Minimalist News

EBITDA And The Warnings Of Charlie Munger Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, This past week, Greg Feirman wrote an interesting article about “The Perils Of Adjusted EBITDA.” Before we get into his discussion, let’s discuss what EBITDA is. EBITDA is an acronym that stands for “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.” Over the years, EBITDA has become a go-to metric for evaluating corporate performance as it offers a simple way to assess a company’s profitability by removing non-cash charges and financing effects. However, the problem with EBITDA is that simplicity often comes at the cost of accuracy. Why do I say that? Because EBITDA ignores critical costs, such as depreciation, which can

Still No Deal: Rare Earth Talks Between China And U.S. Drag On With Little Tangible Progress So Far The US and China are still hashing out the details of how Beijing will loosen rare-earth export restrictions, weeks after a trade truce that Washington said would boost shipments, according to Bloomberg.  In other words, there's still no rare earth mineral trade deal, despite the "truce" between the two countries.  Negotiators have until the end of November to finalize terms for “general licenses” China promised to issue for US-bound rare earths and other critical minerals, though the reason for the delay is unclear. The White House

Cooling Labor Market Drives Uptick In Gig-Platform Hours We haven't heard much in corporate media about short-term, flexible, on-demand work, otherwise known as the gig economy, but a new Goldman note offers color into what's happening with these part-time jobs as the labor market cools. Let's take a look at the news cycle for mentions of "gig economy." Notice how the topic surged in the early days of the Covid pandemic, when it became all the rage as people lost their jobs due to government-mandated shutdown of the economy. Many quickly turned to gigs for supplemental income, like driving for Uber or

Trump Offers Lifeline To UK 'Thought Criminals' Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, The Trump White House is mulling political asylum for British free speech activists branded “thought criminals” under Keir Starmer’s regime, in one example offering refugee status to those prosecuted for silent protests outside abortion clinics as well as expressing online dissent. The transatlantic intervention, said to be largely influenced by Elon Musk continually pointing to cases of the UK punishing people for “thought crimes,” signals America’s readiness to shield allies from creeping authoritarianism. Administration insiders are intently exploring the option of offering visas and refugee status, focusing on figures like Livia Tossici-Bolt, prosecuted

Stocks Slide After Amazon Shocks With Another Massive Bond Offering, But Rebound On News Boaz Weinsten Selling Hyperscaler CDS Just when it seemed that risk was about to stabilize, this morning Amazon decided to add more supply to the biggest trade of 2026 - which, as BofA's Michael Hartnett, laid out over the weekend is shorting hyperscaler bonds - when it announced that it was planning to raise about $12 billion through a bond sale - its first such deal in US dollars in about three years - adding to a wave of massive technology debt offerings as companies race to

Duffy Averts Nationwide Airport Crisis As "Normal Flight Operations Resume"  The 43-day federal government shutdown that plunged major US airports into chaos is finally easing, with operations normalizing just in time for the year's busiest holiday travel period. "The FAA has determined that normal flight operations can resume after multiple days of positive staffing with air traffic controllers in our towers," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed on X late Sunday night.  Duffy said, "Now we can refocus our efforts on hiring and building the state-of-the-art air traffic control system the American people deserve."  > 🚨The @FAANews has determined that normal flight operations can resume after

150 Years Of Data Destroy Democrat Dogma On Tariffs: Fed Study Finds They Lower, Not Raise, Inflation A new historical analysis is challenging the central premise that has guided trade policy, inflation forecasting, and Federal Reserve decision-making for decades. According to the study from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco spanning 150 years of tariff changes across three major Western economies, higher tariffs consistently lower inflation and raise unemployment - directly contradicting longstanding economic orthodoxy. >   The authors, Régis Barnichon and Aayush Singh, examined tariff shifts between 1870 and 2020 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France - and came to the

