Minimalist News

"Some Progress Made" In Iran Peace Talks, Mediators Claim; Trump Says 'Solid 50/50' On 'Blowing Them To Kingdom Come' Summary Mediators believe they are edging closer to a deal to extend the US ceasefire with Iran by 60 days Rubio from India: "There’s been some progress made. Even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done." Trump says he's a “solid 50/50” whether he would be able to make a “good” deal or else “blow them to kingdom come”. Waiting game in Tehran , via Iran Foreign Ministry: "We need to wait and see what happens over

Ukraine Regained Territory After Cutting Russia's Black Market Starlink Terminals According to a newly declassified U.S. defense intelligence assessment first reported by Bloomberg, Moscow’s frontline command-and-control structures suffered a catastrophic blackout earlier this year due largely to coordinated crackdown that disabled thousands of black market Russian Starlink terminals . The Pentagon document highlights just how deeply Russian forces had come to rely on Elon Musk's commercial satellite terminals to patch over their own spotty military communication systems. For months, Russian units bypassed international sanctions via shadow supply networks to source the hardware. The Friday Bloomberg report claims that a "Ukrainian

Highlights From 2nd Batch Of Declassified UFO Files Include A UAP Shootdown The Pentagon’s second batch of declassified UFO files released on May 22 includes videos such as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) being shot down over the Great Lakes and audio of astronauts witnessing a series of unexplained phenomena. ​Dozens of documents were cleared for release on Friday, adding to the previous document dump on May 8, which revealed that Apollo 11 astronauts reported seeing a “sizable” object near the moon. ​The Epoch Times' Jacki Thrapp offers the following highlights from a partial review of the newly released files. UAP

Delivery Hero Confirms Uber's Takeover Bid In Push For Global Food-Delivery Empire Summary: Delivery Hero Confirms 33 Euro Takeover Bid Uber Speculation of Delivery Hero Takeover Uber Builds Large Stake in Delivery Hero Delivery Hero Confirms Takeover Bid Delivery Hero has confirmed that Uber has proposed buying the German food delivery company for 33 euros per share, in line with earlier takeover reports. Following today’s press publication, Delivery Hero SE confirms that Uber Technologies, Inc. reached out with an indicative proposal of €33 per share in respect of a potential takeover offer to all shareholders of the Company. Delivery Hero

40,000 Evacuated In Southern California As Chemical Tank Threatens Leak Or Explosion Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, Roughly 40,000 people in Garden Grove, a Los Angeles suburb, were evacuated on Friday after a chemical storage tank was determined to be at risk of failing and spilling thousands of gallons of toxic material or exploding. The malfunctioning tank holds methyl methacrylate, a flammable and volatile chemical used in plastics manufacturing for aerospace applications, igniting widespread worries over potential toxic vapor release. The situation broke out Thursday, when the tank at a manufacturing facility started displaying signs of instability.

Trump Speaks With Qatar Emir As Pakistani-Led Iran Peace Push Intensifies US-Iran de-escalation hopes drove crude oil and rates lower and put a bid in equities by the end of Friday's trading day, amid speculation that President Trump would stay at the White House over Memorial Day weekend instead of attending Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson’s wedding celebrations in the Bahamas. "As Iran/oil/rates pressure eased on de-escalation hopes, leadership rotated toward small caps, equal weight, housing, transports, discretionary, and selective defensive growth, with short covering in high short-interest/profitless tech and consumer cyclicals reinforcing the catch-up trade," UBS analyst Torsten

Ukraine Uses High-Altitude Balloons To Extend Suicide Drone Strike Range Ukrainian forces have borrowed a page from China's hypersonic glide-weapon testing and applied it to the Eastern European theater, using one-way attack drones against Russia. Instead of launching the Hornet strike drone from a ground-based catapult, Ukrainian operators tethered it to a high-altitude balloon, extending its range. Defense news website Defense Blog reports: The test, details of which circulated through Ukrainian military channels, involved a Hornet manufactured by Perennial Autonomy being dropped from a balloon at approximately 8 kilometers altitude after the aerostat carried the drone 42 kilometers from its

Morocco Launches Mass Deportations To Block Europe Migration Route: EU's 'Externalization Strategy' Via Middle East Eye Since April 14, Morocco has been conducting large-scale deportation operations targeting sub-Saharan Africans migrating to Europe , reportedly arresting over 100 per day, local sources told Middle East Eye. According to Moroccan human rights groups, around 800 people were detained during coordinated raids in the forests between Fnideq and Belyounech, in the northern tip of the North African state, where many were sheltering before attempting to reach Europe. Tramway rail construction site in Morocco's city of Casablanca, via AFP The operation is still ongoing,

Lukashenko Offers To Meet With Zelensky 'Anywhere' After Russia Sent Belarus More Tactical Nukes We reported earlier this week that for the first time Russia's 'Union State' ally Belarus hosted multi-day drills involving a "rehearsal" of Russia’s use of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons . The exercise ran from Tuesday to Thursday and was presided over by Presidents Lukashenko and Putin, and saw hundreds of Russian missile launchers, warships, nuclear submarines, and jets deploy and engage in military maneuvers. As part of it, Russia reportedly sent more tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus . Pool image, via Moscow Times On the

