Minimalist News

Watch: Construction Sites In Charlotte Go Dark As Illegals Hide From ICE Federal officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began conducting large-scale raids across the Charlotte metropolitan area last weekend as part of Operation Charlotte's Web. The objective is to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens. Operation Charlotte's Web has given a partial understanding of just how many migrants have poured into the metro area since the Biden-Harris regime's nation-killing open border policy. Footage from X shows construction sites of residential homes, commercial projects, and even stores empty this week as illegals flee and go into

The Monsters' Ball Authored by James Howard Kunstler, > “...the Democrat Party is no longer a political party. It is an insurrectionist crime syndicate that will torch the Constitution to stay in power.” > > - Stephen Miller The old joke goes: A-list actor is having lunch with studio chief. Studio chief says, Didya hear so-and-so (well-known Hollywood agent) dropped dead this morning. His heart. A-list actor says, Gee, I didn’t know he had one. Kind of brings to mind the late Veep Dick Cheney, who actually did have a heart, but one so grotesquely diseased that he had his first near-fatal infarction at age

Is AI A Catalyst For Growth... Or For Collapse? Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, Yes, AI is a catalyst. But for what is not yet knowable. The current narrative holds that the big problem we need to solve is conjuring up cheap energy to power AI data centers. Fortunately for us, the solutions are at hand: building modular nuclear power plants at scale and tapping North America's vast reserves of cheap natural gas. Problem solved! With cheap energy to power all the AI data centers, we're on a trajectory of fantastic growth of all the good things in life. Let's consider the implicit

Treasury To Block Tax Credits For Illegal Immigrants Under New Trump Administration Rule The Treasury Department plans to issue regulations barring illegal immigrants and certain foreign nationals from receiving a range of refundable tax credits, a move the Trump administration says is necessary to ensure federal benefits are limited to those eligible under longstanding law. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the department will implement new rules defining who may claim income tax credits covered by the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, or PRWORA. The law restricts access to federal public benefits for individuals who are not U.S.

The Labubu Omen Authored by Adam Sharp via DailyReckoning.com, Remember Beanie Babies? In the late 1990s, they were all the rage. Tiny stuffed animals which cost less than $1 to manufacture were selling for thousands of dollars at peak. The Princess Diana memorial bear once fetched $500+, and today it sells for around $5. Peanut the Royal Blue Elephant hit $5,000 in 1999, and today a certified mint condition specimen might fetch $50. The BB craze started in 1997, just as the dotcom bull market was starting to go vertical. At one point, fully 10% of all eBay listings were Beanie Babies. The timing was no

House Lawmakers Press Shein Over Sale Of Childlike Sex Dolls In The US Authored by Evgenia Filimianova via The Epoch Times, House lawmakers have asked fast-fashion retailer Shein to explain how childlike sex dolls were allowed to appear on its e-commerce platform and whether any were sold to U.S. customers, escalating an international controversy that earlier this month led France to suspend the company’s online marketplace. In a Nov. 20 letter to Shein CEO Xu Yangtian, Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), joined by 32 other members of Congress, sought clarity on the retailer’s internal controls and whether U.S. consumers

Amb. Huckabee Under Fire For 'Warm' Meeting With Notorious Traitor & Spy Jonathan Pollard  US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is under fire and in the headlines after it was revealed he met with notorious traitor and spy Jonathan Pollard at the US Embassy in July. The former American intelligence analyst was convicted of espionage for Israel and sentenced to life in prison in 1987. Pollard's is widely viewed as one of the single most damaging spy cases in US intelligence history, as he passed along extensive classified information, including the NSA's ten-volume guide to US signals-intelligence collection methods. He also directly

CapEx Spending On AI Is Masking Economic Weakness Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, The U.S. economy’s recent growth has a distinctive engine: large‑scale capital expenditures (capex) tied to artificial intelligence (AI). Firms such as Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Meta Platforms, and Amazon have announced massive investments in data centers, servers, networking equipment, and AI infrastructure. As noted by Investing.com: > “Artificial intelligence is consuming capital faster than investors can recalibrate. Bank of America now sees global hyperscale spending rising 67% in 2025 and another 31% in 2026, with total outlays climbing to $611 billion. That is a $145 billion increase in just one month’s estimates. >

Bombshell Report: "Largest Funder Of Al-Shabaab Is Minnesota Taxpayer"  Investigative journalists Ryan Thorpe and Christopher F. Rufo have published a bombshell report in City Journal detailing how massive welfare fraud in Democrat-run Minnesota, much of it carried out through networks in the state's Somali community, funneled stolen taxpayer money back to Somalia, where some of those funds ultimately ended up in the hands of the terror group Al-Shabaab.  An unprecedented wave of welfare fraud has surged under an unhinged leftist Governor Tim Walz, with billions in taxpayer funds stolen through Medicaid programs, childcare-meal reimbursements, and autism-services schemes by Minnesota's Somali community.  Multiple law enforcement officials explained to Thorpe and

Half Of US Homes Lost Value Over Past Year: Zillow Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), U.S. homes are declining in value, but homeowners, on average, are not selling at a loss since there was a significant uptick in property value over the past few years, according to the latest analysis by online real estate marketplace Zillow published on Nov. 17. A property for sale in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 22, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images “As of October 2025, 53 percent of homes have lost value over the past year as measured by their Zestimate,” said the company.

