Russia and Ukraine launched major attacks on each other Friday, with a two-day unilateral ceasefire that Moscow had declared around its World War II commemorations appearing to be in tatters. Ukraine never said it would abide by Moscow’s call to halt strikes and lambasted Russian leader Vladimir Putin for only wanting to pause fighting so he could stage a grand parade on Red Square on Saturday. Kyiv said Moscow ignored a Ukrainian call to halt fighting earlier this week – a counterproposal for a...

The Trump ⁠administration is inviting CEOs from ⁠Nvidia, Apple, Exxon, Boeing and other big companies to accompany the president on his trip to China next week, Semafor reported on Thursday. Executives from Qualcomm, Blackstone, Citigroup ‌and Visa are also on the invitation list, according to the report. A person familiar with the matter confirmed that Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser was invited. Qualcomm confirmed the invitation but declined to comment further. Reuters was not able to confirm ⁠the...

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the European Union must ratify its trade deal with the United States by July 4 or face “much higher” tariffs, after European officials fell short of agreement on the pact. The US president said he spoke to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen about the issue and “agreed to give her until our Country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels”. The Fourth of July holiday this year marks 250 years since the...

The White House called Star Wars ⁠star Mark Hamill “one ⁠sick individual” on Thursday after ⁠an AI-generated image of US President Donald Trump in a shallow grave was posted on one of the actor’s social media accounts. “If Only” was inscribed on the image of ‌Trump lying with his eyes closed next to a gravestone, surrounded by daisies, with the inscription “Donald J Trump 1946-2024”. The image was posted on Hamill’s verified Bluesky account. Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the classic Star...

Paris’ public prosecutor has opened ⁠a judicial ⁠investigation into Elon ⁠Musk’s X social media platform, a new step in an investigation over alleged abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data, the prosecutor’s office said on Thursday. The latest legal development puts investigating judges in charge of the probe and follows tech billionaire Musk’s failure to appear at an April 20 summons for questioning. The public prosecutor is requesting that judges place ⁠X.AI Holdings Corp, X Corp and xAI, as...

The man who threw petrol bombs at ⁠a pro-Israel rally last year in Colorado, setting several people aflame including a woman who later died from her burns, was sentenced on Thursday to spend the rest of his life in prison but said he wished to be executed. Mohamed Soliman, 46, an Egyptian national, pleaded guilty to 101 charges brought by state prosecutors, including first-degree murder, then apologised in court and decried his own crimes as contrary to “the teachings of Islam” in a statement...

The Trump administration has expanded its pressure campaign against Cuba into the critical minerals sector, sanctioning a nickel joint venture tied to Canadian miner Sherritt International in a move that could reverberate through China-linked battery supply chains. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on Thursday against Moa Nickel SA, a joint venture between Sherritt and Cuba’s state-owned General Nickel Company, as part of a broader effort targeting Havana’s military-controlled...

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Thursday slammed as “indecent” reported attempts by an American to pay locals US$200,000 each to sign a petition calling for Greenland to join the United States. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US needs to annex the Danish autonomous territory to ensure national security. “A foreign individual is offering money for a signature to incorporate Greenland into another country. That is not just deeply worrying. It is indecent,”...

UK police said on Thursday they had arrested a man wielding a weapon who “was behaving in an intimidating manner” close to the home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in eastern England. Norfolk police confirmed they had been called to an incident late on Wednesday near the Sandringham Estate “and the man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of an offensive weapon”. UK media reported that a man wearing a balaclava had allegedly threatened the former prince when he was...

Authorities in Norway arrested a Chinese citizen on espionage allegations on Thursday in connection with a purported effort to set up a receiver to collect sensitive satellite data, the country’s domestic intelligence service said. Norwegian security officials also searched two premises in connection with the arrest, including one on an island in northern Norway that is home to Andoya Spaceport, which is part of Europe’s efforts to expand its presence in space. The other search took place in...

The World Health Organization insisted on Thursday that a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic did not mark the beginning of a Covid-like crisis. “This is not the start of an epidemic. This is not the start of a pandemic,” WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters, insisting: “This is not Covid.” The WHO also said it expected the outbreak on the MV Hondius, currently sailing from Cabo Verde (formerly known as Cape...

China made Brazil its top global investment destination last year, pouring US$6.1 billion into the country across a record 52 projects. The figures come from the China-Brazil Business Council (CBBC), which released its annual report on Thursday. The 45 per cent jump in value from the previous year far outpaced the 4.8 per cent rise in total foreign investment into Brazil. It also dwarfed China’s worldwide outbound flows, which grew just 1.3 per cent. Brazil absorbed 10.9 per cent of all Chinese...