- Pope Leo offers Vatican for Ukraine peace talks politico.eu
- The rite for the Inauguration of the Petrine Ministry of Leo XIV Vatican News
- Pope meets with head of Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, who invites him to Kyiv Politico
- Zelenskyy asks for Pope Leo XIV's help in bringing Ukrainian children home from Russia NPR
- Pope Leo Offers Vatican to Putin, Zelensky for Talks Newsweek
Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?
US President Donald Trump says a genocide is taking place in South Africa, a claim a judge dismissed as "imaginary".
Russ Vought: key Project 2025 figure set to continue Trump cuts after Musk exit
Goal of Christian nationalist and director of OMB to dismantle federal workforce may be coming to fruition
Russ Vought’s years-long quest to dismantle the federal workforce and consolidate power for the president is coming to fruition, and he may be given a major boost when he reportedly takes on Elon Musk’s cost-cutting efforts as the billionaire bows out of the federal government.
The director of the office of management and budget has worked alongside Musk’s “department of government efficiency” to slash through the federal government since Trump took office. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Vought would take on an increased public role in Washington as Musk transitions out and the president’s budget process advances. The outlet reported that Vought could use the budget process to make some of Doge’s cuts permanent.
Continue reading...Trump hails trade deals as he wraps up Gulf trip – US politics live
President claims he has made agreements worth more than $200bn with the UAE
David Hogg believes the Democratic party not only needs better messengers – it needs stronger fighters.
“The base of the party, they just want us to do anything,” the 25-year-old Florida activist and Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice-chair said in an interview last week. “They feel alone, they feel isolated, they feel unheard, and they feel like they’re not being fought for.”
Continue reading...Trump acknowledges starvation in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes kill more than 100
President says US will ‘take care of’ situation in Gaza on final day of Gulf tour in Abu Dhabi
Donald Trump has said people are starving in Gaza and the US would have the situation in the territory “taken care of” as it suffered a further wave of intense Israeli airstrikes.
On the final day of his Gulf tour, the US president told reporters in Abu Dhabi: “We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.”
Continue reading...Charles Strouse, Tony award-winning composer of Annie, dies aged 96
Over the course of an illustrious career, Strouse composed music for Broadway shows such as Bye Bye Birdie and Applause but was best known for Annie’s evergreen songs
The composer Charles Strouse, a three-time Tony award-winner whose hits included Annie, has died at the age of 96. His death at home in New York on Thursday was announced by his four children.
Over the course of a long and illustrious career, Strouse composed music for the Broadway shows Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy, Applause, Rags and Nick & Nora. But he was perhaps best known for his score for Annie which opened in New York in 1977 and ran for almost six years. The story of the plucky red-headed orphan featured evergreen songs (with lyrics by Martin Charnin) including Tomorrow, You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile and It’s the Hard-Knock Life, which was sampled by Jay-Z in a 1998 single. Annie received seven Tony awards, including best musical and best original score, and won the Grammy for best cast show album. It was adapted as a film in 1982.
Continue reading...Rantzen accused of being ‘disrespectful’ as MPs debate assisted dying bill – UK politics live
About 150 changes have been made to the bill since MPs voted on it last year
One of the amendments to the bill being debated today has been tabled by the Labour MP Naz Shah, who voted against the bill at second reading. Her amendment 14 would tighten the bill so that anyone not terminally ill cannot qualify as terminally ill (meaning they can use assisted dying) “by voluntarily stopping eating or drinking or both”.
In her speech Leadbeater said that she could understand the concerns behind Shah’s amendment, but that she thought the risk of anyone being able to qualify for assisted dying as a result of anorexia was “negligible”. She said:
Not only would someone with severe anorexia be highly unlikely to be assessed to have capacity to make a decision about assisted dying, the other tragic reality is that if a patient was so ill as a result of not eating and drinking for whatever reason, they would die before the process of assisted dying would be able to take place.
I know that some people have expressed concerns that the severe physical consequences of a decision to stop eating or drinking could still enable someone to claim eligibility for assisted dying when otherwise they would not be able to do so, and I believe that is the motivation behind this amendment … As I’ve set out, I think that risk is negligible.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists have stated that they do not feel at the moment in time there are sufficient psychiatrists who would be able to deliver that position on such a panel. What response does the member have to that?
Continue reading...SCOTUS divided over birthright citizenship. And, a recap of Diddy’s trial – NPR
Elon Musk’s AI firm blames unauthorised change for chatbot’s rant about ‘white genocide’
xAI’s Grok bot repeatedly referred to widely discredited claim about South Africa that has been touted by Donald Trump
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has blamed an “unauthorised modification” for a glitch in its Grok chatbot that resulted in the tool ranting about “white genocide” in South Africa.
