Minimalist News

California's Billionaire Tax Proposal Has 'Slippery Slope' Lever California’s latest effort to tax its richest residents into leaving is barreling toward the ballot - only this time, it's got a built-in 'slippery slope' lever once voters hand them the keys. Backers of the proposed “billionaire tax” say they have already cleared the first hurdle, gathering more than enough signatures (at least 1.5 million) to qualify a measure that would impose a one-time 5% levy on residents with net worths above $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. On its face, the proposal is straightforward: a targeted strike at roughly 200 ultrawealthy individuals meant to plug

SBA Sends 562k Pandemic Loans To Bessent For Collections Totaling $22 Billion The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a sweeping enforcement action targeting suspected pandemic-era loan fraud, referring more than 562,000 borrowers tied to $22.2 billion in delinquent loans to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection, according to the Small Business Association. The move marks the largest referral package in the agency’s history and signals a major escalation in federal efforts to recover funds distributed through COVID-19 relief programs. The loans in question stem from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) initiatives,

The Reality Behind US-Iran Negotiations Authored by Bryan Brulotte via The Epoch Times, The current negotiations between the United States and Iran are being misread as a chaotic exercise in brinkmanship. They are not. They are the predictable endgame of a contest in which leverage has shifted decisively, and in which one side is now negotiating under constraints it can no longer escape. Strip away the theatrics, and the picture becomes clear. Iran attempted to weaponize the Strait of Hormuz, calculating that disruption of global energy flows would fracture Western resolve and force Washington into concession. That calculation has failed. The United States

Ilhan Omar Probe Expands Into Hubby's $30M Of Shady Biz Deals In Kenya, Dubai And Somalia House Oversight Chairman James Comer is cranking the investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett, into overdrive - demanding a full accounting of shadowy international business trips and deals that stretch from the Horn of Africa straight into Kenya, Somalia and the glittering skyscrapers of Dubai. Omar has been making strange moves since February, after Comer fired off a no-holds-barred letter demanding every document and communication on Mynett’s travel and business dealings in Kenya, Somalia and the UAE. Since then, the story has exploded again with

Maine Governor Vetos Data Center Moratorium, Citing Job Creation And Economic Growth Maine Governor Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would have temporarily limited the development of large data centers across Maine, despite expressing support for a broader pause on such projects, according to Maine's website. The governor said she would have approved the legislation if it had included an exemption for a $550 million data center redevelopment already underway at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay, a project backed by local officials and seen as critical to economic recovery in the region. Mills emphasized that while a moratorium makes sense due

Bessent Defends US Dollar Swap Lines As UAE Considers Formal Funding Request Several Gulf countries have discussed receiving dollar swap lines from the US, the WSJ reported last week. In the near term, there is an economic drag if volumes of oil and gas sales have fallen by more than the price effect can offset, or where tourist and business travel has dried up. The effect is similar to that of the pandemic: slowing growth and fiscal revenues, and accelerated demand for fiscal spending. As the WSJ reported, UAE. Central Bank Gov. Khaled Mohamed Balama had raised the idea of a currency-swap

"The National Security Premium": US Plan To Counter China In Critical Miners Could Drive Up Global Prices The US is pressing its allies to rethink how they source essential minerals, urging them to accept higher prices if it means reducing reliance on China, which currently dominates much of the global supply, according to a new report from Financial Times. According to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, countries working with Washington should expect to pay extra for materials obtained through a proposed network of trusted partners. He framed this added cost as a necessary trade-off to strengthen supply chain security. The idea under discussion

WHCA Shooter's Tweets Found, Suggesting Radicalization Fueled By Democratic Messaging Update:  > * Shooter's archived tweets emerge  > > * Shooter's Manifesto explained about Trump admin target kill list. He wrote, "prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest" ...  > > * Shooter's intent was to Target Trump & admin officials  > > * Shooter donated to "Harris for President" via ActBlue  > > * Shooter apprehended and taken into custody. Carrying shotgun, handgun and several knives.  > > * The shooter has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance California > > * No injuries to Trump or any guests. > >

War Schmwar By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities Markets have been almost totally dismissive of the conflict in Iran. Frankly, the number of countries, including oil-rich nations, that had been firing at each other seemed quite high, yet most markets shrugged it off. While the Strait remained closed, or blockaded, or blocked, the market remained in Open Sesame mode this week. Moonshot Artemis II wasn’t the only “moonshot” we’ve seen. The SOX index has jumped almost 50% since March 30th. That would be incredible, but 18 straight days of gains is wildly impressive! (Even the NY Mets could only do the same thing 12 days

Ford Denies Talks With Geely About Bringing Chinese Car Tech To U.S. On Friday, a report crossed the wire that Ford and Geely had been in discussions about collaborating more closely, including whether their developing European partnership could expand into the U.S. market, according to the Wall Street Journal.  Ford denied the claims, which stated that one idea involved Ford using Geely’s vehicle technology domestically. The talks had reportedly cooled, with both sides shifting attention back to Europe, where they are considering sharing production capacity and technical resources. Geely is motivated to enter the U.S., a lucrative but tightly restricted market for Chinese automakers.

