One can't be sure if #Iran's junta believes in Shiaism or plausible deniability more. www.ft.com/content/c4b7...

The accusations against the #Iraq|i man, Mohammad al-Saadi, describe him as a high-ranking figure in Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia backed by #Iran. The complaint's led to a heightened level of concern following a series of attacks in Europe. #ShiaAQ www.nytimes.com/2026/05/16/w...

#Taiwan’s government has been waiting for months for #Trump to sign off on a $14 billion package of missiles, anti-drone equipment and air-defense systems intended to fortify the island against #Beijing’s military threats. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/16/w...

It is a foregone conclusion that #Trump and #Xi will extend the temporary truce in the #US-#China trade war that was reached at their previous meeting; doing so will theoretically benefit both countries. asia.nikkei.com/editor-s-pic...

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) said last week that it had searched two premises linked to a Norwegian-registered company suspected of acting as a front for a Chinese state actor. asia.nikkei.com/politics/int...

#India gives a pass to carbon emissions Slow 👏👏👏👏 www.ft.com/content/334f...

"Thinking and writing have become harder. It’s as if the neurons in my brain don’t connect with each other in quite the same way. I go to check a fact and get instantly diverted by a hundred other distractions on my phone." www.theguardian.com/media/ng-int...

Such is the scepticism over #Netanyahu’s trustworthiness among the general public and independent press that the immediate reaction among observers to his video statement was speculation that the reality could be even worse than they had imagined. #Trump www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

#Russia downsizes its Victory Parade amid #Ukraine fear despite #Zelensky's permission www.wsj.com/world/russia...

The targets of the #US sanctions included The Earth Eye, a satellite earth station company, MizarVision, a geospatial intelligence firm, and Chang Guang Satellite Technology, a commercial satellite imagery group. #China www.ft.com/content/f077...

Lahore like a local reut.rs/4uxTEJN

“The military,” #Xi said, “must never have anyone who harbors a divided heart toward the party.” It's a rare public reference. He had lost faith in the military leadership that he had spent a decade remolding. #PLA #China www.nytimes.com/2026/05/09/w...

#Xi has reasons to walk into the #Trump summit with confidence. #China has shown resilience against the war's economic shocks, with estimated strategic crude reserves exceeding those of the #US, #Japan and #Europe combined. asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/po...

Experts say #China remains focused on a few key goals: maintaining a truce in their trade war, blunting #US economic weapons while sharpening its own and shaping Trump's approach to #Taiwan weaknesses both can exploit. The #Iran war is far down the list. asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/po...

Consider what happened when #China invited some of the crown jewels of #US industry, like GE, #Intel, #Tesla, to set up shop across the Pacific. In exchange for that market access, the US companies willingly shared their technology with Chinese businesses. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/o...

The annual Border Security Expo, a trade show catering to Dept of Homeland Security personnel, provides an array of companies showing off the newest, flashiest technology they are eager to sell to the #US gov. This year, the stakes were even higher. #AI www.wsj.com/tech/trumps-...

#Nvidia founder Jensen Huang hedged on social media, saying #China was “nanoseconds behind” the #US in #AI and that “it’s vital that America wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide.” www.scmp.com/news/china/d...

The B-1B, which has the largest conventional payload in the fleet, has been heavily used in bombing operations against #Iran in Operation Epic Fury. #US bombers, operating out of RAF Fairford, UK, had been flying daily missions. www.airandspaceforces.com/b-1-boneyard...

#SouthKorea's LG goes the #Samsung way. The family’s assets, including its 38% stake in #LG, were pooled and effectively controlled by a small circle of family members known as the 'shareholder group.' www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/b...

Before the Revolution, #Iran had been one of #Turkey’s most trusted pro-Western partners. The irony was rich. Ruhollah #Khomeini, who would later found the Islamic Republic, had spent part of his exile in #Bursa in the 1960s. ragipsoylu.substack.com/p/the-day-er...

Hence the popularity of the so-called “Taco” concept coined by the @FT’s Robert Armstrong — the idea now widespread on Wall Street that “#Trump always chickens out” if stock markets fall, changing his policy to boost share prices again. www.ft.com/content/286f...

The region is already grappling with 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide left behind by the Giant gold mine, whose US$3.2bn clean-up will not be finished until 2038. #diamond #minind #Canada giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

The closure of the strait also complicates #Trump’s high-stakes trip to #China in two weeks. President #Xi Jinping has demanded the #US reopen the waterway through which China imports about a third of its oil and gas. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/03/u...

#Merz needs a specialist for hypertension, pronto. Germany's chancellor gushed over #Israel for getting its hands dirty, then poked fun at #Trump for being humiliated. The US reaction is understandable, given #Putin's 90-min call right before. www.wsj.com/world/europe...

"New #Delhi knows that any cracks in its arc of influence across the ##India|n Ocean will provide an opening for #China, which is also contesting for influence in the island-states, to make inroads." asia.nikkei.com/politics/int...

