Minimalist News

The Reflexive Rally Was Not Surprising Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, The market rallied on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Tuesday’s rally one of the best trading days since 2022. However, that should also be unsurprising, since the best trading days tend to cluster with the worst market periods. As we noted in Stock Market Breadth on Monday: > “The single most damaging decision most investors make during periods of falling stock market breadth is selling. The data on this is unambiguous. Seven of the market’s 10 best days in any given 20-year period occur within two weeks of the 10 worst days, according to JPMorgan

Third Order Effects Begin: U.S. Airlines Hike Bag Fees As Jet Fuel Prices Spike The New York Harbor jet fuel benchmark has doubled in just five weeks as the aviation fuel crisis spreads from airport to airport worldwide following ongoing disruptions at the Hormuz chokepoint. The third-order effects of that energy shock began to materialize this past week, with major U.S. airlines raising checked-bag fees to offset soaring fuel costs.  United Airlines and JetBlue Airways, two major U.S. carriers, raised checked-baggage fees for domestic travel this week as they begin to figure out ways to address the impact of surging jet fuel

"WE GOT HIM!": Trump Says As 2nd Downed Pilot Recovered In High Risk Iran Special Forces Raid After 'Dicey' Firefight SUMMARY * Second downed pilot recovered after US Special Forces raid and firefight inside Iran. * Fire Breaks Out At Kuwait Oil Ministry Complex After Iran Drone Strike * President Trump reminds Iran of deal timeline, threatens "all hell will reign down" if time runs out. * Israel launched heavy strikes on Tehran, targeting Iranian air-defense and ballistic-missile sites, while a projectile also hit the perimeter of Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant * The U.S. military continued search operations for an American

Czech Government Caps Fuel Prices And Cuts Diesel Tax To Combat Surging Costs At The Pump By Thomas Brooke of RMX news, The Czech government has moved to cap fuel prices and slash diesel taxes in an effort to curb rising costs due to the ongoing international energy crisis, announcing a system that will see the state set maximum daily prices for fuel across the country. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the intervention follows concerns that fuel retailers were charging excessive margins, despite earlier pressure from the government to bring prices down voluntarily. Under the new system, the Ministry of Finance will determine a

All German Men Aged 17-45 Must Now Obtain Army Approval For Trips Abroad Lasting Over 3 Months All German men aged between 17 and 45 now need approval from the Bundeswehr - i.e., the German army - for longer stays abroad. Under the new Military Service Act, this applies to trips abroad lasting more than three months, the Defence Ministry has announced. The daily Frankfurter Rundschau was the first to report on the change. The rule is part of what is known as the Military Service Modernisation Act, which came into force on 1 January 2026. The law is intended to ensure

Time For Europe To Defend Itself Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker, Americans shouldn’t fight for a suicidal continent. Four years ago, the Biden administration was working with the United Kingdom and the European Commission to pay for diminutive comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s war with the Russian Federation over territories where supermajorities of the population identify as Russian.  We were told that the Russian-speaking people of Ukraine “belonged” to Ukraine and that the only way to “preserve democracy” was to deny those people a democratic vote to join the Russian Federation. “Democracy” also apparently requires the installation of a Ukrainian dictator, a complete crackdown on an independent

Ex-CIA Analyst: Trump's Claim About Obliterated Iranian Air Defenses Was Premature Authored by former CIA officer Larry Johnson During his Wednesday night speech, Donald Trump made the following claim about Iran’s air defenses: "They have no anti-aircraft equipment, their radar’s 100% annihilated, we are unstoppable as a military force." The White House followed this Friday, with a statement from a spokesperson, Anna Kelley, who further emphasized, "Here are the facts: Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks are down 90 percent, their navy is wiped out, two-thirds of their production facilities are damaged or destroyed, and the United States and Israel have overwhelming air

