Friday, April 25

Business

Donald Trump gushes over ‘handsome’ Prince William after Paris meeting | US News
Business

Donald Trump gushes over ‘handsome’ Prince William after Paris meeting | US News

Prince William appears to have made quite the impression on Donald Trump following their meeting in Paris over the weekend.In a gushing interview with US media, the president-elect said the pair had a "good talk" and reportedly described the Prince of Wales as "very handsome". "He's a good-looking guy. He looked really, very handsome," Mr Trump told the New York Post."Some people look better in person? He looked great. He looked really nice, and I told him that."The pair met on Saturday at the UK ambassador's residence in Paris. They were both visiting the French capital to earlier attend the official reopening of Notre-Dame and to see the result of a five-year project to restore the iconic cathedral following a devastating fire in 2019.Prince William attended the meeting wearing a smart s...
Germany to make migrant smuggling to UK a clear criminal offence in bid to tackle small boat crossings | Politics News
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Germany to make migrant smuggling to UK a clear criminal offence in bid to tackle small boat crossings | Politics News

Germany will make it a specific criminal offence to facilitate migrant smuggling towards the UK as part of a new co-operation deal.Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, signed the deal with her German counterpart, Nancy Faeser, on Monday evening. Under the plan, Germany will clarify its domestic law to make it a criminal offence to facilitate smuggling migrants to the UK - a move the government says will allow German prosecutors to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boats equipment.It will also see the two countries commit to exchanging expertise on how to remove migrant smuggling content from social media platforms.More than 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since Labour came to power and more than 70 people have died attempting to cross the Channel so far t...
Wreckage with human remains recovered from North Sea confirmed as German plane that disappeared last year | UK News
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Wreckage with human remains recovered from North Sea confirmed as German plane that disappeared last year | UK News

The wreckage of a small aircraft recovered from the North Sea with human remains inside was a plane that disappeared more than a year ago, investigators have confirmed.A German-registered Cessna 172 was discovered northeast of Lerwick on Friday afternoon. It was brought to shore in Shetland by a fishing boat on Sunday, and Police Scotland said human remains were found inside.The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has now confirmed it was an aircraft that vanished crossing the North Sea on 30 September 2023.A report published earlier this year by German investigators Bundesstelle für Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU) said the 62-year-old male pilot took off in the morning from the Uetersen-Heist airfield in Germany with the intention to visit relatives in Bayreuth and return the chartered...
With Assad gone from Syria there are fears a resurgent Islamic State could fill the vacuum | World News
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With Assad gone from Syria there are fears a resurgent Islamic State could fill the vacuum | World News

The collapse of the Syrian regime could lead to a resurgence of Islamic State (IS), with concern growing about the fate of camps and detention sites holding thousands of captured fighters.Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation in the UK, has warned the evolving crisis creates the potential for a new wave of terrorism to emerge. He told Sky News that the detention facilities in northeastern Syria "are holding some of the most dangerous Islamic State fighters".Syria latest - PM agrees to hand power to rebels Image: Celebrations in Damascus on Monday. Pic: AP Image: A Syrian girl with the revolutionary flag painted on her face in Damascus. Pic: AP ...
Haiti gang ‘massacres around 180 people over witchcraft fears’ | World News
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Haiti gang ‘massacres around 180 people over witchcraft fears’ | World News

Around 180 mostly elderly people have been killed in Haiti after they were reportedly suspected of witchcraft.Gang leader Monel "Mikano" Felix ordered the massacre in Cite Soleil - a densely populated slum in the capital Port-au-Prince - after his child became unwell, according to the National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH). The boss of the Wharf Jeremie gang sought advice from a voodoo priest who accused older residents in the area of using witchcraft to harm the youngster who died on Saturday afternoon, the non-governmental organisation said.At least 60 people were killed on Friday and 50 on Saturday in attacks involving machetes and knives, while all the victims were aged over 60, said the RNDDH.The total number killed increased to around 180 on Monday, following a statement from ...
Who are the different rebel groups in Syria – and what territory do they control? | World News
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Who are the different rebel groups in Syria – and what territory do they control? | World News

