Geopolitical Shifts and Economic Uncertaintyactive

China’s factory-gate inflation gathered momentum in April, fueled by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that kept energy costs elevated and cemented the end of a nearly four-year deflationary cycle.

Speaking about her stepbrother Timothy Heng, Tessa Oh said that his family knew him to be someone who put others before himself and was always there for the people in his life. Early on, when she heard that he was still on Indonesia's Mount Dukono after it erupted while most of his fellow hikers had been evacuated, "my first thought was that he must have [run] back and tried to help someone," the 30-year-old journalist said. More details about his last movements emerged in a media report and accounts...

The World Cup returns to American soil next month, but the bipartisan excitement that once greeted the announcement has given way to a familiar divide. Republicans see a showcase of national prestige and economic might; Democrats see rising costs, immigration enforcement and Donald Trump. The partisan polarization around the world’s largest sporting event has begun to affect preparations nationwide. A recent Senate hearing on federal readiness split on party lines. Some of the nation’s most prominent Democrats are warning that the tournament won’t be safe. Others have begun treating FIFA, the governing body behind the World Cup, as an adjunct of the Trump administration — and they are attacking it with the same populist language they typically use for oil companies and pharmaceutical producers. “I think it shows how big this is, more than anything,” White House FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani said of the partisan conflict emerging around the tournament. “When politicians see something that’s going to get eyeballs and attention, they latch on. There’s a great opportunity to tell their narrative, whether it’s true or false,” added Giuliani, a former Republican candidate for governor of New York. “We’re going to certainly tell our side of the story, which we believe to be true, and Democrats are going to tell their side of the story as well.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has accused Trump of caring “more about being on international TV at midfield on match day than actually hosting successful games.” Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, warned in a recent letter to the Department of Homeland Security last month that the administration is hampering preparations by “systematically dismantling security agencies, delaying critical security assistance, and initiating a war with Iran.” Democratic mayors of the country’s two largest cities have criticized FIFA for its high ticket prices. That criticism appears to derive at least in part from the World Cup’s close association with the White House, where Trump treats FIFA President Gianni Infantino like an allied head of state. Weeks after Trump’s reelection, World Cup host committees — the local organizing institutions which contract with FIFA in 11 U. S. cities that will feature matches – abandoned its Democratic-led lobbying team in favor of one led by former Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman that specialized in outreach to Republicans. The polarization is now affecting World Cup views among everyone from American voters — who now tell pollsters they are divided by party on Iran’s participation and ICE’s role in tournament security — to the Congressional Soccer Caucus, a bipartisan group that built broad coalitions to cheerlead the tournament’s arrival and help line up federal funding. “FIFA fundamentally disagrees with the one-sided premise of this story,” said FIFA World Cup 2026 chief operating officer Heimo Schirgi. “The FIFA World Cup is a unifier and bigger than any political party lines. Across all forms of government, from local to state to Congressional to federal, we have seen strong bipartisan support for the tournament, and the entire United States wants this FIFA World Cup to be as successful as possible.” “To insinuate that we are acting in a politically influenced manner is baseless and false,” said Schirgi. A friendly match turns competitive In April 2018, as FIFA entered its final deliberations over where to place the 2026 World Cup, the House of Representatives faced a vote to show support for a joint bid mounted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The resolution passed overwhelmingly, with only three Republicans voting against. The effort to win votes for the symbolic measure was led by leaders of the Congressional Soccer Caucus, a 66-member group founded in 2001. Until the World Cup came back to the United States, the caucus effectively managed the world’s most high-powered rec league. It organized the first charity Congressional Soccer match in 2013, pitting Republican and Democratic members of Congress. Now the event includes a staff versus lobbyist match and an embassy cup featuring 16 embassy delegations. The caucus drew dozens of lawmakers from across the ideological spectrum, often bonded over a personal interest in soccer as former players, fans or parents. (The caucus has yet to remove former member Eric Swalwell, the California Democrat who resigned from Congress last month under allegations of sexual misconduct, from its list of members online.) Its four co-chairs span both parties. The arrival of the World Cup gave the group actual lawmaking to do. In September 2024, the caucus’s leaders were back on the House floor with the FIFA World Cup 2026 Commemorative Coin Act, which aimed to fund legacy programs to expand youth soccer access in underserved communities. The bill, led by two Democrats and two Republicans, passed unanimously. Under the Biden administration, federal agencies began working with the 11 U. S. host cities, many of them Democratic-led. FIFA used annual gatherings of mayors and governors as opportunities to work local politicians, particularly those leading the jurisdictions with World Cup matches. In 2023, those host cities hired a lobbying team from Foley & Lardner led by former congressman Dennis Cardoza, a California Democrat. In the weeks after Trump’s 2024 reelection, FIFA redirected its lobbying efforts. As Washington prepared for a Republican trifecta, the host committees dropped Cardoza’s Democrat-led