Minimalist News

SoftBank Attempt To Get Downsized $6 Billion OpenAi Margin Loan Stalls One month ago, Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group, was forced to downsize plans for a $10 billion margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake after facing hesitation from some creditors. Today, it couldn't even get that done after talks with potential creditors to raise the downsized $6 billion stalled amid rising concerns about the collateral value, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. As a result, the company is now considering various different fundraising options, although it could still move forward with the margin loan at a later

JPM Says US Defense Base Faces 'Evolve Or Die' Moment As Warfare Forever Changes For several quarters, we have described the Trump administration's massive push to reshape the military-industrial complex, from DOGE-driven efforts inside the Department of War to reset the procurement process, to a broader pivot toward fast-moving " war unicorns ," like Anduril, rather than bloated legacy defense primes. The urgency of that transition is now capturing Wall Street's attention. JPMorgan analysts frame it as a major inflection point: America's defense industrial base must shift away from slow-moving, costly production and toward one built around speed, scale, technology,

California Gets 80% Of All Federal Cash For Illegal Immigrant Families: Report Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times, California is home to the lion’s share of illegal immigrant families in the United States with children who received federal welfare assistance in 2024, according to a federal report published on June 10. More than 80 percent of all nationwide cash assistance allocated to such households was spent in California. The report tracked $759 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) spent in 2024 on families headed by a parent living in the country illegally. In those cases, the

Trump Says 'We'll Bomb The Sh*t Out Of Them' Tomorrow Too If No Deal, After Dozens Of Tomahawks Hit Iran Summary Trump to FOX: 'We'll bomb the shit out of them tomorrow night.' " The president declared "we'll bomb them to rubble" again tomorrow night if there is no deal by then. US says strikes completed tonight . The IRGC is claiming to have struck 18 US military targets in two waves - including attack on Bahrain's US Fifth Fleet HQ. US begins strikes on Iran for second straight night: according to Centcom, " US forces began launching additional self-defense

MSFT Restricts Internal Use Of Claude Fable Over Data-Retention Concerns; BMO Calls Anthropic A Leading Pure-Play AI Lab Anthropic released Claude Fable 5, a next-generation "Mythos-class" AI model, on Tuesday. The model is designed to restrict dangerous capabilities in areas such as cybersecurity and biological research after CEO Dario Amodei warned about risks last month. The model gives users access to Anthropic's more powerful Mythos model, which the company had previously deemed too risky for public release last month . However, when users ask about sensitive topics, such as bioweapons or software exploitation, Fable 5 redirects them to the older

From FOMO To Oh No! Koreans Face Massive Forced Liquidations As AI Bubble Bursts Korean retail investors’ aggressive leveraged bets on the market’s two dominant AI/Semi names - Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix - are now colliding with a sharp KOSPI correction, triggering the largest wave of forced stock sales in years and raising the specter of a self-reinforcing liquidation spiral . At its peak last week, the benchmark KOSPI index was up 100% for 2026 , rivaling the Nasdaq 100 Index’s 102% surge in 1999 - right before the bubble burst... Last week we warned , as levered bets

CBP Chief Says Border Wall Should Be Finished By Late 2027 Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, The U.S. southern border wall will be completed by the end of next year, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott at an event on Tuesday. Scott told an audience in Washington that the “primary border wall ... will be done by the end of 2027,” adding that there are a “couple of gaps.” The wall will stretch from San Diego to Texas near the Gulf of Mexico. “The only places we’re not building a border wall is

Goldman Flags Tightening Power Grid In Texas Amid Rapid Data Center Growth Goldman shared some of their thoughts on the tightening of power markets as the decade comes to a close. ERCOT’s own Preliminary Long-Term Load Forecast now sees baseline peak-summer demand (excluding most medium and large loads) growing at a 5.2% average annual rate from 2026 through 2030. This is already well above the 3.4% realized average of 2022-2025. Layer in the medium- and large-scale additions, overwhelmingly data centers plus crypto and industrial electrification, and the forecast explodes to 31% average annual peak-summer growth . Put that in national

The Potemkin Ballot Authored by Spyridon Andrews via American Greatness, The only completely predictable result of an election in a Western democracy is election fraud. Fraud is so fundamental to Western democracies that it is fair to say that democracies exist in name only. In fact, elections have become so essential to illegitimate power that they are almost the surest path to subvert the will of the people. Potemkin elections are essential ways for the ruling class to mask that they are truly in control. The notion of the divine right, or right of the aristocracy to rule, died a

Bank Of Japan Governor Ueda Hospitalized, Will Miss June Meeting Bank of Japan's 74-year-old Governor Kazuo Ueda has been hospitalized for medical treatment and will miss the June 15 to 16 ‌policy meeting, the central bank said on Wednesday. It is the first time for the governor, who chairs the BOJ's policy discussions, to miss a scheduled meeting since the central bank began deciding policy ​under the current arrangement in 1998. The governor will submit a written statement on his view on policy but will not participate in ​next week's vote , the BOJ said in a statement. Ueda is

RFK Jr. Responds To "Explosion" in Tick-Borne, WEF-Touted Alpha-Gal Syndrome Authored By Ben Bartee at Armageddon Prose Substack In response to a question on the topic posed by ZeroHedge reporter Liam Cosgrove, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently addressed the astronomical increase in alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne infection that causes potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to red meat: “Last week, I went to New Hampshire… to address this explosion of alpha-gal, and we take it very seriously. One of the epicenters is Martha’s Vineyard where 50% of the adult population is now affected. It is really a devastating disease. You

