Minimalist News

Highlights From Lavrov's Interview That A Leading Italian Newspaper Refused To Publish Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack, Leading Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera scandalously refused to publish in full the exclusive written interview with Sergey Lavrov that the Russian Foreign Ministry offered them in order to clarify Russia’s positions and with which they were eager to cooperate until they received the answers from him.  The Russian Foreign Ministry then condemned their decision as “a blatant case of censorship.” What follows are highlights from his interview so that readers can make up their own minds about it. Lavrov began by relating how Trump agreed with Putin in Anchorage that

Reality Caught Up To 'Climate Change' Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness, For decades, the monolithic and sacrosanct international climate change hierarchy went unquestioned. Western nations in particular spent trillions of dollars over the past half-century to subsidize expensive but erratic wind and solar energy while demonizing carbon fuels as toxic threats to the planet. Like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion dogma, climate change orthodoxy was embedded into every aspect of Western culture, from the corporate boardroom to the university campus. Question whether man-made global warming was truly responsible for increased temperatures rather than natural, often centuries-long cycles of heating and cooling of the

Trump-Style Conservative Favored Against Communist Candidate As Chile Enters Presidential Run-Off The consensus out of a closely watched presidential race in Chile is that the Right is rising and holds the upper hand, after a Sunday vote produced no clear winner between Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party, and José Antonio Kast, an ultraconservative lawyer who has expressed admiration for Donald Trump. A run-off is now scheduled for December 14. Sunday's election, in which neither secured the necessary majority to be declared winner, saw the left-wing Jara finish slightly ahead in the initial round. However, Kast is favored in the run-off election given that the

If Demographics Are Destiny... We're Screwed! Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog, Demographics don’t lie. The governments of the world and their captured bureaucrats can manipulate inflation data, unemployment data, GDP data, and numerous other data based figures to make things appear better than they are. It’s called propaganda and manipulation to create a false narrative beneficial to their interests. But, demographic data can’t be massaged to provide a happy ending for the psychopaths in suits, running the show. They can ignore the data and pretend it doesn’t exist, but you can’t change the ages of the people inhabiting this

Our 'Great Ally' Saudi Arabia Will Be Getting F-35s: Trump Ahead Of MbS Visit The first US ally to typically get whatever it wants from Washington is Israel. The second is Saudi Arabia. And so in the same order... "President Trump said Monday that he will approve the sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia, making the kingdom the first country in the Middle East other than Israel to obtain the advanced fighter jets," Axios reports Monday. USAF image Trump made the following public comments to reporters in the Oval, "They want to buy. They are a great ally. We will be doing that. We will be

Inside The Growing Trend Of Digital Detoxing Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The concept of digital “detoxing” has entered the mainstream, with wellness experts and scientists highlighting its considerable health benefits. Research from BMC suggests that even modest reductions in daily digital engagement can help alleviate symptoms of depression, enhance sleep quality, and lower cortisol levels for many people. People with their phones in New York City on June 13, 2024.Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times Studies examining the advantages of reducing or limiting different types of digital habits have gained momentum in recent years. Promising new results published by researchers at

"People Love It": Trump Talking To Dems About 'Direct Payment' Health Care Plans President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he's spoken with congressional Democrats about a plan to hand people cash that they can use to purchase their own health insurance.  President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media aboard Air Force One as he departs for Florida from Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Oct. 31, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters "I’ve had personal talks with some Democrats," Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, FL before returning to DC, adding that he talked to the dems "about paying large amounts of dollars back

Larry Summers Goes Into Hiding; Messages Sought Epstein's Advice On Cheating With Daughter Of CCP Official In the latest blow to Democrats from the recent 'Epstein files' released by House Republicans, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers announced that he's stepping back from public commitments after new documents reveal he was asking for Jeffrey Epstein's advice on how to bang a female mentee behind his wife's back.  Summers - who was Bill Clinton's Treasury Secretary and later president of Harvard University, repeatedly messaged Epstein about a woman codenamed "peril" in 2018 and 2019.  In one January 2019 text exchange, Summers told Epstein that the woman was unlikely to leave him

Ultraprocessed Foods Linked To Increased Risk Of Precancerous Colorectal Tumors: Study Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A new study revealed that ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) may be linked to a rise in colon cancers among young people across the globe. Potato chips are displayed in pharmacy Duane Reade by Walgreens in New York on March 25, 2021. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file The first-of-its-kind study, which took place over 24 years, found that young people who consumed high levels of ultra-processed foods reported a surge in being diagnosed with adenomas and colon polyps, which often lead to colorectal cancer. “Those with the

Trump Suggests Airstrikes On Cartels In Mexico, Colombia: 'Okay With Me' President Donald Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office on Monday that potential military strikes in Mexico to disrupt the drug trade would be "okay with me". He expressed rare openness to direct Pentagon action inside America's neighbor to the immediate south, at a moment of ongoing deadly drone strikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela. This is sure to turn US-Mexico relations in a more negative direction, but Trump doesn't seem overly concerned with this as he ramps up the pressure, also on Colombia.  CFR via AFP/Getty Images He said

FT Confirms Our Report From 2024 That China Is Buying 10x More Gold Than Officially Disclosed One year ago, Goldman's precious metal analyst Lina Thomas made the case that gold would rise to $3000 by the end of 2025 (it ended up rising more than $1000 higher) as a result of relentless central bank purchases in general, and thanks to China's ravenous appetite for gold in particular. The bank promptly got pushback on this thesis, with skeptics countering that it is unlikely that gold will manage to keep its ascent at the same time as the dollar rises to new record highs,