Did Wendy's Just Lose The QSR War Fast-food chains are locked in a fierce multi-year battle for low- and middle-income consumers, rolling out value meals and discounts to protect market share. But as budget-conscious customers pull back on spending, one apparent casualty of this fight has emerged: Wendy's. Wendy's third-quarter results showed net sales down 4.4%, with same-restaurant sales falling 4.7%, driven by weaker foot traffic and higher labor costs. Interim CEO/CFO Ken Cook told investors that the fast-food chain with 6,000 US stores faces "urgency" to return to growth. "I am pleased by the strong performance as we continue to prioritize accelerating international

The New Bubble: How AI And Passive Investing Have Turned The Market Into A Powder Keg Authored by Chris Macintosh via InternationalMan.com, The US equity market is a bubble. Here is why: In my mind, to be defined as a “bubble” the potential for a sudden “pop” needs to be there. No matter how you define it, the probability of an extremely large drawdown in the S&P 500 has exponentially increased in the past few years. This doesn’t mean it is a high probability — it just means the tail has gotten much fatter. The main reason for this is index concentration is now being coupled with

DNC Pulls $15 Million Loan As A Lifeline Amid Rudderless Party The Democratic National Committee quietly took out a $15 million loan in October to replenish its depleted accounts, according to The New York Times, citing Federal Election Commission filings. "While it is true that party committees often take out loans and lines of credit, it is relatively rare for the D.N.C. to do so at this early point in an election cycle," the NYT noted.  This early-cycle borrowing is unusual and underscores the party's financial strain, and as many on X suggested: > When USAID was stopped , the GRIFT was shutdown! Bravo🙌🏼🇺🇸

Bitcoin Realized Losses Rise To FTX-Crash Levels: Where Is The Bottom? Authored by Helen Partz via CoinTelegaph.com, Bitcoin has taken a slide back to its April level of around $83,000, with mounting selling pressure prompting many investors to sell at a loss, reminiscent of major historic market crashes. Realized losses on Bitcoin have surged to levels not seen since the 2022 FTX collapse, according to blockchain data platform Glassnode. “The scale and speed of these losses reflect a meaningful washout of marginal demand as recent buyers unwind into the drawdown,” Glassnode noted in an X post on Friday. Glassnode’s observation came minutes before Bitcoin slipped as low as $80,500 on Coinbase,

Live Cattle Futures See Sharpest Monthly Slide In Five Years As Trump's "Operation Affordability" Begins Live cattle futures are on track for their steepest monthly decline since the early months of the Covid pandemic, as expectations around President Trump's Operation Affordability appear to be pressuring prices. Markets are pricing in Trump's move to expand beef imports from Latin American countries. This was the news on Thursday, when the administration rolled back tariffs on some Brazilian food imports, including the full 40% levy.  These changes are retroactive to Nov. 13, cover key goods like beef, coffee, and orange juice, and are intended to ease sticky food inflation left

Analyzing All 28 Points Of The Leaked Russian-Ukrainian Peace Deal Framework Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack, The overarching theme connecting the substance and timing of this agreement is therefore the US’ eagerness to resolve the Russian-US dimension of the New Cold War in order to prioritize the Sino-US dimension thereof as the next phase of its systemic competition with China over the future world order. The New York Post, which Trump once called his “favorite newspaper”, just published what it claims to be all 28 points of Russian-Ukrainian peace deal framework that Russia and the US have reportedly been working on in secret

Putin Issues Response To Trump Peace Plan After Zelensky, Europe Balk Update(1300ET): Russia's President Putin has responded to the Trump peace plan for the first time, after Zelensky and Europe had earlier issued either mixed or negative statements, Speaking at a Russian Security Council meeting Friday, Putin began by alluding to the August Alaska summit, "During the discussions, the American side asked us to make certain compromises," he said. According to more via state media translation: > According to the Russian president, Moscow confirmed during the talks that it agreed with the peace proposals. However, he added that after the Alaska meeting there was a

Swalwell Announces Run For California Governor Amid Probe Into Alleged Mortgage Fraud Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced Thursday night that he will run for California governor in 2026, joining an already-packed field of Democratic candidates vying to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom when his term ends.  California Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks during a House Judiciary Committee in September. | Win McNamee/Getty Images Appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Swalwell - a seven-term member of Congress and key figure behind the congressional push to impeach President Donald Trump during his first term, said that Trump is "not going to like this show," before slamming the president and

Trump To Meet With Mamdani At The White House Authored by Arjun Singh and Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times, President Donald Trump will meet New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House today. “Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting. We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21st,” Trump announced on Truth Social. Mamdani, the self-described democratic socialist whose campaign to run America’s most populous city drew national attention, is set to take office on Jan. 1, 2026. The mayor-elect has already sparred publicly with Trump,

UMich Consumer Current Conditions Hit A Record (48 Year) Low The weakness from the preliminary UMich data for November has been confirmed with the final sentiment print confirmed the so-called 'K-shaped' economy as sentiment slumps with stocks near record highs. However, the small silver lining with today's UMich data was an improvement intra-month from 50.3 to 51.0 for the headline (but still at its lowest since June 2022). After the federal shutdown ended, UMich Director Joanne Hsu notes that sentiment lifted slightly from its mid-month reading. However, consumers remain frustrated about the persistence of high prices and weakening incomes. Under the hood, Expectations picked up

Tom Player speaks out about incident in which Victoria Bond died along with two Mexicans and two Germans A survivor of the blizzard that killed a British woman and four others in Chilean Patagonia has said that tourists were concerned about adverse weather conditions ahead of the trek, but were told by staff it was “normal” and they could proceed. Tom Player, a London-based composer, told the Guardian that during the brutal blizzard about 30 volunteers worked together in an attempt to try to rescue hikers. Continue reading...

