Minimalist News

Beijing Abruptly Blocks Meta's $2BN Takeover Deal Of Manus AI In Move That Will "Chill" China AI Sector With just weeks to go before the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, China's National Development and Reform Commission unexpectedly blocked Meta Platforms' acquisition of the AI-agent startup Manus on Monday morning, signaling that Beijing has no problem with tightening control over high-value AI assets in a move that could have a profound chilling effect on Chinese M&A activity for years.  According to the FT, the decision marks an extraordinary late-stage intervention by Beijing, involving two non-Chinese companies. Meta had already begun to integrate software from

Battered Budget Airlines Ask White House For $2.5 Billion Lifeline Budget airlines have requested a $2.5 billion relief package from the Trump administration following a meeting with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy early last week. This comes as elevated jet fuel prices squeeze operations, and after President Trump confirmed late last week that a possible U.S. takeover of bankrupt Spirit Airlines is under consideration. The Wall Street Journal reports that a group of budget airlines, including Frontier and Avelo, has requested federal support in exchange for convertible equity stakes in the airlines. The $2.5 billion figure is based on extra fuel costs if

Iran Offers New Proposal To Reopen Strait - Trump Open To Sealing Deal Via Phone SUMMARY * After a weekend of stalemate malaise, Iran reportedly offers new proposal for opening ship traffic, while postponing the thorny nuclear issue  * Trump says peace could come via telephone rather than face-to-face meetings, also warning Iranian oil infrastructure could explode from within unless flow resumes * Iranian FM has been sending written messages to US via Pakistani intermediaries  * Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi visits Russia for talks with President Putin * Israel strikes deep into Lebanon in Beqaa Valley for first time of 3-week ceasefire. US

WHCA Shooter's Tweets Found, Suggesting Radicalization Fueled By Democratic Messaging Update:  > * Shooter's archived tweets emerge  > > * Shooter's Manifesto explained about Trump admin target kill list. He wrote, "prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest" ...  > > * Shooter's intent was to Target Trump & admin officials  > > * Shooter donated to "Harris for President" via ActBlue  > > * Shooter apprehended and taken into custody. Carrying shotgun, handgun and several knives.  > > * The shooter has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance California > > * No injuries to Trump or any guests. > >

Axon's Ukraine Drone Deals Signal Big U.S. Counter-UAS Push Axon, formerly TASER International, has evolved beyond its roots as a police-tech vendor and is now positioning itself to soon be a major importer of drone and counter-drone technology after a series of deals with Ukrainian defense companies. Axon currently sells hardware to local police forces, federal agencies, security, and military-adjacent markets. Some of this hardware includes Tasers, body-worn cameras, digital evidence systems, and AI voice companions, while the company's pivot is now moving toward battlefield-tested drone technology in Ukraine, which will likely be deployed here in the U.S. Axon has made at least

If The British Lose The Falkland Islands It Will Be Their Own Fault This month, after four years of tensions between Europe and Russia, the Russian Navy executed an operation in the North Atlantic on the doorstep of British waters.  Using an Akula-Class nuclear submarine as a decoy, the Russians sent covert spy subs to map underwater infrastructure, including vulnerable internet cables and pipelines.  Given the precarious nature of the war in Ukraine, the Russian action is being called "brazen" by European leaders.  Critics argue, though, that the Russians only carried out the operation because they feel they have little to fear

Outrage As Taliban Afghan Illegal Who Sexually Assaulted 7-Year-Old Gets Just 2.5 Years In Prison Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, An Afghan small boat migrant with admitted ties to the Taliban kidnapped and sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl inside a taxpayer-funded hotel – and a UK court has handed him just two and a half years in prison. This is the direct result of open borders policies that continue to flood Britain with unvetted arrivals who bring incompatible cultural attitudes and a total disregard for the safety of local communities. The attack took place in September at a Government-funded hotel in Acton, West London. Afsar Safi, 30,

"The Dynamic Has Shifted": Global Automakers Now Bet Heavily On China For Global Expansion Strategies Foreign automakers are rushing to debut China-developed models at a major auto show, recognizing they can’t afford to lose ground in the world’s largest car market, according to Nikkei. After years of declining sales, many legacy brands are shifting to an “in China, for global” strategy—using local innovation not just to regain domestic customers, but to compete abroad. Companies like Volkswagen and Nissan are leaning heavily on Chinese partnerships to accelerate development and integrate advanced tech. Volkswagen, for instance, is working with Xpeng and Horizon Robotics to build software-driven

US Has No Plan To Renew Iranian, Russian Oil Waivers, Bessent Says Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 24 that the United States will not renew the sanctions waivers that enabled buyers to take delivery of Iranian and Russian crude already loaded on tankers at sea. Bessent said a one-time license covering Iranian oil on the water would not be extended, calling it “totally off the table.” The parallel waiver for Russian oil and petroleum products will also be allowed to end, he said. “We will not be renewing the general license on Russian

Where Does Eastern Europe Begin And End? KEY TAKEAWAYS * There is no single definition of Eastern Europe. Its borders vary depending on historical, political, and cultural context. * Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus are almost always included, forming the region’s “core.” * The eastern boundary is widely agreed upon, but the western edge shifts significantly across definitions. The maps below use data from various organizations to highlight interpretations of Eastern Europe’s geographical extent. At a glance, the visualizations - via Visual Capitalist - show a tight core centered on Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, with boundaries stretching eastward into Russia and stopping along a

