FBI Director Kash Patel fires back at drinking allegations
NewsFeed FBI Director Kash Patel and Senator Chris Van Hollen had a heated exchange during a Senate budget hearing after Van Hollen questioned Patel about drinking allegations first reported by The Atlantic magazine. Patel called the claims “unequivocally, categorically false.” Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Argentines protest against Milei’s defunding of public universities
NewsFeed Large crowds marched across Argentina’s major cities to demand that President Javier Milei comply with a university funding law, and reverse sweeping budget cuts to the country’s tuition-free public university system. Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Iran war live: Trump travels to China as conflict with Tehran looms large
blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 2,883 people and injured 8,787 since March 2, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says. Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Starmer at risk because he pushed Labour to be ‘new Conservative Party’
NewsFeed Author Oliver Eagleton says British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his job because he tried to turn the Labour Party into the ‘new Conservative Party’ and ‘occupy that centre ground’. Dozens of lawmakers are calling for Starmer’s resignation after devastating local elections. Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Peru presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez charged with financial crimes
Prosecutor calls for leftist candidate to be jailed for five years and four months over false financial disclosures. Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026 Peru’s public prosecutor’s office has accused leftist presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez of financial crimes, calling for him to be imprisoned for five years and four months. The charges, unsealed on Tuesday, came hours after electoral authorities confirmed Sanchez was on track to advance to the country’s presidential run-off, scheduled for June 7. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list According to the El Comercio newspaper, prosecutors allege that Sanchez, who is the candidate of the Juntos por el Peru (Together for Peru) party, filed false financial disclosures with the National Office of Electoral Processes related to campaign contributions between 2018 and 2020. Prosecutors say Sanchez and his brother, William Sanchez, received more than 280,000 Peruvian soles ($81,720) in contributions and membership fees that were never disclosed in the party’s financial filings. Sanchez is also accused of making false statements in administrative proceedings. In addition to the jail term, prosecutors were also seeking a “permanent disqualification” of Sanchez from holding the office of president for the Juntos por el Peru party, according to El Comercio. Sanchez’s lawyer rejected the accusations, telling local outlet RPP that the party’s treasurer, not Sanchez, was responsible for its financial filings. A judge is expected to decide on May 27 whether the case will go to trial. The charges emerged as vote counting from last month’s first-round election showed Sanchez advancing to a run-off against conservative rival Keiko Fujimori. Advertisement With 99.76 percent of ballots counted, Fujimori, the daughter of late former President Alberto Fujimori and a four-time presidential candidate, held a commanding lead with 17.17 percent of the vote. Sanchez, running with the backing of jailed former President Pedro Castillo, stood at 12 percent, narrowly ahead of ultra-conservative former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga at 11.91 percent, a margin of roughly 15,000 votes. The final result is expected by May 15. Adblock test (Why?)
Bolivia issues warrant for Evo Morales’s arrest after court no-show
The ex-Bolivian president is on trial for allegedly fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl while in office. By AFP, Anadolu and Reuters Published On 12 May 202612 May 2026 A Bolivian judge has found former President Evo Morales in contempt of court and reissued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to turn up for the start of his trial on charges of trafficking a minor. The ruling on Monday renewed tensions in the South American country, with supporters of Morales warning they would “throw the country into turmoil” if the former leader is arrested. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Morales, who is Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, is accused of fathering a child with a 15-year-old girl while in office. The parents of the teen are accused of consenting to the relationship in exchange for favours from Morales. The former socialist leader, who governed from 2006 to 2019, has rejected the accusations. Morales did not attend the scheduled start of his trial on Monday in the southern city of Tarija, forcing the proceedings to be suspended. The Public Prosecutor’s Office said Morales’s “unjustified absence” confirmed his fugitive status and warranted an arrest order as well as a travel ban. The former president has been hiding from the law in his central coca-growing stronghold of Chapare since late 2024, guarded by Indigenous supporters who have promised to resist any attempt to capture him. ‘Ready for battle’ “They think that by arresting Evo Morales, they will succeed in quelling and demobilising the movement. They are very much mistaken,” supporter Dieter Mendoza said on Kawsachun Coca radio on Monday. “If they touch Evo Morales, this will cause an upheaval … There will be an insurgency across Bolivia.” Advertisement Mendoza urged residents of the Cochabamba Tropics to remain on “high alert” and “ready for battle”. Authorities first issued an arrest warrant for Morales in October 2024, but could not execute it after his supporters blocked roads for 24 days, preventing officers from reaching the region where he remains sheltered. Morales was already declared in contempt of court in January 2025, when he did not show for a pretrial detention hearing. Wilfredo Chavez, one of his lawyers, told the AFP news agency on Friday that neither Morales nor his lawyers would show up in court, as they had not been “properly notified”. The lawyer said the court did not send the summons to Morales’s address, but had instead served it through an edict. Morales, who rose from dire poverty to become one of Latin America’s longest-serving leaders, has slammed those “that persecute me and condemn me in record time”. His refusal to give up power in 2019 after three terms led to a tumultuous exit that cast a shadow over nearly 14 years of economic progress and poverty reduction. Forced to resign after elections tainted by fraud, he slipped away into exile in Mexico and later Argentina, but returned home a year later. He failed to make a comeback last year after being barred from seeking a fourth term in presidential elections. Adblock test (Why?)