Apollo's President Warns AI Is Coming For Professional Services Jobs Next First AI came for Software, disrupting its various offshoots and sparking a brutal bear market at the start of the year before a powerful squeeze sent software stocks surging in recent weeks. Now, it's the turn of professional services, including law firms, accountancies and consulting firms, which according to Apollo’s co-president, Scott Kleinman are likely to be the next sector to face disruption from artificial intelligence. Investors have had their worries focused on the software sector, and the extent to which AI will upend these businesses. But going forward,

Even CNN Admits Democrats Are Cooked On Immigration Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity , CNN's latest "Run the Numbers" segment lays bare a brutal reality for Democrats: their radical immigration stance has left them bleeding support across every demographic, while President Trump racks up historic approval on the issue. The numbers don't lie, and even the network long accused of carrying water for open-border advocates is now spotlighting just how badly the party has botched border security. One anchor stated plainly what millions of Americans have known for years: "Democrats have a PROBLEM." ?? JUST IN - CNN just

Oracle Tumbles After Mixed Results, Capex Comes In Hot; Warns Another $40BN Debt/Equity Capital Raise Coming With tech stocks cracking for a 3rd straight day, and with the broader market closing at the lows in a surprising sign of weakness, many were looking to ORCL to kickstart the AI euphoria which has been oddly missing in recent days (and which send NVDA stock briefly just below the key level of $200). Well, for those hoping that ORCL would be the much needed spark, they may be disappointed after ORCL stock pumped in kneejerk reaction (despite Q4 earnings that were mixed

Solar Tops Coal In US Power Mix For The First Month Ever Solar power held a record-high 12.8% share of US electricity supply in May, overtaking coal-generated power for the first full month on record , energy think tank Ember said in a report on Wednesday. As OilPrice notes , while the share of solar-generated power jumped to a record high for a full month, the share of coal in the U.S. electricity mix slumped to 12.2% last month, the fourth-lowest monthly share of coal ever. Solar generated an all-time high total of 45.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) in May, up by

Stop Destroying Civilization! Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness, In the #MeToo years, the Left’s signature slogan was “Believe All Women!” That directive was used to bolster Christine Blasey Ford’s preposterous and easily refuted 2018 allegations that some 35 years earlier she had been sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, when both were teenagers. Two years later, the Left quietly junked that “Believe Women!” credo when Tara Reade came forward and lodged a far more credible charge that 2020 Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden had sexually assaulted her when she was a Biden senatorial staffer. Seven

OpenAI Eyes Massive 10-Gigawatt Ohio Data Center OpenAI is moving along in talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, according to a new report from The Information , in a deal that could include financial backing from Nvidia. This comes as Ohio lawmakers unveiled new legislation aiming to regulate data center build-outs. The massive 10 GW data center would be the largest data center development ever considered, with a potential buildout cost topping $500 billion based on current prices for chips, labor, and construction materials. OpenAI in Talks to Lease 10 Gigawatt Ohio

DHS Directs ICE To Deport Illegal Aliens Who Vote In American Elections Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) General Counsel James Percival has directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to impose strict penalties , including deportation, on illegal aliens who vote in American elections. According to a DHS press release, the Immigration and Nationality Act directs the removal of aliens who illegally vote or make a false claim to US citizenship. 🇺🇸 DHS told ICE to deport any undocumented immigrant who votes in a U.S. election. The directive, signed Monday, ties directly to

Governments Sell Bonds At Record Pace As Global Rates Rise, Spending Soars In a world already drowning with debt, the only certainty is even more debt According to a new analysis by Bloomberg, governments are borrowing from syndicated bond markets at a record clip as public spending surges. That's in addition to direct sales where the government auctions off debt to institutional investors and individuals. Sovereign issuers have sold $504 billion of the debt - which is offered to investors via banks - so far this year, a new record. Thet's more than in the first half of 2020, when

Trump Says "Secret Military Mission" Allowed 200 Ships, 100 Million Barrels To Cross Hormuz Confirming our reported from both a week ago (see " As Gulf States Plan Bypass Pipelines, US Military Is Quietly Helping Ships Cross Hormuz ") and this afternoon (" Growing Number Of Oil Tankers Successfully Sneak Through Hormuz, Shrinking Iran's Leverage ") moments ago Trump posted on Truth Social that he had " directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz." Of course, the mission wasn't that secret if we discussed

US defense secretary continues ramp-up of pressure against country including sanctions and devastating oil blockade Pete Hegseth has warned Cuba against acquiring weapons that could threaten the United States, during a visit to the US military base at Guantánamo Bay. Washington has ramped up pressure against Cuba with sanctions and a devastating oil blockade, and Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be the next after Venezuela to fall to US pressure. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands gather to remember Carlos ‘Indio’ Solari, who inspired cross-generational devotion, especially among working class The line stretched for more than 7km (four miles). Mourners sang rock songs, waved banners, and carried speakers blasting music while smoke rose from makeshift barbecues and vendors sold T-shirts bearing the image of a bald man with sunglasses. As evening fell, a drizzle set in, but the queue remained. At the end of the line in Avellaneda, outer Buenos Aires, stood a chapel containing the body of a rock star. Continue reading...

Billboards are being painted over and former allies seem eager to forget the man they once glorified For years, his bewhiskered face stared down from propaganda billboards glorifying the supposedly revolutionary rule of a dictator who styled himself as “the protector of the people”. The spin-doctored adoration was such that factories churned out plastic action figures exalting Nicolás Maduro as an “indestructible” and “iron-fisted” caped crusader nicknamed “Super Moustache”. Continue reading...