Two critically hurt after attack on walking trail in British Columbia as police and conservation officers search for bear Eleven people were injured, two of them critically, when a grizzly bear attacked a group of schoolchildren and teachers on a walking trail in British Columbia, Canada. The attack happened on Thursday in Bella Coola, 435 miles (700km) north-west of Vancouver. The Nuxalk Nation said the “aggressive bear” remained on the loose and police and conservation officers were on the scene. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Discredited election-rigging conspiracy theory could strengthen Trump’s military action against Maduro Federal investigators have been interviewing multiple people who are pushing unfounded claims that Venezuela helped steal the 2020 election from Donald Trump, the Guardian has learned. Two promoters of the conspiracy theory have repeatedly briefed the US attorney for the district of Puerto Rico, W Stephen Muldrow, and have shared witnesses and documents with officials, according to four sources. Muldrow declined to comment. Continue reading...

Texans planned to utilize unhoused US people to take over Gonâve and fulfill ‘rape fantasies’, justice department says The Department of Justice has alleged that two Texas men plotted a murderous coup d’etat on the island of Gonâve, the largest in Haiti, “for the purpose of carrying out their rape fantasies”. The two men, 21-year-old Gavin Rivers Weisenburg and 20-year-old Tanner Christopher Thomas, have been accused of plotting to take the island by force, utilizing the homeless population of Washington DC, then killing all the men on the island and “using the women and children as sex slaves”, according to an announcement

Cannon, three coins and a cup taken from San José, a 1708 wreckage that could hold items worth billions of dollars A cannon, three coins and a porcelain cup are among the first objects recovered by Colombian scientists from the depths of the Caribbean Sea where the legendary Spanish galleon San José sank in 1708 after being attacked by a British fleet. The recovery is part of a scientific investigation authorised by the government last year to study the wreckage and the causes of the sinking. Colombian researchers located the galleon in 2015, leading to legal and diplomatic disputes. Its exact location

From Scott Morrison’s ‘on-water matters’ to the Albanese government’s MOU with Nauru, successive governments’ attitude to legitimate scrutiny has been one of hostility * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Offshore, secrecy dominates. But it doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. In February, Australia brokered a new offshore arrangement with Nauru, striking a deal to send members of the so-called NZYQ cohort – non-citizens with criminal histories – to the Pacific island. Australia would give Nauru more than $400m in exchange. Continue reading...

California faced evacuation warnings over flood risk, while Japan experienced heavy early season snowfall Evacuation warnings were issued last week in California as heavy rain brought the risk of flooding and landslides. The storms in the US were linked to a phenomenon known as an “atmospheric river” – a long filament of moisture-laden air that originates above the Pacific Ocean and provides vital replenishment of reservoirs and snowpack along the western coast of the US. However, they can also bring destructive volumes of rain, particularly along coastal areas. Elsewhere in the US, parts of Colorado experienced some of their longest stretches of

It’s a climate-vulnerable nation, while also being the world’s sixth-largest greenhouse-gas emitter. Global investment in climate action is vital Continue reading...

Penny Wong says translation notes were ‘taken hastily’ by official who was not accredited translator and were ‘for internal purposes only’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A top secret translation of the Nauruan president’s public commentary on the NZYQ deal will remain suppressed for a decade after the Albanese government considered its release “inappropriate”. Nauru declined to endorse an informal translation by Australia’s high commission of the 10-minute public interview uploaded to Facebook in February, nor did it provide its own translation, newly released documents

Guo, who pretended to be Filipina to become mayor, found guilty of human trafficking after raid on compound where more than 700 people were forced to run scams Alice Guo, a Chinese national who became a mayor in the Philippines while masquerading as a Filipina, has been sentenced to life in prison along with seven others on human trafficking charges, state prosecutors have said. Guo, who served as mayor of a town north of Manila, was found guilty of overseeing a Chinese-operated online gambling centre where hundreds of people were forced to run scams or risk torture. Continue reading...

Plibersek said those victims – Hannah Clarke and her children, Kardell Lomas and her unborn child, and Gail Karran – ‘should have been kept safe’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The federal social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, says Guardian Australia’s “devastating” revelations of failures to protect women fleeing violence must prompt action from governments “at every level”. Broken Trust, a two-year Guardian investigation, uncovered evidence and allegations of serious police and support service failures in multiple domestic violence homicides in Queensland. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Concession follows fierce criticism of the workaround but may not be enough to convince minor party * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor would prevent a contentious “national interest” exemption being used to approve coal and gas projects if the Greens agreed to support its nature laws, Guardian Australia can reveal. The offer follows a groundswell of criticism about the discretionary power, including from the author of the review that inspired the new laws, Graeme Samuel, and the former treasury secretary Ken Henry. Continue reading...

The EPBC Act has emerged as a key test, with the government hoping to score a political milestone while the Liberal leader needs to prove her authority * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The final sitting week of federal parliament before the summer break is not usually the most edifying example of democracy in action. Politicians and the media are spent and the sausage-making process can get a little rough. So it was at the end of 2024, as Labor moved to clear the decks with an election looming and rumours of a summer campaign spreading.

Australian Marine Conservation Society’s GoodFish guide aims to showcase the most environmentally friendly seafood sources * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast As a challenging year for marine life heads into its final weeks, GoodFish has shared its list of sustainable choices for the festive season to help take the pressure off Australia’s oceans. “It’s a time to be more careful than ever,” said Adrian Meder, sustainable seafood program manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, which produces the GoodFish guide. Continue reading...

