Minimalist News

UBS: Trump's Historic Military Budget Request Could Boost Beaten-Down Defense Stocks U.S. defense stocks showed signs of stabilizing in April after tumbling since Operation Epic Fury began in late February and sustaining a Mach bloodbath. The improvement followed Friday's White House proposal to lift military spending sharply, to roughly $1.5 trillion in 2027.  UBS analyst Allyson Gordon said Monday morning that the White House budget request "should help sentiment," which has deteriorated since the U.S.-Iran conflict began. Last week, Gordon asked, "Why is U.S. defense performance lackluster?" Earlier, the analyst said: > Defense stocks are in focus after Trump requested a $1.5 trn FY2027

The Debt Spiral Ends In Dollar Destruction: 6 Hard Truths America Can No Longer Ignore Authored by Nick Giambruno via Doug Casey's International Man, > “Whenever governments are granted power to purchase their own debt, they never fail to do so, eventually destroying the value of the currency.” – Ron Paul Let’s take a step back and look at the big picture so we can assess the US government’s financial situation, where it’s likely headed, and what these trends could mean. OBSERVATION #1: IT’S POLITICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CUT SPENDING Among the biggest expenditures for the US government are so-called entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. It’s

Iran Conflict Spotlights Nuclear Energy As Key To Global Energy Security The ongoing disruptions tied to Iran’s energy infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz, have once again exposed the fragility of global oil supplies. As oil prices swing on geopolitical headlines, the founder and executive chairman of Nano Nuclear Energy, Jay Yu, underscored the critical alternative during a recent Fox Business appearance: nuclear power offers “consistent baseload energy”, while oil remains “a finite commodity” vulnerable to conflict. Jay Yu emphasized that the current spotlight on nuclear is drawing “institutional investors, and venture capital money is pouring in”. This renewed focus extends beyond immediate

Big Pharma Forced To Yank COVID Vaxx Study Due To Lack Of Participants Authored by Ben Sellers via Headline USA, Two of the major pharmaceutical companies connected with the controversial COVID vaccines were forced to abandon a new research study after failing to garner enough participants. Pfizer and German vax maker BioNTech had sought to research an updated version of the vaccine in adults ages 50 to 64, but were unable to generate the data needed due to the low enrollment in the trials, Reuters reported. The study was needed in order to meet new guidelines imposed by the Food and Drug Administration that require the pharmaceutical companies to provide data on the efficacy of

Trump Threatens To 'Take Out Entire Country Of Iran' Tomorrow Night, Demands 'Free Traffic Of Oil' In Hormuz SUMMARY:  * Trump threatens "Iran can be taken out in one night... maybe tomorrow"; Warns 'every bridge and power plant' will be destroyed * WSJ reports US military is making preparations for potential strikes on energy targets in Iran. Universities and airports are already being hit. * A Sunday night Axios report on a US-proposed 45-day ceasefire has by Monday morning been rejected by Iran, which later on Monday issued a 10-point letter via Pakistan.  * Israel strikes large petrochemical plant at South Pars,

Watch Live: Artemis II Breaks Record For Farthest Crewed Flight From Earth The human race is now flying farther from its home planet than at any other time in history. At approximately 1:57 p.m. on April 6, NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, flew their Orion spacecraft Integrity beyond 248,655 statute miles—a record set by Apollo 13 almost exactly 56 years ago. The pioneering moment came at the beginning of Day 6 of Artemis II’s 10-day test flight, and mere minutes before its four astronauts were scheduled to begin the first flyby

"Evictions Are An Act Of Policy Violence": Pressley & Dems Introduce Renter Reform Legislation Authored by Jonathan Turley, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D., Mass.) joined fellow Democrats last week in calling for the passage of the Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program (HELP) Act to “crack down” on some evictions while barring the use of evictions on credit reports. Pressley declared that “evictions are an act of policy violence.” Promoting the act, Pressley said: > “Eviction is an act of violence, and we have to do everything to prevent it. It is devastating for the families. It degrades the health of communities. There is great stigma associated with it. It affects your credit

As France Yanks Last US-Based Gold Reserves, UBS Expects Demand From China To Persist When France repatriates its gold, it has historically been worth paying attention to (think De Gaulle's demands culminating in the 'Nixon Shock'). However, then (as now), there was no cliff-like event, it was a slow-building crisis and perhaps the news that Gold has officially emptied its US-stored gold reserves (held in New York) is another straw on the back of the fiat standard to keep an eye on. RFI reports that The Banque de France (BdF) announced last week that it generated a capital gain of €12.8 billion after

Missouri Senate Passes Bill Blocking WHO, UN, WEF Authority Authored by Jon Fleetwood via substack, A Missouri bill directly confronting the role of unelected global institutions in domestic governance has passed the state Senate, declaring that organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations (UN), and World Economic Forum (WEF) have “no jurisdiction or power within the state.” The move represents a win for state sovereignty, constitutional supremacy, and resistance to foreign governance frameworks. Missouri Senate Bill 977 (SB 977), introduced by State Senator Nick Schroer, passed the Senate on April 2, 2026 by a resounding 31–0 vote and has now moved to the House

Anthropic Says One Of Its Claude Models Was Pressured To Lie, Cheat, & Blackmail Authored by Stephen Katte via CoinTelegraph.com, Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has revealed that during experiments, one of its Claude chatbot models could be pressured to deceive, cheat and resort to blackmail, behaviors it appears to have absorbed during training. Chatbots are typically trained on large data sets of textbooks, websites and articles and are later refined by human trainers who rate responses and guide the model.  Anthropic’s interpretability team said in a report published Thursday that it examined the internal mechanisms of Claude Sonnet 4.5 and found the model had

