The trade surplus that Trump never mentions
US has a trade surplus from export of services which experts say are now vulnerable to global tariffs.
Starmer to hold talks with other global leaders to discuss response to Trump tariffs, says No 10 – UK politics live
UK prime minister to speak to international leaders this weekend to ‘maintain stability and strengthen our partnerships abroad’
Trump claims Starmer ‘very happy’ about tariffs
Downing Street has refused to confirm President Trump’s claim that Keir Starmer was “very happy” about the treatment the UK is getting under the new US global tariff regime. (See 9.32am.) Asked about the president’s words at the morning lobby briefing, the PM’s spokesperson said that the government had already set out its position yesterday and that it was “disappointed” by the US tariff policy.
Livia Tossici-Bolt has been sentenced at Poole magistrates’ court to a conditional discharge for two years for two charges of breaching a “buffer zone” outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth, PA Media reports. See 11.22am.
Continue reading...China hits back at Trump tariffs with 34% tax on US goods, export curbs
Beijing says it will impose additional 34 percent tax on US goods from next week in retaliation to Washington's tariffs.
The Lamps Are Going Out Around Us – The Bulwark
Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault
Actor and comedian charged with rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault, say police
The comedian and actor Russell Brand has been charged with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape as well as two counts of sexual assault, the Metropolitan police have said.
More details soon …
India’s opposition says will challenge Muslim properties bill in top court
Amendments to 1995 law governing waqf endowments would add non-Muslims to boards that manage such properties.
The surprising casualties of Benjamin Netanyahu’s torrent of terror
Bibi has abandoned the remaining Israeli captives in the evangelical pursuit of Trump's sick plan.
She’s a waitress raised on a farm – can Rebecca Cooke win a key Wisconsin seat?
Moderate Democrat believes she can unseat Republican Derrick Van Orden, who was at the Capitol on January 6
Wisconsin’s third congressional district has voted for Donald Trump every time he’s been on the ballot, but the moderate Democrat Rebecca Cooke, a waitress who grew up on a dairy farm, thinks she can flip the state’s most competitive seat next year.
Last year, Cooke outperformed other Democrats when she tried to unseat incumbent Derrick Van Orden, a retired US Navy Seal who attended the January 6 “Stop the Steal
” rally at the Capitol and shouted “lies” during Joe Biden’s 2024 state of the union address. She lost the race by less than three points.
Japan-owned UK glass factory could shut if no buyer found, risking 250 jobs
Closure of Nippon Electric Glass plant would put further pressure on Rachel Reeves’s industrial strategy
A glass factory in Wigan that produces fibreglass for electric cars and wind turbines faces closure and the loss of 250 jobs unless its Japanese owner can find a new partner or a buyer.
In the latest blow to Britain’s industrial base, Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) announced a “strategic review” of its composites business Electric Glass Fiber UK (EGF), which it expects to last approximately two months, putting about 250 jobs at risk.
Continue reading...Democrats decry reported dismissal of NSA director Tim Haugh
Lawmakers say dismissing head of US Cyber Command puts country at risk at a time of ‘unprecedented cyber threats’
Top congressional Democrats are protesting against the reported firing of Gen Tim Haugh as director of the National Security Agency (NSA), with one lawmaker saying the decision “makes all of us less safe”.
Haugh and his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, have been dismissed from their roles, the Washington Post reported late on Thursday, with CNN reporting likewise, both outlets citing multiple unnamed officials and other senior sources close to the matter who had requested anonymity.
Continue reading...Anti-abortion campaigner convicted of breaching buffer zone outside UK clinic
Livia Tossici-Bolt given conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 costs in case that drew US state department concern
An activist whose case had been cited by the US state department over “freedom of expression” concerns in the UK has been convicted of breaching a buffer zone outside an abortion clinic.
Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner, went on trial at Poole magistrates court last month accused of breaching a public spaces protection order on two days in March 2023 near to a clinic in Bournemouth. On Friday she was found guilty of two charges of breaching the order.
Continue reading...US authors’ copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft combined in New York with newspaper actions
California cases over AI trainers’ use of work by writers including Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Chabon transferred to consolidate with New York suits from John Grisham and Jonathan Franzen and more
Twelve US copyright cases against OpenAI and Microsoft have been consolidated in New York, despite most of the authors and news outlets suing the companies being opposed to centralisation.
A transfer order made by the US judicial panel on multidistrict litigation on Thursday said that centralisation will “allow a single judge to coordinate discovery, streamline pretrial proceedings, and eliminate inconsistent rulings”.
Continue reading...Cost of Easter rises as UK chocolate, lamb and hot cross bun prices soar
Shoppers also face more ‘shrinkflation’ as manufacturers ‘try to offset rising production costs’
Exchanging Easter eggs and tucking into a roast dinner are among the highlights of the spring holiday but Britons face paying more for this year’s celebrations after a sharp rise in the price of essentials such as chocolate, lamb and hot cross buns.
A leg of lamb joint now costs on average £13.94 a kilo in supermarkets, which is 10%, or £1.31, more than last year, according to the price analysts Assosia. Over two years, the jump is nearly 27%, or approaching £3 more a kilo, based on the pre-promotion price across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
Continue reading...US added 228,000 jobs in March despite Trump’s deep cuts to federal workforce
Figure up from 117,000 jobs added in February, far higher than expected, as unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%
The US added 228,000 jobs in March, far more than expected, as the US economy shook off the blow from the Trump administration’s deep cuts to federal workers.
The figure was up from an adjusted 117,000 jobs added in February. Unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%.
Continue reading...De Bruyne to leave Man City at end of season
Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne announces he will leave the Premier League champions.
Massad Boulos: US envoy says he and Donald Trump are working on DR Congo mineral deal – BBC
- Massad Boulos: US envoy says he and Donald Trump are working on DR Congo mineral deal BBC
- After tariffs, US dangles billions of dollars in Congo mineral investment Reuters
- Mineral-rich, war-torn DRC first stop for Trump's new Africa czar NPR
- The US is negotiating a minerals deal with conflict-hit Congo, a Trump official says AP News
- Trump Envoy Says US-Congo Mining and Security Deal Moving Ahead Bloomberg.com
Wisconsin recipient of $1m from Musk was active in Republican campaigning
Nicholas Jacobs was immersed in party activities, even working to elect the Musk-favored candidate who lost
Archived social media posts from a student Republican operative, Nicholas Jacobs, who received a $1m check from Elon Musk, show that he was deeply immersed in Republican electioneering over the last year, working not only to elect Donald Trump but other party candidates in the state.
They included failed Wisconsin Republican senate candidate Eric Hovde; first-term congressman Tony Wied; incumbent Milwaukee Republican vice-chair Brett Galaszewski; and Brad Schimel, the state supreme court candidate whom Musk has spent $25m supporting.
Continue reading...India’s Modi, Bangladesh’s Yunus hold first talks since 2024 uprising
Modi says he wants 'positive and constructive relationship' with Bangladesh where pro-India Hasina was ousted last year.
Myanmar junta chief meets foreign leaders, UN says military choking aid – Reuters
- Myanmar junta chief meets foreign leaders, UN says military choking aid Reuters
- The smell of death still lingers in the town at the epicenter of Myanmar’s earthquake CNN
- Devastating scenes from quake-hit Myanmar Reuters
- A devastating earthquake brings more uncertainty to Myanmar NPR
- Minnesota sisters from Myanmar raise money for earthquake relief in homeland CBS News
Libya expels aid groups accused of ‘African’ population plot
The groups, including the UN refugee agency, are accused of trying to change Libya's "demographic composition".