Opportunity for big US-China trade deal, says Bessent
The comments from the US Treasury Secretary come as the trade war between the world's two biggest economies has escalated.
Ministers braced for showdown over ‘postcode pricing’ in energy market shake-up
Ed Miliband’s looming decision on electricity market changes could mean regional bill disparities for households
Britain’s most senior government ministers could soon be drawn into a deepening row over plans to charge some households higher electricity bills than others, as Ed Miliband prepares to decide on sweeping energy reforms.
The energy secretary is understood to be close to making a decision on whether to move ahead with proposals to replace the country’s single electricity market with several market zones.
Continue reading...Ben-Gvir: US Republicans support bombing Gaza ‘food and aid depots’
Israeli national security minister claims he met with 'senior Republican Party' officials at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
Jordan shuts local branch of Muslim Brotherhood after arrests – The Guardian
- Jordan shuts local branch of Muslim Brotherhood after arrests The Guardian
- Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood after arrests over attack plots BBC
- Jordan outlaws Muslim Brotherhood group, confiscates assets Al Jazeera
- Here’s What to Know About the Muslim Brotherhood, Which Jordan Banned The New York Times
- Jordan outlaws Muslim Brotherhood, confiscates assets and offices Reuters
Trump accuses Ukraine’s Zelenskyy of harming Russia negotiations
US president claims a peace deal is close, but accuses Ukrainian leader of making 'inflammatory statements'.
Bite marks on York skeleton reveal first evidence of ‘gladiators’ fighting lions
Study offers rare insight into human-animal combat during Roman empire
Bite marks from a lion on a man’s skeleton, excavated from a 1,800-year-old cemetery on the outskirts of York, provide the first physical evidence of human-animal combat in the Roman empire, new research claims.
While clashes between combatants, big cats and bears are described and depicted in ancient texts and mosaics, there had previously been no convincing proof from human remains to confirm that these skirmishes formed part of Roman entertainment.
Continue reading...Giant prehistoric kangaroos preferred to ‘chill at home’ and didn’t like to go out much, scientists say
Fossil teeth show species of protemnodon that roamed Australia between 5m and 40,000 years ago lived and died near Queensland caves
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Despite their immense size, species of prehistoric giant kangaroos from a site in Queensland were probably homebodies with a surprisingly small range compared to other kangaroos, according to new Australian research.
Protemnodon, which roamed the Australian continent between 5m and 40,000 years ago and is now extinct, was significantly larger than its modern relatives. Some species weighed up to 170kg, making them more than twice as heavy as the largest red kangaroo.
Continue reading...Dominic Sessa and Antonio Banderas to lead Anthony Bourdain biopic
The Holdovers breakout and Oscar nominee will head the cast of Tony, which will follow the food world legend in 1976
The Holdovers breakout Dominic Sessa has signed on to play Anthony Bourdain in a new biopic.
The casting had been initially rumoured last year, but the 22-year-old has now made it official, with the Oscar nominee Antonio Banderas also joining in a role that is being kept under wraps.
Continue reading...India closes main border crossing with Pakistan after Kashmir attack
Visas held by some Pakistanis are also cancelled after gunmen killed tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Eleven killed in Gaza school shelter as Israel continues bombing campaign
Wave of airstrikes claim at least 25 lives while Arab negotiators make new ceasefire proposal
At least 25 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including 11 in the bombing of a school turned shelter, the strip’s civil defence agency said, as Israel’s war against Hamas in the besieged Palestinian territory grinds on despite a new ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators.
Intense Israeli bombings hit several areas of Gaza on Wednesday, killing 11 in a school sheltering displaced people in al-Tuffah, a neighbourhood of Gaza City. The strike ignited a huge fire that claimed most of the casualties, said a civil defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal.
Continue reading...Jordan shuts local branch of Muslim Brotherhood after arrests
Ban comes week after 16 members were arrested, accused of threatening national security
Jordan has said it is shutting down the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and banning membership of the Islamist political group.
