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In India, as elsewhere, menopenalisation' means women in middle age are failed by their employers and wider societyIf I take another pay cut, I might as well start working pro bono," I joked with a friend recently, during another brutal round of job hunting in my home-city, Delhi. She, in her early 40s, laughed and said: I feel the same."A few weeks later, I had deja vu on a call with another writer friend in her early 40s. I'm tired of trying to find a job that pays what I'm worth. No one will hire me unless I drop my expectations to entry level," she lamented. Continue reading...

Kyiv still relies heavily on foreign support for its war effort, and it has agreed to difficult terms to keep the US on sideDespite Russia's occupation of its territory, missile attacks on its infrastructure and the enormous human costs of the war, Ukraine's economy has been impressively resilient. Its effective military resistance against a much stronger adversary is in fact underpinned by this successful economic management. Rather than face institutional sclerosis or even collapse, Ukraine's state capacity has been strengthened by the conflict. Through a combination of tax revenue collection and substantial networks of voluntary fundraising, the state has dramatically increased the size of its armed forces, invested in defence production and maintained a decent level of public infrastructure.State spending on soldiers' wages, infrastructure and logistics - including public sector procurement from private firms - has had a positive knock-on effect, supporting demand in the civilian market economy. Soldiers on the frontline earn well above the national average wage. An innovative military industrial complex, combining traditional state-owned enterprises with an ecosystem of drone startups, has been developed. These policies have stabilised the Ukrainian economy and directed it to the goal of the country's basic survival.Luke Cooper is an associate professorial research fellow in international relations at LSE Ideas, the in-house foreign policy thinktank of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the director of PeaceRep's Ukraine programme Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. Read our latest story hereA group of US senators wants Congress' watchdog agency to investigate whether controls on humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel and other foreign governments violate US law, according to a letter seen by Reuters.The six senators - Chris Van Hollen, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Peter Welch - wrote to Gene Dodaro, the comptroller general, asking him to launch an investigation by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office into the US government's implementation of laws regarding the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Continue reading...

Officials recover body of girl's 14-year-old brother as her mother is hospitalized and father remains in comaA 10-year-old Indian girl remains missing at sea after a boat carrying migrants capsized outside of San Diego on Monday morning. One of the bodies recovered is the girl's 14-year-old brother. According to the Department of Justice, the family's mother is hospitalized while their father remains in a coma.The US Coast Guard announced it had stopped its search on Monday evening. The justice department stated that of the original nine people reported missing, all except for the 10-year-old girl had been found. Two Mexican nationals were killed in the boat's capsizing as well. Continue reading...

Mark Carney takes firm line with Donald Trump during White House visit; supreme court allows ban on transgender troops to take effect. Key US politics stories from Tuesday 6 May at a glanceIn the White House on Tuesday, the prime minister of Canada told Donald Trump: As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale." Trump agreed: That's true."Mark Carney continued: Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign ... it's not for sale. Won't be for sale, ever." Never say never," said Trump. Carney smiled and mouthed never, never, never, never." Continue reading...

US president reports three deaths and laments terrible situation' but does not provide further detailsDonald Trump said Tuesday that three more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have died, bringing the number still alive to 21.At a White House swearing-in ceremony for his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump revealed that three more Israeli hostages have died in Gaza, meaning that just 21 of the hostages taken from Israel during the 7 October attacks remain alive. Continue reading...

Ex-housekeepers accuse Motown legend of sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violenceMotown legend William Smokey" Robinson has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by four women - identified only as Jane Does 1, 2, 3 and 4 - who worked as housekeepers for the Robinsons.A complaint filed in Los Angeles superior court on 6 May lists charges including sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violence. The complaint seeks $50m total in damages for the four women. Continue reading...

Clip of Chris Pelkey, who died in 2021, says: I believe in forgiveness' after his sister fed an AI model videos of himChris Pelkey was killed in a road rage shooting in Chandler, Arizona, in 2021.Three-and-a-half years later, Pelkey appeared in an Arizona court to address his killer. Sort of. Continue reading...

Same-sex couple says they were appalled after being confronted and wrongfully accused in women's restroomA couple visiting Boston says they were left confused and appalled after being forced out of the Liberty Hotel during a Kentucky Derby party on Saturday, following what they describe as being confronted and wrongfully accused in the women's restroom.Ansley Baker and her girlfriend, Liz Victor, both cisgender women, said a hotel security guard entered the women's bathroom and demanded Baker leave the stall she was using, claiming she didn't belong there. Continue reading...

