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Michelle Obama dismisses divorce rumours
Michelle Obama has spoken out against rumours that her marriage to Barack Obama might be in trouble.
The former first lady has not accompanied her husband to several high-profile events – including Donald Trump’s inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter – fuelling speculation that they might be separating.
Without explicitly mentioning these occasions, Mrs Obama told the Work in Progress podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush that she was now in a position to control her own calendar as a “grown woman”.
She said that people were not able to believe that she was “making a decision” for herself and instead “had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing”.
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China’s 84 percent retaliatory tariff on US goods takes effect
A steep 84 percent tariff on all United States goods entering China has kicked in, ratcheting up a trade war with Washington while calling for a dialogue “on the basis of mutual respect and equality”.
The new rate – a 50 percent hike on Beijing’s previous 34 percent levy on US goods – took effect at 12:01am Eastern Time [04:00 GMT] on Thursday, according to China’s State Administration Council. It applies to all US products entering the world’s second-largest economy, which, according to the office of the US Trade Representative, totalled $143.5bn last year.
Retreat or negotiating strategy? Trump steps back from all-out trade war
For days, Donald Trump and his White House team had insisted they were fully committed to their decision to impose sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries. They even derided a report on Tuesday that said the president was considering a 90-day pause – news that triggered a brief stock market surge.
But now that pause on higher tariff rates, with a few notable exceptions, is a reality. The reordering of the global economic order is on hold, and Trump’s promise of a golden age of American manufacturing will have to wait.
The White House has said that going big on tariffs and then hitting the pause button, before entering negotiations with individual countries, was the plan all along.
“We’ve had more than 75 countries contact us, and I imagine, after today, there will be more,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters shortly after the announcement.
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Macron says France could recognise Palestinian state
President Emmanuel Macron says France could recognise a Palestinian state “in the coming months”.
Macron told France 5 television on Wednesday that he aimed to finalise the move at a United Nations conference on the Israel-Palestine conflict, which his country will co-chair with Saudi Arabia in June.
“We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron said.
“I’m not doing it to please anyone. I’ll do it because at some point it will be right,” he said.
Palestine’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, told the news agency AFP that France’s recognition would be “a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two-state solution”.
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Unbearable wait for relatives in nightclub disaster
Máximo Peña had been coming to the Jet Set nightclub every single Monday for the past 30 years.
This week, excited to see a concert by the popular Dominican singer Rubby Pérez, he took his wife and his sister. Now all three are buried beneath the rubble of the collapsed discotheque, after the roof caved in part way through the performance, leaving at least 184 dead.
“I haven’t heard any news about any of them,” says Shailyn Peña, Máximo’s 17-year-old daughter as she sits on a wall outside the devastated venue.
“It was just another Monday night for them. In fact, my dad invited my mum to come too but at the last minute she decided not to go. It was a blessing in disguise.”
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China complains of ‘irresponsible remarks’ about its role in Ukraine war
China has issued an apparent rebuke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he alleged that Beijing is aware its citizens are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian urged “relevant parties” not to make “irresponsible remarks”.
“We advise the relevant parties to recognise China’s role correctly and clear-headedly,” Lin said, without directly naming Ukraine or Zelenskyy.
The comments followed Zelenskyy’s statement on Wednesday that Kyiv has evidence at least 155 Chinese nationals are deployed to support Moscow’s invasion. A day earlier, he claimed two Chinese citizens had been captured by Ukrainian forces.
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South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung enters presidential race
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has declared his bid for the presidency, promising to fix inequality and spur economic growth.
In a video released on Thursday, Lee pledged to fix economic polarisation that he said was a key source of social conflict, highlighting how he felt this had exacerbated the recent political turmoil.
The presidential election was scheduled for June 3, after the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol for his December martial law declaration was upheld by the constitutional court on April 4.
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Tate ‘pointed gun at woman’, court documents claim
Andrew Tate pointed a gun in a woman’s face and said “you’re going to do as I say or there’ll be hell to pay”, according to one of four UK women suing the influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist.
The allegation is described in court documents, seen by the BBC, which also contain detailed accounts of rape, assault and coercive control.
One woman claims Tate threatened to kill her, another says he made clear he would kill anyone who spoke to her, and a third claims Tate convinced her he had killed other people.
