Watch: Man survives being run over by train
Surveillance footage shows the man standing up and walking away after the incident in Lima.
‘Military Keynesianism’? Reeves faces British defence dilemma after EU spending surge
Even Berlin and Brussels are bending fiscal rules in the face of Russia’s threat. Will the chancellor still stick to hers?
As the Nobel laureate Robert Lucas quipped during the 2008 financial crisis: “I guess everyone is a Keynesian in a foxhole.” Donald Trump’s upending of the postwar security consensus has underlined the enduring wisdom of Lucas’s observation. But now, instead of bank bailouts and emergency bond buying, European firepower is being directed at bombs, tanks and drones in the desperate fight to secure the continent’s border with Russia.
Berlin and Brussels – typically capitals of financial orthodoxy – have been convinced that this approach is required once again. Under the plan put forward by Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, Berlin is on the brink of relaxing its “debt brake” rule to pave the way for spending on defence and infrastructure worth an additional €1tn (£840bn) over the coming decade.
Continue reading...Captagon: Syria’s Hidden Drug Empire
Was al-Assad's Syria a narco-state?
‘They brought it on themselves’: a new low in US-Ukraine relations
Diplomats gasp as Keith Kellogg claims Zelenskyy to blame for soured relations with America
“There was an audible gasp in the room at the Council on Foreign Relations as Keith Kellogg, the White House’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, characterised the US decision to cut off intelligence sharing and military aid to Kyiv as like beating a farm animal with a piece of wood.
“Very candidly, they brought it on themselves, the Ukrainians,” Kellogg said as the veteran diplomats, academics, and journalists in the room recoiled in surprise. Several held their hands in their faces. “I think the best way I can describe it is sort of like hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose,” he continued. “You got their attention, and it’s very significant, obviously, because of the support that we give.”
Continue reading...Can the U.S. block hold together amid Trump’s policy shift? – Investing.com
‘The sewage scandal ends now’: UK water company fines to be used to clean up rivers
After fears £11m would be diverted to Treasury, money will be spent on restoring polluted areas where penalties issued
Millions of pounds of fines imposed on water firms will fund environmental schemes to protect the country’s waterways after fears the money would be diverted to the Treasury.
The water restoration fund was set up by the Conservative government to ensure that polluting water firms paid for the damage they caused. The fund received £11m in fines and penalties from April 2022 to October 2023.
Continue reading...Iran is riven with conflict. Donald Trump’s offer of talks won’t ease it
With internal politics at their most unstable for years, the risk of escalation is rising
The letter the US president, Donald Trump, says he sent to Iran’s leadership offering to reopen talks on the country’s nuclear programme comes at a point when Iranian domestic politics is at its most unstable for years.
In the past month, the conservative-dominated parliament has asserted its power over the broadly reformist president elected last June by impeaching and sacking the experienced economy minister, Abdolnaser Hemmati, while Mohammad Javad Zarif, the vice-president and most prominent reformist, has also been forced out.
Continue reading...Covid, five years on: UK ‘still not ready to protect the population’
Scientific triumphs were made in the battle against the pandemic, but the memories and lessons are already in danger of being lost
On 9 March 2020, Martin Landray was studying the likely impact of Covid-19 as it started to sweep Britain. What was needed, he realised, was a method for pinpointing cheap, effective drugs that might limit the impact of the Sars-CoV-2 virus that was filling UK hospitals with dangerously ill patients.
Within 10 days, Landray – working with Oxford University colleague Peter Horby – had set up Recovery, a drug-testing programme that involved thousands of doctors and nurses working with tens of thousands of Covid-19 patients in UK hospitals.
Continue reading...Bahía Blanca: Residents flee homes in flooded Argentine city
Torrential rain has forced more than 1,200 residents to leave their homes.
Bahía Blanca: Residents flee homes in flooded Argentine city
Torrential rain has forced more than 1,200 residents to leave their homes.
Grim Lessons From Phase One of the Israel-Hamas Deal – RealClearPolitics
- Grim Lessons From Phase One of the Israel-Hamas Deal RealClearPolitics
- Ahead of Doha talks, Witkoff says ‘deadlines’ key for deal on ceasefire’s next phase The Times of Israel
- The Gaza Cease-Fire Deal’s Future Is Uncertain. Here’s What to Know. The New York Times
- Updates: Israel to send delegation to Doha amid Gaza ceasefire uncertainty Al Jazeera English
- Water Supply in Central, South Gaza Reduced by 70% After Electricity Cut, Mayor Says Haaretz
How Trump’s threats have brought Canada’s Liberals back from the dead
Justin Trudeau's party was headed for near-certain defeat. That is until Trump's tariffs came, upending the face of Canadian politics.
Israel will send a delegation to Qatar to try to ‘advance’ ceasefire negotiations – The Associated Press
Beijing to Roll Out AI Courses for Kids to Boost Sector’s Growth – Bloomberg
- Beijing to Roll Out AI Courses for Kids to Boost Sector’s Growth Bloomberg
- China's top universities expand enrolment to beef up capabilities in AI, strategic areas Reuters
- China's capital city is making AI education mandatory, even for elementary schoolers Business Insider
- China's top universities to expand enrollment, prioritizing strategic talent development Global Times
- China's six-year-olds are already being offered AI classes in school in a bid to train the next generation of DeepSeek founders Fortune
From Trump whisperer to trouble – angry Reform UK MPs turn on Farage
Internal row in party over ‘messianic’ leader becomes public amid competing members’ allegations of bullying and dirty tricks
Just a few short weeks ago, Nigel Farage’s Reform party was riding high. It was consistently polling above Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative party and in some surveys had even edged ahead of the Labour government.
Donors who had previously handed over large amounts to the Tories were switching sides, while Farage was relishing having the ear of US president Donald Trump, touting himself as a far better representative to the leader of the free world than Keir Starmer.
Continue reading...‘My best friend went to work – and was crushed to death by rubbish’
Months after a deadly collapse, some seek compensation, saying Kiteezi dumpsite is still unsafe.
‘My best friend went to work – and was crushed to death by rubbish’
Months after a deadly collapse, some seek compensation, saying Kiteezi dumpsite is still unsafe.
First Solar Eclipse of 2025: Date, time, places and visibility details; all you need to know – The Indian Express
Russian officials criticised for giving meat grinders to mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine
Members of Putin’s United Russia party in Murmansk said gifts were initiative of the women’s wing
Local officials from Russia’s ruling party have caused controversy by presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders, an appliance widely used to describe Russia’s brutal tactics on the frontline.
The United Russia party in the northern Murmansk region posted photos on social media showing officials smiling as they visited bereaved mothers with gifts of flowers and boxed meat grinders for International Women’s Day on Saturday, which is widely celebrated in Russia.
Continue reading...Syria leader calls for peace after hundreds of civilians killed
More than 700 civilians of the Alawite religious minority have been killed, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.