Lebanese in south refuse to flee again despite escalating Israeli strikes
NewsFeed Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reports from southern Lebanon, where displaced residents say they will not leave again despite a sharp rise in deaths and intensifying Israeli strikes. Published On 12 May 202612 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
California ex-mayor admits acting as agent of China, US authorities say
Ex-mayor of wealthy Los Angeles suburb promoted pro-China propaganda at behest of Chinese officials, prosecutors say. Published On 12 May 202612 May 2026 The former mayor of a wealthy suburb in the United States city of Los Angeles has admitted to acting as an illegal agent of China, according to authorities. Eileen Wang, the former mayor of Arcadia, agreed to plead guilty to one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government from late 2020 until 2022, the US Department of Justice said on Monday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Wang admitted that she did not notify the US government that she was acting on behalf of China while promoting pro-Beijing propaganda, the Justice Department said. Wang, 58, operated a website, called the US News Center, that published content supportive of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) while purporting to provide news for Chinese Americans, the department said. Wang ran the site with Yaoning Sun, a Californian man who was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government in October 2025, according to US prosecutors. Wang’s activities included republishing a “PRC official-written essay” that denied allegations that the Chinese government was committing genocide against ethnic-minority Uighurs in its far-western region of Xinjiang, according to prosecutors. Wang resigned as mayor on Monday, according to a statement published on the City of Arcadia’s website. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Her lawyers, Brian A Sun and Jason Liang, said Wang wished to apologise for “mistakes she has made in her personal life”. “It is important to note, however, that the conduct underlying the information and the agreement with the government relates solely to Ms. Wang’s personal life – i.e., a media platform that she once operated with someone whom she believed to be her fiancé – and not to her conduct as an elected public official,” Sun and Liang said in a statement. Advertisement “Her love and devotion for the Arcadia community have not changed and did not waver,” they added. “She asks for the community’s understanding and continued support.” US Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A Eisenberg issued a statement expressing deep concern over Wang’s activities. “Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” he said. “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.” China’s embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wang’s prosecution comes as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Beijing on Wednesday for a summit expected to focus on the US-Israel war on Iran, trade, and the status of Taiwan, among other issues. The summit comes after the two leaders agreed to a yearlong pause in their trade war during a meeting in South Korea last October. Adblock test (Why?)
Is the US empire in the middle of a long decline?
