Minimalist News

Vance 'Skeptical' That Iran Closed Hormuz Strait Again, Pentagon Declares Safe Passage Remains 'Intact Today' Summary Vance & CENTCOM push back against reports of Hormuz 'closure' by Iranians. Iran's Ghalibaf, Araghchi en route to US Talks in Switzerland, IRIB reports. Also Witkoff-headed US delegation still expected. Iran declares Strait 'closed' again over US failing to reign in Israeli action in Lebanon. Rising death toll in Lebanon, after over 50 new rockets fired on Israeli positions by Hezbollah. Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by end of June? Yes 8% · No 93% View full market & trade on Polymarket

National Guard Stationed At Lincoln Reflecting Pool After Multiple Sabotage Attempts It's difficult to find a single redeeming quality of liberal movements these days. Maybe it's the abject pettiness, like children throwing a tantrum, that makes them hard to respect. Or, maybe it's their violent emotional tendencies and complete lack of moral integrity. They are willing to do anything to gain power, including lie, cheat, steal and even murder. At bottom, the unstable psychological drivers of leftists lead them to hate certain things that most normal people love, including the basic maintenance of respected national monuments. One might think that

Trump Says He No Longer Views Anthropic As A National Security Threat Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times , President Donald Trump said he no longer views the artificial intelligence (AI) giant Anthropic as a national security threat. Illustration of Anthropic on June 18, 2026. Riccardo Milani/Hans Lucas via AFP via Getty Images "We have a situation with Anthropic, and we didn't like what they were doing, and so far I think they behaved very responsibly to our request," Trump told Axios's Marc Caputo in an interview that aired on June 19. Caputo then asked Trump if he

The Consumer Sentiment Disconnect From Economic Reality Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index just printed 44.8 in May. That’s the worst reading since the survey began in 1952. That print was lower than in 2008 and the 1980 inflation panic. It was also worse than the COVID lockdowns, yet the S&P 500 continues to climb higher, Q1 corporate earnings posted 27% growth, and weekly jobless claims sit near cycle lows. That “disconnect” has sparked many statements on social media, such as: “GDP is growing at a healthy 2.7% in the US. GDP statistics

Trump Mocks Italy's Meloni Over Disputed G7 Photo: 'She Wants To Be Friends Again, No Thanks!' President Trump has once again lashed out at Italy, as Washington and this 'wayward' NATO ally continue to clash on a range of issues from Iran to Israel to Ukraine.. It follows on the heels of the cancellation of the planned diplomatic visit by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. President Trump on Saturday has newly taken to Truth Social to reiterate that PM Meloni "asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France." He continued: “ She is

FBI Warns That Fake FIFA Website Being Used to Steal Personal Information Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, The FBI on June 16 advised people to be wary of fraudulent websites that try to mimic World Cup or FIFA sites, as the agency warned that such websites have been used to steal personal information and sell counterfeit tickets. In a public service announcement, the FBI stated that scammers and fraudsters have launched spoofing attempts designed to mimic FIFA’s official website as the World Cup games hosted in North America continue. “Threat actors often create spoofed websites by slightly

The World Cup's Uneven Playing Field Due to its truly global footprint, the FIFA World Cup has always been a celebration of diversity, both on and off the pitch . It brings together different cultures, different playing styles and different levels of skill, professionalism and financial muscle. However, with the tournament now over a week old, it is clear that they are playing 'football' on an uneven playing field . As Statista's Felix Richter reports , while nations like France, Spain and England have assembled squads full of international superstars, other participants will field teams that are largely unknown to

The Brits Should Declare Their Independence, Too Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker , British tyranny is globalism, and globalism must be destroyed. British tyranny is so repulsive that the British people owe it to themselves to overthrow their government masters. It has been two-hundred-fifty years since America’s Declaration of Independence recognized the Crown system as a threat to Americans’ lives and liberties. English-speaking peoples still suffering under the British yoke should follow suit. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a near-total ban on social media for children under sixteen years old. Ten of the most popular social media platforms

America's Military Readiness Depends On Deployable Nuclear Power Authored by James Durso via RealClearDefense.,com, For decades, energy policy in Washington was debated on the basis of economics, climate change, and domestic politics. That era is over. The United States is entering a period where energy security must be recognized as a core pillar of national security and military readiness. The global competition underway with China is not just about trade or tariffs. It is about industrial capacity, technological dominance, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor manufacturing, and defense production – all of which depend on a foundational requirement: abundant and reliable electric

8 Frightening Forecasts For The Future Of Fraud Fraud is entering a new era. Businesses across North America expect fraud trends like biometric fraud, deepfake scams, and synthetic identities to become more common in 2026 as criminals adopt faster and more sophisticated tools. This visualization, created by Visual Capitalist's Julia Wendling, in partnership with Inigo for the Fraud in Data campaign’s sixth post, uses data from the Sumsub Fraud Report 2025 to explore the fraud trends businesses believe will shape the future of digital risk. Biometric Fraud Could Become the Biggest Threat Surveyed businesses expect biometric fraud to rise the

How The Trump Admin Achieved Record Drug Seizures Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times , SAN DIEGO - As the flood of illegal immigrants at the southern border slowed to a trickle, agents shifted gears. Now, they're focused on seizing drugs - in record amounts - as the border is more secure than ever, officials told The Epoch Times. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took The Epoch Times behind the scenes at the border between San Diego and Mexico - home to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere.