Israel Suffers One Of Single Deadliest Days Of War Sunday into Monday saw significant casualties in Israel, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed in a statement carried by state media that Iranian forces had targeted an oil refinery in Haifa.  But instead, it appears that the missile slammed directly into a residential building, killing at least four Israelis. Search and rescue teams have spent some 18 hours pouring through the ruins of the complex, recovering two bodies early Monday after an initial two had been found. The casualties could climb amid ongoing recovery efforts. > Israeli fire services say 3 people missing

Mamdani's Tax Plan Is A Warning To America: Counterproductive And Regressive Authored by Daniel Lacalle, Zohran Mamdani’s tax package is a warning to America. It is what you may expect when the radical left takes power. Demolition of the private sector and destruction of potential growth and jobs. Mamdani’s plan is not ambitious nor innovative; it is precisely the interventionist system that has been implemented throughout decades in countries that now suffer stagnation and elevated unemployment. It concentrates New York City’s fiscal risk onto a narrow and mobile base of taxpayers and companies in a way that could undermine growth, jobs, and long-term stability.

JPM's Dimon Warns Of "Skunk At Party," Talks Credit Cycles, Touts U.S. Military Power JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon began his annual shareholder letter on Monday by tying the bank's legacy to the nation's history: "In 2026, America is celebrating its 250th anniversary. This year, we are also celebrating the 227th anniversary of JPMorgan Chase, which was founded in April 1799." QUICK SUMMARY  Dimon used his annual letter to tout another year of record financial results, while warning that investors may be underestimating the risks building across the global economy. These risks include the U.S.-Iran conflict entering its second month, trade negotiations that exacerbate

Explosives Found Near Key Serbia-Hungary Pipeline Transporting Russian Gas Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic informed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban by phone on Sunday that explosives were discovered near a key pipeline carrying Russian gas from Serbia to Hungary. "Our units found high-powered explosives and detonators," Vucic wrote on Instagram after briefing Orban on the military and police investigations. via EPA During a site visit on Sunday, Vucic told journalists the explosives were located in the autonomous Vojvodina province in northern Serbia, near the Hungarian border. The device was reportedly found near the main pipeline transporting Russian gas from the TurkStream network to Serbia and

Iraq Tells Buyers To Collect Crude Which Can Now Cross Hormuz, While US Boosts Ship Reinsurance Guarantees To $40BN Over the long weekend, we reported that with traffic across the Hormuz strait continuing to rise, and reaching the highest since the war began, one particularly favorable development was Iran's permission for Iraqi ships to use the Strait. We also noted that this declaration had the potential to unleash as much as 3 million barrels a day of Iraqi oil cargoes. That said, there was the caveat that it was not immediately clear if the exemption will apply to all Iraqi oil or just

The 28th Amendment: Is It Time For A New Amendment On The Meaning Of Citizenship? Authored by Jonathan Turley, “Well, it’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” Those words from Chief Justice John Roberts during this week’s oral arguments signaled that the conservative justices are unlikely to reject birthright citizenship. Of course, nothing is certain until this summer when the Court issues its opinion in Trump v. Barbara. However, we need to consider the need for a 28th Amendment to reaffirm the meaning of citizenship. As some of us stressed before the oral argument, the odds were against the administration prevailing in the case, given

Prices Jump, Employment Dumps As US ISM Services Disappoints In March The last six months or so has seen S&P Global's and ISM's Services PMI surveys diverge dramatically (former at three year lows, latter near four year highs). But, following S&P Global's Services PMI plunge into contraction in March, ISM's Services PMI actually 'agreed' and fell also (but only modestly) from 56.1 to 54.0 (still in expansion but worse than the expected 54.9)... Source: Bloomberg Under the hood it was a very mixed bag with a surge in New Orders (highest since Feb 2023 - good), but a simultaneous spike in Prices Paid (highest

Stockman Warns This Is Not Your Grandfather's Stagflation Authored by David Stockman via The Brownstone Institute, It was pretty obvious even before February 28th that the US economy was grinding to a halt, even as inflation was already working up a head of steam. But then came war.  We are going to get a globe-shaking economic conflagration erupting from the void that was the Persian Gulf commodity fountain. That includes between 20% and 50% of all the basic commodities that drive global GDP, including crude oil, LPGs, LNG, ammonia, urea, sulfur, helium, and sundry more. Accordingly, the global share of crucial industrial commodities that

Key Events This Week: CPI, PCE, Durable, FOMC Minutes And More In addition to Iran war developments, this week’s economic calendar will focus on the inflation side of the Fed’s dual mandate following a solid March employment report. The key data releases this week are the February durable goods report on Tuesday, the February PCE report on Thursday, and the March CPI report on Friday. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson will deliver a speech on the economic outlook on Tuesday. The minutes to the FOMC’s March meeting will be released on Wednesday.  Briefly recapping the latest employment data, both headline (+178k vs. -133k)

US Satellite Firm 'Indefinitely Withholds' Iran War Images Per Government Request Authored by Alan Mosley via AntiWar.com, Planet Labs says it will "indefinitely withhold" satellite visuals of Iran and the wider Middle East war zone after a request from the US government and the Trump administration. In an email to customers, the firm said it is shifting to a "managed distribution" model, releasing imagery only case-by-case for "urgent, mission-critical requirements," or when release is deemed "in the public interest." Planet also said it will withhold imagery dating back to March 9, and it expects the policy to remain in effect until the conflict ends. On

Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson denounce ‘collective punishment’ amid vast disruption s from US oil blockade * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Two Democratic US lawmakers on Monday called for an end to the “cruel collective punishment” of Cuba after they visited the island to witness the effects of an US energy blockade. The US House members Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois met with the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, as well as members of Cuba’s parliament during a five-day trip ending on Sunday. “This

Cultural figures sign open letter asking government for clarity on how long landmark collection will remain abroad One of the world’s most important collections of 20th-century Mexican art, including works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, is set to be exported to Spain under an agreement with Banco Santander, sparking outrage among Mexico’s cultural community. Nearly 400 cultural professionals have signed an open letter calling on the Mexican government to offer greater clarity on what the deal means for the masterpieces, particularly the works by Kahlo, which the Mexican state has declared an “artistic monument”. Continue reading...