Trump Hints US Might Still Be Talking With Maduro, Despite Huge Force Build-Up Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, President Trump said on Sunday that the US "may be having discussions" with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suggesting his administration has not entirely cut off diplomacy with Caracas as previous reports have said. Trump made the comments when asked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement that the State Department would be designating the so-called Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” though the group doesn’t actually exist. > .@POTUS on Venezuela: "We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we'll

Appeals Court Halts DOT Restrictions On Commercial Driver's Licenses For Illegals Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times, A federal appeals court in the District of Columbia has temporarily blocked the Department of Transportation (DOT) from enforcing a new rule that narrows the conditions under which states may issue commercial driver’s licenses to noncitizens. The ruling followed an Oct. 20 petition from two truck drivers and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) seeking judicial review of the interim final rule by the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in September. The rule limits eligibility for nondomiciled commercial driver’s

Threats Of Sanctions, Economic Warfare, As Japan-China Relations Sink To Decades Low China and Japan are experiencing their most intense diplomatic tensions in years after Beijing issued economic warnings in response to recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about a potential Taiwan conflict. As we featured previously, Takaichi had suggested that any Chinese use of force against Taiwan could be considered a "situation threatening Japan’s survival" - which could justify Tokyo supporting allied nations in defense of the self-ruled island. Beijing reacted swiftly, with a Chinese state broadcaster over the weekend having cautioned that the country is "fully prepared for concrete

Trump Says He Plans To Meet With NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani To "Work Something Out" Update (1700ET): Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he hoped to press President Trump to help ease the affordability crisis. He said that if the president were willing to find common ground on the issue, he would be willing to work with him. > “The president ran a campaign where he spoke about a promise to deliver cheaper groceries, a promise to reduce the cost of living,” Mr. Mamdani said at news conference at a food pantry in the Bronx, where he served meals to visitors. But he has also expressed doubt that

Man Stabbed In Broad Daylight In Times Square Collapses While Yelling "Save The Children" Zohran Mamdani's election is already making Manhattan safer...and more sane. A man believed to be homeless was stabbed twice in Times Square in broad daylight on Saturday, then staggered around shouting “save the children” as he bled heavily, according to the NY Post.  The 30-year-old was attacked around 11:40 a.m. outside 1501 Broadway near West 44th Street, where a suspect stabbed him in the left ribs and arm. A nearby vendor said the victim, shirtless and bleeding from the chest, kept yelling after being wounded. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital

ICE, Partners Launch Initiative To Protect 450,000 Children From Unvetted Sponsors Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched an initiative aimed at protecting 450,000 unaccompanied children (UAC) who were illegally smuggled into the United States, and then placed with unvetted sponsors during the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Nov. 14. A migrant child awaits to be processed by Border Patrol agents in Otay Mesa, Calif., on Feb. 29, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times ICE is carrying out the UAC Safety Verification Initiative in partnership with state and

Nihilistic Accelerationism: Kirk Assassin & Butler, PA Shooter Share Disturbing Online Far-Left Radicalization, Furry Fetish Building on Tucker Carlson's reporting about President Donald Trump's would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, and what increasingly appears to be a major FBI cover-up of Crooks' political leanings and far-left radicalization, a new New York Post investigation reveals even more disturbing details, including a strange "furry" obsession strikingly similar to that of Charlie Kirk's suspected shooter.  Sixteen months after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Carlson dropped bombshells of Crook's online history, including dozens of social media posts that show the young man was radicalized in just a few

Google Sued For Allegedly Using Gemini AI Tool To Track Users' Private Communications Authored by Lear Zhou via The Epoch Times, Google LLC is accused in a civil lawsuit of using its artificial intelligence program Gemini to collect data on users’ private communications in Gmail as well as Google’s instant messaging and video conference programs. Until around Oct. 10, the Gemini AI assistant required the user to deliberately opt into its feature. After that date, the feature was allegedly “secretly” turned on by Google for all its users’ Gmail, Chat, and Meet accounts by default, enabling AI to track its users’ private data

US Designates Venezuela's "Cartel Of The Suns" As Terrorists, But Its Existence Is Dubious Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that the State Department would be designating the so-called Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" - though many analysts and reporters have questioned whether the group actually exists. "Based in Venezuela, the Cartel de los Soles is headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary," the official US statement said. "Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government." Via Associated Press At

As the summit entered its second week, complex issues remain with anxiety growing over conference outcomes Colombia will host a first international conference on the phase out of fossil fuels in April next year, according to advocates of more ambitious action to eliminate the main source of the gases that are heating the planet. The South American country, which has demonstrated strong climate leadership in recent years, is among a group of 17 nations that have joined the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative which held a press conference on its plans at Cop30 on Monday. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper makes first public comments by minister over issue linked to bombing campaign in Caribbean * UK politics live – latest updates * US politics live – latest updates Britain’s foreign secretary has downplayed reports that the UK had stopped sharing intelligence with the US that could be used by the Americans to conduct deadly attacks against alleged narco-traffickers in the Caribbean. Yvette Cooper, speaking on a ministerial trip to Naples, said “longstanding intelligence and law enforcement frameworks” that existed between the countries were continuing as the US deployed a carrier strike group to the region. Continue reading...