team for a Republican-focused lobbying team from firm Hogan Lovells led by Coleman, who campaigned for Trump as chair. of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Trump responded in kind, publicly tying himself to the tournament throughout 2025. He has appeared in public with Infantino more than with any other world leader, enlisting him as an ally in policy matters well beyond sports. During a joint appearance with FIFA’s president in the Oval about World Cup visa processing in November, Trump declined to rule out military action in Mexico. Infantino attended the signing of an October ceasefire agreement to end the war in Gaza, and then months later participated in the inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace in a red MAGA-style hat. In December, Infantino invented a FIFA Peace Prize to award Trump in the form of a trophy, a medal and a certificate. As the American cities designated to host matches agitated for federal funds to offset heightened security and transit funds, soccer-caucus leaders often took the lead on the Hill. They helped to secure $625 million in federal security grants for host cities, one of the few areas of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that won active support from Democrats. (The whole bill nevertheless passed by a party-line vote.) ”It had broad bipartisan support because the 11 host cities were all talking to members of Congress and senators on both sides,” Congressman Darin LaHood, an Illinois Republican, said in an interview. “And to the credit of the Trump administration, you know, they went to bat.” But the $625 million in federal security funding was slow to move out to cities. In August, the Trump administration issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity that listed “no later than” Jan. 30, 2026, as the anticipated date to grant awards. But when that deadline passed, the cities had yet to receive any notification, leaving them uncertain about tens of millions of dollars they had counted on to stage the tournament. Democrats in the soccer caucus began to drop the we’re-all-on-the-same-team sensibility. In November, New Jersey Congresswoman Nellie Pou — whose district includes MetLife Stadium, where the tournament’s final match will be played on July 19 — wrote to the Department of Homeland Security… “Clearly time went by, and it didn’t happen,” said Pou. “The politicization of this World Cup was really started by this administration.” A focus on the Department of Homeland Security’s role in the tournament further split the soccer caucus on partisan lines. Democrats grew concerned about communications from federal agencies suggesting they would deploy immigration and border agents at FIFA events. When Homeland Security — the federal arm working most closely with the White House’s task force — was partially shut down to congressional deadlock, both sides blamed one another for imperiling the tournament experience. “The longer Democrats refuse to appropriately fund DHS,” wrote Republican congressmen Mark Alford of Missouri and Derek Schmidt of Kansas — whose Kansas City area is hosting five matches — in early March, “the more difficult it becomes for host cities to finalize contracts, procure equipment, and complete the necessary planning to safely host this global event.” Ticket to collide When FIFA began listing match tickets for sale starting in the fall of 2025, the staggering prices — both for those being sold directly through an opaque process and in a FIFA-run resale marketplace — drew shock from fan organizations and politicians worldwide. The Swiss-based non-profit organization has said that it will reinvest a majority of its tournament revenue into the 211 member federations “to boost global football development.” But that has not prevented Democratic politicians from talking about FIFA as another nemesis in the affordability wars that have come to define the era’s debates over political economy. (Even Trump recoiled this week when told tickets to the U. S. team’s opening match against Paraguay, in Los Angeles, were selling for $1,000.) At a U. S. Conference of Mayors meeting where Infantino was in attendance, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blasted the World Cup as too costly for fans, contrasting it with the 2028 Olympics in her city, which she says will have more accessible prices. “That’s the thing that is unfortunate about FIFA,” Bass, a Democrat seeking reelection in a nonpartisan primary that will take place a week before the World Cup begins, said at the January conference. “Because even the nosebleed tickets are hundreds of dollars.” In March, one out of three House Democrats signed onto a letter demanding FIFA reduce ticket prices. “FIFA maintains control over the tournament’s most lucrative revenue streams, while host cities and their residents are left to shoulder the substantial costs of accommodating millions of visitors, often without meaningful access to the matches themselves,” read the letter drafted by Los Angeles-area Democrat Sydney Kamlager-Dove and signed by 68 of her colleagues. Other prominent Democrats, especially those around the New York and New Jersey region where eight matches including the final will be held, have emerged as FIFA’s most vocal critics. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has attacked the soccer nonprofit for raking in $11 billion from the World Cup while state and local governments pick up the tab for security and transportation. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched a “Game Over Greed” petition aimed at lowering ticket prices. Schumer has warned fans are “getting fleeced.” The party’s pressure-group allies, too, are targeting the World Cup. The ACLU and NAACP signed a letter calling for to FIFA to uphold human rights. A powerful Los Angeles service union has lodged a federal complaint with Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium charging the hospitality company that operates the food, beverage and retail services there for creating an unsafe work environment. This week, the AFL-CIO wrote a letter asking FIFA’s leadership to publicly demand the Trump administration keep ICE agents out of host cities, and seeking confirmation that the administration will not launch immigration operations targeting workers, spectators or other members of th…