But divisions over tariffs and Trump's desire to annex northern neighbor simmer under surface as leaders meet

Through a new food-access initiative, J's Grocery provides its Clarksdale community with hard-to-come-by cropsWith the recent release of Ryan Coogler's Sinners, Clarksdale, Mississippi, known as the home of the blues, has been thrust into the spotlight. But while the nation and world are captivated by a version of Clarksdale from more than 90 years ago, residents today are focused on the future.On 2 May, rain and warnings of thunderstorms were not enough to keep people in Clarksdale's Brickyard neighborhood away from the reopening of J's Grocery, a local staple since 1997 that had been under renovation for the last year. Continue reading...

It may seem a victory to some, but experts worry a win will allow the government to be coy about future attacksThe Trump administration on Monday asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit that takes aim at the abortion pill mifepristone - a move that stunned many observers for what seemed a defense of the drug by a president who has overseen the most dramatic rollback of abortion rights in modern US history.At first blush, it may seem a victory for abortion access - but experts worry that, in reality, the move preserves the administration's ability to play coy about any future plans to attack abortion rights. Continue reading...

Four Republicans needed to sign on to discharge petition to force vote on legislation preventing cuts to safety netHouse Democrats are making a long-shot attempt to stop Republicans from downsizing federal safety net programs including Medicaid to offset the costs of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and tax cuts.The Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, on Tuesday announced that his lawmakers are circulating a petition which, should a majority of the chamber sign on to it, would force a vote on legislation preventing cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap). Continue reading...

Justices rule ban can be enforced while challenge plays out in court, a decision that could lead to thousands dischargedThe Trump administration can begin to enforce a ban on transgender troops serving in the military while a challenge to the policy plays out in the courts, the supreme court ruled on Tuesday, a significant decision that could lead to the discharge of thousands of military members.The court's order was unsigned and gave no explanation for its reasoning, which is typical of decisions the justices reach on an emergency basis. The court's three liberal members - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson - all noted their dissent from the decision. Continue reading...

In a meeting that got pretty tense towards the end, Donald Trump dug in his heels, insisting there was nothing Mark Carney could say to make him change his mind and lift tariffs imposed on Canada. Trump insisted the US does not want cars and steel from Canada 'because we're making our own'. Carney was firm on his 'Canada will never be for sale' message, emphasising Canada's sovereignty, which propelled him to electoral victory last week, to which Trump said: 'Never say never'

Kathy Hochul announces first-ever' plans to distribute $2bn, as well as plans for free meals for 2.7 million studentsNew York governor, Kathy Hochul, announced that the state will be distributing inflation refund checks to more than 8 million New Yorkers.Last week, as part of New York's fiscal year 2026 budget, Hochul announced the state's first-ever inflation refund checks" which is slated to put $2bn back into the pockets of millions of New Yorkers. Continue reading...

Republican governor Spencer Cox signs law despite pleas of health experts, who warn that children will be most hurtUtah on Wednesday will become the first state in the US to ban fluoride in public drinking water. Dentists who treat children and low-income patients say they're bracing for an increase in tooth decay among the state's most vulnerable people.Utah's Republican governor, Spencer Cox, signed the law against the recommendation of many dentists and national health experts who warned removing fluoride would harm tooth development, especially in young patients without regular access to dental care. Continue reading...

Daniel Lozano-Camargo, 20, was deported in March in violation of a legal settlement over his asylum applicationThe identity of a second man illegally deported from the US by the Trump administration in defiance of a court order and now in detention in El Salvador has been revealed.Daniel Lozano-Camargo, a 20-year-old Venezuelan, was deported to El Salvador's notorious Cecot terrorism confinement facility in March under the White House's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, Politico reported. Continue reading...

The initial failure of coalition members to back the new chancellor in sufficient numbers was a bad beginning at a treacherous moment for the nationThe election of Friedrich Merz as chancellor by German legislators on Tuesday morning was meant to end months of political instability, since the collapse of OlafScholz's government half a year ago - itself the result of bitter infighting at the top. Many fear that this could be the last chance to keep out the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD). But the humiliatingresult of the first ballot - in which MrMerzbecame the first chancellor designate to fail tosecure the majority needed in the Bundestag since the secondworld war - was a bad beginning.It was supposed to be a straightforward confirmation; instead, he was hobbled by rebels fromhis own coalition. Only 310 of its 328legislators backed him, short of the 316 required. He was approvedby 325 in a hastily scheduled secondvote, hours later. Continue reading...