Experts believe decision is designed to pressure Venezuela’s leader into stepping down with threat of military force * Is US preparing to attack Venezuela and how has Maduro regime responded? The US has said it will designate a putative Venezuelan drug cartel allegedly led by Nicolás Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization, as the Trump administration sent more mixed messages over its crusade against Venezuela’s authoritarian leader. The move to target the already proscribed group, the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), was announced by Marco Rubio on Sunday. “Headed by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro, the group has corrupted the

The ultraconservative lawyer is in pole position going into the second round election, after running a campaign with a distinctly Trumpian feel The ultraconservative lawyer, José Antonio Kast, is in pole position to become Chile’s next leader after advancing to the second round of the South American country’s presidential election where he will face the Communist party candidate Jeannette Jara. With more than 70% of votes counted, Kast had secured about 24% of the vote in Sunday’s first round vote, having campaigned on hard-line promises to crack down on crime and immigration, while making a Donald Trump-style pledge to “put Chileans first”. Continue

Marina Silva says contentious plan would be ‘ethical answer’ to climate crisis but does not commit Brazil to it Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva, has urged all countries to have the courage to address the need for a fossil fuel phaseout, calling the drawing up of a roadmap for it an “ethical” response to the climate crisis. She emphasised, however, that the process would be voluntary for those governments that wished to participate, and “self-determined”. Continue reading...

Chinese airlines offer free cancellations and film releases postponed after Japanese PM’s comments on Taiwan Chinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of tickets to fly to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s stance on Taiwan continues. Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country could get involved militarily if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Her comments prompted fury from China’s government, which issued warnings against Chinese travellers and

Communications undersecretary Claire Castro says claims from the president’s sister may be an attempt to distract from investigations into a corruption scandal Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has denied accusations made by his estranged sister that he is longtime drug addict, whose alleged cocaine dependence has led to governance issues, including corruption, a spokesperson for the president has said. Communications undersecretary Claire Castro described the comments by the president’s sister, senator Imee Marcos’, as baseless, and suggested they may have been a desperate attempt to distract ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that may implicate her allies in

Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence use The books of two award-winning New Zealand authors have been disqualified from consideration for the country’s top literature prize because artificial intelligence was used in the creation of their cover designs. Stephanie Johnson’s collection of short stories Obligate Carnivore and Elizabeth Smither’s collection of novellas Angel Train were submitted to the 2026 Ockham book awards’ NZ$65,000 fiction prize in October, but were ruled out of the competition the following month in light of new guidelines around AI use. Continue reading...

Johnson Wen, who jumped over a barricade at Universal Studios Singapore and rushed at the Wicked star, has been convicted of being a public nuisance The man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a red-carpet premiere for Wicked: For Good in Singapore has been jailed for nine days. According to BBC News, Australian national Johnson Wen was convicted of being a public nuisance. Wen, 26, has a history of disrupting public events and rushing concert stages. Continue reading...

Decision announced at Cop30 climate conference signposts risks for Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel exports, analysts say * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Australian government has been urged to prepare for a shift away from thermal coal exports and accelerate green industries after one of its main international customers signed up to close all coal-fired power plants by 2040. South Korea, Australia’s third-biggest market for coal burned to generate electricity, announced at the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil that it was joining the “Powering Past

Australia’s national scientific agency announces more research job losses as it looks for budgetary savings * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s national scientific agency is expected to cut up to 350 more research roles from next year as it looks for savings and new sources of funding to plug budgetary shortfalls. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) held a town hall on Tuesday afternoon, when the agency’s leaders outlined the troubled times ahead. Continue reading...

The Coalition is preparing to thrash out the design of a policy to significantly reduce immigration places * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Liberal MPs say skilled migration and international student numbers must be cut to reduce overseas arrivals into Australia, but have warned colleagues against demonising multicultural communities ahead of the next election. The Coalition is preparing to thrash out the design of a policy to significantly cut immigration places, as the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, struggles to keep moderates and conservatives united. Ley and shadow ministers Jonathon Duniam and Paul Scarr want the policy

This blog is now closed * ‘Sad day for publicly funded science’: up to 350 more jobs to go at CSIRO * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says a $60 toll cap for Sydney’s roads will be extended beyond its expiry date at the end of this year, and the government is considering two-way tolling on the Harbour Bridge to fund the cap permanently. The cap, under which drivers claim up to $340 a week back from the government after spending $60 for each registered vehicle, was put in place at

Early investigations suggest device was using software incompatible with emergency calls on TPG network * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast TPG – the parent company of Vodafone – has said a Lebara customer who tried to dial triple zero on an incompatible Samsung device could not make the call and subsequently died. TPG said in a statement to the ASX that it was informed of the incident – which took place on 13 November in Sydney – at 5.22pm yesterday after advice from NSW Ambulance. Galaxy A7

Suppliers would not have previously been obliged to test the products at any point in the supply chain, ABF confirmed * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Coloured sand products which have been contaminated with asbestos and used widely in Australian schools were not required to undergo any testing for the hazardous material before they were imported, border officials have confirmed. The Australian Border Force (ABF) on Tuesday said it would now consider sand products designed for children’s sensory play to be high risk, meaning they will

Security spokesperson says the incident at the weekend was a terrorist attack ‘initiated by special services from the East’ Heads up: Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk will address the Polish parliament around 1pm local time (midday UK) to give lawmakers an update on the latest on the rail sabotage incidents over the weekend. I will bring you all the key lines here. Continue reading...