Tate has denied the claims in a written defence submitted to the High Court, calling them a “pack of lies” and “gross fabrications”.
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Clear message’: Can Binance founder help Pakistan become a crypto power?
Flanked by Pakistan’s flags, Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, on Monday signed on to become an adviser to the country’s newly formed regulator for the sector.
After being skittish about digital currencies for years, Islamabad in March launched the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), aimed at embracing innovation in the sector, while also creating a regulatory framework which protects investors and the financial system.
By convincing one of the sector’s biggest names to join as an adviser to the PCC, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government appears eager to signal an openness to crypto at a time when the global economy is in major churn, said analysts.
“We are sending a clear message to the world: Pakistan is open for innovation,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, describing Zhao’s appointment as a “landmark moment”.
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‘Part of us is still in Gaza’: Freed Israeli hostages fight for a new ceasefire
“This week is Passover – the festival of freedom,” Liri Albag, an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza for 15 months by Hamas, told a crowd of thousands gathered in Tel Aviv last weekend. “But what kind of freedom is it when 59 people are still in Hamas hell?”
In recent weeks, powerful voices have joined the fight to bring home Israel’s remaining hostages – those of the captives released during the latest ceasefire deal that began in January and lasted two months.
Despite their ongoing trauma, frailty and grief, a number of ex-hostages have felt compelled to give their harrowing testimony on stage at demonstrations, in long TV interviews or in meetings overseas with world leaders.
They have detailed their own harsh treatment and expressed fears for the fate of others left behind, especially since Israel cut off all humanitarian aid to Gaza at the start of March and restarted its military offensive two weeks later, saying this was to put pressure on Hamas.
Twenty-four of those who have been held captive since the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel of 7 October 2023 are still believed to be alive.
Witnessing the collapse of the ceasefire has been unbearable, the former hostages say.
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War has changed Zelensky – but now is the time for him to transform again
“The best salesman in history.” This was what Donald Trump once called Volodymyr Zelensky because of the amount of aid the US has given Ukraine.
Whether or not a fair comparison, Zelensky’s role in keeping his country in the spotlight and convincing allies to invest has certainly been crucial for Ukraine’s fight.
His transformation from prime-time comedian to wartime president has long been cast – it dates back to 2022 when he decided to remain in Kyiv as Russian troops closed in. That decision meant Ukraine would go on to defend itself to this day.
In the years since, I’ve stood across from him in person dozens of times, and Zelensky now casts a more authoritative, perhaps battle-hardened figure, moulded partly by his increased isolation on the international stage.
But with the unpredictability of Trump’s second term – not least following the pair’s Oval Office bust-up in February – Zelensky may now have to transform again.
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Zelensky claims 155 Chinese fighting for Russia in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says at least 155 Chinese citizens are fighting for Russia in the war.
His comments come after two Chinese fighters were captured earlier this week – marking Kyiv’s first official allegation that China was supplying Russia with manpower.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Zelensky reiterated his claim that there are “many more” Chinese nationals engaged in the conflict, based on information gathered by his government.
China has previously denied many of its citizens are fighting for Russia, saying the claim has “no basis in facts”. Beijing has yet to respond to Zelensky’s latest figure.
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Germany is back, says Merz, after sealing government deal
Germany’s conservatives under Friedrich Merz have reached a deal with the Social Democrats to govern Europe’s biggest economy, five months after the previous government collapsed.
Merz, 69, said their agreement sent “a strong and clear signal” to Germans and the EU that they would get “a strong government capable of action”.
Germany was already in recession before it was buffeted by economic turbulence, caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
“The key message to Donald Trump is Germany is back on track,” said the chancellor-in-waiting, promising to fulfil defence commitments and revive economic competitiveness.
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LeBron James becomes first male athlete with a Ken doll
LeBron James, one of the most iconic figures in modern sports, has made history once again – this time in the toy aisle.
Mattel has announced the release of a new Barbie in Mr James’ likeness, making him the first professional male athlete to be honoured as a Ken doll.
“We are excited to bring fans a new presentation of Ken,” said Krista Berger, Mattel’s senior vice president of Barbie. She said the doll celebrates “LeBron as a role model,” his ability as an icon to transcend culture and set a “positive example for the next generation.”
The doll features the Los Angeles Lakers basketball player in his pre-game fashion and reflects his height – it’s an inch taller than the standard Ken doll.