Will the Left Make The WHCA Dinner Shooter A Hero? There was a lot of confusion in the initial hours after the shooting at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. But it soon became clear that the suspect, Cole Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, California, had rabid anti-Trump views and was there to target Trump administration officials.  While the usual suspects on the left are issuing standard statements condemning violence, there’s a real concern that the left will lionize Allen. And even former Obama official and current CNN pundit Van Jones is concerned about

'Gender Identity' Requirements Will Be Discarded In Housing Programs: HUD Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner announced a new proposed rule on Thursday that seeks to end the use of “gender identity” across all departmental programs, which is intended to “restore biological reality and protect women.” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner walks towards the West Wing following a TV interview at the White House on Feb. 19, 2025. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo “Under the proposed guidance, HUD would remove radical definitions of gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender,

Is Anthropic Coming For eBay? Late Friday afternoon, as most people were checking out for the weekend after nearly two months of U.S.-Iran war fatigue, Anthropic quietly released a note titled "Project Deal." The company built a closed marketplace where AI agents negotiated prices, struck deals, and completed real transactions with money changing hands. "We created a marketplace for employees in our San Francisco office, with one big twist. We tasked Claude with buying, selling and negotiating on our colleagues' behalf," Anthropic wrote on X. > New Anthropic research: Project Deal. > > We created a marketplace for employees in our San Francisco office,

ICE Nabs Illegal Alien Pedophile In Virginia; Sanctuary Officials Ignored Detainer Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, ICE has arrested an illegal alien child sex predator in Abigail Spanberger’s Virginia. Authorities there tried to protect him by declining an ICE detainer last year and releasing him back into the community. Of course they did. The suspect, Roni Mendez-Escobar, a Guatemalan national, faced charges including multiple felony counts of possession of obscene material and child pornography with intent to distribute. > 🚨 HOLY CRAP! ICE has just arrested an illegal alien CHILD S*X PREDATOR in Abigail Spanberger's Virginia > > She tried to PROTECT him. > > She

You Can Buy A Tennessee Cave And Turn It Into A Doomsday Bunker About 57 miles southeast of downtown Nashville, as the crow flies, an underground cavern system listed on Zillow is being framed as a potential candidate for the ultimate nuclear doomsday bunker. Think of the cavern as the shell for a future bunker. To get it anywhere close to true bunker status, millions of dollars in engineering, ventilation, power, water, wastewater, security, and interior buildout would likely be required. "We have what it takes to keep your family safe and to build a sustainable hobby farm!" the listing reads, adding that the

Mamdani Is Destroying The Tax Base His Stupid Ideas Desperately Need Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance  When the Fischer-Price My First Mayor™ of New York Zohran Mamdani chose to film a “tax the rich” video in front of a Manhattan penthouse owned by Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, he wasn’t just celebrating “tax day”, he was making a policy argument. Mamdani was making a choice about his tone (dickish), about targets (“people with more money than me are bad”), and about how the city signals to the very people it depends on to fund its ambitions (“go f*ck yourself and live somewhere else”). In a city where

"A Societal Loss Of Humanity": Older Men Are Falling In Love With A Deluge Of AI Generated Female Influencers Older men are being scammed and fooled left and right by a deluge of AI generated female influencers, according the NY Post. What appears to be a growing wave of glamorous influencers online isn’t always what it seems. In some cases, these personalities are entirely artificial - carefully engineered digital figures designed to look, act, and interact like real people. One widely followed pro-MAGA persona, for example, was ultimately exposed as “nothing more than an algorithm run by a guy in India,” revealing

RFK Jr. Blasts "Abhorrent" Assisted Suicide: "We Can't Be A Moral Society If America Follows" Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a blunt warning to lawmakers this week: Canada’s rush to expand assisted suicide is turning a once-free nation into a cautionary tale the United States must reject outright. Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee and Senate HELP Committee, Kennedy forcefully condemned the program known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). “I think those laws are abhorrent,” he said. Pointing directly to the results north of the border, he added, “And we just see in

Was The Atlantic's Kash Patel Smear A Setup To Discredit The SPLC Indictment? On April 17, The Atlantic published an anonymously sourced hit piece against FBI Director Kash Patel - painting him as a blackout-drunk, paranoid, and erratic executive barely capable of running the nation's premier law enforcement agency. Three days later, a federal grand jury indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center for wire fraud, false statements, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  The question conservative circles are now asking is whether the hit piece was deliberately conceived and timed to discredit Patel and the SPLC investigation. Democrats pounced on The Atlantic hit piece,

Epic FAFO: Far-Left NYC Mayor Mamdani Attempts To Defuse Info War Against Ken Griffin Citadel's Ken Griffin should have absolutely zero tolerance for far-left New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In a recent promotional video, Mamdani attempted to turn the billionaire's Manhattan penthouse into political ammunition for his tax-the-wealthy, anti-capitalist crusade to fund socialist experiments through a proposed pied-à-terre tax. > Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich. pic.twitter.com/Wky2LFXC9W > > — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2026 For Griffin and Citadel, alarm bells should be ringing because these unhinged Marxists in City Hall will attempt to ruin the Citadel brand

Military video shows boat moving swiftly in water before explosion leaves it in flames The US military said on Sunday three men were killed when it struck a boat it claimed was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This latest strike – which follows dozens of similar attacks on alleged drug boats in recent months – brings the US campaign’s death toll to at least 185, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

The court sided with a Canadian hiker who deliberately challenged the order imposed to curb spread of wildfires As wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods. As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C$25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary. Continue reading...

