Minimalist News

American Naval Academy Cadets Prepare For War With Stoic Philosophy Authored by Ret Admiral Cem Gürdeniz via Mavi Vatan Geopolitics , The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, which has trained officers for the U.S. Navy since 1845, reports directly to the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). There is no separate Naval Education and Training Command within its chain of command. Today, Annapolis is not the Navy's only source of commissioned officers. The U.S. Navy also commissions officers through the Officer Candidate School (OCS) and the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) programs conducted at universities across the country. Each

Iran Tells Houthis To Close Red Sea Energy Chokepoint If Trump Bombs Power Grid Yemen's Houthis have long warned of their ability to close the Red Sea oil route, but have by and large stayed on the sidelines of the expanding Gulf regional conflict which is focused on Iran since Operation Epic Fury began. Things began changing dramatically this month, however, after Saudi warplane incursions into Yemen - which bombed Sanaa International Airport on July 13 - in an effort to prevent an Iranian commercial jet from landing there. via Marine Insight The Houthis responded by sending missile and drones

US Launches 6th Consecutive Night Of Strikes On Iran Amid Threats Of "Infrastructure For Infrastructure" War Update(1520ET) : The Pentagon has announced that a sixth night of airstrikes on Iran have commenced: "At 2 p.m. ET today, U.S. forces began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth consecutive night to further degrade Iranian military capabilities," US Central Command stated on X. Some latest developments from the region on Iran's retaliation : Iranian strikes targeted a number of vital facilities in Kuwait, the Reuters news agency reports, citing the country’s defence ministry. The strikes resulted in material

Cameco And Brookfield Positioned To Lead New Jersey's $24 Billion Nuclear Build Out New Jersey has launched a competitive procurement process for new nuclear capacity under the Power New Jersey Act signed last month. The framework targets at least 1,100 MW of electrical power (MWe) at pre-approved sites and carries an estimated $24 billion price tag . Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor sits coincidentally at about ~1,200 MWe. State officials are emphasizing shovel-ready locations and lessons learned from earlier projects to accelerate deployment. Federal financing tools that can cover up to 80% of costs are expected to play a central role, such

The Six Vectors Of Gold Remonetization Revealed Authored by Ronnie Stoeferle via VonGreyerz.gold, A look at monetary history reveals that the question of “sound money” was never purely academic in nature but has always been of central importance for economic stability and social order. The past five decades of the pure fiat experiment are, measured against 5,000 years of monetary history, a brief anomaly. And anomalies tend to be corrected. Our thesis of a remonetization of gold may seem bold at first glance, which makes a clear conceptual framework all the more important. Those waiting for the reintroduction of a

NYC Council Grapples With Debate Over Bill To Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages Authored by Nicholas Zifcak via The Epoch Times, The family of Romanch Mahajan delivered emotional testimony over video link and in person on July 15, during a New York City Council hearing about a law that would phase out carriage horse rides in Central Park. Tearful aunts and uncles of the deceased 18-year-old urged city council to outlaw the horse-drawn carriage rides and spare other families the grief they are still struggling to cope with. The law, renamed in honor of the teen from India who died on June

Goldman Slashes Global PC Shipment Forecast As Memory Chip Crunch Derails Upgrade Cycle The global PC market is facing mounting pressure as a worsening memory-chip crunch , limited product availability, and consumers balking at higher prices threaten to deepen the downturn. These headwinds prompted Goldman analysts to " further trim " their PC shipment forecasts for this year and next. " We further trim our global PC shipment estimates for 2026-27E, considering the near-term pressures of higher memory and CPU costs, and the flattening replacement cycle following the end of Win 10, " said Allen Chang, a managing director and

Deflationary Money Hits Different: Losing Half Its Price And Winning Anyway Authored by Bryan Lutz, Contributor at The Sovereign Capitalist: The FUD is back, baby. Bitcoin is down nearly half from its 2025 high. And now, the obituaries are out of cold storage and back in heavy rotation. Sentiment surveys are scraping levels we haven’t seen since the 2022 crypto-winter, and the financial press has rediscovered its favorite genre: the Bitcoin post-mortem. And this time they’ve got a chart to wave around. The Dow just had its best year against Bitcoin since 2022 – the Dow/BTC ratio has more than

House Defeats Bid To End Israel Aid While Senate Blocks US-Israel Intel Integration The U.S. House on Wednesday rejected an amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that would have eliminated $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel, voting 314–104 to defeat the proposal. As Tom Gantert reports for The Epoch Times, the vote exposed divisions within the Democratic Party, with 103 Democrats joining Massie in support of the amendment, while 98 Democrats voted against it and 10 voted present. Massie was the only Republican to vote in favor of the amendment. “Though my amendment to strike $3.3 billion

Headwinds And Tailwinds: Minding The Market Weather Authored by Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, A sailor who fixates on the barometer will rarely leave port. A sailor who never checks it will eventually get caught in a storm. It’s easy for most investors to fall into one of those two modes, either warning that headwinds are approaching and taking cover, or waving off every warning because AI spending is carrying the market higher. This article walks through several market headwinds that warrant attention, as well as a tailwind that may be large enough to keep the boat moving forward. Appreciating the

Trump Expected To Accuse China Of Helping Joe Biden Win 2020 Election President Donald Trump is expected to use a prime-time address Thursday night to discuss election integrity and potentially unveil 'four sets' of newly declassified intelligence concerning alleged foreign interference in recent U.S. elections , according to reports. MSNBC; Getty Images Trump is scheduled to address the nation at 9 p.m. ET tonight - only revealing that it would focus on election security and related concerns. "Our country has to shape up," Trump said during an Oval Office appearance with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaid. "Without free and fair

