Minimalist News

"Right Above The Cockpit": Drone Strikes JetBlue Plane On Final Approach To JFK JetBlue Airways Flight 948 reportedly struck a small drone while the narrow-body aircraft was in the traffic pattern on final approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. JetBlue pilots reported striking a drone earlier today as they approached New York - JFK Airport at ASALT, the waypoint in the center of the video, about 11:16:45 UTC. JetBlue #B6948 landed safely from Las Vegas moments later. The FAA is investigating. https://t.co/6p9iO8nCVv pic.twitter.com/aWdCiJSVJ1 — Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 29, 2026 A JetBlue pilot could be heard

US-Iran Have Delegations In Qatar, But No Direct Talks; Hormuz Energy Transit Rebounds - Oil Down Near Prewar Levels The Witkoff-Kushner delegation is now confirmed to be in Doha, and yet in its latest official statement Iran's foreign ministry has made clear the Iranian side has no plans to meet US officials "at any level in the next few days . " "What will probably be done in Doha tomorrow is a discussion on the implementation of clauses of the Memorandum of Understanding, including the clause related to the release of Iran’s restricted assets with the Qatari parties," spokesman Esmaeil

Obamacare Enrollment Drops By 3 Million; Experts Disagree On Cause Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times, Obamacare enrollment declined by nearly 3 million in 2026, sparking renewed debate about the affordability of healthcare in America. National politicians and policy experts disagreed on the reasons for the dip in enrollment, with some saying that it was driven by rising premiums. Others said the decline was evidence that program integrity measures taken by the Trump administration were successful in rooting out fraud and waste. The program grew significantly during the declared National Health Emergency from 2021 through 2024, when eligibility

US Home Prices Drop For 3rd Straight Month Home prices in America's top 20 cities were expected to fall MoM for the 3rd straight month in April (the latest reported data from S&P Cotality Case-Shiller) and they did... but only marginally. Prices fell 0.04% MoM in April (less than the 0.10% decline expected), but the annual change rose modestly from +0.88% YoY to +1.14% YoY... Source: Bloomberg "Monthly price movements show seasonal strength masking underlying softness," said Nicholas Godec, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, Head of Fixed Income Tradables & Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. The oddly tight coupling with Fed

Stock Futures Flat As S&P Closes Out Best Quarter In 6 Years US index futures erased an earlier gain following some belligerent Iran headlines, but are still set to end a quarter that is set to be the S&P 500’s best in six years with markets behaving as though period-end dynamics have now completed. As of 8:30am, the S&P 500 was flat, pointing to a calm finish for the index that has surged 14% since the beginning of April. Nasdaq futures rose 0.1% erasing a sizable gain earlier, but on pace to close the quarter with a staggering 24% gain

Manhunt After Monaco Bombing Severely Wounds Ukrainian Oligarch In 'Attempted Assassination' Monaco has been shaken by an apparent assassination attempt on a Ukrainian-born business tycoon by parcel bomb on Monday - something unprecedented in the normally ultra-safe principality. Authorities have described that a suspect, who is now on the run, had left a mail package in the lobby of a residential building that detonated around 9pm on Monday, unleashing what police called a "powerful explosion" . via EPA The victims have since been identified as Vadym Iermolaiev, his wife and their 13-year-old child . They all survived the bombing, with

Maersk Lifts Outlook As Wall Street Questions Whether Freight Tailwinds Can Last A.P. Moller-Maersk shares rose in Copenhagen trading after the world's second-largest container carrier surprised analysts by raising its full-year profit outlook, citing stronger-than-expected containerized demand, particularly across Asia. The upbeat guidance suggests the global container market has remained resilient despite earlier Hormuz-related chokepoint disruptions, with global shipping demand holding. The Danish shipping and logistics giant now expects global container volumes to grow about 4% this year, up from its prior forecast of 2% to 4%. It also lifted guidance for EBITDA, EBIT, and free cash flow, with the

Can We Have Our Humans Back? Companies Rethink AI Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times, The artificial intelligence revolution may not be eliminating human jobs as quickly as some feared. Rising computing costs, operational headaches, and inconsistent results are prompting some companies to change course and bring workers back. It’s a hard lesson learned in the throes of the early AI boom, in which bold claims of big savings have enticed many businesses to downsize their staff. Many industry professionals now say that roles requiring sound judgment, creativity, customer interaction, and quality control need to keep humans in

Israeli Defense Chief Lashes Out At Trump Policy For Preventing Destruction Of Hezbollah Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz in a talk before reporters Monday ripped the Trump administration, blaming the US for giving into Iran's demands that a peace framework incorporate the Lebanon front. Trump "exerted pressure" on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu within several telephone calls "in the run-up to the signing of the memorandum of understanding" - and ultimately prevented Israel from disarming and destroying Hezbollah , he asserted. Katz expressed "regret" at the US linking up Iran and Lebanon , saying : "The connection between the Iran and

German Feminist Activist Calls For White People To Stop Having Children And Accept Refugees Via Remix News, Germany’s Verena Brunschweiger, a self-described “radical feminist,” is promoting the slogan: “My lineage ends with me.” She says she hopes to encourage people, especially White people, to stop having children. She claims that Western pro-natalists only want to “control women, and keep refugees out.” The article on her views, from Australian broadcaster news.com.au , is entitled: “‘My bloodline ends with me’: Why feminist ‘childfree icon’ wants fewer ‘white babies’ and more refugees” The report quoted her as saying: “We have a proud slogan,

Iran Contradicts Trump, Refuses Talks 'At Any Level' For Coming Days, While US Delegation Travels To Qatar Summary Iran Foreign Ministry contradicts Trump on Doha talks: "We will not hold any negotiation meetings at any level with the American side in the coming days." US-Iran talks may resume Tuesday in Doha, Trump declaring the plan in a Monday Truth Social , with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveling to Qatar, though Tehran denies technical negotiations are scheduled. Qatar suspended most maritime activity as security deteriorates , while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted & slowed. Recent US-Iran strikes