OpenAI said the company had identified an account using abuse-detection efforts, but determined at the time it didn’t meet threshold for legal referral The head of OpenAI has written a letter apologizing that his company didn’t alert law enforcement about the online behavior of a person who shot and killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. In the letter posted on Friday, Sam Altman expressed his deepest condolences to the entire community. Continue reading...

Small boat destroyed in video posted on social media as US campaign has killed at least 178 people since September The US military announced on Friday that it killed two people in an attack on a boat in the eastern Pacific, part of a series of deadly strikes on vessels in recent months which it claims are targeting “narco-trafficking” operations. The US Southern Command declared in a social media post on X that Gen Francis L Donovan directed Joint Task Force Southern Spear, the counter-narcotics unit that operates in the region, to carry out a lethal strike. The US military posted a

Internal email proposes US should reassess support for UK claim to islands because of lack of support for Iran war * UK politics live – latest updates Downing Street has been forced to insist that Britain will not yield sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, after a leaked Pentagon email proposed the US should reassess its support for the UK’s claim on the islands because of a lack of British support over Iran. The memo reflected ways in which the Trump administration could punish Britain for failing to follow the US lead in bombing Iran, and comes before a potentially fraught three-day state

Woman’s body found in Iwate prefecture last week, soon after a police officer was injured in bear attack nearby Rested but famished bears emerging from hibernation in Japan are already coming into contact with humans, with the pace of sightings outstripping that seen in 2025, a record year for bear attacks. According to media reports, the animals have been spotted with surprising frequency in urban areas in the country’s north-east, with authorities urging caution among people planning to spend the coming Golden Week public holidays in the countryside. Continue reading...

The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walk The world watched earlier this month as Nasa sent four astronauts around the moon – but to actually land on the surface the US is once again in a space race, this time with China. And China may well win. Both countries plan to build inhabited lunar bases – the first settlement on another celestial body – as well as searching for rare resources and using the deep space environment to test technology for future crewed missions to Mars. Continue reading...

After a two-year wait, video of a young male crossing above a road gives hope that critically endangered species can survive habitat fragmentation The critically endangered Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a canopy bridge to cross a road. In 2024, conservationists in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra in Indonesia built the bridge high over the Lagan-Pagindar road, which provides an essential route for local people but which became a barrier for animals. Continue reading...

As domestic sales slow, manufacturers are investing in AI and seeking growth in technology and in overseas markets At the world’s biggest car fair, which opened in Beijing on Friday, there were hundreds of manufacturers, more than 1,000 vehicles, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts – and hardly anyone behind a wheel. China’s car companies have cornered the domestic electric vehicle market, and are increasingly visible on the global stage. Now they are turning their attention to what they are betting is the future of mobility: autonomous driving. Continue reading...

Officials hope more casual attire for public servants will save electricity during Iran war as summer heat approaches Public servants working for the Tokyo metropolitan government are being encouraged to swap their suits for shorts this summer to combat sweltering heat and rising energy costs caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. Inspired by Japan’s Cool Biz energy-saving initiative, Tokyo officials hope the measure will cut dependence on air conditioning. Continue reading...

Follow today’s news live * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Firefighters say two missing in Blue Mountains house fire are children Back to that house fire in the Blue Mountains we reported earlier: Firefighters are moving into the home with hose lines to gain access to the areas where they can search for the unaccounted for people. When I thought about it a bit more as the … day rolled on, I couldn’t help but feel a bit angry about it as well, which I think is a human response to a tragic set of circumstances. I don’t want

Mining magnate also claims children are being taught to be ashamed of the Australian flag in a speech to 4,000 people on the Sydney Opera House steps * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, called for immigrants’ social media to be screened and said children are being taught to be ashamed of the Australian flag in untelevised remarks before an Anzac memorial service on the steps of Sydney Opera House on Friday. Rinehart’s public appearance was attended by about 4,000 people and

Fast food giant cannot not be denied on basis it doesn’t suit ‘vibe’ of location, tribunal finds * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast McDonald’s is poised to open a 24/7 takeaway outlet on a Melbourne street once dubbed the “world’s coolest” after the fast food giant won its legal challenge against the local council’s attempt to block the new restaurant. Victoria’s civil and administrative tribunal (Vcat) has upheld McDonald’s application for a review of Darebin city council’s decision to reject its application to turn 323 High

Strict protocols violated by corrections staff who wrongly believed sexual assault cases were ‘closed’, ombudsman finds * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Men charged with alleged prison rapes were allowed to stay in shared cells – against strict protocols – by Queensland corrections staff who mistakenly believed their cases were “closed” and that they posed no risk, a report by the state’s ombudsman has found. The ombudsman’s inspection report of the Brisbane correctional centre raises a number of concerns about the facility, including extensive overcrowding, health

NSW police say human remains found and four people taken to hospital after overnight fire in Bowen Mountain house * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Two bodies, believed to be those of children, have been found inside a Blue Mountains home destroyed by a fire which four other children and their father managed to escape. The family of six children, aged from three to 16, and their father, who is in his 30s, were inside the home in the small town of Bowen Mountain in the

