French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pressed Xi Jinping at a summit in Paris on Monday to use Beijing's influence to halt the Russian war against Ukraine, also telling the Chinese leader to accept fair global trade rules. Xi's two-day state visit to France is his first visit to Europe since 2019 on a trip that will also see him hold talks in Serbia and Hungary. He has said he wants to find peace in Ukraine even if analysts do not expect any major breakthrough. Opening an initial trilateral meeting attended by von der Leyen, Macron said coordination with Beijing on «major crises» including Ukraine was «absolutely decisive» and urged «fair rules for all» in Europe-China trade. «The future of our continent will very clearly depend on our ability to continue to develop relations with China in a balanced manner,» Macron said. Xi said China and the EU should «remain partners» and «carry out strategic coordination» and thus «make new contributions to world peace and development». - 'Flooding European market' - Europe is concerned that while officially neutral in the Ukraine conflict, China is essentially backing Russia which is already using Chinese machine tools in arms production. «More effort is needed to curtail delivery of dual use goods to Russia that find their way to the battlefield,» von der Leyen said after talks, adding that «this does affect EU-China relations». She added that France and the EU also «count on China to use all its influence on Russia to end Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,» saying both Europe and China «have a shared in interest in peace and security». Von der Leyen also said she was «confident» Xi Jinping would continue to play an «important role» in de-escalating tensions over nuclear threats made by Russia, hours after President Vladimir Putin ordered nuclear weapons drills involving troops based near Ukraine. Both Macron and von der Leyen have indicated that trade was a priority in the talks, underscoring that Europe must defend its «strategic interests» in its economic relations with China. «Europe will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and its security,» she said. Von der Leyen said there were «imbalances that remain significant» and «a matter of great concern», singling out Chinese subsidies for electric cars and steel that were «flooding the European market». - 'One of the great predators' - Rights groups are urging Macron to bring up human rights in the talks, accusing China of failing to respect the rights of the Uyghur Muslim minority and of keeping dozens of journalists behind bars. «President Macron should make it clear to Xi Jinping that Beijing's crimes against humanity come with consequences for China's relations with France,» said Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch. Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders denounced the visit, installing a truck in central Paris with the names of 119 journalists it says are held by China and describing Xi as «one of the great predators of press freedom». Tuesday will see Macron take Xi, who is accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, to the Pyrenees mountains to an area he used to visit as a boy for a day of less public and more intimate talks. However analysts are sceptical that Macron will be able to exercise much sway over the Chinese leader, even with the lavish red-carpet welcome and a trip to the bracing mountain air of the Col du Tourmalet over 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) above sea level on Tuesday. The other two countries chosen by Xi for his tour, Serbia and Hungary, are seen as among the most sympathetic to Moscow in Europe. Both Macron's messages on trade and Ukraine «are unlikely to have a significant impact on Chinese behaviour,» said Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. © Agence France-Presse

