Category: World

Police in India have arrested a man, who is accused of impersonating a British doctor, for performing surgeries that allegedly led to the death of seven patients.

Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav – also known as Dr N John Camm – worked as a cardiologist at a missionary hospital in Madhya Pradesh state.

Police accuse him of fraud, cheating and forgery and allege that the 53-year-old, who has worked as a doctor for almost two decades, faked his medical degrees.

They are also investigating allegations that he added the name of Prof John Camm, a leading cardiologist at UK’s St George Hospital, to his own to gain credibility. Mr Yadav has denied the allegations against him.

On Monday, just hours before he was arrested, he sent a legal notice of 50m rupees ($580,000; £455,000) to two dozen individuals and publishers for claiming he impersonated “some other cardiologist”.

The Mission Hospital in Damoh city, where Mr Yadav worked for a few weeks, has denied having any knowledge of his alleged fake credentials.

“Nobody suspected him of being a fake doctor. He was good at his job and acted like a big-time professor,” a hospital official told The Indian Express newspaper.

The case first came to light in February, when a child welfare committee in Damoh flagged the deaths to district officials.

“We got suspicious about his expertise and checked his credentials online and found that he had cases against him in at least three states,” claimed Deepak Tiwari, president of the district Child Welfare Committee.

An investigation found that Mr Yadav had quit his job at the hospital earlier that month and “gone missing” without explanation.

He was arrested in the city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state on Monday evening.

“The accused doctor had worked on a total of 64 cases, including 45 cases of angioplasty, which led to seven patient deaths,” the district’s police chief Shrut Kirti Somvanshi told BBC Hindi.

It’s not yet clear whether his degrees are genuine or fake, but police believe they were likely to be forged as the documents lack key details, such as a unique registration number given to each student.

This is not the first time that questions have been raised about Mr Yadav’s identity.

In a 2019 blog post, he claimed that he trained in the UK under Prof A John Camm and joined St George’s hospital in 2002 as an “Interventional Cardiologist”.

He claimed he first returned to India in 2003 to work at a leading heart hospital in Delhi and had worked in the US, Germany and Spain since then.

In one post shared in 2021, Mr Yadav wrote that he was developing a 5,000-bed John Camm Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in the western state of Rajasthan.

“The hospital is being developed under [the] leadership of Dr N John Camm, renowned Interventional Cardiologist from Germany, and will [be] spread over 100 acres of land and will have world class research and tissue labs,” he claimed.

But public records show that he registered four companies in the UK in 2018 under the name of Dr Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, which he later got changed to Dr Narendra John Camm.

In 2023, a well-known fact-checker in India too had raised questions about his credentials after he allegedly created an X (formerly Twitter) account under the name of “Prof N John Camm”.

After some of his posts went viral, the real Prof Camm put out a statement clarifying that it was not his account and that he was being impersonated.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8q7489l71o

China has called US Vice-President JD Vance “ignorant and impolite” after he said America had been borrowing money from “Chinese peasants”.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters on Tuesday that Vance’s comments – which had already caused a stir on Chinese social media – were “surprising and sad”.

Vance made the comments on Thursday, during an interview on Fox News where he defended US President Donald Trump’s tariffs – which are currently fuelling tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

“We borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture,” the vice-president said.

On Monday, Trump gave China – one of the world’s largest holders of US Treasury bonds – until Tuesday to scrap its 34% counter tariff or face an additional 50% tax on goods imported into the US.

If Trump acts on his threat, US companies could face a total rate of 104% on Chinese imports – as it comes on top of 20% tariffs already put in place in March and the 34% announced last week.

China has said it will “fight to the end” as it called Trump’s moves “bullying”.

“China’s position on China-US economic and trade relations has been made very clear,” Lin said on Tuesday.

Vance’s comments had already caused a stir among Chinese social media users, some of whom have called for him to be banned from entering China.

“As a key figure in the US government, it is really shameful for Vance to say such things,” one Weibo user wrote.

“Isn’t his memoir called ‘Hillbilly Elegy’?” wrote another user, a reference to Vance’s book which detailed his upbringing in rural America.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20zd4k6d36o

Indian police have arrested a 24-year-old American Youtuber who visited an off-limits island in the Indian ocean and left an offering of a Diet Coke can and a coconut in an attempt to make contact with an isolated tribe known for attacking intruders.

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was arrested on March 31, two days after he set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel Island — part of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands — in a bid to meet people from the reclusive Sentinelese tribe, police said.

A local court last week sent Polyakov to a 14-day judicial custody and he is set to appear again in the court April 17. The charges carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine. Indian authorities said they had informed the U.S. Embassy about the case.

Visitors are banned from traveling within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of the island, whose population has been isolated from the rest of the world for thousands of years. The inhabitants use spears and bows and arrows to hunt the animals that roam the small, heavily forested island. Deeply suspicious of outsiders, they attack anyone who lands onto their beaches.

In 2018, an American missionary who landed illegally on the beach was killed by North Sentinel islanders who apparently shot him with arrows and then buried his body on the beach. In 2006, the Sentinelese had killed two fishermen who had accidentally landed on the shore.

Indian officials have limited contacts to rare “gift-giving” encounters, with small teams of officials and scientists leaving coconuts and bananas for the islanders. Indian ships also monitor the waters around the island, trying to ensure outsiders do not go near the Sentinelese, who have repeatedly made clear they want to be left alone.

Police said Polyakov was guided by GPS navigation during his journey and surveyed the island with binoculars before landing. He stayed on the beach for about an hour, blowing a whistle to attract the attention but got no response from the islanders.

He later left a can of Diet Coke and a coconut as an offering, made a video on his camera, and collected some sand samples before returning to his boat.

On his return he was spotted by local fishermen, who informed the authorities and Polyakov was arrested in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago nearly 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) east of India’s mainland. A case was registered against him for violation of Indian laws that prohibit any outsider to interact with the islanders.

Police said Polyakov had conducted detailed research on sea conditions, tides and accessibility to the island before starting his journey.

“He planned meticulously over several days to visit the island and make a contact with the Sentinel tribe,” Senior Police Officer Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal said.

In a statement, police said Polyakov’s “actions posed a serious threat to the safety and well-being of the Sentinelese people, whose contact with outsiders is strictly prohibited by the law to protect their indigenous way of life.”

Source : https://apnews.com/article/india-sentinelese-tribe-american-youtuber-ef322e67a2d1564096d6feeeb4b2e58d

Olja Ivanic looked forward to welcoming some cousins from Sweden to her Denver home in June. Ivanic and the four travelers were planning to go hiking in Colorado and then visit Los Angeles and San Francisco.

But then President Donald Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a February meeting at the White House. Ivanic’s four relatives immediately canceled their scheduled trip and decided to vacation in Europe instead.

“The way (Trump) treated a democratic president that’s in a war was beyond comprehensible to them,” said Ivanic, who is the U.S. CEO of Austria-based health startup Longevity Labs.

The U.S. tourism industry expected 2025 to be another good year in terms of foreign travelers. The number of international visitors to the United States jumped in 2024, and some forecasts predicted arrivals from abroad this year would reach pre-COVID levels.

But three months into the year, international arrivals are plummeting. Angered by Trumps’ tariffs and rhetoric, and alarmed by reports of tourists being arrested at the border, some citizens of other countries are staying away from the U.S. and choosing to travel elsewhere.

The federal government’s National Travel and Tourism Office released preliminary figures Tuesday showing visits to the U.S. from overseas fell 11.6% in March compared to the same month last year. The figures did not include arrivals from Canada, which is scheduled to report tourism data later this week, or land crossings from Mexico. But air travel from Mexico dropped 23%.

For the January-March period, 7.1 million visitors entered the U.S. from overseas, 3.3% fewer than during the first three months of 2024.

The travel forecasting company Tourism Economics, which as recently as December anticipated the U.S. would have nearly 9% more international arrivals this year, revised its annual outlook last week to predict a 9.4% decline.

Tourism Economics expects some of the steepest declines will be from Canada, where Trump’s repeated suggestion that the country should become the 51st state and tariffs on close trading partners have angered residents. Canada was the largest source of visitors to the U.S. in 2024, with more than 20.2 million, according to U.S. government data.

Flight Centre Travel Group Canada, a travel booking site, said leisure bookings to U.S. destinations were down 40% in March compared to the same month a year ago. Air Canada has reduced its schedule of spring flights to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona due to lack of demand.

The National Travel and Tourism Office gave a rosier forecast last month for international travel to the U.S. Based on 2024 travel patterns, the office said it expected arrivals to increase 6.5% to 77.1 million this year and surpass 2019 levels in 2026.

But Tourism Economics said the impact of the less favorable view of the U.S. from abroad could be severe enough that international visits won’t surpass pre-pandemic levels until 2029.

“The survey data is all indicating a significant mix of cancellations and a massive drop in intent to travel,” Tourism Economics President Adam Sacks said.

Ian Urquhart, a professor emeritus at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, was supposed to go to Las Vegas for five days in June and see Coldplay in concert. He canceled the trip to protest Trump’s “incredibly disparaging tone” toward Canada even though it meant losing a $500 deposit on the vacation package.

His oldest daughter similarly nixed a planned May trip to Sedona, Arizona, while his brother-in-law decided not to go on his usual weeklong golf trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, according to Urquhart.

“None of us jumped for joy when we made those decisions, but it seemed to be one of the few ways we could signal how we felt about the bullying that has been directed towards Canada by your president,” Urquhart said.

For Pepa Cuevas and her husband, who live in Madrid, Trump’s election in November was a turning point. The couple had planned to spend a month skiing in Colorado over the winter holidays. They went to Japan instead.

“Trump’s victory left us, especially me, very shocked,” Cuevas said. “For the moment, we have lost the desire to return. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but for the moment we are still shocked, and it doesn’t look like this is going to be resolved.”

According to the government data released Tuesday, international arrivals from China were down nearly 1%. Leisure trips by Chinese citizens to places like Disneyland, Hawaii and New York are decreasing dramatically and likely won’t pick up again until Trump has left office, said Wolfgang Georg Arlt, the CEO of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute. He dubs it the “Trump Slump.”

That slump has financial consequences. Tourism Economics expects U.S. spending by international visitors to drop by $9 billion this year.

Marco Jahn is the president and CEO of New World Travel, a California company that works with overseas tour operators on vacation packages and activity planning. It arranges the hotels and rental cars for a family that wants to take a driving tour of U.S. national parks, for example.

Jahn said bookings have dropped between 20% and 50%, depending on the source market, over the last eight to 10 weeks. He notes particular declines from Scandinavia, where Trump’s repeated threat to take control of Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO ally Denmark, has antagonized citizens.

“The U.S. is not perceived as a welcoming destination,” Jahn said.

Beyond, a revenue management platform for vacation rental owners, said Canadian searches for short-term rentals in the U.S. plunged 44% after Feb. 1, when Trump first announced a since-paused 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico. Florida, Texas and New York were among the hardest-hit markets, Beyond said.

American Ring Travel, a tour operator based in California, offers carbon-neutral bus tours of the U.S. that often attract eco-conscious travelers from Europe, said Richard Groesz, the company’s director of contracting. But bookings from Germany flattened starting in January after Elon Musk threw his support behind a far-right political party in that country’s federal election, Groesz said.

There are other issues impacting foreign visits. The U.S. has been the top destination by country for Japanese tourists for years, but data compiled by JTB Tourism Research & Consulting showed South Korea topped the U.S. in January.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/tourism-us-travel-trump-visitors-international-14c31b490fd382d09ad5cae625ddc937

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said it has reached a preliminary agreement with Argentina on a $20 billion bailout, providing a welcome reprieve to President Javier Milei as he seeks to overturn the country’s old economic order.

As a staff-level agreement, the rescue package still requires final approval from the IMF’s executive board, which was expected to meet in the coming days.

The fund’s long-awaited announcement offered a lifeline to President Milei, who has cut inflation and stabilized Argentina’s economy with a free-market austerity agenda. His policies have reversed the reckless borrowing of left-wing populist governments that had brought the country infamy for defaulting on its debts numerous times. Argentina has received more IMF bailouts than any other nation.

It came at a critical moment for South America’s second-biggest economy. Pressure had been mounting on Argentina’s rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves as the government tightened rules on money-printing and spent more of its scarce dollars to prop up the wobbly Argentine peso.

Fears grew that if Milei’s government failed to secure an IMF loan or tap a major source of foreign currency, its hard-won austerity measures would veer off-track and leave Argentina, once again, unable to service its huge debts or pay its import bills.

The fresh cash gives Milei a serious shot at easing Argentina’s strict foreign exchange controls, which he says he needs to encourage investment and convince markets that his reforms can be sustained in the notoriously volatile nation.

The controls mean that companies can’t send profits abroad and ensures the central bank manages the peso, which is pegged to the dollar.

With 22 IMF loans handed out since 1958, Argentina owes the IMF more than $40 billion. Most IMF funds are used repay the IMF itself, giving the organization a divisive reputation among Argentines. Many blame the lender for the country’s historic economic implosion and debt default in 2001.

The IMF, which had been wary of striking yet another deal with its largest debtor, had nonetheless praised Milei’s austerity measures — an even harsher version of its own typical prescription — over his first 16 months in office.

The former TV personality and self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” came to power with the goal of downsizing Argentina’s bloated state, ending the country’s proclivity for money-printing, opening the economy to international markets and wooing foreign investors after years of isolation.

Unlike Argentine politicians in years past who sought to avoid enraging the masses with brutal austerity, Milei has fired tens of thousands of state employees, dissolved ministries, gutted the education sector, cut inflation adjustments for pensions, froze public works projects, lifted price controls and slashed subsidies.

Critics note that the poor have paid the highest price for Argentina’s macroeconomic stability.

But Milei has maintained solid approval ratings, which analysts attribute to his success in driving down inflation. Flipping budget deficits to surpluses has sent Argentina’s stock market booming and its country-risk rating, a pivotal barometer of investor confidence, tumbling.

“The agreement builds on the authorities’ impressive early progress in stabilizing the economy, underpinned by a strong fiscal anchor, that is delivering rapid disinflation and a recovery in activity,” the IMF said in a statement announcing the agreement on the loan under a 48-month arrangement. “The program supports the next phase of Argentina’s homegrown stabilization and reform agenda.”

Source : https://apnews.com/article/argentina-imf-debt-bailout-4eae101f7575dc735df74c9aa0fac2cf

Between the staggeringly long baggage check and security lines, the frustrating searches for working outlets, and the too-cramped, backache-inducing seats, flying (devoid of the perks of business and first class, of course) can hardly be a joyful experience — at least until you get where you’re going.

What can ease the stress, however, is good food. And some fabulous airports have a profusion of it that transcends the reliably ubiquitous fast-food mainstays of days past.

The 2025 Global Tastemakers panel of food and travel experts has voted these airports from around the world as the best for eating and drinking, whether the ambiance is fancy or casual. These transit hubs champion a more positive, progressive vision of jet-setting, one infused with an inviting touch of old glamour. Getting stuck in transit at one of these for longer than you hoped might not be too upsetting. At least you don’t have to make do with an overpriced, lackluster sandwich wrapped in plastic for dinner.

Winner: Dubai International Airport (Dubai, UAE)

Constructed by a mysterious civilisation that left no written records, the massive site is now open to the public for the first time in more than a century.

Autumn leaves crackled under our shoes as dozens of eager tourists and I followed a guide along a grassy mound. We stopped when we reached the opening of a turf-topped circle, which was formed by another wall of mounded earth. We were at The Octagon, part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, a large network of hand-constructed hills spread throughout central and southern Ohio that were built as many as 2,000 years ago. Indigenous people would come to The Octagon from hundreds of miles away, gathering regularly for shared rituals and worship.

“There was a sweat lodge or some kind of purification place there,” said our guide, Brad Lepper, senior archaeologist for the Ohio History Connection’s World Heritage Program (OHC), as he pointed to the circle. I looked inside to see a perfectly manicured lawn – a putting green. A tall flag marked a hole at its centre.

That’s because from 1910 through 2024, The Octagon had been used as a golf course. But on 1 January 2025, this ancient, enigmatic site reopened to visitors for the first time in more than a century.

All these prehistoric ceremonial earthworks in Ohio were created by what is now called the Hopewell Culture, a network of Native American societies that gathered from as far away as Montana and the Gulf of Mexico between roughly 100 BCE and 500 CE and were connected by a series of trade routes. Their earthworks in Ohio consist of shapes – like circles, squares and octagons – that were often connected to each other. Archaeologists are only now beginning to understand the sophistication of these engineering marvels.

Built with astonishing mathematical precision, as well as a complex astronomical alignment, these are the largest geometrical earthworks in the world that were not built as fortifications or defensive structures. And while most people have never heard about the sites or its builders, that may be about to change.

In 2023, eight of Hopewell’s earthworks were inscribed as a Unesco World Heritage site. These include The Great Circle and The Octagon in Newark, Ohio, as well Ohio’s first state park, Fort Ancient (not an actual fort). The other five are part of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park: Mound City, Hopeton Earthworks, High Bank Works, Hopewell Mound Group and Seip Earthworks.

Lepper told me The Octagon and The Great Circle were once a larger, single Hopewell complex spanning 4.5 square miles and connected by a series of roads lined by earthwork walls. Walking through both sites today, there is an immediate shock of scale. The Great Circle, where the museum for Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is found, is 1,200ft in diameter. Its walls rise up to 14ft high and are outlined on the inside by a deep ditch. The Great Circle was once connected to a square and a burial ellipse, with only part of the square still visible today. The Octagon sprawls a massive 50 acres and is attached to the 20-acre Observatory Circle, a large earthwork circle for gathering and rituals connected to the observation of the night sky.

“You could put four Roman Colosseums inside just The Octagon,” Lepper told me. “Stonehenge would fit within just that small circle now serving as a putting green.” He added that 2,000 years ago, Indigenous workers built these earthworks without modern tools, digging up soil with pointed sticks and hauling it in wicker baskets on their backs. One estimate, he noted, is that they moved seven million cubic feet of dirt.

The achievement of the Hopewell Culture, however, is not simply in creating large, precise shapes, which they did without the vantage point of hills for an aerial view. They also embedded a sort of hidden geometry within these structures. Until the mounds were measured and compared, it was thought that the builders didn’t have any mathematical and geometrical sophistication, as there are no written records to testify to their level of knowledge. It was eventually discovered, however, that they made precise measurements across their earthworks and connected them in unsuspecting ways.

Lepper explained that the circumference of The Great Circle “is equal to the perimeter of the perfect square that it was connected to”, and that “the area of that perfect square is equal to the area of the [Observatory Circle] that’s connected to The Octagon”.

He added: “If you draw a square inside The Octagon by drawing a line from alternate corners of The Octagon, the sides of that square [1,054ft] are equal to the diameter of the circle that it’s attached to [1,054ft].”

Examples of this interplay between earthworks have been found repeatedly by archaeologists. According to Lepper, that measure of 1054ft, whether halved or doubled, is found in other Indigenous earthworks across the country, and served as a common unit of measure.

While the Hopewell Culture’s geometrical and mathematical knowledge astonished scholars, another level of sophistication appears when the layers are peeled back further: astronomical alignment.

In the 1980s, two professors at Earlham College in Indiana, Ray Hively (a physicist and astronomer) and Robert Horn (a philosopher), decided to pay a visit to The Octagon and its attached Observatory Circle. As astronomical monuments like Stonehenge had received great attention, they wondered if these earthworks were also aligned to a solar calendar.

Hively and Horn found no solar connections, but they then considered an alternative purpose: the lunar cycle.

“We thought deliberate lunar alignments unlikely at Newark,” they wrote, because while the Sun can be tracked over a year, a complete lunar cycle takes 18.6 years. Even so, the lunar cycle proved to correspond to the position of the Observatory Mound at The Observatory Circle. There, one can watch the Moon rise over the exact centre of The Octagon in the distance every 18.6 years.

“Astronomical alignments are only relevant and useful if they somehow tie the celestial orbs to belief systems and understandings of life,” said Timothy Darvill, professor of archaeology at Bournemouth University who has researched both Stonehenge and the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks. “The ceremonies around the observation of the skyscape could well have a secondary function in terms of fostering community.”

That ancient community and culture was part of the reason for its Unesco World Heritage Site inclusion.

A Unesco site needs to show that it has “outstanding universal value”, said Jennifer Aultman, director of historic sites and museums at Ohio History Connection which helped lead its Unesco consideration. One criterion for this, she said, “is that these are masterpieces of human creative genius”, which is where these mathematical, geometrical and astronomical features are important. The other, “is that they bear really exceptional testimony to the cultural tradition that produced them”.

Aultman explained: “You really can understand something about the lives of the people and what mattered to them by looking at, and learning about, the earthworks.”

Consider the Moon, for example, which was clearly important for the Hopewell Culture. Darvill told me that, for some cultures, the “Sun, Moon… are considered to have power over what happens on a day-to-day basis. As such, the heavenly bodies are often deified, which is how their power is justified and rationalised.” It is therefore likely that the Moon was a deity shared by those who gathered at the mounds.

“The land we know as Ohio is home to a number of extraordinary earthworks built by Indigenous residents of this region thousands of years ago,” said Megan Wood, executive director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection. While not all earthworks in Ohio are specifically Hopewell Mounds – such as the solar-aligned Serpent Mound Historical Site in Peebles, Ohio, for example – Wood sees them all as “icons” of Indigenous “cultural achievements”.

Since the Hopewell Culture left no written records, only the earthworks and the few objects retrieved from them serve as their last cultural testimony. While archaeological excavations continue on some sites, objects like ritual smoking pipes and a small stone statue of a shaman wearing a bear skin and holding a human skull called “the Shaman of Newark” have been found. As these earthworks were gathering places and not villages, artefacts representing the locations from where these Indigenous peoples travelled have also been discovered, like effigy pipes, a copper head plate and an obsidian knife.

However, after the Hopewell Culture gradually began to disappear starting around 500 CE, other Indigenous peoples stepped in to become caretakers of the land. One of those groups was the Shawnee Tribe, which called Ohio home before they were forcibly removed west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s.

“We may not have been responsible for building or creating them, but I know that my ancestors lived there, and that my ancestors protected them and respected them,” said Chief Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, who believes that other tribes should have a role in the future of protecting the Hopewell Earthworks and communicating their cultural importance.

For years, The Octagon was under the control of the Moundbuilders Country Club. After more than a decade of negotiations, the OHC and the club finally reached a deal in 2024 to transfer the site’s long-term lease to the historical society, paving the way for them to open the earthworks to visitors beginning this January.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221204-the-us-2000-year-old-mystery-mounds

The roof of an iconic nightclub in the Dominican capital collapsed early Tuesday during a merengue concert attended by politicians, athletes and others, leaving at least 79 people dead and 160 injured, authorities said.

Crews were searching for potential survivors in the rubble at the one-story Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, said Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center of Emergency Operations.

“We continue clearing debris and searching for people,” he said on Tuesday night. “We’re going to search tirelessly for people.”

Nearly 12 hours after the top of the nightclub collapsed onto patrons, rescue crews were still pulling out survivors from under the debris, shushing those around them so they could listen for faint cries for help. Firefighters removed blocks of broken concrete and used sawed pieces of wood as planks to lift heavy debris as the noise of drills breaking through concrete filled the air.

Méndez said rescue crews were prioritizing three areas in the club: “We’re hearing some sounds.”

Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz, was among the victims. She had called President Luis Abinader at 12:49 a.m., saying she was trapped and that the roof had collapsed, first lady Raquel Abraje told reporters. Officials said Cruz died later at the hospital.

“This is too great a tragedy,” Abraje said, her voice breaking.

The Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic posted on X that former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel, 51, also died. Officials had pulled Dotel from the debris earlier and brought him to a hospital. Also killed was Dominican baseball player Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera, said league spokesman Satosky Terrero.

Late Tuesday night, those still looking for their family and friends gathered around a man playing a guitar outside the club as they sang hymns.

Officials said at least 160 people were injured, among them national lawmaker Bray Vargas.

Relatives of merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was performing when the roof collapsed, initially said that he had been rescued, but Méndez said later Tuesday that wasn’t true. He said rescue crews were still looking for Pérez.

Pérez’s manager, Enrique Paulino, whose shirt was spattered with blood, told reporters at the scene that the concert began shortly before midnight, with the roof collapsing almost an hour later, killing the group’s saxophonist.

“It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner,” he said, adding that he initially thought it was an earthquake.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the roof to collapse or when the Jet Set building was last inspected.

The club issued a statement saying it was cooperating with authorities and noted that the owner, Antonio Espaillat, was out of the country and returned late Tuesday.

“There are no words to express the pain this event has caused. What happened has been devastating for everyone,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Public Works referred questions to the mayor’s office. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office did not respond to a message for comment.

Prosecutor Rosalba Ramos told TV station CDN that while “everyone wants to know” what happened, authorities were still focused on finding survivors. They set up a makeshift morgue near the club while more than 120 people lined up to donate blood at two different centers.

Manuel Olivo Ortiz, whose son attended the concert but did not return home, was among those anxiously waiting outside the club known for its traditional Monday parties where renowned national and international artists performed.

“We’re holding on only to God,” Olivo said.

Also awaiting word was Massiel Cuevas, godmother of 22-year-old Darlenys Batista.

