Minimalist News

OnlyFans "Hack" Hoax Likely Used To Push Malware-Laced Leak Checkers A cyber threat actor advertised a purported database of 340 million OnlyFans-linked user records on a well-known cybercrime forum, asking for 0.313 BTC, or roughly $76,000, according to U.K.-based cybersecurity news site HackRead . The alleged "340 million OnlyFans user mega leak" narrative ran rampant on X this past holiday weekend, garnering millions of views from several accounts, which were described as nothing more than an engagement trap. HackRead pointed out that " conversations with the seller and a review of sample data suggest that the collection did not result

Corrections Vs Bears: How The Fed Rewired The Market Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, After three decades of watching market cycles play out from both sides of the trade, I’ve come to a simple conclusion: Wall Street’s love of simple rules is one of the most dangerous aspects of investing. When stocks fall 10%, it’s just a “correction.” However, if they decline 20%, it’s a “bear market.” Simple, clean, repeatable, and printed on every financial media graphic from here to Tokyo. The problem is that the definitions of a correction and bear market have not been updated since Alan

Pope Sounds Alarm On AI "Slavery" While Church Aligns With Lefty Anthropic Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical on Monday, entitled Magnifica Humanitas ( The Magnificence of the Human Person ). The roughly 42,300-word declaration, issued as a papal encyclical, warned, " The fight against new forms of slavery is a decisive test for the ethical discernment of AI and digital transformation." "If technology promises emancipation, yet produces new forms of global subordination , it stands in contradiction to the fundamental principle of human dignity," the pontiff explained in the encyclical, while urging governments to regulate the private companies

Everyone Talks About The Cost Of Gasoline... Soon Everyone Will Be Talking About The Cost Of Food Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse Blog. For most people, the price of gasoline is the most obvious consequence of the war in the Middle East. As I write this article, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States is $4.56 . Of course, in some parts of the country, consumers are paying much more than that. This is a big story, and the truth is that gasoline prices are going to go even higher in the

Trump Tells Arab States Joining Abraham Accords Should Be 'Mandatory' - Throws Open Door For Iran In Grand Deal President Trump is still trying to play the role of the globe's ultimate deal-maker via Truth Social, using a mix of mandatory diplomacy and ultimate economic carrots, issuing a lengthy missive on Iran talks and the Abraham Accords on Monday morning. He introduced the post by stating that negotiations with Tehran are "proceeding nicely" before dropping a provocative diplomatic bombshell: a demand that a big list of major Middle Eastern nations immediately sign onto the Abraham Accords as a prerequisite for

It Was Never About The Climate Authored by Silvio Canto Jr via AmericanThinker.com, Here is a question for your long weekend: Why haven’t you ever seen a climate change protest before the Chinese embassy anywhere? Why is it always the US or capitalism messing up the environment? Why don’t they show up at all when China is a bigger threat to clean air than any US city? The answer is obvious, but I’ll say it. It was never about the climate but rather capitalism or the US. Check this out : In 2024, climate activists in New York City protested

The Devil Neither Political Party Will Name Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance The widening wealth inequality gap is the political third rail nobody in power truly ever wants to touch. Politicians will scream at each other all day over taxes, healthcare, immigration, tariffs, student loans, climate policy, or whatever outrage is currently driving engagement on cable news and social media. But the second the conversation turns toward monetary policy, toward the machinery of money creation itself, the room suddenly gets very quiet. That’s because monetary policy has quietly become the single most powerful force reshaping wealth distribution in modern America.

Huawei Touts Sanctions-Busting Chip Breakthrough, SMIC Shares Erupt Semiconductor Manufacturing International soared to a record high in China after Huawei unveiled what it described as a breakthrough pathway for advanced semiconductor production at the IEEE ISCAS conference, without relying on the West's most advanced chipmaking equipment. Huawei's semiconductor chief, He Tingbo, told the audience earlier today that the company has developed a "New Semiconductor Path in Practice" that replaces traditional Moore's Law-style geometric scaling with time scaling and reducing signal propagation delay across devices, circuits, chips, and systems. Huawei's press release stated : In her speech, she presented the Tau

Spencer Pratt Literally Uses LA Shithole Filth As Campaign Ad Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Spencer Pratt is running a campaign unlike anything seen in Los Angeles politics. The former reality star turned mayoral candidate isn't just talking about the city's collapse into filth, crime, and decay - he's making the evidence work for him. His team has taken to the streets with power washers and stencils, blasting clean messages like "IMAGINE IF THE STREETS WERE THIS CLEAN" and "SPENCER PRATT FOR MAYOR" directly into the grime accumulated under Democrat leadership. The tactic is as simple as it is

Pentagon Conducts First Military Drill In Venezuela Since Maduro Overthrow On Saturday, the US military conducted a highly visible drill right in the heart of Caracas, marking the first known American military exercise on Venezuelan soil since the chaotic January 3rd operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro . The show of force involved two US Marine Corps Osprey aircraft touching down near the recently reopened US Embassy in Caracas , which went operational only two months ago, in March. via Reuters "The drill, which the Venezuelan government said it had authorized as an evacuation drill for possible medical emergencies

Futures, Global Stocks Soar To All Time High, Oil Plunges On Endless "Iran Deal" Drumbeat US equity futures jumped and global stocks rose to record highs as crude oil fell after officials signaled - once again - that the US was nearing a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore oil flows. The dollar weakened while precious metals and crypto bounced from Friday's drop. While the US and Iran closed in on a deal, Trump said he won’t “rush” into an agreement. The deal is still a work in progress and the US is going to

