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Senior Republicans in Washington are ramping up the pressure on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to redraw his state’s US House map after Virginia Democrats flipped potentially four seats in their favor.With just six months until the midterms, Republicans see Florida as their last major chance to make gains in the redistricting war President Donald Trump launched last summer. They hope to pick up as many as three seats in the Sunshine State, which would give Republicans back their slight advantage from redistricting, though much smaller than they’d once hoped. With Tuesday’s referendum passing

Republicans pressure Ron DeSantis to redistrict in Florida after Virginia Democrats’ win

Santander suspends buyback pending shareholder approval of Webster deal in US

Euro zone business activity contracted in April as costs rocketed, PMI shows

Economy|Europe|Political|World

Finland to spend 3.2% of GDP on defence by 2030 despite austerity

Finland will increase defence spending to 3.2% of gross domestic product by 2030, the government said, as it decided to cut other expenditure and drafted its budget for the next four years.Finland's economy has been ailing since neighbouring Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prompting Helsinki to join the NATO military alliance in 2023 and increase defence spending, which stood at 2.5% of GDP in 2025.A rise to 3.2% spending on defence by 2030 would bring Finland closer to NATO's target of 3.5% by 2035.Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said late on Wednesday that the governm

UK companies see cost pressures spreading at record pace, PMI shows

Lebanon and Israel to resume rare direct talks in Washington to extend Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

Business|Economy|Environment|World

Hormuz crisis throws spotlight on world's largest 'chokepoint' - the Malacca Strait

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced policymakers in Asia to face questions over the security of other maritime chokepoints, including the Strait of Malacca, which is the world's busiest waterway for international trade.WHAT IS THE MALACCA STRAIT?The 900-km (550-mile) long Malacca Strait, bounded by Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, provides the shortest sea route from East Asia to the Middle East and Europe.It carries nearly 22% of the world's maritime trade, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This includes oil and gas shipments from the Mi

Zambia says it has custody of ex-president's body in dispute with family over burial

German private sector contracts for first time in nearly a year, PMI shows

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New York Times says FBI investigated reporter after article about director Kash Patel's girlfriend

The New York Times says the FBI investigated whether one of its reporters, Elizabeth Williamson, violated laws against stalking after she wrote a story nearly two months ago about how federal agents had been assigned to protect and give rides to FBI Director Kash Patel's girlfriend. The FBI said Wednesday that its agents interviewed Patel's girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, when she expressed concern about a death threat received after Williamson's article was published, but took no further action. The Times, in an article posted online Wednesday, said tha

Arts|Crime|Entertainment|US

Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who singer d4vd is charged with killing, died of ‘multiple penetrating injuries,’ autopsy finds

The 14-year-old girl singer d4vd is charged with killing and dismembering died of “multiple penetrating injuries,” according to an autopsy report released Wednesday.The findings shed more light on Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s death months after the teen was discovered in the front trunk of d4vd’s Tesla last September in Los Angeles. The vehicle had apparently been abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and was towed to a police impound lot, where an employee noticed a foul smell coming from the trunk and alerted authorities.Details of how Celeste died and who was under investigation remained hi

Trump alleges ‘rigged’ Virginia redistricting vote as judge blocks new map

Judge bars certification of Virginia redistricting results; state AG promises appeal

Business|Crime|Political|US

Trump administration settles lawsuit with ex-Trump adviser Carter Page

The Justice Department has reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought by former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, who sued the DOJ and FBI over flawed government surveillance he faced due to his Russian contacts in 2016, according to a filing with the Supreme Court Wednesday.Page, who investigators focused on during their probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, is one of a growing number of past Trump allies who have reached legal settlements with the administration during Trump’s second term.In 2016, investigators wiretapped Page through the Foreign Intelligence

Business|Political|US|World

Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving in the latest departure of a top defense leader

Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving his job, the Pentagon abruptly announced Wednesday, the first head of a military service to depart during President Donald Trump’s second term but just the latest top defense leader to step down or be ousted. No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the Navy’s top civilian official, coming as the sea service has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and is targeting ships linked to Tehran around the world during a tenuous ceasefire in the war. Another Trump loyalist is taking over as acting head of the Navy: Undersecretary Hung

US Navy Secretary Phelan fired as naval blockade of Iran continues

Justice Department reaches $1.25 million settlement with Trump 2016 campaign aide over Russia probe

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Stocks are at record highs and shrugging off the war with Iran

Brent crude has climbed back above $100 per barrel and the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for the global economy, remains closed. But the stock market is brushing off the turmoil.The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit record highs on Wednesday, resuming a rally despite the rise in oil prices. It’s a stark shift from last month, when higher oil prices sent stocks lower.The S&P and Nasdaq have rallied more than 12% and 18%, respectively, since their recent nadirs on March 30. The S&P is now up nearly 4% since the war began while the Nasdaq is up nearly 9%.Markets are forward looking, and Wa

Crime|MidEast|Political|World

Lebanese PM accuses Israel of war crimes after strike kills journalist

Lebanon’s prime minister has accused Israel of war crimes after an airstrike in the south of the country on Wednesday killed one journalist and seriously wounded another.Amal Khalil, who worked for Lebanon’s Al Akhbar newspaper, was killed while carrying out her journalistic work, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). She is the fourth media worker slain by Israel in Lebanon since March. The other journalist was identified by Lebanese authorities as Zeinab Faraj, a freelance photojournalist. Al Akhbar is a left-leaning, pro-Hezbollah newspaper.The two journalists had taken s

More confusion looms over Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacks three ships near waterway

Two die following chemical leak in West Virginia

Crime|Education|Health|Political|World

Trump administration flies 10-year-old back from Cuba amid custody fight involving gender identity

President Donald Trump’s administration took the unusual step this week of sending a government plane to Cuba to return a 10-year-old from Utah who is at the center of a complicated and contentious custody fight involving the child’s gender identity. The child's parent, Rose Inessa-Ethington, a transgender woman, is accused of taking the child to Cuba without the permission of the biological mother. Federal and state authorities sought the return of the child after a family member expressed concern that Inessa-Ethington went to Havana to get the child gender transition surg

Crime|Health|MidEast|Political|World

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon kill Lebanese journalist, wound another

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and wounded a photographer accompanying her, according to a senior Lebanese military official and Khalil's employer, the Al-Akhbar newspaper. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on Khalil's death. Earlier, the Israeli military said in a statement it had received reports that two journalists were injured as a result of its strikes.The death of Khalil, 43, brought the death toll on Wednesday to five people. It was the deadliest day since a 10-day ceasefire was announced on April 16 t