“I’m waiting for her. She’s in there, I know she’s in there,” Cuevas said, firm in her belief that Batista would be pulled out alive.

President Abinader wrote on X that all rescue agencies are “working tirelessly” to help those affected.

“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub. We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred,” he wrote.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/dominican-republic-roof-collapse-discotheque-518f9e7b7b212ce90c430139b82c4a18

Despite producing the Tesla Model Y, the most popular new car on the planet last year, Tesla has had a rough time so far in 2025. The American EV maker faces “Tesla Takedown” protests and other boycotts from citizens across the globe thanks to the inflammatory words and actions of the brand’s CEO, Elon Musk.

Though the company previously declared that there were over a million Cybertruck pre-orders, Tesla can’t find buyers for the current backlog of nearly 2,400 Cybertrucks, or about $200 million worth of inventory. Not only that, but Tesla is allegedly refusing to accept its own Cybertrucks as trade-ins since it can’t sell them, and is reportedly even forcing some owners to Lemon Law their cars instead. That’s an ominous sign for the model that was supposed to revolutionize the pickup market and revitalize the automaker’s aging line up.

Humility is underrated

Despite Tesla’s lofty sales expectations, Cybertruck monthly sales peaked at just 5,308 units in September last year, and have since fallen sharply. The most recent Cybertruck recall affected almost every unit sold, and in the process revealed that Tesla had only delivered 46,000 of its stainless steel pickups. Beyond the lack of demand, Elon Musk’s decision to cozy up to Donald Trump and open DOGE — an organization that has systematically disassembled multiple public institutions that millions of American citizens love and rely on for employment and for services — has negatively impacted the public image of his company.

Now, Tesla owners are trying to get rid of their Teslas in order to distance themselves from Musk’s politics, and people around the globe are boycotting the brand. These numerous yet easily avoidable challenges have led to a decline in Tesla resale values and a massive surplus of undesirable new Cybertrucks, enough that the company will allegedly no longer accept its own Cybertrucks on trade-in. According to Electrek:

Source : https://www.jalopnik.com/1829010/tesla-unsold-cybertrucks-inventory/

President Donald Trump’s secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, was roundly condemned on Tuesday over a photo op in which she accidentally pointed a gun at a border patrol officer’s head.

In the clip Noem posted to X, she stands between two officers and says, “Here we are with Marco and Brian today. They’re letting me roll with them. We’re going to go out and pick up somebody who I think is– got charges of human trafficking. We earlier had an op that swept up somebody that was wanted for murder. So appreciate the good work that they do every day, and we appreciate them working to make America safe.”

While Noem donning tactical gear and joining operations for the cameras has become routine in recent weeks, observers were quick to note her mishandling of the weapon in her hand.

Washington Post military reporter Alex Horton replied to the video, “Noem is pointing the M4 muzzle at an agent with an open dust cover, indicating a chambered round. It’s the worst possible place to point it. No one stopped her, including the agent to her left, who should know better but also has bad muzzle discipline.”

Conservative New York Times columnist David French commented, “This is what LARPing looks like” – referring to live-action role play.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a former Marine, replied:

Below are some additional reactions from across the political spectrum:

London is no longer one of the top five wealthiest cities in the world after losing a higher proportion of millionaires than anywhere other than Moscow.
An annual report on global wealth says the UK’s capital has lost 11,300 dollar millionaires over the past year, including 18 centimillionaires and two billionaires. A centimillionaire is someone who has at least $100 million, while a billionaire has more than $1,000 million.
The study, conducted for the advisory firm Henley & Partners by New World Wealth, defines wealth as “liquid investable” assets, which means cash, bonds and shares but excludes property wealth.
The assessment was conducted before the recent stock market falls that followed the announcement of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

New World Wealth said that London, which now has 215,700 dollar millionaires, is one of only two cities in the top 50 — the other being Moscow — that has fewer rich people than ten years ago. Even Paris has seen a rise in the number of millionaires, with a 5 per cent increase over the period.
In total, London has lost 12 per cent of its richest residents since 2014, with the decline being attributed to tax increases, Brexit and the fall in the value of the pound, while Moscow has lost 25 per cent, mostly because of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, in absolute terms, London has lost more millionaires than anywhere else, with about 30,000 heading for the exit over the past ten years, compared with 10,000 fleeing Moscow.
Last week The Times reported how the exodus of wealth from the UK had accelerated sharply in the first three months of the year before Labour’s abolition of the non-domiciled tax regime.
From Monday, the centuries-old status, which allowed wealthy foreigners living in the UK to shelter their worldwide assets from British taxes for an annual fee starting at £30,000, was replaced with a much less generous residence-based system.
The new system means any wealthy foreigners who have lived in the UK for longer than four years now have to pay UK income and capital gains taxes on their global earnings.
If they stay long enough in the country, their worldwide assets will also become subject to UK inheritance tax (IHT) of 40 per cent, which is one of the highest rates in the world.
Tax advisers say non-doms are relocating to countries such as Portugal, St Kitts and Nevis, Spain, Greece, the United Arab Emirates and Italy, where taxes are either much lower or where they can pay a fixed annual fee to avoid them. Italy, for example, charges €200,000 a year to foreigners who wish to shelter their worldwide assets from local taxes.

Andrew Amoils, the head of research at New World Wealth, said high taxes in the UK relative to other countries had encouraged many wealthy investors to leave London and deterred others from replacing them.
“Capital gains tax and estate duty rates [IHT] in the UK are amongst the highest in the world, which deters wealthy business owners and retirees from living there.”
He added: “It’s worth noting that most of the companies on the FTSE 100 were started by centimillionaires, so the loss of these individuals has a massive impact on an economy.”
But he explained that there were other reasons for London’s poor performance, such as the failure to recover from the 2008 financial crisis and to nurture enough new technology businesses.
He added: “The growing dominance of America and Asia in the global hi-tech space has caused wealthy tech entrepreneurs in the UK to reconsider their base location. Brexit has arguably had an exacerbating effect on this.”

He also believes that the “dwindling importance” of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is another factor.
“The LSE was once the largest stock market in the world by market capitalisation but it now ranks 11th globally. The past two decades has been particularly poor, with a large number of companies de-listings and relatively few new IPOs [initial public offerings].”
He added: “The continued ascendance of nearby financial hubs such as Dubai, Paris, Geneva, Frankfurt and Amsterdam has eroded London’s status as Europe’s top financial centre.”
The data shows that London has been overtaken by Los Angeles and that American cities now dominate the top 50, with 11 making the list.

Overall, New York is ranked as the richest city in the world with 384,500 dollar millionaires, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area, which is home to Silicon Valley, where many technology businesses are based.
Tokyo is the third wealthiest city with 292,300 dollar millionaires, followed by Singapore.
Manchester is the only other British city to make the top 50, in 46th place with 23,400 dollar millionaires.
Australia has four cities in the top 50, China has five and Germany has three.

Juerg Steffen, the chief executive of Henley & Partners, said: “A clear pattern is emerging in 2025: cities that blend investment freedom with lifestyle dividends are winning the competition for mobile capital.

Source : https://archive.is/2025.04.08-194250/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/london/article/london-falls-out-top-five-wealthiest-cities-wtmn0ws9m#selection-1775.0-1778.0

Billionaire presidential adviser Elon Musk attacked White House trade counselor Peter Navarro as “dumber than a sack of bricks” as a fight over President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff regime spilled onto social media on Tuesday.
In a flurry of posts on his social media platform X, Musk called Navarro “truly a moron” and mocked the trade adviser for in the past citing the work of “Ron Vara” — a fictional expert whose name is an anagram of his own.
The missives were the latest volley in an increasingly bitter spat between the two that broke out after Trump last week announced that he was imposing a minimum 10% tariff on most imports, with additional levies on around 60 countries that have larger trade deficits with the US. The announcement was seen as a policy win for Navarro, who has advocated aggressive trade measures in hopes of helping to boost domestic manufacturing.
Shortly after the announcement, Musk jabbed at Navarro by saying his degree in economics from Harvard is “a bad thing, not a good thing” and criticizing the trade adviser for not having built companies on his own.
Navarro, in a subsequent interview with CNBC, said the criticism was not surprising from the Tesla Inc. CEO because he was a “car assembler” who used parts from other countries.
“When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House — and the American people understand — that Elon is a car manufacturer, but he’s not a car manufacturer. He’s a car assembler,” Navarro said.
“He’s a car person. That’s what he does, and he wants the cheap foreign parts,” he added.
Those claims earned Musk’s ire; in addition to the personal attacks, Musk defended Tesla as “the most vertically integrated auto manufacturer in America with the highest percentage of US content.”
The dispute within the ranks of senior Trump aides comes as many companies, nations, and trade groups have expressed frustration over the uncertainty around how to best negotiate a reduction to Trump’s tariffs. The higher duties on select countries are set to go into effect after midnight.

Source : https://archive.is/2025.04.08-144652/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-08/musk-calls-navarro-a-moron-as-trump-tariff-spat-gets-messy#selection-1529.0-1532.0

A POWERFUL nuclear weapon that’s 24 times stronger than the bomb that killed hundreds of thousands of people at Hiroshima is underway.

The United States has ramped up production of the bone-chilling B61-13 bomb seven months ahead of schedule in an “aggressive” move to keep up with global powers.

Last week, Sandia National Laboratories announced that the production of these latest weapons is being fast-tracked under “innovative program planning.”

The program is now allowing the project to be completed 25% faster than initially scheduled.

The B61-13 is the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s answer to its 2023 task of building a new nuclear gravity bomb, Interesting Engineering reported.

The gravity bomb, which is dropped from a plane rather than being self-propelled, cost $92 million to develop.

However, this weapon will be equipped with a tail kit that can pilot it straight to a target, New Atlas reported.

Sandia National Laboratories’ new bomb builds off of the B61-7 bomb and can yield 10 to 360 kilotons, allowing it to be thrown at different targets without damaging other areas.

The B61-13’s high maximum yield makes it 24 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.

The Hiroshima bomb yielded between 12 to 18 kilotons, whereas the Nagasaki bomb yielded 18 to 23 kilotons.

SNL’s B61-13 will be the latest of the US’s oldest nuclear weapons program, which began in 1968.

It is planned to first fly aboard the B-2 Spirit bomber and will later be carried on the B-21 stealth bomber.

NUCLEAR THREATS

President Donald Trump has openly admitted he’s no fan of nuclear weapons, but nevertheless, America is doubling down on production to deter threats from competitors China and Russia.

Trump previously called the weapons the “greatest existential threat” to humanity and has taken action over the past few weeks to work with other countries on their nuclear plans.

“We spend a lot of money of nuclear weapons – the level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine,” Donald Trump said during an interview on Fox News in March.

“It’s just bad that you have to spend all this money on something that, if it’s used, it’s probably the end of the world.

“Nuclear weapons […] are big monsters that can blow your heads off for miles and miles and miles.”

On Monday, Trump said that direct talks are underway between the United States and Iran regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, CNN reported.

The president said “a very big meeting” will occur on Saturday and that it will be “at the top level.”

“I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump said.

Sources told the outlet that US and Iranian officials will directly discuss a nuclear deal, marking the first direct discussion between the two countries since 2015.

“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously rejected Trump’s invitation to negotiate the nuclear deal directly.

Trump’s latest offer, which he sent in March, proposed that the two negotiate the nuclear deal with a two-month ultimatum to reach an agreement.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/13967576/us-iran-new-nuclear-weapon-sandia-national-laboratories/

Two widely followed Chinese public figures — one an editor for a state media outlet, the other the son of a former party chief — released identical outlines on Tuesday of countermeasures Chinese authorities are said to be considering in response to Trump’s tariffs.

The U.S. film industry so far has escaped direct retaliation from countries hit by President Donald Trump‘s globe-spanning tariffs, thanks to theatrical film releases and streaming platforms being categorized as services rather than physical goods. But Hollywood’s luck in China, the world’s second-largest film market, could soon run out, according to statements issued Tuesday by two influential public figures in the country.

With trade relations between Washington and Beijing spiraling, two widely followed Chinese bloggers posted an identical set of measures that local authorities are said to be mulling in response to Trump’s 54 percent tariffs on all Chinese goods, which the president vowed to increase to 104 percent if Beijing didn’t back down from a pledge to match the current U.S. tariff rate. The list of mooted moves includes “reducing or banning the import of U.S. films,” as well as increasing tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and U.S. services, among other countermeasures.

The potential plans were shared simultaneously over local social media by Liu Hong, a senior editor at the state-backed Xinhua News Agency, and Ren Yi, the influential and widely followed grandson of Ren Zhongyi, former Communist Party chief of Guangdong Province. Both figures attributed the outlined proposals to unnamed sources familiar with authorities’ planning. Bloomberg News was the first Western outlet to cover their statements.

The U.S. studios’ earnings in China have declined drastically in recent years as local tastes have shifted away from Hollywood franchise spectacle toward the country’s homegrown Chinese-language blockbusters. But losing all access to the Chinese market could still ding the studios’ bottom lines. Warner Bros. and Legendary’s A Minecraft Movie opened in China in first place last weekend with ticket sales of $14.5 million, just over 10 percent of its $144 international earnings haul. In 2024, the biggest U.S. release in the country was Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with a hefty $132 million China box office total.

Chinese authorities hold a firm grip over every aspect of film distribution in the country and they have worked tirelessly over the years to boost local content at the expense of imported movies. Under former trade agreements, China committed to releasing 34 foreign films per year under revenue-share terms, with overseas studios permitted to a 25 percent share of ticket sales. Other films, usually smaller-budget titles, are imported via a buy-out system, where a local distributor pays a flat fee to release the movie in Chinese theaters. China’s film regulators also maintain strict censorship standards for film content and choose the release dates for all movies, reserving the most lucrative holiday windows for local Chinese films.

Source : https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/china-mulling-ban-hollywood-film-releases-trump-tariffs-1236184531/

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed Donald Trump to pursue deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members using a 1798 law that historically has been employed only in wartime as part of the Republican president’s hardline approach to immigration, but with certain limits.
The court, in an unsigned 5-4 ruling powered by conservative justices, granted the administration’s request to lift Washington-based U.S. Judge James Boasberg’s March 15 order that had temporarily blocked the summary deportations under Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act while litigation in the case continues.

Despite siding with the administration, the court’s majority placed limits on how deportations may occur, emphasizing that judicial review is required.
Detainees “must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act. The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs,” the majority wrote.
The court has a 6-3 conservative majority. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the court’s three liberal justices dissented.

Trump’s administration has argued that Boasberg had encroached on presidential authority to make national security decisions.
“The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act on March 15 to swiftly deport the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang, attempting to speed up removals with a law best known for its use to intern Japanese, Italian and German immigrants during World War Two.
In Monday’s decision, the court said that to challenge the legitimacy of their detention under the Alien Enemies Act detainees must pursue so-called habeas corpus claims in the federal judicial district where a detainee is located. That means that the proper venue for this litigation was in Texas, not the District of Columbia, the court said.

The ruling said the court was not resolving the validity of the administration’s reliance on that law to carry out the deportations.
The plaintiffs in the case “challenge the government’s interpretation of the Act and assert that they do not fall within the category of removable alien enemies. But we do not reach those arguments,” the court decided.
In a legal challenge handled by the American Civil Liberties Union, a group of Venezuelan men in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities sued on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, seeking to block the deportations. They argued, among other things, that Trump’s order exceeded his powers because the Alien Enemies Act authorizes removals only when war has been declared or the United States has been invaded.

The law authorizes the president to deport, detain or place restrictions on individuals whose primary allegiance is to a foreign power and who might pose a national security risk in wartime.

DUE PROCESS

Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with ACLU and lead counsel representing the detainees, framed the court’s decision as a win for his side.
“This ruling means we will need to start the court process over again in a different venue, but the critical point is that the Supreme Court said individuals must be given due process to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act,” Gelernt said. “That is a huge victory.”
The dissenting justices, in an opinion written by liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, criticized the majority’s “dubious” conclusions in the case and for acting with just a few days of deliberation.
There is “every reason to question the majority’s hurried conclusion that habeas relief supplies the exclusive means to challenge removal under the Alien Enemies Act,” Sotomayor wrote.
Sotomayor said that federal courts called upon to review these cases going forward will probe the interpretation of the Alien Enemies Act, including whether there is an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” justifying its use, and “whether any given individual is in fact a member of Tren de Aragua.”
Requiring detainees to make individual claims across the country “risks exposing them to severe and irreparable harm,” Sotomayor wrote in part of the dissent joined by the two other liberal justices and not Barrett. One risk is that they will not know whether they will remain in detention where they are arrested or be secretly transferred to an alternative location, Sotomayor said.
“That requirement may have life or death consequences,” Sotomayor wrote.
Boasberg, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, temporarily blocked the deportations. But Trump’s administration allowed two planes already in the air to continue to El Salvador where American officials handed 238 Venezuelan men over to Salvadoran authorities to be placed in the Central American country’s “Terrorism Confinement Center.”
The judge also has scrutinized whether the Trump administration violated his order by failing to return the deportation flights after his order was issued. Justice Department lawyers said the flights had left U.S. airspace by the time Boasberg issued a written order and thus were not required to return. They dismissed the weight of Boasberg’s spoken order during a hearing two hours earlier calling for any planes carrying deportees to be turned around.
On March 18, Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment by Congress – a process that could remove him from the bench – drawing a rebuke from the U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump on social media called Boasberg, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2011 in a bipartisan 96-0 vote, a “Radical Left Lunatic” and a “troublemaker and agitator.”

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-supreme-court-backs-trump-deportations-under-1798-law-2025-04-07/

RIHANNA fans have gone into meltdown and are convinced she’s pregnant with her third child.

The superstar singer, 37, already shares two children RZA, aged two, and Riot Rose, aged one, with rapper A$AP Rocky, 36.

Now it looks like busy mom Rihanna – who is a billionaire thanks to her brand Fenty – could be adding to their ever-growing brood.

Fan speculation she could be expecting another baby came during a recent appearance in Paris.

The Barbados-born singer was seen at a Fenty event in the French capital wearing a big baggy gold dress that hid her stomach outline completely.

It was this choice of dress that REALLY got tongues wagging.

After a video of her in Paris wearing the huge dress was posted on X/Twitter, one fan wrote: “This dress is giving very pregnant!!”

This one added: “Is she pregnant again?”

Another said: “Girl, are you having another baby?”

But this isn’t the only time she has hidden her figure, which has led to more speculation.

Rihanna was also spotted shopping at a grocery store in LA and had covered herself up in a baggy grey sweater, and again having sinner in Santa Monica.

If she is expecting, this would be mean the singer would have had three kids within three years.

HAPPY FAMILY

The fan speculation comes after the singer recently opened up about her life as a parent, and admitted she hoped to have more children in the future.

She told Entertainment Tonight: “I wanna have a girl. I wouldn’t know what to do ’cause I only know about boys so far. It will be a new adventure!”

As for life as a boy mom, she said: “[It’s] The best, I live for it. It’s never a dull moment.

“I love when they climb off the chandeliers. I love when they literally are so scary that I’m forced to have fun. Me running around, me lifting them up, it’s all fun.”

NEW MUSIC

Over recent years, Rihanna has been focusing on her billionaire dollar beauty and fashion empire, and also becoming a mom.

This has meant she hasn’t released any new music in nine years.

However, she recently revealed that her new album will be “unexpected” and she feels “really optimistic” about it.

“I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.

“And it’s not going to be commercial or radio digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now.”

Rihanna has kept fans waiting for years for new music as her eighth studio album, Anti, was released in 2016.

There had been talk of her new record being a reggae album, but Rihanna has dismissed this.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/13958259/rihanna-fans-convinced-pregnant-baggy-dress/

Iran, Saudia Arabia and Iraq accounted for 90% of the recorded cases and were responsible for the steep spike. Iran topped the list. It put at least 972 people to death, up from 853 the year before.

In Saudi Arabia figures doubled to at least 345 — the most ever recorded for the country by the human rights watchdog Amnesty International. In Iraq, the death penalty was implemented 63 times, almost a quadrupling of numbers in comparison to 2023.

Amnesty International, however, named China as the “world’s lead executioner” in its annual report, saying that the information available indicated that thousands had been executed there. The country refuses to disclose data. The NGO also suspects North Korea and Vietnam of extensively resorting to the death penalty.

The silencing of dissent

Saudi Arabia has seen a steep escalation in executions despite Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s modernization agenda and his pledges to curb their use. Amnesty International said the crushing of political dissent was a major motive.

The NGO said Saudi authorities had continued to weaponize the death penalty to punish nationals from the country’s Shi’a minority who supported “anti-government” protests between 2011 and 2013.

In August, the authorities executed Abdulmajeed al-Nimr for terrorism-related offenses related to joining Al-Qaeda, despite initial court documents that clearly referred to his participation in protests.

“In the media, we saw how authorities used this case to spin a narrative related to terrorism and terrorism-related offenses, which shows how terrorism can be used as a tool to push a perception that the death penalty is necessary to quell dissent and protect the public,” said Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio.

In Iran, there were also two more executions in connection with the nationwideprotests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody in 2022. One was 23-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlou, a protester with a long-term mental health condition.

“Those who dare challenge authorities have faced the most cruel of punishments, particularly in Iran and Saudi Arabia, with the death penalty used to silence those brave enough to speak out,” said AI Secretary General Agnès Callamard.

Drugs crimes

More than 40% of executions in 2024 were drug-related. Carrying out the death penalty for drugs crimes is also widely prevalent in Singapore and China, according to the Amnesty report.

“In many contexts, sentencing people to death for drug-related offenses has been found to disproportionately impact those from disadvantaged backgrounds, while it has no proven effect in reducing drug trafficking,” said Callamard.

She said states currently considering introducing capital punishment for drug-related offenses, such as the Maldives, Nigeria and Tonga, must be called out and encouraged to put human rights at the center of their drug policies.

In Malaysia, however, some 1,000 people who were on death row — many on drug charges — have been reprieved as a result of reforms set in motion in 2023. The country removed mandatory capital punishment for crimes including trafficking.

The outlier, the United States

The United States remains the outlier in Western democracies in its use of the death penalty. While there was only a slight rise in figures overall in the US in 2024 from 24 to 25 executions, there were concerning trends, according to Amnesty International.

“The figures speak of very low historical totals both when it comes to executions and the sentences, however, last year we also saw four states resuming executions, South Carolina, Georgia, Utah and Indiana. That was deeply worrying because these were states where they had not been carried out for several years,” said AI researcher Sangiorgio.

In Alabama, the number of executions doubled and included the use of nitrogen gas. UN monitors have said death by suffocation with nitrogen hypoxia could amount to torture.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/global-executions-reach-highest-figure-in-almost-a-decade/a-72139997

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is not considering pausing tariffs to give markets a respite and negotiate with other countries in the meantime, adding that it’s an “honor” to do so.

“We’re not looking at that, we have many countries coming to negotiate deals with us. They’ll be fair deals and in certain cases they’ll be paying substantial tariffs,” said Trump at the White House while talking to press after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have one shot at this and no other president is going to do this. It’s an honor to do it because we have been destroyed. We are $36 trillion in debt for a reason. We’ll be talking to China, to a lot of different countries. We’ll seek to make a really fair deal for the U.S., not for others. This is America first. Other people in the Oval Office put America last,” Trump added. “We have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country. We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade.”

Trump was asked about the potential pause after markets surged during the morning over a false quote attributed to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

However, the spike suddenly reversed as the quote couldn’t be verified, and reviews of the official’s interview with Fox News on Monday showed nothing of the kind. The White House’s rapid response X account, Rapid Response 47, replied to a publication saying “Wrong. Fake News.”

It is unclear how the quote originated, but Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, who strongly backed Trump in the presidential election, called precisely for a 90-day reprieve on tariffs on Sunday night, warning that the world would otherwise enter a “self-induced economic nuclear winter.”

Source : https://www.latintimes.com/trump-says-hes-not-considering-pausing-tariffs-claims-its-honor-impose-them-580124

It’s likely that you have not heard of Taiwan’s Hong Fu Industrial Group, but look down on a busy street and you may well see its products.

Hong Fu is the world’s second-biggest maker of trainers (sneakers) supplying shoes to Nike, Converse, Adidas, Puma and many others. It makes around 200 million pairs of sports shoes a year.

So when it made a big investment in India’s market, the footwear industry took note.

Hong Fu is currently building a giant plant in Panapakkam, in the state of Tamil Nadu in south eastern India. When fully operation, sometime in the next three to five years, it will make 25 million pairs of shoes a year, employing as many as 25,000 workers.

The project has Indian partners, including Aqeel Panaruna, the chairman of Florence Shoe Company: “The international market is saturated and they [Hong Fu] were looking for a new market,” he explains.

“There is a drastic increase in non-leather footwear in India. It has huge potential,” Mr Panaruna added.

The Indian government is keen to attract such investment, hoping it will raise standards in the footwear industry and boost exports.

To spur the industry, last August the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced new quality rules for all shoes sold in India.

Under those standards, for example, materials will have to pass tests of strength and flexibility.

“These BIS standards are really about cleaning up the market. We’ve had too many low-quality products flooding in, and consumers deserve better,” says Sandeep Sharma a journalist and footwear industry expert.