"Only The Beginning": How To Profit From The Asymmetric Warfare Boom Low-cost kamikaze drones are fundamentally reshaping the modern battlefield and forcing militaries to rethink procurement strategies built around expensive, high-end weapons systems. In the Middle East, US Special Forces learned the hard way that cheap Iranian Shahed-style drones can eliminate multi-million-dollar (if not billion-dollar) communications, radar, and command-and-control nodes. The result of this Iranian offensive with cheap drones, which exposed a missing air-defense layer over high-value U.S. military communications systems across the Gulf region, will trigger a defense procurement reset. The U.S. military is now racing to source, order,

Elon Musk Vs The Democrats: Outcomes Vs Process Authored by Stephen Soukup via American Greatness, Years ago, when my oldest son was a Boy Scout, he was asked to write a report/make a presentation on a modern American “hero.” He chose Elon Musk, and I, of course, rolled my eyes so hard they nearly popped out of my head. I knew Musk was a successful businessman, but I also knew that he was both an advocate for and a seasoned manipulator of Big Government. Tesla, for example, received a $465 million Department of Energy loan in 2010 under the Advanced

Here's How 45 Countries View America America remains one of the world’s most influential countries, but public opinion of the U.S. varies widely across the globe. Some of its strongest support now comes from emerging economies such as Vietnam, India, and the Philippines, while favorability has weakened across several longtime Western allies. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, ranks how people in 45 countries view the U.S. using January 2026 survey data from Morning Consult’s America Reputation Tracker . Where Positive Views Are the Highest Israel and Nigeria rank first in the survey, with 83% of respondents holding favorable

STRC Is Junk Credit In A Bitcoin Costume, And Retail Is Holding $8.8 Billion Of It Authored by Glenn Cameron via BitcoinMagazine.com, There is now $15 billion sitting in three securities being marketed to bitcoin holders as the safer, smarter way to access bitcoin exposure : Strategy’s preferred stack, STRC, and SATA. The pitch is identical across all three. Tax-favored. 11.5% income. Backed by bitcoin. Money-market risk. 82.7% of the buyer base is retail. Every word of that pitch is wrong, and the security those buyers actually own is built to fail in exactly the bitcoin environment it claims to

Is The Fed Finally Done Rescuing Markets? Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance GLJ Research’s Gordon Johnson is one of my favorite analysts on the street to read and gets a rare endorsement from me (I hate basically everyone selling sell-side style research) because, like my friend Mark Spiegel, he is one of the last few analysts out there that seems committed to the truth….no matter how ridiculous it makes him look in the short term while he’s waiting for his theses to play out. Johnson came away from this week’s Fed meeting with a conclusion that would have sounded almost

US Private Credit Default Rate Remains At Record High: Fitch As we have detailed extensively, most recently here: "Blackrock's Private Credit Fund Gates Investors Again After Redemption Requests Surge " , private credit firms continue to face a flood of redemption requests ... And after this week's report from Fitch Ratings, it appears any light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. As Andrew Moran reports for The Epoch Times , the U.S. private credit default rate remained at a record high in May , according to the latest update from Fitch Ratings. Private credit woes this

AI Doomsday Warnings Distract From More Imminent AI Concerns Authored by Daniel Nuccio via The Brownstone Institute, AI is everywhere. It’s getting incorporated into everything. That’s simply progress, we’re told. And therefore we need to embrace it, lest we look like a Luddite and let China win (whatever that means). Yet, simultaneously, a lot of people also are afraid because of AI. Very afraid. And sometimes, we’re told that we should be afraid too. However, in public discourse surrounding AI, there often can be a lack of detail regarding what specifically we’re supposed to be afraid of. Sometimes it is

World Cup: Where's The Beer? Authored by Noel Williams via AmericanThinker.com, So far, the World Cup is living up to Gianni Infantino’s (FIFA President) clarion call to “unite the world” (or at least the participating nations therein). Of course, that could quickly change when we get to the knockout stages of the tournament when they're more overwrought emotions and rivalries are more intense. In the meantime, soccer fans from far-flung places are reveling in America’s beauty and bounty . They appreciate America more than Dems, which is not surprising since most Dems are anti-American. There are three glorious American attributes

FundStrat's Newton: Why Not Replace The FOMC With AI? Short of abolishing the Fed (much preferred), would automating the Fed make more sense than the current system? Should we trust Kevin Warsh, Jerome Powell, and Lisa Cook to read the tea leaves each month and decree rate changes for us commoners? That was Fundstrat's Mark Newton’s suggestion during last night's ZeroHedge debate on his H2 market outlook. He pointed out the new chair’s plan to eliminate “forward guidance”, a term invented under the previous chair Powell in which the Fed strategically signals its plans on rate changes so that those

Colombians will choose on Sunday between two men whose lives have been very differently shaped by the militias, and whose visions for the country are poles apart Whoever wins Sunday’s presidential runoff vote in Colombia, the country’s next leader will have a personal history intertwined with one of the criminal forces at the heart of a decades-long armed conflict that claimed nearly half a million lives. The lives of Iván Cepeda and Abelardo de la Espriella have, in very different ways, been shaped by their relationship with Colombia’s paramilitaries – private armies originally established by rightwing landowners, drug traffickers, businessmen,

Review reveals rise in users and rates of psychosis in countries where cannabis is sold commercially Decriminalising the possession of cannabis or strictly regulating access to the drug do not appear to drive up usage, but when the drug is sold commercially the number of users increases and more mental health problems are seen, a review has found. An international team analysed the dramatic shift in policies on cannabis between 2000 and 2025, including how the numbers of people taking the drug, its potency, and rates of psychosis changed after new rules came in. Continue reading...