Despite hostile rhetoric Trump let a Russian ship break his blockade – could it herald a Venezuela-style outcome? When a sanctioned Russian oil tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, docked at Cuba’s Matanzas oil terminal on Tuesday, unloading 700,000 barrels of crude, it was not immediately clear why the ship had been allowed to pass through Donald Trump’s oil blockade. In January, the US president had proclaimed on social media: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” yet last week he told reporters, “If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no

Initial reports suggested parts of arena’s wall had collapsed, but Alianza Lima says there were no structural failures One person has been killed and dozens more injured at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium in Lima, Peru, according to the football club Alianza Lima. Hundreds of fans were attending a “flag-waving event” on Friday around the stadium, a day before a derby match between the home team Alianza Lima and local rivals Universitario de Deportes. Continue reading...

Havana makes a Holy Week ‘humanitarian’ gesture as Russian tanker is allowed to reach oil-starved island * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Cuban authorities have begun to free prisoners after announcing they would pardon 2,010 inmates, the second release in less than a month as the country faces heightened US pressure. More than 20 inmates emerged from La Lima penitentiary in east Havana on Friday, holding their release papers, crying and hugging relatives who had been waiting for them all morning. Continue reading...

Anutin Charnvirakul encourages measures such as home working and carpooling as country is reliant on oil imports Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has called on the public to conserve energy, urging work-from-home measures and carpooling, as he warned of the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. In a statement posted on social media, Anutin said Thailand was exposed to the crisis because of its reliance on imported oil and gas, and the country could not be complacent. Continue reading...

Concerns about coming wildfire risk, and temperatures also remain high on other side of Pacific where rare tropical cyclone has formed After a historically warm winter across nine states in the US, the first month of meteorological spring again brought exceptionally high temperatures, with numerous states recording new all-time high temperatures in March. The remarkable intensity and longevity of the warmth have left much of the mountain snowpack, a crucial source of water for millions in the American west, at critically low levels. Though precipitation totals tend to increase in spring, the low snowpack has raised concerns about a potentially severe wildfire

Japan’s ban on married couples having different surnames has prompted an event to highlight people’s reluctance to change their name At the very least, the three men and three women calming their nerves on a Friday evening at a venue in Tokyo know they have one thing in common. Spaced out across booths, they will soon be placed in pairs and given 15 minutes to get to know one another. Continue reading...

From farms in New Zealand to factories in Delhi, the effects of the oil crisis triggered by the Iran war are rippling across Asia Continue reading...

Quake with epicentre west-north-west of Ternate island shakes cities and prompts regional tsunami warning One person has been killed after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Ternate island, damaging buildings and triggering small tsunami waves. The quake, which had a depth of 35km, occurred on Thursday at 6.48am local time, according to the United States Geological Survey. Its epicentre was 127km (79 miles) west-north-west of Ternate, an island in Indonesia’s North Maluku province. Continue reading...

US president criticises Australia, Japan and South Korea; chance of Cyclone Maila hitting Queensland at the weekend is rising, BoM says. Follow today’s news live * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Attorney general says government remains committed to gun buyback scheme Rowland said the federal government would continue to press ahead with its gun buyback scheme, despite some resistance from state and territory leaders. But the fact remains that we will continue to prosecute this case through our national cabinet processes. The government’s committed to it. Continue reading...

Conservationists say move could push species closer to extinction and clearer environmental rules are needed instead * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Conservationists and scientists have warned a mining lobby proposal to use artificial intelligence to speed up national environmental approvals could generate “robodebt-style” failures, putting threatened species at further risk. The Minerals Council of Australia has asked the government to spend $13m to trial the use of AI to help companies prepare applications and help the federal government make decisions. Continue reading...

While path and strength of storm remain uncertain, BoM warns Cape York could again take direct hit if cyclone makes landfall * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Another cyclone may hit the Queensland coast just over three weeks after the same area was smashed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle, the Bureau of Meteorology says. But a meteorologist warned forecasts predicting the path and strength of Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila remained uncertain, with the storm likely to make landfall over the weekend. Continue reading...

Oliver Tokic-Bensley, 16, says he had been in the water mere minutes when a shark bit his foot * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A teenage surfer bitten by a shark at a South Australian beach has described how he “flicked it off” and “legged it back to shore”. Oliver Tokic-Bensley, 16, was bitten on his foot while surfing on Good Friday near his family beach house at Middleton, 80km south of Adelaide. Continue reading...

Energy minister Chris Bowen says 3.4% of Australia’s service stations had no diesel, as of Monday, after wholesale prices surged * Track Australia’s fuel prices, service station outages and shipments in charts * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Diesel users in Australia are not enjoying the same relief as unleaded customers, with one in 30 service stations still entirely out of diesel and prices rising again after an initial slump last week. But while the energy minister, Chris Bowen, urged Australians not to participate in a social media trend where people claim to be filling up

Claims explosives found near pipeline come before election in which PM Viktor Orbán is trailing in most polls Hungary has placed the gas pipeline that straddles the Serbian border under military protection, its prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has said, as accusations of a false-flag operation continued to swirl before a crunch election at the weekend and an official visit on Tuesday from the US vice-president, JD Vance. Orbán travelled to Hungary’s southern border with Serbia on Monday, one day after Serbia said it had found “explosives of devastating power” near a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Hungary and beyond. Continue reading...