Families say ‘Ulm 5’ have been detained under extreme prison conditions since arrest last September Five pro-Palestinian activists are due to appear in court over an attack on an Israeli arms company in Germany, in proceedings their families say could become a “show trial”. The Berlin-based activists, who are British, Irish, German and Spanish citizens, have been held in pre-trial detention in separate prisons since 8 September. They are alleged to have broken into Elbit Systems, in the city of Ulm in Baden-Württemberg, in the early hours of 8 September, causing hundreds of thousands of euros of damage before calling the police

Widely dispersed wind farms and solar panels are harder to target than fossil fuel power stations, Michael Shanks says Renewable energy will boost the UK’s national security and make the country more resilient against potential aggression or sabotage, the government’s energy minister has said. Michael Shanks said widely dispersed wind farms and solar panels were much harder to target than large-scale fossil fuel power stations. They are also not vulnerable to supply shocks, such as the current oil crisis caused by the US-Israel war on Iran and the soaring gas prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Continue reading...

Millionaire funded operation called ‘pure animal cruelty’ after environment minister sent threats on social media Final preparations are reportedly under way for a millionaire funded plan to tow a sickly humpback whale into the North Sea. The 12-tonne whale, nicknamed Timmy, has been stranded on the Baltic Sea coastline for almost a month. A barge resembling a giant steel aquarium will attempt to transport Timmy 400km (248 miles) towards the North Sea, and then hopefully back to the Atlantic Ocean from where it is believed to have arrived. Continue reading...

Incoming PM Péter Magyar accuses Fidesz-linked figures of trying to shield their wealth from accountability Along the banks of the Danube, news that the Viktor Orbán era had come to an end set off an hours-long party. The joy echoed across Hungary as people traded hugs and high-fives. For some, however, the landslide loss set off a frantic scramble. Private jets allegedly laden with the spoils of those whose wealth swelled during Orbán’s 16 years in power have steadily been taking off from Vienna, while other individuals are racing to invest their assets abroad, sources have told the Guardian. Meanwhile, high-level figures

Trade union criticises airline’s plan to halve passenger numbers to the city as ‘purely profit-oriented’ Ryanair is to shut its Berlin operating base and cut its winter schedule to the German capital in half, blaming soaring aviation taxes in the country. The Irish budget carrier said its relocation of seven aircraft to other centres would reduce its Berlin passenger numbers from 4.5 million to 2.2 million a year, with flights in and out of the city served from October by planes based at other airports. Continue reading...

Engineer and two drivers killed in recent weeks as scarcity of clean water fuels spread of preventable diseases Israeli forces in Gaza killed a water engineer and two drivers who transported water to displaced families over four days in mid-April, exacerbating severe shortages of clean water that are fuelling the spread of preventable disease. Israeli limits on the shipment of soap, washing powder and other hygiene products into Gaza have also forced prices up, adding to the challenge of keeping clean and avoiding infection in overcrowded shelters and tent encampments. Continue reading...

The Israeli government and Hezbollah have traded blame over breaches to the truce, which is set to run for several more weeks Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed 14 people on Sunday, the deadliest day since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force over a week ago. The health ministry said the dead on Sunday included two women and two children, adding that 37 other people were wounded. Israel said one of its soldiers was also killed. Continue reading...

Deepening sense of deadlock despite regional diplomacy as Washington and Tehran show no signs of compromise Hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations between Iran and the US faded further on Sunday, amid a deepening sense of deadlock in the nearly two-month-long conflict despite intense regional diplomatic activity. Washington and Tehran appear unwilling to moderate rhetoric or make concessions, and there are no negotiations scheduled that might bring the war to a definitive end. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed We have some images coming through the newswires of Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, speaking with Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, and other officials in Islamabad this morning. Araghchi arrived in Pakistan last night. He wrote on social media that his trip would focus on “bilateral matters and regional developments”. Continue reading...

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were to travel to Islamabad to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiations Donald Trump said he has told US envoys not to go to Pakistan for more talks with Iran, shortly after Tehran’s top diplomat left Islamabad late on Saturday. Trump added to Fox News: “They can call us anytime they want.” The White House on Friday said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan’s capital to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiations. Continue reading...

Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbers A large ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak. The serac between base camp and camp one was unstable and risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s department of mountaineering on Friday. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry calls remarks of rightwing podcast host shared by Trump ‘uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste’ The Indian government has denounced a social media post shared by Donald Trump that described India as a “hellhole”, calling the comments inappropriate and “in poor taste”. On Wednesday, Trump posted a four-page transcription of remarks made by the conservative podcast host Michael Savage that denounced the US constitutional right to citizenship of everyone born in the country. Continue reading...

British foreign secretary told to impose new measures as ruble-pegged cryptocurrency A7A5 is supported in country More than 20 MPs and peers have called on the foreign secretary to take action against institutions and individuals in Kyrgyzstan allegedly facilitating large-scale Russian sanctions evasion. They urged the UK to levy personal sanctions against three top Kyrgyz officials for their alleged role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion more broadly, and more specifically for allowing Kyrgyzstan to host infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency A7A5. Continue reading...

