Ukraine working on minerals deal as US ceasefire bid grinds on
Kyiv working to maintain US support as Trump warned against Russian stalling on ceasefire deal.
Video: Video shows trapped survivors calling for help after Myanmar quake
New video shows trapped survivors of the Myanmar earthquake calling for help from under rubble of a destroyed building.
Starmer dismisses claims he’s been ‘played’ by Trump, and says future trade deal could lessen impact of tariffs – UK politics live
Starmer said that a future trade deal with the US might lead to the UK getting some exemptions from the tariffs
Richard Hughes, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, is giving evidence to the Treasury committee. There is a live feed here.
Hughes started by telling the committee that he wrote to the chancellor earlier this year to say that, when his five-year term ends later this year, he would like to have a second term in office.
We are of course negotiating an economic deal which will, I hope … mitigate the tariffs.
The US is our closest ally. Our defence, our security, our intelligence are bound up in a way that no two other countries are.
So it’s obviously in our national interest to have a close working relationship with the US, which we’ve had for decades, and I want to ensure we have for decades to come.
We are obviously working with the sectors most impacted at pace on that.
Nobody wants to see a trade war but I have to act in the national interests.
Continue reading...Hooters restaurant chain files for bankruptcy protection
Founded in 1983, the restaurant known for waitresses in skimpy outfits has run into financial difficulties lately
Hooters, the US-based restaurant chain known for chicken wings and skimpy waitstaff outfits, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for chapter 11 protection Monday in the north Texas bankruptcy court in Dallas.
Continue reading...Democratic senator Cory Booker holding marathon speech to highlight ‘recklessness’ of Trump policies – US politics live
New Jersey Democrat began talking on Monday night to highlight ‘a nation in crisis’ and is still going
US voters are headed to the polls on Tuesday in Wisconsin and Florida in elections that some see as a test of Donald Trump’s popularity and the political clout of his billionaire ally Elon Musk.
The most closely watched contest is a battle for a seat on Wisconsin’s seven-member supreme court. Conservatives are trying to flip ideological control of the court, which currently has a 4-3 liberal majority. The contest, which features liberal judge Susan Crawford facing off against conservative Brad Schimel, will have huge consequences in the state.
Continue reading...UK business secretary denies free speech issue featured in US tariff talks
Source reportedly says ‘no free trade without free speech’ after US bureau holds meeting with anti-abortion campaigner
The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has denied that the issue of free speech has featured in tariff negotiations with the US after reports a deal could be jeopardised by the outcome of a criminal case in Dorset.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), an office within the US Department of State, has met the anti-abortion campaigner Livia Tossici-Bolt, who was prosecuted for an alleged breach of a buffer zone outside a Bournemouth abortion clinic. The verdict is due on Friday following a trial at Poole magistrates court.
Continue reading...Icelandic town and Blue Lagoon spa evacuated after volcanic eruption
Those who have not already left Grindavík warned nearby eruption could be much bigger than previous 10 since 2021
The Icelandic town of Grindavík and the nearby Blue Lagoon tourist attraction have been evacuated after the area was hit by another volcanic eruption.
The eruption is the 11th since 2021, when the Reykjanes peninsula, a region south-west of Reykjavík, started its latest eruption period.
Continue reading...Icelandic town and Blue Lagoon spa evacuated after volcanic eruption – The Guardian
- Icelandic town and Blue Lagoon spa evacuated after volcanic eruption The Guardian
- Tourists and residents evacuated as volcano erupts in Iceland BBC
- Iceland Volcano Eruption Near Grindavik Prompts Closure of Blue Lagoon The New York Times
- Volcano erupts in Iceland, triggering tourist evacuation Reuters
- Iceland's 'Earthquake Swarm' and Volcanic Eruptions Forces Evacuation of Tourists and Locals Travel + Leisure
Is Harvard Trump’s new target, after Columbia?
Harvard President Garber has said lifesaving research is at stake amid Trump's review of $9bn federal funding.
