Angelina Jolie poses with 2025 Trophée Chopard awardees Marie Colomb and Finn Bennett during the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Carlton Beach on May 16. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Oscar winner Angelina Jolie made a special appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday night to present the Trophée Chopard to rising stars Marie Colomb and Finn Bennett. During the glamorous dinner ceremony, Jolie reflected on the power of international cinema to make an impact in times of global turmoil.
“I love international cinema,” Jolie told the star-studded assembly of guests, which included Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche and her fellow jurors, including Halle Berry, Jeremy Strong, Leïla Slimani and Alba Rohrwacher, as well as Quentin Tarantino and Carla Bruni. “We are brought to other lands, into private moments, even on the battlefield, we connect and we empathize. I think of films like ‘My Father Shadow’ [set during the during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis], which is premiering here at Cannes. Anything that is possible to make international cinema more accessible is necessary and welcome.”
“And none of us are naive,” Jolie, whose contributions as a humanitarian are as vaunted as her acting career, continued. “We know that many artists around the world lack the freedom and security to tell their stories, and many have lost their lives like Fatima Hassouna, killed in Gaza, Shaden Gardood killed in Sudan, and Victoria Amelina killed in Ukraine, and so many other extraordinary artists who should be with us now. We owe all of those risking their lives and sharing their stories and experiences a debt of gratitude, because they have helped us to learn and to evolve.”
The presentation of the 25th edition of the Trophée Chopard took place during a dinner on Carlton Beach co-hosted by Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch, general delegate Thierry Frémaux and Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele.
Created in 2001, the Trophée Chopard celebrates emerging international cinema talent, each year honoring one actress and one actor with promising careers. Colomb and Bennett follow last year’s honorees Sophie Wilde and Mike Faist. Other recipients for the award, which often heralds more laurels to come, include Marion Cotillard, Diane Kruger, Léa Seydoux, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Niels Schneider, Jeremy Irvine and Joe Alwyn.
So, what is it like to have Jolie as your fairy godmother?
“She really cares about fostering young actors. I feel really honored, really lucky to be here,” Bennett told Variety at the dinner about meeting Jolie. “I just wanted to ask how she does it all. Like, as you can see, this is crazy. And she deals with it so well, completely calmly. And I think that’s amazing.”
Colomb, too, was struck by Jolie’s down-to-earth nature as they ascended the famed red steps at the Grand Lumiere before the Chopard event.
“She’s gorgeous, she’s super beautiful. I was looking at her and I was like, ‘Wow! It’s incredible, it’s unreal.’ And at the same time it’s funny because when I met her, I met a normal, nice human being,” Colomb said. “Then when you see the photos or videos afterwards, all my friends write to me like, ‘What is that?’ So, it’s pretty crazy but cool at the same time.”
Jolie shared similar praise for the young talents. “I think they’re very brave in their work. They make very brave choices, and they’re very committed and emotional and open, so they are very promising creatives, and I think they’re gonna give a lot,” Jolie told Variety. “They seem like very gracious, grateful young people, who are very professional.”
Jolie also shared the best advice her godmother, Jacqueline Bissett, gave her about navigating the business: “Learn French and do French films.”
Pope Leo XIV appears on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican to bless the crowd below on May 11, 2025. (Photo: AP/Gregorio Borgia)
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV will formally take up his role as leader of the global Catholic Church on Sunday (May 18), with a Mass in St Peter’s Square that will draw tens of thousands of well-wishers, including dozens of world leaders and European royalty.
Crowds are expected to cram the Square and surrounding streets in Rome for the formal celebration, which starts at 10am and includes the first ride in the white popemobile by Pope Leo, the first pope from the United States.
Born in Chicago, the 69-year-old pontiff spent many years as a missionary in Peru and also has Peruvian citizenship, meaning he is also the first pope from that South American nation.
Robert Prevost, a relative unknown on the world stage who only became a cardinal two years ago, was elected pope on May 8 after a short conclave of cardinals that lasted barely 24 hours.
He replaces Pope Francis, from Argentina, who died on Apr 21 after leading the Church for 12 often turbulent years during which he battled with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalised.
US Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert who clashed with Pope Francis over the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies, will lead a US delegation alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also attend and would be happy to meet other leaders, a top aide has said, as he did at Pope Francis’ funeral when he had face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump in St Peter’s Basilica.
Zelenskyy last met Vance in February in the White House, when the two men clashed fiercely in front of the world’s media.
Also expected at the Vatican ceremony are the presidents of Peru, Israel and Nigeria, the prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Australia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Many European royals will also be in the VIP seats near the main altar, including Spanish King Felipe and Queen Letizia.
FOCUS ON PEACE
In various sermons and comments since his election as pope, Pope Leo praised his predecessor repeatedly but has not offered many hints about whether he will continue with the late pontiff’s vision of opening the Church up to the modern world.
His homily on Sunday is likely to indicate some of the priorities for his papacy, having already made clear over the past 10 days that he will push for peace whenever possible.
His first words in an appearance to crowds in St Peter’s Square on the night of his election were “peace be with you all”, echoing words Catholics use in their celebrations.
In a May 14 address to officials of the eastern Catholic Churches, many of whom are based in global hot spots such as Ukraine and the Middle East, the new pope pledged he would make “every effort” for peace.
He also offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war was “never inevitable”.
Sunday’s Mass will feature prayers in several languages, in a nod to the global reach of the 1.4 billion-member Church, including Latin, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese.
As part of the ceremony, Leo will also formally receive two items as he takes up the papacy: a liturgical vestment known as a pallium, a strip of lambswool which represents his role as a shepherd, and a special band known as the fisherman’s ring.
Two North Korean fishermen say they want to return home after their boat was washed south of the maritime boundary months ago. But Pyongyang hasn’t picked up the phone.
The two fishermen say their boat accidentally drifted into South Korean waters due to weather conditions (file photo)Image: Tony Waltham/robertharding/picture alliance
Two North Korean fishermen who “accidentally defected” to South Korea have now spent more time in limbo than any other reluctant defectors in the history of the two nations.
The two men were picked up by a South Korean naval patrol on March 7 in the Yellow Sea. Apparently, wind and strong currents pushed their fishing boat over the Northern Limit Line (NLL) close to Eocheong Island, off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.
There are no indications that the two men were intending to defect, and they have both repeatedly expressed their desire to return to North Korea during questioning by South Korean military and intelligence agencies.
Their stay in South Korea is now well into its third month, longer than any other loyal North Koreans who had requested repatriation. Dozens of others before them have found it relatively straightforward to make the return journey. This time, however, North Korea has refused to pick up the phone.
Men stuck ‘until relations with the North improve’
The North is “very obviously showing its displeasure” with Seoul and the administration of the now impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who led more of a hard-line policy on Pyongyang, Lankov told DW.
“For now, these men appear to be stuck in South Korea until relations with the North improve, although it is of course possible that they will eventually change their minds and decide they no longer want to go back,” he said. “Even if they do still want to return, it seems likely that might take a long time.”
In October, the state-run Korea Central News Agency confirmed in a report that changes to the North’s constitution that were proposed earlier in the year had gone into effect and that South Korea is now officially designated as a “hostile state.” Under Pyongyang’s new attitude to its neighbor, roads across the border have been dug up and blocked with anti-tank obstacles, railway lines have been removed and the frontier is “permanently” sealed.
Pyongyang is no longer interested in reunification and the South is its “principal enemy,” KCNA reported.
North goes fully silent
As a consequence, North Korean personnel at the Panmunjom border post where the two sides have faced off since the armistice was signed to conclude the 1950-’53 Korean War are no longer responding when the South calls the cross-border hotline.
“The relationship was in a bad state before, but now the North has just stopped communicating completely,” said Ahn Yinhay, a professor of international relations at Korea University in Seoul.
“Things became worse after Yoon became president, in part because he reached agreements with the US and Japan for a three-way security alliance in the region,” she said. “And since then, they are not picking up the phone at the border and there is no other way to reach them.”
Ahn said the two fishermen appear to be loyal North Korean subjects, although she questioned whether their repeated desire to return to the North is in part out of concern for the well-being of their families. The regime in Pyongyang has traditionally treated relatives of people who flee the nation harshly, including putting them in labor or political reeducation camps.
Quoting sources in the North, dissident media has reported that those punishments have become even more harsh recently.
“They will be aware that the North will be monitoring news reports in the South and I expect they are sticking to their position that they wish to be repatriated to protect their families,” Ahn said.
A new genetic study has traced prehistoric human migration from Asia to North and South America. The findings are helping underrepresented Indigenous groups understand their ancestral origins.
A genetic analysis of DNA samples from modern day and ancient Indigenous Americans has traced how people migrated through the Americas over thousands of yearsImage: Ueslei Marcelino/REUTERS
The first people to inhabit the Americas migrated from modern-day Russia about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, a new study has found.
Published on May 15 in the journal Science, the study suggests that the languages and traditions of Indigenous groups living in the Americas today can be traced back to these early settlers. Traces of their cultures exist in the genes of modern Indigenous groups.
The study also found that the early settlers split into groups that became isolated in different environmental settings. The findings provide a new genetic and cultural understanding of present-day South American communities, said the researchers.
“[It fills] key gaps in our understanding of how the diverse populations of present-day South America came to be,” said Elena Gusareva, the study’s lead author, who is based at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Gusareva said the participants in the study had been “deeply motivated” to uncover their people’s history, showing the importance of ancestral knowledge for people’s identities.
The researcher cited an “urgent case” involving the Kawesqar people of Patagonia, whose population and 6,000-year-old cultural heritage is in danger of disappearing. “This genetic record is one of the last chances to preserve their legacy.”
Eurasian roots of Indigenous Americans
Gusareva and other researchers sequenced the genomes of 1,537 individuals from 139 ethnic groups in northern Eurasia and the Americas.
They compared the millions of tiny variations in the genes of modern-day Indigenous people to ancient DNA from the first peoples to arrive in the Americas, creating a genomic dataset from people previously underrepresented in ancestral science.
Tracing how these genetic codes changed in people from different geographical regions and various Indigenous groups allowed them to study patterns of population history, migration and adaptation over thousands of years.
“Our genetic analysis of Indigenous groups is crucial because their genomes carry unique insights into the earliest human history in the region,” said Gusareva’s colleague, Hie Lim Kim, a geneticist at Nanyang Technological University.
Their analysis appears to corroborate existing archaeological evidence, showing the first peoples in the Americas diverged from North Eurasians between 19,300 and 26,800 years ago.
The dates are “consistent with a large body of archaeological evidence,” said Francisco Javier Aceituno, an archaeologist at the University of Antioquia, Colombia, who was not involved in the new study.
By comparing genetic datasets, the researchers said they had been able to find the closest living relatives of Indigenous North Americans are west Beringian groups, such as the Inuit, Koryaks and Luoravetlans. Beringia was an ice bridge between modern-day Russia and North America during the last ice age.
Foundation of South America’s Indigenous groups
Gusareva and Kim’s study found that after the early settlers had arrived in South America and then split into four distinct groups — Amazonian, Andean, Chaco Amerindian and Patagonian — they each became isolated in different environments.
Aceituno told DW these groups of hunter-gatherers probably divided “to occupy new territories, generate new family groups and avoid isolation.”
Gusareva believes the new genetic data shows natural barriers, such as the Amazon rainforest and the Andes mountain range, led to the isolation of these Indigenous groups.
“This made their genetic makeup more uniform, similar to what is seen in island populations,” Gusareva said.
VLADIMIR Putin has expanded one of his nuclear weapons bases at a frozen site in Russia.
It is the same military site where five people were killed after a nuclear-powered missile exploded while testing in 2019.
Satellite images show three new test facilities constructed at the Nenoksa naval facility in RussiaCredit: Google Earth
New satellite images reveal construction work inside the strictly controlled military site of Nenoksa.
Three new facilities – each the size of a football field – can be seen at the centre of the naval testing site.
They have been constructed near a railway line that is thought to bring missiles and testing gear into Nenoksa.
The area, which before 2023 was forest, is now surrounded by double-barbed wire fences.
Both launchers are directed towards the White Sea, the latest Google Earth images show.
Similar blue launcher containers can also be seen in other test facilities for missiles in Russia.
This includes the Kapustin Yar in the Astrakhan region and, in recent years, Pankovo at Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic.
Rosatom has used the latter for testing the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile under development.
Another launch area is located by the shore in the northwest outskirts of the Nenoksa test range seems to still be active.
There is no public information available revealing what kind of missile tests will take place at the new constructions that can be seen on the latest satellite images.
In 2019, five Rosatom experts were killed after they were exposed to radiation at the Nenoksa site.
American nuke experts said the testing of a Russian nuclear cruise missile was to blame for a huge explosion at a military site.
Russia’s state nuclear agency confirmed the deaths were caused by a blast, which left a further three people injured and sparked radiation fears.
The accident happened while testing “isotopic power sources in a liquid propulsion system”, state nuclear agency Rosatom said in a statement.
But US experts claim Rosatom may have been testing an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, which Vladimir Putin claimed to be “invincible” against all existing and prospective defence systems.
Russian officials initially tried to play down the radiation leak, saying the levels were normal.
But a spokeswoman for Severodvinsk, a city close to the test site, said in a statement that a “short-term” spike in background radiation was recorded at noon Thursday.
In separate interviews, two experts said that a liquid rocket propellant explosion would not release radiation.
They said the explosion and radiation release could have resulted from a mishap during the testing of a nuclear-powered cruise missile at a facility outside the village of Nyonoksa.
Neither the Defence Ministry nor Rosatom have identified the type of weapon that exploded during the test.
But Rosatom’s statement said the explosion occurred during tests of a “nuclear isotope power source,” which led observers to conclude it was the “Burevestnik” or “Storm Petrel,” a nuclear-powered cruise missile.
Nato has code-named the missile “Skyfall.”
The missile was first revealed by Russian President Putin in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address, along with other doomsday weapons.
Brown has been charged with grievous bodily harmCredit: Splash News
COPS have charged a second man with assault over the alleged Chris Brown bottle attack at a London nightclub.
The American R&B singer was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent after being arrested at a 5-star hotel earlier this week.
It comes after Brown allegedly assaulted a man at a London nightclub in February 2023.
He was detained by Met Police Detectives just after 2am at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester after flying into the city on a private jet on Wednesday afternoon.
He was held on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm to music producer Abe Diaw at Tape nightclub in Mayfair, Central London, in February 2023.
Brown was charged on Thursday evening and remains in police custody.
A second man has now been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent.
US national Omololu Akinlolu, 38, is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court today.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson added: “The charge relates to an assault, which reportedly took place at a venue in Hanover Square in London, on Sunday, 19 February 2023.
“A man has already appeared in court in connection with the same matter.
“Chris Brown, 36 (05.05.89), also a US national, was charged on Thursday, 15 May with grievous bodily harm with intent.
“He appeared in custody at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Friday, 16 May.
“He was remanded in custody to appear at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, 13 June.
“The charge relates to an assault, which reportedly took place at a venue in Hanover Square in London, on Sunday, 19 February 2023.”
The Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London North, Adele Kelly, said: “We have authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Chris Brown with one count of grievous bodily harm, contrary to section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
“The alleged incident occurred in London on 19 February 2023.
“He will have his first court appearance on Friday 16 May at Manchester Magistrates’ Court.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.
“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
The two-time Grammy winner was set to kick off his 20-year anniversary tour next month.
This includes two nights at the Co-Op Live stadium in Manchester before performances in Cardiff, London, Birmingham and Glasgow in June.
AT least 30 people have been killed and many injured as devastating storms spawning tornadoes tear through the mid-west.
Officials from Laurel County, Kentucky, confirmed that a tornado “pummeled” the region late on Friday night “causing mass casualties”.
Residents inspect their home after a tornado completely tore off the back wall of a two-story house in St. LouisCredit: Reuters
At least 23 people were killed and dozens injured in the twister that hit Ohio Valley with rescue crews continuing to search through the flattened homes and businesses for survivors.
“Multiple fatalities have been confirmed as a result of a tornado that pummeled Laurel County late Friday evening,” Laurel County Fiscal Court said in a Facebook post.
“Destroyed homes and buildings are still being searched by emergency responders.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear confirmed on Saturday morning that the original death toll for the state that stood at nine had risen to 14 and was expected to grow.
“Kentucky, we’re starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last night’s storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information,” he wrote on X.
“Please pray for all of our affected families.”
By Saturday afternoon, the Laurel County death toll had increased to at least 23, the London Mayor Randall Weddle told the Courier Journal.
Beshear had declared a state of emergency ahead of the storms warning of a “dangerous weather system” with emergency crews and the Kentucky Guard on standby as they braced for devastation.
The National Weather Service had warned that residents in the Mid West should prepare to be hit with severe storms that could cause baseball-sized hail with winds of over 75mph.
The regions of Somerset and London reported the most significant damage as the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the tornado touched down just before midnight on Friday.
The twister ripped through two neighborhoods and the London Corbin Airport leaving “mass casualties in its path” with at least nine people dead and “numerous [with] severe injuries”, it reported.
London resident Leslie told local emergency officials in a video how she and her family survived the terrifying storm that tore down most of their home.
“(My daughter) got scared so we went to the hallway,” she explained.
“And we were in there about two minutes and then my husband came running in and pretty much jumped on top of her because you could feel the air sucking in, and it sounded like a train.
“And then we saw stuff falling and next thing you knew, most of the house was gone.”
It’s all hands on deck to rescue as many people as we can and save lives.
Mitch McCoySt. Louis police spokesperson
“My family’s OK, I don’t know about everybody else,” she added, noting how she saw injured neighbors as they left to find safety.
“I have never personally witnessed what I‘ve witnessed here tonight. There’s a lot of devastation,” Weddle told CNN affiliate WKYT in the aftermath of the storms.
‘TRULY DEVASTATING’
Just hours earlier in the St. Louis area of Missouri, officials reported that a tornado hit Clayton around 2:30pm local time on Friday leaving at least seven people dead and many injured.
“This is truly, truly devastating,” St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said, confirming that there had been five fatalities in her city and over 5,000 homes damaged.
Part of the Centennial Christian Church in St Louis collapsed, trapping three people as the storm ravaged the region.
City of St. Louis Fire Department Battalion Chief William Pollihan confirmed that they were rescued but one died as a result of her injuries.
Patricia Penelton died inside the church, her son-in-law Stacy Clark confirmed to NPR, saying she was a church volunteer and took part in the choir.
Jeffrey Simmons Sr. who lives opposite the church told the news outlet how he saw a weather alert on his phone moments before the lights cut out.
“Next thing you know, a lot of noise, heavy wind,” he said, recalling how he and his brother fled to the basement for safety.
“Everything was tore up,” he said after the storm had passed.
“Our priority is life and saving lives and keeping people safe tonight,” Spencer added, with the St. Louis’ Children’s Hospital confirming the treatment of 10 patients, one of whom is in “critical condition”.
The two other confirmed Missouri deaths were reported in Scott County, about 130 miles south of St Louis, by Sheriff Derick Wheetley on social media.
“Our first responders acted swiftly, even while the tornado was still active, putting themselves in harm’s way to provide immediate assistance and care to those injured,” he said.
“The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable.”
The National Weather Service has confirmed it is working to confirm reports that the St Louis region was hit by two tornadoes on Friday.
Photos of the aftermath show shells of homes with windows blown out and roofs torn off as residents desperately search for their belongings.
Mark revealed why hen dos are the most fun to take fishing – and how he donates shark meat to homeless shelters
MARK “The Shark” Quartiano boasts that he can catch anything that swims – and judging by his monster trophies, he could be right.
The master fisherman has seen bloody maulings and faced down fierce animal rights activists – but says nothing could stop him taking out thrill-seeking tourists.
Mark has been reeling in big-beast sharks from the Miami Bay for 50 years – and claims to have caught more sharks than anyone else alive.
He reckons he’s hauled 100,000 aboard his yacht, Striker-1, over the decades.
People pay to be taken on extreme fishing trips where Mark helps them catch the “fish of their dreams”.
Mark told The Sun that it’s not just midlife-crisis dads who come brave the waves.
He often hosts stag dos and hen parties – and says it’s the girls who have the most fun reeling in whoppers.
Mark says: “The girls go crazy for it – they love the big sharks. They’re allowed to drink onboard Striker-1 – we’re in the party capital of the world after all. As long as no one gets hurt.
“I’m basically on baby-sitting duty the whole time. I always joke around that next year we’ll be doing the divorce party.”
He’s also welcomed the rich and famous aboard his boat – counting the likes of Robert De Niro and Will Smith among his happy customers.
People head to sea with Mark for all sorts of different reasons.
Some want to take home a huge trophy, while others just want to watch the experts tussle a giant hammerhead.
But Mark is the man who makes it all happen. He has decades of experience, top of the range gear and a custom-built boat specialised for shark hunting.
Mark has sparred with a ridiculous number of sharks, but each one presents a different challenge.
Mark uses the winch to hang up his catches and snap a pic
He says: “Some sharks bite a lot harder than others. We had a big bull shark just the other day, maybe 500lb, and she was on the line for a couple of hours. She really didn’t wanna come into the boat at all.
“But you have to expect a challenge – these are big sharks battling for their lives, and they have deep water on their side. But we always get ’em in the end.”
One of his most intense showdowns came a few months ago when he spent more than six hours battling a great white.
And the biggest fish he’s ever reeled was 2300lb – which is more than a tonne.
With sharks that big, it’s vital to know what you’re doing.
And even with so many years of experience in the locker, accidents can still happen.
Mark said: “We’ve had a few guests get bitten, usually because they stand too close to the sharks while they’re trying to get a picture.”
The sharks are normally still alive when they join the crew onboard – so are still capable of chomping down.
“We also had one member of the crew get bit pretty bad on the foot,” he said.
To give him the edge over the beasts, Mark has kitted out Striker-1 with cutting-edge shark-wrangling gear.
He says: “My boat is the only one on the seas with the world-famous fighting chair over the water. It’s been my trademark for over 40 years.
“We can hoist any size shark into the boat using all our winches and block and tackles.”
A few shoppers outside a Walmart store on Feb 7, 2025, in Englewood, Colorado, US (Photo: AP/David Zalubowski)
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (May 17) that Walmart should “eat the tariffs” instead of blaming duties imposed by his administration on imported goods for the retailer’s increased prices.
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected,” Trump said in a social media post.
“Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING.”
Walmart said it has always worked to keep its prices as low as possible, adding that this practice will not stop.
“We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can, given the reality of small retail margins,” the company said in a statement to Reuters.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on Thursday the retailer could not absorb all the tariff costs because of narrow retail margins.
Even so, he said, the company was committed to ensuring that tariff-related costs on general merchandise, which primarily comes from China, would not drive food prices higher.
Many US companies have either slashed or pulled their full-year expectations amid friction between the US and its trading partners, particularly China, as consumers curtail spending.
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Cassie Ventura’s private — and sexually explicit — text messages were released publicly on Friday. Kevin Mazur
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s private — and sexually explicit — text messages have been publicly released after many of them were read aloud during the Bad Boy Records founder’s sex-trafficking trial earlier in the week.
And while a lot of the exchanges shared in the 162 pages of legal documents appear harmless, there are others that are more sordid.
In one of the text messages obtained by Page Six via Combs’ legal team, Ventura, 38, admitted there were “a lot of d–ks, a lot of partying” at an unidentified gathering.
In another particular text, The “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper, 55, wrote that he was going to “eat that p—y.”
In less shocking messages, Ventura could be seen accusing Combs of treating her like a “sidepiece” and Combs telling Venture to reach out after she got “[herself] together.”
Of course, a lot of these text messages were revealed during proceedings over the last several days when lawyers for Combs tried refuting allegations of abuse and depict Ventura as a consenting participant in his alleged “freak-offs.”
One message in particular, which was sent in 2017, showed Ventura telling Combs she was “too excited” about one of their upcoming “freak-offs.”
She also messaged Combs about forgetting an iPad — which she testified they used to record the sex marathons.
Combs even texted Ventura to “have fun, impress me” when she was on her way to a sex shop to get supplies for a “freak-off,” jurors learned.
During the pregnant singer’s four grueling days on the stand, Combs’ attorney Anna Estevao asked the “Me & U” singer to read some of the texts she sent the rapper during their relationship, which took place from 2007 to 2018.
“I can’t wait to stare at some big black d–k,” a text Ventura wrote to Combs on Aug. 7, 2009, read.
Another — in which Ventura graphically described what she couldn’t “wait” for her then-boyfriend to do to her — was so disturbing that the singer asked the judge for a break.
After Ventura finally completed her testimony — during which she said that she participated in the “freak-offs” to please Combs and avoid his anger — her husband, Alex Fine, released a powerful statement.
“Over the past five days, the world has gotten to witness the strength and bravery of my wife freeing herself of her past,” Fine, who was in court supporting his wife all week, said in his statement read by attorney Douglas Wigdor on Friday.
“I have felt so many things sitting there. I have felt tremendous pride and overwhelming love for Cass. I have felt profound anger that she has been subjected to sitting in front of a person who tried to break her.”
Fine then called out Combs and “all of those who helped him along the way.”
He added, “Please know this: You did not. You did not break her spirit, nor her smile, that lights up every room. You did not break the soul of a mother who gives the best hugs and plays the silliest games with our little girls. You did not break the woman who has made me a better man.”
The museum contains artefacts and furniture from prominent Parsi families
Tucked away in a lane in the southern end of India’s financial capital, Mumbai, is a museum dedicated to the followers of one of the world’s oldest religions, Zoroastrianism.
The Framji Dadabhoy Alpaiwalla Museum documents the history and legacy of the ancient Parsi community – a small ethnic group that’s fast dwindling and resides largely in India.
Now estimated at just 50,000 to 60,000, the Parsis are believed to be descendants of Persians who fled religious persecution by Islamic rulers centuries ago.
Despite their significant contributions to India’s economic and cultural fabric, much about the Parsi community remains little known to the mainstream population and the wider world.
“The newly-renovated museum hopes to shake off some of this obscurity by inviting people to explore the history, culture and traditions of the Parsi community through the rare historical artefacts on display,” says Kerman Fatakia, curator of the museum.
Some of these include cuneiform bricks, terracotta pots, coins and other objects sourced from places like Babylon, Mesopotamia, Susa and Iran and are dated to 4000-5000 BCE.
These are places where Zoroastrian Iranian kings once ruled, like the Achaemenian, Parthian and Sasanian dynasties.
There are also artefacts from Yazd, a city in central Iran which was once a barren desert and the place where many Zoroastrians settled after fleeing other regions of Iran after the Arab invasion in 7th Century BCE.
One of the notable artefacts on display is a replica of a clay cylinder of Cyrus the Great, a Persian king who was the founder of the Achaemenid empire.
Fatakia says the clay cylinder – also known as the “Edict of Cyrus” or the “Cyrus Cylinder” – is one of the most important discoveries of the ancient world. Inscribed in cuneiform script, it outlines the rights granted by Cyrus to his subjects in Babylon. Widely seen as the first human rights charter, a replica is also displayed at the United Nations.
Then there are maps that trace the migration routes of thousands of Iranian Zoroastrians who fled their home country fearing persecution and travelled to India in the 8th to10th centuries, and again in the 19th century.
The collection also features furniture, manuscripts, paintings, and portraits of prominent Parsis – among them Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the iconic Tata Group, which owns brands like Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley tea.
Another striking section showcases artefacts collected by Parsis who grew wealthy in the early 19th century trading tea, silk, cotton – and notably, opium – with China. The exhibits include traditional Parsi sarees influenced by designs from China, France, and other regions shaped by these global trade ties.
Two of the museum’s most compelling exhibits are replicas of a Tower of Silence and a Parsi fire temple.
The Tower of Silence, or dakhma, is where Parsis leave their dead to be returned to nature – neither buried nor cremated. “The replica shows exactly what happens to the body once it’s placed there,” says Fatakia, noting that entry to actual towers is restricted to a select few.
The life-size replica of the fire temple is equally fascinating, offering a rare glimpse into a sacred space typically off-limits to non-Parsis. Modelled on a prominent Mumbai temple, it features sacred motifs inspired by ancient Persian architecture in Iran.
A car bomb exploded near the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, resulting in the death of one person
Law enforcement investigate a vehicle after an explosion on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Palm Springs, Calif. (AP)
A car bomb exploded near the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic in Palm Springs, California, resulting in the death of one person, Mayon Ron DeHarte confirmed. A police department spokesperson said that the explosion was an ‘intentional act of violence’.
Authorities confirmed that the explosion took place around 11 AM local time on North Indian Canyon Drive near East Tachevah Drive. Lt. William Hutchinson said police is investigating the incident as an ‘act of terrorism’. ABC News, citing law enforcement sources and the facility, said at least five people were injured in the explosion.
“It has been identified as a bomb that was either in or near the car,” DeHarte said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles said in a social media post that it was investigating the explosion with bomb technicians deployed to the scene.
Here are 10 key points on the situation in Palm Springs Explosion Details: A car bomb detonated at 10:52 a.m. PDT outside the American Reproductive Centers on 1199 North Indian Canyon Drive, causing a “massive boom” that shattered windows and was felt miles away.
Casualties: At least one person was killed, with unconfirmed reports of injuries. Graphic images showed human remains, but the victim’s identity is undisclosed, per the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
Clinic Damage: The fertility clinic, specializing in IVF but not abortions, sustained severe structural damage, though its IVF lab and stored embryos were reportedly spared.
Terrorism Investigation: The FBI and ATF are investigating the blast as a possible terrorist act, with Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein confirming the device was a bomb. No group has claimed responsibility.
Police Response: Palm Springs police, led by Lt. William Hutchinson, secured the area, closing North Indian Canyon Drive and urging residents to avoid it. Firefighters assisted.
Motive Uncertainty: No motive is confirmed. Authorities are exploring whether the clinic was targeted due to misperceptions about providing abortions or other ideological factors, but no evidence supports specific claims.
Clinic Profile: Established in 2006, the American Reproductive Centers offers fertility treatments and promotes LGBTQ+ family-building, which some X users speculate may have drawn attention, though unverified, per The Palm Springs Post.
Other states with active outbreaks – which the CDC defines as three or more related cases – include Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
New York: Texas’ measles outbreak shows signs of slowing, with fewer than 10 newly reported cases in the last week, but experts say it’s not fully over. “This outbreak does appear to be leveling off, but the affected states remain hypervigilant, and that’s because it’s travel season,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention incident manager Dr. Manisha Patel said Thursday of the southwestern outbreak, which also affects New Mexico and Oklahoma. “There is a lot of global measles activity right now.”
Across the U.S., there are 1,024 confirmed measles cases as of Friday – an increase of 23 in a week. Texas still accounts for the vast majority of cases.
There are three other major outbreaks in North America. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,622 cases from mid-October through May 13, which rose by 182 cases in a week. Another in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 409 as of Thursday.
And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,306 measles cases and one death as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry.
Since the outbreak in the Southwest U.S. began, two elementary school-aged children in the epicenter in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico have died of measles. All were unvaccinated.
Other states with active outbreaks – which the CDC defines as three or more related cases – include Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.
How many measles cases are there in Texas? There are a total of 718 cases across 32 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Friday. The state confirmed only one more case since its update Tuesday.