Canadian officials find structural defects in material used for hull and say firm failed to fully test ‘novel’ design Canadian safety officials have issued a damning report on the catastrophic final voyage of the Titan submersible, finding that the US company behind the expedition was overcome by “groupthink” and “confirmation bias” and failed to understand the profound risks confronting their largely untested craft. The 6.7-metre (22ft) carbon fibre submersible dipped below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in June 2023 en route to the wreckage of the Titanic ocean liner. But nearly two hours after it departed with five passengers,

Focus on business dealings with mining company Guadalajara rally to highlight fate of ‘disappeared’ Hyundai will be targeted by protesters at a rally before the Group A game between Mexico and South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday, due to the World Cup sponsor’s business dealings with the South American mining company Ternium. A 2025 report from the environmental group Mighty Earth criticised Hyundai’s involvement in what they described as a “dirty steel supply chain”, as the South Korean motor company is a major buyer of iron ore from Ternium for use in steel production. Ternium has faced repeated criticisms for

Brazil supreme court finds that Eduardo Bolsonaro – who resides in the US - tried to get sanctions put on judges trying ex-president over coup plot Brazil’s supreme court has sentenced Eduardo Bolsonaro to four years and two months in prison after finding him guilty of courting US ⁠interference in his father’s coup plot trial last year. The office of Brazil’s ‌prosecutor general had ‌charged Eduardo Bolsonaro – who lives in the US - courting interference from the Trump administration to help Jair Bolsonaro’s case, by imposing sanctions on the court’s justices and tariffs on Brazilian goods. Continue reading...

Strong winds and heavy rain batter Slovenia, while France experiences atypical heatwave Severe thunderstorms swept across the Balkans last week, bringing widespread destruction to parts of the region. The storms developed as unstable hot air lingered over the Adriatic Sea while a cold front plunged south-eastward. The front began its journey on 10 June in Slovenia, where the Slovenian Environment Agency recorded 65mph gusts at Ljubljana airport. Heavy rain also fell widely across the region with 23mm reported in Kranj. Continue reading...

Online uproar follows Canadian brand’s use of taiko drum at sponsored festival held to celebrate Chinese culture The activewear brand Lululemon has apologised after a promotional event held on the Great Wall of China appeared to mistakenly feature a Japanese drum, prompting an uproar. The Canadian-headquartered company, known for its upmarket leggings, has been growing rapidly in China and arranged for a yoga festival to take place in late May on a section of the wall near Beijing. Continue reading...

Major operation launched after spate of pet thefts in Ho Chi Minh City, according to local media Police in Vietnam have rescued more than 400 cats in a bust of a cat meat crime ring in Ho Chi Minh City, according to animal welfare groups and local media reports. More than 40 cats were reunited with their owners after the multiday operation last week, but several dozen of those rescued have died due to the harsh conditions in which they were found, the groups said. Continue reading...

Fashion house pays tribute to Chinese style with its 75th anniversary catwalk show in Shanghai “New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shanghai doesn’t even sit down.” For the British designer Ian Griffiths, who encountered this line in the New Yorker, it summed up why China’s biggest city was the right place to celebrate Max Mara’s 75th anniversary. “Max Mara is a product for metropolitan women, and it would be patronising to assume that a metropolitan wardrobe should be western-centric,” Griffiths said. Continue reading...

Japanese technology company at centre of Post Office IT scandal is negotiating settlement with UK government over faulty software Business live – latest updates The chair of Fujitsu, the Japanese technology firm at the centre of the Post Office IT scandal, has resigned after its board became aware of his “woman-related inappropriate conduct”. The company said on Tuesday that Hidenori Furuta had stepped down after two years in the role. Continue reading...

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to use International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition for ‘regulatory work’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia’s health watchdog has adopted a contested definition of antisemitism to guide its regulatory work. The move has been welcomed by the nation’s peak Jewish body while the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (Apan) has warned it could silence health professionals from criticising Israel’s human rights record. Continue reading...

Tests taken in Western Australia suggest a second bird was also infected, but there is no evidence poultry or agriculture systems are affected Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has arrived on the Australian mainland with test results confirming a migratory seabird found on the Western Australian coast was positive for the disease. The agriculture minister, Julie Collins, confirmed a brown skua – found unwell last Sunday at Cape Le Grand national park near Esperance in southern WA had died from H5N1. Continue reading...

State government project among range of works celebrated for community-centred design that goes beyond utility The reimagined St Kilda pier has added more accolades to its burgeoning trophy cabinet, taking out some of the top gongs at the 2026 Australian Institute of Architects’ Victorian awards. The $53m Victorian government project by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, alongside Site Office Landscape Architecture and AW Maritime, took home the Victorian architecture medal on Friday, the award given to the most outstanding project of the year. Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Agriculture minister says no evidence of mass mortality or infection in poultry as WA authorities say a second bird is sick and being tested Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A migratory seabird found in southern Western Australia has tested positive for avian influenza with further testing under way to confirm if it is Australia’s first mainland case of the deadly H5N1 strain. The brown skua, a subantarctic species, was found at Cape Le Grand national park on Sunday and had since died, the WA government said on Friday. Continue reading...

