Author: staff

Two Belgian teenagers have been charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser known species.Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19-year-old, were arrested on 5 April with 5,000 ants, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives.They told the magistrate they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal.In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen…

Stellantis shareholders approved a €23.1 million final pay package for former CEO Carlos Tavares on Tuesday.Around 67% of investors voted in favour of the remuneration during the carmaker’s annual general meeting in Amsterdam.The payout includes a €2mn base salary, a €500,000 “post retirement benefit expense”, and over €20mn as part of a long-term incentive package — designed to reward staff for milestones.Tavares’ compensation isn’t without its critics. Ahead of the AGM, Allianz Global Investors and Proxinvest had encouraged shareholders to reject the proposal, notably in light of Stellantis’ disappointing performance last year.“The pay package of €23.1mn for the former CEO…

A study from the BBC has found that last year, the 40-top funded theatre companies put on 229 original commissions, a 31% drop from the 332 productions put on in 2014. For the research, it analysed the showings from 2014 and 2024 at the UK’s top 40 venues, festivals and touring companies that have the highest annual grants from Arts Council England (ACE), the country’s government’s culture funding body, and counted the number of professional productions over an hour that ran for at least a week. The steep decline in original commissions demonstrates the severe state of the UK’s theatre…

RIVM is an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, which provides independent research and advice to the government. People in the Netherlands “already ingest a lot of PFAS through other foods and partly through drinking water,” said the agency in a press release. By no longer eating backyard eggs, a “much higher PFAS intake can be avoided.” Commercial eggs from a shop or from the market still can be eaten. RIVM is conducting follow-up research into how the PFAS are getting into the eggs. It suggested that earthworms may be the cause, as they are eaten…

The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in early trading, though it’s been prone to huge swings not just day to day but also hour to hour. It is particularly the case nowadays, as markets struggle to keep up with President Donald Trump’s trade war, which economists warn could cause a global recession unless it’s scaled back.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 44 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher at the US opening. The bond market was also showing more signs of calm after its sudden and sharp moves last week raised concerns that investors worldwide…

While the coalition agreement includes such a measure, Merz stressed that all commitments are conditional on the funding available, referring to a clause in the 144-page coalition agreement stating that every policy — from tax relief to infrastructure spending — must be financially viable before it can be implemented. That is stirring confusion within his potential junior partner. SPD co-leader Saskia Esken responded that the tax cut was “a clear agreement,” arguing that “workers and the economy” need a signal of confidence. “It is firmly stated in the coalition contract,” she told Rheinische Post. Foreign policy is also fracturing along…

Last Wednesday, Macron said France could recognize a Palestinian state in the coming months. “I’m not doing it for unity, or to please this or that person. I’m doing it because at some point it will be fair,” Macron said during an interview with a French broadcaster. Israel has waged war on Hamas in Gaza since October 2023, after the militant group carried out a violent attack on Israeli soil and took hostages to the coastal enclave. The Israeli military has reportedly killed more than 50,000 people in its retaliatory assault. As of now, Israel controls about a third of Gaza,…

Vance said of Trump: “He’s a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think it’s much deeper than that. There’s a real cultural affinity. And of course, fundamentally America is an Anglo country.” He added: “I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.” The British government has been urgently trying to seal an economic agreement with the U.S. in a bid to reduce Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on metals and cars, as well as the baseline 10 percent levy Trump…

Iran insisted on Tuesday that the next round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington would take place in Oman, contradicting earlier reports that negotiations would take place in Rome. However, American officials have not confirmed the location of the talks yet. On Monday, President Donald Trump separately expressed frustration about the pace of the nuclear discussions.”I think they’re stringing us along,” he said in the Oval Office during a meeting with El Salvador’s president.According to an Italian government source who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press, talks will take place in Rome on Sunday.”We received the request from the…

A separate post said the “official crypto coin” was now live, and shared details to a contact address. Both tweets were subsequently deleted. A spokesperson for Powell said: “Lucy Powell’s personal X account was hacked this morning. Steps were taken quickly to secure the account and remove misleading posts.” A spokesperson for the U.K. Parliament said it “takes cyber security extremely seriously. We provide advice to users — including members — to make them aware of the risks and how to manage their digital safety, however we do not comment on specific details of our cyber security policies.” Powell is…