Reset Germany: Breaking With An Exhausted Ruling Class Authored by Frank-Christian Hansel via American Greatness, Germany is not, in the first place, suffering from an economic crisis, an energy crisis, a migration crisis, or a crisis of state. Germany is suffering, chiefly, from a crisis of its elites. More precisely, Germany is suffering from a crisis brought on by that milieu which regards itself as the country’s morally, intellectually, and administratively legitimate leadership class but which has, for years, sustained a regime of reality-avoidance, self-congratulation, and rhetorical substitutes for genuine action. The misery of our situation is not that mistakes have been made. Mistakes

Hayek, Orwell, And 'The End Of Truth' Authored by Jonathan Miltimore via Civitas Institute, In 1942, after fighting in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1937), a disillusioned writer returned to London to write about his experience. It wasn’t just that the fascists in Spain had won and his side—a small, anti-Stalinist Marxist group—had lost. What frightened him was the ease with which truth itself had been erased and replaced by propaganda. > “I saw great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundreds of men had been killed. I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and

Compute Costs More Than Talent In AI For leading AI companies, the biggest expense is not talent. It is compute. This chart from Visual Capitalist’s AI Week, sponsored by Terzo, uses Epoch AI data to compare spending at Anthropic, Minimax, and Z.ai across R&D compute, inference compute, and staff plus other costs. In every case, compute accounts for the majority of total spending, underscoring how capital-intensive it has become to build and serve frontier AI models. HOW AI COMPANY COSTS BREAK DOWN Despite differences in scale, all three companies allocate the largest share of their budgets to a single category: compute. The data below compares spending composition across Anthropic, Minimax,

Charlottesville: The Deceit Underlying The Hoax Authored by Steve Cortes via RealClearPolitics.com, For years, Democratic politicians and their allies in the legacy media have spread the damnable Charlottesville Hoax: the propaganda myth that President Trump praised bigots who rioted in 2017 in the Virginia town. Of course, the opposite is true, as Trump actually said: “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists because they should be condemned totally.” Now, we learn that the entire hoax of Trump and Charlottesville is, itself, built upon another grand lie. The media and people like Joe Biden have continually pushed the narrative that some big, organic gathering of

Futures Jump To Record High After Report Iran Offered New Non-Starter Proposal To Reopen Strait Update (10:30pm): Just when it seemed that the market may have its first red Monday in a while - and the semiconductor bubble may actually have a down day after a ridiculous 18 day streak higher - the Trump-Axios plunge protection team struck again, and courtesy of Axios' in-house market levitator, Barak Ravid, whose specialty is creating cheerful market narratives to preserve faith that the Strait of Hormuz will open any second now, coupled with a few strategically timed flashing red headlines from Bloomberg, futures surged

California's Billionaire Tax Proposal Has 'Slippery Slope' Lever California’s latest effort to tax its richest residents into leaving is barreling toward the ballot - only this time, it's got a built-in 'slippery slope' lever once voters hand them the keys. Backers of the proposed “billionaire tax” say they have already cleared the first hurdle, gathering more than enough signatures (at least 1.5 million) to qualify a measure that would impose a one-time 5% levy on residents with net worths above $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. On its face, the proposal is straightforward: a targeted strike at roughly 200 ultrawealthy individuals meant to plug

SBA Sends 562k Pandemic Loans To Bessent For Collections Totaling $22 Billion The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a sweeping enforcement action targeting suspected pandemic-era loan fraud, referring more than 562,000 borrowers tied to $22.2 billion in delinquent loans to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection, according to the Small Business Association. The move marks the largest referral package in the agency’s history and signals a major escalation in federal efforts to recover funds distributed through COVID-19 relief programs. The loans in question stem from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) initiatives,

The Reality Behind US-Iran Negotiations Authored by Bryan Brulotte via The Epoch Times, The current negotiations between the United States and Iran are being misread as a chaotic exercise in brinkmanship. They are not. They are the predictable endgame of a contest in which leverage has shifted decisively, and in which one side is now negotiating under constraints it can no longer escape. Strip away the theatrics, and the picture becomes clear. Iran attempted to weaponize the Strait of Hormuz, calculating that disruption of global energy flows would fracture Western resolve and force Washington into concession. That calculation has failed. The United States

Ilhan Omar Probe Expands Into Hubby's $30M Of Shady Biz Deals In Kenya, Dubai And Somalia House Oversight Chairman James Comer is cranking the investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett, into overdrive - demanding a full accounting of shadowy international business trips and deals that stretch from the Horn of Africa straight into Kenya, Somalia and the glittering skyscrapers of Dubai. Omar has been making strange moves since February, after Comer fired off a no-holds-barred letter demanding every document and communication on Mynett’s travel and business dealings in Kenya, Somalia and the UAE. Since then, the story has exploded again with

Maine Governor Vetos Data Center Moratorium, Citing Job Creation And Economic Growth Maine Governor Janet Mills has vetoed a bill that would have temporarily limited the development of large data centers across Maine, despite expressing support for a broader pause on such projects, according to Maine's website. The governor said she would have approved the legislation if it had included an exemption for a $550 million data center redevelopment already underway at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay, a project backed by local officials and seen as critical to economic recovery in the region. Mills emphasized that while a moratorium makes sense due

Dissident Farc faction blamed for attack on Pan-American Highway that also injured 36 people in south-western region The death toll in a weekend highway bombing in Colombia has risen to 20, with another 36 people injured, amid a surge of violence ahead of presidential elections next month. Buses and vans were left mangled in the blast on Saturday on the Pan-American Highway, in the restive south-western Cauca department. Continue reading...