Third man charged for allegedly harassing ‘Australian high-office holder’ as police target people ‘causing high levels of harm to Australia’s social cohesion’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Two men have been charged over threatening messages to two federal MPs, one in relation to messages to Lidia Thorpe, and another in relation to a message about Allegra Spender. A third man has been charged for allegedly harassing an “Australian high-office holder”. Guardian Australia has been told the charge relates to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Continue reading...

US president demands that Kyiv accepts plan that would mean giving up territory to Russia Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine faces one of the most difficult moments in its history, after Donald Trump demanded Kyiv accepts within days a US-backed “peace plan” that would force it to give up territory to Russia and make other painful concessions. Trump confirmed on Friday morning that next Thursday – Thanksgiving in the US – would be an “acceptable” deadline for Zelenskyy to sign the deal, which European and Ukrainian officials have said amounts to a “capitulation”. Continue reading...

US president says ‘Thursday is an appropriate time’ in radio interview as Ukrainian leader weighs up US proposal German Bild tabloid is also reporting that Merz is expected to hold a phone call not only with Zelenskyy, but also with the US president, Donald Trump. Mind you: there’s been no official confirmation yet. Continue reading...

It would be expedient for Reform to take Labour’s advice and disavow ‘Putin talking points’ * Reform UK’s former Wales leader jailed for taking bribes for pro-Russia speeches The discovery of a pro-Russian asset, Nathan Gill, at the heart of a British political party reads like the plot of a John Le Carré novel. Russia was long known to have been trying to interfere in foreign politics with online bots and cyber-disinformation over the past decade. Continue reading...

Ukraine could be forced into an agreement but plan as it stands seems too bizarre for Zelenskyy to sell to his public We’ve been here before: the Trump administration announces a roadmap towards peace in Ukraine that seems to be dramatically skewed towards Moscow’s demands; Volodymyr Zelenskyy gets on the phone to alarmed European allies; they quickly call Trump to message him that the whole idea is unworkable; the plan quietly dies. Rinse and repeat. This time it feels a bit different, however. Reports on Friday suggested the US has threatened that if Ukraine does not sign a hastily concocted peace plan,

Former French president complains about noise in extract from A Prisoner’s Diary, to be released next month Nicolas Sarkozy is to publish a book next month called A Prisoner’s Diary detailing his 20 days in jail. The book was announced 11 days after the former French president was released from prison while he appeals against his conviction for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Continue reading...

‘The world thinks Palestinians don’t need help any more,’ aid organiser says, despite desperate need as winter nears Fundraisers collecting for Palestinian civilians in Gaza are seeing a “catastrophic” drop-off in donations since the ceasefire was announced in October. Donations collected by volunteers and funnelled to needy families living in temporary shelters and struggling with illness, hunger and malnutrition have been harder to raise since then, according to organisers, many of whom have been running volunteer initiatives for Palestinians in Gaza on third-party crowdfunding platforms over the past two years. Continue reading...

Medical officials say 17 people killed in Khan Younis area and 16 in strikes on Gaza City Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 33 people and injured many more, according to medical officials, in one of the most serious escalations of violence since the US-backed ceasefire came into effect last month. Officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said they received the bodies of 17 people, including five women and five children, after four Israeli airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people. In Gaza City, medical officials said two airstrikes killed 16 people, including seven children and three women. Continue reading...

Saad Almadi’s family thanks Trump and state department as announcement comes after meeting with crown prince Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow US citizen Saad Almadi to return home to Florida, five months ahead of the scheduled lifting of travel restrictions and a day after Saudi crown prince and prime minister Mohammed bin Salman met Donald Trump at the White House. Almadi, 75, was sentenced to 19 years of incarceration in the kingdom in 2021 after he wrote 14 tweets critical of the Riyadh government. Two years later, the charges were reduced to so-called “cyber crimes” and he was sentenced to a

Exclusive: Images are first indication that Israel has used cluster munitions in nearly 20 years Israel used widely banned cluster munitions in its recent 13-month war in Lebanon, photos of munition remnants in south Lebanon seen by the Guardian suggest. The images, which have been examined by six different arms experts, appear to show the remnants of two different types of Israeli cluster munitions found in three different locations: south of the Litani River in the forested valleys of Wadi Zibqin, Wadi Barghouz and Wadi Deir Siryan. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. * Trump shrugs off Khashoggi murder during Saudi prince’s White House visit A reminder that Donald Trump’s family has a strong personal interest in Saudi Arabia. In September, London real estate developer Dar Global announced that it plans to launch Trump Plaza in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. It’s Dar Global’s second collaboration with the Trump Organization, the collection of companies controlled by the US president’s children, in the kingdom. Last year, the two companies announced the launch of Trump Tower Jeddah. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tshering Tobgay says his country is doing ‘a lot more than our fair share’ on climate and west must cut emissions ‘for the happiness of your people’ The wealthy western countries most responsible for the climate crisis would improve the health and happiness of their citizens by prioritising environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth, according to the prime minister of Bhutan, the world’s first carbon-negative nation. Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy and biodiversity hotspot situated high in the eastern Himalayas, is among the world’s most ambitious climate leaders thanks to its people’s connection with nature and a strong political focus on

Hasina sentenced in absentia by court in Dhaka over deadly crackdown on student-led uprising last year Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Dhaka for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year. A three-judge bench of the country’s international crimes tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities as she oversaw a crackdown on anti-government protesters last year. Continue reading...

The accidental explosion comes days after a deadly car blast in New Delhi which killed at least eight people near the city’s historic Red Fort At least nine people were killed and 32 injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police have announced. The blast occurred in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, the region’s main city, late on Friday while a team of forensic experts and police were examining the explosive material, said Nalin Prabhat, the region’s police director general. He ruled out any foul play, saying it was an accident. Continue reading...

