Minimalist News

Key Events This Week: Payrolls, Quarterly Refunding, Confidence, And More Earnings Key data releases this week will be the US April jobs report and the University of Michigan’s consumer survey. Other economic events feature the US Treasury quarterly refunding announcement and rate decisions in Australia, Norway and Sweden. Corporate earnings include AMD, Palantir and Rheinmetall. The focus this week will be on the US April jobs report due Friday. Economists see payrolls up +65k in April, down from +178k in March, with a slightly faster earnings growth rate (+0.3% vs +0.2% in March) and a stable unemployment rate (4.3%). Other labor market indicators

Anthropic Enters $1.5 Billion Joint Venture That Includes Goldman, Blackstone AI startup Anthropic on Monday announced the creation of a joint venture which includes Goldman Sachs, Blackstone and several other Wall Street firms, with the goal of selling artificial-intelligence tools to companies, the Wall Street Journal reports.  The new venture will act as a consulting arm for Anthropic, and will educate businesses - including companies in the private-equity firms' portfolios, how to integrate AI across their operations.  The deal is being anchored by Blackstone and Hellman & Friedman - each of which are expected to invest roughly $300 million, while Goldman is putting in around $150 million. General Atlantic, Leonard

Core US Factory Orders Surged In March To Best YoY Growth Since Nov 2022 Headline Factory Orders rose 1.5% MoM in March (dramatically better than the 0.6% MoM expected) - the best since November. February's data was also revised higher. However, overall, orders were only up 2.1% YoY - the lowest since JUly 2025 Source: Bloomberg Core Factory Orders surge 1.6% MoM (also better than the 1.3% MoM expected) and up for the 5th straight month. That dragged the YoY growth in core orders up 4.09% YoY - the best since Nov 2022... Source: Bloomberg Given the surge in ISM Manufacturing's New Orders sub-component... Source: Bloomberg ...there

FedEx, UPS Slide After Amazon Opens Freight Network To All Businesses Shares of transportation and logistics giants FedEx and UPS dropped in premarket trading after Amazon debuted Amazon Supply Chain Services, opening its freight network to sellers far beyond the Amazon marketplace. Amazon said ASCS is a move to "open its freight, distribution, fulfillment, and parcel shipping capabilities to businesses of all types and sizes." It gives companies outside the Amazon marketplace access to a global delivery network with two- to five-day delivery and 24/7 service. "With this launch, Amazon is expanding its third-party logistics capacity to support businesses in industries such as

Market Correction Risk: Why Summer 2026 Looks Risky Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, The S&P 500 hit a fresh record high last week. The median stock in the index is sitting 13% below its 52-week peak. That divergence is not a footnote or a curiosity. It’s the loudest warning the market has flashed since the dot-com era, and it’s arriving at the worst possible moment on the calendar. Market correction risk is climbing, and this summer it’s stacked on top of three other forces that almost never converge at the same time. After three decades of watching market cycles play out, I’ve learned

Can The GOP Oust Thune To Get The SAVE America Act Passed? In 2024, voters handed the Republican Party a trifecta in Washington - the White House, the House, the Senate - and yet one of the most broadly popular pieces of election-integrity legislation in recent memory is collecting dust in the upper chamber. The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and mandate photo identification to cast a ballot. It has already passed the House, and polls show that voters across party lines, and even racial lines, support it. It reportedly

Congress Sets MKUltra Hearing As CIA Mind-Control Experiments Face Renewed Scrutiny Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, The CIA’s MKUltra program, one of the most disturbing chapters in American intelligence history, refuses to fade into obscurity.  A congressional hearing scheduled for May 13 is thrusting the agency’s decades-old experiments back into the spotlight, raising fresh questions about government secrecy, ethical boundaries, and the protection of individual liberties against unchecked power. Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna announced that the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets will examine the Cold War-era program. The move comes amid recently surfaced documents and persistent claims surrounding the death of a key

"Just Another Dip Investors Will Buy": Futures Drop, Oil Rises On Renewed Iran Tension US futures whipsawed and crude oil spiked higher as tensions flared up again in the Middle East, taking the focus off a run of strong earnings by megacap tech companies. As of 8:00am ET, S&P and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.2% from Friday's record highs, falling as much as 0.5% just minutes earlier after Iran’s Fars agency claimed two missiles hit an American patrol boat, before erasing most of the declines after the US denied a ship was hit. All of this after Trump said Sunday that US

Stocks Slide, Oil Jumps After Reports Of Explosions In Dubai Following Iran Missile Launch SUMMARY * Following a report from the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Disaster that the country's "air defenses are now dealing with a missile threat", we have gotten reports of explosions in Dubai, which has sent oil higher and Emini futures into the red.  * CENTCOM hails two US merchant ships exiting Hormuz Strait safely in "first step". Bessent issues remarks warning the US "will fire if fired upon." * Iran insists Hormuz is under its control & says it targeted & struck a US Navy vessel, which

Ukrainian Drone Hits Moscow Luxury Tower, Miles From Kremlin A Ukrainian one-way attack drone struck a high-rise apartment building in Moscow in the early hours of Monday, causing no reported casualties and only limited damage. The strike occurred just miles from the Kremlin, highlighting Ukraine's long-range drone strike capabilities. The New York Times reports that the drone strike comes five days before Russia's May 9 Victory Day parade, which has already been scaled back due to the growing drone threat. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties, but footage posted online showed damage to part of one floor of the 54-story

Tens Of Millions Of Taxpayers May Be Owed IRS Refunds From Pandemic Era: Watchdog Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The IRS’s internal watchdog has stated that tens of millions of U.S. taxpayers may be owed refunds or abatements of penalties or interest during the COVID-19 federal disaster period. A 1040 Internal Revenue Service tax form, in this file photo. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times “The bottom line: You may be entitled to a refund or reduction of assessed penalties and interest,” the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) stated in a notice published on April 30 and updated on May 1. “For