International firm owns up to breach of ethics after staff leaked confidential Optus information while bidding for telco contract Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast KPMG has admitted to another breach of ethics after its staff leaked Optus’ confidential information to colleagues bidding for an audit contract with Telstra. The consulting firm’s executives also surveilled a whistleblower’s laptop and dismissed the individual as someone with “workplace grievances”, a parliamentary inquiry heard on Friday. Continue reading...

Italian house’s catwalk emphasised the brand’s ‘molto sexy’ look with flamboyant, sometimes revealing outfits Dolce & Gabbana leaned heavily into the art of theatrical misdirection on the second day of Milan fashion week as it aimed to draw attention away from its debt issues, catwalk controversies and management reshuffles. On the catwalk its signature “molto sexy” Italian aesthetic that comes served with a generous scoop of la dolce vita was in full swing. This was Euro summer on steroids. There were clingy muscle vests and micro shorts that made short shorts look modest while some models simply went topless. Jeans

Guardian investigation also finds same areas experienced relative decline over same period Leave-voting areas have seen faster relative growth in foreign workers since the Brexit referendum, a Guardian investigation has found. Data analysis suggests that the decade since the Brexit vote may not have matched the expectations of many Leave supporters, showing their local areas have also become relatively more deprived over the same period. Continue reading...

Suggestion that Scott Bessent so described a world leader included in Regime Change, by New York Times reporters Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, advised Donald Trump not to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, having called the Ukrainian president a “little fucker”, a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”, according to a new book. The suggestion that a US cabinet official described a world leader in such terms is included in Regime Change, a blockbusting account of the second Trump administration by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, set to be published worldwide on

Designer turns to the accessory that launched his empire as he invokes the golden age of Italian sport For his second standalone menswear show in Milan, Ralph Lauren reverted to the accessory that launched his empire in 1967 – ties. Skinny silk ties featuring subtle swirly prints were neatly knotted and used as the finishing touch to elegant pinstripe suits, while more brightly printed or striped cravats were whirled and worn like ties peeking out from under knitwear and rugby shirts. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tourism minister says another likely record year of visitor growth is not a worry amid move to welcome tourists out of season and market less frequented areas Spain is redoubling its efforts to push its tourist appeal beyond the familiar “sun and sand and coast” model as it prepares for another record-breaking year in which the number of foreign visitors could reach 100 million for the first time, the country’s tourism minister has said. Speaking to the Guardian, Jordi Hereu rejected suggestions that Spain was now saturated with tourists but said it had become clear that the “old formulas

Unclear if threat has been carried out or if move will jeopardise talks with US scheduled for Sunday Iran has said it is closing the strait of Hormuz after waves of Israeli strikes in Lebanon in a move that threatens to derail the fragile interim peace deal with the US, signed just days ago. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships not to approach the strategic waterway, which before the war carried a fifth of global oil and liquid gas supplies, citing what it called Israeli crimes in Lebanon and a US violation of commitments to establish a ceasefire there.

Mona Khalil led decades-long effort to protect nesting site for turtles near her home in south of the country The Lebanese marine activist Mona Khalil, who became a beloved figure in the country for a decades-long effort to protect a nesting site for turtles near her home, has died from injuries sustained in an Israeli strike. Khalil, 76, ran a sanctuary called the Orange House Project near the Mediterranean city of Tyre. She hosted volunteers in her house to clean and monitor a mile-long beach and welcomed tourists to stay and learn about conservation. Continue reading...

Now fighting is over, the question is how Iran’s government will behave. Early clues point to more authoritarianism and prioritising relations with China The precise ideological lessons that Iran’s new leadership draws from the 110-day war may prove to be the overriding factor in determining whether negotiations with the US culminate in an agreement that verifiably prevents the country from developing a nuclear weapon – an outcome that could usher in a new era for the Iranian economy while also reshaping the Middle East. Does this rapidly assembled leadership team, forged in the fire of war, still represent an Islamic

At least five killed in Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon on Saturday morning, as US envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly prepares to open talks with Iranian foreign minister What lessons will Iran’s new leadership draw from the 110-day war? ‘It’s a big mistake’: Israelis feel betrayed and angry after Iran peace deal Israel and Hezbollah agreed to renew a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after 24 hours of intense violence that posed an early challenge to the new agreement between the US and Iran to end their conflict. A meeting that was scheduled to take place on Friday between

In ‘middle Israel’ there are fears Iran could rebuild stronger – and there is particular ire for Donald Trump In the Tree brasserie off Herzl Street in Rehovot, there was much that almost everyone agreed on. Few contested that the ceasefire deal concluded by Iran and the US a few days earlier was very bad for Israel. “We were betrayed by President Trump,” said Avi Perez, 55. They believed, too, that Israel, more than ever, was surrounded by danger that it would have to confront alone. “It is strange. One day we were in the [bomb] shelters with our children

Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibition The Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions. In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban was to take effect this week and prohibits “high rank, low rank, general mujahideen, or service staff” from using mobile phones. Continue reading...

Campaigners welcome announcement cutting levies on menstrual health items, but say their work to end period poverty is ‘far from over’ Pakistan plans to abolish “period tax”, in a victory for young campaigners who had taken the government to court over the charges. Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that sanitary towels and related items were “daily necessities that are indispensable for women’s health, dignity and full participation in social activities”, and said he intended to remove the sales tax. Continue reading...