Forget Temu's "Bugatti" Knockoff. Texas Man 3D-Printed A Lamborghini Aventador Body Forget ordering a $30,000 "Bugatti" knockoff from Chinese e-commerce websites like Temu. A private seller in Texas is now offering what appears to be a fully 3D-printed Lamborghini Aventador body on Facebook Marketplace, highlighting how 3D printing is revolutionizing custom vehicle manufacturing. "This is a fully 3D-printed Lamborghini Aventador project that gives you a huge head start. It includes the complete body, front frame, rear frame, and monocoque already printed and sized to Aventador dimensions," the listing stated. The 3D-printed Aventador body is listed for $5,000. But the price jumps to $7,500 if

The Tyranny Of Compelled Speech Authored by George Ramsay via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), While censorship is often the main focus of discussions about free speech, there’s a related phenomenon that can do just as much damage to a free society. Not by preventing people from saying things they believe in, but by forcing them to say things they do not. A scoreboard shows a message declaring an indigenous land acknowledgement before an NHL hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens and the San Jose Sharks in Montreal on Oct. 19, 2021. The Canadian Press/Ryan Remior Compelled speech requires people to use certain words

GOP Senator Opposes More Than 60 Days Of War On Iran Without War Declaration In what could become a key milestone in an unpopular US-Israeli war on Iran that has the world on the edge of economic catastrophe, a Republican senator from one America's reddest states has announced his opposition to continued action against Iran beyond 60 days from the Feb 28 commencement of hostilities -- unless Congress approves it.  "I support the president’s actions taken in defense of American lives and interests," wrote first-term Sen. John Curtis in an opinion piece published by the Desert News. "However, I will not support ongoing

Iran Allows Iraqi Ships To Use Strait Of Hormuz As Total Weekly Transits Reach Highest Since War Began Over the past two weeks we have been chronicling the increased rate of crossing across the "blockaded" strait of Hormuz as a growing number of ships from friendly nations - whether untolled Chinese tankers or toll-paying Indian, Japanese and Korean vessels - have been making the passage. And as traffic through the Hormuz strait has been picking up in the past week, the seven-day rolling average for transits on Friday reached the highest since the war started, according to Bloomberg. More vessels are crossing,

In Charts: US Does Not Rely On Strait Of Hormuz Oil While Asia Stands To Lose Authored by Sylvia Xu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The Strait of Hormuz has been called the jugular vein of the world’s oil supply, and as Operation Epic Fury continues, Iran continues to have a chokehold on the critical supply route. About one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas is typically shipped through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. But Iran’s attacks on commercial vessels have brought traffic through the strait to a virtual standstill since the start of the conflict on

Library Director Fired After Refusing To Remove Hundreds Of LGBT Books From Kids' Section When are these people going to learn to just leave the kids alone? A Tennessee library board has voted 8-3 to remove its top librarian, Luanne James, after she refused to carry out an order to relocate hundreds of LGBT-themed books, Critical Race Theory (CRT) and feminist propaganda books from the children's section of six Rutherford County branch libraries. James was initially ordered to relocate books containing far-left ideology from the juvenile/children's sections to the adult sections of libraries.  The board cited concerns that the books promoted "gender confusion," contained LGBT

The Real Threat From The Iran War Hits Farmers, Not Fuel Pumps Authored by Michael Wilkerson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Prices for retail diesel and gas have each risen by over a third ($1.30+ and $1.00 per gallon, respectively) since the launch of Epic Fury. Americans learned in the 1970s that Middle East conflict means energy pain, and that lesson has been reinforced through every subsequent Gulf crisis. This time, however, the more consequential threat to American household budgets is not the fuel pump. It is quietly moving through the global fertilizer supply chain, and it will impact hundreds of

