Minimalist News

'Money Laundering'? Newsom Used Donations To Inflate Book Sales Authored by Luis Cornelio via HeadlineUSA, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies spent weeks boasting that his book, Young Man in a Hurry, became a “best-seller” within hours of its March release. However, a new report found those sales were largely driven by Newsom’s own super PAC using donor funds. FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File) The book, published March 10 and centered on Newsom’s upbringing in California, has reportedly sold 97,400 copies since its release. Of those,

Ilhan Omar: Hey, Um, As It Turns Out, I'm Not Actually A Multimillionaire After All Authored by Robert Spencer via PJMedia.com, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Mogadishu) has for some time now been the poster child not only for the legion of ungrateful, America-hating migrants, but for members of the House of Representatives who have become multimillionaires on a $174,000 annual salary.  The latter in particular has brought her unwelcome scrutiny: In February, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced that he was opening an investigation after two companies Omar’s husband owns jumped in value from $51,000 to $30 million in value in a single

"Mamdani Mart" Exposes The Inefficiency Of Socialism In One Chart Andreessen Horowitz's a16z New Media published the most popular charts of the week on financial markets, but the most revealing one came at the end of the note: a comparison suggesting that New York City's first grocery store, which will soon be run by unhinged socialists, will be structurally less efficient than private-sector supermarkets.  But who cares when it's not taxpayer monies? According to the New York Post, Mayor Zohran Mamdani's proposed city-owned grocery store in East Harlem would require roughly $30 million in taxpayer funding. At just 9,000 square feet, the project implies

Trump Says First Releases Of UFO Documents Will Begin 'Very, Very Soon' Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), President Donald Trump announced April 17 that he expects his administration to begin releasing documents “very soon” related to extraterrestrial life and unexplained phenomena. President Donald Trump walks toward reporters before answering questions prior to boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on April 10, 2026. Win McNamee/Getty Images “As you remember, I recently directed the Secretary of War … to begin releasing government files relating to UFOs and unexplained aerial phenomena,” Trump told an audience in Phoenix, Arizona. “I’m

Senate Bill Wants Commercial Reactors On Federal Land Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Deployment Act (NEIDA) on April 14th, presenting what could be one of the most significant regulatory shifts for U.S. nuclear power in decades.  The legislation would expand the DOE’s authority to license and regulate commercial reactors and fuel-cycle facilities when sited on federal land or built for federal purposes, including electricity supplied to federal power marketing agencies.  > The United States should lead the nuclear energy renaissance, not watch it from the sidelines. > > My Nuclear Energy Innovation and Deployment Act

White House Working With FBI To Probe Cases Of Missing Scientists Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times, The Trump administration confirmed on April 17 that it was working with the FBI to investigate the mysterious deaths and disappearances of ten U.S. scientists and government employees who had access to nuclear or aerospace material. “In light of the recent and legitimate questions about these troubling cases, and President [Donald] Trump’s commitment to the truth, the White House is actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI to holistically review all of the cases together and identify any potential commonalities that may

US Treasury Extends Russian Crude Waiver Amid Supply Disruptions Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times, The Trump administration renewed a key sanctions waiver on April 17, allowing countries to purchase Russian oil stranded at sea, responding to urgent pressure from Asian nations battered by skyrocketing energy costs. The move also reverses a position Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had stated two days earlier. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 134B on Friday, authorizing transactions tied to Russian crude and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of that date.  The waiver runs through May 16 and replaces a previous license

Dramatic Audio: Indian Tanker Was Given Permission Before Being Fired On By IRGC, Delhi Summons Ambassador India has summoned the Iranian ambassador in New Delhi in a rare moment of inter-BRICS discord after its tanker was attacked earlier Saturday while trying to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed once again. "During the meeting, the Foreign Secretary conveyed India's deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz," the statement from India said. The full statement, which is still somewhat tame in its rhetoric in light of the fact that what the Indian vessel

An Overheating Feedback Loop Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance Congratulations, you made it through the panic…and now the market has decided none of it ever mattered and things are 5% better than they’ve ever been in history. Prices have not only recovered from the Iran war scare, they’ve pushed comfortably beyond where they were before it even started. The NASDAQ is logging a batshit insane 13-day winning streak, marking its longest consecutive green run since July 2009. That’s impressive, if your definition of impressive includes a complete disregard for unresolved risk and/or any type of valuation or fundamentals. Because despite what price action is implying, nothing

American Airlines Shuts Down United Merger Talk As Wells Fargo Signals Another Possible Tie-Up Certainly this past week saw several key stories in the aviation world. First came the story that Spirit Airlines could be liquidated at any moment, only to be followed later in the week by reports that the budget carrier had asked the Trump administration for an emergency bailout. Then, of course, came the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz late in the week, which sent jet fuel prices in New York sharply lower and airline stocks soaring... It now appears that American Airlines has rejected United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby's

The Universe Is Expanding 'Too Fast' And Nothing We Know Can Explain It Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, New ultra-precise measurements have confirmed the cosmos is expanding faster than models based on the early universe predict, while a separate study has dramatically shortened estimates of how long the universe itself will last. Astronomers have long observed a mismatch in the universe’s expansion rate depending on how it is measured. Local observations of nearby galaxies point to a faster rate, while data from the early universe, such as the cosmic microwave background, suggest a slower pace. This longstanding puzzle is known as the Hubble tension. A