Hospitalizations were steady at 93 throughout the outbreak.
State health officials estimated about 1 per cent of cases – fewer than 10 – are actively infectious. Fifty-seven percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 406 cases since late January – just over 1.7 per cent of the county’s residents.
Singapore’s approach to integrate autonomous vehicles into public transport systems reflects the city’s dense and highly complex environment, experts said. (Illustration: CNA/Nurjannah Suhaimi)
In San Francisco today, booking a car ride does not necessarily mean having a driver pick you up at your location. Instead, you might open the Waymo One mobile application, enter your destination, and within minutes, a silent and driverless car will pull up, and there is no one behind the wheel.
What was once a scene from the Netflix sci-fi series Black Mirror has now become a way of life there.
Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and it operates one of the world’s largest commercial robotaxi services.
The company’s robotaxis now clock more than 250,000 rides each week across cities in the United States such as Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. In April, Waymo began hitting the streets of Tokyo in Japan, one of its first international locations.
In Guangzhou, China, a similar experience unfolds with self-driving giant WeRide, where a few effortless taps on your mobile phone will summon a car that arrives quietly, without a driver. All you need is a passcode and you are on your way.
WeRide’s autonomous technology also powers larger vehicles such as its fully autonomous eight-seater robobus.
Ms Tan Shi Hui, 33, who took the robobus during a business trip to the southern Chinese city last year, found the ride surprisingly ordinary.
“I felt quite calm throughout. The acceleration and deceleration were smooth, there were no sudden jerks, and even the turns felt gentle,” the independent consultant said, adding that she did not even feel “a hint of anxiety” when on the bus.
The large window panels on all sides allowed her to see clearly what was happening outside on the road, which made the journey feel reassuring, Ms Tan recalled.
Similarly, Mr Wu Linhan and his wife, Ms Amandine Honvault, both 28, tried Baidu Apollo’s self-driving taxis when they were in Guangzhou back in 2023.
Baidu Apollo is the autonomous driving platform developed by Baidu, a leading Chinese technology company.
“It felt like stepping into the future, especially when you see the car turning without anyone’s help,” Mr Wu, a freelance video and photo editor, said.
Ms Honvault, a software engineer, said that they both felt safe because the taxi was not going fast or weaving through heavy traffic.
“We knew someone was checking our itinerary and double-checking that we don’t have issues,” she added.
Hearing of such developments, where integrated autonomous vehicles (AVs) have become a part of everyday transport, it would seem that Singapore is lagging behind, even though it is often viewed as a global leader in smart technology.
Since 2015, Singapore has been facilitating on-road AV trials, but these have been primarily at controlled sites such as closed campuses or shuttle loops at Ngee Ann Polytechnic or Resorts World Sentosa.
Under current regulations, AVs can only be operated as part of authorised trials. Private ownership or public use of driverless cars remains prohibited.
Even so, experts told CNA TODAY that Singapore’s more deliberate and cautious approach towards AV testing, though more “demanding”, prioritises safety and builds up confidence for users with the technology.
Mr Daniel Chow, principal at consulting firm Arthur D Little Southeast Asia, said: “Singapore is not the first to deploy autonomous vehicles, but it may be one of the first to get it right.”
Mr Chow, who advises his firm’s clients on business growth among other areas, added that Singapore’s “slowness” in deploying AVs stems from various factors, including the need to build confidence in operating them on bus routes, ensuring public transport operators can train workers effectively and assuring commuters that the technology has been thoroughly tested before going mainstream.
Indeed, in response to queries from CNA TODAY, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that while countries such as the US and China have deployed fleets of AVs as robotaxis, safety remains the key focus in Singapore.
“Safety is paramount and our priority is to ensure the local operating environment is suitable to facilitate their deployment in a safe manner, while also addressing issues related to public acceptance of such technology,” the authority added.
It also said that its first phase of AV deployment will focus on fixed-route shuttles such as road-sweeping and logistics AVs.
“LTA will ensure all safety and public acceptability issues are adequately addressed first, before moving on to other more complex use cases like robotaxis,” it added.
Mr Soh Ming, founder and managing director of Volt Auto, the authorised distributor of Dongfeng automobiles in Singapore, said: “The cautious approach makes sense, because in a dense city like Singapore, you don’t just roll out autonomous technology without being absolutely sure it’s safe.
“There’s no room for error.”
Dongfeng, one of the largest car manufacturers in China, has been actively developing autonomous driving technology with trials involving robotaxis, autonomous trucks and smart mobility solutions as part of its push into next-generation transport.
“We are moving slowly, but we are moving with intent. When Singapore does scale AVs, it will be with a system that is tested, integrated and trusted,” Mr Soh added.
HOW FAR AV HAS COME AROUND THE WORLD
Self-driving technology has made significant progress in recent years around the world, reaching a baseline maturity that enables it to operate on many urban roads without human drivers.
These autonomous vehicles can follow traffic rules, change lanes, react to traffic lights and avoid obstacles or pedestrians. However, AVs still need human oversight in complex scenarios such as extreme weather, unpredictable human behaviour or unusual road conditions.
Currently, most AVs that exist are classified at Level 3 or Level 4 autonomy, based on the six levels of driving automation established by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), recognised as the global standard.
Level 0 refers to full human control of the vehicle. Level 5, the highest, represents full autonomy, where the vehicle can operate on any road and under all conditions without any human intervention.
With AV technology advancing rapidly, some countries such as China, Japan and the US have embraced autonomous vehicles extensively and are scaling up their commercial operations.
Besides Waymo in San Francisco, Amazon subsidiary Zoox is preparing to expand production of its purpose-built autonomous vehicles, which feature bidirectional driving and no steering wheel.
Similarly, in China, car manufacturer Xpeng has launched the P7+, an electric vehicle featuring the company’s XNGP autonomous driving system.
Unlike rival systems, Xpeng’s does not rely on LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a technology that uses laser pulses to create precise 3D maps of the environment, but which can be costly and bulky.
Instead, Xpeng’s system relies on a combination of cameras, ultrasonic sensors and radar to navigate complex urban conditions.
WeRide has expanded rapidly beyond China, launching robotaxi services in Abu Dhabi in partnership with ride-hailing firm Uber. It plans to extend operations to Dubai and 15 other cities globally over the next five years.
The company has also received approval in China to operate fully unmanned paid ride-hailing services in Beijing, and it holds permits for passenger rides, highway driving and remote driverless operations in Guangzhou.
Competitor Pony.ai is not far behind; at the Auto Shanghai 2025 exhibition recently, the company unveiled its seventh-generation autonomous driving system, which allows for 100 per cent mass production of robotaxis to automotive standards.
In China, Pony.ai has reduced production costs of its AV systems by 70 per cent, bringing the company closer to profitability and making mass robotaxi deployment more commercially viable.
SINGAPORE’S DRIVE TO THE FUTURE
In Singapore, various testbeds have been rolled out across the island over the years. These include autonomous shuttle trials on Sentosa Island, campus-based deployments at the National University of Singapore and One-north, and small-scale commercial pilots such as NTUC FairPrice Group’s collaboration with logistics partner Zelos.
To address the decreasing number of truck drivers, FairPrice Group Supply Chain Business began deploying the Zelos Z10, the first fully driverless autonomous vehicle designed for the logistics sector, to transfer pallets of goods between its warehouses in Joo Koon in October 2024.
Since April 2024, WeRide Robobus has been deployed at selected hours as a pilot service to ferry passengers around Resorts World Sentosa.
Over at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, MooVita, a software provider of autonomous driving technology, has been providing autonomous shuttle services within the campus since January 2023.
To boost productivity and improve the working conditions of its employees, cleaning service Chye Thiam Maintenance has deployed the WeRide S1 Robosweeper to sweep the outdoor areas of The Esplanade and the WeRide S6 Robosweeper for road sweeping in the Marina Coastal Drive area since October 2024.
Singapore’s approach to AV integration is supported by the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous Vehicles-NTU (CETRAN), established in August 2016.
CETRAN serves as a dedicated facility for testing and certifying AVs, ensuring that safety assessments are conducted before deployment on public roads.
Last November, during the Singapore International Transport Congress & Exhibition 2024, Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat talked about Singapore’s progress in the AV space, reiterating that safety is the nation’s top priority when assessing the deployment of the technology for commercial use cases.
Even though Singapore would like to “move more quickly”, the current “calibrated and data-driven approach” is best given its dense urban environment and to ensure that the different elements of the ecosystem are ready, he said.
As for robotaxis, Mr Chee said the authorities remained open to exploring them, but he added that the ones offering point-to-point services are more complex to deploy safely compared with AVs that operate with fixed routes.
For now, trials will focus on AVs operating on defined routes, such as logistics vehicles and minibuses. However, if fixed-route robotaxis prove commercially viable, LTA would be open to exploring those as well, Mr Chee added.
“As technology continues to mature and public confidence grows, we will be able to scale up deployment across more routes and more use cases, including the possibility of full-fledged robotaxis in future,” he said.
In January this year, LTA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to pilot autonomous public bus services. The initiative aims to assess the technical feasibility of AV technology for public bus services and gain insights into operational aspects at both service and fleet levels.
The pilot will start with smaller buses of at least 16 seats on bus service 400, which runs around the Shenton Way bus terminal, and bus service 191, which loops from Buona Vista Bus terminal to Media Circle in One-north.
These areas were chosen for their shorter and simpler routes.
The RFP states that the buses will initially operate with bus drivers onboard as safety operators, with the possibility of moving to remote supervision after demonstrating reliability for at least six months.
LTA plans to procure six autonomous buses for a start, with operations set to begin in mid-2026 for an initial period of three years. Depending on their performance, up to 14 more buses may be acquired to expand the pilot to two more services.
Other AV initiatives involving Singapore companies include ComfortDelGro’s first robotaxi pilot programme in Guangzhou, which was launched in partnership with Pony.ai.
The two-year pilot, initiated in March this year, aims to develop and refine capabilities for autonomous vehicle technology operations and fleet management, with the goal of large-scale deployment in China and other international markets.
ComfortDelGro, Singapore’s largest taxi operator, said in response to queries from CNA TODAY that the robotaxis have been “well-received” by the public in Guangzhou, with consistent daily numbers.
So far, the pilot has experienced zero at-fault traffic incidents and zero passenger incidents, it added.
“The technology has demonstrated that it can adapt and manoeuvre well in mixed traffic and weather conditions with minimal virtual assistance, ensuring a smooth and safe ride for passengers,” ComfortDelGro said.
“The lessons learnt would be useful for application in Singapore and other parts of the world when regulations permit in the future.”
On whether ComfortDelGro will introduce its robotaxis to Singapore as well, the company said that for the robotaxis to be commercially viable on a larger scale, the technology will have to be mature enough for safe mixed-environment driving, supported by strong regulation and public trust.
“We have seen successful case studies of robotaxis on the road in China, San Francisco and other parts of the world. However, for it to take off on a more significant scale globally, it would require wider public acceptance and a stronger push at the policy level.”
“A CAUTIOUS APPROACH” BETTER FOR SINGAPORE
While other cities might be racing ahead to integrate autonomous vehicles into their public transport systems, Singapore’s “slow” approach reflects the city’s dense and highly complex environment, experts said.
Mr Alex Tang, head of Xpeng’s international division of sales and service in Singapore, said: “Bringing AV technology to a densely populated and highly regulated environment like Singapore requires a deliberate, step-by-step approach.”
It is crucial to consider the unique characteristics of Singapore’s urban landscape, including its high traffic density, diverse mix of road users who include those on personal mobility devices and the weather conditions here, he added.
Dr Dan Chia, senior lecturer at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), said Singapore’s many pilot programmes and “step-wise” approach are also due to its lack of “greenfield spaces” as compared with other cities such as Guangzhou and San Francisco.
Greenfield spaces are undeveloped lands ideal for unrestricted design and testing.
Dr Chia, who researches AVs and intelligent transport systems, added: “China and the US have greenfield spaces to play in, where areas and surroundings can be clearly marked without too much public interaction. But in Singapore, it’s difficult, since we lack a true greenfield to test AV tech.
“A step-wise approach may seem a little bit slower compared to overseas cities, but this reduces the danger and unwanted accidents, given the more complex scenarios in Singapore.”
Although the island’s density might seem like a roadblock to adopting autonomous vehicles, Mr Chow from Arthur D Little Southeast Asia said that it is “our proving ground” and works to the country’s advantage in its foray into AV technology.
“Autonomous vehicles in Singapore have to navigate tight, highly dense and complex environments … if you can make autonomous technology work here, you can make it work in most urban environments.”
Agreeing, Mr Tang from Xpeng said the city’s well-regulated roads and high compliance with traffic rules offer a “conducive environment” for deploying and refining autonomous systems.
Dr Chia said that deploying public buses is a more challenging endeavour than robotaxis, due to real-life scenarios and “occlusions” that are difficult to test for, as well as the high expectations people have for public transport.
Occlusions are situations where a vehicle’s sensors are blocked or cannot clearly detect objects, people or other vehicles.
“When you talk about public roads, the speed of operation is different and the environment is more complex because you will have more occlusions,” Dr Chia said, citing situations such as when cyclists appear unexpectedly.
He noted that Singapore’s cautious approach is also because AV buses face more challenging demands than robotaxis, which carry just a few passengers. Buses must handle larger passenger volumes and, if standing passengers are allowed, smooth acceleration and braking become critical to avoid injuries.
Furthermore, even if the technology and testing proceed as planned, large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicles requires an “ecosystem” to ensure long-term business viability.
ECOSYSTEM WITH MANY STAKEHOLDERS
Developing an AV transport system does not rely on technology alone – it requires “many moving parts that need to move together in concert”, Mr Chow said.
Agreeing, Mr Tang said Singapore presents unique challenges that would require significant and sustained investments, “not just in physical infrastructure, but also in digital systems and urban design that support safe and efficient AV operations”.
“It’s a confluence of different factors. The government can certainly try to orchestrate (the developments), like it currently does with electric vehicles and electrification,” Mr Chow added, noting that the upcoming RFP from LTA is a “step in the right direction”.
“Going forward, you’ll need an ecosystem approach where all of the various actors and players within the transport and mobility ecosystem invest capital, invest time and invest resources to make it happen.”
Even with successful trials, Dr Chia cautioned that deploying AV buses is “not so straightforward”. It can be costly and complex, requiring specialised expertise, extensive training and high overheads, making it a business that needs “deep pockets”.
“This business model is very different from typical bus services provided by operators like Tower Transit or under the SBS model,” he said.
“Existing bus drivers do not have the technical expertise to operate AV buses, and the technological requirements are far beyond the current baseline.”
Dr Chia noted that AV buses are far more expensive to purchase than conventional models and may not turn a profit for years, even if they run 24 hours a day, assuming that maintenance costs are manageable.
Professor Zhao Jinhua, the co-lead principal investigator of Mens, Manus and Machina, an interdisciplinary research group at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, said that scaling autonomous vehicles safely remains “a formidable challenge”.
“As AV fleets grow, the ability to maintain them efficiently becomes crucial.”
Prof Zhao said this extends beyond software and includes the physical upkeep of vehicles and robotic systems, which are needed to perform tasks such as cleaning, charging, diagnostics and repairs of the fleet for minimal downtime.
“Automating these operational tasks is a foundational step toward making AV deployment not just technologically feasible, but economically sustainable.”
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Elon Musk’s xAI responded to widespread reports that its Grok chatbot made claims about a genocide against white citizens in South Africa, saying there had been an unauthorized change to the artificial intelligence bot. In a post on X on Thursday, xAI said it would update the system to address the problem.
Issues of political biases, hate speech and accuracy of AI chatbots have been a concern since at least the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022.
XAI said that early on Wednesday the unauthorized change was made to Grok’s response software, circumventing the normal review process.
“This change, which directed Grok to provide a specific response on a political topic, violated xAI’s internal policies and core values,” xAI said.
Some X users on Wednesday noticed that Grok brought up the topic of “white genocide” in South Africa in unrelated discussions about other matters, sharing screenshots of their exchanges.
Critics of a land expropriation policy in South Africa, including white South African-born Musk, have called it racist against whites. The South Africa government says that there is no evidence of persecution and that claims by U.S. President Donald Trump and others of “genocide” are unfounded.
Cassie Ventura has tearfully told a court she would give back a $20m (£15m) legal settlement from Sean “Diddy” Combs if it meant she would never have taken part in his “humiliating” drug-fuelled sex parties.
She rejected defence suggestions that her accusations were financially motivated as she wrapped up four days of testimony in the New York criminal trial of her ex-boyfriend.
Ms Ventura, the government’s star witness, faced questioning from both legal teams about her decade-long relationship with Mr Combs, and their “freak-off” sex sessions.
Mr Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He could face life in prison.
Ms Ventura’s testimony revealed graphic details about her sex life with the rapper and the physical violence she allegedly endured from him.
The rap mogul’s lawyers have been trying to depict Ms Ventura, 38, as an eager participant in the sexual lifestyle.
She testified this week that she was coerced into the sessions, which involved male escorts, because Mr Combs had threatened her with violence.
On Friday she addressed a $20m pay-out he gave her after she filed a lawsuit against him in November 2023.
The settlement, which came just one day after the filing of the legal action, was public knowledge, but the number was previously unknown.
Mr Combs’ lawyer, Anna Estevao, seemed to imply that Ms Ventura was strapped for cash before filing her lawsuit. The singer had just moved to her parents’ house with her husband and children.
Ms Ventura rejected this suggestion, later sharing that she would exchange the money for a life free of the “freak offs”, which she said caused her physical injuries, would sometimes go on for days, and stifled her career as a singer.
“I would have agency and autonomy,” she said.
A courtroom sketch of Cassie Ventura
Mr Combs’ legal team also showed the jury dozens of messages between the couple from each stage of their relationship, arguing their dynamic was toxic at times, but not criminal.
Minutes before Ms Ventura was set to leave the stand on Friday, the defence questioned her about another legal settlement she won.
Ms Ventura told the court she was expecting to receive about $10m from InterContinental Hotels, connected to her claims against Mr Combs.
The settlement relates to an incident at the InterContinental in Los Angeles in 2016, in which security footage showed Mr Combs hitting, kicking and dragging her in a hallway.
That clip was played at length in court this week, and is one of the most important pieces of evidence in the trial.
On Friday in court, Ms Ventura went through her texts after that beating. In one message she told Mr Combs: “I’m not a rag doll. I’m somebody’s child.”
She and Mr Combs were expressing love for each other days later in other texts.
The defence cross-examination continued on all day Thursday and Friday.
The prosecution squeezed in two more witnesses before court adjourned for the weekend.
One was Dawn Richard, a singer in the group Danity Kane – formed on Diddy’s MTV show Making the Band. Last year she filed a lawsuit accusing him of physical abuse and withholding her earnings.
Ms Richard testified that she saw Mr Combs assault Ms Ventura at his Los Angeles mansion in 2009.
“She fell down,” Ms Richard told the court. “She was in the foetal position.”
After the incident, she said Mr Combs took her aside and told her what she saw was “passion” and that where he is from, “people go missing” if they talk.
US Homeland Security special agent Yasin Binda took the stand as well, telling the court about the cash, drugs and baby oil that were seized from the rapper’s hotel room when he was arrested in New York.
Car maker Nissan says it is open to sharing factories around the world with its Chinese state-owned partner Dongfeng as it shakes up its business.
The Japanese firm, which employs thousands of people in the UK, told the BBC it could bring Dongfeng “into the Nissan production eco-system globally.”
This week, the struggling company said it would lay off 11,000 workers and shut seven factories but did not say where the cuts would be made.
Speaking about Nissan’s UK plant on Thursday at a conference organised by the Financial Times, its boss Ivan Espinosa said: “We have announced that we are launching new cars in Sunderland… In the very short term, there’s no intention to go around Sunderland.”
Nissan’s revelation it is willing to strengthen ties with the Chinese firm comes as the UK’s trade relationship with China is in the spotlight.
On Wednesday, the UK government moved to rebutt suggestions the tariff agreement it reached with the US last week could be damaging to China.
It said there was “no such thing as a veto on Chinese investment” in the deal.
The UK-US agreement rowed back on big hikes in tariffs on metals and cars imposed by US President Donald Trump, but it also included conditions requiring the UK to “promptly meet” US demands on the “security of the supply chains” of steel and aluminium products exported to America.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said China had “made representations to the UK, asking for clarification”.
“China is firmly opposed to any party seeking a deal at the expense of China’s interests. Should that situation arise, China will respond as necessary.”
Nissan’s latest job cuts came on top of 9,000 layoffs announced in November as it faces weak sales in key markets such as the US and China.
The total cuts will hit 15% of its workforce as part of a cost saving effort that it said would reduce its global production by a fifth.
Nissan’s own brands have struggled to make in-roads in China, which is the world’s biggest car market, as stiff competition has led to falling prices.
It has partnered with Beijing-controlled Dongfeng for more than 20 years and they currently work together to build cars in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Nissan employs around 133,500 people globally, with about 6,000 workers in Sunderland.
The firm has also faced a number of leadership changes and failed merger talks with its larger rival Honda.
Negotiations between the two collapsed in February after the firms were unable to agree on a multi-billion-dollar tie-up.
After the failure of the talks, then-chief executive Makoto Uchida was replaced by Mr Espinosa, who was the company’s chief planning officer and head of its motorsports division.
Justin Bieber sold his music catalog for $200 million in December 2022 because he was on the verge of “financial collapse,” according to a new documentary.
“TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber,” which is now available on Hulu, digs into the 31-year-old singer’s money troubles, alleging that he was in debt from pulling out of his “Justice” World Tour in 2022.
Justin Bieber sold his music catalog to Hipgnosis for $200 million in December 2022. GC Images
This, despite the fact that the “Peaches” crooner has reportedly made somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion in his career.
TMZ executive producer Harry Levin claims that Bieber “had to sell his music catalog because he was broke.”
“I was on a call with multiple people — Justin’s side acknowledges that in 2022, he was on the verge of … the words were ‘financial collapse.’ And that’s why he had to sell his catalog,” Levin alleges in the documentary.
Levin also claimed that when Bieber’s then-manager, Scooter Braun, got wind of the sale, he encouraged the singer to wait until January 2023 to make the sale in order to get a tax break.
“Justin said, ‘I gotta sell it now.’ And he sold it in December. That’s how broke he was,” Levin claims.
Also in the doc, TMZ executive producer Don Nash claims that Bieber would have made $90 million had he finished his Justice World Tour, which he canceled in September 2022 because he wanted to prioritize his health.
The TMZ doc comes one month after the Hollywood Reporter published a story also alleging that Bieber had been saddled with millions of dollars in debt after canceling the tour.
Merck Mercuriadis — founder of Hipgnosis, which bought Bieber’s catalog — told the Hollywood Reporter, “With the money up front, you’re free to plan in a way where you don’t have to be beholden to anyone else. You don’t necessarily have to go on tour or make another record, if that’s not how you want to spend the next few years. You can then afford to take some risks on yourself.
“For Justin, I think that was the motivation: He had ill health and was at a time in his life where he was married and very in love and contemplating family,” he continued. “Making the deal gave him the freedom to focus on that and not have to be on the treadmill he’d been on for almost 15 years.”
Meanwhile, Bieber has also sought to dispel rumors about him and Sean “Diddy” Combs during the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial as one of his former protégés.
The UAE marks the final stop of Donald Trump’s Middle East tour.
US President Donald Trump arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, after visiting Qatar, in the final leg of his Middle East trip. He was received by UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and welcomed in Abu Dhabi with a unique cultural performance, a video of which has caught the attention of social media users. Upon arriving at Qasr Al Watan – the UAE Presidential Palace – Trump was greeted with a traditional Al-Ayyala performance, a cultural art form from the Sultanate of Oman and the UAE, which involves women tossing their hair from side to side.
A video shared on X by White House aide Margo Martin showed Trump being led through a formation of women dramatically hair-flipping in sync with drums and chants. The US President is seen blankly watching the dancers as they flip their long hair left to right. Several men could also be seen waving sword-like objects during the performance.
“The welcome ceremony in UAE continues!” Ms Martin wrote on X while sharing the clip.
Since being shared, the video has garnered more than 5.3 million views. In the comments section, users expressed curiosity about the cultural performance. “Can someone explain the hair tossing by the females?” asked one user. “Someone pls explain what the hair/head swing is all about,” commented another.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the cultural performance, called Al-Ayyala, involves chanting poetry, drum music and dance, and simulates a battle scene. Girls wearing traditional dresses stand at the front in a row, tossing their long hair from side to side. Two rows of about twenty men face each other, carrying thin bamboo sticks to signify spears or swords.
The dance is typically performed at weddings and festive occasions in Oman and the UAE. Performers come from diverse backgrounds and age groups. The lead performer is usually an inherited role and is responsible for training other performers. Al-Ayyala is inclusive of all ages, genders and social classes.
The fortresses and cobbled streets of the ancient Croatian town of Dubrovnik are often crowded with tourists eager to visit the locations from the Game of Thrones television series or the Star Wars: The Last Jedi film.
But comments by President Donald Trump this month that he will impose a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the United States have alarmed the entertainment industry and some locals in Dubrovnik who fear directors may no longer film there.
“There have been huge disruptions because of the tariffs that Trump plans to introduce,” said Croatian film producer Igor Aleksandar Nola, adding that budgets had already been hit by global economic upheaval.
“Part of the financing coming from banks and investment funds for audio-visual arts has been on standby because of the uncertainty,” Nola told Reuters.
Central European countries and the Balkans have been used by Hollywood for years for their dramatic scenery, mix of architectural styles and cheaper filming costs. If a movie or series is a hit those locations can become hugely popular with visitors.
“The film and Game of Thrones have changed Dubrovnik for sure,” said tourist guide Ivan Vukovic. About 1,000 tourists join a Game of Thrones tour every day, he said.
Tourists walk at the Dubrovnik walls, Croatia, May 14, 2025. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic Purchase Licensing Rights
New souvenir shops were opened and jobs created for tourist guides and locals assisting in film productions out of season.
“All of this created a big economic boom,” Vukovic said.
Trump did not provide details about the timing of tariffs, leaving executives wondering how they could be applied to the film industry.
Participants at the Cannes Film Festival, which opened on Tuesday, continued a cautious business-as-usual approach after the initial shock by the tariff announcement.
Mate Frankovic, the mayor of Dubrovnik, which receives about 1.4 million tourists a year, said he did not expect the crisis to last long or seriously affect film productions and tourism in Dubrovnik.
FLYING taxis are set to take sports fans around Los Angeles at the next “car-free” 2028 Olympics – and they will cost the same price as an Uber.
Olympic committee LA28 have announced a partnership with Archer Aviation – and the collaboration is set to launch an incredible fleet of air cabs.
The Archer Aviation plans to launch a fleet of flying cabs for the 2028 GamesCredit: Getty
The aviation firm announced the groundbreaking plans on Thursday, which aim to cut through LA’s notoriously bad traffic.
Concepts for flying cabs have surfaced before but have failed to take off.
Aerial taxis were set to debut in the Paris Games in 2024 – but lacked certification from Europe’s safety agency.
Archer Aviation is also yet to be approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration.
But defiant founder and CEO Adam Goldstein says that his brand hopes to receive that critical certification by the end of 2025.
The mind-blowing cabs will take sports fans around the City of Angels in short 10-20 minute trips.
There will also be designated pick-up and drop-off spots for visitors and locals alike.
This network of “vertiports” includes stations at SoFi Stadium, LAX, and other hubs from Santa Monica to Orange County.
Goldstein said: “Imagine an Olympic event taking place in Dodger Stadium, and then having to get back to SoFi for the medal ceremony.
“How are you going to get there if you’re stuck in two hours [of] traffic?”
The cutting-edge passenger jets are part of a huge effort by LA28 to have a “car-free” Olympics that will allow the city to better digest the expected 15 million attendees of the Games.
And just like the popular taxi app Uber, punters will be able to request a ride using a new app on their phone.
Goldstein added that the goal for cost would be to keep prices on par with a high-end ride share like Uber Lux.
The firm plans to launch a fleet of their piloted Midnight aircraft – which is part of a family of vehicles dubbed eVTOLs.
This stands for electric vertical take-off landing aircraft.
Archer Aviation is backed by Boeing and United Airlines, and their Midnight model is built using 12 engines and propellers.
It also produces “less noise and emissions than a traditional helicopter”, according to LA28.
Goldstein explained: “There’s a reason wealthy and famous people use helicopters — they’re extremely convenient.”
His firm is projected to have a fleet of 50 air taxis by the time the 2028 Olympics take place – but demand may overtake supply.
On top of public transport, Archer Aviation’s air vehicles will also provide emergency services and security support at the Games, according to Goldstein.
He added: “We’re perfectly situated to do that kind of stuff.
THIS is the horrifying moment an Uber driver threatens a passenger with a gun after being told she has “crazy eyes”.
The shocking scenes left two female passengers terrified for their lives as a masked driver forced them out of her vehicle at gunpoint.
An Uber driver left two female passengers terrifiedCredit: instagram/@krissycelessss/
The Uber driver can be seen becoming increasingly irate as she shouts at Miami rapper Krissy Celess, also known as Bomb Ass Krissy.
“You’re harassing me. Get out of my vehicle right now. Get out of my vehicle,” she tells the singer.
“You’re no longer in the ride, get out, get out right now.”
The artist replies: “She got them crazy eyes.”
In a split second, the fuming driver is filmed pulling out a gun and pointing it at her passengers’ faces.
She says again “get out, get out” as she waves her weapon while sitting behind the wheel.
The women exit the vehicle and tell the Uber employee: “You’re gonna go viral, you’re going viral”.
In the moments that follow the car speeds away from the terrified victims.
Krissy posted the alarming footage with the caption: “Help us get her off the streets before she potentially harms another passenger.”
In an update, the artist confirmed Uber are investigating the “extremely concerning” incident.
The driver also appears to have been removed from the service.
Florida Police have launched a probe into the disturbing footage after Krissy filed a report.
At present, no arrests have been made.
Other shocking scenes recently caught on camera include the moment a crazed man tried to stab a flight attendant and open the emergency door mid-flight.
Disturbing footage shows Francisco Severo Torres, 34, threatening fellow passengers.
The dramatic turn of events took place aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston.
Ukraine-Russia peace talks at the Turkish Presidential office Dolmabahce, in Istanbul(AFP)
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war (PoWs) each, according to the head of Moscow’s peace talks delegation, but there is no agreement on the ceasefire between two countries. In the first direct peace talks since February 2022 when Moscow led an invasion of Kyiv, Ukraine also accused Russia of introducing new “unacceptable demands”.
While there was no ceasefire agreement, exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war is the biggest swap between the two countries.
Both sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate Rustem Umerov.
Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s delegation, said both sides agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals and a meeting by their heads of state..
The demands had not been previously discussed, the official said.
During the talks, the Ukrainian side reiterated its call on focusing on agreement on an immediate ceasefire and substantive diplomacy, “just like the U.S., European partners, and other countries proposed.”
The two sides also said they would “present their vision of a possible future ceasefire”, said Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.