LONDON — Keir Starmer has one shot at giving the speech of his career. Teetering on the edge of a leadership challenge after a dire set of mid-term election results for Labour, and with pretenders to the role setting out their stalls, the British prime minister is vowing to signal a change in direction in a first formal post-vote address, set for Monday. But POLITICO has spoken to more than a dozen ministers, MPs and advisers since Thursday’s rout who reckon their leader could already be past the point of no return with his party. “Keir won’t meet the moment, and there will be a sense of panic,” one frontbencher said. Internal frustrations at his slow and timid government, his numerous unforced errors and his failing communications burst into the open after Labour lost almost 1,500 council members in local elections across England, as well as the Welsh parliament for the first time since it was created in 1999, plus a Scottish election that seemed winnable 18 months ago. Labour council members in many former industrial areas lost to right-wing insurgents Reform, while the left-wing Greens ate deep into the Labour vote in urban areas with high student and Muslim populations. In the wake of the crushing results, some 40 MPs have called on Starmer to resign or delivered ultimatums to the same effect. As well as the so-called “usual suspects” of Starmer critics, numerous soft-left MPs who have kept their counsel in the past also went over the top, as did one ex-minister on the Labour right and another former frontbencher who threatened to trigger a leadership race if Cabinet members fail to step up. Both those around the PM and his critics agree that if Starmer can survive his reset speech and set out the next tranche of laws his government plans to pass — due to be unveiled when parliament reopens on Wednesday — it will buy him enough time to at least attempt a turnaround. The speech will center on “vision and values” rather than announcing new policies, according to aides familiar with the planning. It will acknowledge mistakes and attempt a more upbeat assessment of the future. It will touch on issues like disadvantaged children, national security and closer EU relations. “To meet the challenges that our country faces, incremental change won’t cut it,” the PM will say, to counter claims his government lacks urgency. “People need hope. We will face up to the big challenges and we will make the big arguments.” Those around the PM argue his future cannot ride on one speech alone — but all agree a complete change of course is needed for the Starmer administration to survive. “It’s now critical Labour seizes this moment,” said Alison Phillips, CEO of the Labour Together organization that helped propel Starmer into office. “Speculation about leadership is inevitable, but confronting the big challenges the country faces with a determination to take bold steps and spell out the necessary trade offs is vital.” A lost hope Critics who have witnessed Starmer resets in the past have low expectations for the speech, however. Those expectations weren’t helped when the PM appointed veteran Labour grandees Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman to advisory roles over the weekend — prompting mockery about a lack of ideas and talent, as well as delusion about the solutions to the current crisis. Some 40 MPs have called on Starmer to resign or delivered ultimatums to the same effect. | Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images It was after those appointments that Catherine West blindsided Westminster with her demand for a Cabinet member to challenge the PM — vowing otherwise to do so herself. The former minister told the BBC “the voters sent us a very strong message that we are not good enough” and said other failing organizations would change their senior management. But her bold pitch — chalked up as an emotional response to seeing a close councillor friend lose her seat — has helped illustrate the inertia in Labour between factions wanting to trigger a leadership challenge but fearing their preferred candidate losing. Backers of the Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham fear the West gambit could trigger a contest too soon for their man to find a route into parliament. “Anyone calling for the PM to quit but using the words ‘orderly transition’ is talking about waiting for Andy,” one of his supporters said. The assumption is that a contest sooner would benefit expected candidates Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister who was forced to resign from government over a tax scandal. The former is said to be drawing up a policy program, while the latter set one out in a social media statement on Sunday night, putting Starmer on notice ahead of his speech. “This may be our last chance,” Rayner said. “The prime minister must now meet the moment and set out the change our country needs.” But, for either to launch their own challenge, one of three things would have to happen: They would have to go over the top and attempt to force a ballot themselves, Starmer would have to resign, or 81 nominations fellow MPs would have to back West’s candidacy to trigger a formal contest. Fight to the end It’s not clear whether West would gain enough nominations to trigger a race on her own — and a failure to do so could mean continued stasis. Three people who have mulled the numbers argue excluding those backing Burnham, those wanting Starmer to remain (or at least avoid the chaos of a leadership contest) and frontbenchers unwilling to resign to support a stalking horse, she could have no path to the 81 nominations. In her BBC interview, West declined to spell out whether she thought she had the numbers. But even if a contest were held, Starmer would get an automatic place on the ballot and could even go on to win. Allies of the PM have insisted he would fight a challenge, as has Starmer himself. “I’m not going to walk away from the job I was elected to do in July 2024,” he told the Observer this weekend. One former Labour aide noted that a contest including Starmer is not what the main challengers have been planning for. The hope had been that the PM would step aside, to avoid a bitter internecine fight. But Labour MPs at their wits end want action, not hesitation. “The cabinet has a constitutional responsibility,” one said. “We’re on the verge of a government not functioning.” Others are appalled at the descent into crisis less than two years into the first Labour government for a decade and a half. “It’s all very sad,” one minister said on Sunday. “We are throwing away a rare chance in government. I’m turning my phone off and going for a long run.” Dan Bloom contributed to this report.