But many in India can’t afford shoes from well-known brands.

Serving them is a huge and intricate network of small shoe makers, known as the unorganised sector.

Their affordable products are estimated to account for two-thirds of the total footwear market.

Ashok (he withheld his full name) counts himself as part of that sector, with shoe making units all across the district of Agra in northern India. He estimates that 200,0000 pairs of shoes are made everyday by operations like his across Agra.

“Many consumers, especially in rural and lower-income urban areas, opt for cheaper local footwear instead of branded options,” he says.

“Many organised brands struggle to expand their retail footprint in semi-urban and rural areas because we cater to them.”

So how will the new government standards affect makers like Ashok?

“It’s complicated,” says Mr Sharma.

“I think the government is trying to walk a tightrope here. They can’t just shut down thousands of small businesses that employ millions of people – that would be economic suicide.

“What I’m seeing is more of a carrot-and-stick approach. They’re pushing for standards, but also rolling out programs to help small manufacturers upgrade their processes. It’s not about wiping out the unorganised sector but gradually bringing them into the fold.”

Making the situation more complicated is that the unorganised sector is well-known for making counterfeit shoes of big brands.

While popular among Indian shoppers looking for a stylish bargain, other countries have long-complained about the losses caused.

Meanwhile, a host of new Indian trainer-makers are springing up, to serve India’s growing middle class.

Sabhib Agrawal is trying to get those buyers interested in barefoot footwear – shoes which, their makers say, are healthy for the foot as they encourage natural, or barefoot, movement.

Mr Agrawal says his company, Zen Barefoot, is unusual as much of the Indian footwear industry is not very innovative.

“There are very few people who are ready to take time and invest in new technologies here. Indian manufacturing is a very profit- first market, ROI [return on investment] driven.

“And in a lot of cases, even the government is not ready to enable these industries through grants or tax relief, which makes it quite difficult.”

Comet is one Indian firm looking to innovate.

It claims to be the first homegrown trainer brand that owns the whole production process, from design to manufacturing.

“This level of control allows us to experiment with materials, introduce innovative silhouettes, and continuously refine comfort and fit based on real feedback,” says founder Utkarsh Gupta.

He says the Comet shoes are adapted to India’s climate and roads.

“Most homegrown brands rely on off-the-shelf soles from the market, but when we started Comet, we realized that these were lacking in quality, durability, and grip,” he says.

Change is coming to the footwear sector he says. “The shift to high value is now happening.”

“Many high value brands need to move their manufacturing to India. In 3-5 years, we should have a robust ecosystem to compete in the international sneaker market,” he adds.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2nplgm2kpo

Elon Musk’s X says it is launching a crackdown on “parody” accounts.

The site has an exemption for accounts that impersonate other people if they are labelled as doing so for comedy. But, often, that loophole is used by scammers who pretend to be other famous users in an attempt to trick people into scams or amplifying their content.

X has been struggling with such accounts since soon after Mr Musk bought the platform, when it was still known as Twitter.

One of his first decisions was to remove the “verified” badges that until then had been used to show that an account really belonged to who it claimed to, and allow people to pay for the small blue checkmarks. That allowed anyone to change their name and picture to that of another account and made it relatively easy to impersonate other users.

Soon after, the site introduced a ban on accounts claiming to be other users, but left a loophole for those parody accounts, apparently in keeping with Musk’s claimed commitment to freedom of speech and comedy. Those accounts were required to make clear that they were parody accounts – but many simply put the message indicating so at the end of their name, and character limits mean that it did not often show clearly.

That has allowed many users to pose as Elon Musk and conduct cryptocurrency scams and other misleading behaviour. A recent post that claimed to be by him and asked users to like a comment for a chance to win a Tesla has been interacted with hundreds of thousands of times.

Now, X says that those parody accounts will be required to add keywords at the front of their name and will no longer be able to use the same pictures of the accounts they “depict”.

Source : https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/elon-musk-x-twitter-rules-parody-b2729019.html

Donald Trump has said the US is having direct talks with Iran over its nuclear programme – stating Iran will be in “great danger” if the negotiations fail.

The president has insisted Tehran cannot get nuclear weapons.

But Iran almost immediately contradicted the president insisting the talks due to take place in Oman on Saturday would be conducted through an intermediary.

Iran had pushed back against the US president’s demand that it enter negotiations over its nuclear programme or be bombed, but speaking at the White House on Monday, Mr Trump said: “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started.

“It’ll go on Saturday,” he continued. “We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen. And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable.”

When pressed for more details on the talks, the US president said they are taking place “at almost the highest level”, without specifying who would take part or where they would be held.

“Hopefully those talks will be successful, it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful,” he said. “We hope that’s going to happen.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr Trump said Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if the talks aren’t successful, I actually think it will be a very bad day for Iran”.

However, Mr Trump’s bullish comments were not matched by Tehran. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that indirect high-level talks would be held in Oman, adding: “It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court.”

On Tuesday, Iran’s state media said the talks would be led by Mr Araghchi and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, with Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al Busaidi, acting as intermediary.

Mr Trump’s previous warnings of possible military action against Iran heightened already tense nerves across the Middle East.

He has said he would prefer a deal over military confrontation and in March wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to suggest talks. Iranian officials at the time said Tehran would not be bullied into negotiations.

The US Supreme Court has delayed a midnight deadline for Donald Trump’s administration to return a man mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

A US district judge had ordered the administration to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia by the end of Monday, after he and his family filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of his deportation.

The US president’s administration had conceded the 29-year-old should not have been sent to El Salvador because an immigration judge found he likely would face persecution by local gangs.

But the administration argued he is no longer in US custody and the government has no way to get him back.

US District Judge Paula Xinis gave the administration until just before midnight to “facilitate and effectuate” Mr Garcia’s return.

She found the government had no lawful authority to detain and deport Mr Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in Maryland legally with a work permit.

She said the decision to arrest him and send him to El Salvador appears to be “wholly lawless” as little to no evidence supports a “vague, uncorroborated” allegation he was once a member of the gang MS-13, which Mr Trump’s administration had designated a foreign terrorist organisation.

Mr Garcia’s lawyers have denied he is part of a gang.

Chief Justice John Roberts, acting on behalf of the US Supreme Court, temporarily halted the judge’s order, giving the nine justices additional time to consider the administration’s request to block the order while litigation in the case continues.

Supreme Court allows Trump to use 18th-century law for deportations

It comes as the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to use a wartime law from 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants – but said they must get a court hearing before they are removed from the US.

The bitterly divided 5-4 decision was a response to the administration’s emergency appeal over a court order that had temporarily blocked the summary deportations under President Trump’s usage of the Alien Enemies Act while litigation in the case continues.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/us-supreme-court-delays-deadline-to-return-man-mistakenly-deported-to-el-salvador-13344180

Until five weeks ago, Arturo Suarez was a professional singer, performing in the United States as he waited for his asylum claim to be processed.

Originally from Venezuela, he had entered the US through proper, legal channels.

But he is now imprisoned in a notorious jail in El Salvador, sent there by the Trump administration, despite seemingly never having faced trial or committed any crime. The White House claims he is a gang member but has not provided evidence to support this allegation.

His brother, Nelson Suarez, told Sky News he believes his brother’s only “crime” is being Venezuelan and having tattoos.

“He is not a gang member,” Nelson says, adamantly, “I’ve come to the conclusion that it has to be because of the tattoos. If you don’t have a criminal record, you haven’t committed any crime in the United States, what other reason could there be? Because you’re Venezuelan?”

Arturo, 34, was recording a music video inside a house in March when he was arrested by immigration agents.

He was first taken to a deportation centre in El Paso, Texas, and then, it appears, put on to a military flight to El Salvador.

His family have not heard from him since. Lawyers and immigrant rights groups have been unable to make contact with any of the more than 200 Venezuelan men sent to the CECOT prison, which holds members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs.

Tattoo clue to Arturo Suarez’s whereabouts

Nelson learned his brother is – most likely – in CECOT only because of a photograph he spotted on a news website of a group of inmates, with their hands and feet cuffed, heads shaved and bodies shackled together.

“You can see the hummingbird tattoo on his neck,” Nelson says, pointing to the picture. He says Arturo wanted a hummingbird in memory of their late mother. Arturo has 33 tattoos in total, including a piano, poems and verses from the Bible.

It could be that one, or more, of those tattoos landed him at the centre of President Trump’s anti-immigration showpiece. Nelson shows me documents which indicate that Arturo did not have a criminal record in Venezuela, Chile, Colombia or the United States, the four countries he has lived in.

Sky News contacted the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a response to Arturo’s case but have not heard back.

In March, Donald Trump signed the Alien Enemies Act, a law from 1798 which has been invoked just three times before, in wartime.

It allows the president to detain and deport immigrants living legally in the US if they are from countries deemed “enemies” of the government. In this instance, Mr Trump claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had “infiltrated the United States” and was “conducting irregular warfare”.

Gang symbol tattoos

Immigration officials have centred on certain tattoos being gang symbols. Immigration officers were provided with a document called the “Alien Enemy Validation Guide”, according to a court filing from the American Civil Liberties Union. The document provides a point-based system to determine if an immigrant in custody “may be validated” as a gang member.

Migrants who score six points and higher may be designated as members of the Tren de Aragua gang, according to the document. Tattoos which fall under a “symbolism” category score four points and social media posts “displaying” gang symbols are two points. Tattoos considered suspicious, according to the document, include crowns, stars and the Michael Jordan Jumpman logo.

Jerce Reyes Barrios’s story

Another of the men sent to CECOT prison is 36-year-old Jerce Reyes Barrios, who fled Venezuela last year after marching in anti-government protests. He is a former footballer and football coach.

His lawyer, Linette Tobin, told Sky News that Reyes Barrios entered the US legally after waiting in Mexico for four months for an immigration appointment and then presenting himself at the border.

She says he was detained in a maximum security prison in the US while awaiting his asylum appointment. But before that appointment happened, he was flown to the El Salvador prison.

Ms Tobin says the DHS deported Reyes Barrios because they designated him a Tren De Aragua gang member based on two pieces of evidence.

The first, she says, is a tattoo of the Real Madrid football team logo surrounded by rosary beads. She has since obtained a declaration from the tattoo artist stating that Reyes Barrios just wanted an image which depicted his favourite team.

The second piece of evidence, she says, is a photograph, which she shows me, of Reyes Barrios in a hot tub with friends when he was a college student 13 years ago.

He is making a gesture which could be interpreted as “rock and roll”, but which she says has been interpreted as a gang symbol.

Distraught family in despair

Reyes Barrios has no criminal record in his home country. “I’ve never known anything like this,” Ms Tobin says.

“My client was deported to a third country and we have no way of getting in touch with him. His family are distraught and in despair, they cry a lot, not knowing what is going on with him. We want him returned to the United States to have a hearing and due process.”

Ms Tobin says she and other lawyers representing men sent to the El Salvador prison are trying to establish a UN working group on enforced disappearances to do a wellness check on them because the prison is completely “incommunicado”.

Sky News contacted the DHS for comment about Reyes Barrios’s case but did not receive a response. The DHS previously issued a statement declaring that “DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang-affiliated tattoos. This man’s own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua”.

Reyes Barrios has an immigration hearing scheduled for 17 April, Ms Tobin says, which the Trump administration is trying to dismiss on the grounds that he is not in the US anymore.

In the meantime, children he used to coach football for in his hometown of Machiques in Venezuela have been holding a prayer vigil for him and calling for his release.

The secretary of the DHS, Kristi Noem, visited CECOT last month and posed for photos standing in front of inmates behind bars.

“Do not come to our country illegally,” she said, “you will be removed, and you will be prosecuted.” Donald Trump had promised during his election campaign to clamp down on immigration, railing against undocumented immigrants and claiming immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”.

I ask Arturo Suarez’s brother, Nelson, how he felt watching Ms Noem posing in the prison, knowing that his brother might be close by.

“I feel bad,” he says, “I feel horrible, because in those images we only see criminals. With my brother, I feel it is more a political issue. They needed numbers, they said, these are the numbers, and now, let’s throw them to the lions.”

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/singer-thrown-to-the-lions-in-el-salvador-jail-13343119

China’s Commerce Ministry said it “resolutely opposes” U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of escalating tariffs, and vowed to take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.

The comments came after Trump said he would impose an additional 50% duty on U.S. imports from China Wednesday, if Beijing does not withdraw the 34% tariff it imposed on American products last week.

“The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake,” the statement said, according to a CNBC translation. “China will never accept it. If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.”

Last Friday, China’s Finance Ministry announced 34% in additional tariffs on all goods imported from the U.S., starting April 10, in retaliation to Trump imposing new levies of 34% on China.

The across-the-board tariffs followed two previous rounds of 10%-15% tariffs, targeting mostly agricultural and energy products imported from the U.S. The broadened tariff scope reflects Chinese leadership’s diminished hopes for a trade deal with the U.S., said Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo.

Trump’s 34% tariffs on China were on top of the 20% duties rolled out since February, bringing the total new tariffs this year on China to 54%. The additional levies have lifted U.S. weighted average tariff rate on China to as high as 65%, and could dent China’s economy by 1.5 to 2 percentage points this year, according to Morgan Stanley.

“Since China already faces more than 60% in tariff rate, it doesn’t really matter if it goes up by 50% or 500%,” said Tianchen Xu, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, suggesting Beijing is prepared for a “full on” trade war with the U.S.

“China is on the defensive side, but basically the two sides are testing each other’s limit,” Xu said.

As risks of an intense U.S.-China trade war rise, Beijing might resort to further retaliatory measures, such as stopping purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, matching U.S. tariffs and further expansion of export controls on metals and minerals, Xu added.

Beijing has already placed export curbs on key rare earth elements, prohibited exports of dual-use items to a dozen of U.S. entities, U.S. firms to its “unreliable entities list,” subjecting them to broader restrictions while operating in China.

The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday set the midpoint rate for onshore yuan at 7.2038 per dollar, the weakest level since September 2023, according to data provider Wind Information. The yuan is allowed to trade within a 2% band of this midpoint rate.

The yuan’s weakening is a “big signal,” Robin Brooks, senior fellow at Brookings Institution told CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia, “this is Beijing politely saying this is getting a little too much, we are putting you on notice, we can devalue if we want and bigger things may come if you keep this up.”

“This is a clear shot across the bow of Washington,” Brooks added.

Chinese onshore yuan weakened as much as 0.39% to 7.3363 per dollar, while the offshore yuan was little changed.

Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/08/china-resolutely-opposes-trumps-50percent-tariff-threat-vows-retaliation.html?__source=iosappshare%7Cnet.whatsapp.WhatsAppSMB.ShareExtension

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan aren’t worried about being on the radar of some powerful federal prosecutors in New York … their lawyer’s brushing off an SDNY investigation as “merely a formality.”

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Tate brothers’ attorney, Joseph McBride, confirms the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is investigating Andrew and Tristan … and then said the probe is no biggie.

McBride claims he talked Monday with Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Kelly about the Tate investigation … he says he asked Kelly whether Andrew and Tristan needed to come in for questioning and claims he was told they did not.

The Tates’ lawyer also claims he told Kelly he would send over a list of reasons why the investigation should be dropped, and was told that was “currently unnecessary.”

Unclear how far along the investigation is, but McBride says … “We respectfully assert that the lack of an indictment, along with the absence of any requirement to appear for questioning or any request for a statement, indicates that the SDNY’s investigation is merely a formality.”

As we reported … the probe first came to light as part of a legal filing from the $5 million defamation lawsuit the Tate brothers filed last year against an unidentified woman and 3 others, where the Tates claim the defendants’ allegations prompted Romanian officials to criminally charge the brothers.

Meanwhile, Andrew is dealing with 2 other investigations in the United States … one in Florida and another in Beverly Hills, where his ex-girlfriend filed a police report claiming he sexually assaulted her. Tristan is also being looked at in a Florida probe in which Governor Ron DeSantis announced the brothers were not welcome in the Sunshine State.

Andrew and Tristan are also facing human trafficking charges in Romania, and they recently returned to that country for a court date in their case.

Source : https://www.tmz.com/2025/04/07/tate-brothers-lawyer-calls-sdny-federal-investigation-a-formality/

Prince Harry is in the U.K., preparing for yet another round of battle in his expensive court case against the British government—which he says should offer him automatic armed protection when he visits the U.K. due to “inherited risk”. According to a report in U.K. tabloid the Sun, Harry landed in the U.K. Sunday. The following day, Monday, saw the king fly to Italy with Queen Camilla, for four days of official engagements which will coincide with their 20th wedding anniversary. It is thought that Harry did not meet with Charles and both Buckingham Palace and Harry’s team did not comment to the Daily Beast. Harry’s arrival in the U.K. has fueled expectations that he intends to make an appearance at the Court of Appeal for the two-day hearing this week, in which he is seeking to have previous determinations that he is not eligible for automatic protection overturned. Harry is thought to have not seen Charles in person since he flew over to visit him when the king announced he had cancer last February.

Source : https://www.thedailybeast.com/prince-harry-lands-in-the-uk-but-avoids-his-dad/

An economist Donald Trump cited in calculations for his extra-high global tariffs says that the president should get an F- in math.

University of Chicago economics professor Brett Neiman was a Biden-era Treasury official who wrote the research Trump has cited. In a New York Times op-ed on Monday, Neiman described his initial shock at the initial announcement, still unaware that he was a major player.

“My first question, when the White House unveiled its tariff regime, was: How on earth did they calculate such huge rates?”

Neiman’s question was answered the next day, when he said it got “personal.”

“The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its methodology and cited an academic paper produced by four economists, including me, seemingly in support of their numbers. But they got it wrong. Very wrong,” he said.

Neiman said that he disagrees “fundamentally” with Trump’s approach to trade policy. But regardless, the calculations are simply off: “Our findings suggest the calculated tariffs should be dramatically smaller—perhaps one-fourth as large.”

There are several problems behind Trump’s approach, said Neiman. For one, the “biggest mistake” is that the White House tried to calculate “reciprocal tariffs” to end trade deficits with U.S. trading partners.

“Is this a reasonable goal?” the economist wrote. “It is not.”

Trade balances are unavoidable and natural, Neiman added. “Americans spend more on clothing made in Sri Lanka than Sri Lankans spend on American pharmaceuticals and gas turbines. So what?”

Not every country has similar natural resources or development levels, he said. “The deficit numbers don’t suggest, let alone prove, unfair competition,” he added.

Neiman also quoted Nobel laureate Robert Solow to further explain his reasoning. Solow once said, “I have a chronic deficit with my barber, who doesn’t buy a darned thing from me.”

Therefore, not only are the numbers far off, but they’re unfair, he said. “Mr. Solow also surely ran a chronic surplus with his students, and these imbalances reveal nothing about trade barriers in hair care or higher education, nor would they speak to his financial health,” wrote Neiman.

Even if Trump was able to eliminate trade deficits, which Neiman said would be “destructive,” he noted that the reciprocal tariffs are destined to fail.

And even if “we grant the government its goal” and “ignore flaws in its tariff formula,” said Neiman, “do the computed tariffs then look right?”

“Guess what? They do not,” he wrote.

Neiman also said that while the administration’s trade office “cites our work,” it “mentions a different result.”

“The Trump administration then plugs a rate of 25 percent into its formula. Where does 25 percent come from? Is it related to our work? I don’t know,” he wrote.

Neiman warned readers about the consequences of Trump’s faulty math: “The reciprocal tariffs have enormous implications for workers, firms, consumers and stock markets around the globe. But the methodology note offers shockingly few details.”

Neiman’s far from the first expert who has critiqued Trump’s strategy. He’s even been slammed by far-right MAGA members like Ben Shapiro, who did a 180 on the president when he called the tariffs “probably unconstitutional” and “pretty crazy.” He also agreed that the president’s math was simply wrong and his vision was “mistaken.”

The tariffs have already begun to tank the economy, with markets plunging to unprecedented lows and both Republican and Democratic representatives bashing the president for his Trumponomics. On Thursday the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst day since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source : https://www.thedailybeast.com/economist-trump-cited-on-tariff-math-says-he-got-it-all-wrong/

It’s happening: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to direct the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water. The health secretary has been staunchly against fluoride since his own presidential campaign, claiming that it is “an industrial waste” linked to bone cancer and IQ loss, amongst other ailments. While Kennedy can’t directly order the end of fluoride himself, he can direct the CDC to stop recommending it. Just last week, Utah banned fluoride, a mineral that helps reduce cavities, from public water; a move many other states may echo after RFK Jr.’s decision. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also announced a review of “new scientific information” over the safety of fluoride in water. RFK Jr. told the Associated Press his plans to stop recommending fluoride after a speech in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has praised the state as being a leader of his MAHA mantra. “I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will,” he said, according to the outlet.

Source : https://www.thedailybeast.com/manscaped-chairman-pro-electric-shaver-for-sensitive-skin/

Prince Harry is allegedly “not overly happy” with his wife, Meghan Markle, using their kids to promote her brand, As Ever.

Matt Wilkinson, a royal editor at the Sun, claimed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not aligned when it comes to sharing photos of their children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, on social media.

“My understanding of this is that up to a certain stage Harry would much rather his children were not seen,” Wilkinson said on Friday’s episode of “A Right Royal Podcast.”

“He doesn’t want them to be [photographed],” Wilkinson added. “He’s got this idea that if he takes them outside of Montecito, that there is a hoard of us out there trying to take photos of his kids.”

On the flip side, the journalist claimed, “Meghan grew up in California, she once said she would like to have a more California-style lifestyle, take them down the beach, go out, do stuff.

“She doesn’t want to hide them away.”

Although Wilkinson noted that Markle doesn’t show her kids’ faces, he claimed she was using them to display her brand as a mother and “homemaker.”

“Harry is probably not overly happy,” he alleged.

Reps for Harry, 40, and Markle, 43, did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

The “Suits” alum has shared more glimpses of Archie and Lilibet in recent months while promoting her new lifestyle brand.

In February, she took to Instagram to share a video of the kids making desserts on Valentine’s Day.

The following month, she posted a sweet photo of her daughter and Harry relaxing on a boat.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/04/06/royal-family/prince-harry-not-overly-happy-with-meghan-markle-using-kids-to-promote-brand-editor/

Michelle Williams called out a flight passenger for putting their “nasty” bare foot next to her first-class seat.

The Destiny’s Child alum took to Instagram Saturday to share a photo of the foot peeking out in the corner of her chair.

“I PROMISE YOU BETTA GETCHO FOOT FROM ME!!!! 🚨,” she captioned the photo. “Y’all this is happening neowwwwwwww on my flight and I am crying real tears!!”

“For those asking…….. YES I am sitting in the first class cabin,” Williams, 45, added in the comments. “A lot of AUDACITY resides in that booking class……. OBVIOUSLY!! #seat3F the f is for feet 😂.”

She also quipped in the comments, “Cue the song ‘nasty work’ by @yahyahanddomo_ 😂😂😂.”

In a follow-up video posted after the flight, the Broadway performer dramatically sang, “I made it out. I made it out alright,” before recapping the experience for her followers.

“Baby,” she began, “I made it and I made it home. Y’all I was almost defeated by someone’s feet … It tried to take me out.”

Williams explained that she looked down to see something in her peripheral vision before realizing in disbelief that it was a foot.

However, the singer conceded that the man’s foot was “not that bad” and described it as “conditioned” and “moisturized.”

Despite her disgust, Williams defended the man, speculating that he may have needed to “stretch out a little bit.”

“He was friendly though,” she added. “And he actually helped take my bag off the overhead bin, and I said, ‘Thank you.’”

The R&B songstress quipped that she “lived to tell the story.”

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/04/06/celebrity-news/michelle-williams-calls-out-flight-passenger-for-nasty-behavior-in-first-class/

SPOILER ALERT: The article contains major spoilers for the Season 3 finale of “White Lotus,” now streaming on Max.

It’s time to check out of the White Lotus — but some guests are leaving in bodybags.

The Season 3 finale of HBO’s “White Lotus” finally reveals what happened in the shootout heard in the premiere and the unlucky guests who don’t make it home alive. In the end, Rick (Walton Goggins), Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) and Jim (Scott Glenn) all die during the wild shooting, and it’s revealed that Jim is actually Rick’s father. After Jim insults Rick’s mother, Rick becomes furious and shoots him — which causes a shootout with Jim’s bodyguards. After being practically bullied into a rare moment of bravery, sensitive security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) shoots Rick. Chelsea had already tragically gotten caught in the crossfire, and you can’t say she didn’t see it coming: Her demise was foreshadowed after she evaded death twice before with the jewelry store robbery and venomous snake bite. It turns out, her and Rick’s fates are interlinked and they will be together forever — in the afterlife.

The Ratliff family almost had bodies pile up, but everyone turns out unscathed — for now. After Timothy’s (Jason Isaacs) mental breakdown continues, he contemplates making a poisonous smoothie to kill off his family so they don’t have to suffer after the FBI busts him for his shady business deals. He uses Saxon’s (Patrick Schwarzenegger) blender to make a deadly pina coladas laced with deadlly pong-pong seeds, but when his family begin to drink them, he has a change of heart and knocks their glasses from their hands. However, Lochlan (Sam Nivola) wakes up the next morning and decides to make himself a smoothie with the remnants of his dad’s concoction. He unknowingly drinks the deadly beverage and collapses near the pool, apparently dying — but it’s revealed in the end that he survives and sees a vision of God and his family. They head back home on the boat, but their lives are about to change with the FBI hot on Timothy’s heels.