Military video shows boat moving swiftly in water before explosion leaves it in flames The US military said on Sunday three men were killed when it struck a boat it claimed was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This latest strike – which follows dozens of similar attacks on alleged drug boats in recent months – brings the US campaign’s death toll to at least 185, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

The court sided with a Canadian hiker who deliberately challenged the order imposed to curb spread of wildfires As wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods. As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C$25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary. Continue reading...

OpenAI said the company had identified an account using abuse-detection efforts, but determined at the time it didn’t meet threshold for legal referral The head of OpenAI has written a letter apologizing that his company didn’t alert law enforcement about the online behavior of a person who shot and killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. In the letter posted on Friday, Sam Altman expressed his deepest condolences to the entire community. Continue reading...

Small boat destroyed in video posted on social media as US campaign has killed at least 178 people since September The US military announced on Friday that it killed two people in an attack on a boat in the eastern Pacific, part of a series of deadly strikes on vessels in recent months which it claims are targeting “narco-trafficking” operations. The US Southern Command declared in a social media post on X that Gen Francis L Donovan directed Joint Task Force Southern Spear, the counter-narcotics unit that operates in the region, to carry out a lethal strike. The US military posted a

Hundreds of senior staff in territory benefit from nearly £30,000-a-year grant per child not available to staff in group’s other hubs * Business live – latest updates HSBC is reportedly reviewing a perk that covers school fees for bankers in Hong Kong as part of a big overhaul of the bank under chief executive Georges Elhedery. Europe’s largest bank is considering whether to scrap the perk for new employees or make changes to total compensation, Bloomberg News reported. No decisions have been made yet. Continue reading...

Woman’s body found in Iwate prefecture last week, soon after a police officer was injured in bear attack nearby Rested but famished bears emerging from hibernation in Japan are already coming into contact with humans, with the pace of sightings outstripping that seen in 2025, a record year for bear attacks. According to media reports, the animals have been spotted with surprising frequency in urban areas in the country’s north-east, with authorities urging caution among people planning to spend the coming Golden Week public holidays in the countryside. Continue reading...

The rival superpowers are ramping up preparations for a crewed lunar landing nearly six decades after the first moon walk The world watched earlier this month as Nasa sent four astronauts around the moon – but to actually land on the surface the US is once again in a space race, this time with China. And China may well win. Both countries plan to build inhabited lunar bases – the first settlement on another celestial body – as well as searching for rare resources and using the deep space environment to test technology for future crewed missions to Mars. Continue reading...

After a two-year wait, video of a young male crossing above a road gives hope that critically endangered species can survive habitat fragmentation The critically endangered Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a canopy bridge to cross a road. In 2024, conservationists in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra in Indonesia built the bridge high over the Lagan-Pagindar road, which provides an essential route for local people but which became a barrier for animals. Continue reading...

As domestic sales slow, manufacturers are investing in AI and seeking growth in technology and in overseas markets At the world’s biggest car fair, which opened in Beijing on Friday, there were hundreds of manufacturers, more than 1,000 vehicles, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts – and hardly anyone behind a wheel. China’s car companies have cornered the domestic electric vehicle market, and are increasingly visible on the global stage. Now they are turning their attention to what they are betting is the future of mobility: autonomous driving. Continue reading...

Former prime minister says policies will lose support without continued lower prices but sees some hope in US experience under Trump * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Kevin Rudd has described Donald Trump’s cuts to support for green industries as “unfortunate”, warning that Australians would conclude the clean transition was “bullshit” if it did not offer tangible benefits to their lives. But – in some of his first comments since finishing his term as Australia’s ambassador to the US – the former prime minister said climate policies would have staying power if they delivered affordable prices,

Images in Helen Polley’s post included a marching band, people laying wreaths and ex-serving members giving speeches set to a track by US rapper Chingy * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A federal Labor senator has deleted a social media video which mistakenly included audio of an explicit rap song over a carousel of photos of Anzac Day commemorations. Senator Helen Polley, a former shadow minister and current chair of parliament’s committee on law enforcement, posted a video compilation of images paying respect to Australia’s defence forces. Continue reading...

Booing by rightwing groups of Indigenous leaders giving welcome to country speeches marred ceremonies for a second year running * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An anti-immigration group has claimed it did not “organise” booing at welcome to country ceremonies at Anzac Day dawn services despite a social media post asking followers “how loud will you be this year”. Booing by rightwing groups of Indigenous elders giving welcome to country speeches marred Anzac Day ceremonies for a second year running, and sparked another public debate about their role at public events. Uncle Ray Minniecon, who served

This blog is now closed * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Firefighters say two missing in Blue Mountains house fire are children Back to that house fire in the Blue Mountains we reported earlier: Firefighters are moving into the home with hose lines to gain access to the areas where they can search for the unaccounted for people. When I thought about it a bit more as the … day rolled on, I couldn’t help but feel a bit angry about it as well, which I think is a human response to a tragic set of circumstances. I don’t

Queensland and NSW set for lower than usual rainfall in May, June and July, while temperatures in most of the country likely to be higher than normal * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Large parts of south-east Australia look set for drier and hotter conditions over the next three months as a potential El Niño weather phenomenon takes shape in the Pacific Ocean. Much of Queensland and New South Wales are forecast to have lower than usual rainfall in May, June and July, with almost the

Across country, at least 14 have been injured as Zelenskyy highlights importance of air defences Top EU officials and Hungary’s incoming government will discuss on Wednesday the changes Budapest needs to push through to release €17bn in EU funds that have been blocked due to rule-of-law concerns under the outgoing government of Viktor Orbán. Some of the frozen funds, such as €11bn euros ($13bn) from the post-pandemic Recovery Fund, must be drawn by mid-August, or be irrevocably lost, Reuters noted. Continue reading...

