Category Archives: World News

Trump called for 100% tariff on foreign films a day after Jon Voight proposed ‘limited’ tariffs

Posted on by

Actor was assigned by Trump to come up with a plan to save Hollywood, but his proposal only included tariffs ‘in certain limited circumstances’

US president Donald Trump announced his 100% tariff on films “coming into our country produced in foreign lands” one day after meeting with actor Jon Voight to discuss his proposals to bring film production back to the US – which only suggested that tariffs could be used “in certain limited circumstances”.

The Midnight Cowboy and Heat actor, who was appointed a “special ambassador” to Hollywood by Trump, has been meeting with studios, streamers, unions and guilds for months to develop a plan to lure film and television productions back to the US. Production companies often seek more cost-effective locations or tax incentives in other countries such as Canada, Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Hungary, Italy and Spain.

Continue reading...

Mike Pence rebukes Trump over tariffs and ‘wavering’ support for Ukraine

Posted on by

Former vice-president says tariffs ‘not a win for the American people’ and predicts public pressure will grow

Donald Trump’s tariffs policy will trigger a “price shock” and possible shortages, and lead to public pressure on him to change his approach, the former vice-president Mike Pence has said.

In one of his most wide-ranging critiques yet on the policies of the president he used to serve, Pence, speaking to CNN, derided the White House’s “wavering” support for Ukraine and declared – in direct contradiction of repeated assurances from Trump – that President Vladimir Putin of Russia “doesn’t want peace”.

Continue reading...

Gold mining suspended in Peru’s north after 13 miners killed

Posted on by

Government response comes amid outrage over the murder of the men who had been held captive for more than a week

Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte, has suspended gold mining and announced a 12-hour curfew in Pataz, in the northern region, after criminals kidnapped and killed 13 gold mine workers.

A Peruvian gold mining company La Poderosa said on Sunday that the bodies of 13 contract workers from a local firm had been found by police inside one of the mine’s tunnels.

Continue reading...

Ex-French interior minister apologises to Liverpool fans for making them a ‘scapegoat’

Posted on by

Gérald Darmanin, now justice minister, called night of 2022 Champions League final ‘biggest failure’ of his career

The former French interior minister has apologised to Liverpool fans for using them as a “scapegoat” for the chaos surrounding the 2022 Champions League final in Paris, where supporters of the club, including children, were teargassed by police amid false claims they had caused a riot.

Gérald Darmanin, who is now France’s justice minister, called the night “the biggest failure” of his career. On 28 May 2022, Liverpool supporters said they feared for their lives as they were forced to enter Stade de France via a narrow subway and boxed-in lanes that could not accommodate the thousands of people that had arrived.

Continue reading...

Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha wins Pulitzer prize for commentary

Posted on by

Renowned poet and author wins prize for series of New Yorker essays on suffering of Palestinians in Gaza

The renowned Palestinian poet and author, Mosab Abu Toha, is among this year’s Pulitzer prize winners.

Abu Toha was awarded for a series of essays in the New Yorker documenting the lives and suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, where he has lived nearly all his life.

Continue reading...

India tries to halt auction of Piprahwa gems found with Buddha’s remains

Posted on by

Ministers claim sale in Hong Kong is unlawful and are demanding repatriation of sacred relics buried in third-century BC

The Indian government has issued a legal notice to halt the “unethical” auction of ancient gem relics, which it said should be treated as the sacred body of the Buddha.

Its Ministry of Culture said the auction of the Piprahwa gems in Hong Kong this week “violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions”, and demanded their repatriation to India “for preservation and religious veneration”.

Continue reading...

Israel carries out fresh airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen

Posted on by

Rebels’ media office say at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port on Monday afternoon

Israel’s military has carried out a fresh round of airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Red Sea city of Hodeida, a day after the Iranian-backed rebels launched a missile that hit Israel’s main airport.

The rebels’ media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port on Monday afternoon. Other strikes hit a cement factory in the Bajil district in Hodeida province, the rebels said. Israeli media reported that dozens of Israeli aircraft took part in the operation.

Continue reading...

Search for two young children missing in Canadian forest enters fourth day

Posted on by

Officials believe Lily, six, and Jack Sullivan, four, are lost in woods of Nova Scotia after disappearing on Friday

A frantic search for two children presumed lost in the unforgiving and thickly forested lands of Nova Scotia has entered its fourth day as police in Atlantic Canada expand their search.

Nearly 150 searchers have braved rain and fog to track down Lily Sullivan, six, and Jack Sullivan, four, who were last seen on Friday around their home in Pictou county, 100 miles north-east of Halifax.

Continue reading...

Mexico’s president tries to defuse fears of US military intervention

Posted on by

Sheinbaum emphasises communication with Trump ‘very good’ after rejecting offer to send US troops into Mexico

A sharp exchange of statements over the weekend has heightened concerns in Mexico that Donald Trump may push for a US military presence in its territory to fight drug trafficking.

The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, sought to defuse the situation in her daily press conference on Monday, emphasising that communication between the two leaders had been “very good” so far.

Continue reading...

Romania’s pro-EU prime minister resigns as Trump ally eyes presidency

Posted on by

Marcel Ciolacu quits after coalition candidate fails to make it to run-off against nationalist George Simion

Romania’s pro-EU prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, has resigned after his ruling coalition’s candidate crashed out of a presidential election rerun decisively won by a far-right Trump admirer, dramatically deepening the country’s political turmoil.