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest refiner by sa...

Mark Episkopos, research fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, says European leaders can secure a seat at the negotiating table at any time, but there are no signs that this will happen in the foreseeable future

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Monday a closer examina...

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- Authorities were searching for a missing elementary sc...

US President Donald Trump will pay a state visit China from May 13 to 15, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, the foreign ministry in Beijing said on Monday. It will be the first visit to China by a US president in almost nine years and comes at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries over a range of issues. It also coincides with the fragile US-Iran ceasefire and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is pushing up energy costs and weighing on the global...

Nine years after his elaborate first visit to China as US president, Donald Trump is scheduled to return to Beijing on May 14-15. Beijing has not yet confirmed the date. With tensions over tariffs, Taiwan, and technological competition still high, the summit will test whether the world's two largest powers can stabilize their strained relationship. What to expect: Pragmatic deals, not grand resets. Do not expect a historic breakthrough. The focus is expected to be on extending the trade truce and securing...

China's government is investing heavily in artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and military capabilities, while consumer confidence is declining and the job market is becoming increasingly challenging.

The US-Israel war against Iran has now entered its tenth week and there has been little progress on the stalled peace talks. These are the major takeaways from what happened overnight. What did Trump say? Iran reportedly sent a response to Washington’s latest proposal – a one-page memo aimed at ending the war – but it was rejected by US President Donald Trump. “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” he wrote on social media on Sunday. Tehran’s Tasnim news agency, citing an “informed source”, reported that...

Laredo Police confirm multiple bodies found in cargo train; identities and causes of death remain unknown.

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened at a fresh record high Mond...

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- Lotte Shopping Co., an affiliate of South Korean retai...

SEJONG, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's exports jumped 43.7 percent from a year...

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks opened at a fresh record high Mond...

Jennifer Kavanagh, director of the military analysis program at Defense Priorities, said Russian president's remarks "expressing willingness to engage in diplomacy with Europe were notable"

Former Florida Rep. Bill Posey (R) died on Sunday at the age of 78 surrounded by his wife and two daughters after years of service representing Florida’s 15th and 8th congressional districts.  “Congressman Posey represented Florida in the United States House of Representatives from 2009 to 2025, following distinguished service in both the Florida House…

The construction of three hospitals funded with national funds has been temporarily suspended following a recommendation from the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court of Accounts (TSC) to halt the work while investigations into their execution are carried out, President Nasry Asfura confirmed upon his return to the country from an international tour. The announcement comes within the context of a project to build eight hospitals promoted by the previous administration, of which three were being developed with state resources: the hospitals in Salamá, Ocotepeque, and Olancho. According to the president, the suspension is necessary to review the financial viability of the project and the use of public funds allocated to its construction. Healthcare Transformation Asfura explained that proceeding with these projects would have meant committing national funds in a context of high budgetary pressure on the healthcare system, which, according to him, could affect payments to suppliers, the purchase of medications, and the salaries of healthcare workers. "These are projects funded with national funds that do not actually exist, because it would mean neglecting urgent obligations of the healthcare system," the head of state stated, justifying the suspension. Control Agencies Order Suspension The president noted that both the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court of Accounts requested the suspension of the work...

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has signed a deal to export an additional ...

US president says Tehran's response 'unacceptable', as Iranian military warns it is ready if US-Israel war resumes.

The White House announced that President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing for two days starting on November 14th. A senior official in the Trump administration indicated that the situation in Iran will be one of the topics discussed, and that President Trump is likely to pressure China, which is seen as supporting Iran.