Trump Disapproval Rate Hits Career-High - War And Rising Costs Take Toll Though tempered by the prospect of additional GOP gerrymandering of House districts in the wake of a pivotal Supreme Court decision, Democrats' hopes for a rout of Republicans in the approaching midterm elections are rising after a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that President Trump's disapproval rating is now the highest of either of his two terms in office. Trump's decision to launch a war on Iran is taking a toll -- voters are not only dismayed by his handling of Iran, but also dissatisfied with his work on the

Norwegian Cruise Cuts Outlook On Gulf Disruptions, Fuel Shock Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings shares fell in premarket trading in New York after the cruise ship operator lowered its full-year 2026 outlook, as disruptions in the Middle East, higher diesel costs, and softer travel demand in Europe weighed on first-quarter bookings. "The Company is experiencing headwinds related to disruptions in the Middle East, including higher fuel expense and signs of softer demand as consumers reevaluate travel plans, particularly to Europe," Norwegian Cruise wrote in a press release. It continued, "As previously noted, the Company entered 2026 behind its targeted booking curve, and these headwinds

From "Don't Be Evil" To Drone King: Eric Schmidt's Interceptors Deployed With U.S. Troops Google's old motto, "Don't be evil," was retired for very good reasons eight years ago. On Friday, Google joined the growing list of tech firms preparing to deploy AI tools for national security work at the Department of War. But this note is not about Google. It is about Eric Schmidt's ventures in the drone warfare space, accelerated by the wars across Eurasia. Recall that earlier this year, Schmidt reportedly visited Kyiv to accelerate his drone-startup ventures, using Ukraine as a laboratory for AI drone warfare. Ukraine has become the epicenter

Real Estate Browser Extension In France Provides Immigration Data Overlay Via ReMix, A French website and real estate browser extension for Chrome is promoting an unusual data offering, which includes information on immigration levels, insecurity, and Islamization rates — all factors that real estate buyers may want to take into consideration before they make an investment. The OVMF assigns various scores “automatically in real estate ad photos,” according to the company behind the extension, which is free and collects no data from its users, according to the website. It also promises to highlight certain facilities in the area or neighborhood, which some real estate

Europe Will Lose Billions In Revenue If US Military Bases Shut Down Europe is in far greater economic trouble that most people realize.  In an April 2026 report by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), it was reveled that the UK's GDP per capita is lower than all 50 U.S. states, including the poorest, Mississippi. While the majority of Britons mistakenly believe the UK is as wealthy or wealthier than the US, data shows the UK's average income lags behind the lowest-performing US states, highlighting a significant economic gap. The quiet decline of the once mighty British Empire right under the nose of

Iran Outraged After Assassination Of Top Shia Cleric In Damascus Via The Cradle Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Sunday strongly condemned the assassination of a Syrian Shia religious cleric, describing it as a terrorist attack and "heinous crime." On Friday, Sayyid Farhan al-Mansour, Imam of the Sayyeda Zainab Shrine in the southern suburbs of Damascus, was assassinated after a hand grenade was thrown at his vehicle. Mansour was targeted by unknown assailants shortly after he finished leading Friday prayers and was leaving the shrine. Slain Shia cleric Sayyid Farhan al-Mansour Baghaei said that acts of terrorism targeting religious sites and scholars in Syria and across

All-Time High 55% Of Americans Say That Their Financial Situations Are Getting Worse Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse, Americans were not even this stressed about their financial situations during the Great Recession. As you will see below, a brand new Gallup survey has discovered that 55 percent of Americans believe that their finances are getting worse. That is higher than any reading that Gallup recorded during the recession of 2008 and 2009, and it is higher than any reading that Gallup recorded during the pandemic. But of course this shouldn’t exactly be a surprise to any of us. We

Russia's Oil Revenues Surge As The World Scrambles For Supply Authored by Felicity Bradstock via oilprice.com, Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several major world powers introduced strict sanctions on trade with Moscow. Europe and the United States have been gradually decreasing their dependence on Russian gas and other energy products and putting pressure on other countries to do the same, to place a financial strain on Moscow, as the war with Ukraine continues. However, some countries, such as India and China, have used these sanctions as an excuse to buy discounted crude and gas from Russia, in a bid

Chinese Hackers Spied On Cuban Embassy As Trump Ramped Up Blockade Threats In a story which hearkens back to bygone Cold War years, fresh reports say that Chinese hackers breached and spied on the American Embassy in Cuba at a moment President Trump threatened a US naval blockade, similar to what was in place just before the overthrow by US military intervention of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro According to the findings from the cyber firm Gambit Security, cited in a Bloomberg report, "The campaign began in January and compromised the emails of 68 officials, including the Cuban ambassador and the deputy chief of mission,

Attendance at European Political Community meeting in Yerevan seen as part of effort to build ties after US rupture Canada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins Monday’s summit of the 48-plus nation grouping in Yerevan, Armenia. Carney has said he is determined to build a new network of trade and diplomatic alliances after the loss of US markets under Donald Trump. His presence will also represent a show of western support for Armenia in its efforts to distance itself from Russia at a time when

Spinosaurid fossil bought by Stuttgart institution in 1991 has been the subject of a long restitution campaign It is a 113-million-year-old bone of contention. After Stuttgart’s museum of natural history bought a fossilised dinosaur skull in 1991, researchers found it was the most complete spinosaurid skull known to date, belonging to a previously unknown genus of the huge meat-eating dinosaurs. Continue reading...

