Minimalist News

Tucker Carlson Unveils Major Political Plan Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA , Popular podcast host Tucker Carlson has long dismissed questions about whether he would ever seek public office. But this week, he hinted at a major political move, though don’t expect to see his name on the ballot. Speaking with the Columbia Journalism Review in an interview published Wednesday , Carlson said he plans to “help build a third party,” just months after publicly breaking with President Donald Trump over the U.S.’s involvement in the Israel-Iran war. “I’m going to help build a third party. There should

Two Thirds Of Americans Still Think It's A Bad Time To Buy A House Americans looking to buy a house are currently facing conditions that make it hard for anyone but the very wealthy to afford buying a home. Elevated home prices combined with mortgage rates that have rebounded from historic mid-pandemic lows to levels last seen in the early 2000s are causing major headaches for would-be home buyers. To make things worse, many Americans had to dip into their savings during the past few years of high inflation, making it very hard to save for a sizeable down payment.

America Turns 250. At 125, It Looked Like The End... Authored by James Hickman via SchiffSovereign.com, On the afternoon of September 6, 1901, President William McKinley stood in a receiving line at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, shaking hands with a crowd of well-wishers. One of the people in the crowd was a young man named Leon Czolgosz… who was patiently waiting with a revolver wrapped in a handkerchief. When he reached the front, he fired twice into the president’s abdomen. McKinley died eight days later, and, Czolgosz, an unemployed factory worker, went to the electric chair without

China-Linked Socialist NGO Derailed $23.6 Billion In Data Center Buildouts: Report Our note on Thursday titled " World's Largest Data Center Project On Verge Of Collapse After Blackstone Unexpectedly Pulls Out " detailed Blackstone dialing back its presence from Northern Virginia's data-center alley, raising questions about whether the AI infrastructure buildout, colliding with local resistance movements, has begun to hit hard limits. Just days after agreeing to sell stakes in three Virginia data centers to Digital Realty Trust for $3.5 billion, Blackstone's QTS Realty Trust is reportedly abandoning plans for its portion of the massive Prince William Digital Gateway project.

Backlash After Columbus, Ohio Announces It Will Raise Flag Of Somalia At City Hall Via American Greatness, The city of Columbus faced criticism from conservatives after a now-deleted social media post stated that City Hall would raise the Somali flag in recognition of Somali Independence Day. The post, published Wednesday by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department on X, read: “Happy Somali Independence Day! As we celebrate the unification of the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the State of Somaliland into the Somali Republic in 1960, City Hall will be raising the flag of Somalia.” The message quickly drew criticism

Independence Week By Bas van Geffen, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank It was a reassuring week for those who are concerned about central bank independence. At the ECB’s annual conference in Sintra, moderator Sarah Eisen channeled a bit of her inner Beyoncé, asking a panel of central bank heads “To all you [bankers], who are independent, throw your hands up at me.” All four policymakers, including Fed Chairman Warsh, confirmed the importance of central bank independence: “The Fed acted independently before the Supreme Court ruling, and the Fed will continue to do so after the ruling.” The Supreme Court kept

Massive Security Presence For Khamenei’s 'Multi-City' Funeral Amid Hezbollah, Hamas, Taliban, China, Russia Paying Respects Via The Cradle Intensive preparations and security measures took place on Friday for late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s massive funeral , as foreign officials and delegations began arriving in the country from dozens of nations to pay their respects. The heightened security measures, including airspace restrictions and mass deployment of security forces , began this week and extended into Friday. via AFP The event is being described as a "multi-city" funeral that will span several parts of Iran, including Tehran, Qom, and Mashhad. According

US Believed Israel Tried To Assassinate Iran's Top Negotiators As Ghalibaf's Plane Made Emergency Landing The New York Times has issued a new report citing unnamed US officials who believe that Israel came close to assassinating Iran's top negotiators Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. According to the report, a concrete Israeli threat against Ghalibaf and the FM emerged while they were traveling back to Iran from Islamabad following talks with US Vice President JD Vance on April 12 . Source: Mehr news Prior to that point, during active fighting, Israel had worked its way through killing much

Foreign-Born Population Grows, But Relative Size Not Unprecedented While the number of immigrants in the U.S. as well as their share of the population has generally been rising , Statista's Katharina Buchholz points out that the level of the foreign-born population is not unprecedented . As of 2024, the latest year available through U.S. Census data, 14.8 percent of the U.S. population was foreign-born. Data aggregated by the Migration Policy Institute shows that throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the foreign-born population of the U.S. had been just as high , before reaching a low of just 4.7

"You Cannot Kill The Beast Until You Name It": Democratic Politician Denounces Declaration Of Independence Authored by Jonathan Turley, Pennsylvania state and socialist Chris Rabb, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, has joined the growing chorus of Democrats denouncing the founding documents and core institutions in the country on our 250th anniversary. The Democratic socialist is running unopposed for Congress and will almost certainly be a member of Congress after November. Rabb spoke at an event billed as “America at 250 — Trump Fascism, Historical Erasure, and the Battle Over Truth” at People’s Plaza on Independence Mall in

Anthropic Moves To Shut Loopholes Letting Chinese Tech Firms Access Claude Days after the Commerce Department lifted three-week-old export controls on Anthropic's Fable and Mythos AI models over national security concerns, a new report says the company is moving to close loopholes that have allowed Chinese firms to access its most advanced models. The Financial Times cites people familiar with the matter who say Chinese companies, such as Ant Financial, used overseas subsidiaries, cloud providers, and internal corporate networks to access AI chatbots such as Claude Code. To note, Alibaba owns about one-third of Ant Financial. Alibaba was recently blacklisted