Investigators believe an explosion that killed 13 people may be linked to group operating in the disputed region Police have carried out raids and made several arrests across the Indian region of Kashmir in the aftermath of a car explosion in Delhi that left 13 people dead. On Wednesday, the Indian government confirmed it was treating the blast as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The explosion took place outside one of India’s most significant monuments during rush hour on Monday evening. Continue reading...

Cabinet says explosion near Red Fort that killed 12 is suspected to have been perpetrated by ‘anti-national forces’ India has confirmed it is treating the explosion that killed 12 people outside Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The statement by the cabinet, led by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, confirmed mounting speculation that a terrorist attack was behind the blast that took place during peak time in one of the capital’s busiest areas and outside one of India’s major landmarks. Continue reading...

UK academics say latest chemicals are ‘wake-up call’ and urge global action to stop weaponisation of neuroscience Sophisticated and deadly “brain weapons” that can attack or alter human consciousness, perception, memory or behaviour are no longer the stuff of science fiction, two British academics argue. Michael Crowley and Malcolm Dando, of Bradford University, are about to publish a book that they believe should be a wake-up call to the world. Continue reading...

Simon Case says voters will look elsewhere if chancellor cannot find solutions to tax, spending and debt problems Voters will look elsewhere if Rachel Reeves does not use next week’s pivotal budget to show that “centre-ground” politicians can fix the UK’s entrenched economic problems, the former head of the civil service, Simon Case, has said. Case told the Guardian that at the time of last year’s general election, when he was still cabinet secretary, he believed Labour would be forced to break its manifesto promise to not raise taxes because of the state of the public finances. Continue reading...

Mountbatten-Windsor ‘continues to hide’, US lawmakers say, after deadline they set to receive response passes Two Democratic lawmakers involved in the US congressional investigation into the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Friday condemned Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s “silence” in response to their request that he sit for a deposition. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House oversight committee, and Suhas Subramanyam, a member of the panel, were among the Democrats who earlier this month sent the former British prince a letter seeking his cooperation in their inquiry into Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Continue reading...

Shumeet Banerji was away during crucial discussions that led to resignation of director general and BBC News chief A member of the BBC’s board has resigned after saying he was cut out of the discussions that led to the shock resignation of its director general, Tim Davie. Shumeet Banerji, a tech industry executive, was out of the country on the crucial days before the departure of Davie and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness. Continue reading...

Mohamed says decision to leave was after ‘many false allegations and smears’ against him and others A second MP within a week has quit Your Party in acrimonious circumstances, throwing yet more doubt on the viability of the leftwing group co-led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. In a statement on X, Iqbal Mohamed, who was elected as the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley last year, said his decision to leave was after “many false allegations and smears” against him and others, which he did not explain. Continue reading...

President and mayor-elect refused to be drawn into talking about their differences despite repeated attempts to nudge them into conflict * Trump and Mamdani form an unlikely alliance at White House meeting Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House oversight committee, has sent a letter to the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, urging the justice department to release the complete trove of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, despite the newly launched investigation into several Democrats’ ties to the late sex offender. “There is already a concern President Trump will attempt, on dubious legal grounds, to exploit a provision which allows DoJ

‘We agreed a lot more than I would have thought,’ the US president said of his first face-to-face meeting with the New York mayor-elect * US politics live – latest updates Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, walked out of their meeting on Friday afternoon with an unlikely alliance, agreeing to work together on housing, food prices and cost-of-living concerns that have defined both their political appeals to working-class voters. “We agreed a lot more than I would have thought,” Trump said in the Oval Office, sometimes jumping in to shield Mamdani from aggressive questioning from the press. Continue

The president hosted the mayor-elect at the White House – and seemed enamoured of his fellow New Yorker The highly anticipated Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani – the mayor-elect of New York City, the US president’s beloved home town – was hardly the combustible tête-à-tête many had predicted. For the moment at least, the two New Yorkers appeared relaxed, smiling and cautiously optimistic about the work they might accomplish together. Neither revived their hot campaign trail rhetoric, in which they cast each other as diametrically opposed political adversaries. Trump had labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and urged

In a signed statement, 28 victims say they are bracing for blame for their abuse and threats of harm A group of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse have warned they have received death threats and are worried about an escalation as they wait for the release of the files related to the late paedophile financier. In a statement titled “What we’re bracing for”, the women said they had received threats of harm and asked police to investigate and protect them. Continue reading...

Hannah Shirley, born in November 1973, was celebrated with Hungry Hungry Hippos-themed party The San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center is feeling festive, and it has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but instead a birthday celebration for a hippo that turns 52. Hannah Shirley, the world’s oldest known living pygmy hippopotamus, turned 52 years old on Thursday, and celebrated with a Hungry Hungry Hippos–themed party. Hannah was surrounded by guests as she played with different-colored balls and presents. Continue reading...

A jar of “carbonara sauce” for sale at the European Parliament in Brussels has whipped up Italian emotions after criticism that it does not contain the right ingredients. Italy’s agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida unleashed his ire earlier this week after posting a picture of the offending pot on social media. The minister decried the sauce for containing pancetta – a pork product similar to bacon – which is apparently a major culinary faux pas in food-loving Italy. He said it was an...

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine faced losing its dignity and freedom or Washington’s support over a US peace plan that endorses key Russian demands and which Donald Trump said Kyiv should agree to by Thursday. The US president told Fox News Radio he believed next Thursday was an appropriate deadline for Kyiv to accept the plan. In a solemn address to the nation which he delivered in the street outside his office, a location he uses only rarely for major addresses,...

