- Japan and Philippines to start talks on 2 defense pacts in the face of China's growing aggression AP News
- Japan, Philippines pledge to deepen security ties amid China tensions Al Jazeera
- Japan, Vietnam pledge to support free trade as PM Ishiba visits Hanoi Reuters
- Singapore, Australia head to polls, Ishiba visits Philippines Nikkei Asia
- Why China will be wary as US, Japan, Philippines forge closer security ties South China Morning Post
Sectarian clashes kill 13 near Syrian capital Damascus
Syria's new rulers continue to struggle to curtail violence against minorities as Druze community attacked.
Climate plan based on phasing out fossil fuels doomed to fail, says Tony Blair
Former PM claims net zero policies losing public support and says there should be greater focus on carbon capture
Tony Blair has warned that any strategy based on phasing out fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is doomed to fail.
Calling for a reset of action on climate change, the former prime minister suggested the UK government should focus less on renewables and more on technological solutions such as carbon capture.
Continue reading...Haiti’s first and only cardinal set to vote in upcoming conclave to elect new pope – Catholic News Agency
- Haiti’s first and only cardinal set to vote in upcoming conclave to elect new pope Catholic News Agency
- One of these cardinals could become the new pope AP News
- A Contender for the Papacy in the Mold of Francis The New York Times
- Papal conclave will last only 2 or 3 days, cardinal predicts ABC News
- When is the conclave? The Vatican sets date to elect new head after Pope Francis' death USA Today
Jo Cox family says Kneecap offering ‘half an apology’ over alleged call to kill MPs
Husband of murdered Labour MP says Belfast rappers’ talk of being unfairly targeted undermines their statement
Brendan Cox, the husband of the murdered MP Jo Cox, has said the Irish rap trio Kneecap have offered only “half an apology”, after criticism of comments in which they appear to call for politicians to be killed.
Kneecap apologised to Jo Cox’s family and that of the MP David Amess, who was also murdered, in the face of mounting criticism, including from Downing Street and Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader.
Continue reading...Two men filmed felling of Sycamore Gap tree during ‘mindless’ act, court hears
Jury shown phone footage with sound of chainsaw and toppling tree, in trial of pair who deny criminal damage
Two men filmed themselves using a chainsaw to fell the famous Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall in an act of “mindless criminal damage”, a court has heard.
Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, embarked on a “moronic mission” to cut down in minutes a tree that had stood for more than 100 years, the prosecutor Richard Wright KC told Newcastle crown court.
Continue reading...Spain rules out cyber attack – but what could have caused power cut?
The Spanish grid operator said the preliminary assessment suggests there was no cyber attack.
RecipeTin Eats founder accuses Brooki Bakehouse of plagiarising recipes in popular cookbook
Brooke Bellamy denies taking recipes from fellow cookbook author Nagi Maehashi who said it felt like ‘blatant exploitation’
The founder of food website RecipeTin Eats has accused an influencer of plagiarising her recipes in a bestselling Australian cookbook.
On Tuesday Nagi Maehashi, who started RecipeTin Eats in 2014, accused Brooke Bellamy – also known as Brooki Bakehouse – of plagiarising two of her recipes in Bellamy’s popular cookbook, Bake with Brooki.
Continue reading...US fighter jet rolls off aircraft carrier as ship reportedly swerves Houthi fire
Crew members jump out of Super Hornet before jet and towing tractor fall into the Red Sea
US sailors had to leap for their lives when a fighter jet fell off a navy aircraft carrier that was reportedly making evasive maneuvers to avoid Houthi militant fire in the Red Sea on Monday.
The F/A-18 fighter Super Hornet jet, along with the vehicle towing it into place on the deck of the USS Harry S Truman, rolled right out of the hangar and into the water, the navy said.
Continue reading...Adidas warns Trump tariffs will put up US shoe prices
Company had strong first quarter but says it cannot raise outlook for this year owing to tariffs uncertainty
Adidas has said the price of its popular trainers, including the Samba and Campus models, is likely to rise as a result of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The German group said the uncertainty around US import tariffs had prevented it from raising its outlook for sales and profit this year despite reporting strong first-quarter results.
Continue reading...Canadian voters declare country Liberal
Canadian PM Mark Carney declares election victory, warning Canadians that US President Trump “is trying to break us."