Saudi Delegation Makes Unexpected Appearance In Tehran For Start Of Ayatollah's Funeral Friday and Saturday kick off what will be up to a week of solemn funeral observances for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - a major historic event which is expected to draw some 15 to 20 million mourners in Tehran and across Iranian cities. Iran on Thursday issued a warning to the United States and Israel, Reuters reported: " We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the U.S. and the Zionist regime (Israel), to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed

Why The Left Really Hates Trump's America 250 Celebration Authored by Fred Fleitz via American Greatness, Earlier this week, I walked around the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Despite the heavy negative press coverage, I thought it was impressive and inspiring. The event boldly portrays American patriotism and exceptionalism across our great nation to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday. It runs from June 25 through July 10, featuring more than 150 exhibits from all 56 U.S. states and territories, along with businesses, innovators, and civic organizations. There is a towering Ferris wheel, a stage

Secret Service Missed 102 Warnings Before Trump Assassination Attempt In Butler: Report Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times, The U.S. Secret Service missed multiple opportunities to detect, prevent, and disrupt the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, including missing more than 102 radio transmissions warning of a suspicious person, a Department of Homeland Security report concluded. The report , released on July 2 by the department’s Office of Inspector General, chronicles a series of communication failures, inadequate planning, limited intelligence sharing, and security lapses that combined to create the conditions that allowed gunman Thomas

Centrus Energy Signs Billion Dollar Contract With DOE For Uranium Enrichment Following up from the announcement earlier this year when the Department of Energy (DOE) chose multiple companies to receive grant money for restoring domestic uranium enrichment capacity , Centrus Energy has now finalized a contract valued over $1 billion (including options). "Centrus is competing for funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand U.S. enrichment capacity." Competing with whom? How much you need? $5BN? $10BN? $20BN? Done https://t.co/i1t7vf3bdl — zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 25, 2025 Centrus will transition the existing cascade at their Ohio plant from a government-supply production

The Fuel-Mix Saving America's Largest Grid From Blackouts Today Power prices soared on Thursday across PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest grid operator serving 67 million people across 13 states, as a brutal multi-day heat dome pushed electricity demand toward critically high levels and raised the risk of rolling blackouts. Ahead of triple-digit temperatures today across the Mid-Atlantic, including Washington, DC, Baltimore, and New York, PJM has declared a level 2 grid emergency and ordered emergency load reductions. The alert, one step below a warning of imminent rolling blackouts, applied across PJM's territory from Illinois to Washington, DC. Under North American

Interpol Fingers Snake-Tattooed Ukrainian Woman In Monaco Oligarch Bombing Update 2: Interpol has identified 39-year-old Ukrainian woman Anastasiia Berezovska as the suspect in the Monaco bombing which targeted a Ukrainian tycoon. In a Red Notice posted on its website, the police organization released two photos of the suspect on Friday - noting that she has a tattoo - which appears to be of a snake, on her right arm which extends from shoulder to elbow . The notice also says she has dark hair and speaks German. The suspect was seen running away from Monaco on Monday while wearing a

Futures Rebound With Cash Markets Closed; Gold, Bitcoin Jump While US cash markets are closed for the July 4th holiday, stocks around the world rebounded from yesterday's momentum rout as the latest round of jitters about the AI trade subsided, with Europe’s benchmark rising to an all-time high. S&P futures rose 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures rebounded 1.2% in thin holiday trading after South Korean memory giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics recovered, helping to drive a 2% rally in Asian shares after earlier tumbling with SK Hynix plunging as much as 30% from its all time high. Europe’s utility

Tibetan Man Sets Himself On Fire Outside UN Headquarters In New York Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times, A Tibetan activist died on Thursday after setting himself on fire outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, according to the New York City Police Department. Police responded to an emergency call at around 6.30 p.m. ET on July 2 and found the man with severe burns, a police department spokesperson said in a statement to multiple news outlets. The man, who was an Uber driver, was carrying a Tibetan flag during the incident. He was transported to

Cafe Bombing Kills 9, Wounds 22, In Busy Court Area Of Central Damascus On Thursday a bomb ripped through crowded cafe in central Damascus, killing at least nine people and wounding 22 others , in an attack very near the main entrance of the Palace of Justice - in an area frequented by lawyers, courthouse employees and visitors. Al Jazeera correspondent Obaida Hitto, who reported from the scene in the aftermath, stated that "The casualties are higher because it is such a busy area." The death toll could rise given that many bystanders are being treated for severe injuries at

Port expansion and protections for whales part of BC and Alberta plan to expand country’s presence overseas The governments of Canada and the province of Alberta will move forward on a major new oil pipeline after the pair announced a plan to ease concerns of British Columbia and First Nations on the Pacific coast. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, shuttled between British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday to announce more than C$150bn in new investments in both provinces, part of a broader project of reducing trade with the United States and expanding his country’s presence in overseas markets. Continue reading...

