Saturday, May 16, 2026
Khamenei circle received no-strike assurances before doomed gathering: insider
Members of Ali Khamenei’s family remained at the Leader’s compound ahead of the deadly February 28 meeting because officials had been “almost assured” that no military action would take place as talks were nearing a deal, Nasser Rafiei, a cleric close to the Supreme Leader’s office and family, quoted Mojtaba Khamenei’s father-in-law Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel as saying.
He also revealed that Mojtaba Khamenei's children have not seen their father since the strike on the Leader's compound, and they now reside with their maternal grandfather.
Iran launches maritime insurance platform for Strait of Hormuz shipping
Iran launched a new maritime insurance platform for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with reports saying the system offers digital insurance policies and allows payments in cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin.
The platform named “Hormuz Safe,” been introduced to provide insurance coverage for maritime cargo passing through the strategic waterway, IRGC affiliated Fars News reported on Saturday.
ImmunityBio exclusive U.S. rights to Japan BCG Laboratory's Tokyo-172 BCG strain, to seek FDA approval
ImmunityBio secures exclusive U.S. rights to Japan BCG Laboratory's Tokyo-172 BCG strain, plans to seek FDA approval
- Exclusive U.S. development and supply agreement covers development, importation and commercialization of the Tokyo-172 BCG product.
Carney and Smith sign carbon deal clearing path for Alberta pipeline
Pipeline breakthrough: Carney and Smith agreed on a carbon pricing framework, unlocking progress toward a planned 1‑million‑barrel‑per‑day oil pipeline to Canada’s Pacific Coast.
Price path compromise: Alberta’s carbon price will gradually rise to C$130 per tonne by 2040, a slower pace than environmentalists wanted but lower than Trudeau’s earlier goal.
Conditions remain: The pipeline’s approval hinges on carbon capture projects and Indigenous consultations, with a proposal due to Ottawa’s major projects office before July 1.
Carney and Smith sign carbon pricing pactA compromise on carbon pricing targetsPipeline plans and conditionsPolitical and public reactions
Carney and Smith sign carbon pricing pact
Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed an industrial carbon pricing agreement in Calgary, removing a political obstacle to a proposed crude oil pipeline to British Columbia’s northwest coast. The agreement will increase Alberta's carbon price to C$100 per tonne next year and to C$130 by 2040, with incremental rises thereafter. Carney framed the deal as part of a broader effort to expand energy exports to Asia and reduce economic reliance on the United States, while also meeting climate policy conditions.
A compromise on carbon pricing targets
The deal scales back the faster carbon price hikes set under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had targeted C$170 per tonne by 2030. Environmental groups argue the 2040 timeline delays necessary emissions cuts, while some oil executives remain wary of competitiveness issues against the U.S., which lacks a national carbon price. The agreement includes escalating price floors to encourage emissions reduction investment, while aiming to maintain industrial competitiveness.
The deal scales back the faster carbon price hikes set under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had targeted C$170 per tonne by 2030. Environmental groups argue the 2040 timeline delays necessary emissions cuts, while some oil executives remain wary of competitiveness issues against the U.S., which lacks a national carbon price. The agreement includes escalating price floors to encourage emissions reduction investment, while aiming to maintain industrial competitiveness.