Geoffrey Wall is alleged to have flown over 900 flights domestically and internationally between 2009 and 2025 A former Air Canada pilot has been charged after flying for years without a proper license, Canadian police have said. Geoffrey Wall, of Barrie, Ontario, is alleged to have operated as an airline captain between 2009 and 2025 without a license to fly large commercial passenger planes, according to Peel regional police. Continue reading...

Earthquake was region’s strongest tremor in nearly 150 years and was also felt in parts of Mexico including Cancún An earthquake on Monday off the coast of Cuba , which was that region’s strongest tremor in nearly 150 years, could be felt in Florida and parts of Mexico . The 6.1-magnitude earthquake, which struck in the afternoon, occurred approximately 65 miles (105km) north-west of Mantua, Cuba, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS added that the earthquake had a depth of 16 miles. Continue reading...

Critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan population falls after heavy rain and landslides, fuelled by climate crisis, in North Sumatra Extreme rainfall and landslides fuelled by the climate crisis killed 7% of the remaining population of the world’s rarest great ape, a study has found, prompting fears for the species’ survival. The research suggests 58 out of the remaining 800 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans ( Pongo tapanuliensis ) were killed after more than 1,000mm (39in) of rain fell over four days in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province in November 2025. This equates to 11% of the local population and 7% of the entire

Renewed outrage at White House’s use manga and anime imagery after US president is depicted as ninja Naruto Japanese anime and manga fans are urging Donald Trump to stop using their favourite characters in his social media posts. About 20,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org entitled Protect Japanese Manga, protesting against the official White House X account posting videos featuring unauthorised use of imagery from the popular Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Naruto series. Angry fans have also been posting on social media. Continue reading...

People told not to enter damaged buildings for fear of aftershocks from magnitude-7.8 quake At least 37 people have died and hundreds have been injured after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake shook part of the southern Philippines early on Monday, collapsing buildings and triggering tsunami alerts. The quake hit early in the morning about 20km (12.4 miles) off the coast of Sarangani province, with tremors felt strongly across Mindanao and 420km away in the city of Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Continue reading...

Kim Jong-un welcomes Chinese leader on visit to renew relations strained amid Pyongyang’s closeness with Russia Xi Jinping has arrived in North Korea for a two-day trip, his first in nearly seven years, as China’s leader looks to revitalise ties with his junior ally. Footage published by China’s Xinhua state news agency showed an Air China plane carrying Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, touching down at Pyongyang’s Sunan international airport. Continue reading...

India declares onset as up to 280mm of rain falls in 72 hours in Kerala, while downpours hit south-west Thailand The monsoon season has officially begun in parts of Asia, marking the start of a period of enhanced rainfall vital to the region’s economy. The south-west monsoon begins each year as a consequence of a growing temperature difference between the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean. Through spring, the land heats up more rapidly than the surrounding sea, creating a pressure difference that draws moisture-laden ocean air inland. Once this contrast reaches a critical point, the humid air pushed

Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Wong not ‘interested’ in One Nation’s fundraising Wong says she isn’t concerned about One Nation’s fundraising efforts, but more about their policies. Pauline Hanson ’s party says it has raised more than $1.5m in the last day, although those claims are unverified. I’m less interested in what Pauline Hanson fundraises and am more concerned about One Nation’s policies. Just as I am concerned about the fact that the Liberal party and One Nation seem to be working together and that it appears to be

Blundy’s investment firm, BBRC International, owns about 13% of the US-listed lingerie brand, giving it a potential platform to launch a hostile takeover Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australian billionaire Brett Blundy is waging a high-stakes campaign to oust the long-term chair of Victoria’s Secret & Co, setting the stage for a showdown at the company’s annual meeting in the US on Thursday. Blundy’s investment firm, BBRC International, owns about 13% of the US-listed Victoria’s Secret lingerie brand, making it the second-biggest single shareholder

Plan to move 240,000 people off scheme leads states and territories to jointly warn they can’t ‘deliver like-for-like services to people who are exited from the NDIS’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast State and territory disability ministers have rung alarm bells over the Albanese government’s proposed overhaul of the NDIS, warning they can’t deliver “like-for-like services” for more than 200,000 participants expected to be shifted off the scheme by 2031. The Albanese government’s National Disability Insurance Scheme bill is designed to dramatically curb the

Director of Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli celebrated for defining Australian culture and ‘global influence on craft, form and storytelling’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Peter Weir, the director of Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Gallipoli, was presented with the inaugural lifetime achievement award from the Australian Film Television and Radio School on Wednesday night. At an event hosted by Sydney film festival, the AFTRS council chair, Rachel Perkins, called the now-retired 81-year-old director and screenwriter “the

South Australian Liberal Tony Pasin says parties should ‘work hand-in-glove’ to defeat Labor at the next election Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Splits are appearing inside the Liberal party about how to deal with Pauline Hanson, after one opposition MP at risk of losing his seat to One Nation said the two conservative parties should cooperate and not run against each other – a plan rejected by Angus Taylor and other senior colleagues. With One Nation leading the Coalition and Labor in published opinion

Man accused of sedating and filming abuse of partner had contact with Pelicot, who was jailed for drugging wife and inviting men to rape her A bodyguard from Lyon is to go on trial for allegedly sedating and raping his partner after he was in contact online with Dominique Pelicot , who was convicted of drugging and raping his own wife, Gisèle Pelicot. Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history , is serving 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in

Singer and actor has denied all charges after more than 20 women came forward with allegations going back to the 1990s The French singer Patrick Bruel has been charged with rape and sexual assault in one of the biggest #MeToo cases in the French music industry. The 67-year-old, a major figure in French pop culture, was placed under formal investigation over several cases that included alleged rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. Continue reading...