India-Pakistan tensions continue to simmer across Kashmir border
Diplomatic tit-for-tat and cross-border skirmishes are keeping fears of military escalation bubbling.
Trump vowed to end wars, equalize trade. He’s delivered something else. – Politico
- Trump vowed to end wars, equalize trade. He’s delivered something else. Politico
- What Trump has done in his first 100 Days on 14 major campaign promises NBC News
- Trump said he could stop the Ukraine war in 24 hours. After 100 days, a deal still eludes him CNBC
- Fact check: It wasn’t ‘in jest.’ Here are 53 times Trump said he’d end Ukraine war within 24 hours or before taking office CNN
- Trump promised peace in 100 days, but Russia's violence against Ukraine has only escalated The Kyiv Independent
The US war on migrants
Man unjustly sent to El Salvador mega-prison is only latest case in long line of US deportations of unwanted migrants.
FBI using polygraph tests to identify sources of internal leaks
Trump administration has been cracking down on people who leak information to the media since January
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Monday it has started using polygraph tests to aid investigations aimed at identifying the source of leaks emanating from within the law enforcement agency.
“We can confirm the FBI has begun administering polygraph tests to identify the source of information leaks within the bureau,” the bureau’s public affairs office told Reuters in a statement.
Continue reading...Ukrainian Reporter Was Tortured in Russian Prison Before Her Death, Investigation Finds – The Moscow Times
- Ukrainian Reporter Was Tortured in Russian Prison Before Her Death, Investigation Finds The Moscow Times
- Ukraine journalist who died in Russian captivity was tortured and had her organs removed, joint media report says CBS News
- ‘Numerous signs of torture’: a Ukrainian journalist’s detention and death in Russian prison The Guardian
- Russian captors tortured and mutilated Ukrainian journalist — and returned her body with no eyes, brain or larynx: report New York Post
- Signs of torture and some internal organs missing – Prosecutor General's Office reports on state of body identified as journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna's Українська правда
Fears for health of Alaa Abd el-Fattah and mother as hunger strikes take toll
Activist jailed in Egypt receives medical treatment and family worry his mother Laila Soueif is ‘dying in slow motion’
The family of the imprisoned British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah say they fear for his health along with that of his mother, Laila Soueif, as both continued their hunger strikes to demand his freedom.
Relatives of Soueif said they were worried she was “dying in slow motion” after eight months on full or partial hunger strike. “What are we supposed to do, just sit around and wait to die?” said Soueif.
Continue reading...Macquarie ‘very proud’ of Thames Water ownership despite loading it with debt
Some analysts claim investment bank set supplier on course for collapse before selling it in 2017
The investment bank that sold Thames Water in 2017 after loading the company with debt has said that it is “very proud” of its record, even as the water utility teeters on the verge of collapse.
Australia-headquartered Macquarie led a consortium that owned Thames Water from 2006 until 2017. Macquarie has been criticised by some politicians and analysts for its control of the business, accusing the bank of setting it on course for financial collapse.
Continue reading...Drugmaker AstraZeneca shifts more production to US amid Trump tariffs
UK and rest of Europe risk losing out to US and China unless they ramp up spending on new medicines, says CEO Pascal Soriot
AstraZeneca said it was shifting the production of some medicines sold in the US from Europe to the US, to counter the impact of Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
Speaking as the company reported higher sales and profits for the first quarter, the FTSE 100 pharma company reiterated that the UK, and the rest of Europe, risked losing out to the US and China unless they ramped up spending on new medicines. Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, warned that well-paid advanced manufacturing and research jobs could move to the US in the long run.
Continue reading...‘If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off’: Terrence Howard explains why he declined Marvin Gaye biopic
The American actor told Bill Maher’s podcast that he had asked Quincy Jones about the singer’s sexuality and felt he couldn’t ‘play that character 100%’
The actor Terrence Howard has said that he declined the role of Marvin Gaye in a film, because he didn’t want to kiss another man.
Speaking to Bill Maher on his Club Random podcast, the actor said the “biggest mistake” of his career was turning down the leading role in a separate biopic of the singer Smokey Robinson – which Robinson had personally asked him to play.
Continue reading...