Key Events This Week: Macro Returns With Payrolls Thursday, FOMC Minutes And Speakers Galore, But Nvidia Earnings Matters Most After the resolution of the US government shutdown, markets face a packed calendar of delayed and scheduled releases this week, although maybe the most important event will be Nvidia’s earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday. According to DB's Jim Reid, one of the most interesting developments last week in the world of tech was the widening out of AI related CDS spreads, something we had been warning about for the past month. For example, Oracle 5yr CDS widened +18bps to 105bps and

Novo Undercuts Lilly's Obesity Drug Price, Now Cheaper Than Car Payment  Just before the US cash session, Novo Nordisk A/S announced it will slash prices on Wegovy and Ozempic in a direct challenge to Eli Lilly's obesity drug, aiming to regain market share. The announcement comes just weeks after President Trump finalized a deal with Novo and Lilly to reduce costs as part of the administration's affordability push ahead of next year's midterms. Beginning immediately, introductory doses of Wegovy and Ozempic will cost just $199 per month for the first two months for cash-pay patients. After that, the price rises to $349 per

Lower The Steaks, Raise The Stakes By Benjamin Picton, Senior Market Strategist at Rabobank US stocks closed mixed on Friday to cap off a week where concerns over valuations caused substantial wobbles. The NASDAQ was in the red for the week while the Dow Jones and S&P500 managed to eke out minor gains. Markets have seemingly begun to pay attention to the heroic P/E multiples that many AI-adjacent names are trading on, with more questions being raised about the ability of AI hype to be converted into tangible profits for shareholders. Scion Capital’s Michael Burry (of Big Short fame) made headlines last week

USPS Reports 5.7% Decline In Parcel Volumes, $9BN Loss Submitted by Eric Kulisch of FreightWaves, The U.S. Postal Service lost $9 billion in fiscal year 2025, a $500 million improvement from the prior year that officials attributed to greater revenue intake and reduction in transportation and workers compensation costs. But controllable loss, essentially adjusted operating income that excludes expenses such as workers compensation that are out of management’s control, worsened from $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion. Financial results for the year ended Sept. 30 were released Friday as the Postal Service ups its tempo for the busy holiday period, when package and greeting

Turkish LPG Tanker Ablaze After Russian Drone Strike On Ukrainian Port Another Russian overnight massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine has had some serious spillover effects, as the Turkish flagged LPG tanker "Orinda" carrying thousands of metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas was reportedly struck at the port of Izmail in Odesa. The Turkish vessel was reportedly struck directly by a Russian drone, prompting the immediate evacuation of all 16 crew members, with no casualties reported. Stillframe, aftermath of strike Other civilian vessels were also damaged, with firefighting and emergency crews quickly dispatch to try and contain the blaze. At least a dozen commercial vessels

'Goldilocks' Empire Fed Manufacturing Survey Surges To One Year High Amid the last month's absence of hard economic data, investors have had to rely on soft survey data (and alternative providers) and that has been somewhat optimistic... Today, we saw yet another soft survey data point beat expectations as the NY Fed's 'Empire State Manufacturing Survey' surged to +18.7 from +10.7 and smashing expectations of a +5.8 print... “Manufacturing activity grew at a solid pace in New York State, with the survey’s headline index reaching its highest level since last November," said Richard Deitz, Economic Research Advisor at the New York Fed. Gauges of new

A Very Important Week For Consumer Stocks  Goldman's top sector specialist, Scott Feiler, offers four thoughts on the consumer ahead of what he calls a "very important week" for the space. Feiler said that consumer stocks finally showed signs of life last week, helped by a few solid earnings beats, but the improvement was mostly based on market rotation as AI names dumped for three consecutive days. He said the next round of consumer earnings, from now till Thanksgiving, should look better than the first leg of the earnings season.  Positioning in discretionary sits at 7-year lows, he noted, adding that many traders are reluctant to pre-trade