Mark Carney said country was not for sale' in much anticipated summit between leaders at White House

Canada's newly-elected prime minister, Mark Carney, told Donald Trump that 'some places are never for sale', including Canada. Carney's comments were made during a meeting in the White House when the US president said he still believed Canada should become the '51st state'. In response to Carney's remarks, Trump told reporters: 'Never say never'

John J Reilly, a highway superintendent, allegedly fired shots at a driver who stopped to ask for directionsAuthorities have arrested a New York official for shooting a lost DoorDash delivery driver over the weekend.On Sunday, New York state police announced the arrest of 48-year old John J Reilly of Chester, New York, after he allegedly shot a driver who got lost while attempting to deliver food to a residence in the Valerie Drive neighborhood on Friday evening. Continue reading...

The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected appeals from Grupo Pachuca and potential replacement club AlajuelenseMexican soccer club Leon finally lost their legal match against Fifa on Tuesday and are officially out of the Club World Cup. Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC or another Mexican team, Club America, will likely be the late replacement in the United States next month after a yet-to-be-scheduled one-game playoff.

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

California governor unveils idea after president threatened tariffs on films made abroadThe California governor, Gavin Newsom, has proposed a $7.5bn tax credit program and offered to work with Donald Trump to boost US film production after the president threatened to slap 100% tariffs on films made abroad, alarming industry executives in Hollywood and abroad.Newsom - who has had an often fractious relationship with Trump - unveiled his idea after Hollywood reacted nervously to the president's tariffs plan, which sent share values in some film and media companies plummeting. Continue reading...

Investigation under way in what is believed to be the first fatal mauling of a human by a bear in the stateWildlife officials in Florida are investigating what is believed to be the first fatal mauling of a human by a bear in the state.The body of the black bear suspected in the death of 89-year-old Robert Markel was removed from woodland near the unincorporated community of Jerome, close to Florida's Big Cypress wildlife management area, on Monday night, according to the Naples Daily News. Continue reading...

White House axed grants even as college agreed to demands including ceding control of Middle East studies departmentNew York's Columbia University is slated to cut 180 staffers whose work was supported by federal grants that have now been revoked by the Trump administration, the college's acting president, Claire Shipman, announced on Tuesday.We have had to make difficult choices and unfortunately, today, nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants, will receive notices of non-renewal or termination," Shipman said in a lengthy notice posted on Columbia's website. Continue reading...

Federal government restarted collecting on defaulted loans, ending a five-year pause that began during CovidThe federal government resumed collecting on defaulted student loans on Monday, ending a five-year pause that began during the Covid-19 pandemic.The Department of Education says federal student loan borrowers who fail to pay on time could damage their credit scores and even have their wages garnished, their tax refunds seized, and even see reductions in social security benefits beginning on 5 May. Continue reading...

The rise of a resurgent American white supremacism is reaching around the globe, often with deadly consequencesBy many accounts, Hilliard, a leafy suburb west of downtown Columbus, is a midwestern success story: its progressive school district gives a vacation day for all students to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr - the first in Ohio to do so - and its homes are highly sought-after by a growing number of diverse families where locals enjoy shopping at the oldest Asian grocery in the state.But it is also where Christopher Brenner Cook, a convicted terrorist, grew up. In April 2023, Cook and two others were sentenced for conspiring to attack America's electrical grid, and he was given a 92-month prison term. Continue reading...

For centuries, the academy was exclusive to the Christian elite. When that began to change, an onslaught beganIn 2021, JD Vance, then a candidate for Ohio senate, gave a provocative keynote address at the National Conservatism Conference. Vance's lecture was an indictment of American higher education: a hostile institution" that gives credibility to some of the most ridiculous ideas that exist in this country". The aspiring politician did not mince words before his receptive rightwing audience: If any of us wants to do the things we want to do ... We have to honestly and aggressively attack the universities." The title of Vance's keynote was inspired by a quote from Richard Nixon: The universities are the enemy."The Maga movement, of which Vance, the vice-president, is now at the forefront, has been unabashedly on the attack against campuses, professors and students. Donald Trump characterizes colleges as dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics", and student protesters as radicals", savages" and jihadists" who have been indoctrinated by faculty communists and terrorists". He has already delivered swift vengeance against campus protesters and non-protesters alike with visa terminations and deportations. This administration has gleefully withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to force colleges to crack down on student dissent. Continue reading...

Group demands university cut ties with Boeing over company's military contracts with IsraelMore than two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Monday night at the University of Washington in Seattle after they occupied an engineering building and set dumpsters on fire.The protest group, called Super UW, occupied the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building to demand that the university sever its ties with Boeing, as the aerospace company has military contracts which the students say are used by Israel in their US-funded genocide of Palestinian people". Continue reading...