The US sanctions target people operating in broad sections of Cuban economy, including energy, defence and mining Cuba’s government has said new sanctions imposed on the island by Donald Trump amounted to “collective punishment”, as an enormous 1 May procession outside the American embassy in Havana vowed to “defend the homeland”. In an executive order on Friday, the US president said he would impose sanctions on people involved in broad sections of the Cuban economy, as he seeks to put more pressure on Havana after ousting Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this year. Continue reading...

Leo, who has criticized Trump’s hardline immigration policy, selected Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as state’s new bishop * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Pope Leo XIV has appointed a man who had once entered the United States as an undocumented immigrant, hidden in the trunk of a car, as the new bishop of West Virginia. The pope approved the resignation of Bishop Mark E Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, and selected Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, 55, of Washington to take his place, reported OSV News. Continue reading...

Colombia hosted nearly 60 countries at pivotal time on world stage for fight to transition to a clean energy future Looking out to sea from the grey sandy beaches of Santa Marta, on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, it is never hard to spot evidence of the country’s thriving fossil fuel export trade. Oil tankers ride at anchor on the horizon and sometimes, locals say, lumps of coal wash up on the shore, blown off the collier ships that carry cargos from the nearby mines. It was here, on Wednesday evening, that the Colombian government took a bold step to shift its economy –

Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi has called for discussions to revise the constitution, saying it should ‘reflect the demands of the times’ Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called for “advanced discussions” on revising the pacifist constitution, as large demonstrations were held nationwide to oppose any changes to the country’s supreme law. Speaking during an official visit to Vietnam, Takaichi said the constitution, which was written by US occupation forces after the second world war, “should periodically be updated to reflect the demands of the times”. Continue reading...

Over the next two weeks stargazers have a chance to spot the blue-green orb and smudgy tail of comet known as C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS A comet formed on the edges of the solar system will grace southern skies over the next fortnight, giving viewers a rare chance to glimpse it before it disappears from view for another 170,000 years. The comet – known as C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS – had been travelling through the northern hemisphere but has “swung around the sun” and is now visible in the south, said Josh Aoraki, an astronomer at Te Whatu Stardome in Auckland, New Zealand. Continue reading...

Strongest tornado hits Mineral Wells, Texas, where disaster was declared. Elsewhere, extreme rain inundates China Spring is the season for severe thunderstorms across the central US, and the start of this week was a particularly active period for the region. A favourable weather pattern fuelled intense thunderstorms on Monday through Wednesday, bringing strong winds, very large hail and strong tornadoes. Eight tornadoes were reported on Monday, including an EF2 tornado that ripped through the town of Sycamore, Kansas. On Tuesday, a more widespread event tore across the mid-west, most notably as a severe hailstorm moved through Springfield, Missouri. Continue reading...

Media tycoon honoured in absentia as critics decry his 20-year sentence under national security law The jailed media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai has been awarded Deutsche Welle’s freedom of speech award for his contribution to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. The German public broadcaster said on Thursday that Lai would be presented in absentia with the 12th iteration of the award on 23 June at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn. Continue reading...

Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslims said poor mental health made him admit to crimes The Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch in 2019 has been prevented from appealing against his guilty pleas, after one of New Zealand’s highest courts said his bid was “utterly devoid of merit”. Brenton Tarrant, who is responsible for the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s history, asked the court of appeal in February to allow him to appeal against his guilty pleas, claiming harsh prison conditions had affected his mental health and compelled him to admit to the

Owner-occupier mortgage growth slowed under growing costs while investor loans grew by $42bn in the year to March, a 9.6% increase * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Property investor borrowing rose at its fastest rate in a decade in March, according to the Reserve Bank, despite higher interest rates and speculation about property tax changes. Owner-occupier loan growth slowed under the weight of growing mortgage costs but investor lending is continuing its record surge. Continue reading...

Job ready graduates program will also leave almost two-thirds of humanities and creative arts students with debts exceeding $50,000 * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast One in four humanities students will take more than 25 years to fully repay their student loans because of Morrison government changes to university fees, newly public Treasury modelling reveals. The job ready graduates program, introduced in 2021 under the former prime minister Scott Morrison, will also leave almost two-thirds of humanities and creative arts students saddled with debts exceeding $50,000. Continue reading...

The PM is clearly not prepared to risk backlash from Asian energy trading partners during a fuel crisis – but his government will face domestic challenges if it doesn’t move eventually * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Two separate events on Monday – one in rain-soaked Canberra, the other in sunny Gladstone – neatly explain why the federal government won’t pursue a new gas export tax in next week’s budget and why it might have no choice but to do so in the future. In the nation’s capital, Anthony Albanese hosted his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi,

Chris Minns says technology has been ‘weaponised against women, and our laws have not kept pace’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast After their marriage of 25 years deteriorated and his wife expressed a desire to leave, a man in regional New South Wales bought a GPS tracking device from an auto parts retailer. He used it to monitor her movements for the month, and up to at least the day before he shot and killed her, and then turned the gun on himself. Continue reading...

As the cost of the scheme blows out, the government has announced the full discount will be retained for another year, after which it will only apply to EVs costing less than $75,000 * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor has opted to retain its electric vehicle discount in full for another year, as Australians rush to buy EVs amid soaring fuel costs linked to the Iran war. But the budget next Tuesday will include a number of “sensible changes” that wind back the scale of support over the next three years, as the government acknowledges

High winds have hit the South Aegean and heavy rain has fallen in Turkey, but Central Europe has felt summer heat Greece and Turkey have found themselves in the grip of a late-season cold spell this weekend. Conditions will persist over the next few days as an area of low pressure situated over Turkey is pulling in colder, moisture-laden air from the north-east via the Black Sea; this meteorological set up has suppressed temperatures well below where they should be for the time of year. Away from the Mediterranean coast, much of Turkey struggled to reach double figures, which is around

Austrian foreign minister says ‘forest of antennae’ at mission in Vienna being used for illicit collection of data Austria has expelled three Russian embassy staff on suspicion of spying after determining that a “forest of antennae” on the diplomatic mission in Vienna, Europe’s espionage capital since the cold war, was being be used for illicit data collection. “It is unacceptable that diplomatic immunity be used to commit espionage,” Austria’s foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said on Monday. She added that the three embassy staff – whose expulsions bring the number of Russian diplomats sent home by Vienna to 14 since 2020 – had

Comments at European Political Community summit come as Britain seeks to join EU’s loan scheme for Ukraine * UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer has acknowledged that tensions are high between Donald Trump and Europe as he attends a summit of the European Political Community dominated by the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. With European leaders concerned over the US president’s waning interest in the Ukraine war, the prime minister will use the summit in Armenia to begin negotiations to participate in the EU’s loan scheme for Kyiv. Continue reading...