Ex-NYC Mayor de Blasio Joins China-Linked Far-Left Group At Anti-U.S. "Emergency Meeting" In Colombia The New York Post reports that former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio secretly traveled with his girlfriend and a far-left activist group, alleged to have links to the Chinese Communist Party, to attend an "emergency" meeting denouncing the U.S. It's a 180-degree turn for the former Democratic mayor of NYC, long a symbol of American capitalism, even as the image of the metro area deteriorates under Zohran Mamdani's socialist rule. Source: New York Post  A source told the NYPost that de Blasio jetted off with members of

The Demise Of Trial By Jury Authored by Celina via American Greatness, > Justice isn’t blind anymore: Multiculturalism has made impartial justice impossible > > “Law grows with the growth, and strengthens with the strength of the people, and finally dies away as the nation loses its nationality.” > — Friedrich Carl von Savigny Photo: Wyandanch, N.Y.: As the jury foreperson read the verdict of "not guilty" in the Los Angeles courtroom, women at Straight Path Beauty Supply in Wyandanch, New York react expressively on October 3, 1995. (Photo by Dick Kraus/Newsday RM via Getty Images) On Tuesday, October 3, 1995, the verdict in the O. J. Simpson criminal

Tehran's Toll Booth For Hormuz Strait Divides Countries Into 3 Categories The last several days have seen a limited number of foreign vessels successfully and safely cross the Strait of Hormuz for the first time, amid the ongoing de facto military blockage by Iran. A group of several vessels, namely French, Japanese, and Oman-linked ships were reported to have crossed the strait at the end of this week. This included Malta-flagged 'Kribi,' owned by French shipping group CMA CGM, having exited the Gulf through an Iranian-approved corridor, broadcasting "owner France" - as we reported earlier. via Reuters/AJ Interestingly, its route was identified by the shipping sourcel

Less Than Half Of Health Care Workers Received An Updated COVID-19 Vaccine: CDC Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times, A minority of health care workers received an updated COVID-19 vaccine, according to a newly reported survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just 40.2 percent of health care personnel who responded to the survey said they received a COVID-19 shot between the fall of 2024 and early 2025, CDC researchers said on April 2. The rate of vaccination was higher, 76.3 percent, for influenza. The survey was conducted online from March 26 to April 17 in 2025, following the 2024–2025 respiratory

How Social Media Verdicts Could Upend Tech Industry Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times, Two major court verdicts last week finding social media giants Meta and YouTube liable for harm to users could send shock waves through the tech industry. In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, a jury in Los Angeles on March 25 found both companies liable for making their platforms addictive and deleterious to the mental health of young users. The 20-year-old plaintiff, referred to as “Kaley G.M.” or only her initials K.G.M. during trial, testified that she had become addicted to social media at a young age and that it negatively

US Arrests & Boots Soleimani's Fashion Designer Niece From The Country The Trump administration is rounding up family members of notable Iranian government figures, accusing them of spreading 'pro-Tehran propaganda'. And apparently this is even if the Iranian officials in question are deceased. The State Department confirmed an unexpected development on Saturday, announcing that the niece of the late Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani is being booted from the country. Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were arrested Friday night, and their permanent residence status has been revoked - now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Maj. Gen. Soleimani was the

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...

Tania Warner is fitted with ankle monitor and released along with seven-year-old daughter Ayla Luca after being deemed not a flight risk A Canadian woman and her seven-year-old daughter, who were held for nearly three weeks in a notorious detention center by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), were released on Thursday evening after posting a bond of $9,500. Tania Warner and her daughter Ayla Luca, originally from British Columbia, are both Canadian citizens. Warner moved to the US in 2021 when she married Edward Warner, a US citizen. “Very happy to have my family home … it’s been a whirlwind day,”

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...

Agreement comes after Wellington halted millions in aid to its former colony after Cook Islands formed strategic partnership with Beijing New Zealand and the Cook Islands have signed a defence and security declaration, ending a year-long diplomatic row that erupted after the Cook Islands struck strategic agreements with China. The Cook Islands was a dependent New Zealand colony from 1901-65 but has since operated as a self-governing nation in “free association” with New Zealand. Its roughly 17,000 citizens hold New Zealand citizenship. There are obligations between the two nations to regularly consult on matters of defence and security. Continue reading...

