Chancellor will push for deal that protects British car, steel and pharmaceutical industries amid tariff uncertainty
Rachel Reeves will fly to Washington next week to meet her American counterpart for the first time, as the British government looks to intensify negotiations over a UK-US trade deal.
The chancellor will be in the US from Tuesday to Friday for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund. At the heart of her visit, though, will be talks with the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, whom British officials regard as one of their most likely allies in negotiating a deal.
Continue reading...Margaret Elaine Winn, 58, and Graeme Derek Winn, 65, died with Israeli woman and Italian driver of cable car
Two British tourists were among four people who died when a cable car crashed to the ground near Naples in southern Italy.
Prosecutors in Torre Annunziata have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter charges after the crash on Thursday at Monte Faito, a peak about 28 miles (45km) south-east of Naples.
Continue reading...President says US may ‘take a pass’ on brokering agreement as Kyiv signs minerals memorandum
Donald Trump has said the US is ready to “take a pass” on brokering a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine unless a settlement is reached “very shortly”, as Kyiv announced it has signed a memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal.
“Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say: ‘You’re foolish. You’re fools. You’re horrible people’ – and we’re going to just take a pass,” Trump told reporters in Washington. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”
Continue reading...Fatima Hassouna, who had been documenting war in Gaza for 18 months and was subject of new documentary, killed along with 10 members of her family
As a young photojournalist living in Gaza, Fatima Hassouna knew that death was always at her doorstep. As she spent the past 18 months of war documenting airstrikes, the demolition of her home, the endless displacement and the killing of 11 family members, all she demanded was that she not be allowed to go quietly.
“If I die, I want a loud death,” Hassouna wrote on social media. “I don’t want to be just breaking news, or a number in a group, I want a death that the world will hear, an impact that will remain through time, and a timeless image that cannot be buried by time or place.”
Continue reading...Fire broke out during onboard cooking before wooden vessel capsized with 500 passengers aboard
The death toll from a boat fire and capsizing in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this week has risen to 148 with more than 100 people still missing, officials said on Friday.
About 500 passengers were on board the wooden boat when it capsized on Tuesday after catching fire on the Congo River in the country’s north-west.
Continue reading...Release of files, ordered by Trump, includes notes from killer, who said presidential candidate ‘must be disposed of’
About 10,000 pages of records related to the 1968 assassination of Robert F Kennedy, including handwritten notes by the assassin, who said the US senator and Democratic presidential candidate “must be disposed of” and acknowledged an obsession with killing him.
The release continued the disclosure of national secrets ordered by Donald Trump after he began his second presidency in January. It comes a month after unredacted files related to the 1963 assassination of president John F Kennedy were disclosed. The earlier documents gave curious readers more details about cold- war era covert US operations in other nations but did not initially lend credence to long-circulating conspiracy theories about who killed JFK, RFK’s brother.
Continue reading...Dolphin-watching tour witnesses four adult bottlenose dolphins kill a common dolphin calf in Cardigan Bay
They had been hoping for a nice day out on the bay. Instead, dolphin-watching tourists in Wales were confronted with the shocking and grisly sight of four adult bottlenose dolphins pursuing and killing a common dolphin calf.
The trip, in Cardigan Bay, was operated by Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips and the Sea Watch Foundation (SWF), a charity that monitors the dolphins in the bay to inform and advise on their conservation status and protection.
Continue reading...Stop Trump coalition to dust off blimp, hoping demonstrations will surpass those during US president’s 2019 visit
Donald Trump’s second visit to the UK later this year will be disrupted by “even bigger” protests than those that coincided with his state visit in his first term, campaigners have vowed.
On Thursday Trump let slip that he expects to visit the UK in September, after Keir Starmer handed him a personal invitation from King Charles III during his visit to the White House in February.
Continue reading...Maker of triangular-shaped almond-and-honey-laced chocolate bar says it has made ‘difficult decision’ to withdraw product
Mars Delight, Cadbury Dream and Rowntree’s Texan are just some of the once beloved chocolate bars that have been discontinued over the years, and now after almost six decades the dark chocolate Toblerone is joining them in the confectionery graveyard.
The triangular-shaped almond-and-honey-laced chocolate bar is a staple of supermarkets and airport duty-free shopping, but will be discontinued in the UK.
Continue reading...Venues to remain open until 1am as PM urges UK to come together to mark 80th anniversary on 8 May
Pubs will be allowed to stay open until 1am to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the UK prime minister has announced.
The government will allow pubs in England and Wales to close at 1am on 9 May to allow drinkers to continue celebrating into the early hours.
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