Debt Remembered And Debt Ignored Authored by Greg Marasca via AmericanThinker.com, Memorial Day compels Americans to confront a word we avoid: debt. Not the financial kind that Congress pretends will magically resolve itself, but the older, heavier meaning — the kind carved into headstones at Arlington and cemeteries across the country. It is the debt paid in full by those who gave their lives, so the rest of us could live free. No interest rate can measure it. No budget line can contain it. It is final, irrevocable, and sacred. Every year, we pause, as we should, to acknowledge that

In Rare Phone Call, Macron Warns Belarus' Lukashenko Against Directly Joining Ukraine War In their first direct contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron telephoned Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to warn him against increasing his country's engagement in the war, according to sources who spoke to AFP . "[Macron] highlighted the risks Belarus will face if dragged into the war in Ukraine. He also called on Lukashenko to take necessary measures to improve relations between Belarus and Europe," a source told AFP . Lukashenko let Russia use Belarus as a staging area for the 2022 invasion,

Dr. Oz Fires Back After Joy Behar's TrumpRx Meltdown Authored by David Manney via PJMedia.com, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services , answered Joy Behar after the longtime co-host of The View warned viewers about President Donald Trump's prescription drug initiative. Behar said once Trump puts his name on prescriptions, “We're all going to die.” Joy Behar claims "we're all going to die" because Trump wants to lower drug prices with TrumpRX. pic.twitter.com/uG458SU1AD — MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) May 19, 2026 She also reached for Trump's past business failures, as if cheaper medicine

At Last Minute, SEC Suddenly Delays Plan To Allow Crypto Versions Of US Stocks Authored by Micah Zimmerman via Bitcoin Magazine, The Securities and Exchange Commission has pumped the brakes on its highly anticipated “innovation exemption” for tokenized stocks, pushing back the release of the framework as it weighs input from traditional stock exchanges and other market participants wary of the plan’s sweeping implications, according to Bloomberg reporting . The SEC, under Chair Paul Atkins, was preparing to release the so-called innovation exemption as soon as this week. The framework would create a new regulatory pathway allowing digital tokens linked

The Race To Build The World's Tallest Skyscraper In 1909, New York’s Metropolitan Life Tower became the tallest building in the world at 700 feet. Just over a century later, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa reached 2,717 feet, nearly four times taller. This timeline, via Visual Capitalist's Gabriel Cohen, shows every building to hold the title of world’s tallest since 1909, using the most recent data available from the Council on Vertical Urbanism (CVU). Per CVU methodology, buildings must include floors, excluding structures such as Toronto’s CN Tower and the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. Heights are measured to the architectural top, including

A Collapsing Europe Shows Where Democrat Policies Will Take America Authored by Andrew Widburg via AmericanThinker.com, Immediately before WWII, the biggest threat to Europe was Soviet socialism. During WWII, the biggest threat was the open socialism (in the form of fascism) in Germany and Italy. After WWII, during the Cold War, the biggest threat, once again, was Soviet socialism. Nevertheless, the post-war Europeans embraced socialism and touted its success, never realizing that it worked only because the U.S. paid their defense costs and absorbed the costs of wars around the world. When the Soviet Union collapsed, and America’s defense spending

70% Of All Crypto 'Wrench Attacks' Happen In France: Report About 70% of all wrench attacks, physical attacks against crypto holders and their families, carried out in an attempt to steal digital assets, occur in France, according to Bitcoin journalist Joe Nakamoto. There have been 41 crypto-related kidnappings in France so far in 2026, Nakamoto said , or about one attack every two and a half days, he added. As CoinTelegraph's Vince Quill reports , Nakamoto attributed the rise in wrench attacks to know-your-customer data collection, which is stored in centralized servers that were compromised in several high-profile data leaks

"The World Is Losing Trust": Foreign Investment In Germany Plunges To Lowest Level Since 2009 Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, Foreign companies are continuing to shy away from investing in Germany, with the number of new projects falling last year to its lowest level since 2009, representing an eighth consecutive annual decline. An analysis by the auditing and consulting firm EY, reported by the German Press Agency , found that foreign investors announced 548 new projects in Germany in 2025. That was 10 percent fewer than the year before. Henrik Ahlers, the head of EY in Germany, said

Shurk: Prominent Democrats Must Go To Prison Authored by J.B. Shurk via American Thinker , Until then, it’s open season on all of us... Reports last week confirmed that former special counsel Jack Smith “secretly arranged” to preserve evidence in his criminal cases against President Trump in order to maintain the threat of future prosecution once the president leaves office. This is not a big surprise. Democrats have thrown every civic norm out the window in their ruthless efforts to target Trump’s businesses and send him to prison for life. In his quest to imprison an American president, Jack Smith

Inmates at Barinas prison allege they were peacefully protesting when prison staff opened fire, leaving some wounded Inmates at Venezuela’s western Barinas prison staged a protest on its roof on Sunday, piling flaming mattresses and calling for the removal of the facility’s director, whom they accused of overseeing guards as they shot unarmed prisoners. “We want justice. They are shooting us, the guards and the wardens,” a prisoner said in a video shared by the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, a local NGO, on X, in which a man is seen with a bullet wound in his chest. Continue reading...

As Canada tightens asylum rules, refugees reuniting with family say they were turned over to ICE and jailed for months after failed border claims As each day in US detention passes, Markens Appolon can feel the life he had dreamed of slipping away. The 25-year-old fled Haiti to escape the rampant gang violence that upended his university studies in economics, and planned to join family in Montreal. Continue reading...