As completion of 144-year basilica nears, questions swirl over resemblance of church to architect’s original plans It has been a long wait but 144 years after work began, Pope Leo XIV has blessed the recently completed central tower of Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família church in the presence of members of the Spanish royal family, the prime minister and hundreds of bishops. With the completion of the Jesus Christ tower, the tallest of 18 in the temple, the basilica has reached its full height of 172.5 metres. It is now not only the world’s tallest church but Barcelona’s tallest building. It

People have absorbed violence and terror into their lives. Somehow, they keep going – quietly rescuing, evacuating, replacing, mending, adapting … and sometimes saving tiny animals It was a glorious balmy night, and I was walking home from dinner. I’d just eaten fried red mullet from the Black Sea on a pavement terrace, listening to the cries of the last swifts as darkness crept over the city. A couple of blocks from where I was staying, there was a curious sight: a couple and their dog were standing over a hedgehog, which was standing seemingly irresolute in the road. I

Exclusive: poll across 15 countries finds ‘deep mistrust’, with majority doubting US would come to their aid in an attack European confidence in an American “security guarantee” has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, with only one in 10 people across 15 countries seeing the US as an ally and majorities in all doubting it would come to their aid if they were attacked. The survey, published on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank before critical G7 and Nato summits in France and Turkey over the coming weeks, revealed “deep European distrust in the US”,

US military says commercial ships are continuing to transit the strait of Hormuz, contradicting claims from Iran that the strait has been closed US strikes Iran for second day, as ceasefire appears close to collapse If the US genuinely wants a deal it will have to engage with Iranian demands on sanctions relief, says Danny Citrinowicz, the former head of the Iran branch of Israeli military intelligence. Today’s exchange of strikes shows how easily both Iran and the US can slide towards another round of escalation, says Citrinowicz, who is now a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council. If Washington

Donald Trump had vowed to ‘hit them hard again’ after accusing negotiators in Tehran of ‘playing us for suckers’ Middle East crisis – live updates The US has launched new strikes against targets in Iran for the second consecutive day. Donald Trump had promised to “hit them hard again” as a two-month-old ceasefire appears close to collapse. Continue reading...

Federal prosecutors unsealed indictment against activists trying to force the school to cut financial ties to Israel Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment on Wednesday against eight pro-Palestinian activists who are accused of conspiring to run a criminal intimidation campaign against University of Michigan officials while trying to force the school to cut financial ties to Israel . The indictment also describes vandalism against some companies that operate in Michigan and against the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Continue reading...

A cycle of threat, detente and deadlock repeats itself wearisomely as the president’s war in Iran drags on US politics live – latest updates As the story of the US-Iran war is written direct to social media, Donald Trump may be the genre’s premier unreliable narrator. Since the war began, Trump has again and again threatened Iran with fearsome consequences if Tehran doesn’t come to the table and sign a peace deal that the US president said was imminent weeks ago. And he has also repeatedly claimed that an Iran deal is “close” – without any result. (A CNN tally

Footage appears to contradict Israeli military’s account of killing of seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal in West Bank Footage has emerged that appears to contradict the Israeli military’s account of the shooting that killed seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal in his mother’s arms, showing the family’s car slowing near a military post before soldiers opened fire. On Friday, the killing of the infant by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank caused outrage, after soldiers opened fire on the family’s vehicle despite it having complied with an order to stop. Sam was killed and his mother, Daniyah Abu Haikal, and father, Fahed

Thai woman is in custody in connection with investigation after man was reportedly found dead at a hotel in Yangon A US diplomat has been found dead in Myanmar ’s largest city, and members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman has been detained by police in connection with the investigation. US officials in Thailand and the US embassy in Myanmar referred questions on the case to the state department, which confirmed the “death of a US government employee” assigned to the embassy in Yangon, but gave no other details. Continue reading...

A child reported among those killed when Taliban forces fired on crowds in Herat, who were protesting over arrests of women accused of violating hijab dress code A Taliban crackdown on women’s dress code in Afghanistan has escalated into a rare mass street protest in the western province of Herat, with at least two people, including one boy, killed by security forces. Officials made a wave of arrests in recent days targeting women and young girls accused of “improper hijab”. Residents say many families had received no information about the whereabouts or condition of those detained. Continue reading...

Cockroach Janta party began as online joke but is growing into one of the most unexpected challenges to country’s rightwing government The call out to the youth of India was simple: “Get ready to swarm the streets of Delhi with peaceful and loving dissent.” They came in their thousands. The weekend marked the first public protest of the Cockroach Janta party (CJP), a movement that began as an online joke, but which has swiftly grown into one of the most unexpected challenges to the indomitable power of the country’s rightwing Narendra Modi government – driven by millions of discontented and

Climbing support team rescue Hillary Dawa Sherpa almost a week on from when he was last seen A Nepali guide who was believed to have died on Mount Everest has been found crawling to base camp a week after going missing – and after his funeral rites had begun. Dawa Sherpa, also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa after the famous climber Edmund Hillary, was last seen on 29 May but did not reach base camp with other climbing groups. Continue reading...