The ban came a week after Jordan said it had arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood accused of threatening national security by training militants, making explosives and plotting to strike targets in Jordan with rockets and drones.
Continue reading...Judge orders bail hearing for detained student Mohsen Mahdawi next week
Palestinian green-card holder was arrested by US immigration authorities in Vermont on 14 April
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green-card holder and student at Columbia University who was detained by the Trump administration on 14 April, will have a hearing next week on his request for release on bail, a federal judge decided on Wednesday.
Judge Geoffrey W Crawford extended a temporary restraining order issued by a separate judge last week to keep Mahdawi in Vermont. Immigration authorities have sent other foreign students arrested for their pro-Palestinian views to detention centers in Louisiana and Texas, jurisdictions typically overseen by more conservative judges.
Continue reading...Boeing hopes to find new buyers for up to 50 planes returned by China
Airplane manufacturer says it is lobbying Donald Trump over ‘unfortunate’ decision to impose tariffs
Boeing will try to divert as many as 50 planes ordered by Chinese airlines to customers elsewhere after steep tariffs prompted by Donald Trump’s trade war.
The US manufacturer said it was confident it could find other buyers for the planes, but said it was lobbying Trump personally to resolve an “unfortunate situation”.
Continue reading...Pilgrims flock to St. Peter’s ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral
Thousands queued at St. Peter’s Basilica to pay respects to Pope Francis, who will lie in state for three days.
French PM Bayrou stunned as daughter reveals abuse at Bétharram school – BBC
Trans women expected to be excluded from all-women candidate lists – BBC
- Trans women expected to be excluded from all-women candidate lists BBC
- UK prime minister backtracks on 'trans women are women' claim after court rules they legally aren't Fox News
- How J.K. Rowling helped fund the U.K.'s war on trans people MSNBC News
- The UK supreme court and the definition of a woman – podcast | Law The Guardian
- The UK’s Anti-Trans Ruling Is a Defeat for All Women The Nation
Belgian teens found with 5,000 ants to be sentenced in two weeks – Euronews.com
- Belgian teens found with 5,000 ants to be sentenced in two weeks Euronews.com
- Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants to be sentenced in 2 weeks AP News
- Two teens and 5,000 ants: how a smuggling bust shed new light on a booming trade The Guardian
- Ants are at the centre of a new crime ring threatening Europe: ‘It’s like cocaine’ The Independent
- Ant smuggling suspects set to be sentenced on May 7 Yahoo
MPs should not do media work that ‘monetises’ their role, says government
Labour sets out preferences as Commons standards committee looks at tightening rules on second jobs
The government has backed proposals to stop MPs taking second jobs they have been offered because of their role in parliament, and expressed concern that some paid media roles allow them to “monetise” their privileged positions.
It set out its detailed thinking on how the rules could be tightened on MPs’ outside interests in evidence to the House of Commons standards committee.
Continue reading...What we know about the funeral of Pope Francis
Donald Trump and the UN chief among guests to attend funeral ceremonies for the Catholic Church's late pontiff.
Badenoch declines to criticise Jenrick over Reform coalition comments – as it happened
Spokesperson for Tory leader says she agrees with colleague that ‘we need to bring centre-right voters together’. This blog is closed
Rosie Duffield, the independent MP who left Labour after the election in part because she felt her gender critical views made her unwelcome in the party (although her resignation letter focused on welfare issues), has claimed that Keir Starmer no longer arguing a trans woman is a woman shows he is a “manager rather than a leader”.
Speaking on LBC, Duffield said:
It’s just another sign of the prime minister’s lack of leadership skills. I’m bound to say that, he’s a manager rather than a leader. He responds and reacts rather than leads from the front, and this is what we’re seeing again from him.
Nigel Farage is peddling a dangerous fantasy by claiming the UK can be self-sufficient in gas.
After sixty years of drilling, the truth is the UK has already burned most of its gas. That’s down to geology, not politics, and no amount of hot air from Farage will change that.
Continue reading...