Experts say Muslims and other minorities have been disproportionately deleted from the electoral roll ahead of the West Bengal elections this week Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote ahead of a critical state election this week, after a controversial electoral revision described by critics as a “bloodless political genocide” and mass disenfranchisement of minorities. In West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names have been deleted from the register, more than 10% of the electorate. While many were dead or duplicates, about 2.7 million people have challenged their expulsions, but still been

Islamabad has seized chance to act as mediator in Iran war and hopes to reap diplomatic and economic benefits As Pakistan works frantically to narrow differences between Iran and the US in its newfound role as global peacemaker, it is also seeking to recast its diplomatic standing and attract business. Pakistani officials, mediating between an unpredictable US president and hardliners in Tehran, were on Monday trying to coax both sides to put the conditions in place for a second round of talks in Islamabad this week, including easing the standoff in the strait of Hormuz. Pakistan was optimistic that the meeting would

James Sherwin-Smith will be up for election after securing more than 250 nominations to run alongside existing directors Nationwide building society could have a customer on its board for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century after one of its longtime members secured enough support for a spot on the lender’s annual ballot. James Sherwin-Smith will be up for board elections at Nationwide’s annual general meeting (AGM) in July, having gathered more than the 250 peer nominations necessary to run alongside existing directors. Continue reading...

Candle-making kits and rubber toys among products recalled after revelation about play sand sold by Hobbycraft More than 30 children’s toys have been recalled in the UK after the Guardian revealed that play sand sold by Hobbycraft was contaminated with asbestos. Over the past three months, other children’s products ranging from candle-making kits to stretchy rubber toys have been recalled by retailers including Tesco, Primark, Matalan and M&S after being found to contain the substance. Continue reading...

Half of respondents to RCN poll said patients ‘frequently come to harm’ because caseloads are too high Mental health patients in the UK are routinely coming to harm because of high caseloads, understaffing and overwhelming administrative work, according to a poll that found only a fifth of specialist nurses felt their workload was manageable. Prof Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said mental health nurses were caught in a “perfect storm” and unable to keep up with rising demand, with patients paying the price by missing out on crucial care. Continue reading...

The king faces possibly his most important ever speech and a thin-skinned president, in the shadow of the Sussexes and the Epstein scandal. What could go wrong? On his high-stakes four-day state visit to the US, King Charles will have to walk a diplomatic tightrope as the guest of an erratic Donald Trump against the backdrop of Iran and security concerns after Saturday night’s shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner. Many challenges lie ahead as he takes up his UK government-decreed task to “reaffirm and renew” bilateral ties amid a worsening “special relationship” on the 250th anniversary of American independence. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health Foundation says Britain is ‘going backwards’ compared with most other rich countries * Findings on healthy life expectancy in UK shed light on its deteriorating health People in the UK are spending fewer years in good health than a decade ago, prompting concern that the population’s health is “going backwards”. The sharp decline in Britain’s healthy life expectancy, the amount of time someone spends free of illness or disability, is in sharp contrast to its recent rise in most other rich countries globally. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: After the dramatic events of Saturday night, White House security arrangements are under scrutiny and political violence is once again in the spotlight Good morning. On Saturday night the annual Washington ritual of the White House correspondents’ dinner descended into chaos as the US president and first lady were evacuated after the event was interrupted by gunfire. Journalists ducked under tables as authorities rushed Donald Trump and members of his cabinet out of the room. The president and his wife were unharmed, and a suspect is in custody – identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from southern

US president calls media ‘horrible people’ after CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell put to him segments of the suspected gunman’s alleged manifesto Donald Trump spoke with CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell in an interview that aired Sunday night on 60 Minutes describing his ordeal at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner when shots rang out. A gunman opened fire at the Washington Hilton hotel Saturday night, though he did not breach the basement-level ballroom where Trump was sitting at the time. The president described the events in an even tone, saying that he did not feel particularly alarmed as they unfolded. Continue reading...

Singer performed hits including Be My Baby with her cousins Ronnie Spector and Estelle Bennett Nedra Talley Ross, the last surviving member of the 1960s pop band the Ronettes, has died aged 80. Talley Ross, who was one part of the band with her cousins Ronnie Spector and Estelle Bennett, died at home on Sunday morning, her daughter Nedra K Ross announced on social media. Continue reading...

Michael Jackson biopic has shrugged off controversy, bad reviews and a troubled production to take $217m worldwide, including $97m in North America Michael, the big-budget Michael Jackson biopic, has shrugged off bad reviews and a troubled production to launch with a $97m opening in North American theaters, contributing to its enormous $217m (£160m, A$303m) worldwide box office and shattering the record for the biggest biopic opening of all time. The film, a highly authorised portrayal of the “king of pop” that was co-produced by the Jackson estate and stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, took $120.4m internationally and $97m domestic – combining to

Manifesto reportedly written by the suspect had Trump administration officials at top of list * Trump tells 60 Minutes he ‘wasn’t worried’ during shooting * How the White House press dinner shooting unfolded Investigators are looking into anti-Trump sentiment as being a motive for the attacker who sought to breach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington DC where the US president and top members of his administration were present. Officials have said that the shooter likely was targeting Donald Trump and other senior administration officials. “We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, that he

US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned US$400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House. “It’s time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said plainly on Sunday on social media, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic...

Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules Eastern...