'Great Replacement' Fears Soar In Belgium Via Remix News, A major social study commissioned by VRT, known as the “Photo of Flanders,” reveals that a majority of Flemish people are afraid they are being slowly replaced by migrants , with this study now joining similar ones in France and Germany, which reveal serious fear across Europe about the ongoing Great Replacement . The VRT survey shows that 56 percent of respondents agree with the statement: “I am afraid that Flemish people are slowly being replaced by migrants/people from abroad.” Within this category, individuals aged 45 to 64 score at 58

Iran Says 'No Deal' Will Materialize If US Insists On Enriched Uranium Handover Summary Iran Foreign Ministry says "no deal" will be reached if the US makes enriched uranium handover demand (Al Jazeera). Rubio confirms that there's been no deal and that "we're not there yet" - amid broader late morning pushback against morning optimistic, premature headlines. Saudi sources report Pakistan army chief & a Qatar delegation en route to Tehran, after which Field Marshal Munir arrives - calls trip 'last ditch effort' to avert war . Influential Iranian parliament member threatens 'preemptive' military action if preparations & movements by

Escobar: The Russia-China Spaceship Rushes Towards Planet Multipolar Authored by Pepe Escobar, The New Silk Roads/BRI and its derivations such as the Northern Sea Route/Arctic Silk Road remain alive and kicking SHANGHAI – This is it. The Russia-China strategic partnership, the leaders in the process of Eurasia integration, the leaders of multipolar bodies BRICS and the SCO, have formally endorsed and boosted the drive towards multipolarity and a new system of international relations via a strategic joint declaration signed, sealed and delivered during President Putin’s visit to China this Wednesday. This is one for the History books – in several

These Are The Best (And Worst) Countries For LGBTQ+ Travelers In order to help LGBTQ+ tourists travel safely, the German portal Spartacus started publishing the Gay Travel Index in 2012. In the 2026 edition, the ranking compared 217 countries and territories based on the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people in each location. As Statista's Anna Fleck details below , according to the index, Iceland is considered the safest and most open place for LGBT+ travelers in 2026 , having scored 14 points, followed by Malta and Spain in joint second place with 13 each, while

The Marxist In The Machine Authored by Raw Egg Nationalist via American Greatness , Our fears for the future of robot intelligence almost inevitably end in spectacular fashion, with nuclear explosions and slaughter on a planetary scale . An abiding memory of my childhood is going over to the neighbors' house and watching Terminator 2 on VHS with my friends Ethan and Nathan, who were both older than me. I must have been about five years old - about 13 years too young to watch the film. And so, the idea that robots, reaching a certain level of intelligence and

Logic Of Violence: We Are Nowhere Near The Endgame In Drone Wars Our warning at the start of the year , well before the U.S.-Iran conflict erupted, rested on one very simple theme that much of Wall Street missed, perhaps because analysts were still wearing their 'green' glasses and focusing on the wrong crises or actually non-existent crises. The more immediate threat to data centers was never about climate change or soaking up the world's resources. It was the very real threat of a data center being hit by a low-cost Shahed-style one-way attack drone, exposing the missing layer in

Putin Vows Heavy Revenge After Deadly Ukrainian Strikes On Luhansk School Dormitory Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of intentionally targeting civilians after a "terrorist" overnight drone attack on a school that left six dead and scores of young people wounded . At least 39 were injured and counting, amid ongoing rescue efforts after a school complex was torn apart on the multi-drone strike attack . It happened at a school dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region. Over a dozen victims are still missing, including children, reports say. via Reuters Putin blasted the mass casualty incident as a "terrorist

US Sanctions Sinaloa Cartel-Linked Ethereum Addresses Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com, The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned six Ethereum addresses tied to a Sinaloa Cartel-linked money laundering network that allegedly converted drug proceeds into cryptocurrency. OFAC added the addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals list (a US sanctions list of people, entities and assets subject to blocking restrictions) on Wednesday as part of sanctions against 11 individuals and two entities connected to two Sinaloa Cartel financial networks. Treasury said one network, led by Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, collected bulk cash in

Atlanta Continues To Dominate Among World's Busiest Airports In 2025, the world’s busiest airport was not in Dubai, London, or Tokyo. It was Atlanta. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport handled 106.3 million passengers , making it the only airport in the world to cross the 100 million mark. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, ranks the world’s busiest airports by total passengers boarded and deplaned in 2025, using new data from the Airports Council International . Transit passengers are counted once. Why Atlanta Still Ranks #1 The Atlanta airport, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026, has been the world’s

India Explores Alternative Energy Sources After Oil Supply Shock By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the government to urgently explore an increase in the use of alternative energy sources, including biogas as a substitute for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as the Middle East crisis is choking oil and gas supply to the world’s third-largest crude importer. Modi also urged ministers to move faster with implementing reforms to turn India into a developed nation by 2047, the goal for its 100th independence anniversary. India has been grappling with the energy crisis that the Iran war

Disney's Marvel Comics Faces Mass Layoffs And New Woke Leadership The saga of woke comics is the saga of woke America. Much like video games, comics and superhero movies were ignored by conservative movements as "meaningless kids stuff" until recently, which is part of the reason why those industries were so easily invaded by leftists and used to indoctrinate millions of children and teens a decade ago. Culture is more important than politics. This is obvious. It's a fact that leftists have understood for generations and one that conservatives have foolishly dismissed. Only in the past few years has there

As Canada tightens asylum rules, refugees reuniting with family say they were turned over to ICE and jailed for months after failed border claims As each day in US detention passes, Markens Appolon can feel the life he had dreamed of slipping away. The 25-year-old fled Haiti to escape the rampant gang violence that upended his university studies in economics, and planned to join family in Montreal. Continue reading...