Below, see what happens to everyone else on “The White Lotus,” including Jaclyn, Kate, Laurie, Belinda, Zion and more.

A second child has died from measles as an outbreak of the highly contagious virus continues to grow in western Texas.

The school-aged child was not vaccinated, had no underlying health conditions and was in hospital suffering complications from measles, Aaron Davis, the vice-president of UMC Health System, told the BBC.

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has faced a backlash over his handling of the outbreak, visited Texas on Sunday in the wake of the death, which is the third overall in recent weeks.

The southern US state has reported more than 480 cases of measles so far this year as of Friday, a jump from 420 earlier in the week. The outbreak has extended to neighbouring states.

Across the whole of the US, more than 600 cases of measles have been recorded so far this year, more than double the 285 cases that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded last year.

In 2019, there were a total of 1,274 measles cases recorded across the US, but prior to that there had not been a larger outbreak than this year’s since the early 1990s, according to the CDC.

Many of this year’s cases – nearly all in unvaccinated people – are related to the outbreak that began in western Texas.

“This unfortunate event underscores the importance of vaccination,” Mr Davis said in a statement. “Measles is a highly contagious disease that can lead to serious complications, particularly for those who are unvaccinated.”

The child – an eight-year-old girl – died early on Thursday.

The BBC contacted the state health department and the US Department of Health and Human Services for comment. Neither agency listed the death in their case counts on Friday.

In a statement posted on social media, Kennedy confirmed the girl’s death.

“My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief,” he said in the statement.

He also said he was engaging with officials there to “support Texas health officials and to learn how our HHS agencies can better partner with them to control the measles outbreak”. Kennedy said he was deploying a team – as he did in March – to help distribute vaccines, medications and other supplies, among other support services.

“The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy wrote, referring to the measles, mumps and rubella jab.

In February, an unvaccinated six-year-old girl in the local Mennonite community was the first child to die of measles in the US in a decade. In March, an unvaccinated man died in New Mexico after contracting the virus, though his cause of death is still under investigation.

President Donald Trump on Sunday told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believes the outbreak is largely contained.

“It’s so far a fairly small number of people, relative to what we’re talking about,” he said. “It’s something that people have known about for many years. This is not something new.”

“We’ll see what happens. If it progresses, we’ll have to take action. Very strong action,” he said in response to a question from the BBC.

The virus – which can cause a fever, red rash, cough and other symptoms – is associated with a host of complications, including pneumonia, brain swelling and death.

The US declared measles eliminated from the country in 2000. But outbreaks have grown since then with a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment.

Two shots of the immunisation – proven safe – are 97% effective at preventing the virus and reduce severe infections. To achieve herd immunity – when enough of a group is immune to a disease, limiting its spread and protecting the unvaccinated – around 95% of the population must have the shots, experts say.

The recent outbreak originated in a religious community that strongly rejects vaccines. Local health officials in western Texas have told the BBC they have seen limited progress in attempts to improve vaccination rates.

Kennedy’s early response to the worsening outbreaks was muted, drawing criticism from health experts.

Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic, initially described the situation as “not unusual”.

He changed his approach after a child’s died from measles in February – the first in the US in a decade – but stopped short of recommending that parents vaccinate their children. He instead encouraged them to talk to their doctors about the shot.

On Sunday, Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican who represents Louisiana, called for stronger messaging. Cassidy is also a doctor and has previously criticised Kennedy for his sceptical attitude towards vaccination.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg2xyyj9w5o

Sam was lying in bed one morning when her tenant in a house she owned in Margate sent her a photo of a piece of graffiti that had appeared on the wall outside.

Astonishingly, it looked like a Banksy. It would turn out to be perhaps the graffiti artist’s most interesting new artwork of recent years, Valentine’s Day Mascara (pictured above), which was revealed in Margate on Valentine’s Day, 2023.

Bamboozled, Sam googled: what do you do when you wake up with a Banksy on your wall?

“What did Google say about that?” I asked her.

“Nothing! And I was like, I need to contact the council, I need to find an art gallery who can advise me.”

Sam called Julian Usher at Red Eight Gallery. Julian’s team, conscious that new Banksys are under immediate threat from street cleaners, the weather, rival graffiti artists and other art dealers, promised he’d be in Margate within the hour: “We knew we had to get the piece covered,” say Julian.

And there was another reason Julian got to Margate double-quick: if Banksy chooses your wall for one of his drawings, you could be seriously in the money.

For the second season of my BBC Radio 4 podcast The Banksy Story, which is called When Banksy Comes To Town, I’ve been following the very different fates of two sets of homeowners who wake up one day to find a Banksy on their wall. The season shows just how important his graffiti becomes for a local community – and why people disagree so vehemently about what should happen after it’s discovered.

Sam became the custodian of Valentine’s Day Mascara, which speaks to the theme of domestic violence, incidents of which usually spike each Valentine’s Day. It’s a complicated bit of work. A peppy 50s housewife with a black eye has bludgeoned her partner. A real pan with flecks of red is at her feet, and his painted legs are upended into the real fridge-freezer that Banksy left by the wall. A broken plastic chair testifies to the fight they have had.

Later on the day it appeared, refuse collectors arrived to spirit away the fridge-freezer. This precipitated a free-for-all, with the public helping themselves to the remnants. It was mayhem.

A media scrum, a wrong-footed local council, millions of global onlookers. Exactly, one suspects, what Banksy wanted.

And this time, just for laughs, he left behind oil painter Peter Brown, commissioned to capture the scenes he would miss. I spoke to Pete “The Street” Brown for my series. “The whole reason I was employed was because Banksy was questioning what was the art about,” Pete explained. “Is it about the graffiti? Or is it about the reaction afterwards, and what happens to it?”

As luck would have it, Pete was captured on video just as Banksy’s team were putting the finishing touches to Valentine’s Day Mascara – a video that The Banksy Story managed to obtain. In it we can see that one of Banksy’s team let a local kid play with their drone.

“They’re in the process of putting a large piece on a wall and yet they’re taking the time to teach a kid how to fly a drone,” says Steph Warren, who used to work with Banksy and who appeared in my first series – about the artist’s rise and rise. “Very sweet!”

Alongside Sam, I’ve been following the story of Gert and Gary. They, like Sam, did not want me to use their last name. A 30ft-high seagull appeared one morning on the wall of their buy-to-let in Lowestoft in Suffolk. The bird needed to be massive for Banksy’s ambitious visual gag to work. The artist had shoved large yellow insulation strips into a skip that now looked like a fast-food container that the seagull divebombed to steal chips.

Banksy had chosen his wall well. Visitors arriving by train were treated to this witty meditation on the scourge of Britain’s seaside towns, equal parts warning and celebration. The Lowestoft Seagull was part of Banksy’s Great British Staycation, his post-Covid lockdown campaign to cheer us all up at the prospect of a summer holiday spent in the UK.

But Gert was not cheered-up at all. “It’s not a seagull, it’s an albatross!” she quipped when I went to interview her.

“How did you know it was a Banksy?” I asked.

“There was scaffolding erected on the side of the house. I tried to find out if it was a particular scaffolding firm, but there was no phone number,” Gert replied. “On the Monday morning the letting agency informed me that I could possibly have a Banksy. By then the scaffolding had gone and this seagull appeared.”

This fits with what we know of Banksy’s modus operandi. He claims hiding in plain sight is the best way to remain invisible. “If questioned about your legitimacy,” he wrote in his book Wall & Piece, “simply complain about the hourly rate.”

It’s a good gag. But how fun is it for the folk on the other end of his spray can?

I found that with good hustling skills a Banksied homeowner might see their bank balance expanded, but it’s not an easy process.

As Gert explains, exasperated, “Lowestoft people commented that it belongs to Lowestoft… But nobody’s turned up to say, ‘we’ll help you protect it’. It doesn’t belong to the person filming it, or the person taking pictures with their children. The problem is mine!”

Gert had to contend with people putting their children into the skip for photo opportunities, the council trying to charge her for Perspex screens, and the threat of a Preservation Order which might have cost her £40,000 a year.

And the two stories I’ve been following have ended up having entirely different outcomes.

Both artworks have been taken off the houses they were painted on – a complex, expensive operation that uses specialist equipment – so they can be sold. But while the Banksy in Margate is now on the verge of selling for well over £1m, with a sizeable chunk set to go to a domestic violence charity, and with the piece remaining in the town for the foreseeable future, the Banksy up the coast in Lowestoft languishes in a climate-controlled warehouse, costing its owners £3,000 per month.

It has cost Gert and her partner Gary around £450,000 so far to preserve the piece and although there are buyers sniffing around, nobody has bought it yet. Speaking about the situation, Gary told me: “I’m so angry at what’s going on.”

Not everyone approves of people trying to sell Banksy’s street art.

Steph Warren – who starred in the first series of The Banksy Story as the only person ever to work for Banksy without signing his non-disclosure agreement – suggests that worried homeowners should simply “get busy with five litres of white emulsion and paint it out”.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy73nx46y3o

Long, flowing wigs and weave extensions have dominated the catwalks of Ivory Coast’s massively popular beauty pageants for years.

Contestants in the West African nation often spend a huge amount of money on their appearance, from outfits to hairdos – with very few choosing the natural look.

In more than six decades, there have only been two notable exceptions, the most recent was Marlène-Kany Kouassi, who took the Miss Ivory Coast title in 2022 – looking resplendent with her short natural hair, the crown becoming her only adornment.

Her victory was not only unusual in Ivory Coast but across the world, where Western beauty standards are often the desired look both for those entering contests and for the judges.

Changes are slowly creeping in – last December Angélique Angarni-Filopon, from the French Caribbean island of Martinique, made headlines when she was crowned Miss France, mainly because of her age – she is 34 – and she also sported short Afro hair.

But this year the organisers of the Ivorian competition are shaking things up right from the start.

Wigs, weaves and hair extensions have been banned from the preliminary stages of the competition, which are held in 13 cities across the country (as well as two abroad for those in the diaspora).

“We want the candidates to be natural – whether with braids or straightened hair, it should be their own. Beauty must be raw,” Victor Yapobi, president of the Miss Ivory Coast organising committee, told the BBC.

Ivory Coast is the only African country enforcing the ban for a national competition.

Mr Yapobi said the organisers in Ivory Coast had long been trying to promote a more natural look – for example cosmetic surgery is a no-no and skin lightening is frowned upon.

“We decided this year to truly showcase the natural beauty of these young women,” he said.

Other changes have also been implemented, like allowing slightly shorter women to compete – the minimum is now 1.67m (5.4ft), increasing the age by three years to 28 and – crucially – lowering the entrance fee by more than $30 (£25) to $50.

“This change in criteria is because we observed these young women were putting up a lot of money to participate, and it was becoming a bit of a budget drain.”

When the BBC joined the first preliminary pageant in Daloa, the main city in the western region of Haut-Sassandra, one contestant was overjoyed by the new rules – feeling it gave her a better chance of success as she prefers not to wear wigs.

“I would see other girls with long, artificial hair, and they looked so beautiful,” 21-year-old Emmanuella Dali, a real estate agent, told the BBC.

“This rule gives me more pride as a woman – as an African woman.”

The move aimed at celebrating natural African beauty has sparked a lively debate across the country, where wigs and extensions are popular.

As a fashion choice, many women love the creativity that wigs and weaves allow them. They also serve as what is called “protective style”, which means minimising the daily pulling and tugging on hair that can cause breakages.

This was reflected by some contestants in Daloa who felt the rule removed an element of personal expression.

“I’m a wigs fan. I love wigs,” said contestant and make-up artist Astrid Menekou. The 24-year-old told the BBC she was initially shocked by the no-wig, no-extensions stipulation.

“I didn’t expect this rule! But now? I like my hair, and that’s OK.”

The new rule has made the competitors think more about concepts of beauty – and changed some opinions, like those of Laetitia Mouroufie.

“Last year, I had extensions because I thought that’s what beauty meant,” the 25-year-old student told the BBC.

“This year, I feel more confident being myself.”

Should the competition influence attitudes beyond the pageant world, it could have huge economic implications.

Wigs from human hair, which can last for years if cared for properly, can range in price from an estimated $200 to $4,000, while synthetic ones cost around $10 to $300.

Ivory Coast’s hair industry is worth more than $300m a year, with wigs and weaves making up a significant share of that market.

“This rule is not good for us,” Ange Sea, a 30-year-old hairdresser in Daloa, told the BBC.

“Many women love wigs. This will hurt our business and we make more money when working with wigs and weaves.”

At her salon, glue will be used to carefully attach wigs to make them look more natural and women will spend hours having weaves and extensions put in.

It shows how deeply engrained wig culture is in West Africa, despite a natural hair movement that has been gaining momentum among black women around the world over the last decade.

Natural hair products have become much more readily available and natural hair influencers proliferate on social media worldwide with advice on how to manage and style natural hair, which can be time-consuming.

It used to be considered unprofessional to wear one’s hair naturally and it would have been extraordinary to see black female TV stars on screen or CEOs in the boardroom with natural hair.

According to Florence Edwige Nanga, a hair and scalp specialist in the main Ivorian city of Abidjan, this is often still the case in Ivory Coast.

“Turn on the TV [here], and you’ll see almost every journalist wearing a wig,” the trichologist told the BBC.

“These beauty enhancements are fashionable, but they can also cause problems – like alopecia or scalp infections,” she warned.

With the preliminary rounds under way, arguments over whether pageants should be setting beauty rules or women should decide such things for themselves continues.

The outcome may be that there is more of an acceptance of both in Ivory Coast, allowing women to switch styles up – between natural hair and wigs and weaves.

Mr Yapobi said the feedback he had received over the new rules was “extraordinary” and clearly showed it was having an impact.

“Everyone congratulates us. Everyone, even from abroad. I receive emails and WhatsApp messages from everywhere congratulating us for wanting to return to our roots.”

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9w8r094k41o

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the epicenter of Texas’ still-growing measles outbreak on Sunday, the same day a funeral was held for a second young child who was not vaccinated and died from a measles-related illness.

Kennedy said in a social media post that he was working to “control the outbreak” and went to Gaines County to comfort the families who have buried two young children. He was seen late Sunday afternoon outside of a Mennonite church where the funeral services were held, but he did not attend a nearby news conference held by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the outbreak.

Seminole is the epicenter of the outbreak, which started in late January and continues to swell — with nearly 500 cases in Texas alone, plus cases from the outbreak believed to have spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.

The second young child died Thursday from “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure,” and did not have underlying health conditions, the Texas State Department of State Health Services said Sunday in a news release. Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, said that the child was “receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized.”

This is the third known measles-related death tied to this outbreak. One was another elementary school-aged child in Texas and the other was an adult in New Mexico; neither were vaccinated.

It’s Kennedy’s first visit to the area as health secretary, where he said he met with families of both the 6- and 8-year-old children who died. He said he “developed bonds” with the Mennonite community in West Texas in which the virus is mostly spreading.

Kennedy, an anti-vaccine advocate before ascending to the role of nation’s top health secretary earlier this year, has resisted urging widespread vaccinations as the measles outbreak has worsened under his watch. On Sunday, however, he said in a lengthy statement posted on X that it was “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.”

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely for more than 60 years and is 97% effective against measles after two doses.

Dr. Manisha Patel, CDC incident manager, said in a Sunday news conference that the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect against measles. She also told parents in Gaines County that it was important not to “delay care” for a child who is sick with measles.

“Call your doctor and make sure you’re talking to a health care professional who can guide you on those next steps,” Patel said.

Kennedy’s social media post said CDC employees had been “redeployed.” CDC spokesman Jason McDonald clarified late Sunday that the first CDC team arrived in early March and left Gaines County on April 1, while a team led by Patel “was redeployed and arrived today to assess needs” as ordered by Kennedy and requested by Texas’ governor.

Asked about the outbreak Sunday by reporters on Air Force One, Trump said, “they’re doing reports on it,” adding that if the outbreak “progresses, we’ll will have to take action very strongly.”

Neither the CDC nor the state health department included the death in their measles reports issued Friday, but the CDC acknowledged it when asked Sunday.

The number of cases in Texas shot up by 81 between March 28 and April 4, and 16 more people were hospitalized. Nationwide, the U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.

Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, a liver doctor whose vote helped cinch Kennedy’s confirmation, called Sunday for stronger messaging from health officials in a post on X.

“Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No benefit to getting measles,” he wrote. “Top health officials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies.”

Cassidy has requested Kennedy to appear before his health committee Thursday, although Kennedy has not publicly confirmed whether he will attend.

A CDC spokesperson noted the efficacy of the measles vaccine Sunday but stopped short of calling on people to get it. Departing from long-standing public health messaging around vaccination, the spokesperson called the decision a “personal one” and encouraged people to talk with their doctor. People “should be informed about the potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines,” the spokesperson added.

Misinformation about how to prevent and treat measles is hindering a robust public health response, including claims about vitamin A supplements that have been pushed by Kennedy and holistic medicine supporters despite doctors’ warnings that it should be given under a physician’s orders and that too much can be dangerous.

Doctors at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, where the first measles death occurred, say they’ve treated fewer than 10 children for liver issues from vitamin A toxicity, which they found when running routine lab tests on children who are not fully vaccinated and have measles. Dr. Lara Johnson, chief medical officer, said the patients reported using vitamin A to treat and prevent the virus.

Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s former vaccine chief, said responsibility for the death rests with Kennedy and his staff. Marks was forced out of the FDA after disagreements with Kennedy over vaccine safety.

“This is the epitome of an absolute needless death,” Marks told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday. “These kids should get vaccinated — that’s how you prevent people from dying of measles.”

Marks also said he recently warned U.S. senators that more deaths would occur if the administration didn’t mount a more aggressive response to the outbreak.

Experts and local health officials expect the outbreak to go on for several more months if not a year. In West Texas, the vast majority of cases are in unvaccinated people and children younger than 17.

With several states facing outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable disease — and declining childhood vaccination rates nationwide — some worry that measles may cost the U.S. its status as having eliminated the disease.

Source : https://apnews.com/article/measles-texas-rfk-death-vaccine-4e28b0edf5cab47980b40b2d47f0ec50

President Donald Trump said Sunday evening that he is not intentionally engineering the ongoing stock market sell-off, but said little to try and dissuade it.

“I don’t want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday night when asked about the markets.

The comments came as U.S. stock futures dropped on Sunday evening, with Dow Jones Industrial average futures sliding 4.1%, accelerating losses that carried through from Thursday and Friday and indicating more selling is likely to hit Monday morning.

He cited the trade deficit with China as his rationale for pressing on with his tariffs plan despite the recent pain in the markets.

“We have to solve our trade deficit with China,” he said. “We have a trillion-dollar trade deficit with China, hundreds of billions of dollars a year we lose with China. And unless we solve that problem, I’m not going to make a deal.”

“I’m willing to deal with China,” he added, “but they have to solve their surplus.”

He added that he spoke with European and Asian leaders over the weekend on the tariffs rolled out by his administration, which are expected to take effect in the coming week.

Trump’s comments echo those made by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who on Sunday said the administration will remain steadfast in its plans for reciprocal tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, even in the face of the global stock market sell-off. White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said the stock market drop is not part of an intentional strategy.

Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/06/trump-says-he-doesnt-want-stocks-to-go-down-but-sometimes-you-have-to-take-medicine.html?__source=iosappshare%7Cnet.whatsapp.WhatsAppSMB.ShareExtension

Tech mogul Elon Musk, a close adviser to President Donald Trump, on Saturday broke with Trump’s decision to impose expansive tariffs on most foreign countries, saying he hopes to see a “zero-tariff situation” between the United States and Europe.

“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move, ideally, in my view, to a zero-tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk told The League Congress, an event hosted Saturday by right-wing Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.

“That’s what I hope occurs, and also more freedom of people to move between Europe and North America if they wish, if they wish to work in Europe or wish to work in America, they should be allowed to do so, in my view. So that has certainly been my advice to the president,” Musk added.

Trump announced tariffs this week on some of the country’s largest trading partners. The United States is set to impose a 20% tariff on the European Union under his plan.

Markets plunged Thursday, the day after Trump’s announcement, as the S&P 500 index fell nearly 5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4% and the Nasdaq plummeted 6%, with all three posting some of the largest declines since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

At a White House event announcing the tariffs Wednesday, Trump said the United States has been “looted, pillaged, raped and plundered” by other countries’ trading policies and called the next era in the United States the “golden age of America.”

After two days of the stock market’s falling, Trump was steadfast Saturday on Truth Social in his rationale for having imposed the widespread tariffs, writing that China “and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post.'”

“THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he added.

So far, European leaders have threatened to respond to the tariffs, with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, writing on X that: “Europe is prepared to respond. We’ll always protect our interests and values. We’re also ready to engage. And to go from confrontation to negotiation.”

Source : https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-zero-tariff-free-trade-zone-europe-rcna199849

U.S. customs agents began collecting President Donald Trump’s unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week.
The initial 10% “baseline” tariff paid by U.S. importers took effect at U.S. seaports, airports and customs warehouses at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT), ushering in Trump’s full rejection of the post-World War Two system of mutually agreed tariff rates.

“This is the single biggest trade action of our lifetime,” said Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer at Hogan Lovells and former White House trade adviser during Trump’s first term.
Shaw told a Brookings Institution event on Thursday that she expected the tariffs to evolve over time as countries seek to negotiate lower rates. “This is a pretty seismic and significant shift in the way that we trade with every country on earth,” she added.
Trump’s Wednesday tariff announcement shook global stock markets, wiping out $5 trillion in value for S&P 500 index (.SPX), opens new tab companies by Friday’s close, a record two-day decline. Driven by recession fears, prices for oil and commodities plunged, while investors fled to the safety of government bonds.

Among the countries first hit with the 10% tariff were Australia, Britain, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Saudi Arabia despite their having goods trade deficits with the U.S. last year. White House officials have said many countries would run larger deficits with the U.S. if their policies were fairer.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection bulletin provided a 51-day grace period, opens new tab for cargoes loaded or in transit to the U.S. before 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. These cargoes need to arrive by May 27 to avoid the 10% duty.
Trump’s higher “reciprocal” tariff rates of 11% to 50% are due to take effect on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. ET. European Union imports will face a 20% tariff, while Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff, bringing Trump’s total new levies on China to 54%.
Beijing on Saturday said, “The market has spoken” in rejecting Trump’s tariffs. China applied a slew of countermeasures, including extra levies of 34% on all U.S. goods and export curbs on some rare earth minerals.

“China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close,” Trump said on Saturday on social media. “THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”
Shortly after posting the comment, Trump was spotted arriving at his Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, reading a New York Post article covering China’s retaliation to U.S. tariffs and the stock market fall.

SHELTER FROM THE STORM
“A trade war is in no one’s interest. We must stand united and resolute to protect our citizens and our businesses,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X.
Some world leaders hoped to strike a deal with Trump and avert economic fallout while others weighed countermeasures.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in the Telegraph newspaper that he was ready to “use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm,” noting that his government’s priority was to try to secure a trade deal with the U.S. which could include tariff exemptions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he will depart for Washington on Sunday for a meeting with Trump to discuss the new 17% tariff on Israel.
Media reported Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan, which faces a 24% levy, was seeking a telephone conversation with the U.S. president.
Vietnam, which benefited from the shift of U.S. supply chains away from China after Trump’s first-term trade war with Beijing, agreed on Friday to discuss a deal with the U.S. after Trump announced a 46% tariff on Vietnamese imports.
The head of Taiwan’s National Security Council was in Washington for talks that were expected to include the tariffs, a source said. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te huddled with tech executives on Saturday to discuss how to respond to the 32% duty imposed on its products.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us-starts-collecting-trumps-new-10-tariff-smashing-global-trade-norms-2025-04-05/

David and Victoria Beckham were an elegant sight to behold as they held hands at the soccer star’s milestone birthday last Sunday night.

The former England captain turned sports impresario actually turns 50 on May 2, but he started celebrating early — hiring out the swanky Cipriani Downtown Miami, a favorite of his and wife Victoria’s, to party with an array of celebs.

Tom Brady and Eva Longoria were on the guest list, along with Shaquille O’Neal and Inter Miami stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. It was a sign of how the couple have formed a powerful clique in Miami, where David co-owns the MLS club and the Beckhams have an $80 million mansion.

The Beckhams were joined at their celebration by, from left, son Romeo Beckham and his girlfriend Kim Turnbull; daugter Harper Beckham; and son Cruz Beckham and his girlfriend Jackie Apostel.
Instagram/victoriabeckham“Their inner circle is very tight,” a Beckham friend told Page Six.

But on the same day, a ghost from the past came back to haunt the man known as “Golden Balls” — as his former assistant Rebecca Loos spoke out on “60 Minutes Australia,” doubling down on her claims that the pair had an affair in 2004.

“I have stuck to the truth. I’ve never exaggerated. I never lied about a single thing,” Loos, 47, said on the show. “Why? Because I’m going up against the strongest, most powerful couple in the media who have all the money in the world for the best PR, the best lawyers.”

She added: “And all I had on my side was the truth.”