Critics hit out at ‘dire’ situation in the country which has the strictest laws around abortion in western Europe Rights campaigners have affixed lockboxes containing abortion pills to sites across Malta, in a campaign designed to highlight the country’s near-total ban on abortion. The 15 black boxes aim to provide practical help to women grappling with the EU’s strictest abortion laws; anyone who is less than nine weeks pregnant and in need of an abortion is invited to send an email to obtain the location and codes to access the pills. Continue reading...

Teatro La Fenice sas Beatrice Venezi let go for making ‘repeated offensive’ statements Europe live – latest updates Teatro La Fenice, the prestigious Venice opera house, has fired its incoming music director after she insinuated its hiring practices were nepotistic, with jobs “practically passed down from father to son”. After months of controversy over the appointment of Beatrice Venezi, La Fenice Foundation said on Sunday it had decided to “cancel all future collaborations” with the 36-year-old conductor and pianist. Continue reading...

Musician Chris Martin, tennis star Iga Świątek and footballer Robert Lewandowski join Łatwogang in epic fundraiser A Polish social media influencer has raised more than £50m after a nine-day, nonstop online stream during which he was joined by a parade of celebrity guests to help a charity supporting children battling cancer. Streaming from a studio flat in right-bank Warsaw, the 23-year-old influencer, known by his nickname Łatwogang, listened to a charity song dedicated to children battling cancer on loop for nine days straight, filling time with entertaining dares and celebrity appearances. Continue reading...

Families say ‘Ulm 5’ have been detained under extreme prison conditions since arrest last September Five pro-Palestinian activists are due to appear in court over an attack on an Israeli arms company in Germany, in proceedings their families say could become a “show trial”. The Berlin-based activists, who are British, Irish, German and Spanish citizens, have been held in pre-trial detention in separate prisons since 8 September. They are alleged to have broken into Elbit Systems, in the city of Ulm in Baden-Württemberg, in the early hours of 8 September, causing hundreds of thousands of euros of damage before calling the police

Sources say country wants US to end its blockade as part of proposal but has not addressed its nuclear programme Iran is proposing that shipping companies should pay charges for specific services when they cross the strait of Hormuz, in a move that would enable it to raise money from shipping traffic without presenting the payment as a toll. Iran’s framing is designed to maximise political and legal support for the plan it is developing with Oman. Iran has made a solution to its demands an essential precondition to winding down the conflict, including an end to its effective blockade of the

Rightwing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid announce new party before Knesset vote expected later this year The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing the prospect of running against a rightwing-centrist super coalition in elections later this year after two of his most formidable political rivals combined forces in an attempt to oust him, inviting a third party leader to join them. In a move that some analysts compared to the centre-right coalition that removed Viktor Orbán from power in Hungary, the former prime ministers – rightwing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid – issued statements announcing the merger of their

Engineer and two drivers killed in recent weeks as scarcity of clean water fuels spread of preventable diseases Israeli forces in Gaza killed a water engineer and two drivers who transported water to displaced families over four days in mid-April, exacerbating severe shortages of clean water that are fuelling the spread of preventable disease. Israeli limits on the shipment of soap, washing powder and other hygiene products into Gaza have also forced prices up, adding to the challenge of keeping clean and avoiding infection in overcrowded shelters and tent encampments. Continue reading...

The Israeli government and Hezbollah have traded blame over breaches to the truce, which is set to run for several more weeks Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south killed 14 people on Sunday, the deadliest day since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force over a week ago. The health ministry said the dead on Sunday included two women and two children, adding that 37 other people were wounded. Israel said one of its soldiers was also killed. Continue reading...

Deepening sense of deadlock despite regional diplomacy as Washington and Tehran show no signs of compromise Hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations between Iran and the US faded further on Sunday, amid a deepening sense of deadlock in the nearly two-month-long conflict despite intense regional diplomatic activity. Washington and Tehran appear unwilling to moderate rhetoric or make concessions, and there are no negotiations scheduled that might bring the war to a definitive end. Continue reading...

Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbers A large ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak. The serac between base camp and camp one was unstable and risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s department of mountaineering on Friday. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry calls remarks of rightwing podcast host shared by Trump ‘uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste’ The Indian government has denounced a social media post shared by Donald Trump that described India as a “hellhole”, calling the comments inappropriate and “in poor taste”. On Wednesday, Trump posted a four-page transcription of remarks made by the conservative podcast host Michael Savage that denounced the US constitutional right to citizenship of everyone born in the country. Continue reading...

