Vatican feels “shame and sorrow” over U.S. grand jury report on abuse
The Vatican, in its first response to a damning report by a U.S. grand jury on sexual abuse of children by priests in Pennsylvania, on Thursday expressed "shame and sorrow".
Ex-CIA boss says he will not be scared into silence by Trump
Former CIA Director John Brennan said on Thursday he would not be silenced by Donald Trump, a day after the president revoked the Obama-era official's security clearance and said the move was directly tied to the Russia investigation.
U.S. senators pledge to fight Trump push to cut foreign aid
Leaders from both parties on a powerful U.S. Senate committee pledged on Thursday to push back if President Donald Trump moves ahead with plans to bypass Congress and roll back billions of dollars from the foreign aid budget, including funds for Syria and the West Bank and Gaza.
Pollutionwatch: roads account for a lot of pollution so why do we need more?
While citizens curb car use and get on their bike, infrastructure policy still backs building roads – a source of inescapable pollution
Roads are not the largest source of many air pollutants but our everyday proximity to traffic means vehicles are responsible for a lot of the pollution we breath in. Some air pollutants from diesel vehicles have been out of control, with cars producing far more nitrogen dioxide on the streets than in official tests.
But there is good news. We are travelling less. The average person in the UK travels 10% fewer miles than in 2002. Young people are turning away from car ownership, the bicycle is now the most popular vehicle in the City of London’s rush hour, and a new survey reveals that 61% of us believe we should all reduce car use.
Continue reading...Company controlling Genoa bridge ‘must pay to rebuild it’
The Italian government has demanded that the company which looked after the Genoa bridge rebuild it at the firm's own expense.
U.S. Senate Democrats threaten to sue for info on Supreme Court nominee
Democrats in the U.S. Senate said on Thursday they were prepared to sue the National Archives if it does not honour their request for information on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Stop having sex in heatwave, Colombians told
Locals in a city on the coast of Colombia have been told to stop having sex to ensure they stay cool during a scorching 40C (104F) heatwave.
U.S. EPA replacement for Obama climate plan due late next week -source
The Trump administration's proposed replacement for the Obama-era's central regulation on climate change, the Clean Power Plan, is expected to be released by the Environmental Protection Agency late next week, an agency source said on Thursday.
Central Italy magnitude 5.3 quake causes minor damage
A magnitude 5.3 quake struck the central Italian region of Molise on Thursday at a depth of 12 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said, forcing people to flee their homes but causing only minor damage.
Jury deliberates in ex-Trump campaign aide Manafort’s trial
A jury began deliberations in Virginia on Thursday in the trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, who faces bank and tax fraud charges that could put him behind bars for years.
U.S., ACLU agree on plan to reunite separated immigrant families
The U.S. government has largely reached an agreement with immigrant rights advocates on a revised plan for reuniting hundreds more families separated by border officials after they crossed into the United States from Mexico.
Diet guidance could slow kidney disease, cut costs
(Reuters Health) - Patients with chronic kidney disease could slow the progression of their illness and delay dialysis through nutrition therapy, according to a new article in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Japan’s Eisai gains U.S. approval for liver cancer treatment
Japan's Eisai Co Ltd on Thursday received U.S. approval for a therapy for previously untreated patients with a common form of liver cancer, paving the way for multibillion dollar sales.
Russia says U.S. sanctions over North Korea risk undermining peace process
Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that fresh sanctions, imposed by the United States against a Russian firm and an individual over North Korea, may undermine peace process in the Korean peninsula.
A-level results: foreign languages suffer further slump
Number of people studying German fell 16%, while French also experienced steep decline
A-levels in traditional foreign languages have suffered a further slump, with the number of people taking German falling so steeply that it has been overtaken by Mandarin.
About 3,000 students sat German A-levels, a drop of 16% on last year and a 45% fall since 2010. French, the most popular modern foreign language, also suffered a steep decline, as part of a shift by students away from humanities towards the stem subjects of science, maths and computing.
Continue reading...Aretha Franklin: Obama and Trump pay tribute – with very different words
Obama says singer’s voice offered ‘a glimpse of the divine’ while Trump remembers ‘a person I knew well’
When the death of Aretha Franklin was announced on Thursday morning, one US president paid tribute to a voice that offered “a glimpse of the divine”, in which Americans could feel “our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect”.
Related: Aretha Franklin: her greatest songs, from the church to the dancefloor
Continue reading...FDA approves Teva’s generic of Mylan’s EpiPen
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's generic version of Mylan NV's life-saving allergy injection, EpiPen, at a time when regulators are looking to lower healthcare costs.
Turkey does not wish to have problems with U.S. – foreign minister
Turkey does not wish to have problems with the United States and the two NATO allies could easily overcome their differences but not with the current U.S. approach, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
Murders, killings by cops rise in Rio de Janeiro, 6 months into intervention
Six months after Brazil sent in federal forces to take control of security in Rio de Janeiro state, both murders and the number of people killed in police confrontations have risen, official data shows, raising questions about the strategy.
U.S. Secretary of State names special representative for Iran
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo named Brian Hook, the top diplomat's senior policy adviser, the special representative for Iran on Thursday. Hook will lead the Iran Action Group, which was also announced on Thursday and will coordinate the State Department's actions against Iran.
Weight-loss surgery linked to better job prospects
(Reuters Health) - Obese adults who get surgery to lose weight may have an easier time getting a full-time job than they would without these operations, a French study suggests.
Swede held in Albania says he was taking 19 pistols home to pay school fees
A 21-year-old Swede arrested in Albania with 19 pistols told a court on Thursday he agreed to pick them up in Kosovo and take them home to turn over to a prearranged buyer for cash to pay his school fees.