The Beckhams, insiders said, paid no attention to Loos’ comments. “There’s nothing new there,” one source in the know told us.

While Loos’ claims were alluded to in the 2023 Emmy-winning Netflix doc “Beckham,” the couple never referred to her by name.

“There was some horrible stories that were difficult to deal with,” David said in the series. “It was the first time that me and Victoria had been put under that kind of pressure in our marriage.”

“It was the hardest period for us,” Victoria added. “Because it felt like the world was against us. And here’s the thing, we were against each other if I’m being completely honest.”

But the source in the know said that, more than 20 years after the alleged affair, this is not something that continues to haunt them.

“They may have been famous for other people’s preconceptions of them, but the documentary went a long way to showing who David and Victoria are in their real life,” the source said.

Becks’ black-tie event featured dinner and drinks, as well as music from DJ D-Nice at Cipriani’s Socialista lounge.

“So I thought I’d start celebrating slightly early, such a special night in Miami So lucky to have amazing friends and family to start the 50th celebrations with Love you @victoriabeckham @romeobeckham@cruzbeckham #HarperSeven,” David posted on Instagram. He included several photos from the evening, including of Victoria and his kids: Romeo, 22, with DJ girlfriend Kim Turnbull, 24; Cruz, 19, and songwriter girlfriend Jackie Apostel, 29; and daughter Harper, 13.

But one person was noticeably absent: David and Victor’s beloved eldest son, Brooklyn, 26, who lives with his wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham, in Los Angeles.

Page Six is told that Brooklyn, who has just launched his own hot sauce range, Cloud23, was busy working in LA.

However, one source who knows the family intimately told us that tension has risen as Brooklyn has grown extremely close to his wife’s family, including her billionaire investor father Nelson Peltz and mother Claudia.

“Nelson treats Brooklyn like a son,” the source said, “The in-laws are very powerful.”

“Brookyn loves them,” another insider said. “He feels very close to them and this has riled David and Victoria.”

Page Six previously revealed how the families clashed over Brooklyn and Nicola’s April 2022 wedding.

The entire Beckham clan was last spotted together at Christmas in Miami; before that, Brooklyn and Nicola joined the family at Victoria’s fashion show in Paris in September. However, they were not at her most recent Paris show in March.

TMZ reported this week that Brooklyn and Romeo are feuding over Turnbull — claiming that she is an ex of Brooklyn’s. However, Page Six is told Turnbull never dated Brooklyn (though she did go out with Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie.

The source in the know said that any rumors of a brotherly feud are exaggerated, adding, “The children are amazing and they have a great relationship.”

David is also planning a big birthday bash back in Britain, and we’re told it’s possible Brooklyn and Nicola may attend.

“David and Victoria genuinely are in a very good place. They have huge ambitions and huge aspirations – at 50, they haven’t even scratched the surface,” the source in the know said.

Becks sees Inter Miami as a huge part of his legacy, and the club is heading up MLS standings after bringing in big guns like Messi. Next year, Beckham is set to be a big part of the 2026 World Cup.

“His heroes are the Michael Jordans and the athletics taking control of their careers,” said the friend, “None of this happened overnight.”

He recently stripped off for the first time in 10 years for a Boss underwear campaign — he has a clothing range with the brand out this spring — and appeared in a Stella Artois commercial with Matt Damon.

He also has a supplement business, IM8, and he works out with Victoria every day.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2025/04/05/celebrity-news/david-and-victoria-beckham-not-rattled-by-affair-allegations/

Tension among the royal family was especially high at King Charles III’s coronation in May 2023, lip reader Jeremy Freeman revealed.

Prince Harry allegedly shared some harsh words about the royal family as he sat next to his cousin, Princess Eugenie’s husband Jack Brooksbank, according to Freeman.

“I’m fed up with the way they treat me.” the Duke of Sussex, 40, allegedly said, per the Sun.

“It’s not an ideal situation.”

Brooksbank responded, “It’s not the quiet life, is it?”

Though, not seen in the same clip the outlet shared, the lip reader went on to allege Harry shook his head and said, “They don’t care.”

“I haven’t time for that,” Brooksbank shot back. “Not if it’s over…”

Harry then interrupted to add: “It’s an eventuality.”

Representatives for the former royal did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

While Harry didn’t specifically name who he was talking about, it’s believed he was speaking about his ongoing rift with his dad, Charles, and his brother, Prince William.

The brothers’ feud dates back to 2016 when Harry started dating his now-wife, Meghan Markle.

The beef appeared to get worse after he and the “Suits” alum, 43, both resigned from their royal duties in 2020 and moved to California.

Harry also shared some of the royal family drama in his 2023 tell-all book, “Spare.”

He also divulged more details about the issues in his relationships with his brother, 42, and dad, 76, during his and Markle’s 2021 bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

As we previously reported in 2023, the Sussexes have attempted to make amends with Charles. However, they have yet to come to an agreement.

Source: https://pagesix.com/2025/04/05/royal-family/prince-harry-caught-making-harsh-comments-about-royal-family-at-king-charles-coronation-lip-reader/

The show “Under15” attracted criticism in South Korea for encouraging children aiming to be the next K-Pop prodigy to dress, sing and perform the provocative routines of established stars.

K-pop groups, like the band BLACKPINK, generally begin performing at a young age.Image: Yonhap/picture allianceFacing fierce backlash for what critics condemned as the sexualization of children in their early teens, the producers of South Korea’s “Under15” K-Pop audition show canceled the series shortly before its scheduled premiere on Monday evening.

In a statement on March 28, the Crea Studio production company said: “After deep consideration, we have decided that it will be best to cancel the scheduled broadcast and focus on protecting the participants and reorganizing the program.”

“Moving forward, we will do our best to produce the program in a way that ensures the essence of the show is not damaged while making sure the sincerity of the participants is properly delivered,” it added.

Given the anger aimed at Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN) immediately after it released the first teasers for the new series, media analysts say the producers had little choice but to apply the brakes.

The show was marketed as a “K-Pop prodigy discovery initiative” and closely followed 59 young girls — all aged 15 or younger — as they competed to become the industry’s next star.

“Promoting younger artists is not, of course, new in the entertainment industry,” said Chuyun Oh, assistant professor of dance theory at San Diego State University and author of the book “K-Pop Dance.”

Controversy over marketing children
“But one of the reasons this program has attracted controversy is that it explicitly advocates the girls’ age, as the title implies, as a source of marketing,” she told DW.

“Some of the audience — TV and online — are not happy about the show, including parents and teachers,” Oh added.

“Their major concern is that the participants are minors but their dance, including movement, costume, facial expressions and so on are too mature as the girls would be replicating the choreography of the original K-Pop girl groups.”

K-Pop frequently attracts criticism from some quarters over lyrics, moves or performances that are overly graphic.

For example, K-Pop star Jennie Kim was effectively canceled in South Korea after a particularly raunchy performance on HBO’s series “The Idol.” In another instance, CU, a singer with DimePiece, experienced a wardrobe malfunction during a live performance in 2017 and revealed too much.

For some in conservative South Korea, the sexualization of girls in their early teens on “Under15” was too much — and made worse by the girls’ ages being highlighted on promotional posters in a barcode design that critics said reduced the girls to objects.

‘Packaged and sold’
“It is not just a question of the sexuality of these girls being promoted that is causing problems, but the idea that they are products being packaged and sold,” said David Tizzard, an assistant professor of education at Seoul Women’s University and a columnist for a Korean daily focusing on social affairs.

“When it is adults that are being packaged in this way, then it is less of a problem,” he added. “But because they are young, this is much more sensitive,” he told DW.

He emphasizes, however, that using “sex to sell” is not new in South Korea or anywhere else in the world.

“BoA, sometimes called the ‘Queen of K-Pop,’ was 13 when she started out. But how old was Michael Jackson when he started performing? Or Britney Spears?” he asked.

“It could be argued that we live in a society that is a paradox of freedom at the same time that it is hyper moralistic.”

Part of the problem for the producers of “Under15,” he suggested, has been unfortunate timing.

In early March, media reports emerged that actor Kim Soo-hyun, 37, had dated actress Kim Sae-ron when she was 15 and a minor.

Kim Sae-ron was one of the most promising young performers in South Korea but she died by suicide in February at the age of 24.

Her parents have gone public with accusations that Kim Soo-hyun groomed their daughter, triggering a fierce backlash against the previously popular actor.

Kim Soo-hyun gave a tearful press conference of his own on Monday, confirming that the two had dated but claimed their relationship had only started after Kim Sae-ron had legally become an adult.

“I cannot admit something that I did not do,” Kim told massed ranks of the media in Seoul. “I feel sorry that the late actress is not able to rest in peace.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/k-pop-show-mired-in-child-exploitation-controversy/a-72126837

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has advised taking vitamin A to fight measles. A Texas hospital is now treating children with toxic levels of the supplement in their bodies.

Covenant Children’s Hospital says it has treated several children suffering from hypervitaminosis A — or vitamin A toxicity Image: Mary Conlon/picture allianceWest Texas has been gripped by a measles outbreak for the past several weeks and as a result of misinformation passed on by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., it now faces a second, related health problem: Vitamin A toxicity — or hypervitaminosis A — in infants and children.

The situation appears to be the direct result of bogus medical information pedaled by the vaccine-skeptic secretary himself.

Kennedy recently said that although the measles vaccine is the best defense against the highly contagious and potentially fatal infection, he emphasized that getting inoculated was a “personal choice.”

Kennedy, whom President Donald Trump appointed to be the nation’s top health advisor, suggested, “vitamin A can dramatically reduce measles mortality,” or even prevent measles infections.

Kennedy recently directed the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to update measles guidance to promote vitamin A use in fighting the infection.

In early March, the CDC’s top communications officer, Thomas Corry, cited Kennedy’s slow response to the West Texas outbreak and his embrace of so-called “alternative measles treatment,” as the reason for his resignation.

Numerous other CDC and HHS officials have resigned since Kennedy took over, more health workers still —so far at least 10,000 — have also fallen prey to Elon Musk’s cost-cutting measures.

In all, HHS has lost a quarter of its workforce.

West Texas anti-vax parents making their kids sick on Kennedy’s bad advice?

Though Kennedy and the CDC suggest vitamin A should only be taken under doctor’s supervision, West Texas parents are apparently giving their children so much of it that they are now being admitted to hospital emergency rooms.

Among other remedies, Kennedy has claimed that cod liver oil, which is rich in vitamins A and D, “works” as a treatment against measles.

Although vitamin A may be given to measles patients who suffer malnutrition-related vitamin A deficiencies, there is no evidence suggesting that it is effective in preventing measles.

And even though it is known that excessive cod liver oil consumption can have serious negative health consequences, demand for it has exploded in West Texas, with pharmacies saying, “it’s flying off the shelf.”

Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, has said it has treated “fewer than 10 cases” of vitamin A toxicity over the past couple of weeks. Administrators say the children were initially admitted with measles symptoms but later determined to have had abnormally functioning livers as a result of vitamin A toxicity.

Doctors at Covenant are publicly warning against excessive vitamin A intake, saying that it could lead to severe side effects such as dry skin, impaired sight, bone problems and liver failure.

SYDNEY Sweeney stunned as she sported a tiny minidress while filming with supermodel Emily Ratajowski yesterday.

The pair turned heads as they shot a promotional campaign for haircare brand Kerastase on the streets of New York City.

Sydney Sweeney and Emily Ratajowski shot a promo campaign for a haircare brand yesterdayCredit: Getty

White Lotus star Sydney looked incredible as she showed off her famous assets in a figure-hugging cream number.

With her blonde locks styled in bouncy waves and accessorising with a pair of 90s style shades, the Anything But You actress looked every inch the Hollywood superstar.

The Euphoria beauty held hands with runway star Emily, who sported a plunging lemon dress which hugged her toned, gym-honed body.

Em’s own tresses were teased into beachy waves as she advertised the salon favorite.

After posing up a storm as a duo, Sydney took some snaps with a giant bottle of hair gloss, flashing plenty of her tanned pins in the process.

After shooting their promo in the city’s Meatpacking district, the duo later headed to the Kerastase Pop-Up store at Lavan.

They were all smiles as they posed with fellow guests Ebonee Davis and Camila Coelho.

If Sydney was feeling the strain after recently calling off her engagement to film producer fiance Jonathan Davino, just a few months before they were planning to tie the knot, she certainly hid it well.

Since scrapping the nuptials, Sydney has once again found herself linked to her Anything But You co-star Glen Powell.

She even attended Glen’s sister Leslie’s wedding earlier this month.

During an appearance on Today with Jenna and Friends this week during , Glen was quizzed by presenter Jenna Bush Hager and guest host Olivia Munn.

“The wedding caused a little bit of a stir. Did that surprise you?” Jenna asked Glen.

Laughing, Glen replied: “You know, timing is everything in this world, isn’t it?”

He continued: “She and Syd are obviously great friends and it was a hell of a wedding.

“It was just such a fun, rowdy wedding.

“The Powells know how to crank it up,” he added, shifting attention away from the romance rumors he is currently caught up in.

Sydney and Glen first sparked romantic speculation when they co-starred in Anything But You together.

They made gushing comments about each other in interviews, and looked cosy on the red carpet together.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/13946261/sydney-sweeney-stuns-tiny-minidress-emily-ratajkowski/

The artist of the Donald Trump’s portrait in the Colorado Capitol Building is firing back at the president’s claims she distorted his image for political reasons … insisting she didn’t do that, and adding his comments have hurt her career.

Sarah A. Boardman — the artist who painted the controversial portrait of the Commander-In-Chief — finally released a statement Saturday firing back at President Trump after he claimed she “must have lost her talent as she got older.”

Boardman says the Colorado State Capitol Advisory Committee, Denver commissioned her to paint the portrait … and the committee signed off on all progress photos she provided along the way as well as the final product itself.

In fact, Boardman says the portrait — which hung for six years in the Capitol’s rotunda — received many positive review from people who saw it until President Trump blasted it on Truth Social.

Sarah claims no political bias factored into her painting … and, she in no way attempted to caricature the prez.

She adds, “President Trump is entitled to comment freely, as we all are, but the additional allegations that I purposefully distorted’ the portrait, and that I ‘must have lost my talent as I got older’ are now directly and negatively impacting my business of over 41 years which now is in danger of not recovering.”

Source: https://www.tmz.com/2025/04/05/donald-trump-portrait-artist-slams-his-claims/

The Israeli military originally claimed the vehicles did not have any headlights or emergency signals and were therefore targeted as they looked “suspicious”.

IDF opens fire on Gaza paramedicsThe IDF has admitted to mistakenly identifying a convoy of aid workers as a threat – following the emergence of a video which proved their ambulances were clearly marked when Israeli troops opened fire on them.

The bodies of 15 aid workers – including eight medics working for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) – were found in a “mass grave” after the incident, according to the head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Jonathan Whittall.

The Israeli military originally claimed an investigation found the vehicles did not have any headlights or emergency signals and were therefore targeted as they looked “suspicious”.

But video footage obtained by the PRCS, and verified by Sky News, showed the ambulances and a fire vehicle clearly marked with flashing red lights.

In a briefing from the IDF, they said the ambulances arrived in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah shortly after a Hamas police vehicle drove through.

An IDF surveillance aircraft was watching the movement of the ambulances and notified troops on the ground. The IDF said it will not be releasing that footage.

When the ambulances arrived, the soldiers opened fire, thinking the medics were a threat, according to the IDF.

The soldiers were surprised by the convoy stopping on the road and several people getting out quickly and running, the IDF claimed, adding the soldiers were unaware the suspects were in fact unarmed medics.

An Israeli military official would not say how far away troops were when they fired on the vehicles.

The IDF acknowledged that its statement claiming that the ambulances had their lights off was incorrect, and was based on the testimony from the soldiers in the incident.

The newly emerged video footage showed that the ambulances were clearly identifiable and had their lights on, the IDF said.

The IDF added that there will be a re-investigation to look into this discrepancy.

Addressing the fact the aid workers’ bodies were buried in a mass grave, the IDF said in its briefing this is an approved and regular practice to prevent wild dogs and other animals from eating the corpses.

The IDF could not explain why the ambulances were also buried.

The IDF said six of the 15 people killed were linked to Hamas, but revealed no detail to support the claim.

The newly emerged footage of the incident was discovered on a phone belonging to one of the workers who was killed, PRCS president Dr Younis Al Khatib said.

“His phone was found with his body and he recorded the whole event,” he said. “His last words before being shot, ‘Forgive me, mom. I just wanted to help people. I wanted to save lives’.”

Sky News used an aftermath video and satellite imagery to verify the location and timing of the newly emerged footage of the incident.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/idf-admits-mistakenly-identifying-gaza-aid-workers-as-threat-after-video-of-attack-showed-ambulances-were-marked-13342874

The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.

Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.

Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.

The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.

In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”

Another protester took aim at Mr Trump’s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”

Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.

“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.

Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.

Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/make-democracy-great-again-thousands-protest-against-trump-at-rallies-in-every-us-state-13343002

A new academic report warns human-human relationships could be about to suffer from the introduction of artificial intelligence and people becoming besotted by robots

Akihiko Kondo married his virtual wife (Image: mainichi)People having relationships with robots could replace the need to find a human partner, scientists have warned.

Psychologists say it is becoming increasingly commonplace for people to develop intimate, long-term relationships with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The academic paper, published in the Cell Press journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, states that people have “married” their AI partners in non-legally binding ceremonies and at least two people have killed themselves following AI chatbot advice.

Experts warn such relationships could disrupt human-human relationships in societies and robots could give harmful advice by telling people what they want to hear.

Lead author Daniel Shank, of Missouri University of Science and Technology, who specialises in social psychology and technology, said: “A real worry is that people might bring expectations from their AI relationships to their human relationships.

“Certainly in individual cases it is disrupting human relationships but it is unclear whether that is going to be widespread.

“With relational AIs, the issue is that this is an entity that people feel they can trust. It is ‘someone’ that has shown they care and that seems to know the person in a deep way, and we assume that ‘someone’ who knows us better is going to give better advice. If we start thinking of an AI that way, we’re going to start believing that they have our best interests in mind when in fact they could be fabricating things or advising us in really bad ways.

“The ability for AI to now act like a human and enter into long-term communications really opens up a new can of worms. If people are engaging in romance with machines we really need psychologists and social scientists involved.”

It follows the story of Akihiko Kondo from Tokyo, Japan, who after three years ‘married’ a hologram of his favourite fictional character he found himself unable to communicate with her when the company that developed the service terminated the ‘limited production model’.

Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/humans-shun-relationships-marry-robots-34997033

Liking a co-worker’s photo on social media. Sending them direct messages. Checking in on Slack more often than before.

Progressively interacting in this way with someone outside your relationship may be no big deal to you. To your significant other, however, it may be microcheating, which some people consider a form of infidelity because it can involve building a bond one heart emoji at a time.

Although pushing the boundaries of what’s allowed in a relationship is not a new concept, the issue has become even more common with the rise of remote work, said William Schroeder, a therapist and owner of Just Mind Counseling centers in Austin, Texas.

“People are having more digital relationships so it kind of creates more space for that,” Schroeder said. “In this work-from-home environment, it can happen even easier because it’s real low risk.”

What is microcheating?
Microcheating, a term popularized by Australian psychologist Melanie Schilling, could be anything short of a physical or emotional relationship if it involves a behavior you can’t talk about openly with a partner.

Besides furtive social media chatting, it also could mean lingering too long at the water cooler to talk to a co-worker, sharing personal details of your own relationship, or dressing up if you know you’ll see someone.

“We’ve just put a newer label on it,” said Abby Medcalf, a psychologist in Berkeley, California, and host of the “Relationships Made Easy” podcast.

But Medcalf noted that with most of her patients in recent years, microcheating involves texting or messages on social media. And it can be a slippery slope.

What’s the big deal?

As relationship norms evolve and terms like “polyamory” come out of the shadows, liking or commenting on a photo may seem fairly innocuous. Many couples don’t care, Medcalf said, but people who do shouldn’t feel bad for it.

“There isn’t a right and wrong in relationships,” she said. “It comes down to preferences.”

Even if a specific action has not been discussed and forbidden, trouble arises when it takes away energy from your primary relationship, she said.

“It’s cheating if your partner doesn’t like it, or doesn’t know about it, or wouldn’t like it if they knew about it,” she said.

She advised resisting the urge to snoop, which is a sign there is a lack of trust in the relationship. “All you want to know is, how is your partner treating you?” she said. “Do you feel No. 1?”

How should couples handle it?
Schroeder said every relationship has boundaries, some of which may have been discussed and others that are implied. These days, the gray area is bigger than ever.

Particularly if a couple met on a dating app, it’s important to discuss whether to disable it and be exclusive, he said. Then define what “exclusive” means, such as not dating other people, continuing conversations through an app or pursuing others on social media.

The best time to bring it up is long before a problem arises, even if it’s difficult to know when or how, he said. He equated having this talk with driving.

“If you think that you have a full tank of gas, you’re not going to start thinking, ‘When should we stop to get gas?’” he said.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/microcheating-infidelity-flirting-social-media-3933161a5cd97365e73b133744e4175c

A social media influencer was jailed for almost three years for joking Jesus should get a haircut.

The TikToker was found guilty of violating Indonesian blasphemy laws by spreading hate speech against Christianity, as well as disrupting “public order” and “religious harmony”.

Ratu Thalisa, a transgender Muslim woman with nearly 450,000 followers on TikTok, was sentenced to two years and ten months by a court in North Sumatra province.

The decision was condemned by human rights groups including Amnesty International as a “shocking attack on freedom of expression.”

“While Indonesia should prohibit the advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, Ratu Thalisa’s speech act does not reach that threshold,” Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid said.

Thalisa was charged under Indonesia’s controversial Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) law.

The legislation was introduced in 2008 and amended in 2016 to address online defamation. However, many are accusing Indonesian authorities of using the law to restrict freedom of expression.

In September 2023, a Muslim woman received two years in prison for uttering a Muslim expression before eating pork. One year later, another TikToker was arrested and accused of blasphemy after posting a quiz asking children what kind of animals can read the Quran.

Source: https://www.themirror.com/news/world-news/tiktoker-jailed-nearly-three-years-1071209

Donald Trump on Thursday announced the tariff US will impose on the countries. While the move adds to economic burden of most of the countries, what caught the internet’s attention was America announcing a 10 per cent tariff on goods from uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, which are home only to glaciers, penguins, and seals, in addition to mainland Australia.

The news created a sensation online, especially X, with netizens flooding the social media platform with hilarious memes featuring Trump and penguins. While some showed penguins protesting by holding banners with ‘No Tarifs’ signs, many featured Trump standing alongside the penguins.

One user shared a video of penguins walking with a backpack. The caption read, “Penguins leaving Heard Island and McDonald Island. is THIS what you voted for?”

Another meme shows an angry animated penguin holding a gun, with the image reading “Peace Was Never An Option”.

Another meme featured many penguins holding placards and opposing tariffs with a different spelling of tariff on each card.

Source : https://www.news18.com/viral/internet-flooded-with-penguin-memes-as-trump-slaps-tariffs-on-uninhabited-antarctic-islands-9286608.html 

Concern is growing that some people who leave the US – even American citizens – won’t be allowed back in afterwards.

The Trump administration has instituted a tough new regime which has led to some countries warning people to be cautious even if they’ve secured visas or green cards, Newsweek reported. Canadians are also being told to buy a burner phone.

And one US legal firm said even American citizens should consider deleting apps such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or X from devices as they could be inspected by an immigration officer amid an alarming response by China to a decision by Trump.

One case involved the detainment of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who helped lead pro-Palestinian protests at the college amid the war with Israel in Gaza. Administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have filmed video messages posted through U.S. Embassy social media pages across the world, warning that visas or other forms of identification do not guarantee stays if individuals act unruly or “undermine national security.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is warning people travelling internationally outside the U.S. or those entering the country to be wary of phone searches by federal immigration authorities—whether individuals have full citizenship or not. CAIR-Massachusetts Executive Director Tahirah Amtul-Wadud told Newsweek that the seemingly increasing ambiguity in U.S. immigration law is getting worse.

“We’re getting multiple calls a day from people who are worried about whether or not they should travel,” Amtul-Wadud said. “We’re talking about doctors, students, families. We could get calls from one person and the immigration status of people in their family could be varied. They’re taking a family trip and one person could be a green card holder; the other person could be a citizen, right?

“This is complicated for families and it’s scary not knowing who has what right to return here and under what circumstances. What I’m saying as a lawyer and when I’m speaking to other lawyers and doctors and those who have professions where there are explicit obligations of confidentiality in what they provide to the public, I’m saying, ‘Hey, you might be a citizen, but you might have your devices taken and the content downloaded.’

“So, I think of all the students I’ve advised this week and use WhatsApp to do it on. Like, by traveling with that device am I violating my obligation of attorney-client privilege? Are you violating your obligation of HIPAA if you talk to a patient, and now that information is with Customs and Border Patrol. We really have to think about what the implications are based on our exposure, even as citizens.”

One expert issued international travel tips for dealing With US Immigration Officers. US Legal firm Ballard Spahr gave this advice:

For U.S. Citizens

U.S. citizens have an absolute right to re-enter the United States, but some have reported heightened questioning based on dual nationality, prior travel history, or other factors.

