- Pope from hospital: ‘Thank you for your prayers, I accompany you from here' Vatican News - English
- Pope Francis shares first audio message since hospitalization: 'May God bless you' Fox News
- Weak and breathless Pope Francis thanks faithful for prayers ‘from the bottom of my heart’ in audio message New York Post
- Clutched by the global faithful and draped on candles and statues, rosaries abound for Pope Francis The Associated Press
- Pope's Ash Wednesday absence looms large as Lent begins at the Vatican National Catholic Reporter
Trump delays tariffs on many products from Mexico and Canada
US president paused tariffs on Mexican products covered by USMCA and later stayed tariffs on many Canadian imports
Donald Trump pulled back from his trade war with Canada and Mexico on Thursday, temporarily delaying tariffs on many goods from the two countries once again.
Two days after imposing sweeping tariffs on all imports from his country’s closest trading partners, the US president announced that duties on a wide range of products would be shelved until April.
Continue reading...US arts funding agency sued over Trump order targeting LGBTQ+ projects
Groups sue National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) after president bars funds for promotion of ‘gender ideology’
Several arts organizations are suing the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) over its new requirements following Donald Trump’s executive order barring the use of federal funds for the promotion of “gender ideology”.
The groups, which are seeking funding for projects that support art about or are made by transgender and non-binary people, say they have in effect been unconstitutionally blocked from receiving grants from the agency that was built to promote artistic excellence, despite having received funds for similar projects in the past.
Continue reading...Crossbow killer found guilty of raping ex-partner before murdering her
Kyle Clifford found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend before murdering her in Bushey, northwest of London.
‘Watershed moment’: EU leaders agree plan for huge rise in defence spending
Leaders endorse von der Leyen proposal but show of unity over Ukraine is marred by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán
European leaders holding emergency talks in Brussels have agreed on a massive increase to defence spending, amid a drive to shore up support for Ukraine after Donald Trump halted US military aid and intelligence sharing.
But the show of unity was marred by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, failing to endorse an EU statement on Ukraine pushing back against Trump’s Russia-friendly negotiating stance.
Continue reading...London ebike fire: landlords of ‘grossly overcrowded’ flat fined almost £100,000
Sofina Begum and Aminur Rahman had ‘blatant disregard’ for tenants of property where man was killed, says judge
The landlords of a “grossly overcrowded” east London flat where a man died after an ebike battery started a fire have been fined almost £100,000 after pleading guilty to nine housing law breaches.
The judge, the recorder Emma Smith, said the landlords showed “blatant disregard for the law and for the occupants” of the property, when she sentenced them at Snaresbrook crown court on Thursday.
Continue reading...Romania arrests six over alleged Russia-linked coup plot
Romanian prosecutors detain six people on charges of treason for allegedly seeking Russian help for coup plot.
Reform faces split as Farage hits back over ‘messianic’ criticism
Nigel Farage calls Rupert Lowe ‘utterly completely wrong’ after Reform MP criticised his leadership style
Reform UK is facing a split at the top after Nigel Farage called one of his most prominent MPs “utterly completely wrong” for calling him the “messianic” leader of a protest party.
Farage hit out at Rupert Lowe after the Great Yarmouth MP and former Southampton FC chair criticised his leadership publicly in an interview.
Continue reading...Mexico president hails Trump phone call as tariffs suspended
US President Donald Trump has suspended tariffs on Mexican goods that fall under the USMCA trade agreement.
Europe’s Defenses Risk Faltering Within Weeks Without US Support – Bloomberg
- Europe’s Defenses Risk Faltering Within Weeks Without US Support Bloomberg
- How European leaders are responding to Trump’s approach to Ukraine and Europe Atlantic Council
- The dangerous tension in Europe’s response to Trump The Economist
- US moves on Ukraine make Europeans wonder: Is America an ally? The Christian Science Monitor
- Europe can’t just hope for the best with Trump. Ukraine needs all the arms we can send | Frans Timmermans The Guardian
Archaeologists Discover Cache of Ancient Gold Jewelry in One of Egypt’s Most Famous Temples – ARTnews
Hundreds of Santander customers in UK hit by banking problems
Bank says it has fixed mobile and telephone service outages after people unable to make payments
Santander has fixed the problems affecting its banking services after many customers were left unable to access their accounts.
