Minimalist News

Cocaine Dogs & 'Safe Space Ambassadors': Rand Paul Airs The Festivus (Budget) Grievances Via BattleSwarmblog.com, Happy Festivus to those who celebrate! In keeping with the spirit of the season, Sen. Rand Paul has graced us once again with his traditional airing of grievances. > Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) released a report Tuesday detailing $1.6 trillion in government waste, in keeping with his annual “Festivus” tradition of airing grievances against wasteful federal spending. > > A whopping $1.2 trillion of that wasteful spending is interest payments on the ballooning national debt, according to the report, which contains numerous examples of government programs Paul considers to be useless

Soaring Memory Costs Sink Nintendo Shares; Goldman Says Selloff Is Buy-The-Dip Opportunity Prices for LPDDR5 DRAM (Low-Power Double Data Rate 5 Dynamic Random-Access Memory) tripled this fall, as we noted in October in "Chatbots: Soaking Up the World's Power, Water, and Memory." LPDDR5 is a form of system memory that delivers higher bandwidth and greater power efficiency than prior generations, making it well-suited for laptops, smartphones, and the explosion in demand for AI-enabled devices. > Update: two months later https://t.co/Q4TPIrpzxV pic.twitter.com/O3KTKxZOVE > > — zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 22, 2025 Goldman analyst Maho Kamiya told clients on Tuesday that concerns about rising memory prices and the

Trump Admin Bans Anti-Free Speech EU Globalists From Entering US America finally draws a line in the sand against foreign meddlers... Modernity.news Steve Watson details below that the Trump administration has slapped visa bans on former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and four other ‘anti-disinformation’ activists, accusing them of coercing American social media companies to censor viewpoints they dislike. The move signals a zero-tolerance policy toward extraterritorial censorship, especially after the EU’s recent assaults on Elon Musk’s X. Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid it out clearly: “For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American

Initial Jobless Claims Once Again Show No Signs Of Labor Market Stress The number of Americans filing for first time jobless benefits tumbled to 214k (from 224k) in the week ending Dec 20th. This is the same level of claims seen back in Nov 2021 and shows absolutely no stress in the labor market (like ADP showed a rebound in hiring) while JOLTS, Payrolls, and surveys all suggest pain... Source: Bloomberg Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania are the states with the biggest decline in jobless claims while Rhode Island and Massachusetts saw a small rise in jobless claims... Continuing jobless claims rebounded from the

Futures Flat With Early Close On Deck And there it is: the Santa Rally which we predicted would begin a week ago after Abu Dhabi removed much of the AI capex fears festering the OpenAI ecosystem, the S&P has rocketed to a new record high on Tuesday, with stocks looking set for a quiet start to the abbreviated Christmas Eve session. As of 8:00am ET, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 contracts were little changed following four days of gains in US stocks which signal confidence among investors that 2026 will bring decent corporate earnings growth and easing inflation, not to

Aussie Leaders Crush Online Free Speech To Prop Up Failing Multiculturalism Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, As radical Islamist threats continue to plague Australia, politicians are pivoting to policing speech and tightening gun laws on law-abiding citizens—now openly admitting curbs on free expression are needed to shield their multicultural agenda. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has unveiled a sweeping plan to combat what she calls rising anti-Semitism, but the measures conveniently sidestep the core issue of unchecked radical Islamism behind recent attacks, focusing instead on doxxing anonymous social media users and reviewing gun laws. In a joint news conference, Allan announced legislation that would

Greta Thunberg Arrested Under The UK's Terrorism Act Climate activist Greta Thunberg has once again found herself in police custody after joining a demonstration outside the London offices of Aspen Insurance. This British firm is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense contractor. Authorities arrested Thunberg under the UK Terrorism Act for displaying a sign in support of Palestine Action, a group the British government has classified as a terrorist organization.  The arrest marks the latest chapter in Thunberg's evolution from teenage climate crusader to an adult pro-Palestinian advocate. According to the BBC, Thunberg, “was detained in the City of London after attending the

Governments In The West Turn Their Sights On VPNs As They Escalate Assault On Online Privacy/Anonymity Authored by Nick Corbishley via NakedCapitalism.com, The current Danish government is clearly no friend of online privacy or anonymity. During its rotating six-month presidency of the EU council, which is, thankfully, coming to an end, it tried to push through the European Commission’s proposed Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse — aka, the “Chat Control Law” — despite widespread opposition. As we noted at the time, the ostensible goal of the proposed regulations — curbing the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online — is commendable.

Hunter Biden Denies Laptop's Existence, Decries Open Borders, Claims $15 Million In Debt In Tell-All Interview Hunter Biden sat down with podcaster and former CIA contractor Shawn Ryan for a five-plus-hour interview that aired Monday evening. During the conversation, the former president's son dismissed the so-called "laptop from hell," first reported by the New York Post in October 2020. He also broke with his father by criticizing open-border immigration policies, while complaining that he is swamped with $15 million in debt. 'THERE IS NO LAPTOP' Let's begin with Ryan's conversation with Hunter about the laptop from hell, which he reportedly abandoned at a Delaware

South African Men 'Scammed' Into Fighting For Russia Become Trench Diggers European security authorities have recently been loudly warning of Russian military or intelligence recruitment scams targeting unsuspecting citizens of the EU, by offering promises of jobs or money transfers, during which time the individuals are said to be 'recruited' by Moscow. This is apparently happening on the African continent as well, with a new Reuters investigation documenting that South Africans are being lured into the Russian armed forces under false pretenses. People are allegedly promised high-level jobs and elite training in Russia, only to find out they've unwittingly joined the Russian