Judge said Trump administration would not have prosecuted Ábrego had he not challenged his high-profile deportation Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email A US judge dismissed a criminal indictment against Kilmar Ábrego García on Friday, finding that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his high-profile deportation. Ábrego, who had entered the United States without authorization in the past, became a symbol of the Trump administration’s drive for mass deportations when he was sent to the notorious anti-terrorism mega-prison in El Salvador known as Cecot in March 2025. Continue reading...

Alberta premier calls for referendum on secession after judge ruled initiative to force binding vote invalid The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney , has said that Alberta is “essential” to the country’s future, hours after the province’s leader moved the oil-rich region closer toward a referendum on independence. Separatists in the western province spent months collecting signatures seeking to trigger a binding October vote on seceding from the nation. Continue reading...

Andry José Hernández Romero was deported from the US to El Salvador’s notorious Cecot prison before he was allowed to return to Venezuela One of the Venezuelan men sent from the US to El Salvador’s most notorious prison by Donald Trump has moved to Spain to request asylum after concluding that he did not feel safe back home and did not trust US authorities sufficiently to return to fight his legal case. Andry José Hernández Romero left Venezuela for Spain in early February and is due for his first asylum hearing in court there in a few days, hoping that

US secretary of state says president would like a negotiated agreement with Havana but likelihood ‘is not high’ The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the island’s former leader. “Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,” Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an event in the Oval Office. “And it looks like I’ll be the one that does

Xi Jinping urges authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in rescue operation after explosion in northern Shanxi province At least 82 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in northern China’s Shanxi province, in the country’s worst mining disaster in 17 years. The explosion happened on Friday at 7.29pm (12.29 BST) while 247 workers were underground at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, the state media agency Xinhua reported. Continue reading...

Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as ‘new chapter’ that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation efforts When the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu’s prime minister hailed the result as the start of “a new chapter” in climate action. “The task before all of us now is to translate legal clarity into meaningful action, stronger cooperation, and greater protection for present and future generations,” said Jotham Napat. Continue reading...

Hung Cao’s comments are latest blow to Taipei after Donald Trump recently cast doubt over US’s enduring support US arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary, in the latest blow to Taipei after a series of comments by Donald Trump. When asked at a congressional hearing on Thursday about a $14bn (£10.4bn) weapons package awaiting Trump’s signoff for months, Hung Cao said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury

Twelve dead as southern and central areas also suffer travel disruption, electricity outages and evacuations Heavy, prolonged rainfall in southern and central China has resulted in weather warnings for flash flooding, landslides and waterlogging. The slow-moving band of rainfall spanned 620 miles (1,000km) and travelled eastwards across the regions on Tuesday. It was formed from the convergence of multiple bands of rain originating from the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. Given the accompanying low wind speeds, high daily and hourly rainfall totals have been recorded, with as much as 75mm locally in Hunan, 85mm in Anhui

Initial testing found evidence of metals in water samples, months after province’s residents began reporting unusual numbers of dead fish washing ashore Papua New Guinea’s government has warned communities not to fish from parts of the New Ireland coastline as preliminary tests show evidence of metals in some water samples, after months of residents reporting dead marine life in the area. On 7 May the fisheries minister, Jelta Wong, said initial testing conducted by an independent company detected various metals in water samples taken from affected areas around Kafkaf village and Larairu lagoon in New Ireland, an island in eastern

Australia joins the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand in condemning illegal settlements Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Israeli government is undermining stability in the West Bank as settler violence reaches unprecedented levels, a coalition of western countries says, as its leaders call for an end to construction of Israeli settlements it says breach international law. In a joint statement issued on Friday, Anthony Albanese and the leaders of the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand said: Continue reading...

The premier is offering 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission as part of a pre-election push Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Jacinta Allan has used Labor’s final state conference before the election to announce a plan for a government-owned electricity body to hire apprentices to address significant workforce shortages and job insecurity. The Victorian premier announced the plan in a speech that drew on her father’s experience as a linesman at the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which was revived by Daniel Andrews in 2023 after being privatised by former premier Jeff

Prime minister launches impassioned argument in favour of much-maligned reforms announced in last week’s federal budget Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A visibly emotional Anthony Albanese has launched an impassioned defence of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount and family trusts, saying he will “not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some”. The prime minister has faced sustained criticism to the reforms , which include limiting negative gearing to new-builds while grandfathering existing properties, changing how CGT is calculated and imposing a new

A 42-year-old fled from police before being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Sans Souci, police say Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Three people have died in a crash in Sydney after a man fled from police who had been attempting to carry out a welfare check. Police officers had been called to a property in Gymea Bay, southern Sydney, at 12.25am on Saturday. When they arrived, a 42-year-old man drove away in a white Audi, New South Wales police said. Continue reading...

Michael Agzarian was charged despite internal legal advice that the images were ‘political satire’, court hears Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Police charged an artist who depicted prominent Australians in military uniforms emblazoned with Nazi symbols despite internal legal advice the images were “political satire”, a court has heard. Police dropped the case against Michael Agzarian before the Downing Centre local court on Friday, almost a year after he had been charged with one count of displaying Nazi symbols by a public act without lawful excuse. Continue reading...

