Minimalist News

"On Our Way To Cuba": Left-Wing Nonprofit Boss Flies First Class For Virtue Signaling Tour The head of a left-wing nonprofit, reportedly linked to a Marxist propaganda network connected to a China-based billionaire, flew first class while her supporters traveled in coach to Cuba. This appears to be an effort aimed at disrupting U.S. foreign policy operations in the Caribbean. "NOW we're on our way to Cuba!" Code Pink wrote on X on Friday. > NOW 🇨🇺 We're on our way to Cuba! > > Our CODEPINK delegation to the Nuestra América convoy is carrying thousands of pounds of urgently needed humanitarian aid. > >

Another Manic Monday Coming Submtted By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities I expect that we will see a lot of “green dots” on the Bloomberg Terminal Sunday night, as there was almost no asset (other than energy) up on Friday. I do know that my Monday will start bright and early, at 5am on CNBC. Away from that everything is a bit up in the air. There are headlines that can push us in either direction. Some developments that seem good, some that seem bad, some that seem weird, and some that are just downright confusing and/or contradictory. TRANSITING THE STRAIT There seem to be

What Do Bonds Know That The Stock Market Doesn't? Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, Most investors spend their time watching the S&P 500. That’s a mistake, because the credit market is the real “tell.” The bond market has been whispering a warning for weeks now, and credit spreads are now shouting it. As of this writing, the CDX Index, a benchmark measure of credit default swap spreads, has climbed to a nine-month high while the S&P 500 sits within 5% of its all-time peak. Over the past 20 years, every time that combination appeared, a bear market followed. Every single time. That’s a track record

Jaw-Dropping TSA Lines Continue To Hobble Major Airports; Trump Confirms ICE On The Way In a post on his TruthSocial feed, President Trump has confirmed that ICE agents will be joining forces with TSA agents as of tomorrow to aid in the safe-keeping of Americans: > On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents... > > ... who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long

More Than 5,500 Residents Ordered To Evacuate In Hawaii Over Dodgy Dam Authored by T.J. Muscaro via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), More than 5,500 people on Hawaii’s most populous island have been ordered to evacuate on March 20 as weather conditions continue to worsen and threaten the integrity of a 120-year-old dam. Map of the evacuation zone in response to the risk of a dam failure amid torrential rains on Oahu, Hawaii, on March 20, 2026. Screenshot/Hawaii Emergency Management Agency That island, Oahu, which is home to the capital, Honolulu, is forecast to face severe rains capable of bringing risks of flash flooding

Migrant Criminal Beats Deportation Order With Chicken Nugget Defense In something you might see from the Babylon Bee, an Albanian migrant has secured the right to remain in the United Kingdom by claiming that his children hate "foreign" chicken nuggets, according to the Daily Mail. Klevis Disha, 39, snuck into the U.K. illegally back in 2001 as a supposed unaccompanied minor. Disha used a fake name and a bogus backstory about being born in the old Yugoslavia. His asylum bid flopped but somehow dragged on, until he snagged indefinite leave to remain in the UK in 2005, the Daily Mail reported. Fast-forward, Disha

EU Considers Electricity Tax Cuts, Subsidies Amid Iran War Surge In Energy Costs Authored by Evgenia Filimianova via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The European Union is weighing electricity tax cuts and targeted subsidies to shield consumers and industry from surging energy costs amid the ongoing Iran war, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on March 19. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, Belgium, on Feb. 11, 2026. Nicolas Tucat/Getty Images Speaking after a European Council meeting in Brussels, von der Leyen said electricity prices are driven by energy costs, grid

Trump Warns Tehran To "Fully Open" Hormuz Or Face 'Obliteration' As Iran-Israel Trade Nuke-Plant Strikes SUMMARY * Trump threatens to "obliterate" Iran's power-plants if Hormuz is not open and safe within 48 hours * Natanz nuclear site attacked: Iran says "no nuclear radiation" detected, even as attacks on core sites like Isfahan nuclear facilities signal clear escalation despite earlier Trump signals of maybe "winding down." * Iran has responded by targeting Israel's Dimona nuclear facility. The Israeli army confirmed "a direct impact of an Iranian missile" on a building in the city that houses a nuclear research facility, AFP reported. * War

Nigerian Researchers Accidentally Confirm Africa's Low IQ Problem For many years the political left has dismissed all discussion about links between third world populations and low intelligence as "racism" and "xenophobia".  The well documented fact that low IQ populations are more inclined towards lack of impulse control and a higher crime rate does not matter to progressives.  They assert that such claims are based on "rigged" and "biased" data.   For example, the data on Somalia's low median IQ (which is 67 and far below the western average of 100) is often criticized as "incomplete" because the data is usually taken from refugees

UK House Of Lords Rams Through 'Abortion Up To Birth' Law; Only 1% Of Brits Approve Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, The unelected House of Lords in the UK has just voted to embed extreme abortion provisions into law, decriminalising terminations right up to birth. This comes despite clear polling evidence that only 1% of the British public supports the move, exposing a ruling class utterly detached from the people it claims to serve. The change forms part of Clause 208 in the Crime and Policing Bill. It removes criminal liability for a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy at any stage,

"Complete Other Alias": Rep. Luna Drops Clinton-Epstein Bombshell Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna appeared on Bill Maher’s show and confirmed what the Epstein document dumps have long hinted at: the former president wasn’t just flying on the Lolita Express — he was operating under an entirely different identity in the files. This revelation lands as the House Oversight Committee presses forward with its investigation, following the Justice Department’s release of millions of pages under the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by President Trump. Lawmakers and victims are still pushing for the remaining 2.5 million documents that remain hidden

