Carney names broad team to advise on tense US-Canada trade talks

Conservatives and former provincial premiers among those PM names to advisory committee on economic relations

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, says his new advisory committee on economic relations with the United States will draw on the “best advice and the broadest perspectives” as the country braces for what many expect will be tense trade negotiations with its southern neighbour.

The 24-member advisory committee, announced on Tuesday, shows the prime minister’s eagerness to reach across the political spectrum to ensure Canada is “well positioned to advance its interests” at the looming trade talks.

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Rabbi who boasts of bulldozing Palestinian homes will light torch for Israel’s national day

Human rights campaigners say honour for Avraham Zarbiv endorses ethnic cleansing and war crimes

An extremist rabbi known for razing civilian homes in Gaza will light a torch at Israel’s independence day celebration on Tuesday, a role human rights campaigners said marked the embrace of genocide as the official “spirit of the nation”.

Avraham Zarbiv is one of 14 people chosen for their “extraordinary contribution to society and the state”, alongside a scientist, a Michelin-starred chef, a leading doctor, members of the security forces and entrepreneurs.

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George Ariyoshi, first US governor of Asian American descent, dies aged 100

Democrat led Hawaii from 1973 to 1986, coinciding with the party’s rise to power in the state

George R Ariyoshi – Hawaii’s former governor and the nation’s first Asian American governor – has died at age 100.

Ariyoshi, a Democrat who led the state from 1973 to 1986, died peacefully while surrounded by family on Sunday night, according to a statement Monday from the current governor, Josh Green.

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Trump’s Federal Reserve chair pick to face lawmakers at key confirmation hearing – US politics live

The hearing marks a key hurdle Kevin Warsh must overcome in order to succeed Jerome Powell when his term ends on 15 May

While the long-delayed hearing is a necessary step for Kevin Warsh, it’s not clear when the committee may even be able to vote on his nomination.

The Justice Department is investigating Powell and the Fed over a building renovation, and senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he would effectively block Warsh until the probe is dropped, AP reported.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Donald Trump’s labor secretary, resigned from her role with the administration. She said it was “an honor and a privilege to serve” to serve and that she would take on a job in the private sector. The departure came after she became entangled in a string of political and personal controversies. Democrats celebrated, writing “this administration is imploding”.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, called for Kash Patel’s immediate resignation following a report from the Atlantic detailing the FBI director’s alleged excessive drinking and absences. Patel has sued the magazine for defamation with his attorneys calling the article a “sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece”.

Donald Trump signed memorandums related to coal supply chains, natural gas and grid infrastructure on Monday. The president invoked the Defense Production Act in the energy-related memos, writing that increasing energy production is “essential to United States national defense”.

The crowded field of Democratic candidates in the California’s governor’s race appears to be narrowing as Betty Yee — a former state controller— announced Monday she planned to end her campaign. Meanwhile, the California Democratic party chair Rusty Hicks continued to urge candidates trailing in the polls to exit the race.

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US ‘restricts intelligence sharing with South Korea’ after minister identified suspected nuclear site

Washington reportedly limits satellite data after minister spoke publicly about suspected facility in North Korea

The US has partly restricted intelligence sharing with South Korea after the country’s unification minister publicly identified a suspected North Korean nuclear site, according to reports in South Korean media.

Chung Dong-young told lawmakers in March that North Korea was operating uranium enrichment facilities in Kusong, a north-western area that had not previously been officially confirmed as a nuclear site alongside the known facilities at Yongbyon and Kangson.

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Sam Neill says New Zealand goldmine supporters have threatened him with violence

Actor, who has publicly objected to plans to fast-track project near his farm, says he has received personal abuse

The actor Sam Neill says he has received threats of violence from supporters of a controversial goldmine that could be opened several kilometres away from his farm in New Zealand’s Central Otago district, after he publicly objected to the government’s plans to fast-track the mine.

The Australian mining company Santana Minerals is pushing to expedite a 85-hectare (210-acre) open-cast goldmine, called Bendigo-Ophir, in the Dunstan mountains, an area described as “outstanding natural landscape” by the Central Otago district council.