As Affordability Fears Mount, $100,000 Salary Considered Low-Income In 7 California Counties A six-figure salary is considered low-income in a handful of California counties, according to the 2026 income limits set by the state’s Department of Housing & Community Development. These new income limits, which took effect June 23, are used to calculate the cost of affordable housing for certain state housing assistance programs. Most counties saw an increase in the cutoff for what is considered low-income, and seven counties— Santa Cruz, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara, Orange, and Santa Barbara—had their cutoffs set at six-figure amounts. As

"White Time": Dutch Professor Argues That Time Itself Is Racist Authored by Jonathan Turley, We have previously discussed how many professors seem to compete in finding new forms of racism in every facet of society and education. Astrophysics, math, runoffs, science, statistics, and meritocracy have all been denounced as racist. In this academic cottage industry, professors secure publications and speaking opportunities by identifying racism in the expressions, images, or entire fields. It was, therefore, only a matter of time before time itself was declared racist . Zakia Essanhaji , a professor of “organizational ethnography” at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is the

Which Continents Have The Most Drug Users? North America leads the world in the use of cannabis, opioids and amphetamines. According to numbers published today in the UN's World Drug Report , North Americans between the ages of 15 and 64 were 75 percent to 90 percent more likely to have consumed these drugs in 2024 than residents of second-ranked Oceania. The odds of dying of an accidental opioid overdose in the United States was still higher the same year as the risk of losing one's life due to a car crash or suicide. Despite this, overdose deaths in the

'Muslim Theme Park Experience' Sparks Fierce Backlash In 'Two-Tier' UK Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News , A theme park in Britain has received intense backlash for marketing exclusive access, halal vendors and Islamic stalls, effectively sidelining non-Muslims. Gulliver's Land in Milton Keynes is handing its rides and grounds to a day promoted as reserved exclusively for the Muslim community. Organisers described it as a "Muslim Theme Park experience" with unlimited rides, halal food vendors, Islamic stalls, kids' activities and limited tickets sold primarily to that group. Promotional material from Mubarak Moments, the group behind the event, highlights "a

Latvia Unveils Joint Drone Plant With Ukraine, PM Touts Site's Closeness To Russian Border Latvia has announced confirmation its government has inked a new deal for Ukraine to assist in a Ukrainian drone manufacturing plant on Latvian soil, right near the border with Russia, as well as close to the Belarusian border. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said following an emergency cabinet meeting held in Latgale that his country will "accelerate plans to establish a joint drone manufacturing facility with Ukraine and aims to locate it near the country’s eastern border region , " regional media reports . Shahed-136 drone.

83% Of French In Favor Of Deportation Of Criminals And Long-Term Unemployed Foreigners Via Remix News, An overwhelming number of French people, totaling 83 percent, say they support the deportation of specific categories of foreigners currently residing in France, focusing particularly on delinquents, criminals, or the long-term unemployed, according to a recent CSA survey conducted for Europe 1, CNews, and the JDD . For young people, 90 percent of them support deporting these categories. This sentiment shows consistency across genders, with 82 percent of men and 84 percent of women in agreement. Socioeconomic data indicates 84 percent approval among lower

Fear Is Overwhelming Us Authored by Guy de la Bédoyère via DailySceptic.org, Fear is implanted in us as a preservative from evil but its duty, like that of other passions, is not to overbear reason, but to assist it. It should not be suffered to tyrannise in the imagination, to raise phantoms of horror or to beset life with supernumerary distresses. Samuel Johnson in the Rambler (1761) No-one’s disputing that very hot weather can be challenging, even dangerous, for some people. But I’ve been fascinated by the news coverage of the heatwave over the last week or so , largely

World's Largest Chipmaker, Taiwan Semi, Accelerates Local DRAM Supply Chain With Winbond Collaboration In a time of heightened scrutiny on the memory supply chain, overnight the world's largest chipmaker, Taiwan's TSMC, is reportedly building out a domestic DRAM supply chain in Taiwan amid a severe global memory shortage, bringing in Winbond as a partner, UDN reported . TSMC and Winbond are collaborating on a localized DRAM supply chain using 3D wafer-on-wafer (WoW) stacking technology, where Winbond would supply DRAM memory wafers to be stacked with TSMC's logic wafers. The move is designed to keep critical memory production close to home

China Imposes Export Curbs On 40 Japanese Firms As Tensions With Tokyo Rise China imposed new export controls Monday on 40 Japanese entities it says are contributing to the country’s “remilitarization,” as tensions with Tokyo rise. China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday placed 20 Japanese entities, including the National Institute for Defense Studies and research centers for ground, naval, and air systems, as well as multiple divisions of Mitsubishi Corporation, on a control list, which prohibits Chinese and foreign exporters from selling to them dual-use items made in China. Dual-use items can be used for both civilian and military purposes. Additionally,

The 51-year-old daughter of late president Alberto Fujimori secured the top office after authorities spent weeks reviewing contested ballots Peru’s conservative president-elect Keiko Fujimori has vowed to restore “order and hope” after defeating left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez, in the latest victory for a resurgent Latin American right. Fujimori won the 7 June presidential runoff by the slimmest of margins, outpolling Sanchez by fewer than 50,000 votes out of the more than 18 million ballots cast, the final results showed. Continue reading...