Swiss authorities were searching on Friday for two robbers who overpowered a security guard at an ancient Rome-themed museum in Lausanne, smashed a display case and made off with dozens of gold coins that had been displayed inside. City police said the suspects had bought tickets and waited until other visitors had left shortly before closing time on Thursday. “The two individuals assaulted and overpowered the guard. They then broke into a secured display case and stole several gold coins that...

A hard-right British politician and former ally of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was sentenced Friday to 10½ years in prison for accepting bribes to make favourable statements about Russia in the European Parliament. Nathan Gill, 52, pleaded guilty earlier this year to eight counts of bribery between December 2018 and July 2019. Police have estimated that the former leader of Reform in Wales took at least £40,000 (US$53,000) in bribes. Prosecutors said Gill, a member of the European Union...

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will reduce its 2026 budget by 17 per cent to 1.8 billion Swiss francs (US$2.23 billion) and cut 2,900 jobs, it said in a statement on Friday. Aid budgets are facing an unprecedented shortfall as donors shift their focus towards defence, forcing humanitarians to make difficult decisions about whom to help amid multiple conflicts and record displacement. At the same time, the top global aid contributor, the United States, is overhauling its...

When Dutch authorities seized control of chipmaker Nexperia almost two months ago, it resulted in a clash between the head office in Nijmegen and the company’s mainland China unit, which vowed to operate and meet orders as an independent enterprise. That dispute also exposed the vulnerability of global car supply chains, as any disruption in Nexperia’s shipments of so-called legacy chips would affect nearly every major European carmaker, as well as those in Japan and the United States. Here are...

My recent visit to Mianyang, the second-largest city in Sichuan province, revealed a place little known despite being just a 90-minute drive from Chengdu. Its unique distinction lies in its high concentration of scientists – a legacy of its role as a central hub during the “Third Front Construction” from 1964 to 1978. This was a critical period when China relocated strategic industries inland to build a self-reliant economy against a backdrop of external threats. This era formed the second of...

Armed gangs have abducted an unknown number of pupils from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, police and a government official said on Friday, in the second such incident in less than a week. The school kidnappings and an attack on a church earlier in the week come weeks after US President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he described as the targeted killings of Nigeria’s Christians, a narrative rejected by the Nigerian government. The Niger state government said it had...

A grizzly bear attacked a group of schoolchildren and teachers on a walking trail in British Columbia, Canada, injuring 11 people, two of them critically. The attack happened on Thursday afternoon in Bella Coola, 700km (435 miles) northwest of Vancouver. The Nuxalk Nation said the “aggressive bear” remained on the loose on Thursday evening and police and conservation officers were on the scene. “Officers are armed. Remain indoors and off the highway,” the First Nation said in a social media...

As South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa convenes the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, two things are likely to be on many minds: the empty chair and the spirit of ubuntu. Wikipedia defines the ubuntu philosophy as encompassing “the interdependence of humans on one another and the acknowledgement of one’s responsibility to their fellow humans and the world around them”. For the purposes of South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit, that Zulu term means multilateralism – anathema to US...

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. 491,000 Japan-bound air tickets cancelled as China warns people to avoid travel Chinese airlines have recorded about 491,000 cancellations of tickets to Japan since Saturday – roughly 32 per cent of their total bookings to the...

US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” after the lawmakers - all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community - called on US military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders”. The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Senator Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers - Slotkin, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and representatives Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie...

Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the Fugees was sentenced on Thursday to 14 years in prison for a case in which he was convicted of illegally funnelling millions of dollars in foreign contributions to former US president Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Michel, 52, declined to address the court before US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced him. In April 2023, a federal jury convicted Michel of 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered...

The White House on Thursday defended US President Donald Trump after he called a female reporter “piggy” as she questioned him about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying the president’s remarks reflected his frankness and transparency. In the exchange aboard Air Force One last week, which has since gone viral, Trump leaned towards the reporter, pointed his finger and said “Quiet, piggy” as she pressed him about a recently released Epstein email in which the New York financier...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Kyiv was “working” on a US-drafted peace proposal, insisting it must ensure a “dignified” peace for Ukraine after the document adhered to many of Moscow’s demands. “We are working on the document prepared by the American side. This must be a plan that ensures a real and dignified peace,” Zelensky said on social media after holding a call with European allies. According to the US-backed plan Kyiv would be required to give up the entire...

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday unveiled a plan for a dramatic expansion of oil and gas drilling rights auctions in US waters, including in California, where state officials strongly oppose energy development along its world-famous coastline. The Interior Department proposal is aligned with Trump’s energy dominance agenda to supercharge domestic fossil fuel production. It immediately set off a fresh conflict with California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is among...

A US federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to end its months-long deployment of National Guard troops to help police the nation’s capital. US District Judge Jia Cobb concluded that President Donald Trump’s military takeover in Washington DC illegally intrudes on local officials’ authority to direct law enforcement in the district. She put her order on hold for 21 days to allow for an appeal, however. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to challenge the...

A fire broke out Thursday inside the UN climate summit venue in Brazil, burning through the roof and causing a panicked evacuation and the suspension of talks entering a crucial phase. The blaze engulfed pavilions in the summit site in Belem around 2pm, torching a hole through its fabric ceiling, sparking a rush for the exit as smoke filled the corridors and people cried “fire!” It was the third major incident since the Cop30 negotiations started last week in the Amazon region, after Indigenous...

Dick Cheney, celebrated as a master Republican strategist but defined by the darkest chapters of America’s “War on Terror”, was honoured on Thursday in a funeral attended by Washington’s elite that pointedly left out President Donald Trump. Cheney’s career reads like a catalogue of American statecraft, even as his long shadow over foreign policy - as defence secretary during the Gulf War and the 46th vice-president under George W. Bush - still divides the country. Bush and fellow former...