McGlinchey: America Throws Its Service Members Into An Unjust War For Israel Via Brian McGlinchey at Stark Realities President Trump’s decision to join Israel in launching a regime-change war on Iran has so far cost the lives of at least 13 American service members. More than 200 have been wounded, dozens seriously enough to require evacuations to military hospitals in Europe and the United States. Among them are individuals who’ve suffered traumatic brain injuries, burns and shrapnel wounds. One was facing potential amputation of an arm or leg. As much as these service members and their families are victims of Iran’s justified retaliation for a surprise attack perpetrated amid ongoing

"Going To Cripple Our Economy": Small Businesses Sound Alarm Over Record Diesel Price Spike The latest AAA fuel data from across America shows that the national average diesel price at the pump has jumped nearly 40% this month, surpassing the 2022 fuel spike that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Surging diesel prices are already generating a shock across trucking, rail, shipping, farm equipment, construction machinery, generators, and much of industrial logistics, given that the fuel powers the core of the economy. Seasonality: AAA Daily National Avg. Diesel 2022 vs. 2026 Companies now face three difficult choices if they did not lock in fuel prices

The Oscars Died Last Weekend...Did Anyone Even Notice? Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance “Oh, the Oscars was yesterday,” my friend said to me while walking through town. She noticed that a nearby bar had the TV tuned to a replay of the ceremony. What surprised me was who said it. This is a person who is deeply, spiritually committed to things like what movies are in theaters and new fictional television shows. She loves the arts. She listens to jazz. She goes to see Broadway plays. She watches every prestige movie she can and regularly comments about what media has won what award. She

New York City Is Spending $81,000 Per Year On Each Homeless Person New York City spent about $368 million last year on services for people living on the streets, which equals roughly $81,000 per unsheltered person, according to the NY Post. Spending through the city’s New York City Department of Homeless Services street outreach programs has increased sharply over the past several years. In 2019, the city spent about $102 million on these services, averaging around $28,000 per unsheltered individual. By the 2025 fiscal year, the average cost had risen to about $81,000 per person, close to the city’s median household income

The State Will Always Socialize The Cost Of War Via The Libertarian Institute War is often sold to the public as an act of national will: decisive, necessary, and under control. The bill arrives later, in a quieter form. It shows up in insurance markets, shipping rates, emergency guarantees, higher fuel prices, and sudden policy reversals designed to keep the economic damage from spreading too far or too fast. That is what is now happening with the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. The fighting is not only destroying lives and widening instability. It is also revealing something more familiar about the American state:

Iran's First Use Of ICBMs Raises Serious Questions About Remaining Arsenal In a startling move that has military experts questioning their assumptions about Iranian capabilities, Iran attempted to hit the joint UK-US base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia with two intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs). While US officials assured the Wall Street Journal that the base was unscathed, the Iranian strike aimed at a target roughly 4,000 kilometers from Iran suggests that the range of Iran's retaliatory capacity could be well beyond previous external estimates and claims made by Iran.  According to two officials who gave the Journal a Friday-night scoop on the

On The Hidden Fragility Of Our Energy-Dependent World & The Cascading Consequences Of A Supply-Shock That Money Alone Can't Fix Authored by Milan Adams via Preppgroup blog, For a long time, I accepted the same framework most people in finance operate within—that the global economy is, at its core, a system governed by monetary policy, shaped by interest rates, and stabilized by central banks. It’s an appealing idea because it suggests control. If growth slows, you lower rates. If inflation rises, you tighten conditions. If markets panic, you inject liquidity. There is a sense that someone, somewhere, is ultimately in charge of the

Phantom Ayatollah? Iran's New Supreme Leader Has Never Been Seen Since Taking Office Amid widespread reporting that Iran had long ago moved into a emergency wartime decentralized command among autonomously-acting units, serious questions persist as to the role of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his slain father, longtime leader Ali Khamenei. What's clear is that the new, younger Khamenei - who may have been wounded in the early days of US-Israeli strikes, hasn't been seen in any public way, not even on TV, throughout the war. There have not so much as been official recent images of him circulated. AFP/Getty Images This has

Costco Gas Lines Surge As Drivers Hunt For Cheaper Fuel Rising fuel costs tied to the conflict in Iran are forcing many Americans to rethink everyday spending, especially on gas, according to Bloomberg. At a Costco near San Antonio, drivers are waiting up to half an hour to fill up, while others are checking apps like GasBuddy or driving farther to save a few cents per gallon. With prices close to $4 nationwide, households are cutting back on dining out, travel, and even groceries. The broader economic impact will depend on how long prices remain high. Oil has jumped about 45% since the

Tania Warner and Ayla, her seven-year-old with autism, sent to notorious Texas detention center and told to ‘self-deport’ * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox A Canadian woman and her seven-year-old daughter with autism who have been held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for nearly a week have been transferred to a notorious detention center and asked to “self-deport”, according to her husband, who said the pair had been “traumatized” by the experience. Tania Warner and her daughter Ayla Luca, originally from British Columbia, moved to the US five years ago,

National intelligence director said voting machine seizure was requested by US attorney in Puerto Rico – who’s been trying to revive 2020 election conspiracy theory When the US director of national intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, testified on Thursday that her office seized voting machines from Puerto Rico, she said it was at the request of the office of the US attorney in Puerto Rico. Left unsaid was that the prosecutor, as the Guardian previously reported, has been the center of a push by Donald Trump supporters to revive a long discredited conspiracy theory purporting to link Venezuela to Trump’s 2020 electoral

The insects covered its largest area since 2018, despite threats from habitat loss, climate crisis and pesticides The population of monarch butterflies in Mexico increased 64% this winter, compared with the same period in 2025, offering a glimmer of hope for an insect considered at risk of extinction. The figures, released this week by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico, showed that the area occupied by monarchs expanded to 2.93 hectares (7.24 acres) of forest from 1.79 hectares (4.42 acres) the previous winter, the largest coverage since 2018. Continue reading...