ICC’s decision comes amid growing concerns the team is being influenced by members of a notorious gang in India Cricket’s international governing body has suspended Canada over what it described as “serious breaches of its membership obligations”, dealing the latest blow to an organization that critics say has become a “laughing stock” within the sport. The suspension also comes amid growing concerns that one of Canada’s fastest-growing sports is being influenced by members of a notorious gang that operates with impunity from an Indian prison cell . Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Read our main report here: Police use water cannon against rioters in Northern Ireland Hadi Alodid refused legal representation and made no reply to charges which were put put to him through an Arabic interpreter as he appeared in court charged with attempted murder following the Belfast knife attack, the Press Association reports. The 30-year-old, with an address at Duncairn Avenue in Belfast, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court on Wednesday morning. He is charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie on Monday, with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day

Force disperses crowd of 300 people who burned truck and reportedly planned to target hotel hosting migrants Police have used water cannon against rioters in Northern Ireland during a second night of anti-immigration protests. It dispersed a crowd of about 300 people who burned a truck and threw bricks and petrol bombs close to the Sandyknowes roundabout near Newtownabbey, eight miles north of Belfast. Continue reading...

New name, Bristol Dockyards, and museum revamp aimed at becoming more rooted in community, says chief executive One of the UK’s maritime landmarks is being renamed as part of a drive to make it “cooler” and more inclusive. For a decade, the dockland site in Bristol that houses the ocean liner SS Great Britain, which was designed by the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, has been promoted as Brunel’s SS Great Britain . Continue reading...

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the only passenger to survive the incident in June 2025, which killed 260 people The only survivor of the Air India plane crash that killed 260 people in June 2025 has called for “honesty, transparency and answers” a year on from the disaster, and spoken about his “significant psychological scars” and financial hardship. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, has previously described his fate as a “miracle” after being the only person to survive the incident, in which a Boeing 787 Dreamliner struck a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport. Continue reading...

Any official reprimand will come from regulator Ofcom, but not for at least two months UK politics live – latest updates Elon Musk’s X will face no action to remove a mass of posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread condemnation of the platform and its billionaire owner. Concern over the role social media played in spreading disturbing images and fuelling anger continued to grow on Wednesday as police and community leaders urged calm. Continue reading...

As the US prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary and Trump turns 80, what state is the country in? And its president? This weekend kicks off an extravaganza of celebrations for the US, marking 250 years of independence from Britain – and for Donald Trump, marking 80 years of being, well, him. Presidents gone-by would have used a milestone anniversary to promote national unity. Trump is organising a cage fight. The president is adamant that every decent, flag-waving American will enjoy the festivities … or at least be talking about the party rather than what he’s brought to it. Continue

This live blog is now closed. Sign up for the Breaking News US email Donald Trump ’s immigration crackdown is largely targeting people from the countries most vulnerable to displacement from climate-driven disasters, a Guardian analysis shows. As the Trump administration pushes policies to boost planet-heating fossil fuels, millions of people are being forced to flee their homelands due to storms, floods and droughts worsened by the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Defense says no evidence occasional Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht ignited deadly blaze on New Year’s Day 2025 The trial of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of starting last year’s deadly Palisades fire, kicked off on Wednesday with opening arguments. Prosecutors cast him as a vengeful arsonist who sought to hide his role from authorities, while his defense attorneys argued that the fire was caused by fireworks. On New Year’s Day in 2025, firefighters extinguished a small blaze in the Pacific Palisades, a coastal Los Angeles enclave. But the flames continued to smolder underground, before reigniting as they were picked

Environmental groups say exchange between US government and SpaceX would worsen ecological risks Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Environmental groups on Wednesday sued in an attempt to stop the Trump administration from giving SpaceX more than 700 acres (280 hectares) of wildlife refuge in Texas , claiming it would worsen ecological risks to a Gulf coast region already transformed by billionaire Elon Musk ’s rocket operations. The US Fish and Wildlife Service this month approved moving forward with the deal with SpaceX, which would surrender 683 acres (276 hectares) the company owns in exchange for federal

Microsoft co-founder appears in closed-door session as part of lawmakers’ investigation into convicted sex offender Bill Gates testified in front of the House committee on oversight and reform on Wednesday, and told lawmakers in his opening remarks that he “never witnessed nor had any indication” that Jeffrey Epstein was “engaged in ongoing criminal conduct”. “I am here to answer your questions about my interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and to help contribute to the committee’s important work,” Gates said in his opening statement, seen by the Guardian. “I support the release of all the Epstein files and sincerely hope that, through

The United States ramped up pressure on Iran on Wednesday by carrying out strikes for a second straight day and the Treasury Department slapped fresh sanctions on entities that it says “have supported weapons procurement” on behalf of Tehran, including some in mainland China and Hong Kong. “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’ll see what happens with the deal. We’re really close to a deal but...

Nasa’s administrator Jared Isaacman on Wednesday defended the make-up of the space agency’s latest Artemis crew, an all-male group. The nominations have earned criticism that Nasa may have acted in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s direction to eliminate diversity and inclusion efforts. Isaacman insisted in a lengthy social media post that the “crew selection does not involve any political appointees”. “The Astronaut Office assigns the crew that gives the mission the best chance of...

Bill Gates told members of Congress on Wednesday that he “did not fully understand the extent” of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes when he associated with the late convicted sex offender to raise money for his philanthropic foundation. Gates also testified that he never witnessed any criminal conduct from Epstein. He accused Epstein of blackmailing him over his extramarital affairs. “These affairs had nothing to do with my ‌interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family,” Gates said,...

The use of social media in planning violent protests over the Belfast knife attack has drawn condemnation, with Britain’s ruling Labour Party accusing Elon Musk of stoking divisions. The tech billionaire, who continued overnight to promote calls for people to take to the streets in response to the assault, hit back at the claims and blamed immigration policy for the tensions. Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, was remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with attempted murder...