Security minister Dan Jarvis says scrapping immunity scheme would give relatives a renewed chance for answers The families of more than 70 people killed by the IRA and other paramilitaries in unsolved attacks on English soil can once again hope for justice under the new Northern Ireland Troubles bill, the UK government has claimed. As MPs in the House of Commons prepared to debate the bill for the first time on Tuesday, the Home Office said there remained 77 unsolved killings, including 39 British armed forces personnel in English towns and cities, from the time of the Troubles. It said more than

Jim O’Callaghan says he will closely monitor changes proposed by Britain amid concerns over impact Attempts to toughen up asylum rules in the UK could have significant implications for relations with Ireland, Dublin’s justice minister has said, amid concerns that this could increase migration flows to Ireland. More than 80% of people who use irregular routes to Ireland originate from Great Britain, travelling to Belfast by plane or boat and then by road to Dublin to make asylum claims, the justice department has said. Continue reading...

Archive director in Germany says ‘missing piece of puzzle’ now in place to verify authorship after decades of research Two long-lost organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed in Germany, roughly 320 years after the composer wrote them as a teenage music teacher. Entitled Chaconne in D minor BWV 1178 and Chaconne in G minor BWV 1179, the pieces were added to the official catalogue of Bach’s works on Monday and played in public for the first time in three centuries inside Leipzig’s St Thomas Church, where Bach is buried. Continue reading...

Campana Gallery is temporarily shut due to weaknesses in beams supporting floor above The Louvre has temporarily closed one of its galleries as a precaution after an audit revealed structural weaknesses in some of the beams in the building. The Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms dedicated to ancient Greek ceramics, will be shut while investigations are conducted into “certain beams supporting the floors of the second floor” above it, a statement issued on Monday said. Continue reading...

The hazy UN resolution dictates that Trump’s ‘board of peace’ will supervise an International Stabilisation Force, whose membership is as yet undetermined The resolution passed by the UN security council on Tuesday evening, aimed at turning the precarious Gaza ceasefire into a real peace plan, is one of the oddest in United Nations history. It puts Donald Trump in supreme control of Gaza, perhaps with Tony Blair as his immediate subordinate in a “board of peace”, which will oversee multinational peacekeeping troops, a committee of Palestinian technocrats and a local police force, for a period of two years. Continue reading...

UN logs 260 attacks in October alone, its highest monthly tally, as settlers attack farmers and burn olive trees Violence has increased across the occupied West Bank as Palestinian farmers try to harvest their olive trees before the end of the season, in the face of a concerted campaign of harassment by groups of armed and aggressive Israeli settlers. Dozens of new incidents have occurred in recent days across much of the occupied territory as settlers step up a broader effort to intimidate and harm Palestinian communities. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. See our full report here The US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza into a “green zone” under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a “red zone” to be left in ruins. Foreign forces will initially deploy alongside Israeli soldiers in the east of Gaza, leaving the devastated strip divided by the current Israeli-controlled “yellow line”, according to US military planning documents seen by the Guardian and sources briefed on American plans. Continue reading...

The resolution, which includes references to an independent Palestine, was passed by a vote of 13-0 with China and Russia abstaining The UN security council has endorsed proposals put forward by Donald Trump for a lasting peace in Gaza, including the deployment of an international stabilisation force and a possible path to a sovereign Palestinian state. The resolution, passed by a vote of 13-0 with abstentions by China and Russia, charted “a new course in the Middle East for Israelis and Palestinians and all the people of the region alike”, the US envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, told the council chamber. Continue

Netanyahu faces pressure from far-right ministers after Saudi insistence on ‘credible pathway’ to statehood The UN security council is to vote on Monday on a US-drafted resolution to set up an international stabilisation force (ISF) in Gaza that includes a late and highly tentative addition on a future Palestinian state, added under pressure from Arab states. A rival motion has meanwhile been tabled by Russia and China, setting up the possibility that both motions could be vetoed by one or more of the five permanent members of the security council. Continue reading...

Hasina sentenced in absentia by court in Dhaka over deadly crackdown on student-led uprising last year Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Dhaka for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. A three-judge bench of the country’s international crimes tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities as she oversaw a crackdown on anti-government protesters last year. Continue reading...

The accidental explosion comes days after a deadly car blast in New Delhi which killed at least eight people near the city’s historic Red Fort At least nine people were killed and 32 injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police have announced. The blast occurred in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, the region’s main city, late on Friday while a team of forensic experts and police were examining the explosive material, said Nalin Prabhat, the region’s police director general. He ruled out any foul play, saying it was an accident. Continue reading...

Investigators believe an explosion that killed 13 people may be linked to group operating in the disputed region Police have carried out raids and made several arrests across the Indian region of Kashmir in the aftermath of a car explosion in Delhi that left 13 people dead. On Wednesday, the Indian government confirmed it was treating the blast as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The explosion took place outside one of India’s most significant monuments during rush hour on Monday evening. Continue reading...

Cabinet says explosion near Red Fort that killed 12 is suspected to have been perpetrated by ‘anti-national forces’ India has confirmed it is treating the explosion that killed 12 people outside Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The statement by the cabinet, led by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, confirmed mounting speculation that a terrorist attack was behind the blast that took place during peak time in one of the capital’s busiest areas and outside one of India’s major landmarks. Continue reading...