Relations at lowest ebb in years after Washington refuses to apologise for deaths in strait of Hormuz Fury has continued to mount in India over the US’s refusal to apologise for the deaths of Indian sailors killed in strikes in the strait of Hormuz, further straining relations between the two countries as their leaders meet at the G7 summit in France this week. Last week, three Indian seafarers, who were working on board commercial oil tankers, were killed when the US launched missile strikes on the vessel as it sailed through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Arrest of Min Zin, who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy, comes just month after Trump visit to Beijing China has arrested a US scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of spying. Min Zin was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, said on Friday. Continue reading...

Relatives of those killed on flight AI171 are still struggling to obtain answers about what happened When Sagar Patel’s mother boarded Air India flight AI171 on 12 June last year, she called her son as she always did before takeoff. The flight was due to leave Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, and was destined for Gatwick. “We always had a little traditional thing,” said Patel, a business manager from London. “Once she got on the flight, she would sit down and call me. She’d tell me: ‘Yep, I’m on the flight. See

Several of those hurt are reported to be Muslim as Police Scotland say 36-year-old white Scottish man arrested Counter-terrorism officers are involved in investigations into a series of violent incidents in Edinburgh that left five people injured, police said. The organisation Muslim Engagement and Development said several of those injured were Muslim. Continue reading...

East of England ambulance service says number of people listed as seriously injured has increased to 32 Nine people are in a critical condition after the Bedford train crash that killed the driver of one of the trains, police have confirmed. The total number of people listed as seriously injured has increased to 32, East of England ambulance service said on Saturday. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here A losing streak? Makerfield shows mounting dangers for Nigel Farage From Restore and tactical voting to questions over that £5m gift, the Reform leader faces challenges on several fronts, writes senior political correspondent Peter Walker. As those around Nigel Farage are fond of pointing out, Reform UK has now led in more than 300 consecutive national polls. When it comes to byelections, though, it is fair to say the party’s results are more mixed. Yes, Robert Kenyon came second in Makerfield to a popular regional mayor backed

Some Labour MPs still want former mayor to face ‘scrutiny’ of ideas through contested leadership race Allies of Andy Burnham are increasingly confident of a coronation-style transfer of power after the number of MPs backing him for the Labour leadership surged following his byelection victory. Burnham and his team are understood to have spent the last few days enlisting the support of MPs and ministers, as he prepares to challenge Keir Starmer in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

Arrests after explosion and caravan fires heighten controversy over number of people living in vehicles Jan Johnston was tucked up in the van she calls home when she was rocked by the explosion. “I heard this massive boom,” she said. “I came out and there was thick, black, billowing smoke. It was like a bomb had gone off.” It turned out not to be a bomb, but a suspected arson attack on one of the many caravans, motorhomes and converted vehicles tucked away in side roads and industrial estates around the town of Glastonbury in Somerset. Continue reading...

Video also shows that during calm exchange before dog entered hallway, an officer pointed pistol directly at woman The Los Angeles police department has released footage of the moment when officers shot and killed a woman’s dog in the hallway outside her apartment in the Canoga Park neighborhood. Police had responded to reports of a woman screaming on 13 June, which turned out to be cheering, the night that the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA finals. Continue reading...

In NY-12, four Democrats, including one Kennedy, are vying to replace Jerry Nadler – and potentially shake things up When news broke that a safely Democratic seat in New York’s wealthiest congressional district was becoming vacant, it was inevitable that there would be a crowded field of candidates. What people might not have expected is that the subsequent Democratic primary would become one of the country’s most closely watched and action-packed, the race coming to reflect a range of Democrats’ national political priorities: who is the strongest against Trump; who is the most critical of artificial intelligence companies; and who

Report finds close ties between the Trump administration and Geo Group, which profits from anti-immigration crackdown Jim Jordan is among the most famous names in this stretch of Ohio. The congressman and chair of the powerful House judiciary committee is considered among the most conservative and influential members in Congress, and is a longtime loyalist of Donald Trump. Continue reading...

430 ICE street arrests filed over a five-month period were clustered in predominantly Latino communities across New Jersey and New York Federal agents have arrested hundreds of immigrants off New York and New Jersey streets in recent months in a stealth enforcement campaign that disproportionately targeted people from Latin American countries, according to an investigation by the City Reporter based on a review of more than 1,200 lawsuits. More than 93% of the people grabbed off area streets who filed suit were from Latin American countries, although Latinos make up only 66% of immigrants without legal status in the region.

Terry Reed, found guilty of rape and molestation of a juvenile, called ‘utter failure of a man’ by victim’s mother A suburban New Orleans religious pastor has been sentenced to 80 years’ imprisonment after being convicted of sexually molesting two boys – the third time in which he was found guilty of abusing minors. While Terry Reed received his punishment at a state court hearing on Thursday, the mother of one of his survivors read a victim-impact statement on behalf of her son which called him “an utter failure and a sorry excuse for a man”. Continue reading...

One person died after two freight trains collided on a bridge in Munich overnight, causing loaded cars to plunge to the road below, police said on Saturday. Two cars of one train fell about 5 metres (16 ft) from a bridge and came to rest at round 1.40am, according to a spokeswoman. It was unclear what caused the collision on the bridge, which caused one of the trains to derail. The nature of the cargo was initially unclear, however police stated it was not hazardous material and that there was...