US Prepares To Board Iran-Linked Ships Globally Following Iranian Gunboat Attack On Tanker In Hormuz SUMMARY:  * US officials: War may resume if no peace talks breakthrough: Axios * Two Iranian gunboats Open Fire on a tanker near Oman; 2nd tanker hit by 'unknown projectile'. * India summons Iranian ambassador to condemn incident * Pentagon prepared to expand anti-vessel action, signals prepared to board Iran-linked ships globally * Friday: Hormuz Open; Saturday: Hormuz Closed  * Trump: Iran wanted to close up Strait again, can't blackmail us Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by end of April? Yes 28% · No 72% View full

NY State Loses $73 Million In Federal Highway Funding Over Failed CDL Revocations Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness, Over $73 million in federal highway funds are being withheld from New York state after an audit found more than half the state’s commercial drivers licenses (CDL) were issued to foreigners illegally. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced yesterday that the state failed to revoke “illegally issued nondomiciled commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses.” According to a December press release from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) nationwide audit of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) uncovered a shocking 53 percent failure rate in

Former AI SPAC Executives Indicted For Fabricating "Virtually All" Revenue And Customers What looked like a booming AI company was, prosecutors say, an audacious house of cards built on deception. iLearningEngines (former stock symbol AILE) executives allegedly fabricated virtually every pillar of their business—customers, revenues, and contracts—to cash in on the AI hype and dupe both everyday investors and major institutions. The scheme involved creating entire fake client ecosystems: shell companies with polished websites, insiders or relatives posing as corporate executives, and bogus multimillion-dollar agreements designed to withstand scrutiny, according to a DOJ press release. As U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella put it, the company’s

The Architecture Of Abundance: How Bitcoin Reveals The Truth Of Time And Technology Authored by Sylvain Saurel via 'In Bitcoin We Trust' Substack, How escaping the fiat illusion and holding the world's hardest money turns the relentless march of technology into unprecedented purchasing power. Look closely at the image below: On the left, two standard Papa John’s pizzas, purchased in 2010 for the seemingly arbitrary sum of 10,000 Bitcoin. On the right, a colossal supertanker cutting through the ocean, a leviathan of modern engineering carrying millions of barrels of crude oil - the literal lifeblood of the global industrial economy. Today, a mere 26 Bitcoin

"Looking For Lifeline": Spirit Airlines Asks Trump Admin For Emergency Bailout Bankrupt Spirit Airlines appears to be flying on fumes, with a late Friday report indicating the budget carrier has become so desperate for cash that it has approached the Trump administration for an emergency bailout, even as creditors mull pulling the plug at any moment. Aviation news website The Air Current reports that Spirit has asked the Trump administration for "hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency funding" to offset the surge in jet fuel costs that have pushed the carrier even closer to "possible liquidation." The report was based on

The Democrats' National Popular Vote Push Is About Fear, Not Fairness Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact into law this week, adding her state's 13 electoral votes to a growing coalition that wants to effectively render the Electoral College a ceremonial relic. The move is strategically transparent, and it tells you almost everything you need to know about the Democratic Party's relationship with electoral math right now. The compact now covers 18 states and the District of Columbia, totaling 222 electoral votes - 82% of the 270-vote threshold required to trigger the agreement. When that threshold is

Here's What Happened Inside Gas Stations When Gas Hit $4 In Goldman's first-quarter "Nicotine Nuggets" survey of retailers and wholesalers covering roughly 44,000 U.S. stores, or about 28% of all tobacco outlets nationwide, analysts observed that once the national average for regular 87-octane gasoline hit the politically sensitive $4-a-gallon level, the squeeze on consumers began to emerge. One of the clearest signs of stress was a downshift in purchases as budget-conscious consumers started pulling back on tobacco purchases or, in some cases, trading down.  "The outlook remains cautious but retailers & wholesalers generally see the environment as stable despite ongoing concerns on

Spain Erupts: Patriots Attacked By Socialist Mob Over Mass Illegal Migrant Amnesty Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, Violence broke out in the Spanish city of Granada when roughly 40 left-wing Antifa extremists tried to shut down a pre-election rally held by the nationalist party Vox in Plaza de las Pasiegas. Police had to form a cordon between the rival groups as fights broke out, delaying the event by around 30 minutes. Vox leader Santiago Abascal refused to start the rally until the disruptors were removed. He stepped down from the platform, walked toward the rival group with supporters, and crowds chanted “Out, out!” as

Ukraine Urges Israel To Act Against Russian Ship Carrying 'Stolen' Grain To Haifa Port Ukraine is pushing Israel to seize a grain shipment it says was looted from Russian-occupied territory as the war persists in the east. At the moment it does not appear that Israel complied with any interdict of the vessel, also as reports say the cargo is already offloaded and gone. via MarineTraffic Ukraine's government flagged the Russian vessel ABINSK, docking at Haifa, as part of Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet, alleging that it is tied to operations used to "illegally export, transport, and sell stolen Ukrainian grain" and bankroll Moscow's war

Exiled leader to revive push for change amid US backing of Delcy Rodríguez and delays to democratic transition Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, will seek to revive her push for political change with a rally in Madrid on Saturday, having found herself sidelined by Donald Trump after the abduction of the president Nicolás Maduro. “Venezuela will be free,” the Nobel peace prize winner insisted in an interview on the eve of this weekend’s demonstration in the Puerta del Sol square, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of protesters. Continue reading...