Wait times of more than two hours reported at terminal for cross-Channel ferry to France French police have temporarily suspended extra EU border checks at the port of Dover as thousands of holidaymakers face long delays in the hot weather. Waiting times of more than two hours were reported at the terminal in Kent for the cross-Channel ferry to France. Continue reading...

Police investigating an alleged home invasion 71-year-old sustained a head injury, says reports Swiss police are investigating an alleged robbery with reports that the four-times Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost was injured during a home invasion. The Swiss tabloid Blick reported late on Friday that the 71-year-old Frenchman sustained a head injury from intruders who forced his son to open a safe during the incident on Tuesday morning. “The perpetrators entered the residence while the occupants were present, threatened them, and forced one family member to open a safe before fleeing with the stolen goods,” the public prosecutor’s office

Ex-foreign secretary urges reset at ‘higher dosage’ after officials revealed to have pitched single market for goods Britain needs a “national consensus” about rejoining the European Union, David Miliband has said, in response to revelations that the UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU to the bloc. The former foreign secretary, who is now president of the International Rescue Committee, said he thought the UK needed a reset of its relations with the EU at “a much higher dosage” than the government was planning. Continue reading...

Pontiff visits ‘Land of Fires’ where dumping, burial and burning of waste has caused rise in cancer and other illnesses Pope Leo has met Italian families whose loved ones have died or have cancer as a result of illegal toxic dumping linked to a multi-billion-euro criminal racket run by the mafia. Leo’s visit to the Terra dei Fuochi , or Land of Fires, near Naples, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical, Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo’s commitment to carry on his predecessor’s environmental agenda. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Top British official presented idea in Brussels but sources say it was rebuffed The UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU as the cornerstone of an ambitious attempt to reintegrate British trade back into Europe, the Guardian can reveal. During recent visits to Brussels, the Cabinet Office’s top official on EU relations, Michael Ellam, presented the idea to deepen the UK’s economic relationship with the bloc. Continue reading...

US president says it’s a ‘solid 50/50’ on either making a ‘good’ deal with Iran or striking the country anew Donald Trump said he would meet today with American negotiators to review Iran’s latest proposal and decide by Sunday whether he will strike Iran “to kingdom come”. Trump told Axios it was a “solid 50/50” on whether he would be able to make a “good” deal with Iran or begin striking the country anew. He will be meeting with special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, along with JD Vance . Continue reading...

People killed in strikes across multiple locations after child and six paramedics die in attacks a day earlier Israel has carried out overnight strikes on Lebanon’s Bekaa valley and the southern province of Tyre, killing at least four people and reducing buildings to craters. The strikes on southern Lebanon continued on Saturday morning, hitting close to Lebanese army barracks, killing a man on a motorcycle in the town of Nabatieh, and killing and wounding people in the town of Chehabiyeh, where the death toll is not yet known. Continue reading...

US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts say The top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire , but critics have said the US-backed board’s lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war. The “high representative for Gaza”, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the “principal obstacle” to the ceasefire’s continued implementation because “it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition”. Continue reading...

Iran has threatened to impose tolls on shipping, while US demands that Iran hand over its highly enriched uranium may be deferred. Is there an end in sight? Qatar has rushed a team of mediators to Tehran in a sign that talks to open the strait of Hormuz, in return for the lifting of US sanctions and asset freezes, are reaching a climax. The aim would be to sign a memorandum of understanding on the strait that would lead to 30 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme – so deferring discussion of the US demand that Iran hand over

Secretary of state suggests July meeting of alliance will be fraught as US demands help in strait of Hormuz Donald Trump is disappointed that Nato allies refused to become more actively involved in attacking Iran, the US secretary of state has said, setting up what could become a fraught summit of the alliance in July. Marco Rubio, meeting with foreign ministers of the military alliance, emphasised that he expected the rift would be discussed at the July meeting in Ankara, making the summit “one of the more important” in Nato’s 77-year history. Continue reading...

Move comes against backdrop of challenge by prime minister, Narendra Modi, to country’s traditional elites The Indian government has ordered one of the country’s most exclusive private clubs to vacate its premises in two weeks, underscoring the long-running push of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, against entrenched elite institutions. The ministry of housing and urban affairs directed the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its sprawling site in the heart of New Delhi by 5 June, citing urgent public interest requirements, including defence and security infrastructure. Continue reading...

Up to 70% of girls may be in early or forced marriages but law now makes divorce impossible if husbands disagree Child marriage appears to have been legally recognised for the first time by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as activists say “shameful” new laws make it almost impossible for girls and young women to seek divorce against their husbands’ will. There are no official statistics on forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan, but activists say it has risen at an alarming rate in recent years, driven by the ban on girls being in education after the age of 11 .

Satirical project is viral sensation and outlet for protest on social media as it taps into young people’s frustration It began as a satirical online project after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to cockroaches. Now millions of young Indians are flocking to it as an outlet for their frustration. A parody political party with the insect as its symbol has exploded across India’s social media by turning absurdist humour into protest. Memes and short videos mocking corruption, joblessness and political dysfunction have flooded social media sites, where millions of users are embracing the cockroach – an insect known

Climbers take advantage of clear weather after threat of ice fall on normal route delayed start of spring season A record 274 climbers have reached the summit of Mount Everest from the Nepalese side in a single day after a spring season that started late because of the threat of ice fall on the normal tourist route. The climbers took advantage of the clear weather on Wednesday, said Rishi Ram Bhandari, of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal. Continue reading...