Thousands of volunteers are joined by overseas teams in the hope of finding more survivors in the rubble, reports Tom Phillips in Caraballeda. Photography and video by Manu Quintero When twin earthquakes tore through Venezuela’s northern coast last week, Israel Rivas was at home hundreds of miles away in the industrial city of San Félix. As the scale of the catastrophe became clear, the 24-year-old knew he had to react. A mechanic and budding photographer, Rivas gathered the money he had been saving to buy a new camera lens and jumped on a bus to make the 12-hour journey to

Security guard Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, 43, initially told rescuers not to tell his wife in case he did not survive A 43-year-old security guard who survived last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela thanks to a pocket of air in his workstation cabin has been pulled from the collapsed basement of a shopping centre amid huge cheers from international rescue teams. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores had been trapped for eight days under the rubble of the Galerías Playa Grande in the hard-hit coastal port city of La Guaira since the back-to-back quakes struck. Continue reading...

Eleven-year-old developed symptoms 19 days after encounter in Ontario in ‘exceedingly rare’ case Doctors in Canada say a child who awoke to find a bat resting on his nose and mouth while visiting an Ontario cottage later died of rabies, in an “exceedingly rare case” that highlights the need for better public awareness. In a report published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, infectious disease physicians confirmed that the 11-year-old boy died from rabies, a fatality they said probably could have been prevented with greater awareness of how the virus is transmitted. Continue reading...

Trump and US officials opted to keep USMCA alive on short leash of annual reviews rather than longer term renewal Donald Trump has refused to renew the North American trade pact he once championed as his signature deal, opting instead to keep it alive on a short leash of annual reviews rather than committing to another 16 years. Wednesday was the deadline built into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) for the three countries to jointly decide its fate, which is set to expire in 2036. Continue reading...

Official statement offers the most detailed official account yet of the highly unusual and fatal incident in Beijing Chinese authorities said the man who flew a small plane into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper last week was a 66-year-old who had mental health problems. The statement published on Thursday offered the most detailed official account yet of the highly unusual incident that occurred in Beijing’s central business district on the evening of 26 June. Continue reading...

Charges yet to be filed over incident in Mukdahan involving 11-year-old, as police seek to establish circumstances An 11-year-old boy has driven his parents’ truck into a Buddhist procession in Thailand, killing at least nine monks. CCTV footage shared by a local rescue group showed the moment the monks, wearing orange robes, were run over as they walked in procession along a road. The timestamp on the footage was shortly before 11am local time on Thursday. Continue reading...

Rebels shoot pilot and set his civilian ⁠plane on fire amid long-running low-level battle for independence in region Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive easternmost region of Papua have shot dead an American pilot and set a civilian ⁠plane on fire, in what a spokesperson for a local militant group described as a “message” to the US and Indonesian governments. Sebby Sambom, ⁠a spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), named the pilot as Nicholas F Gosselin and said separatist fighters had set his ⁠plane on fire after it landed in the Yahukimo region of Highland Papua province. Continue

Unmarried man and woman whipped 21 times each because they had violated province’s version of Islamic law A young couple in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province have been publicly caned after a Sharia court convicted them of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream. The court ordered the couple, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, to be whipped with a rattan cane 21 times each for kissing without being married. At least 100 people witnessed the caning, carried out by a group of people wearing robes and hoods on a stage in Bustanussalatin City Park in Banda Aceh.

Law comes into effect that critics fear will further erode rights of Uyghurs and Tibetans, as well as allow Beijing to pursue dissidents abroad A new ethnic unity law has come into effect in China despite warnings from Taiwan, the United Nations and rights groups that it could threaten freedoms, especially for minorities. The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress aims to forge a “shared” national identity among ethnic groups, for example by strengthening the status of Mandarin as the official language. But overseas campaigners have argued it will further degrade the rights of ethnic minorities, such as Uyghurs

Bureau of Meteorology says city’s mean temperature reached 16.1C, surpassing the previous record of 15.7C set in 1991 Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Sydney has officially experienced its hottest June since records began, after a winter month of spring-like warmth. While early weather data suggested the month was merely among the warmest, the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed on Friday that June 2026 broke the all-time mean temperature record at Observatory Hill, where tracking first began in 1859. Continue reading...

The New South Wales premier warns of rising threat of Pauline Hanson’s party as he addresses party conference Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has admitted the Labor party needs to “climb Everest” to stay in power amid the rising threat posed by One Nation ahead of next year’s state election. But while Minns received a standing ovation as he circled Sydney’s town hall before addressing the NSW Labor conference on Saturday, he did not avoid the protests over conflict in Gaza which have marked party conferences

Darweish Mohamed was found critically wounded outside Craigieburn community hospital on Wednesday evening Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A third teenager has been charged over the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy found outside a Melbourne hospital. A 14-year-old from Victoria’s Hume area was arrested on Friday evening and was charged with murder, police said.He has been scheduled to appear before a children’s court. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Data shows buyers are not rushing to get into the market, despite lower prices and less competition Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast First home buyers are starting to step back and investor demand is slumping in all areas except new property, as Australia’s housing market enters a downturn. Research shows the market is transforming, nearly two months on from a third consecutive interest rate rise and sweeping tax reforms. Continue reading...

Anti-abortion policies may have appeal, but with one in three Australian churchgoers born overseas, talk of a monoculture may put them off Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast When One Nation recruit Barnaby Joyce addressed anti-abortion campaigners at a Sydney rally in early June, the former deputy prime minister told the audience he could see “about 1,500 people who can hand out how to vote cards”. Christian leaders spoke at the rally. The Lord’s Prayer was recited. Many there were active churchgoers. Continue reading...