Separately, Spirit Airlines reportedly seeks emergency US government funds as Iran war keeps aviation fuel costs high * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Air Canada has announced a temporary suspension of flights from Toronto and Montreal to New York’s John F Kennedy airport, citing rising fuel prices. The move comes amid growing concerns that airlines worldwide may scale back services as aviation fuel costs climb in the wake of the US and Israel’s ongoing war with Iran, which entered a fragile ceasefire earlier in April. Although Iran announced on Friday that the

Pedro Piscal pisco is latest Chilean brand to resemble a Hollywood name – and others have fought off the lawsuits The actor Pedro Pascal is waging a legal battle against a Chilean pisco merchant who has chosen a cheeky name for his brand of the country’s national spirit: Pedro Piscal. David Herrera registered the brand name with a Chilean commercial regulator in 2023 and began selling his pisco in off-licences and restaurants. Continue reading...

Wednesday’s strike brings the total of those killed in US military strikes on alleged drug boats to at least 177 Three people were killed in a US strike on another alleged drug-trafficking boat, the fifth such deadly attack in as many days, military officials have announced. US southern command said it conducted “a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations” in the eastern Pacific, without naming the alleged group, in an X post. Continue reading...

Sheinbaum has recently been taking a firmer stance with the US, defying pressures where other countries have caved The Mexican government has voiced concern about the deaths of its citizens in US custody, with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum also pushing back against the Trump administration’s decision to impose an energy blockade on Cuba. The progressive Mexican leader has walked a careful line with Trump for more than a year, addressing provocations with a measured tone and meeting US requests to crack down on cartels more so than her predecessors, in an effort to offset threats of tariffs and US military action against

* Winning robot records faster time than Jacob Kiplimo’s world record * More than 100 robots run in parallel tracks to avoid collisions with humans Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots showed off their fast-improving athleticism as they whizzed past human runners in a half-marathon race in Beijing on Sunday, having lagged far behind a year earlier. The race’s inaugural edition last year was riddled with mishaps, as many robots struggled to get off the starting line, and most were unable to finish. Continue reading...

Growing numbers in the capital Honiara are playing the street card game Pass for a chance of a big payout, while risking big losses As the school day ends in Honiara, *Irene, a 43-year-old teacher in a floral dress with a yellow daisy in her bun, steps on to a minibus. After 10 minutes, Irene gets off the bus, walks down an alley, and enters a damp, smoky shelter. Plastic tables fill the space and playing cards are scattered on the floor. Irene has stopped by a hidden gambling table in a western suburb of Honiara to play Pass, a street card

Nine-day search for two-year-old Neukgu gripped nation and sparked safety concerns for animal and public The internet in South Korea erupted in celebration as a two-year-old wolf that escaped from a zoo was captured safely after a nine-day search that had gripped the nation and made the animal a national celebrity. The male wolf, named Neukgu, burrowed out of his enclosure at the O-World zoo in Daejeon on 8 April. Animal rights activists questioned whether the wolf could survive outside the zoo and also worried he might be killed during capture, something that happened to a puma that escaped from the same

Elderly people take advantage of courses on how to navigate mobile devices and avoid ‘analogue isolation’ It’s not only young people whose gaze is fixed on tiny screens. But for these users in Tokyo, clicking and scrolling is anything but second nature. “I can’t deal with all of the apps that jump out at me,” says one. “How do I know if I’ve definitely ended a call?” asks another. Continue reading...

Energy crisis unfolding in Middle East has added political urgency, and more funding, to transform South Korea’s solar industry In Guyang-ri, a farming village of 70 households about 90 minutes south-east of Seoul, people gather for communal free lunches six days a week. The meals are funded by the village’s one-megawatt solar installation, which generates roughly 10m won ($6,800) in net profit each month. “Residents eat lunch together every day, so we see each other’s faces, talk together,” says Jeon Joo-young, the village chief. “Bonds and solidarity between residents become much stronger. Life becomes more enjoyable.” Continue reading...

This blog is now closed * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Defence Minister Richard Marles says the success of Australia’s alliance with the United States should not be measured against a single president or federal government in Canberra, insisting the longstanding ties will endure. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Australia for not assisting with the war in Iran, while federal Labor, including Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, say the White House has not made any specific request for assistance. Continue reading...

The Albanese government overhauled policy and promised significant pollution cuts – but carbon offsets are still being used as an excuse * Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Is this how a national scheme to cut climate pollution is supposed to work? Australian government data released this week shows emissions from Australian coalmines increased last financial year. About 80% of the coalmines pumped more into the atmosphere than their government-imposed limit. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Coal Australia denies its donations to the ‘community-driven association’ amount to astroturfing, but critics accuse the group of misleading the public * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An “independent, community-driven association” that ran anti-Labor adverts during the last federal election was entirely funded by a coal industry lobby group, the Guardian can reveal. Energy for Australians accepted more than $1m from Coal Australia – a group advocating for coal whose members include major miners Yancoal, Peabody, New Hope and Whitehaven. Continue reading...

Another lawyer says ruling ‘puts brakes on the Minns government’s ability to use executive power to minimise people’s rights to protest’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Minns government should think twice before imposing an outright ban on the phrase “globalise the intifada” in the wake of a landmark finding that could limit attempts to control speech and protests, a leading constitutional expert has said. New South Wales’ highest court ruled in favour of the Palestine Action Group and Blak Caucus on Thursday, striking down an anti-protest law introduced after the Bondi beach terror attack

With a reshuffled cabinet, the premier is hoping to quell leadership rumblings as her party seeks an unprecedented fourth term * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast As the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, stood alongside the fresh faces in her reshuffled cabinet on Wednesday, she attempted to send her increasingly jaded electorate a blunt message: despite its 12 years in power, her government is – apparently – new. In her opening four-minute preamble to reporters, Allan - whose Labor government will in November seek an unprecedented fourth term - repeated the word 17 times. In one sentence

The gunman, who killed six people in Kyiv before police shot him dead, was a Ukrainian citizen born in Moscow Ukrainian investigators are examining whether a terrorist attack in Kyiv was directed by Moscow after a man shot dead six people on Saturday before he was killed by police. The gunman, 58, opened fire on passersby before barricading himself in a supermarket and taking hostages. Detectives sealed off the area in the Holosiivskyi district and tried to negotiate with him. He refused and was killed after a 40-minute standoff. Continue reading...