Interim president announces changes after firing defence minister, who was close to Maduro, the leader ousted by US Venezuela’s interim president has said she has replaced all her senior military commanders, the latest in a flurry of changes since the US ousted Nicolás Maduro. Delcy Rodríguez announced the changes in a social media post a day after firing the long-serving defence minister, who had been close to Maduro, and replacing him with a former intelligence chief. Continue reading...

Mother and child held in notorious Rio Grande Valley detention centre despite presenting visa, family says A Canadian mother and her seven-year-old daughter, who has autism, have been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Texas since Saturday, family members have said. Relatives of Tania Warner and her daughter Ayla Lucas say they were detained unlawfully. They are uncertain about what problem ICE found with their immigration paperwork. Continue reading...

Almost 60 injured in blaze in Daejeon with footage seemingly showing people jumping from burning building to escape A fire at a car parts factory in South Korea has killed 14 people and injured almost 60 others. Firefighters said all of the missing are now accounted for after a search operation of the wreckage of the three-storey building. Continue reading...

Boyband drops album that speaks to its Korean roots ahead of Seoul comeback concert, with more than a quarter of a million fans expected to attend K-pop stars BTS released a new album on Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band’s Korean roots and identity, as buzz built ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul. The Saturday night gig, which is expected to draw around 260,000 people, will be BTS’s first after a hiatus of almost four years while all seven members served compulsory military service. It comes ahead of an 82-date world tour. Continue reading...

Samoa and Tonga raise supply concerns with foreign partners as businesses and residents in Papua New Guinea grapple with higher fuel prices amid the Iran war The leaders of some Pacific countries have appealed for help with oil supplies while others urge against “panic buying” as the import-reliant nations grapple with fears over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the Middle East. Oil prices have surged to nearly $110 a barrel after strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran and the Gulf states. Continue reading...

As other Asian economies race to conserve energy, China has huge reserves of oil and gas as well as alternative energy sources like wind and solar * Middle East crisis – live updates Xi Jinping has been preparing for a crisis like this for years. China must secure its energy supply “in its own hands”, its president was reported to have said during a visit to one of its vast oilfields in 2021. The US-Israel war on Iran plunged the Middle East into a deep conflict, with the strait of Hormuz – one of the most important waterways in global trade –

US president was meeting with Japanese PM when he said: ‘Who knows better about surprise than Japan?’ * Middle East crisis – live updates * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox It would be funny if it wasn’t so Trumpy. Hosting the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in the Oval Office on Thursday, Donald Trump could not resist mocking Japan about its 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor during the second world war. Continue reading...

Labor under pressure over fuel crisis as federal parliament returns. Follow updates live * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Governments around the world are unprepared for the growing threat of drones being used to carry out terror attacks, a report warns. Advances in drone technology, 3D printing and AI-assisted navigation should prompt leaders, including those in Australia, to rethink anti-extremism strategies, the paper from the Lowy Institute says. The combination of easy accessibility and payload potential, and the limitations of domestic counter-drone systems, presents a growing challenge. Continue reading...

The phrase should evoke optimism, positive expectations about the future, trust and belonging. That seems almost out of reach in a chaotic world One term has already become the well-intentioned weasel word of 2026: “social cohesion”. A phrase that can be dropped into speeches, inquiries and legislation, its meaning shape-shifts depending on the audience. Is it about “glue” or the rule of law? About community resilience or countering fear? Does it mean finding places of real exchange, or shutting up and getting on? Although it has been in the political lexicon for years, the terror attack that targeted Jewish people celebrating Hanukah

Exclusive: Townsville lawyer and former detective Darren Robinson’s appointment by attorney general Deb Frecklington has ‘brought back a lot of trauma’ for Indigenous community * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Queensland government has “opened old wounds” by appointing a former police detective who was heavily criticised for his role in events surrounding the 2004 riots on Palm Island to the state’s Legal Aid board, say First Nations community leaders and members of the legal fraternity. The Liberal National party government sacked and replaced all Labor-appointed members of the Legal Aid Queensland board last month. Continue reading...

University polling and focus groups found sharpest increase in those worried about national security was cohort aged 18 to 24 Nearly half of Australians believe a foreign military will attack the country within five years, as anxiety over national security issues rises sharply, a new study suggests. The Australian National University’s National Security College report found that two-thirds of those polled in 2026, including an increasing number of teenagers and young adults, were worried about national security issues. Continue reading...

Leveraging Australian gas exports to ensure we get oil in return is among the offbeat ideas we could be hearing more about * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The International Energy Agency suggested Australia reduce road speed limits, restrict car use in big cities and encourage more working from home in a bid to nullify what it called the “greatest threat to global energy supply in the history of the world”. They won’t be the only interesting or offbeat ideas raised in federal parliament this week, as the Albanese government comes under pressure to find fixes

US president’s backing comes as Hungary’s PM faces toughest election campaign of 16 years in office Donald Trump has endorsed Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who faces his toughest electoral challenge next month since taking power 16 years ago, as Europe’s far-right leaders gather for a “grand assembly” in Budapest. In a video message, the US president told the national-conservative Cpac Hungary conference in the capital on Saturday that Orbàn, who has been trailing in the polls behind a centre-right rival for more than a year, was a “fantastic guy”. Continue reading...