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday brushed off concerns about consumer inflation surging to a fresh three-year high in May, on the back of soaring energy prices caused by his war in Iran. “The numbers were great … I love the inflation,” Trump told reporters, a comment pounced on by Democrats who have made rising prices a cornerstone of their campaign to take control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.2 per cent year-on-year, up from the...

As the 2026 Fifa World Cup prepares to kick off on Thursday, the world’s elite players are vying for more than just glory – they seek a shimmering prize whose bullion value has eclipsed all previous benchmarks. The trophy set to be hoisted in the US state of New Jersey next month is now worth 157 per cent more than it was during the 2022 tournament in Qatar, owing to a historic rally in gold prices. The raw gold value of the statue currently stands at around US$713,000 – a staggering jump from...

A 30-year-old man from Sudan appeared in a Belfast court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over a stabbing attack that left a victim seriously injured and triggered anti-immigrant violence in several parts of Northern Ireland. Hadi Alodid was ordered held in jail after an appearance by video in Belfast Magistrates’ Court, where a detective said he blinded Stephen Ogilvie in the left eye during the knife attack. He was also charged with possessing a knife and threatening to kill a...

Thousands of Iranians in the southern port town of Sirik have lost access to drinking water after US strikes hit two reservoirs in the area, Iranian state media said on Wednesday. The United States carried out strikes on the southern cities of Jask and Sirik and on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, after what Washington said was Iran’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter over Gulf waters. The strikes damaged two reservoirs supplying the Bemani and Kouhestak areas of Sirik...

China’s factory gate prices rose by the most since 2022, surpassing expectations, as higher oil costs stemming from the war in Iran help manufacturers escape years of deflation. The producer price index rose by 3.9 per cent from a year earlier in May, more than the 3.5 per cent forecast of economists surveyed by Wind. Consumer prices rose by 1.2 per cent, the same as in April and below the 1.4 per cent forecast. Manufacturers have raised prices for three months in a row after the conflict in the...

Multiple attackers killed 12 people and wounded at least nine in a late-night mass shooting in Johannesburg, police said Wednesday, the latest in such attacks that have shaken the South African city. Police said they believe more than 10 suspects were driven in a minibus to an informal settlement in the Cleveland suburb of Johannesburg late on Tuesday night and once there, opened fire on people. South Africa has seen several high-profile mass shootings recently, including two in December that...

The European Commission has declared its trade and economic relationship with China “unsustainable”, pointing to a daily trade deficit of €1 billion (US$1.16 billion) and Chinese manufacturing overcapacity that puts millions of jobs across various sectors at risk. However, a clear-eyed analysis reveals this premise to be entirely flawed. The narrative spun by Brussels is a desperate attempt to weaponise trade policy to mask structural, self-inflicted failures. To understand the absurdity of the...

The race for California governor in November will be a battle between a Democrat promising to cement the state’s status as a stronghold of liberal policies and a Republican pledging to dramatically reverse course in America’s most populous state. Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, has won enough votes to advance to the general election, Associated Press determined on Tuesday. He will face Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney...

Anti-immigration protesters torched buildings and vehicles in Belfast on Tuesday evening and blocked roads, a day after a stabbing allegedly by a Sudanese refugee, captured in a graphic video that shocked the country. Hundreds of protesters, many masked, gathered at several locations across Belfast. A bus and several cars were set alight, while a building fringing the city centre caught fire and its residents had to be evacuated. “By 7.30pm they started [a] fire in the bins … we heard police...

A huge treasure trove of ancient DNA from animals including extinct woolly mammoths has been discovered in frozen squirrel faeces in Canada’s remote Yukon territory, scientists said on Tuesday. The DNA found deep inside sealed-off burrows is between 3,000 and 700,000 years old, offering a rare window into how life has changed over the millennia. As well as DNA from woolly mammoths – which the US company Colossal claims it is trying to “de-extinct” – genetic material was also found from wolves,...

The US expects to complete President Donald Trump’s long-promised southern border wall by late 2027, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott said Tuesday. The barrier along the US-Mexico border is made of reinforced metal beams and is intended to run from San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico, except in selected areas “where we’ve made a conscious decision that we don’t need it”, Scott said at the Centre for Immigration Studies event in Washington. “The primary border wall will...

People always talk knowingly about Weimar, a period of extremes: artistic and social-sexual decadence, democratic liberalism and the radicalisation of the left and the right, before Germany’s descent into Hitlerian hell. The city as a symbol, close to the site of the former Buchenwald concentration camp, is back in the news, well, at least the op-ed pages of the Western press. That’s rarely a good sign. “The new crisis [in Germany] seems uncomfortably familiar because, in some respects, it...

Anthropic is rolling out ⁠a public version of ⁠its Mythos AI model, but ⁠with guard rails barring its use in risky areas such as cybersecurity, after a preview earlier this year sent shock waves globally with its ability to find software flaws. The new Claude Fable 5 is the most powerful model ‌Anthropic has ever made for wider use, the start-up said on Tuesday, touting its performance in software engineering and analytics. Anthropic has so far limited its access to a group of about 200...

The United States launched fresh strikes against Iran on Tuesday, prompting retaliation from Tehran, which targeted a major US naval base in Bahrain and an airbase in Jordan. It came just hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to retaliate for what he described as the hostile downing of an American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The escalation tested a fragile US-Iran ceasefire that had taken effect on April 8 as both sides negotiate terms to end the...

