US President Donald Trump claimed an agreement to end the war with Iran was close on Thursday, hours after cancelling a third consecutive night of strikes.

Trump had declared the US would strike Iran "very hard", but hours later said his negotiators had "just made a great settlement" with Iran.

He told reporters it was "subject to finalisation of documents, which should get done, over the next few days" and that there would "probably" be a signing ceremony in Europe.

There had always been real concerns that supporters would have difficulties getting into the United States for the 2026 World Cup.

....

Concerns remain about the potential presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at stadiums, and how fans could be affected.

With 48 hours still to go until the World Cup kicks off, does Fifa have little control about what will happen outside the stadiums?

Fifa must answer questions after allegations of "artificially inflating prices" and "misleading fans" over the sale of tickets for the 2026 World Cup.

It comes as the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey officially launched an investigation into Fifa's practices.

New Jersey attorney general Jennifer Davenport called the process a "gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices".

She added there would be a "thorough investigation of Fifa's conduct" with world football's governing body subpoenaed to provide information.

The boss of McDonald's UK and Ireland has said she "doesn't want to talk about the past" when asked about allegations of abuse at the fast-food chain.

Lauren Schultz told the BBC what had happened in recent years was "unacceptable" but said "we have drawn a line under it".

A BBC investigation in 2023 heard from more than 100 McDonald's workers in the UK claiming they faced a toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, racism, and bullying. Last year, staff said they still faced sexual abuse and harassment.

HONG KONG/MANILA, April 15 (Reuters) - China is employing ships and a barrier to tighten control of the entrance to the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea amid roiling ​tension with the Philippines over the disputed feature, satellite imagery obtained by Reuters shows. Scarborough is one of Asia's most hotly disputed maritime sites, where ‌some diplomats and analysts fear long-running frictions and confrontations could degenerate into armed conflict.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45412028

First Lady Melania Trump has denied connections to Jeffrey Epstein, telling reporters at the White House that any claims linking the two "need to end today".

In a surprise announcement on Thursday, the first lady called for congressional hearings for survivors of Epstein's sex trafficking.

She also denied online rumours that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump, calling them "mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation".

It is unclear what prompted the announcement.

First Lady Melania Trump has denied connections to Jeffrey Epstein, telling reporters at the White House that any claims linking the two "need to end today".

In a surprise announcement on Thursday, the first lady called for congressional hearings for survivors of Epstein's sex trafficking.

She also denied online rumours that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump, calling them "mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation".

It is unclear what prompted the announcement.

Donald Trump has again attacked Nato for not supporting the US in the Iran war, following a private meeting with its Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.

In a post shared to Truth Social after the meeting, the US President said: "NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN."

Meanwhile, Rutte has described his meeting to CNN with Trump as "very frank" and "very open", despite clear disagreements.

We've just heard from US President Donald Trump, who has called Nato allies "cowards" and said it would be "easy" for them to allow ships to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here's his post on Truth Social in full:

"Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER! They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran.

"Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices.

"So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!"

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey is calling on the government to start building a "fully independent British nuclear deterrent" to end the UK's reliance on the US.

The UK has operational control of its nuclear arsenal, including British-built warheads, but it depends on the US to supply and maintain the Trident missiles that would deliver them.

In a speech to his party's spring conference in York on Sunday, Sir Ed will argue the UK's continued reliance on US support is an unacceptable risk to national security.

Families of failed asylum seekers will be offered up to £40,000 to leave the UK under a trial scheme announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Mahmood said the government would seek to forcibly remove failed asylum seekers if they do not accept "incentive payments" of up to £10,000 per person, capped at four per family, within seven days.

The scheme is expected to target about 150 families living in taxpayer-funded accommodation, and the Home Office estimates it could save £20m if successful.

Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates has said her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, being named in new files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein dredged up "painful times in my marriage".

She told an NPR podcast she feels "unbelievable sadness" about the Epstein allegations and that the people named in the records, including her former husband, need to answer to it.

"I am so happy to be away from all the muck," she said. The couple divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.

Records released by the US justice department include an allegation by Epstein that Bill Gates caught a sexually transmitted disease. He has called the claim "absolutely absurd".

Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has become the latest Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK.

She becomes the third sitting Tory MP to join Nigel Farage's party in the last eleven days, and takes Reform's tally of MPs to eight.

Unveiled at a rally in London, Braverman told Reform supporters she had also resigned her Tory membership of 30 years, adding: "I feel like I've come home."

Her defection comes hot on the heels of Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell, who also left the Conservatives earlier this month.

Donald Trump has sparked fresh outrage in the UK after saying Nato troops stayed "a little off the front lines" during the war in Afghanistan.

Labour MP Emily Thornberry, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, called it an "absolute insult" to the 457 British service personnel killed in the conflict, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "How dare he question their sacrifice?"

Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who served in Afghanistan, said it was "sad to see our nation's sacrifice, and that of our Nato partners, held so cheaply".

The UK was among several allies to join the US in Afghanistan from 2001, after it invoked Nato's collective security clause following the 9/11 terror attacks.

Listen to Donald Trump and you would think Moscow and Beijing were lying in wait off the coast of Greenland, ready to pounce to boost their power in the Arctic.

"There are Russian destroyers, there are Chinese destroyers and, bigger, there are Russian submarines all over the place," President Trump said recently.

That is why, according to America's president, US control of Greenland is essential.

So how do you think Moscow has reacted to its alleged plot being uncovered and potentially thwarted by a US takeover of Greenland?

The Russians can't be pleased. Right?

Wrong.

Donald Trump announces plans to hit the UK, Denmark and other European countries with a 10% tariff on "all or any goods" exported to the US from 1 February

In a post on Truth Social, the US president says these will remain in place until "such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland"

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told reporters she presented the medal for her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump at a private White House meeting on Thursday, but did not say if he accepted it.

"I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans," she said after the meeting with Trump, the first time the two have met in-person.

At Trentham Academy, a large secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent, the swimming pool is barricaded with danger signs, while the heating system has remained broken during recent mock exams.

"It was hard to concentrate," student Esme says. "I couldn't stop myself from shivering while I was trying to breathe and to calm myself down while I was trying to do the exam."

This is one of 88 schools in the area that were maintained as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, signed by the city council 25 years ago.

High Street shops, pharmacies and music venues have called on Rachel Reeves to axe the looming increases to business rates for them as well as pubs.

The government is expected to announce a climbdown on the increases to business rates bills faced by pubs in England in the coming days.