Rising sea levels and ecological damage caused by heavy use of flood defence system force city authorities to consider next move The Arsenale, the colossal shipyard that was the engine of the Venetian Republic’s domination for seven centuries, remains the nucleus of the city’s control over the water. Its northern section is made up of cavernous brick warehouses called capannoni, which in the 16th century could produce a warship a day through a rigorously ordered assembly line. Now, one of them houses the operations centre of the Mose, the sprawling flood defence system that protects the city. Continue reading...

Péter Magyar hopes building stronger relations with Poland will help restore ties with bloc after Orbán’s rule The Hungarian election winner, Péter Magyar, is eyeing a special relationship with Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk to draw on the neighbouring country’s experience of repairing relations with the EU after years of illiberal rule. Since 1989, the two countries have seemingly shared parallels in their paths. Now the two centre-right, pro-European leaders preside over the tricky task of restoring the rule of law and improving state institutions after years of democratic backsliding and clashes with the EU. Continue reading...

Disgraced financier’s links to politicians and civil servants as far back as 30 years ago to be examined The Epstein files have shaken Norway’s faith in democracy, the head of the Norwegian parliament’s oversight committee has said, as a sprawling investigation into the connections between its foreign office and the late sex offender gets under way. An independent commission to look into information brought to light by the Jeffrey Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice was launched on Wednesday after the Norwegian parliament voted unanimously last month for it to be set up. Continue reading...

Silvia Salis, the leftwing mayor of Genoa and former Olympian, is described as ‘a breath of fresh air’ and potential unifier It has been a turbulent month in Italian politics. A failed referendum on a judicial overhaul pierced prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s aura of invincibility, triggering government resignations and leaving her scrambling to restore credibility. At the same time, her once special relationship with Donald Trump has frayed after the US president publicly scolded her this week for criticising his broadside against Pope Leo and for not supporting the US-Israeli war on Iran. Continue reading...

IRGC reportedly fires on tanker as it tries to pass through strait during brief window when shipping lane had reopened * Analysis: Trump and Tehran’s series of mismanaged posts stall progress towards peace Iranian officials say they have reversed the reopening of the strait of Hormuz and reimposed restrictions on the vital shipping lane after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iranian ports. A UK maritime agency reported that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ships had fired at a tanker as it attempted to pass through the strait on Saturday. Reuters reported an Indian-flagged vessel carrying crude oil

This blog is now closed. Our latest main story on the Middle East crisis is here. Separate to the Pakistani army chief’s trip to Iran (see post at 07:53), the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and foreign minister Ishaq Dar also concluded a trip to the Middle East after visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey for talks. “We have just concluded the last leg of our engagements following productive and fruitful visits … where we held meaningful bilateral discussions aimed at strengthening cooperation across key areas,” Dar said on X. Continue reading...

US president’s desperation for war to end has seen him trying to speed through a process he does not fully control A set of mismanaged and premature media announcements by Donald Trump and Tehran has led to the collapse of progress towards a peace settlement between Iran and the US. The recent missteps ended with Iran saying it would reinstate a complete block on the movement of commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz and that it would not allow any of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be exported out of the country. Continue reading...

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days Continue reading...

Iran says strait could close again if US blockade continues, but Trump says it will remain in place until ‘transaction’ with Tehran is complete * Middle East crisis live: latest news updates Iran’s foreign minister has said that the strait of Hormuz is now fully open to commercial vessels, reinforcing hopes for an eventual end to the war in the Middle East and sending oil prices tumbling despite analysts’ warnings that there will be no immediate widespread resumption of passage through the vital waterway. In a barrage of social media posts, Donald Trump claimed on Friday that Iran had agreed never to

Opposition accuses Narendra Modi government of using quotas as cover for redrawing electoral map The Indian government has failed to pass a bill to increase female representation in parliament after being accused of using the plan as a guise to redraw the country’s electoral map. It was the first time in 12 years in power that a constitutional amendment proposed by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government was not passed by parliament. Continue reading...

Trawler set off from Bangladesh and reportedly capsized due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding About 250 people are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, according to the UN’s refugee and migration agencies. The agencies said the trawler carrying more than 250 men, women and children reportedly sank due to harsh weather and overcrowding. It had departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was bound for Malaysia. Continue reading...

Two-time Grammy nominee was one of Bollywood’s most versatile and celebrated voices The Indian singer Asha Bhosle, whose voice defined Bollywood cinema and whose career spanned almost eight decades, has died in Mumbai at the age of 92. Bhosle, who recorded more than 12,000 songs, became her country’s pre-eminent exponent of playback singing – recording tracks that were then lip-synced on film by actors. She also boldly embraced cabaret and western-influenced melodies to forge a distinctive musical identity. Continue reading...