Distressed riders who were stranded for hours say Apollo Go customer service agents offered ‘useless platitudes’ A “system malfunction” has caused several self-driving robotaxis to stall in the middle of the road in China, police have confirmed, after distressed riders were stranded for hours. Local authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said they began receiving calls “one after another” on Tuesday night from riders reporting that autonomous vehicles operated by the Chinese internet company Baidu had frozen. Continue reading...

South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plants Governments across Asia are ramping up their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, as they try to cover huge energy shortfalls triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. The move has triggered warnings from climate experts who point to coal’s devastating environmental impact, and say the energy crisis should be a wake up call for governments to invest in renewables, which can offer a more stable supply that is not exposed to price shocks. Continue reading...

Judge says boy should go back to his community to learn about stories and rituals ‘that can only be taught on country’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An Aboriginal child who was moved 1,700km from his remote Northern Territory community should be returned to ensure he can experience his culture, the family court has found. The boy, known as X in the court proceedings, was born in 2016, when his mother was in prison. She did not take part in the court proceedings, and the man believed to be the boy’s father only took a

Human brains are designed to detect faces as quickly as possible, which can lead to the perception of ‘false faces’ Faces: we see them in clouds, electrical outlets and even a $28,000 toasted sandwich said to look like the Virgin Mary. Known as face pareidolia, seeing faces in inanimate objects or patterns of light and shadow is a common phenomenon. Continue reading...

Dianne Thompson and Lois Kirk tell Victoria police in letter ‘we did not expect to feel invisible’ after Neal Thompson’s death * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The sisters of Neal Thompson, one of the two police officers shot dead by Dezi Freeman in Porepunkah last August, plan to sue Victoria police for negligence after an inquest into the officers’ deaths, their lawyer says. Police accountability lawyer Jeremy King, who is representing Dianne Thompson and Lois Kirk, confirmed on Sunday that the sisters would bring a negligence claim against Victoria police after the conclusion of a

Most of the stations hit with penalty infringement notices were in regional NSW, while 23 were in Sydney * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Ninety-three service stations in New South Wales have been issued on-the-spot fines for misrepresenting their prices amid Australia’s fuel crisis – although none are facing penalties for price gouging. A two-week compliance blitz has seen inspectors visit about 75% – or just under 1,800 – of stations registered with fuel price app FuelCheck in NSW, issuing 93 penalty infringement notices, the state government said on Sunday. Continue reading...

Federal government chases supply guarantees from countries including Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan amid Iran war * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Asian trading partners have reassured Australia that the “normal supply” of fuel will continue amid the Middle East conflict, as the government prepares to intensify efforts to avert shortages of petrol and diesel. The federal government has been chasing supply guarantees from countries including Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan as the Iran war and closure of the strait of Hormuz wreaks havoc on the global oil market. Continue reading...

Under Anne Hidalgo – mayor for 12 years until last week – the French capital added bike lanes, cut traffic and reclaimed public space, but not without resistance When Corentin Roudaut moved to Paris 10 years ago, he was too scared to cycle. The IT developer had biked everywhere as a student in Rennes but felt overwhelmed by the bustling French capital. Cars were everywhere. Cyclists had almost no protection. But once authorities carved out space for a segregated bike lane on Boulevard Voltaire near his home in the 11th arrondissement, Roudaut returned to the two-wheel commute and did not look back. Continue

Exclusive: Animal welfare charities ‘bitterly disappointed’ UK government plans to backtrack on manifesto promises * This article contains an image of a duck being force-fed that some readers may find upsetting The UK government is to break a manifesto commitment to ban foie gras imports, and has declined to stop fur imports, after the EU made these red lines in its discussions for a trade deal. Animal welfare charities say they are “bitterly disappointed” that ministers are failing to use powers granted by Brexit to restrict the import of these “cruel” items. Continue reading...