The unpredictability of the US president's tariff policy on Mexico has already cost ranchers millions in profit lossesBandanas veiled ranchers' mouths and noses, shielding them from heavy dust clouds kicked up by the Mexican herds of cattle crossing the United States-Mexico border. The scene looks timeless, routine. The uncertainty isn't.In Donald Trump's first 100 days, the borderland's cattle industry faces a huge challenge: threats of a trade war that's already hitting consumers in the gut with rising beef prices, from Texas to New York. The on-again, off-again tariff impositions and worries in February and March jolted Mexican cattle producers with mounting economic losses. Continue reading...

Niosh has been protecting workers' health and safety for 50 years, affecting everyone from coalminers to firefightersAs Donald Trump announced his tariffs in the White House Rose Garden last month, he proclaimed: We're standing up for the American worker." While it remains to be seen what impact these tariffs will have on American workers, his words were belied by the fact that just a day before this announcement, hundreds of workers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) - an organization that has stood up for US workers since 1970 - discovered that they had been laid off.Niosh was founded as part of the Occupational Health and Safety Act with the purpose of developing and establishing recommended occupational safety and health standards". The organization has been on the frontline of protecting worker health and safety ever since. Its work has focused on understanding the risks faced by millions of workers throughout the country who put their safety on the line every day to perform their jobs. For example, Niosh's Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program investigates fatalities to understand their circumstances and make recommendations, ensuring that more of these workers, who risk their lives for others daily, can be safer in the line of duty. Continue reading...

Lawmakers on key committee have quoted Hitler and are associated with calls for Jews to convert to ChristianityA number of Republican legislators set to grill university presidents in a congressional hearing on antisemitism this week are associated with calls for Jews to convert to Christianity, have quoted Adolf Hitler, or have reportedly threatened to burn a synagogue to the ground.A group of Haverford professors, most of them Jewish, has raised concerns about the legislators, pointing to statements they have made in the past and antisemitic incidents in their districts that the professors say they have not forcefully condemned. Continue reading...

Lewis Hamilton took a swipe at Ferrari in Miami showing again how broadcasting team chats enlivens racesHave a tea break while you're at it" was Lewis Hamilton's sarcasm-drenched reply to his Ferrari team as they dallied over making a strategy call at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. It was the stuff of soap opera, enlivening what was in racing terms a McLaren walkover at the Hard Rock Stadium.Broadcasting team radio is one of the best innovations in the modern era of F1 and for all that it is considered a serious tool by drivers and teams, it is always at its best when vituperative or funny. Better still, both at once. Continue reading...

Amid outrage over far-fetched' plans to revive Alcatraz, Trump is pushing to expand Ice detention to other closed lockups marked by scandalsDonald Trump's proposal to reopen Alcatraz, the infamous prison shuttered more than 60 years ago, sparked global headlines over the weekend. But it isn't the only notorious closed-down jail or prison the administration has sought to repurpose for mass detentions.The US government has in recent months pushed to reopen at least five other shuttered detention facilities and prisons, some closed amid concerns over safety and mistreatment of detainees. While California lawmakers swiftly dismissed the Alcatraz announcement as not serious" and a distraction, the Trump administration's efforts to reopen other scandal-plagued facilities are well under way or already complete, in partnership with for-profit prison corporations. Continue reading...

Stars donned their Monday best at the blue carpet for this year's Met Gala. This year's theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style which looked back at 300 years of Black fashion alongside the history of Black dandyism. Guests were treated to a show by a gospel choir at the start of the night and surprised by Rihanna's announcement of her third pregnancy as she walked alongside co-host partner A$AP Rocky

White House proposes giving out $5,000 checks to address falling birthrates amid growing pronatalist' movementOne of Donald Trump's priorities for his second term is getting Americans to have more babies - and the White House has a new proposal to encourage them to do so: a $5,000 baby bonus".The plan to give cash payments to mothers after delivery shows the growing influence of the pronatalist" movement in the US, which, citing falling US birthrates, calls for traditional" family values and for women - particularly white women - to have more children. Continue reading...

With tipping reported at self-checkouts, drive-throughs and even vending machines, some consumers are pushing backWhen Garrett Petters, a 29-year-old architect in Dallas, and his girlfriend travelled to Paris last year, one of their favourite parts was eating out. They enjoyed French duck, andouillette, plenty of bread, cheese and coffee and even escargot.But it wasn't just Paris's cuisine they admired. It was also the different tipping culture. We were talking about how nice it is in Europe that they pay their waiters and waitresses and we don't have to tip because of it, and isn't that cool," Petters said. It felt very different from back in the US, where tipping culture felt out of control". Continue reading...