Judge said Trump administration would not have prosecuted Ábrego had he not challenged his high-profile deportation Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email A US judge dismissed a criminal indictment against Kilmar Ábrego García on Friday, finding that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his high-profile deportation. Ábrego, who had entered the United States without authorization in the past, became a symbol of the Trump administration’s drive for mass deportations when he was sent to the notorious anti-terrorism mega-prison in El Salvador known as Cecot in March 2025. Continue reading...

Alberta premier calls for referendum on secession after judge ruled initiative to force binding vote invalid The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney , has said that Alberta is “essential” to the country’s future, hours after the province’s leader moved the oil-rich region closer toward a referendum on independence. Separatists in the western province spent months collecting signatures seeking to trigger a binding October vote on seceding from the nation. Continue reading...

Andry José Hernández Romero was deported from the US to El Salvador’s notorious Cecot prison before he was allowed to return to Venezuela One of the Venezuelan men sent from the US to El Salvador’s most notorious prison by Donald Trump has moved to Spain to request asylum after concluding that he did not feel safe back home and did not trust US authorities sufficiently to return to fight his legal case. Andry José Hernández Romero left Venezuela for Spain in early February and is due for his first asylum hearing in court there in a few days, hoping that

Group have been stuck in flooded cave in central Laos for five days after heavy rain caused landslides Divers who helped in the dramatic rescue of a young Thai football team in 2018 have joined efforts to free seven people who have been trapped for five days inside a remote, flooded cave in central Laos. The group entered the cave in Xaysomboun province on Wednesday to hunt for wildlife and search for gold, reports suggest. Heavy rain led to landslides, which blocked the cave entrance. Continue reading...

Xi Jinping urges authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in rescue operation after explosion in northern Shanxi province At least 82 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in northern China’s Shanxi province, in the country’s worst mining disaster in 17 years. The explosion happened on Friday at 7.29pm (12.29 BST) while 247 workers were underground at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, the state media agency Xinhua reported. Continue reading...

Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as ‘new chapter’ that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation efforts When the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu’s prime minister hailed the result as the start of “a new chapter” in climate action. “The task before all of us now is to translate legal clarity into meaningful action, stronger cooperation, and greater protection for present and future generations,” said Jotham Napat. Continue reading...

Hung Cao’s comments are latest blow to Taipei after Donald Trump recently cast doubt over US’s enduring support US arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary, in the latest blow to Taipei after a series of comments by Donald Trump. When asked at a congressional hearing on Thursday about a $14bn (£10.4bn) weapons package awaiting Trump’s signoff for months, Hung Cao said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury

Twelve dead as southern and central areas also suffer travel disruption, electricity outages and evacuations Heavy, prolonged rainfall in southern and central China has resulted in weather warnings for flash flooding, landslides and waterlogging. The slow-moving band of rainfall spanned 620 miles (1,000km) and travelled eastwards across the regions on Tuesday. It was formed from the convergence of multiple bands of rain originating from the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. Given the accompanying low wind speeds, high daily and hourly rainfall totals have been recorded, with as much as 75mm locally in Hunan, 85mm in Anhui

Australia now the world’s third-biggest nation for utility-scale batteries behind China and the US. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast ‘This is very good value for money for Australia’: Bowen defends COP role Chris Bowen , who has also taken on the role of president of negotiations at the Cop climate summit, says that Australia’s involvement is “very good value for money”. Mr T [is] out there saying it’s $200m. He’s lying. Secondly, these things do cost money. It cost money when John Howard chaired Apec. It cost money when

Changes to political funding and the need for crossbenchers to remain relevant are driving discussions but some independents are opposed Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast It is a tag that has been unfairly – and incorrectly – attached to the band of teal MPs since their arrival en-masse in federal parliament in 2022, a slur deployed by their political opponents in an attempt to undermine their independence. The “teal party”. Continue reading...

The now 88-year-old is urging Australian governments to throw their support behind a new national plan for Stolen Generations survivors as they enter their final years Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Aunty Lorraine Peeters only remembers the metal gates opening as she was driven away from her home, at Brewarrina mission in north-west New South Wales. She was taken, along with her brothers and sisters, at just four years old. Her home for the next six years would be the Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls Home,

Exclusive: Cache of internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners show multinational has war-gamed ways to massively delay decarbonisation Revealed: the internal BHP memo that slammed the brakes on world’s biggest miner’s climate push Read more from the BHP files investigation here Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The world’s biggest miner has halted or delayed projects to cut vast amounts of emissions and has quietly war-gamed options to push major climate investments in its Western Australian iron ore operations into the next two decades, internal documents show. An exclusive

Exclusive: Mining giant says technology is not yet advanced enough to run a fully electrified fleet but experts say it is hooked on federal fuel tax credits Revealed: the internal BHP memo that slammed the brakes on world’s biggest miner’s climate push Read more from the BHP files investigation here Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast BHP has continued to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying diesel trucks in the Pilbara despite internal documents suggesting it would increase emissions and be “misaligned” with its decarbonisation goals. The mining giant is Australia’s biggest consumer

Mercury in Spain also climbs to well above normal with weather event set to continue for several more days More than 350 French towns have recorded their highest-ever temperatures for May as France and the UK set national heat records amid an extreme early-summer heat event that could see the mercury rise to 40C in parts of Spain by the end of the week. The UK’s Met Office said the country’s all-time record for May was broken when a temperature of 34.8C was recorded at London’s Kew Gardens. Continue reading...

Scientists say record-breaking heat is a reminder of how climate crisis is affecting lives The fierce heat sweeping across Europe over the bank holiday weekend has beaten the UK’s all-time temperature record for May, with scorching highs of close to 35C. A temperature of 33.5C was recorded at Heathrow airport on Monday lunchtime, according to provisional data from the Met Office, beating the previous May record that was set in 1922 and reached again in 1944. Later in the afternoon a temperature of 34.8C was recorded at London’s Kew Gardens. Continue reading...