More than 100 people removed on ICE flight were being held in hotel in La Guaira when earthquakes struck More than 100 people just deported from the United States were being held in a hotel when earthquakes struck Venezuela, setting off a scramble to find survivors and bodies buried in the rubble, according to survivors. A deportation flight from Miami arrived in Venezuela hours before Wednesday’s earthquakes. Onboard were 146 Venezuelans, including 19 women and seven children, according to ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First, which tracks deportation flights. They were transported to a hotel in La

Caracas and La Guaira affected by 4.6-magnitude tremor as death toll passes 1,700 and humanitarian crisis grows A strong aftershock has rattled northern Venezuela, sending terrified residents racing on to the streets five days after the twin earthquakes that killed 1,719 people, left tens of thousands missing and triggered a growing humanitarian emergency. The aftershock early on Monday – which the US Geological Survey measured at a magnitude of 4.6 – shook the capital, Caracas, and the devastated port city of La Guaira, where rescue crews are still hoping to pull as many survivors as possible from the rubble. Colombia’s

No damage reported in 4.6 magnitude aftershock; At least 1,450 people are known to have died in initial quakes but number is expected to rise In an update to X, El Salvador’s president has said that after hours of intensive work rescuers have freed Aaron Levi Cantillo Vargas, 21, who was trapped under a building in Caraballeda, La Guaira, calling the operation “a miracle”. “This rescue was made possible thanks to the coordinated effort of the rescue teams from Venezuela, Mexico, and El Salvador, who worked tirelessly to reach Aaron,” Nayib Bukele wrote in a social media post, adding that

Lucas Trejo of Argentina loses wife and two children while Héctor Bello’s partner dies saving their daughter Family members of two professional footballers are among those killed by the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela in a catastrophe that has claimed at least 1,719 lives . Among the reported victims are the wife and two children of Lucas Trejo, an Argentinian footballer signed to Club Sport Marítimo of La Guaira. He searched through rubble in the coastal city for his wife, Yanina, and their children, Aaron and Ainhoa, for three days before their bodies were recovered by rescue workers. Continue reading...

Beijing, whose stockpiles and renewables industry allowed it to withstand energy shock, is now gaining from global solar and EV push China has emerged as the sole winner in Asia from the strait of Hormuz crisis, according to a report published on Tuesday. The report by the geopolitical consulting firm Asia Group concluded that China had weathered the storm of the global commodities crisis resulting from the closure of the Middle Eastern waterway, and also stood to gain from the economic and geopolitical trends sparked by the wider conflict. Continue reading...

Police say there are similarities but no evidence of links between Thunchanok Donhomla’s alleged murder and two other deaths in past two years in same region Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Thai police are investigating whether an Australian man charged with murdering a 17-year-old girl could be linked to two unsolved cases in the region. Police colonel Anek Srathongyoo, a superintendent of Pattaya City police station, told the Guardian on Tuesday that although there was no evidence linking Simon Peter Carman to the cases in neighbouring regions, they were investigating the possibility given

Guo Wengui, who gained fans for criticising China’s Communist party, was found guilty in 2024 on nine charges including money laundering A US federal court has sentenced exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui to 30 years in prison, after he was convicted of defrauding thousands of people out of more than $1bn. In July 2024 , a jury unanimously found Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, guilty on nine of 12 charges, including securities offences, wire fraud and money laundering. The FBI arrested Guo, who is in his fifties, in March 2023 at his luxury Manhattan apartment

Two sides agree to try to make bilateral relationship ‘more balanced’ after weeks of threats The EU and China have agreed to enter three months of talks to try to avoid a trade war over the bloc’s €360bn (£310bn) annual import/export imbalance. In their first joint statement in seven years, the two sides agreed in Brussels to open a formal trade consultation after weeks of threats and recriminations from China if the EU imposed any measures to stop the flood of goods and components into the bloc. Continue reading...

Value of some chip manufacturers have tripled, or more, driving Asia Pacific stock markets sharply higher Shares in chipmakers have surged in the first half of this year as investors piled into companies that make the hardware underpinning the AI boom, according to analysis. Investors have driven up the value of semiconductor and memory chip manufacturers, whose profits have soared during 2026, at the expense of some large software companies, which have fallen out of favour this year. Continue reading...

The royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion hears how witnesses are subjected to hate speech amplified by misogyny Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Vile, threatening abuse is being levelled at witnesses to the antisemitism royal commission, the inquiry has heard, while a Labor MP has said attacks on his partner were heightened because they were stacked with misogyny. Meanwhile, data analysis has shown how quickly factual reports are transformed into conspiracy theories online, and that while there was a spike in antisemitism after the Bondi terror attack, there was a “huge spike”

Coalition, Greens and crossbenchers all say the planned reforms are too weak and the proposals are ‘half-arsed’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Labor’s reforms to gambling advertising have been branded a “capitulation” and “half-arsed” by opponents, as the Liberals and Greens combine to urge the government to go further in cracking down on wagering. Three years this week since the Murphy report recommended a full ad ban, Labor’s proposed wagering reforms have underwhelmed the parliament, with the Coalition, Greens and crossbenchers all saying the changes are too weak – making it unclear whether

Governments have not committed to measures modelled in the report on Lismore’s 2022 floods, which led to the deaths of 13 people Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Building 10 new dams in New South Wales’s northern rivers could have reduced flood levels by up to two metres during devastating floods in 2022, but not enough to prevent a key levee overspilling, a report has found. The CSIRO report was released on Tuesday, four years after it was commissioned by the Morrison government following NSW’s one-in-100-years floods. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Chalmers defends house price forecasts The government has been facing some heat over the cooling house market around Australia with falling auction clearance rates, and forecasts that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne could fall more than $100,000. Auction clearance rates in Brisbane came up on the weekend, if you compare the preliminary numbers from the week before. They also came up in Adelaide. They came up nationally in aggregate, as I understand it. But in Sydney and Melbourne, we saw some softness

Two men – including one who worked for EY – appear in court after being charged over accessing restricted data Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast An employee at one of Australia’s big four accounting firms has been sacked after he and another man allegedly accessed the prime minister Anthony Albanese’s personal banking account. The men, aged 21 and 25, faced court on Tuesday over the breach, which Australian federal police alleged occurred when the EY graduate was on secondment at the Commonwealth Bank. Continue reading...