University told by education secretary research grants will not be provided.' Plus, 45% of Americans say third world war likely in five to 10 yearsGood morning.The Department of Education told Harvard University yesterday that it was ending billions of dollars in research grants and other aid unless the school acceded to a list of demands from the Trump administration that would effectively cede control of the nation's oldest and wealthiest university to the government.What impact might the funding suspension have? In its lawsuit fighting against the Trump administration, Harvard said the government's funding cuts would have stark real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff [and] researchers" by ending crucial medical and scientific research.What is Israel's plan for seizing Gaza? Netanyahu, accused of prolonging the war for his own political survival, did not say how much territory would be seized by soldiers, but said Israeli troops would not go into Gaza, launch raids and then retreat quickly. The intention is the opposite of that," he said.What is the latest with the Israeli aid blockade on Gaza? Hunger is being used as a weapon of war", according to a Guardian editorial on Sunday. Flour is said to cost 30 times more than before the war. Aid warehouses are empty. UN World Food Program bakeries closed a month ago when supplies ran out; essential community kitchens are now following. This is despite the strong legal consensus that occupying powers have an absolute duty under the Geneva conventions to permit food to be given to a population in need. Continue reading...

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer won final grand slam titles at the same age. The odds of beating that mark seem long, but the Serbian has always been ruthlessly determinedOn a clear September New York evening in 1981, following a soul crushing loss to John McEnroe in the US Open final for the second consecutive year, Bjorn Borg disappeared into the night and vanished from the sport. He was only 25. He had accumulated an extraordinary 11 grand slam titles by then, but it left one to wonder how many more championships he could have amassed had he not retired so young. His conqueror that day had a much longer career and played until he was 33. But McEnroe, like Borg, won his last grand slam singles title at 25.Back in those old days of the first phase of Open tennis (which I'll date from 1968-1985; most of the top pros didn't start playing the Australian Open regularly until the mid-1980s), players reached their peaks in their mid-20s and winning majors as one approached 30 was considered unusual. Continue reading...

Because of the blockade, hunger is part of our daily reality now. It is deep and cruel, and there is no reliefIt has been more than 30 hours since I last ate. At times, I go as long as two days without food. For most people around the world, the word hunger is a fleeting feeling, easily fixed with a trip to the kitchen or a nearby store. Saying I'm hungry" is routine, almost meaningless. But imagine if every time you felt hungry, there was nothing to eat - no food, no relief, just emptiness. This has been my daily reality in the Gaza Strip for over a month.Since the beginning of the war, the Israeli occupation has controlled the quantity and type of food allowed into Gaza. When a ceasefire was agreed, I hoped that everything I had endured was behind me. I held on to the hope of a better life, convinced that hunger would become something in my past. But just as I began to regain my health, the bombing and destruction returned - and with them, the starvation.Aya Al-Hattab is a writer in Gaza Continue reading...

The US president's bizarre talk of 100% levies on films from foreign lands' combines trolling with a hazy grasp of factsAnother day, another bizarre, mischievous, headline-hogging pronouncement from the US president.Steve Bannon famously advised him to flood the zone with shit - a Maga-Maoist permanent revolution of provocative, toxic nonsense. Trump is flooding the zone with tariffs, then he pauses, walks back and climbs down on tariffs, and then adds more tariffs. The latest is his bizarre plan to hit movies made in foreign lands" with 100% tariffs. He has solemnly announced his grave concern that Hollywood was dying" at the hands of foreigners like the UK, who give tax breaks to multinationals. Continue reading...

Toy company Mattel says it will reduce imports into the US from China to below 15% by 2026

Visitors to one of San Francisco's most popular tourist destinations point to cost, feasibility and its legacy of Indigenous incarcerationIn the choppy waters of the San Francisco Bay, on a windswept rock, lies a crumbling former federal prison that's now at the center of Donald Trump's latest real estate proposal: REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ!" he announced on Truth Social over the weekend, to serve as a symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE."On Monday, the day after Trump's declaration, throngs of tourists queued up for the ferry at Fisherman's Wharf to visit the island. Continue reading...

Dressing to this year's theme of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style', Anna Wintour and her co-hosts Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky and Pharrell Williams button up and pull out the umbrellas for the opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art exhibition

This blog has now closed. Read our latestDonald Trump's bombshell announcement that Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands" will be subject to a 100% tariff has certainly caught the attention of Hollywood, as well as the international film industries it seems to be aimed at - principally Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, as well as European countries such as Hungary and Italy that have often acted as bases for US film production.Vague and grandstanding at it is, the chaotic rollout of previous Trump tariffs has triggered feverish speculation, as well as defiance, in the film industry in exactly how this might play out. Continue reading...