Centre-left Robert Golob and rightwing populist Janez Janša are frontrunners in contest after polarised campaign Campaigners in Slovenia have warned of a surge in anti-Romany rhetoric as the country heads to the polls on Sunday, leaving many bracing for the outcome of a vote that has become, in part, a referendum on how the country treats its most marginalised. In Sunday’s vote, the prime minister, Robert Golob, of the centre-left Freedom Movement party, faces off against the rightwing populist and Donald Trump ally Janez Janša. Continue reading...

Electoral alliances expected to play vital role in number of contests including Paris and Marseille Voting is under way in France in the second round of local elections seen as a bellwether for next year’s presidential race – with cities including Paris and Marseille in the balance and both the radical left and far right hoping for gains. Most of France’s 35,000-odd communes elected their councils in the first round last Sunday, but in municipalities where the contest is tighter, including most large urban areas, the second round will be decisive, with electoral alliances playing a key role. Continue reading...

National referendum is being seen as a de facto confidence vote on the government – and the polls are neck and neck In the run-up to a referendum in Italy on a government quest to overhaul the judiciary, a campaign flyer circulated online quoting Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, taking aim at judges and feminists. “Judges block the deportations of rapists. Where are the feminists? Vote yes – there will not be another opportunity,” it read. The flyer, posted on the Facebook page of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist roots, was subsequently removed. But its tone has defined a

Autopsy reveals James ‘Jimmy’ Gracey’s injuries consistent with repeatedly hitting breakwater’s rocks, Spanish media report * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox A University of Alabama student who was found dead in Barcelona after going missing while vacationing evidently fell into the sea by accident in view of surveillance cameras – and an autopsy revealed injuries on his body that were consistent with having repeatedly struck a breakwater’s rocks. Such details about James “Jimmy” Gracey surfaced in the Spanish media as a spokesperson for police in Barcelona told the Associated Press that “all

Statement from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards comes after the US threatened to target energy infrastructure Several blasts could be heard from Jerusalem on Sunday, AFP journalists said, after the Israeli military warned of incoming missile fire from Iran towards central Israel. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service said there were no immediate reports of casualties. Continue reading...

Tehran’s response to Trump’s threat signals a potentially dangerous escalation as both sides menace sites relied on by millions * Middle East crisis live – latest updates Tehran has said it will “irreversibly destroy” essential infrastructure across the Middle East, including vital water systems, if the US follows through on Donald Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless the strait of Hormuz is fully opened within two days. As Iranian missiles struck two southern Israeli cities overnight, injuring dozens of people, and Tehran deployed long-range missiles for the first time, the developments signalled a dangerous potential escalation of the war, now

Witnesses describe coordinated raids in which homes and vehicles were set on fire and several Palestinians injured * Middle East crisis live – latest updates Israeli settlers have carried out a series of attacks across the occupied West Bank, setting homes and vehicles on fire and wounding several Palestinians in what witnesses described as coordinated raids on communities. The violence, reported across at least half a dozen locations overnight from Saturday into Sunday, comes amid a wider surge in tensions in the territory. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, cited local sources as saying settlers had entered al-Fandaqumiya and the nearby town

Israeli air defence systems fail to intercept projectiles during attacks on southern cities of Arad and Dimona * Middle East crisis live – latest updates Iranian missile strikes have wounded about 200 people in southern Israel, after air defence systems failed to intercept projectiles that hit two cities close to a nuclear facility. Among the injured in the attacks on Arad and Dimona were a 12-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, both reported to be in serious condition. The Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 reported early indications of possible deaths, though there was no official confirmation. Continue reading...

Leon Panetta calls president ‘naive’ over strait of Hormuz closure and says ‘the chickens are coming home to roost’ Donald Trump is stuck between “a rock and a hard place” after three weeks of war in Iran and “sending a message of weakness” to the world, Leon Panetta, a former US defence secretary and Central Intelligence Agency director, has told the Guardian. Panetta, who served in the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama administrations, recalled that national security officials were always keenly aware of Iran’s ability to create an energy crisis by blocking the strait of Hormuz. That very scenario is now unfolding,

At least 400 killed in Pakistan’s strike on drug rehab centre, Taliban say, with families searching unmarked mass graves Sohrab Faqiri spent Eid, the Muslim festival to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, looking for the grave of his brother, killed in a massive Pakistan airstrike on Kabul this week. Pakistan’s bombardment campaign, on what it says is terrorist and military infrastructure in neighbouring Afghanistan, appeared to have gone catastrophically wrong. A rehabilitation centre for drug addicts was hit on Monday night, according to the United Nations and the Afghan authorities. The UN’s preliminary death toll is 143 people,

Karachi particularly badly affected with 18 people killed, more than 50mm of rain and winds gusting up to 60mph Unseasonally wet weather struck southern Pakistan and north-west India on Wednesday, as heavy rain rolled in from the west, accompanied by thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds. Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was particularly badly affected, locally recording more than 50mm of rain with winds gusting up to 60mph. Walls, buildings, and a pedestrian bridge collapsed, with flooding and power outages across the city. At least 18 people were killed and several more injured, many by structural collapses, with other deaths attributed to a fallen

Distributor says authorities warned screening Tunisian film-maker Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama could harm India–Israel relations The Indian release of The Voice of Hind Rajab, the Oscar-nominated Tunisian film about the death of a five-year-old girl during the Israel-Gaza war, has been blocked by the country’s ratings body, according to the film’s Indian distributor. In a report by Variety, Manoj Nandwana of Mumbai-based Jai Viratra Entertainment said that he was told that if the film was released, it would “break up” India-Israel relations. Continue reading...

