US-Iran talks in Switzerland to get under way as strait of Hormuz remains closed

• U.S. and Iranian officials have arrived in Switzerland to initiate critical negotiations regarding Tehran’s nuclear program. • In his first press conference on Wednesday, new chair Kevin Warsh signaled a shift in policy by reversing previous Federal Reserve steps.

• Recent strikes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have resulted in five deaths, signaling an intensification of hostilities. • Authorities in Crimea have suspended public fuel sales to prioritize supplies for medical services, emergency responders, and critical infrastructure.

• Diplomatic negotiations have reportedly regressed following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), reversing previous progress. • While the MoU was initially viewed as a breakthrough for broader cooperation, talks have since stalled due to unresolved key issues.

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A secretive investigation into the attack that killed at least 175 has reportedly ended. Will its findings see the light of day?The attack on a girl’s elementary school in the Iranian town of Minab was one of the US military’s deadliest civilian bombings in decades. But nearly four months on, the Pentagon has produced no answers about why the military fired a Tomahawk cruise missile into a school on the first day of the war, killing at least 175 people, mostly children.Some critics doubt that the Pentagon ever will, or will bury the results under classifications to keep the worst mistakes secret from the public. Continue reading...

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Iran says decision comes after waves of Israeli strikes in Lebanon, as delegations arrive as Swiss resort for talksIran says it is closing strait of Hormuz over Israeli strikes in LebanonIran said on Sunday that the ongoing conflict in Lebanon between Israel and militant group Hezbollah will top the agenda in talks with the US in Switzerland, as well as issues such as frozen Iranian funds and the sale of the country’s oil.“The Zionist regime continues to violate its commitment in Lebanon, this issue will be the main topic of discussion in today’s talks,” foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a video shared by IRNA state news agency. Continue reading...

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Elon Musk is a beneficiary of America’s lopsided prosperity – does the country have any appetite for redistribution?As Barack Obama’s presidency was coming to a close, Jason Furman, then chairman of the president’s council of economic advisers, laid out the strides his administration had made to curb the nation’s exorbitant income inequality in “the largest investments in reducing inequality since the Great Society”.Indeed, by the end of 2016, taxes and transfers cut the share of income accruing to the richest 1% of households by just over a fifth, according to estimates from the congressional budget office (CBO), more than under any government since at least Jimmy Carter’s. They raised the slice of income going to the poorest fifth from 3.9% to 7.9%, the highest share since at least 1979.Eduardo Porter is a journalist focused on economics and politics. He writes the newsletter Being There on Substack Continue reading...