Brexit means ‘home fee’ qualification ends in 2028, leaving those hoping to study in UK not now eligible for loans British teenagers living in the EU could be priced out of UK universities in two years’ time as a Brexit rule change means they face the double whammy of paying costlier international fees, while losing access to student finance. British passport holders living in the EU still qualify for “home fee” status at UK universities. But this will no longer be the case when the grace period ends in 2028, meaning the first wave to be affected are starting their

Politicians across Celtic nations braced for constitutional turmoil if Reform continues to rise The rise of Nigel Farage has prompted political leaders across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to game the unthinkable: the break-up of the United Kingdom. Unionists who wish to save the union and nationalists who wish to end it are bracing for constitutional turmoil if Reform UK emerges triumphant – with Farage as prime minister or official leader of the opposition – after the next election. Continue reading...

Pope Leo urges Americans to live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence in his first major address to the US Pope Leo has used his first major address to his home country to praise the US history of ⁠welcoming migrants, urging Americans to live up to the ideals put forward in the ⁠Declaration of Independence. In his latest implicit rebuke to Donald Trump, the first US leader of the Roman Catholic church said the word “America” had become ‌a “byword for freedom” across the world because of the way the country welcomed migrants. Continue reading...

Deal including ‘national priority’ policy brings prospect closer of countrywide agreement between parties The prospect of a national coalition between Spain’s conservative People’s party (PP) and the far-right Vox party has drawn closer still after the two groupings sealed another deal that will allow the PP to continue ruling the southern region of Andalucía. The PP, which has governed the former socialist bastion for the past seven years, lost its absolute majority in May’s regional election , forcing it to look to Vox to help it stay in power in Spain’s most populous region. Continue reading...

Suspect seen in Germany after attack apparently targeting tycoon Vadym Iermolaiev The main suspect in a Monaco bomb attack this week that seriously injured a Ukraine-born business tycoon and two of his family members is a Ukrainian woman living in Germany who disguised herself as a man, authorities have said. Interpol, the international police organisation, on Friday issued a red notice for Anastasiia Berezovska , aged 39, describing her as German-speaking with dark hair and a tattoo, possibly of a snake, on her right arm from the shoulder to the elbow. Continue reading...

Judge says evidence indicates attack on Pouria Zeraati outside home was carried out on behalf of Tehran regime Two Romanians who took part in a “targeted” knife attack on a television journalist in London “on behalf of the Iranian state” have been jailed. Pouria Zeraati, who worked for the Persian-language channel Iran International, which is critical of the Tehran regime, was left bleeding in the street after being stabbed three times outside his home in Wimbledon. Continue reading...

Country’s leadership vows to never surrender as memorial on grand scale aims to relay message of resistance to world In the small hours of Friday the police roadblocks, stalls, posters and army vans were starting to appear across Tehran, as millions of Iranians prepared to attend the long-delayed six-day funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 turbulent years. Khamenei was killed aged 86 in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, and the final farewell ceremony is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion.

US president posts that meeting will take place on Tuesday in Qatari capital after exchange of fire in strait of Hormuz Iran is jealously competing with Oman as decision-maker over strait of Hormuz Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hold talks in Doha after the US and Tehran traded fire in the strait of Hormuz this weekend, threatening the collapse of a ceasefire meant to keep the strait open and pave the way for peace talks. In a terse post on Truth Social, the US president claimed the meetings would take place in the Qatari capital, as

Tehran believes it should control the shipping route but its neighbour has its own plans for reopening it The strait of Hormuz is Iran’s chief bargaining tool in the negotiations with the US and so it was always likely to be the greatest point of contention. Every inch of the 24-mile-wide waterway is being contested in a test of wills and patience. For Iran, the continuation of the dispute is not a problem so long as it does not lose control. Continue reading...

Tehran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait amid efforts to open strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct oversight Fresh hostilities in Gulf suggest US-Iran memorandum was too broadly worded A new round of escalating strikes between Iran and the US has continued, further undermining the fragile interim peace agreement between the two countries, and prompting Donald Trump to threaten violence that would ensure Iran “will no longer exist”. On Sunday, Tehran launched drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait after new US strikes on sites in southern Iran, and threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war. Trump said

Local officials said preliminary reports showed the centre was unregistered and operating inside a privately owned residential building Fourteen children died after ⁠the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in Pakistan’s eastern city of ⁠Lahore on Tuesday, ⁠rescue ​officials have said, as authorities opened the way for a possible negligence ⁠investigation. Punjab’s emergency service said rescuers found children and a 30-year-old female teacher ⁠under the rubble of the private after-school facility. The ​children killed were aged ‌five to ‌16 with most below nine. Continue reading...

Government hopes for 30% of city’s fleet to be electric by 2030, in move hailed as ‘gamechanger’ on air pollution The unruly chaos of Delhi’s roads would be unrecognisable without the rickshaws and scooters that zip through India’s capital in their millions, emitting toxic fumes in their wake. But now, ambitious policies aim to give the city’s most recognisable vehicles an environmental makeover. On Monday, Delhi’s government announced plans to eventually ban petrol scooters, motorbikes and autorickshaws in favour of those running on electricity, in an attempt to bring down dangerously high pollution levels in the city by the end

Exclusive: Activist tells of his life as one of India’s most prominent political prisoners and his opposition to the government of Narendra Modi Prison is hardest at sunset. As the thousands of prisoners incarcerated in Delhi’s most infamous jail are cast out of their cells and forced into the dank yard until darkness falls, prisoner number 626714 feels the punishing dread begin to rise. Yet the inmate – better known as Umar Khalid – was recently moved to discover that another political prisoner, exiled at a camp thousands of miles from India, wrote of the very same feeling more than

Pakistan says strikes were aimed at a terrorist group while Taliban condemn ‘cowardly act of aggression’ Pakistani airstrikes in three eastern provinces of Afghanistan killed 36 civilians and wounded 163 others, Afghan officials have said, as attacks between the two countries showed no sign of abating. Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the operations on Sunday night were aimed at a terrorist group his country blamed for a deadly militant attack in Karachi that killed three security personnel over the weekend. Continue reading...

