Standard Chartered boss apologises for ‘lower-value human capital’ comments amid job cuts

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Bill Winters faced backlash over remarks about some of near 8,000 staff set to lose roles to AI

The chief executive of Standard Chartered has apologised for referring to some of the almost 8,000 staff that are set to lose their jobs to artificial intelligence as “lower-value human capital”.

Bill Winters offered the apology after a backlash over comments he made earlier this week as the London-headquartered lender became one of the first major global banks to lay out plans to cut about 7,800 back-office roles, primarily in response to AI.

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Qatar sends mediators to Tehran in sign talks to reopen strait of Hormuz are reaching climax

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Iran has threatened to impose tolls on shipping, while US demands that Iran hand over its highly enriched uranium may be deferred. Is there an end in sight?

Qatar has rushed a team of mediators to Tehran in a sign that talks to open the strait of Hormuz, in return for the lifting of US sanctions and asset freezes, are reaching a climax.

The aim would be to sign a memorandum of understanding on the strait that would lead to 30 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme – so deferring discussion of the US demand that Iran hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

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Carlo Petrini, Slow Food movement founder, dies aged 76

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Italy’s president leads tributes to campaigner who spent four decades promoting sustainability and local cuisine

Carlo Petrini, the journalist who founded the Slow Food movement in protest against the arrival of the first McDonald’s in Italy, has died aged 76.

Petrini, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in recent years, died in his home town of Bra in northern Italy’s Piedmont region. He had led Slow Food, which since 1986 has campaigned against fast-food culture by promoting sustainability and local cuisine, as president until 2022.

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Turkey seeks to calm investors after opposition ruling sparks sell-off – Financial Times

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  1. Turkey seeks to calm investors after opposition ruling sparks sell-off  Financial Times
  2. Turkey opposition vows to resist court ruling ousting leader as political crisis deepens  NBC News
  3. A Turkish court ousts the opposition leader from his job  The Economist
  4. Turkish court ousts opposition leader in boost to Erdogan  dw.com
  5. Turkey Stocks Start Bouncing Back After Court Blow to Opposition  Bloomberg.com
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‘Full-on summer heat’: western Europe braces for unusually high temperatures

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Portugal, Spain, France and UK expected to exceed 30C on Friday and into next week, with new May records predicted

A large swathe of western Europe is bracing for the first significant heat event of the summer, with temperatures forecast to rise to more than 10C above the norm and new monthly records for May expected to be set in possibly hundreds of places.

Temperatures across Portugal, Spain, France and the UK were expected to exceed 30C (86F) on Friday and into next week, reaching 32C in Paris and London and 35C in south-west France, with highs of up to 38C in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir regions of Spain.

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Progressive Democrats criticize 2024 election autopsy for silence on Gaza | First Thing

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The 192-page report does not mention Gaza or Joe Biden’s age. Plus, is the world heading for another Ebola crisis?

Good morning.

On Thursday, the Democratic party published a postmortem – spanning 192 pages – of its 2024 election defeat, after an initial decision to withhold the document prompted an angry backlash.

What’s in the postmortem? It focuses on key demographics that Kamala Harris lost, including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states. “Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate,” the report says. “The math doesn’t work.” The autopsy says that Democrats must focus less on “abstract issues and identity politics”.

What does the move tell us? The cancellation, which avoided political embarrassment for Donald Trump, is the latest signal that congressional support for the US president’s war is diminishing.

What happens next? The vote has been postponed until lawmakers return from a recess in June, when it appears likely that the resolution could pass.

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UN’s climate crisis vote shows political momentum is growing, say experts

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Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as ‘new chapter’ that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation efforts

When the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu’s prime minister hailed the result as the start of “a new chapter” in climate action.

“The task before all of us now is to translate legal clarity into meaningful action, stronger cooperation, and greater protection for present and future generations,” said Jotham Napat.

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Local US newspaper workers allege Hearst is trying to ‘destroy unions’

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Media company says it is ‘committed to good faith bargaining’ amid claims including contract violation

Workers at local newspapers owned by Hearst allege the company is trying to “destroy unions” amid claims of widespread anti-union tactics, including violating union contracts and bad-faith bargaining.

The Albany Newspaper Guild, which represents the Times Union newspaper in Albany, New York, said it had been more than 17 years since the union had a contract and there had been little progress toward reaching a new one.

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Xi hosted Trump, then Putin: Spot the differences in Beijing – Reuters

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  1. Xi hosted Trump, then Putin: Spot the differences in Beijing  Reuters
  2. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 20, 2026  Institute for the Study of War
  3. Spot the Difference: Putin Gets Trump Treatment From Xi in China  Bloomberg.com
  4. Putin, Xi signal unity but fail to reach deal on pipeline sought by Russia  The Washington Post
  5. China’s Xi gives Putin a red-carpet welcome – and makes a veiled jab at the US  CNN
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