Critics say constitutional amendment, which will also limit supreme court’s independence, is ‘funeral for democracy’ Pakistan’s parliament has passed a controversial amendment to its constitution that will expand the powers of the army chief and grant him lifelong legal immunity while limiting the independence of the supreme court, in a move critics described as a “funeral for democracy”. Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief who is widely seen as a de facto ruler of the country, was the main benefactor from the 27th constitutional amendment, which was passed by the parliamentary lower house on Wednesday. Continue reading...

As Reform announces what it claims are £25bn in savings through cuts, Labour says ‘Farage’s fantasy numbers don’t add up’ Back at the Reform UK press conference, Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, has just finished outlining his plan to cut spending on foreigners As he finished, Yusuf claimed this was “treachery”. Labour is making the conscious and deliberate decision to continue funding extortionate amounts to foreign nationals, to the detriment of British citizens. And I don’t know what to call that. Frankly, my view is treachery. I think it’s appalling. British people are sick and tired of it. Just a few months ago,

Cap on dual-fuel bills forecast to decrease by £22 to the equivalent of £1,733 a year for a typical household * Business live – latest updates British households will have a brief reprieve from rising gas and electricity costs this January, before the cost of the government’s energy policies piles another £75 a year on to bills by the spring, according to a leading forecaster. The regulator’s cap on dual-fuel bills is expected to fall by 1% from January to the equivalent of £1,733 a year for a typical household – a £22 drop – because of lower wholesale gas prices, Cornwall

Housebuilder’s autumn selling season was wiped out by speculation about new property taxes, says analyst * Business live – latest updates The housebuilder Crest Nicholson has warned of job cuts and worse than expected profits after a summer of “subdued” sales amid uncertainty around the possible property taxes in the budget. The Surrey-based company said it planned to close one divisional office and cut 50 roles, including staff at that site and “selective other roles” across the business. Continue reading...

Dubs, who was a child refugee, says Shabana Mahmood’s ‘shabby’ plans will increase community tensions * UK politics live – latest updates The home secretary is seeking “to use children as a weapon” in her changes to the asylum system, a veteran Labour peer who came to Britain as a child refugee has said. Alf Dubs, who arrived in the UK aged six in 1939 fleeing the persecution of Jews in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, described Shabana Mahmood’s proposals as “a shabby thing”. Continue reading...

Competition watchdog examines StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School and BSM Driving School and others * Business live – latest updates Britain’s competition watchdog has begun investigations into eight companies about their online pricing practices, expressing concern over additional fees and sales tactics such as “drip pricing” and “pressure selling”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was looking into the ticket sellers StubHub and Viagogo; AA Driving School and BSM Driving School; the US gym chain Gold’s Gym; and the retailers Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical. Continue reading...

Move comes after Donald Trump dropped his opposition to a vote on releasing files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein * Full report: House set to vote on release of Epstein documents * Explainer: what to know about the US House vote Trump’s friendship with Epstein has been a long-running scandal in American politics as the late disgraced financier had links to many other rich and powerful figures in the US and overseas. Trump had previously said that he fell out with Epstein years before the disgraced financier’s convictions. Continue reading...

President drops opposition to vote that would compel files’ release and says he would sign measure if it reaches his desk * US politics live: House to vote on release of Epstein files The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives is expected to vote on Tuesday to force the release of investigative files related to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the latest move in a scandal that has dogged Donald Trump since he returned to the White House. In a sharp reversal this weekend, Trump dropped his opposition to a vote releasing files from the criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice into Epstein

Cedric Irving Jr, 27, charged over death of ‘legend’ Beam, who was shot and killed on Laney College campus last week A 27-year-old man was charged on Monday with the murder of the beloved Oakland football coach John Beam, who died last week after being shot in the head on the junior college campus in northern California where he worked. Cedric Irving Jr, who does not have a criminal record, was charged with murder and use of a gun during the crime, Alameda county district attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said at a news conference. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. * Trump news at a glance: in a U-turn, president tells Republicans to vote to release Epstein files US Border Patrol officials said they had arrested 81 people over five hours in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, the first day of the targeted operation. The crackdown involving federal agents was only announced last week. Mass deportation and strict enforcement of immigration laws have been a key part of Trump’s agenda since returning to office this year. Continue reading...

Former treasury secretary steps away to ‘rebuild trust’ after severe backlash but will continue teaching Harvard classes The Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers said he would be stepping back from public life after documents released by the House oversight committee revealed email exchanges between Summers and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who called himself Summers’ “wing man”. Politico reported on Monday that Summers, a former treasury secretary, expressed deep regret for past messages with Epstein. Continue reading...

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to approve the sale of US-made F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, speaking a day before he hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a day of diplomacy. “I will say that we will be doing that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’ll be selling the F-35s.” A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s...

The Trump administration’s blueprint to secure and govern Gaza won strong approval at the United Nations on Monday, a crucial step that provides international support for US efforts to move the devastated territory towards peace following two years of war. The US resolution that passed the UN Security Council authorises an international stabilisation force to provide security in Gaza, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by US President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future...

Months before the US military began launching air strikes against suspected drug vessels, former Justice Department acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove told employees the government should just “sink the boats” rather than prosecute the people on board, three witnesses told Reuters. Bove made similar remarks on at least three separate occasions between November 2024 and February 2025 when the topic of maritime drug cases was broached, the witnesses said. All three were granted anonymity to...