As the the shocking heatwave continues our European environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan answered your questions from which countries have responded best to who is being held to account and why people are surprised after decades of warnings sloth_101 asks : Most reports still talk about this issue in terms of “records”? Technically, that might be correct but it feels like it’s missing urgency of the matter. “Records” are meant to be broken. These records clearly are not. Isn’t there a better way to describe it? For example, how “climate change” is often replaced with “climate emergency” or “climate breakdown”? I

Authorities are still searching to identify the suspect of an alleged assassination attempt of a Ukrainian business tycoon in Madrid More than 1 million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers have applied to regularise their status in Spain under a government programme to harness and defend the benefits of immigration at a time when most European countries are pulling up the drawbridge. “The fact that more than 1 million people submitted applications shows just how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was.” Continue reading...

Normally safe principality left reeling from apartment blast, which also injured Vadym Iermolaiev’s wife and child Police in Monaco are searching for a suspected bomber after a Ukrainian-born business tycoon, his wife and their child were injured in an unprecedented attack that has shaken the normally ultra-safe principality. Stéphane Thibault, Monaco’s public prosecutor, told reporters a lone man arrived at the building on Monday evening and left a package in the lobby before walking away. Moments later, as three occupants of a ground-floor apartment approached the entrance, the package exploded, he said. Continue reading...

Programme offering a one-year residence and work permit attracts double expected number of applicants More than 1 million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers have applied to regularise their status in Spain under a government programme to harness and defend the benefits of immigration at a time when most European countries are pulling up the drawbridge. Although the massive regularisation initiative, announced by the socialist-led government in January, was originally intended to benefit about 500,000 people, it had attracted more than twice that number of applicants by the time the registration period ended on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Thirteen countries with a free trade agreement with Brussels have their quota reduced by just one-third Business live – latest updates The EU has halved the amount of duty-free steel it will accept from abroad, but has agreed higher import levels for more than a dozen trading partners, including Britain. The curbs are designed to reduce cheap Chinese steel coming into the bloc. However, 13 countries with a free trade agreement (FTA) with Brussels, including the UK, have had their quota reduced by only a third. Continue reading...

US president posts that meeting will take place on Tuesday in Qatari capital after exchange of fire in strait of Hormuz Iran is jealously competing with Oman as decision-maker over strait of Hormuz Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hold talks in Doha after the US and Tehran traded fire in the strait of Hormuz this weekend, threatening the collapse of a ceasefire meant to keep the strait open and pave the way for peace talks. In a terse post on Truth Social, the US president claimed the meetings would take place in the Qatari capital, as

Tehran believes it should control the shipping route but its neighbour has its own plans for reopening it The strait of Hormuz is Iran’s chief bargaining tool in the negotiations with the US and so it was always likely to be the greatest point of contention. Every inch of the 24-mile-wide waterway is being contested in a test of wills and patience. For Iran, the continuation of the dispute is not a problem so long as it does not lose control. Continue reading...

Tehran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait amid efforts to open strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct oversight Fresh hostilities in Gulf suggest US-Iran memorandum was too broadly worded A new round of escalating strikes between Iran and the US has continued, further undermining the fragile interim peace agreement between the two countries, and prompting Donald Trump to threaten violence that would ensure Iran “will no longer exist”. On Sunday, Tehran launched drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait after new US strikes on sites in southern Iran, and threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war. Trump said

Document appears to have been subject to conflicting interpretations on key issues of Lebanon ceasefire and strait of Hormuz Middle East crisis live – latest updates The sudden eruption of fresh hostilities in the Gulf – just 10 days after Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict – threatens to put the two countries back on the path to war . It appears the deliberately opaque wording in the memorandum has been unable to withstand the pressure of conflicting interpretations, and as a result supporters of the deal inside Tehran are on the back

Iran attacked Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, and threatened a ‘complete halt’ to talks US and Iran trade strikes as both sides accuse the other of endangering ceasefire We will soon be closing this liveblog, but you’ll be able to stay up-to-date with our ongoing coverage of the Middle East here. Here is a summary of today’s events: Iran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic , and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. US president Donald

Government hopes for 30% of city’s fleet to be electric by 2030, in move hailed as ‘gamechanger’ on air pollution The unruly chaos of Delhi’s roads would be unrecognisable without the rickshaws and scooters that zip through India’s capital in their millions, emitting toxic fumes in their wake. But now, ambitious policies aim to give the city’s most recognisable vehicles an environmental makeover. On Monday, Delhi’s government announced plans to eventually ban petrol scooters, motorbikes and autorickshaws in favour of those running on electricity, in an attempt to bring down dangerously high pollution levels in the city by the end

Exclusive: Activist tells of his life as one of India’s most prominent political prisoners and his opposition to the government of Narendra Modi Prison is hardest at sunset. As the thousands of prisoners incarcerated in Delhi’s most infamous jail are cast out of their cells and forced into the dank yard until darkness falls, prisoner number 626714 feels the punishing dread begin to rise. Yet the inmate – better known as Umar Khalid – was recently moved to discover that another political prisoner, exiled at a camp thousands of miles from India, wrote of the very same feeling more than

Pakistan says strikes were aimed at a terrorist group while Taliban condemn ‘cowardly act of aggression’ Pakistani airstrikes in three eastern provinces of Afghanistan killed 36 civilians and wounded 163 others, Afghan officials have said, as attacks between the two countries showed no sign of abating. Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the operations on Sunday night were aimed at a terrorist group his country blamed for a deadly militant attack in Karachi that killed three security personnel over the weekend. Continue reading...