The Italian government has decided ⁠⁠to extradite a ⁠⁠Chinese man wanted ⁠⁠by US authorities on hacking charges that include stealing Covid-19 medical research, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The government’s decision, which was ‌‌first reported by Bloomberg, follows a ruling by an Italian court earlier this month which said Xu Zewei could be extradited. A representative for Italy’s government declined to comment. Xu’s lawyer Enrico Giarda told Reuters that his client...

The state visit by Britain’s King Charles to the US would take place as planned, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday, following a shooting at a Washington media gala. The incident late on Saturday at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association came less than 48 hours before Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to the United States. The palace said Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump, the first lady Melania and other guests were unharmed and later on...

Mali’s military rulers faced a security crisis on Sunday after coordinated nationwide attacks by jihadist fighters and separatist rebels this weekend killed the defence minister and reportedly left a key northern town in rebel hands. There was no word from the junta leader General Assimi Goita, who has not been seen since the attacks began at dawn on Saturday. The offensive, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of...

Strikes across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia over the past day killed at least 16 people, authorities said on Sunday as the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster prompted new warnings about risks posed by attacks near the plant during Russia’s more than four-year invasion of its neighbour. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the anniversary with a warning that Russian attacks risk repeating history. “Russia is once again bringing the world to the brink of...

The China-Europe railway network has evolved in the past decade from a nascent logistical experiment into a growing commercial alternative to maritime and air freight. In the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, it might now be assuming an unanticipated role as a key security provider for transcontinental supply chains. What began as sporadic trial runs has matured into a sprawling web of rail connections that currently links 235 cities across 26 European countries with more than 120 Chinese...

The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad opened in Damascus on Sunday. Atef Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad, and who is also a cousin of the former president, appeared in the courtroom to face charges related to “crimes against the Syrian people,” the state-run news agency SANA reported. Najib was in that position in 2011 when...

People streamed into the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol laid out on the ground as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath. Residents show up for the vigil each year despite wartime curfews and official warnings against large gatherings during Russia’s war on Ukraine. The April 26, 1986 disaster...

In the span of a few days earlier this month, developments that usually sit in separate policy compartments began to converge. Abu Dhabi’s crown prince arrived in Beijing as President Xi Jinping used the visit to set out China’s four-point position on the Iran war. Pakistan, now central to keeping US-Iran diplomacy alive, said no date was fixed for the next round of talks. Washington escalated pressure on buyers of Iranian oil and the banks handling related funds. Reports circulated of yuan use...

The shooting on Saturday night of a Secret Service agent at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner raises questions yet again about the protection afforded to America’s political leaders at a time of increased political violence. Hundreds of agents from several law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting the annual bash, which US President Donald Trump headlined this year. Yet a suspect with a shotgun and other weapons ‌managed to get just a floor above the Washington...

The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump. Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the...

Watch a cheap commercial drone destroy a battle tank on the frontlines in Ukraine, or a cut-price Iranian Shahed menace Tel Aviv, then ask yourself why Southeast Asia’s defence ministries are suddenly very interested in unmanned aerial vehicles. The answer was on full display last week at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, where vendors from Abu Dhabi to Pretoria were chasing deals in one of the global arms trade’s hottest emerging markets. “There is huge demand from the...

It was meant to be a glitzy Saturday night at a Washington ballroom featuring President Donald Trump, but the glamour was shattered by gunshots that left guests diving to the floor and the US leader bundled out by security personnel. Trump was seated on the dais at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner – the first time he is attending as president – when loud bangs disrupted the revelry and caused him and others on stage to look up in alarm. Video captured by news outlets...

Student mental health is a matter of great concern. According to the latest data from the Education Bureau, the number of secondary students with mental health issues has doubled over the past five years, from 660 in 2020-21 to 1,330 in 2024-25. In recent years, the government and various stakeholders in society have worked to halt the continued rise in student suicides. However, the number of suspected suicide cases still rose by 10 per cent between 2024 and 2025, from 28 to 31. To help...

US President Donald Trump and other top administration officials were likely targets of a gunman who tried to storm a White House correspondents’ dinner, the acting US attorney general said on Sunday, after a major security breach in the heart of Washington. Chaos erupted at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night as shots were fired near a security checkpoint outside the subterranean ballroom where the glitzy, high-profile event was being held. Secret Service agents, weapons drawn, rushed to...

The death toll ⁠from an explosives ⁠attack on a highway ⁠in southwestern Colombia rose to 20 on Sunday, authorities said, as the government blamed a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla ‌group for the bombing. The attack happened on Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on a bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. So far, 15 women and five men are among the victims, according to Octavio Guzman, governor of the region of Cauca. He wrote on...

Lebanese state media reported a series of new Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday night, after attacks earlier in the day killed six people despite a recently extended ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The new attacks followed orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to “forcefully attack Hezbollah targets” after the army accused it of breaching the truce. Lebanon’s health ministry had said earlier that “Israeli enemy strikes on a...

Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would not take up his seat in parliament following his party’s landslide defeat in this month’s election but wants to stay on as Fidesz’s leader to lead a process of “renewal”. The most dominant figure in Hungarian politics since the fall of communism in 1989, Orban has sat in Hungary’s legislature for 36 years without interruption, serving as prime minister for the past sixteen years. “I’m not needed in parliament now but in the...