US Home Builders Offer 'Elevated' Incentives Amid Affordability Challenges Authored by Mary Prenon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Faced with affordability constraints and cautious demand, and with abundant land in states such as Arizona, Utah, Texas, and Florida, many developers are offering enticing incentives to potential homebuyers. A model of a new single-family home at The Ridge at Stone Butte in Phoenix, Arizona. Courtesy of RE/MAX Signature in Phoenix A recent Redfin report indicates that builders are offering mortgage-rate buydowns, assistance with closing costs, and upgraded home amenities to attract buyers. In areas where supply exceeds demand, the report found builders offering up

US Equity Futures Fade Overnight Gains As Global Selloff Deepens US equity futures are slightly higher led by Tech, but well off overnight highs, while stocks around global markets slide. As of 8:00am ET, S&P and Nasdaq futures are up 0.1%, having previously been as much as 0.6% higher, after both gauges closed above their 50-day moving averages on Friday, a key support level. In premarket trading, Mag7 names are mostly lower led by GOOG +4%, NVDA is down 1% with earnings Wednesday after the close. Bond yields are lower as the curve mostly bull steepens; USD trades near session highs. Commodities

In Surprise Reversal, Trump Now Supports GOP Release Of Epstein Files Less than 24 hours Days after President Donald Trump called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a traitor and mocked Thomas Massie's dead wife - because they were among four Republicans pushing for a House floor vote to force the DOJ to release the Epstein files, Trump - likely sensing he dun goofed, big time, reversed course Sunday night and now supports their release.  Donald Trump has said he backs US lawmakers efforts to release more files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/Reuters "As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News

Brent Initially Slides After Russia Restarts Key Novorossiysk Port After Drone Attack  Brent crude prices were initially lower, and are now flat, after operations resumed at Russia's key Black Sea export hub, Novorossiysk. This follows last Friday's Ukrainian drone strike on the export hub, which had sent prices soaring. > Satellite images confirm major damage to the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk after a combined drone and missile strike. Critical loading systems and pipelines were hit. With fires raging and infrastructure crippled, the port may be out of service for a long time. pic.twitter.com/waoSfx0qxj > > — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) November 15, 2025 Brent slid to $63

Container Imports Drop 17.6% In October At Busiest US Port By Stuart Chrils of FreightWaves. The Port of Long Beach is moving containerized cargo ahead of the cumulative record-setting pace achieved in 2024 despite weaker demand that saw October volumes drop by nearly 20% from a year ago. The hub, which along with the Port of Los Angeles forms the San Pedro port complex, the nation’s busiest, moved a total 839,671 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) in October, down 14.9% from October 2024 – the strongest month in its 114-year history. Imports declined 17.6% to 401,915 TEUs and exports dropped 11.5% to 99,817 TEUs.

"I Feel Safer Holding Gold": Vietnamese Govt Cracks Down On Hoarding In the sweltering chaos of Hanoi, 67-year-old Le Thi Minh Tam is waging a desperate guerrilla war against vanishing stockpiles - scrambling from one gold shop to the next, only to find Soviet-style queues where the shiny salvation sells out faster than a central banker's excuses. "I'm getting worried, as I still don't have enough," she tells Bloomberg, the weight of her son's impending nuptials crushing her, helped by the State Bank's iron fist. “They don’t sell gold bars anymore, only gold rings with a very limited amount for each customer.” But as

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Huge rally organised by megachurch whose members vote in a bloc could spell trouble for Philippine president From a skyscraper in downtown Manila, a sea of white spreads out below, covering the vast green lawns of Rizal Park and expanding down arterial roads and sidestreets. It is formed of more than half a million people, clad in matching white T-shirts, the slogan “transparency for a better democracy” emblazoned on their chests. An estimated 650,000 of them have flooded the centre of Manila to protest, amid fury over a spiralling corruption scandal in which billions of dollars in flood mitigation funds have evaporated.