In Pakistan’s capital, the army has been deployed, a public holiday has been declared and the streets are eerily empty * Middle East crisis – live updates The streets of Islamabad were on strict lockdown as Pakistan’s capital prepared to play host to historic negotiations between Iran and the US that have dangled the promise of an end to war that has devastated the Middle East. Even as the US-Iran ceasefire looked increasingly precarious, amid Israel’s continued bombardment of Lebanon and disputes over the terms of the talks, Pakistani officials insisted that the make-or-break peace negotiations would be going ahead over the

Israeli PM says he will continue to attack Hezbollah ‘with full force’ after attacks that killed more than 300 people * Middle East crisis – live updates Benjamin Netanyahu has said there is “no ceasefire in Lebanon” and Israel would continue “to strike Hezbollah with full force” as the country’s military launched fresh strikes. The Israeli prime minister’s remarks and latest attacks on what the IDF called “Hezbollah launch sites” came shortly after Donald Trump said he had asked Netanyahu to be more “low-key” in Lebanon. Later on Friday, a US state department official said Israel and Lebanon will hold talks in Washington

The author, who will interview members of royal family for book, says being chosen for role is a ‘profound honour’ Anna Keay, a historian whose most celebrated book is about Britain’s republican period, has been confirmed as Queen Elizabeth II’s official biographer. Keay will interview members of the royal family and the late queen’s friends and servants. She will also have access to the monarch’s personal and official papers held in the royal archives. Continue reading...

Officers responded after group claimed to have targeted nearby Israeli embassy with ‘dangerous substances’ Kensington Gardens in London has reopened after the discovery of several suspicious items including two jars containing a powdered substance that was deemed to be non-hazardous, police said. Officers in protective clothing responded to an incident near the Israeli embassy on Friday after counter-terrorism police investigated a video shared online in which a group claimed to have targeted the embassy with drones carrying “dangerous substances”. Continue reading...

Deputy prime minister says it is ‘inexplicable’ top civil servant kept Downing Street in dark Keir Starmer would have blocked Peter Mandelson from serving as the UK’s ambassador to Washington had he known he failed security vetting, David Lammy has said, as he attempted to shore up the prime minister amid damaging fallout from the row. In his first public comments on the vetting affair, Lammy said it was “inexplicable” that Oliver Robbins, the former top civil servant who was forced out of the Foreign Office this week, had opted to leave Downing Street in the dark over the outcome. Continue reading...

Two men died at the scene after head-on motorway collision near Kincross, Police Scotland say Two drivers have died in a motorway crash in Scotland involving a car apparently travelling in the wrong direction on the carriageway, police have said. The two men died at the scene of the collision on the M90 near Kinross, a town in Perth and Kinross, at 10.30pm on Friday. Continue reading...

Labour calls on Nigel Farage to sack candidates and says his party’s checks ‘clearly not fit for purpose’ Reform UK’s checks on candidates are “clearly not fit for purpose”, Labour has said after two more candidates in May’s local elections were accused of making offensive or potentially racist social media posts. Meanwhile, it emerged that Restore Britain, the party set up by the MP Rupert Lowe after he left Reform, appeared to have accepted a donation from someone who has called publicly on social media for “another Hitler” to come to power. Continue reading...

Passengers on flight from Chicago to New York exited via slides as FBI, bomb technicians and K-9 unit responded * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox A United Airlines flight bound for New York City was forced to land and evacuate in Pittsburgh on Saturday morning after crew members reported a “possible security issue”, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said. United flight 2092 took off from Chicago O’Hare airport and had been en route to LaGuardia airport in New York. The plane diverted to Pittsburgh international airport as a result of

Soldiers were participating in ‘land navigation training’ when bear injured them in a ‘defensive attack’ Two US army soldiers have been injured after encountering a brown bear in a mountainous training area in Anchorage, Alaska, the military said on Friday. The incident happened on Thursday as the soldiers were participating in a “land navigation training event” in Arctic valley, part of the joint base Elmendorf-Richardson’s training area. Continue reading...

State investigated claims of bear attacks on cars, unconvincingly backed up by video of person in bear suit When it comes to the California department of insurance, don’t poke the bear. That is the lesson three individuals in Los Angeles learned recently when they were sentenced to jail time for an insurance fraud scheme in which they staged attacks on high-end vehicles by having a person dress up in a bear costume – then pretending that person was an actual bear. Continue reading...

Elisabeth Zetland, a senior researcher at MyHeritage, found that the actual Luigi had immigrated to US from Italy Gaming enthusiasts have known for years that Nintendo named its mustachioed, superhero plumber after the company’s landlord, Washington state businessman Mario Arnold Segale. But it has only just been determined that Nintendo may have unknowingly named Super Mario’s fictional brother after Segale’s real-life father: Luigi, whose biography evokes that of millions of 20th-century US immigrants from Italy. Continue reading...

President signed executive order directing FDA to expedite review of psychedelic drugs including ibogaine Donald Trump on Saturday announced reforms intended to speed up access to medical research and treatment based on psychedelic drugs. The president signed an executive order directing the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite review of drugs such as ibogaine, which US military veteran groups have said can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Continue reading...

A Canadian man accused of helping 14 ⁠people in the province ⁠of Ontario kill themselves by selling a ⁠legal but deadly substance online will avoid a murder trial by pleading guilty to lesser charges, his lawyer said on Saturday. Kenneth Law, 60, will plead guilty to counselling or aiding suicide under a deal with Crown prosecutors that will see more serious ‌first-degree murder charges withdrawn, Matthew Gourlay of Henein Hutchison Robitaille said in an email. Law’s case is scheduled to return...

A gunman who killed at least six people in the streets of Kyiv on Saturday before taking hostages and barricading himself in a nearby supermarket has been shot dead by police, Ukrainian officials said. The head of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, Ihor Klymenko, said in a statement on social media that special tactical police units stormed the store after attempts to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed. The attacker was killed while resisting arrest, he said. Speaking to reporters at the...