People struggle to cook and businesses bear brunt as closure of strait of Hormuz slows imports of liquefied petroleum gas For four days, Maya Rani, 36, has been arriving each morning at a gas distributor’s office in Delhi, her six-month-old daughter in her lap, waiting for hours. And each day she returns home empty-handed, told that a cooking gas cylinder may not be available for at least another week. Around her, the queue keeps growing, people clutching forms and documents, hoping to secure a cylinder. The flame in her kitchen began to fade last week and her husband, as he always does,

Five-day cessation announced as mass funeral held for some of hundreds of victims of airstrike on rehab centre Pakistan has announced a five-day pause in strikes against neighbouring Afghanistan, as a mass funeral was held for some of the hundreds of victims killed in Monday’s attack on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul. The Afghan Taliban government has said more than 400 people were killed and 265 others wounded in that attack, which took place as people at the centre were praying days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Continue reading...

Customers told not to eat affected pot and sachet products and to return them to place of purchase for refund Several porridge products in the UK have been recalled over a possible mice contamination at their manufacturing site. The British porridge and oat drink brand Moma issued a warning for seven versions of its pots and two of its sachets. Continue reading...

Accusations of intimidation and harassment within UK diaspora including ‘aggressive’ and ‘coercive’ videos online Iranians living in the UK have expressed safety concerns to authorities amid heightened tensions linked to the conflict with the US and Israel. Online videos of individuals allegedly being “aggressive” and “coercing” in London, which is home to one of the UK’s largest Iranian communities, have led to some feeling unsafe. Continue reading...

Inquiry into sexual assault claims did not establish that chief prosecutor’s actions amounted to misconduct, judges advise The international criminal court’s governing body is expected to meet on Monday to assess the advice of a panel of judges who have challenged the findings of an investigation into the chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. Last year a UN inquiry into the allegations about Khan’s behaviour is understood to have established a factual basis for claims of misconduct against him. The senior British lawyer has been accused by a complainant of sexual abuse. Continue reading...

AI analytics firm has become influential in Whitehall, and FCA deal gives it yet more access to data * Palantir extends reach into British state as it gets access to sensitive FCA data Palantir’s latest UK contract takes the AI and data analytics company into the heart of one of Britain’s biggest industries: financial services, which accounts for 9% of the economy. The Miami-based company embedded its technology in the NHS in 2023, the police in 2024 and the military in 2025. Land and expand, they say in the tech industry. Palantir has followed the script, building contracts worth more than £500m. Continue

Exclusive: Allowing US tech firm to analyse intelligence in name of tackling fraud raises fresh concerns over privacy * Campaign groups rail against Palantir, but the UK contracts keep coming Palantir is to be granted access to a trove of highly sensitive UK financial regulation data, in a deal that has prompted fresh concerns about the US AI company’s deepening reach into the British state, the Guardian can reveal. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has awarded Palantir a contract to investigate the watchdog’s internal intelligence data in an effort to help it tackle financial crime, which includes investigating fraud, money laundering and

* 17-year-old took time off high school to win gold * Beats Belgium’s Eliott Crestan by 0.14 seconds US teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus made history on Sunday when he won gold in the 800m to becomes the youngest ever champion at the world indoor athletics championship. The 17-year-old, who took time off from his classes at Northwest High School in Texas to compete at the championships, won gold with a time of 1min, 44.24sec, 0.14 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Eliott Crestan. Mohamed Attaoui of Spain won bronze. Continue reading...

Trump and border czar Tom Homan confirm plan to assist TSA agents amid partial government shutdown standoff Donald Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, have confirmed that the president’s administration is sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to US airports beginning Monday to assist with security amid extremely long lines – and to help airport security agents who have been working without pay since 14 February because of a partial government shutdown. Homan will lead the effort, Trump said on Sunday. Continue reading...

Her husband, 19 Kids and Counting’s Joseph Duggar, was recently charged in separate case with lewd behavior against a child Arkansas police have arrested Kendra Duggar, the wife of reality TV personality Joseph Duggar, on misdemeanor child abuse charges, in the latest scandal to envelop the family featured on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting. Kendra Duggar faces four counts each of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree false imprisonment, according to the Washington county sheriff’s office in Arkansas. She has a hearing scheduled for Monday. Continue reading...

Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s family released new statement asking for help in locating missing mother, 84 Savannah Guthrie and her family have released a new statement about their missing mother, urging Tucson, Arizona, residents to come forward with potential clues about 84-year old’s Nancy Guthrie’s whereabouts. In their statement on Sunday, the NBC Today show host and her siblings said: “We continue to believe it is Tucsonans, and the greater southern Arizona community, that hold the key to finding resolution in this case. Someone knows something. It’s possible a member of this community has information that they do not even realize

Nasa confirms meteor after residents reported hearing thunder-like noises about the time the fireball was visible A suspected meteorite crashed into a home in suburban Houston on Saturday night, according to local residents and officials. Speaking to the local news outlet KHOU11 over the weekend, Spring area resident Sherrie James recalled the incident, saying: “My grandson went to check and said there was a hole in the ceiling … then I saw the rock, and I thought, ‘That looks like a meteor.’” Continue reading...

The United States may need to “escalate” its attacks against Iran to be able to wind down the war, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump gave seemingly contradictory trajectories for the US military campaign. Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iranian energy plants if Tehran did not fully open the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, just a day after saying US objectives were “very close” and that he was considering “winding down” the war. Asked on...

Israel’s military said it was investigating whether its own fire killed an Israeli civilian near the Lebanese border on Sunday, after Hezbollah claimed an attack in the same area. Israeli emergency workers said earlier on Sunday that a man was killed in a “direct hit” on his car by a rocket from Lebanon. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said after the incident that its fighters had attacked Israeli soldiers in the same area. But the Israeli army later said it was “conducting a...