Soybean futures jumped on signals that China is stepping up its buying of oilseed, offering hope for US farmers after purchases appeared to have stalled. Prices in Chicago rose as much as 3.2 per cent on Monday, hitting a fresh 17-month high, after US President Donald Trump said China is in the process of buying soybeans. “They’ll be doing a lot of soybean purchases,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, adding that those purchases could start before spring. Brokerage AgResource Co...

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday on forcing the release of investigative files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with passage seen as all but guaranteed after President Donald Trump dropped his long-standing opposition. Trump’s reversal late on Sunday came days after a House petition gathered enough support to force a vote, a rare instance of House Republicans defying the president’s wishes. Until the weekend, Trump and his staff had lobbied hard...

As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moscow has lost much of its influence in Central Asia. In the coming months and years, the United States is expected to expand its presence in this strategically important region. But given that China has developed close economic ties with regional actors, how does Beijing view Washington’s ambitions? Coincidentally or not, on November 6, the US and China both held important meetings with Central Asia. In Washington, US President Donald Trump hosted the...

Former US television actor Danny Masterson claims a mix of failures by his defence lawyer and a police investigation that was biased against Scientology led to his conviction on two counts of rape, according to a lengthy motion filed on Monday. Masterson, 49, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in September 2023 after a jury found he sexually assaulted two women in the early 2000s, while at the height of his fame starring as the mercurial Steven Hyde in the sitcom That ‘70s...

Brazil’s top military court has closed a dictatorship-era case against nine Chinese citizens who were arrested and tortured in 1964, ending a process that stayed open for more than six decades despite the lack of evidence behind the original charges. In a decision released on Sunday, Brazil’s Superior Military Court ruled that the case should legally have expired in 1981 but was never closed. As a result, a 50-volume case file remained on the docket. The closure lifts a lingering point of...

The EU’s European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Australian government said in a joint statement on Monday they would deepen cooperation on critical raw materials, as Western powers scramble to cut their reliance on China. With the exception of Japan, Group of Seven (G7) countries and the EU are heavily or exclusively reliant on China for a range of materials from rare earth magnets to battery metals. European officials and industry sources say financing remains a key hurdle in the bloc’s efforts...

Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for a high-level security meeting with the United States, China and regional partners, arguing that recent US military deployments and strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific are escalating tensions in the region. Joining other regional voices condemning the operations, he stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean should be treated with respect and repeated his proposal for talks in Pearl Harbour, noting that he...

Britain on Monday said it would make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive illegally, in a major overhaul aimed at stemming the rise of the populist Reform UK party and tackling abuse of the current system. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined changes to how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) should be interpreted by UK courts to give the government greater control over who can remain in Britain. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former human...

A US federal judge said on Monday that potential government misconduct and investigative missteps could be grounds for dismissal of the criminal case against former FBI chief James Comey, a prominent foe of President Donald Trump. Comey, 64, is one of three vocal Trump critics indicted recently in what has been widely seen as a campaign of retribution against the president’s political opponents. Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a...

The Louvre Museum said on Monday that it was closing one of its galleries as a precaution after an audit revealed structural weaknesses in some of the beams in the building. The Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms dedicated to ancient Greek ceramics, will be closed while investigations are conducted into “certain beams supporting the floors of the second floor” above it, a statement said. The announcement has no link to the recent robbery at the world’s most visited art gallery, but is more...

The websites of several Danish political parties were targeted on Monday in a cyberattack claimed by pro-Russian hackers on the eve of local and regional elections. The Danish Agency for Social Security said it was “aware that certain political party websites were unavailable this morning due to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks”, adding that it was monitoring the situation along with military intelligence. “DDoS attacks are part of the normal picture,” it said in a statement. “The...

BBC chairman Samir Shah has reassured staff that US President Donald Trump has “no basis for a defamation case”, over the editing of his speech for the Panorama programme, adding: “We are determined to fight this.” The president has said he will still sue the corporation despite an apology over the editing of a speech made ahead of the attack on the US Capitol. The BBC said the edit of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, had given the “mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct...

Gunmen from a criminal gang kidnapped 25 people and killed a staff member in an early morning raid on a northwestern Nigerian girls’ secondary school on Monday, police said. The attack came more than a decade after 276 girls were abducted from Chibok in the restive northeastern Borno state and sparked international outcry that rallied people around the “#BringBackOurGirls” global social media campaign. Since then, there has been a string of other abductions involving schoolchildren across...

After repeated delays, Israel’s government has agreed to launch an investigation into the government failures that led to the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, that triggered the war in Gaza. But questions about the investigation’s independence drew accusations on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to evade personal responsibility in the worst attack in Israel’s history. Israel has traditionally appointed an independent state commission of inquiry, led by a retired judge,...

Ukraine signed a letter of intent with France to obtain 100 Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday as he seeks to bolster the country’s long-term military capacity to fight Russia’s invasion. Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Paris for talks with President Emmanuel Macron at a time when heavy Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine have increased in recent weeks and Moscow has reported ground advances in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. “It...

A fatal accident involving a bus filled with Indian pilgrims killed at least 45 people near Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Medina, Indian police said on Monday, one of the deadliest crashes in the Gulf kingdom in years. “The tragic bus accident involving Indian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia is deeply distressing,” V.C. Sajjanar, police commissioner for the city of Hyderabad, where many of the Indian citizens were reported to have come from, told reporters. “According to preliminary information, 46...