US secretary of state’s two-day visit reportedly intended to thaw Washington’s frosty relations with Vatican and Italy The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will meet Pope Leo on Thursday, weeks after Donald Trump’s unprecedented broadside against the pontiff. Rubio will meet the first US-born pope privately in the Vatican’s apostolic palace at 11.30am (10.30 GMT), the Holy See’s press office confirmed on Monday after media reports on Sunday. Continue reading...

The radical left leader will seek presidency for the fourth time – despite previously vowing to stand aside Jean-Luc Mélenchon, France’s radical left leader, has confirmed he will run again for president next spring, saying it was urgent for the country to stand up against war being waged by the US and Israel in the Middle East. The 74-year-old veteran leader of La France Insoumise (LFI), announced in an interview with the French broadcaster TF1 that he would run for the presidency for the fourth time in 2027. Continue reading...

US Central Command denies that a ship has been struck after Iran’s Fars news agency claimed two missiles hit a US navy frigate * Trump says US navy will ‘guide’ trapped ships from strait of Hormuz amid ‘very positive’ talks with Iran We have a bit more of the statement from Maj Gen Ali Abdollahi, the commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, who said earlier that the US or any other foreign armed forces would be attacked if they entered the strait of Hormuz (see post at 07.39 for more details). Abdollahi also said: We will maintain and vigorously manage the

Hangings are latest in wave of near-daily killings as authorities seek to instil fear amid war with US and Israel * Middle East crisis – live updates Iran has executed three men charged in connection with political protests this January, authorities have said, the latest in a wave of hangings against the backdrop of the war against the US and Israel. Iranian authorities have carried out executions on a near-daily basis in recent weeks in what activists have denounced as a bid to instil fear in society at a time of international and domestic tension. Continue reading...

Shipowners wary as Iran says it will attack any foreign military entering waterway under Trump plan * Middle East crisis – live updates The US has launched an operation to “guide” ships trapped in the Gulf by the Iran war through a southern route of the strait of Hormuz, even as Tehran insists that any such transits will have to be coordinated with its armed forces. The scheme was announced as “Project Freedom” on Sunday night by Donald Trump on his social media page, where he portrayed it as a humanitarian gesture to help crews on hundreds of ships which have been

War has combined with battered economy to leave Tehran wondering how hardline it can afford to be Iran may not be choking like a stuffed pig as Donald Trump predicted, but its economy is in serious difficulty as a combination of a massive war-damages bill, inflation, currency devaluation, unemployment and a contraction in oil revenues combine to leave the political elite worrying how hardline they can afford to be with their US negotiators. One estimate circulating in Iran’s media suggests the damage to the economy from the US-Israeli attacks is nine times the value of the Iranian budget last year. The UN

New government accused of ‘performative justice’ and making deals with suspects in 2013 Tadamon massacres Ahmad al-Homsi is a deep sleeper, but when he was woken last month and told that Amjad Youssef, a Syrian intelligence officer who killed civilians in the 2013 Tadamon massacres, had been arrested, he bolted out of bed. He ran into the street to find other people already celebrating the news. “We stayed out for almost three or four days celebrating. People from neighbouring areas sent camels, sheep, livestock for us to slaughter and distribute them to people. The tears of joy didn’t stop,” said al-Homsi, a

Jitu Munda says he was refused access to money in case highlighting ‘lack of humanity’ in Indian bureaucracy The sight of a man bringing the remains of his dead sister to a bank in India after officials had refused to let him withdraw money without proof of her death has caused shock in India. Jitu Munda, 52, from the Indian state of Odisha, was captured on video carrying the remains of his recently deceased sister through the streets of Keonjhar and placing them outside the local bank. Continue reading...

Anant Ambani revives offer to transport 80 animals, all descendants of Colombian drug kingpin’s pets, to India It remains one of the strangest conundrums in modern zoological history – what to do with the descendants of Pablo Escobar’s hippos? The animals – herbivores native to sub-Saharan Africa – were originally imported into Colombia by the drug kingpin for his own entertainment. But the beasts and their offspring were left to roam free after his death in 1993. Continue reading...

Soaring oil prices and the blockade are preventing food, fuel and medicine being delivered to millions of people in desperate need, say NGOs The volatility of global oil prices caused by the US and Israel’s war on Iran is taking a toll on the most vulnerable people, by slowing or blocking food and medical aid from reaching them. Now aid organisations are calling for a “humanitarian corridor” to be opened through the strait of Hormuz amid rocketing transportation costs. Continue reading...

Customs officials say group allegedly hid 5kg of ‘kush’ in false walls of bags on return from Bangkok holiday Twenty-two Buddhist monks are in Sri Lankan police custody after customs officials found 110kg of high-grade cannabis concealed in their luggage, the largest ever drug bust at Colombo’s main international airport. The group, mostly junior monks in training from temples across Sri Lanka, were alleged to have “carried about five kilos of the narcotic concealed within false walls in their luggage”, according to a Sri Lanka customs spokesperson. Continue reading...