In a post on Musk’s X platform, xAI said new measures would be brought in to ensure its employees cannot modify the bot’s behaviour without extra oversight.
Continue reading...Man remanded over fires at homes and car linked to Starmer – BBC
- Man remanded over fires at homes and car linked to Starmer BBC
- Ukrainian Is Charged After Fires at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Properties The New York Times
- Ukrainian Man Charged With Arson For Setting Fires At British PM Kier Starmer's London Properties Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
- Ukrainian man in court over fires linked to UK PM Starmer Reuters
- Ukrainian national charged in series of firebombings targeting UK PM Starmer The Jerusalem Post
More protections have been added to assisted dying bill, says Kim Leadbeater
MP behind bill for England and Wales says changes being debated in parliament on Friday will make it stronger
The bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales will be strengthened and made more workable by proposed changes, Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the legislation, has said.
As the House of Commons prepared to debate amendments, Leadbeater said fresh protections had been introduced to allow a further check on applications for assisted dying, and ensure doctors and others were able to opt out of involvement in the process.
Continue reading...Prince Harry accused the Sun of printing story linking him to P Diddy out of revenge
Exclusive: court documents reveal Harry claimed front page story and other articles had ‘hugely negative impact on his mental health and that of his wife and children’
Prince Harry has accused the Sun newspaper of being motivated by revenge when publishing a front page story reporting that he had been named in a lawsuit accusing Sean “Diddy” Combs of sex trafficking, according to claims in a newly disclosed court document.
The story was said by the Duke of Sussex to be among “a large number of false and highly derogatory articles” published by Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) “in retaliation” for his claims of phone hacking and unlawful information gathering.
Continue reading...Cassie Ventura to again testify in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sex-trafficking trial
Ex-girlfriend details sexual and physical abuse as defense zeroes in on text messages about so-called ‘freak-offs’
Singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and a key witness in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of the music mogul, is returning to the stand on Friday for further examination by Combs’s legal team.
Ventura, who is eight and a half months pregnant, has been on the stand since Tuesday afternoon, and has detailed years of sexual and physical abuse she alleges she endured during their decade-long relationship.
In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Almost 300m people at risk of death through starvation – report
Aid cuts, conflict, climate and economic shocks contribute to sixth consecutive rise in numbers facing ‘high levels of food insecurity’
Acute food insecurity continues to rise at an alarming rate, with almost 300 million people at risk of death through starvation, new analysis reveals.
Escalating conflict and cuts to humanitarian aid along with climate and economic shocks forced an additional 13.7 million people into chronic food insecurity last year.
Continue reading...UK agrees to fly home wrongly deported Windrush generation man from Jamaica
Exclusive: Winston Knight’s deportation order revoked by Home Office after a decade living on streets in Kingston
The Home Office has agreed to fly home a member of the Windrush generation who lived in the UK for 47 years before being wrongly deported and forced to live on the streets of Jamaica in horrific conditions for more than a decade.
In a highly unusual move and after protracted legal action, Home Office officials have accepted that Winston Knight, 64, is a member of the Windrush generation and have agreed to revoke his deportation order.
In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is at 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
Continue reading...Tigray party says ban threatens Ethiopia peace deal
The TPLF fought a two-year civil war against the federal government, which ended in 2022.
Tigray party says ban threatens Ethiopia peace deal
The TPLF fought a two-year civil war against the federal government, which ended in 2022.
Two firefighters among three people killed in blaze at former RAF base in Oxfordshire
Member of public the third person to die in large fire at Bicester Motion that started on Thursday evening
Two firefighters and a member of the public have died after a large fire at a former RAF base in Oxfordshire.
Oxfordshire county council said the two firefighters died while tackling the blaze at Bicester Motion on Thursday.
Continue reading...Front-runner to Be Romania’s Next President Is a Trump-Aligned Nationalist – The New York Times
- Front-runner to Be Romania’s Next President Is a Trump-Aligned Nationalist The New York Times
- Opinion | Romania Is About to Experience Disaster The New York Times
- George Simion, a MAGA-courting populist, could become Romania’s president in controversial election re-run CNN
- Romanian centrist has slight lead over hard-right ahead of tight Sunday vote-survey Reuters
- A Russian-stoked protest movement lifts a MAGA-like populist in Romania The Washington Post
Pope to Diplomatic Corps: Build peace with justice, truth, and hope – Vatican News
- Pope to Diplomatic Corps: Build peace with justice, truth, and hope Vatican News
- Moving back in: Pope Leo expected to live at Vatican's Apostolic Palace Reuters
- All Eyes on Sunday: Leo XIV’s First Words May Cast His Image on Church’s Future National Catholic Register
- The Small, Tight-Knit Religious Order That Molded Pope Leo XIV The New York Times
- Vance and Rubio to travel to the Vatican for Pope Leo XIV's inauguration NBC News