Pipeline plans and conditions
The proposed 1‑million‑barrel‑per‑day pipeline could begin operations in September 2027 if conditions are met, including a major carbon capture and storage initiative. Alberta plans to submit a formal proposal to Ottawa’s major projects office by July 1, though no private sector builder has yet committed. Carney emphasized that legal obligations to consult Indigenous communities must be fulfilled before any construction can proceed. AFP + 2
Political and public reactions
Opposition leader Avi Lewis criticized the announcement as a capitulation to the oil and gas lobby, while environmentalists sought faster emissions reductions. Some Indigenous groups and First Nations have expressed opposition to any pipeline route from Alberta to the Pacific Coast, adding another potential hurdle. The deal comes amid heightened Alberta separatist sentiment, with Carney stressing the province’s ability to prosper within a united Canada.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/insight/carney-and-smith-sign-carbon-deal-clearing-path-for-alberta-pipeline/gm-GMF54F1E4B
The proposed 1‑million‑barrel‑per‑day pipeline could begin operations in September 2027 if conditions are met, including a major carbon capture and storage initiative. Alberta plans to submit a formal proposal to Ottawa’s major projects office by July 1, though no private sector builder has yet committed. Carney emphasized that legal obligations to consult Indigenous communities must be fulfilled before any construction can proceed. AFP + 2
Political and public reactions
Opposition leader Avi Lewis criticized the announcement as a capitulation to the oil and gas lobby, while environmentalists sought faster emissions reductions. Some Indigenous groups and First Nations have expressed opposition to any pipeline route from Alberta to the Pacific Coast, adding another potential hurdle. The deal comes amid heightened Alberta separatist sentiment, with Carney stressing the province’s ability to prosper within a united Canada.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/insight/carney-and-smith-sign-carbon-deal-clearing-path-for-alberta-pipeline/gm-GMF54F1E4B
Mamdani’s $124.7B budget cuts 1/3 of NYC Parks Enforcement Patrol, leave major gap in public safety
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s $124.7 billion spending plan unveiled this week includes a plan to cut 100 uniformed officers’ jobs patrolling the city’s green spaces this summer, The Post has learned.
The proposed budget would effectively cut more than a third of the roughly 300 boots-on-the-ground Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) staff for the entire city, critics said – and create a massive gap in the city’s public safety system.
“Every neighborhood park would be affected,” Adam Ganser, executive director of the New Yorkers for Parks advocacy group, fumed to The Post.
“Safety in our parks is a critical quality of life issue,” he added, “which is why we are calling on the admin to baseline the existing 100 PEP officers who will otherwise lose their jobs in July, and for the council to fund an additional 100 PEP officers.”
The uniformed PEP officers, who function within the Parks department instead of the NYPD, are often tasked with issuing summonses for quality-of-life infractions such as dumping and vandalism across more than 1,500 parks and playgrounds in the Big Apple.
They also provide additional security at hundreds of events in the Big Apple each year, including the New York City marathon, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the U.S. Open, as well as festivals and concerts.
Other responsibilities include returning lost children to families; providing information about Parks rules and protecting wildlife and facilities, according to the agency’s website.
“Cutting 100 PEP officers at a time when our parks are already dealing with quality-of-life issues, illegal activity, and growing wildlife management concerns is the wrong move,” said Council member Phil Wong, who recently sponsored legislation urging the city to develop a plan to protect hundreds of urban species living inside parks.
“These officers play an important role in keeping our parks safe,” he added. “Reducing their presence will only make those challenges harder to manage citywide.”
The news comes as the city reported more than 1,100 crime incidents at Big Apple parks in 2025, and nearly 600 311 calls referred to Parks Enforcement Patrol officers — for issues ranging from dogs illegally off-leash, smoking, blocked entrances and unlicensed vending.
The park with the most total 311 calls last year was Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, where both NYPD cops and PEP officers responded to 1,708 reports. Trailing behind was Flushing Meadows Corona Park with 635 calls, followed by Prospect Park (309), Fort Tryon Park (291) and Washington Square Park (284).
“We could really use more of those [officers], not less,” said lifelong Harlem resident Joan, 79, who spoke with The Post at Marcus Garvey Park Wednesday. “[The] biggest problem around here is people killing each other and those Park officers actually help.
“They see [fighting] happening, and can stop it before it gets out of hand.”
“The radios up too loud, or stopping the fights, they’re good for that: they keep that in check,” said parkgoer Joey, 72. “They’re just like a presence there, keeping things chill.
“Get a few more of them, [that] would probably be a good idea,” he said.
Stephanie, 19, of Harlem, added that late-night partying gets “out of control” when the officers aren’t around — and without the green fleet, “it won’t be safe for the kids to come … after school.”