Russia also took note of Ukraine’s request for a meeting of Presidents Putin and Zelensky, he said. Also Read | ‘As soon as we can set it up’: Donald Trump says wants to meet Vladimir Putin
“Overall, we are satisfied with the results and ready to continue contacts,” Medinsky added.
Putin declined to travel to Turkey for the meeting, which he had proposed, sending a second-level delegation instead.
Zelensky said Putin was “afraid” of meeting, and criticised Russia for not taking the talks “seriously”.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky had blasted Vladimir Putin of being “unserious” about peace after the Kremlin leader failed to attend direct negotiations in Turkey aimed at ending the war.
DONALD Trump has lashed out at James Comey after the former FBI chief shared a beach snap that has been perceived as a threat to the president.
Comey shared a picture of seashells that spelled out the code 8647.
James Comey shared a picture of seashells that said 8647Credit: Instagram
The number 86 refers to an item being taken off the menu or “killed,” and Trump is the 47th president.
It prompted critics to claim it signified a threat toward the president.
Trump blasted Comey in an interview with Fox News journalist Bret Baier, saying a child would’ve understood the sentiment behind the social media post.
“He knew exactly what that meant – a child knows what that meant,” he said.
“If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. It says it loud and clear.
“He wasn’t very competent but he was competent enough to know what that meant and he did it for a reason.”
Trump described Comey as a “dirty cop.”
Comey attracted a torrent of criticism from Trump’s family and federal government officials.
Kristi Noem, the head of Homeland Security, warned that Secret Service agents would launch a probe.
Meanwhile, Trump’s son, Don Jr, also echoed similar sentiments on social media.
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, claimed Comey knew what he was doing.
“James Comey just issued a call to action to murder the President of the United States,” she wrote on X.
“As a former FBI Director and someone who spent most of his career prosecuting mobsters and gangsters, he knew exactly what he was doing and must be held accountable under the full force of the law.
“We fully support the Secret Service investigation into Comey’s threat on President Trump’s life.”
The White House cabinet secretary, Taylor Budowich, said the case is being treated seriously.
“While President Trump is currently on an international trip to the Middle East, the former FBI Director puts out what can clearly be interpreted as ‘a hit’ on the sitting President of the United States — a message etched in the sand,” he said.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously.”
Kash Patel, the current FBI director, said his team is in talks with the Secret Service.
Comey, who served as FBI director between 2013 and 2017, clarified the picture in a subsequent statement.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” he said.
” I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.
“It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
But, Comey is expected to be interviewed by Secret Service agents, per Fox News.
Trump survived two assassination attempts in the run-up to last year’s presidential election.
He was left with a gashed ear after Thomas Crooks opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.
Just weeks after the assassination attempt in Butler, shots were fired near to Trump’s Florida golf course.
Ryan Wesley Routh managed to get within 500 yards of Trump before opening fire.
Meanwhile, Comey rose to prominence when he probed Hillary Clinton’s use of her personal email system when she was Secretary of State.
He reopened the case at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign – less than two weeks before election day.
Commentators speculated that Comey’s letter, which explained why the investigation into Clinton’s emails had been reopened, cost the former first lady the election.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that India and Pakistan fought three wars and got nothing.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.(AFP)
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday night said Islamabad and New Delhi should sit down at the table like peaceful neighbours and settle their outstanding issues, including Kashmir, news agency PTI reported.
Addressing a special ‘Youm-e-Tashakur’ event in Islamabad, Shehbaz said that India and Pakistan fought three wars and got nothing.
“The lesson is to sit down as peaceful neighbours and settle all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. Without resolution of our issues, we cannot have peace in this part of the world,” Shehbaz said.
“If peace comes, we can also cooperate in counterterrorism,” the prime minister added.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end a four-day-long military confrontation marked by intense cross-border drone and missile exchanges.
Sharif’s statement comes hours after Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh asserted that Operation Sindoor is not over yet and issued a stern warning to Pakistan. “When the right time comes, we will show the full picture to the world. We have kept Pakistan on probation. If its behaviour improves, then okay, otherwise, it will be given the strictest punishment,” Rajnath Singh said.
India carried out precision strikes under ‘Operation Sindoor’ on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
New Delhi has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.
During Friday’s address, Sharif said that while Pakistan is a peaceful nation, it reserves the right to deliver a “befitting response” in its defence.
“Pakistan is a peaceful country, but it reserves the right to give a befitting response in its defence,” he said, referring to the recent military confrontation with India.
He praised the armed forces for responding “befittingly and effectively” and said they had written a “golden chapter” in the country’s military history.
JUSTIN Bieber finally spoke out on rumors he was a victim of Sean “Diddy” Combs to reclaim his power as he positions himself as a “symbol of survival and allyship,” an expert has claimed.
Bieber, 31, was mentored by Combs, 55, whose sex trafficking trial kicked off in New York this week.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and Justin Bieber performed at the BET-SOS Saving Ourselves Help for Haiti Benefit Concert in 2010 in MiamiCredit: Getty
Fans have speculated for months as to whether the pop star’s reported mental health problems were linked to the rapper’s trial, as he was previously close to the star when he was a teen icon.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to several federal charges, primarily related to sex trafficking and racketeering.
He is also the defendant in a handful of civil suits that have been filed by alleged sex assault victims who are both female and male.
Bieber released a statement through his rep this week, stating, “Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him.
“Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”
He waited months to comment on the rumors and PR expert Chad Teixeira, who has worked with the likes of the Kardashians, feels the move was calculated.
Teixeira told The U.S. Sun, “The allegations against Diddy have reached critical mass. Bieber knows that if he doesn’t speak now, the narrative will be written without him and probably not in his favor.
“This is a moment of calculated authenticity.
“This wasn’t a delay, it was a deliberate media strategy.”
“He waited until the cultural conditions were right: when others were brave enough to speak; when legal processes were underway, and when public opinion was ready to hear, not just react.
“It’s not just about protecting himself. It’s about setting the record straight, on his terms, while reclaiming [the] power that was taken from him as a teenager.
“He chose this moment to speak out on purpose and rightfully so.”
Teixeira believes if he had spoken out before it could have ignited a “media firestorm” and be a “PR sh*t show”.
“It could even retraumatize others. Bieber likely waited for a combination of personal readiness, legal clarity, and cultural timing.
“There’s a difference between reacting to rumors and responding to undeniable truths and by waiting, he ensured his voice would carry weight, not speculation.
“This wasn’t a delay, it was a deliberate media strategy.
“Speaking before the trial could’ve been dismissed as attention seeking or premature. Speaking now signals courage, control, and credibility.”
Teixeira said breaking his silence now is a “seismic moment” and shifts Bieber from a possibly complicit bystander into a “symbol of survival and allyship.”
He explained, “By referencing ‘other victims,’ Bieber isn’t just distancing himself, he’s planting a flag in the ground.
“He’s signaling that the old rules of silence and loyalty to powerful men no longer apply.
“This isn’t just damage control; it’s narrative reclamation. And culturally, that matters.
“It transforms him from a product of the machine into someone willing to tear it down if needed.
“That kind of move deepens public trust, resonates with younger audiences who value accountability, and positions Bieber as a leader in a much-needed cultural shift.
Last year, a video emerged of Bieber and Combs spending “48 hours” together, which fans branded “disturbing” considering the 24-year age gap between the pair.
Bieber also sang on Combs’ 2023 record The Love Album: Off The Grid which sources now say the pop superstar deeply regrets.
Teixeira described Bieber’s past connection to the star as a “reputational landmine.”
He believes the link was once seen as a rite of passage in the industry, but it now serves as a “chilling reminder of the blurred lines and unchecked power that permeated early 2000s celebrity culture.”
“The current media cycle doesn’t require guilt by action; proximity is enough to spark suspicion and speculation,” Teixeira went on.
“That’s damaging for any public figure, especially one who’s spent the past decade rebuilding his image from troubled pop star to stable, spiritual husband.”
Teixeira recognizes Bieber has been struggling in recent months and his withdrawal from music, and inconsistent public appearances can read as someone carrying unspoken trauma.
“There’s a visible emotional weight in how he’s been moving through the world,” he said.
“The lightness of youth is gone, replaced with a guardedness that fans have picked up on for years.
“This isn’t just about media scrutiny – it’s the internal impact of growing up in an environment where power dynamics were distorted, and exploitation was normalized.
What happened during Sean Combs’ ‘freak offs’?
Sean Combs’ infamous drug-fueled freak offs, first revealed by his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit in November 2023, have become a central narrative of the indictment, which alleges:
The music mogul “manipulated women to participate in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers.”
Freak offs “occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days, and often involved multiple commercial sex workers.”
Combs “distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant.”
He and the victims “typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use” after the freak offs.
Cops “seized various Freak Off supplies, including narcotics and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” from his homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Combs “hit, kicked, threw objects at, and dragged victims, at times, by their hair,” during and separate from the freak offs, which “often resulted in injuries that took days or weeks to heal.”
He also used the “sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings” that he made during freak offs as “collateral to ensure the continued obedience and silence of the victims.”
“The resurfacing of the Diddy conversation likely forced Bieber to re-evaluate that entire chapter of his life through a new lens, and that reckoning is never clean or easy to manage from a PR perspective.”
Asked what he thought of how Bieber’s statement was worded, he said it struck a delicate balance between protecting his privacy and carrying enough weight to show he’s standing for something.
He added, “Notably, it avoided sensationalism. There were no accusations, no explicit personal disclosures but there was clarity.
“The phrasing was designed to spark empathy without opening legal floodgates.
” It was mature, emotionally intelligent, and clearly crafted with a high-level communications strategy and legal advice.
“It lets the public feel something without knowing everything, which in today’s climate is incredibly powerful and hard to do.”
Teixeira feels this could be a defining chapter in Bieber’s long-term brand arc as he’s no longer a kid being pushed into the spotlight – he’s a grown man choosing when and how to speak.
“This pivot from entertainer to advocate could position him as a voice for change in an industry finally being held to account,” he said.
“It opens up pathways to meaningful partnerships, deeper artistic work, and long-term legacy-building.
US-EU goods and services trade is worth $1.7 trillion per yearImage: Jochen Tack/picture alliance
Eager to avoid a looming 20% tariff on its trans-Atlantic exports, the European Union has agreed to “intensify” trade talks with the United States after being accused of moving too slowly. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic gave the update Thursday before a meeting of EU trade ministers in Brussels, adding that he and his US counterpart Howard Lutnick were due to meet “very soon.”
The EU summit was expected to solidify the bloc’s position in negotiations to avoid the additional levies that kick in from July, after US President Donald Trump sealed his first deals since announcing so-called reciprocal tariffs on most global imports last month.
Following a tense standoff, Washington and Beijing reached a temporary deal last week, slashing punitive tariffs from over 100% to more sustainable levels. As negotiations for a long-term deal intensify, for the next 90 days Chinese goods entering the US will incur a 30% tariff, while exports from the US to China will face a 10% levy.
Days earlier, Trump secured the first outline of a trade deal since proclaiming April 2 as “Liberation Day,” when he announced stiff worldwide tariffs. The broad pact with the United Kingdom reduces tariffs on British carmakers exporting to the US and grants American exporters, including farmers and ethanol producers, enhanced access to the UK market.
Trump under pressure to secure EU deal
While Trump continues to play hardball with Brussels, claiming earlier this week that the “European Union is in many ways nastier than China,” Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist for the London-based Capital Economics research house, thinks economic pressures will prevent him from pushing Brussels too far.
“The two new deals will make EU negotiators more confident that they can stick broadly to the policy already set out, which is to try to avoid escalation, threaten some retaliation but with a delay, while at the same time be willing to negotiate,” Kenningham told DW.
Even so, Capital Economics warned in a research note this week that an EU-US deal “appears harder to reach,” pointing to the bloc’s large goods trade surplus with the US and the challenge of reaching consensus among the 27 EU member states.
The EU has already threatened new tariffs on €95 billion ($107 billion) of US goods in response to Trump’s earlier tariffs on aluminum, steel and European automakers, but paused them to allow negotiations to proceed. Brussels is also considering curbs on scrap steel and chemical exports to the US.
Trump vague on demands from EU
Claudia Schmucker, head of the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology at the German Council on Foreign Relations, doesn’t think the China and UK deals really “change anything.”
“Trump is still expecting that the EU will offer something he feels is valuable enough,” Schmucker told DW, adding that the president’s demands from Europe remain a “mystery,” but are likely to include more agriculture and energy imports.
The EU has so far offered to boost imports of US liqueified natural gas, advanced AI technology and soybeans, while proposing zero-for-zero tariffs on all industrial goods. Brussels has, however, ruled out lowering other US irritants — from sales tax (VAT) and regulations, which Trump perceives as giving the bloc an unfair advantage in trade.
Last year, the US had a $235.6 billion (€210 billion) trade deficit in goods with the EU, a 12.9% increase on the previous year, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. The latest 2023 data from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, puts the EU goods surplus at €157 billion.
Schmucker thinks the president’s negative rhetoric, which included an unfounded claim that the EU was created to “rip off” the US, plays into Brussels’ hands as EU states try to reach consensus on how to proceed, even as Hungary, Italy and some others push for bilateral deals.
“Even though some EU states are not fully on board with Brussels’ negotiating position, Trump’s antagonism is enough to help boost EU unity,” she said.
Ahead of Thursday’s talks in Brussels, Swedish Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa was doubtful about a speedy US-EU deal, saying he didn’t think it was likely in the “coming weeks.” If Trump keeps the baseline 10% tariff imposed on all imports as announced last month, as it did for the UK, Dousa said: “The US can expect countermeasures from us.”
EU: A key market for US services exports
Miguel Otero, senior fellow for international political economy at Spain’s Elcano Royal Institute, believes the US “has a lot to lose” from any Trump misstep.
“The EU has a big deficit when it comes to services, especially financial and digital services and entertainment platforms,” Otero told DW. “The US cannot afford to lose the European market. If we act as a single entity, then the EU has as much leverage as China.”
Although the EU has a significant goods surplus with the US, with a fifth of EU goods crossing the Atlantic last year, the bloc also accounts for 25% of US services exports, worth $275 billion in 2024. Including Switzerland and the UK, 42% of US services exports are sent to the European market.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, vowed this week to launch a dispute at the World Trade Organization against Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs and levies on cars and auto parts.
Although expectations for a breakthrough are low, this is the first direct contract between the conflict parties since the early days of the warImage: DHA
Putin ‘enjoys’ fooling the West, says former Russian foreign minster
After lower-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine held brief talks in Istanbul, DW spoke with Andrei Kozyrev, Russia’s foreign minister from 1990 to 1996 under Boris Yeltsin, about the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
Kozyrev, who lives in the US, lamented the slowness of sanctions on Presdient Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
“Three years ago, at the beginning there was a possibility probably to stop Putin by sanction,” he said.
The former diplomat said the sanctions have been softened by the help from China, which is “supplying Putin with everything needed for the war of attrition.”
Kozyrev doesn’t take Putin nor the Istanbul talks seriously. “It’s theatrics, diplomatic theatrics,” he said. “And Putin enjoys it.”
“He enjoys bombing Ukraine and he enjoys fooling Western leaders because that’s what he wants. The West is too weak to stand against him,” the former minister said.
Australian sentenced to 13 years in prison for fighting for Ukraine
Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old Australian man from Melbourne, was convicted of being a “mercenary in an armed conflict” and sentenced to 13 years in a strict-regime penal colony by a Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region.
Russia considers foreigners who travel to Ukraine to fight as “mercenaries” and prosecutes them under its criminal code rather than treating them as prisoners of war, who are protected by the Geneva Convention.
The Australian government has repeatedly called on Russia to release Jenkins, a former biology teacher.
Russian forces captured Jenkins in December 2024. That same month, a video was shared by a Russian military blogger showing him being roughly interrogated and slapped in the face.
It was believed that he had been killed in captivity until Russia confirmed he was alive.
Russia and Belarus planning joint military drills
Belarusian state news agency BeITA reported that preparation for a large new military manoeuvre with Russia was under way.
“We plan to jointly develop measures to counter aggression against the Union State,” BelTA quoted Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov as saying during a meeting with Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin in Minsk.
The agency reported the exercise — dubbed Zapad-2025, or West-2025 in English — would be the culmination of combat training of regional military formations and was been planned for mid-September.
In February, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited intelligence sources as saying that Russia was planning to move troops to Belarus.
Berlin politicians condemned violence directed at police during a protest in the German capitalImage: Christophe Gateau/dpa/picture alliance
Several protesters and police officers sustained injuries during violent confrontations at a pro-Palestinian demonstration marking Nakba Day in Berlin on Thursday.
According to police, who made over 50 arrests, approximately 1,100 people took part in the demonstration in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg in remembrance of the Nakba and protesting against Israel’s continuing military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Nakba means “catastrophe” in Arabic and refers to the forced displacement or fleeing of Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 after Israel’s founding. About 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in the years before and after the proclamation of the State of Israel.
Some 1,200 Israelis — around 800 civilians — were killed and another 250 abducted in the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023. Israel’s military response has seen over 53,000 Palestinians — mainly women and children — killed, according to health authorities in Hamas-led Gaza Strip, whose casualty counts do not differentiate between militants and civilians but are regarded as reliable by international organizations, and much of the territory laid to waste.
How did the Nakba Day protest unfold?
In Berlin on Thursday, demonstrators originally wanted to march from the Südstern square in the south of the capital to the neighboring district of Neukölln, but a local administrative court ruled that the protest must remain stationary.
“The Nakba is a continuing campaign of ethnic cleansing which has never stopped,” claimed one speaker at the demonstration. Other protesters reportedly shouted phrases accusing the Israeli government and military of being “child murderers, women murderers, baby murderers” as well as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The latter phrase is illegal in Germany as it is considered an approval of a crime under paragraph 140 of the German Criminal Code in that it can be interpreted as a demand for the region between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea to be free of the Jewish state of Israel — an interpretation disputed by some Palestinian groups.
Police officer ‘trampled on’
According to the TAZ daily newspaper, the use of this phrase prompted attempts by police to make arrests. Police said they were also responding to “significant acts of violence” against officers “from within the crowd,” out of which bottles and stones were reportedly thrown.
According to the police, one officer was dragged into the crowd, forced to the ground and trampled on. The 36-year-old reportedly suffered severe injuries to his upper body, including a broken arm, and remains in the hospital.
“The attack on a police officer at the demonstration in Kreuzberg is nothing but a cowardly, brutal act of violence,” said Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). “Attacks against officers are attacks on law and order and therefore against all of us.”
According to the police, 11 officers were injured in total as well as an unspecified number of protesters. The injured demonstrators were treated by the Berlin fire department, which said the scale of its deployment wasn’t particularly large.
Berlin politicians condemn ‘brutal violence’
Berlin’s senator for the interior, Iris Spranger of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), promised tough action against those arrested.
“Yesterday’s demonstration in Berlin escalated in a horrific manner,” she said.” This brutal violence against officers has nothing to do with political protest.”
US President Donald Trump has been making deals with Gulf states that Israel is eying with suspicionImage: IMAGO
US President Donald Trump’s tour of the Gulf states this week — to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — was closely followed in Israel.
Trump did not visit Israel — a snub that Israeli officials played down, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already visited the White House twice — and there was a growing sense among Israeli commentators that something wasn’t quite right.
This comes at a time when Israel is facing increasing criticism and isolation from other nations over the war in Gaza.
“If you take the last month and certainly the last week, in a series of moves and a series of statements, Trump not only completely sidelined Netanyahu and kept him out of the loop, but marginalized Israel as if it was not an ally,” former senior Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas, now a columnist for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, told DW.
Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its airstrikes in Gaza, a possible indication that it is expanding its offensive in Gaza.
On Friday, heavy strikes and tank movements were reported in northern Gaza. According to local health authorities, at least 90 people were killed in strikes across Gaza, including many children. The Israeli military has issued more evacuation orders in several areas, forcing many people to flee to areas that are equally unsafe.
The unexpected recent release of the American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, reportedly a result of direct negotiations between the US and Hamas and mediators, was seen as a sign that Netanyahu seemed to have been sidelined or, at best, was no longer the center of Trump’s attention, according to Israeli analysts. Alexander is a soldier who was taken captive from his military post during the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
During the October 7 attack, over 200 people were taken as hostages into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Fifty-eight hostages are still in Gaza. At least 21 of them are believed to be alive.
In January, Hamas and Israel agreed on the first phase of a ceasefire, which saw 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. However, a second phase was never negotiated and, in March, Israel broke the ceasefire, vowing to eradicate Hamas.
Have Trump and Netanyahu fallen out?
During his Gulf trip this week, Trump concluded a $142 billion (€127 billion) arms deal with Saudi Arabia as well as a $600 billion investment deal that increases the Gulf state’s technological potential, which could be seen as threat to Israel’s own technological and military prowess.
In April, Netanyahu was invited to an urgent meeting in Washington. Netanyahu said he thought he could convince Trump to remove US tariffs on Israeli imports but he wasn’t able to. Instead Trump seemed to take Netanyahu by surprise when he announced direct US-Iran talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
This contrasted sharply with two leaders’ first meeting in February in the US, when Trump spoke to Netanyahu about his vision of a “Gaza Riviera” and the forced displacement of its population.
Another decision that caused a stir in Israel was Trump’s announcement on May 6 that the US had reached a truce with the Houthi group in Yemen, just two days after the rebels launched a missile at Israel’s main international airport, Ben Gurion. The Houthis vowed to continue launching missiles at Israel as long as the Gaza war continues.
Israeli commentator Pinkas suggested that Trump doesn’t like Netanyahu’s “manipulations and constant deception on both Iran and Gaza.”
Trump practices a very transactional foreign policy, Pinkas explained. “Netanyahu can only give him two things that he’s refused to give until now: A ceasefire in Gaza, which Netanyahu violated himself in March — [perhaps] he misinterpreted Trump’s laziness or disinterest as some kind of green light to attack again.
And the second is Iran,” Pinkas continued. “While Trump keeps on saying he wants an agreement with Iran and that he will pursue an agreement, Netanyahu keeps on with his belligerent rhetoric.”
Others are more cautious and say that Trump appears to be laying the groundwork for regional changes.
“I hear voices in Israel saying that he completely sidelined Netanyahu, but I think it more complicated than that,” Yaki Dayan, a former Israeli consul general in the US, and now a frequent commentator on Israeli-American relations in local media, told DW. “I think he [Trump] is taking into account all these issues that are extremely important for Israel in terms of normalization, with the Syrians and with the Saudis.”
But Israel should have been more involved, Yaki said. “We could have been in the central position, in shaping the new Middle East, as Trump is doing now,” Dayan said. But, he adds, “I think that one of the things that Trump wanted from Israel is to finish the war in Gaza, which Netanyahu is not giving him.”
Netanyahu is unlikely to do either of those things though, Pinkas argued. “If he doesn’t have those two issues, then A, he doesn’t have a [governing] coalition, and B, he doesn’t have a reason to be prime minister.”
What does it mean for the region?
Much will now depend on the next developments in Gaza. A new round of negotiations in Qatar to finalize a new deal between Israel and Hamas appear to be faltering.
Meanwhile, Israel has escalated its military offensive and Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed not to end the war, which is a key Hamas demand. The Israeli cabinet recently approved a plan to occupy large swathes of Gaza and force the already-displaced Palestinian population to relocate south, something that could be considered a war crime under international law.
And while Israel has endorsed a new humanitarian, albeit controversial aid plan proposed by the US, it has not lifted the devastating blockade on Gaza. Since March, people in the small territory have been denied food, medicine, shelter and fuel, with devastating consequences. Earlier this week, international food security experts warned that Gaza was at high risk of famine in the coming weeks.
During his visit in Qatar, Trump said, “I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone.”
The conflict in Gaza prevents Trump from his long-held ambition, a grand plan to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and to expand the Abraham Accords, a series of bilateral agreements between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel mediated by the first Trump administration.
Yet, despite the concerns over the Trump-Netanyahu relationship, there is currently no indication the US will pressure Israel to stop the military offensive there if these latest talks fail.
A US citizen, Matar is also facing a federal trial on terrorism charges. The charges were evoked after prosecutors claimed that the stabbing was an attempt to carry out a decades-old fatwa issued in 1989 by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the publication of Rushdie’s controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.
The 2002 attack left Rushdie blinded by one eye. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
The man who stabbed acclaimed author Salman Rushidie during a 2022 lecture in New York has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Hadi Matar, 27, was convicted of attempted murder in February. Rushdie did not attend Friday’s sentencing but submitted a victim impact statement. He had previously testified, recounting the harrowing moment he believed he was going to die.
Matar stabbed Rushidie over a dozen times in the head and torso as the author prepared to speak at the Chautauqua Institution. The brutal assault left Rushdie, 77, blind in one eye and seriously injured. He also injured one more person.
Ahead of sentencing, Matar made a brief statement criticizing Rushdie and invoking free speech. He received 25 years (maximum punishment) for the attack on Rushdie and seven years for injuring the other victim. The sentences will run concurrently, as both injuries occurred during the same incident, said Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt.
During arguments, Schmidt said that Matar had deliberately planned the attack to cause maximum harm — not just to Rushdie, but to the audience of over 1,400 people present. Defense attorney Nathaniel Barone countered that Matar had no prior criminal record.
The 2002 incident had left Rushdie blinded by one eye. He spent nearly five weeks in hospitals and rehabilitation centers following the attack. He later detailed his recovery in his 2024 memoir, Knife.
A US citizen, Matar is also facing a federal trial on terrorism charges. The charges were evoked after prosecutors claimed that the stabbing was an attempt to carry out a decades-old fatwa issued in 1989 by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the publication of Rushdie’s controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.
Matar has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of providing material support to terrorists.
Razzak Baloch, a prominent Baloch leader, also called for international support, particularly from India and the US, emphasising the need for peace and an end to military oppression by Pakistan.
Members of ‘Baloch Yakjehti Committee” hold the posters of a Baloch human right activist Mahrang Baloch during a protest demanding to release Mahrang, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Baloch leader, Razzak Baloch, has made an explosive claim on how Pakistani authorities have lost control of over 80 per cent of Balochistan. In an interview with TAG TV, Razzak Baloch, secretary general of the Baloch American Congress, claimed that Pakistani forces are afraid to even leave Quetta after dark, and stated that they should withdraw with dignity in time, rather than waiting for a situation like Bangladesh to happen.
“Pakistani forces cannot even leave Quetta after dark,” Baloch told TAG TV, adding that even elected Pakistani officials have admitted to this situation and how the military avoids patrolling from 5 pm to 5 am due to security fears.
He stated that Pakistan has lost control over 70–80 per cent of the region and urged global powers, especially India and the United States, to support the Baloch struggle. “If India supports us, our doors will open,” he said, asserting that delays in support would only strengthen what he described as a “barbaric army,” affecting the region’s stability.
Calling for peace and an immediate end to military oppression across Pakistan’s provinces, the leader further remarked that it would be wiser for the Pakistani army to withdraw with dignity rather than face a situation like Bangladesh, where only their boots were left behind.
Mir Yar Baloch Declares Independence
Just days ago, Baloch leader Mir Yar Baloch asserted that Balochistan was never a part of Pakistan and that the region “declared independence on 11 August 1947 when Britishers were leaving Balochistan”. “We are not Pakistani, we are Balochistani,” he said.
India-Pakistan agree to continue pause on miliary actions
India and Pakistan have agreed to extend the pause on all cross-border military actions as decided by both countries on May 10. Amid ongoing tensions, the Director General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries have decided to continue “confidence-building measures”.
“Further to the understanding between the two DGMOs on 10th of May 2025, it has been decided to continue the confidence-building measures so as to reduce the alertness level,” officials said on Thursday.
As per a PTI report, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar claimed that the DGMO of Pakistan, Major General Kashif Abdullah, and the DGMO of India Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai talked over a hotline on Thursday to discuss the ceasefire, which has now been extended until May 18.
India launched Operation Sindoor on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after midnight on May 7, in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.
Tensions between the countries intensified a day later, after Pakistan launched a drone and missile attack on military bases near the border, which India thwarted.
Pope Leo XIV met Thursday at the Vatican with the head of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine, in one of his first audiences as pontiff that reaffirmed his appeal for a peaceful, negotiated end to Russia’s war.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk said he invited Leo to visit Ukraine and presented the pope with a list of prisoners held by Russia. The Vatican under Pope Francis had worked for prisoner exchanges, as well as for the return of Ukrainian children taken to live in Russian-occupied territories.
The Vatican didn’t release any statement after the audience, one of the first private audiences held by Leo since his election May 8.
In his first Sunday noon blessing as pope, and again during an audience with pilgrims from eastern rite churches this week, Leo has appealed for an end to the war and expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
“I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people. Let everything possible be done to achieve genuine, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. May all the prisoners be freed, and may the children return to their families,” he said Sunday.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said it was “premature” to think of a possible papal visit to Kyiv, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had also suggested during a first phone call with Leo on Monday.
The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality. Leo has vowed “every effort” to try to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. “The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace,” he said on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court seemed intent Thursday on maintaining a block on President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship while looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders.
It was unclear what such a decision might look like, but a majority of the court expressed concerns about would happen if the Trump administration were allowed, even temporarily, to deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States illegally.
The justices heard arguments in the Trump administration’s emergency appeals over lower court orders that have kept the citizenship restrictions on hold across the country.
Nationwide injunctions have emerged as an important check on Trump’s efforts to remake the government and a source of mounting frustration to the Republican president and his allies.
Judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since Trump began his second term in January, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court at the start of more than two hours of arguments.
Birthright citizenship is among several issues, many related to immigration, that the administration has asked the court to address on an emergency basis.
The justices also are considering the Trump administration’s pleas to end humanitarian parole for more than 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela and to strip other temporary legal protections from another 350,000 Venezuelans. The administration remains locked in legal battles over its efforts to swiftly deport people accused of being gang members to a prison in El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act.
Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term that would deny citizenship to children who are born to people who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
The order conflicts with a Supreme Court decision from 1898 that held that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment made citizens of all children born on U.S. soil, with narrow exceptions that are not at issue in this case.
States, immigrants and rights group sued almost immediately, and lower courts quickly barred enforcement of the order while the lawsuits proceed.
The current fight is over the rules that apply while the lawsuits go forward.
The court’s liberal justices seemed firmly in support of the lower court rulings that found the changes to citizenship that Trump wants to make would upset the settled understanding of birthright citizenship that has existed for more than 125 years.
Birthright citizenship is an odd case to use to scale back nationwide injunctions, Justice Elena Kagan said. “Every court has ruled against you,” she told Sauer.
If the government wins on today’s arguments, it could still enforce the order against people who haven’t sued, Kagan said. “All of those individuals are going to win. And the ones who can’t afford to go to court, they’re the ones who are going to lose,” she said.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson described the administration’s approach as “catch me if you can,” forcing everyone to file suit to get “the government to stop violating people’s rights.”
Several conservative justices who might be open to limiting nationwide injunctions also wanted to know the practical effects of such a decision as well as how quickly the court could reach a final decision on the Trump executive order.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh pressed Sauer with a series of questions about how the federal government might enforce Trump’s order.
“What do hospitals do with a newborn? What do states do with a newborn?” he said.
Sauer said they wouldn’t necessarily do anything different, but the government might figure out ways to reject documentation with “the wrong designation of citizenship.”