Global Investments In Nuclear Fusion Surge 69% To $4.5B Authored by Alex Kimani via OilPrice.com, Private investment in nuclear fusion reached a record $4.48 billion in 2025. Most fusion firms are targeting commercialization in the 2030s. Major tech companies are backing fusion developers, with Microsoft signing a binding power purchase agreement with Helion, while Google, Nvidia, and other investors are funding companies such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Proxima Fusion. Global private investments in nuclear fusion hit a record $4.48 billion in 2025, in large part driven by the booming energy demands of AI data centers and rising global energy

"Fatal Cancer On Civilization": Trump's War On Marxism Enters Action Phase As Rubio, Miller And Bessent Address 65 Nations Summary: Bessent Describes Action Phase Against Marxist NGOs Underway & Foreign Subversion Networks Rubio, Miller, Bessent Address Rise Of Far-Left Terrorism To Delegations From 65 Countries Trump Team Declares War On Radical Left Groups Rubio, Miller, Bessent Address Delegations From 65 Countries On Far-Left Terrorism Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed delegations from more than 65 countries on the alarming rise of far-left terrorism. The broader message from

Senate Unanimously Votes That Sam Bankman-Fried Should Never Get A Pardon Authored by Micah Zimmerman via BitcoinMagazine.com, The Senate passed a resolution on Wednesday stating that Sam Bankman-Fried should “under no circumstances” receive executive clemency, a rebuke of the FTX founder’s request that President Donald Trump commute or pardon his sentence. The measure, S. Res. 772, cleared by unanimous consent, a procedure that adopts a resolution when no senator objects. It expresses the sense of the Senate that Bankman-Fried should receive neither a pardon nor a commutation, and it affirms the chamber’s commitment to “the rule of law and integrity

1 In 30 Koreans Margin-Called As Kospi Crashes, Regulator Suspends New Levered ETFs, Hikes Margins For the first time in over three years, South Korea’s central bank raised its policy interest rate by 0.25% points to 2.75%, inline with expectations, and kicking off a monetary tightening cycle aimed at containing inflationary pressures spurred by the AI-driven semiconductor boom. It also helped spark a fresh rout in Korean stocks whose daily volatility has become borderline farcical with daily 5% swings having become the norm. The move on Thursday was the Bank of Korea’s first rate increase in more than three years

US Slaps Brazil With 25% Tariffs After Rubio Says Socialist Leader "Failed To Negotiate In Good Faith" US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed on X late Wednesday night that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is set to impose a 25% tariff on "most Brazilian imports ." " Let there be no confusion about why: President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith ," Rubio said. He added, " His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians . For the past year, Lula has put his own

Das: Déjà Vu All Over Again! Are Stock Markets Repeating Dot.Com Mistakes? Authored by Satyajit Das via NewIndiaExpress.com, The sky-high valuations of space and AI firms today are similar to that of internet ventures before 2000. Herd instinct is leading promoters and investors, not financial and technological reality Burning cash rapidly, with large unfunded commitments, space and AI businesses are all dependent on uncertain funding access (Express illustrations | Mandar Pardikar) The listing of SpaceX and forthcoming artificial intelligence floats bear similarities to the lead-up to the 2000 dot-com crash, which resulted in losses of over $5 trillion. Even survivors

Vance Slams Israeli PR Campaign To Keep War Going 'Indefinitely', & Undermine Him In a new interview on the world's largest podcast, Vice President JD Vance warned that "elements" of the Israeli government want to keep the Iran war going "indefinitely," and were pursuing an aggressive campaign to manipulate US public opinion -- going so far as to vilify Vance for his role in pursuing a diplomatic solution. In his nearly three-hour interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Vance also tried to gently distance himself from Trump's decision to join Israel in launching a war on Iran and said the

Cracking Up And Joining Up By Michael Every of Rabobank Geopolitics is front and center , even in Argentina–England at the World Cup, where the contested Falklands/Malvinas, which could have oil reserves, saw jingoist 1980’s language. Yet it’s Hormuz, where 1980’s-style tanker wars are underway, that’s the penalty spot. The US is striking Iran again night and day, as Tehran warns of an “existential war”. Reports have Trump leaning towards expanding US military operations; others say what he’s been hitting widen his options for escalation; and Trump has stated Iran “will be defeated soon.” However, the Financial Times today leads

'Slow Hire, No Fire' Economy Confirmed As Jobless Claims Drop Near Record Lows The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time dropped to just 208k last week - back near its lowest level on record... ...and still showing no signs of stress in the US Labor market. Continuing jobless claims also fell last week to 1.805 million Americans... And all of this positive labor market (no fire) news comes as payrolls suggests weaker growth... It appears the US economy has morphed into a 'slow hire, no fire' regime. Tyler Durden Thu, 07/16/2026 - 08:56

Millions of Americans face air quality alerts from Minnesota to New York as authorities urge people to stay indoors Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Tell us: have you been affected by the spread of wildfire smoke in the US and Canada? Smoke from wildfires burning in south-central Canada and parts of Minnesota is spreading across the US, prompting air quality alerts in more than 20 states with millions of Americans expected to face unhealthy air conditions this week. The smoke from the more than 180 active wildfires in northern Ontario briefly made Toronto’s air quality among

Banner refers to Falkland Islands conflict in 1982 UK business secretary calls for Fifa investigation The Argentina players celebrated their World Cup win over England with a banner saying “ Las Malvinas son Argentinas ”, making reference to the 1982 Falklands war . Argentina were 1-0 down with five minutes to go of the semi-final in Atlanta but rallied and scored twice in quick succession to reach a second straight World Cup final , where they will face Spain in New Jersey on Sunday. Continue reading...