The White House hit out on Thursday at South Africa’s leader for “running his mouth” over the United States’ boycott of this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg in another diplomatic rift between the US and a country that has been especially targeted for criticism by President Donald Trump. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg that the US had indicated it was changing its mind over its boycott of the G20 leaders summit at the “11th hour” and wanted to take...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit China at the end of January, Sky News reported on Thursday, in what would be the first visit to the country by a British leader in seven years. Starmer’s Labour government has made improved relations with Beijing a priority as it seeks foreign investment to make good on its election pledge to upgrade infrastructure and grow Britain’s economy. But the relationship has been bumpy, with both countries trading accusations of spying. The prime minister’s...

A public inquiry report released on Thursday slammed the UK’s initial response to the coronavirus pandemic in the early months of 2020 as “too little, too late”, saying the failure to lock down the country earlier “led to an unacceptable loss of life”. The inquiry, chaired by former judge Heather Hallett, found that chaos at the heart of the then Conservative government and a failure to take Covid-19 seriously potentially cost 23,000 lives in England alone during the first wave of the...

New York’s incoming leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, after an exchange of barbs that has seized national attention. Mamdani, a 34-year-old political insurgent who came from nowhere to win leadership of America’s biggest city, said Thursday he was “ready for whatever happens”. Sparks could fly when the self-declared Democratic Socialist comes face-to-face with the 79-year-old Republican. Trump brands Mamdani a “communist” and has...

This month, the Russian Academy of Sciences completed a study assessing the comprehensive strength of 193 countries across economic, technological, demographic, military, infrastructural and other dimensions. This annual assessment of national power is conducted using advanced methods of multivariate statistical analysis. The latest results, calculated for 2025 and 2026, show the global balance of power has finally shifted from the United States towards China. Also, several regional power cores...

The White House ratcheted up its attack on ABC News Wednesday, a day after US President Donald Trump criticised an ABC News correspondent for asking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist. The fresh critique came as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Wednesday it was opening a review of agreements between national networks and local broadcast stations. Trump suggested the commission should move to revoke the broadcast licenses of...

The Grevin waxwork museum in Paris unveiled a new star attraction on Thursday: Princess Diana in the “revenge dress” she wore after public revelations about her then-husband Prince Charles’s infidelity. The Grevin Museum in central Paris, similar to Madame Tussauds in London, already has models of Charles, who is now King Charles, and his late mother, Queen Elizabeth. But Diana was a notable absentee, despite her tragic association with the city where she died in a car crash in August 1997. She...

The US formally warned South Africa against pushing for a joint statement at this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg that the Trump administration is boycotting, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The diplomatic stand-off is particularly awkward given it’s the first time the continent is hosting a G20 and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is passing the baton to US President Donald Trump at the end of this year. Tensions between the two men came to a head at an Oval...

China’s shipments of rare earth permanent magnets to the US surged to a nine-month high in October as the two countries engaged in a roller-coaster round of manoeuvring over export controls that led to an easing of trade tensions late last month. During the same period, exports to the European Union fell from the level recorded in September. China is the world’s largest supplier of permanent magnets – essential components in hi-tech products such as electric vehicles and defence systems – and...

China should prepare for stricter US and EU regulations on global rules of origin – as signalled in the recent trade deal between the Western economic powers – with the changes potentially weighing on its export sector by redefining global trade patterns, according to a Chinese economist. “Trump’s current measures are temporary – tariffs can be imposed today and rolled back or even eliminated tomorrow. The real question for us is what the future global trade framework looks like,” said Zhang...

South African police and army units held a parade on Wednesday involving helicopters, K-9 dog units and officers on motorcycles in a show of force ahead of expected protests around this weekend’s Group of 20 world leaders summit in Johannesburg. South Africa has deployed 3,500 extra police officers and put the army on standby under its National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure - a body that brings police, army and intelligence services together under one command to provide security...

Nasa released fresh images on Wednesday of the interstellar object called 3I/ATLAS that astronomers have determined is a comet probably even older than our solar system, as US space agency officials dismissed speculation that it was actually an alien spacecraft. 3I/ATLAS was first spotted in July by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, telescope located in Rio Hurtado, Chile, and has been tracked by astronomers since then. Its unusual trajectory indicated that it was...

Indonesia has launched emergency vaccination drives after measles outbreaks killed more than 20 children in two provinces, stoking fears of a wider epidemic amid a global resurgence of the virus. The scale and speed of the outbreaks have alarmed health experts, who warn the crisis is not simply the result of faltering immunisation coverage, but also a symptom of growing vaccine hesitancy – fuelled by online misinformation, religious concerns and a legacy of public distrust. This erosion of...

US President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to end Sudan’s grinding civil war at the request of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, condemning “tremendous atrocities” in a conflict he has previously overlooked. Trump admitted that the devastating war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was “not on my charts” before Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushed him to get involved. But Trump said he would now work to “stabilise” the conflict with regional powers, notably including the...

At least 25 Palestinians were killed in four Israeli air strikes on Wednesday in a part of Gaza under Hamas control since a shaky ceasefire took effect in October, health authorities said. The Israeli military said its forces struck Hamas targets across Gaza after members of the Palestinian militant group fired on its troops in violation of the nearly six-week-old ceasefire. No Israeli forces were injured. Hamas condemned the Israeli strikes as a dangerous escalation, and urged the United States...