Mexican ⁠President Claudia Sheinbaum and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez ⁠met in Barcelona on Saturday after a summit of progressive leaders, signalling a rapprochement during the first presidential visit to the Mediterranean country in eight years. The meeting took place during Sheinbaum’s visit to Barcelona to attend the fourth “In defence of democracy” summit, a gathering ‌of global leftist leaders to mobilise advocates of these movements against the far-right. Sheinbaum’s trip marks a softening of...

US President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks. Ibogaine is banned under the federal government’s most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs. But the administration is taking steps to ease access to psychedelics that Trump said were already designated as potential breakthroughs by...

UK counterterror officers are investigating an arson attack on a shop in an area of London with a large Jewish population, police said on Saturday, following similar incidents in recent weeks. No one was injured in the fire on late Friday in Hendon, in the northwest of Britain’s capital, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement, without specifying the business targeted. It comes after police arrested two people over a separate arson attack on a synagogue in nearby Finchley, on Wednesday,...

In Canada, fans and foes of Chinese electric vehicles are holding their breath for brands like BYD to hit the market. Whether they love them or not, they share the hope that Chinese carmakers will help to bring all EV prices down, as affordability becomes a growing concern for consumers. Companies including BYD, Geely, Nio and Xpeng are preparing to roll out sales locations in Canada, seizing the opportunity of warmer ties between the two countries. Ottawa struck a milestone trade deal with...

When Alina Dotsenko returned to her museum after Ukrainian forces retook the southern city of Kherson from Russian forces in late 2022, she found thousands of artworks had vanished. “I walked in and saw empty storage rooms, empty shelves. My legs gave way, and I just sat down by the wall, like a child,” the Kherson Art Museum director said. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, the museum held more than 14,000 works in a collection “ranging from America to Japan”. As the Russians...

Iranians striving to maintain a semblance of normal life after weeks of US and Israeli bombing and a deadly crackdown on protesters in January remain daunted by the future, as damage from air strikes ⁠and internet cuts take a toll. With talks expected on extending a truce and agreeing an end to the conflict, shops, restaurants and government offices have stayed open. On sunny spring mornings, city parks are busy with picnicking families and young people playing sports, while others gather at...

A US appeals court allowed President Donald ⁠Trump’s administration on ⁠Friday night to continue construction ⁠of a US$400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, setting a June hearing to review a Washington judge’s order halting the project. An order by a three-judge ‌panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit put the lower court’s preliminary injunction on hold for now, giving the panel time to consider the US Justice Department’s...

Their backgrounds stand out. And not in a good way. Two bankruptcies and six law enforcement jobs in three years. An allegation of lying in a police report to justify a felony charge against an innocent woman – an incident that led to a US$75,000 settlement and criticism of his integrity. A third job candidate once failed to graduate from a police academy, then lasted only three weeks in his only job as a police officer. Their common bond: all were hired recently by US Immigration and Customs...

Two US Army soldiers have been injured after encountering a brown bear in a mountainous training area in Anchorage, according to the military. The incident happened on Thursday as the soldiers were taking part in a “land navigation training event” in Arctic Valley, part of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s training area. The soldiers were receiving medical care as of Friday, a military official told the Anchorage Daily News. Queries sent to base were not immediately returned on Friday. The...

The Trump administration and Anthropic’s CEO on Friday discussed working together for the first time since a dispute earlier this year between the Pentagon and the artificial intelligence firm over how that company’s models should be used. The meeting between CEO Dario Amodei and White House staff, which took place amid growing ‌fears the AI start-up’s latest model will supercharge cyberattacks, suggests the two sides might be on a path to rebuilding trust. The Trump administration, central...

Spain and Brazil signed a flurry of agreements at Pedro Sanchez and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s first bilateral summit, as the Spanish leader seeks to build an alliance to counter US President Donald Trump. “The relationship between Spain and Brazil goes far beyond the strictly bilateral,” Sanchez told reporters after signing 15 deals covering areas including critical minerals, telecommunications and artificial intelligence. “Peace and the values that sustain it are being attacked by a...

Congress passed a short extension to a high-profile surveillance law on Friday after failing to secure the long-term reauthorisation pushed by US President Donald Trump. The brief pause comes after a late-night attempt to reauthorise the law for ‌five years failed in the House. It sets up another round of wrangling over whether and how to reform what is known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the National Security Agency to surveil foreigners using data...

France and Britain said on Friday that they would lead a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising the force would be entirely defensive and only deployed once lasting peace in the region was agreed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the force was being set up as they co-chaired international talks in Paris focused on ensuring free-flowing trade through the critical shipping corridor. The...

Pope Leo called on Cameroonians on Friday to reject violence and be generous with their neighbours during an event billed as the biggest of his four-nation Africa tour, with roughly 120,000 people flocking to a mass he led in the port city of Douala. Amid heavy security, some believers had made their way on Thursday to the city’s Japoma ‌Stadium, venue of the mass, and slept overnight outside on mats to hear Friday’s address from the pontiff, who has become outspoken on war and inequality and...