A former University of South Florida student has been charged with killing his roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend – two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappeared earlier this month, authorities said Saturday. Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, is facing two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, students at USF, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa,...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad again on Sunday, just hours after US President Donald Trump told his special envoys not to go to Pakistan for ceasefire talks. Araghchi had left Pakistan’s capital on Saturday night after meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Pakistan has been trying to get US and Iranian officials back to the negotiating table after Trump last week announced that a two-week...

Pope Leo has called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty on Saturday, a day after the US administration mulled expanding the penalty. “The dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed,” Leo said in a video message marking the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois. “The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves...

Palestinians on Saturday buried a woman pregnant with twins and two of her children who were among at least 13 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. The toll on Friday included two men who were killed in Gaza City, and eight others killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to local hospitals. Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said the eight people, including four police officers, were killed after Israel targeted a police vehicle. While the heaviest fighting has mostly...

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry says Afghans who helped America’s war effort and have been stuck in Qatar in the hope of reaching the United States can safely return to Afghanistan. The statement on Saturday by foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi comes after reports emerged that the Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send 1,100 Afghans who assisted the US during its war in Afghanistan, and relatives of US service members, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An...

An attack by “unknown armed terrorists” has been carried out on military barracks and other targets in the capital Bamako, the military in Mali reported on Saturday. Attacks had also occurred in other locations in the country, the general staff reported. Fighting was ongoing, a brief statement said. Witnesses reported intense fighting in a town near the capital where junta leader General Assimi Goita lives, and in other key cities. Mali, a landlocked West African country, has been ruled by a...

Every time a European leader lands in Beijing with a business delegation, the same speculation follows: is the Atlantic consensus beginning to crack? Is part of Europe drifting towards China and away from Washington? In Spain’s case, the drama expires on contact with the record. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s four visits to Beijing in four years have not produced a European pivot, a strategic vision or a narrower trade imbalance. They have produced market access for agricultural goods. Call it...

Argentina has called for talks with the UK over the Falkland Islands after reports the US could review its position on the South Atlantic territory in retaliation for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s lack of support for the war in Iran. Downing Street had earlier insisted the sovereignty of the Falklands was “not in question”. That came after a leaked internal Pentagon email set out options for President Donald Trump’s administration to punish Nato allies for refusing to join the US-Israeli strikes...

Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least six people, officials said on Saturday, most of them in an attack on a residential building in the eastern city of Dnipro. Over 30 people were injured, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia launched 47 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as 619 drones of various types. Ukraine has been warding off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. Air raid sirens sounded across the country with residents urged to...

Financial markets, stock markets especially, appear able to defy gravity despite the global geopolitical and economic situation. A plethora of institutional and individual explanations have been offered as to why, but most seem to miss the point. Which is, at least in part, that we have created a kind of monster in the asset management industry, which channels a glut of global savings into a limited number of investment areas and which, by virtue of these captive inflows, is able to maintain...

An unusual series of cargoes of military-grade fuel that is due to sail from the US across the Pacific Ocean illustrates how far the war in Iran has disrupted the global oil supply chain. A request for offers to ship 235,000 barrels of jet fuel from Cherry Point in Blaine, Washington, where BP has a refinery, to Subic Bay in the Philippines, a strategic access point and logistics hub for US naval operations, was issued on Thursday, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The cargo is...

More than 4 million small parcels from China have arrived at the freight airport in Liege, Belgium, every day since the beginning of the year. On the receiving end, the Belgian customs inspection team at the airport has only 80 members. Belgium’s top customs official, Kristian Vanderwaeren, said the airport, close to the Netherlands, Germany and France, was built, in part, to cater to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Shein, Temu and Alibaba. But the “explosion” in the number of small parcels...

Amid the rubble of the US-Israel war on Iran, a new Middle East appears to be taking shape as a constellation of regional powers jockey for a seat at the table. Led by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the grouping stretches from the Gulf across the Caucasus to Central and South Asia, binding together countries with overlapping interests, interlocking partnerships and a shared conviction: that the post-war order should not be dictated exclusively by the US-Israel alliance or Iran and its battered but...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the United States of ⁠abandoning internationally recognised diplomatic ⁠conventions in pursuit of its ⁠own interests, particularly in dominating energy markets, in an interview broadcast on Friday. Lavrov, interviewed by Russian state television, said Washington, in its dealings with Latin America and the Middle East, was “taking us back to a world where ‌nothing existed” in international law. “The United States has officially declared that no one...

The World Health Organization announced on Friday that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time. Artemether-lumefantrine is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest victims of the mosquito-borne disease. “The prequalification designation indicates that the medicine meets international standards of quality, safety and efficacy,” the WHO said in a statement. Up to now, infants have been treated with...

Another day, another big humiliation for William Lai Ching-te. The Taiwanese leader effectively had to cancel a visit to eSwatini, the island’s last partner in Africa, for the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession to the throne and his 58th birthday. Taiwan said the visit was “postponed” after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar cancelled their previously approved overflight permission without warning. Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)...

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has apologised to a Canadian town devastated by a February mass shooting, saying he was “deeply sorry” the company did not tell police about the killer’s troubling ChatGPT account. OpenAI had banned an account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025, eight months before the 18-year-old woman killed eight people at her home and a school in the tiny British Columbia mining town of Tumbler Ridge. The account was banned over concerns about usage linked to violent...