Magnitude 5.3 quake strikes near Italy’s Adriatic coast – USGS
A magnitude 5.3 quake struck Italy on Thursday, 72 km (45 miles) northwest of Foggia, near the Adriatic coast, at a depth of 12 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Trump’s military parade could cost more than $90 million
A military parade requested by U.S. President Donald Trump could cost more than $90 million, a U.S. official said, citing provisional planning figures.
Manchester police investigate arena bomber’s links to imam
Salman Abedi attended mosque where sermon was given about mujahideen
Police in Manchester are investigating claims that an imam at a British mosque attended by the arena bomber delivered a sermon advocating armed jihad six months before the attack.
Greater Manchester police (GMP) said they had been passed footage from the BBC purporting to show an imam at Didsbury mosque praising mujahideen fighting abroad – a term commonly used for Islamist guerrilla fighters.
Continue reading...Ban on glyphosate would be ‘disaster’ for Brazil agriculture: minister
A potential ban on the popular herbicide glyphosate in Brazil over concerns it may cause cancer in humans would be a "disaster" for the country's agricultural industry, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Thursday.
Snedeker shoots 10th sub-60 round on PGA Tour
Brandt Snedeker shocked himself as much as anyone with his 11-under-par 59 in the opening round at the Wyndham Championship on Thursday.
Steve Bell on the Genoa bridge collapse – cartoon
House of Fraser cancels online orders and refunds customers
Store acts on complaints as dispute with warehouse operator holds up deliveries
House of Fraser is cancelling all online orders and refunding thousands of customers potentially millions of pounds after a dispute with its warehouse operator held up deliveries.
In a tweet via its official feed posted late on Thursday, the company said: “Due to delays with delivering online orders, we have taken the decision to cancel and refund all orders that have not already been sent to customers. All customers affected will receive an email in the next couple of days. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.”
Continue reading...Turkey buys time before day of IMF reckoning
Main elements of crisis remain unaddressed, with eventual bailout most probable outcome
Until reports came on Thursday night that the US was preparing to impose more sanctions, the Turkish government had had a decent few days. The currency crisis, which threatened to become chaotic on Monday, had improved. The lira had almost returned to its level of a week ago. During that time, the country had increased liquidity in its banking system, unveiled $15bn (£11.8bn) of direct investment from Qatar, announced a clampdown on short-sellers and on Thursday its finance minister, Berat Albayrak, talked the language of fiscal discipline on a phone call with investors. There have been worse fightbacks.
Yet there is a big difference between buying time and turning a corner. Turkey has merely achieved the former. All the main elements of the crisis remain unaddressed. The Qatari money was pledged at impressive speed but the external funding requirement is enormous – about $220bn during the next 12 months, economists estimate.
Continue reading...Omarosa releases new tape of Trump campaign’s ‘hush money’ offer
Ex-White House aide says $15,000-a-month job offer from Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara was ‘an attempt to buy my silence’
The former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman has released fresh audio recordings that she claims show she was offered “hush money” by Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
Manigault Newman has already made several serious and provocative accusations about Trump and the White House in her book Unhinged, including that there are recordings of Trump using the N-word. The White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier this week she was unable to guarantee that any such recording did not exist.
Continue reading...Turkey will emerge stronger from lira crisis despite row with U.S. -minister
Finance Minister Berat Albayrak assured international investors on Thursday that Turkey would emerge stronger from its currency crisis, insisting its banks were healthy and signalling it could ride out a dispute with the United States.
Facing far-right protest, Merkel pledges action over failed asylum seekers
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday her government would step up efforts to deport rejected asylum seekers faster, after hundreds of far-right protesters called on her to resign over her migration policy.
Italy highway operator scraps tolls for ambulances after bridge collapse
Under fire from the government after a highway bridge collapsed two days ago, killing dozens, Italy's biggest toll-road operator said on Thursday that ambulances no longer would have to pay to use its network.
Most-polluting woodburner fuels due to get the chop
Michael Gove plans to phase out ‘house coal’ to curb harmful emissions
Michael Gove is due to confirm plans to ban the sale of the most-polluting fuels for domestic woodburners in an attempt to cut harmful emissions.
The sale of traditional “house coal” will be phased out, under proposals set out in the government’s draft clean air strategy in May, and expected to be confirmed by Gove’s department on Friday.
Continue reading...S&P places Atlantia on CreditWatch negative after bridge collapse
Standard & Poor's said on Thursday it had placed its BBB+ rating on Italian toll-road operator Atlantia on CreditWatch negative following the deadly collapse of a bridge in Genoa.
Trump administration proposes production quota cuts for six opioids
The Trump administration on Thursday proposed that U.S. drugmakers cut production quotas of the six most abused opioids by 10 percent next year to fight a nationwide addiction crisis.
Trinidad judge loses bid to halt legal inquiry into his private life
Chief justice Ivor Archie had tried to stop law association’s investigation which could lead to his removal from office
Judges in London have dismissed an attempt by the chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago to halt a legal investigation into his private life and alleged business dealings.
Ivor Archie had been facing mounting public criticism over his “close friendship” with Dillian Johnson, who was described as a “convicted felon” in a judgment issued by the judicial committee of the privy council (JCPC) on Thursday.
U.S. Senate adopts resolution backing free press after Trump attacks
The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution affirming support for a free press and declaring that "the press is not the enemy of the people."
NEG: Labor warns it will not back taxpayer support for new coal-fired power
Shadow climate change minister Mark Butler says Labor open to dealing with NEG legislation before states sign off
The shadow climate change minister Mark Butler says Labor is open to dealing with the government’s national energy guarantee legislation before the states have signed off on it.
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