Gautam Adani, richest man in Asia, was accused of conspiring to pay $250m in bribes to Indian government officials The US Department of Justice is dropping its fraud charges against the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, the richest man in Asia, after he hired a new legal team led by Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, according to new reports. In an undisclosed April meeting at the justice department, Trump’s personal lawyer, Robert J Giuffra Jr, said that Adani would invest $10bn in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the charges against him, according to the New York Times

More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research reveals Britain has created a new breed of political prisoners through the systematic incarceration of people acting to prevent climate breakdown and the annihilation of Gaza, a report claims. The research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the protest group Defend Our Juries says that custodial sentences for acts of direct action or civil disobedience were once rare but are now being imposed with increasing length and frequency. Continue reading...

Official assessing formal complaint into Green party leader’s potential ‘breach of conduct’ as assembly member London assembly officials are weighing up whether to launch an investigation into Zack Polanski after he admitted he may have failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a houseboat in the capital. The Green party leader has faced questions over whether the houseboat, moored in east London, was his primary residence. A spokesperson for his party had described the situation as an “unintentional mistake” and said Polanski had “immediately taken steps” to pay any tax owed. Continue reading...

Growing numbers of people are seeking improbable cosmetic surgery based on chatbots’ recommendations Plastic surgeons are increasingly concerned about the rise of “AI face”, as more and more clients arrive in their offices with unrealistic AI-generated visions of what they want to look like. Dr Nora Nugent, a cosmetic surgeon from Tunbridge Wells, has seen this first hand. Clients have started coming to her office with photos of themselves beautified by AI and a false expectation that those results are achievable with surgery. She is also the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, and says many colleagues

Exclusive: ‘Desperate’ man, in hiding after returning in a lorry, says he knows of 18 others from scheme who live in Britain covertly An asylum seeker sent from the UK back to France under the “one in, one out” scheme has covertly returned to Britain and is now in hiding, the Guardian has learned. In the first interview with a one in, one out returnee living under the radar in the UK, the man told the Guardian his situation was “desperate”. Continue reading...

Former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn says firms must offer more flexibility and mental health support An “anxious generation” of young people is struggling to adapt to the outdated world of work, according to the government’s jobs adviser. Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, will say this week in a report that businesses must adapt by offering more flexibility and mental health support for young people to stave off an “economic catastrophe.” Continue reading...

Guests on Only in Monroe included Jack White and Jeff Daniels, with appearances by Steve Buscemi and Eminem After his last appearance on CBS as host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert continued his television hosting duties – on a public access show in Michigan . Colbert on Friday night hosted Only in Monroe in Monroe, Michigan, just one day after signing off from The Late Show. Colbert had been the host of The Late Show since 2015 and his tenure came to an end this week after CBS canceled the 33-year-old network staple, due to a “financial decision” by

First responders hospitalized and decontaminated after four people were found apparently overdosing Three people died and 18 first responders were sickened by exposure to fentanyl in a rural New Mexico home this week, New Mexico state police said. Police initially found four people unconscious at the home in Mountainair, 90 miles (145km) east of Albuquerque. Two were declared dead at the scene and a third died at a hospital. Continue reading...

Department of Justice acknowledges the removal of news releases about criminal cases related to 2021 Capitol attack The Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack , calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda”. The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions and sentencings is the latest step by the Trump administration to dramatically rewrite the history of the assault on the US Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to halt the congressional certification

The US president’s reversal on calling for a safety review of new AI models is a green light for tech’s unchecked power Only hours before Donald Trump was set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that would have called for a government safety review of new artificial intelligence models before their release, the president abruptly backed out . Despite growing public backlash to the technology and experts warning new models will pose critical security risks, Trump vowed the US government would not slow down the AI race. During a meeting with reporters on Thursday, Trump cited both American

Starship V3 blasts off in 12th test flight of rocket that Elon Musk is developing with aim of taking people to Mars SpaceX has launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. The redesigned mega-rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX’s CEO, Elon Musk, announced he was taking the company public . It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas on Friday, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hour-long spaceflight that stretched halfway around the world. Continue reading...

For months, the United Arab Emirates had denied Iran’s accusations that it was in league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or hosting his country’s military personnel. Then, US ambassador to Israel Mick Huckabee handed Tehran a propaganda gift and Abu Dhabi a diplomatic headache all in a single sentence. Israel sent Iron Dome air defence batteries to the UAE amid the ongoing war on Iran to help protect it from Iranian attacks, Huckabee confirmed at a conference in Tel Aviv on May...

A four-week United Nations conference reviewing the treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons ended on Friday without agreement as the United States and Iran sparred over Iran’s nuclear programme. Vietnam’s UN Ambassador Do Hung Viet, who chaired the conference, announced that there was no consensus among the 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on even a watered-down final document. He did not say which country or countries blocked a consensus. It was the third failure in a...