The bank apologised for any “inconvenience caused” and said no customers would “be left out of pocket” as a result of the outages.
Continue reading...Major division in EU as leaders get deal on arming Ukraine — without Hungary – POLITICO Europe
- Major division in EU as leaders get deal on arming Ukraine — without Hungary POLITICO Europe
- EU Leaves Hungary Behind as It Pledges to Boost Ukraine Support Bloomberg
- Orban says financing Ukraine's war effort would 'ruin Europe' Reuters
- Hungary, Slovakia threaten EU unity on Russia, Ukraine ahead of key summit Kyiv Independent
- 'Things have become too important for silly political games', analyst says as Hungary sidelined FRANCE 24 English
Dominique Pelicot’s daughter files legal complaint of sexual abuse by father – The Guardian
- Dominique Pelicot’s daughter files legal complaint of sexual abuse by father The Guardian
- Gisèle Pelicot’s Daughter Filed a Sex-Abuse Complaint Against Her Father The Cut
- Daughter of French rapist Dominique Pelicot files sex abuse case against him FRANCE 24 English
- Gisèle Pelicot’s daughter: She abandoned me as a fellow victim The Times
- Dominique Pelicot’s daughter files fresh rape complaint against him The Telegraph
Cheap goods ‘not essence of American dream’, Trump official says amid tariff price fears
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent defends the new administration’s aggressive trade strategy
Buying cheap products is “not the essence of the American dream”, Donald Trump’s top economic official has declared, amid warnings that the US president’s trade wars risk increasing prices.
The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, defended the new administration’s aggressive trade strategy on Thursday, two days after it imposed sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico and hiked duties on China.
Continue reading...American severance may be averted, but Europe’s leaders must fear the worst
Head-spinning speed of events leaves EU adapting at pace while trying to infer Trump’s possible geo-strategic aims
With a mixture of regret, laced with incredulity, European leaders gathered in Brussels to marshal their forces for a power struggle not with Russia, but with the US.
Even now, of course at the 11th hour, most of Europe hopes this coming battle of wills can be averted and the Trump administration can still be persuaded that forcing Ukraine to the negotiating table, disarmed and blinded, will not be the US’s long-term strategic interest.
Continue reading...US lost a fifth of its butterflies within two decades
However the researchers say butterflies may be able to recover if urgent conservation measures are taken.
US lost a fifth of its butterflies within two decades
However the researchers say butterflies may be able to recover if urgent conservation measures are taken.
Elon Musk and Texas governor celebrate firing of worker over pronouns in email signature
Billionaire Trump ally and Greg Abbot tweet about Frank Zamora, who was let go after refusing to remove pronouns
The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, and, later, Elon Musk showed support on Wednesday for the firing of a state employee who refused to remove his pronouns from his work email signature.
Frank Zamora, 31, was let go from his job as a program manager at the Texas real estate commission (TREC) last month because he refused to comply with a mandate from the organisation to employees to remove gender pronouns from email signatures.
Continue reading...Butterfly population in US shrinking by 22% over last 20 years, study shows
Drop in line with rate of overall insect loss as scientists point to habitat loss, pesticide use and the climate crisis
Butterflies may be among the most beloved of all creatures, routinely deified in art and verse, but they are in alarming decline in the United States with populations plummeting by a fifth in just the past two decades, according to the most comprehensive study yet of their fortunes.
The abundance of butterflies in the US slumped 22% between 2000 and 2020, the new analysis of more than 76,000 mostly regional surveys, published in Science, found. For every five butterflies fluttering daintily around at the start of the century, just four remain today.
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