Chadians voted Monday in a presidential election aimed at ending three years of military rule but dismissed by opponents of junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno as a fix. They will decide whether to extend three decades of Deby family rule, in a country crucial to the fight against jihadism across the Sahel desert region. Chad is the first of four military regimes in the Sahel to hold an election after successive coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger since 2020. The nation is also France's last military foothold in the Sahel region, with 1,000 soldiers. The three other junta-led regimes drove out French anti-jihadist forces, cutting ties with Paris in favour of closer links to Russia. The United States says it will temporarily withdraw some of its 100 troops from Chad, after agreeing to pull out of Niger. Deby's main rival is former opposition leader and now prime minister Succes Masra, denounced as a stooge by critics in the absence of other serious challengers. Both men have vowed a first-round win in polls that international rights groups have warned will be neither free nor fair. «All those who have shown they want massive change must go and vote in massive numbers, peacefully,» Masra, dressed in a blue boubou, said after voting. While turnout seemed slow shortly after polls opened in the capital N'Djamena, it had picked up by mid-morning in the more than 20 polling stations visited by AFP journalists. «I've come here today to make my choice now, to take on a good president who can change the country now and even help young people to evolve,» said Angeline Goltoua, an unemployed 24-year-old. Early in the campaign, observers predicted a massive win for Deby, 40, whose main rival has been killed and others banned from standing. However, economist Masra, also aged 40, has ramped up considerable support on the stump in recent weeks and could force a second round. - Proclaimed by generals - Surrounded by armed presidential guards, Deby declared his «commitment» to a «return to the constitutional order» after voting. He was proclaimed transitional president by 15 generals in 2021 after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, was killed in a gun battle with rebels after 30 years in power. Known as MIDI for his initials and as «the Man in Dark Glasses», Mahamat promised an 18-month transition to democracy but then extended it by two years. Opposition figures have since fled, been silenced or joined forces with Deby, while the junta has eliminated any attempts by civil society to campaign against it. On October 20, 2022, the army and police opened fire on demonstrators protesting the transition extension, including members of Masra's party, The Transformers. At least 300 young people died according to international NGOs, or, according to the regime, about 50. Deby's cousin and chief election rival Yaya Dillo Djerou was shot point-blank in the head in an army assault on February 28, according to his party. Masra was among the opponents driven out of the country but later returned and was named prime minister in January. Eight other candidates are not expected to win many votes. - Not 'free or democratic' - The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has warned that the election appears «neither credible, free nor democratic». It noted «increasing human rights violations», including Dillo's killing. The International Crisis Group (ICG) also warned that «a number of problems in the run-up to the balloting cast doubt on its credibility». These include measures that allow officials to publish only regional tallies of votes rather than posting the results at individual polling stations -- making it impossible for observers to verify the vote count. ICG also cited Chad's Constitutional Council excluding 10 rival candidates from the vote in Deby strongholds. As for Masra, it said: «A significant proportion of his constituency now considers him to have become a stooge of those in power.» If Masra wins the election, it could be the first peaceful handover of power in Chad, which underwent several coups even before Deby's father seized power in 1990. More than 8.2 million people are registered to vote in the largely desert central African nation, ranked by the United Nations as the fourth least-developed country in the world. With a third of the population aged between 10 and 24, many are voting for the first time. Voting is due to end at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT), with results expected on May 21 and a possible second round on June 22. © Agence France-Presse

Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor weighed 7lb 3oz and was born at 5.26am in a room in London's Portland Hospital adorned with electric candles and a picture of Princess Diana.

India is in uproar after an ally of the nation's prime minister fled to Germany amid allegations he raped or sexually assaulted up to 400 women while filming himself. 

At a closer glance, Sadiq Khan's election manifesto vows to hire 500 PCSOs who have no arrest powers to fight spiralling crime in lawless London, as well as install EV charging points

Half of the Irish public now want migrant checkpoints at the border with Northern Ireland following a surge in the number of asylum seekers fleeing the UK's Rwanda plan, a new poll has shown.

Judge Juan Merchan once again found Donald Trump in contempt and fined him another $1,000 while threatening jail as a consequence for a second time.

In the U.S., the growing role of private equity firms in health care is coming under heightened scrutiny, with senate committee hearings and a public inquiry underway. In Canada, private equity firms have also bought up health-care facilities outside hospitals, and experts point to studies suggesting what's good for the firms’ bottom line may not help patient care.

For the first time, researchers have found evidence the flathead catfish — which is native to the southern U.S. and known for its huge size and monstrous appetite for fish — is spawning in the Thames River in southwestern Ontario.

After months of pointing at big changes to come, the province says legislation to reform Alberta's auto insurance system could be coming this fall.

Families and small businesses in Canada are increasingly turning to crowdfunding for financial support as they struggle to recover from the damage wrought by floods, wildfires and storms, new data shows.

Despite these tense conditions, Al Jazeera has been one of the few channels reporting from Gaza, where, as alleged by the Hamas-run health ministry, at least 34,683 Palestinians have been killed and 78,018 injured since the conflict’s escalation on October 7. Israeli officials maintain that Al Jazeera has maintained close connections with Hamas, an allegation the network strongly refutes.

A St James man was found dead inside a bathroom at a school on Sunday afternoon in a suspected case of suicide.  The deceased has been identified as 35-year-old Andre Nicholson, a shopkeeper from Catherine Hall, Montego Bay.  The police...

The police are advising that the Hordley Crossing section of the Golden Grove main road in St Thomas is impassable due to heavy overnight rainfall. The say two motorists, who were trapped in a vehicle, were rescued by the police who responded to...

