US defense secretary continues ramp-up of pressure against country including sanctions and devastating oil blockade

Pete Hegseth has warned Cuba against acquiring weapons that could threaten the United States, during a visit to the US military base at Guantánamo Bay.

Washington has ramped up pressure against Cuba with sanctions and a devastating oil blockade, and Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled that the Cuban government could be the next after Venezuela to fall to US pressure.

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Sumayah Nakazibwe and Stella Ariokot were frightened they would be next as fires took hold on neighbouring houses and rioters set cars alight

For four hours, Ugandan care workers Sumayah Nakazibwe and Stella Ariokot were barricaded into their house near Crumlin Road in north Belfast, smelling smoke leaking into their homes, and watching flames lick the walls of neighbouring properties.

“It all started like people were just marching, young boys between the age of nine and 20,” Nakazibwe said. “They were all putting on black, and masked.”

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Ever since the Post Modern Times cafe in Minneapolis ditched its price list, half the customers have chosen not to pay. It’s still making a profit

Name: Pay what you wish.

Age: Popular since the 00s, but dating back to at least the 80s.

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Critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan population falls after heavy rain and landslides, fuelled by climate crisis, in North Sumatra

Extreme rainfall and landslides fuelled by the climate crisis killed 7% of the remaining population of the world’s rarest great ape, a study has found, prompting fears for the species’ survival.

The research suggests 58 out of the remaining 800 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans (Pongo tapanuliensis) were killed after more than 1,000mm (39in) of rain fell over four days in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province in November 2025. This equates to 11% of the local population and 7% of the entire species.

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I know this distinction in my body, because my label has changed underneath me. In 2016 I was diagnosed with Bipolar I with psychosis. Three years later, the diagnosis was revised to schizoaffective disorder, bipolar subtype. Here is the thing nobody tells you about that moment: on the day the label changed, I did not change. People talk about the DSM like it's scripture, a taxonomy of fixed disease entities handed down from somewhere. It isn't, and the confession is printed on the cover.

Tijdens zijn bezoek aan Pyongyang repte de Chinese leider Xi Jinping met geen woord meer over ‘denuclearisering’ van het Koreaanse schiereiland. China lijkt Noord-Korea stilzwijgend als kernmacht te hebben erkend.

SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - posted a photo:

Questa non era la fotografia che stavo cercando.

Nessuna insegna luminosa. Nessun locale pieno di persone. Nessun panorama famoso.

Solo una strada qualunque di Tokyo.

Un piccolo apaato. Una casa stretta tra altri edifici. Panni stesi sul balcone. Condizionatori montati dove c'era spazio. Pareti che mostrano il passare del tempo.

Eppure, davanti all'ingresso, qualcuno ha sistemato dei fiori.

È un dettaglio piccolo, ma racconta molto. In mezzo al lavoro, alla spesa, alle bollette e alle preoccupazioni quotidiane, c'è ancora spazio per cercare un po' di ordine e un po' di bellezza.

Quando si parla di Tokyo si pensa spesso ai grattacieli, ai neon e alla folla. Ma gran parte della città assomiglia molto di più a questo.

Una metropoli immensa fatta di persone normali che cercano semplicemente di vivere bene.

Per questo ho premuto il pulsante.

これは最初から撮ろうと思っていた写真ではありませんでした。

派手な看板もありません。人でにぎわう店もありません。有名な観光地でもありません。

ただの東京の住宅街です。

小さなアパート。建物に挟まれた住まい。ベランダには洗濯物が干され、限られた場所にエアコンの室外機が取り付けられています。外壁には年月の跡が残っています。

それでも、玄関の前には花が置かれていました。

小さなことですが、多くを語っています。仕事や買い物、支払い、日々の悩みの中でも、少しでも整った暮らしと心地よい空間を大切にしていることが伝わってきます。

東京というと、高層ビルやネオン、人混みを思い浮かべる人が多いかもしれません。

しかし、東京の大部分はこうした風景でできています。

ごく普通の人たちの、ごく普通の暮らし。

だから私はこの一枚を撮りました。

This was not the photograph I was looking for.