A US judge on Wednesday repeatedly questioned the validity of the grand jury indictment of former FBI director James Comey secured by a prosecutor closely aligned with US President Donald Trump in the latest signal that the charges may be dismissed before trial. After repeated questioning by US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff, prosecutors acknowledged that the final version of the indictment was never presented to the entire grand jury that approved the charges after panel members previously...

Toronto-Dominion Bank was sued by a group of former employees who claim they were improperly fired from their jobs amid disclosure of widespread criminal money laundering through bank branches. Five Chinese and Chinese-American former employees sued Toronto-Dominion claiming they were dismissed from branches in New York as part of the bank’s effort to crack down on money laundering. At least 22 people were fired from four Chinatown branches in the city’s Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens boroughs,...

US President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts. Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago. “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,” Trump said in a social media...

Britain said on Wednesday that it would ban the resale of tickets to concerts, sport and other live events for profit, disrupting ticket touts and the platforms that benefit from their activities. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said touts were ripping off fans by using bots to snap up batches of tickets for coveted shows and reselling them at sky-high prices. “Our new proposals will shut down the touts’ racket and make world-class music, comedy, theatre and sport affordable for everyone,” she...

Former US Treasury secretary Larry Summers abruptly went on leave on Wednesday from teaching at Harvard University, where he once served as president, over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Summers’ spokesperson said. Summers had been retreating from his public commitments amid the fallout of the emails revelation, but he had maintained that he would continue teaching economics classes at Harvard. Yet by Wednesday evening, Summers had...

British defence minister John Healey said on Wednesday that “military options” are ready should the Russian spy ship Yantar become a threat after it directed lasers at British pilots sent to monitor it. Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force routinely shadow potential threats to national security, and such missions to monitor Russian vessels and submarines have become more frequent since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Healey said directing lasers at RAF pilots was “deeply dangerous” and...

China slightly increased its US Treasury holdings in August and September – though the uptick did little to offset an overall downward trend – as persistent worries over US debt sustainability and the Federal Reserve’s independence deepened doubts about the safety of assets backed by the US dollar. The country’s stockpile rose to US$701 billion in August, up from July’s multi-year low of US$696.9 billion, but it again trimmed the total to US$700.5 billion in September, according to data from the...

China’s €4 billion (US$4.6 billion) euro-denominated bond sale has drawn record demand, highlighting robust investor confidence in its sovereign assets amid a global shift towards diversification. International and regional investors placed €100.1 billion in orders for the offering – 25 times the fundraising target – China’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Wednesday. The seven-year tranche, issued alongside an equal-sized four-year tranche, attracted demand 26.5 times its allocation,...

Christie’s said on Wednesday it was suspending the Paris auction of one of just a handful of examples of the world’s first calculating machine, developed by French mathematician and inventor Blaise Pascal in 1642. The auction of “La Pascaline” had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but late on Tuesday a Paris court suspended authorisation for export – meaning buyers would not be able to take it abroad. This example is one of only nine still existing and the only one believed to be in...

Russia pummelled Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 25 people and throwing doubt over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s attempts to “reinvigorate” the peace process with talks in Ankara later on Wednesday. “Twenty-five people, including three children, were killed as a result of Russian shelling of the city. Another 73 people, including 15 children, were wounded,” the country’s interior ministry said on social media, updating earlier tolls from one of...

Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui remained the world’s fourth most expensive retail strip with rents at US$1,515 per square foot per year, as two other core shopping districts in the city – Causeway Bay and Central – also ranked among the Asia-Pacific’s priciest shopping locations, according to Cushman & Wakefield. London’s New Bond Street jumped two spots from last year to emerge as the world’s most expensive retail district, according to the real-estate services consultancy’s 35th “Main Streets Across...

While the White House has cautioned that the proposal is still in “flux,” its contours reflect maximalist demands made by Russia throughout the war that Ukraine has consistently rejected.

Nathan Gill was sentenced to 10 and a half years on Friday after admitting he was paid to make pro-Russian speeches in the European Parliament.

Rockoff, who risked his life to photograph the brutality of the Khmer Rouge, has struggled ever since. Now he says his historic negatives have been taken from him.

Even as the disgraced financier’s crimes were revealed, newly released emails show how academics at top universities stuck by Jeffrey Epstein, often seeking his help and offering it in return.

The Times identified nearly 100 locations traversed by naval vessels across a two-and-a-half-month period to determine what the military pressure campaign against Venezuela looks like at sea.

The director Jon M. Chu narrates a sequence from his film featuring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum performing the song “Wonderful.”

Each witch gets a new number as part of an effort to flesh out the arc of the stage show’s second act.

The pink-and-green-themed promotions were everywhere, with all the advantages and limitations that kind of marketing push entails.

Students and teachers were taken captive from a Catholic school in the latest in a wave of such attacks in the country.

New research suggests that Theia, the object whose collision with Earth is theorized to have caused the formation of the moon, came from closer to the sun.

During the weekend, the orbits of Earth and Saturn will combine to create an interplanetary optical illusion for anyone with a good telescope and clear skies.

The United States, not China, seems determined to upend the global order.

Trump’s show of force toward Venezuela has created a disastrous political trap — for Venezuelans most of all.

Also, Ukraine faces a “difficult choice” on the U.S. peace plan. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.

The magazine, which recently hired the journalist, said it had been “taken by surprise” by new claims in an essay by her former fiancé, Ryan Lizza.

The children were among 11 people who were hurt when a grizzly attacked a school group in a remote part of British Columbia, the authorities said.

The discovery of a mountain of garbage near a highway is the latest example of what experts say is a growing problem of criminal organizations profiting from illegal dumping.