Vance Warns European Nukes Could Fall Into Hands Of Islamist Extremists Within 15 Years Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Vice President JD Vance has issued a stark warning that unchecked mass migration from Muslim-majority countries into Europe risks placing nuclear arsenals under the influence of Islamist politicians, posing a severe danger to American interests. In an interview with Unherd, Vance urged that open borders policies are eroding Europe’s cultural foundations, potentially leading to catastrophic national security fallout for the U.S. and its allies. Vance emphasized America’s deep-rooted connections to Europe, stating, “We have much greater cultural, religious, and economic ties with Europe than we

Ukrainian Parliament Belatedly Explores Possible Presidential Vote Under Martial Law Earlier this month Ukraine's President Zelensky said for the first time he's ready and willing to hold national elections, after previously canceling them while citing martial law and the ongoing war by Russia. This week he's actually taken a practical step, telling the Verkhovna Rada - the country's parliament - to establish a formal working group to study whether elections can be held safely and fairly during a state of martial law and wartime.  Head of Zelensky's Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, issued the following statement on Monday: "According to a preliminary

The UK's Ministry Of Don't Ask, Won't Tell Authored by Clive Pinder via DailySceptic.org, IMMIGRATION & SEXUAL VIOLENCE – NOTHING TO SEE HERE! Britain is now the sort of country where you can get an instant answer to ‘What is the carbon footprint of a sausage roll?’. Yet if you ask, ‘Are we importing risk to women along with importing people?’ our nation state stares at its shoes and starts muttering about ‘complexity’. Let us begin with two official lines that any half-awake citizen can see are rising at the same time. Line one, sexual violence. The ONS crime bulletin for the year ending June 2025

Italy Slaps Apple With $116 Million Fine Over Double-Consent Requirement On Apps Italy's version of the Federal Trade Commission fined Apple, Inc. nearly $116 million over what it says were overly-restrictive privacy rules that required third-party app developers to obtain user consent for data collection and tracking when it comes to delivering targeted advertising.  A general view of the first Italian flagship Apple store in Milan on July 26, 2018. Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty Images Italy's watchdog authority - the AGCM, said on Monday that Apple and its subsidiaries abused its "super-dominant" market position by requiring said consumer protections.  The fine stems from a May 2023 joint investigation by the

Tulsi's Assessment That Putin Doesn't Want To Conquer All Of Ukraine Is Absolutely Correct Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack, There are logical military and strategic reasons why he’s not interested in this whatsoever at all... Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard responded to a report from Reuters alleging that “Putin has not abandoned his aims of capturing all of Ukraine and reclaiming parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire”. Tulsi condemned that as a “lie” to undermine Trump’s peace efforts and thus risk a possible hot Russian-US war. She also claimed that “Russia’s battlefield performance indicates it does not currently have the capability to conquer

The Surveillance State Is Making A Naughty List - And You're On It Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, > “He sees you when you’re sleeping. > He knows when you’re awake. > He knows if you’ve been bad or good, > So be good for goodness’ sake.” >    — “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” For generations, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” has been treated as a playful reminder to children to be good because someone, somewhere, is watching. Today, it reads less like a joke and more like a warning. The Surveillance State is making a naughty list, and we’re all

Colorado Faces Federal Funding Cut Over Issuance Of Commercial Driver's Licenses To Illegals The state of Colorado could lose up to $24 million in federal highway funding due to the state’s slow response to violations involving the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) to noncitizens, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Monday. The warning stems from an October federal audit demonstrating that approximately 22 percent of Colorado’s CDLs given to non-citizens, including Mexican nationals, violated federal prohibitions. “Every day that goes by is another day unqualified, unvetted foreign truckers are jeopardizing the safety of you and your family,” Duffy said in a

After Decades Of Dismissal, Chronic Lyme Disease Is Now Getting Recognized Authored by Cara Michelle Miller via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), “Like a human hockey puck”—that’s how Nikki Schultek describes a year spent ricocheting between specialists in Connecticut, each focused on one piece of her deteriorating health—bladder pain, neurological symptoms, joint pain—while missing the whole picture. 24K-Production/Shutterstock “I really don’t fault the clinicians,” she told The Epoch Times. “The training hones them to be experts in a domain.” After her odyssey of misdiagnoses, Schultek finally received a correct diagnosis of Lyme disease. However, her experience navigating a fragmented health care system brought her to

DOJ Sues DC Over 'Unconstitutional' Ban On AR-15, Other Firearms The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing the District of Columbia over its ban on the popular AR-15 and "many other firearms protected under the Second Amendment."  Photo: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images In announcing the lawsuit, the DOJ called DC's move an "unconstitutional incursion into the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens seeking to own protected firearms for lawful purposes."  The lawsuit cites District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022), which protects the right of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms “in common

Amb Huckabee: Iran "Didn't Get The Full Message" Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Monday that Iran "didn’t get the full message" following the US airstrikes that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities in June, comments that came as Israel is pushing for the US to support another attack on the country. "Iran, I don’t know if they ever took [President Trump] seriously until the night that the B-2 bombers went to Fordow," Huckabee said in an interview with Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, referring to one of the underground Iranian nuclear facilities bombed by the US. "I hope they

Segment that Bari Weiss had removed provides in-depth look at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo prison A 60 Minutes episode investigating a brutal prison in El Salvador, which CBS News’s editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, pulled from the air on Sunday, appeared online on Monday after appearing on a Canadian TV app. The segment, which runs for nearly 14 minutes and was viewed by the Guardian, provides an in-depth look at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) prison in El Salvador. It opens with footage of the mega-prison and shows detainees being shackled upon arrival in El Salvador. Continue reading...

Son of jailed former Brazilian president says spokesperson for ‘national symbol’ sandals is ‘openly left wing’ Leaderless since its figurehead was jailed for attempting a coup, Brazil’s far right has found a new nemesis: the flip-flop brand Havaianas, which has been “cancelled” by Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters over a television advert. The controversy stems from the actor Fernanda Torres – the star of I’m Still Here, the Brazilian film that won an Oscar for best international feature – saying in the ad that she hoped audiences would not start 2026 “on the right foot”, but “with both feet”. Continue reading...