Nasa named three US astronauts and ⁠an Italian astronaut on Tuesday to serve as the crew for its next Artemis mission, a spacecraft docking demonstration in Earth’s orbit next year that would test moon landers from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin for the first time in space. Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman at a ceremony in Houston named US astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio and Randy Bresnik and Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency as the crew for...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office called for calm on Tuesday after police said they arrested a Sudanese suspect over a stabbing in residential Belfast in Northern Ireland that drew national attention because of graphic videos of the attack online. Police said the victim was taken to the hospital with serious wounds to his face, neck and back late on Monday. They said the suspect, who is in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remained in police custody. A kitchen...

From Sunderland to Spain, Chinese manufacturers are revitalising idle factories and investing where traditional European carmakers are pulling back. Chinese carmakers are rapidly transforming from export-oriented manufacturers into embedded participants in Europe’s automotive industrial base, a shift increasingly visible across both continental Europe and Britain. What began as a strategy focused on exporting low-cost electric vehicles (EVs) has evolved into a broader industrial expansion...

Tighter US sanctions on Cuba have led to a spike in infant mortality and plummeting survival rates for child cancer patients, the UN warned in one of its strongest rebukes of Washington’s pressure campaign against the island. US President Donald Trump’s push to force change in Cuba by cutting off almost all fuel shipments to the government is depriving the nation of 10 million people of access to water, food and healthcare, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Monday in a...

Palestinian civilians are caught between “mass atrocities” of Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas’ brutal rule, a UN-mandated inquiry said on Tuesday. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe rights violations, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said. The investigative team, which last year concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in the war in Gaza, highlighted in a new report that...

Scepticism is rife about US President Donald Trump’s claims to have reprimanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu over recent military escalations with Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran despite ceasefires negotiated by Washington. While Netanyahu’s apparent defiance is widely seen as an embarrassment to Trump, analysts say the mercurial US leader has done little more than wag his finger at his ally. In his latest interview with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid for US website Axios on...

A summit between Russia and Asean next week promises to ease Southeast Asia’s energy crisis and Moscow’s diplomatic isolation – but not all of the bloc’s leaders are expected to show up. Analysts are also divided on whether Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, the current Asean chair, will travel to Kazan for the meeting, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 17–18. The summit marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations...

Beyond the diplomatic choreography of last month’s Xi-Trump summit, what are the structural implications of a less confrontational US-China relationship for the Asia-Pacific? The subsequent visits by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to India and US Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth to Singapore in late May shed some light on the question. Both Rubio and Hegseth had accompanied Trump to Beijing. Perhaps most telling was the switch in the usage of a geographic term by the US administration. In...

Israel’s latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things. Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of...

A US Army Apache attack helicopter crashed on Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz, but President Donald Trump said the two crew members aboard were not injured in the incident near the strategic waterway that Iran has effectively closed during the war. What caused the crash remains unclear in a Middle East still reeling after Iran and Israel exchanged fire the previous day in the biggest blow yet to the straining ceasefire in the Iran war. Iranian state television reported on Tuesday the Israeli...

US President Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. Trump was shown for several seconds giving a military salute. The boos ended when the US flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited loud boos. Trump was watching from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along...

A historically strong earthquake ⁠struck off Cuba’s northwest ⁠coast on Monday, according to official ⁠reports, shaking parts of Cuba, Mexico and Florida that are typically not prone to quakes. The US Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake at a magnitude 6.1 at a shallow depth of 26km (16 miles) and its epicentre 104km ‌west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, about two to four hours by car from the capital Havana. Monday’s earthquake was unusual for this area of the Caribbean, said Paul Earle, a...

The International Criminal Court’s ‌chief prosecutor Karim Khan has been suspended pending a vote by member states on his fate, the court’s governing body said on Monday, following a probe into accusations of sexual harassment made against him. A diplomatic source briefed on the decision told Reuters the court’s governing body’s executive bureau has ruled Khan had committed serious misconduct following an 18-month-long probe into accusations that the prosecutor had non-consensual sexual...

A new US$4.7 billion bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is on track to open in the coming ‌weeks, a bridge authority said on Monday, despite a threat by US President Donald Trump in February to block its opening. A formal ribbon-cutting is expected later this week, a source told Reuters. Detroit media outlets reported on Monday the Gordie Howe International Bridge is expected to open to traffic on June 15. Trump in February cited Canada’s refusal to stock some US alcoholic beverages...

US President Donald Trump has nominated Todd Blanche, acting US attorney general, to fill the position on a permanent basis, rewarding a loyal ally whose controversial actions ensure an uphill Senate confirmation fight. The White House announced on Monday it had sent Blanche’s nomination to the Senate, a move Trump telegraphed last week during remarks at a private event in the Rose Garden. Blanche formerly served as one of Trump’s personal lawyers before the president picked him for the No 2...

A Norway court on Monday ordered the release of ailing Crown Princess Mette-Marit’s son Marius Borg Hoiby, who faces a multitude of charges including rape and abuse, citing her health crisis. Prosecutors quickly appealed the decision, so Hoiby will remain in custody until the appeal is processed. The 29-year-old, Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before her 2001 marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, was on trial from February 3 to March 19. He faces 40 criminal charges, including the rape of four...

Israel and Iran warned that they each stood ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked, even as both nations appeared to back away from further strikes on Monday, hours after trading fire for the first time since the US agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. The renewed hostilities raised concerns that the Middle East could plunge back into a full-scale war. Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on February 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices...

The United States has placed travel bans on more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and their family members as part of a broader campaign to punish the current government for human rights abuses. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Monday that the new sanctions were imposed in part because of the death last month of an imprisoned activist, Brooklyn Rivera, who criticised the policies of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife and co-president Rosario Murillo. “The United...