No bright signs. No crowded restaurant. No famous landmark.

Just an ordinary street in Tokyo.

A small apaato. A narrow home squeezed between other buildings. Laundry hanging from the balcony. Air conditioners installed wherever space was available. Walls marked by the passing of time.

And yet, someone has placed flowers by the entrance.

It is a small detail, but it says a lot. Between work, groceries, bills and everyday concerns, there is still room for a little order and a little beauty.

When people think about Tokyo, they often imagine skyscrapers, neon lights and crowds. But much of the city looks far more like this.

A huge metropolis made up of ordinary people simply trying to live well.

That is why I pressed the shutter.

SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - has added a photo to the pool:

Questa non era la fotografia che stavo cercando.

Nessuna insegna luminosa. Nessun locale pieno di persone. Nessun panorama famoso.

Solo una strada qualunque di Tokyo.

Un piccolo apaato. Una casa stretta tra altri edifici. Panni stesi sul balcone. Condizionatori montati dove c'era spazio. Pareti che mostrano il passare del tempo.

Eppure, davanti all'ingresso, qualcuno ha sistemato dei fiori.

È un dettaglio piccolo, ma racconta molto. In mezzo al lavoro, alla spesa, alle bollette e alle preoccupazioni quotidiane, c'è ancora spazio per cercare un po' di ordine e un po' di bellezza.

Quando si parla di Tokyo si pensa spesso ai grattacieli, ai neon e alla folla. Ma gran parte della città assomiglia molto di più a questo.

Una metropoli immensa fatta di persone normali che cercano semplicemente di vivere bene.

Per questo ho premuto il pulsante.

これは最初から撮ろうと思っていた写真ではありませんでした。

派手な看板もありません。人でにぎわう店もありません。有名な観光地でもありません。

ただの東京の住宅街です。

小さなアパート。建物に挟まれた住まい。ベランダには洗濯物が干され、限られた場所にエアコンの室外機が取り付けられています。外壁には年月の跡が残っています。

それでも、玄関の前には花が置かれていました。

小さなことですが、多くを語っています。仕事や買い物、支払い、日々の悩みの中でも、少しでも整った暮らしと心地よい空間を大切にしていることが伝わってきます。

東京というと、高層ビルやネオン、人混みを思い浮かべる人が多いかもしれません。

しかし、東京の大部分はこうした風景でできています。

ごく普通の人たちの、ごく普通の暮らし。

だから私はこの一枚を撮りました。

This was not the photograph I was looking for.

No bright signs. No crowded restaurant. No famous landmark.

Just an ordinary street in Tokyo.

A small apaato. A narrow home squeezed between other buildings. Laundry hanging from the balcony. Air conditioners installed wherever space was available. Walls marked by the passing of time.

And yet, someone has placed flowers by the entrance.

It is a small detail, but it says a lot. Between work, groceries, bills and everyday concerns, there is still room for a little order and a little beauty.

When people think about Tokyo, they often imagine skyscrapers, neon lights and crowds. But much of the city looks far more like this.

A huge metropolis made up of ordinary people simply trying to live well.

That is why I pressed the shutter.

The Knicks are the toast of New York right now, having reached the NBA finals for the first time in nearly three decades. To understand how much this team means to their fans, look no further than the A-list treatment they’re getting from their A-list supporters: Steve Schirripa keeps sending white wine to the Knicks bench. 

What a class act, that Mr. Schirripa! This is how you show up for your team when a title’s on the line!

Before the first quarter of Game 4 had ended, a concessions vendor had already delivered three rounds of white wine to the New York Knicks bench, courtesy of Knicks fanatic and Sopranos star Steve Schirripa. Knicks Coach Mike Brown was initially confused when a vendor brought two dozen cups of chardonnay to the Knicks players and coaching staff immediately after tip-off. Coach Brown tried explaining that the team had not ordered any white wine, but was quickly informed that the beverages were courtesy of “a great admirer of the team, that gentleman over there.” The vendor directed Coach Brown’s attention to the Celebrity Row, where Mr. Schirripa was tipping a flat-brimmed Knicks hat in the team’s direction.