Pakistan officials dismiss Afghan media reports and official statements about strikes on university in Kunar province as ‘blatant lie’ Mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan on Monday struck a university and civilian homes in north-eastern Afghanistan, killing seven people and wounding at least 85, Afghan officials said. Pakistan denied the accusation of targeting a university. Continue reading...

More than 7,000 join employment tribunal that will include claims for minimum wage and holiday pay More than 7,000 Just Eat couriers are taking legal action against the food delivery company in an attempt to gain better employment rights including the minimum wage and holiday pay. The employment tribunal, which begins on Tuesday and is set to run until 2 June, will determine if the couriers are classed as workers, a status that comes with improved rights, or self-employed independent contractors. Continue reading...

President says US navy will ‘guide’ stranded ships out of waterway but report says warship was hit by Iran * Middle East crisis – live updates The world’s shipping industry has questioned whether vessels will be able to travel safely to and from the Gulf after Donald Trump announced his latest plan to open the strait of Hormuz. Trump wrote on Monday that the US navy would “guide” stranded ships out of the waterway, writing on his social media site Truth Social that the operation, “Project Freedom”, would be a humanitarian gesture “on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but,

Nigel Farage’s party proposed to place detention centres in places that vote for Green council leaders or MPs Keir Starmer has said that Europe has to face up to the fact that its alliance with the US is under strain. He made the remark in public comments during the plenary session at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan in Armenia. And both of those are impacting all of us in a very material way. In the United Kingdom, if you look at the economic forecast now and compare it to the economic forecast just three or four months ago, they are in materially

Exclusive: Sperm re-transplant offers hope that boys left infertile by chemotherapy could have biological children one day In a groundbreaking fertility trial, a man whose testicular tissue was frozen before he underwent chemotherapy as a child to be re-transplanted 16 years later has been able to produce sperm. It is the first time a transplant of cryopreserved prepubertal testicular tissue has been demonstrated to restore sperm production in an adult patient. The 27-year-old man had the sample frozen when he was 10, before undergoing potent chemotherapy as part of treatment for sickle cell disease. Continue reading...

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is backing new version of app called Divine, where content must be made by a human As a pioneer of the short-form video format, Vine has been credited as one of the most influential – if short-lived – social media platforms. The app, which allowed users to record a looping six seconds of video, boomed in popularity after its launch in 2013, spawning a plethora of viral comedy sketches and internet memes. It hit 100 million monthly active users at its peak and helped launch the careers of influencers such as Logan Paul. Continue reading...

Future of Calvin Duncan’s position as the clerk of New Orleans’ criminal district courthouse remains unclear Louisiana Republicans eliminated an elected position days before a Democratic exoneree who overwhelmingly won the New Orleans-based post was set to take office on Monday. A temporary restraining order did allow the exoneree, Calvin Duncan, to take office as scheduled on Monday as the clerk of New Orleans’ criminal district courthouse – though it remained unclear how long his tenure may prove to be. Continue reading...

Cole Allen remains in custody after being charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump * Sign up for the Breaking News US email Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, will travel to Rome this week to visit Pope Leo XIV, as the Trump administration’s relationship with the Vatican remains strained. The state department said in a statement that the meeting will be “to advance bilateral relations with Italy and the Vatican”. Continue reading...

Delivery truck driver emerged with minor injuries after underside of jet hit tractor trailer in New Jersey on Sunday The driver of a delivery truck emerged with only minor injuries after his tractor trailer was struck by a passenger jet landing in New Jersey’s busy Newark airport on Sunday afternoon, officials said. New Jersey state police said a landing tire and the underside of a United Airlines plane arriving from Venice, Italy, hit the truck in question. The Boeing 767 aircraft also clipped a light pole, which in turn struck a Jeep. Continue reading...

US president’s post follows flurry of mixed signals including concern Tehran had not ‘paid big enough price’. Plus, could Santa Marta climate talks mark ground zero in push to ditch fossil fuels? * Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here Good morning. Donald Trump has announced this morning that the US will “guide” ships trapped in the Gulf by the Iran war through the strait of Hormuz, and claimed his representatives were having “very positive” discussions with Iran. What has Iran said? The head of the Iranian military’s unified command has said US and foreign armed forces will be

No arrests made, police say, and site of shooting – a heavily wooded area – is slowing search for evidence and suspect At least 13 people were hurt in a mass shooting during a party at a campground in Oklahoma on Sunday night, authorities said. The shooting took place at Spring Creek Park on Arcadia Lake about 15 miles north-east of downtown Oklahoma City, when gunfire erupted during a gathering of young people at about 9pm. Continue reading...

A shooting on Sunday night at a party at a lake near Oklahoma City sent least 13 people to hospitals, according to police and hospital officials. Edmond police spokesperson Emily Ward said authorities received reports of shots being fired at about 9pm at a gathering of young people near Arcadia Lake. She said on late Sunday that no arrests had been made yet. “This is obviously a very terrifying situation and we understand the concern from the public and those involved and we are working...

A drone hit a residential tower in an upscale Moscow district in a rare strike near the city centre ahead of the traditional World War II Victory Day parade. Moscow air defences repelled an attack by two Ukrainian drones, and one hit the building on Mosfilmovskaya Street, according to a post on Monday by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Emergency services were sent to the scene, and there were no reports of casualties. Mosfilmovskaya is about 6-8km (about 4-5 miles) from the Kremlin, and local media...

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. Durian Express? China brings in cheaper fruit with new Southeast Asia train 2. ‘Structural shift’: new routes for Middle East freight to bypass Hormuz 3. ‘Nowhere to go’: helpers pushed out of parks spend day off in tents at bus terminus 4. Why Beijing now wants its spies executed in Taiwan back...

