Dubai airport chaos as Gulf hit by deadly storms
The major hub, where flights connect to every continent, warns "recovery will take some time".
Biden calls for tripling tariffs on Chinese metals
It is the latest protectionist policy to be embraced by the White House in an election year.
Sweden votes to lower age to change legal gender to 16
Swedes have been able to change their legally recognised gender since 1972 - but this will make it easier.
Police make multiple arrests in ‘largest gold theft in Canadian history’
Police say five suspects arrested, three more being sought over theft of 6,600 gold bars at Toronto airport last year.
Senate dismisses impeachment case against Mayorkas
It was the first time in almost 150 years the chamber had considered a US cabinet secretary's impeachment.
Ballerinas break world record standing ‘en pointe’
Ballerinas from around the world gather to break Guinness World record for 'en pointe' dancers.
Watch: Volcano in Indonesia spews lava and smoke
Hundreds of people have been evacuated as Mount Ruang continues to erupt for the second day.
Australia news live: man to appear in court over Sydney riot; Daniel Andrews banned from Russia
Nineteen-year-old charged with riot and affray over unrest in wake of alleged attack on bishop; former Victorian premier on list of 200 banned people. Follow today’s news headlines
The Sydney shopping centre where six people were fatally stabbed will re-open for a day of community reflection today, before retail trade resumes tomorrow.
Hundreds are expected to gather at Westfield Bondi Junction in the eastern suburbs to pay their respects to those affected by Saturday’s attack.
Taking into account the fact that official Canberra does not intend to abandon its anti-Russian course and continues to introduce new sanctions measures, work on updating the Russian ‘stop list’ will continue.
Continue reading...Lawmakers to vote soon on stalled Ukraine aid
Despite right-wing outcries, Speaker Mike Johnson is pressing to pass billions of dollars in aid.
Boeing whistleblower says he was put through ‘hell’
Lawmakers voice concerns over claims that Boeing threatens staff who raise safety concerns.
House Republicans’ bid to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas fails in US Senate
Senate Democrats dismissed the articles of impeachment as the charges failed to meet bar of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’
Senate Democrats on Wednesday dismissed the articles of impeachment brought by House Republicans against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, on grounds that the charges failed to meet the bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors” outlined in the constitution as a basis for removing an official from office.
In a pair of party-line votes, Democrats held that the articles alleging Mayorkas willfully refused to enforce border laws and breached the public trust with his statements to Congress about the high levels of migration at the US southern border with Mexico were unconstitutional. On the first article, the Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, voted “present”.
Continue reading...Arizona Republicans again block effort to repeal 1864 near-total abortion ban
After decrying state supreme court ruling on ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, lawmakers ensure its potential to take effect
After days of nationwide debate over the Arizona supreme court’s recent decision to uphold a near-total abortion ban from the 19th century, Arizona’s Republican-controlled statehouse has again quashed an effort to repeal the ban.
Republicans, who hold a one-seat majority in both the Arizona house and senate, on Wednesday shot down a procedural measure in the statehouse that would have enabled the chamber to vote on a bill to repeal the ban. Just one Republican, the representative Matt Gress, voted with the house’s 29 Democrats, but the 30-30 split was not enough to move forward.
Continue reading...Why is Pakistan expelling Afghan refugees?
Afghanistan says the move is illegal, but Pakistan insists it's for security reasons.
Senators kill first article of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas – as it happened
This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Mayorkas impeachment, read our story here.
Chuck Schumer has released a lengthy statement about the commencement (and presumably very swift termination) of the impeachment trial of homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this afternoon.
It is the “least legitimate, least substantive, and most politicized impeachment trial in the history of the United States,” the Democratic Senate majority leader said, encapsulating remarks he made in the chamber just now and posted to Facebook:
The charges brought against Secretary Mayorkas fail to meet the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors. To validate this gross abuse by the House would be a grave mistake and could set a dangerous precedent for the future.
For the sake of the Senate’s integrity, and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, Senators should dismiss today’s charges.
It is beneath the dignity of the Senate to entertain this nakedly partisan exercise.
Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements. That would set a disastrous precedent for the Congress and could throw our system of checks and balances into endless cycles of chaos.
Continue reading...Rwanda bill further delayed after Lords again votes for changes
Legislation to go back to Commons after peers stand up for rights of Afghans and scrutiny of refugees’ treatment
The parliamentary battle over Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation bill will spill into next week after the Lords refused to budge over the rights of Afghans and scrutiny of the treatment of refugees in east Africa.
The move prompted an immediate backlash from the home secretary, James Cleverly, who blamed Labour for blocking the bill and being “terrified” that the Rwanda plan would stop asylum seekers from travelling to the UK in small boats.
Continue reading...Mentally stimulating work plays key role in staving off dementia, study finds
People in routine and repetitive jobs found to have 31% greater risk of disease in later life, and 66% higher risk of mild cognitive problems
If work is a constant flurry of mind-straining challenges, bursts of creativity and delicate negotiations to keep the troops happy, consider yourself lucky.
Researchers have found that the more people use their brains at work, the better they seem to be protected against thinking and memory problems that come with older age.
Continue reading...Columbia president assailed at highly charged antisemitism Congress hearing
Minouche Shafik appeared beleaguered as House members grilled her over reported upsurge in antisemitism on campus
The head of a prestigious US university clashed with members of Congress today in highly charged hearings over a reported upsurge in antisemitism on campus in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia University, appeared beleaguered and uncertain as one Congress member after another assailed her over her institution’s supposed inaction to stop it becoming what one called “a hotbed of antisemitism and hatred”.
This article was amended on 17 April 2024 to correctly identify the school where Elizabeth Magill resigned as president last year. The school was the University of Pennsylvania, not Pennsylvania University.
Continue reading...Croatia ruling party heading for election win without majority: Exit poll
Exit poll projects Croatia's governing HDZ party on track to win 58 seats in 151-seat parliament.
California cracks down on farm region’s water pumping: ‘The ground is collapsing’
Region near Tulare Lake has been put on ‘probation’ as overpumping of water has caused faster sinking of ground
Even after two back-to-back wet years, California’s water wars are far from over. On Tuesday, state water officials took an unprecedented step to intervene in the destructive pumping of depleted groundwater in the state’s sprawling agricultural heartland.
The decision puts a farming region known as the Tulare Lake groundwater subbasin, which includes roughly 837-sq-miles in the rural San Joaquin valley, on “probation” in accordance with a sustainable groundwater use law passed a decade ago. Large water users will face fees and state oversight of their pumping.
Continue reading...Hezbollah launches missiles and drones at northern Israel
At least 14 Israeli soldiers are wounded in an attack launched from Lebanon as regional tensions escalate.