Brent crude futures down 6% to lowest level in two weeks and stock markets rise Oil prices fell below $100 a barrel on Monday and stock markets rose on hopes that the US and Iran are inching closer to a peace deal . Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down 6% to $97.43 a barrel, the lowest level in two weeks, with hopes that an agreement to end the near three-month US-Israeli war on Iran can be struck. Continue reading...

Strongly anti-Turkish party doubles its seats although mainstream parties did not see vote crumble as predicted An anti-immigrant far-right party, inspired by Greece’s defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, made the biggest gains in Sunday’s parliamentary election in Cyprus. Elam, the Greek National People’s Front, which has pushed for the closure of checkpoints on the ethnically split island and is vociferously anti-Turkish, doubled its seats in the 56-member legislature after securing 10.9 % of the vote. Continue reading...

Links between Trump Organization and Ivanishvili family for Tbilisi skyscraper raise new conflict of interest concerns A Trump Tower planned for the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, is to be built on land currently part-owned by the son of the US-sanctioned leader of the country, according to official records. The proposed skyscraper, a joint venture between a local consortium and the Trump Organization, which is managed by the US president’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, will be on a plot whose current registered owner is the International Charity Fund Cartu. Continue reading...

Tehran says ‘contradictory statements’ from US and Israeli interference hindering negotiations Middle East crisis – live updates Iran has poured cold water on suggestions that a deal with the US is imminent, pointing to the confusion in US positions and Israeli interference as key factors in why a complete agreement is proving difficult to secure. Speaking at the weekly foreign ministry press briefing, Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s negotiating team, also said future management of the strait of Hormuz was a matter for Oman and Iran to reach agreement on, and that it was not tolls that were being

Iranian state media said the situation is ‘under control’ and there was no cause for concern after reports of explosions in Bandar Abbas Iran denies deal with US is imminent, despite some progress Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, has said that time is working against the US and warned that Iran does not respond well to threats. In a post on X , he wrote: During the military war, our tactic was an eye for an eye; in the diplomatic war, it is action against action. Do not believe the bluff

Netanyahu’s joint war with the US began with talk of regime change in Tehran but may leave him with few strategic gains Middle East live – latest updates When Donald Trump launched a pre-emptive war on Iran with Israel in February, many in the country hailed the campaign as the crowning triumph of Benjamin Netanyahu’s political and diplomatic career. Three months on the regime is still in power in Tehran, Trump is chasing a deal that will reopen the strait of Hormuz to oil tankers, and the reported terms have provoked alarm, dismay and anger in Israel. Continue reading...

Region adapting to diminished US power after Washington fails to land knockout blow on Tehran or safeguard allies Middle East crisis – live updates The shock of the Iran war and its fallout has driven rivals in the Middle East to get behind a peace deal, pushing the Trump administration to accept a tentative agreement in the face of furious opposition from Israel and its supporters in Washington. The diplomatic efforts come as the region is reshaping to adapt to diminished US power after Washington’s inability to land a knockout blow on Iran, force the opening of the strait of

Supporters of Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late shah, are clashing with those who oppose a return of monarchy Wearing a bucket hat, a blue Adidas hoodie and khaki shorts, Tony Mohraz, also known as 021kid, chest-bumps a friend in front of a memorial wall in Golders Green, in north London. Photographs can be seen behind him of those who were killed protesting against the Iranian regime. As a large lion and sun flag used in Iran before the Islamic revolution is waved overhead, Mohraz starts to rap. Continue reading...

Senior lawyers call on prime minister to request Indian prosecutors drop charges that would breach double jeopardy rule Four senior lawyers, including the former attorney general Dominic Grieve, have written to Keir Starmer urging him to request that Indian prosecutors drop charges against the British national Jagtar Singh Johal on the basis that continued prosecution would be in manifest breach of the double jeopardy rule which prevents someone being tried twice for the same offence. Johal has been held in an Indian jail for eight years, and in March last year was acquitted of the terrorist charges laid against him

Explosives-laden vehicle detonated as passenger train travelled through south-western city of Quetta A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a railway track as a passenger train travelled through the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 70 others, officials have said. The force of the explosion on Sunday caused two of the train cars to overturn and catch fire, sending thick black smoke into the air, according to footage shared online. Continue reading...

US president says it’s a ‘solid 50/50’ on either making a ‘good’ deal with Iran or striking the country anew Donald Trump said he would meet today with American negotiators to review Iran’s latest proposal and decide by Sunday whether he will strike Iran “to kingdom come”. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, also told reporters in India on Saturday that “there may be news later today” about Iran. He did not specify what that news would be. Continue reading...

Move comes against backdrop of challenge by prime minister, Narendra Modi, to country’s traditional elites The Indian government has ordered one of the country’s most exclusive private clubs to vacate its premises in two weeks, underscoring the long-running push of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, against entrenched elite institutions. The ministry of housing and urban affairs directed the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its sprawling site in the heart of New Delhi by 5 June, citing urgent public interest requirements, including defence and security infrastructure. Continue reading...