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Music executive behind K-pop group BTS faces arrest in South Korea

Police seek warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk over allegations he illegally gained millions in investor fraud scheme

South Korean police are seeking to arrest Bang Si-Hyuk, the chair of the agency behind the K-pop band BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100m (£74m) in an investor fraud scheme.

The Seoul metropolitan police agency confirmed it had asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for the arrest of Bang, the founder and chair of HYBE.

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Tuesday briefing: What it might take for lasting peace between the US and Iran

In today’s newsletter: Our diplomatic editor on whether permanent peace is possible – or whether there will be a new escalation in the conflict

Good morning. The Gulf is stuck in limbo between war and peace. Despite a ceasefire deal between the US and Iran, both sides have ramped up threats once again. A lasting end to the violence feels possible, but so does a renewed round of fighting – and more death, destruction and economic pain.

JD Vance, the US vice-president, is expected to fly to Pakistan today if Iran agrees to further talks on ending the conflict. Tehran has given mixed signals about whether they will attend and, at time of writing, it remainds unclear. Meanwhile, time is ticking away on the current two-week ceasefire, which runs out in less than 48 hours.

Iran war | JD Vance was expected to fly to Islamabad at the head of a US diplomatic delegation on Tuesday if Iran agrees to further talks in the Pakistani capital as the deadline for the current ceasefire looms.

UK politics | Keir Starmer has accused Olly Robbins of deliberately and repeatedly obstructing the truth about the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal before a high-jeopardy appearance of the sacked top official before MPs on Tuesday.

Health | Changes to microbes that live in the gut can identify people at greater risk of Parkinson’s disease long before symptoms develop, according to work that also raises hopes for new therapies.

Economy | A quarter of a million people could lose their jobs by the middle of next year as Britain “flirts with recession”, analysis suggests, after business confidence was shattered by the US-Israel war on Iran.

Technology | Apple announced on Monday that it had named a replacement for Tim Cook as CEO after nearly 15 years, with head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding him on 1 September. Cook will stay at the company in the role of executive chair.

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Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank, report says

Experts say attacks, also carried out by settlers, are leading girls to quit school and enter early marriages

Israeli soldiers and settlers are using gendered violence and sexual assault and harassment to force Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank, human rights and legal experts say.

Palestinian women, men and children have reported attacks, forced nudity, invasive and painful body cavity searches, Israelis exposing their genitals, including to minors, and threats of sexual violence.

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Almost half of EU’s busiest flight routes are ‘hard or impossible’ to book on trains – report

‘Stone age’ system of booking cross-border rail tickets holding back climate action by consumers, says thinktank

Europe’s “stone age” system of booking train tickets makes it needlessly difficult for travellers to avoid polluting flights, a report has found.

Booking equivalent train tickets is “difficult or impossible” on almost half of the EU’s busiest international air routes, analysis from the Transport & Environment (T&E) thinktank shows.

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Canadian woman killed after gunman opens fire at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids

At least four more injured at world heritage site in latest violent incident as country prepares to co-host World Cup

One Canadian tourist has been killed and six other people were wounded by gunfire after an armed man opened fire at one of Mexico’s most famous tourist destinations, the Teotihuacán pyramids near Mexico City.

The shooting – the latest violent incident to affect Mexico as it prepares to co-host the football World Cup in June – took place on Monday lunchtime and was captured in mobile phone videos.

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Pennsylvania court strikes down ban on use of Medicaid funds for abortions

Victory for abortion rights groups as court finds state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion

A Pennsylvania court on Monday said that the state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion while striking down a decades-long law banning the use of state Medicaid funds to cover abortion costs.

The ruling by a divided seven-judge panel of the appellate-level commonwealth court is a major victory for Planned Parenthood and abortion clinic operators who first sued Pennsylvania over its Medicaid funding restrictions in 2019.