The most important outcome of the Communist Party of China’s fourth plenum, held last month in Beijing, was the review and adoption of the “Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development”. Leading the drafting team in person, Communist Party General Secretary and Chinese President Xi Jinping played a decisive role in formulating the recommendations by setting the overall vision and providing guidance throughout the...

Germany will lift its partial embargo on weapons exports to Israel as of November 24, reversing a decision taken in August in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said that the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been in effect since October 10, was a key reason for lifting the ban. Kornelius said the ceasefire had “stabilised in recent weeks”. The spokesman also cited efforts to achieve a lasting peace...

With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers. A daring daytime heist of jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris on October 19 made international headlines. During the heist, the thieves parked a truck with an extendable ladder under the museum’s Apollo Gallery, and used cutting equipment to get...

A bridge at a copper and cobalt mine in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo collapsed due to overcrowding, killing at least 32 people, a regional government official said on Sunday. The bridge at the Kalando mine in Mulondo in Lualaba province fell on Saturday, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the province’s interior minister, said during a press conference. “Despite the strict prohibition on accessing the site due to heavy rainfall and the risk of landslides, illegal diggers forced their way into the...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Airlines offer Japan trip refunds as row over Takaichi’s Taiwan comments deepens 2. Nexperia civil war erupts as Chinese and Dutch arms trade blows 3. Why Singapore’s PAP is taking aim at opposition WP so soon after an election 4. Why China studies scholars in the West have been left in ‘crisis’...

Ecuadorian voters roundly rejected the return of US military bases to the country in a referendum on Sunday, a major political blow to Trump-friendly President Daniel Noboa. With three-quarters of the vote counted, about 60 per cent of Ecuadorians had voted ‘no’ to lifting a long-standing ban on foreign bases. The rejection effectively blocks the US military from returning to an airbase at Manta on the Pacific coast - once a hub for Washington’s anti-drug operations. US Homeland Security...

These are interesting times in Hong Kong politics. Rarely has the city seen the government get so involved in galvanising voters ahead of the Legislative Council election. These things have traditionally been the work of political parties and groups. And that is one prominent feature of the development of Hong Kong’s “patriots-only” political system. Before the overhaul of the election system, voter turnout was a barometer of sorts for the election outcome. Conventional wisdom was that the...

Chile was headed to a tense presidential run-off after a closely fought first-round vote on Sunday set up a showdown between a member of the Communist Party and an ultraconservative veteran politician, sharply polarising the country between the political left and right. Jeannette Jara, 51, the communist former labour minister and candidate of Chile’s centre-left governing coalition, won 26.8 per cent of valid ballots with almost 100 per cent of the vote counted, failing to pass the 50 per cent...

Israel’s military said Monday it had killed a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon, a region that has witnessed several attacks despite the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed group. “Yesterday evening (Sunday)... The IDF struck and eliminated Hezbollah terrorist Muhammad Ali Shuweikh in the Mansouri area in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement. The army said the targeted operative was the local representative for Hezbollah in the area. “He was responsible for...

Members of Syria’s security and military services have been detained as part of an investigation into sectarian violence in the southern province of Sweida in July that left hundreds of people dead, investigators said on Sunday. The head of a Syrian committee investigating the violence in Sweida held a news conference in the capital, Damascus, to talk about progress made but did not release a death toll, saying this will come in the final report that is expected by the end of the year. In...

Thirty years in the making, the world’s biggest archaeological museum – and before its opening also the world’s most delayed museum – is now struggling to cope with the crowds. The Grand Egyptian Museum, located near the Giza Pyramids, was opened on November 1 in a lavish ceremony attended by dozens of world leaders and media representatives. Two weeks later, it is still welcoming an average of around 19,000 people every day, according to a spokesman. The collection includes the glittering...

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US “may be having some discussions” with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a potential diplomatic avenue as the US further builds up its military presence near the South American country with the arrival of its most advanced aircraft carrier. Trump did not offer details about the possible discussions with Maduro, but he said “Venezuela would like to talk”. The development comes as the Trump administration has carried out a series of military...

US President Donald Trump said House Republicans should vote to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a startling reversal after previously fighting the proposal as a growing number of those in his own party supported it. “We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on social media late Sunday after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a...

An agreement to supply Ukraine with US liquefied natural gas (LNG) was signed in Athens on Sunday during the official visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Greece. Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the signing of the deal between Greece’s gas supplier DEPA and Ukraine’s Naftogas, as did the US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle. The gas will be supplied via pipelines from the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis to the Ukrainian port of Odesa....

Poland’s foreign minister said on Sunday that an “offensive” auction of Holocaust artefacts has been cancelled in Germany, relaying information from his German counterpart, following complaints from Holocaust survivors. Radoslaw Sikorski made the comments on the X platform, saying he and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul “agreed that such a scandal must be prevented”. The top Polish diplomat thanked Wadephul for the information that the auction was cancelled. Earlier, a Holocaust survivors...

A rare earths deal between the US and China will “hopefully” be done by Thanksgiving, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in remarks that were broadcast on Sunday. Bessent’s comments follow a framework agreement announced last month in which Washington agreed not to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and China would hold off on an export licensing regime for crucial rare earths minerals and magnets. “I am confident that post our meeting in Korea between the two leaders, President...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to a Palestinian state after protests by far-right coalition allies over a US-backed statement indicating support for a pathway to Palestinian independence. Netanyahu spoke two days after Israel’s key ally the United States and many Muslim-majority nations endorsed a draft UN resolution backing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, saying the process offered a route to Palestinian statehood. The 15-member UN...