Iran has threatened to impose tolls on shipping, while US demands that Iran hand over its highly enriched uranium may be deferred. Is there an end in sight? Qatar has rushed a team of mediators to Tehran in a sign that talks to open the strait of Hormuz, in return for the lifting of US sanctions and asset freezes, are reaching a climax. The aim would be to sign a memorandum of understanding on the strait that would lead to 30 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme – so deferring discussion of the US demand that Iran hand over

Campaigners, teenagers, legislators and experts give their opinions on the government’s social media consultation Change is coming for social media platforms. The UK government’s consultation on improving online safety for children will result in some form of action being taken against big tech. Even before the deadline for submissions has passed, ministers have pledged to introduce an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s or restrictions on “addictive” features such as infinite scrolling. There is overwhelming pressure from safety campaigners and MPs for a further crackdown on social media platforms, despite the introduction of the Online Safety Act, which requires tech

Head of Early Years Alliance says additional charges paid by parents represent ‘cross-subsidy’ Parents of nursery children in England are being charged extra fees to cover for government underfunding of free childcare hours, with some paying thousands of pounds a year for consumables such as food, wipes and nappies, campaigners have said. The comments came as the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, asked the competition watchdog to investigate hidden extra charges that parents have encountered when trying to access government-funded childcare. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former health secretary’s intervention comes as government closes consultation on age limits for platforms Social media companies should be treated like the tobacco industry, Wes Streeting has argued, as he called for a ban on under-16s accessing certain platforms. Speaking publicly about the prospect of a ban for the first time since he left government, the former health secretary said one was needed because large technology companies were trying to dodge regulations. Continue reading...

Tom Kopke from Germany out-tumbles local hero Chris Anderson on a meltingly hot day in Gloucestershire It was billed as the great cheese-off: a helter-skelter, bone-jarring downhill race between the all-time champ and a young upstart. After the hype and hyperbole, youth won out as the 24-year-old German YouTuber Tom Kopke beat the 38-year-old local hero Chris Anderson at the annual cheese-rolling event in the English West Country. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Chancellor pushes for procurement of ships, steel, energy and AI to prioritise Britishness as well as cost Rachel Reeves has instructed cabinet colleagues to award government contracts in four critical industries directly to British companies, making clear her irritation that ministers have been sending too much government business abroad. In a letter seen by the Guardian, the chancellor tells every cabinet minister in charge of a spending department to “buy British” wherever possible, adding that she is disappointed they are not already doing so. Continue reading...

US officials credit overnight cooling and monitoring for stabilising tank after leak fears triggered mass evacuation Firefighters contending with an overheating tank of hazardous chemicals in southern California said they had eliminated the threat of the tank exploding in an overnight operation, Orange county fire officials said on Monday. The damaged chemical tank in southern California had cracked over the weekend, which authorities were hopeful would relieve pressure and reduce the risk of an explosion. Continue reading...

Protesters say agents used pepper spray and batons in clash outside Delaney Hall where a hunger strike is under way Protesters outside a New Jersey migrant detention center where a hunger strike is under way alleged that US immigration agents deployed pepper spray and batons against them during a demonstration on Monday. The protesters tried to stop ICE from transferring Martin Soto – who announced the strike – but officials said that they were able to move him to the Elizabeth contract detention facility. Continue reading...

Video shows officers and firefighters surrounding a white car partially submerged in fast-moving water Authorities in Texas rescued an infant on Saturday after a vehicle became trapped in flood waters in Beeville, south of San Antonio. Video released on Sunday by the Beeville police department showed officers and firefighters surrounding a white car that was partially submerged in fast-moving water. As one first responder approached the car, a distressed man in the vehicle asked: “Can you get my kid?” Continue reading...

Fifa approached Mexico after US declined to host Iran squad despite it playing group games in the United States Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum , said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup , adding that the United States did not want to host the team. Sheinbaum said football’s governing body Fifa approached her government after the US said it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country throughout the tournament, despite Iran playing all three of its group matches there. Continue reading...

John A Walko was identified through DNA and brought home to Pennsylvania 80 years after his WWII death The remains of a US soldier killed during the second world war were returned to his Pennsylvania hometown more than 80 years after he died after DNA analysis identified him. John A Walko, a US army Pfc who died on 20 October 1944 during the Battle of Aachen in Germany, was escorted from the Pittsburgh airport to Commodore, Pennsylvania by a veteran’s motorcycle group earlier this month, according to Cleveland.com . Continue reading...

Two teenagers were in police custody in northwestern France on Monday, a day after an 11-year-old boy was found dead with a wet towel tied around his neck, prosecutors said. The boy was found on the banks of the Vilaine river in the northwestern city of Rennes with a wet bath towel tied tightly around his neck, prosecutors said on Sunday. On Monday, a 16-year-old boy was detained at his home, while a 15-year-old girl was detained after presenting herself to police, Rennes prosecutor Frederic...

A Swedish prosecutor on Monday called for a 10-year prison sentence against a man on trial for allegedly prostituting out his wife to around 120 clients. The court proceedings against the 62-year-old defendant, in the northern town of Harnosand, were largely being conducted behind closed doors. He is accused of having created internet adverts, arranging the paid meetings between the men who answered and his spouse, and pushing her to perform sexual acts online to attract more clients. Although...

⁠Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen international internet access, Iranian state media reported on Monday, citing an official after a ‌near-90-day blackout in the wake of the war against US and Israel. The report cited the head of public relations at Iran’s Communications Ministry. The mechanism for how and when Iran would reconnect to ⁠the global web following the decision was unknown. “The decree aimed at restoring internet access to its pre-January state was...

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Kyiv on Monday following weeks of mounting warnings from Ukrainian officials about Russian plans to draw Minsk more deeply into the war against Ukraine. Tsikhanouskaya arrived a day after one ‌of the war’s biggest strikes on the Ukrainian capital killed four people and damaged historical sites, and amid Russian threats to launch further heavy attacks on Kyiv. Tsikhanouskaya, an opponent of Belarus’ President Alexander...

Temperatures hit record highs for May in the United Kingdom and France on Monday, as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe throughout the week. A so-called heat dome of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer. Temperatures in Spain were expected to peak later this week at 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), while parts of Italy imposed...

