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Military spending surges in Europe and Asia, pushing world to levels not seen in 16 years, report says
Giant fossil fuel companies made about $12,000 in the time it took you to read this headline
Supreme Court to debate whether police may seek sweeping cellphone location data in investigations

Military spending surges in Europe and Asia, pushing world to levels not seen in 16 years, report says
Giant fossil fuel companies made about $12,000 in the time it took you to read this headline
Supreme Court to debate whether police may seek sweeping cellphone location data in investigations

Military spending surges in Europe and Asia, pushing world to levels not seen in 16 years, report says

Global military spending surged by almost 3% in 2025, fueled largely by ballooning defense expenditures in Europe and Asia, according to a report released Monday by a respected arms watchdog group.European defense spending jumped 14% from 2024, to $864 billion, and in Asia-Oceania the increase was 8.1%, to $681 billion, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its annual “Trends in World Military Expenditure” report.Overall, almost $2.9 trillion was spent on military programs around the world in 2025, a 2.9% increase from a year earlier. The figure represents 2.

Giant fossil fuel companies made about $12,000 in the time it took you to read this headline

Supreme Court to debate whether police may seek sweeping cellphone location data in investigations

Business|Finance|Science|Technology

Elon Musk and Sam Altman are about to face off in court. Is an impartial jury even possible?

A group of regular people who might not even know much about artificial intelligence could soon determine OpenAI’s future.Elon Musk’s lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its leaders, including CEO Sam Altman, heads to court Monday. Some of the biggest names in tech are expected to testify about whether executives deceived Musk and betrayed OpenAI’s original nonprofit mission when it evolved to include a for-profit arm.The trial comes at a precarious time for OpenAI, with a blockbuster IPO on the horizon and frenzied competition among rivals. OpenAI’s IPO ambitions may fall apart i

India and New Zealand sign a free trade agreement to deepen economic ties

India-New Zealand trade pact cuts fruit tariffs, boosts exports, visas

Asia|Business|Environment|Political|World

Indonesia appoints labour union chief as new environment minister

JAKARTA, April 27 - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has appointed a labour union chief as the country's new environment minister, the palace said on Monday, replacing Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, who oversaw several high profile environment-related probes since taking office in late 2024.• New Environment Minister Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat, chief of All-Indonesia Workers' Union Confederation, is best known for having led protests against former President Suharto in the 1990s.• In 2021, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison for attempting to stir unrest, and he backed Prabowo's opponent in

Iran war fertiliser squeeze could spell trouble for next year's grain harvests

The insurgent groups battling Mali's military-led government

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Crime|Political|US|World

Latest US military strike on alleged drug boat kills 3 in eastern Pacific

The latest U.S. military strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean killed three people Sunday, according to a social media post by U.S. Southern Command. The Trump administration's campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has gone on since early September and killed at least 186 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the Caribbean Sea. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs. After Sunday's attack, Southern Command posted a vide

Oil prices increase after Iran doubles down on Strait of Hormuz closure, accuses US of undermining trust

Oil prices rose Sunday after an Iranian official warned that the Strait of Hormuz will “under no circumstances” return to its previous state.Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up about 2.14% to $107.58. US crude was up 2.08% to $96.36.Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that ongoing US actions were undermining trust and complicating paths to dialogue, according to Iran’s state broadcaster. The accusations come a week after Iran accused the United States of “breaches of trust” and once again closed the Strait of Hormuz.Pezesh

Trump calls for unity and bipartisan healing after another violent incident. But will it last?

Visualizing the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting incident in maps

Crime|Political|US

Suspected gunman at White House Correspondents’ Dinner raises questions about event’s security protocol

The suspected gunman who charged past a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday has renewed questions about Secret Service protocols and whether there should be changes to the already tight cordon at the annual star-studded event.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, hailed the response as “a massive security success story.”He said investigators believe the California man who was arrested, Cole Tomas Allen, intended to attack administration officials at the event, based on his writings that investi

Crime|Political|US|World

Sound of gunfire carries eerie echoes of Reagan's shooting outside the same Washington hotel

When President Ronald Reagan left the Washington Hilton Hotel and headed for his waiting limousine on a gray March afternoon, he was exposed for mere seconds. That was all it took for a would-be assassin to take aim and fire. Reagan was hit in the chest and nearly died. Forty-five years later, another gunman is accused of trying to storm into the same hotel's ballroom during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night. The suspect fired at least one shot, authorities said, before being subdued in a chaotic scene that forced the evacuation of President

Thuds, an eerie silence, then chaos at Trump dinner with White House journalists

Prosecutors say suspect gave shifting accounts in Florida doctoral student killing case

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Oil up almost 3% as US-Iran peace talks stall

Oil prices jumped almost 3% on Monday as peace talks between the U.S. and Iran stalled and shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remained limited, keeping global oil supplies tight. The Brent crude benchmark rose $3, or about 2.9%, to $108.36 a barrel by 0828 GMT, its highest in three weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was up $2.45, or 2.6%, at $96.85.Brent and WTI gained nearly 17% and 13% respectively last week for their biggest weekly gains since the start of the war.Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded over the weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran could telephone if i

Environment|Science|Technology|World

Twin tornadoes spotted in northern Oklahoma

Parts of the Midwest, including much of Illinois, could face a threat of violent, EF3 or stronger, tornadoes Monday as a multi-day severe weather outbreak enters what could be its most dangerous phase yet.Widespread damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes also threaten nearly 40 million people across a broader zone from the Mississippi Valley into the lower Ohio Valley Monday.The threat comes after days of severe weather have already carved a destructive path across parts of the Plains and South, producing more than 50 tornado reports since Thursday. These include a violent, preliminarily rat

Multi-day severe storm outbreak builds toward dangerous peak Monday

The lawless floating gas station where Iranian oil changes hands

King Charles set to meet Trump for the toughest mission of his reign

“The word ‘special’ does not begin to do it justice,” said Donald Trump of the relationship between the United States and Britain. “We’re like two notes in one chord, or two verses of the same poem – each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together.”That was in September, when the US president spoke at a banquet hosted by King Charles III to mark his unprecedented second state visit to Britain. Since then, Trump’s comments about Britain have not been so lyrical, or so kind.The president has called Prime Minister Keir Starmer a “loser” over his refusal to

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The Iran war has the world buying more clean energy. China stands to benefit the most

The war in Iran has sent oil-starved countries scrambling for fuel. Many are opting for energy alternatives — and turning to the renewables king of the planet: China.Chinese exports of solar technology, batteries and electric vehicles all reached record highs in March, according to energy think tank Ember, a sign that the historic oil supply shock is accelerating the adoption of clean energy around the world.After the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran in late February, the Iranian military effectively barricaded the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off about one-fifth of global oil and