bombardment has damaged at least one...

When US President Donald Trump returned ⁠to the White House last year, some Russian hardliners were cautiously optimistic, hoping his unpredictability ⁠and transactional nature might benefit Moscow on Ukraine. But his attack on Iran means many now see him as a growing threat to Russia itself and are questioning if Trump is the pragmatic, potentially pro-Moscow strongman ready to deal in realpolitik that they thought he was. Some hawks are publicly demanding that Moscow abandon US-brokered peace...

A US submarine sank ‌an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday, dramatically widening Washington’s pursuit of the Iranian navy. Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister said at least 80 people were killed in the attack on the frigate IRIS Dena, which was heading back to Iran from an eastern Indian port. “An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that ⁠thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon....

Israel’s defence minister on Wednesday threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader, saying he will be “a target for elimination”. Israel Katz made the statement on X. “Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people - will be a target for elimination,” he wrote. One of Khamenei’s potential successors is...

With major Persian Gulf aviation hubs largely paralysed by airspace closures amid the escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, travellers have flocked to direct Asia-Europe routes, driving a sharp surge in airfares. This week, economy class on most direct one-way Beijing-Paris flights is fully booked, with a small number of economy seats – plus premium economy and business class seats – remaining. Economy seats on an Air China flight on Sunday are already booked out, with a one-way...

US Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will square off in a high-stakes run-off for ⁠the state’s Republican nomination for Senate, pitting a long-time member of the party’s establishment against an insurgent hardliner as the midterm elections kicked off on Tuesday. Neither man was able to exceed the 50 per cent threshold necessary to win outright in Tuesday’s voting, ensuring that the most expensive Senate primary in history will extend another 12 weeks into May. The...

Iranian ⁠Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States in recent days ⁠about whether, and how, to attack Iran’s security forces in the western part of the country, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. The Iranian Kurdish coalition of groups based on the Iran-Iraq border in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has been training to mount such an attack in hopes of weakening the country’s military, as the United States and Israel pound Iranian targets with...

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday ordered France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets during the war in the Middle East. Macron said the Charles de Gaulle carrier will be escorted by frigates and its air wing. In a pre-recorded speech on French television, Macron added that Rafale fighter jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the past few hours in the Middle East. “And we...

The Trump administration has changed its mind on its decision to walk away from appealing against its loss in lawsuits over executive orders targeted at four Big Law firms. The US Justice Department on Tuesday afternoon moved to withdraw its motion to voluntarily dismiss the appeals of its cases against Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Susman Godfrey and Jenner & Block. The motion comes after the Justice Department on Tuesday sent an email to the four law firms signalling it would file the motion to...

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi urged his Israeli counterpart to help bring about an immediate end to the war in Iran during a call on Tuesday, reportedly held at Israel’s request. The call came three days after Israel and the United States launched a massive attack on Tehran, killing its Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his wife and senior Iranian officials, prompting largely ineffective Iranian counter-attacks across the Middle East to date. “China opposes any military strikes launched by...

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s death is “historically significant” but will not “automatically” lead to the fall of the Iranian system, the widow of the country’s last shah said in an interview on Tuesday. “The passing of a man – however central he may be to the architecture of power – does not automatically mean the end of a system,” said Farah Pahlavi, three days after US-Israeli strikes on Iran killed Khamenei. The attacks on Iran have thrown the Middle East into turmoil and raised...

A US man who gave his teenage son the gun he is accused of using to kill two students and two teachers at a Georgia high school was convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday. Jurors took less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty of all charges in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Gray is one of a number of parents prosecuted after their children were accused in fatal shootings across the country. Colin Gray...

A sell-off for stocks wrapped around the world and hit Wall Street on Tuesday, while oil prices climbed even higher on worries about the widening war with Iran. But the big moves that rocked markets in the morning eased substantially as the day progressed. By the end of trading, the S&P 500 had sunk 0.9 per cent. That would be a solid loss on a typical day, but the index had been down as much as 2.5 per cent in the morning because of worries that the war may do more sustained damage to the...

China could potentially face shortages of methanol – a vital input for several industries – if the Iran war drags on and causes lengthy disruptions to shipping traffic along the Strait of Hormuz, analysts said. Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, is a chemical compound that is widely used by Chinese producers. It is both a biofuel and a key raw material for a range of products – from paint and formaldehyde to plastics and synthetic fabrics. The growing conflict in the Middle East could be a...

Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Democrats had evidence to suggest Kristi Noem lied under oath during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

The pages had been withheld from the trove of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein because of what officials called a mistaken determination that they were duplicates.

The actions of Ms. Halligan, who as a U.S. attorney brought criminal cases against President Trump’s enemies, are under review by the organization that licensed her to practice law.

Washington has rapidly warmed up ties with Venezuela — and applied major pressure on it — since capturing the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, two months ago.

Anthropic has said it will sue the Defense Department over the designation, which could prevent the start-up from doing business with the U.S. government.

Several House members had called for Mr. Gonzales, a Texas Republican, to step down after texts emerged showing his pursuit of a staff member who later killed herself.

Minutes before the Senate filing deadline, Senator Steve Daines withdrew his re-election bid and an ally jumped in. Even some fellow Republicans criticized the 11th-hour switch.

Mr. Parnas, who once tried to help find damaging information on Hunter Biden, said his background had turned him into “an advocate for speaking truth to power.”

Liberal justices accused their colleagues of expanding use of the emergency docket again in two orders issued this week.

After repeated but cryptic rebukes from the justices, Judge Brian Murphy last week again ruled against one of the administration’s signature immigration programs.

Once celebrated for its fiery spirits, the town of Maotai has reeled from a bad Chinese economy, changing tastes and a crackdown on boozy official banquets.

After a long battle with drug addiction, Sae Joon Park felt settled in a new life. But he was deported last year and is now fighting to get back to Hawaii.

Jamil Jivani, a Conservative rookie member of Parliament, follows an American playbook to win over young men on college campuses.

The physical struggle, involving Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana, was captured on video. The protester, Brian McGinnis, said on social media that his arm was broken.

Three women were slain in two locations, officials said on Thursday. A frantic manhunt involving four states led to an arrest, but a motive was still unclear.

Cars have become so expensive that many Americans are putting off or not buying new cars, hurting the auto industry.

A new analysis of prescription data found that emergency room orders for acetaminophen for pregnant women fell for weeks after the federal warning.

The four teenage brothers mostly play the oldies. (To them, the oldies are Coldplay and Maroon 5.)

It’s hard out there for a MAGA woman.

The rising global attacks on the free press reveal increasingly desperate regimes attempting to snuff out attempts to find the truth.

Also, child care costs are rising fast. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.

Venezuela is home to large reserves of rare earths, gold and other valuable minerals that the Trump administration wants to exert more control over.

After the secretary of the Miami-Dade County Republican Party created the chat for college students, it devolved into slurs against Black and Jewish people.

She was an adviser to Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Mayor John V. Lindsay and Representative Bella S. Abzug before serving on the New York City Council from 1989 to 2001.

Kakapos, which are reclusive and flightless and can live as long as humans, are found only in New Zealand. They feed on the fruit of the rimu tree.