Scores of Chinese women were brought to Germany without valid residency permits for sex work across the country, prosecutors in Frankfurt alleged on Friday. Five suspects are accused of organised smuggling of foreigners for their roles in operating the prostitution ring over the past three years, according to prosecutors. Prostitution is legal in Germany but is strictly regulated. A 43-year-old Chinese man and a 35-year-old Chinese woman allegedly ran the illegal business, using a network of...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged the United States and Iran to guard against any provocations by Israel and use their current ceasefire to push for lasting peace. “We must not allow weapons to again replace words,” he told the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey. “Let it not be forgotten, the shortest path to peace is dialogue and diplomacy. Peace is not a one-winged bird.” His remarks came as Washington and Tehran weighed the next steps after a temporary halt in fighting,...

China’s leading LED chipmaker and its Malaysian partner have abandoned their US$239 million cash offer to purchase Dutch technology company Lumileds Holding after opposition from US authorities, marking the latest setback for Chinese tech investment overseas following the high-profile Nexperia saga. Sanan Optoelectronics, listed in Shanghai, said in a disclosure announcement on Friday that despite multiple rounds of discussions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)...

In an apparent sign that Tehran blinked first in the blockade showdown between Iran and the US, the two sides announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was open and operational after nearly seven weeks that have seen hundreds of ships blocked and sent energy prices soaring worldwide. “IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE. THANK YOU!” US President Donald Trump said on social media, using an unofficial name for the strategic waterway. Iranian...

Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip killed more than 38,000 women and girls between October 2023 and the end of 2025, a UN report published on Friday showed. Palestinian health authorities put the estimated total death toll by the end of 2025 at just over 71,000, rising to more than 72,000 by mid-April as Israel continued sporadic attacks despite a ceasefire with the Islamist group Hamas. According to the analysis by UN Women, this means over half of all the victims in Gaza by the end of 2025 were...

Some exporters at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou report a modest return of orders to China from Southeast Asia, as energy-market volatility linked to the US-Israeli war in Iran prompts some Western buyers to prioritise supply chain stability. The shift is visible in buyer patterns on the exhibition floor, where the number from Europe and the United States appears to have recovered from last year’s levels, according to Chinese exporters, with more inquiries for home appliances, new energy products...

A temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon unveiled by US President Donald Trump on Thursday was the final turn in the diplomatic maze leading to a breakthrough in Pakistan-mediated peace talks between Washington and Tehran, analysts say. Arranged by Pakistan with help from Saudi Arabia, the 10-day cessation of hostilities in Lebanon was a key Iranian condition for a second and potentially conclusive round of talks in Islamabad on a date yet to be set. Marathon talks between high-powered...

The Kremlin on Friday denied that ⁠President Vladimir ⁠Putin was insulated from ⁠bad news after a celebrity blogger accused unidentified top officials of not telling Russia’s paramount leader the truth about the country’s problems. Viktoria Bonya, a social media influencer who ‌is well known inside Russia for her appearances on reality TV shows, said this week that she supported Putin and listed five problems which she said officials were not briefing him on honestly. Her video was watched more...

To sharpen its competitive edge in the world’s next-generation vehicle market, China has pledged to fast track automotive technical standards to build its status as a global rule-setter. The carmaking powerhouse would drive high-quality development of the auto sector through the formulation and enhancement of core standards during the next five years, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) told state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing on...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced mounting pressure to quit on Friday over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as envoy to Washington, after it emerged the veteran politician had failed security vetting. The affair has haunted Starmer for months amid growing anger over Mandelson’s 2024 nomination to the top diplomatic post despite his close ties to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson, a long-time insider with Starmer’s ruling Labour Party, has held multiple ministerial posts since...

A Pakistan-flagged tanker that entered the Persian Gulf over the weekend has become the first carrier to exit through the Strait of Hormuz with a crude cargo since a US blockade began on Monday, underscoring just how limited traffic through the vital chokepoint remains. The Shalamar sailed just south of Iran’s Larak Island and out into the Gulf of Oman late Thursday with around 450,000 barrels of crude loaded at Das Island in the United Arab Emirates, according to ship-tracking data. The Aframax...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. 3 satellites to track all? Chinese radar images confirm US military fears Last month, China released a series of undated radar images of the Towa Maru. It marked the first time ever that a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) synthetic aperture...

South African opposition party leader Julius Malema was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday after he was convicted of breaking firearm laws by firing a rifle at a political rally in 2018. He was released pending an appeal, which will be heard at a later date. If the verdict and sentence are upheld, Malema will be disqualified as a lawmaker. South African law bars anyone from serving in Parliament if they have been convicted of an offence and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison...

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday that while Cuba does not want military aggression from the United States, his country is prepared to fight should it happen. Diaz-Canel spoke during a rally that drew hundreds of people to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the declaration of the Cuban Revolution’s socialist essence. “The moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression. We do...

Asian refiners have grown increasingly reliant on US crude as oil-starved fuel makers scour the globe to replace Middle Eastern supply and stave off shortages that could ripple through the broader economy. Buyers in Japan led the charge to purchase May-loading cargoes from the US early in the month, with South Korean, Singaporean and Thai processors also among customers, said traders familiar with the matter. At least 60 million barrels of grades from the US Gulf were bought for loading next...

The International Monetary Fund and ⁠the World Bank said on ⁠Thursday they had resumed dealings with Venezuela, which had been paused since 2019. The move paves the way for a full IMF assessment of Venezuela’s economy for the first time in some 20 years and could eventually unlock billions of dollars in ‌funding via frozen special drawing rights. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement that the Fund, guided by the views of a majority of its members, was now dealing with...

A senior US lawmaker called on Peru’s next government to reclaim the Chinese-controlled port of Chancay, describing the deepwater facility as a direct military threat to the western hemisphere. Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, said during a hearing on Thursday that Washington would help Peru wrest the megaport from Chinese hands. “The new Peruvian government, which will be elected next June, must take it back, that...