Led by Japan, East Asia seems to be setting off along a road to nowhere – beyond tension and maybe eventual conflict. This may seem a harsh indictment yet consecutive Japanese leaders have shown a lack of vision on the constructive role their country could play in achieving regional peace and economic integration. The latest manifestation of this is Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s proposal this past week to G7 leaders in France to coordinate the stockpiling of critical minerals,...

Bolivia’s crisis intensified on Saturday as President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency, enabling wider military ‌deployment to clear blockades and restore order after protests brought the economy to a halt over the past 50 days. The emergency declaration gives Paz broader constitutional tools to restore order, such as sending armed forces to clear blockades. While the order goes into effect immediately, the president must notify Congress of the state of emergency within 24 hours of...

US ⁠envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi were both headed to Switzerland for ⁠talks, Axios said on Friday, as a ceasefire in Lebanon appeared to revive efforts to turn an interim Iran war pact into a lasting regional deal. Switzerland ⁠continues ⁠to provide a “discreet and reliable setting” ‌at Burgenstock to facilitate discussions on implementing a memorandum of ⁠understanding between the US ‌and Iran, the Swiss ‌foreign ministry said ⁠on Saturday. It ⁠added in ‌a...

Carl Jung was a big fan of the I Ching, also known as the Book of Changes. He was also a close friend of Richard Wilhelm, whose German translation was probably the most influential Western version of the ancient Chinese text in the last century. But over the years, I have become convinced that the great Jung didn’t really get it. A red flag is that he thinks it is very difficult for the Western mind to grasp what I will call the Chinese spirit of the I Ching, which he claims is completely...

Norway is imposing a near ban on the ⁠use of generative ⁠AI tools by junior ⁠school pupils while also restricting their use in the education of older children to prevent a negative impact on learning, the country’s prime minister has said. Facing a broad decline in education test ‌scores, the government in 2024 banned smartphones from schools and has given teachers back more powers to enforce discipline in the classroom. Using artificial intelligence increased the risk that young children skip...

For much of the 20th century, many were accustomed to thinking of people as an ever-expanding resource. As the number of people grew, so did labour markets, consumer markets, scientific communities, production systems and armies. In 1950, the world’s population was about 2.5 billion. In 2026, it is reaching 8.3 billion. In just 75 years, the population has increased more than 3.3 times. In this sense, the current human population may turn out not to be a permanent norm, but a historical anomaly...

Nine people were in critical condition on Saturday after a collision between two passenger trains in central England the night before killed the driver of one of the locomotives, police said. British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said more than 80 people were treated in hospitals after the crash late Friday afternoon, and 28 remained hospitalised a day later. Buckingham Palace said King Charles “is greatly saddened” by the crash. It said “his thoughts and sympathies are with the...

A new Air Force One gifted by Qatar as a replacement aircraft for ferrying US presidents was unveiled on Friday by the US Air Force. “The Air Force’s VC-25B Bridge aircraft has officially arrived at the Presidential Airlift Group and will commence its initial commissioning flights, marking the successful delivery of a secure, modified executive platform,” the Air Force said. “The workmanship of this plane is, when you see it, you won’t believe it,” Trump said from inside the massive Andrews Air...

Poland’s nationalist President Karol Nawrocki announced on Friday he was stripping Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky of the country’s top award, escalating a row between the neighbours and allies over World War II massacres. Relations between Warsaw and Kyiv have been tense for days over Zelensky’s naming of a Ukrainian army unit after a WWII nationalist insurgent army that took part in massacres against Poles. Nawrocki’s decision landed days before Poland is due to host the annual Ukraine Recovery...

A clear majority of Keir Starmer’s cabinet believe it is now inevitable Andy Burnham will take over as prime minister, according to people familiar with the thinking of more than 15 cabinet ministers, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Friday. However, as of late in the afternoon, most remained unwilling to do anything about it. Most the cabinet was still not ready to tell Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure, the people said, preferring to wait and see how developments...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that a week ⁠should be enough ⁠for Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to ⁠remove equipment from his country used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine, adding a threat of Ukrainian action if Lukashenko did not do so. Zelensky said signal relay stations were located in two Belarusian regions bordering ‌Ukraine that were used by Russian forces to help with steering during attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Reuters could not verify his claims...

Iran sought to assert control over Strait of Hormuz by saying that ships need its permission and mandatory insurance to cross, even as the US said that 20 ships sailed through overnight via a route it recommends along Oman’s coast. The conflicting signals come as the shipping industry tries to assess whether it is safe to transit the world’s most important energy chokepoint and what sort of system will emerge after the US and Tehran reached an interim peace deal to reopen the strait. The number...

In the Moscow district of Maryino on Friday, shopkeeper Andrei Kondratyev braced for more Ukrainian attacks and possible petrol shortages, saying Russians needed to “get used to” a new reality. A day earlier, Kyiv set an oil refinery ablaze in the nearby Kapotnya area in its biggest drone attack on Moscow in years, engulfing the Russian capital in smoke. Such scenes were unthinkable when Moscow launched its full-scale offensive against Ukraine in 2022, but have in recent months become part of...

A British court sent two men to prison on Friday for setting fire to property linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a plot orchestrated by a mysterious Russian-speaking figure. Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Stanislav Carpiuc, a 27-year-old Romanian citizen, were jailed for seven years and two years, respectively, after being found guilty of conspiracy to damage property by fire. The men targeted a car and two properties linked to Starmer over three nights in May 2025 on the...