Bill C-12 includes many changes around border security along with new ineligibility rules for refugee claimants Canada’s Liberal government is pushing through sweeping new legislation targeting refugees that observers fear will usher in a new era of US-style border policies, fueling xenophobia and the scapegoating of immigrants. Bill C-12, or Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, includes many changes around border security along with new ineligibility rules for refugee claimants. Continue reading...

Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro warns Trump administration may ‘destabilise the entire region’ amid rising tensions While all eyes are on the four-month-long US military campaign against Venezuela, the White House has been quietly striking security agreements with other countries to deploy US troops across Latin America and the Caribbean. As Donald Trump announced a blockade on oil tankers under sanctions and ordered the seizure of vessels amid airstrikes that have killed more than 100 people in the Caribbean and the Pacific, the US secured military deals with Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago in the past week alone. Continue reading...

Trump again called for Venezuela’s president to leave power and said the US would keep or sell the oil it had seized China and Russia have expressed support for Venezuela as it confronts a US blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, while Donald Trump continues to ramp up his pressure campaign on the South American country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Amid reports of slowing activity at Venezuelan ports, the US president again called for Maduro to leave power, and reiterated that the US would keep or sell the oil it had seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Negotiations expected to last four days as each side calls on the other to show sincerity in words and actions Cambodian and Thai officials began four days of talks at a border checkpoint on Wednesday intended to negotiate an end to the deadly clashes between the two countries, Phnom Penh said. The meeting in Thailand’s Chanthaburi province had been at risk after Phnom Penh demanded a switch to a neutral venue. Continue reading...

Video shows Gen Xu Qinxian explaining why he refused to deploy troops to crush 1989 student-led demonstrations Rare footage of a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) general who defied orders to lead his troops into Tiananmen Square and crush the 1989 student protesters has been leaked online, offering a highly unusual glimpse into the upper echelons of the military at one of the most fraught moments in modern Chinese history. General Xu Qinxian’s refusal to take his troops from the PLA’s prestigious 38th Group Army, a unit based on the outskirts of Beijing, into the capital has been the stuff of Tiananmen lore

Church leaders and members detained as government tightens controls on underground Christian gatherings The knocks came at 2am. Hiding out at a friend’s house in a Beijing suburb, Gao Yingjia and his wife, Geng Pengpeng, rushed downstairs to meet the group of plain-clothed men who said they were police officers. Their son, nearly six, was sleeping upstairs, and Gao and Geng wanted to minimise the ruckus. They knew their time was up. Two months later, Gao is in a detention centre in Guangxi province, southern China, charged with “illegal use of information networks”. His arrest was part of the biggest crackdown on

Move made after first phase of anti-subsidy investigation widely seen as retaliation for bloc’s EV tariffs China will impose provisional duties of up to 42.7% on certain dairy products imported from the EU from Tuesday after concluding the first phase of an anti-subsidy investigation widely seen as retaliation for the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs. The tariffs will range from 21.9% to 42.7% – although most companies will pay about 30% – and target products such as milk and cheese, including protected origin brands such as French roquefort and Italian gorgonzola. Continue reading...

MPs vote to investigate crash amid accusations from victims’ relatives of cover-ups and delays South Korea’s parliament has launched an independent inquiry into the deadliest air disaster on its soil amid accusations of investigation delays and cover-ups of last year’s Jeju Air crash. On 29 December 2024 all but two of the 181 people onboard a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 died when it crashed at Muan international airport, 288km south of Seoul, after reporting a bird strike during landing. Continue reading...

Martin Thomas Glynn, 39, was arrested in Yangebup where police allege they found firearms, ammunition and Hamas and Hezbollah flags A man accused of posting an antisemitic social media message in support of the Bondi massacre will spend Christmas behind bars. Martin Thomas Glynn, 39, was arrested in the Perth suburb of Yangebup and charged after a concerned member of the public reported him to police. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed * Retribution fears as Australian Muslims see surge in Islamophobic hate since Bondi terror attack * NSW premier says police commissioner to decide when to use state’s new protest ban powers * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Sabra Lane signs off as host of AM after eight years The ABC journalist Sabra Lane has signed off as the host of flagship radio current affairs program AM after more than eight years in the role. Continue reading...

Introduced in response to the Bondi beach terror attack, the laws give police powers to ban on protests for up to three months after a terrorist event * Ten minutes of terror: how the Bondi mass shooting unfolded in real time – video * Follow the latest live updates The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has said it is up to the state’s police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, when to activate controversial new powers to ban protests – although he made it clear he would like them triggered quickly. The new laws, were assented to on Wednesday after being passed in a

Security stepped up at mosques amid spate of targeted abuse as leaders mourn Bondi victims and say community will not ‘claim victimhood’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Threats and hate speech against Muslim Australians have surged in the wake of the Bondi beach attack, with one mosque receiving dozens of offensive phone calls and reports of people being targeted in the street. As Australia’s Jewish community deals with trauma from the attack that killed 15 people at a Hanukah event, religious leaders say societal and

Home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said the government had ‘no time for hatred when it came to cancelling visas’ * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The federal government has cancelled the visa of a British man charged with displaying prohibited Nazi symbols, after police seized swords bearing “swastika symbology” from his Queensland home last month. Federal police announced earlier this month that a 43-year-old United Kingdom citizen living in Queensland had been charged with three counts of allegedly displaying prohibited Nazi symbols, and one count of

Ukraine accepts principle of demilitarised zone in east, while insisting Russia make similar concessions in pulling back forces Washington and Kyiv have edged closer to a jointly agreed formula to end the war in Ukraine amid continuing uncertainty over Moscow’s response and a number of unresolved issues. Revealing the latest status of the peace talks, brokered by Washington, Ukraine’s president, Volodmyr Zelenskyy, appeared to have secured several important concessions from earlier versions of the now-slimmed-down plan after intense talks with the US negotiating team. Continue reading...