Germany says US talks on Russia-Ukraine war are ‘deadlocked,’ but China has different take – Yahoo
Middle East crisis: Israel issues evacuation order for parts of northern Gaza – as it happened
IDF says residents should evacuate Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Zayed, al-Manshiya and Tal al-Zaatar
At least 50,399 Palestinian people have been killed and 114,583 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
At least 42 bodies and 183 injured people have been received by hospitals in Gaza over the last day, according to the territory’s health ministry, which said that at least 1,042 Palestinian people have been killed by Israeli forces since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas on 18 March.
Continue reading...Devastating Myanmar earthquake seen as omen of military regime’s demise
Many view the earthquake as a sign that Myanmar's military regime and its chief Min Aung Hlaing are nearing an end.
How did Israel kill the Red Crescent medics in Gaza?
Israeli troops fired on several rescue vehicles, then buried the killed first responders and their vehicles.
French ministers condemn threats to judges in Marine Le Pen case
Senior figures also reject claim verdict against Le Pen on embezzlement charges was ‘political and partisan’
French ministers have condemned threats against the judges who convicted the far-right leader Marine Le Pen and banned her from public office for five years as the chief judge was placed under police protection after receiving death threats.
France’s prime minister, François Bayrou, told the Assemblée nationale the trial judges had his “unconditional support” after they found Le Pen guilty of embezzlement charges, threatening her 2027 presidential run and throwing France into political chaos.
Continue reading...Australian police will testify at trial of US man linked to Wieambilla shootings
Arizona allows testimony in the case of Donald Day who is accused of making threats to public figures and the FBI
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Australian police officers have been given the green light to testify in the US trial of a man accused of links to the deadly Wieambilla shootings in rural Queensland.
The Queensland officers will be allowed to testify in an Arizona court but will have to stick to “neutral factual” accounts of the incident.
Continue reading...Le Pen’s conviction in France: Career-ending or fuel for a new far right?
After being found guilty of graft, Le Pen's bid to lead France has been dealt a blow. Some will see her as a martyr.
Wild co-founders ‘land £100m’ from sale of natural deodorant maker
Childhood friends sell upmarket brand to Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Marmite
A pair of UK entrepreneurs selling refillable deodorant cases and manuka honey lip balms made from natural ingredients have reportedly landed a near-£100m payday from the sale of their brand to the global consumer goods group Unilever.
Wild, founded by childhood friends Freddy Ward and Charlie Bowes-Lyon, has been bought by Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Marmite.
Continue reading...Trump cuts to Noaa disrupt staffing and weather forecasts: ‘Incompetent chaos’
US climate agency upended as Doge efforts to slash federal government compromise email security
A sense of chaos has gripped the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), one of the world’s premier research agencies, with key staff hastily fired and then rehired, cuts to vital weather forecasting operations and even a new, unsecured server that led to staff being deluged by obscene spam emails.
Noaa is currently being upended by Donald Trump’s desire to slash the federal government workforce, with more than 1,000 people already fired or resigning from the agency and 1,000 more staffers are expected to be removed as the purge continues. In total, this represents around 20% of the Noaa’s workforce.
Continue reading...Israeli air strike on Beirut raises concerns over shaky ceasefire
Second Israeli attack in Lebanon in less than a week raises concerns over shaky ceasefire agreement.
Markets brace for trade war as Trump prepares reciprocal tariffs | First Thing
President promises to be ‘very kind’, but critics warn his strategy risks triggering chain reaction and global trade war. Plus, Nasa astronauts reject claims of neglect
Good morning.
As Donald Trump prepared to unveil a swathe of reciprocal tariffs, global markets braced themselves and some Republican senators voiced their opposition to a strategy that critics warn risks a global trade war, provoking retaliation by major trading partners such as China, Canada and the EU.
What do Europeans think of the plans? A large majority of western Europeans support retaliatory tariffs against the US, a survey has shown, if Trump introduces sweeping import duties for major trading partners as expected this week.
What did the memo say? The memo, reviewed by the Times, stated that “such elevated access to critical high-value asset systems is rare with respect to individual systems and no single [Department of Interior] official presently has access to all HR, payroll and credentialing systems”.
Continue reading...