Dubai has completed its first flying taxi station, with commercial operations expected to begin by the end of the year, authorities in the Gulf emirate announced on Thursday. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, crown prince of Dubai and United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister, visited Dubai’s “first purpose-built electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Air Taxi Station”, the emirate’s media office said in a statement. The facility, described by the emirate’s authorities as the “first of its...

Britain’s top foreign ministry official will leave his post after Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper lost confidence in him, a source said on Thursday, following a row over the security vetting of Peter Mandelson. The disclosure of the vetting failure has intensified pressure on Starmer over his appointment of Mandelson, Britain’s former US ‌ambassador, who is under police investigation for allegedly leaking government documents to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,...

For the first time, scientists have measured the instantaneous mind-blowing power of jets blasting from a black hole. The jet power from this relatively close black hole-star system is equivalent to 10,000 suns, an international research team reported on Thursday. They also tracked the jet speed: roughly 540 million km/h (355 million mph) – half the speed of light. Located 7,200 light-years away, Cygnus X-1 features not only a black hole – the first one ever identified more than a half-century...

A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon appeared to be holding on Friday, a breakthrough that could provide critical relief to Washington’s strained temporary truce with Tehran Announcing the ceasefire, which came into effect at 5pm EST Thursday (5am Friday Hong Kong time), US President Donald Trump said it followed what he described as “excellent conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order...

China has assured the United States that it will not supply weapons to Iran during the current ceasefire in the Middle East conflict, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, as Washington stepped up pressure on Tehran to agree to a broader peace deal brokered by Pakistan. Speaking at a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth said Beijing had conveyed the assurance directly, amid heightened concerns in Washington about external support for Iran during the fragile pause in fighting. “Trump has a...

Trade tensions between the US and China have made companies around the world less keen to invest in either country, with the United States almost twice as unpopular, according to a new report from Allianz Trade. The report, based on an annual survey by the Paris-based international insurance company, said US-China decoupling had not materialised, but investment intention towards China had dropped “significantly” to 24 per cent of survey respondents, down from 53 per cent a year ago. The survey...

Pope Leo blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants”, in unusually forceful remarks in Cameroon on Thursday after US President Donald Trump attacked him again on social media. Leo, the first US pope, also decried leaders who used religious language to justify wars and urged a “decisive change of course” in a meeting in the biggest city ‌in Cameroon’s anglophone regions, where a simmering conflict going back nearly a decade has left...

The quiet conclusion of US and Iranian backchannel engagements in Islamabad left more than diplomatic ambiguity. It crystallised a striking image: a financially strained, politically volatile Pakistan briefly positioning itself as a facilitator in one of the world’s most combustible rivalries. Substantive or symbolic, the episode underscores a deeper churn in West Asian geopolitics – one in which agility trumps credibility. Pakistan’s role was not incidental. Islamabad offered itself as a...

Europe has “maybe 6 weeks or so [of] jet fuel left”, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Thursday in a wide-ranging interview, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war. IEA executive director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced”, stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. “In the...

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivered a blunt critique of US President Donald Trump in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais published on Thursday, saying world leaders should seek respect rather than ‌rule by fear. “Trump has no right to wake up in the morning and threaten a country,” Lula told El Pais, referring to the president’s public threat on April 7 to wipe out Iranian civilisation as part of the US-Israeli war on Iran. “He wasn’t elected for that, and his...

Russia unleashed its deadliest attack so far this year on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other cities overnight, killing 17 people, including a 12-year-old child, and wounding scores, in drone and missile strikes, officials said on Thursday. In Russia, a major Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Tuapse killed two people, including a 14-year-old girl, injured seven, and sparked a large fire, Russian ‌officials and media reported. The port is home to a major oil refinery as well as an...

With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this series, SCMP Fact-Check, the South China Morning Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers. A video circulating online amid the US-Israel war on Iran falsely claims to show a downed American pilot captured alive by Iranians. “Iranians Captured F35 Pilot alive,” read the caption of a Facebook reel. The video appeared to show a...

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky spoke at a gathering of party insiders in Detroit, fueling presidential speculation.

Students at the University of Arkansas disagreed with Turning Point’s direction, pointing to challenges ahead for the conservative group.

The successor to Venezuela’s captured President Nicolás Maduro is purging the people who kept him in power.

The delegation told Cuba’s leadership that it had only a narrow window of time to make the economic and political changes demanded by the Trump administration.

With a new tax proposal, the threat of a building workers’ strike and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s shunning of the Met Gala, the city’s wealth gap was on full display.

A guerrilla activist group is covering New York with posters criticizing the billionaire Jeff Bezos’ involvement in the event, a fund-raiser for the Metropolitan Museum.

In their first public appearance together, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former President Barack Obama met up for some joking and singing on Saturday at a Bronx child care center.

Few people experience lucid dreams, yet those who do are able to appreciate as much asleep as the rest of us do awake.

What recent events in Europe can tell us about the future of Trumpism.

Some 1,000 protesters tried to storm a private breeding and lab facility in Wisconsin in an effort to steal thousands of beagles that are bred for medical experimentation.

The Black Sea country is holding its eighth election in five years, with Bulgarians yearning for the kind of prosperous life enjoyed by other Europeans.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in Ukraine in years, where firearms have proliferated since the war with Russia began.

The case of the missing Martin family was unsolved until a diver found a car in an Oregon river in 2024. Officials, relying on DNA tests, said Thursday that they had identified the remains of three people.