Kyriakos Mitsotakis calls alleged scamming of EU agricultural funds ‘a turning point’ The Greek prime minister has vowed to tackle what he has called a “deep state” he says is plaguing the country, as he sought to address a growing political crisis over a farm fraud scandal that has forced the resignation of multiple government ministers. In a speech, aired on national TV, Kyriakos Mitsotakis attempted to limit the damage, describing the revelations as “a turning point” that had turbo-charged his commitment to rooting out entrenched corruption. Continue reading...

Tougher ethical certification process requires companies to meet standards in every one out of seven categories Dozens of companies may be at risk of losing their coveted B Corp ethical status after the organisation behind the corporate kite-marking system raised the standards required to qualify. B Lab, which oversees B Corp certification, launched the biggest overhaul in its 19-year history earlier this month, scrapping a system under which companies must gather enough points across multiple categories to qualify. Continue reading...

Leaders say automated mowers’ blades threaten nocturnal animals as studies highlight risks to wildlife German mayors have called for a nationwide ban on night-time use of robot lawnmowers to protect hedgehogs and other small nocturnal animals from being killed or maimed in the dark. Recent studies have highlighted the threat lawnmower blades pose to wildlife active between dusk and dawn, prompting growing calls for regulation. Hedgehogs also tend to curl into a ball when threatened rather than running away, making them harder for a robot mower’s sensors to detect. Continue reading...

Incident prompts political scrutiny across Hungary as Viktor Orbán trails in polls before next Sunday’s election Serbia has said it found “explosives of devastating power” near a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Hungary and beyond, sparking claims by Hungary’s leading opposition candidate of a possible “false flag” operation aimed at influencing the country’s elections. On Sunday, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said he had been informed by Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, of the discovery near an extension of the TurkStream pipeline, which transports Russian gas through the Balkans to central and eastern Europe. Continue reading...

President addresses his latest deadline for Tehran to reach a deal of Tuesday at 8pm ET in press conference * Trump warns Iran to reopen strait of Hormuz by Tuesday or face ‘hell’ * ‘Unhinged madman’: US politicians react to Trump Iran threat A Japanese shipping firm said on Monday that an Indian-flagged tanker owned by its subsidiary had passed through the strait of Hormuz and was en route to India. A spokeswoman for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines told AFP that the Green Asha – a liquefied petroleum gas tanker – had crossed the waterway. Pakistan stands in solidarity with the brotherly people of

Legal experts say attacking Iran’s infrastructure would constitute a war crime – but would military officers be held responsible? * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump’s threats to carry out mass bombing of civilian infrastructure in Iran present US military officers with a dilemma: disobey orders or help commit war crimes. It is an urgent matter for the US chain of command. In an expletive-laden threat, Trump set a Tuesday 8pm Washington time deadline for the Iranian government to open the strait of Hormuz or face “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one”. Continue reading...

US president acknowledges ‘significant’ 10-point peace plan submitted by Tehran but says it is ‘not good enough’ * Middle East crisis – live updates Diplomatic negotiations aimed at halting the war in the Middle East appeared to be faltering a day before a deadline imposed by Donald Trump with a threat to destroy Iran’s bridges and attack its power plants. Mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey want both sides to agree to a ceasefire and reopen the strait of Hormuz, to be followed by a period of detailed negotiations intended to reach a more complete peace agreement. Continue reading...

Iranian authorities cut access to internet on 28 February leaving many with limited information about war Iran’s internet shutdown, which began shortly after the first US-Israel strikes in late February, is now the longest national-scale blackout since the Arab spring, monitors have said. Iranian authorities cut all access to the internet on 28 February, the day the war began, after an earlier shutdown in January during nationwide protests. This current blackout has lasted more than 38 days. Continue reading...

Senior US officials consider the PM’s pitch to have been overblown, creating potentially far-reaching consequences for Israel * Middle East crisis – live updates When Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on 29 December last year, the Israeli prime minister came with an appeal – and a not so subtle inducement. After months of restocking air defence and other missiles after June’s 12-day conflict in which the US joined in to bomb Tehran’s nuclear facilities, Israel was ready to go again, this time with more substantial objectives. Continue reading...

Ripple effects of oil and fertiliser shortage felt by farmers in India and Sri Lanka despite governments saying there is enough stock to go round Gurvinder Singh never thought the war in Iran would touch his quiet corner of Punjab. Yet looking out over his smallholding, where he alternates between wheat and rice crops in the state known as India’s breadbasket, the 52-year-old farmer can barely think of anything else. His anxiety over a conflict playing out thousands of miles away is crippling as he fears what will come of this season’s rice crop. Continue reading...

Min Aung Hlaing seized control five years ago and plunged Myanmar into conflict and economic chaos Min Aung Hlaing, the military general who plunged Myanmar into conflict and economic chaos when he took power in the 2021 coup has been appointed president, months after widely condemned sham elections. Min Aung Hlaing, who is wanted by the prosecutor of the international criminal court for crimes against humanity against the Rohingya Muslim minority, was voted president by lawmakers on Friday. Myanmar’s parliament is dominated by the pro-military party, which won a landslide in one-sided elections earlier this year. Continue reading...