Washington accused of ‘coercion and intimidation’ after five leading figures behind digital safety law campaign targeted European leaders including Emmanuel Macron have accused Washington of “coercion and intimidation”, after the US imposed a visa ban on five prominent European figures who have been at heart of the campaign to introduce laws regulating American tech companies. The visa bans were imposed on Tuesday on Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner and one of the architects of the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), and four anti-disinformation campaigners, including two in Germany and two in the UK. Continue reading...

‘Explosive device’ was triggered when police approached a suspicious person, say officials Two traffic police officers and a third person have been killed in a car explosion in Moscow, Russia’s investigative committee has said. The committee, which investigates major crimes, said in a statement on Wednesday that an explosive device had been triggered when the officers approached a “suspicious person” near their police vehicle on Yeletskaya Street in the south of the capital. Continue reading...

Reports that Stanislav Orlov was killed by Moscow security services highlights careful managing of non-state power Beneath the frescoed ceilings and golden icons of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, hundreds of men packed tightly into the lower hall as priests intoned prayers for the dead. Dressed in dark winter jackets, the mourners on Monday filled one of Russia’s most sacred spaces – a church usually reserved for moments of state ritual and national commemoration. Later, near his grave, the crowd lit bright flares and shouted: “One for all, and all for one.” They had gathered to bid farewell to Stanislav Orlov,

State department accuses group of pressuring tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints through regulation of disinformation The state department has barred five Europeans from the US, accusing them of leading efforts to pressure tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints, in the latest attack on European regulations that target hate speech and misinformation. Secretary of state Marco Rubio said the five people targeted with visa bans – who include former European Commissioner Thierry Breton – have led “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.” Continue reading...

Strikes were latest violation of year-long ceasefire and targeted what Israel said were Hezbollah sites Israel has carried out several airstrikes in southern Lebanon on what it said was Hezbollah infrastructure, as a new year’s deadline for the Lebanese state to disarm the group in the south of the country loomed. Israeli warplanes bombed the valleys of Houmin, Wadi Azza and Nimeiriya in the southern Nabatieh area on Wednesday morning. Residents reported that Israeli drones continued to hover over the area and other areas of south Lebanon and its eastern Bekaa valley after the strikes. Continue reading...

Justice secretary urged to ‘show a bit of humanity’ with protesters severely ill after refusing food for weeks * Who are the Palestine Action hunger strikers and what are the health risks? Families and supporters of Palestine Action-affiliated hunger strikers have pleaded with David Lammy to meet them in an attempt to end the impasse over the protest that has left some of them severely unwell. On Monday, as the protest reached a dangerous stage, lawyers for the hunger strikers sent a legal letter claiming that by refusing a meeting the justice secretary had failed to comply with the Ministry of Justice’s

Decision takes the total number of new settlements to 69 in past few years as construction binge continues Israel has approved a proposal for 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as the government pushes ahead with a construction binge in the territory that poses a further threat to the possibility of a Palestinian state. It brings the total number of new settlements over the past few years to 69, a new record, according to the far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who has pushed a settlement expansion agenda in the West Bank. The latest include two that were previously evacuated

Attack brings total number of Palestinians killed by Israel to 401 since October ceasefire took effect The Israeli military killed six Palestinians, including a baby, who were in a school that sheltered displaced people in Gaza City on Friday, hospital officials have said. The attack brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israel to 401 since the October ceasefire took effect. Israeli troops fired over the ceasefire line which they have withdrawn to, killing the Palestinians and wounding a number more, the Palestinian civil defence said in a statement. It added that it was only able to recover the bodies after coordinating

Monitor says almost one in eight people face food shortages as flooding and cold exacerbate humanitarian emergency The famine in Gaza has ended as a result of increased humanitarian aid deliveries into the territory, the UN said on Friday, though it warned that levels of hunger and the humanitarian situation remained critical. Almost one in eight people in Gaza still faced food shortages, the UN said, adding that persistent hunger had been made worse by winter flooding and the colder weather. Most people in Gaza live in tents or other substandard accommodation as Israel destroyed much of the housing and civilian infrastructure

Group of 120 experts including Joseph Stiglitz urge fresh debt restructuring plan given scale of destruction A group of the world’s top economists – including the Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz – have called for Sri Lanka’s debt payments to be suspended as it tackles the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah. More than 600 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed across the island, in what Sri Lanka’s president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, called the “largest and most challenging natural disaster in our history”. Continue reading...

UN body to study possibility of integrating centuries-old practices into mainstream healthcare From herbalists in Africa gathering plants to use as poultices to acupuncturists in China using needles to cure migraines, or Indian yogis practising meditation, traditional remedies have increasingly being shown to work, and deserve more attention and research, according to a World Health Organization official. A historical lack of evidence, which has seen traditional practices dismissed by many, could change with more investment and the use of modern technology, according to Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, who leads the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. Continue reading...

Researcher in Kerala rainforest sounds alarm after being told frogs had died after being handled by humans A group of endangered “galaxy frogs” are missing, presumed dead, after trespassing photographers reportedly destroyed their microhabitats for photos. Melanobatrachus indicus, each the size of a fingertip, is the only species in its family, and lives under logs in the lush rainforest in Kerala, India. Their miraculous spots do not indicate poison, as people sometimes assume, but are thought to be used as a mode of communication, according to Rajkumar K P, a Zoological Society of London fellow and researcher. Continue reading...

