Author: staff

Four children were killed and several others were injured when a car crashed through a after-school camp building Monday afternoon in a town outside of Springfield, Illinois, police said. According to the local authorities, the officers responded at about 3:20 p.m. (22:30 CET) to calls about a vehicle fatally hitting three people outside, ramming through the building and then hitting another person before exiting the other side, Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Tarter said. Those killed were between the ages of 4 and 18, Illinois State Police said in an emailed statement. Several other people were hurt and taken…

Putin announced Monday a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine, from May 8-11. The proposed truce is supposed to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II, coinciding also with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9. Later on Monday, Zelenskyy harshly criticized Putin’s truce announcement as “another attempt at manipulation.” “For some reason everyone is supposed to wait until May 8 before ceasing fire — just to provide Putin with silence for his parade,” Zelenskyy said. According to Meloni, the meeting between Zelenskyy and United States President Donald Trump, held on the sidelines of Pope…

The Trump administration has signalled tariff relief on auto parts following intense lobbying by industrial leaders. On Monday, White House officials confirmed President Trump’s plan to reduce tariffs on auto parts for cars manufactured in the United States, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The administration will also prevent automakers from paying tariffs on top of existing levies, such as those on steel and aluminium. A proclamation formalising the change is expected to be signed by the president as soon as Tuesday.“President Trump is building an important partnership with both the domestic automakers and our great American workers,”…

Europe’s largest bank, HSBC Holdings Plc, has announced a fresh share repurchase programme of up to $3 billion (€2.6 billion) for the first half of 2025 as it reported its first-quarter earnings results on Tuesday. HSBC shares rose by 2.28% as of 09:30 CEST in London.However, the UK-based lender reported a pre-tax profit of $9.5 billion (€8.4 billion) for the first quarter, down 25% from a year earlier, despite beating the company-compiled estimate of $7.8 billion (€6.9 billion). The bank noted that the profit was driven by a strong performance in the Wealth business within its International Wealth and Premier…

In dieser Sonderfolge des POLITICO Berlin Playbook Podcasts hört ihr den Mitschnitt eines Live-Gesprächs mit Bayerns Ministerpräsident Markus Söder aus der Eventreihe ⁠„Let’s find common ground“⁠. Gordon Repinski spricht mit ihm über den Koalitionsvertrag, notwendige Wirtschaftsreformen und den Umgang mit Migration und Grenzschutz. Söder erklärt, warum Bürokratieabbau, Eigenständigkeit in der Sicherheitspolitik und Investitionen in Technologie und Raumfahrt entscheidend für Deutschlands Zukunft sind. Außerdem diskutieren sie die politische Herausforderung durch die AfD, die Bedeutung sozialer Fragen für den gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt und die Rolle der CSU im neuen politischen Umfeld. Ein Gespräch über Stilwandel, Sicherheitsfragen, transatlantische Unsicherheiten – und die Frage, wie…

Updated: 29/04/2025 – 12:25 GMT+2Emergency services handed out food, water and blankets to stranded travellers at Madrid’s Atocha station on Monday evening, after a widespread blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill. … More The outage disrupted rail services, phone networks and ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula, turning stations, sports centres and airports into temporary shelters.Some 35,000 train and underground passengers were rescued by emergency workers in Spain.By early Tuesday, power had been restored to over 92% of Spain, with officials promising full recovery by the end of the day.Authorities say the cause is still under investigation,…

Swiss drug firm Novartis reported on Tuesday that it had generated a better-than-expected profit in the first three months of the year.Net sales were up 15% on a constant currency basis to $13.2 billion, compared to the $13.12bn estimated by analysts.Core operating income came to $5.6bn, up 23% in the last quarter, while core net income increased 22% to $4.5bn.On the strong results, the firm increased its outlook for the year, predicting that sales will rise by high-single digits and core operating income will grow by low double-digits. In January, the firm gave a wider range.Sales in the last quarter…

The morning political podcast which gives you all need for the day ahead in 20 minutes, usually with Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy. But, for this episode, Anne is somewhere over the Atlantic travelling back from the US so Sam is joined by Politico’s Tim Ross. Mark Carney’s Liberal Party has won the Canadian election. It’ll give Keir Starmer a centre-left ally at G7 but how will the PM position himself now in the Trump-Carney standoff? Elsewhere, with political leaders out and about in Bristol, Scunthorpe, South Cambridgeshire and Wiltshire – there are plenty of clues about…

Updated: 29/04/2025 – 11:32 GMT+2Millions across Spain and Portugal faced disruption on Monday after a major power outage shut down subway networks, traffic signals and ATMs. … More In Lisbon, traffic jams brought the city to a standstill as lights failed and Metro services halted, forcing people to walk home. Airports were also hit, with passengers stranded at Lisbon’s terminals.Portugal’s government said the blackout likely stemmed from issues with the distribution network in Spain. The investigations into the cause of the outage continue.Authorities ruled out a cyberattack, describing the incident as one of the most serious power failures recorded in…

The Spanish economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of the year, compared to the revised 0.7% in the prior quarter, the National Statistics Institute said on Tuesday.The year-on-year GDP growth was 2.8%, compared to 3.3% in the previous quarter.Although the economy’s pace of growth is therefore easing, Spain is still outperforming many of its European neighbours.In the coming months, consumption is expected to remain robust thanks to rising wages, high savings, and immigration.Domestic demand contributed 0.4 points to quarter-on-quarter growth, while external demand contributed 0.2 points.Domestic demand contributed 3.2 points to year-on-year GDP growth, while external demand…