British foreign secretary told to impose new measures as ruble-pegged cryptocurrency A7A5 is supported in country More than 20 MPs and peers have called on the foreign secretary to take action against institutions and individuals in Kyrgyzstan allegedly facilitating large-scale Russian sanctions evasion. They urged the UK to levy personal sanctions against three top Kyrgyz officials for their alleged role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion more broadly, and more specifically for allowing Kyrgyzstan to host infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency A7A5. Continue reading...

Experts say Muslims and other minorities have been disproportionately deleted from the electoral roll ahead of the West Bengal elections this week Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote ahead of a critical state election this week, after a controversial electoral revision described by critics as a “bloodless political genocide” and mass disenfranchisement of minorities. In West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names have been deleted from the register, more than 10% of the electorate. While many were dead or duplicates, about 2.7 million people have challenged their expulsions, but still been

Islamabad has seized chance to act as mediator in Iran war and hopes to reap diplomatic and economic benefits As Pakistan works frantically to narrow differences between Iran and the US in its newfound role as global peacemaker, it is also seeking to recast its diplomatic standing and attract business. Pakistani officials, mediating between an unpredictable US president and hardliners in Tehran, were on Monday trying to coax both sides to put the conditions in place for a second round of talks in Islamabad this week, including easing the standoff in the strait of Hormuz. Pakistan was optimistic that the meeting would

Prime minister says number of people charged has risen by 17% and technology is helping police to tackle theft Keir Starmer has claimed the “tide could be turning” on shoplifting, pointing to a 17% rise in people charged for what has become a hot political issue. CCTV footage that could be shared immediately with the police should be used more widely, the prime minister said, adding that “the hope of technology” could make a difference. Continue reading...

Commons speaker to grant application by Tories for vote on investigation into whether PM misled MPs, say sources * UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer will face a vote on whether to launch an investigation into claims he misled the Commons over his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington. Sources have told the Guardian that the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, is expected to allow a debate on Tuesday on potentially referring the prime minister to the privileges committee. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Some donations to 2024 Tory leadership campaign allegedly originated from US businessman in breach of electoral rules Police are assessing evidence about donations to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to become Conservative leader in 2024 after a referral from the elections watchdog, the Guardian can reveal. The information was passed on by the Electoral Commission, which the Guardian understands has been investigating allegations that almost £40,000 of donations to Jenrick’s leadership campaign before he defected to Reform UK, were from a foreign source in breach of electoral rules. Continue reading...

The Conservative party leader said Labour MPs should ‘look in to their consciences’ if offered a chance to vote for an inquiry by the privileges committee Downing Street has said that the UK is “in a good position” to handle the global supply problems caused by the Iran war not being resolved. Speaking at the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said: We remain focused on a long-term, permanent solution to the crisis. As a result of the forward-planning, the government undertook over the past few months, the UK is in a good position. We’re ramping up planning for all different potential impacts on

Experts say counterfeits lack UV filters, increasing the risk of eye damage, and urge shoppers to check for safety marks While many will be enjoying the spring sunshine, experts have cautioned against wearing fake designer sunglasses, warning they could do more harm than good. As the College of Optometrists notes, sunglasses not only protect the eyes against glare on sunny days, but can also shield them from harmful ultraviolet (UV) light. Continue reading...

Suspect in Saturday evening’s shooting – Cole Tomas Allen – expected to be formally charged in court today * Trump said he ‘wasn’t worried’ during shooting * Sign up for the Breaking News US email Here’s more about the timing of King Charles’s visit today with Donald Trump at the White House. According to Trump’s official schedule, the president will greet King Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House at 4.15pm ET. Shortly after, they’ll have tea and then tour a beehive at the White House. Continue reading...

Trump officials use incident at correspondents’ dinner to pitch case for $400m project, arguing it will be ‘safe space’ * US politics live – latest updates The US Department of J (DoJ) has used the weekend shooting in Washington DC to pressure a preservation group to drop a lawsuit seeking to halt the construction of Donald Trump’s White House ballroom. Several Trump administration officials, including the president, seized on the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to advance their case for the completion of the controversial $400m project, for which the White House’s East Wing was suddenly demolished, arguing the

2026 estimates for wolves on island highest since late 1970s but moose population declining dramatically Wolves on a remote island in Lake Superior appear to be thriving, but they’re making deep dents in the moose population that they rely on as a leading food source, according to a report released Monday. Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre (54,200-hectare) national park in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The island is a natural laboratory, offering scientists a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose largely free from human influence. Continue reading...

Manifesto reportedly written by suspect had Trump administration officials at top of list. Plus, the world’s first marathon run in under two hours * Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. The suspected gunman in the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, from Torrance, California, is due to appear in court later today. What will he be charged with? He faces charges of assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, but Blanche said depending on how the investigation went,

Case centers on glyphosate, pesticide used in Roundup and other products that has been linked to cancer in some studies The US supreme court will hear arguments in a key pesticide regulation case on Monday, setting the stage for a ruling that could weaken the ability of consumers to sue companies for failing to warn of product risks. The case centers on glyphosate – a weed-killing chemical used in the popular Roundup brand and numerous other herbicide products. The chemical has been scientifically linked to cancer in multiple studies, and was classified a probable human carcinogen by an arm of the World

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Sunday killed 14 people, the deadliest day since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war came into force over a week ago. It came as Israel and the Iran-backed group traded fresh accusations of breaching the fragile truce, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was “vigorously” targeting Hezbollah and the group vowing to keep responding to “violations”. Israel’s military has carried out repeated strikes...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country would continue to support Russia’s policies and he discussed the international political situation with Russia’s defence minister, state media KCNA reported on Monday. A Russian delegation including Defence Minister Andrei Belousov attended a completion ceremony for a ‌‌memorial honouring North Korean soldiers killed while fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged an incursion in 2024, KCNA said. Russia launched a full-scale...

