Top World News

May 8, 2025 - World

RTÉ asks European Broadcasting Union for talks after 72 former contestants call for ban on Israeli broadcasterIreland’s public broadcaster has asked the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for a discussion about Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision song contest, as 72 former contestants called for the Israeli broadcaster Kan to be banned from next week’s event in the Swiss city of Basel.The director general of Ireland’s RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was “appalled by the ongoing events in the Middle East and by the horrific impact on civilians in Gaza, and the fate of Israeli hostages”. Continue reading...

May 8, 2025 - World

President Donald Trump highlighted a new detail about a "major trade deal" he's been teasing all week.The U.S. president first let the cat out of the bag Tuesday, during a White House meeting with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, and then Wednesday night announced that a trade deal – with "a big, and highly respected country," no less – would be announced Thursday morning at 10 a.m. EST in the Oval Office, but he could barely contain his excitement hours ahead of the event."This should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom," Trump posted on Truth Social at 5:42 a.m. EST. "Press Conference at The Oval Office, 10A.M. Thank you!"ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreamsNot even a half hour later, he spooled out a few additional details about his less-and-less surprising announcement."The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come," Trump posted at 6:08 a.m. EST. "Because of our long time history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement. Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!"The White House and British officials declined to comment on the president's post on Wednesday night, but both nations have discussed lowering British tariffs on U.S. cars and farm goods, in addition to lifting British taxes on U.S. technology companies.It's not clear why Trump characterized the U.S.-British relationship as an "allegiance," which refers to loyalty and support for a ruler, country, group or belief, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, rather than an "alliance," which is defined by the same dictionary as a group of countries, political parties or people who have agreed to work together because of shared interests or aims.International trade attorney Timothy C. Brightbill cautioned the New York Times not to expect much from the announcement, which he predicted would probably be “just an agreement to start the negotiations, identifying a framework of issues to be discussed in the coming months.”“We suspect that tariff rates, nontariff barriers and digital trade are all on the list — and there are difficult issues to address on all of these,” added Brightbill, an international trade attorney at Wiley Rein.

May 8, 2025 - World

Collector of Expo memorabilia had a ticket to the 1940 Grand International Exposition of Japan, which was postponed indefinitely due to the warA man was admitted to the World Expo in Japan using a ticket to the 1940 Grand International Exposition of Japan, an event that was called off as war escalated, organisers said.Tickets for the Grand International Exposition of Japan in Tokyo were released in 1938 but the event was postponed indefinitely as Japan became embroiled in the second world war. Continue reading...

May 8, 2025 - World

UN World Food Programme says $50m is urgently needed amid fears that Uganda may now begin forced repatriationsFood rations for a million people in Uganda have been cut off completely this week amid a funding crisis at the United Nations World Food Programme, raising fears that refugees will now be pushed back into countries at war.The WFP in Uganda warned two weeks ago that $50m (£37m) was urgently needed to help refugees and asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Sudan. Continue reading...

May 8, 2025 - World

Fast and unplanned growth of cities providing ideal conditions for the creatures to thrive, say researchersScorpions are “taking over” Brazilian cities, researchers have warned in a paper that said rapid urbanisation and climate breakdown were driving an increase in the number of people being stung.More than 1.1m stings were reported between 2014 and 2023, according to data from the Brazilian notifiable diseases information system. There was a 155% increase in reports of stings from 2014 to 2023, according to research published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health. Continue reading...