A United Airlines jet with 231 passengers and crew escaped a major disaster on Sunday after one of its wheels clipped a light post and truck on a highway while on final approach to land in New Jersey. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials said the Boeing 767 landed safely at Newark Liberty International Airport after arriving from Venice, Italy, and the agency would investigate the incident. A preliminary investigation from New Jersey State Police said “while a United Airlines Aircraft...

Congratulations to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po for getting the city’s budget to sail through the Legislative Council. It wasn’t always such smooth sailing and Chan would do well to acknowledge as much. When Chan was first given the keys to the city’s coffers, they were full. Successive financial secretaries faced political pressure of a very different kind. There weren’t many issues that opposing parties saw eye to eye on. However, accusing the government of hoarding cash and not giving...

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is hospitalised in critical but stable condition, his spokesperson said Sunday, days after the Republican hoarsely told his talk show audience that his voice was “a little under the weather”. The spokesperson, Ted Goodman, did not say what sent Giuliani, 81, to the hospital, how long he has been there or what his prognosis is. “Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same...

One Palestinian man was killed and four others seriously wounded during an Israeli military raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the man’s wife was in labour at a local hospital when she was informed of his death. The Red Crescent said five people were hit by gunfire during an Israeli military operation. Nayef Firas Ziad Samaro, 26, was killed, according to the Health Ministry, and his body was...

Two US service members are missing in southwestern Morocco after taking part in annual multinational military exercises in the North African country, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Sunday. The service members are US Army soldiers who went missing while on a hike, a US defence official told Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the issue. “They were not actively taking part in any training. The day’s exercises had concluded...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he must accept that US President Donald Trump does not share his opinions to work with the United States within Nato but stressed there ‌was no link between their rift and a planned troop drawdown. Merz dismissed suggestions that his criticism of US war planning in Iran had sparked Washington’s Friday announcement that the US would reduce its military presence in Germany, its largest European base, by 5,000 soldiers, and repeated his commitment to the...

A suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean killed three people, including an elderly married couple, and sickened at least three others, the World Health Organization and South Africa’s Department of Health said on Sunday. The WHO said an investigation was under way, but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the UN health agency said, and it was working with...

Jean-Luc ⁠Melenchon, the leading figure in ⁠the hard-left France Unbowed (La France Insoumise) political party, will stand in next year’s presidential election, he said on Sunday. “Yes, I am a candidate,” Melenchon told TF1 ‌TV. Melenchon, 74, has been a fixture of the French left for decades, holding ministerial posts in past governments when he was a Socialist Party member. He ran for president in 2012, 2017 and 2022, coming third that year behind ⁠far-right leader Marine Le Pen and President...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Pope Leo on a trip to Rome this week, in the wake of the pontiff’s clash with US President Donald Trump, a Vatican source said on Sunday. The source confirmed Italian media reports about the meeting, which newspapers said would take place on Thursday in an attempt to “thaw” relations. It comes just weeks after Trump’s extraordinary criticism of Pope Leo over the Catholic leader’s anti-war rhetoric. The private visit with the top US diplomat, who is a...

The United States will launch an effort on Monday to “guide” stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said, as two ships around the strait reported attacks. Trump gave few details about what could be a sweeping attempt to help hundreds of vessels and some 20,000 seafarers. Iran quickly denounced the move as a ceasefire violation. Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that “neutral and innocent” countries have been affected by the Iran war, and “we have...

A state-backed Nigerian militia, operating alongside the military, killed scores of ethnic Fulani herders in a raid, local sources have told journalists. The herders were killed in an operation that also involved vigilantes from Benin, just across the border from Niger State, after the herders were accused of being informants for the jihadist group Ansaru. The Nigerian vigilantes from Bussa district raided herding Fulani settlements around Kabe, in neighbouring Borgu, in a massacre that also saw...

At the end of March, China inaugurated the World Data Organisation in Beijing, a body with a stated mission of “bridging the data divide, unlocking data’s value and powering the digital economy”. The move is the latest signal of a broader trend: over the past several years, Beijing has developed a distinct data governance strategy to drive artificial intelligence (AI) development as it reshapes the terms of technological competition. Since late 2025, Beijing has pursued an aggressive AI adoption...

A small boat carrying migrants trying to cross the English Channel ran aground on a beach in northern France, leaving two dead and 16 people injured, including three with serious burns, authorities said on Sunday. The vessel, carrying 82 people, set out overnight from Hardelot beach, a few kilometres south of the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, but the engine failed and it began to drift, Christophe Marx, Secretary General of the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, told reporters. A French maritime gendarmerie...

Two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla who were brought to Israel for interrogation appeared before an Israeli court on Sunday, according to the rights group defending them. The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory. They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday, with Israel saying it had...

A new US drawdown of roughly 5,000 troops from Germany over the next year prompted strong questions from both Nato allies and Republicans in Congress. A Nato spokesperson said the defence alliance is looking for details on the US effort, which was announced on Friday, adding that Washington’s move underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in its own defence. The alliance remains confident of its ability to provide for deterrence and defence as a shift towards a stronger Europe...

Middle Eastern governments are dusting off decades-old proposals for overland oil and gas pipelines, and urgently drawing up plans for new rail-sea transport corridors in a belated response to the wartime disruption of major maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. With the threats to these key shipping lanes and economic infrastructure set to linger after the multifront conflict between the US-Israel alliance and the Iran-led Axis of Resistance draws to a close, other...

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he was reviewing a new Iranian proposal to end the war. “I’ll let you know about it later,” he said before boarding Air Force One, adding that “they’re going to give me the exact wording now”. Two semi-official Iranian news outlets, Tasnim and Fars, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said Iran has sent a 14-point proposal via Pakistan in response to a nine-point US proposal. Pakistan has hosted previous negotiations...