Nearly 2,250 hectares of land have burned in Ukraine as a result of fires in ecosystems.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that the WHO provides, but does not impose, its recommendations on member countries

Iran rejected the latest US peace proposal on Sunday, prompting a swift dismissal from Donald Trump, who called the response “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” on social media. The exchange marks another setback in efforts to ease tensions in the Persian Gulf, where disrupted shipping and rising energy prices continue to fuel global concern.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt celebrated Mother's Day with a photo of her newborn daughter and toddler son.

Plan will ‘deliver long-term economic growth while boosting our already strong trade relationship’, says minister

Six-seat premium electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are emerging as an unlikely game changer in China’s automotive market, with more than a dozen new locally developed models set to challenge German luxury brands this year. The spacious vehicles, increasingly popular among wealthy families in mainland China, could drive a rebound in the world’s largest car and electric vehicle (EV) market as they combined Chinese EVs’ technological edge with competitive pricing, according to Morgan...

US president arrives in Beijing on Wednesday for his second in-person meeting with Chinese leader

As Trump prepares to meet with Xi Jinping, he is eager to move on from the conflict that is sapping his domestic power and straining the global economy.

The head of the technical secretariat and the assistant have been dismissed. Renzi stated that the minister should resign. Lollobrigida commented that Merlino and Proietti are individuals of unquestionable competence.

The furious reaction from Palazzo Chigi. Negotiations are underway to "save" the head of the secretariat. The head of the cabinet, Valentina Gimignani, is also at risk.

The Democratic Party senator, a member of the Culture Committee, stated: "We are facing a right-wing faction that has replaced cultural policies with a desire to control and denigrate the sector."

The signals from the Russian leader are being met with a cool reception by government offices. Witkoff and Kushner are heading to Moscow. Zelensky: "The ceasefire has been violated."

In Italy, the proposal has sparked disbelief: "It's not a serious proposal." However, there are also those who support it: "If it's needed, why not?"

The surge in hydrocarbon prices triggered by tensions around the Strait of Hormuz is accelerating global demand for Chinese energy transition technologies, further strengthening Beijing's industrial lead in electric vehicles and solar panels.

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- U. S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to visit S...

Iran delivered its response to Pakistani mediators on Sunday, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. (Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- The following are the top headlines in major South Kor...

Sources within the Pasdaran (Iranian Revolutionary Guard) claim that Trump's reaction is irrelevant. The Wall Street Journal reports: "Tehran has approved the transfer of already enriched uranium." Trump stated: "Tehran has been mocking us for 47 years, but that will stop now." A US-Qatar summit is being held in Miami in an attempt to reach an agreement.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Sunday stressed the need for bipartisan cooperation to address maternal healthcare gaps.  On Mother’s Day, the two spoke to host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about their work to improve access to care for mothers. Sanders, a mother to three…

Russian President Vladimir Putin: "The war is coming to an end. The negotiator I would prefer is Schroeder."

Also in today's newsletter: Evacuation of a cruise ship affected by hantavirus begins, and Germany revises its plan to purchase US Tomahawk missiles.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing increasing pressure following disappointing local election results, which saw Labour lose a significant number of council seats and marked a strong advance for Reform UK. The outcome has reignited questions about his leadership and fueled speculation about a potential challenge from within the party, with backbench MP Catherine West among those suggesting she could initiate a leadership contest if no Cabinet member steps forward first. This situation comes as Starmer prepares to deliver a key speech on Monday, widely seen as an attempt to reset his message and reassert his authority. France 24’s Gavin Lee is joined by Paul Richards, a former Labour advisor under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and a columnist, to discuss the implications for Starmer and the party’s future.

Joaquín Niemann concluded his participation in the LIV Golf of Virginia with an outstanding final round of 65 strokes (-7), a result that allowed him to climb positions and secure a spot within the top 10 of the overall standings. The Torque player finished tied for eighth place with Jon Rahm and Scott Vincent, with a total score of -15, after posting scores of 70, 71, 67, and 65 over the four rounds of the tournament. Sunday's performance was the best of the tournament for the Talagante native and allowed him to overcome a shaky start. The Chilean had begun the tournament with scores of -2 and -1 in the first two rounds, before improving with a round of 67 strokes (-5) on the third day. In the decisive round, he consistently played below par. During the final round, Niemann recorded birdies on holes 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, and 18. He did not record any bogeys on this day. The rest of his scorecard consisted of par scores. This sequence allowed him to finish with impressive results. However, it is true that Joaco remained far from the leading positions, as the leaders established a significant advantage. The final standings were topped by Australian Lucas Herbert, a member of Ripper GC, who secured the title with a total score of -24. Herbert posted scores of -8, -9, -4, and -3, finishing four strokes ahead of Spaniard Sergio García, who came in second with -20 (scores of -…

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is visiting Japan before the upcoming U.S.-China summit, and she announced that she will be meeting with Prime Minister Kishida and Finance Minister Katayama, among others, on the 12th. Discussions are expected to cover a wide range of topics, including responses to the situation in Iran and strengthening cooperation between Japan and the United States regarding rare earth elements.