The estranged husband of former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon pleaded guilty on Monday to embezzling more than £400,000 (US$540,000) from the Scottish National Party to fund a lavish lifestyle when he was its chief executive. Peter Murrell, 61, who was remanded into custody in the High Court in Edinburgh after his plea, admitted he used the money to buy a motorhome, two cars and luxury goods. “By embezzling from the SNP, Peter Murrell was stealing the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of...

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that any agreement with Iran should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered agreements aimed at normalising relations with Israel that were forged during Trump’s first term. In a social media post, Trump said negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the agreements first signed in 2020. He pointed to Saudi...

African leaders and financiers gathered for the African Development Bank’s annual meeting on Monday as the continent faces shrinking aid flows, with this week’s event in Congo Republic overshadowed by an Ebola outbreak across the border. Overseas development aid from the world’s richest nations to poorer countries dropped by nearly a ‌quarter last year to US$174.3 billion. The US led the cuts, including reduced funding to the concessional lending arm of the AfDB – Africa’s largest development...

A major diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Tehran could signal sanctions relief for Iran, a development analysts say bodes well for China, the primary buyer of Iranian oil. Negotiations have advanced on a proposed 60-day ceasefire extension, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the US side issuing temporary sanctions waivers that would allow Iran to sell oil freely, Axios reported on Saturday, citing a US official. Any such relief would only be implemented under a final...

High on the list of deliverables agreed following the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump was the establishment of a board of trade, albeit with little detail on its mission, responsibilities or operations. The White House expects the board “to manage bilateral trade across non-sensitive goods” while China’s Ministry of Commerce says the board “will discuss issues such as tariff reductions”. While not contradictory, both formulations are vague and hint at...

Israel’s two far-right ministers on Monday called for an escalation of military operations in Lebanon, with one advocating strikes on Beirut in response to Hezbollah’s drone attacks. “It is time for the prime minister to take a firm stand with Donald Trump and tell him that Israel is returning to war in Lebanon,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on social media. Ben Gvir leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party. “Electricity to Lebanon must be cut off, the Zahrani...

Pope Leo called for the “disarming” of artificial intelligence in his long-awaited manifesto on the rapidly developing technology on Monday, and warned of “new forms of slavery” behind its rise. The “just war” theory – espoused recently by the Trump administration – was “outdated”, Pope Leo XIV wrote in his first encyclical, which he presented in person at the Vatican, alongside AI experts including the co-founder of US giant Anthropic. The first US pope, who has clashed with the White House...

The annual haj pilgrimage, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, officially began on Monday. More than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the country, Saleh bin Saad Al-Murabba, commander of the haj passport forces, said on Friday. The faithful have been pouring into the country for the haj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related regional tensions and uncertainty. Egyptian pilgrim Samya Abdul Moneim said she was grateful to God that she...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. 82 killed in China’s worst coal mine accident for more than a decade 2. Why Bangladesh could raise Indian red flags by buying a China-Pakistan fighter jet 3. Screams as 10 hurt in ‘drop tower’ turbulence on Cathay flight from Brisbane 4. 2 notable women in ancient China broke barriers in fields...

For decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has preached a mantra of peace and stability in the Middle East through the destruction of Iran’s Islamic Republic. The obliteration of the ayatollahs, he prophesied, would lead to the normalisation of relations between Israel and the wider Arab-Islamic world – with Israel emerging as the Middle East’s dominant power and indispensable security provider. But on Saturday, Netanyahu’s dreams looked set to be dashed, after US President Donald...

Oil fell as senior US officials gave further, positive signals on progress towards a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Brent lost as much as 6.2 per cent to US$97.10 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near US$91. Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a cautiously upbeat tone, saying the US was going to give diplomacy every chance. “We thought we might have some news last night,” he said in New Delhi. “Maybe today.” At the weekend, US President Donald Trump said...

Geopolitical tensions and a funding crisis are jeopardising peacekeeping missions, particularly those under the auspices of the United Nations, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warned on Monday. Just under 79,000 international staff were deployed in international peacekeeping operations at the end of 2025, the lowest number in at least 25 years, the institute said in a report. “If things continue in this way, we could see a dramatic weakening of multilateral conflict...

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China last week saw the signing of some 40 documents and a joint statement on strengthening the Beijing-Moscow partnership. The visit, just days after US President Donald Trump’s Beijing trip, is more than a diplomatic coincidence. It is a vivid reminder that the global order is now being shaped less by alliances than by a fluid triangle of China, the United States and Russia, with Beijing increasingly sitting at the centre. Timing is diplomacy. When...

Experts trying to prevent a tank holding a highly toxic and flammable chemical from exploding in Southern California found a “potential crack” in the container that might be reducing the pressure, a fire official said on Sunday. Since Friday, officials have warned that the tank, which contains methyl methacrylate, a chemical used in plastics and manufacturing, could rupture and spill up ‌to 26,500 litres (7,000 gallons) of toxic material or explode and endanger other tanks on the GKN Aerospace...

The US Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the January 6, 2021, riot, calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda”. The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions and sentencings is the latest step by the Trump administration to dramatically rewrite the history of the assault on the Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Republican Donald Trump stormed the building in...

A shipment of nearly 15,000 tonnes of rice donated by the Chinese government to Cuba has arrived at the port of Havana, the island’s president said on Sunday. The shipment is the first batch of a promised 60,000 tonnes that China says it will donate to Cuba, which is grappling with dire shortages. “That noble gesture of solidarity will reach millions of consumers throughout all the provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, in addition to our health and education...