Fears hard-won gains in reducing child mortality over 20 years are at risk after end of USAID funding for nutrition programmes Child malnutrition in Nepal has reached “alarming” levels, according to the largest ever survey of under-fives in the country. The new figures came just over a year after USAID, the former US flagship agency closed by the Trump administration in 2025, stopped funding work on child nutrition in Nepal. Continue reading...

Popular national pastimes of drinking and football will make post-Mexico Monday a day of sore heads and sleepy children England are through to the round of 16 in the World Cup and, as is customary in the run-up to a major international footballing fixture, the country may be losing its mind. Because piled on top of the 60 years of hurt for the men’s team, England fans have another obstacle to overcome with the forthcoming fixture: a gruelling kick-off time of 1am BST. Continue reading...

The gap between America and Britain has grown economically as Trump asserts ‘the UK is dying’. Culturally, however, it’s a different story On 1 June 1785 John Adams travelled to London to become the first US ambassador to Britain, in which capacity he was to meet George III. By his own admission, Adams trembled at the encounter. After all, it had been less than a decade since he helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence denouncing the king as an absolute “tyrant” who had “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our

Half of county’s planning infringement notices target caravans in fields, fuelling eviction fears for vulnerable people People living in caravans and horseboxes on farms in Cornwall because they can’t afford or find a house to rent are facing homelessness after a crackdown by the council. Cornwall council recently announced that it was one of the top five authorities in England for enforcing infringements of planning regulations. Half of those notices, it said, were served on caravans in agricultural fields. Continue reading...

Prime minister also speaks of his ‘intensely personal decision’ to step down in first interview since resigning Keir Starmer has warned his likely successor, Andy Burnham, that it will not be possible to spend less time focusing on international affairs. Speaking during a BBC interview, he also spoke of his “intensely personal” decision to announce his resignation last month after two years as prime minister. Continue reading...

Exclusive: National Crime Agency and safety watchdog issue guidance amid rise in explicit material online AI prey: why watchdogs are telling parents to protect children from nudification apps Parents should not put photos of their children on public display online, according to landmark guidance issued to tackle the rise of AI-generated sexual abuse material. The recommendation has come from the National Crime Agency and the Internet Watch Foundation, which fear that most people are unaware of the dangers posed by paedophiles and criminal networks. They suggest that parents and guardians make their social media accounts private or share pictures of

In a speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday evening, the US president claimed a resurgent ‘communist menace’ posed a severe threat the country Donald Trump has kicked off America’s 250th birthday weekend with an extraordinary partisan attack on what he called the “communist menace” in America, framing its supporters as “the enemy of July 4th, 1776”. The US president spoke for half an hour on Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the latest stop on his tour celebrating the milestone anniversary of the US declaration of independence from Britain. Continue reading...

The couple invited an array of celebrity guests to the wedding, including Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, while Adam Sandler officiated their nuptials Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are officially wed. The couple hosted their wedding celebration on Friday in New York City, nearly three years after first meeting. The ceremony was officiated by Adam Sandler, a Swift spokesperson said in a Friday statement confirming the nuptials. Continue reading...

Singer and fiance Travis Kelce have been coy but festivities are getting under way at Madison Square Garden The streets of New York City and the first-class lounges of Heathrow and JFK airports were crawling on Friday with celebrities on their way to attend the wedding of the year. Taylor Swift had kept fans guessing about whether it was her nuptials that had caused the closure of 11 streets in midtown Manhattan and the endless deliveries of flowers, food and decorations to the huge Madison Square Garden arena. Continue reading...

A fight between two groups of young people who knew each other escalated into gunfire, police said A shooting altercation between two groups of young people at a shopping mall in Dearborn, Michigan, left two people dead and a third injured over what is typically the most violent weekend of the year in the US, police said. The shooting occurred as the US began celebrating the Fourth of July, historically a holiday weekend that sees higher rates of gun violence across the country. In 2024, the Gun Violence Archive reported more than 500 shootings over Independence Day weekend. Continue reading...

Parasite cyclospora spreads through produce and water contaminated with feces and causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis The US Centers for Disease Prevention has been working to find the source of a parasitic illness that causes “explosive”, watery diarrhea, with more than 400 cases of the sickness reported across 18 states. The parasite, cyclospora, spreads through raw produce and water contaminated with human feces – and it causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis, whose symptoms include cramps, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, low-grade fever and vomiting. The most commonly reported symptom is “watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements”, according

An unmistakable pattern has emerged in the US’ strategy to contain China. Washington has sought to deny China access to frontier technologies and key commodities, and to redirect related supply chains to revitalise American industries. In this context, US President Donald Trump’s intense interest in America taking over Denmark’s Greenland becomes clear. Deny the Chinese their favourite seafood, which many can’t live without, and revive the US food industry. You think I am pulling your leg. This...

A massive Russian ⁠glide bomb strike on the centre of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least four people, including a child, on Friday and injured 27, Regional Governor Oleh Hryhorov said. Other areas in Sumy region and in southeastern Ukraine, closer to ‌the front lines, also came under Russian attack, killing a total of six people. “At the epicentre of the strike – a high-rise apartment building, a shop and a street,” Hryhorov wrote on Telegram of the strike in Sumy. “There were a...