Kavanaugh continued to push for clearer answers, pointing out that the executive order gave the government only about 30 days to develop a policy. “You think they can get it together in time?” he said.
The Trump administration, like the Biden administration before it, has complained that judges are overreaching by issuing orders that apply to everyone instead of just the parties before the court.
Picking up on that theme, Justice Samuel Alito said he meant no disrespect to the nation’s district judges when he opined that they sometimes suffer from an “occupational disease which is the disease of thinking that ‘I am right and I can do whatever I want.’”
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor was among several justices who raised the confusing patchwork of rules that would result if the court orders were narrowed and new restrictions on citizenship could temporarily take effect in more than half the country.
Some children might be “stateless,” Sotomayor said, because they’d be denied citizenship in the U.S. as well as the countries their parents fled to avoid persecution.
New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum, representing 22 states that sued, said citizenship could “turn on and off” for children crossing the Delaware River between Camden, New Jersey, where affected children would be citizens, and Philadelphia, where they wouldn’t be. Pennsylvania is not part of the lawsuit.
One possible solution for the court might be to find a way to replace nationwide injunctions with certification of a class action, a lawsuit in which individuals serve as representatives of a much larger group of similarly situated people.
One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency firms, Coinbase, says a recent cyber attack will cost it up to $400m (£301m).
The firm said it was contacted by hackers who claimed to have gained access to customer information, obtained by making payments to Coinbase contractors and employees.
In a blog post, Coinbase said the criminals had gained access to “less than 1%” of its customer data, which they then used to impersonate the firm and trick people into handing over their crypto.
The group then demanded $20m from Coinbase to keep it quiet – but it refused to pay the bribe and instead promised to pay back every person who got scammed.
The disclosure prompted the firm’s share price to fall by 4.1%.
The cyber attack comes days before the US company is set to join the benchmark S&P 500 index – a landmark moment for the crypto industry.
It also reflects how, as it grows, the industry has increasingly become a target for cyber criminals.
A report from research firm Chainanalysis suggests funds stolen from crypto businesses totalled $2.2bn in 2024.
“Security remains a challenge for the crypto industry despite its growing mainstream acceptance,” said Nick Jones, founder of crypto firm Zumo.
“As our nascent industry grows rapidly, it draws the eye of bad actors, who are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the scope of their attacks.”
‘Harshest penalties’
The company says it received an email from an “unknown threat actor” on May 11.
“We will reimburse customers who were tricked into sending funds to the attacker,” it said in its statement.
“We’re cooperating closely with law enforcement to pursue the harshest penalties possible and will not pay the $20 million ransom demand we received.
“Instead we are establishing a $20 million reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the criminals responsible for this attack.”
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission, it estimated costs between $180m and $400m.
It said this figure came from “remediation costs and voluntary customer reimbursements”, however this figure could change as a result of “potential losses, indemnification claims, and potential recoveries”.
The staff members who shared customer information with the hackers have been fired.
A court in Thailand has issued 17 arrest warrants for people connected to the building of a skyscraper that collapsed during an earthquake in March.
The 30-storey tower, being built to house the State Audit Office, was felled when Bangkok felt tremors of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck neighbouring Myanmar.
Authorities said they had recovered 89 bodies from the rubble of the tower, while seven remain unaccounted for.
Police investigating the cause of the collapse said the warrants were issued to people involved in the design, construction and building supervision of the tower, local media reported.
Police named only one of the individuals as businessman Premchai Karnasuta, a former president of Italian-Thai Development PLC., one of Thailand’s largest construction firms.
Thai media reported on Thursday that investigators had found structural flaws in a lift shaft in the building. Thai authorities are yet to release their findings into the cause of the building’s collapse.
Footage showed high-rise buildings in Bangkok swaying and water falling from rooftop pools onto the streets below resulting from the strong tremors.
Buildings in the Thai capital emerged from the quake largely unscathed except for the State Audit Office – a tower made of blue glass and steel that was situated opposite the Chatuchak market, a popular tourist attraction.
It had been under construction for three years at a cost of more than two billion Thai baht ($59m; £45m) before it was reduced to rubble.
A man stands inside his shell-hit home in Salamabad, Uri, near the Line of Control in Indian-administered Kashmir
To live along the Line of Control (LoC) – the volatile de facto border that separates India and Pakistan – is to exist perpetually on the razor’s edge between fragile peace and open conflict.
The recent escalation after the Pahalgam attack brought India and Pakistan to the brink once again. Shells rained down on both sides of the LoC, turning homes to rubble and lives into statistics. At least 16 people were reportedly killed on the Indian side, while Pakistan claims 40 civilian deaths, though it remains unclear how many were directly caused by the shelling.
“Families on the LoC are subjected to Indian and Pakistani whims and face the brunt of heated tensions,” Anam Zakaria, a Pakistani writer based in Canada, told the BBC.
“Each time firing resumes many are thrust into bunkers, livestock and livelihood is lost, infrastructure – homes, hospitals, schools – is damaged. The vulnerability and volatility experienced has grave repercussions for their everyday lived reality,” Ms Zakaria, author of a book on Pakistan-administered Kashmir, said.
India and Pakistan share a 3,323km (2,064-mile) border, including the 740km-long LoC; and the International Border (IB), spanning roughly 2,400km. The LoC began as the Ceasefire Line in 1949 after the first India-Pakistan war, and was renamed under the 1972 Simla Agreement.
The LoC cutting through Kashmir – claimed in full and administered in parts by both India and Pakistan – remains one of the most militarised borders in the world. Conflict is never far behind and ceasefires are only as durable as the next provocation.
Ceasefire violations here can range from “low-level firing to major land grabbing to surgical strikes”, says Happymon Jacob, a foreign policy expert at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). (A land grab could involve seizing key positions such as hilltops, outposts, or buffer zones by force.)
The LoC, many experts say, is a classic example of a “border drawn in blood, forged through conflict”. It is also a line, as Ms Zakaria says, “carved by India and Pakistan, and militarised and weaponised, without taking Kashmiris into account”.
Such wartime borders aren’t unique to South Asia. Sumantra Bose, a professor of international and comparative politics at the London School of Economics, says the most well-known is the ‘Green Line’ – the ceasefire line of 1949 – which is the generally recognised boundary between Israel and the West Bank.
Not surprisingly, the tentative calm along the LoC that had endured since the 2021 ceasefire agreement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours crumbled easily after the latest hostilities.
“The current escalation on the LoC and International Border (IB) is significant as it follows a four-year period of relative peace on the border,” Surya Valliappan Krishna of Carnegie India told the BBC.
Violence along the India-Pakistan border is not new – prior to the 2003 ceasefire, India reported 4,134 violations in 2001 and 5,767 in 2002.
The 2003 ceasefire initially held, with negligible violations from 2004 to 2007, but tensions resurfaced in 2008 and escalated sharply by 2013.
Between 2013 and early 2021, the LoC and the IB witnessed sustained high levels of conflict. A renewed ceasefire in February 2021 led to an immediate and sustained drop in violations through to March 2025.
“During periods of intense cross-border firing we’ve seen border populations in the many thousands be displaced for months on end,” says Mr Krishna. Between late September and early December 2016, more than 27,000 people were displaced from border areas due to ceasefire violations and cross-border firing.
It’s looking increasingly hairy and uncertain now.
Tensions flared after the Pahalgam attack, with India suspending the key water-sharing treaty between India and Pakistan, known as the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Pakistan responded by threatening to exit the 1972 Simla Agreement, which formalised the LoC – though it hasn’t followed through yet.
“This is significant because the Simla Agreement is the basis of the current LoC, which both sides agreed to not alter unilaterally in spite of their political differences,” says Mr Krishna.
Mr Jacob says for some “curious reason”, ceasefire violations along the LoC have been absent from discussions and debates about escalation of conflict between the two countries.
“It is itself puzzling how the regular use of high-calibre weapons such as 105mm mortars, 130 and 155mm artillery guns and anti-tank guided missiles by two nuclear-capable countries, which has led to civilian and military casualties, has escaped scholarly scrutiny and policy attention,” Mr Jacob writes in his book, Line On Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Dynamics.
Mr Jacob identifies two main triggers for the violations: Pakistan often uses cover fire to facilitate militant infiltration into Indian-administered Kashmir, which has witnessed an armed insurgency against Indian rule for over three decades. Pakistan, in turn, accuses India of unprovoked firing on civilian areas.
He argues that ceasefire violations along the India-Pakistan border are less the product of high-level political strategy and more the result of local military dynamics.
The hostilities are often initiated by field commanders – sometimes with, but often without, central approval. He also challenges the notion that the Pakistan Army alone drives the violations, pointing instead to a complex mix of local military imperatives and autonomy granted to border forces on both sides.
Some experts believe It’s time to revisit an idea shelved nearly two decades ago: turning the LoC into a formal, internationally recognised border. Others insist that possibility was never realistic – and still isn’t.
“The idea is completely infeasible, a dead end. For decades, Indian maps have shown the entire territory of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India,” Sumantra Bose told the BBC.
“For Pakistan, making the LoC part of the International Border would mean settling the Kashmir dispute – which is Pakistan’s equivalent of the Holy Grail – on India’s preferred terms. Every Pakistani government and leader, civilian or military, over the past seven decades has rejected this.”
In his 2003 book, Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Prof Bose writes: “A Kashmir settlement necessitates that the LoC be transformed – from an iron curtain of barbed wire, bunkers, trenches and hostile militaries to a linen curtain. Realpolitik dictates that the border will be permanent (albeit probably under a different name), but it must be transcended without being abolished.”
“I stressed, though, that such a transformation of the LoC must be embedded in a broader Kashmir settlement, as one pillar of a multi-pillared settlement,” he told the BBC.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced deals totaling more than $200 billion between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, including a $14.5 billion commitment between Boeing (BA.N), GE Aerospace (GE.N), and Etihad Airways, the White House said.
Etihad confirmed on Friday it was ordering 28 wide-body Boeing aircraft with GE engines, adding that the deal reflected the airline’s “ongoing approach to aligning its fleet with evolving network and operational needs.”
The Abu Dhabi-based airline said the planes were expected to join the fleet starting in 2028.
The White House said earlier that Boeing and GE had received a commitment from Etihad to invest $14.5 billion to buy 28 Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft powered by GE engines. GE and Boeing did not comment.
“With the inclusion of the next-generation 777X in its fleet plan, the investment deepens the longstanding commercial aviation partnership between the UAE and the United States, fueling American manufacturing, driving exports,” the White House said.
Etihad has a fleet of around 100 aircraft.
Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves said last month that Etihad planned to add 20 to 22 new planes this year, as it aims to expand its fleet to more than 170 planes by 2030 and boost Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification strategy.
Etihad, which is owned by Abu Dhabi’s $225 billion wealth fund ADQ, has been through a multi-year restructuring and management shake-up, but has expanded under Neves.
He said that 10 of the new aircraft this year would be Airbus A321LRs, which the carrier launched on Monday and will start operating in August. The remainder include six Airbus A350s and four Boeing 787s.
Nirav Modi, who has been facing fraud and money laundering charges in India, has been in prison in London for nearly six years after losing his extradition battle.
Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi
In a major setback for fugitive Indian diamond merchant and businessman Nirav Deepak Modi, his latest bail petition was rejected by London High Court, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Thursday.
Modi, who has been facing fraud and money laundering charges in India, has been in prison in London for nearly six years after losing his extradition battle.
The probe agency said that the bail petition has been rejected by the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London. It said that the bail arguments were strongly opposed by the Crown Prosecution Service with the help of a CBI team which had travelled to London.
“Fresh bail petition filed by Nirav Deepak Modi was rejected Thursday by the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division, London. The bail arguments were strongly opposed by the Crown Prosecution Service advocate, who was ably assisted by a strong CBI team consisting of investigating and law officers who travelled to London for this purpose,” the probe agency said in a statement.
Nirav Modi — one of India’s most wanted in connection with the Rs. 6498.20 crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud case — has been in a jail in UK since March 2019. This was his 10th bail petition.
“This was his 10th bail petition since his detention in the UK, which was successfully defended by the CBI through the Crown Prosecution Service, London,” the probe agency said.
The UK High Court has already approved his extradition to India in the favour of the Indian government so he can face the law.
Nirav Modi’s uncle Mehul Choksi, a co-accused in the PNB fraud case, was last month arrested by the authorities in Belgium where he had gone for treatment.
Charges Against Nirav Modi
Nirav Modi had fled India in January 2018, weeks before the PNB scam surfaced and has been in a UK jail since March 2019.
The 55-year-old diamond merchant along with his uncle has been accused of siphoning off over Rs 13,000 crore from the PNB using fraudulent letters of undertaking and foreign letters of credit.
Officials at PNB’s Brady House branch in Mumbai issued letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) to their firms without any sanctioned limit or cash margin and without making entries in the bank’s central system to evade any scrutiny in case of a default.
Based on the LoUs issued by the PNB, money was lent by the SBI, Mauritius; Allahabad Bank, Hong Kong; Axis Bank, Hong Kong; Bank of India, Antwerp; Canara Bank, Mamana; and SBI, Frankfurt.
Since the accused companies did not repay the amount availed against the said fraudulent LoUs and FLCs, PNB made the payments, including the overdue interest, to the overseas banks, which advanced buyer’s credit and discounted the bills against the fraudulent LoUs and FLCs issued by the PNB, the CBI alleged.
Nirav Modi was declared a fugitive economic offender by a Mumbai court in 2020 and the court had ordered confiscation of his assets.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and Tehran had “sort of” agreed to the terms.
“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump said on a tour of the Gulf, according to a shared pool report by AFP.
“We’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this… there (are) two steps to doing this, there is a very, very nice step and there is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way,” he said.
However, an Iranian source familiar with the negotiations said there were still gaps to bridge in the talks with the U.S. Oil prices fell by about $2 on Thursday on expectations of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in sanctions easing.
Talks between Iranian and U.S. negotiators to resolve disputes over Tehran’s nuclear programme ended in Oman on Sunday with further negotiations expected, officials said, as Tehran publicly insisted on continuing its uranium enrichment.
The Trump administration gave Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations on Sunday, a U.S. official and two other sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Axios.
But a senior Iranian official said Tehran had not received any fresh proposal from the United States to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, adding that Iran would never compromise on its right to enrich uranium on its soil.
Though Tehran and Washington have both said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the dispute, they remain divided on several red lines that negotiators will have to circumvent to reach a new deal and avert future military action.
In an interview with NBC News published on Wednesday, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran was willing to agree to a deal with the U.S. in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion in Doha, Qatar, May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Purchase Licensing Rights
Ali Shamkhani, the adviser, said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons and getting rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, NBC reported.
However, the senior Iranian official told Reuters that “the idea of sending enriched uranium above 5% is not new and has always been part of negotiations with the U.S.”
“It is a complex and technical issue and depends on the other party’s readiness to effectively and verifiably lift sanctions on Iran,” the official said.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly said that among Tehran’s red lines was reducing the amount of highly enriched uranium stockpile to a level below what was agreed under Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers, which Trump ditched in 2018.
‘RED LINE’
U.S. officials have publicly stated that Iran should halt uranium enrichment, a stance Iranian officials have called a “red line” asserting they will not give up what they view as Iran’s right as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). However, they have indicated a willingness to reduce the level of enrichment.
Iran’s clerical establishment is ready to accept some limits on its uranium enrichment, Iranian authorities have said, but in return Tehran wants the lifting of crippling sanctions imposed since 2018 and also watertight guarantees that Trump would not again ditch a nuclear pact.
Iranian sources, close to the negotiation team, said that while Iran is prepared to offer what it considers concessions, “the issue is that America is not willing to lift major sanctions in exchange.”
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs Al Udeid Air Base, en-route to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in Doha, Qatar, May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Purchase Licensing Rights
President Donald Trump on Thursday reiterated his desire to take over the Gaza Strip, telling a business roundtable in Qatar that the U.S. would “make it a freedom zone” and arguing there was nothing left to save in the Palestinian territory.
Trump first pitched his Gaza idea in February, saying the U.S. would redevelop it and force Palestinians to go elsewhere. The plan drew global condemnation, with Palestinians, Arab nations and the U.N. saying it would amount to ethnic cleansing.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is internally displaced as Israel presses a military assault that has killed nearly 53,000 Palestinians and ravaged much of the enclave. Israel began its assault after the October 2023 Hamas attack.
Speaking to a group of officials and business leaders in Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’ political office in Doha for years, Trump said he has “concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: Make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved”.
Trump said he had seen “aerial shots where, I mean, there’s practically no building standing. It’s not like you’re trying to save something. There’s no buildings. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable.”
“I want to see that (Gaza) be a freedom zone. And if it’s necessary, I think I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone. Let some good things happen.”
Trump has previously said he wants to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Palestinians vehemently reject any plan involving them leaving Gaza, comparing such ideas to the 1948 “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the war that led to the creation of Israel. Many say they would rather live in the ruins of their homes.
Commenting on Trump’s remarks in Qatar, Hamas official Basem Naim said the president “possesses the necessary influence” to end the Gaza war and help establish a Palestinian state.
But Naim added: “Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian land – it is not real estate for sale on the open market.”
Direct U.S. involvement in Gaza would draw Washington deeper into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and potentially mark its biggest Middle East intervention since its 2003 Iraq invasion. Many Americans view foreign entanglements with skepticism.
Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken as hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
India and Pakistan engaged in a conflict earlier this month after Pakistan intervened on behalf of terrorists and tried to attack Indian civilian and military installations.
India conducted airstrikes inside Pakistan after its forces intervened on behalf of terrorists India was targeting. The Pakistan-backed terrorists had slaughtered 26 innocent civilians in Pahalgam. (IMAGE: REUTERS)
The Indian Army on Thursday said that following the understanding reached between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan on May 10, both sides have agreed to continue confidence-building measures aimed at reducing alertness levels along the border.
The decision was conveyed in a communication issued by the Indian Army on Thursday.
“As the situation develops further, we shall intimate you,” the note added.
Meanwhile, a report by news agency AFP which cited Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, said that the ceasefire has been agreed upon until Sunday. The Minister told the Pakistan National Assembly that both sides had “military to military communications” on Wednesday and Thursday and “today we had a conversation and it is a ceasefire until May 18″.
The Indian Army has contested Pakistan’s claim that another round of DGMO-level communication took place on Wednesday.
James Comey posted a photo of a shell formation on Instagram that appeared to read “8647.” Some claimed it was a veiled threat to “eliminate” Donald Trump.
James Comey posted a photo of a shell formation that appeared to read “8647.” (Instagram/ James Comey)
Former FBI Director James Comey sparked controversy on social media after posting a photo of a shell formation on Instagram that appeared to read “8647.” The image quickly drew accusations from some users, who claimed it was a veiled threat to “eliminate” President Donald Trump.
Amid the backlash, Comey deleted the post and issued a public statement to clarify his intent.
“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down,” he wrote on Instagram.
NEW: James Comey deletes his “8647” post from Instagram and posts a “clarification” post, claims he had no clue the numbers were associated with violence.
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence …”
The number 86 is American slang that generally means to “get rid of,” “eject,” or “remove.” Meanwhile, 47 may be a reference to the 47th President of the United States. This interpretation fueled speculation that “8647” implied a threat to “eliminate” Trump.
Reactions
Donald Trump Jr slammed Comey, writing, “Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered. This is who the Dem-Media worships. Demented!!!!”
Trump ally Laura Loomer also criticized him, saying, “Former FBI Director James Comey @Comey just posted this on his Instagram 2 hours ago, with the caption “cool shell formation on my beach walk”. It’s a pic of shells in the form of “86 47”. This is a call for the assassination of President Trump by the former FBI Director!”
An X user commented, “He expects us to believe that he a man that was I charge of the FBI is unaware of gang/ mafia code speak? I don’t buy it, I think it should warrant an investigation at bare minimum… James Comey is a vindictive person and dangerous!”
Another user wrote, “This code has been in use for over 3 months now. He knows what it means, and he knows other people have been arrested over it.”
Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine are expected to take place on Friday in Istanbul, Turkey. This will be the first time the two countries have held such talks in three years amid the ongoing war. DW has more.
Turkey has been an important mediator amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and was involved in brokering a Black Sea grain deal (FILE: November 2, 2022)Image: Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Guterres says Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the course of the possible peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
“A just peace means respecting the UN Charter, international law, and Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This will not be easy,” Guterres told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
According to the UN chief, the principle of territorial integrity is of the utmost importance. “It is fundamental to peace and security in the world,” Guterres said, adding that if the principle of territorial integrity no longer applied, it would lead to an increase in conflicts.
Nevertheless, he observed the ongoing peace efforts with optimism. Guterres expressed confidence that a ceasefire could be reached without preconditions to create the basis for a just peace between Russia and Ukraine.
UK’s Starmer says Putin ‘must pay the price for avoiding peace’
Ahead of a European Political Community meeting in Albania, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “must pay the price for avoiding peace.”
“Putin’s tactics to dither and delay, while continuing to kill and cause bloodshed across Ukraine, (are) intolerable,” Starmer said in a statement.
The European Political Community summit is taking place on the same day that talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are expected to begin in Turkey.
Lawyers for Combs sought to portray Cassie to the jury as a willing and eager participant in the music mogul’s sexual lifestyle.
FILE – Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean “Diddy” Combs, arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story” at the Writers Guild Theater, June 21, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP File)
R&B singer Cassie was pressed to read aloud her own explicit messages to ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs in federal court Thursday (May 15), including texts that showed her expressing desire for the drug-fuelled group sex she previously testified left her traumatised.
Lawyers for Combs sought to portray Cassie to the jury as a willing and eager participant in the music mogul’s sexual lifestyle. Combs has pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. His defence says that, while he could be violent, nothing he did amounted to a criminal enterprise.
Prosecutors say he exploited his status as a powerful music executive to violently force Cassie and other women into these marathon encounters with sex workers, called “freak-offs”, which sometimes lasted days. Combs insists all the sex was consensual. He’s also accused of using his entourage and employees to facilitate illegal activities, including prostitution-related transportation and coercion, which is a key element of the federal charges.
Messages between Combs and Cassie – both romantic and lurid – were the focus of the fourth day of testimony in a Manhattan courtroom. Defence attorney Anna Estevao read what Combs wrote, while Cassie recited her own messages about what she wanted to do during the freak-offs. Cassie’s testimony will resume Friday.
Combs, 55, has been jailed since September. He faces at least 15 years in prison if convicted.
DEFENCE HIGHLIGHTS CASSIE’S MESSAGES TO COMBS
While Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, has said she felt compelled to participate in freak-offs to keep Combs happy, Estevao pointed to message exchanges where Cassie appeared excited about the sexual encounters and raised the idea of having one on her own.
In August 2009, Combs asked when she wanted the next encounter to be, and she replied: “I’m always ready to freak off.” Two days later, Cassie sent an explicit message and he replied in eager anticipation. She responded: “Me Too, I just want it to be uncontrollable.”
Later that year, however, she also sent Combs messages that she was frustrated with the state of their relationship and needed something more from him than sex.
Estevao also noted a July 2013 text message exchange where Cassie wrote to Combs, “Wish we could’ve FO’d before you left”, using the initials of freak-off.
In a 2017 text message, Cassie told Combs: “I love our FOs when we both want it.” On the stand Thursday, Cassie explained: “I would say loving FOs were just words at that point.”
Cassie complained at one point that jurors weren’t hearing the full context of the messages the defence was highlighting, saying, “There’s a lot we skipped over.”
Combs’ attorney presented Cassie with sexual texts she sent before a 2016 encounter at a Los Angeles hotel, where Combs was caught on surveillance video kicking and dragging her in a hallway. Cassie said she wanted to get the encounter over with, in order to keep Combs happy and avoid a scene ahead of a movie premier she was attending days later.
Estevao raised instances of Cassie’s anger with Combs and her admitted jealousy over attention he gave other women. Cassie said Combs didn’t want her seeing anyone else, but the same rules didn’t apply to him.
Cassie testified that after a few years with Combs she longed to be a bigger part of his life but he wouldn’t let her in. Their relationship lasted from 2007 to 2018.
A PACKED COURTROOM WATCHES CASSIE’S TESTIMONY
The cross-examination didn’t have the combative tone of a stereotypical defence grilling. Estevao spoke gently, and she and Cassie seemed like two friends chatting at times.
The 38-year-old Cassie – who is in the third trimester of pregnancy with her third child – has held up well on the witness stand. She cried several times during the previous two days of questions by the prosecution, but for the most part has remained composed and matter-of-fact as she spoke about the most sensitive subjects.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.
As the explicit messages were read, Combs appeared relaxed at the defence table, sitting back with his hands folded and legs crossed. The courtroom was packed with family and friends of Combs, journalists, and a row of spectator seats occupied by Cassie’s supporters including her husband.
During a break, Combs stood at the table, huddling with his lawyers, holding a pack of Post-It notes in one hand and a pen in the other. At one point, he turned to the gallery and acknowledged a few reporters who were studying his demeanor. “How you doing?” he asked. Combs’ daughters were not in the courtroom Thursday.
Jurors leaned forward in their seats to follow along as the messages were displayed on monitors in front of them in the jury box. One woman shook her head as a particularly explicit message was shown. A man stared intently at the screen, pressing his thumb to his chin. Other jurors appeared curious and quizzical, some looking at Cassie or jotting notes.
DEFENCE DRAWS A COMPARISON TO THE ‘SWINGERS LIFESTYLE’, BUT CASSIE PUSHES BACK
While prosecutors have focused on Combs’ desire to see Cassie having sex with other men, she testified that she sometimes watched Combs have sex with other women. She said Combs described it as part of a “swingers lifestyle”.
Estevao asked Cassie directly whether she thought freak-offs were related to that lifestyle.
“In a sexual way,” Cassie responded, before adding: “They’re very different.”
Cassie said Tuesday that Combs was obsessed with a form of voyeurism where “he was controlling the whole situation”. The freak-offs took place in private, often in dark hotel rooms, unlike Combs’ very public parties that attracted A-list celebrities.
She testified she sometimes took IV fluids to recover from the encounters, and eventually developed an opioid addiction because it made her “feel numb” afterward.
Cassie’s testimony on cross-examination was in contrast to previous days, when she described the violence and shame that accompanied her “hundreds” of freak-offs during her relationship with Combs.
S Jaishankar’s call to Mr Muttaqi comes days after the Taliban, which New Delhi is yet to officially recognise, condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians, all tourists, were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists in a religiously-motivated attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
EAM S Jaishankar spoke to Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday
Scripting a new chapter in regional dynamics, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday spoke with the Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi over an official phone call. The call assumes significance as it is the first ministerial-level outreach by India to Afghanistan’s Taliban administration.
Dr Jaishankar’s call to Mr Muttaqi comes days after Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, which New Delhi is yet to officially recognise, condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians, all tourists, were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists in a religiously-motivated attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
‘MINISTERIAL-LEVEL TALKS – A FIRST WITH TALIBAN’
In a post on social media platform X shortly after the phone call, Dr Jaishankar wrote, “Good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening. Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.” He added that during the discussion he “underlined our (India’s) traditional friendship with the Afghan people and continuing support for their development needs. Discussed ways and means of taking cooperation forward.”
‘A REBUTTAL TO PAKISTAN’
Countering Pakistan’s false narrative of linking the Taliban to the incidents in Jammu and Kashmir and India’s response to it, Dr Jaishankar wrote that he welcomed Mr Muttaqi’s “firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and baseless reports” in the Pakistani media.
Good conversation with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi this evening.
Deeply appreciate his condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
Welcomed his firm rejection of recent attempts to create distrust between India and Afghanistan through false and…
According to Taliban’s Director of Communication Hafiz Zia Ahmad, during the call, Mr Muttaqi asked Dr Jaishankar to provide more visas to Afghan nationals, especially to those seeking medical attention. He also mentioned that bilateral trade, release and return of Afghan prisoners in Indian jails, and development of the Chabahar Port in Iran were discussed.
The senior Taliban official shared a series of posts in the Pashto language, which broadly listed what was discussed between the two ministers.
د ا.ا.ا. د بهرنیو چارو وزیر محترم مولوي امیر خان متقي او د هند جمهوریت د بهرنیو چارو وزیر ښاغلي جې شنکر ټيلیفوني خبرې وکړې.
په دې مکالمه کې د دوو اړخیزو اړیکو پر پیاوړتیا، تجارت او د دیپلوماتیکو اړیکو د کچې پر لوړولو خبرې وشوې. pic.twitter.com/weErRrvARu
Discussion on Chabahar Port assumes importance at a time when India and Pakistan have completely ended all trade ties and closed its border posts in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. Being a land-locked country, Afghanistan feels the impact, as it depends on land routes via Pakistan to reach India.
India and Afghanistan share a land border too, but that has remained cut-off by Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or PoK since 1947. The only other option for trade is via the Chabahar Port in Iran.
‘FOSTERING TIES WITH THE TALIBAN’
India and the Taliban administration have been taking steps to strengthen ties since August 2021, when the regime came to power after US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan. Over the years, a series of meetings between Indian diplomats and Taliban officials have worked towards broader cooperation between the two countries which have shared historic ties.
Though ties have not yet normalised, India’s policy towards Afghanistan under the Taliban regime has been focused on providing humanitarian aid and the well-being of Afghan citizens. Diplomatic initiatives have also been ongoing towards bringing normalcy to ties.
As recently as April 27 this year, days after the Pahalgam terror attack, senior Indian diplomat Anand Prakash visited Kabul as tensions peaked between New Delhi and Islamabad over “cross-border terror links”. Mr Prakash held a meeting with Mr Muttaqi during the visit.
‘DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENTS’
Other key visits by senior Indian diplomats include those by Mr JP Singh, who visited Afghanistan twice last year – in March to meet acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and in November to meet the acting defence minister Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid. Both meetings happened in Kabul.
Besides the meetings in Afghanistan, a high-level meeting also took place in Dubai in January this year, when foreign secretary Vikram Misri, along with an Indian delegation met Taliban’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and an Afghan delegation. The two leaders held wide-ranging bilateral talks, including on Chabahar Port.
The meeting in Dubai was aimed at bolstering cooperation over humanitarian aid, developmental assistance, trade, commerce, sports, cultural ties, regional security, and projects of national interest.
‘CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES’
In recent times, the Government of India has also permitted the Taliban to gradually take control of the Afghan missions in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad in order to provide consular services to its nationals in India and assist those coming from Afghanistan to India on business or to study, or get medical care.
Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks: The Istanbul delegation will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and will include military and intelligence officials.
Zelenskyy also said that Russia “does not genuinely want to end the war.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday announced that a Ukrainian delegation will participate in talks with Russia in Istanbul, with the primary goal of achieving a ceasefire.
The Istanbul delegation will be led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and will include military and intelligence officials.
Talks between Ukrainian and Russian diplomats are scheduled to take place in Istanbul today, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry source quoted by the German news agency dpa, as reported by DW News.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, “I want to sincerely thank President @RTErdogan, his team, and the people of Turkiye for their support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. President Erdogan reaffirmed during our meeting today that he supports Ukraine and recognises Crimea as part of Ukraine. We demonstrated the strength and seriousness of our delegation, which includes: the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Head of the Office of the President, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of the General Staff, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, and representatives of all our intelligence agencies.”