US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned US$400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House. “It’s time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said plainly on Sunday on social media, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic...

Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules Eastern...

The ⁠Italian government has extradited to ⁠the United States a Chinese man wanted by authorities there on hacking charges that include stealing Covid-19 medical research, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The source ‌declined to say when Xu Zewei was flown out of Italy, saying only that he was already in the United States. The move follows a ruling by a top Italian court earlier this month allowing the extradition. Xu was arrested in Milan on July 3 at ⁠the request of US...

The state visit by Britain’s King Charles to the US would take place as planned, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday, following a shooting at a Washington media gala. The incident late on Saturday at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association came less than 48 hours before Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to the United States. The palace said Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump, the first lady Melania and other guests were unharmed and later on...

Mali’s military rulers faced a security crisis on Sunday after coordinated nationwide attacks by jihadist fighters and separatist rebels this weekend killed the defence minister and reportedly left a key northern town in rebel hands. There was no word from the junta leader General Assimi Goita, who has not been seen since the attacks began at dawn on Saturday. The offensive, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of...

Strikes across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia over the past day killed at least 16 people, authorities said on Sunday as the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster prompted new warnings about risks posed by attacks near the plant during Russia’s more than four-year invasion of its neighbour. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the anniversary with a warning that Russian attacks risk repeating history. “Russia is once again bringing the world to the brink of...

The China-Europe railway network has evolved in the past decade from a nascent logistical experiment into a growing commercial alternative to maritime and air freight. In the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, it might now be assuming an unanticipated role as a key security provider for transcontinental supply chains. What began as sporadic trial runs has matured into a sprawling web of rail connections that currently links 235 cities across 26 European countries with more than 120 Chinese...

The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad opened in Damascus on Sunday. Atef Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad, and who is also a cousin of the former president, appeared in the courtroom to face charges related to “crimes against the Syrian people,” the state-run news agency SANA reported. Najib was in that position in 2011 when...

People streamed into the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol laid out on the ground as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath. Residents show up for the vigil each year despite wartime curfews and official warnings against large gatherings during Russia’s war on Ukraine. The April 26, 1986 disaster...

In the span of a few days earlier this month, developments that usually sit in separate policy compartments began to converge. Abu Dhabi’s crown prince arrived in Beijing as President Xi Jinping used the visit to set out China’s four-point position on the Iran war. Pakistan, now central to keeping US-Iran diplomacy alive, said no date was fixed for the next round of talks. Washington escalated pressure on buyers of Iranian oil and the banks handling related funds. Reports circulated of yuan use...

The shooting on Saturday night of a Secret Service agent at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner raises questions yet again about the protection afforded to America’s political leaders at a time of increased political violence. Hundreds of agents from several law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting the annual bash, which US President Donald Trump headlined this year. Yet a suspect with a shotgun and other weapons ‌managed to get just a floor above the Washington...

The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump. Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the...

Watch a cheap commercial drone destroy a battle tank on the frontlines in Ukraine, or a cut-price Iranian Shahed menace Tel Aviv, then ask yourself why Southeast Asia’s defence ministries are suddenly very interested in unmanned aerial vehicles. The answer was on full display last week at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, where vendors from Abu Dhabi to Pretoria were chasing deals in one of the global arms trade’s hottest emerging markets. “There is huge demand from the...

It was meant to be a glitzy Saturday night at a Washington ballroom featuring President Donald Trump, but the glamour was shattered by gunshots that left guests diving to the floor and the US leader bundled out by security personnel. Trump was seated on the dais at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner – the first time he is attending as president – when loud bangs disrupted the revelry and caused him and others on stage to look up in alarm. Video captured by news outlets...

Student mental health is a matter of great concern. According to the latest data from the Education Bureau, the number of secondary students with mental health issues has doubled over the past five years, from 660 in 2020-21 to 1,330 in 2024-25. In recent years, the government and various stakeholders in society have worked to halt the continued rise in student suicides. However, the number of suspected suicide cases still rose by 10 per cent between 2024 and 2025, from 28 to 31. To help...

US President Donald Trump and other top administration officials were likely targets of a gunman who tried to storm a White House correspondents’ dinner, the acting US attorney general said on Sunday, after a major security breach in the heart of Washington. Chaos erupted at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night as shots were fired near a security checkpoint outside the subterranean ballroom where the glitzy, high-profile event was being held. Secret Service agents, weapons drawn, rushed to...

The death toll ⁠from an explosives ⁠attack on a highway ⁠in southwestern Colombia rose to 20 on Sunday, authorities said, as the government blamed a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla ‌group for the bombing. The attack happened on Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on a bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. So far, 15 women and five men are among the victims, according to Octavio Guzman, governor of the region of Cauca. He wrote on...

Lebanese state media reported a series of new Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday night, after attacks earlier in the day killed six people despite a recently extended ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The new attacks followed orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to “forcefully attack Hezbollah targets” after the army accused it of breaching the truce. Lebanon’s health ministry had said earlier that “Israeli enemy strikes on a...

Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would not take up his seat in parliament following his party’s landslide defeat in this month’s election but wants to stay on as Fidesz’s leader to lead a process of “renewal”. The most dominant figure in Hungarian politics since the fall of communism in 1989, Orban has sat in Hungary’s legislature for 36 years without interruption, serving as prime minister for the past sixteen years. “I’m not needed in parliament now but in the...

A former University of South Florida student has been charged with killing his roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend – two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappeared earlier this month, authorities said Saturday. Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, is facing two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, students at USF, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa,...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad again on Sunday, just hours after US President Donald Trump told his special envoys not to go to Pakistan for ceasefire talks. Araghchi had left Pakistan’s capital on Saturday night after meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Pakistan has been trying to get US and Iranian officials back to the negotiating table after Trump last week announced that a two-week...

Pope Leo has called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty on Saturday, a day after the US administration mulled expanding the penalty. “The dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed,” Leo said in a video message marking the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois. “The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves...

Palestinians on Saturday buried a woman pregnant with twins and two of her children who were among at least 13 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. The toll on Friday included two men who were killed in Gaza City, and eight others killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to local hospitals. Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said the eight people, including four police officers, were killed after Israel targeted a police vehicle. While the heaviest fighting has mostly...

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry says Afghans who helped America’s war effort and have been stuck in Qatar in the hope of reaching the United States can safely return to Afghanistan. The statement on Saturday by foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi comes after reports emerged that the Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send 1,100 Afghans who assisted the US during its war in Afghanistan, and relatives of US service members, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An...

An attack by “unknown armed terrorists” has been carried out on military barracks and other targets in the capital Bamako, the military in Mali reported on Saturday. Attacks had also occurred in other locations in the country, the general staff reported. Fighting was ongoing, a brief statement said. Witnesses reported intense fighting in a town near the capital where junta leader General Assimi Goita lives, and in other key cities. Mali, a landlocked West African country, has been ruled by a...

Every time a European leader lands in Beijing with a business delegation, the same speculation follows: is the Atlantic consensus beginning to crack? Is part of Europe drifting towards China and away from Washington? In Spain’s case, the drama expires on contact with the record. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s four visits to Beijing in four years have not produced a European pivot, a strategic vision or a narrower trade imbalance. They have produced market access for agricultural goods. Call it...

Argentina has called for talks with the UK over the Falkland Islands after reports the US could review its position on the South Atlantic territory in retaliation for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s lack of support for the war in Iran. Downing Street had earlier insisted the sovereignty of the Falklands was “not in question”. That came after a leaked internal Pentagon email set out options for President Donald Trump’s administration to punish Nato allies for refusing to join the US-Israeli strikes...

Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least six people, officials said on Saturday, most of them in an attack on a residential building in the eastern city of Dnipro. Over 30 people were injured, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia launched 47 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as 619 drones of various types. Ukraine has been warding off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. Air raid sirens sounded across the country with residents urged to...

Financial markets, stock markets especially, appear able to defy gravity despite the global geopolitical and economic situation. A plethora of institutional and individual explanations have been offered as to why, but most seem to miss the point. Which is, at least in part, that we have created a kind of monster in the asset management industry, which channels a glut of global savings into a limited number of investment areas and which, by virtue of these captive inflows, is able to maintain...

An unusual series of cargoes of military-grade fuel that is due to sail from the US across the Pacific Ocean illustrates how far the war in Iran has disrupted the global oil supply chain. A request for offers to ship 235,000 barrels of jet fuel from Cherry Point in Blaine, Washington, where BP has a refinery, to Subic Bay in the Philippines, a strategic access point and logistics hub for US naval operations, was issued on Thursday, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The cargo is...

More than 4 million small parcels from China have arrived at the freight airport in Liege, Belgium, every day since the beginning of the year. On the receiving end, the Belgian customs inspection team at the airport has only 80 members. Belgium’s top customs official, Kristian Vanderwaeren, said the airport, close to the Netherlands, Germany and France, was built, in part, to cater to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Shein, Temu and Alibaba. But the “explosion” in the number of small parcels...

Amid the rubble of the US-Israel war on Iran, a new Middle East appears to be taking shape as a constellation of regional powers jockey for a seat at the table. Led by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the grouping stretches from the Gulf across the Caucasus to Central and South Asia, binding together countries with overlapping interests, interlocking partnerships and a shared conviction: that the post-war order should not be dictated exclusively by the US-Israel alliance or Iran and its battered but...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the United States of ⁠abandoning internationally recognised diplomatic ⁠conventions in pursuit of its ⁠own interests, particularly in dominating energy markets, in an interview broadcast on Friday. Lavrov, interviewed by Russian state television, said Washington, in its dealings with Latin America and the Middle East, was “taking us back to a world where ‌nothing existed” in international law. “The United States has officially declared that no one...

The World Health Organization announced on Friday that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time. Artemether-lumefantrine is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest victims of the mosquito-borne disease. “The prequalification designation indicates that the medicine meets international standards of quality, safety and efficacy,” the WHO said in a statement. Up to now, infants have been treated with...

Another day, another big humiliation for William Lai Ching-te. The Taiwanese leader effectively had to cancel a visit to eSwatini, the island’s last partner in Africa, for the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession to the throne and his 58th birthday. Taiwan said the visit was “postponed” after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar cancelled their previously approved overflight permission without warning. Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)...

OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has apologised to a Canadian town devastated by a February mass shooting, saying he was “deeply sorry” the company did not tell police about the killer’s troubling ChatGPT account. OpenAI had banned an account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar in June 2025, eight months before the 18-year-old woman killed eight people at her home and a school in the tiny British Columbia mining town of Tumbler Ridge. The account was banned over concerns about usage linked to violent...

G7 countries on Friday insisted on their support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), warning of the dangers from a Russian and Chinese build-up. “We are concerned with China’s and Russia’s significant nuclear weapons build-up and modernisation,” the G7 Non-proliferation Directors Group said in a statement published on the French foreign ministry website. The group brings together the diplomats from the Group of Seven countries – Britain, Canada, France, Germany,...

The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil. The move, announced on Friday, makes good on the Trump administration’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on companies and countries that do business with Iran. It is also part of the Republican administration’s overall ramped-up campaign to cut off Iran’s key source of revenue – its oil exports. Hengli on Sunday denied...

The Trump Justice Department said on Friday it was seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add the firing squad, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution. “The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. Under US...

The US and the European Union on Friday deepened their coordination on critical minerals as part of a broader push by Western allies to loosen China’s grip on materials crucial to advanced manufacturing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic signed a memorandum of understanding for a ‌partnership on producing and securing critical minerals. Rubio did not mention China in his remarks, but said the preliminary agreement with Brussels reflected growing awareness...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday there was no prospect of Ukraine’s “immediate accession” to the EU, but suggested Kyiv could join meetings of the bloc’s members without voting rights. Ukraine is pushing to speed up its bid to join the 27-nation European Union as it fights Russia’s invasion on the battlefield. Kyiv’s progress has been blocked by Hungary’s nationalist premier Viktor Orban, but his defeat in elections earlier this month raised hopes it can move to the next step. EU...

A proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives failed on Friday as parliamentary time ran out, nearly a year since elected members of parliaments gave their backing. Though the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House of Commons last June, the UK’s revising chamber, the House of Lords, effectively talked it out since then. Proponents of what has been termed “assisted dying” – sometimes referred to as “assisted suicide” –...

The US Justice Department has ended its probe into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh. US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro said on X on Friday that her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s inspector general would scrutinise them instead. The decision ends an investigation, one of several undertaken by the Justice Department into President...

China’s strategic reserves of oil and natural gas have insulated it somewhat, but its manufacturing-based economy is beginning to falter.

Oil prices rose and stocks fell after President Trump called off a trip to Pakistan by two U.S. negotiators for peace talks with Iran.

We ended up in a Colombian mine controlled by a drug cartel.

As prices for the precious metal soar, the industry’s guardrails have broken down.

Three reporters followed supply chains to reveal that the U.S. Mint buys gold that comes from foreign pawn shops and drug dealers, then claims it is from the United States.

Geofence searches allow law enforcement to find suspects and witnesses by sweeping up location data from cellphone users near crime scenes.

A victory for the manufacturer, Bayer, could end thousands of lawsuits against the company claiming that the herbicide causes cancer.

Our current favorites in one of the greatest food cities in the world.

The culinary capital of South Florida has outstanding Cuban and Caribbean cuisine — of course — but also world-class Japanese, Italian, Ethiopian and more.

There’s plenty of great Creole and Cajun food, of course, but also outstanding Vietnamese, Indian and Trinbagonian cuisine.

Not since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to Washington after the Suez Crisis has a visit by the British monarch come at such a fraught time in Anglo-American relations.

With King Charles III and Queen Camilla set to arrive for a state visit with President Trump, we look back at some major moments in previous royal trips to the United States.

Elon Musk is seeking more than $150 billion in damages and a complete shake-up of OpenAI. The outcome could have big consequences for the artificial intelligence industry.

The independent senator from Vermont says top Democrats should tell candidates they will otherwise lose access to party resources.

All eyes are on Florida and Virginia, where a special session and courtroom proceedings set for this week factor into the battle for the House in the midterms.

What constitutes unacceptable behavior? And how many accusers does it take for an allegation to be believed? Societal standards remain nebulous.

The multiyear deal with Ms. Winfrey signifies the tech giant’s growing ambitions in video podcasts.

The measure calls for placing a one-time 5 percent tax on the assets of California residents with at least $1.1 billion. Opponents are backing competing measures to counter the tax.

Economists and real estate agents are calling London’s taxation of wealthy property owners a cautionary tale for New York, where leaders have endorsed a second-home tax.

Movie watchers are often left wondering why today’s films look murkier than films of years past. Here’s how some experts diagnose the issue.

Revenge-based criminal cases against the president’s enemies have not come to fruition. That’s where the U.S. attorneys come in.

We explore a Times investigation into the gold market.

They signed petitions, organized rallies and held strategy sessions over karaoke, debating how far to push the authorities in their dispute with a developer.

The Trump administration was not invited to the gathering in Santa Marta, Colombia. A White House spokeswoman called the green transition “destructive.”

Mr. Rai documented major figures like the Dalai Lama and Indira Gandhi, as well as the victims of a poison gas leak in the city of Bhopal.

The woman, who is a beekeeper, was sentenced to six months after being convicted of using the bees as a weapon against deputies during a 2022 eviction.