President Lula’s office says US move is result of pressure on White House by family of predecessor Jair Bolsonaro Brazil has vowed to retaliate against Washington’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on imports of some Brazilian products. The office of the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, described the tariffs as “a regrettable milestone” in the history of relations between the two countries and said they were the result of pressure exerted on the White House by the family of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. Continue reading...

Since start of Trump’s second term, 14 Mexican immigrants have died in ICE custody and three in agency operations Mexico formally requested that US state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of immigrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody or during raids, the Mexican government said Tuesday. The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo , who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. Since the beginning of Donald Trump ’s second term, 17 Mexican immigrants have died during immigration enforcement, 14 in ICE custody and three in agency operations. Continue

Environment Canada has issued health warnings after sky over city turns yellow Smoke from more than 100 active wildfires in northern Ontario have made Toronto’s air quality the current worst in the world and caused yellow, smoky air in cities across the north-east US. Environment Canada issued health warnings on Wednesday after the sky over country’s largest city turned a sickly yellow and was ranked the worst in the world according to IQAir , the Swiss technology company that racks global air quality. Continue reading...

Minister urges public to report cases of three or more sick or dead birds in a group after brown skua seabird tests positive for H5N1 on Wellington beach The deadly H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in New Zealand for the first time, sparking alarm that some of the country’s most beloved and vulnerable native birds could be wiped out if it spreads. A single ocean-going seabird, a brown skua, returned a confirmed positive test on Wednesday, after it was found on Petone beach in Wellington on 10 July, said Andrew Hoggard, the biosecurity minister. Continue reading...

Third round of arrests linked to independent bookshops widely regarded as clampdown on dissent in territory Hong Kong authorities have raided two bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications, in the latest step targeting independent booksellers. Videos and photos from multiple media outlets on Wednesday showed officers wearing vests marked with “police” seizing boxes from the building that houses Have A Nice Stay, a bookshop founded by former journalists. AFP reporters saw officers also lead away a woman in handcuffs to a van. Continue reading...

Worse-than-expected figures for three months to June come amid concerns over lopsided economy Business live – latest updates China has posted worse-than-expected growth figures for the three months to June as its economy expanded by just 4.3% – one of its lowest quarterly readings on record. The rate, which came in under the government’s target of 4.5% to 5%, was one of the weakest since reporting on official quarterly GDP figures began in the early 1990s. Continue reading...

Officials set up traps and electric fences after 14 break-ins recored in one town in two weeks, amid fears of a repeat offender Authorities are searching for a bear that sneaked into the home of an elderly couple and raided their fridge amid concerns it may be behind 14 break-ins across a Japanese town in the past fortnight. On Monday evening, Mitsuo Matsubara, 87, was confronted by a large Asiatic black bear when he went to investigate a noise in his kitchen. His fridge was open , and food was strewn across the floor. His wife called the police. Continue

Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief, John Micklethwait, stands by reporting, saying ministers who sued ‘imposed an extremely strained meaning on what was a solid ​story’ Bloomberg News and one of its reporters have been ordered to pay S$460,000 (US$355,734) in damages after an article it published was found to have defamed two Singapore government ministers, the city-state’s high court said in a judgment released on Tuesday. Bloomberg and the reporter, Low De Wei, are liable to jointly pay S$230,000 to each minister, comprising S$170,000 in general damages and S$60,000 in aggravated damages, ⁠the judgment said. Continue reading...

Vicki Brady due to appear at inquiry over mobile outage last week. Follow today’s news live. Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Father of methanol-poisoned traveller ‘devastated’ as charges set to be laid The father of an Australian who died from methanol poisoning while travelling in Laos has said the charges that will be laid against those allegedly responsible have left his family devastated. Melbourne travellers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were backpacking through the south-east Asian nation in late 2024 when they were fatally poisoned with methanol while drinking at Nana

Long-running AIHW survey shows daily rates of smoking dropped to 5.6% last year – down from 8.3% two years ago Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Daily smoking rates have fallen to a historic low and are tracking well ahead of national targets, while vaping rates have stabilised, according to the largest nationally representative survey on tobacco use. But those who do smoke are increasingly using illicit tobacco, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) National Drug Strategy Household Survey also found. Continue reading...

Most Australian capital cities have at least 80% chance of unusually warm and dry spring as climatologists watch developing system with increasing alarm Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The El Niño climate phenomenon linked to record global temperatures and now locked in place in the Pacific Ocean could develop into the strongest on record, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology. Climatologists are watching the strengthening El Niño with increasing alarm , saying the forecasts from climate models in the coming months are “mind blowing”

This blog is now closed Liberals say ‘all options’ should be considered despite Angus Taylor hosing down gender quota proposal Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Michelle Rowland says mandatory minimum standards for datacentres don’t apply to existing developments The attorney general, Michelle Rowland , told ABC News that mandatory minimum standards for datacentres would apply to new developments, not existing ones. The scope and the timing of those is something that I think will be properly determined by national cabinet. This is an issue that not only state governments but local councils have

Woman in her 60s was riding on popular cycling trail in northern NSW when she ran over the two-metre-long eastern brown snake, one of the world’s most venomous A woman in her 60s is recovering after being bitten by a two-metre-long eastern brown snake that had become entangled in her bike chain in regional Australia. She was riding on the northern rivers rail trail near Burringbar, in the Tweed shire in northern New South Wales, when she ran over the snake. Continue reading...