Twenty-seven countries have moved since the Iran war started to put in place crisis instruments that could quickly access funding from existing World Bank programmes, according to an internal document viewed by Reuters. The World Bank document did not name the ‌countries or the total amount of funds potentially being sought. The World Bank declined to comment. The document showed that three countries had approved new instruments since the Middle East conflict began on February 28, while the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing in a much weaker position than he did more than four years ago, when he launched his invasion of Ukraine shortly after his last visit. US President Donald Trump left Beijing after much fanfare. However, he was criticised back at home for failing to deliver on any key aspect of American interests, such as committing China to pressuring Iran to end the war on US terms. His popular support is at a historic low. Putin, Trump and Chinese President...

In 1957, the Soviet Union kicked off the Cold War’s space race, shocking the world by sending Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, into orbit. Four years later, it did the same to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human in space. In 1969, the US provided another image that defined the era: Neil Armstrong leaving the Eagle lunar lander and planting the American flag on the moon, declaring it “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” For the two superpowers, the...

SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he was taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world. It is the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But...

A US federal judge dismissed a criminal case on Friday filed against a Salvadorean man at the centre of a row over US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on migrants. US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled that the indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia by the Trump administration’s Justice Department was “an abuse of prosecuting power”. Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident married to an American woman, was among more than 200 people sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison in March of last year. The...

In an era when technology seems to defy all limits, one age-old barrier has managed to endure: geography. As geopolitical turbulence continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping artery, especially for energy – the search for other fuel sources, and other means of transport, has shifted from a strategic luxury to an existential necessity. This need has become particularly acute for China, a major consumer of fossil fuels. Middle Eastern imports remain a significant...

US ⁠President Donald Trump said on ⁠Friday he would not attend the ⁠wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jnr, to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, because he has to stay in Washington for government business. “While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the ‌Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “I...

Foreigners applying for permanent residency in the US will now have to go back to their home countries to seek green cards. “From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” Zach Kahler, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement on Friday. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes,”...

Kevin Warsh, whose broad criticism of current US ⁠Federal Reserve officials, playbook for rate cuts and ties to President Donald Trump elevated him past ⁠other contenders to lead the central bank, was sworn in as Fed leader on Friday at a pivotal moment for monetary policy and the American economy. Warsh, wearing a dark suit and tie and accompanied by his wife, Jane Lauder, heiress to the Estee Lauder fortune, was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after a lengthy introduction by...

Tulsi Gabbard said on Friday she was resigning ⁠from her job as US President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, saying her husband had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and that she was stepping away from her role to help him. Gabbard advised Trump of her intention to step down during an Oval Office meeting on Friday, Fox News Digital reported earlier. The resignation is effective June 30, it said. A source familiar with the matter said ‌that Gabbard had been forced...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered his military to prepare options to retaliate against Ukraine for what he described as a drone attack on a student dorm that killed six people and wounded dozens, with 15 still unaccounted for. Putin said the attack had struck the dorm in Starobilsk in Luhansk, a Russian-controlled region in eastern Ukraine. He said Kyiv’s military must have ‌known what it was targeting. Ukraine’s military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that Alberta was “essential” to the country’s future, hours after the province’s leader moved the oil-rich region closer towards a referendum on independence. Separatists in the western province spent months collecting signatures seeking to trigger a binding October vote on seceding from the nation. On May 4, they delivered their petition to provincial officials, insisting they had collected more than enough names to force a vote under Alberta...

Everlane, the retailer that bucked the fast-fashion industry by promising affordable ethically sourced and sustainable clothing, is being acquired by the king of fast-fashion, China’s Shein. A letter to Everlane employees from CEO Alfred Chang confirming the deal was obtained by Associated Press on Friday. Everlane did not disclose a purchase price. Shein declined to comment. Everlane was founded in 2011 by Michael Preysman and Jesse Farmer with a mission to produce eco-friendly and affordable...

France’s former prime minister Gabriel Attal said on Friday he would run for president next year when Emmanuel Macron steps down, becoming the second prominent centrist to challenge the far-right. “I can’t take this kind of French politics anymore, where it’s just 50 shades of managing decline,” said the 37-year-old, who was France’s youngest prime minister when he served in 2024. He announced his bid under a blazing sun in the southern village of Mur-de-Barrez – the kind of rural area where...

The head of the World Health Organization said on Friday that the Ebola outbreak in Congo is “spreading rapidly” and now poses a “very high” risk at the national level. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency was revising upwards to “very high” its assessment of the risk within Congo, which had previously been deemed as high. The risk remains high for regional spread and low at global levels, he told reporters. The WHO chief noted that 82 cases have been...

French ⁠President Emmanuel Macron said on ⁠Friday that the government will invest an additional €1 billion (US$1.16 billion) in its quantum strategy and €550 million to support the microelectronics sector, as global powers race to be first to leverage ‌emerging technology. “I’ll say it out loud. We have the means to be the winners of this race,” Macron said while announcing the funding. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled plans to take US$2 billion in equity stakes...

Perhaps the most fascinating and important aspects of US President Donald Trump’s jolt to the global economy have been its unintended consequences, especially the impact on relations between China and India. Two consistent aspects of Trump’s meandering narrative are to “make America great again” by bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US, and to hobble China as an economic and strategic threat. A decade later, there has been negligible progress on either objective. Instead, the unintended...

Bowing to pressure ⁠from within its ranks, the Democratic National Committee released on Thursday its long-withheld “autopsy” of Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race – only to quickly disavow it. The report found that Democrats have ceded ground to Trump’s Republicans through underfunding of state parties and a “persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all ‌voters”. In particular, Democrats underperformed among male voters, non-college voters, irregular...