Fears hard-won gains in reducing child mortality over 20 years are at risk after end of USAID funding for nutrition programmes Child malnutrition in Nepal has reached “alarming” levels, according to the largest ever survey of under-fives in the country. The new figures came just over a year after USAID, the former US flagship agency closed by the Trump administration in 2025, stopped funding work on child nutrition in Nepal. Continue reading...

Husband arrested after Sylvie Yasmina, 54, and five children found at home in north-western province Pakistan police say they have rescued a French woman and her five children after she told authorities she had been held captive by her husband for more than a decade and subjected to years of domestic abuse in the country’s north-west. The woman, identified as 54-year-old Sylvie Yasmina, was rescued earlier this week from a mud-brick home in Bara, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, the district police chief, Waqar Ahmad, said. Continue reading...

Inquest opened into death of Paul Flack, who was found unresponsive at his Norwich home earlier this month The brother of the late TV presenter Caroline Flack has died. Paul Flack, 55, was found unresponsive at his home in Norwich on 21 June before later dying at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital, according to the Eastern Daily Press . Continue reading...

CMA says developers should be able to steer users away from app stores for payments to increase competition Business live – latest updates The UK’s competition watchdog is challenging Apple and Google’s “effective duopoly” over mobile platforms by allowing developers to steer users away from their app stores to make purchases. The Competition and Markets Authority argues that consumers and app owners are being let down by Apple and Google restrictions on spending money outside their app stores. Continue reading...

Starmer confirms rise but says defence spending cannot be ‘bottomless pit’ and MoD has to ‘spend better’ Keir Starmer is speaking now. They are at Malloy Aeronautics, a firm that designs heavy-lift drones, and Starmer says this morning they showed him one of the heaviest drones he had ever seen. Last year, I made the decision in the national interest to reprioritise aid spending towards defence and achieve the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the cold war. That was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader’s Direct Bullion payment is double his fee from 2025 UK politics live – latest updates Nigel Farage received £270,000 from a gold marketer for which he is a brand ambassador, his single biggest payment as an MP. The Reform leader has been criticised in the past over his £400,000-a-year second job promoting the idea for Direct Bullion that people should buy physical gold and put it in their pension pots. Continue reading...

PM unveils long-awaited defence investment plan, which he says will mean hit to road, housing and energy schemes UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer has warned his successor not to borrow more to pay for defence as he raided energy, transport and housing projects to plug a military spending deficit with an extra £15bn over the next four years. The prime minister revealed his long-awaited defence investment plan (Dip) on Tuesday, after an 11-month government row that cost him a defence secretary and arguably contributed to his downfall. Continue reading...

Justices allow states to ban transgender athletes from females sports and strike down limits on party spending in federal elections Supreme court upholds laws excluding trans women from female sports Supreme court ends limit on spending by political parties in federal elections Sign up for the Breaking News US email The supreme court’s decision to reject Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook yesterday is part of a long-running battle over the independence of the central bank. Trump repeatedly attacked former chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates fast enough, calling him a “moron” on social media.

Case stems from 2022 lawsuit challenging Federal Election Commission’s enforcement of limits on ‘coordinated party expenditures’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox One of the last remaining barriers between wealthy donors sending unlimited funds to federal political candidates fell after the US supreme court struck down a lower court ruling that limited spending by political parties in support of their candidates. The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v Federal Election Commission, stems from a 2022 lawsuit by JD Vance, Republican former congressman Steve Chabot of Ohio, the National Republican Senatorial Committee

Justices voted to overturn judgments issued by lower courts in favor of trans students who sued after being barred from competing in West Virginia and Idaho The US supreme court has upheld laws in two conservative states excluding transgender girls and women from competing in female sports in a far-reaching ruling certain to impact trans rights throughout the US. The court’s nine justices voted to overturn previous judgements issued by lower courts in favor of two trans students who had sued after being barred from competing in West Virginia and Idaho respectively. Continue reading...

Police allege the 75-year-old tried to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy after explicit online chats Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email A New Orleans man who legally changed his name to Santa Claus was jailed recently on allegations that he tried to use a dating app to sexually prey on someone he believed to be an underage boy. Claus, 75, initiated contact through the app with an undercover detective who was posing as a 15-year-old boy as part of a sting operation being carried out over the weekend to arrest potential child predators, said

Officials say 31-year-old woman’s arm was severed in attack at a river in Seminole county’s Little Big Econ forest A woman swimming in a Florida river was killed recently in a rare alligator attack that severed one of her arms, state officials said. The deadly attack took place at Seminole county’s Little Big Econ state forest, about 25 miles north-east of Orlando, on Sunday as the 31-year-old victim was in the Econlockhatchee River. Continue reading...

Self-flying fighter jets, uncrewed submarines and drones are at the centre of Britain’s future military under a defence plan announced on Tuesday that reflects a world of conflicts transformed by technology. Prime Minister Keir Starmer – who is expected to leave office next month after losing the support of MPs – unveiled his long-delayed Defence Investment Plan. Defence spending will ⁠increase to nearly £80 billion (US$105.85 billion) a ‌year by 2029, putting it on a ‌path to hit three per cent...

When late Venezuelan ⁠leader Hugo Chavez built this coastal housing development bearing his name as part of his socialist revolution, residents found ⁠a fresh start after deadly floods had decimated the area more than a decade earlier. But after two back-to-back earthquakes flattened parts of the 1,100-unit complex last Wednesday, engineers have urged the Venezuelan government to swiftly audit similar public housing that is still standing. “I lost my whole apartment,” said Yelsa Rojas, who since...

A passenger jet reported striking a drone while approaching JFK International Airport on Monday, and just hours later, a helicopter pilot alerted a close call with a remote-control plane near the same airport. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the first incident that happened as a JetBlue plane passed through 3,000 feet (914 metres) Monday morning while it was crossing the coastline. The plane landed safely in New York without any additional help, and no damage was found when...