Foreign ministers Ishaq Dar and Wang Yi met in Beijing as Pakistan pushes for peacemaker role * Middle East crisis – live updates Pakistan and China have released a joint five-part proposal for peace in the Middle East, after Pakistan’s foreign minister flew to Beijing on Tuesday to seek Chinese support for the country’s faltering efforts to negotiate an end to end the war. The one-day meeting between Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, came as Pakistan continues to push for the role of peacemaker between the United States and Iran, even as the war shows little sign of relenting. Continue

At least 77 people killed in anti-corruption youth uprising in September, which began over a brief social media ban Nepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli was arrested early on Saturday morning over his alleged role in the deaths of dozens of people who took part in the gen Z protest that toppled his government last year. Police detained the three-time former prime minister at his residence in the capital Kathmandu, and also arrested his former home affairs minister Ramesh Lekhak. Continue reading...

Balendra Shah, 35, is a symbol of change in country whose government was toppled last year in youth-led uprising Nepal’s rapper turned politician Balendra Shah, who is about to be sworn in as prime minister, has issued his first post-election message in the form of a rap urging unity. Hours before the release he swore an oath as a newly elected lawmaker, and he is due to become the Himalayan republic’s new prime minister on Friday. Continue reading...

Home Office will use mapping technology and crime data to identify up to 250 schools in areas of greatest risk Schools across England are to receive dedicated support to prevent knife crime incidents in a hyper-targeted Home Office programme that uses mapping technology to identify areas of risk down to the level of specific groups of streets. Under the £1.2m scheme – part of a series of initiatives launched under a government pledge to halve knife crime within a decade – a maximum of 250 schools will receive help. Continue reading...

Performer is being extended ‘forgiveness’ over antisemitic remarks, says Melvin Benn, despite calls for ban The promoter of Wireless festival has stood by the decision to have Kanye West perform at the event, despite an outcry over the rapper’s antisemitism and calls to cancel his appearance. West, who is legally known as Ye, has been criticised for making antisemitic remarks including voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Last year he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. Continue reading...

Retailer faces public outcry over treatment of Walker Smith, who tackled shoplifter stealing Easter eggs at London store Waitrose is under growing pressure to reinstate an employee of 17 years who was sacked after tackling a shoplifter who was trying to steal Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs. The retailer has faced public outcry over its treatment of Walker Smith, who was fired two days after he stopped the shoplifter taking items from the Easter egg display. Continue reading...

As UK PM resists pressure to back airstrikes, US president invokes British leader known for his policy of appeasement * Middle East crisis live – latest updates Donald Trump has appeared to compare Keir Starmer to Neville Chamberlain in his latest disparaging remarks about the prime minister, who has refused to back the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. The comments, during an Easter Monday event at the White House, underline Trump’s continued annoyance at Starmer’s scepticism about the aims and legality of the conflict, a view that has not been shifted by the US president’s jibes. Continue reading...

Police say 26-year-old man died at scene outside nightclub in Peckham and two others remain in hospital Four men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed to death and two other men were injured outside a nightclub in south-east London. The Metropolitan police said officers were called at 3.54am on Monday to reports of a disturbance involving a group of people outside a nightclub in Ruby Street, Peckham. Continue reading...

Two fatalities reported in southern California so far, with warmer spring bringing reptiles out on trails earlier A sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in southern California’s Ventura county in just under a month, two-thirds of the number of people bitten in all of 2025. Andrew Dowd, a Ventura county fire department spokesperson, said paramedics responded to a call on Sunday for a man who had been bitten by a rattlesnake. The victim said he had been bitten near California State University Channel Islands. Continue reading...

Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets emerged from eggs on Easter weekend in Big Bear Valley as watched by thousands online Over Easter weekend, thousands of people tuned in to celebrate something spectacular unfolding 145 feet up a pine tree in southern California’s San Bernardino national forest – the hatchings of two bald eagle chicks. Two eaglets were born to Jackie and Shadow, the southern California pair that have become avian celebrities thanks to the webcam that has livestreamed their activities since 2018. Continue reading...

Trump targets media to find ‘leaker’ who revealed that a US airman was missing after being shot down by Iranian forces Donald Trump threatened to jail a journalist – or journalists – who reported that a second US airman was missing after being shot down by Iran on Friday in an effort to identify their source. The badly injured airman hid in a mountain crevice to avoid capture before being rescued by a US recovery team that received heavy fire. The US president announced on Sunday that the service member had been recovered. Continue reading...

Four astronauts become Earth’s farthest travelled and exceed a 1970 record on the fifth day of the mission * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Artemis II astronauts broke Apollo 13’s distance record at 1.57pm eastern time on Monday, hugging each other in the cramped capsule as they made history for being the first four humans to travel the farthest from Earth than anyone before them. Before hitting the record, the quartet dimmed the lights in their capsule and positioned themselves by the windows in preparation to set the long-distance record as they

Ron Gibson had recently expressed support for a 14-acre, $500m datacenter project in Martindale-Brightwood An Indianapolis city councilor said his home was fired at on Monday, with a note left behind suggesting he had been targeted over his support of datacenters. The case involving Ron Gibson – a Democrat on Indianapolis’s city council – comes amid growing bipartisan concern in the US over political violence in the wake of cases such as the September murder of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist. Continue reading...

Ukraine has relayed its proposal for a mutual ceasefire on striking energy targets to Russia via US mediators, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday. “If Russia is ready to stop striking our energy sector, we will be ready to respond in kind,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “And this proposal of ours – conveyed through the Americans – has been communicated to the Russian side,” he said. In the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine, some 340,000 people were without power on...

With the moon now filling their windows, the Artemis II astronauts set a record on Monday as the furthest humans from Earth during a lunar fly-by promising magnificent views of the far side never before witnessed. The six-hour fly-by is the highlight of Nasa’s first return to the moon since the Apollo era with three Americans and one Canadian – a step towards landing boot prints near the moon’s south pole in just two years. First came a prize – and bragging rights – for Artemis II. Less than an...