Bankrupt discount carrier Spirit Airlines ceased operations on Saturday, the industry’s first casualty linked to the Iran war, after failing to secure creditor support for a US government bailout plan. The collapse of the carrier following a doubling in jet fuel prices during the two-month-old Iran war will cost thousands of jobs. It is a blow to US President Donald Trump, who had proposed US$500 million to save Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many Republicans in...

A rescue team on Saturday released from a barge in the North Sea a humpback whale that had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March, witnesses said. Nicknamed “Timmy” by German media, the whale was spotted swimming near Germany’s Baltic Sea coast on March 3, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. The mammal’s health deteriorated as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters near the coastal city of Wismar, and unsuccessful efforts to coax it towards deeper seas...

A senior Iranian military officer said on Saturday that renewed fighting with the US was “likely”, hours after President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with an Iranian negotiating proposal. Iran delivered the new draft to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, state media reported, without detailing its contents. The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan since...

Russian troops are inching towards the city of ⁠Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern ⁠Donetsk region, trying to establish ⁠a foothold close to a heavily defended area, Ukraine’s top army official said on Saturday. Kostiantynivka, along with other cities, forms a so-called fortress belt in the country’s east – an area well-fortified by the Ukrainian military. “We ‌are repelling the Russian occupiers’ persistent attempts to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration...

A trial beginning ⁠in New Mexico on Monday could prompt a judge to order sweeping changes ⁠to how Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp operate – a move Meta Platforms has warned could force it to withdraw from the state. The case, which will be tried before a judge in Santa Fe, stems from a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, accusing the social media giant of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on...

A planned drawdown of US troops from Germany should spur Europeans to strengthen its own defences further, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday, following the latest salvo from Washington against transatlantic ties. The Pentagon announced on Friday that ‌the United States would withdraw 5,000 soldiers from Germany, its largest European base, as a rift over the Iran war and tariff tensions place further strain on relations between the US and Europe. Pistorius said the move was...

The United Arab Emirates is expected to continue making high-risk geopolitical moves with potentially high rewards, following its exit from the Opec oil cartel, as the small but extremely wealthy Gulf state strives to become a global power. Framed by Emirati officials as an orientation towards strengthening economic autonomy, the UAE’s decision to leave the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) on Tuesday coincided with the downgrading of its diplomatic participation in the Gulf...

Not a sudden, major crash but a series of mini-crises. That, according to some, is the prospect facing the global economy and financial system in the wake of conflict in the Middle East. But what if these mini-crises cascade into a collective collapse? And what if the Trump administration emerges as the only winner in the conflict by virtue of the fact that it has, in engineering the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, locked Europe and Asia into a desperate dependence on US oil and gas, especially...

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that banning some pro-Palestinian marches could be justified, especially when they call for the intifada to spread. Labour leader Starmer is under pressure to act after a spate of antisemitic incidents, including this week, when two men were stabbed in the north London suburb of Golders Green, which is home to a large Jewish community. A 45-year-old British national who was born in Somalia was remanded in custody...

Hezbollah’s cheap fibre-optic drones are creating new challenges for Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, forcing the military to adapt its tactics against an increasingly lethal threat. The Israeli military – considered one of the most advanced in the world – has confirmed two soldiers and one civilian contractor killed in explosive drone attacks in under a week, with several others wounded despite a ceasefire in place since mid-April. The devices are small, cheap and readily available, like...

“You could do with some international exposure. China, maybe,” a law firm partner said as we stood over the water cooler. His offhand comment was so blasé. I wasn’t sure what unsettled me more – the comment or my reaction to it. Was it xenophobia or the inertia of assumption? He was perfectly pleasant, encouraging even, but beneath the civility was an implication I couldn’t ignore. I had never set foot in Asia, yet suddenly, it felt as though my credibility required a pilgrimage. I wrestled with...

The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany in the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling President Donald Trump’s threat as he clashes with the German leader over the US war with Iran. Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the Nato ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington’s lack of strategy in the war. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said...

China’s top UN diplomat slammed the US on Friday over its coercive behaviour, sanctioning of Chinese vessels and firms and for starting the Iran war along with Israel as Beijing assumed the rotating one-month presidency of the UN Security Council. The verbal blast came as Washington heaped more pressure on China on Friday by sanctioning a China-based petroleum terminal operator, the latest in a string of recent US moves to cut off Chinese funding to Iran under what the White House has dubbed...

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order expanding sanctions on Cuba, authorising penalties not only against Cuban officials but also on foreign companies and financial institutions that do business with the island. The order significantly broadens Washington’s ability to exert economic pressure, allowing US authorities to target third-country actors deemed to support the Cuban government, in a move that could have implications for global firms, including those in China and...

The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions on entities and individuals it said were involved in trading Iranian petroleum, including a China-based oil terminal operator and a Chinese national, as it ramped up pressure on Tehran to end the conflict. The State Department said the operator, Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal Co., Ltd, “imported tens of millions of barrels of sanctioned Iranian crude oil”. Also on the sanctions list are Li Xinchun, a Chinese national who is the president of a...

After being forced to check his Academy Award on a transatlantic flight, recent winner Pavel Talankin’s Oscar went missing before an airline tracked it down two days later. Talankin, who co-directed the best documentary winner Mr Nobody Against Putin, did not expect to have to check his statuette for a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport bound for Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday. But a Transportation Security Administration agent said it could not go on board. “At the airport, a TSA...

US President Donald Trump told Congress on Friday that the hostilities in Iran “have terminated” following the ceasefire starting April 7, with the deadline for a congressional authorisation of the war looming. “There has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” Trump wrote in letters sent to the House and the Senate. Trump’s claims echoed previous remarks from senior officials in...