Iran war has put the US in a situation where ‘it’s not in control but can’t walk away’, argues economist Richard Wolff. When the United States threatens to take over countries and destroy civilisations, “these are the wild gesticulations of a sinking enterprise”, argues Richard Wolff, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts. Wolff tells host Steve Clemons that US leaders refuse to face the reality that the US empire is in decline. Around the world, he adds, people are “deeply internalising” the lessons from the US’s inability to defeat Iran. The people in the US are becoming “bitterly angry” at their situation, where the richest 10 percent of Americans own 80 percent of corporate stocks, making the stock market “utterly irrelevant” to the masses. Published On 11 May 202611 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Iran war effect: Why is Modi asking Indians to avoid foreign trips, gold?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indians to work from home, avoid international trips and not buy gold during the United States-Israeli war on Iran, which has caused global energy prices to surge, adding pressure on India’s foreign exchange reserves. Modi made his plea during a public event in the southern city of Hyderabad on Sunday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Here is more about what Modi said, what’s behind the Indian government’s concerns and how they’re linked to the war on Iran. What did Modi say? Modi said people should move to online meetings instead of physical gatherings and use the work-from-home model that was adopted globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained that such practices would cut down the use of fuel. Additionally, Modi urged people to use public transport and carpooling to save fuel. He called on families to reduce their cooking oil consumption, describing that move as both healthy and patriotic. Modi also asked Indians to avoid buying gold and to cut nonessential overseas travel for at least a year. The prime minister asked farmers to cut their fertiliser use by as much as half. And he explained his justification for asking the people of India to make these changes in their lifestyles and plans: “In the current situation, we must place great emphasis on saving foreign exchange.” What’s the ‘current situation’ Modi was talking about? Simply put, Modi was referring to the war on Iran and its far-reaching economic consequences, especially for India. Early in the war too, Modi had compared the economic crisis spawned by the conflict to the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sunday, he extended that parallel to also ask Indians to adopt some of the restrictive measures forced upon the world by the coronavirus crisis. Advertisement Oil prices have climbed due to the war on Iran, which started on February 28. A barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, was worth $72.87 on February 27. As of Monday, a barrel of Brent crude was worth $105.45, an almost 50 percent increase. Iranian attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Gulf in the early weeks of the war impacted energy supplies. Since early March, Iran has also restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the war. Iran has allowed passage by vessels from select countries that need to negotiate their transit with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In April, the US announced a naval blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, further adding to the disruption of global oil and gas supplies. With rising fuel costs, airlines have hiked ticket prices. According to the travel search site Kayak, the average international airfare from the US to all destinations was $1,101 in the last week of April, a 16 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. Nearly half of the world’s traded urea, the most widely used fertiliser, and large volumes of other fertilisers are exported from Gulf countries through the Strait of Hormuz. Those supplies have now been dramatically disrupted. “Patriotism is not only about the willingness to sacrifice one’s life on the border. In these times, it is about living responsibly and fulfilling our duties to the nation in our daily lives,” Modi said. And those duties and responsibilities, per Modi’s comments, centre on India’s foreign exchange reserves. What are India’s foreign exchange reserves? India’s foreign exchange reserves as of May 1 were $690.69bn, down $7.79bn, or about 1.12 percent, from the end of March, according to the Reserve Bank of India, the central bank. Compared with where India’s reserves stood before the war, the fall is more precipitous. As of February 27, India’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $728.5bn. The International Monetary Fund projected that India’s current account deficit (CAD) will be $84bn in 2026. A negative CAD means that it is effectively overdrawn – it has spent more money than it has. What do oil, gold, foreign travel and fertilisers have to do with all of this? India is the world’s third largest oil importer after China and the US. From April 2025 to March, the last Indian financial year, the country imported crude oil worth $123bn. That is the single largest contributor to India’s import budget. Advertisement At second spot? Gold. Indians imported gold worth $72bn in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, second in the world only to China. According to the travel insurance firm ACKO, Indians travelling abroad spent $31.7bn in 2023-2024. In 2024, about 30.9 million Indian nationals departed India, according to data from the Bureau of Immigration. This was up from about 27.9 million Indian nationals in 2023. India is also the world’s largest importer of urea – it imported about 10 million tonnes of the fertiliser last year, according to analysis from S&P Global. Why is this worrying for India right now? India’s foreign exchange reserves are depleted by large volumes of imports of oil, gold, fertilisers and by Indians spending abroad. However, of these expenses, oil and fertilisers are hard for India to cut back on. Energy imports are essential to drive India’s economy, and fertilisers are critical both for the country’s agrarian economy – more than half of the country’s families depend on agriculture – and for food supplies. That leaves gold and foreign travel. Whether Indians will take up Modi’s call, though, is unclear. Adblock test (Why?)