Ministry clarifies clause affecting those up to age 45 that is part of legislation that came into effect in January A little-noticed clause in sweeping changes to Germany’s military service policy has caused uproar after it emerged that the law requires men aged up to 45 to get permission from the armed forces before any significant stay abroad, even in peacetime. The legislation, which went into effect on 1 January, aims to bolster the military and demands all 18-year-old men fill out a questionnaire to gauge their suitability to serve in the armed forces, but stops short of conscription. Continue reading...

Roberto Mazzarella, head of a notorious Camorra clan, had been on the run for more than a year An Italian mafia boss, who was one of Italy’s most dangerous fugitives, has been arrested on murder charges after more than a year on the run, Italian police said on Saturday. Roberto Mazzarella was the head of the notorious Mazzarella clan of the Camorra – the Naples-based organised crime gang. Continue reading...

As voters head to polls, Washington support and alleged interference from Moscow raise questions about influence * Hungary elections: what is at stake and who is likely to win? The official announcement that JD Vance was to visit, days before Hungarians cast their ballots in a hotly contested election, was greeted by Budapest with no less than four exclamation marks and three emojis. “!!Official!!” Viktor Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán, wrote on social media as he confirmed the news. The White House said Vance, along with his wife Usha, will land in Hungary on Tuesday, in what is widely seen as an

US president tells Iran: ‘Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell’ Iranian media has claims that a US aircraft was destroyed while searching for the crew member of a missing US F-15 fighter jet. “An American enemy aircraft that was searching for the pilot of a downed fighter jet was destroyed by the fighters of Islam in the southern region of Isfahan,” the Tasnim news agency quoted Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as saying. The Guardian was unable to verify their claim. Continue reading...

Donald Trump will claim rescue as a triumph but 48-hour drama should be a caution against launching ground operation * Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump will inevitably claim the rescue of the second crew member of the downed F-15 fighter as a propaganda triumph, though the 48-hour drama is a reminder that an undefeated Iran is able to fight back and inflict costs on the US. It also ought to be a caution for a White House still contemplating whether to launch a ground operation in Iran to seize an island in the Persian Gulf – particularly if there

Trump gives further details on rescue and threatens to bomb infrastructure if strait of Hormuz is not reopened * Middle East crisis – live updates The second crew member of a downed F-15E fighter jet has been rescued by US commandos overnight, ending a two-day search after the warplane crashed in south-west Iran. The crew member, a colonel and weapons systems officer, had sustained some injuries but was successfully extracted by US special forces, Donald Trump said in a social media post soon after midnight EST. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Our coverage of the Middle East crisis continues here Iran has 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 on Saturday were the latest in a series targeting members of the banned People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), after four other convicted members of the group were executed earlier in the week. Continue reading...

Archbishop of Canterbury to issue urgent call for peace, as PM exhorts Britons to ‘choose community over division’ Religious and political leaders in the UK are highlighting the conflict in the Middle East in their Easter messages, calling for “peace, justice and freedom” in the region. The archbishop of Canterbury will deliver her first Easter sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday as the Church of England’s top bishop. Dame Sarah Mullally will call “with renewed urgency” for peace in the Middle East and pray for “an end to the violence and destruction” in the region. 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...

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...

Marco Rubio welcomes release of Dennis Coyle, who was detained in January last year for violating unspecified laws Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have released the American academic Dennis Coyle after holding him for over a year, with the foreign ministry saying the release came on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. A statement from the ministry said the academic researcher had been released in Kabul on Tuesday, following an appeal from his family and after Afghanistan’s supreme court “considered his previous imprisonment sufficient”. Continue reading...

Protesters held on Sunday after joining a Lakenheath Alliance for Peace encampment outside airbase in Suffolk Seven people have been arrested under suspicion of supporting banned group Palestine Action after a protest in Suffolk. They were arrested on Sunday morning after joining a peace encampment to create a blockade outside the main gate of Lakenheath airbase. Continue reading...

