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"Like it or not, China matters to the UK," is the message British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is taking on his visit to Beijing on Wednesday, accompanied by a 60-strong business and cultural delegation. Downing Street said the visit, which will also cover Shanghai, reflects the UK's "clear-eyed and realistic" approach to China in terms of opportunities and challenges they pose by continuing to pursue cooperation while "maintaining guardrails" when it comes to the country's national security. The Labour Party government is keen to highlight its re-engagement with China with this first visit in eight years, coming close on the heels of a ministerial go-ahead for its controversial new "mega embassy" in London. "For years, our approach to China has been dogged by inconsistency blowing hot and cold, from Golden Age to Ice Age. But like it or not, China matters for the UK," Starmer said in a pre-visit statement. "As one of the world's biggest economic players, a strategic and consistent
A man sprayed an unknown substance on Democratic US Rep. Ilhan Omar and was tackled to the ground on Tuesday during a town hall in Minneapolis, where tensions over federal immigration enforcement have come to a head after agents fatally shot an intensive care nurse and a mother of three this month. The audience cheered as the man was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In the video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, "Oh my god, he sprayed something on her." Just before that, Omar had called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or face impeachment. Calls are mounting on Capitol Hill for Noem to step down after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two people who protested deportations. Few Republicans have risen to her defence. "ICE cannot be reformed," Omar said, seconds before the attack. Minneapolis police said officers saw the man use a syringe to spray an .
The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt. In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schlitz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained. "This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result," the judge wrote. The order comes a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota following the second death this month
The Federal Aviation Administration says seven people were killed and a crew member survived with serious injuries when a private business jet crashed in a snowstorm at Maine's Bangor International Airport. The Bombardier Challenger 600 carrying eight people crashed on takeoff Sunday night as New England and much of the country grappled with a massive winter storm. The airport, about 200 miles north of Boston, shut down after the crash. Snowfall was heavy at the time, as it was in many other parts of the country.
Egypt's Parliament is looking into ways to regulate children's use of social media platforms to combat what lawmakers called "digital choas," following some western countries that are considering banning young teenagers from social media. The House of Representatives said in a statement late Sunday that it will work on a legislation to regulate children's use of social media and "put an end to the digital chaos our children are facing, and which negatively impacts their future." Legislators will consult with the government and expert bodies to draft a law to "protect Egyptian children from any risks that threaten its thoughts and behavior," the statement said. The statement came after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Saturday urged his government and lawmakers to consider adopting legislation restricting children's use of social media, "until they reach an age when they can handle it properly." The president's televised comments urged his government to look at other countries ...
A private aircraft carrying eight people crashed on takeoff Sunday night at Maine's Bangor International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The Bombardier Challenger 600 crashed around 7:45 p.m., and there was no immediate word on the conditions of those aboard. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The crash occurred as New England and much of the country grappled with a massive winter storm. Bangor had undergone steady snowfall Sunday along with many other parts of the country. The airport issued a statement that emergency crews were on the scene at the airport, which was closed after what it described as an incident involving a single aircraft departing the airport. Bangor International Airport offers direct flights to cities like Orlando, Florida, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, North Carolina, and is located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Boston. Throughout the weekend, the vast storm dumped sleet, freezing rain an
Tensions over US President Donald Trump's plans to take control of Greenland have driven a wedge in the once iron-clad link between MAGA and Europe's far-right. The rift seems to signal that ideological alignment alone may not be enough to temper worries among European nationalists over Trump's interventionism abroad. Far-right leaders in Germany, Italy and France have strongly criticised Trump's Greenland plans. Even Nigel Farage, a longtime ally of Trump and head of the Reform UK nationalist party, called Trump's Greenland moves "a very hostile act." During a debate Tuesday in the European Parliament, far-right lawmakers typically aligned with Trump overwhelmingly supported halting a EU-US trade pact over their uneasiness with his threats, calling them "coercion" and "threats to sovereignty." MAGA's trans-Atlantic partners -------------------------------------- Such a divergence between Trump and his European acolytes came as some surprise. Far-right parties surged to power in
Top US envoys met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, urging his government to move into the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza. Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and Middle East adviser, according to the prime minister's office, which did not give details. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the talks, told reporters the envoys had been working closely with Netanyahu on recovering the remains of the last hostage in Gaza, and on the next steps for demilitarising the territory. The US is anxious to keep the Trump-brokered deal moving, but Netanyahu faces pressure to wait until Hamas returns the hostage's remains. The biggest signal of the second phase would be the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Ali Shaath, the head of a future technocratic government in Gaza that is expected to run day-to-day affairs, said Thursday the border ..
More than 10,000 flights across the US set to take off over the weekend were cancelled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country and threatened to knock out power for days and snarl major roadways with dangerous ice. Roughly 140 million people, or more than 40 per cent of the US population, were under a winter storm warning from New Mexico to New England. The National Weather Service forecast warns of widespread heavy snow and a band of catastrophic ice stretching from east Texas to North Carolina. All Saturday flights were cancelled at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City, and all Sunday morning flights also were called off, as officials aimed to restart service Sunday afternoon at Oklahoma's biggest airport. The airport was nearly deserted Saturday morning, with only a few TSA agents and a couple of travellers remaining inside the departures side. The Texas Department of Transportation on Saturday posted images of snow-covered ...
Cuba is keen to deepen economic engagement with India in sectors such as agro-industry, biotechnology, healthcare, information technology, renewable energy, sports and tourism, Cuban Ambassador to India Juan Carlos Marsan Aguilera said on Saturday. Addressing a special session on India-Cuba bilateral trade and economic cooperation organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) here, Aguilera said Cuba is a pioneer in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, with its biopharma products exported to 45 countries. He said Cuba is also in the process of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, opening avenues for cooperation in clean energy solutions. The envoy said his country allows companies the use of land for business purposes, and offers an electronic visa facility to facilitate ease of travel and investment. Highlighting Cuba's tourism potential, Aguilera said the country has 10 international airports, three cruise terminals and 10 international marinas,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and asserted that close cooperation was vital for advancing shared interests of the Global South. The prime minister also said he was looking forward to welcoming the Brazilian president to India soon. "Glad to speak with President Lula. We reviewed the strong momentum in the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership, which is poised to scale new heights in the year ahead," Modi said in a post on X. "Our close cooperation is vital for advancing the shared interests of the Global South. I look forward to welcoming him to India soon," he added.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has cancelled solar projects in Puerto Rico worth millions of dollars, as the island struggles with chronic power outages and a crumbling electric grid. The projects were aimed at helping 30,000 low-income families in rural areas across the US territory as part of a now-fading transition toward renewable energy. In an email obtained by The Associated Press, the US Energy Department said that a push under Puerto Rico's former governor for a 100 per cent renewable future threated the reliability of its energy system. "The Puerto Rico grid cannot afford to run on more distributed solar power," the message states. "The rapid, widespread deployment of rooftop solar has created fluctuations in Puerto Rico's grid, leading to unacceptable instability and fragility." Javier Rua Jovet, public policy director for Puerto Rico's Solar and Energy Storage Association, disputed that statement in a phone interview Thursday. He said that some 200,000