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, where actor Adam Sandler was the surprising officiant at a star-packed ceremony. The secrecy that surrounded the build-up to the nuptials lifted when a marquee outside the Midtown Manhattan arena proclaimed “JUST&T MARRIED” once the deed was done. The couple did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen, instead opting for Swift’s brother Austin Swift to serve as her man of honour and Kelce’s brother and podcast co-host...

China is such a giant player in the global economy that understanding how the US-China contest of the century for international primacy will evolve has become crucial. Some Westerners, especially those in the United States, feel so threatened that they have resorted to protectionism, with global fragmentation and perhaps even preparations for a third world war already in the cards. Kishore Mahbubani’s book Has China Won? highlighted deep misunderstandings and structural tensions between China...

The fallout from Venezuela’s powerful twin quakes has evolved into a major test for acting President Delcy Rodriguez, sending her scrambling to prevent the humanitarian disaster from becoming a political one as her mandate as interim leader expires on Friday. A day after Rodriguez angrily defended the competence of her government’s relief effort at her first news conference since the June 24 disaster, her main rival, exiled Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, issued her...

European Nato allies have mostly replaced the assets that the US has cut from its rescue plans in case of a war in Europe, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe John Stringer said in an interview. Stringer made the assurance ahead of the alliance’s summit in Ankara next week, at which allies will try to smooth over recent announcements by the US signalling that it is pivoting away from the continent. “European allies have definitely stepped up in terms of backfilling the adjustment in the US...

Nasa launched a robotic mission on Friday to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere, a complicated operation expected to last several months. The unprecedented US$30 million effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that is currently falling towards Earth. If successful, the mission could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life. Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot’s launch was postponed due to weather and then...

Germany ⁠does not have to shy ⁠away from talking up its record on defence spending, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, when asked about US President Donald Trump calling Germany’s past efforts “ridiculous”. The issue of defence spending has loomed large as Nato leaders prepare to gather ‌next week in Ankara, where Europeans aim to set aside strife with Trump over Iran and Greenland and show they are stepping up to defend the continent. “Germany is doubling its defence budget within four...

Interpol on Friday named the suspect in the Monaco bombing that reportedly targeted a Ukrainian tycoon with links to Russia. It identified Anastasiia Berezovska, a 39-year-old woman from Ukraine, as the suspect in a Red Notice posted on its website seeking her arrest. Monaco authorities have not identified any of the three people wounded in Monday’s explosion at a residential building entrance but said they are a family and that they appear to have been specifically targeted. Media reports...

Experts agree that humans can only comfortably survive in the thermoneutral zone, a surprisingly narrow Goldilocks range between 17 and 24 degrees Celsius. This gives us a problem as climate change pushes up summer temperatures alarmingly, resulting in record heatwaves around the world. Already, about 12 per cent of the Earth’s land area is uninhabitable due to deadly climate conditions. This is set to rise to over 45 per cent by 2100, with at least 44 per cent of the world’s population likely...

Iranian leaders began paying their respects on Friday before the coffin of the country’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei’s body arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Friday ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. A coterie of foreign dignitaries is also due to attend Saturday’s official ceremony, with Tehran’s chief negotiator calling for a massive turnout to...

Germany’s ruling coalition has pledged to take a tougher line on defending trade at the continental level, signalling a potential shift by a country long seen as the European Union’s main brake on stronger action against China. The pledge formed part of a 34-point package to revive Germany’s ailing economy that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition agreed to on Thursday. While the document did not mention China, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said the government was adopting a...

Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday rejected allegations that her government reacted ⁠too slowly to destruction caused by two earthquakes which killed more than 2,000 people, after days of widespread criticism of the official response. Civilians of all stripes - including survivors, family members, volunteer paramedics and foreign rescue teams - have descended on disaster areas, especially the hardest-hit northern state of La Guaira, since the 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude quakes...

Maria believed she was romancing a prince from Dubai, captivated by his flirtatious smile and declarations of affection he showered on her during live video calls. But the suitor was an AI deepfake, making her yet another victim of an online romance scam. The case illustrates how fraudsters posing as the real-life crown prince of Dubai ensnare victims by cultivating online relationships before swindling them out of money, with researchers tracing some of the scams to crime syndicates in...

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. Chinese tech makes desalinating seawater cheaper than producing bottled water Desalination has always been an energy-hungry way of turning salt water into fresh water, making it largely the preserve of wealthy countries with abundant...

An “unforgettable” tribute to America, or a health hazard that will terrorise animals and pollute the environment? That is the question as Washington prepares to break the record for the world’s largest fireworks display on the United States’ 250th birthday on Saturday. The Trump administration’s “Freedom250” project has hired Pennsylvania-based Pyrotecnico to launch more than 850,000 fireworks shells across 10 sites around the Lincoln Memorial and Potomac River, starting at 10.30pm and lasting...

The latest child suicide figures from the Education Bureau make for grim reading. For three academic years in a row, suspected suicide cases among primary and secondary school students have remained stubbornly high – 32 in 2023, 28 in 2024, and 31 in 2025. Despite a deluge of government resources, the three-tier emergency mechanism in secondary schools and public awareness campaigns, these numbers refuse to budge. We must ask ourselves a difficult question: why are we failing our children? Of...