British Indian Ocean Territory commissioner’s appeal against decision last year rejected by judges in London Appeal court judges have backed a decision that dozens of asylum seekers were unlawfully detained on one of the world’s most remote islands, rejecting an appeal on Tuesday by the commissioner for the territory. Exactly a year ago, on 16 December 2024, a judge ruled that Tamils who arrived on the island of Diego Garcia, a UK and US military base, after a shipwreck while they were trying to reach Canada to seek asylum, were unlawfully detained there for three years in conditions described as “hell on

Opposition claims SIR process being used to disenfranchise minority groups to benefit Narendra Modi’s government India’s political opposition has warned that democracy is under threat amid a controversial exercise to revise the voter register across the country, which critics say will disenfranchise minority voters and entrench the power of the ruling Narendra Modi government. An debate erupted in India’s parliament last week over the special intensive revision (SIR) process, which is taking place in nine states and three union territories, in one of the biggest revisions of the country’s electoral roll in decades. Continue reading...

Chi Onwurah speaks out after Marco Rubio accused five Europeans, including two Britons, of ‘seeking to suppress American viewpoints they oppose’ A senior Labour MP has accused the Trump administration of undermining free speech after Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, announced sanctions against two British anti-disinformation campaigners. Chi Onwurah, the chair of parliament’s technology select committee, criticised the US government hours after it announced “visa-related” sanctions against five Europeans, including Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford. Continue reading...

Legislation that seeks to curb harmful content is viewed as a threat to Silicon Valley by many Maga politicians * UK politics live – latest updates For Maga politicians, European tech regulation hits hard in two areas: at the economic interests of Silicon Valley and at their view of free speech. The action against five Europeans who are taking on harmful content and the platforms that host it has had an inevitable feel to it, given the increasingly vociferous reactions to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA). Both pieces of legislation require social media firms

Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford among five Europeans hit with visa bans over claims they wish to ‘suppress American viewpoints they oppose’ The Global Disinformation Index, which is run by Clare Melford, one of the two Britons on the list of five Europeans facing US visa restrictions because of their work to stop online disinformation and hate (see 9.28am), has described the US state department’s decision as “immoral, unlawful and un-American”. In a reponse, a GDI spokesperson said: The visa sanctions … are an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship. The Trump Administration is, once again, using

Boy, 14, arrested on suspicion of harassment and later bailed after death of ‘one of a kind’ Madison Richardson A family has paid tribute to their “one of a kind” 13-year-old daughter after her death a month ago as police said they would continue to investigate the full circumstances. A 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of harassment and later bailed after the death of Madison Richardson. Continue reading...

Christmas Day expected to be dry and bright, with low temperature warnings posing greater risk to vulnerable people Christmas Day will bring bright weather in much of the UK, but a cold health alert has been issued warning of a “greater risk to life of vulnerable people”. While the prospect of a white Christmas is “highly unlikely”, according to forecasters, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow cold health alert from 6pm on Christmas Day to noon on 27 December for south-west England. Continue reading...

More than a year after the storm ripped apart families and farms, growers are bullish about strength of their industry Christmas tree farmers in western North Carolina are still rebuilding from last year’s devastating Hurricane Helene, but growers are optimistic about business and the overall strength of their industry in the region. “There’s still a lot of recovery that needs to happen, but we’re in much better shape than we were this time last year … sales are good,” Kevin Gray, owner of Hickory Creek Farm Christmas Trees in Greensboro, said earlier this month, while the buying season was in full swing. Continue

Water treatment and landfill companies given chance to make case that EPA rules should not apply to them Republicans are attempting to exempt some major polluters from paying for Pfas “forever chemical” cleanup. If successful, it could mark a major setback in US effort to rein in Pfas pollution. The Republican-led House energy and commerce committee recently held a hearing at which it invited representatives from the water treatment and landfill industries, among others, to make the case about why they should be exempted from rules that hold polluters financially accountable for the cleanup of two types of dangerous Pfas. Continue reading...

Critics compare offensive to Iraq war, citing familiar mix of regime-change rhetoric, security pretexts and oil interests Donald Trump’s recent claims that the US should keep Venezuelan oil from seized tankers are part of a broader belief in rightwing “resource imperialism”, experts say. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated pressure on Venezuela, invoking drug-trafficking claims. This month, the US intercepted two tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and began pursuing a third, while intensifying its campaign against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. Continue reading...

Critics say deployment is unwarranted and could cause fear in the city, which has seen a decrease in violent crime rates The Trump administration is deploying 350 national guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the new year, launching another federal deployment in the city at the same time that an immigration crackdown led by border patrol is under way. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Tuesday that guard members, as they have in other deployments in large cities, will be tasked with supporting federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Parnell added that

Trump has shown erratic and bizarre behavior throughout the year, leading to questions about his mental acuity In an address from the White House in December, Donald Trump claimed that, over the past 11 months, his administration had brought “more positive change” than any government in US history. “There has never been anything like it,” Trump added. America is respected again as a country. We were not respected with Biden. They looked at him falling down stairs every day. Every day, the guy’s falling down stairs.” I said: ‘It’s not our president. We can’t have it.’ I’m very careful, you know, when I walk

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the latest version of a plan to end the Russian invasion would freeze the front line, but still pave the way for Ukrainian withdrawals and the creation of demilitarised zones. “We now have draft documents that largely reflect the joint Ukrainian-American position, in some respects the American position,” Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday. “Some issues are still to be resolved.” Still, Zelensky offered an upbeat assessment, saying the...

Following the burglary of a warehouse belonging to Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com on Monday, a judicial source has confirmed an investigation has begun on charges of theft by an organised gang. The incident came in the middle of the Christmas shopping season and took place in the town of Dugny, a northern suburb of Paris that serves as a midpoint between the French capital and its main freight hub, Charles de Gaulle Airport. Suspects neutralised the warehouse’s video surveillance system, with...

Three people were killed by a bomb on Wednesday in Moscow after two police officers approached a ⁠man acting suspiciously near the site where a senior general was killed two days ago by a car bomb that Russia said was planted by Ukrainian intelligence. A string of Russian military figures and high-profile supporters of the war in ‍Ukraine have been assassinated during the nearly four-year-old conflict. Ukrainian military intelligence has said ‍it was responsible for a number of the...