But Mr. Schirripa’s kind gestures didn’t end there, and haven’t ended yet. Several minutes later, the vendor returned with a second round of on-Schirripa chardonnay for the team, as well as a soft pretzel. By halftime, Mr. Schirripa had sent no fewer than seven rounds of white wine and tipped his hat as many times to the Knicks, just to show his appreciation for their hard work this season and encourage them to finish strong in the championships. 

Most of the wine has gone unconsumed, and the floor around the team bench is now a walking hazard of full wine cups—at one point, the game was paused so floor sweepers could mop up several gallons of chardonnay after Knicks captain Jalen Brunson tripped on a cup, fell, knocked over all the other wine cups, and became soaked in white wine, forcing him to go to the locker room for a new uniform. But Mr. Schirripa’s message is loud and clear: If you’re a Knicks player and Steve Schirripa’s nearby, you’re never paying for white wine again! 

How cool is that?! This Knicks team is getting the hero treatment in the Big Apple! 

It just goes to show how a sports team can bring out the best in their city. Even if you’re a Spurs fan, you’ve gotta admire how much wine Steve Schirripa is buying for the Knicks, purely out of his love for the team. Win or lose, the Knicks will always know their chardonnay comes courtesy of amazing fans like Mr. Schirripa!

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - De Amsterdamse AEX-index is woensdag met kleine winst de handel uitgegaan. De olieprijzen gingen omhoog door hernieuwde spanningen in het Midden-Oosten na Amerikaanse vergeldingsaanvallen op Iran. Verder was er ook aandacht voor een Amerikaans inflatiecijfer.

De AEX eindigde met een plus van 0,5 procent op 1051,92 punten. De MidKap klom ook 0,5 procent, tot 1072,93 punten. Op de aandelenmarkten in Parijs en Frankfurt waren minnen tot 1 procent te zien. De FTSE 100 in Londen steeg 0,3 procent.

De AEX werd aangevoerd door Shell, Unilever, ijsjesbedrijf Magnum en telecomaanbieder KPN, die winsten tot 2,8 procent boekten. Grootste dalers bij de hoofdfondsen in Amsterdam waren de informatieleveranciers RELX en Wolters Kluwer en betalingsdienstverlener Adyen, die tot 2,4 procent in het rood stonden.

Uitblinkers

In de MidKap was fitnessketen Basic-Fit een uitblinker met een koerssprong van bijna 11 procent dankzij een koopadvies van de Zwitserse bank UBS. Ook speciaalchemieconcern Corbion deed het goed bij de middelgrote fondsen met een winst van 2,3 procent. Hekkensluiters in de MidKap waren roestvrijstaalproducent Aperam en metalenspecialist AMG met minnen tot 3,5 procent.

Bij de kleinere fondsen op het Damrak was groothandelaar Sligro Food Group een winnaar met een stijging van 4,7 procent. Speciaalchemieconcern Avantium had juist een slechte dag met een verlies van bijna 10 procent.

Rentebesluit

Beleggers waren ook in afwachting van het rentebesluit van de Europese Centrale Bank (ECB) op donderdag. Naar verwachting gaat de centrale bank in Frankfurt de rente verhogen om zo de hoge inflatie tegen te gaan. Dat zou de eerste renteverhoging door de ECB sinds september 2023 worden.

De Amerikaanse inflatie steeg in mei naar 4,2 procent op jaarbasis, het hoogste niveau in ruim drie jaar tijd. Dat komt vooral door de sterk gestegen energieprijzen. Mogelijk kan de Amerikaanse centrale bank eveneens de rente gaan verhogen tegen de gestegen inflatie.