Six coloured sand products recalled in New Zealand after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar items Multiple schools have temporarily closed in New Zealand and hundreds of education facilities are seeking advice from officials after asbestos was detected in several brands of widely used coloured play sand. Last week, the ministry for business, innovation and employment confirmed a voluntary recall was under way for two brands of coloured sand sold in New Zealand, after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar products. Continue reading...

Activity around Japanese-held islands, also claimed by China, comes after PM Sanae Takaichi said Japan might respond militarily to an invasion of Taiwan China has sent its coast guard through the waters of the Senkaku islands and military drones past outlying Japanese territory as Beijing ramps up tensions over the Japanese prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan. On Sunday the Chinese coastguard said its ships made a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters of the Senkaku, which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China as the Diaoyu islands. Continue reading...

Party room meeting set for this morning with Jess Wilson backed by many MPs. Follow today’s news live * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says a $60 toll cap for Sydney’s roads will be extended beyond its expiry date at the end of this year, and the government is considering two-way tolling on the Harbour Bridge to fund the cap permanently. The cap, under which drivers claim up to $340 a week back from the government after spending $60 for each registered vehicle, was put in place at the start of

Francom claims that because Panthera had ‘acquired’ the debts, it was not technically engaged in collecting debt owed to a third party * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast One of Australia’s largest debt collection firms has claimed that scandal-plagued Panthera Finance was not technically banned from operating in Victoria after it was blacklisted by the state’s consumer watchdog. Consumer Affairs Victoria launched legal action against Panthera Finance last year, alleging it operated in the state illegally after a federal court ruling in 2020, and despite warnings

CEO of Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry calls Sussan Ley’s new policy ‘a bit of a plan not to have a plan’, echoing business scepticism * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast * Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Business and energy industry leaders have warned the Coalition that abandoning a net zero emissions target will not cut power bills, undermining the core promise of Sussan Ley’s signature new policy. The chief executive of the Australian Chamber of

Sources say shadow treasurer Jess Wilson has received enough support to test leadership of the party a year out from state poll * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A group of Victorian Liberal MPs has told the party leader, Brad Battin, they no longer have confidence in his leadership, paving the way for a vote on whether to replace him. The intervention on Monday afternoon – delivered almost one year before the state goes to the polls – could trigger a ballot on his position as early as Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Factional powerbrokers issue statement contradicting media reports that moderates could swing behind conservative Andrew Hastie * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Senior Liberal moderates are rallying around Sussan Ley after speculation that members of the faction could withdraw support for her struggling leadership in the fallout to the decision to dump a net zero emissions target. Factional powerbrokers Anne Ruston and Maria Kovacic issued a statement on Monday disputing reports in The Australian that moderates could swing behind the Western Australian conservative Andrew Hastie in a potential challenge against Ley. Continue reading...

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

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

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

Polish PM vows to ‘catch the perpetrators, regardless of who their backers are’ after blast on track used for deliveries to Ukraine Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, has described an explosion along a section of railway line used for deliveries to Ukraine as an “unprecedented act of sabotage” that could have led to disaster. It came as a statement from public prosecutors on Monday evening said an investigation had opened “regarding acts of sabotage of a terrorist nature […] committed on behalf of a foreign intelligence service against the Republic of Poland.” Continue reading...

Security services minister Tomasz Siemoniak says explosion was not the work of ‘a gang of metal thieves’. This live blog is closed Back to Poland, the country’s interior minister is hosting an emergency meeting on the train incidents, with transport, justice ministers, police and representatives of security services all attending. “Poland is facing acts of sabotage unprecedented in its most recent history,” Marcin Kierwiński said in a social media post. Continue reading...

US-drafted resolution also includes reference to a future Palestinian state as US president’s plan would include international security force deployment Patrick Wintour and Jason Burke in Jerusalem Saudi sources said it was remarkable that Donald Trump was backing a motion to the UN endorsing the concept of a Palestinian state. The Trump administration has largely ignored the UN or used its veto throughout the Gaza conflict. Continue reading...