The Nato summit beginning on Tuesday in Turkey is expected to be low-key as European members track their progress towards increased defence spending goals and Beijing watches intently from afar. Low-key, that is, with one major caveat. Will the get-along US President Donald Trump show up, or the raging Trump who slammed the alliance, questioned its purpose and threatened repeatedly to take his military and head home? Early indications suggested it would be the raging one. “The United States...

The first act of pop sensation Taylor Swift’s wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce kicked off Thursday, with a rehearsal dinner for 100 guests ahead of a star-studded extravaganza at the famed Madison Square Garden. The billionaire singer and three-time Super Bowl champion, both 36, have kept fans guessing, but media reports describe an over-the-top celebration befitting one of the world’s most famous couples. The A-list festivities kicked off Thursday evening with an exclusive dinner for 100...

A former Olympian was indicted on Thursday on a felony charge in what US President Donald Trump has called vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where a renovation project he launched has been riddled with problems. David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, was indicted on a single count of property destruction in Washington DC court. District of Columbia US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Hearn ripped up recently installed sealant on the pool in “a deliberate act” that caused more...

Two British teenagers convicted of rape must serve time in custody, an appeal judge ruled on Thursday, after a public outcry over a judge’s decision to spare them detention. Lower court judge Nicholas Rowland in May sentenced the two 15-year-old boys to three-year youth rehabilitation orders, saying he wanted to “avoid criminalising these children unnecessarily”. However, the sentences provoked a severe backlash, prompting Attorney General Richard Hermer – the government’s chief legal adviser –...

China told the European Union that it is open to exploring ways to cut its massive trade surplus with the bloc during talks in Brussels this week, according to multiple people briefed on the discussion. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao signalled to EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic that China was willing to consider purchase agreements covering European goods. The discussions touched on lowering tariffs on EU-made goods, in a rare sign that China recognises that its billion-euro a day trade...

A bomb blast rocked a cafe in Syria’s capital Damascus on Thursday, killing nine people and wounding 20, authorities said, in the latest challenge for the country’s Islamist leaders as they seek stability after more than a decade of war. The bombing – the deadliest since a suicide attack on a church last year – was not immediately claimed. It took place near the capital’s Palace of Justice, a key government building, sparking scenes of panic in the busy area. “The explosion that occurred in a...

The World Health Organization on Thursday declared an end to the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship which sparked international alarm, after the last person left quarantine. There were 12 confirmed and one probable case stemming from the MV Hondius, including three deaths. But while the outbreak is now over, for scientists and experts, the work is only in its early stages, as they try to learn lessons from the episode that triggered a global health alert. “Today, the final contact of a...

Hundreds of rescuers in Venezuela cheered and embraced Thursday after pulling a 43-year-old man alive from the ruins of a collapsed building eight days after deadly twin earthquakes. The official death toll has risen to nearly 2,600 and huge numbers of people are still missing, which meant the rescue of security guard Hernan Gil after so long under the rubble was greeted as a miracle. Gil was brought out on a stretcher after a painstaking operation to extract him from the collapsed seven-storey...

The United States posted weaker-than-expected job growth in June as new data showed the labour market is facing headwinds ahead of the testing midterm election for President Donald Trump’s Republicans. Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 57,000 and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.2 per cent, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) said in a statement on Thursday. After months of seesawing growth and contraction, the US job market posted strong gains in the last three months, but...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘I will sell to someone else’: Brazil’s Lula hits back at US after China beef win Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva thanked China for clearing the country’s beef of foot-and-mouth disease and fired a barb at US President Donald Trump, saying “I will sell to someone else”,...

China is trying to “infiltrate” the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement via Mexican automotive investments, a US manufacturing trade group said, as Washington indicated it would not renew the agreement that comes up for review this month. However, analysts cautioned that full decoupling from China’s automotive industry remains difficult, given North America’s continued dependence on Chinese-sourced motor vehicle components and Mexico’s legacy of export manufacturing plus quick access to the US...

Hundreds of people were besieging Lidl supermarkets in and around Paris on Thursday, with scuffles and shouting matches breaking out as residents scrambled to get their hands on bargain air-cooling units before the next heatwave hits the French capital. With few air conditioners on sale elsewhere for less than €1,200 (US$1,400), police were called to at least two stores as huge crowds descended on Lidl supermarkets trying to get their hands on basic models on sale for as low as €179. Mousa...

The Vatican on Thursday excommunicated six bishops from the ultraconservative Society of St Pius X and said any lay believers who “formally adhere” to the group would suffer the same fate. The Vatican decree comes a day after the traditionalist breakaway group consecrated four new bishops, defying a plea from Pope Leo not to do so. The decree called the ceremony “an act of schismatic nature”. For the Holy See, consecrating bishops without the approval of the pope is a direct act of...

It’s the 1000th day of war since a Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Other conflicts have emerged in the region, and fragile ceasefires show scars of persistent attacks. Both Israelis and Palestinians are weary of the strain. The fate of over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, largely displaced and living amid ruins, remains uncertain. Israeli forces controlled over half of the territory under the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, but Israel’s government has expanded...

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s trip to Canada highlights deepening ties at a time when Ottawa is seeking to court middle powers and establish its presence in the Indo-Pacific. Marcos is in the Canadian capital for a four-day visit that started on Wednesday, where he is set to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney in an effort to strengthen cooperation on trade, labour, energy and tourism, and enhance defence and maritime ties. He is also slated to meet Canadian business leaders and...

Doctors said Wednesday they feared the aftermath of Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes could trigger a widening medical crisis marked by untreated injuries, infectious diseases and a healthcare system already on the brink. Thousands of displaced Venezuelans are sleeping in crowded shelters or outside without access to clean water amid dismal sanitary conditions following the June 24 earthquakes which officials say killed at least 2,295 and left more than 11,000 injured. Aid workers said...

Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in the early hours on Thursday, killing at least 21 people, wounding scores more and damaging around 130 buildings in one of the biggest attacks of the war. Multiple explosions shook buildings and reverberated across the capital throughout the night as thousands of residents rushed to bomb shelters and underground metro stations. The attack caused the widest destruction in Kyiv so far this year, and was the...

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that indirect talks with Iran in Qatar were making progress, offering a tentative sign that diplomacy was holding after recent exchanges of fire threatened efforts to end the Middle East war. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who led Tehran’s delegation, later said the talks had concluded and that the sides had agreed to establish a communication channel by Thursday to report and record violations of their initial memorandum of...

Martial arts icon Bruce Lee, who was born in San Francisco, will become the first Chinese-American in California history with an annual namesake day. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law on Tuesday afternoon officially designating May 17 as Bruce Lee Day, according to the office of state Assemblymember Matt Haney, who represents San Francisco. An 18-year-old Lee returned to San Francisco on May 17, 1959, after spending his childhood in Hong Kong. Lee’s daughter, Shannon, who is CEO of the Bruce...

The United States confirmed on Wednesday it would not renew its North American trade pact, its trade chief blaming Canada’s pursuit of Chinese investment. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the three governments met virtually and that Washington would not endorse the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form. “The United States did not agree to renew the USMCA in its current form. As a result, the USMCA is not renewed,” Greer said in a statement. The refusal did...

When people speak of the Great Game, they usually mean the 19th-century rivalry between the British and Russian empires for influence over Central Asia. It conjures up images of spies crossing deserts, mountain fortresses and imperial intrigue – an era vividly brought to life in Peter Hopkirk’s books, which first awakened my fascination with the region. A century and a half after the Great Game, another contest is unfolding across the same region. To the north is Russia, the region’s traditional...

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will celebrate their wedding at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the security plans. The festivities will kick off with a smaller rehearsal dinner planned for Thursday night, the official said. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the events. Speculation about the superstar singer and American football player’s nuptials has built to a frenzy in...

A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported on Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details. The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the world has long considered an international waterway. A fifth of all oil and natural gas passed through it in peacetime. Since the US and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28, Iran...

A Russian couple of daredevil artists climbed to the top of the Empire State Building’s towering spire in New York City on Wednesday to unfurl a large banner urging world peace in what appeared to be an elaborate marriage proposal that ‌ended in their arrests. Dressed in sleeveless black outfits and documenting their time in the sky on social media, Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus hung onto the landmark skyscraper’s antenna spire near the glowing red light at its tip some 443 metres (1,454 feet)...

A Maltese tycoon went on trial on Wednesday accused of ordering the murder of a hard-hitting investigative journalist that rocked the island nation, brought down a government and drew global condemnation. Suspect Yorgen Fenech is charged with orchestrating the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, a prominent public figure and vocal critic who was killed by a bomb placed in her car near her home. “Nine years after my mother’s murder, the man accused of commissioning it stands trial,” the...

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday took his maiden voyage on a new Air Force One – a retrofitted Boeing 747-800 worth US$400 million gifted by Qatar that embeds his personality more deeply into the institution of the American presidency. Gone is the trademark light blue hull that helped Air Force One blend into the sky. The refurbished jet is painted in Trump’s preferred colour scheme: a navy-blue belly with red and gold stripes. It has the luxury features that the president believes a...

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. With no team in World Cup, Chinese fans root for Ronaldo, Messi … and a referee Among the hundreds of thousands of fans who travelled to North America for the World Cup are countless Chinese supporters. Yet while China remains one of the world’s largest football markets, its presence at the...

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during their attack on El-Fasher city between 2024 and 2025, Amnesty International alleged Wednesday. Sudan has been mired since April 2023 in a brutal war between the army and the RSF, which has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, according to the United Nations. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, with a UN independent fact-finding mission in February concluding...

Even as an oppressive heat wave stifled much of the United States, the nationwide party continued.

In her quest to mark the nation’s 250th with a unifying dessert, Grace Pak had to navigate the pitfalls of a polarized Washington.

Beef is far worse for greenhouse gas emissions compared with other meat.

The pop star said “I do” to a gown designed by Jonathan Anderson, the French house’s creative director.

Top-secret celebrity guest lists! No cell phones! Big fashion moments! S.U.V.s galore! New York usually gets only one party like this a year.

The actor played a special — and surprising to some — role in the Swift-Kelce nuptials.

Parades in Washington and Philadelphia were canceled, and the Great American State Fair on the National Mall closed for several hours.

Near 100-degree temperatures were expected to continue as medical workers prepared for more heat-related illnesses during celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The Russian leader denounced Ukraine’s “imaginary achievements” on the battlefield of late, calling its leaders “play actors.”

After lying in state in Tehran, Mr. Khamenei’s body will be taken to some of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam during a four-day procession that is expected to draw millions.

Investor enthusiasm culminated in some of the worst cases of wealth destruction in the last 100 years, a long-running study shows.

Rotting food — millions of pounds of it — remains in an L.A. cold-storage facility damaged in a fire. Residents say the cleanup hasn’t been fast enough.

The Democrats’ constant solicitations for cash do not make their supporters feel like they are on a winning team.

Relations between Beijing and Canberra have improved over the past four years, but China’s ambassador is now warning of a ‘Cold War mentality.”