A self-exiled billionaire Chinese business tycoon once believed to be among China’s wealthiest men was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in a US prison for a massive financial fraud that a federal judge said cost over 1,000 people worldwide hundreds of millions of dollars. Guo Wengui, who fled China a decade ago and reinvented himself as a US-based Communist Party critic, was sentenced in a Manhattan courtroom packed with his supporters by Judge Analisa Torres. She said he “preyed on those seeking...

The parents of a seven-year-old Michigan boy who weighed 116kg (255 pounds) when he died have been charged with murder, torture and child abuse, prosecutors said. “Clearly the parents were feeding the child improperly, to say the least,” Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said on Monday. “He wasn’t getting the nutrition he needed.” Casper O’Brien died in November after first responders were called to the family’s home in Flint because he had stopped breathing, prosecutors said. His parents –...

A blast from an explosive device wounded Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolaiev and two others in Monaco on Monday, authorities said, in a “deliberate” act unprecedented in the principality. Three people including a teenager were wounded in the explosion that struck around 9pm local time in a residential building on a street along the border with France. A source close to the investigation who asked not to be named said that one of those wounded was Yermolaiev. Monaco’s Minister of State Christophe...

Peru’s conservative president-elect Keiko Fujimori vowed to restore “order and hope” as final results showed she narrowly won the election in the latest victory for a resurgent Latin American right. She inherits the task of running a country hit by powerful organised crime gangs and chronic political instability, as it burned through eight presidents in the past decade. Her win also means the name Fujimori is back in the presidential palace more than two decades after the fall of her late...

More than 100 people just deported from the United States were being held in a hotel when earthquakes struck Venezuela, setting off a scramble to find survivors and bodies buried in the rubble, according to survivors. A deportation flight from Miami arrived in Venezuela hours before Wednesday’s earthquakes. On board were 146 Venezuelans, including 19 women and seven children, according to ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First, which tracks deportation flights. They were...

Lutao Cen was swimming off Margarita Island, where he has lived for four decades, when twin earthquakes measuring above magnitude 7 struck northern Venezuela within two minutes. Only after returning to shore did he learn what had happened. Messages flooded his WeChat feed. Friends in Caracas, Valencia and Maracay described buildings collapsing and streets filled with dust. Then came the news he had feared most. A close friend in La Guaira, chairman of the local Chinese association, had been...

The recent visit of Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, carried the task of accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis. This is not another urban expansion, but a strategic test of whether Hong Kong can reinvent its role in the nation’s innovation landscape. At its core, the Northern Metropolis bears a dual mission. For Hong Kong, it must become a growth engine, creating a third curve of development, beyond finance and real estate, by nurturing original...

Alex Murdaugh was back in court Monday on charges he killed his wife and son, appearing silently at a pretrial hearing that was mostly short on substance but long on spectacle as the true-crime sensation continues to captivate. Murdaugh’s murder convictions and sentence of life in prison were overturned last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court. On Monday, a new judge laid out a timeline for hearings set the retrial to begin April 5. She also nailed down deadlines for making sure the...

Swiss authorities on Monday returned 18 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in a ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos, the latest addition to the nation’s growing collection of repatriated treasures. Countries across Africa have been pushing in recent years for the restitution of artefacts and artworks taken during the colonial period – including Nigeria’s famed Benin Bronzes, which were looted as spoils of war by the British and today are scattered in museums and private collections across the...

A law professor known for his expansive views of presidential power and for decades-old memos that justified harsh interrogation techniques after the September 11 terror attacks says he will be advising a team of prosecutors investigating whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired against President Donald Trump. John Yoo confirmed in an email to Associated Press on Monday that he would be assisting Joe diGenova in an ongoing investigation into whether officials who over...

French police on Monday detained a couple after their 15-month-old twin daughters died of suspected dehydration, a source close to the investigation said. The couple’s four other children, aged three, four, five and six, were hospitalised with dehydration but were not in life-threatening condition, the source said. The parents alerted emergency services in the northern town of Beuvrages after discovering the twins in their beds, a police source said. Preliminary findings indicate that the...

In a bid to cool searing trade tensions, the European Union and China have launched a new ministerial-level platform for solving grievances, with Brussels insisting that disputes over trade imbalances, export controls and intellectual property must deliver “tangible results” by October. On Monday, in the middle of marathon talks in the Belgian capital, the sides issued a rare joint statement, in which they announced four initial workstreams, focused on trade and investment balancing, export...

Penelope Keith, a comic performer who shone as flinty but lovable upper-crust characters in British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born, has died aged 86. Keith’s family said on Monday that she had been diagnosed with cancer and died at her home in Surrey, near London. Keith began her acting career onstage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 but she found her greatest fame on television. She won a Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award in 1977 for The Good...

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has visited Russia and then China following a series of public exchanges with Ukraine, meeting President Xi Jinping in Beijing and Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Valdai residence. Lukashenko told Xi that being in China was for him “like coming home”, Belarusian journalists accompanying the delegation reported on Monday. Xi said China supported Belarus in preserving its state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, according to...

The US Supreme Court on Monday fortified President Donald Trump’s powers to fire members of independent government agencies, but carved out protections for the Federal Reserve by blocking the firing of Governor Lisa Cook. In a 6-3 ruling, the court’s conservative majority rejected a challenge by Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, ruling that Trump had the power to fire “subordinates who exercise the President’s power”. The decision is expected to have wide-ranging...

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a push by President Donald Trump to throw out a jury’s finding that he sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s and later defamed her. The High Court declined to take up the case in a brief, unexplained order, as is typical. There were no noted dissents. Trump’s lawyers had argued that allegations leading to the US$5 million verdict were propped up by “highly inflammatory” evidentiary rulings, including...