US President Donald Trump sang the praises of King Charles after the latter’s state visit this week. He even lifted some tariffs on Scotch whisky as a favour to the British monarch. The king delivered a diplomatic masterclass on the trip, mixing praise for his host with subtle criticism. It’s unclear, though, whether it will make a major difference to a transatlantic relationship troubled by divisions over issues including the Iran war. “In the short term probably yes, in the long term probably...

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would increase the tariffs charged on cars and trucks from the European Union next week to 25 per cent, a move that could jolt the world economy at a fragile moment. Trump said in the post that the EU “is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal”, though he did not flesh out his objections in the post. Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to the trade deal last July. It set a 15 per cent tariff on most...

A small plane crashed in Texas Hill Country, killing all five people aboard, officials said on Friday. The crash happened on Thursday night in Wimberley, a city about 40 miles (65km) southwest of Austin, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said on social media. The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna 421C crashed around 11.25pm with five people on board. It said the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The plane took off from Amarillo, Texas, about two...

The US stock market is rising towards more records on Friday after Apple, Estee Lauder and other big companies became the latest to deliver fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. Modest dips for oil prices also helped to steady the relatively few stock markets open worldwide on the May Day holiday. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent and added to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 226 points, or 0.5 per cent, as of 9.35am Eastern...

We have selected six of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chile exposes smuggling ring that shipped US$917m in stolen copper to China Chinese buyers were the end destination of a five-year smuggling pipeline that drained an estimated US$917 million worth of stolen copper from Chile, authorities said in April after police dismantled the network...

Japan’s relaxation of its weapons-export rules opens a path for talks that could one day lead to Tokyo supplying military equipment to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, Kyiv’s ambassador to Japan said. “This allows us to talk,” Yurii Lutovinov said in an interview at Ukraine’s embassy. “Theoretically, it’s a very big step forward.” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s move last week to ease export rules – Japan’s latest shift away from a strict post-war pacifist stance – has sparked broad...

A 45-year-old man was charged on Friday with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain’s Jewish community. Essa Suleiman was remanded into custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face two counts of the charge related to the attack in Golders Green. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier the same day that left a man with...

If the “China shock” of the early 2000s was about China catching up, then “China shock 2.0” is about the country redefining the boundaries of what is economically possible across manufacturing sectors, according to Columbia University professor Adam Tooze. Amid complaints about the trade and industrial policies accelerating China’s rise in many sectors – including aviation, space, artificial intelligence (AI), telecoms, microprocessors, robotics, nuclear and fusion power, quantum computing,...

State lawmakers declined to back a Trump-inspired plan to move 1,300 homeless people to a campus on the edge of Salt Lake City, but supporters are trying to keep the plan’s spirit alive.

The teenagers, who had faced deportation after a high-profile detention, took the stage on Sunday thanks to an invitation from one of country music’s biggest stars.

A spokesman for the former mayor of New York City said Mr. Giuliani was critical but stable.

Protesters have found a perfect foil in Amazon’s founder, the gala’s lead sponsor this year.

The latest Costume Institute exhibition expands its ideas of who, exactly, belongs in fashion. Will the gala follow suit?

What to know about this year’s celebration, including the return of a superstar last seen on the Met carpet 10 years ago.

A growing number of men across the continent say they are being promised jobs in Russia, only to be forced into the war. Some go as mercenaries, but many more are drawn unwittingly.

Some see a clear explanation: Russia needs more troops, and young men in Africa desperately need jobs.

Air defenses in the Russian capital were breached as Ukraine expands long-range strikes.

Cellphone bans got devices out of students’ hands, according to the first large study. But behavior and academics have not improved, at least so far.

Israel has failed to arrest a wave of violence against Palestinians, prompting military officials to urge the government to intervene.

The party’s congressional campaign arm is promoting more contenders to take down at-risk Republicans — and is taking sides in some competitive primaries.

A stalwart on defense spending, Poland is training its citizens in civil defense while balancing their jobs and families.

Top leaders believe losing 5,000 U.S. troops will not hurt German security. But analysts fear an economic hit, especially in military communities.

Later this month, riders on the weekend will be able to travel directly from Hoboken to the World Trade Center for the first time in nearly 25 years.

Unusual opioids are infiltrating street drugs. Knoxville’s top forensic doctor is on the front lines, pressing to quickly identify the most lethal.

The drugs are 10 times more dangerous than fentanyl. They are showing up in street drugs in the South and the Midwest, and will most likely spread to other regions.

One case of hantavirus infection has been confirmed in a laboratory, the organization said on Sunday. There are five additional suspected cases.

Three passengers of the MV Hondius died after showing symptoms of the rare disease. Health authorities confirmed one case and are investigating five others.

Three people aboard a cruise ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean have died from what health officials suspect were hantavirus infections.

The conspiracy theories around the Butler, Pa., assassination attempt hurt Helen Comperatore, but in this age of distrust, partisanship and social media, she nurtures a conspiracy theory of her own.

He called over 5,600 games, more than any other announcer for the team, and was known for his personalized, slightly wacky home run calls.

The case for ditching self-denial and embracing enjoyment.

The young urban professionals of the 1980s changed our cities, our politics and our meritocratic work lives.

With the threat of a future closing of the Strait of Hormuz a drone strike away, the Iranians appear to actually hold the cards.

We dig into reader questions.

Lee Chun Ho lost four members of his household in last November’s apartment-tower blaze. He’s now telling an investigative committee what contractors ignored.

A flaming crater of gas has burned in Turkmenistan for decades. Satellite imagery suggests that the fires are decreasing, but the environmental implications are unclear.

As the planet warms, past episodes of the natural weather phenomenon may no longer be a reliable guide of how the next one plays out.

Analysts question the feasibility of this long-shot bid by the video game retailer to acquire the much larger online marketplace.