“Rather than let the future president replace me, I decided to resign myself,” Ciolacu, told reporters after a meeting at the headquarters of his Social Democratic party (PSD). “The ruling coalition has no legitimacy, at least in this formula.”

Continue reading...

US media stocks slide on Wall Street after Trump threatens movie tariffs

Posted on by

Netflix, Amazon, Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount shares fall as studios reel from announcement

Shares in US streamers and production companies fell on Monday, after Donald Trump said he would introduce 100% tariffs on films made abroad, a move that couldsharply raise costs for Hollywood studios.

Trump’s announcement on his Truth Social platform, revived worries about the US president’s trade policy and its impact on the world economy.

Continue reading...

Announcement of Israel’s Gaza occupation plan is carefully timed

Posted on by

By going public now Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to squeeze Hamas for concessions and please the far right

The announcement of Israel’s plan to launch imminently a new, expanded offensive in Gaza and to retain the territory it seized is a significant moment, at least in terms of public rhetoric.

Throughout the nearly 19-month war, Israeli troops have carried out large and frequently bloody operations that have covered all except central parts of Gaza, but they have largely restricted their permanent presence to a buffer zone about 1km deep along the devastated territory’s perimeter and two relatively narrow east-west corridors.

Continue reading...

Sudan fails in attempt to make UAE accountable for acts of genocide

Posted on by

Largely expected decision by international court of justice marks second diplomatic victory for Gulf state

An attempt by Sudan’s government to make the United Arab Emirates legally accountable for acts of genocide in West Darfur has been rejected by the international court of justice after the judges voted by 14 to 2 to declare they had no jurisdiction. By a narrower majority the judges voted 9 to 7 to strike the case entirely from the ICJ list.

There have been repeated allegations during the two-year civil war in Sudan that the UAE has been flying arms to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in an attempt to oust the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Continue reading...

Francis’s popemobile to become a mobile clinic for children in Gaza

Posted on by

Catholic charity says the late pontiff endorsed the idea of creating a ‘vehicle of hope’ to deliver medical aid

Just over a decade ago, the converted Mitsubishi whisked Pope Francis through the streets of Bethlehem before it was left to gather dust. Now, in keeping with one of the late pontiff’s last wishes, the popemobile is being given a second life – as a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip.

In a region ravaged by more than 18 months of war, the initiative is both symbolic and practical, said Peter Brune, the secretary general of the Catholic charity Caritas Sweden.

Continue reading...

Spain: cable theft that caused rail chaos was ‘act of sabotage’, says minister

Posted on by

Signalling cable taken from four locations, delaying high-speed services between Madrid and Seville, week after massive power cut

Spain’s transport minister has said the country’s rail network suffered “an act of serious sabotage” after vital signalling cable was stolen over the busy bank holiday weekend, bringing severe delays to high-speed services between Madrid and Seville that affected more than 10,000 travellers.

Government sources said the problems on the line between the capital and the southern region of Andalucía had been caused by the theft of copper cable from five different locations in the Toledo area, south of Madrid, late on Sunday.

Continue reading...

UK offshore havens miss deadline for transparency plans

Posted on by

British Virgin Islands criticised for launching financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation

UK offshore havens have missed a deadline to publish their plans to improve corporate transparency, as MPs criticised the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in particular for launching a financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation.

Jurisdictions including the BVI and Bermuda pledged last year to approve laws allowing access to company ownership data to those with a “legitimate interest” by April 2025, with implementation to follow in June.

Continue reading...

Scholz to hand over power in Germany to sound of feminist anthem Respect

Posted on by

Song made famous by Aretha Franklin is on military band’s set list for handover of chancellery to Friedrich Merz

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is to be played out of office by a military band who will perform tunes chosen by him that are intended to sum up his mood and political life.

Scholz will bow out to the Beatles, Johann Sebastian Bach and an Otis Redding hit made famous by Aretha Franklin.

Continue reading...

Trump orders reopening of Alcatraz prison for ‘most ruthless offenders’

Posted on by

Plan to expand and reuse long-shuttered penitentiary off San Francisco described as ‘not serious’ by Nancy Pelosi

Donald Trump has said he is directing the administration to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on an island off San Francisco that has been closed for more than 60 years.

California lawmakers called the idea “absurd on its face” and part of the US president’s strategy of political distraction. Other officials pointed to the closure of the prison complex in 1963, known for its brutal conditions, due to operational expense and the high number of (unsuccessful) escape attempts.

Continue reading...

Irish camogie players don shorts in protest against skorts diktat

Posted on by

Players have had enough of rule 6(b) of the sport’s code, which requres a ‘skirt/skort/divided skirt’

They are called skorts – a portmanteau of shorts and skirts – and the Irish camogie players who are obliged to wear them have had enough.

Players from Dublin and Kilkenny instead wore forbidden shorts before a provincial game on Saturday, in a coordinated protest that has won support from politicians and commentators who say the dress rules for the female-only sport are archaic.

Continue reading...

Salvage operation to recover Mike Lynch superyacht begins off Sicily

Posted on by

UK tech entrepreneur and his daughter were among seven killed when the Bayesian sank in a violent storm

A 55-metre (180ft) barge carrying a heavy-lift crane has begun work to raise the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian from the seabed off Sicily, where it sank last summer killing seven people including the UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch.

The barge, named Hebo Lift 2, with its 700-sq-metre deck, specialist diving apparatus and a remotely operated underwater vehicle, arrived last week in Porticello, a fishing port near Palermo, where marine salvage experts have started operations to raise the Bayesian.

Continue reading...