Russian missiles and drones killed at least 11 civilians and injured 40 others in Ukraine on Monday in what President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “horrific attacks”, while the nation’s energy grid buckled under temperatures in excess of 36 degrees Celsius, hit by the deadly heatwave that has afflicted much of Europe. Russian drone and missile attacks have decimated Ukraine’s energy network since Moscow invaded in February 2022, causing tens of billions of dollars worth of damage and leading...

Six people were killed in a shooting on Monday at a youth welfare facility in the northern German town of Stade, police said. Five people – four women and a man – died at the scene of the shooting. A sixth, also an adult, died later in hospital. A main suspect was arrested, while another two people were subject to “police measures” on suspicion of involvement, police said in a statement without elaborating. They said several people were wounded, some of them seriously, German news agency dpa...

The deadly heatwave that’s set temperature records across western Europe for more than a week has shifted east to scorch Hungary, Romania and the Balkans. Hungary’s Budapest is expected to top 40 degrees Celsius (104F) on Tuesday, according to models from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Belgrade in Serbia and Bucharest in Romania will reach 38 degrees and 37 degrees, respectively, on Monday. Red warnings for extreme heat have been issued in Poland, Hungary, Romania,...

Andy Burnham, Britain’s presumptive next prime minister, has set out details giving more powers to local government as part of a plan to spread wealth and economic growth. Saying Westminster “is not working” and is “broken”, he set out a sweeping economic vision in a key speech from Manchester – where he was mayor for nine years – to bring voters, colleagues and financial markets up to speed with his ideas during his rapid progress towards power. “We need to change politics and we need to do it...

As more patients recover from the world’s largest recorded Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, doctors are beginning to piece together how the rare virus behaves, offering the clearest picture yet of one of the disease’s least-studied strains. The number of recoveries reported by Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) health authorities almost doubled in a week, rising to 148 on Thursday from 80 on June 18, even as treatment centres admit dozens of patients daily. ⁠The DRC said late on ⁠Sunday that...

The critical 72-hour window for finding survivors of the powerful twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela had mostly closed by Monday, leaving international teams facing a grim race against time to pull anyone else alive from the debris. The death toll has surpassed 1,450 and nearly 200 buildings have completely collapsed. On Monday, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shared the rescue ⁠of 21-year-old Aaron Levi from a collapsed building in the disaster-stricken state of La Guaira. “This rescue...

Every few minutes, the mortuary owner’s phone rings. Since a record-smashing heatwave started taking lives and storage space for bodies in Paris and beyond, the funeral directors and mourning families calling him mostly have the same question: do you have room for one more? With all 32 places in his cold room taken, Zouhaeir Hertelli reluctantly has to gently say “Non”, over and over and over again. “We’re facing a really catastrophic situation,” he said. “I’m getting hundreds of calls.” As the...

Nasa is racing to save an ageing telescope from falling back to Earth with a daring rescue mission. The US$30 million salvage operation gets under way as soon as this week with the planned launch of a robotic lifesaver. Nasa hired start-up Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit where it can continue hunting for some of the universe’s biggest explosions. A three-armed spacecraft built by Katalyst will chase after Swift once it takes off from an atoll in 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. China’s AI-powered laser mosquito zapper goes viral after crowdfunding success 2. Why Malaysia’s tourism boom lives and dies on a Chinese app 3. As Europe sizzles amid extreme heat, the hunt for China’s aircon remains elusive 4. Cathay Pacific says sorry to actor Wu Chun over 3-day luggage delay...

The public consultation for Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s last policy address of his current term is under way. Will he, for example, listen to the people about whether the baby bonus, one of the initiatives aimed at raising the birth rate and which is set to expire in October, should continue? Lee did say in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post that his government plans to “collect wisdom” before deciding. According to the chief executive, Hong Kong experienced a 10 per...

Sovereign wealth funds and central banks managing US$29 trillion in assets are turning to energy assets, and raising concerns about the dollar, in a portfolio reassessment driven by unprecedented geopolitical shifts, according to a survey ‌published on Monday by independent global investment management firm Invesco. The survey of 90 sovereign wealth funds and 54 central banks showed an increasing focus on diversification, and investment portfolios that can “take a hit and still hold it together”...

Iranian and US technical teams working on the implementation of an interim peace deal are expected to meet in Doha in the coming days, after tit-for-tat weekend strikes threatened to derail the fragile accord. The exchanges have underscored the fragility of a Pakistan-brokered agreement to end the conflict that has killed thousands and snarled the flow of oil shipments through the vital Strait of Hormuz. Although a ceasefire took effect in April, sporadic violence has flared up in the Gulf...

US President Donald Trump lashed out on Sunday at Washington’s presumptive next mayor, calling her a communist who would destroy the capital city, even as he touted grandiose building projects including the refurbishment of a golf course. Trump said in the Truth Social post that he would meet Janeese Lewis George, who prevailed in the Democratic Party mayoral primary on Tuesday which all but assures that she will win November’s election in the heavily Democratic city. But Trump warned that he...

Andy Burnham, the Labour lawmaker expected to replace Keir Starmer as British prime minister, will outline his vision for Britain on Monday, his office said, promising to change how the nation is governed with power moving from London to ‌the regions. Burnham, who returned to Westminster earlier this month after winning a parliamentary seat, is currently the only declared candidate to take over from Starmer and could be installed in Downing Street within weeks. Starmer announced last week he...

Thousands of protesters descended on the Serbian city of Kraljevo on Sunday, keeping up pressure on President Aleksandar Vucic a day after he said he would step down ‌within weeks to pave the way for early presidential and parliamentary elections. Although many protesters expressed satisfaction with Vucic’s resignation, they fear he may not fully relinquish power. Analysts say he may try to run for prime minister and install an ally in the presidency so he can continue to wield power. “I cannot...