President says he had to choose ‘one side or the other’ after breakdown of relations between ministry and military leaders Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has defended his decision to dismiss the country’s popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov , and confirmed reports that relations had broken down between the ministry and the country’s top army leadership. Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy said there had been a “challenging dialogue” between Fedorov – widely seen as a reformist and moderniser – and the military’s commander in chief, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi. Continue reading...

Giovanni Castellucci among 32 people convicted over the 2018 Morandi Bridge collapse, which killed 43 Thirty-two people, including the former chief executive of Italy’s motorway operator, have been convicted over the 2018 collapse of a Genoa bridge in which 43 people died. In a hushed courtroom on Thursday in the north-western Italian city, Giovanni Castellucci, a former boss of Autostrade per l’Italia, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the highest in the case. Continue reading...

Wives and children offered new identities to try to stop gangsters recruiting down the generations Children and young adults raised in mafia families will be given a chance to break away from organised crime under new legislation in Italy that aims to stop the intergenerational recruitment of gangsters. In an unprecedented effort to sever the family chain, the Italian state will offer children aged under 25 and other close relatives of mafia bosses a chance to start over: a new home in another city, a new school and, if necessary, a new identity. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Read the rest of our Europe coverage here in Madrid Meanwhile, the EU’s top court has ruled that a controversial Spanish law that offered an amnesty to those who planned and participated in the failed and illegal push for Catalan independence does not violate the bloc’s rules. Continue reading...

Vadym Iermolaiev says military intelligence officers were behind assassination attempt that seriously wounded partner and child • Monaco bomb mystery deepens as Ukraine’s security services linked to murder of prime suspect • Europe live – latest updates The Ukrainian businessman who survived an assassination attempt in Monaco has accused Ukraine’s military intelligence agency of organising the attack. In his first public statement since the bombing that shook the wealthy principality, Vadym Iermolaiev alleged that serving and former officers of the GUR military intelligence agency were behind the attempted killing, which left him injured but his partner critically wounded. Continue reading...

This live blog has been paused The Lebanese foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, said Lebanon has made a decision to “end Hezbollah’s military presence” and that decisions on war and foreign policy are the “exclusive prerogative of the Lebanese state”. The Lebanese government is pushing to disarm Hezbollah, one of the most heavily armed militias in the Middle East, and it has become a central component of the US-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel. Lebanon has made its choice: there will be no return to dual authority, and there is no longer any place for weapons outside the authority of the

Sixth day of fighting threatens to turn into all-out war and casts serious doubt on peace deal struck last month Chaos and confusion bring US no closer to resolution on strait of Hormuz Middle East crisis live – latest updates The US has intensified its attacks on Iran, hitting targets near Tehran and striking a ship it accused of trying to break its blockade, while Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at US allies in the region. Six consecutive days of back-and-forth attacks threaten to pull the region back into a total war and cast serious doubt about an

Revised plan aims to ‘keep something going’ amid fears Netanyahu may gamble on new all-out offensive before Israeli elections Middle East crisis live – latest updates The Gaza recovery plan being pursued by Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP) has shrunk dramatically from an ambitious blueprint for the reconstruction of the whole territory to a small pilot project in the south of the strip. Even the envisaged pilot scheme – involving a temporary camp for a tiny fraction of Gaza’s 2 million displaced people, with a Palestinian administration, police and a small international security force – is not expected to

Diesel tops $5 a gallon as regular gas reaches almost $4, nearly a dollar and a quarter more than a year ago Middle East crisis live – latest updates The average price of diesel fuel in the US has increased again to more than $5 a gallon, according to the AAA , and the average price of gas is almost $4, returning to their highs before the June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran . It is a reminder to consumers and truckers of the costs of the Iran war and the unpredictable rhetoric from both Washington and

This blog is now closed – our latest full report is here For a second day in a row, US strikes targeted Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant, according to the state news agency IRNA quoting a local official. “In continuation of the brutality of the American enemy, three points in the city of Bushehr were attacked today,” Mohammad Mozaffari, the governor of Bushehr, was quoted as saying. In the recent attacks on the southern part of the country, more than 30 civilians lost their lives. While expressing our condolences and sympathy

Vessels believed to have departed from Myanmar in late June, with mostly Muslim Rohingya minority onboard The United Nations has said more than 500 people are feared dead after reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports “that two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days”. Continue reading...

Innocent man lynched by mob in West Bengal as police killing of suspect further escalates tensions Protests have engulfed the Indian state of West Bengal after the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, the subsequent lynching of an innocent man and the police killing of one of the accused. Outrage erupted on Sunday after the body of a missing girl was recovered from a pond in a town just outside the state capital, Kolkata. Continue reading...

Eleven reported dead as flooding also brings danger of snakes, while buildings collapse in Mumbai amid heavy rain As the first typhoon to make landfall in China for the 2026 season, Maysak has caused devastating damage in southern and central regions. The Guangxi region received intense downpours of up to 280mm in 12 hours, causing rivers to swell and dam walls to break. By Monday morning, flooding across the city of Nanning and surrounding areas had resulted in many people being stranded on rooftops. Flood waters pose additional threats in China because of the presence of wild and farmed snakes.

Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in prison in India, is accused of orchestrating assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 US and Canadian authorities say they have “dismantled” the leadership of a notorious Indian criminal group, charging dozens of operatives who have “inflicted pain and cruelty on people, victims around the globe”, including a high-profile murder in Canada that strained diplomatic relations between Canada and India. At a press conference on Tuesday, members of the FBI and Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said as part of Operation Hard Ball – a multiyear federal investigation into murder-for-hire plots, shootings, extortion and

Early flight data shows K2 Airways plane crashed into sea with five crew on board south-west of Karachi Pakistan has located the wreckage of a Boeing cargo plane, the country’s airports authority said, adding that rescuers were searching for the five crew members on board when the aircraft went missing. The plane was approaching Karachi from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates when radar showed it “rapidly descending” on Tuesday evening after reporting a “navigational system issue”, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA). Continue reading...

Burnham, who is set to take the job on Friday, will promise to give back control to communities and spread growth Andy Burnham will pledge he has the “courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected” in his first speech as Labour leader. Burnham, who is set to be announced in the job at a special conference on Friday, will promise to give back control to communities and spread growth across the country. Continue reading...

About 100,000 children across the country drink the high-caffeine beverages daily High-caffeine energy drinks “have no place in children’s hands” and will be banned from sale to under-16s in England from April next year under new laws designed to improve health outcomes in young people. About 100,000 children across the country currently drink high-caffeine energy drinks daily, with those in more deprived areas and households more likely to consume them, according to the government. Continue reading...

Agreement, without admission of liability, ends 19-month high court dispute that small-business owners said left them with large debts Vodafone has settled a long-running legal claim filed by 62 of its former franchisees who alleged the mobile phone group “unjustly enriched” itself at their expense by up to £85m. The small-business owners – some of whom said they had suffered suicidal thoughts because of the pressure exerted by the telecoms group – launched the high court claim in 2024 after running up large personal debts they said had been caused by their deals with the company. Continue reading...

Dawood Safi, 28, mounted a ‘frenzied’ and deadly rampage while in the grip of a psychotic episode An Uber driver who stabbed a dog walker to death in a “frenzy of violence” while in the grip of a psychotic episode has also been found guilty of trying to murder his landlord. Dawood Safi, 28, killed 49-year-old Wayne Broadhurst in the random knife attack last October, just minutes after attacking his landlord, Shahzad Farrukh, and a boy of 14. Continue reading...

Beira’s Place in Edinburgh, founded by the author, says claim was ‘deeply offensive’ as it considers legal action Amnesty International UK has referred itself to the charity regulator over a report it published that described a sexual violence support centre founded by JK Rowling as “anti-rights”. The UK branch of the global human rights charity listed Beira’s Place in Edinburgh among more than 100 organisations it said were part of an anti-rights movement. Continue reading...

Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller took aim at only leftwing activism at meeting of 66 nations against political violence Top Trump officials on Thursday hosted a gathering of 66 nations to discuss the supposed threat of leftwing violence, and launched a series of diatribes, harsh even by the standards of the Trump administration, against leftism. The conference, convened by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and attended by Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, and Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, was billed as a “ministerial on the resurgence of political violence”, but the focus was solely on crushing leftist violence.

Karoline Leavitt calls apparent bets on Kalshi prediction platform ‘deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace’ Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator has been placed on administrative leave, the White House said on Thursday, after reports that he used his position to win $100,000 by placing bets on the president’s speeches using the online prediction market Kalshi. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the president had been informed about the situation, which she described as “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace”. Continue reading...

After Thelma Gaston disappeared, her companion was convicted of second-degree murder Authorities in southern California announced this week that, after more than 40 years, they had identified the remains of a Los Angeles millionaire missing since 1981. The Riverside county sheriff confirmed in a statement that investigators, using genetic genealogy and dental records, had determined the remains found in a rugged area near Sugarloaf Mountain were those of Thelma Gaston. Continue reading...

Lipfendra can be taken in conjunction with or an alternative to statins, the most prescribed medication in the US Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The drug giant Merck on Thursday announced it had received FDA approval for a daily pill that can be an alternative to statins for treating high LDL levels, or so-called bad cholesterol. The new pill, Lipfendra, is a version of a drug called a PCSK9 inhibitor. For decades the go-to therapy to treat high cholesterol levels has been statins, the most prescribed medication in the US. But statins come occasionally with side-effects

White House press secretary returns to briefing room to defend president amid reporting that his 9pm address will be about US elections Sign up for the Breaking News US email The average price of diesel fuel in the US has increased again to more than $5 a gallon, according to the AAA , and the average price of gas is almost $4, returning to their highs before the June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran . It’s a reminder to consumers and truckers of the costs of the Iran war and the unpredictable rhetoric from both Washington and

German far-right activist Marla-Svenja Liebich, who legally changed gender to a woman in 2024, was taken to a men’s prison after being extradited to Germany from the Czech Republic, officials said on Thursday. Liebich arrived in Germany on Wednesday and was initially taken to a ‌women’s prison in Chemnitz in the eastern German state of Saxony before being transferred to a men’s prison on the same day, the Saxony Ministry of Justice said. The decision was taken by experts in consultation with the...