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Elon Musk snubs Paris legal summons over alleged child abuse images on X

Billionaire owner elects not to attend voluntary interview as part of investigation by French cybercrime unit

Elon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with lawyers in Paris, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over an investigation into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok.

The prosecutors told AFP that they had “taken note of the absence of the first people summoned”, without mentioning Musk’s name. The billionaire called the French authorities involved “retards” weeks earlier in a French-language post on X.

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John Keats’s love letters returned to owner after being stolen in the 1980s

Romantic poet’s letters to Fanny Brawne, dated between 1819 and 1820, had been stolen from a Long Island estate

Eight original handwritten letters from the Romantic poet John Keats to his muse and “one passion”, Fanny Brawne, were returned to the family of John Hay “Jock” Whitney, the former US ambassador to the UK, on Monday after being stolen from Whitney’s home in the 1980s.

Keats’s letters, including the first letter he ever wrote to Brawne, are dated between 1819 and 1820. Valued at approximately $2m, the 37 letters are held in a gilt morocco-bound portfolio. Brawne was Keats’s neighbor in Hampstead, with whom he became infatuated and elevated to muse and goddess.

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Japan tsunami alerts downgraded following powerful earthquake off northern coast – as it happened

People in affected areas are still urged to evacuate after quake registering 7.7 magnitude

Australian officials in Japan are urgently following up on the tsunami warning off the northeastern coast of the island of Honshu.

The Australian government said:

We stand ready to provide consular assistance.

Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas).

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Carney says Canada’s strong economic ties to US are ‘weakness’ to be corrected

Prime minister details efforts to attract investment and sign trade deals with other countries in 10-minute video address

Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected, the country’s prime minister has warned

In a 10-minute video address, Mark Carney spoke about his government’s efforts to strengthen the Canadian economy by attracting new investments and signing trade deals with other countries.

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Charlize Theron joins chorus of disapproval over Timothée Chalamet’s ballet comments

The former ballet dancer said Chalamet’s comments were ‘reckless’ in an interview with the New York Times in which she also discussed her violent childhood

Actor and former ballet dancer Charlize Theron has joined the chorus of disapproval aimed at Timothée Chalamet over his remarks that appeared to disrespect performers of ballet and opera.

In an interview with the New York Times, Theron said: “Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day,” adding: “That was a very reckless comment on two art forms that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time. But in 10 years, AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live.”

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US urges contractor to evacuate workers from Kuwait and Iraq over worries of Iran-backed attacks

After Guardian reports about danger to V2X employees, sources say state department raised concerns with defense contractor

The US government has called on the defense contractor V2X to evacuate its employees from Kuwait and Iraq, warning the company that they could be targeted by Iran-backed militias, four sources said.

The intervention follows reporting by the Guardian that V2X employees were stationed at US military bases in Kuwait, and at Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih airbase and Erbil in Iraq. Employees claimed having inadequate protections, receiving limited communications from the company about evacuation plans and being pressured to remain in the Middle East. In Iraq, workers say they are targets of Iran-allied attacks, and one employee was killed in a night-time drone attack in March.

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Myanmar military regime widens sanitary towel ban, claiming rebels use them for first aid

Activists say clamp down on period products to target insurgents is gender-based violence and violates rights

Myanmar’s military regime is expanding its ban on the distribution of period products, claiming they are being used to treat wounded resistance fighters, according to local activists.

The south-east Asian country has been locked in civil war since 2021, when the military usurped the democratic government and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents. Artillery fire, the burning of townships and arbitrary arrests have become common in the years since then.

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Kanye West’s European tour in doubt as more concerts cancelled in Poland and Switzerland

FC Basel and Polish stadium stop US rapper’s upcoming shows, after similar cancellations in France and UK over antisemitic comments

Kanye West’s upcoming concerts in Poland and Switzerland have been cancelled, as a growing number of European countries have stopped or postponed the US rapper’s performances amid a furore over his past antisemitic comments.

Swiss football club FC Basel, which is responsible for concerts and events that take place at its St Jakob-Park ground, told Reuters on Saturday that after reviewing a request for West to perform there in June, it decided against it.

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