⁠Kate, the Princess of ⁠Wales, said on Sunday that she had ⁠scaled the three highest peaks in the UK in 24 hours to raise money for a cancer charity, citing it as a personal achievement following her own battle with the disease. Kate, 44, the wife of heir to the throne Prince William, is in remission after ‌undergoing chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer and, while she has returned to royal duties, she has spoken of the toll the illness has taken on her and her family. In a post on her...

Ukraine kept up its heavy drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south, as President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that the country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel and vowed to strengthen protection of oil facilities and boost fuel output. Ukraine has markedly stepped up its long-range attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for its invasion – now in its fifth...

Turkish police on Sunday detained at least 50 people, including a journalist, during a Gay Pride event in Istanbul that went ahead despite a ban by local authorities and the lockdown of the city’s main gathering point, organisers said. Police stepped up security around Istanbul’s famed Taksim Square, erecting iron barriers, while local officials banned demonstrations in key rallying areas, including the Asian-side district of Kadikoy. The governor’s office also restricted subway transport in...

Car bombs and gun attacks killed five members of Israel’s Arab minority Sunday, the latest violence to hit a community that has already recorded dozens of deaths this year. Criminal violence has escalated among Israel’s Arab minority in recent years, where gangs extort residents and business owners for protection and frequently kill those who fail to pay. In Jaffa, part of the Tel Aviv municipal area, a car bomb killed a man in his 40s, police and emergency services said, while Israeli news...

A skydiving plane crashed on Sunday in northeastern France, killing all 11 people on board – among them a group of nurses – local authorities said, the country’s deadliest ever general aviation accident. The crash in the town of Tomblaine killed five instructors, five students and the pilot, said Yves Seguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department. The students were nurses, according to the head of Meurthe-et-Moselle’s nursing council, Thierry Pechey. “They were colleagues who had...

Generals losing a war examine the enemy, battlefield and their own forces. Brussels prefers a different sequence, ordering new weapons first and worrying about the diagnosis later. That instinct was on display at the recent European Council meeting. Faced with a trade deficit it cannot close and dependencies it cannot shake, the European Union agreed on a new label: “global macroeconomic imbalances”. To solve them, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was reportedly directed to...

A British man has been arrested in Ecuador after the body of a woman was found inside a suitcase despite him telling The Sun newspaper that he was watching England at the time. Matthew Ashley Foster-Smith is alleged to have caused the death of 36-year-old Natalia Villalba in a flat in the Chico neighbourhood of Bogota, Colombia, on June 18, local authorities said. But the 46-year-old from Bournemouth reportedly rang The Sun a day before his arrest and said: “I was watching England vs Croatia on...

A helicopter crash in Saudi Arabia killed 14 Saudi citizens on Sunday, the kingdom’s official press agency reported, adding that the aircraft belonged to state oil giant Aramco. The Saudi Press Agency, citing an official at the energy ministry, reported the helicopter crashed in Ras Tanura in the country’s east. “The accident claimed the lives of all 14 passengers, all Saudi citizens,” the agency said, adding that an investigation was under way to determine the cause of the crash. Aramco says it...

France has ⁠recorded 1,000 excess deaths ⁠during the blistering ⁠heatwave sweeping Europe, the public health agency said on Sunday, warning that the true figure was likely to be higher. Detailing its preliminary count of excess ‌deaths, Sante Publique said most of the fatalities involved older people and that it expected the mortality rate to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and homes. Europeans have been enduring blistering ⁠conditions during a heatwave...

On June 4, at a packing facility in Limuru near Nairobi, Kenya, avocados were being prepared for the Chinese market. The scene may seem mundane, but the politics behind it is significant. China has removed tariffs on imports from 53 African countries. African exporters are beginning to think about Beijing less as a distant buyer than as a market that could reshape their margins. When the UN projected 4 per cent gross domestic product growth for Africa for 2026, the figure landed quietly. No...

Iran and the US continued their attacks in the Gulf as each accused the other of violating an interim deal signed less than two weeks ago to end their four-month-old war. Shortly after President Donald Trump warned the US might “militarily complete the job”, Iran early on Sunday launched missiles and drones on US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain, continuing a series of escalating attacks. Beyond the Gulf, Israel said it had struck Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon as...

James Talarico, a Democratic state lawmaker, is tied with Ken Paxton, the Republican state attorney general, according to a New York Times/Siena poll.

After months of silence, Representative Tom Kean Jr. was expected to deliver a speech explaining his 116-day absence from Congress.

Primaries on Tuesday will be the latest test of Democrats’ anti-establishment mood.

Justin Cherry’s breads are in demand this semiquincentennial, as is his knowledge of historical baking methods.

A day-by-day breakdown of where dangerous heat is expected through the Fourth of July weekend.

A federal judge says that the administration’s attempts to block money for the $16 billion rail project were “flagrantly” illegal.

It contains more than half a million people’s genomes, paired with clinical records and wearable tech data. That gives researchers unmatched power to study both diseases and treatments.

Time and again, President Trump has brushed off Americans’ concerns about the economy and their financial situations.

The Arizona senator used campaign money to fly his family to Nantucket and the Caribbean. The Justice Department has said it is investigating his campaign finance activity.

In most of the country, executions are a thing of the past. But one state has been carrying them out at a record pace.

The businessman courted U.S. conservatives as an anti-Communist crusader while using his supporters’ money to buy lavish homes and a Bugatti supercar.

The playbook for celebrities’ wedding reveals has become a careful choreography — especially when you’re one of the biggest pop stars in the world.

The Supreme Court has eviscerated the separation of powers.

One of MAGA’s leading activists discusses how he views the second Trump administration, as well as various factions of the right.

We look at Supreme Court rulings on presidential power and mail-in ballots.

The “Last Week Tonight” host said the United States was “dealing with a literal swamp of corruption” for its 250th birthday.

Five days after devastating twin earthquakes flattened entire residential neighborhoods, experts fear the official death toll of 1,719 could be a serious undercount.