When President Xi Jinping commissioned the Fujian on November 5, China became only the second nation to have an aircraft carrier with an electromagnetic catapult system. It is also notable that, last month, two navy aircraft from the USS Nimitz crashed into the South China Sea. These events crystallise a strategic reality often obscured by aggregate force comparisons: the relevant naval balance is not between the 11 US aircraft carriers and China’s three, but between what the United States can...

Chileans are voting in a presidential election on Sunday that is pitting the governing leftist coalition against an array of right-wing candidates and will also redefine the country’s legislature. Polls opened at 8am and are expected to close at 6pm, but will remain open if there are voting queues. Initial results are expected quickly with a full count within hours. There are eight candidates in the race and none are expected to get the 50 per cent plus one vote needed to win the election...

Ukraine is working to resume prisoner exchanges with Russia that could bring home 1,200 Ukrainian prisoners, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday, a day after his national security chief announced progress in negotiations. “We are … counting on the resumption of POW exchanges,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “Many meetings, negotiations and calls are currently taking place to ensure this.” Rustem Umerov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said on Saturday he held...

After two years of robust growth fuelled by military spending on the war in Ukraine, Russia’s economy is slowing. Oil revenues are down, the budget deficit is up and defence spending has levelled off. The Kremlin needs money to keep its finances steady – and it is clear where President Vladimir Putin intends to get it: at the cash register, from ordinary people and small businesses. An increase in value-added tax to 22 per cent from 20 per cent is expected to add as much as 1 trillion roubles...

President Donald Trump was eager to claim victory this week after the record-long US government shutdown ended on his terms. But almost immediately, the White House was forced to battle a familiar bogeyman: Jeffrey Epstein. A trove of emails released by Democrats in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday reignited questions about Trump’s relationship with the disgraced financier and how much the president knew about Epstein’s alleged abuse of girls. While the White House swiftly dismissed...

When Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump met in Busan, South Korea, on October 30, they spent nearly two hours discussing rare earths, fentanyl and trade. Taiwan, the one issue most likely to bring the world’s two largest powers into direct conflict, never came up. That silence was the message. It revealed how both leaders prefer to manage rivalry through quiet understanding rather than confrontation. The approach reduces the risk of war but narrows Taiwan’s options. The...

A new deployment of federal agents arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday as part of US President Donald Trump’s expanding immigration enforcement campaign, marking the latest push to carry out large-scale arrests in Democratic-led cities. “We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed,” Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. She did not provide any details of the...

Alice Wong, a disability rights activist and author whose independence and writing inspired others, has died. She was 51. Wong died on Friday because of an infection at a hospital in San Francisco, said Sandy Ho, a close friend who has been in touch with Wong’s family. Ho called her friend a “luminary of the disability justice movement” who wanted to see a world where people with disabilities, especially those from marginalised demographics who were people of colour, LGBTQ and immigrants, could...

Britain will drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, the Labour government announced late on Saturday, under new plans aimed at slashing irregular immigration and countering the hard-right. The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer comes under pressure from surging popularity for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party. “I’ll end the UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” interior...

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is to visit the White House on Tuesday for the first time since 2018, when the killing of a journalist by Saudi agents made him a pariah.

The movie ratings board has pulled back the curtain on how it approaches hot-button topics, including nudity, marijuana and guns.

The regulator is cutting staff and easing oversight in ways that critics say might make supervisors less equipped to spot a crisis in advance, risking deeper damage to the economy.

The effort would invoke the War Powers Act, which expedites action on measures limiting the president’s war-making authority. It faces long odds in the G.O.P.-led House.

Decades ago, a Chinese village became an official symbol of revolutionary “self-reliance.” The slogan hasn’t changed, but nearly everything else has.

Beijing has used loans to developing nations to expand its influence, but a new study says no country has received more Chinese financing than the United States.

The company that won a huge verdict against Greenpeace earlier this year has asked a North Dakota court to block a countersuit in the Netherlands.

Recent oil and gas deals in Europe suggest that the growing demand for energy may be leading companies to adopt a more pragmatic approach.

Paramount, Comcast and Netflix are preparing bids to buy all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery, a crown jewel of the industry.

Republicans created a special $50 billion fund to help rural hospitals stay afloat, but the biggest impacts may be in cities.

The Danish author Solvej Balle’s experimental opus reframes the tedium of contemporary life as a source of unexpected wonders.

Suisun City has tried to revive its fortunes for years. The latest idea: Annex land for California Forever, a tech-billionaire-funded new city plan north of San Francisco.

Scientists and Indigenous sailors in the Marshall Islands are studying seafaring and the human brain.

Ro Khanna argues that even though there is a risk in releasing the documents, it still needs to happen.

My sister and I went on a joint diet. She stopped and I didn’t.

Post-election violence has tarnished the country’s reputation for stability, and the crackdown may have backfired on the government, as officials in Washington call for a re-examination of U.S. ties.

A suite of products promise smoother skin, bigger muscles and longer life. But what are peptides? And do they work?

If the outbreaks cannot be extinguished by January, the anniversary of the first cases in Texas, the United States will lose what is known as “elimination status” as determined by the World Health Organization.