The Trump administration is pushing countries around the world to sign a joint declaration that calls for “trade over aid” and explicitly rejects America’s history as a leading provider of humanitarian assistance and other support to the developing world. Source link
Facing the prospect of ending an unpopular war with a suboptimal peace, Donald Trump appears to have hit on a canny self-preservation strategy – if talks with Iran go awry, he can always blame JD Vance, his hapless deputy. The US president acknowledged as much in jest before Easter, when Mr Vance was engaged in indirect backchannel negotiations with a pragmatist faction in Tehran, saying: “If it doesn’t happen, I’m blaming JD Vance. If it does happen, I’m taking full credit.” Mr Vance – who famously backed Mr Trump because he did not start foreign wars – has been dispatched to end one, a return to influence after months sidelined from his boss’s “War-a-Lago” inner circle. Now he is back, charged with a mission many see as extremely difficult. The obstacles are formidable. Mistrust runs deep on both sides. Yet it is not inconceivable that he might pull it off. Washington accuses Iran of decades of deceit over its nuclear programme and of sponsoring militias intent on destroying Israel and destabilising the Middle East. Iran, …
April is Autism Acceptance Month, making it a great opportunity to more deeply accept ourselves and others as autistic people. It invites us to embrace autism as a different way of thinking, feeling, and acting, while raising awareness in the wider community. Autism Acceptance Month can also help us focus inward and ask: What does “acceptance” mean to me as an autistic and neurodivergent person? Here are five ways to approach it. Accept your experience as different and valid. It doesn’t matter how well you appear to function or how successful you are. If you’re autistic, getting to wherever you are has probably required a huge amount of effort. You may have had to develop creative strategies to manage things that feel very natural to most people, and you may have always realised that your experience seems very different to people who don’t struggle in the same way. Accepting that things are different for you helps you begin to embrace yourself at a deeper level. Accept that it’s OK to have different solutions. Many of …
Egypt will refuse to buy Russian shipments of grain sourced in occupied Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday. “Spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who told me Egypt will no longer accept grain exported by Russia from our temporarily occupied territories,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, adding that Cairo had expressed an interest in increasing grain imports from Ukraine. The move marks a major shift in Egyptian policy. The country is the world’s largest wheat importer, and in a recent interview Russia’s ambassador to Egypt said Cairo purchased more than 8 million tons of Russian grain in 2025. According to Zelenskyy, he also discussed the ongoing war in the Middle East during his conversation with al-Sisi, as well as its impact on the global oil market. The Ukrainian president wrote that Kyiv offered Cairo “military-technical cooperation” and agreed to continue discussions on this matter. Source link
April 3 (Reuters) – Russia’s Baltic oil export hubs at Ust-Luga and Primorsk remain unable to handle shipments after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks, prompting the country’s refineries to find alternative routes for export, industry sources said on Friday. The attacks have damaged port infrastructure and continued through the last two weeks of March, with at least five strikes on Ust-Luga in the space of 10 days. Sources said the export restrictions, along with disruptions at large refineries, could lead to a decrease in oil production in Russia. Traders said refineries have been unable to deliver diesel fuel to Primorsk for export since March 22, leaving refineries in European Russia and Siberia without their most viable export route. “Diesel fuel has not been accepted in Primorsk since Sunday (March 22),” said one industry source. “They have promised to resume accepting delivers to the system.” Traders said refineries were having to consider more expensive rail transport routes to other export terminals. Refineries normally sending deliveries to Ust-Luga have for the past week and half considered …
During Palm Sunday Mass marking the start of Holy Week, Pope Leo XIV delivered a pointed rebuke of war, telling the faithful that God “rejects the prayers” of leaders who wage violence as the conflict with Iran intensifies. Speaking at the Vatican to a massive crowd carrying traditional palm branches in St. Peter’s Square, the pope framed his 10-minute homily around Jesus as a “King of Peace,” adding that faith cannot be used to justify war or political power. “God does not accept the prayers of those who choose violence,” he said, in one of the clearest moral condemnations of the conflict from a global religious leader. (NOTE: The homily begins about 1:00:18.) The message echoes a stark biblical warning. In Isaiah 1:15, God rejects the prayers of those who commit violence: “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you. Even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” The timing amplified the pope’s remarks. Holy Week, one of the most sacred …
Chad Michael Murray went on a trip to one of Disney’s theme parks with his daughter Audrey, eight, and the duo accepted a fun challenge to “try not to react” while riding the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Initially Audrey was “going for the reaction,” but she decided to switch gears and said, “let’s go.” Before heading onto the ride, Chad shouted: “Not afraid of some fun, let’s go.” As soon as they were buckled up, Chad revealed: “I’m going to fail miserably…I’m gonna fail.” Meanwhile, Audrey was as cool as a cucumber as she announced: “Dude, I’m not even scared yet. I haven’t even made a reaction.” He cheered her on by yelling, “You got this. You got this,” but Audrey already had the challenge in the bag as she remained expressionless. Once the ride slowed down, Chad expressed: “Dude that was easy, look at that,” but Audrey warned him: “It’s not over. There’s still a giant drop.” © Getty ImagesSarah Roemer and Chad Michael Murray with their kids Chad screamed during it, which meant …
March 26 (Reuters) – The United States, Israel and Iran have laid out maximalist positions to end warfare that has set the Middle East aflame and threatened the global economy by choking off Gulf energy supplies. This is what the sides are saying about their positions in the conflict in which the U.S. and Israel have launched airstrikes on Iran since February 28 and Iran has carried out strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states. WHAT ARE THE AMERICANS SAYING? U.S. President Donald Trump has passed a 15-point plan to Iran via Pakistan. It has not been published and the U.S. administration has declined to disclose specifics of the plan. It has said that some media reports on what is in it are incorrect, without elaborating. Three Israeli cabinet sources have said the plan includes: * The removal of Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium. * An end to Iran’s uranium enrichment programme. * Curbs to Iran’s ballistic missile programme. * An end to Iran’s support for regional allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah. The …
Iran will not accept a ceasefire offer from the United States, Iranian state media reported Wednesday. The FARS News Agency state media outlet, citing what it called an informed source, said there have been increased U.S. efforts to put a ceasefire into effect and start indirect talks with Iran to end the war that began on Feb. 28 with strikes by the U.S. and Israel on the Islamic Republic. “Iran does not accept a ceasefire,” that source told FARS, according to a translation of the news site’s Telegram page that reported the interview. “Basically, it is not logical to enter into such a process with those who violate the agreement,” the source said. The source also told Fars that Iran intends to realize its strategic goals in the war, and that only when that happens will there be a possibility of ending the conflict, the outlet reported. Earlier Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Iran has received President Donald Trump’s 15-point peace plan. Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Iran are currently in …
I have a toxic mother. After receiving a breakup letter from my mother, I waited for about a month and called her. I should have waited two months, or maybe I should have started our break from each other right then and there. She began the conversation by saying it was sometimes necessary to get really angry at someone and went on to describe how she had marched into the dentist’s office and yelled at Fleur, the dentist’s wife, and the head receptionist. I’m not sure why my mom was so angry, but it’s an emotion she’s very comfortable with. I’m 64, and the hardest truth I’ve ever had to accept is that my own mother told me my life meant nothing to her Creative Family via Shutterstock My mother will plead old age if she forgets someone’s name or can’t read the restaurant bill, but she makes no excuses for expressing her anger. She thinks that she’s earned the right (by getting old) to speak her mind, no matter how hurtful it might be. …