Ensure your U.S. passport is valid for at least six months and that any foreign passport you carry does not conflict with your U.S. entry.

U.S. citizens should not be denied re-entry but can be delayed—sometimes significantly—especially if flagged in a government database or selected for advanced screening.

Immigration officers may request to view your cell phone or other devices. Consider deleting social media applications such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or X (formerly Twitter) from your devices before you are inspected by an immigration officer.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham has denied that political beliefs could lead to people being barred. He said: “Claims that CBP is searching more electronic media due to the administration change are false,. CBP’s search numbers are consistent with increases since 2021, and less than 0.1 percent of travelers have their devices searched.

“These searches are conducted to detect digital contraband, terrorism-related content, and information relevant to visitor admissibility—all of which play a critical role in national security. Allegations that political beliefs trigger inspections or removals are baseless and irresponsible.”

The CBP website reads in part: “All travelers crossing the United States border are subject to CBP inspection. On rare occasions, CBP officers may search a traveler’s mobile phone, computer, camera, or other electronic devices during the inspection process. … Border searches of electronic devices are often integral to determining an individual’s intentions upon entry to the United States and thus provide additional information relevant to admissibility of foreign nationals under U.S. immigration laws.”

Gadeir Abbas, a senior attorney with CAIR with a background in civil rights litigation, told Newsweek that he and other CAIR attorneys are advising individuals to avoid international travel altogether if they’re not U.S. citizens—based on what the Trump administration may do next.

Source : https://www.the-express.com/travel/usa/168158/travel-alert-us-citizens-delete

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States after he was accidentally sent to a notorious megajail in El Salvador.

U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, Judge Paula Xinis ruled that the government must return Garcia by April 7 at 11:59 pm.

Garcia, a protected legal resident who has been living in Maryland since 2011 and is originally from El Salvador, was sent back to El Salvador on March 15 because of what the Trump administration called an “administrative error” in court filings Monday.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin repeated the Trump administration’s claims that Garcia is an MS-13 gang member in a statement after the ruling.

“Whether he is in El Salvador or a detention facility in the U.S., he will be locked up and off America’s streets,” she said.

At the hearing on Friday, Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, shot down previous claims by the Trump administration that his client is a MS-13 member.

Garcia filed a lawsuit last week asking that the judge order the government to return him to the United States. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem countered the lawsuit on Monday, arguing that U.S. courts do not have the authority to seek Garcia’s extradition.

At a hearing for the case earlier in the day, a Department of Justice lawyer representing the Trump administration appeared to side with Garcia.

“I will say for the court’s awareness that when this case landed on my desk, the first thing I did was ask my client the same question,” the lawyer, Erez Reuveni, said. “I have not yet received an answer that I find satisfactory.”

Reuveni conceded that Garcia “should not have been removed” and told U.S. Judge Paula Xinis he did not know why Garcia was ever arrested.

“You’re not going to like my answer to a lot of this,” Reuveni said. “I am also frustrated that I also have no answers for you on a lot of these questions.”

“The absence of evidence speaks for itself,” he later added.

Reuveni asked Judge Xinis to give the government “one more chance to do this without court superintendence.”

“Give us 24 hours to get him back, Reuveni said. “That was my recommendation to my client but that hasn’t happened”

Sandoval-Moshenberg replied: “If Mr. Abrego Garcia can be produced in this court on Monday, we are happy to accept that. Given the manner they’ve chosen to litigate this case, it doesn’t appear they’re taking it seriously.”

Judge Xinis then called the court into a brief recess. When the hearing restarted, the judge ultimately decided that the government’s time had run out.

“This case is certainly important to Mr. Abrego Garcia and his family,” he said. “I can’t wait on giving my order. I will write a formal opinion.”

In recent days, Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have repeatedly accused Garcia of being a member of the gang MS-13.

Sandoval-Moshenberg has denied the government’s claims that he is affiliated with the gang. Instead, Garcia came to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2011 to flee gang violence, Sandoval-Moshenberg said, adding that gang members threatened to kill him in an attempt to extort his parents. His attorney also noted that Garcia does not have a criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador.

“First of all, if they thought he committed a crime, they could arrest him and try to convict him of that crime,” Sandoval-Moshenberg told MSNBC on Wednesday. “Second of all, if they thought he was deportable on the basis of his gang membership, they could have brought charges in the immigration court.”

“They did none of those things. They just stuck him on a plane,” he added.

On Friday, Xinis chalked up the government’s claims that Garcia was a gang member to “just chatter.”

“In a court of law when someone is accused of membership in such a violent and predatory organization, it comes in form of indictment or criminal proceeding so we can assess facts,” Xinis said. “I haven’t seen any of those.”

Vance described Garcia as “not exactly father of the year” in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.

Sura shot back, telling NBC News on Friday: “He’s wrong. My husband’s the best father. He cares for our son who is in the high autism spectrum and it’s tough, but he’s able to manage it.”

Garcia’s deportation appears to coincide with the departure of three planes carrying noncitizens to El Salvador on March 15, whom the Trump administration accused of being Venezuelan gang members.

Noem visited the prison last week. She posed for a photo-op in front of prison cells packed with the deported men, whose heads were forcibly shaved by authorities and were shirtless.

On Friday, Sandoval-Moshenberg used Noem’s visit to justify his argument that the government can retrieve Garcia.

Source : https://www.nbcnews.com/news/rcna199582

Barack Obama is getting candid about his relationship with his wife Michelle Obama … and revealing some of their marital challenges.

The former president was talking to students at Hamilton College on Thursday when he told the crowd he “was in a deep deficit with my wife” after 8 years in the White House.

Barack added … “I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”

Obama pulled back the curtain on his marriage with Michelle while answering a question from Hamilton College’s President Steven Tepper, who asked what Barack had been up to lately.

Barry says most of his time goes to his Obama Foundation and is finishing the second half of his presidential memoirs … which he joked was “like 50 term papers.”

The Obamas have been married since 1992 … but they haven’t been spotted out together a lot this year, despite Barack claiming he’s trying to do fun stuff with Michelle.

Source : https://www.tmz.com/2025/04/04/barack-obama-trying-dig-out-hole-michelle-obama/

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Kristi Noem made the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) take a lie detector test to confirm that he didn’t leak information from a private meeting.

Cameron Hamilton, FEMA’s acting administrator, took the test on March 25—two weeks after meeting with Noem, who is known as “Ice Barbie” for posing for PR stots at detention centers and immigration raids, and Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to President Donald Trump. DHS acknowledged the test in an email to the agency’s employees, two former senior FEMA officials told Politico.

Lie detectors are not admissible as evidence in court because of their questionable reliability, but law enforcement uses them to help in investigations anyway.

The meeting with Hamilton comes a day after Noem pledged to eliminate FEMA in a meeting televised on C-SPAN. Noem’s statement blindsided FEMA officials, with one telling Politico, “We heard about it on TV like everyone else.”

On March 24, Hamilton addressed hundreds of state and local emergency managers in a speech at a conference in Washington, D.C., in which he outlined his vision for improving FEMA’s ability to respond to disasters while shifting some responsibilities to state governments.

“There is a federal interagency coordinated stratosphere, if you will, of resources. But navigating that is complex, not always the easiest to understand,” he said.

A former Navy SEAL, Hamilton has no formal background in emergency management but got the role because Trump decided not to appoint a permanent FEMA administrator.

Since 2009, every FEMA administrator had previously run a state emergency management agency, making Hamilton an outlier.

It was earlier this month that Noem promised to use polygraphs to figure out who might be leaking information about operations to the media, CBS reported.

Source : https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbie-kristi-noem-gave-fema-chief-cameron-hamilton-lie-detector-test-after-leak/

COMEDIAN Russell Brand was yesterday charged with rape and sexual assaults against four women.

Police posted sex assault charges to Brand at his Florida home — and he says he will return to the UK to face the claims.

The comic, 49, is accused of rape, indecent assault and sexual assault between 1999-2005.

The summons orders him to attend Westminster magistrates’ court in London on Friday, May 2.

Brand said yesterday: “I was a drug addict, a sex addict, and an imbecile. But what I never was, was a rapist.”

It’s understood Scotland Yard has been ready to charge him for some time but he has not been in the UK for a year.

He was interviewed several times by police following an investigation by the Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches in September 2023 revealed claims against him.

After talks with police, it is understood Brand’s lawyers have promised he will fly back for the court hearing.

He is charged with the rape of a woman in Bournemouth, Dorset, in 1999.

The other alleged offences are said to have taken place in Westminster.

He is accused of indecent assault there in 2001.

He is accused of the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004.

Finally, he is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman between 2004 and 2005.

In his video posted on X yesterday Brand added: “I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity.

“I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”

He added: “I’m now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Earlier, senior CPS lawyer Jaswant Narwal said: “We have today authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Russell Brand with a number of sexual offences.

“We carefully reviewed the evidence after a police investigation into allegations made following the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023.

“He will appear at Westminster magistrates’ court for a first hearing on Friday May 2, 2025.”

The Met said its investigation remains open and anyone affected can speak with its officers.

Former Big Brother’s Big Mouth host and radio star Brand was married to singer Katy Perry from 2010-12.

He wed Laura Gallacher in 2017 and they have three children.

Now teetotal and a born-again Christian, Brand has reinvented himself in the US as a podcaster and conspiracy theorist.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/13944746/russell-brand-charged-post-florida-rape/

A deal to spin off the US assets of TikTok was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve the deal following President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement this week, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Trump on Friday (Apr 4) extended by 75 days a deadline for ByteDance to sell US assets of the popular short video app to a non-Chinese buyer, or face a ban that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law.

The deal, the structure of which was largely finalised by Wednesday, according to one of the sources, would have spun off TikTok’s US operations into a new company based in the US and majority-owned and operated by US investors. ByteDance would hold a position of less than 20 per cent.

The deal had been approved by existing investors, new investors, ByteDance and the US government, the source said.

The White House and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. TikTok declined comment.

The Associated Press was first to report China’s disapproval.

“The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed,” Trump said on social media, explaining why he was extending the deadline he set in January that was supposed to have expired on Saturday.

“We hope to continue working in good faith with China, who I understand is not very happy about our reciprocal tariffs.”

China now faces a 54 per cent tariff on goods imported into the United States after Trump announced he was hiking them by 34 per cent this week, prompting China to retaliate on Friday. Trump has said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with ByteDance to sell the app used by 170 million Americans.

Trump has said his administration was in touch with four different groups about a prospective TikTok deal. He has not identified them.

A major stumbling block to any deal for TikTok’s US business is Chinese government approval. China has not made a public commitment to allow a sale and Trump’s comments suggested renewed Chinese opposition.

“We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the deal,” Trump wrote on Friday.

“We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark,'” Trump added.

Congress passed the measure last year with overwhelming bipartisan support, as lawmakers cited the risk of the Chinese government exploiting TikTok to spy on Americans and carry out covert influence operations. Democratic then-President Joe Biden signed it into law.

Some lawmakers have said Trump must enforce the law, which had required TikTok to stop operating by Jan 19 unless ByteDance had completed a divestiture of the app’s US assets. Trump began his second term as president on Jan 20 and opted not to enforce it.

The Justice Department in January told Apple and Google that it would not enforce the law, which led them to restore the app for new downloads.

The new Trump order will set a mid-June deadline for a deal.

The White House-led talks on the future of TikTok are coalescing around a plan for the biggest non-Chinese investors in parent company ByteDance to increase their stakes and acquire the app’s US operations, Reuters has reported.

The plan entails spinning off a US entity for TikTok and diluting Chinese ownership in the new business to below the 20 per cent threshold required by US law, rescuing the app from a looming US ban, sources have told Reuters.

Source : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/tiktok-deal-deadline-extended-trump-tariffs-5045216

A Thai court has issued an arrest warrant for an American academic under Thailand’s lese-majeste law that forbids insulting the monarchy.

The army filed a complaint against Paul Chambers, a lecturer at Naresuan University in central Thailand, under lese-majeste and computer crime laws, according to his legal representation.

Mr Chambers and his lawyer are due to report to police on Tuesday, where charges are expected to be filed.

Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, advocacy lead for the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights Centre representing Mr Chambers, told the BBC he did not know the reason for the complaint.

If convicted, Mr Chambers could face three to 15 years in prison for each lese-majeste count.

The BBC has contacted Royal Thai Police for comment.

It is rarer for the lese-majeste law to be used against foreigners, but it has happened before, Mr Akarachai said.

The army filed the complaint against Mr Chambers for “defamation, contempt or malice” towards the royal family, “importing false computer data” in a way “likely to damage national security or cause public panic”, and disseminating computer data “that may affect national security”, according to a letter from police received by the university’s social sciences faculty on Friday, his legal representation said.

The court had already issued the arrest warrant on Monday, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights Centre added.

If charges are filed against Mr Chambers next Tuesday, police could release him on bail or detain him, in which case his lawyer would apply for bail.

Police will then investigate and if they believe he did commit the offense, pass a case along to prosecutors, who will decide whether to indict him.

According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Chambers first lived and worked in Thailand 30 years ago, and has spent years since then lecturing and researching in the country, including writing books on its military.

He has not received a subpoena before, his legal representation said.

Thailand’s lese-majeste law has been in place since the creation of the country’s first criminal code in 1908, although the penalty was toughened in 1976.

The government says the law is necessary to protect the monarchy. Critics say the law is used to clamp down on free speech.

Mr Akarachai told the BBC lese-majeste has been used more since student-led pro-democracy protests, which also targeted the monarchy, swept the country in 2020.

After months of protests, Thailand revived the lese-majeste law for the first time in more than two years.

Since late 2020, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights Centre has seen more than 300 cases of lese-majeste involving more than 270 people, including 20 children under the age of 18, Mr Akarachai said.

“When people take to the streets to demand monarchy reforms, they face the risk of political prosecution. Now, when academics write or discuss about those issues in academic settings, it seems they also face the same risk of political prosecution,” he said.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx48egpgq1o

India is a cricket-crazy nation, and it seems the AI chatbot ChatGPT hasn’t missed that fact.

So, when its founder Sam Altman fed it the prompt: “Sam Altman as a cricket player in anime style”, the bot seems to have immediately generated an image of Altman wielding a bat in a bright blue India jersey.

Altman shared his anime cricketer avatar on X on Thursday, sending Indian social media users into a tizzy.

Though the tech billionaire had shared AI-generated images before – joining last week’s viral Studio Ghibli trend – it was the India jersey that got people talking.

While some Indian users said they were delighted to see Altman sporting their team’s colours, many were quick to speculate about his motives behind sharing the image.

“Sam trying hard to attract Indian customers,” one user said.

“Now awaiting your India announcement. How much are you allocating out of that $40bn to India,” another user asked, alluding to the record funding recently secured by Altman for his firm, OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT.

Yet another user put into words a pattern he seemed to have spotted in Altman’s recent social media posts – and a question that seems to be on many Indian users’ minds.

“Over the past few days, you’ve been praising India and Indian customers a lot. How did this sudden love for India come about? It feels like there’s some deep strategy going on behind the scenes,” he wrote on X.

While the comment may sound a bit conspiratorial, there’s some truth to at least part of it.

Just hours before Altman shared his image in the cricket jersey, he’d shared a post on X praising India’s adoption of AI technology. He said it was “amazing to watch” and that it was “outpacing the world”.

This post too went viral in India, while the media wrote numerous stories documenting users’ reactions to it.

Someone even started a Reddit thread which quite comically aired the Redditor’s curiosity, and perhaps, confusion.

“Can someone tell me what Sam Altman is talking about here in his tweet?” the person posted on Reddit sharing Altman’s post.

A few days earlier, Altman had retweeted Studio Ghibli-style images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which were shared by the federal government’s citizen engagement platform.

All these posts of Altman have generated a fair amount of comments questioning his motives.

The scepticism around Altman’s perceived courting of India could be because of his past views on the country’s AI capabilities.

During a visit in 2023, he had sounded almost dismissive of small Indian start-ups making AI tools that could compete with OpenAI’s creations.

Asked at a event how a small, smart team with a low budget of about $10m could build substantial AI foundational models, he answered that it would be “totally hopeless” to attempt this but that entrepreneurs should try anyway.

But when Altman visited India again this year, he had changed his tune.

In a meeting with federal minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in February, Altman expressed an eagerness to collaborate with India on making low-cost AI models.

He also praised India for its swift pace of adopting AI technologies and revealed that the country was OpenAI’s second-largest market, with users tripling over the past year.

The praise comes even as his company is locked in a legal battle with some of India’s biggest news media companies over the alleged unauthorised use of their content.

Experts say that Altman’s seemingly newfound affinity for India might have to do with the country’s profitability as a market.

According to the International Trade Administration, the AI market in India is projected to reach $8bn by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 40% from 2020 to 2025.

Nikhil Pahwa, founder-editor of MediaNama.com, a technology policy website, says that when it comes to founders of AI companies making “grand statements” about India, it has much to do with the country’s massive user base. He adds that Altman isn’t the only CEO wooing India.

In January, Aravind Srinivas, founder of Perplexity, an AI search engine, also expressed an eagerness to work with Indian AI start-ups.

Mr Srinivas said in a post on X that he was ready to invest $1m and five hours of his time per week to “make India great again in the context of AI”.

Technology writer Prasanto K Roy believes that the Ghibli-trend revealed India’s massive userbase for ChatGPT and, potentially, other AI platforms as well. And with competitor AI models like Gemini and Grok quickly gaining Indian users, Altman may be keen to retain existing users of his firm’s services and also acquire new ones, he says.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lz9r7n15do

American companies looking to sell into the huge Chinese market have just taken a big hit. A 34% price increase on all US goods entering the country will knock some out of here altogether.

This is especially bad for US agricultural producers. They already had 10 or 15% tariffs on their produce entering China, in response to the last round of Trump tariffs. Now, if you add 34% on top of that, it is probably pricing most of them out.

Beijing doesn’t seem too worried about looking elsewhere for more chicken, pork and sorghum and – at the same time – it knows it is whacking the US president right in his heartland.

Globally, all of this has analysts worried.

The problem is that supply chains have become so international, components in any given product could be sourced from all corners of the planet.

So, when the ripples of economic distress start spreading from country to country, it could have potentially catastrophic consequences for all trade.

Most concerning is that the world’s two greatest economies are now at each other’s throats with no indication that either is preparing to backdown.

Just take the timing of Beijing’s announcement.

The Chinese government revealed its promised “resolute countermeasures” to Trump’s latest tariffs in a written statement from the finance ministry at 18:00 local time (10:00 GMT), on a Friday night, which is also a public holiday.

The timing could mean several things.

1. It wanted to somewhat bury the news at home, so as to not spook people too much.

2. It simply made the announcement as soon as its own calibrations had been finalised.

3. Beijing had given up on the hope of using the small window it had before Trump’s 54% tariffs on Chinese goods took effect next week to do a deal. So, the government just decided to let it rip.

If it is the last of these reasons, that is pretty bleak news for the global economy because it could mean that a settlement between the world’s superpowers could be harder to reach than many had expected.

Another indicator of President Xi’s attitude towards President Trump’s tariffs can be seen by what he was doing when they were announced.

Elsewhere, governments may have been glued to the television, hoping to avoid the worst from Washington.

Not here.

Xi and the six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee were out planting trees to draw attention to the need to counter deforestation.

It presented a kind of calmness in the face of Trump, giving off a vibe along the lines of: do your best Washington, this is China and we’re not interested in your nonsense.

There is still room for the US and China to cut some sort of deal, but the rhetoric does not seem to be heading that way.

Another possible path is for China to increase its trade with other countries – including western nations once seen as close allies of the US – and for these new routes to essentially cut America out of the loop.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4grlzegewno

India is in talks with the US for a multi-sectoral trade agreement after President Trump imposed a 27 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian imports.

New Delhi said on Thursday that talks with Washington were underway for a “mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral bilateral trade agreement”, while stressing that officials were “carefully examining” the implications of US President Donald Trump’s move to announce a 27 per cent reciprocal tariff on India.

In an official statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated, “The US President issued an Executive Order on Reciprocal Tariffs imposing additional ad-valorem duties ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from all trading partners.”

“The baseline duty of 10% will be effective from April 05, 2025 and the remaining country specific additional ad-valorem duty will be effective from April 09, 2025. The additional duty on India as per the Annex I of the Executive Order is 27%,” the release read.

“The Department of Commerce is carefully examining the implications of the various measures / announcements made by the President of the USA. Keeping in view the vision of Viksit Bharat, the Department is engaged with all stakeholders, including Indian industry and exporters, taking feedback of their assessment of the tariffs and assessing the situation,” it stated.

“The Department is also studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development in the US trade policy.”

“Accordingly, discussions are ongoing between Indian and US trade teams for the expeditious conclusion of a mutually beneficial, multi-sectoral Bilateral Trade Agreement. These cover a wide range of issues of mutual interest including deepening supply chain integration,” the statement read.

“The ongoing talks are focused on enabling both nations to grow trade, investments and technology transfers. We remain in touch with the Trump Administration on these issues and expect to take them forward in the coming days,” it added.

Earlier today, a senior government official was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that the commerce ministry was analysing the impact of the tariffs.

He also termed the tariffs imposed by the United States on India as “a mixed bag and not a setback” for the country.

News agency PTI quoted the official as saying that the universal 10 per cent tariffs will come into effect on all imports into the US from April 5 and the remaining 17 per cent from April 10.

The US announced 27 per cent reciprocal tariffs on India saying New Delhi imposes high import duties on American goods, as the Donald Trump administration aims to reduce the country’s trade deficit and boost manufacturing.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/india-says-trade-discussions-underway-with-us-donald-trump-reciprocal-tariff-india-response-9285445.html

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday for European companies to suspend planned investment in the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on American imports.
“Investments to come or investments announced in recent weeks should be suspended until things are clarified with the United States,” Macron said during a meeting with French industry representatives.

The comments come weeks after French shipping firm CMA CGM announced plans to invest $20 billion in the U.S. to build shipping logistics and terminals, a plan that was hailed by President Trump at the time, and mentioned again in his Wednesday speech unveiling the tariffs.
French electrical equipment supplier Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA), said late last month it would invest $700 million in the country to support U.S. energy infrastructure to power AI growth.
Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment on Macron’s proposal.

Macron said no response to Trump’s tariffs had been ruled out yet and suggested using the anti-coercion mechanism, an EU instrument to protect the bloc’s trade, and responses targeting digital services and financing mechanisms of the U.S. economy.
Macron added that the response to the reciprocal tariffs would be “more powerful” than its earlier retaliation to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/markets/frances-macron-calls-suspension-investment-us-after-tariffs-2025-04-03/

A 50% reciprocal trade tariff on Lesotho, the highest levy on U.S. President Donald Trump’s long list of target economies, will kill the tiny Southern African kingdom that Trump ridiculed last month, an economic analyst there said on Thursday.
Lesotho, which Trump described in March as a country “nobody has ever heard of”, is one of the world’s poorest nations with a gross domestic product of just over $2 billion.

It has a large trade surplus with the United States, mostly made up of diamonds and textiles, including Levi’s jeans.
Its exports to the United States, which in 2024 totalled $237 million, account for more than 10% of its GDP.
Trump on Wednesday imposed sweeping new tariffs on global trading partners, upending decades of rules-based trade and threatening cost increases for consumers.
He said the “reciprocal” tariffs were a response to duties and other non-tariff barriers put on U.S. goods. Lesotho charges 99% tariffs on American goods, according to the U.S. administration.

In Africa, the move signalled the end of the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) trade deal that was supposed to help African economies develop through preferential access to U.S. markets, trade experts said.
It also compounded the pain after Trump dismantled USAID, the government agency that was a major supplier of aid to the continent.
“The 50% reciprocal tariff introduced by the U.S. government is going to kill the textile and apparel sector in Lesotho,” Thabo Qhesi, a Maseru-based independent economic analyst, told Reuters.
Oxford Economics said the textile sector, with some 40,000 workers, was Lesotho’s biggest private employer and accounted for roughly 90% of manufacturing employment and exports.

“Then you are having retailers who are selling food. And then you have residential property owners who are renting houses for the workers. So this means if the closure of factories were to happen, the industry is going to die and there will be multiplier effects,” Qhesi said.
“So Lesotho will be dead, so to say.”
The government of Lesotho, a mountainous nation of about 2 million people that is encircled by South Africa, had no immediate comment on the trade tariffs on Thursday.
Its foreign minister told Reuters last month the country, which has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world, was already feeling the impact of the aid cuts as its health sector had been reliant on them.
The formula used to calculate the U.S. tariffs took the U.S. trade deficit in goods with each country as a proxy for alleged unfair practices, then divided it by the amount of goods imported into the United States from that country.

The resulting tariff equals half the ratio between the two, meaning countries import only small quantities of U.S. goods, such as Lesotho and Madagascar, have been hit with more punitive tariffs than much richer countries.
That is also the case for Vietnam, Nicaragua and Cambodia, for which exports to the United States account for more than 25% of GDP, according to Oxford Economics.
One corn vendor in Maseru, Sekhoane Masokela, saw Trump’s announcement as a reason to seek out new markets.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trump-slaps-tiny-african-kingdom-lesotho-with-highest-tariff-all-2025-04-03/

When the Labor Party’s Jerome Laxale won the Sydney seat of Bennelong from the Liberals at the 2022 election, votes from Chinese Australians angry about then-prime minister Scott Morrison’s spat with Beijing were instrumental in his victory.
Now Laxale and other politicians are using social media including Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle app also called RedNote, and other campaign strategies to appeal to Chinese communities who will again be a crucial bloc in the upcoming election.