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

Exclusive: Real toll likely substantially higher as hundreds of detainees from Gaza are missing, says NGO Physicians for Human Rights - Israel Israeli data shows at least 98 Palestinians have died in custody since October 2023, and the real toll is likely substantially higher because hundreds of people detained in Gaza are missing, an Israel-based human rights group has said. Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI) tracked deaths from causes including physical violence, medical neglect and malnutrition for a new report, using freedom of information requests, forensic reports and interviews with lawyers, activists, relatives and witnesses. Continue reading...

Iran’s foreign minister says it has had requests to reopen negotiations, which collapsed after nuclear site bombings Tehran is willing to restart nuclear talks with Washington as long as it is treated with “dignity and respect”, Iran’s foreign minister has told the Guardian. Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy worked, and disclosed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to reopen negotiations with the Trump administration. He said Iran did not have any undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for security reasons. Continue reading...

Natalie Boucly says supplies are ready but only about half of what is needed is getting into territory Israel is breaching international law by continuing to impose restrictions on aid flows into Gaza, where the population remains critically short of food and life-saving goods as winter sets in, a senior official at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said. In an interview during a recent visit to Brussels, Natalie Boucly, an Unrwa deputy commissioner general, said the whole world – including the EU and US – needed to increase the pressure on Israel’s government to ensure the unrestricted flow of aid

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

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

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

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

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

Shabana Mahmood tells MPs asylum system is ‘out of control and unfair’ amid Labour backlash over proposals Momentum, the leftwing Labour group, has also denounced the government’s asylum plans. In a statement it says: The home secretary’s new immigration plans are divisive and xenophobic. Scapegoating migrants will not fix our public services or end austerity. Draconian, unworkable and potentially illegal anti-asylum policies only feed Reform’s support. The government has learnt nothing from the period since the general election. Some of the legal changes being proposed are truly frightening: Abolishing the right to a family life would ultimately affect many more people than asylum-seekers. Continue reading...

Michelle Sparman, 48, died after staff at Queen Mary’s hospital in Roehampton failed to search her possessions adequately, inquest finds A woman killed herself after a south London psychiatric unit failed to search her possessions adequately, a coroner has concluded. Michelle Sparman, a personal trainer and call dispatcher for the Metropolitan police from Battersea, south-west London, died on 28 August 2021 at Kingston hospital, four days after trying to take her own life. Continue reading...

Significant divisions exposed within party as angry backbenchers vow to force changes to hardline proposals Keir Starmer is facing another major challenge to his authority as angry Labour MPs vowed to force changes to new hardline migration measures that would bring an escalation in the deportations of children and families. The policies – which include the possibility of confiscating assets from asylum seekers to contribute to costs – have caused significant divisions inside the party, with some MPs accusing their colleagues of not taking seriously public anger about illegal migration and asylum. Continue reading...

Workers hired to cover long-running dispute will take part in industrial action after alleging unsafe workloads Agency staff brought in as cover during the long-running bin strikes in Birmingham will join the picket line for the first time over claims of bullying and harassment. Hundreds of refuse workers have taken part in an all-out strike in the city since March in a dispute over pay and jobs, prompting the council to declare a “major incident”. Continue reading...

One Day author leading writing team bringing one of the best-known literary creations of the 1980s to life A writing team led by the One Day author, David Nicholls, and that includes Caitlin Moran is bringing Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ to the small screen in a 10-part BBC One adaptation of the classic tale of teenage life in British suburbia. Nicholls, who described the book as “a classic piece of comic writing and an incredible piece of ventriloquism on Sue Townsend’s part”, will adapt the book that produced one of the best-known literary creations of the

* Jury said former NFL star was liable for Goldman’s death * Goldman’s family unlikely to receive full amount OJ Simpson’s estate has accepted a $58m claim from the father of Ron Goldman, decades after a jury said the NFL star and actor was liable for the man’s fatal stabbing. However, the amount far exceeds the Simpson estate’s assets, and Goldman’s father, Fred, is unlikely to receive anywhere near the full amount. Continue reading...