The test will involve launching a #satellite carrying a #solar panel that measures about 2m wide when unfolded into orbit at an altitude of approximately 450km, where it'll convert electricity into microwaves and transmit it to a targeted site in #Japan. asia.nikkei.com/business/sci...

Regulators said #Meta’s tool for reporting minors is “difficult to use and not effective,” with up to seven steps required just to access the necessary form. After a minor is reported for being -13, the user can keep using #Instagram. #Facebook www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/b...

The upshot is a nation that spends well beyond its means. The debt-to-GDP ratio is set to hover above 95% for the next few years, and could surge to around 275% by the 2070s. The #UK spends almost twice as much on #debt interest payments than on #defence. www.ft.com/content/640e...

Nearly 600,000 people put a deposit on the golden Trump phone.. and not a single one has been delivered. Not one. www.npr.org/2026/01/07/n...

Starmer symbolises Britain's timidity, regionally and globally. What a perfect match! www.thetimes.com/comment/the-...

The #Modi|nation Lawrence Bishnoi has been in high-security custody for more than a decade. During that time, he has been linked to multiple high-profile killings, both in #India and as far afield as #Canada. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

How not to take high-speed selfies: Two South Korean aviators to run courses www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Singapore Airlines is putting some of its executives and staff into key roles at Air India to help stem record losses and address safety lapses. bloom.bg/3Qo3xuZ 📷: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg

#Iraq suffer if it stays #Shiite #alQaeda's HQ . "A cargo-plane delivery of nearly $500m in #US banknotes, the proceeds from Iraqi oil sales from Federal Reserve Bank was blocked recently by the Treasury for concerns about the financing proxy militias. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

As boomers die off, America’s anti-Israeli tilt is likely to harden. Fewer and fewer #America|ns think of #Israel as David standing up to the Arab world’s Goliath. More and more associate it with heavy-handed militarism. www.ft.com/content/353e...

In an interview with Andrew Marantz, the novelist and poet Ben Lerner discusses how smartphones “charge the air around us,” what fiction can record that a transcript can’t, and why the book is also a handheld device. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/bvN4bC

"Their arguments were so ferocious that #Pakistan|i mediators are reported to have spent as much time refereeing among the #Iran|ians as engaging the #America|ns. When tempers frayed, the hosts called a pause." www.economist.com/middle-east-...

In just the first six days, the #US spent $11.3b on the war with #Iran. The White House and Pentagon have not provided updated estimates, but the AEI estimated in early April that the US had spent between $25 and $35b on the war. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

New article - China Is Years Ahead In Heavylift Cargo Drones -> www.hisutton.com/Chinese-Carg...

"Pro-#Iran militias and the regime used ISIS fighters’ clothing. When #Assad fell, those outfits were found in several bases. Everything was orchestrated. The areas where attacks occurred were very close to sensitive regime sites." #Syria #Landmines newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...

Leaked #Iran|ian military documents show the satellite, known as TEE-01B, was acquired by the #IRGC’ Aerospace Force in late 2024 after it was launched into space from #China. www.ft.com/content/1fdd...

If the #US begins taking control of tankers, it may need a captain and crew to drive the vessels if the current crew doesn’t comply. The US would also need a place to park the tankers, former officials said. #Iran www.wsj.com/world/middle...

The #Saudi pushback is a sign of the risks and limitations of #US efforts to pry open the Strait of #Hormuz, which #Iran shut early in the war by attacking ships in the waterway, cutting off 13m barrels a day in #oil exports and sending futures prices above $100 a barrel. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

#Britain, our favorite wannabe superpower, won't send minesweeper to SoH. The erstwhile coloniser and invader of #Iraq finds little chance for propitious resource grab, for now. www.ft.com/content/49fb...

Miracle of #Vance in #Hungary is called #Magyar Thank You, JD!

#Kremlin ought to mediate with #Putin to stop the #Ukraine invasion. Beyond ironic that such clownish statement are newsworthy for wire services like Reuters www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Deadlock ends #IslamabadTalks. #Iran's intransigence to control the Strait of #Hormuz is to be blamed as no state has monopoly on international navigation (UNCLOS Article 38). #US zero-enrichment plea is maximalist as Iran's quest for #nuclear prog. Ceasefire intact? Yes but

The #IRGC's fractured. Some elements were strongly opposed to ending the war, loosening control of the strait and returning to talks with the US. An Iranian drone attack hit Jubail, in what one Pakistani official called a “last-ditch move to derail talks”. www.ft.com/content/249b...

"We welcome the two-week ceasefire agreed today between the United States and Iran. We thank #Pakistan and all partners involved for brokering this important agreement." Joint statement by EC, UK, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands and EU Council

OH. MY. GOD. THIS IS THE MILKY WAY SHOT BY THE ARTEMIS II CREW. LOOK AT ALL THOSE STARS!!!!