A federal ⁠judge on Monday ⁠struck down a US$100,000 fee that ⁠US President Donald Trump imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, concluding that it constituted an unlawful tax that Congress never authorised. US District Judge Leo Sorokin ‌in Boston issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging a fee Trump announced in September that dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas, which tech companies in particular rely...

Kenya’s former chief justice David Maraga said he was arrested Monday alongside other activists protesting planned construction inside Nairobi National Park. Police fired tear gas canisters at the protesters who were marching outside the park while carrying banners with messages denouncing land grabs. Maraga was detained and later released while staging a sit-in on a major road outside the national park’s main gate. He was wearing a green T-shirt similar to those worn by other activists. The...

US President Donald Trump told the US Supreme Court he intends to ask the justices to revive his US$475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN over use of the term “Big Lie” in reporting on his claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him. Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court for a 60-day extension to August 15 to file his petition for review of the lower court’s dismissal of the case, according to a request that was formally docketed by the justices on Friday. The filing, the first...

Hungarian lawmakers unanimously voted to slash their incomes and allowances on Monday, as Prime Minister Peter Magyar sought to reduce administrative costs. Critics had previously accused Magyar’s predecessor, nationalist premier Viktor Orban, of providing high salaries in an attempt to placate opposition deputies. Magyar, whose party filled with political newcomers won the April 12 elections by a landslide, was among those highly critical of the practice. All 189 representatives present in the...

Residents of Tehran awoke on Monday anxious and drained by the prospect of full-scale war resuming, following tit-for-tat strikes between arch-foes Iran and Israel that marked the greatest threat to the fragile ceasefire thus far. “We don’t know if there will be a war, nor if a peace deal will last,” said Maryam, a 41-year-old accountant in Tehran’s central Valiasr Square. She described a pervasive “sense of uncertainty and confusion” after Israeli strikes on Tehran on Sunday, which came in...

Apple and Google have been given a three-month ultimatum to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images on their smartphones, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. The government wants firms to activate built-in features on their devices or come up with technological solutions on phones and tablets to detect and block such content. It means all adults will need to verify their age if they want to take or view nude images. Firms must implement changes or face...

Afghan residents in the western city of Herat have told of witnessing multiple women detained by the Taliban government’s morality police, in a crackdown over clothing which has drawn criticism from the United Nations. The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Sunday it was “concerned over multiple arrests and detentions of women in Herat, Afghanistan, for alleged non-compliance with dress requirements”. Taliban authorities rule according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law, and have...

As part of its decades-old “multi-vector” foreign policy, based on balancing relations between major powers such as China, Russia, the United States and the European Union, Kazakhstan – Central Asia’s largest country – is now actively diversifying its economic and financial policies. While in the past, Astana sought to strengthen cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the leading international financial hub in the Middle East, today, Hong Kong seems to be becoming a key partner for...

The head of the World Health Organization on Monday visited Uganda, where a deadly Ebola outbreak has killed two people after spreading from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The WHO has declared an international health emergency over the current outbreak, which was announced on May 15 in the northeastern DRC. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently also visited the DRC, which has seen 515 confirmed Ebola infections, including 91 deaths, according to the UN...

Mr. Wembanyama has had to keep a low profile while in New York to try and win the N.B.A. finals, but on visits there, he has always resisted hiding in hotel rooms and private cars.

Also, inflation jumps for a third-straight month. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.

While Elon Musk may soon become a trillionaire, his rocket company’s market debut is set to the change the lives of its current and former employees, too.

Antonio Gracias, an investor who has built a $65 billion stake in the company, exemplifies the economic upside of being Mr. Musk’s ally.

The president’s top advisers gathered in a series of Situation Room meetings as they struggled to contain a scandal engulfing Donald Trump himself.

Senior officials clashed in a series of meetings as they struggled to manage a crisis over the president’s refusal to release the documents.

The billionaire philanthropist testified on Wednesday in a closed-door congressional hearing about the Justice Department’s investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

Here is what we know about the sexual predator whose secrets spurred an international reckoning over money, power and complicity. Check back for updates.

David Rush, the C.I.A. employee, worked on a highly classified China spying program with Stephen A. Feinberg, the Pentagon’s second-ranking official.

The Republican congresswoman from South Carolina, who made enemies on both sides of the political aisle, is just one of several flashy lawmakers to be leaving Capitol Hill.

The party is trying desperately to win back some voters in the key swing group.

Taverns were important incubators of revolutionary fervor where patriots gathered to plot and gossip. Here are a few where you can still taste the spirit of 1776.

What happened when livestreaming vigilantes ambushed an innocent man.

Six months in, many teens are already back on platforms they were supposed to be blocked from. The ban’s benefits may fall to the next generation.

Months after Australia banned social media for everyone under 16, the British government is considering new policies to keep children safe online.

The country’s previous attempt to get tech companies to shelter young users failed amid heavy criticism from civil liberty groups.

Soupy, hot weather will settle into the Northeast on Thursday and Friday, bringing with it the threat of dangerous storms.

Forecasters warned that destructive storms were expected across the region into Wednesday night.

High temperatures across the San Francisco Bay Area will reach into the 90s on Thursday, forecasters said.

Some of America’s largest cities are now being governed by progressives. What will we learn?

A new politics of morality is rising in the Democratic Party.

The New York Times wants to talk to workers about what they think artificial intelligence will mean for their careers, and how they are navigating this uncertain period.

Researchers are at a loss for why people across cultures and ages, regardless of their dominant hand, have a natural bias toward wandering in a counterclockwise direction.