Trump described Iran’s latest response to his proposal aimed at ending the 10-week conflict with the US as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE”.

Iranian authorities have imposed an internet ban but using trusted sources, special correspondent Fergal Keane hears from those traumatised by conflict and government repression.

US president will likely 'apply pressure' to China for buying Iranian oil during war.

Tiny tungsten cubes from Israeli bombs are causing devastating internal injuries to people in Lebanon.

A dissident in Tehran says she feels helpless and under immense psychological pressure.

President Trump on Sunday criticized the Iranian government's response to his administration's peace proposal. The president wrote on his Truth Social platform, "I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives.' I don't like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" The Islamic Republic News Agency reported earlier Sunday that negotiators in Tehran submitted their response to…

Tehran had previously called for an end to the war in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets.

Israeli officials hail Foxman, who led the ADL advocacy group for nearly three decades, as warm and passionate.

Trump: "Iran mocks the United States, but you won't be laughing anymore." For Netanyahu, "it's not over."

President Trump on Sunday said federal agencies “must buy American,” doubling down on his push to prioritize the use of products manufactured, developed and produced in the United States. “ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES MUST BUY AMERICAN — NO EXCUSES! For decades, Washington politicians sent your Taxpayer Dollars overseas, and let Foreign Countries rip us off while…

The annual "Japan Parade," a popular event showcasing Japanese culture, was held in New York City. Performers from a stage production based on a popular Japanese manga also participated, adding to the excitement of the parade.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s political problems have likely grown too big to solve with a single speech. For now, he will try to forestall an immediate challenge to his job.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Sunday called a recent Virginia Supreme Court ruling rolling back redistricting in the state “disgraceful,” saying the court “suckered the people of Virginia.” “So, what the Virginia Supreme Court did was not only wrong, it was disgraceful. They basically said, ‘Hey, Virginia, spend all this taxpayers’ money holding an election,…

The Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, announced this Sunday that his country will respond to any potential European military deployment in the Strait of Hormuz that aims to contribute to a US-led blockade. "The presence of French and British warships, or any other country that potentially joins the illegal and internationally unlawful actions of the United States in the Strait of Hormuz, will receive a decisive and immediate response," the Iranian Deputy Minister stated in a post on X. In this regard, Iran asserted that the security of the strait must be exclusively under Iranian control. "Both in times of war and peace, only the Islamic Republic of Iran can guarantee security in this strait, and it will not allow any country to interfere in these matters," Gharibabadi added. These statements come after the deployment of French and British warships to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the aim of contributing to a future cooperation mission designed to protect freedom of navigation near the Strait of Hormuz. "Maritime security is not guaranteed through displays of military power, especially by actors who, through support, participation, or silence in the face of aggression and blockade, are part of the problem," the Iranian official stated. Gharibabadi also pointed out that regional instability...

Donald Trump called Iran's peace plan "totally unacceptable." The fragile ceasefire had been tested earlier in the day with strikes across the Gulf. DW has more

Donald Trump called Iran's peace plan "totally unacceptable." The fragile ceasefire had been tested earlier in the day by Iranian strikes across the Gulf. DW has more.

The former chancellor's office, in response to a request from the DPA news agency, stated that Schroeder would not be making any statements regarding his willingness to mediate the talks.

Iran submitted its response to the US proposal aimed at ending the war, even as a series of incidents continued to put pressure on an already fragile ceasefire.

President Donald Trump said that Iran's latest response to his proposal to end the 10-week conflict with the US is "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE," as the two sides continue to maintain a fragile ceasefire.

"After four years of war and sanctions, diplomacy must take the lead," the statement says.

The U. S. wants ‘stability’ but China’s Communist leader has larger ambitions.

Donald Trump said he and Elon Musk "played with" claims of gold theft from Fort Knox, but hinted that the reserve remains intact.

Trump will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening for the visit, which he had originally postponed in March due to the ongoing conflict in Iran.