Turkish riot police fired tear gas and forced their way into the main opposition party’s headquarters to evict its ousted leadership on Sunday, fuelling a crisis at the heart of Turkey’s democracy. Clouds of tear gas billowed within the Republican People’s Party (CHP) building while those inside shouted and threw objects at the entrance as police ‌broke through a makeshift barricade. There were no reports of injuries during the intervention. A Turkish court ousted CHP leader Ozgur Ozel on...

Security was tightened in South Africa’s Kruger National Park nature reserve after two tourists were found killed there, authorities said on Sunday. The two South African victims, a 71-year-old man and a woman whose age was not disclosed, failed to return to their lodge on Wednesday evening, prompting a search operation. Other tourists eventually found them in a river on Friday afternoon. Police said the man had stab wounds and the woman’s body was bruised. Their car was missing. The...

Ukraine is calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and a gathering of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) following massive Russian air strikes, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Sunday. In a statement published on social media, Sybiha also called for an “appropriate and strong response to the aggressor” following the overnight attacks, which mainly targeted the Kyiv region and saw the deployment of a medium-range Oreshnik ballistic...

An Israeli air strike on a flat in ⁠a refugee camp in central Gaza on Sunday left three people dead, including a six-month-old child, health officials said. Medical workers named the three who died in the Nuseirat refugee camp as Mohammad Abu Mallouh, the infant’s father, Alaa Zaqlan, the mother, and their child, Osama. Later on ‌Sunday, Israeli gunfire killed a Palestinian man in the north of the enclave, near a UN-run medical clinic in Jabalia refugee camp, medical workers said. The Israeli...

With no food aid, 65-year-old Saeedah Mohammed heads out with a plastic bag to pick tree leaves near her displacement camp in southern Yemen, before serving them to her grandchildren to stave off hunger. Behind the camp wooded hills stretch under a clear sky, while on the ground, yellowed and stony earth is strewn with rubbish. Amid the trash and destitution, daily life manages to organise itself, however imperfectly. Worn-out clothes dry on lines strung between spindly trees, and two old...

US President Donald Trump’s next medical examination is intensifying health-related scrutiny that has surrounded him ever since his first campaign for the nation’s highest office more than a decade ago. Trump on Tuesday is heading to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre for his fourth publicly disclosed doctor’s appointment since the start of his second term. The White House has offered few details about the visit, saying it would involve “routine annual dental and medical...

Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) updated the death toll from the Ebola outbreak to 204 late on Saturday, hours after the Red Cross said three volunteers had died there and Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases. A health ministry statement said 204 deaths had been recorded in three provinces of the vast Central African country, from 867 suspected cases. The last World Health Organization (WHO) toll on Friday put the number of deaths at 177 from 750 suspected cases. The WHO has...

Firefighters warned on Saturday that a tank of toxic chemicals in California is heating up, adding to fears of a catastrophic explosion that has already forced tens of thousands of Californians to evacuate. About 40,000 residents were ordered to leave their homes in the Garden Grove area of Orange county, southeast of Los Angeles, on Friday after the tank began to leak, sending fumes over a heavily populated area. The tank contains 26,000 litres (7,000 gallons) of methyl methacrylate, a volatile...

As the US-Israel war on Iran stretches past its 80th day and continues to upend global naval shipping, a growing number of Chinese investors in Iran are turning to railway and overland transport routes to keep their businesses afloat. While disruptions to ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz show little sign of abating, many are hoping that transcontinental freight links across Eurasia could become a more reliable option. Chinese trader Han Yun has spent recent weeks travelling long distances...

Russia pounded Kyiv with a massive missile and drone attack that killed four people early on Sunday, authorities said, after President Vladimir Putin threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Multiple rounds of explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital throughout the early hours of the morning, journalists reported, in a barrage the air force said involved 600 drones and 90 missiles. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russians fired a...

As I return to China, I do so with an abiding sense of respect for a nation that has become one of Serbia’s most indispensable partners and a defining force of our century. In Europe, discussions about China are too often clouded by suspicion and strategic anxiety. I understand that every major political community must guard its future, but I believe Europe should approach China not with fear and suspicion but with confidence and a serious, open-eyed willingness to cooperate. Serbia has chosen...

A gunman opened fire near the White House on Saturday evening, with US Secret Service agents killing the assailant in a shoot-out during which a bystander was also struck, authorities said. US President Donald Trump was at the White House at the time as he worked to negotiate a deal with Iran, but was not affected by the incident, Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. The confrontation took place just after 6pm (local time) when a man near the White House...

Cristian Mungiu’s Norway-set drama about political polarisation Fjord has won the Palme d’Or, handing the Cannes Film Festival’s top honour for the second time to Mungiu, the Romanian director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. At a 79th Cannes Film Festival that saw few films break out, Fjord found wide admiration for its engrossing tale of what Mungiu called “left-wing fundamentalism”. It stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as Romanian evangelicals who move to Norway, but soon after have...

⁠US ⁠President Donald Trump ⁠said on Sunday that he has told his diplomatic representatives not ‌to rush into a deal with Iran on the war because “time is on our side”, less than a day ⁠after announcing that an agreement with ‌Tehran had been largely negotiated. “The Blockade ‌will remain in full force ⁠and ⁠effect until an agreement is ‌reached, certified, and signed. Both sides ‌must take their ‌time and get ‌it right,” Trump wrote ⁠on Truth Social. “There can be ⁠no mistakes! Our relationship...

France has ⁠decided to ban Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from French territory, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, adding that this reflected ‌growing anger among governments around the world over the treatment of an activist flotilla heading to Gaza. “As from today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory,” Barrot wrote on X. “Along with ⁠my Italian counterpart, I am asking the European Union to ‌also take sanctions against Itamar...