Large protests erupted in several Ukrainian cities on Thursday morning against the removal of popular defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. More than a thousand people gathered on a central square in Kyiv, singing the national anthem, waving Ukrainian and EU flags and chanting “shame” and “bring Fedorov back”. Appointed only six months ago, Fedorov carved a reputation as a moderniser who tried to reform the Ukrainian military, worn down by more than four years of the Russian invasion. His removal...

The US will begin charging 25 per cent tariff on imports of certain goods from Brazil following an investigation alleging that the country engaged in unfair trade practices. The year-long inquiry “found a number of Brazil’s practices to be unreasonable and discriminatory, restricting the competitive position of American farmers, workers, innovators, and exporters,” the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a social media post late on Wednesday night. Imports of coffee, beef, and certain...

Africa’s exports to China have surged since Beijing expanded its zero-tariff policy across the continent in May, as customs data showed signs of emerging trade links in a range of new sectors alongside traditional categories such as critical minerals. China’s imports from Africa soared by 21.1 per cent and 40.2 per cent year on year in May and June, respectively – outpacing the overall growth in Chinese imports over the same period, customs data showed. The increase was partly driven by China’s...

Detainees at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas told two rights groups they were beaten by guards, denied medical care and prevented from contacting family and lawyers, according to a report issued on Wednesday. The report, issued by Human ‌Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, spans dozens of pages and is based on 80 interviews HRW conducted with detainees that focused on conditions at Camp East Montana, which is located at the US Army’s Fort...

From rare earth elements to commercial drones, Washington has become all too familiar with the strongest weapons in Beijing’s manufacturing arsenal – the materials and products where China holds a strategic advantage in production, extraction or any other link in the supply chain. After those near-monopolies provided Chinese policymakers considerable leverage in last year’s trade dispute, US think tanks are asking whether pharmaceuticals represent the next critical dependency. Their concern is...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that arch foe Iran has freed an American citizen detained since December 2024 and allowed her to leave the country. “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump posted on social media, adding: “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” Trump – who in recent days has ordered a resumption of strikes against Iran and reimposed a naval blockade of its ports – did not name the woman or describe why she...

A former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors was sentenced to more than three years in prison for lying to federal investigators looking into whether he shared confidential data with Chinese intelligence operatives, the Justice Department said. John Harold Rogers, 64, was convicted at trial on February 3 of making false statements to investigators about sharing information on monetary policy, Washington US attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement on Wednesday after the...

Iran ⁠said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz was an inviolable “red line”, warning that if US President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran’s infrastructure, it would strike all infrastructure across the Gulf region. The US intensified its strikes on Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting US allies...

On July 12, a coalition of 14 nations – the United States, Philippines, Australia, Canada, Britain, Japan, New Zealand, and seven European states including Germany, Italy and the Baltic nations – issued a statement marking the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea ruling at The Hague in 2016. The document recycled familiar arguments, urging compliance with the ruling and framing it as a cornerstone of the rules-based international order. But beneath it lies a fundamental disconnect from...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening programme for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best”. The screenings will be conducted annually as part of service members’ required medical screenings for those 30 and older, he said. Troops under 30 can volunteer to be tested. In a video on social media, Hegseth said receiving testosterone replacement therapy would be...

US President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, faced ⁠tense bipartisan questioning at a US Senate panel on Wednesday about the roll-out of the Epstein files and a settlement that gave the president sweeping tax immunity. Blanche, the president’s former personal lawyer, was pressed by Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas about the Justice Department’s decision to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service by creating a since-abandoned US$1.8 billion fund...

French lawmakers on Wednesday adopted ⁠a bill that will create a legal right to assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses, capping an intense ethical and political debate. The legislation will, under strict conditions, allow a person who requests it to receive a lethal substance. The substance could be self-administered or, if the person is physically unable to do so, administered by ‌a doctor or nurse. Access to assisted dying will be restricted to adults who are French citizens or...

A man who threatened on social media in May to shoot Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage was arrested, London police said on Wednesday, as concerns grow over the security of politicians following the killing of Ann Widdecombe, a former member of parliament. The man was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of sending threatening communications to a member of parliament, the Metropolitan Police said. “I am going to shoot you in the head if you win,” he allegedly told Farage on social media, according...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he was leaving the United Kingdom “in better shape than I found it” as he fielded questions, criticism and even a bit of praise from lawmakers in the House of Commons for the last time on Wednesday. Starmer, who leaves office next week, bid farewell to the boisterous weekly Prime Minister’s Questions sessions where he has traded barbs with opposition politicians and defended his government’s record. On Monday, he will step down as prime minister after losing...

When Shabir Ahmed, a convicted leader in one of Britain’s grooming gang cases, was released from prison this month and allowed to stay in the country rather than being deported to Pakistan, the political fallout extended well beyond a single immigration dispute. The case has become a test for the ruling Labour party, which is under pressure both as the government responsible for deportation policy and over criticism of failures by some local authorities to protect vulnerable girls. Analysts said...

Unexploded munitions were hampering efforts by firefighters to tackle a blaze in a national park in northern Germany, local officials said on Wednesday. Old munitions buried in the soil from an abandoned military training ground have forced them to stay at least 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) from the flames, officials from the Mecklenburg Seenplatte district said. “Emergency services cannot actively put out the fire – that is the problem,” district spokesman Marten Schroeder said of the fire in...

The Pentagon has blocked the public release of a congressionally mandated annual report on the costly and controversial F-35 fighter jet programme for the first time in more than 20 years. The non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Defence Department officials concluded its yearly assessment of the US$1.6 trillion programme contained Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) – which meant none of the report could be released to the public. The report has offered a key window...