Approximately 146,000 years ago, during the Ice Age, a group of archaic humans carved stones with a logic that scientists did not expect to find in that region or during that period. The tools they left behind at the Lingjing site, in central China, are rewriting what was known about human intelligence in East Asia. Within a fossil bone from an ungulate animal, similar to a deer, crystals of calcite—a mineral that acts as a natural clock—grew, and their analysis revealed that the site is 20,000 years older than previously believed. This places its occupation not in a warm period, but in the midst of a severe glacial period, approximately 146,000 years ago. Stones carved at the worst possible time The study was led by Yu-chao Zhao, a researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, United States, along with senior researcher Zhan-yang Li, from Shandong University, China. The team included specialists from the University of Michigan, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and the findings were published in the journal *Journal of Human Evolution*. The Lingjing site, located in the city of Xuchang, in Henan province, was excavated between 2005 and 2016 and revealed cranial fossils and thousands of stone tools. They belonged to *Homo juluensis*, an archaic human species with traits shared with Neanderthals in Europe, and with cranial capacities of approximately 1,800 cubic centimeters. Before the study was conducted…

A play of lights was used to strongly criticize the club's advertisement.

South Korea says it is investigating an incident on May 4 when two unidentified objects struck a Korean-operated cargo ship.

Tehran proposes a "ceasefire and a secure Strait of Hormuz." For Netanyahu, "it's not over."

Volunteers at al-Shifa Hospital cleared rubble and planted olive trees in the courtyard as a symbol of hope.

Details were not immediately clear. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said he hoped the response would include a “serious offer for a ceasefire.”

The Chief of the Pakistani Army, General Asim Munir, issued a stern warning to India on Sunday, stating that any future aggression will have "extremely painful" consequences, as he commemorated the first anniversary of the brief armed conflict that pitted the two nuclear powers against each other in 2025. From the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Munir described the so-called "Operation Bunyan-um Marsoos" as an "unprecedented victory," a four-day confrontation that began after a terrorist attack on tourists in the Indian town of Pahalgam in April of last year. According to the General, Pakistani forces struck "more than 26 enemy military targets." "The defense of Pakistan is today completely impenetrable," he stated to the military leadership during a day of national celebrations that the state has dubbed the "Battle of Truth." While Islamabad celebrates a resounding success, New Delhi also claimed victory at the time, asserting that it had neutralized Pakistani offensive capabilities and inflicted severe damage to its strategic infrastructure. In May 2025, the disparity in data regarding casualties and material losses on both sides made it impossible for international observers to determine a clear winner. The escalation, which brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war, was only halted on May 10, 2025, thanks to a ceasefire mediated by…

Ukraine and Norway have agreed to jointly produce long-range 155 mm artillery shells.

No details have been released regarding the original proposal from the North American country, nor about Tehran's response.

President Donald Trump is likely to press President Xi Jinping over China’s approach to Iran when they meet later this week, senior US officials said Sunday.

I consider the proposal worthy of welcome as it brings movement into German-Russian relations, she said, adding that Schroeder had long offered himself as a mediator in the conflict in Ukraine

When the Norwegian, Ståle Wig, decided to move to Cuba, it wasn't just a trip to another continent, another country. It was a journey to the past, to a warm land frozen in time, where dilapidated cars from a bygone era coexist with a decaying system, the revolution imposed through bloodshed by Fidel Castro. The project was to write his anthropology thesis, for which he had received a scholarship and which was originally supposed to take place in Southern Africa. After casually visiting the island for a few days with his partner, he changed his plans and wanted to locate his research there, in that legendary tropical communism that somehow captured his attention and became an obsession. In an interview with LA NACION, Ståle said that as a university student in Europe, "he wasn't one of those who wore the Che Guevara t-shirt," referring to the vintage admirers of the Caribbean communist paradise who still exist around the world. Coming from a country like Norway, he emphasized, where the state and the market work in harmony for a more dignified society, he was not in favor of "either wild capitalism or failed communism." But Cuba intrigued him. It wasn't a paradise; it was another world. It didn't take him long to move to that island of sepia-toned photographs. An island where he saw that nothing worked properly, with no doctors in the hospitals or teachers in the schools, where anyone can be accused of treason and dragged to jail for as long as some powerful figure decides...

The Catholic Church has accused the Secretariat of Governance (Segob) and the National Migration Institute (INM) of detaining migrants in Mexico City in recent days. These detentions reportedly occurred in public spaces or in people's homes without official warrants and without the minimum guarantees of due process. The Church called for an end to these raids and for the migration operations to be brought into compliance with the constitutional framework. Through its editorial section, "From the Faith," the Church explained that the Human Mobility Pastoral of the Archdiocese of Mexico City has received direct and verified testimonies, along with those from partner organizations, regarding detentions carried out in the Cuauhtémoc and Miguel Hidalgo boroughs, particularly in the neighborhoods of Guerrero, San Rafael, La Merced, Tepito, and in areas of Polanco and Iztapalapa. The report detailed that official vehicles bearing the logos of the Secretariat of Governance (Segob) and the National Migration Institute (INM) have transported foreign nationals, intercepted in public spaces or even in their own homes, to migration stations and, subsequently, to other parts of the country. Also read: Amnesty International demands protection for mothers searching for missing persons; warns of a crisis of disappearances in Mexico. The report further stated that, according to information gathered by the Human Mobility Pastoral, these operations have, in numerous cases, been carried out without official warrants to support them, and without clear identification of…

Russian President Vladimir Putin finally says he is ready for real meetings.