“I want to emphasise that Turkiye has welcomed us with a delegation of equal standing — at the highest level. Unfortunately, after learning the composition of the Russian delegation, it became clear that they are not approaching real talks seriously,” the post added.
Despite expressing doubts about Russia’s commitment to negotiations, Zelenskyy emphasised that Ukraine is proceeding with the talks out of respect for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy said, “Nevertheless, despite the extremely low level of the Russian delegation, out of respect — for President Trump, for the high-level delegations present in Turkiye, and for President Erdogan, and out of a sincere desire to take at least the first steps toward de-escalation and ending the war, beginning with a ceasefire. I have decided to send a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul. Not all members of our delegation will go: the Head of the Security Service and the Chief of the General Staff will not attend. However, the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul will be led by the Minister of Defence, Rustem Umerov. He will be joined by military professionals and intelligence officers.”
Zelenskyy further said that Russia is not taking the talks seriously and “does not genuinely want to end the war.”
Shehbaz Sharif added that the “conditions for peace” include the Kashmir issue.
Shehbaz Sharif extended an offer of talks to India.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday extended an offer of talks to India, saying Pakistan is ready to engage “for peace”.
Shehbaz made the comments during a visit to the Kamra air base in the country’s Punjab province where he interacted with officers and soldiers involved in the recent military confrontation with India.
“We are ready to talk with it (India) for peace,” he said.
The prime minister added that the “conditions for peace” include the Kashmir issue.
India has maintained that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh “are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of it”.
Shehbaz was accompanied to the airbase by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Army Chief General Asim Munir, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu.
This was the prime minister’s second visit to a defence facility following the understanding reached between India and Pakistan India on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes. India launched Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6 and 7 to avenge the killings of 26 people in the Pahalgam terror attack.
Indian armed forces targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists.
A CHEAP copy of the monumental Magna Carta bought by Harvard University for $27 is actually an original worth a whopping $21million (£16million).
The jaw-dropping revelation came after two researchers analysed the “print” – but realised it was in fact a rare version of the document issued by Edward I.
The original Magna Carta established in 1215 famously stated that the King is subject to law.
The landmark charter, intended to make peace between King John and rebel barons in the 13th century, has formed the basis of constitutions globally.
Until now, it was believed that there were only four copies of the 1215 original and just six copies of the 1300 version.
But the groundbreaking discovery has now changed that fact – bringing the total amount of 1300 copies to seven.
Professor of medieval history at King’s College London David Carpenter said his reaction was one of “amazement, and in a way, awe”.
He had been searching the Harvard Law School Library website in December 2023 when he found the digitised document.
The researcher said: “First, I’d found one of the most rare documents and most significant documents in world constitutional history.
“But secondly, of course, it was astonishment that Harvard had been sitting on it for all these years without realizing what it was.”
Carpenter then teamed up with Nicholas Vincent, a professor of medieval history at the University of East Anglia to analyse and confirm the document’s origin.
Comparing it wit six other authentic copies from 1300, they made the shocking discovery that the dimensions matched up.
The pair then turned to images Harvard librarians created using ultraviolet light and spectral imaging.
This technology helps to highlight details on faded documents which are not perceivable to the naked eye.
With these images, they compared the text word-for-word and handwriting which included a large capital “E” at the start of “Edwardus”.
Although the first version 1250 was annulled, the charter was reissued in 1300 by Edward I.
It promised protection of church rights, limits on taxes and access to impartial justice.
Four of its clauses, including the guarantee of fair legal process, have survived and are still enshrined in law to this day.
Carpenter said the 1300 edition of Magna Carta was “different from the previous versions in a whole series of small ways and the changes are found in every single one”.
Harvard needed a copy that could prove authenticity, and Carpenter said they passed this test “with flying colours”.
The tattered and faded copy is now worth millions of dollars – a 1297 version of the Magna Carta sold at auction for $21.3million in 2007.
But Harvard have no plans to sell it now.
The mysterious journey it took to end up in the hands of the university was uncovered mainly by Vincent, who traced it back to the former parliamentary borough of Appleby in Westmorland, England.
The Harvard Law School library purchased the “copy” in 1946 from a London-based book dealer for a mere $27.50.
It was wrongly dated as a 1327 version when it was bought.
What is the Magna Carta?
by Harvey Geh
The Magna Carta, signed in 1215, was a landmark English document that limited the king’s power and established the principle that everyone, including the monarch, is subject to the law.
It sought to prevent the king from exploiting his power, and placed limits of royal authority by establishing law as a power in itself.
The first version of Magna Carta was issued in 1215 at Runnymede – a field by the River Thames between Windsor and Staines, during a political crisis and uprising against the king.
Sealed charters granting rights were issued by lords and kings, but this one was unique because it came from a rebellion by England’s leading nobles.
Magna Carta means Great Charter in Latin.
The document contained a total of 63 different clauses, setting out rules concerning land ownership, taxes and legal rights.
The researcher then determined the document was sent to an auction house in 1945 via a World War pilot.
War hero Forester Maynard inherited the archives from Thomas and John Clarkson – leading campaigners against the slave trade.
Thomas Clarkson had become friends with William Lowther, hereditary lord of the manor of Appleby.
Vincent speculates the lord gave the document to Clarkson.
The researcher said there was “a chain of connection there, as it were, a smoking gun” but there lacked clear proof that it was the Appleby Magna Carta.
“But it seems to me very likely that it is,” he said.
SEAN “Diddy” Combs overdosed after partying at the Playboy Mansion, his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura testified on day four of the disgraced rap mogul’s federal sex trafficking trial.
Cassie said she and Combs were addicted to painkillers throughout their 10-year relationship, but alleged that the drugs sparked even more physical abuse and manipulation from her ex.
Cassie Ventura heading to day four of Sean ‘Diddy’ Comb’s federal sex trafficking trial in New York City on ThursdayCredit: Cover Images
Cassie, the government’s star witness, has testified for three days about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Combs, who she alleges raped her when she was dating her now-husband Alex Fine.
As the defense tried to prove she was a consenting adult in Combs’ drug-fueled sex marathons called “freak-offs” during cross-examination on Thursday, she spoke about his reported opiate use.
She said the two were “very much” dependent on opiates and that it led to a scary overdose in February 2012 after the couple went to a sex club in San Bernardino, California.
“And then he had a party at the Playboy Mansion that night, and I went home,” Cassie recalled on the stand.
“From what he told me, he took a really strong opioid that night. But we didn’t know what happened, so we took him to the hospital.”
Cassie said Combs would have “explosive” reactions to her taking drugs without him, and that they called themselves the “Get High Partners.”
She said she witnessed Combs go through withdrawals throughout their relationship, where he would become angry and volatile. Combs has yet to respond to the claims.
Cassie testified that opiates were a huge part of the twisted “freak-offs” that Combs allegedly forced her to take part in and that she would take them to cope with the disturbing ordeals.
CASSIE’S TESTIMONY
Over her first two days of questioning by prosecutors, Cassie recounted details of multiple “freak-offs” and violent episodes.
Cassie told the court Combs made incessant demands for orgies, which took place weekly and would last for up to four days as she took drugs including cocaine, ecstasy, and mushrooms to stay awake.
She said she was terrified to refuse Combs’ orders out of fear he would hurt her and share videos of the “freak-offs.”
Combs faces five criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The rapper has pleaded not guilty to all charges as prosecutors continue to paint him as the ringleader of a criminal enterprise.
He has denied all allegations against him and insists he’s only engaged in consensual sex.
What to know about the jury
A dozen New Yorkers and six alternates were chosen to serve on the jury in Sean Combs’ federal sex trafficking trial.
The 12 selected jurors consist of eight men and four women, including:
Man, 31, investment analyst
Man, 39, social worker
Man, 41, communications clerk at a prison system facility
Man, 51, scientist
Man, 67, bank analyst
Man, 68, retired finance worker
Man, 68, retired telecommunications field technician
Man, 69, massage therapist and actor
Woman, 30, deli clerk
Woman, 42, nursing home dietary aide
Woman, 43, physician assistant
Woman, 74, former treatment coordinator at a charity for blind people
Picture of Combs from February 2012
Cassie Ventura testified on Thursday that Sean “Diddy” Combs once overdosed on opiates on a night he partied at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills in 2012.
Below are pictures from February 12, 2012, when Combs performed during a Grammy Party at the Playboy Mansion.
The Israeli army continued its operation in the Gaza Strip, carrying out multiple strikes for the second night in a row. Israel’s government has vowed a “full force” push into the Palestinian enclave to “destroy Hamas.”
Israel’s government vowed to intensify its operation in GazaImage: Hatem Khaled/REUTERS
Multiple Israeli airstrikes and shelling killed dozens across the Gaza Strip overnight into Thursday.
Gaza’s civil defense agency, Palestinian medics and the WAFA news agency reported different death tolls ranging from 40 to 60 people.
According to a Gaza civil agency spokesperson, at least 13 people were “recovered from the rubble” after a strike in Khan Younis, a city located in southern Gaza, where the latest strikes have been concentrated.
It was the second day of heavy bombing in the Gaza Strip, with the Associated Press reporting airstrikes throughout Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 60 people, including 22 children.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.
No ceasefire renewal in sight
The expanded strikes come as the Israeli government approved plans to expand its military operation in Gaza.
Despite polls showing the majority of the Israeli public would like its government to reach a hostage deal which would end the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push ahead with further escalating Israel’s war to destroy the Hamas militant group, which Israel, the United States, the European Union and other countries designate as a terrorist organization.
In comments released Tuesday by Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission … It means destroying Hamas.”
Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza, which came in retaliation for the October 2023 terrorist attack orchestrated by Hamas, has killed nearly 53,000 people mostly civilians, according to figures by the Hamas-run health ministry in the strip, which the United Nations considers reliable.
Since Israel broke a ceasefire with Hamas on March 18, almost 3,000 people have been killed.
Israel has also prevented any international aid from entering the Gaza Strip since mid-March. International aid agencies warn of mass starvation in Gaza if more food aid is not allowed.
How General Asim Munir sparked and used the recent India-Pakistan conflict to solidify his leadership and his Army’s stature even as the country struggles with political and economic challenges.
Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir has turned the country’s military drubbing at the hands of India into a public relations coup (Photo: AI generated by India Today Digital/Rahul Gupta)
The latest India-Pakistan conflagration ended in a ceasefire and Donald Trump ran away with the trophy, leaving the contestants confused. The curtains have fallen, the smoke has cleared, and the scorecards are in. India has delivered a knockout in a clear win, reasserting its dominance and resetting the deterrence.
But Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif declared “he won” before the marks were fully counted. The streets from Peshawar to Chichawatni erupted in celebrations, blissfully unaware that their airfields now resemble Swiss cheese and their military sites have been given a rather aggressive facelift by Indian strikes. Who needs facts when you have a PR machine that could make Lollywood blush?
On this side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Adampur Airbase to debunk Pakistan’s much-touted claim of reducing it to rubble. Modi’s photo-op was the diplomatic equivalent of a mic drop.
There are no winners or losers in 21st-Century wars, only parties left with more damage or less. This four-day war had a winner: Asim Munir.
While Pakistan’s military licked its wounds, Munir has spun this debacle into a personal coronation. The man who recently stood on a stage, invoking the two-nation theory and vowing to “crush the enemy, inshallah,” has delivered not victory, but something far more valuable: relevance.
THE ARMY’S REVENGE
Two years ago, on May 9, 2023, the unthinkable had happened. Supporters of the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan turned against the army. They rioted with such ferocity that they desecrated military symbols and stormed the homes of top officers. For the first time, the Army, once revered as the nation’s saviour, was the villain in the public’s eyes.
General Asim Munir is his predecessor General Bajwa’s revenge on Pakistan and Imran Khan. The Bajwa doctrine was a shift from Pakistan’s rigid “bleed India with thousand cuts” as he realised Pakistan was reduced in stature after every skirmish with India. He wanted a moratorium till Pakistan was economically strong enough to stand on its own feet. But Khan, the most popular, and Bajwa, the most powerful, fell out and, on his way out, Bajwa installed Asim Munir in his seat.
As the saying goes, the Pakistani Army has never won a war and never lost an election. True to form, Munir’s Army orchestrated a compromised election, banned Khan’s party, and installed Shahbaz Sharif as Prime Minister. The people grumbled, but the Army marched on.
Munir, addressing a meeting of overseas Pakistanis, suggested that he had a surprise for India and the Hindus. The Pahalgam terrorist attack in Kashmir followed. No direct link. Yet all intelligence suggests somebody in the ISI, Pakistan’s subversive spy agency, greenlit the operation.
The gruesome massacre of 26 tourists set the stage for this latest flare-up. India vowed retaliation and launched pinpointed strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan, carefully avoiding civilian and military targets. Pakistan promised escalation and tried to attack India’s military installations and cities with drone swarms and missiles. Nearly all of them were thwarted. India followed up with a devastating pummelling of Pakistan’s military assets, so bad that the US stepped in and brokered a pause.
FROM VILLAN TO DARLING
Munir has turned this military drubbing into a public relations coup. The Pakistani Army, battered and bruised, is once again the nation’s darling. The same public that was burning effigies of generals two years ago is now rallying behind Munir, including Imran Khan’s supporters.
War is the great unifier, and Munir has played it like a virtuoso. The propaganda about shooting down Indian jets, however dubious, has worked wonders domestically. With a media firmly under control and a chorus of paid “foreign analysts” singing his praises, Munir has convinced the masses that Pakistan emerged victorious, and it’s all thanks to his steely leadership.
The sins of the past — rigging elections, jailing Khan, strangling democracy — have been washed away in the blood of soldiers killed in action. The civil society that once dared to question him is now grovelling at his feet. Munir, a hafiz who never misses a chance to recite Quranic verses, has positioned himself not just as an Army chief but as a religious beacon for a nation, high on piety and low on intellect.
The official military spokesman, in a press conference, declared Islam and jihad as the Army’s inspirations. Munir, with his cold, cunning calculus, has tapped into Pakistan’s religious fervour to cement his status as the country’s saviour.
A MAN has tragically fallen to his death after a hot air balloon caught fire during a festival, with the horrifying moment caught on camera.
The 40-year-old man, identified as Luicio N., heroically saved two other passengers before his fatal plunge.
Luicio N, 40, was left hanging in midair as flames tore through the hot air balloon above himCredit: X/fl360aero
Footage shared on social media shows him dangling from a rope as the burning balloon continued to ascend.
The accident occurred during the First Balloon Festival at the Enrique Estrada Fair, roughly 19 miles outside the city of Zacatecas, Mexico, on Sunday.
Luicio and two others were aboard the balloon when it suddenly caught fire on the ground.
In a split-second act of bravery, Luicio pulled the two passengers from the flaming basket, guiding them to safety.
However, in the chaos, he became entangled in the balloon’s lines, and the basket continued to rise.
Hanging from the rope, Luicio was carried higher into the air before finally letting go, falling many feet to the ground.
He was declared dead after the fall, according to Riviera Maya News.
Two other passengers suffered first-degree burns and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The heart-wrenching incident unfolded in front of horrified festival-goers, who witnessed the man’s tragic final moment.
Authorities are now investigating the cause of the fire and the circumstances surrounding the accident.
“I regret to inform you that during the First Balloon Festival, part of the Enrique Estrada 2025 Fair organized by the city council of this municipality, a person lost their life after an unfortunate incident while aboard a hot air balloon,” said Secretary General Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza.
Following the incident, local police recovered Luicio’s body, while paramedics attended to the injured passengers.
The balloon’s owners have reportedly abandoned the remaining balloons at the scene.
The State Attorney General’s Office has now launched an investigation, urging balloon operators to ensure strict safety measures are in place.
“I regret to inform you that during the First Balloon Festival, part of the Enrique Estrada 2025 Fair organized by the city council of this municipality, a person lost their life after an unfortunate incident while aboard a hot air balloon
“We have asked the State Attorney General’s Office to conduct the corresponding investigations to clarify the facts and determine responsibility,” Reyes Mugüerza added.
The horrifying footage quickly spread across social media, with viewers reacting in shock after witnessing the man’s fatal fall.
“You couldn’t pay me enough to go in a hot air balloon or helicopter,” said one user.
“Saddest part is at the moment he ran out of grip the balloon started to descend.”
But it took the American intelligence services almost 10 years to hunt down Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 terror attacks shocked the world.
For years Osama bin Laden managed to evade US authoritiesCredit: AFP
Now, a new Netflix documentary, American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden, charts the nerve-wracking, decade-long global missions to capture the world’s most notorious criminal.
It also examines the costly errors that meant the Al Qaeda leader could have been brought to justice far sooner, with a senior CIA boss candidly admitting they “could have ended it” just months after the atrocity.
From the moment the World Trade Centre fell, US intelligence officers were focused on working out who was responsible.
The CIA immediately got to work trawling the flight manifests – the documents that detailed everyone who was on the hijacked planes that hit the two towers – as the terrorists would be on there too.
Gina Bennett, a CIA counter-terrorism analyst, says: “There was a name on a manifest that was suspected of being a pretty major Al Qaeda operative.
“For years that was the terrorist group that we knew was determined to attack the United States. That name, that moment, there was just no way that was a coincidence. We knew immediately this was Osama bin Laden.”
Gina was part of a crack CIA team, mainly women, who had been focusing on Bin Laden since the Nineties.
Her colleague Cindy Storer says: “We knew that Bin Laden was operating training camps and safe houses against the Soviet Union.
“When the war was over, we discovered he turned those camps into training camps for Islamic militants to go out and attack other countries. We knew they had terrorist capabilities.
“So we didn’t know to what extent they were going to come directly after the US.”
Attacks started across the world, heralding a new wave of terrorism, and in the months before 9/11, there was intelligence that Al Qaeda posed a threat to American targets.
Gina says: “All the indicators were that something big was happening.”
Cindy adds: “We got reporting that people in Bin Laden’s network were calling their mothers and telling them goodbye and stuff like that. Something very serious was about to happen.”
Unimaginable atrocity
The US government was warned by the CIA that the likely targets would be famous landmarks or symbols of US capitalism – but they did not know when or how.
And none of them could have imagined the extent or horror of 9/11 when it did happen.
Cindy says: “You can’t not feel some responsibility for not stopping an attack that occurred on your watch. So you can’t help but question yourself.”
It soon became clear that the Taliban government in Afghanistan were providing a safe haven for Bin Laden, who became the world’s most wanted man after the events of 9/11 left 2,977 people dead.
“We got reporting that people in Bin Laden’s network were calling their mothers and telling them goodbye and stuff like that. Something very serious was about to happen
So America gave them an opportunity to turn him over, which they refused.
Just four days after 9/11, President Bush decided to go to war and put the CIA and its counterterrorism boss, Cofer Black, in charge of hunting him down.
‘Operation Jawbreaker’ sent small teams of CIA agents behind enemy lines to work with their Afghan allies, the Northern Alliance, who were already fighting the Taliban.
And Cofer Black’s instructions were clear – he wanted Bin Laden’s head on a stick to present to President Bush.
By December, the Americans and the Northern Alliance had taken control of all the major Afghan cities – but Bin Laden had got away.
American intelligence located his whereabouts in the mountainous stronghold of Tora Bora, and a team was sent up to find him.
They needed military reinforcements, but they were denied. The decision was made to bomb anyway, despite CIA protestations that they needed support.
The mountain cave was hit for 56 hours with some of the heaviest bombing since World War Two – but there was no proof Bin Laden was dead and fears grew that escape routes had not been sealed off.
Then, six months later, the Americans’ worst fears were realised – film footage emerged proving Bin Laden was alive.
Cofer Black says: “We could have ended it and moved on. It would have given some closure to the survivors in New York.
“This was the best chance we ever had and I am sorry we didn’t take it.”
Hunt for the henchmen
As Bin Laden released another propaganda video, the hunt for him and his henchmen intensified.
The Al Qaeda founder was at the top; after him was his deputy Al Zawahiri. Next in command were a handful of lieutenants who were also very close to Bin Laden.
These were Abu Zubaydah, who was suspected to be Bin Laden’s chief operations operative, and a mysterious figure known only as Mukhtar.
In December 2001, three months after 9/11, a flight attendant on an American airliner thwarted another terror attack when he discovered a passenger with a bomb in his shoes.
The investigators felt they were at a dead end, but then they managed to capture Abu Zubaydah in a raid in Pakistan.
Unbelievably, he cooperated with the FBI and named the mysterious Mukhtar as a man they had been tracking for years – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, known as KSM.
But that was nothing compared to what happened next.
Mastermind unmasked
Zubaydah revealed KSM was not just one of Bin Laden’s closest accomplices, but the chief planner behind the September 11 attacks.
FBI Special Agent Ali Sofan says: “He was the architect, the visionary, the mastermind of 9/11.”
He had been the man behind the first attack on the World Trade Centre back in 1993, but considered it a failure when he failed to topple the towers.
So he found his way to Afghanistan and Al Qaeda and pitched an idea to Osama Bin Laden to target not only the World Trade Centre, but also the Capitol Building and the Pentagon.
After 9/11, KSM went into hiding, but intelligence revealed he was in Pakistan.
In March 2003, they raided his villa in Rawalpindi, and he was captured. But what became clear was that Bin Laden was still very much in charge – and there were real concerns about additional attacks.
In the months that followed came the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 193 people, then the 7/7 bombings in London that left 52 dead.
Cindy Storer says: “There was attack after attack, we knew there could be another attack at any time, anywhere.”
KSM provided information about Al Qaeda as an organisation. But there was one thing he wouldn’t talk about – Bin Laden.
The hunt for Bin Laden stalled. But the terror plots continued – another was uncovered to blow up the New York subway, another to blow up 15 airliners over the US.
Bin Laden was looking for his next 9/11.
Monster hunt
In September 2007, six years after 9/11, Bin Laden released a new videotape proving he was alive and still plotting against the US. But the trail on him had gone cold.
Barack Obama was sworn in as US President, and he told the CIA their number one task was to find Bin Laden.
The CIA analysed every video Bin Laden put out, and the focus was on how he was getting them to the news – there must be a trusted courier.
An Al Qaeda operative arrested in Africa named the courier as Abu Ahmed.
But he proved elusive until the summer of 2010, when they were able to track his phone to Pakistan.
They managed to follow him to a large house in Abbottabad. It was a bigger compound than any other in the area, boasting 18ft tall walls topped with barbed wire. It was clear that someone of high value was located there.
The CIA started immediate surveillance of the compound, but it had no phones or internet, and all their rubbish was burned.
They started to track the women and children who were seen coming and going, and they discovered that there were two families living in the compound – those of Abu Ahmed and his brother.
But then satellite footage revealed that there was a third family living in the house that never left the compound.
There was a man who would come outside every day and walk in the garden, but the walls and security meant it was impossible to get a clear image of his face.
Without exact proof that Bin Laden was there, it was difficult for the President to make a decision to take action against the compound.
If this was a botched operation, his reputation would be in tatters. But he asked the CIA to prepare to go into the compound.
Bin Laden’s reign of terror
By Kevin Adjei-Darko
EVIL mastermind Osama Bin Laden orchestrated some of the deadliest terror attacks the world has ever seen.
As the leader of al-Qaeda, he was the brain behind the September 11, 2001 atrocities that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.
Nineteen hijackers took over four planes, slamming two into the Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon, and another crashing in a field after passengers fought back.
Before 9/11, Bin Laden’s fingerprints were all over other deadly plots. In 1998, he ordered truck bombings at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 and injuring thousands.
In 2000, al-Qaeda struck again with the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 American sailors.
Bin Laden used his fortune and twisted ideology to fund global jihad, radicalise followers, and build terror networks.
The Saudi-born terror chief became the world’s most wanted man, hiding in plain sight in Pakistan for years before U.S. Navy SEALs took him out in a daring 2011 raid.
Admiral William McRaven, head of the Navy Seals, was tasked with planning the raid.
Seal Team Six was sent to Jalalabad, where they built a mock-up of the compound and practised for weeks.
On May 1, 2011, the most classified operation of the last 20 years was launched. Bin Laden’s codename was Geronimo.
As the helicopters carrying the team hovered over the compound, one of them crashed – but miraculously, the Navy Seals walked away.
The crash had awoken the neighbourhood, but the decision was taken to carry on with the mission.
Within minutes, the Seals were within the compound and shot and killed Abu Ahmed.
As they made their way up the stairs, their next target was Bin Laden’s son, Khalid. As the Seals peeled off to search, there were only two of them left to go to the top floor, where Bin Laden could be hiding.
Officer Robert J O’Neill says: “Standing in front of me, two feet away, was Osama Bin Laden. It was one of those moments in life where it did slow down.
Another storied property in Connecticut’s sought-after Thimble Islands is on the market.
Rogers Island, a private 7.65-acre landmass in the Long Island Sound, is back on sale for $29.99 million. Not only is the property $5 million cheaper than when it listed last May — the sellers threw in an extra seaside compound on the mainland to sweeten the pot.
The island, accessible only by boat, includes a 123-year-old Tudor house, a waterfront pool, a putting green and a plethora of outbuildings.
The green oasis served as a summer getaway for the family of its current owner, Greg Jensen, Mansion Global reported. Jensen serves as co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund firm.
Rogers Island spans 7.65 acres. Daniel Milstein for Sotheby’s International Realty
The plural properties, including the extra house on the mainland, relisted on Tuesday with Joseph Barbieri and Leslie McElwreath of Sotheby’s International Realty, as announced by the brokerage in a Tuesday press release. The island previously went on sale last May with a different brokerage for $35 million.
Roger Island’s 8,746-square-foot Tudor house includes 10 bedrooms and two kitchens — one for marbletop entertaining and one tucked away for catering. The island further boasts a saltwater pool with a spa, a poolhouse with a waterside pergola, a gazebo, a tennis court and a putting green.
Barbieri called the idyllic archipelago an “alternative to the Hamptons.”
“You’d never get anything like this for this price,” Barbieri said. “They’re not many of these that exist, period.”
Outbuildings dot the island, including a four-bedroom guest cottage with a kitchen and a commercial-sized greenhouse. A studio cottage with an outdoor shower can double as a spa or an artist’s studio, according to the listing.
The island itself is designed for smooth staff support. Next to the greenhouse are staff quarters with two ensuite bedrooms and kitchenettes. One pier is dedicated for service deliveries, while the other one — with direct access to the main house — is reserved for owners and guests.
The island is named for John Rogers, an original settler in the area. Roger’s family owned the island from 1710 to 1858, according to the listing.
Jensen paid $21.5 million for the property in 2018. Barbieri said the family is parting with the home now that their children have grown up.
Greg Tarzan Davis, from left, editor Eddie Hamilton, Angela Bassett, Tramell Tillman, Tom Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie, Hannah Waddingham, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, and Pom Klementieff take a selfie upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Much of the cinema world has descended on the Cannes Film Festival as the French Riviera extravaganza kicks off its 78th edition.
Three years after flying into the Cannes Film Festival with “Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise returned to the Croisette on Wednesday with “Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning.”
Zoe Saldana poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)Tramell Tillman, from left, director Christopher McQuarrie, Hannah Waddingham, and Angela Bassett take a selfie upon arrival for the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)Halle Berry poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)Andie MacDowell poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)Eva Longoria poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)Cuba Gooding Jr. poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)Pom Klementieff poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)Hayley Atwell, left, and Tom Cruise pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)Tom Cruise poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)Chloe Lecareux poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)Tom Cruise poses for photographers during the photo call for the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)Director Christopher McQuarrie poses for photographers during the photo call for the film ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Starbucks baristas stand on stage, March 20, 2019, during an annual shareholders meeting in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)
More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas at 75 U.S. stores have gone on strike since Sunday to protest a new company dress code, a union representing the coffee giant’s workers said Wednesday.
Starbucks put new limits starting Monday on what its baristas can wear under their green aprons. The dress code requires employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms.
Under the previous dress code, baristas could wear a broader range of dark colors and patterned shirts. Starbucks said the new rules would make its green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers as it tries to establish a warmer, more welcoming feeling in its stores.
But Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents workers at 570 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, said the dress code should be subject to collective bargaining.
“Starbucks has lost its way. Instead of listening to baristas who make the Starbucks experience what it is, they are focused on all the wrong things, like implementing a restrictive new dress code,” said Paige Summers, a Starbucks shift supervisor from Hanover, Maryland. “Customers don’t care what color our clothes are when they’re waiting 30 minutes for a latte.”
Summers and others also criticized the company for selling styles of Starbucks-branded clothing that employees no longer are allowed to wear to work on an internal website. Starbucks said it would give two free black T-shirts to each employee when it announced the new dress code.
Starbucks said Wednesday that the strike was having a limited impact on its 10,000 company-operated U.S. stores. By the union’s own count, less than 1% of Starbucks workers are participating in the strikes, and in some cases the strikes closed stores for less than an hour, the company said.
“It would be more productive if the union would put the same effort into coming back to the table that they’re putting into protesting wearing black shirts to work,” Starbucks said in a statement. “More than 99% of our stores are open today serving customers — and have been all week.”
President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani gesture as they participate in a state dinner at the Lusail Palace, in Doha, Qatar, May 14, 2025. (Photo: AP/Alex Brandon)
State carrier Qatar Airways signed a deal on Wednesday (May 14) to purchase up to 210 widebody jets from Boeing during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf Arab country, a coup for the US planemaker.
The deal for Boeing and 787 planes with GE Aerospace engines was worth US$96 billion, according to the White House. It is a win for Trump on a high-profile visit to the region, even though it will be years before the jets are delivered.
The sale is also a boost for Boeing and its biggest engine supplier at a time when large versions of rival Airbus’ A350, powered by Rolls-Royce engines, have struggled with maintenance problems from operating in the world’s hottest climates, including the Gulf region.
The agreement is for 160 firm orders, 130 787s and 30 777Xs, and options for another 50 of the two long-haul airplanes, according to Boeing. The company’s shares rose 0.6 per cent in New York, while GE Aerospace stock gained 0.7 per cent.
For the 787s, Qatar opted for GE Aerospace’s GEnx engines rather than Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000, according to the administration. GE Aerospace’s GE9X is the only engine option for the 777X.
The deal for 400 GE engines is the largest ever for GE Aerospace, the company’s CEO Larry Culp said in a statement, a point echoed by Qatar Airways, which told Reuters in March that it was working on a large order for widebody jets.
Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani joined a signing ceremony with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer. Trump said Ortberg told him it was the largest jet order in Boeing’s history.
The deal was signed during Trump’s second stop on a tour of Gulf states after he struck a string of deals with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Ghana’s Parliament has reignited controversy with a its anti-LGBTQ+ bill, sparking intense debate on its impact on family values and human rights.
The Ghanaian bill intensifies a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ+ people and those accused of ‘promotion’ of sexual and gender minority rightsImage: Misper Apawu/AP Photo/picture alliance
Lawmakers in Ghana earlier this month reintroduced an anti-LGBTQ+ bill that was passed by the country’s Parliament in February 2024, but not enacted.
The legislation, known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, called for prison terms of up to three years for engaging in same-sex sexual relations, and up to five years for those who engage in “willful promotion, sponsorship or support of LGBTQ+ activities.”