A report from a leading Beijing university has revived discussions about the “optimal size” of China’s foreign exchange reserves – with a focus on US Treasuries – calling for its world-leading forex holdings to be trimmed to a “moderately ample” level amid the drive to promote further international use of the yuan. The report, written by Sun Jiaqi from Renmin University’s International Monetary Institute and issued on Friday, examined possible ways forward and their implications for China, which...

War in Iran disrupting established trade flows raises an important question: how serious could the consequences be, and for whom will they be most severe? To answer this, it is useful to look at history. During the fifth and fourth centuries BC, Athens, a major centre, depended heavily on grain imports. Whenever routes were blocked during wars, Athens almost immediately faced the threat of a food crisis. In the Middle Ages, Venice became one of Europe’s richest cities and a crucial hub linking...

Eight overnight attacks targeted a US diplomatic and logistics centre at Baghdad’s International Airport, an Iraqi security official said on Sunday. Several waves of departures from the US facility occurred on Saturday from the airport, according to another Iraqi security source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. “Eight separate attacks, carried out until dawn with rockets and drones, targeted the US centre,” the senior security official said, adding that...

Polls opened on Sunday in Slovenia’s election pitting incumbent liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob against right-wing populist Janez Janša, with victory and a parliamentary majority out of reach for both in a vote that could be decided by smaller coalition partners. Nearly 1.7 million Slovenians will be ‌able to cast votes at polling stations that opened at 7am across the Alpine country and will close at 7pm. The election commission is expected to announce the preliminary results after...

As the world reels from the fallout of the Iran war, India is seeking to manage its risks and interests in the Middle East and beyond while maintaining its neutrality in the widening conflict. This can be seen in New Delhi engaging with combatants US and Iran, as well as other nations caught in the crossfire of the war, according to political analysts. In the past two weeks, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken four times with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, while Prime...

By firing ballistic missiles at the UK-US Diego Garcia base nearly 4,000km (2,485 miles) from its shores, Iran is sending a message that it still has cards to play after three weeks of war, according to experts. A UK official source said Iran was “unsuccessful” in targeting the Indian Ocean military facility, one of two bases that London has allowed the US to use for certain missions in its war against Iran. Until now, most had believed Iran – under US-Israeli bombardment since February 28 – was...

Sheltering from an Iranian missile attack on his town in southern Israel on Saturday, 17-year-old Ido Franky heard “terrifying” blasts like nothing he had experienced before. An Iranian missile hit Franky’s town of Arad, hours after another struck Dimona – home to a nuclear facility – wounding dozens and leaving entire residential blocks with heavy damage. Franky rushed to shelter with his family as air raid sirens sounded, warning of an incoming attack. “There was a ‘boom, boom!’, my mother was...

US President ⁠Donald Trump and Iran threatened to escalate their war, targeting energy and fuel facilities in the Gulf, which could again roil global energy and financial markets and deepen a regional crisis. Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, a significant escalation barely a day after he talked about “winding down” the war, now in its fourth week. Iran warned on Sunday it would target US...

Cuba has refused to allow the US embassy in Havana to import diesel to power its generators during the island’s ongoing energy crisis, according to a media report. The Cuban foreign ministry denied the request, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing a protest note in which Havana described the embassy’s claim to such privileges as “shameless” and unavailable to the Cuban people. The move comes as the Caribbean island grapples with severe fuel shortages and widespread power outages. The...

A strike on a healthcare facility in Sudan has killed 64 people and wounded 89 more, the World Health Organization reported on Saturday. The deceased included 13 children, WHO Director-General ‌Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media. The UN’s humanitarian office in Sudan had earlier said it was “appalled by the attack on a hospital in East Darfur yesterday, reportedly killing dozens, including children, and injuring more”. Sudanese rights group the Emergency Lawyers, who document...

Israel’s military said an Iranian missile on Saturday struck the southern town of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility. A second town in the area, Arad, was hit hours later. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue striking Iran after what he called a “very difficult evening”, as the two direct missile hits left scores wounded. “This is a very difficult evening in the battle for our future,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We are determined to continue striking our enemies on...

Robert S. Mueller III, the FBI director who transformed the nation’s premier law enforcement agency into a terrorism-fighting force after the September 11 attacks and who later became special counsel in charge of investigating ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has died. He was 81. “With deep sadness, we are sharing the news that Bob passed away” on Friday night, his family said in a statement on Saturday. “His family asks that their privacy be respected.” No cause of...

US President Donald Trump ⁠on Saturday threatened to ⁠deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement ⁠agents to US airports if congressional Democrats do not immediately agree to fund airport safety. “I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE Agents to the Airports where they will do Security like no one ‌has ever seen before,” Trump wrote in a social media post. Transportation Security Administration personnel are set to miss a second full pay cheque on March 27 amid a partial government shutdown...

King Harold’s legendary 200-mile march across England to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 is a “myth” that likely never happened, according to research published on Saturday. In arguably the most famous battle in English history, the Anglo-Saxon leader was defeated by William the Conqueror, who became the first Franco-Norman king of England, at Hastings on October 14, 1066. The decisive clash, which marked the start of the Norman conquest of England, is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, set to be...

Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years as heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago, officials said on Friday, while warning that more rain was expected during the weekend. Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of Oahu’s North Shore, a community world renowned for its big-wave surfing. Raging waters lifted homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu. Authorities cautioned that a 120-year-old...