Merlino and Proietti, prominent figures within the FdI party, have been ousted. The Democratic Party (PD) states: "There is a war within the ruling coalition."

Aware of the potentially devastating impact their technology could have on jobs and society, the leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic are advancing a range of progressive ideas aimed at preserving social cohesion.

Bryan Clark is a senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute.

Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Moscow soon. The EU does not rule out dialogue but rejects Schroeder's role as a mediator.

Party leader has been vocal about its gains in London and there is a feeling that its losses could have been worse By any sane person’s reckoning, the Conservative party had a night to forget in Thursday’s local, mayoral and devolved elections. It lost about 500 councillors in England and ceded control of three local authorities to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – losing to the rightwing upstarts in England, Wales and Scotland. Why then is Kemi Badenoch hailing these results as proof that “the Conservatives are coming back” – and why do many Tory MPs appear to agree with her? The Conservative leader was vocal on Friday about the eye-catching gains her party made in politically atypical London, where the Tories won back the totemic council of Westminster, took the most seats in Wandsworth council and saw off the threat from Reform in Bexley and Bromley. Continue reading...

The opposition party uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) (Spear of the Nation) has called for a motion of no confidence against the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, after the country's Constitutional Court decided to reopen an impeachment process against him for allegedly covering up the theft of foreign currency from a property he owns in 2020. The party, founded by former President Jacob Zuma, has demanded that the vote in the National Assembly take place in a closed session, joining a previous request from the African Transformation Movement (ATM) party, according to a statement published on Facebook. While the combined number of seats held by the two parties in Parliament – 58 and 2, respectively – is not enough to reach the simple majority required to pass a motion of no confidence, a secret ballot would allow certain factions within the African National Congress (ANC) to express their dissatisfaction with the current leader's performance. This request comes after the South African Constitutional Court overturned a 2022 vote in the chamber that rejected a report including evidence of alleged irregularities committed by Ramaphosa in a case that resurfaced two years ago, when the former head of intelligence accused the president of attempting to cover up the theft of approximately $580,000 hidden in a sofa at a farm he owns. The court's ruling points to the formation of an impeachment commission for…

Iran may negotiate about its nuclear facilities, but it "will not destroy uranium or allow it to be moved."

US president says Washington has the nuclear material in Iran 'surveilled' and will 'blow up' anyone who gets near it.

Plus, US Treasury secretary visits Tokyo and Starmer attempts reset in the UK after disastrous local election results

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in a clip aired Sunday morning that the war in Iran is not yet over—and military forces may need to continue the battle on the ground. “I think it accomplished a great deal, but it’s not over,” Netanyahu told CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett in his first U.S. broadcast television interview since the war with Iran began. The preview of the interview, which will air in full Sunday evening, touched on Netanyahu’s belief that Iran still holds enriched uranium that must be removed, though he did not specify how that would happen. “There are still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled. There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce,” Netanyahu said. “Now, we’ve degraded a lot of it. But all that is still there, and there’s work to be done.” When pressed on how that could be accomplished, the prime minister laughed. “You go in, and you take it out,” he said. “I’m not gonna talk about military means, but what President Trump has said to me, ‘I want to go in there.’ And I think it can be done physically. That’s not the problem. If you have an agreement, and you go in, and you take it out, why not? That’s the best way.” The United States and Israel first launched attacks against Iran in February, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump initially gave varying estimates on the l…

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said Sunday that President Trump is entering his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a "weakened" position. "President Trump is going into this meeting terribly weakened," Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told host Shannon Bream on "Fox News Sunday." "He has involved ourselves in…

Syria's judiciary has charged Atef Najib with acts "amounting to war crimes" as Bashar Assad's cousin is accused of orchestrating a crackdown on 2011 protests that subsequently degenerated into a decade of civil war.

One of five French people flown back to France on Sunday from the cruise ship struck by a deadly hantavirus outbreak is showing symptoms of the illness, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. “One of them showed symptoms in the repatriation plane,” he posted on social media. “These five passengers have immediately been placed in strict isolation until further notice. “They are getting medical treatment and will have tests and a medical check-up,” he added. Lecornu also said he would...