“If you want to communicate with your electorate, you need to go where your electorate are and some of them are on Xiaohongshu,” said Laxale, who has handed out 30,000 red envelopes with QR codes to his personal accounts on Xiaohongshu and another Chinese app, WeChat.
“Labor has only ever won Bennelong twice,” added Laxale, who took the Chinese-heavy seat by a margin of just 1% in 2022. “We’ve never held onto it. If Bennelong do choose me, it’d be history.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, battling a plunge in popularity and polls showing a neck-and-neck race, will be counting on holding seats like Bennelong at the May 3 election.

CHINESE SWING

A deadly spring storm killed at least seven people and spawned tornadoes and drenching thunderstorms in a swath of the U.S. stretching from Texas to Ohio for a second day on Thursday, raising the risk of flooding.
The powerful system is expected to stall over the country’s midsection, the National Weather Service said, fueling further deluges and possible tornadoes in areas already drenched with heavy rain.

“We’re concerned there could be some strong but essentially intense tornadoes across Northeast Texas up into Western Arkansas,” said Evan Bentley, a forecaster at the NWS’ Storm Prediction Center.
The NWS upgraded the storms to a risk level four out of five on a scale used to measure the expected intensity of severe weather. Only 10 to 12 storms are given a four rating per year, making them “pretty rare,” Bentley said.
The extreme weather has killed at least seven people since Wednesday, according to media reports. The fatalities include a father and his 16-year-old daughter who were killed when a tornado hit their modular home in Tennessee, according to the New York Times.

Five people in total died in Tennessee in weather-related incidents, one in Indiana and one in Missouri, NBC News reported. At least 13 were injured across the region.
About 34 tornadoes were reported across the region on Wednesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center. It confirmed that at least one tornado touched down in Wilmington, Ohio, about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Cincinnati.
Twisters were confirmed overnight in six states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

Climate change is bringing heavier rainfall and related flood risks in most parts of the U.S., with the upper Midwest and Ohio River Valley among the regions most affected, according to Climate Central, an independent nonprofit that researches weather patterns.
In July 2023, for example, days of historic flash flooding spread across western Kentucky into portions of southern Illinois after six to 12 inches (152 to 305 mm) of rain fell, mostly within 10 hours, the NWS said.

On Thursday, the risk of rainfall topping flash-flood guidance was at 40% or higher for an area stretching from western Arkansas northeast to southwestern Ohio, according to NWS maps.
Flash-flood warnings are in effect in the Ohio River Valley from the northwestern corner of Mississippi to northeastern Kentucky.
“Any flash and riverine flooding across these areas will have the potential to become catastrophic and life-threatening,” the NWS Weather Prediction Center said on social media.
The NWS is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The wave of severe weather is one of the first since the Trump administration began to sharply cut NOAA’s workforce, part of an initiative by the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, to slash the size of the federal payroll. The weather service is housed within the NOAA.
The layoffs and a buyout program are expected to shrink NOAA’s headcount by roughly 20% and could hamper some of its operations, scientists and researchers have said.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/deadly-us-storm-system-may-intensify-friday-after-killing-7-2025-04-03/

Drama is unfolding in David Beckham’s family, with 2 of his sons beefing over a woman — not in a jealous way, but more a question of her motives.

Sources connected to the family tell TMZ … Brooklyn and Romeo Beckham are not on speaking terms because Romeo is dating Kim Turnbull.

We’re told Kim had a romantic connection with Brooklyn several years ago, but that’s all water under the bridge.

Of course, Brooklyn is happily married to Nicola Peltz now, and our sources say the issue at hand is the couple questions whether Kim has the right intentions in dating Romeo.

Our sources say the feud is why Brooklyn and Nicola were noticeably absent from a recent celebration for David’s 50th birthday. Romeo was there with Kim, and we’re told Brooklyn and Nicola will not be present at any public family events that Kim is at.

What’s interesting is Romeo posted a family photo from Dad’s party Wednesday with the caption, “Family is everything” … and he did not tag his bro and Nicola.

Brooklyn and Nicola also skipped Victoria Beckham’s fashion show last month … and we’re told that was also due to the fact that Kim was present.

Our sources say things between Brooklyn and Romeo started to go south in December and their beef has only been getting worse.

Kim’s got Romeo’s parents on her side though … our sources say David and Victoria trust her around their son.

Not so much Brooklyn … who, we’re told, feels protective of his younger brother. There’s no ill will toward Romeo himself, Brooklyn just doesn’t approve of Kim dating him.

We’ve reached out to reps for David, Brooklyn and Kim, but no word back.

Brooklyn and Nicola live in L.A., while 22-year-old Romeo still lives in London with David and Victoria … so, it was interesting this week when Romeo and Kim went to a soccer game in L.A. with his famous parents.

Source : https://www.tmz.com/2025/04/03/brooklyn-romeo-beckham-feuding-over-girlfriend-drama-kim-turnbull/

Tom Cruise is honoring his former film nemesis with a touching gesture … pausing for a moment of silence to recognize Val Kilmer at CinemaCon.

The movie star took the stage at the convention Thursday in Las Vegas and made sure to stop and honor his late “Top Gun” costar.

After the moment of silence, Tom reportedly told the crowd … “Thank you Val, I wish you well on your next journey.”

Tom and Val will forever be linked as rivals Maverick and Iceman from 1986’s “Top Gun” — roles they reprised in 2022 for the long-awaited sequel to the fighter pilot flick, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Val’s health issues prevented him from working much in the last few years … and, ‘Maverick’ is actually his final film role. Producers had to use A.I. to recreate his voice, which he’d lost due to throat cancer.

As we told you … Kilmer’s daughter confirmed the news to the New York Times Wednesday — revealing her father died after a bout with pneumonia.

Tributes have come pouring in for the star since news of his death broke … with Hollywood heavyweights like Francis Ford Coppola, Jennifer Tilly, Josh Brolin, Michael Mann, Jason Momoa, Nina Dobrev and Cher showing love for Val.

Kilmer posted to Instagram a few times in the past month … including one post where he wore a Batman mask — a reference to his role as the Caped Crusader in the 1995 flick “Batman Forever.”

Source : https://www.tmz.com/2025/04/03/tom-cruise-honors-val-kilmer-moment-silence-cinemacon/

The announcement of US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs caused consternation across the European Union (EU). The bloc was hit with 20% tariffs.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday decried the White House announcement, warning that “the global economy will massively suffer.”

” All businesses – big and small – will suffer from day one,” von der Leyen said, adding that tariffs would bring greater uncertainty and that “the cost of doing business with the United States will drastically increase.”

EU to announce countermeasures

Von der Leyen said the past 80 years of trade relations between Europe and the US had created millions of jobs and benefited consumers and businesses alike.

But the EU Commission chief said the 27-member bloc was ready to defend itself against the tariff measures.

“We are already finalizing a first package of countermeasures in response to tariffs on steel,” von der Leyen said, adding that the EU is also preparing for further countermeasures “to protect our interests and our businesses if negotiations fail.”

“As Europeans, we will always promote and defend our interests and values. And we will always stand up for Europe,” von der Leyen vowed.

Germany’s Scholz blasts ‘fundamentally wrong’ tariffs

In Germany, politicians from all stripes condemned the move. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the tariffs would damage the entire global economy and were based on false thinking.

“The recent tariffs decision by the US president is in my view fundamentally wrong,” Scholz said

Outgoing German Economy Minister Robert Habeck of the Greens said it was “an extraordinary day for the world economy, comparable to the situation after the Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

Even the far-right Alternative for Germany, a right-wing populist party typically friendly to the Trump administration, criticized the US move, saying it was “poison for free trade.” The party called for negotiations to avert a trade war rather than countermeasures.

Macron calls for suspension of US investment

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump’s tariffs are “brutal and unfounded” and would make the US “weaker and poorer.”

He said the tariffs would have a “massive impact” on the European economy and favored a strong response.

“Future investments, investments announced in the last weeks, should be suspended for a time for as long as the situation with the United States is not clarified,” Macron said on Thursday.

“What would be the message if big European actors invest billions of euros in the US economy at the very moment they are hitting us?” Macron said, calling on Europe to stand together.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/europe-prepares-countermeasures-to-trump-tariffs/a-72132212

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has firmly dismissed the repeated calls by President Donald Trump and his administration for the United States to take control of Greenland.

“This is not only about Greenland or Denmark, this is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over generations,” Mette Frederiksen said from Greenland on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference flanked by the island’s incoming and outgoing prime ministers, she switched to English to directly address the United States.

“You cannot annex another country, not even with an argument about security,” she said.

Greenland officially belongs to Denmark but has self-rule over most of its internal affairs while foreign affairs and defense are run by the government in Denmark.

Trump wants control of Greenland to help stop the threat of Russia and China in the Arctic, as well as potentially tap into its vast natural resources.

Greenland’s incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said it was important for Denmark and Greenland to stand united during a situation with such external pressure.

Denmark increases security commitments

Frederiksen also outlined Denmark’s security commitments, including new Arctic ships, long-range drones and satellite capacity.

She invited the US to work “together” with Denmark, a NATO ally, to strengthen security in the Arctic.

Frederiksen’s three-day trip to the autonomous Danish territory comes less than a week after a controversial visit by US Vice President JD Vance.

Source : https://www.dw.com/en/greenland-danish-pm-says-you-cannot-annex-another-country/a-72133610

AS tariffs threaten to drive up prices of international goods, one option has emerged to save on affordable products.

Chinese brands will be heavily impacted by the tariffs.

E-commerce retail brands from China like Shein and Temu are among those that will be affected by new tariffs.

As these tariffs begin to affect the pricing of international goods, one American fast fashion brand appears to be a rising favorite for its low prices.

Old Navy, the California-based division of Gap, Inc., will not see price increases due to tariffs, as it is a US company.

TARIFFS EXPLAINED

On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order ending a widely-exploited trade loophole.

The loophole had allowed inexpensive goods from China to enter the U.S. without tariffs.

The 78-year-old president contended that the “de minimis” exemption enabled shippers from China and Hong Kong to conceal illegal substances within packages and products.

“These shippers often avoid detection due to administration of the de minimis exemption,” Trump wrote.

He claimed that duty-free imports from China “play a significant role in the synthetic opioid crisis in the United States.”

Packages qualifying for de minimis treatment are those valued under $800.

Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu have previously taken advantage of the exemption to sell extremely low-cost products to U.S. shoppers.

Now, they face significant impacts from the new tariffs.

A RISING ALTERNATIVE

Old Navy features products at similar prices to those of Shein and Temu.

However, it will be exempted from international tariffs as a US-based company.

The brand offers dresses for as little as $12 for girls and $14 for women, according to its website.

Additionally, rewards members can receive free shipping on orders over $50.

Members can also receive exclusive offers through text alerts by entering their mobile number on Old Navy’s website.

RETAIL IN THE NEWS

Many retail chains are set to close next month temporarily, including Aldi and Sam’s Club.

The closure is due to the upcoming holiday season.

Meanwhile, shoppers at JoAnn Fabrics were puzzled after finding signs indicating that the company was hiring.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/money/13934770/millions-shoppers-price-hike-discount-shein-temu-old-navy/

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Friday upheld President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment over his disastrous martial law declaration, voting unanimously to strip him of office for violating the constitution.

Yoon, 64, was suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament. He was also arrested on insurrection charges as part of a separate criminal case.

His removal triggers fresh presidential elections, which must be held within 60 days.

“Given the serious negative impact and far-reaching consequences of the respondent’s constitutional violations… (We) dismiss respondent President Yoon Suk Yeol,” said acting court President Moon Hyung-bae.

The decision was unanimous by all eight of the court’s judges, who have been given additional security protection by police with tensions high and pro-Yoon supporters rallying in the streets.

Yoon’s actions “violate the core principles of the rule of law and democratic governance, thereby undermining the constitutional order itself and posing a grave threat to the stability of the democratic republic,” the judges said in their ruling.

Yoon’s decision to send armed soldiers to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers from voting down his decree “violated the political neutrality of the armed forces and the duty of supreme command.”

He deployed troops for “political purposes”, the judges said, which “caused soldiers who had served the country with the mission of ensuring national security and defending the country to confront ordinary citizens.”

“In the end, the respondent’s unconstitutional and illegal acts are a betrayal of the people’s trust and constitute a serious violation of the law that cannot be tolerated from the perspective of protecting the Constitution,” the judges ruled.

Yoon is the second South Korean leader to be impeached by the court after Park Geun-hye in 2017.

After weeks of tense hearings, judges spent more than a month deliberating the case, all while public unrest swelled.

Police raised the alert to the highest possible level Friday, enabling the deployment of their entire force. Officers encircled the courthouse with a ring of vehicles and stationed special operations teams in the vicinity.

Anti-Yoon protesters cried, cheered and screamed as the verdict was announced. Some jumped and shook each other’s hands in joy, while others hugged people and cried.

Outside Yoon’s residence, his supporters shouted and swore, with some bursting into tears as the verdict was announced.

Yoon, who defended his attempt to subvert civilian rule as necessary to root out “anti-state forces”, still commands the backing of extreme supporters.

At least two staunch Yoon supporters — one in his 70s and the other in his 50s — have died after self-immolating in protest of the controversial leader’s impeachment.

Embassies — including the American, French, Russian and Chinese — have warned citizens to avoid mass gatherings in connection with Friday’s verdict.

The decision shows “first and foremost the resilience of South Korean democracy,” Byunghwan Son, professor at George Mason University, told AFP.

“The very fact that the system did not collapse suggests that the Korean democracy can survive even the worst challenge against it — a coup attempt.”

South Korea has spent the four months since Yoon declared martial law without an effective head of state, as the opposition impeached Yoon’s stand-in — only for him to be later reinstated by a court ruling.

The leadership vacuum came during a series of crises and headwinds, including an aviation disaster and the deadliest wildfires in the country’s history.

This week, South Korea was slammed with 25 percent tariffs on exports to key ally the United States after President Donald Trump unveiled global, so-called reciprocal levies.

Source : https://www.hngn.com/articles/265553/20250403/south-korea-court-upholds-president-yoons-impeachment-strips-him-office.htm

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has made repeated visits to the White House as he tries to persuade US President Donald Trump to settle a major antitrust case before it goes to trial on April 14, US media reported.

The case against Meta was filed in 2020 by the Federal Trade Commission and seeks to prove that the company formerly known as Facebook illegally acquired potential competitors, particularly Instagram and WhatsApp, to eliminate competitive threats.

The New York Times reported that Zuckerberg has visited Trump at both the White House and his Mar-a-Lago resort several times in recent weeks as he makes a last-ditch attempt to spare his company the seven- to eight-week trial.

The trial is to take place in a Washington federal court, with Zuckerberg and former executive Sheryl Sandberg among those to take the stand.

Contacted by AFP, a Meta spokesman said: “Mark’s continuing the meetings he’s been holding with the administration on American technology leadership.”

Since Trump took back the White House, Zuckerberg has courted the president with frequent visits and notable changes to corporate policies on matters like content moderation, aligning himself politically with the Republican administration.

Zuckerberg has also bought a $23 million residence in the US capital in recent weeks as he steps up his lobbying of Trump.

The case from the FTC focuses on Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, with the US government alleging Meta made the purchases while operating an illegal monopoly in the US social networking market.

It is seeking to force the company to divest from these platforms, but the final outcome could take years after appeals.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump has yet to decide whether the administration will settle with the company, which would be a highly unusual decision at this stage of the proceedings.

Asked recently about his agency’s commitment to the case, Trump-appointed FTC chair Andrew Ferguson said his teams were “gearing up” for the trial.

Source : https://www.ibtimes.com/zuckerberg-repeats-trump-visits-bid-settle-antitrust-case-3768777

Internet users and experts are accusing the Trump administration of using ChatGPT to determine the percentages in the tariff plan he presented during the “Make America Wealthy” event on Wednesday.

The theory was first floated by Destiny, a popular political commentator. He accused the administration of using ChatGPT to calculate the tariffs the U.S. is charged by other countries, “which is why the tariffs make absolutely no fucking sense.”

“They’re simply dividing the trade deficit we have with a country with our imports from that country, or using 10%, whichever is greater,” Destiny, who goes by @TheOmniLiberal on X, shared in a post on Wednesday.

He attached a screenshot of his exchange with the AI bot. He started by asking ChatGPT, “What would be an easy way to calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even-playing fields when it comes to trade deficit? Set minimum at 10%.”

“To calculate tariffs that help level the playing field in terms of trade deficits (with a minimum tariff of 10%), you can use a proportional tariff formula based on the trade deficit with each country. The idea is to impose higher tariffs on countries with which the U.S. has larger trade deficits, thus incentivizing more balanced trade,” the bot responded, along with a formula to use.

John Aravosis, an influencer with a background in law and journalism, shared a TikTok video that then outlined how each tariff was calculated; by essentially taking the U.S. trade deficit with the country divided by the total imports from that country to the U.S.

Source : https://www.latintimes.com/trump-accused-using-chatgpt-create-tariff-plan-after-ai-leads-users-same-formula-so-ai-579899

Stars like Jennifer Lopez, Uma Thurman and Kaia Gerber walked the red carpet at the opening night of Broadway’s ‘Good Night, and Good Luck,’ held at Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. See all the celebrity fashion below.

Source : https://pagesix.com/2025/04/03/photos/good-night-and-good-luck-opening-night-on-broadway-draws-jennifer-lopez-uma-thurman-and-more-to-red-carpet/#7

April Hubbard sits on the theatre stage where she plans to die later this year.

She is not terminally ill, but the 39-year-old performance and burlesque artist has been approved for assisted dying under Canada’s increasingly liberal laws.

Warning: This article contains details and descriptions some readers may find disturbing

She is speaking to BBC News from the Bus Stop Theatre, an intimate auditorium with a little under 100 seats, in the eastern city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Illuminated by a single spotlight on a stage she has performed on many times before, she tells me she plans to die here “within months” of her imminent 40th birthday. She’ll be joined by a small group of her family and friends.

April plans to be in a “big comfy bed” for what she calls a “celebratory” moment when a medical professional will inject a lethal dose into her bloodstream.

“I want to be surrounded by the people I love and just have everybody hold me in a giant cuddle puddle and get to take my last breath, surrounded by love and support,” she says.

April was born with spina bifida and was later diagnosed with tumours at the base of her spine which she says have left her in constant, debilitating pain.

She’s been taking strong opioid painkillers for more than 20 years and applied for Medical Assistance in Dying (Maid) in March 2023. While she could yet live for decades with her condition, she qualified to end her life early seven months after applying. For those who are terminally ill it is possible to get approval within 24 hours.

“My suffering and pain are increasing and I don’t have the quality of life anymore that makes me happy and fulfilled,” April says. Every time she moves or breathes, she says it feels like the tissues from the base of her spine “are being pulled like a rubber band that stretches too far”, and that her lower limbs leave her in agony.

We meet April as, almost 3,000 miles away, MPs are scrutinising proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. They voted in principle in support of those plans in November 2024, but months of detailed scrutiny have followed – and further votes in the Commons and Lords are required before the bill could possibly become law.

This week, the BBC witnessed a man’s death in California, where assisted dying laws are far more similar to those being considered in Westminster.

Critics say Canada is an example of the “slippery slope”, meaning that once you pass an assisted dying law it will inevitably widen its scope and have fewer safeguards.

Canada now has one of the most liberal systems of assisted dying in the world, similar to that operating in the Netherlands and Belgium. It introduced Maid in 2016, initially for terminally ill adults with a serious and incurable physical illness, which causes intolerable suffering. In 2021, the need to be terminally ill was removed, and in two years’ time, the Canadian government plans to open Maid to adults solely with a mental illness and no physical ailment.

Opponents of Maid tell us that death is coming to be seen as a standard treatment option for those with disabilities and complex medical problems.

“It is easier in Canada to get medical assistance in dying than it is to get government support to live,” says Andrew Gurza, a disability awareness consultant and friend of April’s.

Andrew, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, says he respects April’s decision, but tells us: “If my disability declines and my care needs got higher, I’d still want to be here. To know there’s a law that’s saying you could easily end your life – it’s just really scary.”

Before she was approved for Maid, April was assessed by two independent physicians who were required to inform her of ways to alleviate her suffering and offer alternative treatments.

“The safeguards are there,” she says, when we press her about disabled people who feel threatened by assisted dying, or whether Maid is being used as a shortcut to better quality care. “If it’s not right for you and you’re not leading the charge and choosing Maid, you’re not going to be able to access it unless it’s for the right reasons,” she adds.

There were 15,343 Maid deaths in 2023, representing around one in 20 of all deaths in Canada – a proportion that has increased dramatically since 2016 and is one of the highest in the world. The average age of recipients was 77.

In all but a handful of cases, the lethal dose was delivered by a doctor or nurse, which is also known as voluntary euthanasia. One doctor we spoke to, Eric Thomas, said he had helped 577 patients to die.

Dr Konia Trouton, president of the Canadian Association of Maid Assessors and Providers, has also helped hundreds of patients to die since the law was introduced.

The procedure is the same each time – she arrives at the home of the person who has been given approval for Maid and asks if they wish to go ahead with it that day. She says the patients always direct the process and then give her the “heads up and ready to go”.

“That gives me an honour and a duty and a privilege to be able to help them in those last moments with their family around them, with those who love them around them and to know that they’ve made that decision thoughtfully, carefully and thoroughly,” she adds. If the answer is yes, she opens her medical bag.

Demonstrating to the BBC what happens next, Dr Trouton briefly puts a tourniquet on my arm. She shows me where the needle would be inserted into a vein in the back of my hand to allow an intravenous infusion of lethal drugs.

In her medical bag she also has a stethoscope. “Strangely, these days I use it more to determine if someone has no heartbeat rather than if they do,” she tells me.

Some 96% of Maid provisions are under “track one” where death is “reasonably foreseeable”. Dr Trouton says that means patients are on a “trajectory toward death”, which might range from someone who has rapidly spreading cancer and only weeks to live or another with Alzheimer’s “who might have five to seven years”.

The other 4% of Maid deaths come under “track two”. These are adults, like April, who are not dying but have suffering which is intolerable to them from a “grievous and irremediable medical condition”.

That is in stark contrast to Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, which says patients must be expected to die within six months. The Westminster bill would not allow doctors to give a lethal dose – rather patients would have to self-administer the drugs, usually by swallowing them.

Death via intravenous infusion normally takes just a few minutes, as the lethal drugs go straight into the bloodstream, whereas swallowing the drugs means patients usually take around an hour or two to die, but can take considerably longer, although they are usually unconscious after a few minutes.

Dr Trouton told me she regarded the Canadian system as quicker and more effective, as do other Maid providers. “I’m concerned that if some people can’t swallow because of their disease process, and if they’re not able to take the entire quantity of medication because of breathing difficulties or swallowing difficulties, what will happen?”

The former president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, says his US visa has been revoked.

Arias, a Nobel laureate, said he was informed of the decision weeks after he had publicly criticised Donald Trump, comparing the behaviour of the US president to that of a Roman emperor.

The 84-year-old, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in brokering an end to conflicts in Central America, said US authorities had given no explanation.

Arias hinted, however, that it may be due to his rapprochement with China during the time he was president from 2006 to 2010.

Speaking at a news conference in the Costa Rican capital, San José, Arias said he had “no idea” what the reason for the cancellation was.

He said he had received a “terse” email “of a few lines” from the US government informing him of the decision.

He added that he thought that it was not President Trump but the US State Department which had taken the decision.

While he said it would be conjecture on his part to speculate about the reason behind the visa revocation, he did point out that “I established diplomatic relations with China.

“That, of course, is known throughout the world,” he told journalists of his 2007 decision to cut ties with Taiwan and establish them with China instead.

The Trump administration has sought to oppose China’s influence in the Western hemisphere and has accused a number of Central American governments of cosying up to the Chinese government and Chinese companies.

However, it has been supportive of the current Costa Rican President, Rodrigo Chaves, praising his decision to exclude Chinese firms from participating in the development of 5G in Costa Rica.

But this perceived closeness between President Chaves and the US was criticised by Arias, who wrote a post on social media in February saying that “it has never been easy for a small country to disagree with the US government, less so when its president behaves like a Roman emperor, telling the rest of the world what to do”.

He added that “during my governments, Costa Rica never received orders from Washington as if we were a banana republic”.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75dl7rdxexo

Technology stocks plummeted Thursday for their worst session since the Covid pandemic after President Donald Trump’s new tariff policies sparked widespread market panic.

Apple led the declines among the so-called “Magnificent Seven” group, dropping more than 9% for its worst drop since 2020. The iPhone maker makes its devices in China and other Asian countries. Suppliers such as Qorvo and Skyworks Solutions plunged about 16% and 12%, respectively.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed about 6% for its worst session in more than five years. The index is down more than 14% year to date.