Ghana’s Supreme Court in December rejected two legal bids to block the bill. It ruled that, as outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo had not yet signed the bill into law, it could not be declared unconstitutional.
President John Mahama, who took office in January, said he was committed to passing the bill, which had widespread public support in Ghana but was condemned internationally for curtailing LGBTQ+ rights.
Living in fear: Ghana’s LGBTQ+ reality
Abdul-Wadud Mohammed, deputy director of LGBT Rights Ghana, told DW that he grew up in Ghana, but left his homeland because he constantly felt “under threat” there. He told DW that he knew by the age of 10 that he was gay.
“I grew up just trying to understand what I am. Everybody who knew me knew that I was gay and that has been my life,” Mohammed said, adding that he, like the majority of queer people in Ghana, faces hate and hostility from some Ghanaians due to his sexuality.
He is not alone.
“I personally witnessed someone being killed for being gay,” a bisexual man, speaking on condition of anonymity, told DW. “A traumatic event that underscored the extreme danger I face.”
He too fled Ghana for his safety.
A survey published by Afrobarometer in 2021 showed that Ghanaians are united and hospitable — but a majority are intolerant towards same-sex relationships.
Some 93% of Ghanaians questioned said they “somewhat dislike” or “strongly dislike” having people in same-sex relationships as neighbors, placing the country near the top in terms of intolerance across 23 African countries in the study.
What started the anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination?
During a radio interview in 2006, Prince Kweku McDonald, president of the Gay and Lesbians Association of Ghana (GALAG), spoke about an upcoming conference of gay and lesbian people in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, and other venues across the country.
The government said at the time that they would not allow such an event to take place — a move that drew applause from many Ghanaians.
Some human rights activists believe that it was a watershed moment for curtailing the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Ghana.
“Growing up, we could not even talk about sex between a man and a woman, much more to talk about LGBT rights … it was a disruption of what we considered the harmonious heteronormative society we had carved for ourselves,” Dr. Michael Akagbor, a senior research fellow at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), said.
Now, almost two decades later, sponsors of the bill have said that it seeks to protect children and people who are victims of abuse.
Protecting family values or sanctioning hate?
“My position is that that bill is a critical part of our national life. Ghanaian family values, our children’s innocence must be protected,” lead proponent of the bill, Samuel George, told the Parliament Appointment Committee.
Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said he is determined to see the anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed into law this year.
“It [homosexuality] is ungodly, and I will not tolerate any jokes on this matter,” he said.
However, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD), a think tank working to advance democracy, said that the conversation on family values should be put in the context of societal good rather than what the majority abhors.
“What does family value really mean? … Is corruption a family value? Is it something we should be proud of? Look at how corrupt our state actors are becoming, who is teaching them the values of corruption?” asked Michael Akagbor, the CDD’s senior programs officer.
Emmanuel Allotey, head pastor at Ghana’s Amazing Light Christian Centre said that he opposes the legislation.
“It’s a congenital issue and I don’t think anyone should be blamed for its outcomes. It’s rather unfortunate you find religious leaders show hostility on our people who are affected,” Allotey told DW. “True Christianity will tolerate our brothers and sisters affected.”
But some Ghanaians, like Abdul Mutalib Issah, a resident of Accra, think otherwise.
“If we have to leave everybody to do what they wish to do, it might cause crisis,” he told DW.
For some girls in Sri Lanka’s hill country, getting a period means having to skip classes unless their families can find money for sanitary pads.
Many girls outside cities live in families that cannot afford period products (file photo)Image: Norbert Eisele-Hein/imagebroker/IMAGO
When 14-year-old Janani gets her period, she doesn’t always make it to school. Some days, there are no sanitary pads at home, and Janani is forced to use a pad made from old clothes. On those days, she skips classes.
“I feel ashamed of using cloth,” Janani told DW. “If we miss school because of this, they won’t teach us again the lessons we’ve missed, will they?”
A survey conducted by DW of more than 500 girls across six schools in Sri Lanka’s Central Province indicated that nearly half — 46% — struggled to afford pads each month, with the figure skyrocketing to 81% at one school.
Janani’s mother works as a tea plucker in the hills of Nuwara Eliya District and earns about 1,350 rupees (around €4 or $4.5) per day. She buys her daughter pads when she can afford it. When she has no pads, Janani said, she wonders “why I get my period at all.”
Almost half of the girls surveyed by DW said they missed school during their period for a myriad of reasons, including excessive pain. And it is affecting their school performance.
“I keep thinking about it, and so I can’t study,” said 14-year-old Girija referring to period poverty, a sentiment echoed by some of her peers.
‘Some teachers will buy pads for us’
Sri Lanka’s government is making an effort to address the problem as its economy inches towards recovery following an economic collapse in 2022.
The cost of a pack of 10 sanitary napkins increased by 92% after the economic crisis, from 140 to 270 rupees, according to the Advocata Institute. Imported sanitary pads continue to be taxed in Sri Lanka at 51%.
Teacher Anthonyraj Devaneshi told DW that her school gave out one sanitary pad to girls in emergency situations, but could not afford to give them out consistently.
“Some teachers will buy pads for us, but others won’t,” said 12-year-old Harini, adding that she found it awkward to ask and would usually ask her friends to do it on her behalf. “If my friends aren’t at school [when I get my period], I’ll just come home.”
Harini has to make the long journey home by herself if her parents are unable to pick her up — a walk which takes her an hour through the hills.
Her school also has no place for girls to dispose of their sanitary pads, with several girls telling DW they avoided changing at school. Two schools had a policy requiring students who took a pad from school to purchase a replacement and hand it in the next day.
Cloth pads can be unsafe
A 2021 study by Advocata revealed that half of Sri Lankan women did not spend any money on sanitary products.
Rashmira Balasuriya, director of the Arka Initiative to combat period poverty and technical advisor to Sri Lanka’s Family Planning Association, said the issue had “most likely gotten worse” following the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis.
To save money, many girls use cloth. About 44% of the girls surveyed by DW reported using a combination of cloth and pads or exclusively cloth during their period, although not all of them cited unaffordability as the reason.
Balasuriya said the lack of sunlight in Sri Lanka’s hill country meant cloth pads were not always safe to use, because they would not properly dry.
Girija told DW she had started using pads after developing an infection from cloth. “Using cloth is hard. It feels like it’s not secure,” she said. “I feel scared to sit because I’m worried something might happen. It’s hard to walk, to sit, or to sleep.”
At least a dozen other girls told DW they had also developed infections from using cloth.
Girija said her family took out loans from the store to buy pads and she felt angry with her mother when they could not afford them. However, her mother told her, “It doesn’t matter if we have to use cloth, you use pads.” Still, Girija only changes her pad only once every seven hours, afraid of running out.
“When we use cloth for too long, sometimes it burns,” said 13-year-old Saraswathi, who sometimes uses cloth pads even at school, although she avoids changing for the entire day. “It’s difficult to walk with cloth, and my hips hurt.”
Teacher Thiruchelvam Mangala Roobini said there was also a lack of awareness around menstruation, with many girls who lacked pads forced to bleed through their underwear, which they would then dispose of in the toilets.
Government initiatives fall short
Last year, the Sri Lankan government distributed two vouchers of 600 rupees each to 800,000 schoolgirls, with the last disbursement given in September 2024. The goal of the scheme was to allow the girls to buy sanitary pads.
But Balasuriya said the voucher system was “not a sustainable one,” as the average woman needs about 20 pads over five days in a single month, and the money was simply insufficient. Some girls told DW the pads they purchased had run out in one or two months.
Roobini believes that many girls did not purchase sanitary pads with the vouchers, citing previous instances where shoe vouchers provided by the government had been used to purchase other necessities.
One school principal told DW he was “100% sure” that the sanitary pad voucher had even been used to purchase alcohol.
DONALD Trump yesterday hailed a former terrorist warlord as “a young, attractive guy”.
The maverick US President gushed with praise after meeting Ahmed al-Sharaa, who ousted Syrian tyrant Bashar al Assad last year.
US President Donald Trump is greeted by Qatar’s Emir Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Trump also agreed to lift US economic sanctions on Syria which have been in place since 2011.
Sharaa, previously linked to al-Qaeda, spent years in US custody after being captured in Iraq and once had a £7.5million bounty on his head.
Now interim Syrian president, he shook hands yesterday with Trump in Riyadh, along with Saudi Arabia’s leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also joined a meeting by video link, which Trump later said went “great”.
He described Sharaa as a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”
But it puts Trump at odds with Israel, which issued warnings against the former terror master and has continued military action against its long-standing enemy.
Asked if Sharaa can normalise relations with Israel, Trump said: “I told him, ‘I hope you’re going to join once you’re straightened out and he said yes’. But they have a lot of work to do.”
Trump also asked him to deport Palestinian militants and order foreign fighters to leave the country.
He also claimed he “wants to make a deal” with Iran.
Trump said: “It must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
He later touched down in Qatar, where he was given a red-carpet greeting from Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Three years after flying into the Cannes Film Festival with “Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise again kicked up a storm on the Croisette with Wednesday’s premiere of “Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning.”
Christopher McQuarrie’s latest “Mission: Impossible” installment was the biggest Hollywood tentpole wading ashore in Cannes this year. It, and Cruise, stirred a frenzy at the French Riviera festival, which again played eager host to the American movie star.
Just his arrival outside the premiere, beamed onto the screen in the Grand Théâtre Lumière, drew a response. When Cruise stepped out his car, oohs and applause reverberated through the theater. Cruise spent several minutes signing autographs for fans lined up on the Croisette.
Some had wondered whether Cruise might make a more daring arrival. When Cruise received an honorary Palme d’Or from the festival in 2022, the “Top Gun: Maverick” premiere included an impressively timed jet flyover. Instead, on Day 2 of the festival, he and the film’s cast walked the red carpet accompanied by an orchestra performing Lalo Schifrin’s “Mission: Impossible” theme on the Palais steps. “Bravo!” cheered Cruise.
Though selfies are frowned upon on the Cannes red carpet, McQuarrie took several of the group, which included Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Angela Bassett and Hannah Waddingham.
“Final Reckoning,” the eighth “Mission: Impossible” movie and a follow-up to 2023’s “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” is again a heaping serving of outlandish stunts in a globe-trotting, world-saving plot that greatly relies on Cruise’s sheer force of will to propel it.
The film, which draws to a close McQuarrie’s extended AI apocalypse tale, drew mostly good reviews following its screening and garnered a five-minute standing ovation.
“To be here in Cannes and have these moments, as a kid when we were growing up, I really can’t even dream about something like this happening,” Cruise said, addressing the audience. “I’m very grateful for 30 years to be able to entertain you with this franchise.”
Throughout much of the “Mission: Impossible” parade in Cannes, Cruise and McQuarrie lavished praise upon one another. Cruise told McQuarrie, who took over directing the franchise with 2015’s “Rogue Nation” that he looked forward to making “a bunch of other kind of movies with you.”
“When I was a kid growing up, I was one of those kids who didn’t quite fit in. A lot of my life was imaginative play,” said McQuarrie. “And I got to grow up and have my very own action figure, who was actually willing to do just about every crazy thing I could think of.”
Earlier in the day, Cruise joined McQuarrie midway through the director’s masterclass talk. There was no press conference for the film, which meant Cruise and company faced no questions from reporters. But Cruise’s surprise appearance allowed the 62-year-old star a moment to reflect on his 30 years with “Mission: Impossible.” As to whether “Final Reckoning” is a last hurrah for him, he demurred, calling it “the culmination of three decades of work.”
“I’d rather just people see it and enjoy,” Cruise said.
Cruise, to no one’s surprise, said he relishes the stunt work in “Mission: Impossible.”
“I don’t mind encountering the unknown. I like the feeling. It’s just an emotion for me. It’s something that is not paralyzing,” Cruise said.
Cruise, McQuarrie and Paramount Pictures, which will release “Final Reckoning” in North American theaters on May 23, are hoping the installment returns the franchise to box-office heights.
“Dead Reckoning Part One” was considered a box-office disappointment, though it ultimately grossed $571.1 million worldwide. Still, with production budgets close to $300 million for these films, a lot is riding on “Final Reckoning.” Cruise has been traversing the world — with stops in Japan, South Korea and England in the run-up to Cannes — to drum up excitement. Paramount chief executive Brian Robbins also attended the Cannes premiere.
Pakistan has urged India to reconsider its decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. With IWT in abeyance, India has been expediting stalled hydroelectric projects in J&K
India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack. (PTI)
Even as Pakistan feels the heat of India’s diplomatic and economic measures, one decision has hurt the country the most – the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
Fearing a water crisis, Pakistan has now reached out to India. “Syed Ali Murtaza, Secretary of Pakistan’s Ministry of Water Resources, wrote a letter to the Secretary of India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti a few days ago. In the letter, an appeal was made to reconsider the decision of putting the IWT in abeyance,” an official source told CNN-News18.
The treaty was put in abeyance based on a decision of the cabinet committee on security (CCS) on April 23, a day after the Pahalgam terror attack which killed 26. “We will not give them a single drop of water, come what may,” Jal Shakti minister CR Patil had told News18 after the CCS took the decision. India had also announced that it will stop sharing flood warnings with Pakistan.
India has considered all options, which include taking long-, mid- and short-term measures on the water flow, which will now remain restricted, said sources. For the past two weeks, water has been released to Pakistan on multiple occasions, they said.
However, as summer approaches, the government is likely to shut the tap.
‘ATTACK ON OUR ECONOMY’: WHAT PAKISTAN SAID
“We have responded to the Indian letters by conveying that the treaty remains fully in force and is binding on the parties. There is no provision in the treaty to hold it in abeyance. The Indus Waters Treaty has been successful water sharing arrangement between the two neighbouring countries. The treaty has withstood tests of wars and standoffs…,” said Pakistan in the letter, according to sources.
“Holding in abeyance of Indus water treaty is unilateral and illegal…Pakistan is an agrarian economy. Millions of people are dependent on the water being regulated by this treaty. The Indian decision is equivalent to an attack on the people of Pakistan and its economy,” it added.
As per the 1960 treaty, India got around 30% of the total water carried by the Indus River System located in India, while Pakistan got the remaining 70%.
CENTRE’S KEY MEETING THIS WEEK
In response to the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in airstrikes. After a conflict for four days, a ceasefire was announced on May 10. The Indian government, however, maintained that the IWT will remain in abeyance.
With the IWT suspended, the Modi government is expected to take major steps toward completing the stalled hydroelectric projects. A key meeting is likely to be held this week with Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Water Resources Minister Patil, Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and senior officials from all related ministries. Since the suspension of the IWT, two meetings have already taken place between Shah, Patil, and top officials of the ministry.
PROJECTS THAT CAN GO ON IN FULL FORCE
India, meanwhile, aims to accelerate the stalled hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the IWT, India had to give six months’ notice to Pakistan before starting any new project. With the suspension, this is no longer necessary, and data sharing will also cease. It is now possible to initiate new projects on the Chenab and Jhelum rivers and to revive Wular Lake.
With the treaty suspended, six hydroelectric projects are expected to gain momentum:
Sawalkot Project (1,856 MW): Proposed on the Chenab river in the Ramban and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir
Pakal Dul (1,000 MW)
Ratle (850 MW)
Bursar (800 MW)
Kiru (624 MW)
Kirthai I and II (Total 1,320 MW)
With the completion of these hydroelectric projects, Jammu and Kashmir could generate up to 10,000 megawatts of electricity. Additionally, the availability of water for irrigation and drinking could increase significantly.
Baloch leaders have declared Balochistan’s independence from Pakistan and appealed to India and the UN for recognition. The move has sparked a social media wave.
Locals in Balochistan with banners on India-Baloch friendship (X:@miryar_baloch)
‘Republic of Balochistan’ was trending on social media platform X on Wednesday, days after Baloch leaders, including activist Mir Yar Baloch, declared Balochistan’s independence from Pakistan.
Social media users shared an independent map of Balochistan, along with videos of people waving the Balochistan flag.
A New Country #RepublicOfBalochistan declared her Independence, breaking away from Pakistan! I urge PM @narendramodi ji to recognize their request, recognize their Independence and give full support to The Baloch People. Great Nation must do Great things. pic.twitter.com/hS32p9LB2X
In an X post on May 9, Mir Yar Baloch wrote, “A possible announcement soon should be done as the collapse of the terrorist Pakistan is near. We have claimed our independence and we request India to allow Balochistan’s official office, and embassy in Delhi.”
He also urged support from the United Nations to recognise it and call a meeting of the UN members.
“We also ask the United Nations to recognise the independence of the Democratic Republic of Balochistan and call a meeting of all UN members to lend your support for recognition. There must be a release of billions of funds for currency, and passport printing.
A day later, Mir Yar Baloch shared photos of locals standing with banners depicting India and Baloch friendship, and wrote, “The people of the Democratic Republic of Balochistan come to show their full support to the people of Bharat. China is helping Pakistan, but Balochistan and it’s people are the government of Bharat.”
“Dear Narendra Modi ji you are not alone, you have the backing of 60 million Baloch patriots,” his X post read.
In the recent, Baloch, in an X post, wrote, “Breaking News: 14 May 2025 Balochistan fully supports the India decision of asking Pakistan to vacate PoK. The international community must urge Pakistan to immediately leave PoK to avoid another humiliation of surrender on its 93000 army personnel in Dhaka.”
“India is capable of defeating Pakistan army and if Pakistan didn’t pay any heed then the only Pakistani greedy army generals must be held responsible for bloodshed because Islamabad is using PoK people as human shields,” he wrote.
Students gather on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Harvard University is dedicating $250 million of its own funds to support researchers after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration froze nearly $3 billion in federal grants and contracts in recent weeks, the university announced on Wednesday.
The elite Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of Trump’s most prominent targets. The Republican president has been making an extraordinary effort to revamp private colleges and schools across the U.S. that he says foster anti-American, Marxist and “radical left” ideologies. He has criticized Harvard in particular for hiring prominent Democrats to teaching or leadership positions.
Harvard is suing the Trump administration over its decision to cut off grants awarded to the school’s researchers, mostly in the medical sciences. Harvard calls this an unconstitutional attempt to curtail academic freedom and speech rights.
The government announced the cuts last month, hours after Harvard’s president, Dr. Alan Garber, denounced a lengthy list of demands by the Trump administration to overhaul the school’s leadership, teaching and admissions, and audit the views of its students and professors.
Garber, in a joint statement with Provost John Manning, said the Trump administration was “stopping lifesaving research” and called it an “extraordinarily challenging time” for the country’s oldest and wealthiest university.
On Wednesday, Harvard said Garber was taking a temporary, voluntary pay cut of 25% starting in July. The university previously announced a hiring freeze.
The statement said Harvard “cannot absorb the entire cost” of the frozen grants, which the Trump administration says are worth more than $2.6 billion. The school said it was working with researchers to help them find alternative funding.
“The impact of such steps on the nation’s scientific research enterprise could be severe and lasting,” the statement said.
Trump’s administration has accused Harvard of continuing to consider race when reviewing student applications and of allowing discrimination against Jews as a result of the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled American campuses last year.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump walk during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated they would not attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday, with the Kremlin sending instead a group of experienced technocrats.
Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday “without any preconditions”. Late on Wednesday, the Kremlin said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin – but Putin’s name was not on the list.
After the Kremlin’s delegation announcement, a U.S. official said Trump, who is on a three-nation tour of the Middle East, would not attend. The U.S. leader had said earlier that he was considering the option to participate.
While Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, the absence of the Russian and U.S. presidents lowers the expectations for a major breakthrough in the war that Russia started in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had challenged Putin to attend the talks “if he’s not afraid,” in an apparent contest to show Trump who wants peace more, Ukraine or Russia.
While the Kyiv leader was on his way to Turkey late on Wednesday, a Ukrainian official said, he had said he would take part in the talks only if Putin attended.
In his nightly video address on Wednesday Zelenskiy said that Ukraine would decide on its steps for peace talks in Turkey once there was clarity on Putin’s participation.
“The answers to all questions about this war – why it started, why it continues – all these answers are in Moscow,” Zelenskiy said. “How the war will end depends on the world.”
Trump wants the two sides to sign up to a 30-day ceasefire to pause Europe’s biggest land war since World War Two, and a Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday there could also be discussions about a huge prisoner of war exchange.
Zelenskiy backs an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a ceasefire could be discussed.
MORE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA?
Trump, who is growing increasingly frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine as he tries to push them towards a peace settlement, said he was “always considering” secondary sanctions against Moscow if he thought it was blocking the process.
U.S. officials have spoken about possible financial sanctions as well as potential secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil.
The U.S. delegation to Turkey included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said early on Thursday he had met with Rubio to share Zelenskiy’s peace vision and “coordinate positions during this critical week.”
Medinsky and Fomin, part of the Russian delegation, took part in the last set of negotiations between the two sides in the first weeks of the war. Other senior military and intelligence officials were also part of the Thursday delegation.
Direct talks between negotiators from Ukraine and Russia last took place in Istanbul in March 2022, a month after Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what he calls a “special military operation” to root out neo-Nazis.
Ukraine and its allies say the invasion was an unprovoked, imperial-style land grab.
With Russian forces grinding forward in Ukraine and now controlling about a fifth of the country, the Kremlin chief has offered few, if any, concessions so far. In his proposal at the weekend, he said that the talks in Turkey would be aimed at a durable peace.
A woman walks over a destroyed road in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 14, 2025. (Photo: AFP/Eyad Baba)
Israeli military strikes killed at least 80 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday (May 14), local health authorities said, in an intensification of the bombardment as US President Donald Trump visits the Middle East.
Medics said most of the dead, including women and children, were killed in a barrage of Israeli airstrikes on houses in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.
Later on Wednesday, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders to people in several districts in Gaza City, forcing thousands of Palestinians to leave their shelters.
The areas threatened by the evacuation warnings included several schools and the largest Shifa Hospital, according to a map published by the Israeli army.
Witnesses and medics said shortly after the evacuation orders Israeli planes carried several airstrikes against targets within Gaza City.
“Some victims are still on the road and under the rubble where rescue and civil emergency teams can’t reach (them),” the health ministry statement said.
Israel’s military had no immediate comment. It said it was trying to verify the reports.
Reuters television footage showed residents returning to the ruins of their homes. Some sifted through the remains of walls and furniture, looking for documents and belongings.
“They fired two rockets, they told us the house of Moqbel (had been hit),” said Hadi Moqbel, who lost relatives in the attack in Jabalia. “We came running, we saw body parts on the ground, children killed, the woman killed and a baby killed. He was two months old.”
Israeli press reports on Wednesday cited security officials as saying they believed Hamas military leader Mohammad Sinwar and other senior officials had been killed in a strike on Tuesday on what the Israeli military described as a command and control bunker under the European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
There was no confirmation by the Israeli military or Hamas. On Wednesday, witnesses and medics said an Israeli airstrike hit a bulldozer that approached the area of the strike at the European Hospital, wounding several people.
Late on Tuesday, Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed militant group allied with Hamas, fired rockets from Gaza towards Israel. Shortly before the Israeli retaliatory strikes, Israel’s military issued evacuation orders to residents in the area of Jabalia and nearby Beit Lahiya.
TRUMP VISIT
Palestinians hope Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will provide pressure for a reduction of violence. Hamas on Monday released Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage it had been holding.
Trump said in Riyadh on Tuesday that more hostages would follow Alexander and that the people of Gaza deserved a better future. He is not visiting Israel during his Middle East trip.
Ceasefire efforts have faltered, with Hamas and Israel trading blame. Hamas talked to the United States and Egyptian and Qatari mediators to arrange Alexander’s release, and Israel has sent a team to Doha to begin a new round of talks.
On Tuesday, Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler met hostage families in Tel Aviv and said they could now see a better chance of an agreement for the hostages’ release following the deal over Alexander.
Hamas said on Wednesday the continued attacks indicated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to “escalate the aggression and massacres against civilians to undermine those (ceasefire) efforts”. Israel has blamed Hamas for the continuing war.
A miner diagnosed with advanced black lung diease, stands inside an old water well near his home in Hinton, West Virginia, U.S., April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Over 100 federal employees who screen coal miners for black lung disease and research other respiratory disease who had been terminated as part of sweeping government layoffs have had their jobs restored permanently, West Virginia Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito announced on Tuesday.
Capito said in a statement she got an assurance from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. that the Department of Health and Human Services reversed the terminations of employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health facility in Morgantown, West Virginia.
“My understanding from Secretary Kennedy is that over 100 Morgantown employees will be returning to the job permanently,” she said in a statement.
NIOSH runs a coal mine health surveillance unit that had effectively been shuttered since February amid sweeping layoffs led by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, even as a resurgence of deadly black lung disease has affected at least one out of five coal miners – and increasingly workers as young as their 30s.
Reuters had reported that those potential job cuts, as well as cuts at the Mine Health Safety Administration, were putting coal miners at risk, even as President Donald Trump called for a revival of the industry.
The status of NIOSH workers had been in flux, with some workers brought out of administrative leave earlier this month, only to be notified days later that they were permanently terminated.
Capito said she had several conversations with Kennedy urging him to save the program.
A letter seen by Reuters that was sent to NIOSH employees today from its director, John Howard, said that some previously terminated employees who were called back include staff from selected units in the NIOSH director’s office, the Respiratory Health Division that includes the coal mine surveillance unit; the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory; the Division of Safety Research and the Division of Compensation and Analysis Support (DECA).
Twenty-one of the 28 staffers of DECA, who work on compensation claims of former nuclear weapons workers that have cancer, were among those brought back, two sources familiar with the news told Reuters.
President Donald Trump kicked off his trip to the Gulf on Tuesday with a surprise announcement that the United States will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria, and a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S.
The U.S. agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to the White House which called it the largest “defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.
The end of sanctions on Syria would be a huge boost for a country that has been shattered by more than a decade of civil war. Rebels led by current President Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled President Bashar al-Assad last December.
Speaking at an investment forum in Riyadh at the start of a deals-focused trip that also brought a flurry of diplomacy, Trump said he was acting on a request to scrap the sanctions by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Oh what I do for the crown prince,” Trump said, drawing laughs from the audience. He said the sanctions had served an important function but that it was now time for the country to move forward.
The move represents a major U.S. policy shift. The U.S. declared Syria a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979, added sanctions in 2004 and imposed further sanctions after the civil war broke out in 2011.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said on X that the planned move marked a “new start” in Syria’s path to reconstruction. Trump has agreed to briefly greet Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, a White House official said.
Trump and the Saudi crown prince signed an agreement covering energy, defense, mining and other areas. Trump has sought to strengthen relations with the Saudis to improve regional ties with Israel and act as a bulwark against Iran.
The agreement covers deals with more than a dozen U.S. defense companies for areas including air and missile defense, air force and space, maritime security and communications, a White House fact sheet said.
It was not clear whether the deal included Lockheed F-35 jets, which sources say have been discussed. The Saudi prince said the total package could reach $1 trillion when further agreements are reached in the months ahead.
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest customers for U.S. arms, and the two countries have maintained strong ties for decades based on an arrangement in which the kingdom delivers oil and the superpower provides security.
But relations were strained after the 2018 murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul caused a global uproar. U.S. intelligence concluded that bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, a prominent critic, but the Saudi government has denied any involvement.
Trump did not mention the incident during his visit and called bin Salman an “incredible man.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman shake hands during a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Purchase Licensing Rights
“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said.
Trump will go on from Riyadh to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday in a trip that is focused on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East.
Several U.S. business leaders attended the event, including Elon Musk, the Tesla chief who has led a government-downsizing effort for Trump in Washington; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman.
Trump was shown speaking with several Saudi officials, including sovereign wealth fund governor Yasir al-Rumayyan, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser and investment minister Khalid al-Falih as he viewed models for the kingdom’s flashy, multi-billion-dollar development projects.
Bin Salman has focused on diversifying the Saudi economy in a major reform program dubbed Vision 2030 that includes “Giga-projects” such as NEOM, a futuristic city the size of Belgium. Oil generated 62% of Saudi government revenue last year.
The kingdom has scaled back some of its ambitions as rising costs and falling oil prices weigh.
NO VISIT TO ISRAEL, WARNING TO IRAN
Trump has not scheduled a stop in Israel, raising questions about where the close ally stands in Washington’s priorities as Trump presses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a new ceasefire deal in the 19-month-old Gaza war.
Israel’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its assassinations of the two Iran-allied groups’ leaders, have at the same time given Trump more leverage by weakening Tehran and its regional allies.
Trump said it was his “fervent hope” that Saudi Arabia would soon normalize relations with Israel, following other Arab states that did so during his first 2017-2021 term. “But you’ll do it in your own time,” he said.
Netanyahu’s opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state makes progress with the Saudis unlikely, sources told Reuters.
Kim Kardashian is set to take the stand in sparkling style.
The reality star, who is set to testify against the “grandpa robbers” who allegedly stole $10 million worth of her jewelry in 2016, showed up to Paris court on Tuesday morning dripping in diamonds.
The Skims creator, 44, wore a spectacular diamond necklace by Samer Halimeh New York worth a whopping $3 million.
The reality star wore a spectacular diamond necklace by Samer Halimeh New York worth a whopping $3 million. AFP via Getty Images
Crafted from 18-karat white gold, the show-stopping piece is set with a total of 80 diamonds, including a 10.13-carat pear-shaped center stone. Altogether, the necklace weighs in at a staggering 52.17 carats.
But that wasn’t the end of Kardashian’s bling; the star also sported a shimmering anklet, ring and a number of diamond earrings — including an $8,100 Briony Raymond ear cuff — for her day in court.
Clad in a bold-shouldered vintage John Galliano blazer dress, Alaïa sunglasses and Saint Laurent slingback heels, the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” alum wore her hair pulled back in a polished twist.
She was joined by mom Kris Jenner, who sported a plaid blazer and black slacks.
The Hulu personalities flew across the pond Monday, with Kardashian documenting the plane ride via Instagram Stories.
Kardashian was in the City of Love in October 2016 for Paris Fashion Week when masked men allegedly entered her apartment and held her at gunpoint.
The businesswoman was bound and gagged in the terrifying encounter while wearing only a bathrobe.
Among the jewelry stolen from Kardashian at the time was her second, upgraded diamond engagement ring from then-fiancé Kanye West.
The $4 million, 20-carat sparkler was never recovered, and the only item found was a diamond-encrusted cross.
Kardashian detailed the experience during her family’s series in 2017, including the moment she told the Hôtel de Pourtalès concierge, who was acting as an interpreter, to tell the intruders she had babies at home.
“I’m like, ‘This is it,’” Kardashian — who shares North, 11, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 6, with West — remembered thinking in the March 2017 episode. “Are they going to kill us?”
The makeup mogul said she had “fully mentally prepped” to be sexually assaulted when her legs were taped together and she was thrown in the bathtub.
Jenner, 69, teared up too much to discuss her daughter’s harrowing scare on the show, saying, “The thought of losing Kim is emotionally scarring and hard to overcome. That’s it. I can’t talk about it anymore.”
Prince William and Prince Harry’s fall-out is so bad that insiders fear Harry will not attend his brother’s future coronation.
The pair have not spoken in about two years and a source in the know told Page Six they could not see Harry attending the coronation, musing that William may not even invite him.