G7 countries on Friday insisted on their support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), warning of the dangers from a Russian and Chinese build-up. “We are concerned with China’s and Russia’s significant nuclear weapons build-up and modernisation,” the G7 Non-proliferation Directors Group said in a statement published on the French foreign ministry website. The group brings together the diplomats from the Group of Seven countries – Britain, Canada, France, Germany,...

The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil. The move, announced on Friday, makes good on the Trump administration’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on companies and countries that do business with Iran. It is also part of the Republican administration’s overall ramped-up campaign to cut off Iran’s key source of revenue – its oil exports. Hengli on Sunday denied...

The Trump Justice Department said on Friday it was seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution. “The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Under US...

The US and the European Union on Friday deepened their coordination on critical minerals as part of a broader push by Western allies to loosen China’s grip on materials crucial to advanced manufacturing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic signed a memorandum of understanding for a ‌partnership on producing and securing critical minerals. Rubio did not mention China in his remarks, but said the preliminary agreement with Brussels reflected growing awareness...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday there was no prospect of Ukraine’s “immediate accession” to the EU, but suggested Kyiv could join meetings of the bloc’s members without voting rights. Ukraine is pushing to speed up its bid to join the 27-nation European Union as it fights Russia’s invasion on the battlefield. Kyiv’s progress has been blocked by Hungary’s nationalist premier Viktor Orban, but his defeat in elections earlier this month raised hopes it can move to the next step. EU...

A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives failed on Friday as parliamentary time ran out, nearly a year since elected members of parliaments gave their backing. Though the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House of Commons last June, the UK’s revising chamber, the House of Lords, effectively talked it out since then. Proponents of what has been termed “assisted dying” – sometimes referred to as “assisted suicide” –...

The US Justice Department has ended its probe into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh. US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro said on X on Friday that her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s inspector general would scrutinise them instead. The decision ends an investigation, one of several undertaken by the Justice Department into President...

The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it will offer ultra-fast review to three psychedelic drugs being developed to treat mental health conditions, including depression, the latest indication of the Trump administration’s commitment to the experimental treatment approach. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last weekend directing the FDA and other federal agencies to speed access and loosen restrictions on psychedelics, a class of hallucinogenic drugs which remain illegal...

Fifa’s resale site has four tickets on sale for the World Cup final for just under US$2.3 million each. The $2,299,998.85 seats for the July 19 match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, are located behind a goal in the lower deck in block 124, row 45, seats 33-36. Fifa does not control the asking prices on its Resale/Exchange Marketplace but takes a 15 per cent purchase fee from the buyer of each ticket and a 15 per cent resale fee from the seller. An aisle seat 33 in block 146,...

President Trump posted surveillance footage of Nilufa Easmin’s brutal killing by another immigrant to advance his agenda. Behind the rhetoric was a more nuanced story.

The United States has carried out dozens of boat strikes since September against people the Trump administration accuses of smuggling drugs.

Two days after their release, the mother and her five children were again detained during an ICE check-in. A judge halted their removal and returned the family home.

Each side is betting it can last longer than the other, analysts say. But there are risks in a stalemate without a deal.

An Iranian negotiator returned to Pakistan on Sunday, despite the United States abruptly calling off a trip there by its two top negotiators.

Oil prices rose and stocks fell after President Trump called off a trip to Pakistan by two U.S. negotiators for peace talks with Iran.

Not since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to Washington after the Suez Crisis has a visit by the British monarch come at such a fraught time in Anglo-American relations.

With King Charles III and Queen Camilla set to arrive for a state visit with President Trump, we look back at some major moments in previous royal trips to the United States.

When Jacqueline Pritchett’s 11-year-old son, Jacob, vanished last year, she refused to acknowledge that he existed. Her life is as mysterious as his disappearance.

Geely is challenging the giant BYD by adapting quickly to swings in demand and energy prices, seizing on interest in electric vehicles prompted by the war in Iran.

Naftali Bennett, a right-wing politician, and Yair Lapid, a centrist, will merge parties for a vote later this year.

The Shreveport, La., slaying of eight children was an example of what experts call family annihilation.

Homicides and assaults have declined in many cities, but programs credited with helping keep the peace are losing federal support.

The measure calls for placing a one-time 5 percent tax on the assets of California residents with at least $1.1 billion. Opponents are backing competing measures to counter the tax.

Economists and real estate agents are calling London’s taxation of wealthy property owners a cautionary tale for New York, where leaders have endorsed a second-home tax.

Chevy Humphrey explains why the scientific method matters in business.

High mortgage payments, higher child care costs and economic uncertainty are making some people rethink their plans on starting a family.

In Illinois and other states, officials hoped that culls could halt the progress of chronic wasting disease. Now they are losing hope.

How ICE transformed a Chicago neighborhood.

A revealing glimpse of the state of the Supreme Court, on the verge of momentous rulings in the weeks ahead.

Thousands remain without power as extensive damage occurred across two counties northwest of Fort Worth.

About 40 percent of American adults believe that we are living in the “end times,” according to a 2022 poll. Where did that idea come from?

It was the largest outbreak in recent U.S. history.