Syrian rebels have brought 24 years of Bashar al Assad's dictatorship to an end in a single week.Led by the former al Qaeda affiliate group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the uprising was also supported by US-backed Kurdish forces, Turkish-backed militias, and dozens of smaller fighter groups. Russia 'surprised' at Assad ousting - Syria latestHere we look at who the various rebel groups are, who supports them - and what areas they control now the government has fallen.Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) The ousting of Bashar al Assad's government was spearheaded by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) - a former affiliate of al Qaeda known then as the Nusra Front.Its founder Abu Muhammed al Jolani broke away from al Qaeda in 2016 in a bid to appear more moderate. ...
Egypt accuses Israel of ‘exploiting power vacuum’ after seizing Golan Heights buffer zone | World News
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Egypt accuses Israel of ‘exploiting power vacuum’ after seizing Golan Heights buffer zone | World News

Israeli forces have seized a demilitarised buffer zone in the Golan Heights in a move that has been criticised by Egypt and Qatar.Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces had entered the 155-square mile area after a rebel advance ended Syrian President Bashar al Assad's rule on Sunday. The zone was established by a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria in 1974.Mr Netanyahu said the 50-year-old deal had collapsed and Syrian troops had abandoned their positions in the zone, necessitating the Israeli takeover as a "temporary defensive position".Follow latest: Middle East live updates It came as Egypt's foreign ministry condemned the seizure of the buffer zone and accused Israel of "exploiting the power vacuum… to occupy more Syrian territories and create a fait accomp...
UK to reduce support for Georgia after ‘shocking scenes of violence’ at EU protests | Politics News
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UK to reduce support for Georgia after ‘shocking scenes of violence’ at EU protests | Politics News

The UK will reduce its support and engagement with Georgia following "shocking scenes of violence", the foreign secretary has said.Tens of thousands of demonstrators have clashed with riot police in the eastern European country since 28 November after the governing Georgian Dream party decided to suspend talks on joining the European Union until 2028. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension after the European Parliament rejected the results of Georgia's October parliamentary elections, which was won by Georgian Dream, but the EU said it was "neither free nor fair" and should be re-run under international supervision.Politics latest: UK announces £11m of aid for SyriaAnnouncing the UK is pulling its support, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: "The shocking scenes of viole...
Taylor Swift wraps her record-breaking Eras Tour in Vancouver | Ents & Arts News
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Taylor Swift wraps her record-breaking Eras Tour in Vancouver | Ents & Arts News

It's taken a whopping 632 days to complete and generated billions of dollars as it travelled the globe, but now Taylor Swift's Eras tour is finally over.Kicking off in Glendale, Arizona, on 17 March last year and finishing in Vancouver, British Columbia on 8 December, it was perhaps bigger than even Swift could ever have dreamed. Made up of 149 shows, each running for around three hours, the elaborate performance featured multiple costume changes and a set list of more than 40 songs.Spanning five continents, the tour has become the highest-grossing of all time and the second most attended, seen by 10.1 million fans worldwide (it was narrowly pipped to the post by Coldplay, with 10.3 million expected to attend their 175 shows). Image: Swift dur...
Rebels storming Assad’s palace find luxury car collection including rare Ferrari ‘worth £3m’ | World News
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Rebels storming Assad’s palace find luxury car collection including rare Ferrari ‘worth £3m’ | World News

A rare Ferrari F50, a Lamborghini Diablo and a Rolls-Royce are among dozens of luxury cars found at Bashar al Assad's palace.Just 349 F50s were made between 1995 and 1997 and the V12-engined car has a top speed of 233mph. It originally sold for about £350,000, but one went for $5.5m (£4.3m) in a Sotheby's auction earlier this year.Car website classic.com puts the average sale price at $4.2m (£3.3m).Also parked up in the vast garage in the Syrian capital of Damascus was another classic 90s supercar that adorned many teenage walls - a Lamborghini Diablo. While not as rare as the F50, the best examples can go for well over £300,000 today. Image: A Lamborghini Diablo was also among the dictator's cars The fleet of cars was disc...