Most of Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region was ‌left without power on Saturday after a Russian drone attack, local governor Viacheslav Chaus said. He ⁠said repair works were under way ‌to fix the damage. The region, which ‌borders Russia and Belarus, ⁠had ⁠a pre-war population of nearly ‌a million. The regional capital, also called ‌Chernihiv, ‌was fully without power, ‌the city administration there ⁠said. Russia has conducted a vast ⁠bombardment campaign against Ukrainian energy facilities...

Iran launched ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in Diego Garcia on Friday, showing a missile capability that goes beyond what Tehran was known to have possessed. The base, a strategic airfield that can host B-2 stealth bombers located nearly 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Iran, suffered no damage, according to a person familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity. The attack was the first time in the three-week-old war that Tehran was reported to have used weapons...

A 19-year-old star wrestler and two other young men were hanged in Iran this week, raising alarm among rights groups that a wave of executions may be under way as authorities facing relentless attacks from the US and Israel seek to squelch public dissent. The three men are the first to be executed from among the tens of thousands who were arrested during a January crackdown on nationwide protests. Rights groups say more than 100 others could face death sentences. The wrestler, Saleh Mohammadi,...

Before his first term as US president began in 2017, Donald Trump was probably best known for his book, The Art of the Deal. But by launching, together with Israel, a widely unpopular war on Iran, Trump has arguably dealt himself a very weak hand. There is little “art” in it. The headline splashed across the front page of the Financial Times on March 17 – “Allies reject Trump’s call for warships” (to force open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has partially closed after US and Israeli attacks) –...

Three weeks into the Iran war, tit-for-tat escalations on multiple fronts have dragged the Middle East to the brink of the region-wide conflict that its governments have repeatedly warned about – and tried to avert – since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Israel has launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon in recent days, after Hezbollah entered the conflict in response to the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iraq has been turned into a shooting range, as...

A federal jury in California found on Friday that tech titan Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders in an effort to drive down the company’s share price as he was poised to buy it in a US$44 billion deal. The verdict in a class action securities lawsuit means the world’s richest person could be ordered to pay out as much as US$2.6 billion, according to damages calculated by jurors. Giuseppe Pampena filed the suit against Musk on behalf of people who sold Twitter shares between mid-May of 2022 and...

A US federal judge on Friday ruled as unconstitutional a Pentagon press access policy that withdrew accreditations from a host of prominent media organisations. Elements of the policy are “unlawful because they violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution”, a judge in Washington said in response to a lawsuit brought by The New York Times. US media and a host of international news outlets including Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Fox News declined to sign...

US President Donald Trump said Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran three weeks into the war, but warned the Strait of Hormuz would need to be policed by other countries. Trump’s comments were his strongest signal yet of an end to the conflict, although the key oil passage effectively remains closed, as thousands more Marines are headed to the Middle East. “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military...

During a press conference of the annual “two sessions”, National People’s Congress spokesperson Lou Qinjian referenced the grass-roots football league Suchao or Su Super League, which drew millions of spectators in Chinese stadiums last year. At a time when boosting domestic demand tops Beijing’s economic agenda, discussing an amateur sports tournament at the national podium goes beyond mere cultural commentary. It hints at something broader about how policymakers are approaching the consumption...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected accusations on Friday that he had intended to offend Christians when he said the previous day that Jesus had “no advantage” over Genghis Khan. “More fake news about my attitude towards Christians, who are protected and flourish in Israel. Let me be clear: I did not denigrate Jesus Christ at my news conference,” Netanyahu wrote in English on social media. “To the contrary, I cited the great American historian Will Durant. A fervent admirer of...

The UK ⁠government gave authorisation on Friday ⁠for the US to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. British ministers met on Friday ‌to discuss the war with Iran and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement. “They confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile...

Three victims of IRA bombings in England on Friday dropped their civil claim for damages against former Irish republican leader Gerry Adams, whom they had sought to hold personally responsible for orchestrating the blasts. The trio – who were injured in IRA bomb blasts in the 1970s and 1990s – had also sought to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Adams was a senior member of the Irish Republican Army. But on the very last day of the two-week trial, their lawyer Anne Studd told the High Court in...

A pregnant Syrian woman and her five young children died when a fire ripped through containers housing agricultural workers near the southwestern Antalya resort, the governor and media reports said on Friday. DHA news agency said the 27-year-old mother was seven months pregnant, with her husband fighting for his life after the blaze. The tragedy occurred as Turkey began celebrating the three-day Bayram holiday to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Antalya Governor Hulusi Sahin...

Chuck Norris, the US martial artist and Hollywood action star most famous for his role in Walker, Texas Ranger, has died, his family said on Friday. He was 86. The martial arts expert turned actor starred in a slew of action films since his acting debut with a cameo in a 1968 Dean Martin film The Wrecking Crew. Four years later, his epic fight with the kung fu superstar Bruce Lee in The Way of The Dragon helped turn Norris into an icon on big and small screens alike. “It is with heavy hearts...

President ⁠Donald Trump assailed ⁠Nato allies on Friday ⁠over their lack of support for the US-Israel war against Iran, calling the long-time US allies “cowards”. “Without the U.S.A., Nato IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump said in a social media post. Trump has ‌been calling for major US allies and others, none of whom were consulted or advised on the war, to help secure the safety of shipping through the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has roiled global markets, killed thousands and...

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit said in an interview broadcast Friday that she was “manipulated” by convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whom she accused of extorting others. A commoner who married Crown Prince Haakon in 2001, Mette-Marit’s name appears multiple times in Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice earlier this year. The files revealed an unexpectedly close friendship between the pair and raised questions in Norway about whether Mette-Marit can become...