Ebola is spreading faster than responders can track it in eastern Congo, where health workers managed to follow up with barely one in five identified contacts in a single day. Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported 83 confirmed infections, 746 suspected cases and 1,603 identified contacts as of May 21, according to the health ministry. Yet health workers were able to follow up with only 342 contacts that day – about 21 per cent of the total under monitoring – according to...

Pope Leo on Saturday called out companies who seek “dizzying” profits at the cost of environmental pollution, on a visit to an area in Italy known as a hotbed for illegal dumping of toxic waste. On a visit to Acerra, ‌about 220 km (137 miles) south of Rome, the first US pope urged the world to “reject temptations of power and enrichment linked to practices that pollute the land, water, air, and social coexistence”. Leo said he wanted to come to the area near Naples known as the “Land of Fires” –...

War is now a possibility in Norway, by the prime minister’s own admission. The country, which borders Russia, has gone into “total defence” mode, preparing its population for the worst in light of the fighting in Ukraine. Dug beneath a peaceful park, the St. Hanshaugen air raid shelter, one of Oslo’s largest, can take in 1,100 people behind its heavy metal doors if ever the worst comes to pass. The air is chilly, the lights dim, and the toilets basic: it is far from cosy, but it is designed to...

For months, the United Arab Emirates had denied Iran’s accusations that it was in league with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or hosting his country’s military personnel. Then, US ambassador to Israel Mick Huckabee handed Tehran a propaganda gift and Abu Dhabi a diplomatic headache all in a single sentence. Israel sent Iron Dome air defence batteries to the UAE amid the ongoing war on Iran to help protect it from Iranian attacks, Huckabee confirmed at a conference in Tel Aviv on May...

A four-week United Nations conference reviewing the treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons ended on Friday without agreement as the United States and Iran sparred over Iran’s nuclear programme. Vietnam’s UN Ambassador Do Hung Viet, who chaired the conference, announced that there was no consensus among the 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on even a watered-down final document. He did not say which country or countries blocked a consensus. It was the third failure in a...

Twenty-seven countries have moved since the Iran war started to put in place crisis instruments that could quickly access funding from existing World Bank programmes, according to an internal document viewed by Reuters. The World Bank document did not name the ‌countries or the total amount of funds potentially being sought. The World Bank declined to comment. The document showed that three countries had approved new instruments since the Middle East conflict began on February 28, while the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing in a much weaker position than he did more than four years ago, when he launched his invasion of Ukraine shortly after his last visit. US President Donald Trump left Beijing after much fanfare. However, he was criticised back at home for failing to deliver on any key aspect of American interests, such as committing China to pressuring Iran to end the war on US terms. His popular support is at a historic low. Putin, Trump and Chinese President...

In 1957, the Soviet Union kicked off the Cold War’s space race, shocking the world by sending Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, into orbit. Four years later, it did the same to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human in space. In 1969, the US provided another image that defined the era: Neil Armstrong leaving the Eagle lunar lander and planting the American flag on the moon, declaring it “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” For the two superpowers, the...

SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he was taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world. It is the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But...

Republican officials said they have talked to Tom Kean Jr., who has been absent from Congress for weeks. His office said Mr. Kean will eventually explain his absence.

Saikat Chakrabarti, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s former chief of staff, is running in San Francisco to succeed Representative Nancy Pelosi, whom Mr. Chakrabarti irked with an incendiary tweet seven years ago.

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a critic of President Trump who lost his primary last week, filed papers for another candidacy but said he was not sure which office he might seek.

“The stupid stuff is killing our chances,” said a retiring Republican senator.

The nation’s founding document has a blind spot. Trump is making it visible.

We’re all going to die. But first — just one more trick.

Evacuation orders remained in place for more than 40,000 residents around Garden Grove, Calif., the location of an industrial site containing an unstable tank of toxic chemical.

For years, courts have welcomed cases brought by self-represented litigants. Now those plaintiffs have A.I., and their filings are consuming more and more bandwidth.

A single infusion of an experimental gene-editing drug seemed to reduce LDL long-term in a small trial. The results may point to something “curative,” one expert said.

Waymo has been an object of frustration to some in California. For visually impaired people, it can also bring a rare feeling of independence.

The police say that celebrations outside of Madison Square Garden have gotten out of control. Fans and insiders say the chaos has been driven by social media influencers.

In a devastated section of the Coral Triangle in the Pacific Ocean, a conservation group is trying to build an artificial reef.

Mr. Gore is still giving the slide show that “An Inconvenient Truth” was built around, but with changes that reflect a shift in the discussion of climate change.

Forecasters warned that temperatures could climb to the highest level ever recorded in the month of May, reaching 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas of England.

If you happen to be near a body of water (salt, fresh, chlorinated or otherwise), here are the books you’ll need.

A calendar quirk brings more days of lemonade, glamping and difficult-to-open beach umbrellas to 2026.

From the Hamptons to Majorca, here are six getaways that invite you to eat, drink, lounge and enjoy idyllic surroundings.

My advice for how to keep living.

This is a novel form of propaganda.

After Gov. Mikie Sherrill joined protesters at an immigration jail in New Jersey, the standoff grew tense, with ICE agents deploying pepper balls and spray.

The Canadian prime minister, who was the governor of the Bank of England when Britain voted to leave the European Union, said the Alberta referendum on separating from Canada could backfire.

In a forest in Madagascar, the demise of a centuries-old baobab points to the fraying of a fragile ecosystem.

The Italian sports car maker unveiled Luce, its first all-electric model, on Monday amid wider worries about the luxury E.V. market.