Concerns raised over minors placed in adult detention centres since removals began under scheme in September More than 70 children from various conflict zones whose ages were disputed by the Home Office have been held in detention centres in the UK in preparation for forced removal to France under the government’s “one in, one out” scheme, research shows. The one in, one out initiative means each small boat arrival can be forcibly returned to France in exchange for another person – who has not attempted the crossing – being brought to the UK legally. Continue reading...

Walker Smith, 54, who worked for retailer for 17 years, says he grabbed bag from thief before they escaped A Waitrose employee of 17 years has described his devastation after being sacked for stopping a shoplifter who had ransacked a display of Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs. Walker Smith, a shop assistant at a branch of Waitrose in Clapham Junction, south London, was going about his normal duties when a customer stopped him. “They told me someone had filled up a Waitrose bag with the eggs,” he said. Continue reading...

Sponsor pulls out after Keir Starmer calls decision to book rapper who wrote song titled Heil Hitler ‘deeply concerning’ Pepsi has said it is withdrawing its sponsorship of a UK music festival that is due to be headlined by Kanye West after Keir Starmer joined criticism of the event. The musician is understood to have not yet made an application to come to Britain and could be blocked under powers allowing the authorities to do so if his presence is deemed not conducive to the public good. Continue reading...

Average traditional funeral now costs £4,623, up 1.3% since January, says report from Pure Cremation The war in Iran is pushing up the cost of living in the UK but it is also driving up the “cost of dying” as higher gas prices feed through to funerals. A report has found the average cost of a funeral in Britain is running ahead of inflation, with the war seemingly partly to blame as it has pushed up the price of gas used in crematoriums. Continue reading...

Nasa team get deeper into space than any humans have ever ventured Astronauts on the historic Artemis II mission are expected to reach the far side of the moon on Monday, venturing deeper into space than any humans before. Nasa has reported satisfaction with progress toward the lunar fly-round since the team’s launch on Wednesday, with the three Americans and one Canadian on course to break the record for maximum range from Earth just as a total solar eclipse awaits. Continue reading...

Immigration agents have spread into rural western Wisconsin, taking dozens of people from towns in more politically conservative areas The Mexican restaurant where multiple workers were taken in February still sits dark, across the road from a travel plaza where people were also arrested by federal agents. An Ecuadorian market in a nearby town targeted by immigration agents is back open again, with a sign on the door telling people to ring the bell before entering. Continue reading...

Elections seem top-of-mind for the Maha movement as key polling indicates anti-vaccine views are a liability US health officials appear to be shying away from voicing negative views of vaccines in public as November’s midterm elections loom and key polling indicates anti-vaccine views are a liability. Health officials have made unprecedented changes to routine vaccine recommendations in the past year – slashing one-third of the US childhood schedule, including the recommendation for hepatitis B immunization at birth. But even before a federal judge essentially invalidated these moves, officials haven’t championed their dramatic changes after Donald Trump’s pollsters recommended veering away from anti-vaccine

No injuries reported and no suspect found after a search of park and surrounding area, agency says The US Secret Service said on Sunday it was investigating reports of overnight gunfire near Lafayette Park, which is across the street from the White House. No injuries were reported and no suspect was found after a search of the park and the surrounding area after midnight, the agency said in an online post. Continue reading...

Letters to US agency raise concerns over tech firms’ plans to use reflective satellites and expand numbers in low Earth orbit Proposals to deploy reflective mirrors and up to 1m more satellites in low Earth orbit could have far-reaching consequences for human health and ecosystems, leading sleep and circadian rhythm researchers have said. Presidents of four international scientific societies representing about 2,500 researchers from more than 30 countries are among those who have raised concerns in letters to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Continue reading...

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...