Generative AI chatbots capable of writing emails and computer code, translating, organising a trip or coming up with gift ideas are now readily available – prompting some to ask whether human brainpower could suffer for lack of use. A simple natural-language prompt is usually enough to draw a usable response from a service like ChatGPT or Claude, with the effects making themselves felt in schools and universities, workplaces from offices to courtrooms and our personal lives. Recent scientific...

Iran threatened on Wednesday to ⁠shut off more regional energy exports, after the US reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports and both sides launched more strikes as they vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz. The apparent threat to shipping through Bab el-Mandeb, a gateway to the Red Sea, follows an escalation between Iran and the US since last week that has severely frayed a tentative truce signed in June. The war, which began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28,...

A new era began between Spain and the tiny British territory of Gibraltar on Wednesday, as border checks that have long been a source of tension and frustration were finally lifted. Several dozen people and vehicles crossed the border from Spain for the first time without undergoing customs checks a few minutes after midnight. Several hundred people gathered for the occasion, waving Spanish flags, while Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, announced: “Europe is back”. Gibraltar, a...

There will be no turning back the clock if the US House has its way. The House passed a bill on Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent. Proponents, including the White House, argued the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active. The vote was 308-117. Daylight saving time is that period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the United States are set one hour ahead of standard time. States could opt out if their respective...

A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed “Gus” sold on Tuesday for US$50.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York, making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil bought at auction, after a 10-minute battle between seven bidders. “Gus” is one of the world’s most complete T. rex skeletons – with 183 fossilised bones – and was discovered on a cattle ranch in South Dakota in 2021. The giant beast lived some 72 to 66 million years ago – a period characterised by a warm climate, high sea levels and vast...

US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers Tuesday that a sharp increase in threats targeting her and other justices is increasingly encroaching on their personal and family lives. During a rare appearance by justices before Congress, Barrett said she had to take a bulletproof vest home a few years ago, something she struggled to explain to her 12-year-old son. “I didn’t expect that performing this service would put me in the position of explaining to my children what a...

Warren Buffett has stopped donating to the Gates Foundation, ending a two-decade philanthropic partnership following revelations about interactions between Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett said on Tuesday that he was donating about US$6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock, comprising 12 million Class B shares, in his annual midyear donation to four family foundations overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter. The...

British ⁠counterterrorism police said on Tuesday that ⁠former government minister Ann Widdecombe, who was found murdered at her home last week, was clearly targeted, adding that officers were still working to establish the motive. “It is clear that this was a targeted attack. We are still working ‌to understand the extent of any planning or preparation and the motivation that sits behind that attack,” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Britain’s counterterrorism policing, told...

US President Donald Trump lashed out on Wednesday at a decision by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to suspend the use of traffic stops after two fatal shootings in less than a week. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) halted the practice after a Colombian man was shot dead in Maine on Monday and a Mexican man was killed in an operation in Texas last week. “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump said in an early...

Writer E. Jean Carroll has collected over US$5.6 million that a jury awarded in her sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against US President Donald Trump, court records and her lawyers said. The payment – representing the US$5 million jury award, plus interest – was made Monday from an account where it had been held in escrow since the 2023 verdict, according to court records. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed the payment on Tuesday. “We are pleased to report that she has received the...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday abandoned plans to impose a 20 per cent charge on commercial cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, less than a day after unveiling the proposal, while pressing ahead with a naval blockade targeting Iranian trade. Trump said the proposed fee would be replaced by trade and investment agreements with Gulf states following discussions with regional leaders. “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the...

US consumer inflation slowed more than expected in June as energy prices retreated, but the moderation was insufficient to convince financial markets to take an interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve this year off the table against the backdrop of renewed conflict in the Middle East. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Labour Department on Tuesday also showed underlying inflation subsiding last month amid declines in the costs of motor vehicle insurance, communication, apparel,...

Louis Vuitton is set to face off against China’s trademark regulator in a Chinese intellectual property court on Thursday, as the French luxury brand deals with public backlash in China over a separate legal battle against a local milk tea brand. Louis Vuitton Malletier filed the administrative lawsuit against the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), with a Chinese individual – Huang Minyao – joined as a third party, according to a notice published by the Beijing...

Deaths in Germany spiked 32 per cent during a record heatwave in June compared to levels in the previous four years, official data showed Tuesday. Nationwide, about 23,900 people died between June 22 and June 28 – an increase of 7,100 compared with the two previous weeks, according to Germany’s statistics agency. “The fact that the health impact from heat is high and that death rates rise as a result is a well-known effect often observed in the summer months,” the agency said. Sweltering weather...

A Norwegian chemical tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the Omani coast early Tuesday, a crisis response company said. MTI Network said in a statement that shipping company Stolt Tankers reported that at approximately 12.40am local time “its tanker vessel Stolt Magnesium while on passage in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman suffered from an explosion of an unidentified external device”. The explosion triggered a fire in the ship’s engine room, but an MTI...

There should be a “youth mode” for children on social media platforms in which addictive features and targeted advertising are turned off, EU lawmakers demanded on Tuesday. The calls are growing louder for the European Union to ensure that social media platforms and others are designed to be safe before children use them. An expert report on Monday also recommended a “safety-by-design” approach in which platforms protect minors from possible harms posed by the apps. “The responsibility for the...