“We’ve had some very bad allies in Nato,” US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, warning Washington could walk away from the transatlantic alliance unless allies fall in line with his Iran policy. Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte plans to visit the United States soon to stabilise the alliance. The timing is stark: Trump’s latest threat comes as several European capitals have openly refused to back Washington’s campaign to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, with some blocking the US from using...

Flooding sparked by heavy rains killed at least five people in southern Russia on Monday, while thousands of others were evacuated from their homes, authorities said. Social media videos showed flooded villages and highways engulfed by water in Russia’s Dagestan republic in the Caucasus Mountains, with overturned cars lying on the roadside. A multi-storey residential building partly collapsed in the regional capital Makhachkala. “Water levels rose after heavy rain, leading to further flooding of...

South Korea will send five Korean-flagged ships to the Saudi Arabian Red Sea port of Yanbu to help establish alternative oil supply routes to avoid the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a ruling MP said on Monday. Oil prices have surged amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, raising growth and inflation risks for South Korea, which relies on Middle Eastern crude for around 70 per cent of its imports. Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz – a critical route for global crude oil and gas –...

Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war, as US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum loomed within hours. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Tehran had conveyed its response through Pakistan, a key mediator. “We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” said Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.” The White House did not...

North Korea appears to be distancing itself from long-time partner Iran and carefully managing its public messaging to preserve the possibility of a new relationship with the US after the Iran war, South Korean lawmakers have said, citing the spy agency. Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said North ‌Korea had not sent weapons or supplies so far to Iran since the conflict started on February 28, and did not issue public condolences upon the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali...

Israel has assessed that Iran still has more than 1,000 missiles capable of reaching it, while Hezbollah’s arsenal in Lebanon includes as many as 10,000 shorter-range rockets, according to military briefings cited by Israeli media on the weekend. In an interview with Channel 12, an Israeli air force officer provided the tally of remaining Iranian ballistic missiles in what appeared to be an official break from earlier refusals to disclose estimates of Tehran’s arsenal. The estimate of 8,000 to...

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. Iran points finger at Saudis and UAE after Chinese-made drone was shot down 2. Lead scientist reveals true purpose of China’s ultra-large underwater drone 3. Hongkongers crossing border for Easter break wowed by new Shenzhen tech museum 4. Australia’s 180-degree shift from 5 years ago: China in...

Major powers are closely watching Hungary’s election next week – a vote seen as a referendum on Europe’s right and crucial for Chinese interests in the EU. Recent polls show self-styled “illiberal democrat” Viktor Orban’s Fidesz trailing challenger Peter Magyar’s Tisza Party by between 19 and 23 points among likely voters ahead of an election on Sunday that has been described as “Europe’s most consequential”. For China, Russia and the United States under President Donald Trump, an Orban defeat...

Samira Muhammadi hopes an international investigation can “extinguish” her pain after a Pakistani bombing killed her son and hundreds of other Afghans in the capital Kabul last month. The March 16 attack hit a drug treatment centre and killed 411 people, according to Afghan officials. A United Nations source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had verified at least 250 killed, with more still missing. “There should be investigations on this … Like me, many mothers lost their sons,...

The Democratic Republic of Congo will receive some migrants as part of a new deal under the Trump administration’s third-country programme, its government said on Sunday, the latest such African nation to receive migrants being deported from the United States. The deportees will start arriving in DR Congo this month, the Congolese Ministry of Communications said in a statement, without further details on the date or the number of deportees expected. It described the arrangement as a “temporary”...

A US$656 million judgment against Palestinian authorities has been reinstated by appeal judges, following a US Supreme Court ruling in favour of Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel. The decision from the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals comes a decade after it first tossed out a verdict against the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority on the grounds that US courts could not consider lawsuits against foreign groups over overseas attacks that were not...

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran and ensuing conflagration offer a window into how the US-led order works. For all its contributions, it functions like an air conditioner – cooling the American centre by pumping hot air into the periphery. Aggressive interest rate hikes export inflation to emerging markets. Proxy wars outsource geopolitical risk to distant theatres. The United States stays cool while the Global South absorbs the brunt of the heat. But the vents are closing: developing nations are...

Ukraine and Syria pledged greater security cooperation in talks on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said as Kyiv seeks to promote its military expertise across the region following the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran. Zelensky, continuing his tour of Middle East countries, ‌met with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus. “We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. In a later post,...

A cargo ⁠ship carrying wheat sank in the Sea of Azov after coming under attack from Ukrainian drones, a Russia-installed official said on Sunday, leaving one person dead and two ‌missing. Vladimir Saldo, Moscow-installed leader of the Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region, said the attack happened on Friday but crew members were unable to make known what had happened to them until Sunday. “It became known that the reason for the sinking ⁠of the Volgo-Balt in the Sea of Azov was a...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday appeared to suggest Ukraine was involved in planning an act of sabotage after Serbia reported finding explosives on a gas pipeline used to transport Russian natural gas to the two countries. Earlier on Sunday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said explosives “of devastating force” were found on the Balkan Stream pipeline near the village of Velebit on the Hungarian border. The pipeline transports Russian natural gas from Turkey via Bulgaria,...

US President Donald Trump did not take a break from his polarising rhetoric on Easter Sunday, delivering an expletive-laden attack on Iran that sparked criticism on Capitol Hill and beyond. “Open the F****n Strait, you crazy b******s, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” the president wrote early on Sunday, renewing his threat to unleash heavy bombing on Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran refused to unblock the strategic Strait of Hormuz. “Praise be to Allah,” Trump added,...