We’ve never had it so good. The S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 have hit record highs this month. SpaceX had its spectacular initial public offering, the largest in history. The company raised an eye-popping US$75 billion and saw a sharp rise in its share price to a mind-blowing valuation of US$2.5 trillion in two days. The US-Iran deal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz caused petrol prices to drop back to below US$4 per gallon. Global stock markets are creating seemingly unstoppable wealth for...

Italy’s foreign minister on Friday cancelled a visit to the United States over reported comments by US President Donald Trump that appeared to mock Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “The grave and offensive words of President Trump … offend the whole of Italy,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had been due to visit the US on Sunday and Monday, said on social media. Meloni said she was “stunned” by Trump’s comments to Italian channel La7 in which, according to a transcript provided by the...

⁠Iran’s ⁠Strait of ⁠Hormuz body said on Friday it would waive planned fees to use ‌the strait during a 60-day negotiation period under the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States ⁠this week. Ships seeking passage through ‌the strait while the interim agreement was in ‌force must submit transit requests ⁠at ⁠least 48 hours before arrival, ‌Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said ‌in a ‌notice. Iran will waive ‌fees for security, safety, ⁠environmental services and related...

A Vietnamese national deported to South Sudan by Donald Trump’s administration under its controversial third-country deportation programme was repatriated to Vietnam on Friday after spending more than a year in detention. South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the repatriation of 44-year-old Tuan Phan at a press briefing on Friday. “We are grateful that while in our custody Mr Phan was very disciplined, joyful, and importantly, he remained healthy,” spokesman Agok Anyar said. Phan...

After two wars in the space of a year, diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear programme has come back to much the same place it was before the fighting began. The memorandum of understanding signed by US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Wednesday sets up talks that non-proliferation experts said would largely resume the US-Iran diplomatic track Washington broke off in February. That track had built on Oman-mediated talks – part of a wider Gulf diplomatic effort...

Israel and Hezbollah agreed a ceasefire on Friday, a US official said, after deadly exchanges between the two sides in Lebanon put a deal to end the Middle East war under strain less than two days after it was signed. Talks that were scheduled for Friday between the US and Iran in Switzerland to take the deal to the next stage were postponed amid the fighting, with no new date announced. Tehran’s top negotiator warned it would not bend on its red lines and that its finger was still “on the...

Visitors to the Acropolis can now see the Parthenon’s western side looking whole for the first time in about 220 years. Officially unveiled Thursday, restorers have slotted two new marble blocks into long-empty gaps high on the temple’s western end – the view visitors see when they first enter the ancient monument in Athens. The 25-century-old monument overlooking the Greek capital attracted about 4.6 million visitors last year. Long-term restoration projects address damage caused by war,...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Iran and US sign peace deal, Strait of Hormuz to immediately reopen: Pakistan Iran and the US have signed a peace deal that will take immediate effect, with Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the US lifting its naval blockade,...

Labour mayor Andy Burnham cleared a path on Friday to ousting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, potentially ushering in a new bout of political instability, by decisively winning a parliamentary seat in northern England. Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor nicknamed “King of the North”, won the contest in Makerfield in northwest England with 54.8 per cent of the vote, beating the candidate for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, on 34.5 per cent. The scale of Burnham’s ‌victory in what...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel’s military will stay in southern Lebanon, where it has occupied up to 10km (6 miles) from the border. The remarks were his first comment since the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the militant Hezbollah group. It was unclear what that US-Iran deal means in practice. Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the...

Cuban lawmakers on Thursday adopted nearly 200 historic free-market reforms aimed at rescuing the communist island from a severe crisis aggravated by a US oil blockade. In a landmark speech to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero unveiled 176 measures aimed at rolling back the state’s role in the economy and attracting investment in everything from banking to tourism and agriculture. Under the reforms, foreign investors were no longer required to form joint ventures with the...

Alex Doran, a 28-year-old corporate strategist, is cheering for the US national team and was pleasantly surprised by the size of its initial win against Paraguay last week, while acknowledging that his team is unlikely to go all the way. While he does not expect to attend a match in person involving tickets costing thousands of US dollars, he has been watching avidly online and hopes to see some matches at fan zones set up around Washington. “I’m a little uncomfortable with large crowds because...

Under Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s leadership, Hong Kong is drawing up its first five-year plan to complement Beijing’s 2026-30 blueprint. A two-month public consultation exercise has just started. But what is the nation’s 15th five-year plan, why is it important and what’s Hong Kong’s role? China’s five-year plan responds to “great changes unseen in a century”, prescient words used by President Xi Jinping since 2018. Chinese policymakers have anticipated headwinds in the world system,...

Vice-President J.D. Vance went on the offensive on Thursday to defend the “win-win” US-Iran agreement as critics slammed its vague provisions, even as others welcomed the apparent end to an expensive and unpopular war, no matter how potentially flawed the deal might be. “We have all the cards,” Vance told reporters at the White House. “Have a little bit of faith in the president of the United States. The idea that he is going to strike a deal that’s been bad for the American people, it’s...

An autopsy has shown that an 11-year-old girl who went missing in France was raped before she died, an informed source said on Thursday, confirming suspicions in a case that has sparked public outrage. The girl, named as Lyhanna, went missing on May 29 in the southwestern town of Fleurance and her body was found in an abandoned silo almost a week later. Anger grew after it emerged that the main suspect, the 41-year-old father of a school friend, had twice before been formally accused of raping a...