US President Donald Trump’s newly appointed envoy to Greenland said on Tuesday that the Republican administration is looking to begin a conversation with residents of the semi-autonomous Danish territory about the best way forward for the strategically important island. In his first extended comments since being appointed to the role this week, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the Trump administration isn’t going to “go in there trying to conquer anybody” or try to “to take over anybody’s...

UK police said two new charges, of rape and sexual assault, had been issued on Tuesday against British comedian and actor Russell Brand. The media personality turned anti-establishment influencer already pleaded not guilty in May to five charges - one count of rape, one of oral rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault between 1999 and 2005. “These new charges are in relation to two further women and are in addition to the charges issued to Brand in April 2025 which involved four...

The US State Department announced on Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure US tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. The Europeans, characterised by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponised” non-governmental organisations, fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States. “For far too long,...

China accused the United States at the United Nations on Tuesday of violating international law and destabilising the Caribbean region, as Washington defended its seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers and vowed to intensify pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council requested by Venezuela and backed by China and Russia, Beijing said US actions carried out under the banner of counter-narcotics enforcement amounted to unilateral...

The US Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to let Donald Trump send National Guard troops to the Chicago area ‌as the Republican president expands the use of the military for domestic purposes in a growing number of Democratic-led jurisdictions, a policy critics call an effort to punish adversaries and stifle dissent. The justices let stand for ‍now a judge’s order blocking the deployment of hundreds of National Guard troops in a legal challenge brought by Illinois officials and local leaders. The...

A news segment about the Trump administration’s immigration policy that was abruptly pulled from 60 Minutes was mistakenly aired on a television app after the last-minute decision not to air it touched off a public debate about journalistic independence. The segment featured interviews with migrants who were sent to a notorious El Salvador prison called the Terrorism Confinement Centre, or CECOT, under US President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration. The story was pulled from...

In November 2024, US president Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping made their first substantive joint statement about the national security risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, they noted that both the United States and China believe in “the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons”. That may sound like diplomatic low-hanging fruit, since it would be hard to find a reasonable person willing to argue that we should hand control over...

A private jet carrying Libya’s military chief, four other officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after take-off from Turkey’s capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane. The Libyan delegation was in Ankara for high-level defence talks aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries, Turkish officials said. Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the death of General...

US President Donald Trump flew on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet “many more ‌times than previously has been reported,” according to an email from a New York prosecutor that forms part of a new batch of documents about Epstein released Tuesday by the US Justice Department. In an ‍email dated January 7, 2020, the unidentified prosecutor wrote that flight records showed Trump had flown on Epstein’s private jet eight times during the 1990s. Among those were at least four...

Two men were found guilty on Tuesday of plotting to kill hundreds in an Islamic State-inspired gun rampage against the Jewish community in England, a planned attack investigators say shows the resurgent risk posed by the militant group. Police and prosecutors said Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, who went on trial a week after an unrelated deadly attack on a synagogue in the nearby northwest city of Manchester in October, were Islamic extremists who wanted to use automatic firearms to...

London police on Tuesday arrested Swedish activist Greta Thunberg at a demonstration in support of pro-Palestinian hunger strikers, Palestinian campaign groups said. Thunberg’s arrest makes her the highest-profile person to be detained by police since the government banned the Palestine Action group under anti-terror laws. Prisoners for Palestine, which organised the protest, said in a statement that Thunberg was arrested under the UK Terrorism Act. Thunberg, 22, was holding a sign reading: “I...

Thousands of new documents linked to the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made available Tuesday by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), amid mounting criticism over the pace of the publication and heavy redactions. The documents included a 2020 email from a prosecutor indicating US President Donald Trump had travelled aboard Epstein’s private jet “many more times than previously has been reported”. At least 8,000 files – around 30,000 pages – were posted online, including...

As Russia remains bogged down in Ukraine, Belarus – the Kremlin’s only ally in Europe – seeks to improve relations with the United States. Unwilling to remain completely dependent on its giant neighbour, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko seems to be attempting to revive his well-known “multi-vector” foreign policy, balancing between Moscow, the West and China. But will he succeed? As the year nears its end, the 71-year-old Belarusian strongman has made several “humanitarian” gestures...

Russia fired more than 650 drones and three dozen missiles at Ukraine in a large-scale attack that began during the night and stretched into daylight hours Tuesday, officials said. At least three people were killed, including a 4-year-old child. The barrage struck homes and the power grid in 13 regions of Ukraine, causing widespread outages in bitter temperatures, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, a day after he described recent progress on finding a peace deal “quite solid”. The...

A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a young medical patient and seven others crashed on Monday near Galveston, killing at least five people and setting off a search in waters along the Texas coast, officials said. Four of the people on board were Navy officers and four were civilians, including a child, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement. Two of the passengers were from a non-profit that provides aid to Mexican children with severe burns, including transports to a Galveston hospital. US...

US regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. The US Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drug maker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly’s oral drug, orforglipron, was still under review. Both pills are GLP-1 drugs that work like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of...

As 2025 draws to a close, it marks an important milestone in the reconfiguration of the global economic system. Every century is defined not only by changes in technological leadership and shifts in global power, but also by the restructuring of the global financial system. The 20th century was the century of the US dollar, but with the arrival of the 21st century, the contours of the global macroeconomic system have begun to change. A recent International Monetary Fund study, “Playing with...

US President Donald Trump announced the US Navy would build a new “Trump-class” battleship as part of the White House push to modernise a fleet that has been hobbled by years of cost overruns and delays. A poster displayed at the event at Trump’s gilded Mar-a-Lago estate featured an artist’s rendering of a sleek-looking warship dubbed the USS Defiant, cutting through choppy waters with a laser beam shooting from its deck and smoke billowing from a target in the background. Next to the ship was a...