The whole world has come to oppose the Iran war, including most Americans. Just as Israel took part in the 1956 Suez crisis, which signalled the last hurrah of European imperialism, it is now jointly prosecuting a pointless but destructive war that is likely to spell the twilight of American hegemony. This time, though, the Jewish state won’t get away so easily. From the Palestinian territories to Iran and Lebanon, it can no longer hide its Zionist expansionism that threatens the entire...

A 12-year-old has been arrested in connection with the death of a classmate who was hit in the head with a metal water bottle during an alleged bullying incident at a Los Angeles school, authorities said Friday. The juvenile, whose age and gender have not been made public, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday, Los Angeles Police Officer Charles Miller said. The arrest stems from the February 25 death of 12-year-old Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa. The Los Angeles County District...

Pope Leo lifted a wooden cross and held it aloft from his waist at the start of the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope has set out to carry the cross to every station. “I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week...

One crew member from a US fighter jet shot down over Iran has been rescued by US forces, multiple news outlets reported on Friday, citing two US officials, while a second crew member remains missing. A separate US aircraft was also hit near the Strait of Hormuz, though its pilot was rescued safely, according to the reports. Iran claimed on Friday to have shot down the American jet, releasing photos of apparent wreckage of an F-15E. The United States reportedly launched a search-and-rescue...

The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon. Nasa released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1½ days into the first astronaut moon shot in more than half a century. The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds As of midmorning on Friday, Wiseman and his crew...

A French container ship and a Japanese-owned tanker have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, in what appear to be the first such transits since the war in Iran closed the crucial waterway. The CMA CGM Kribi container ship exited the strait on Friday, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and two people familiar with the situation. That is the first ship linked to western Europe that is known to have made it through since the war began more than a month ago. Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines...

Russian strikes killed at least eight people across Ukraine on Friday, including in a “massive” missile and drone attack near the capital, local authorities reported. Ukrainian officials claim the Kremlin is changing its tactics to increase civilian suffering, shifting to daytime barrages and preparing to target more key infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky has signalled Kyiv’s openness to a potential Easter truce. The holiday is celebrated on April 12 in Ukraine and Russia. Zelensky...

American employers added a surprisingly strong 178,000 new jobs last month, rebounding from a dismal February, while the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3 per cent. The Labor Department reported on Friday that hiring marked a rebound from the loss of 133,000 jobs in February. The job gains were about three times what economists had forecast. The unemployment rate was down from 4.4 per cent in February. That is partly because the labour force – those working and looking for work – dropped by...

President Donald ⁠Trump on Friday said the ⁠US can open the Strait of Hormuz with a little more time, as pressure mounts for his administration to find a ‌quick resolution to a war against Iran. “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL,& MAKE A FORTUNE,” he said in a post on Truth Social. Nearly ⁠five weeks after it started with a joint US-Israeli aerial ‌assault, the war in Iran continues to spread chaos across the region and roil ‌financial markets, raising...

The dust and debris of the US-Israeli war on Iran have yet to settle, but its strategic shock waves have reached East Asia. From Tokyo to Taipei, a reassessment is under way. The conflict, intended to project American resolve, has been a brutal stress test for the US-led order – with catastrophic results for Washington’s credibility. Far from cementing its primacy, America’s misadventure has revealed a superpower that is overstretched, vulnerable and seen as an unreliable partner. This erosion...

Human remains have been found aboard a cargo ship struck by Iran while transiting the Strait of Hormuz last month, the vessel’s owner said on Friday, after three crew members were reported missing following the attack. US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to respond by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for global oil supplies. The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree was struck in March while travelling through the strait after departing Khalifa port in the...

The Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with the Hezbollah militant group began. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with massive strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive. The Israeli military said on Friday it had killed about 1,000...

Iran on Friday said it shot down an F-35 fighter jet. A statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s elite military force, said the fighter jet was shot down over Iranian airspace by a new, advanced defence system. There was no initial confirmation of the incident from the United States, which has been waging war against Iran alongside Israel since February 28. The IRGC said the F-35 was the second to have been shot down. “Due to the complete destruction of the aircraft,...