Drinks giants Pepsi and Diageo on Sunday pulled out of sponsoring a music festival in London headlined by US rapper Kanye West, who has a history of antisemitic outbursts. The disgraced 48-year-old hip-hop star - now known as Ye - is due to play three nights at the Wireless Festival in London in July as part of a European comeback tour. A spokesperson for Pepsi, the festival’s top sponsor, said on Sunday that the brand “has decided to withdraw its sponsorship of Wireless Festival”, without...

Three people, including a 10-month-old girl, were killed on Sunday when high winds toppled a tree in northern Germany during an Easter egg hunt, police said. Around 50 people from a nearby residential facility for new mothers, pregnant women and children were attending the event in woods near the town of Satrupholm at around 11am when a 30-metre tree fell on the group, police said in a statement. Four people were pinned under the tree. A 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl were treated by...

An Israeli air strike on Kfarhata, a village in south Lebanon, killed seven people on Sunday, including a four-year-old child, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement. Another Israeli attack on the Jnah neighbourhood in Beirut killed four people and injured ‌39 others, the ministry added. The strike on Kfarhata followed an overnight evacuation order by the Israeli military instructing residents to leave the village. As Lebanese Christians, who make up roughly a third of the population,...

Afghanistan aims to increase trade with Central Asian countries to US$10 billion within the next three or four years, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Sunday. Trade with Central Asian countries to Afghanistan’s north came to about US$2.7 billion in 2025, itself a significant increase over previous years, Muttaqi said. He stated Afghanistan’s new trade goal with its neighbours at a “constructive dialogue” meeting in Kabul with representatives from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan,...

Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call on Sunday to lay down arms and seek peace to global conflicts through dialogue, but he departed from a tradition of listing the world’s woes by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. Leo, the first US-born pope, emphasised Easter’s message of hope as a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after being crucified, in both the blessing and his homily. “Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his...

Critical infrastructure across the Gulf came under attack from Iran on Sunday with damage reported at civilian facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. Gulf countries have faced repeated drone and missile salvoes from Iran over past weeks in response to US and Israeli strikes that began at the end of February. Iran has targeted energy and other industrial infrastructure in the oil-rich Gulf nations, accusing its neighbours of allowing US forces to carry out attacks from their...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed concern that a prolonged US-Israeli war on Iran could further erode America’s support for Ukraine as Washington’s global priorities shift and Kyiv braces for reduced deliveries of critically needed Patriot air-defence missiles. Ukraine desperately needed more US-made Patriot air defence systems to help it counter Russia’s daily barrages, Zelensky said, speaking to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview on Saturday in Istanbul. Russia’s...

The Iranian military said Iraq is exempt from shipping restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz that have strangled global energy flows for weeks. “Brotherly Iraq is exempt from any restrictions we have imposed on the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s military spokesman said in an Arabic-language video statement published by state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. The declaration has the potential to unleash as much as 3 million barrels a day of Iraqi oil cargoes. It also comes just days after a French...

Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel and Kuwait on Sunday, a day after US President Donald Trump said the Islamic republic had 48 hours to cut a deal or face “all Hell”. Kuwait and Israel said their air defences were responding to the latest attacks from Iran, part of the war that erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes that triggered retaliation by Tehran. The war has spread conflict throughout the Middle East and convulsed the global economy. Iran’s forces maintain a tight...

The bomb placed outside a US Air Force Base visitors centre in Florida last month was built inside two 2-litre cherry Pepsi bottles, according to federal prosecutors. Alen Zheng, 20, of Land O’Lakes, is accused of planting the bomb and lighting the fuse at the base on March 10. He drove the explosive to MacDill Air Force Base in the boot of his Mercedes SUV, according to a document filed by prosecutors Friday. The bomb did not detonate. US Attorney Gregory Kehoe has said it had the “potential to...

China’s investments in North Africa have intensified in 2026, building on long-standing Belt and Road Initiative frameworks while accelerating amid the US-Israeli war with Iran. With 40-50 per cent of China’s seaborne oil imports traditionally passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is now blocked to most container traffic, Beijing has sought to diversify energy sources away from Gulf Arab states. For more than a decade, Beijing has pursued deeper engagement across the Middle East and North...

The next steps in the US military campaign against Iran will commit nearly its entire inventory of stealthy JASSM-ER cruise missiles, drawing them from stockpiles devoted to other regions. The order to pull the US$1.5 million weapon from Pacific stockpiles was issued at the end of March, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Missiles at US facilities elsewhere, including the continental US, will be moved to US Central Command bases or Fairford in the UK, said the person, who...

The Trump administration has revoked the green cards or US visas of at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government, including two who have been detained by immigration authorities and are to be deported. The latest actions were taken just this week when Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined they were no longer eligible for either lawful permanent resident status, or to enter the United States. The steps follow a move late last year in which the visas of...

Russia and Ukraine traded deadly strikes overnight and on Saturday morning, killing 10 people and wounding several dozen more, officials on both sides said on Saturday. The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Istanbul for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He will also meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians. “We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure the real protection of lives,...

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Tehran had 48 hours left to cut a deal or face “all Hell”, as US and Iranian forces scrambled to find a downed American airman. Trump’s latest threat came after a strike near an Iranian nuclear power plant prompted evacuations, and as Tehran announced fresh attacks and the Israeli military said it had detected another missile launch from Yemen. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they hit a commercial ship in Bahrain, as they maintained their tight...

The Senegalese government has banned all but essential foreign trips for government ministers as part of cost-saving measures triggered by the energy crisis linked to the Iran war. Senegal, like many African countries, imports most of the petroleum products it consumes, leaving its economy vulnerable to supply disruptions such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent the price of crude soaring. For millions in the region, soaring fuel prices have worsened the hardships they already...