An Ontario family says they are 'reeling' in 'profound grief' after losing their three-month-old son and parents visiting from India in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last Monday.

The Ontario government will require large construction sites in the province to provide menstrual products as part of an omnibus bill set to be introduced Monday.

The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and fatally mauled a woman in 2022 will be sentenced Monday.

Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a «reality» of its sales-based revenue structure.

[FrontPageAfrica] Monrovia -- Authorities of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) have vowed to intensity their crackdown on the trafficking and distribution of narcotics and other dangerous substances in the country, with a caveat to arrest and ensure the prosecution of any top public officials engaged into the unwholesome act.

[ISS] Realistic reductions in gender inequality could produce a US$259 billion larger economy in 2043 than current path forecasts.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -- President William Ruto says each of the 40,000 households displaced by the ongoing floods will receive a Sh10,000 stipend.

Nairobi (HOL) - Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre arrived in Nairobi on Monday for the Kenya-Somalia Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) high-level conference, which has been ongoing from May 3 to 6, 2024.

Read Full Article at RT.com

Russian troops have driven Kiev’s forces from the villages of Kotlyarovka in Kharkov Region and Solovyovo in Donbass, Moscow says Read Full Article at RT.com

The UK and French ambassadors in Moscow have been summoned by the Russian Foreign Ministry amid rising tensions Read Full Article at RT.com

The inflation at Svartsengi is stable and there are now about twelve million cubic metres of magma in the magma chamber. A slight increase in seismic activity at the magma channel has been seen in the last few days. This is what Minn­ey Sig­ur­ðardótt­ir, a natural hazard expert at the Icelandic Met Office, says to mbl.is.

The 60-year-old man who died in the Whampoa HDB flat blaze in the wee hours of Monday (May 6) had been dishing out nasi lemak at the hawker centre near his home for four decades. Cai Wanyuan (transliteration) ran Hi Leskmi Nasi Lemak at Whampoa Makan Place with his wife, who was rescued from the fire along with his mother.  Cai was found in one of the bedrooms of the sixth-floor unit at Block 76 Lorong Limau, and was pronounced dead at the scene, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post.  His younger brother, Cai Wancai (transliteration), 58, told Shin Min Daily News that his brother had been selling nasi lemak at the hawker centre for the past 40 years.  The younger Cai, who owns a roast meat stall, recounted the morning of the fire: «I found out at around 2am that my brother's flat was on fire. When I rushed over, I saw my mother sitting downstairs. She was frightened but unharmed. She was later taken to the hospital.» He said his brother lived in the flat with his wife and their mother. Both women were found in the utility room in the kitchen area and evacuated from the burning flat, said the SCDF. 

For over 60 years, Maris Stella High School has always been known as a boys' school. But that's going to change in 2027, when the primary school section will, for the first time, take in girls. In an announcement on May 6, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that Maris Stella High (Primary) will be going co-educational in 2027. Both the primary and secondary schools at Maris Stella's Mount Vernon campus will also be rebuilt from 2027 to 2029. Speaking to AsiaOne, Ong Chin Kai, father of two, said that the primary school becoming co-ed was a fair decision. «It's only right for the community, with new estates being built around the school, [for the school] to be inclusive...for everyone to get the opportunity to go to a school nearby,» said the 45-year-old.

The US is in talks with a number of Ukrainian politicians as it seeks to replace Vladimir Zelensky, Russian intelligence says    Read Full Article at RT.com

German Ambassador to Russia Alexander Lambsdorff has been recalled to Berlin for consultations over an alleged Russian hack Read Full Article at RT.com

Tomasz Szmydt has asked for political asylum in Belarus, accusing Warsaw of taking an “unfair and dishonest” stance on the Ukraine conflict Read Full Article at RT.com

Vladimir Putin’s inauguration as Russian president will take place at the Kremlin on Tuesday Read Full Article at RT.com

The Israeli army has ordered Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah, warning of “extreme” military action against Hamas in the city Read Full Article at RT.com

The icebreaker of many a barbeque conversation is something like, “What do you do for a crust?” “I teach chemistry at university,” is what we usually reply. Then silence. Our new friend will usually go on to say they either hated or did terribly in...