From controlling the weight of aircraft to sending more flights to Europe via Russian airspace, Chinese airlines have adopted a range of measures in response to the surge in oil prices resulting from the Middle East conflict that threatens to crimp their razor-thin margins. A number of carriers, including China Eastern Airlines, have been enforcing more precise and complex cost management measures in recent weeks to save fuel, according to industry insiders. They include stricter load and weight...

Threatening to destroy Iran’s electricity grid and to reduce the country of 90 million to destitution, US President Donald Trump is shattering precedent by not just accepting but gloating about acts seen as potential war crimes. The consequences for Trump, at least in the near term, are probably none, experts say, as his administration works hard to undermine international institutions tasked with keeping norms. The Geneva Conventions governing the laws of war, agreed following World War II,...

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. Controlled escalation? Trump hails ‘victories’ in Iran but vows more strikes US President Donald Trump declared the US‑Israel war against Iran had delivered “decisive, overwhelming victories”, even as he signalled that key military...

Cuba’s government announced on Thursday that it was pardoning 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian” gesture during Holy Week, after pledging in March to release dozens amid heightened US pressure on Havana. The major announcement comes days after US President Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude to the fuel-starved island. The Trump administration has called for change in communist-run Cuba’s system of government and the US president has...

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US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the tallest bridge in Iran had been destroyed, hours after threatening to bomb the country “back to the Stone Ages”. Ghodratollah Seif, the deputy governor of Alborz province, where the B1 bridge is located, said the strike had killed eight people and wounded 95 others, according to state TV and Fars news agency. Due to reporting restrictions, Agence France-Presse is not able to access the sites of strikes nor to independently verify tolls in...

After crashing his SUV last week in Florida, Tiger Woods took out his phone and told a deputy, “I was just talking to the president,” according to body camera footage released Thursday showing Woods’ arrest on a DUI charge. The phone conversation was not captured on video, but Woods could be heard saying, “Thank you so much,” as he hung up and the deputy approached. It was not clear if Woods was referring to US President Donald Trump, whose former daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, is dating...

Four Artemis astronauts were zooming towards the moon on Thursday after a major engine firing, a milestone that commits Nasa to the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than half a century. With enough thrust to accelerate a stationary car to highway driving speed in less than three seconds, the Orion capsule engine blasted the astronauts on their trajectory towards the moon, which they now will loop as part of the 10-day Artemis II mission. “Human beings have left Earth orbit” for the first time...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down, the Pentagon said on Thursday without giving a reason for the departure as the United States wages a war against Iran. General Randy George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately”, said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman. George has held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden...

In a leafy Tehran park on Thursday, Iranians gathered for picnics on the final day of the Persian new year holidays, shrugging off US President Donald Trump’s threats to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages”. The country has been at war for more than a month and Trump – who launched the conflict alongside Israel on February 28 – has vowed to strike Iran hard for another “two or three weeks”. Powerful blasts shook the Iranian capital on Thursday. Still, hundreds of families sat out under mild,...

After avoiding much of the churn, firings and senior official turnover that marked his first term, US President Donald Trump on Thursday added to the string of high-profile departures in recent days, as bad news heaped more pressure on the White House. The administration announced that US Attorney General Pam Bondi was leaving to be replaced by her deputy, Todd Blanche, in an acting capacity. “We love Pam,” Trump wrote on social media. “She will be transitioning to a much-needed and important...

Four children were stabbed to death on Thursday at a kindergarten in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, police said. The male suspect, in his thirties, gained access by posing as a parent before attacking children aged around two and three with a knife, police said. “We confirm a tragic incident at the Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program school in Makindye Division, Kampala City, where a male suspect brutally stabbed and killed four juveniles,” police spokeswoman Racheal Kawala said. The suspect...

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