The Brazilian head of a victims’ association for the 2009 crash of Flight 447 from Rio to Paris said that justice has yet to be served in France’s worst aviation crash after a Paris appeals court found Airbus and Air France guilty of manslaughter. Air France and Airbus, two of France’s most emblematic companies, said in separate statements that they would appeal Thursday’s ruling, potentially prolonging the legal battle for years. Brazilian Nelson Faria Marinho, who lost his son in the crash...

Paul McCartney led an all-star line-up for the final episode of The Late Show as frontman Stephen Colbert bowed out after broadcaster CBS cancelled his show as it courted US President Donald Trump. But one A-lister who eluded the comic to the end was the pope, whom Colbert, a devout Catholic, had long touted as his dream guest. “The pope, who was definitely my guest tonight, has cancelled,” Colbert joked, blaming a dispute over hot dogs before McCartney appeared to rapturous cheers. The show,...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Substance for Putin, ‘face’ for Trump as China, Russia deepen strategic alliance Days after US President Donald Trump’s visit framed around managing risks, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a...

When Air Force One touched down in Beijing, one of the most photographed passengers was Boeing’s chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, there to close a deal. Washington had come to sell aircraft. Beijing was buying something else. The last time this scene played out in 2017, China signed an agreement for 300 Boeing aircraft. Since then, it has pursued an industrial programme aimed at reducing dependence on precisely such orders. That effort has not failed, but neither has it advanced at the pace...

The leader of a Minnesota non-profit group was sentenced to 41 years in prison on Thursday after she was convicted last year of being the ringleader of a US$250 million ‌scheme to defraud a federally funded child nutrition programme. Aimee Bock, 45, was charged in 2022 with using her non-profit group Feeding Our Future to enact what the Justice Department said was the largest known fraud against the US government’s relief programmes during the ⁠Covid-19 pandemic. More than 70 other people have...

At least 19 people were killed at a palm plantation in northern Honduras, authorities said Thursday, as the Central American nation prepares for a resurgent wave of anti-gang militarisation. The killings took place the previous night in Rigores, in the restive Bajo Aguan region, where rival gangs have fought over control of palm plantations and drug trafficking routes. The attack came shortly after the national legislature approved a series of reforms to confront criminal violence in Honduras,...

US President Donald Trump surprised Nato allies by pledging to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned alliance ministers that Washington’s frustration with some of them would still need to be discussed. “The President’s views of, frankly, disappointment at some of our Nato allies and their response to our operations in the Middle East ‌are well documented,” Rubio said on Friday at a gathering of Nato foreign ministers in the Swedish town of...

Israel said on Thursday it had deported all the foreign activists seized by its forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, as the first group arrived in Turkey following global outcry over their treatment in custody. Hundreds of activists from countries around the world were placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory. Turkish foreign ministry sources said 422 activists,...

The Iran war has baked in stagflation and starvation through big reductions in the supply of oil and fertilisers. This inflationary pressure will only increase. As inflation sucks liquidity out of financial markets and into the real economy, bond yields are being pushed up across the world. If bond yields rise by more than a percentage point, a likely scenario before the year’s end, the liquidity diversion could be big enough to pop the AI bubble. The US-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted the...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday voiced hope of progress on ending the war with Iran, with mediator Pakistan’s army chief poised for talks in Tehran. The role played by Field Marshal Asim Munir, a powerful figure with a growing role in Pakistan’s foreign relations, has taken on increased significance as US President Donald Trump warned that negotiations to end the war were on the “borderline” between a deal and renewed strikes. “I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to Tehran...

One day after the United States brought criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro over the 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio portrayed Cuba as both a growing national security threat tied to China and Russia and a candidate for a negotiated political transition. The comments came amid renewed friction between Washington and Beijing over Cuba after China criticised the US charges against Castro and accused...

US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast has warned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of “Chinese malign influence” in a bid for a major contract in Argentina, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The April 23 letter concerns an auction for a 25-year contract to dredge and operate Argentina’s Parana River, a vital waterway for most of ‌the country’s agricultural exports, that Argentina estimates will reach US$10 billion in investment. The terms of the tender, which is in its...

US federal prosecutors have charged two men with using artificial intelligence to create nude videos and photos of female celebrities under a newly enacted law meant to halt the spread of deepfake pornography. Cornelius Shannon, 51, and Arturo Hernandez, 20, were both arrested on Tuesday for generating sexually explicit AI content that drew millions of views online, according to criminal complaints. The men – who do not appear to be connected – are among the earliest defendants to face charges...

The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Thursday about a new law issued by Afghanistan’s Taliban government on separation in marriage which includes provisions on child marriage, saying the code further entrenches discrimination against women and girls. The government rejected the accusations, saying the decree follows Islamic law and insisting the country has already banned the forced marriage of girls. Afghanistan’s justice ministry published Decree No 18 “on judicial separation of...

Portuguese police on Thursday arrested the mother of two young French boys found abandoned by a main road in the south of the country, alone and crying. The boys, aged four and five, were rescued on Tuesday by a passing motorist near the resort town of Comporta, where they had been left with backpacks containing food and water but no identity documents, according to Portuguese media. A manhunt was launched for the boys’ mother, 41, and on Thursday Portuguese police said they had arrested her in...