President announces he would sign bill to release complete tranche of Epstein files if it ends up on his desk * Trump urges Republicans to vote for release of Epstein files in surprise U-turn * Former prince Andrew accused of ‘hiding’ from US Epstein inquiry US Border Patrol officials said they had arrested 81 people over five hours in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday, the first day of the targeted operation. The crackdown involving federal agents was only announced last week. Mass deportation and strict enforcement of immigration laws have been a key part of Trump’s agenda since returning to office this year. Continue

Lisa Cook’s lawyer details defense against accusations she misrepresented residences to get better mortgage rate Lawyers for Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor, called Trump administration allegations of mortgage fraud against her “baseless” on Monday and accused the administration of “cherry-picking” discrepancies to bolster their claims. After accusing Cook of misrepresenting multiple residences as her primary residence to get a better mortgage rate, Donald Trump briefly fired Cook from her role as a Fed governor and as one of 12 voting members of the Federal Reserve board that sets interest rates. The supreme court reinstated her back into her position and will

Trump administration official confirms David Richardson will depart agency after six months in role The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) is leaving the agency, a senior Trump administration official said on Monday. David Richardson resigned after only a brief stint leading the agency amid a furor over his responsiveness, especially during the catastrophic flooding in Texas during the summer that swept away a children’s camp and killed more than 130 people. Continue reading...

North Carolina governor says immigration crackdown ‘stoking fear’ as officials say at least 130 people detained Aggressive arrests by federal immigration agents continued in Charlotte on Monday after a weekend sweep in which authorities said they detained a total of at least 130 people in North Carolina’s largest city, as protests picked up. North Carolina’s governor, Josh Stein, on Monday warned that the crackdown was simply “stoking fear” and resulting in severe disruption. Continue reading...

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

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

A US judge on Monday found evidence of “government misconduct” in how a prosecutor aligned with US President Donald Trump secured criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and ordered that grand jury materials be turned over to Comey’s defence team. US Magistrate Judge William Fitzgerald of the Eastern District of Virginia found that Lindsey Halligan, the Trump-appointed US lawyer leading the case, may have made significant legal errors in presenting evidence and instructing grand...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands in Busan last month, the headlines highlighted smiles and tariff rollbacks. Washington hailed it as a “massive victory”, saying China had pledged to buy 12 million tonnes of American soybeans by January and at least 25 million tonnes annually for the next three years. Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade surged and farmers in the US Midwest cheered. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared that “our great soybean...

Colombia’s human rights ombudswoman said on Saturday that seven children were killed in a controversial air strike against a rebel group in the country’s south earlier this week, as the administration of President Gustavo Petro steps up efforts to regain control of rural areas in Guaviare province. In a statement, ombudswoman Iris Marin said the minors killed in the strike against the Farc-EMC rebel group had been forcibly recruited and were being used as “human shields”. Marin called on the...

Republican US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene accused President Donald Trump on Saturday of putting her life in danger, saying his online criticism has triggered a wave of threats against her. Greene, once a long-time Trump loyalist and Maga (Make America Great Again) stalwart who has more recently taken positions at odds with the US president, said she has been contacted by private security firms warning about her safety. “Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats...

Pope Leo told a group of leading Hollywood actors and filmmakers on Saturday that cinemas were struggling to survive and that more should be done to protect them and preserve the shared experience of watching films. Screen stars Cate Blanchett, Monica Bellucci, Chris Pine and Viggo Mortensen were among those invited to the private Vatican audience, along with award-winning directors Spike Lee, Gus Van Sant and Sally Potter. Leo, the first US pope, said cinema was a vital “workshop of hope” at a...