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Monday that financier Mark Wiseman will serve as Canada’s next ambassador to the United States, an appointment that comes at a critical time in relations between the two major trading partners. Wiseman will assume the role on February 15 and will be involved in negotiations with the United States regarding the review of their free trade agreement. “Mark Wiseman brings immense experience, contacts, and deep commitment at this crucial time of...

Protesters in Tirana, Albania hurled petrol bombs at the government building housing ‌Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office on Monday, demanding ‍the government’s resignation after prosecutors indicted the deputy prime minister for alleged corruption. Political tensions in Albania have escalated in recent weeks after the ⁠accusations were made against Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku. Along with several officials and private companies, she has been accused of using state funds to favour some...

Vince Zampella, the acclaimed co-creator of video gaming juggernaut Call of Duty, has died in a car crash. He was 55. The developer and executive died on Sunday while driving his Ferrari on a scenic road north of Los Angeles, according to local broadcaster NBC4. “For unknown reasons, the vehicle veered off the roadway, struck a concrete barrier, and became fully engulfed,” the California Highway Patrol said in a statement, without identifying the two victims in the crash. The CHP added that both...

China accused the United States on Monday of violating international law by seizing oil tankers off Venezuela, as Washington intensified pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government and a senior US official openly suggested that he should be removed from power. At a regular press briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the United States “seriously violated international law” by intercepting foreign vessels and reiterated China’s opposition to unilateral...

The US telecommunications regulator said on Monday that it is adding Shenzhen-based DJI, the world’s largest drone maker, to a list of companies determined to pose “unacceptable risks” to US national security, marking a significant escalation in Washington’s effort to crack down on Chinese drones. Addition to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s “covered list” means that DJI, which accounts for over half of all US commercial drones, will not be able to obtain approvals to sell new drone...

China recently announced it would impose an export licensing regime on around 300 steel products starting January 1. The move, while seemingly technical, sends a clear signal Beijing is attempting to address a key source of trade friction with its emerging market partners. To understand the policy’s intent, it needs to be placed in the broader context of China’s trade position this year. As global trade protectionism intensifies, China’s exports have shown remarkable resilience. Even as...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on ‍Monday he will discuss Iran’s nuclear activities during his visit next week with US President Donald Trump. Speaking at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel was aware Iran had been conducting “exercises” recently, without elaborating. Earlier on Monday, Iranian state media reported Iran had held missile drills in various cities...

A British man was charged on Monday with drugging and raping his ex-wife, and five other men were charged with sexual offences against her over a 13-year period, UK police said. Philip Young, 49, will appear on Tuesday at a court in Swindon, west of London, charged with dozens of offences against his 48-year-old former spouse Joanne Young, who has waived her legal right to anonymity. The alleged offences include multiple counts of rape and administering a substance with intent to stupefy or...

The US Senate’s top Democrat urged his colleagues on Monday to take legal action over the US Justice Department’s incremental and heavily redacted release of records pertaining to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that required disclosure of records by last...

British street artist Banksy unveiled his latest work in central London on Monday amid speculation over an identical second work which has appeared elsewhere in the city. The black and white mural painted on the side of an old building in Bayswater shows two people, probably children, in winter hats and Wellington boots lying down, looking up and pointing to the sky. Banksy, whose real identity has not been revealed, posted an image of the work on his official Instagram account on Monday. A...

Former Israeli premier Naftali Bennett, widely regarded as a leading contender in next year’s legislative elections, called on Monday for the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing his office of “treason” over alleged Qatari funding to his aides. Netanyahu has also announced he intends to seek another term in office ahead of the legislative elections scheduled for October 2026. At the centre of the controversy is the “Qatargate” affair, in which close associates of Netanyahu...

Chris Rea, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for his festive hit “Driving Home for Christmas”, has ‌died aged 74 following a short illness, his family said on ‍Monday. Hailing from Middlesbrough, a port town in northeast England, Rea’s song “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)“ from his debut studio album in 1978 was his biggest chart hit, reaching the US Billboard Hot 100 ⁠and earning him a Grammy nomination. He released 25 studio albums and sold more than 40 million records...

Oracle tech tycoon Larry Ellison is offering a US$40.4 billion personal guarantee to back Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery, deepening a bidding war with Netflix, a statement said on Monday. The amended proposal, worth a total US$108 billion from the company run by Ellison’s son David, addresses concerns raised by Warner Bros’ board, which saw the Paramount bid as too risky and asked shareholders to accept a competing buyout offer from Netflix. Netflix shocked the industry on...

The Nigerian government on Monday said its recent diplomatic dust-up with the United States, in which President Donald Trump threatened military intervention over the alleged killing of Christians, “has been largely resolved”. Trump unexpectedly tore into the west African nation in October and November, saying that Christians there faced an “existential threat” that amounted to “genocide” amid Nigeria’s myriad armed conflicts. The diplomatic offensive was welcomed by some but interpreted by...

The Trump administration has tripled its stipend offer to migrants who choose to voluntarily “self-deport” ‌from the United States to US$3,000, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ‍said on Monday. The stipend would be given to people in the US illegally who sign up to leave the country by the end of the ⁠year, DHS said. The offer would include a free flight back to their home countries, it said. “Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we...

CBS News pulled a 60 Minutes report on El Salvador’s CECOT prison just hours before its ‍scheduled Sunday broadcast, saying it would air at a future time. “The broadcast line-up for tonight’s edition of 60 Minutes has been updated,” the programme posted on social media. “Our report ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast,” the programme posted on social media three hours before it was slated to air. A CBS News spokesperson said in ⁠an email that the segment “needed additional reporting”....

The British university system is facing a steep decline, a crisis in the making for over a decade. In the last year, universities have announced over 12,000 job cuts. A report by the Office for Students warns that 40 per cent of England’s universities are facing budget deficits this year, with courses and departments at risk of closure. A great deal of uncertainty has now gripped the university sector. Several factors account for this degradation. Historically, the university sector was funded...