Other megacaps also felt the pressure. Meta Platforms and Amazon fell about 9% each, while Nvidia dropped nearly 8%. Nvidia builds its new chips in Taiwan and relies on Mexico for assembling its artificial intelligence systems. Tesla slumped more than 5%, while Microsoft and Alphabet both fell about 2% and 4%, respectively.

Semiconductor stocks also felt the pain, with Marvell Technology, Broadcom and Lam Research falling at least 10% each. Micron Technology sank more than 16%, while Advanced Micro Devices
declined more about 9%. Personal computer makers Dell and HP tanked 19% and about 15%, respectively. Dell registered its worst session in since 2018.

The drop in technology stocks came amid a broader market selloff spurred by fears of a global trade war after Trump unveiled a blanket 10% tariff on all imported goods and a range of higher duties targeting specific countries after the bell Wednesday. He said the new tariffs would be a “declaration of economic independence” for the U.S.

Companies and countries worldwide have already begun responding to the wide-sweeping policy, which included a 34% tariff on China stacked on a previous 20% tax, a 46% duty on Vietnam and a 20% levy on imports from the European Union.

China’s Ministry of Commerce urged the U.S. to “immediately cancel” the unilateral tariff measures and said it would take “resolute counter-measures.”

Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/03/tech-stocks-sink-after-trump-tariff-rollout-apple-leads-drop.html

The White House pushed back on critics who have pointed out President Donald Trump conspicuously missed Russia from sweeping new round of global tariffs issued Wednesday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios the omission was by design, explaining that existing sanctions against Moscow already “preclude any meaningful trade.”

But that explanation raised more questions than it answered. After all, as Mediaite’s Sarah Rumpf pointed out, the U.S. still trades more with Russia than it does with some of the microstates and territories that did make the list — in its piece, Axios pointed to Tokelau (population: 1,500) and Norway’s Arctic outpost of Svalbard (population: 2,500).

Leavitt defended the move by pointing out that countries like Cuba, Belarus, and North Korea were also skipped due to already sky-high restrictions.

“Russia could still face additional strong sanctions,” she added — a nod to Trump’s recent frustrations with the country’s President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine war peace talks progress.

The president told reporters this week he was “pissed off” at the Russian leader over his latest remarks on Ukraine, and even floated the possibility of secondary tariffs on Russian oil.

Source : https://www.mediaite.com/news/white-house-spins-as-russia-omitted-from-tariffs-list/

Elon Musk is no stranger to a wild idea, but his latest remarks have sparked concern – as he thinks robots could soon outnumber humans.

The billionaire, who is also the mastermind behind the Tesla Bot (AKA Optimus), took to X to share his thoughts on the direction in which the robot revolution could be heading, and it’s not good news if you were already worried about their sentience.

It comes as Tesla vows to produce 10,000 of the robots by the end of 2025, having launched the first version in 2021.

“Long-term, I think there will be more… the ratio of humanoid robots will be more than one to one. There might be two humanoid robots or more, maybe 10

A trio of secretive Russian satellites launched earlier this year has released a mysterious object into orbit, sparking interest among space trackers and analysts.

The three satellites, designated Kosmos 2581, 2582 and 2583, launched on a Soyuz-2.1V rocket from Plesetsk cosmodrome early on Feb. 2 (GMT). Since then, the satellites, whose purpose is unknown, have displayed interesting behavior, while in a near-polar orbit roughly 364 miles (585 kilometers) above Earth.

In March, the satellites appeared to be conducting potential proximity operations, or maneuvering close to other objects in space, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist and spaceflight activity tracker.

Following this, the U.S. Space Force cataloged a new object in orbit, which was possibly released by Kosmos 2581 on March 18.

Russia has provided no details about the satellites and their mission. Many Kosmos missions are classified.

The released object could be used for a number of objectives, including military experiments, such as satellite inspection or target practice, testing technology for docking or formation flying. It may also be a scientific payload or even the result of an unintentional fragmentation, though this would usually result in numerous pieces of debris.

The Kosmos (or Cosmos) designation has been used by the Soviet Union and later Russia for a very wide range of military and scientific satellites since 1962. The satellites have covered a range of apparent uses, some of which are experimental, secret, or part of military programs, including early ASAT (anti-satellite) tests and satellite inspection, reconnaissance and electronic intelligence.

Source : https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/secretive-russian-military-satellites-release-mystery-object-into-orbit

It looks like someone finally turned in his homework on time.

James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Water,” the third and only installment in the saga that hasn’t been plagued by endless release date delays, unveiled the very first trailer on Thursday afternoon at CinemaCon, the annual gathering of movie theater owners in Las Vegas. (To be fair, Cameron shot the follow-up films back-to-back, so the rest of the otherworldly sci-fi series should arrive on time).

CinemaCon attendees were given 3D glasses to watch the trailer, which hasn’t been released to the general public. The dazzling footage begins on Pandora and introduces two new Na’vi clans — the Wind Traders, who soar in the sky using what resemble highly stylized hot air balloons, and their adversaries, the Fire People, who arrive by riding Ikran flying creatures. As a battle begins in the skies, one Na’vi is shot with a flaming arrow and killed.

“We can not live like this, baby” Jake Sully tells his beloved Neytiri. “We can not live with this hate.”

The latest round of new tariffs unleashed by Donald Trump will hit almost every industry across the globe, setting an unprecedented challenge for businesses already grappling with weak demand and inflationary pressures.
Industry executives warn the biggest victim will be US consumers who will be paying more to buy everything from Adidas trainers to Modelo, the country’s top-selling beer.
The US unveiled a baseline levy of 10 per cent with additional tariffs of up to 50 per cent on multiple trading partners, including the EU, Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Retail and consumer goods

As the weekend deadline for TikTok to find a buyer approaches, bidders for the short-video social media site are piling up.
Amazon(AMZN.O), and, separately, a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely are the latest to throw their hats into the ring for TikTok. The site faces an April 5 deadline to reach a deal to find a non-Chinese buyer under threat of being banned from the United States.

U.S. officials have raised security concerns over the app’s ties to China, which TikTok and owner ByteDance have denied. Trump administration officials are meeting on Wednesday to discuss the various options for TikTok.

Startup Zoop, which is run by Stokely, founder of adult content social media site OnlyFans, has partnered with a cryptocurrency foundation to submit a late-stage plan to bid for TikTok, the two told Reuters Wednesday.
A U.S. administration official confirmed Amazon had sent a letter to Vice President JD Vance and Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Amazon declined to comment, while TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shares of Amazon rose about 2% following news of the last-minute TikTok bid.

Amazon has long harbored ambitions for an in-house social media network that could help it sell more goods and appeal to a younger audience. It bought live video site Twitch in 2014 for nearly $1 billion and book review site Goodreads in 2013 as part of its efforts to build a viable social network.

Amazon also developed and tested a TikTok-like short-form video and photo feed called Inspire that it shuttered earlier this year.
Trump said last month his administration was in touch with four different groups about the sale of the platform, without identifying them.
Private equity firm Blackstone (BX.N), is discussing joining ByteDance’s non-Chinese shareholders, led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, in contributing fresh capital to bid for TikTok’s U.S. business, Reuters reported last week.

U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is also in talks to add outside funding to buy out TikTok’s Chinese investors, as part of a bid led by Oracle (ORCL.N), and other American investors to carve it out of ByteDance, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
White House-led talks entail plans to spin off a U.S. entity for TikTok and dilute Chinese ownership in the new business to below a 20% threshold required by U.S. law, Reuters reported last month.
The New York Times first reported Amazon’s involvement on Wednesday. Various parties who have been involved in the talks do not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously, the Times reported.
The future of the app used by nearly half of all Americans has been up in the air since a 2024 law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, required ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/amazon-has-bid-buy-tiktok-new-york-times-reports-2025-04-02/

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a 10% tariff on its ally was “not the act of a friend,” but ruled out reciprocal tariffs against the United States.
In comments outside the White House, Trump singled out Australian beef, which saw a surge in exports to the United States last year, reaching A$4 billion amid a slump in U.S. beef production.

“They won’t take any of our beef. They don’t want it because they don’t want it to affect their farmers and you know, I don’t blame them but we’re doing the same thing right now,” Trump said in an event in the White House Rose Garden announcing tariffs on a wide range of U.S. trading partners.
Australia banned U.S. fresh beef products in 2003 due to the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, otherwise known as mad cow disease, in U.S. cattle. BSE poses a risk to human health and has never been detected in cattle in Australia.

Albanese said Trump had not banned Australia beef, but had imposed a 10% duty on all Australian goods entering the United States, equivalent to the U.S. baseline tariff on all imports, despite U.S. goods entering Australia tariff free.

“The (Trump) administration’s tariffs have no basis in logic and they go against the basis of our two nations’ partnership. This is not the act of a friend,” Albanese told reporters.
Australia would not impose reciprocal tariffs as this would increase prices for Australian households, he added.
“We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth,” Albanese said.
Australian shares (.AXJO), dropped 0.9% and the local dollar , a proxy for global risk sentiment, fell 0.5% to $0.6269.
Australian officials said countries in the Indo-Pacific region were among the hardest hit by the U.S. tariffs, with Albanese suggesting this could advantage China.

“There’s no doubt that the response on a range of issues, be it action on climate change as well as trade issues will affect the strategic competition that’s here in the region,” he said.
Australia would seek to negotiate with the U.S. to remove the tariffs without resorting to a dispute resolution mechanism in the two countries’ Free Trade Agreement, he said.

Amid the campaign for parliamentary elections set for May 3, opposition Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton criticised Albanese for not winning a tariff exemption, and said Australia should leverage its critical minerals deposits and defence alliance to quickly strike a deal with Trump.
“This is a bad day for our country,” Dutton said.
Australia had used all elements of its diplomacy, Albanese said, including seeking advice last night over dinner from sport star Greg Norman, who plays golf with Trump.

BEEF OVER BIOSECURITY

Negotiations to avoid a tariff stalled over beef as Australia insisted on U.S. meat imports meeting its biosecurity standards, Albanese said.
Biosecurity is one of three areas, alongside subsidised pharmaceuticals that lower health costs to Australians, and rules on U.S. social media platforms, raised by the U.S. as trade barriers that Australia would not compromise on, he told reporters.
Australia will offer financial support to affected exporters to help them find new markets, with a fund offering A$1 billion ($627 million) in zero interest loans, and direct government departments to ‘buy Australian’.
National Farmers Federation President David Jochinke said the tariffs were a “disappointing step backward for our nations and for the global economy”, but the industry would prevail because its farmers are “among the least subsidised farmers in the world”.
Exports to the United States are less than 5% of Australia’s total goods exports, compared to one in four export dollars coming from trade with China.
Australian steel and aluminium exports are also subject to U.S. tariffs on the metals announced in March, though its shipments to the U.S. are a fraction of the value of country’s total annual exports. Less clear is the impact from those levies on Australia’s mining sector, which supplies much of the world’s iron ore and other metal-making raw materials.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said Australia was opening new exports markets in India and the Middle East, and would seek to revive free trade negotiations with the European Union that had stalled last year over access for Australian beef.

Source : https://www.reuters.com/world/australia-says-us-tariffs-not-act-friend-rules-out-reciprocal-move-2025-04-02/

US President Donald Trump ignited a potentially ruinous trade war Wednesday as he slapped sweeping 10 percent tariffs on imports from around the world and harsh additional levies on key trading partners.

Speaking in the White House Rose Garden against a backdrop of US flags, Trump unveiled particularly stinging tariffs on China and the European Union on what he called “Liberation Day.”

Trump’s tariffs triggered immediate anger, with US ally Australia blasting them as “unwarranted” and Italy calling them “wrong,” while other countries have already vowed retaliation.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.

Wall Street was closed when Trump made his announcement but the S&P index was down 1.5 percent in after-hours trading. The dollar fell one percent against euro as he was speaking, but then recovered.

Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called “nations that treat us badly,” including 34 percent on goods from superpower rival China, 20 percent the European Union and 24 percent on Japan.

But the 78-year-old Republican — who held up a chart with a list of the biggest levies — said that he was “very kind” and so was only imposing half the amount that the “worst offenders” taxed US exports.

For the rest, Trump said he would impose a “baseline” tariff of 10 percent, including another key ally, Britain.

An audience of cabinet members, as well as workers in hard hats from industries including steel, oil and gas, whooped and cheered as Trump said the tariffs would “make America wealthy again.”

“This is Liberation Day,” Trump said, adding that it would “forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn.”

Sweeping auto tariffs of 25 percent that Trump announced last week are also due to take effect at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) Thursday.

Canada and Mexico are not affected by the new tariffs as Trump has already imposed levies on the two US neighbors for what he says is their failure to crack down on trafficking of the drug fentanyl.

Trump had telegraphed the move for weeks, insisting tariffs will keep the United States from being “ripped off” by other countries and spur a new economic “Golden Age.”

But many experts warn the tariffs risk triggering a recession at home as costs are passed on to US consumers, and a damaging trade war abroad.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned nations not to impose countermeasures, saying on Fox News: “If you retaliate, there will be escalation.”

The world has been on edge ahead of Trump’s announcement, and his tariffs hit countries all over the globe.

Some of the worst hit were in Asia, including 49 percent for Cambodia, 47 percent for Vietnam and 44 percent for military-ruled Myanmar, which was recently hit by a devastating earthquake.

One country attracting the highest rate of 50 percent was Lesotho — the southern African nation that Trump recently called a country “nobody has ever heard of.”

The tariffs will also reinforce fears that Trump is backing even further away from US allies towards a new order based on a vision of American supremacy.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday said the tariffs were “totally unwarranted” and would change the perception of the relationship with the United States.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close Trump ally, said the levies on the EU were “wrong” but pledged to work with Washington for a deal.

Britain escaped relatively lightly after a diplomatic offensive that included Prime Minister Keir Starmer turning up to the White House with an invitation from King Charles III for a state visit.

Source : https://www.ibtimes.com/trump-sparks-trade-war-sweeping-global-tariffs-3768612

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has triumphantly deemed Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs a “reordering of fair trade” as tensions with global allies reach a peak.

Lutnick predicted countries will “stop picking on” the US after the European Union plotted its response to Trump’s fiery “Liberation Day” announcement.

In an interview with CNBC, Lutnick said the tariffs would open up the world market for US goods and remove “non-tariff trade barriers” plaguing American manufacturers.

“I expect most countries to start to really examine their trade policy towards the United States of America and stop picking on us,” he said.

“Stop saying that we can’t sell our corn to India, stop saying that we can’t sell our beef anywhere. Just stop treating us so poorly.”

Since Trump announced his sweeping new taxes on global imports Wednesday evening, world leaders have started rushing to respond.

Austria’s conservative economy minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said the EU will need to “hit the US states” in a tit for tat response to Trump’s fiery “Liberation Day” announcement.

He said, “We have to hit Republican states and we have to hit Donald Trump’s friends, the tech companies.”

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck also warned that Trump will buckle under the growing pressure from Europe.

He said in a news conference, “That is what I see, that Donald Trump buckles under pressure, corrects his announcements under pressure.

“But the logical consequence is that he must also feel the pressure, and this pressure must now be exerted from Germany, from Europe.”

Europe’s strong reactions to the tariffs overnight have already led the US to respond to the uproar.

Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged nations to “sit back, take a deep breath, don’t immediately retaliate” after the explosive new trade program.

He told CNN, “Doing anything rash would be unwise.

“If you retaliate, that’s how we get escalation.”

Stocks plummeted in after-hours trading due to the tariffs, which include a baseline 10% tax on all imports starting April 5.

The new rates “prevent cheating” by raising what the US charges on imports to match the fees other countries put on American goods, Trump said.

“It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said while announcing the new measures.

He said the US would use the money generated from tariffs to “reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt.”

The fresh rates are kicking off with new auto tariffs slapping a 25% tax on all foreign-made automobiles starting Thursday at midnight.

But European leaders didn’t take it lightly.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen slammed the tariffs as a “major blow to the world economy”, saying Brussels is “preparing for further countermeasures.”

French officials said the EU is “ready for a trade war.” Italian PM Giorgia Meloni blasted the tariffs as “wrong,” while Poland’s Donald Tusk warned “really and truly reciprocal tariffs” were on the table.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/13926666/tariffs-trump-liberation-day-live-updates-tax-canada/

Polyakov set out from Kurma Dera Beach at about 1 AM on March 29, taking a boat with a coconut and a can of cola as “offerings for the Sentinelese”.

A man from the United States was arrested in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for allegedly entering the restricted area of North Sentinel Island. Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was arrested on March 31 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Police said that he ventured to North Sentinel Island without permission after arriving in Port Blair on March 26, reports PTI.
Polyakov set out from Kurma Dera Beach at about 1 AM on March 29, taking a boat with a coconut and a can of cola as “offerings for the Sentinelese”. He reached the northeastern shore of North Sentinel Island by 10 AM, where he used binoculars to survey the area but saw no inhabitants. After spending an hour offshore and blowing a whistle to draw attention without success, he briefly landed on the island, left the offerings, gathered sand samples, and filmed a video before returning to his boat.

He started his return trip at 1 PM and arrived back at Kurma Dera Beach around 7 PM, where local fishermen spotted him.

The Sentinelese, the indigenous people of North Sentinel Island, are a protected tribe and are known to be hostile to outsiders. In 2018, American missionary John Chau was killed by the tribe while attempting to contact them. The Sentinelese are considered one of the last uncontacted tribes in the world.

The Director General of Police (DGP) HS Dhaliwal said authorities are investigating Polyakov’s intentions and activities during his time in the islands. Police are also questioning hotel staff from his stay in Port Blair.
Police confiscated several items from Polyakov, including an inflatable boat, an outboard motor, and GPS equipment. He had reportedly researched sea conditions, tides, and the accessibility of North Sentinel Island before making the journey, police said.
Polyakov, who is of Ukrainian descent, had a GoPro camera with footage of his visit to the island. He remains in police custody for further questioning.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/us-national-arrested-for-entering-restricted-north-sentinel-island-in-andamans-article-151337624

Val Kilmer’s health had seriously deteriorated near the end of his life … leaving him unable to get out of bed for years before his death, TMZ has learned.

Family sources tell TMZ … Val had a lack of energy related to his cancer treatment — and, as a result, he was bed-bound for a long time.

While he was cancer-free, we’re told his body simply couldn’t keep fighting at the end … and, his body eventually shut down.

According to our sources, Val was very frail near the end of his life … and, his death wasn’t sudden. His health seriously declined in the past week, and his friends and family came to Val’s side at the hospital in the days before his death. He had been previously hospitalized earlier this year.

We are also told that a video of Kilmer donning a Batman mask he posted to Instagram in February was taken years ago… so, his appearance in it isn’t accurate to how he looked in the last months of his life.

Kilmer hadn’t appeared in public for years before his death … last attending the Thespians Go Hollywood Gala back in 2019 with his daughter, Mercedes.

Val has two children … and, we’re told they’re working on his funeral arrangements. As you know, Mercedes confirmed her dad’s passing to the New York Times yesterday … revealing he died after a battle with pneumonia.

Kilmer was hospitalized with throat cancer back in 2015 … and, while he eventually went into remission, his voice was irreparably harmed by the disease.

Source : https://www.tmz.com/2025/04/02/val-kilmer-out-bed-years-before-death/

The emotional moment a woman who had a double hand transplant hugged her donor’s twin sister has been revealed in a newly released video.

Corinne Hutton is seen holding hands with Deborah Gosling – who agreed for her sister Julie Wild’s limbs to be donated after she died from a sudden brain bleed in 2019.

As they met for the first time, Ms Hutton told Ms Gosling: “I’ll shake your hand because I can.”

Ms Gosling then held Ms Hutton’s fingers and said: “Julie had beautiful hands.”

Ms Hutton, who lost both her hands and legs to sepsis in 2013, replied: “I know that, they were perfect when I got them. Just wonderful.

“Every day they’re doing more than they were the day before.”

Ms Gosling responded by saying her sister would be “so proud”.

The video was filmed when the pair met at the Queen’s Hotel in Leeds in 2019.

They have decided to share their story now to support the NHS Blood and Transplant campaign, which is calling for more people to donate organs and tissue.

‘I didn’t hesitate’

Ms Wild, a mother of two, was rushed to hospital by Ms Gosling in 2019 after she complained of a headache and began struggling to speak.

“I got her in the car, took her to hospital – she got worse and worse en route to the hospital,” said Ms Gosling.

“A nurse and a doctor came on to the scene, took her to a resuscitation room. She was unconscious from then. I knew I had lost my sister.”

She added that a specialist nurse later came to see her to discuss organ donation.

Ms Gosling continued: “It wasn’t a hard decision. I said straight away ‘no problem’.

“They also asked about donating limbs. And I was quite taken aback by it because I had not heard of that before.

“But to give somebody a chance of enhancing their life is absolutely incredible. I didn’t hesitate. Julie didn’t need them anymore, but someone else did.”

Ms Wild’s hands, pancreas, liver and both kidneys were all donated after her death.

The 51-year-old had worked as a phlebotomist – a health worker who takes blood from patients for analysis – at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

‘I will never forget where they come from’

After Ms Wild’s death, Ms Hutton received a call telling her that donor hands had been found.

The 54-year-old, from Lochwinnoch in Scotland, had a 12-hour operation to have her new hands fitted, becoming the sixth person in the UK to receive a double hand transplant.

Reflecting on the meeting, Ms Hutton said: “I was hopeful that, for Deborah, holding the hands and touching and seeing them would give them some light after an otherwise dark situation.”

She added: “The difference [the transplant has made] has been absolutely life-changing.

“I’m so grateful to Julie and her family. I’ll never forget that I am lucky and I will never forget where they’ve come from. And hopefully I will give them a good life.”

Ms Hutton now has about 95% function in her right hand and about 75% in her left hand.

Meanwhile, Ms Gosling said Ms Hutton’s recovery has “been a source of pride” for the family.

“I always wanted to meet Corinne and I will always keep in touch,” said Ms Gosling, a 57-year-old paramedic from Sheffield.

“It’s hard to describe, but it’s quite comforting to know someone has got her hands, that part of her lives on in a way. I couldn’t take my eyes off them when we met.”

Ms Hutton has become an advocate for organ donation. She has founded the charity Finding Your Feet, which supports families affected by amputation or limb absence.

Source : https://news.sky.com/story/absolutely-life-changing-watch-the-moment-a-woman-who-had-a-double-hand-transplant-hugs-donors-twin-sister-13340406

The beachside town of Balneario Camboriu, dubbed the “Dubai of Brazil” for having the country’s tallest buildings and most expensive real estate, is now taking aim at the title of world’s highest all-residential tower.
The Senna Tower project, inspired by the late Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, is being developed by FG Empreendimentos and will include investments from retail billionaire Luciano Hang.
The company, which has constructed about 60 buildings in the area, expects the tower to surpass 540 meters (1,772 feet) and have 157 floors at a cost of 3.5 billion reais ($616 million). Though they’re just preparing to drill the foundations and it won’t be finished until around 2033, sales have begun and should reach 8.5 billion reais when completed, according to FG Chief Executive Officer Jean Graciola.

The three-floor penthouses, with 910 square meters (9,795 square feet), could fetch 300 million reais each. Graciola said he’s held talks with Sotheby’s about selling them through the auction house.

“We’re a company that constructs regionally but sells Brazil to the world,” Graciola said in an interview at his office in Balneario Camboriu.
The current record-holder is Central Park Tower along Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row at 472 meters. Another project in Dubai is in development with plans to go as high as 530 meters, Graciola said. Senna’s final height will be determined after details of the building’s pinnacle are hashed out, he said.

Land Prices

Graciola disputed the idea that they’re simply competing for the title. Given how costly land has become in Balneario Camboriu — an average of 14,206 reais per square meter — building such a tall tower will help compensate for that and provide greater returns on investment, Graciola said.
The real estate fever gripping Balneario Camboriu has spread to neighboring cities including Itajai and Itapema, with the three among the top five most expensive locales in Brazil, according to FipeZAP, which tracks the data.

The bulk of buyers in Balneario Camboriu come from wealthy families in Santa Catarina, Parana and Rio Grande do Sul states along with rich landowners and farmers from the center west of the country. Graciola has been trying to sell more to Sao Paulo state, the country’s largest, and is also opening a Miami sales office. He plans to use Portugal as an entry to European clients.
The group has engaged actress Sharon Stone and Cristiano Ronaldo for advertisements over the past decades.

Sales Climb

FG’s 2024 sales jumped 54% from a year earlier to 2 billion reais with a profit margin of close to 85%, Graciola said. The closely held company, started by Jean’s father Francisco, finances purchases directly and currently has a credit book with 4.3 billion reais.
With just 170,000 year-round residents, Balneario Camboriu has little to no industry outside of tourism and construction. By contrast, Sao Paulo, South America’s biggest city with about 20 million people in the metropolitan area, is currently constructing its tallest tower for corporate use that will reach 219 meters with nearly 40 floors.
FG, which recently created a consulting business for high rises called Talls Solutions, is working with Fatih Yalniz and Harry Poulos, who’ve been involved in the engineering and design of some of the world’s tallest structures, according to the company.

Source : https://archive.is/2025.04.02-122136/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-02/-dubai-of-brazil-takes-aim-at-world-s-tallest-residential-tower#selection-1661.0-1672.0