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Belem on Saturday to press for action from negotiators holding tough talks at the United Nations’ Cop30 climate conference in the Amazonian city. Under a baking sun, indigenous people mixed with activists gathered in a festive atmosphere, blasting music from speakers, carrying a giant beach ball of Earth and holding a flag of Brazil emblazoned with the words “Protected Amazon”. It was the first major protest outside the annual climate talks...

Tourists will not have to pay a tax for their dogs in the Italian region of South Tyrol after the regional government withdrew a planned new regulation. The regulation would have required a daily fee of €1.50 (US$1.70) for each dog brought to the region from next year. Italy’s northernmost province, where most people speak German, is a particularly popular holiday destination for German and Austrian tourists. The dog tourist tax was part of a new overall regulation. In 2026, a dog tax was to be...

Baumkuchen originated in Germany but has become a wildly popular sweet in Japan, where a prisoner of war on a small western island started making the treat that has thrived in its new homeland. Today, the confectionery known as “tree cake” because of the resemblance to a trunk with rings is considered a symbol of longevity and prosperity in Japan, where Baumkuchen festivals are regularly held. Japanese adaptations, including those using matcha and sweet potatoes, are popular gifts at weddings...

Powerful explosions tore through an industrial estate near Argentina’s capital on Friday, sparking a huge blaze and injuring more than 20 people. Thick billows of black smoke rose hundreds of metres into the night sky, illuminated orange from the massive blaze, observed Agence France-Presse reporters near the site, which is close to the country’s busiest international airport just outside Buenos Aires. “The explosions and fire breaking out in the different factories are huge,” said Gaston...

The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 artefacts to indigenous peoples from Canada as part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress indigenous culture in the Americas. Pope Leo gave the artefacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, and supporting documentation to a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops during an audience. According to a joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church, the pieces were a gift and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect...

Months before the election, Etel Haxhiaj, a councilwoman in Worcester, Mass., was charged with assaulting an officer when she stood between the police and an immigrant family.

Andy Baraghani’s bright, brilliant menu is a feast for the eyes, too.

Marshawn Kneeland spent nearly all of his 24 years working to get to the N.F.L. He died two days after scoring his first touchdown.

Frustrated by the medical system, some patients are turning to chatbots for help. At what cost?

European policymakers are crafting changes to scale back and simplify landmark rules for A.I. and data privacy, in a shift from an aggressive regulatory period.

Called Project Prometheus, the company is focusing on artificial intelligence for the engineering and manufacturing of computers, automobiles and spacecraft.

It could be months before they receive aid, well after the winter period when they talk to their bankers and make decisions about the planting ahead.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said migrants were bringing sick cows across the border, snarling beef supply chains.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, trying to get a grip on a feverish immigration debate, is introducing a hard-line, contentious policy on refugees.

The art market had a summer of closures and consolidations. But major collections, blue-chip art and guarantees have pushed expectations high for the marquee sales.

The European Union wants to finance Ukraine’s war efforts using a loan based on Russia’s frozen assets in Belgium. If that falls through, there’s no easy alternative.

Some in Ukraine criticized the 10-year timeline for the warplanes and other defense equipment, but France called it a long-term commitment to the country.

Scientists used tiny new sensors to follow the insects on journeys that take thousands of miles to their winter colonies in Mexico.

Dancers are famous for buckling down and getting through it. But a new openness about mental health has companies and schools focusing on their well-being, both physical and emotional.

Thinking through the case for intervention in Venezuela.

Trump’s policies on in vitro fertilization are underwhelming but his announcement still made me optimistic.

A man was charged with manslaughter after a woman was shot through the front door of a home before dawn this month in suburban Indianapolis.

As South Asian and Muslim immigrants transform a small New Jersey town, the five-term mayor has managed to keep the peace. What happens when he’s gone?

Demand for power is growing fast, but hydro plants, the oldest source of clean energy, are struggling because of droughts, floods and other extreme weather linked to climate change.

Mr. Adams, whose tenure as mayor of New York City ends in six weeks, is using his second trip to Israel in three years to reinforce his staunch support of the country.