The Danish foreign minister said on Monday he will summon the US ambassador, insisting that everyone – including the United States – must respect “the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark” after US President Donald Trump announced the appointment of Louisiana’s governor as the US ‌special envoy to Greenland. During his presidential transition and early second term, Trump repeatedly pushed for US control over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, and has not ruled out using...

China’s exports of permanent magnets to the European Union saw a sharp rebound in November, as Beijing confirmed last week it has begun granting general licences with lengthier terms for overseas shipments of the materials, which contain valuable rare earth elements and are essential components in numerous hi-tech products. Last month’s total export volume of the magnets to the EU increased 59.5 per cent year on year to 2,568.8 tonnes, according to figures released on Saturday by China’s General...

A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow on Monday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head of the Russian General Staff’s training department, was killed when the bomb, which had been placed under his parked car, detonated in a residential quarter of southern Moscow. “Investigators are...

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. Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass 2. China warns India: ‘don’t even think about stealing our sixth Dalai Lama’ 3. Hong Kong district officer apologises over outfit choice at firefighter’s funeral 4. Thailand’s tourism crown slips as troubles in paradise mount 5....

US and Ukrainian envoys issued a joint statement on Sunday that hailed “productive and constructive” talks in Miami but did not announce any apparent breakthrough in efforts to end the war with Russia. Top representatives from both Ukraine and Russia, as well as Kyiv’s European allies, have been in southern Florida over the past several days for a series of separate talks hosted by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The meetings were the latest in a weeks-long diplomatic...

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Sunday for Jews in Western countries to move to Israel to escape rising antisemitism, one week after 15 were shot dead at a Jewish event in Sydney. “Jews have the right to live in safety everywhere. But we see and fully understand what is happening, and we have a certain historical experience. “Today, Jews are being hunted across the world,” Saar said at a public candle lighting marking the last day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. “Today I call...

Thousands of people cheered and danced around Stonehenge as the sun rose over the prehistoric stone circle on Sunday, the winter solstice. The crowds, many dressed as druids and pagans, had gathered before dawn, waiting patiently in the dark, cold field in Wiltshire, southwest England. Some sang and beat drums while others took time to reflect among the huge stone pillars. Many make the pilgrimage to the stone circle every summer and winter and consider it a spiritual experience. The ancient...

President Trump ordered state-based troops to Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles; Washington; and Chicago over the objections of state and local officials.

The new documents — nearly 30,000 in all — contain hundreds of references to President Trump and include different versions of Jeffrey Epstein’s will.

The ease of recovering information that was not properly redacted digitally suggests that at least some of the documents released by the Justice Department were hastily censored.

Their silence contrasted with the uproar made over the weekend when the Justice Department’s first release focused on former President Bill Clinton.

The U.S.S. Ford has been deployed for six months, now in the Caribbean as part of President Trump’s pressure campaign on Venezuela. Maintenance woes and strains on sailors will likely mount.

Oil exports, the country’s financial lifeblood, have plummeted after the United States took action against three ships that have been used to carry its crude.

Over the past week, C-17 heavy-lift cargo planes, which usually transport troops and equipment, flew to Puerto Rico at least 16 times, according to flight tracking data reviewed by The New York Times.

Larry and David Ellison didn’t always have a close relationship. Now they’re one of the most intriguing partnerships in business.

At the last minute, CBS News held a segment about Venezuelan men who were deported by the Trump administration to a prison in El Salvador. It surfaced online anyway.

Hacked communications and a social media analysis reveal how former regime leaders are trying to arm fighters and exert influence as far away as Washington.

A Times investigation into the whereabouts of top Syrian officials who fled after the regime’s fall shows many remain free — shielded by wealth and accommodating host nations.

Since the cease-fire took effect, Israel says it has targeted only militants. But death can come for Gazans while on a family outing or sleeping in a tent.

One friend said Claudio Neves Valente appeared to live a detached life, upset that “he couldn’t be the genius he thought he should be.”

After Mayor Andrew Ginther of Columbus said that its policy prohibited local cooperation on immigration enforcement, Elon Musk called him a “traitor.”

After nearly two weeks in detention, José Gonzalez, the popular host of an upscale restaurant, returns home.

Representative LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, called on immigration officials to close Delaney Hall in Newark, calling detainees’ food and medical care inadequate.

Buyout firms have struggled to sell companies they own and have instead found a workaround to get cash back to clients: Selling the companies to themselves.

The Port Authority is preparing to increase the charge for drivers to pick up and drop off passengers at the airports.

Zohran Mamdani chose Lillian Bonsignore to be fire commissioner, weeks after the former commissioner, Robert S. Tucker, resigned, citing Mr. Mamdani’s views on Israel.

A “Marty Supreme” showing took a political turn when John Catsimatidis, who has a small role in the movie, invited both Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Republican rival, Bruce Blakeman.

A resident and an employee were killed after two explosions at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center resulted in a large fire and partial collapse of the building, officials said.

With a new batch of episodes arriving on Christmas Day, Matt and Ross Duffer discuss the sometimes obscure movie and video game references in the final season so far.

The 2025 revolt against process signaled the final collapse of a powerful idea that once promised to hold the country together.

After winning an Emmy, Stephen Colbert spoke about creating a “show about love.” In its homestretch, “The Late Show” is fulfilling that promise.

Today we take a look at President Trump’s interior design.

The country’s production of nuclear warheads has slowed, but its missiles may be poised to strike back fast in case of an attack, an annual assessment found.

Heavy rain, strong winds, flooding and debris flow could affect Los Angeles County and the surrounding areas on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The magnetic compass is the last unknown sense in migrating animals. For some scientists, the monarch butterfly is leading the way.

While the new restrictions on firearms have broad support, new police powers to crack down on some protests were criticized as limits on civil liberties.