Police fired warning shots and tear gas ⁠as part of a dispute in Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeast over the burial of a suspected Ebola victim, a footballer who played for local teams, that saw protesters burn down tents for Ebola patients, Reuters witnesses said. The incident highlighted the struggle Congolese authorities could face to enforce the safe burials of people with confirmed and suspected cases that are required to help contain the outbreak. It took place in the town ‌of...

An Ankara court on Thursday annulled the 2023 leadership election of Turkey’s main opposition CHP party in a sharp escalation against the country’s embattled opposition. It is the latest in a string of moves targeting the Republican People’s Party, Turkey’s oldest political faction that won a huge victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP in the 2024 local elections and has been rising in the polls. The ruling overturned the result of a leadership election that brought in current...

Three fully laden supertankers – including two Chinese vessels – crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, in a possible sign that Tehran may be starting to open up the vital waterway to more shipping traffic. The exit of the three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) came on the same day that Iran confirmed it had allowed 26 vessels to transit the strait – a hefty uptick compared with the level of traffic Iranian forces have generally permitted since the war began. The moves appeared to signal an...

At least nine people were killed and others injured when a four-storey building collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of ‌Fez, about 200km (124 miles) east of the capital Rabat, the city’s prosecutor said on Thursday. State media 2M had said 11 people were killed before issuing an official correction. Residents of nearby buildings in the densely populated neighbourhood were asked to evacuate as a precaution against potential further collapses while a search for potential survivors was still...

Fewer Americans filed for jobless aid last week as lay-offs remain low despite a number of uncertainties that continue to cloud the economy. US applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 16 fell by 3,000 to 209,000, the Labour Department reported Thursday. That is fewer than the 213,000 new applications analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet had forecast. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for US lay-offs and are close to a real-time indicator...

Beijing is increasingly seen as key to securing international stability and economic opportunities, a status which both Washington and Moscow are converging on. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent foreign policy interactions with the leaders of the United States and Russia highlight China’s rising strategic position – acting as a significant player in global affairs, from the conflict in Ukraine to the volatile situation with Iran. Xi’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has...

A Paris appeal court on Thursday found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio-Paris plane crash ‌that killed 228 passengers and crew in France’s worst air disaster. The verdict is the latest milestone in a legal marathon involving two of France’s most emblematic companies and relatives of the mainly French, Brazilian and German victims. Relatives of some of the 228 passengers and crew who died when the Airbus A330 vanished in darkness during an Atlantic storm...

Queen Elizabeth pressed ⁠for her son Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor ⁠to be made a government trade envoy back in 2000, according to documents released on Thursday. Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of King Charles, served as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment between 2001 and 2011 in an unpaid role that allowed him to travel the world meeting senior business and government figures. David Wright, the chief executive of British Trade International, said that before the...

Despite instability in the Middle East, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has begun building the world’s largest aircraft maintenance complex in the United Arab Emirates, underscoring China’s growing dominance in overseas infrastructure. The project, worth more than US$5 billion and one of the largest construction deals a Chinese builder has secured in the region, will comprise eight large maintenance hangars for aircraft storage, covering about 1.21 million square metres (13 million...

An ex-Austrian intelligence officer was found guilty of passing on state secrets to a fugitive former top executive at the fraudulent payments company Wirecard in a high-profile spy case that has prompted authorities in Vienna to tighten rules on espionage. Egisto Ott was handed a prison sentence of more than four years for spying, abuse of office, bribery and embezzlement, and other charges, according to a statement from the Vienna Regional Criminal Court late on Wednesday. He was found...

Iran is trying to assert its control over the strait by charging for passage. Experts say it is unlikely to happen, but the threat has unsettled the shipping industry.

Saturday’s strikes damaged a main hospital in the Lebanese city of Tyre, as funerals for paramedics killed a day earlier were held.

In the relative calm of the early days of a cease-fire, there were heart-rending scenes as people exhumed their loved ones from temporary graves and reburied them.

The industry has grown rapidly, straining state budgets. A focus on finances has led to overbilling, fraud and even harm.

A rapidly growing industry often overprescribes treatment to young children with autism, who spend as many as 40 hours a week at the facilities.

Firefighters continue to cool a chemical storage tank with water to prevent it from breaching or exploding. Some 40,000 residents near the Orange County plant have been evacuated to shelters.

Kinshasa residents continue to pack markets, bars and public transportation, despite growing international concern about the spread of the virus.

Several hundred people massed at the gates of a hospital to demand the body of a suspected Ebola victim. Violence broke out when staff refused the request.

The team, now in Belgium, must isolate there for 21 days or risk being denied permission to come to Houston for the World Cup, an official said.

The iconic actor on becoming a meme, a myth and larger than life.

The moms are not happy.

Voters want to dictate which offices their preferred politicians hold, what positions they take, and even where and how they live. It is fantasy football: political edition.

It’s a holiday weekend, three days to ease from one seasonal mind-set into the next, even if it feels too soon.

Residents who experienced attacks in recent days were shaken deeply by the conflict coming home to the capital region, the seat of the Kremlin’s power.

Brent Sikkema, who championed artists like Kara Walker, was found stabbed to death in his apartment in Brazil in 2024 amid divorce proceedings with his spouse.