Ten men suffered injuries on Tuesday during the eighth and final bull run of Spain’s famed San Fermin festival, bringing to 57 the total number of daredevils injured during this year’s fiesta. An 18-year-old man suffered a gore wound to the thigh and a 46-year-old man was gored in the chest, while the remaining eight – including an 86-year-old British man – were taken to hospital with bruises of varying severity, the Navarre regional government said in a statement. The six fighting bulls and...

Ukrainian fighter pilots and troops took pride of place in France’s national Bastille Day celebrations on Tuesday as a massive parade showcased support for Kyiv and symbolically flexed European military muscle. On President Emmanuel Macron’s last Bastille Day as president, he hosted around 30 other leaders for an event that appeared aimed at showing both Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump that Europe is united and stepping up to defend itself. Ukrainian President...

Yemen’s Houthi movement fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the Iran-aligned group. Saudi Arabia intercepted missiles “launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the southern region,” the spokesperson for a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on X. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said ‌they had targeted the international airport in...

On July 6, a Chinese strategic nuclear submarine fired a missile carrying a training dummy warhead into a designated area of the Pacific. Beijing described the launch as routine, said relevant countries had been notified and insisted that it targeted no state. The regional reaction was immediate, with Australia, Japan, the United States and Pacific nations raising concerns around insufficient notification and the politics of nuclear-free zones. Those reactions matter because they show how far...

Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US airbase in Jordan on Tuesday and the United States attacked Iranian targets for five hours in a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz that has pushed up oil prices to four-week highs. US forces launched waves of attacks for the third successive night after Iran said on Saturday it was closing the strait, prompting US President Donald Trump to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping and propose charging a 20 per cent fee to guard the vital waterway. The...

Russia launched a barrage of drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv early on Tuesday, the fifth such attack on the Ukrainian capital so far this ‌month as Moscow escalates its air strikes against Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks damaged 16 sites in the capital, including a school and a business, while city officials reported several fires across the city. Russia also targeted critical infrastructure in central and southern Ukraine, Zelensky said, adding that the attacks...

Britain banned support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a linked group on Monday following a series of antisemitic attacks, using new powers designed to stop the use of state-sponsored proxies. The government and intelligence agencies have become increasingly ‌concerned about foreign powers paying organised crime groups or low-level criminals for surveillance, sabotage or other activities on their behalf. The ban follows attacks on Jewish-linked sites in London, including...

Andy Burnham took another significant step on Monday towards becoming Britain’s next prime minister, netting additional Labour MPs’ nominations to give him an unassailable lead in the ruling party’s leadership contest. The veteran politician, who has served as Greater Manchester mayor for nearly a decade, is the only Labour member of parliament to publicly declare themselves a candidate to replace outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer announced he was quitting last month, bowing to...

The United States’ National Science Foundation (NSF) is set to ban collaborations with Chinese research institutions designated as restricted entities, as well as their employees, under a new policy that moves away from seeking to balance security risks with the benefits of international collaboration. The policy reflects a broader congressional push by House Republicans to curb academic partnerships between China and the US, amid lawmakers’ concerns that such ties could contribute to Beijing’s...

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood announced plans on Monday to change UK law to allow a convicted paedophile who led a so-called grooming gang to be deported following his release from prison. Shabir Ahmed was jailed in 2012 for 22 years for multiple child sexual offences including rape when he was the ringleader of a gang of similarly predatory men targeting girls in Rochdale, northern England. He left prison on licence earlier this month under the country’s early release programme. He was...

US President Donald Trump’s administration has turned over to ⁠Minneapolis prosecutors evidence it had withheld on immigration agents’ killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and wounding of a Venezuelan man during deportation sweeps in January, local officials said on Monday. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, the city’s lead prosecutor, said the federal government handed over the “voluminous” evidence in the three shootings after six months of discussions, jurisdictional disputes ‌and a...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spoken about a range of issues in recent days — from testosterone to leak investigations — but he has said little about the war.

Our correspondent talked about the challenges of covering major news while under surveillance and filing his work without reliable internet access.

Someone used A.I. to write my biography. Thousands more of those books are polluting Amazon. Who is behind all this drivel?

Drawings obtained by The New York Times show the columns called for additional steel plates, but engineers reviewing site photos said they appeared to be missing.

Mr. Pelosi, the 86-year-old husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had at least eight traffic violations in one 13-year period before his crash this year, according to court records.

Federal investigators said a “crystal-like” substance in the bags looked like methamphetamine. A lawyer for the victim’s brother said it was salt.

Shaoping Wu was working as a contract delivery driver for Amazon when he was pulled over in Pennsylvania. He had championed personal and religious freedom for Chinese citizens.

Flooding from relentless rain, which Gov. Greg Abbott said was likely to break records, left a trail of damage in many communities in the Hill Country region.

Researchers have made important strides in understanding and treating diffuse midline gliomas, which were long seen as a death sentence for the children and adolescents they affect.

It’s the first potentially habitable world known to host an atmosphere, making it a lead contender in the search for life beyond our solar system.

An inventive $450 million center devoted to Roosevelt, who died in 1919, blends in with the natural beauty of North Dakota and celebrates conservation.

The president lacks not only a coherent strategic concept but an elementary understanding of what strategy is.

Messi doesn’t walk because he’s left the game. He walks in order to enter it.

A civil-rights investigation, which grew out of a 26-page memo by a political appointee, provides a road map for the White House’s assault on D.E.I.