Garbage piles up on Birmingham’s streets as a sanitation strike in the UK city enters its 5th week – AP News
- Garbage piles up on Birmingham's streets as a sanitation strike in the UK city enters its 5th week AP News
- Neighbouring council to help clear bin strike waste BBC
- Rats ‘bigger than cats’ are roaming Britain’s second-biggest city as garbage collectors strike CNN
- Welcome to Birmingham, England — Mind the Rats The New York Times
- Thick stench and piles of bin bags: Birmingham bin strikes five weeks on BBC
Belgian prince loses legal battle to receive social security benefits on top of royal allowance
Prince Laurent had argued that his work entitled him to the same benefits as independent entrepreneurs but a court in Brussels disagreed
A Belgian prince has lost a legal battle to claim social security benefits on top of his royal allowance, with a court ruling his claim – the first of its kind in the country’s nearly 200-year history – “unfounded”.
Prince Laurent, the youngest of three children of the former king and queen, had argued that his work entitled him to the coverage granted to independent entrepreneurs – and that he was acting out of “principle” rather than for money.
Continue reading...Altar found in Guatemalan jungle evidence of mingling of Mayan and Teotihuacan cultures, experts say – AP News
Zelensky confirms Ukraine troops active in Russia’s Belgorod region
Ukraine's operations in a second region in Russia are explicitly acknowledged for the first time.
Republican Megadonor Rips ‘Bullsh*t’ Trump Tariffs: ‘I Don’t Understand the Godd*m … – Mediaite
- Republican Megadonor Rips ‘Bullsh*t’ Trump Tariffs: ‘I Don’t Understand the Godd*m ... Mediaite
- GOP Megadonor Rages at Trump’s ‘Bulls**t’ Tariffs The Daily Beast
- GOP megadonor Ken Langone is latest billionaire to blast Trump's tariffs CNBC
- Ken Griffin Calls Tariffs a ‘Huge’ Mistake Hurting Middle Class Bloomberg.com
- Musk defends tariff-free trade while billionaires criticize Trump's measures - CHOSUNBIZ Chosun Biz
Canada Says China Pushed Carney Stories Amid Meddling Fears – Bloomberg.com
- Canada Says China Pushed Carney Stories Amid Meddling Fears Bloomberg.com
- Canada says WeChat news account pushing false narratives about Carney Reuters
- Security officials report a Beijing-linked online operation focused on Carney CBC
- Election interference watchdog detects Beijing effort to influence Chinese Canadians on Carney The Globe and Mail
- Information operation on WeChat targeting the 45th General Election canada.ca
US in direct nuclear talks with Iran, says Trump
The US president says negotiations have taken place at a "very high level" between the two countries.
Billionaire on trial in Azerbaijan who risks being left behind by peace deal
Ethnic Armenian Ruben Vardanyan's fortune is of little use now that he is facing a possible life term in jail.
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 7, 2025 – Institute for the Study of War
- Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 7, 2025 Institute for the Study of War
- As peace talks stumble, can Ukraine hold the line against Russia's spring offensive? The Kyiv Independent
- ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 7, 2025 Kyiv Post
- Frontline report: Russia masses 30,000 troops in Donbas for major offensive while stalling peace talks Euromaidan Press
- Can Russia significantly intensify its offensive? Expert assessment MSN
Watch: What we learned from Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu
Netanyahu is the first world leader to visit the White House since the US president announced tariffs on global trading partners.
Israel intercepts Yemen drone; US defense chief: ‘It’s about to get worse’ for Houthis – The Times of Israel
- Israel intercepts Yemen drone; US defense chief: ‘It’s about to get worse’ for Houthis The Times of Israel
- Houthi missile hits Saudi Arabia en route to Israel The Jerusalem Post
- IDF intercepts UAV coming from Israel’s east JNS.org
- IDF Intercepts Drone Approaching Israel From East Haaretz
- Two-pronged retaliation: Yemen strikes Israeli targets in Yaffa, US destroyers in Red Sea PressTV
Watch: Plume of black smoke over Parisian skyline after ‘major’ fire
A fire at a waste disposal centre caused smoke to rise above buildings in the French capital city.
Stella prize 2025: shortlist entirely women of colour for the first time in award’s history
Michelle de Kretser and journalist Amy McQuire among six authors in contention for $60,000 prize for women and non-binary writers
The Stella prize, Australia’s award for women and non-binary authors, has made history this year with a shortlist featuring only works by women of colour, for the first time since the award was established in 2013.
Announced on Tuesday morning, this year’s shortlist includes Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist Amy McQuire’s essay collection, Black Witness (winner of the 2025 Victorian premier’s award for Indigenous writing), about the failures of mainstream media and power of Indigenous journalism; two-time Miles Franklin-winner Michelle de Kretser’s Theory & Practice, a reckoning with fiction, memoir and colonialism; and playwright, poet and author Samah Sabawi’s family memoir, Cactus Pear For My Beloved, tracing her roots from British-occupied Palestine through to contemporary Queensland.
Continue reading...Algeria and Mali ban flights amid diplomatic crisis – Reuters
- Algeria and Mali ban flights amid diplomatic crisis Reuters
- Algeria blocks flights from Mali after drone shot down BBC
- Algeria closes airspace to Mali aircraft as drone row escalates Al Jazeera
- Sahel alliance recalls ambassadors from Algiers over downed drone France 24
- Drone downing sparks diplomatic fallout between Algeria and Sahel countries AP News
Trump asks US Supreme Court to block return of wrongly deported man
The Trump administration argues that El Salvador cannot be compelled to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian migrant, to the US.
Netanyahu discusses Gaza and tariffs with Trump at White House meeting
President says the pair had a ‘great discussion’ while prime minister says Israel will eliminate trade deficit with US
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, met with Donald Trump on Monday for the second time since the US president’s return to office, marking the first effort by a foreign leader to negotiate a deal after Trump announced sweeping tariffs last week.
Speaking alongside Trump in the Oval Office, Netanyahu said Israel would eliminate the trade deficit with the US. “We intend to do it very quickly,” he told reporters, adding that he believed Israel could “serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same”.
Continue reading...Trump says US ‘having direct talks’ with Iran over nuclear deal
President, sitting in Oval Office with Benjamin Netanyahu, warns Tehran of ‘great danger’ if talks are not successful
Donald Trump has announced that the US is to hold direct talks with Iran in a bid to prevent the country from obtaining an atomic bomb, while also warning Tehran of dire consequences if they fail.
Sitting beside Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the Oval Office, Trump indicated that discussions would start this coming weekend, though he also implied communications had already begun.
Continue reading...Wild market swings as tariffs rattle US economy
Stocks swung sharply in the US, as Trump offered mixed signals about appetite for trade talks.
California university to expand student minds with new psychedelic studies course
California Institute of Integral Studies, located in San Francisco, will welcome its first undergrad class this August
The home of the Summer of Love will soon house the first undergraduate program in psychedelic studies.
The California Institute of Integral Studies – a non-profit university founded in 1968 and located in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood – will welcome its first class of undergrads to its Bachelor of Science in Psychedelic Studies program this August. The program’s launch symbolizes the renewed attention hallucinogens like MDMA and psilocybin have received in recent years as a growing body of evidence suggests they may be powerful treatments for psychiatric conditions, like PTSD and treatment-resistant depression.
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