In the wake of Harry’s extraordinary BBC interview in which he claimed his father, King Charles, won’t speak to him, the source said, “I think it’s done … I don’t think there’s [any] coming back from that.
Prince William and Prince Harry’s fall-out is so bad that insiders fear Harry will not attend his brother’s future coronation. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“Before the interview, we thought, ‘Come on William, extend a hand to your brother. But now it seems that Harry hasn’t learned s–t.”
Sussex insiders, however, insist that Harry is keen to make amends with his family. “I would love reconciliation with my family,” he said during the BBC interview earlier this month. “There’s no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious.”
Hugo Vickers, author and friend of the royal family, told Page Six that “theoretically” William should invite his younger brother to his coronation.
“But quite frankly he can do what he likes. It is not set in stone,” Vickers added. “The Duke of Windsor was not invited to [his niece Queen Elizabeth’s] coronation in 1953. There was a lot of discussion about it.”
A rep for Harry had no comment.
Page Six previously reported how no one in the royal circle trusts Harry or his wife, Meghan Markle after the couple have continued to speak publicly about the royal family since leaving the UK in 2020.
Despite reports that William plans to strip Harry and Markle of their HRH titles when he ascends to the throne, Vickers said he cannot imagine this will happen.
“We know that William is unforgiving anyway,” Vickers said. “But … he won’t strip Harry and Meghan of their titles, it appears vindictive.”
The source agreed: “William won’t strip them of their titles because they are irrelevant and meaningless at this point. No one thinks [Harry and Meghan] are royal anyway!”
The Duke of Sussex, 40, was left furious after losing a Court of Appeal challenge against the British government earlier this month over the decision to strip him of his publicly funded security detail.
He told the BBC after the verdict, “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.”
Claiming that Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” Harry revealed that “there have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family” — and admitted that his “Spare” memoir helped fuel them.
Skin-baring looks like Bella Hadid’s are officially banned on the Cannes Film Festival 2025 red carpet. The model’s Schiaparelli gown from 2021, pictured here, is one of her most memorable ever. Getty Images
Crackdown in Cannes.
The Cannes Film Festival 2025 kicked off today in France, and its famously glamorous red carpets are getting a bit of a makeover.
Ahead of the event, the fest’s organizers revealed some changes to its official charter pertaining to dress code.
This year, they put the kibosh on looks that are too small or too large, writing, “For decency reasons, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as any other area of the festival.”
The memo continues, “Voluminous outfits, in particular those with a large train, that hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theater are not permitted.”
Lastly, there’s a warning: “The Festival welcoming teams will be obligated to prohibit red carpet access to anyone not respecting these rules.”
Per usual, evening wear — defined as a “long dress” or “tuxedo” — is required, although guests also have the option of choosing a cocktail dress, “dark-colored pantsuit” or “dressy top with black pants.”
As for the men, Team Cannes has been known to turn away looks that are “too colorful.”
Footwear has always been a hot topic of conversation at the film fest, too, with Kristen Stewart going viral in 2018 for taking off her heels in protest of the event’s high heel requirement. However, the event’s organizers have seemingly since changed their tune.
“Elegant shoes and sandals with or without a heel” are acceptable, per the charter. (We’re guessing Jennifer Lawrence’s flip-flops still wouldn’t make the cut.)
The new ban has already affected A-listers like Halle Berry, who admitted she had to swap her gown for the opening ceremony at the last minute because its train was too large.
The Cannes red carpet is known for skin-baring looks, too — though there have been limits in the past.
Casandra “Cassie” Ventura recounted the horrific details of the alleged abuse she experienced at the hands of her ex-boyfriend Sean “Diddy” Combs during an emotional testimony at his sex-trafficking trial.
“He would bash me on my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me on the head if I was down,” the “Me & U” singer, who is expecting her third child with husband Alex Fine, testified from the witness stand inside Manhattan federal court Tuesday.
She claimed Combs, 55, would often fight with her over minuscule disagreements, telling her to “fix [her] face or watch [her] mouth” followed by him allegedly “hitting” her in the face.
“I also felt at certain times … I knew it wasn’t even about me … [I would] make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face,” she further testified.
Casandra “Cassie” Ventura testified in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex-trafficking trial Tuesday. BACKGRID
Ventura, 38, who appeared in the courtroom wearing a tight brown dress with her baby bump on display, also recalled how the physical assault would be so severe that she would “get knots” in her forehead.
Later in her testimony, the “Don’t Play It Safe” singer broke down in tears further describing how “violent” Combs would allegedly get and how he would “just become a different person.”
“His look would just change over,” she recalled. “The best way to describe it is his eyes just go black. The version that I was in love with is no longer there.”
Ventura also claimed she experienced psychological abuse “every day” because she was always not “knowing who he was going to be when we woke up.”
The singer claimed her famous ex — who is 17 years her senior — introduced her to “Freak-Offs” around the age of 22. She claimed Combs viewed the acts as “voyeurism,” when a person gets turned on by seeing others engage in intimate or sexual behaviors.
She claimed he would “direct” her and her sexual partner, which was often an escort or dancer off of Craigslist, on what they should be doing, adding, “I was in love and I just wanted to make him happy.”
Ventura testified that she was very “sexually inexperienced” when she first met Combs and that he would at times make her “feel crazy for not reciprocating” oral sex.
“I was also still in a relationship with someone else,” she added of the early days of their romance.
The songstress said that if she would not want to participate in sexual acts throughout their relationship, he would become angry, which made her feel “humiliated” and as if that was “all [she] was good for.”
Ventura testified that the longest “Freak-Off” lasted four days — “maybe even more – on and off with the breaks” — and that, in some ways, it became a “job” for her.
She would often be under the influence of drugs like ecstasy, marijuana, ketamine, GHB — also known as the “date rape drug” — or mushrooms during these acts, per her testimony.
“I couldn’t imagine myself doing any of that without having some sort of buffer or a way to not feel the way it really was, which was emotionless and sex with a stranger who I didn’t want to have sex with,” she said.
The “Just One Nite” singer also mentioned the infamous baby oil Combs liked to use, alleging that he once had a inflatable pool of lube and oil inside of a hotel room. “We poured it all over our bodies and we were glistening,” she further recalled.
Ventura also recounted during her testimony a time when an escort and her then-boyfriend urinated in her mouth, which caused her to “choke.” “It’s just as humiliating [as] if anyone was there to see it. It was disgusting, it was too much,” she said on the stand.
The “Love a Loser” singer noted that Combs once asked her what she calls her grandfather and, from then on, she referred to him as “Pop Pop.” The singer said she thought the request “was weird at the time” and now sees it as “just disrespectful.”
Ventura said she would need time to recuperate from the “Freak-Offs,” which she participated in even while on her period, particularly because of the dehydration and drug use.
She claimed the escorts were usually “paid in the thousands” in cash.
Aside from the sex, Combs allegedly “controlled” all aspects of Ventura’s life, including pressuring her to get breast implants and deterring her from certain hairstyles which he claimed made her look “too Mexican.” He also encouraged her to get her private parts, including her clitoris and nipples, pierced.
Ventura claimed he made her feel unable to leave the relationship — despite her wanting to do so.
“He’s a bit of an incessant caller or he would have staff, security continue to call until you answered,” she added of his alleged obsessive habits and need to assert his control.
Ventura claimed Combs would also “blackmail” her, threatening to put her videos and photos of her sexual encounters “on the internet.”
However, she did note during her testimony that there was “still love” in the relationship at times.
The “Long Way 2 Go” singer — whom prosecutors dubbed “Victim 1” — is a key witness in this case.
Ahead of her court appearance, Reuters reported last week that Combs’ defense team planned to accuse Ventura of domestic violence once she took the stand in attempt to take a stab at the singer’s credibility.
In November 2023, Ventura filed a bombshell civil lawsuit, accusing Combs of rape and abuse throughout their decade-long relationship, which took place from 2007 to 2018.
Her attorneys claimed in the complaint that the “Bad Boy for Life” rapper “was prone to uncontrollable rage, and frequently beat Ms. Ventura savagely.”
Combs quickly settled the suit for an undisclosed amount of money within 24 hours, but claimed at the time that the agreement was not an admission of wrongdoing.
However, six months later, CNN released shocking surveillance video taken in 2016 of the Bad Boy Records founder dragging Ventura, his then-girlfriend, across a hotel hallway and physically beating her.
The damning footage corroborated at least the abuse portion of the “King of Hearts” singer’s claims, and forced Combs to issue a public apology.
Ventura’s lawsuit opened the floodgates for dozens of alleged victims to come forward to accuse the “All About the Benjamins” rapper of sexual assault and other crimes.
The mom of three’s claims have also proven useful for the feds’ ongoing case. In September 2023, the authorities charged Combs with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Investigators conducted a months-long probe — which included raids on the disgraced music mogul’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami — and allegedly found evidence of nefarious “Freak-Off” parties, in which illegal sexual activity allegedly occurred.
An Israeli air strike has killed 28 people and injured dozens at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, a spokesman for the Hamas-run civil defence agency has said.
Israeli warplanes dropped six bombs simultaneously on the Gaza hospital, hitting both its inner courtyard and surrounding area, according to local sources.
The Israeli military said it had conducted a “precise strike” on “Hamas terrorists in a command and control centre” which it claimed was beneath the hospital.
A freelance journalist working for the BBC in Gaza was among those injured in the air strike, and is now in a stable condition after receiving medical attention.
The strike at European Hospital resulted in several deep craters inside the hospital compound, which buried several vehicles including part of a large bus.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli drones maintained a tight aerial siege over the building, preventing rescue teams from reaching the site.
A quadcopter drone reportedly wounded two civil defence officers as they attempted to approach the European Hospital.
Dr Tom Potokar, a plastic surgeon working with the Ideals international aid charity, was in the hospital when it was hit.
Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour programme, he described “six enormous explosions one after the other” that directly hit the hospital with “no warning whatsoever”.
“There was complete panic,” he added.
The dead and wounded have been transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, local sources said, where medical teams are reportedly struggling to deal with the casualties.
The emergency department of Nasser Hospital was hit by another strike earlier on Tuesday, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.
They said a well-known Palestinian photojournalist was among two people killed.
Hassan Aslih, who was being treated for injuries from a previous Israeli strike, was targeted in what witnesses described as a drone attack on the hospital’s surgical wing.
A doctor there confirmed that Aslih had been at the hospital for nearly a month after surviving an air strike on the same facility in April.
The Israeli military had previously accused him of involvement in the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel. The strike in April killed Aslih’s colleague Helmi al-Faqawi and wounded several other journalists.
In a joint statement the IDF and the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) said Hamas “continues” to use hospitals in Gaza for its activities – a long-standing Israeli allegation which the group denies.
Israeli media reported the target of the strike was senior Hamas figure Mohammed Sinwar – the younger brother of the former Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
There’s also an extra step McDonald’s employee take to make their coffee better than anywhere else
A MCDONALD’S chef has finally revealed the secret behind making the fast food outlet’s coffee the best around.
The beverage has something of a cult following, with people even going out of their way to get their McCafé fix.
And fans of the coffee have long wondered what it is that makes it so special – even taking to Reddit to look for answers.
“I try all kinds of coffee, trying to duplicate the taste of that $1 large cup of McCafé and almost always fail,” one wrote.
“What is McDonald’s secret?”
As another questioned: “Why is McDonald’s coffee almost always better tasting than just about anything I buy and brew myself?”
“I think that every time I buy coffee anywhere,” a third sighed.
“I’ve had enough McCafé to KNOW it tastes better than what I make at home,” another said.
FOCUS ON ‘THE LITTLE THINGS’
While someone else chimed in: “Well, the secret’s out. McDonald’s 1$ coffee is the best coffee in the world.”
And one person even suggested that McDonald’s has a “lock on a source of the good stuff”.
But now, McDonald’s corporate chef has set the record straight, as he explained the delectable blend comes from focusing on “the little things”.
“For our coffee, we use 100% arabica coffee beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms or farms participating in our McCafé Sustainability Improvement Platform program,” Mike Lingo told Food & Wine.
“It’s a special blend made just for McCafé – a medium-dark roast with a full body, fruity, floral and chocolate notes.”
As the blend is made for McDonald’s, you literally can’t get the same taste anywhere else – a fact Golden Arches bosses rely on for the coffee’s continuing popularity.
‘BEST IN THE WORLD’
And another reason McDonald’s coffee is deemed the “best in the world” is due to the fact that every establishment grinds their beans on site.
Doing so preserves the flavor, as coffee begins to degrade as soon as it’s ground.
FORMER President Joe Biden will need to go for further testing after doctors made a troubling discovery during a recent exam, according to reports.
A doctor reportedly found a “small nodule” on the former president’s prostate.
A small nodule was found on Joe Biden during a prostate examCredit: Getty
“In a routine physical exam a small nodule was found in the prostate which necessitated further evaluation,” a spokesperson for Biden told ABC News.
The small nodule refers to a firm lump or swelling in the body, which can be harmless or cancerous.
It’s too early to know exactly what the nodule is, ABC reported, but prostate issues for a man his age are extremely common.
During Biden’s last year as president, concerns began to swirl about his mental and physical health, especially after he contracted Covid-19 just before dropping out of the presidential race in July.
He left the office as the oldest serving US president to date.
Discussion about Biden’s reportedly deteriorating health forced him to abandon his re-election campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
Biden’s performance during the first presidential debate, where he fumbled through his arguments against Donald Trump, led members of the Democratic Party to demand he be replaced.
The former president was replaced by 60-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris in July.
BIDEN’S HEALTH HISTORY
His health issues began long before the 2024 election.
In February 2023, Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest.
Before beginning his presidency, Biden had multiple non-melanoma skin cancers removed with Mohs surgery.
“As expected, the biopsy confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma,” White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said at the time.
“All cancerous tissue was successfully removed. … No further treatment is required.
“Basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to ‘spread’ or metastasize, as some more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma are known to do,” he continued.
Joe Biden’s full letter announcing his withdrawal from campaign
On Sunday, July 21, 2024, 46th US president Joe Biden posted a letter X, formerly known as Twitter, announcing he’s stepping down from the 2024 presidential race.
My Fellow Americans,
Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation.
Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.
I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.
It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.
I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.
For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.
I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together.
We just have to remember we are the United States of America
“They do, however, have the potential to increase in size, resulting in a more significant issue as well as increased challenges for surgical removal.”
Despite his previous health challenges, the former president’s doctor declared Biden “fit to serve” in February 2024.
O’Connor wrote at that time that Biden can “fully execute all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
“Everything’s great,” Biden said at the time.
FITNESS TO SERVE
Although he was deemed fit to serve, insiders say that Biden’s aides were so concerned about him that they discussed the idea of getting him a wheelchair.
“Biden’s physical deterioration—most apparent in his halting walk—had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn’t do so until after the election,” CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson wrote in their new book Original Sin, according to Axios.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will be waiting for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Turkish capital. The Kremlin declined to say whether Putin would attend talks on the war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has urged US counterpart Donald Trump to help secure a meeting with Vladimir PutinImage: Kirill Chubotin/Photoshot/picture alliance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday he would attend talks on the war in Ukraine this week only if Russian President Vladimir Putin is also present.
Zelenskyy stated he would meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday or Thursday and was ready to meet Putin either there or in Istanbul.
What do we know about the Istanbul talks?
The talks are now the centerpiece of peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump, who said he would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He mentioned the talks “could produce some pretty good results.”
Trump is also expected to send senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg to the talks.
The Kremlin has not confirmed whether Putin will take part in the talks, scheduled for Thursday in Istanbul, more than three years into Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, questioned whether Vladimir Putin had the nerve to attend the talks.
“I think it’s a good move if they sit down,” Kallas said at a democracy conference in Copenhagen. “But I don’t think he dares, Putin.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged both sides to seize the “window of opportunity” to reach a peace settlement.
What does Zelenskyy want?
Zelenskyy has said he wants to negotiate an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a first step toward ending the war. He has insisted that Vladimir Putin should take part because “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on him.
“We want to agree on a beginning to the end of the war,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference. But he added: “He [Putin] is scared of direct talks with me.”
Zelenskyy also mentioned he expects the United States and European Union to impose “strong sanctions” if the talks do not take place.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday Europe would impose new sanctions on Russia if Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire
People lie on the floor as they take cover, while sirens sound in Jerusalem, May 13, 2025. Israel’s military reported that a missile was launched from Yemen towards Israel and was intercepted. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Purchase Licensing Rights
The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile that was launched from Yemen towards Israel on Tuesday evening, and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility.
Sirens were heard in several places in Israel.
The militia group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile towards Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, according to the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree.
President Donald Trump announced on May 6 that the U.S. would stop bombing the Houthis as the group agreed to stop attacking U.S. ships, part of a 17-month campaign against Red Sea shipping intended to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
But the Houthis have continued to fire missiles and drones towards Israel, most of which the Israeli military says it has intercepted, without casualties or serious damage occurring.
Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza since a deadly raid by Palestinian militant group Hamas into southern Israel in October 2023, which prompted Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance against Israeli and U.S. interests in the Middle East, a group also including Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman pose for a group photo during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Purchase Licensing Rights
The United States agreed on Tuesday to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to a White House fact sheet that called it “the largest defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.
The agreement, signed during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh, covers deals with more than a dozen U.S. defense companies in areas including air and missile defense, air force and space advancement, maritime security and communications, the fact sheet said.
“The package signed today, the largest defense cooperation deal in U.S. history, is a clear demonstration of our commitment to strengthening our partnership,” the fact sheet said.
Reuters first reported last month that the arms package would be worth well over $100 billion.
Reuters previously reported that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), was expected to sell C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and radars as part of the deal. CEOs from RTX Corp (RTX.N), Boeing Co (BA.N), Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N), were expected to be in the kingdom, but the White House did not verify any specific equipment or makers as a part of the potential sale to Saudi.
Reuters could also not immediately establish how many of the deals on offer were new. Many have been in the works for some time, sources have told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia is the largest customer for U.S. arms. In 2017, Trump proposed approximately $110 billion of sales to the kingdom.
As of 2018, only $14.5 billion of sales had been initiated and Congress began to question the deals in light of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Former President Joe Biden’s administration tried unsuccessfully to finalize a defense pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.
The White House fact sheet did not mention if Riyadh would be permitted to purchase Lockheed’s F-35 jets, the military aircraft that the kingdom has reportedly been interested in for years.
The two countries had discussed Riyadh’s potential purchase of Lockheed’s F-35 jets, two sources briefed on discussions told Reuters.
However, it was not clear if Washington would permit the kingdom to move forward with a purchase that would give Saudi Arabia an advanced weapon used by close U.S. ally Israel, one of the sources said.
The second source said the qualitative military edge, or U.S. guarantees that Israel receives more advanced American weapons than Arab states, is an issue that “has come up.”
Fire trucks drive by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The largest firefighters’ labor union in the U.S. is demanding antitrust authorities investigate the companies that make fire trucks, saying industry consolidation has led to skyrocketing costs and years-long wait times, endangering firefighters and the public.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission should probe the fire and emergency vehicle industry, where three companies — REV Group (REVG.N), Oshkosh (OSK.N), and Rosenbauer (RBAV.VI), together make up around two-thirds of the market, the International Association of Fire Fighters said in a letter.
Truck prices have doubled in the past decade, with ladder trucks now costing as much as $2 million each, while fire departments are facing backlogs as long as four years, said IAFF, which represents fire and emergency workers in the U.S. and Canada, and the American Economic Liberties Project, an antimonopoly group.
“It’s really a critical hazard in public safety,” IAFF President Edward Kelly said.
Oshkosh spokesperson Lisa Barwick said the company is investing in manufacturing capacity, technology, and process improvements to meet demand.
“Global supply challenges, unprecedented demand, and significant inflation since the pandemic started in 2020 have resulted in extended delivery times and increased prices,” she said.
A REV Group spokesperson also cited demand, labor shortages and cost increases as driving price increases and delays.
“In response, we have increased production of our fire and emergency vehicles by nearly 30% in the last two years, introduced new lines of semi-custom trucks with faster ship times, and continued to invest in training programs for skilled talent,” the spokesperson said.
Rosenbauer America spokesperson Ali Rader said the company is working to increase output and that its backlog is shorter than the industry average.
IAFF and AELP said high prices and long waits are endangering public safety in communities facing natural disasters, citing reports that dozens of fire trucks were out of commission during the wildfires that devastated two Los Angeles communities and killed at least 29 people earlier this year.
From Atlanta, to Houston, to San Francisco, cities and towns are facing a crisis where demand for new fire trucks outstrips availability and funding, Kelly said.
On top of long wait times, fire departments are being pushed into contracts with “floating” pricing structures, where the final price of a truck may go up after an order is placed.
“We are paying the price for all these corporate decisions. It serves the investor well, but it doesn’t serve the public when you call 911 and the ladder truck is out of service,” Kelly said.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that the concerned official has been directed to leave Pakistan within 24 hours.
Earlier, India expelled a Pakistani official working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
Pakistan on Tuesday declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission here “persona non grata” for engaging in activities what it called “incompatible” with his privileged status.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that the concerned official has been directed to leave Pakistan within 24 hours.
“The Government of Pakistan has declared a staff member of the Indian High Commission, Islamabad, as persona non grata for engaging in activities incompatible with his privileged status,” it said.
It added that the Indian Charge d’Affaires was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday for a démarche, conveying this decision.
Earlier, India expelled a Pakistani official working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for allegedly indulging in espionage.
Notably, Hafiz Abdur Rauf, can also be seen in the video, the man whom the Pakistani Army tagged as “A common family man”. He was earlier seen leading a funeral prayer for three terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor.
Father of LeT Terrorist, Killed In Operation Sindoor | X/@TahaSSiddiqui
A video of the father of a LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) terrorist who was killed in Operation Sindoor, surrounded by several LeT terrorists including Hafiz Abdur Rauf has been making the rounds on social media.
In the video, expressing pride in his sons who were killed in strikes by Indian armed forces for carrying out terrorist acts, said, “My two sons got martyred and I am proud of it, If I had five sons I would have sacrificed them as well.”
As soon as he concluded his speech, the group surrounding him erupts into raising slogans of “Nara-e-Takbir”, followed by “Allahu Akbar.” The crowd then raises slogan of “Shi Ullah, Sahi Ullah; Al Jihad, Al Jihad.”
#EXCLUSIVE Father of one of Laskhar e Taiba operatives killed by Indian strikes in Muridke is surrounded by other LeT reps including Hafiz Abdul Rauf, the man @OfficialDGISPR yesterday said was just a local cleric. Right after father’s speech, crowd chants “Al Jihad Al Jihad” pic.twitter.com/zzav804J6P
Notably, Hafiz Abdur Rauf, can also be seen in the video, the man whom the Pakistani Army tagged as “A common family man”. He was earlier seen leading a funeral prayer for three terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor.
🚨Is Hafiz Abdur Rauf really a Common man❓
Pakistan’s DG ISPR claims that LeT terrorist Hafiz Abdur Rauf is an ‘Innocent Man’#PIBFactCheck
❌DG ISPR’s “COMMON MAN” is a Globally Sanctioned Terrorist – clearly visible in the viral terrorist funeral picture
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh, Trump said he had offered trade incentives to both India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions.
US President Donald Trump |
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his claim that it was the United States that helped broker a “Historic Ceasefire” between India and Pakistan, a claim India has denied.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Riyadh, Trump said he had offered trade incentives to both India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions. “I said let’s do some trade,” Trump said.” He further said, “They both have very powerful leaders, strong leaders, good leaders, smart leaders.”
“It all stopped, hopefully it will remain that way,” he added. Trump then thanked US secretary of state Maro Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. He further said,”India, Pakistan are getting along, & they can have a nice dinner. Millions of people could have died due to the conflict.”
Full comments by US President Donald Trump on India Pakistan understanding of 10 May
“Let us not trade nuclear missiles, let us trade” goods
“India, Pakistan are getting along, & they can have a nice dinner 🍽️”
Earlier in the day, India refuted US President Donald Trump’s claim that he forced India and Pakistan to stop the military action against each other by threatening not to do trade with them if they continued to escalate the situation.
In a press conference on Tuesday, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reacted to Donald Trump’s claim and said that the issue of trade did not come up in discussions with the US regarding Operation Sindoor.
#WATCH | Delhi: On US President Donald Trump and trade, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, “From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on 7th May till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on 10th May, there were conversations between Indian and US… pic.twitter.com/iBAoLpg8n5
US President Donald Trump opened his four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday by paying a visit to Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for talks on US efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme, end the war in Gaza, hold down oil prices and more.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the annual ceremony at the eve of Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers (Yom HaZikaron) at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on Apr 29, 2025. (File photo: Pool via AFP/Abir Sultan)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days, a statement from his office said on Tuesday (May 13).
Early on Wednesday, Israel’s army issued an evacuation order for areas in northern Gaza.
“In the very coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation. Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with injured reserve soldiers in his office late on Monday.
“There will be no situation where we stop the war. A temporary ceasefire might happen, but we are going all the way,” he added.
Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on Mar 18 amid a deadlock over how to proceed with a Jan 19 ceasefire that had largely halted the war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Earlier this month, Israel’s government approved plans to expand its Gaza offensive, with officials talking of retaining a long-term presence there.
Israel’s military said the planned broader operation, which has drawn international condemnation, would include displacing “most” residents of the Palestinian territory.
Nearly all of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once during the war, sparked by Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel.
Israel has pushed for Palestinians to leave Gaza, with a senior security official saying that a “voluntary transfer programme … will be part of the operation’s goals”.
Israeli ministers have seized on a proposal initially floated by US President Donald Trump for the voluntary departure of Gazans to neighbouring countries such as Jordan or Egypt.
Cairo and Amman, along with other Arab allies, governments around the world and the Palestinians themselves, have flatly rejected the proposal.
During the meeting with soldiers, Netanyahu said Israel was working to find countries that may be willing to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“We’ve set up an administration that will allow them (Gaza residents) to leave but … we need countries willing to take them in. That’s what we’re working on right now,” he said, adding that he estimated “over 50 per cent will leave” if given the option.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Hamas can avoid Israel’s planned takeover of the Gaza Strip and secure humanitarian aid if the terrorist group signs on to a cease-fire framework pitched by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff — but time is running out, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said Monday.
To avoid a bloody ground invasion by the Jewish state, Hamas must release more than half of the 23 hostages believed to still be alive by the end of this week, Danny Danon told reporters at the UN.
“Israel is preparing a major operation in Gaza — we are not hiding it. We have … the troops ready,” he said. “If there will be no development in the negotiations, we will apply pressure — military pressure — in order to make sure that we bring back hostages and then eliminate Hamas.”
“If the … earlier framework of Envoy Witkoff is accepted, we will be able to avoid this operation, but you don’t have a lot of time for that,” he added.
Ambassador Danny Danon of Israel speaks to the press at UN Headquarters in New York. Lev Radin/Shutterstock
Danon urged Hamas to take the offer seriously, emphasizing that once the Israel Defense Forces get underway, “it’s not something you can stop in the middle of.”
Asked by The Post how long Hamas has to agree to the framework, Danon said the Israeli government wants to first see what comes of President Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week.
“Basically, I think we have few more days for the president,” he said. “I think that’s the time to get things done.”
Should Hamas agree, Israel would enter into a cease-fire with the terror group and send humanitarian aid into Gaza using private companies rather than international agencies like the UN or Red Cross, Danon said.
“I think they realize that we are serious this time, because it’s not talks — we put the plan on the table,” Danon said. “We’re going to encourage the population to move out from the north, to operate in the north, and we’ll use a lot of force — so they know what we will do.
“Now it’s up to them to decide whether they want to wait, you know, three, four months and negotiate when we will be in a different position in Gaza or if they want to negotiate now.”
Israel and the US have proposed using private companies to distribute aid to keep humanitarian help from being stolen and sold by Hamas, Danon said.
If Hamas accepts its offer, Israel will set up four initial humanitarian aid distribution points secured by the IDF, which could later be expanded to eight.
Civilians would be invited once a week to pick up aid on foot, but trucks would be banned to prevent individuals from taking more than what their families need, the ambassador said.
“It will make sure that the aid will go to the people — smaller quantities to more people,” he said.
The UN initially rejected the Israeli proposal May 6, with Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Jens Laerke calling it “a deliberate attempt to weaponize the aid.”
“Aid should be provided based on humanitarian need to whomever needs it,” Laerke said.
But Danon said he intends to make clear to the UN Security Council during a Tuesday briefing that “we are determined not to go back to the old mechanism when Hamas took advantage of the aid.”
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility for more than 51 attacks on Pakistani forces. The BLA urges the world, especially India, to support efforts to stop Pakistan’s terrorism and prevent nuclear risks.
The BLA warned of dire consequences if Pakistan’s current trajectory is not addressed.(Photo: X)
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has warned of a regional shift, declaring that “a new order has become inevitable” in South Asia. It rejected the claims of being a foreign proxy, the group called itself “a dynamic and decisive party” in the region’s future.
Separately, the BLA claimed it carried out 71 coordinated attacks at over 51 locations in occupied Balochistan, targeting Pakistani military and intelligence sites.
“We strongly reject the idea that Baloch national resistance is a proxy of any state or power. The BLA is neither a pawn nor a silent spectator,” the group said. “We have our rightful place in the current and future military, political and strategic formation of this region and are fully aware of our role.”
The BLA sharply blasted Pakistan, accusing it of using deceptive peace rhetoric while fostering terrorism. Addressing India directly, the BLA said, “Every talk of peace, ceasefire and brotherhood from Pakistan is merely a deception, a war tactic and a temporary ruse.”
BLA HITS MORE THAN 51 LOCATIONS
In a seperate release, the group claimed that it had carried out a large-scale coordinated offensive against Pakistani military positions. According to BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch, “During the height of India-Pakistan military escalation earlier this week, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) opened another front for the Pakistani military as it carried out 71 coordinated attacks, which went on for many hours, at more than 51 locations across the occupied Balochistan.”
Targets included military convoys, intelligence centres, and mineral transport vehicles. “The aim of these attacks was not simply to destroy the enemy but to test military coordination, ground control, and defensive positions, in order to strengthen readiness for future organised warfare,” Baloch said.
The BLA also accused Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment ISI, calling it a breeding ground for terrorism. “Pakistan has not only been a breeding ground for global terrorists but also a centre for the state-sponsored development of deadly terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and ISIS,” the statement read. “The ISI is the network behind this terrorism… Pakistan has become a nuclear state of violent ideology.”
The BLA appealed to the international community, including India, for political, diplomatic, and defence support, saying that this could pave the way for “a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan.”
“If we receive political, diplomatic and defence support from the world, especially from India, Baloch nation can eliminate this terrorist state,” the group stated.
WARNING OF NUCLEAR RISK
In its message, the BLA warned of dire consequences if Pakistan’s current trajectory is not addressed. “If Pakistan continues to be tolerated, then in the coming years very existence of this state may lead to the ruin of the entire world,” the statement warned. “The control of nuclear weapons by a fanatical military establishment is a ticking time bomb—not only for the region but for global security.”