The budget slash would also cut 15 GreenThumb workers who support nearly 500 community gardens across the city — which are only available to the public when a staffer is around to unlock an urban oasis.
Despite the City Council including funding for the positions in a budget response to the admin released in April, the positions were not included in Monday’s proposed executive budget, a Council source confirmed to The Post.
The source vowed the Council plans to continue advocating for the funding in the coming weeks, as well as call for PEP funding to be baselined to avoid the same annual budget dance.
“In NYC, the parks are our backyard, which is why Mayor Mamdani yesterday announced a historic $15 million annual investment to support our Parks Department,” a City Hall rep told The Post Tuesday, adding the mayor is “reviewing” the need for PEP officer funding during budget process.
Several electeds told The Post they were hopeful the spare change to reinstate the officers would be found somewhere.
“We are continuing to fight for the remaining $12 million needed to complete the full baseline for these 100 PEP officers,” said Council member Ty Hankerson, who chairs the Parks committee. “PEP officers play a critical role in keeping our parks safe, welcoming, and accessible, and we will continue pushing for the staffing and resources our parks ecosystem needs.”
“To the mayor’s credit, he has already restored $15M for Parks maintenance workers, rangers, and forestry staff to improve conditions in our parks,” said Council member Lincoln Restler, who previously blamed “harmful” budget cuts under former Mayor Eric Adams for mounting refuse and rat issues at his districts’ parks.
“I am confident that we will fully fund Parks Enforcement Patrol workers in the final budget in June.”
Taliban legalizes child marriages with special rules for ‘virgin girls’ in Afghanistan
The Taliban has formally legitimized child marriages under a twisted new family law decree that sets out rules for marriages involving minors — treating the girls as sellable property.
It also establishes specific guidelines governing “virgin girls,” reported Afghan outlet Amu TV.
Approved by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the 31-article regulation — titled “Principles of Separation Between Spouses” — was published in the regime’s official gazette in mid-May.
In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, girls can effectively be sold before they are even old enough to walk.
Desperate families, crushed by poverty, routinely strike “marriage” deals involving infants as young as 20 days old, exchanging their baby daughters for cash to pay debts or simply survive another day.
The price of a child bride reportedly ranges between $500 and $3,000, according to human rights groups.
Nearly one-third of Afghan girls are married before the age of 18, according to the charity Girls Not Brides.
Under the Taliban’s horrifying new rules, a female child legally married to an adult man may later seek an annulment “upon puberty” — but only if a Taliban court approves it.
Even worse, the regulations state that the silence of a “virgin girl” may be interpreted as consent to marriage.
The decree lays out the rules for dissolving marriages under a maze of religious and legal conditions, including child marriage, missing husbands, forced separation, breastfeeding relations and accusations of adultery.
This picture, taken on Oct. 14, 2021, shows Asho (right), a little girl betrothed to a 23-year-old man.AFP via Getty Images
The regulations give power over child marriages to fathers and grandfathers, claiming the marriages could be overturned if the guardians are considered abusive, mentally unfit or morally corrupt.
Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban regime has imposed what many international observers describe as a gender apartheid system against women and girls, report many humanitarian groups, such as Amnesty International.
The Taliban’s legal code reportedly does not prohibit sexual or psychological violence against women, reports British outlet GB News. Reports also state husbands are permitted to beat their wives, provided it does not leave obvious bodily harm.
“Child marriage is not marriage in any meaningful sense. A child cannot properly consent, and treating silence as consent is dangerous because it removes a girl’s voice completely,” political commentator Fahima Mahomed told the outlet.
“As a Muslim, I would also strongly reject the idea that this reflects Islam as a whole. The Qur’an itself speaks against compulsion and mistreatment of women, so the Taliban’s position should not be presented as ‘Islamic law’ in a broad sense.
“It is their political and extremist interpretation, enforced through power and fear.”
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