Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group’s rule for 5 years – CNN

  1. Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group’s rule for 5 years  CNN
  2. Syria's interim president signed a new constitution. What's next for the country?  WBUR News
  3. Syria’s leader proclaims ‘new history’ after signing constitutional declaration  The Guardian
  4. Syria leader signs temporary constitution for five-year transition  BBC.com
  5. Kurdish-led Syrian group rejects Islamist authorities' new constitution framework  Reuters
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Pope has restful night at Rome’s Gemelli hospital – Vatican News – English

  1. Pope has restful night at Rome's Gemelli hospital  Vatican News - English
  2. Catholics Around the Globe Heed Francis’ Call to ‘Pray for Me’  The New York Times
  3. Timeline of Pope Francis' hospitalization for pneumonia at the 1-month mark  WRAL News
  4. Pope Francis reaches 12th year as pope. This is how long his predecessors served  WBAL TV Baltimore
  5. Pope marks 12th anniversary as head of Catholic Church with cake and candles  ABC News
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1930s Redux? Trump Raises Spectre Of Return To Dark Days – Barron’s

  1. 1930s Redux? Trump Raises Spectre Of Return To Dark Days  Barron's
  2. What parallels do historians see between the Trump administration and the Nazi regime?  FRANCE 24 English
  3. 1930s Revived? Donald Trump Raises Spectre Of Return To Dark Days  NDTV
  4. Trump is throwing away America’s Cold War victory  The Hill
  5. Sounds from beyond the Shed 176 “Spring or Springtime for Hitler…?”  Americana UK
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UK economy shrinks unexpectedly in blow to Rachel Reeves

ONS data showing 0.1% fall in GDP in January comes less than two weeks before chancellor’s spring statement

The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in January, dealing a blow to Rachel Reeves before the spring statement later this month.

In a surprise to City economists, who expected 0.1% growth in January, the Office for National Statistics data showed the services sector failed to offset a decline in the industrial sector and maintain growth from the previous month.

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Richest farmers in England may lose sustainability funding in Defra review

Exclusive: Officials explore restricting incentive to allocate greater funds to farms with less money and more nature

The richest farmers will not be able to apply for post-Brexit nature funding under plans for England being considered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Farming groups and climate experts have warned that such a plan would “leave farmers in the cold” and make it more difficult for the UK to reach net zero by 2050.

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Newspaper headlines: ‘Starmer’s shock NHS takeover’ and Putin’s ceasefire terms – BBC.com

  1. Newspaper headlines: 'Starmer's shock NHS takeover' and Putin's ceasefire terms  BBC.com
  2. Keir Starmer Wants to Abolish N.H.S. England: What to Know About His Plan  The New York Times
  3. Wes Streeting’s ‘high-stakes’ abolition of NHS England will cut 10,000 jobs  The Guardian
  4. British PM Starmer announces NHS England to be abolished  DW (English)
  5. What next for the NHS after Wes Streeting’s shake-up?  Financial Times
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Jonathan Powell: the veteran negotiator being lauded over US-Ukraine detente

Insiders say UK national security adviser avoids limelight, but it found the ‘calm operator’ this week

In the topsy-turvy world in which Keir Starmer and his aides operate, the US putting the onus on Russia to agree to a truce with Ukraine marked a significant victory.

The proposed 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is the culmination of two weeks of high-wire negotiations involving Ukraine, the US, UK, France and Germany.

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Ed Davey calls on Keir Starmer to back Canada against Trump attacks

Lib Dem leader says PM should make public show of support for ally against ‘shocking attacks’ on its sovereignty

The leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats has called on the prime minister to publicly support Canada and oppose the “shocking attacks” on Canadian sovereignty, as the Trump administration further escalates its global trade war against longstanding allies.

Ed Davey, who leads the third largest political party in the UK, has called on Keir Starmer to travel to Canada in a show of support to the nation’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, as the commonwealth nation faces a generational crisis under Trump’s tariff war and suggestions that the country might become the 51st US state.

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‘All the birds returned’: How a Chinese project led the way in water and soil conservation

The Loess plateau was the most eroded place on Earth until China took action and reversed decades of damage from grazing and farming

It was one of China’s most ambitious environmental endeavours ever.

The Loess plateau, an area spanning more than 245,000 sq miles (640,000 sq km) across three provinces and parts of four others, supports about 100 million people. By the end of the 20th century, however, this land, once fertile and productive, was considered the most eroded place on Earth, according to a documentary by the ecologist John D Liu.

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Mexicans searching for missing relatives uncover possible mass killing site – NPR

  1. Mexicans searching for missing relatives uncover possible mass killing site  NPR
  2. Inside a Mexican cartel ‘extermination’ camp: Ovens, shoes and teeth  The Washington Post
  3. Search group in Mexico discovers possible cartel mass killing site  Euronews
  4. Mexico's attorney general promises full investigation into mass grave  Reuters.com
  5. Mexico to Investigate Site of Human Remains at Jalisco Ranch  Bloomberg
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