China’s exports of rare earth permanent magnets to the United States continue to fall, at a time when Washington and its allies are stepping up efforts to reduce reliance on the country’s critical mineral supply chains. Shipments of permanent magnets to the US totalled 994 tonnes in January and February, down nearly 22.5 per cent year on year, according to data released on Friday by China’s General Administration of Customs. This marked the seventh consecutive month of decline. Over the two...

The ⁠White House released an artificial intelligence policy on Friday that aims to pre-empt state rules, ensure protections for children and shield communities from prohibitive energy costs. The Trump administration has been pushing for a single legislative framework that can be applied uniformly across the country, rather than leaving states to form their own plans. US President Donald Trump ⁠in December said he would withhold federal broadband funding from states ‌whose laws to regulate...

China’s imports of discounted Russian crude oil surged in January and February, though analysts suggest volumes could moderate in the coming months as the war in Iran increases global competition for Russian oil. In the first two months of the year, Russia’s shipments of crude to China rose 40.9 per cent year on year to 21.8 million tonnes, according to Chinese customs data released on Friday. But the total import value rose just 5.8 per cent in US dollar terms. “China has been an opportunistic...

If you think the Israeli-American war of aggression against Iran is bad, it could get a lot worse. For the first time, a senior American official has openly acknowledged that Israel possesses nuclear warheads and could deploy them in the war. “Israel is getting hit harder than they’ve ever been hit before in their history,” said David Sacks, the White House’s artificial intelligence and crypto tsar, on the All-In Podcast. “If this war continues for weeks or months, then Israel could just be...

Global concerns are rising over the fate of ships and crews trapped in the Strait of Hormuz amid the intensifying Middle East conflict, as reports spread that Iran is rolling out screening processes and steep transit fees for vessels using the waterway. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) called for the establishment of a “safe maritime framework” to ensure the swift evacuation of merchant ships confined within the Persian Gulf, after holding a special session on the Middle East...

Firefighters battled a blaze at a giant oil refinery in Kuwait on Friday after a fresh drone attack as Iran kept up a wave of strikes on its neighbours and vowed there was “no concern” about its missile production. Despite calls for an end to targeting Gulf energy infrastructure by European leaders on Thursday, Kuwait reported a fire at its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, a day after a direct hit on Qatar’s vital Ras Laffan facility. Iranian authorities had vowed to retaliate after an Israeli strike on...

If there is a thread that provides coherence to Donald Trump’s mad emperorship, it is the frenetic invention of new, evermore dramatic diversions: no week can be allowed to pass without new melodrama that erases the chaotic melodramas of weeks past. Nor can a week be allowed to pass without the seeds being sown for next week’s melodramas. This week it is Iran, and the computer-gaming unreality of a scorched-earth US-Israeli bombardment that has generated convulsions across economies in the...

At least 16 US military aircraft have been lost since the start of the war with Iran, including 10 Reaper strike drones hit by enemy fire and a half-dozen other planes badly damaged in attacks or accidents. The most serious losses were because of accidents: three US F-15s downed by friendly fire in Kuwait, and a KC-135 tanker destroyed during a refuelling operation. All six crew members on the tanker were killed in the accident. Five other KC-135s were reportedly damaged by an Iranian missile...

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, has emerged as the highest-profile political figure in the Islamic Republic after the killing of its leaders. A pillar of the Iranian establishment for some three decades and one of the Islamic republic’s most prominent non-clerical figures, Ghalibaf, 64, now appears to be playing a key role spearheading the war effort. Whereas the son and successor of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba...

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. Precision strike: China targets US, Japan stranglehold on photoresist supply China’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency is shifting from broad aspiration to a precision strike on chokepoint materials, with photoresist – the...

William Klein worked for more than two decades as a US diplomat, including in several senior roles at the United States’ embassy in Beijing from 2016 to 2021. He worked at the American Institute in Taiwan and on the US State Department’s China desk in Washington, and occupied US diplomatic posts in South Asia, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. He is a consulting partner with FGS Global, a firm based in Berlin, with a focus on US-China and EU-China relationships. SCMP Plus readers get...

Anyone applying to become a minister in Madagascar’s new government will be subjected to lie detector tests to root out those who are corrupt, the country’s military leader said on Thursday. President Michael Randrianirina, who took power in a coup in the Indian Ocean island in October, said Madagascar had acquired a polygraph machine and a specialist to operate it to vet new government ministers. “We will know who is corrupt and who can help us,” Randrianirina said. “We are not looking for...

A federal judge ruled on Friday that key parts of the Pentagon’s press policy were unconstitutional.

The Republican National Committee wants to toss ballots arriving after Election Day. Critics say thousands of votes — a majority cast by Democrats — are at stake.

The Supreme Court is ruling on whether ballots received after Election Day should be disqualified. Our national politics reporter Nick Corasaniti explains how a Supreme Court ruling could affect hundreds of thousands of Americans in rural and urban areas.

Mr. Beshear, the Democratic governor of Kentucky, sharply criticized Mr. Vance as both angle for potential presidential runs.

The state’s wide-open “jungle primary” has Democrats on edge.

A Minnesota church protest made the former anchor a star again — and a target for the Trump administration.

Pierre-Édouard Stérin is financing projects to make France less Muslim, more Catholic and more capitalist. He says his program has trained thousands running for municipal office on Sunday.

The far-right party had first-round successes in several cities, but so did the far left. Sunday’s second round may clarify who has real momentum.

America shouldn’t fight a war like this.

What a 40-year-old movie told me about childhood today.

No one was injured, but a woman was startled on Saturday when a meteorite pierced the roof of her home, ricocheted off the floor and struck a bedroom ceiling.

Some tax resisters withhold a symbolic amount, but those who willfully refuse to file or pay could face civil or criminal penalties.

A certain type of shopping mall has become a surprising bright spot for real estate investors.