Is it goodbye Air Force One, hello Qatar Force One? White House officials bade farewell on Thursday to one of the two jets that have been used to transport US presidents for more than 30 years. The goodbye messages fuelled speculation that a Boeing 747 controversially gifted to President Donald Trump by the Gulf emirate of Qatar was due to enter service. “‘Well done, good and faithful servant. ‘The Last Ride,’” Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said in a post on X with a picture of...

⁠SpaceX’s bankers are preparing to meet investors as early as next week to discuss a bond offering of at least US$20 billion, two sources familiar with the matter said ‌on Thursday, as Elon Musk’s newly public company seeks funding for an ambitious and capital-intensive AI expansion. SpaceX’s AI ambitions come with a steep price tag, requiring tens of billions of dollars in investment for data centres, computing hardware and power infrastructure. The offering ⁠would mark the first time the...

A group linked to al-Qaeda claimed Thursday’s attack on the airport of Niger’s capital, Niamey, that killed at least 11 soldiers and two civilians, six months after other jihadists staged a large assault on the sensitive site. Twenty-two attackers were also killed as security forces repelled the raid on the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s defence ministry said. Gunfire erupted early in the morning and rang out for hours near the airport, where a large military presence was...

The death of a young tourist who jumped from a runaway horse carriage in Central Park has intensified calls to ban the old-time attraction from one of New York City’s most recognisable destinations. Romanch Mahajan, 18, died after he got off the four-wheeled carriage as its horse sprinted through the park without the driver. He was believed to be the first person to die in a horse carriage accident since they were introduced in Central Park more than 150 years ago, according to the union...

British police said ⁠on Friday they had ⁠released a man ⁠who had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 3-year-old boy ended up in a zoo’s crocodile enclosure, saying he ‌had not been fit for an interview. The boy is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after staff at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a farm and zoo in central England, pulled him ⁠from the enclosure following the incident on Thursday. Cambridgeshire Police ‌said the child had suffered serious injuries while in the...

All living US ex-presidents – with the notable absence of current White House occupant Donald Trump – joined a star-studded line-up on Thursday for the opening of Barack Obama’s presidential centre in Chicago. Obama, 64, struck his trademark hopeful tone in a speech inaugurating the modernistic centre. The country’s first black president alluded to fears among many Americans that US democracy was in danger, winning applause with the phrase “no kings” – a popular anti-Trump protest slogan. But...

US President Donald Trump lashed out at critics of his agreement with Iran on Thursday, calling those who accused him of offering concessions to end the war “fools”, ahead of negotiations in Switzerland on implementing the deal. Oil prices tumbled after Trump and his Iranian counterpart separately signed their accord to end the Middle East war, with the Strait of Hormuz to reopen but two months of negotiations lying ahead. In a sudden development after uncertainty over when the deal agreed...

A British court has jailed two men linked to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London for up to 10 years for spying on activists, prompting immediate condemnation from the city government, which reiterated that their convictions involved “unfounded allegations and smearing”. Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the HKETO, was sentenced to eight years in prison for assisting a foreign intelligence service on Thursday. Co-defendant Peter Wai Chi-leung, a security firm...

Israel’s foreign minister said on Thursday that he was severing all contact with the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas over reported remarks in which she allegedly compared Israel to the apartheid regime that once ruled South Africa. Diplomatic relations between Israel and the EU have come under heavy strain since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, as well as over violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. On Thursday, Gideon Saar accused EU foreign...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at Nato allies on Thursday, announcing a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe whose outcome will depend on how fast the Europeans take responsibility for their own security. “This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly towards Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe,” he told his Nato counterparts in Brussels. Hegseth lambasted...

Keir Starmer is not on the ballot, but the UK prime minister’s future is on the line in a special election on Thursday. Voters in the Makerfield district of northwest England were electing a new lawmaker, and the leading contender is Andy Burnham of the governing Labour Party, the current mayor of Greater Manchester and oddsmakers’ favourite to be the next prime minister. If Burnham defeats a candidate from the anti-immigration party Reform UK and wins the seat for Labour, he is almost certain...

Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week and disrupted commercial flights at Moscow airports in one of its biggest drone attacks since Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour more than four years ago, Russian officials said on Thursday. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages. The attack came hours after...

A massive ancient oak tree linked to the legend of Robin Hood may have been loved to death. The 1,200-year-old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is believed to have died after it did not sprout leaves this spring, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said Thursday. Visitors who viewed the tree’s gnarled limbs and sprawling canopy in Nottingham over the past two centuries compressed the soil around it, making it difficult for rain to reach its roots, the conservation group said. The forest...

Scientists have found the oldest known evidence of the plague, which sparked deadly outbreaks dating back about 5,500 years ago – some 200 years earlier than previously thought. The disease has sickened humans for thousands of years and wiped out a significant chunk of Europe’s population in the 14th century during what’s known as the Black Death. Though rare, the plague is still around today and is treated with antibiotics. “To understand our own history, we believe that understanding the...

A teenager thrown to the ground Wednesday when a Central Park carriage horse bolted away from its driver has died, according to police. The 18-year-old was riding in the horse-drawn carriage with three other passengers when the accident happened just before 3pm, according to the New York Police Department. At least two passengers were sent flying out of the careening cab. The teenager was initially hospitalised in critical condition, while the other passengers refused medical treatment. The four...

JoAnna Mendoza, a Democrat challenging Representative Juan Ciscomani in a tossup district, is leaning into her painful and unique life story to appeal to voters.

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