Earlier, Pakistani army chief, Asim Munir, claimed that the “unrest” in Balochistan is the result of just 1,500 people, the government in Islamabad has conveniently blamed the Indian government for the home-grown, decades-long resistance in the province.
Multiple claims circulating on social media allege that Indian forces struck a nuclear arms storage facility in Pakistan’s Sargodha during ‘Operation Sindoor’. While the Mushaf airbase in Sargodha was confirmed as one of India’s missile targets, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, speaking at a press briefing on Monday, denied reports of any strike on the nearby nuclear facility at Kirana Hills.
“We have not hit Kirana Hills; I did not mention it in my briefing yesterday,” said Air Marshal Bharti.
The two sites are barely seven kilometres apart. Social media videos show dense plumes of smoke rising from the base of the rugged Kirana Hills. The absence of high-resolution satellite imagery makes it challenging to confirm whether nuclear assets, if any, at Kirana Hills were struck.
Geolocation by India Today’s Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) team places the smoke near the hills, based on footage posted on the day of the strikes. Notably, Air Marshal Bharti also denied information regarding the existence of nuclear assets at Kirana Hills.
A viral video on social media features a man claiming that the Indian military launched missile strikes on Kirana Hills.
A 2023 report by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an independent non-profit, identified Kirana Hills and nearby areas as a “subcritical nuclear test site.” The report, part of the Nuclear Notebook authored by scientists from the Federation of American Scientists, noted that the site likely includes munitions storage areas, TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher) garages, and at least 10 underground storage facilities.
Geolocation of the social media footage suggests the smoke’s source is less than a kilometre from the missile transport vehicle storage cited in the report. The impact site is also approximately 550 metres from a radar installation atop the hills. The distinctive hill formations in the analysed video closely match the terrain on Google Earth, with a nearby mosque visible in the footage further corroborating the location when compared to high-resolution satellite imagery.
The Sargodha Garrison, a large complex in and around Kirana Hills, is a nuclear test site reportedly used by Pakistan to advance its nuclear programme between 1983 and 1990. Directly northwest of a likely conventional munitions storage area, there are 10 potential TEL garages and two additional garages of different sizes, possibly for maintenance.
Senior researcher Matt Korda noted in the report that, unlike other TEL facilities across Pakistan, this TEL area lacks a standard layout and perimeter, possibly due to the garrison’s age.
To the east of the conventional munitions site lies an underground storage facility built into the hillside. Hans M. Kristensen and his team reported that “at least 10 underground facility entrances are visible through commercial satellite imagery, along with potential facilities for weapon and missile handling.”
Post-strike satellite imagery of the Kirana Hills complex was unavailable for further analysis.
OTHER SITES
Apart from Sargodha, Pakistan’s air bases housing Mirage III and Mirage V fighter jets—believed to have a nuclear delivery role—include Masroor and Rafiqui near Shorkot. While there is no official confirmation regarding Masroor, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi of the Indian Army confirmed a strike on the Rafiqui airbase. A low-resolution satellite image of the base shows what appears to be a crater.
Satellite imagery and official sources confirm damage to the runway at the Mushaf airbase following the strike on May 10. Located around 10 km from Lahore, the base is home to F-16A/B fighter jets, which have a 1,600 km range and are likely equipped to carry a single nuclear bomb on the centreline pylon, according to the report. However, Pakistan is obligated to the United States not to modify these aircraft for nuclear weapon delivery.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr speaks during a campaign rally ahead of the elections, in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David Purchase Licensing Rights
Allies of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr looked set to win at least half of the available Senate seats in a midterm election on Monday, an unofficial tally showed, in a contest seen as a referendum on his leadership and a fierce proxy battle with his estranged vice president.
Although 18,000 positions including mayors, governors and lawmakers were up for grabs, attention was firmly on the race for the influential Senate, with a bitter row between Marcos and his popular Vice President Sara Duterte dominating an election that could reshape the balance of power in the country of 110 million.
With most votes counted in the unofficial tally, Marcos’ allies were on course for half of the 12 available seats in the 24-member Senate, likely guaranteeing support for his policy agenda after the dramatic collapse of his once formidable alliance with Duterte, the daughter of maverick former leader Rodrigo Duterte.
Analysts say a Marcos-friendly Senate would not only secure passage of key legislation and backing for his pro-U.S. foreign policy, it could give him sway in deciding the political fate of his adversary Duterte, a likely 2028 presidential contender with Marcos limited to a single term.
What began as a united front between two powerful families that swept the 2022 election unravelled last year into an acrimonious feud, marked by a torrent of personal accusations and a bid to impeach Duterte on allegations she misused funds, amassed unexplained wealth and threatened to assassinate Marcos, the first lady and the House speaker. She denies wrongdoing.
The Senate contest was critical, with its members to become jurors if an impeachment trial goes ahead, where Duterte faces removal from office and a lifetime ban if convicted.
‘STAND WITH US’
Though Marcos has the edge, the voting indicates Duterte has a chance of acquittal, with four allies set to win Senate seats and give her an important foothold to rally support in the high-profile chamber, where a two-thirds majority is needed to convict her.
“This is not the end – it’s a renewed beginning,” Duterte said in a statement. “We invite all citizens – regardless of background or past affiliation – to join us in building a powerful and principled opposition.”
“We can shape a future that is fair, inclusive and just. Stand with us.”
Ederson Tapia, a political scientist at the University of Makati, said that although Marcos will hold clout in the Senate, things may not always go his way.
“We will see even more fragmentation at the Senate, especially, since many will jockey for 2028,” he said of the next presidential election.
“Duterte’s influence cannot be written off altogether.”
Fuelling the flames of the already charged election was former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by Philippine police in March at the request of the International Criminal Court, where he is detained and facing trial over a “war on drugs” during which thousands were killed.
Global stock markets surged on Monday after the U.S. and China agreed to slash steep tariffs for at least 90 days, tapping the brakes on a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies that had fed fears of a global recession.
But the temporary pause did little to address the underlying schisms that led to the dispute, including the U.S. trade deficit with China and U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for more action from Beijing to combat the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
While investors cheered the move, businesses were seeking more clarity.
Under the temporary truce, the U.S. will cut extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports last month from 145% to 30% for the next three months, the two sides said, while Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125%.
In addition to the tariff reductions, China agreed to lift export countermeasures issued after April 2, including restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets used widely in high tech manufacturing, U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview with Fox News.
Financial markets cheered the reprieve in a conflict that had brought nearly $600 billion in two-way trade to a standstill, disrupting supply chains and triggering layoffs.
Wall Street stocks finished sharply higher, with the S&P 500 closing at its highest level since March 3 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recording its highest close since February 28.
The dollar rose, while safe-haven gold prices fell as the news eased – but did not erase – concerns that Trump’s trade war could crater the global economy.
Trump and his allies hailed the agreement as proof his aggressive tariff strategy was paying dividends, after the U.S. struck preliminary pacts with Britain and now China.
“They’ve agreed to open China, fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China, I think it’s going to be fantastic for us, and I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace,” Trump said at the White House.
It was not yet clear whether the deep trade imbalances that have hollowed out U.S. manufacturing will be addressed.
Even U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who hammered out Monday’s agreement with Chinese counterparts in weekend talks in Geneva, has acknowledged it will take years to reset Washington’s trade relationship with Beijing.
China’s state media said Beijing held firm to its principles while opening a path to more cooperation with the U.S., breaking from its tone of defiance a week earlier.
“Economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S. has a deep foundation, great potential and broad space,” government-run broadcaster CCTV said in a commentary.
Trump campaigned in the 2024 election on addressing unfair trade practices and resurrecting U.S. manufacturing capacity. He won votes from blue-collar workers in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania that have lost manufacturing jobs for decades.
But Trump’s tariff policy also drew fire from a range of groups. Small businesses and truckers were girding for major repercussions from the China tariffs, while American consumers worried about rising costs.
Scott Kennedy, a China business and economics expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the administration needed to pull back or risk severe damage to the U.S. economy.
“This is 100% a retreat by the U.S., not a Chinese cave,” Kennedy said. “The U.S. was the one that launched the trade war and escalated it. The Chinese retaliated and they’ve only withdrawn their retaliatory measures.”
But Kelly Ann Shaw, an attorney with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld who worked as a key trade adviser during Trump’s 2017-2021 term, said Trump was simply fulfilling his campaign promises.
A truck carrying containers moves at Yantian port in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
“The president is doing what he said he would. This is absolutely about resolving disparities in the trading relationship,” she said.
She acknowledged that 90 days was not much time to address major U.S. concerns over non-tariff barriers such as subsidies for capital and labor.
“They’ve got their work cut out for them.”
ON-AND-OFF APPROACH
Seeking to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, Trump targeted countries worldwide with an array of tariffs and especially aggressive levies on China, which he blames for exacerbating the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
Markets shuddered in response, and last month Trump quickly paused most of his “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries, except China.
Trump’s on-and-off approach has rattled investors and weakened his approval ratings among U.S. voters worried tariffs will lift prices on everything from toys to cars.
The remaining U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports are still stacked atop prior duties. Even before Trump took office in January, China was saddled with 25% U.S. tariffs he had imposed on many industrial goods during his first term, with lower rates on some consumer goods.
The agreement leaves these duties unchanged, along with tariffs of 100% on electric vehicles and 50% on solar products imposed by former Democratic President Joe Biden.
Retailers may take a wait-and-see approach to 30% tariffs that would drive up prices for shoppers, said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest and the No. 1 ocean entry point for imports from China.
Monday’s accord also does not include the “de minimis” exemptions for low-value e-commerce shipments from China and Hong Kong, which the Trump administration terminated on May 2.
However, the tariffs were cut by more than many analysts had anticipated. Last week, Trump floated a much higher rate of 80%.
Shipping industry representatives said the temporary cuts may prompt many companies to restart loadings of goods while tariffs remain low, but uncertainty around any eventual deal may leave businesses wary of ramping up orders dramatically.
Mike Abt, co-president of family-owned Abt Electronics in Chicago, said the company is working down inventories squirreled away before tariffs went live.
“Everyone wants consistency, and that’s been the hard part of this whole thing,” he said. “It’s so fluid. It’s like a game of Risk, you really don’t know what the right answer is.”
Within the administration, the truce marked a victory for Bessent, a former hedge fund executive who had advocated for the earlier 90-day pause in the global reciprocal tariffs to allow time for negotiation.
Even after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military hostilities, Indian government websites are facing a barrage of cyber attacks from the neighbouring country as well as from Bangladesh and the Middle Eastern region, they said.
Cyber attack. For representation purpose Credit: Reuters File Photo
Maharashtra Cyber has identified seven Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups responsible for launching over 15 lakh cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure websites across India following the Pahalgam terror strike.
Of these, only 150 attacks were successful, officials said on Monday.
Even after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military hostilities, Indian government websites are facing a barrage of cyber attacks from the neighbouring country as well as from Bangladesh and the Middle Eastern region, they said.
Addressing reporters, a senior official of Maharashtra Cyber debunked claims of hackers stealing data from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, hacking aviation and municipal systems, and targeting the Election Commission website.
“The probe discovered that cyber attacks on (government websites in) India decreased after India-Pakistan ceased hostilities, but not fully stopped. These attacks continue from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco, and Middle Eastern countries,” he said.
In a report titled ‘Road of Sindoor’, prepared under the military operation launched by the Indian armed forces under the same name against terrorists, the state’s nodal cyber agency has detailed the cyber warfare launched by Pakistan-allied hacking groups.
The report has been submitted to all key law enforcement agencies, including the Director General of Police and the State Intelligence Department.
According to the report, these cyber attacks originated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Middle East, and an Indonesian group, said Yashasvi Yadav, Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber.
The methods used included malware campaigns, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, and GPS spoofing. Defacement of Indian websites was also reported.
Many such attacks were thwarted and critical infrastructure of India was saved, he said.
‘Road of Sindoor’ is a follow-up to Maharashtra Cyber’s earlier report ‘Echoes of Pahalgam’, which documented cyber attacks following the Pahalgam terror incident.
The seven hacking groups identified in the report are: APT 36 (Pakistan-based), Pakistan Cyber Force, Team Insane PK, Mysterious Bangladesh, Indo Hacks Sec, Cyber Group HOAX 1337, and National Cyber Crew (Pakistan-allied).
These groups collectively launched approximately 1.5 million targeted cyber attacks on Indian infrastructure, Yadav said.
Among the 150 successful attacks, the Kulgaon Badlapur Municipal Council website was defaced.
The attackers also claimed to have stolen data from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), as well as from telecom companies, with some of the data allegedly appearing on the darknet. Additionally, the website of the Defence Nursing College in Jalandhar was defaced.
The report also highlights a hybrid warfare strategy by Pakistan-allied groups that includes widespread misinformation campaigns. These groups falsely claimed to have hacked India’s banking system and caused power outages.
Maharashtra Cyber identified and removed over 5,000 instances of misinformation and fake news related to India-Pakistan military conflicts that were circulating on social media.
THE world’s first flying car that transforms into a plane is set to hit the market for a whopping £600,000 next year – but you’ll need another license to drive it.
Made in Slovakia by designer Stefan Klein and KleinVision’s co-founder Anton Zajac, the AirCar was approved for flight in 2022 following more than 200 successful takeoffs and landings.
The world’s first flying car that transforms into a plane is set to hit the market for a whopping £600,000Credit: KleinVision
The incredible vehicle is set to hit the market next year – making it the first flying car to release in a whopping 75 years.
A company spokesperson confirmed last week that the vehicle is scheduled to go on sale in early 2026 and will be priced at around $800,000 to $1 million USD – or £600,000.
It previously featured on one episode of The Grand Tour, where Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May watched it take off and land.
Test versions of the flying car have already clocked up more than 170 flight hours.
They’ve been spread across an impressive 500 take-offs and landings.
AirCar boasts that its flying vehicle can turn from a car to an aircraft “in less than two minutes”.
But it would need to pass local checks to be considered both road- and air-legal before drivers can actually use it properly.
And in order to operate the vehicle, you’ll need to have both a driver’s licence and a pilot’s licence.
On top of that, you’ll also need to undertake a specialised two-to-three month flying course.
Klein first began working on flying car concepts in the 1980s, but his AirCar prototype didn’t take flight until October 2020.
Since then, the AirCar has reportedly made hundreds of flights – including between different airports.
The Slovakian-made craft is said to have a range of 620 miles, and can reach heights of up to 15,000 feet.
It takes about two minutes to fully transform from a road car to a flying vehicle.
And it needs a run up of about 980 feet to take off, according to AirCar – that’s bad news if you’ve got a short driveway.
The AirCar received certification as an aircraft in Slovakia in early 2022.
AirCar has previously said that the car would cost somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million – that’s about £375,000 to £750,000.
“AirCar is composed of several functional units,” KleinVision explained.
“Its aerodynamic fuselage provides enough space for the passengers and, at the same time, contributes to better lift characteristics during the flight.
ARGENTINA has discovered 83 boxes of Nazi files filled with Hitler’s propaganda hidden in the Supreme Court’s basement.
The South American country has vowed to release the shocking secrets of the “ratlines” Hitler’s cronies used to flee Germany after World War II.
The bombshell discovery comes 84 years after the boxes arrived in Argentina.
The boxes were sent by the German embassy in Tokyo in June 1941 aboard the Japanese steamship “Nan-a-Maru”, according to the Argentinean Supreme Court.
German diplomatic representatives at the time claimed that the boxes contained personal items belonging to German people.
But the true contents of the boxes were soon uncovered, and they were confiscated by the Supreme Court.
The boxes reportedly contained postcards, photographs and propaganda material from the Nazi regime, along with thousands of notebooks belonging to the Nazi party.
The Supreme Court said: “Upon opening one of the boxes, we identified material intended to consolidate and propagate Adolf Hitler’s ideology in Argentina during the Second World War.”
The boxes have now been transferred to a high security location where they will be examined for any clues about the brutal Nazi regime.
This comes after Argentina promised to declassify all government documents relating to Nazis who fled to the South American country after the war in March.
The documents are thought to contain details about the so-called “ratlines” that helped Nazis escape from Europe.
Argentina was a refuge for fleeing war criminals, and there have even been conspiracy theories that Hitler hid out there.
The maniacal Nazi leader died after shooting himself in the head on April 30, 1945.
Adolf Hitler is believed to have take his own life in the Führerbunker in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin.
But in the months and years following his death conspiracy theories circulated over whether or not he actually died – and if he escaped instead.
It all began with the Soviet Union’s decision to seed two contradictory narratives in 1945: that Hitler died by taking cyanide or that he had survived and fled to another country.
Joseph Stalin himself even outright denied Hitler was dead when asked by US President Harry Truman.
It is known some Nazis used the “ratlines” to flee from Germany as the Third Reich collapsed.
What are the Nazi ratlines?
By Lydia Doye
THE Nazi “ratlines” were escape routes used by Nazis to flee Europe following the Second World War, in a last-ditch attempt to avoid being punished for war crimes.
Argentina was a refuge for fleeing war criminals, with the ratlines starting in Germany and coming through Spain before reaching the South American country.
Well-known Nazi cronies such as Adolf Eichmann, Josef Mengele, and Klaus Barbie are believed to have escaped through these notorious escape routes.
There have even been wild conspiracy theories over the years that the party’s maniacal leader Adolf Hitler fled to South America.
Conspiracy theories about Hitler’s death run rampant even some 76 years after he shot himself in the Fuhrerbunker.
Secret documents reveal investigations into claims Hitler had a body double, U-boat sightings in Argentina, and claims that Adolf was photographed alive in Colombia.
One document reported to the FBI in 1947 even described a town called “Casino” near Rio Grande in Brazil which appeared to be “entirely populated” by Germans.
FBI agents interviewed an informant, who claimed to be a former French resistance fighter, who said he saw Hitler and Eva Braun sitting at a resort in the town.
Many notorious Nazis did manage to escape to South America, but it is accepted by history that Hitler and Eva Braun were not among them.
Josef Mengele was among this group, fleeing to Argentina where he lived for a decade.
SHOWDOWN talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will be like an ice cold poker game, an expert says.
And one of the two rivals will have a clear upper hand if potential peace negotiations that could shape the future of Europe get underway in Istanbul.
A Ukrainian Leopard 2A4 tank firesCredit: AFP
Zelensky and Putin have met in public once before, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, in 2019, when they spoke about the conflict in the Donbas.
But the pair could now meet in the iconic Turkish city as they engage in a game of high stakes diplomatic brinkmanship.
Dr Colin Alexander at Nottingham Trent University has told The Sun that Zelensky needs to try and be smart about the man he would be sitting across from.
Putin would be level headed as he goes about trying to achieve his goals – something the Ukrainian needed to respect in order to get peace.
Dr Alexander said: “You’re playing the scenario, but you’re also playing the person as well.
“I know that’s maybe a poker analogy. But that’s kind of where we’re at with this if you’re negotiating with a professional.”
In such a high-pressure and emotionally charged set piece, an historic clash could erupt between Zelensky and Putin that rivals the infamous Oval Office row.
But Dr Alexander said: “Vladimir Putin is very different type of politician, a very shrewd, very intelligent politician, but he’s not going to engage with Zelensky in that [angry] way.
“I think that there’s there’s much greater seriousness to this, and he’s more likely to be more courteous, I think, to him.”
For Ukraine’s benefit, Dr Alexander said Zelensky had to have the same poker-like mindset.
Zelensky’s country has been invaded and tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed – but wartime diplomacy means talking to people you might detest in order to get peace.
He said: ” In these dreadful circumstances comes an understanding that you have to engage with people who you firmly disagree with, and may well find to be quite repugnant.
“Zelensky hopefully treats it with the maturity and the responsibility that it deserves.
“But that doesn’t mean that Zelensky won’t go in with the sort of painful memory of that moment at the White House in the back of his mind.”
Exactly how the meeting plays out depends on whether the two leaders see a genuine chance at finding an end to the war.
If not, then we would see “dead cats” – distraction tactics, like a fabricated row, could be used by either side to shift the focus from their being no substantive progress, Dr Alexander said.
That could even mean Zelensky ditching his pseudo-combat fatigues for a suit to try and signal to Donald Trump he’s serious about peace and change the media coverage in a clever bait and switch.
Dr Alexander said: “He’s [Zelensky] pretty good at the choreography aspect of politics, which in this highly mediated 21st century is kind of half the battle, or maybe even more than half the battle.”
If there is little progress, then some might see no chance of Putin meeting with Zelensky.
But Dr Alexander said that Putin risked being viewed as “petulant” even in his own country if he wouldn’t meet Zelensky or treated him badly if they did.
If everyone wants peace why is the war in Ukraine still raging? The answer is very simple
Comment by Jerome Starkey, Defence Editor for The Sun
EVERYONE says they want peace, so why is the war still raging in Ukraine?
The short answer is simple: Peace means very different things to very different people.
They have different goals and different motives. Vladimir Putin wants total conquest.
And he wants to be remembered as a modern Tsar who restored Russia’s imperial greatness.
Ukraine wants to survive, as a sovereign independent nation.
Europe wants a chastened Russia and peace that lasts beyond six months.
Trump just wants a deal — any deal at any price — with minerals thrown in for good measure.
He wants to claim the glory and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize for sorting out the carnage which he sees as Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s mess.
The American position is clear from the terrible deal they want Kyiv to accept.
Their so-called seven-point peace plan would freeze the war on the current front lines and force Ukraine to surrender almost all of its occupied territories — some 44,000 square miles — with almost nothing in return.
The expert believes there likely would be a handshake between the two leaders if they meet with Zelensky more likely to let his emotions show in the hand grasp.
Dr Alexander said: “How these two men will behave in the handshake carries a lot of of weight in it.”
If there is any actual progress on peace, diplomacy would likely occur behind closed doors.
“Whenever there is a sort of bilateral meeting of this nature, particularly given the high stakes… this is very much for public audience.”
But, for Zelensky to have Donald Trump’s backing he has to prove he is serious about peace.
One factor that sits in Zelensky’s favour is that Putin is a dictator and sets Russian policy himself.
Zelensky can reason directly with Putin and could try his best to change the Russian’s mind about an issue during the meeting – and therefore change Russian policy.
Whereas democrat Zelensky still has a democracy he is accountable to.
Dr Alexander said: “What’s interesting is that in in any meeting Zelensky cannot firmly make a decision. He has to go back and speak to other people.”
The talks between Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Indian DGMO and his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Kashif Abdullah took place at 5 pm, though it was originally scheduled at 12 noon. The two officers decided to talk on the hotline on Monday when they agreed on the ceasefire on Saturday.
Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt General Rajiv Ghai during a press conference on ‘Operation Sindoor’, in New Delhi, Monday, May 12, 2025. Credit: PTI Photo
After four days of intense conflict, the Director General of Military Operations of the Indian, and Pakistan Army spoke over the hotline on Monday and decided to continue with the commitment of not firing a single shot at each other.
They have also agreed upon considering steps for troop reduction from the border and forward areas besides not initiating any aggressive behaviour.
The talks between Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, Indian DGMO and his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Kashif Abdullah took place at 5 pm, though it was originally scheduled at 12 noon. The two officers decided to talk on the hotline on Monday when they agreed on the ceasefire on Saturday.
“Issues related to continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action against each other were discussed. It was also agreed that both sides consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas,” the Indian Army said in a brief statement.
But within hours of the DGMO talks, a small number of suspected drones were sighted near Samba in J&K in the evening, Army sources said. “The drones are being engaged and there is no need to be alarmed,” said an officer.
Sunday night remained largely peaceful across Jammu & Kashmir and other areas along the International Border with no report of any incident of aggression, marking the first calm night in recent days.
Tensions between India and Pakistan soared after the Indian armed forces hit nine terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, but Pakistan military launched a counter attack targeting Indian civil and military installation.
India struck back with the IAF hitting hard at multiple Pakistani military establishments, leading to a ceasefire agreement, as decided by the two DGMOs, on Saturday.
But the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire decision within a couple of hours, forcing India to send a second strong message across the border on Sunday.
On Sunday Lt Gen Ghai said, “My communication with the Pak DGMO was conducted at 15:35 hours yesterday and resulted in cessation of cross-border firing and air intrusions by either side with effect from 17:00 hrs, May 10 after he proposed that we cease hostilities. We also decided to further speak on May 12 at 1200 hrs to discuss the modalities that would enable the longevity of this understanding.”
Ex-marine Mitch Hutchcraft undertook the mammoth triathlon to reach the summit of Mount Everest
A former Royal Marine has reached the summit of Mount Everest after swimming, cycling and running more than 8,000 miles.
Mitch Hutchcraft started by swimming the English Channel on 15 September and the 240-day challenge concluded when he topped the world’s highest mountain on Sunday at 07:30 BST.
His team said it was the world’s longest ever ascent of Everest from sea to summit.
The 31-year-old, from Ramsey in Cambridgeshire, said the achievement was “more magical than I could have ever dreamed”.
“Although I lost my dad 11 years ago, he was with me every step of the way,” said Hutchcraft, speaking to his team over the phone after summiting.
“It’s been tough. Really tough. The most difficult thing I’ve ever done.
“But I couldn’t be happier and more proud of finishing this epic adventure.”
After swimming the 35km width (21 miles) of the Channel from Dover, Hutchcraft cycled about 12,000 km (7,456 miles) from Europe to Digha in India.
He then ran 900km (559 miles) to Kathmandu in Nepal, before starting his 360km (223-mile) trek to Everest basecamp.
Hutchcraft, who now lives in Torquay in Devon, said he had dreamed of completing the climb since he was eight years old.
“Never in a million years did I think this would be how I’d get here,” he said.
“I just want it to inspire others to believe that whatever they’re dreaming, however small, they just need to get out there and smash it.”
In his previous challenges, Hutchcraft has rowed 3,000 miles (4,800km) across the Atlantic and cycled 5,000km (3,100 miles) across North America.
Hutchcraft, who has had a full knee reconstruction, was once told the surgery would make it impossible to even join the military, let alone complete a challenge of this magnitude.
He has been raising money for SAVSIM, a wildlife conservation organisation, dedicated to providing mental health support to veterans and others suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and similar issues.
He said: “For me this is so much more than just a dream to make history, it is also the chance to raise funds and awareness for an amazing non-profit organisation very close to my heart and give back to veteran mental health and wildlife conservation.”
President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (Photo: AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
US President Donald Trump on Monday (May 12) angrily dismissed concerns over his plans to receive a jet from Qatar to be used as Air Force One, saying it would be “stupid” not to accept such a gift.
The offer from Qatar’s royal family to donate the US$400 million 747-8 to be used as the US presidential plane raised major questions about ethics and security, but Trump played them down.
“It’s a great gesture,” the 78-year-old billionaire told reporters at the White House when asked if the oil-rich Gulf state would expect anything in exchange.
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person (and) say ‘no we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.'”
Qatar’s offer came after Trump repeatedly complained of delays and cost overruns in aerospace giant Boeing’s contract to provide two new Air Force One jets to replace the current ageing models.
Trump responded particularly angrily when asked if he would use the jet in a personal capacity after he left the presidency.
“You should be embarrassed asking that question,” Trump told a reporter. “They’re giving us a free jet. I could say, no, no, no, don’t give us I want to pay you US$1 billion or US$400 million, or whatever it is. Or I could say, thank you very much.”
Trump said that instead it would be donated to his future presidential library as an exhibit, in the same way that Ronald Reagan’s library holds a former Air Force One jet.
“NUCLEAR-GRADE GRAFT”
Qatar swiftly sought to downplay the uproar, saying the jet would not be a gift.
“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense,” said Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attache to Washington.
But the plan has raised major ethical questions, as the US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince or foreign State.”
It has also raised deep security concerns about using a plane donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One. The jet is designed to serve as a mobile command center for the president in case of an attack on America.
Democrats slammed the plan.
“Any president who accepts this kind of gift, valued at US$400 million, from a foreign government creates a clear conflict of interest,” said a statement by four members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The statement by Senators Cory Booker, Brian Schatz, Chris Coons and Chris Murphy said it also “raises serious national security questions, invites foreign influence, and undermines public trust in our government.”
Murphy said separately that he would also block any arms sale to a “nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump,” describing Qatar’s proposed gift as “nuclear-grade graft.”
“UTMOST TRANSPARENCY”
Trump and the White House however claim the Qatari jet would be a gift to the US Department of Defense, which would also get around constitutional concerns.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Qatar had “graciously offered” to donate a plane to the Pentagon but that the “legal details of that are still being worked out”.
“Any donation to this government is always done in full compliance with the law, and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency, and we will continue to do that,” she told Fox News.
Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets – two highly customised Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H W Bush.
The DGMOs of India and Pakistan engaged in discussions regarding the ceasefire understanding established on May 10. Both parties confirmed their commitment to not engage in any hostile actions or provocations.
(Image: PTI)
The Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan held talks on Monday over the ceasefire understanding reached on May 10. During the talks, both sides discussed the need to maintain restraint and reiterated that not a single shot would be fired, and no side would initiate any hostile provocation going forward, Indian Army sources said.
The two sides also expressed the need to adhere to the previous ceasefire understanding and called for a phased reduction of troops from sensitive forward areas and international borders.
Both sides discussed the importance of maintaining restraint and reiterated that no side shall fire a single shot or initiate any hostile or provocative move going forward.
The talks were held in a cordial but firm atmosphere, and both sides expressed the need to adhere to previously agreed ceasefire understandings.
It was further agreed during the discussion that immediate measures would be considered to facilitate a phased reduction of troops from sensitive forward areas and international borders.
Both sides are expected to remain in contact through military channels to monitor the ground situation and avoid any miscalculation or unintended escalation.
Pakistan violates ceasefire
Three-and-a-half hours after India and Pakistan reached an understanding on a ceasefire on May 10, Pakistani drones were spotted in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan. A ceasefire violation was confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a late-night briefing.
Both sides had agreed to stop all firing and military action on land and in the air and sea from 5 PM, May 10 and a ceasefire was announced, after Pakistan’s DGMO called the Indian DGMO. However, the understanding fell through shortly after.
Videos have circulated on social media and it is being reported that Indian air defence systems responded to drone attacks from Pakistan. The incident occurred on the third day of the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
Pakistani Drones Intercepted & Destroyed | X
Tensions rose in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba on Monday evening as the district witnessed loud explosions and red streaks in the sky amid blackout. Videos have circulated on social media and it is being reported that Indian air defence systems responded to drone attacks from Pakistan. The incident occurred on the third day of the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
There are reports that the drones were detected entering Indian airspace, which was intercepted and destroyed by the forces. Blackout has been initiated in Samba as precautionary measure to reduce the visibility and to prevent any hostile drone attacks to protect the residents in the area.
ANI reported, red streaks seen and explosions heard as India’s air defence intercepts Pakistani drones amid blackout in Samba. It also reported that there was no drone activity observed for the past 15 minutes.
#UPDATE: After the first wave of drone activity and Air Defence fire. Now, No drone activity observed for the past 15 minutes in Samba. https://t.co/wsJnadZGvx
Authorities have not reported any damage or injuries so far. People have been advised to stay calm and follow official instructions. The situation is being closely monitored by the security forces.
A sudden blackout has been imposed in Punjab’s Amritsar as a precautionary measure on Monday evening. The authorities said that sirens will be sounded and also urged the people to keep calm.