At least one person died and 60 others were injured in what seemed to be a crush of fans at a popular football team’s stadium in the Peruvian capital on Friday night, authorities reported. Police said officers rescued people trapped as a result of an influx of Alianza Lima fans in the south stands of the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium the night before their team’s scheduled game against their biggest rival, Universitario. Earlier, the Ministry of Health had reported the collapse of a wall inside...

An earthquake that struck Afghanistan overnight killed 12 people, including eight members of the same family, a government official and the Afghan Red Crescent Society said on Saturday. A neighbour who helped in rescue efforts said that the eight who died, on the outskirts of Kabul, were a refugee family recently returned from neighbouring Iran. The 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 8.42pm (1612 GMT) on Friday at a depth of 186km (115 miles) at the epicentre in northeastern Badakhshan province,...

The ⁠International ⁠Atomic Energy Agency ⁠on Saturday said that it has been informed by Iran ‌about a projectile striking close to the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The IAEA said in ⁠an X post that one ‌of the site’s physical protection staff members was ‌killed by a projectile ⁠fragment ⁠and that a building on site ‌was affected by shock waves and fragments. “No increase ‌in ‌radiation levels was ‌reported,” the IAEA said. Rafael Grossi, head of the agency, voiced “deep concern”...

Iran has demanded explanations from two Gulf states equipped with Chinese-made Wing Loong II drones after one was reportedly shot down in the war with the United States and Israel. Both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are known to have the reconnaissance and precision strike drones in their arsenals. The drone was shot down over the city of Shiraz on Thursday, according to Esmail Baqaei, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry. Baqaei posted photos of drone wreckage on social...

Five European Union finance ministers are calling for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies in reaction to rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, according to a letter from ‌the ministers to the EU Commission seen by Reuters on Saturday. The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria made the joint call in a letter dated Friday, saying such a measure would be a signal that “we stand united and are able to take action”. “It would also send a clear message that those...

The United Arab Emirates has begun retaliating against Iran’s incessant air strikes on its industrial infrastructure by squeezing the economic lifeline it has long extended to the sanctions-bound Islamic Republic. Rather than taking sweeping measures that would signal an escalation beyond its purely defensive posture, the UAE this week quietly banned most Iranians from entering the country or transiting its airports. The UAE is home to more than half a million Iranians, many of whom are...

Iran on Saturday executed two men convicted of membership in a banned opposition group and carrying out disruptive actions aimed at overthrowing the Islamic Republic, the judiciary said. The executions were the latest in a series targeting members of the banned People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK), after four other convicted members of the group were put to death earlier in the week. They also come against the backdrop of Iran’s war with the United States and Israel, sparked by...

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had begun striking “Hezbollah infrastructure” in Beirut after it destroyed a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent the Iran-backed group’s reinforcements from crossing. Two loud explosions were heard in the capital within half an hour early on Saturday, with smoke billowing from one of them. Local media reported two strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a locality that has been a target of Israeli strikes in recent days as the military presses on with its...

Armed police guarding London Mayor Sadiq Khan left a bag of guns outside his home which was found by a member of the public, it was reported. Scaffolder Jordan Griffiths told The Sun that his pregnant girlfriend found the bag in south London on Tuesday evening. Inside the bag was an MP5 semi-automatic Heckler & Koch carbine, a Glock pistol, taser and ammunition, the newspaper reported. “My partner saw the bag sitting in the road by the kerbside and became suspicious. She went over to it and...

They are sipping smoothies, snapping phone pics, dealing with crashed email and fixing broken toilets: astronauts, they are just like us. The four crew members zipping through space towards the moon are carrying out a mission unlike any before it, but they are also still muddling on through life’s mundanities – all while they float around together in a square footage equivalent to two minivans. Mission specialist Christina Koch, the first woman to venture into deep space, said preparing for the...

Efforts by South Korea and France to secure safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz are likely to be centred on a post-war defensive armada with other countries. Analysts also say both nations are wary of joining the Middle East conflict at this point in time and antagonising Iran. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday revealed he had agreed with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to cooperate on safety in the strategic oil supply strait. Lee made the remarks after a...

Prosecutors did not watch video of the shooting until weeks after charging the wounded man, an official said.

A writer reports from inside the premium bubble, where there’s no such thing as too much, petty annoyances are nonexistent and the real world never intrudes.

With her mother still missing, the “Today” host’s comeback was a rare TV example of learning to live with not knowing.

Residents of Imperial County, Calif., are in dire need of an economic boost. Experts say the answer lies beneath the Salton Sea, where a lithium trove sits.

From our jokes and slang to the White House’s policy messaging, internet “brain rot” has escaped our phones to take over … well, everything.

As deadlines approach in the next two weeks, neither is going quite according to the partisan plan.

The main super PAC for Senate Republicans is focusing on eight states, and plans to spend big money to defend G.O.P.-held seats in Alaska, Iowa and Ohio.

Companies are scrambling to deal with the glut.

With new systems from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, hackers can attack with greater speed. The defense is more A.I.

As women are erased from the narrative, injustices against them go unnoticed.

The cockroaches are starting to emerge.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has made hostility to Ukraine a centerpiece of his campaign. Moscow seems determined to repay the favor.

A classically-trained violinist, she incorporated traditional instruments native to Latin America in Western-style scores to create an atmospheric hybrid.

No one was injured, but the councilman, Ron Gibson, called it “deeply unsettling.”

With funding from ARPA-H, three teams of researchers have regrown bone and cartilage, even entire knees, in animal studies. Human trials are not far off.