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May 7, 2025 - World

President Donald Trump sparked guffaws and chuckles from panelists on "CNN This Morning" with his plans to rename another body of water. The U.S. president plans to announce on his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia that he will direct the government to refer to the Persian Gulf as the Gulf of Arabia, but some Republicans – especially Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who has emerged as a GOP Trump critic – intend to vote against legislation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. "When the president came in, he did all these executive orders, he was really feeling himself, right?" said host Audie Cornish. "You can do a lot, and then all of a sudden you've got to actually deal with Congress to codify these things that you want to do, big and small." ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams Cornish interrupted herself to comment on former Republican congressman Charlie Dent's expression as she spoke. "Charlie, I'm still talking, but your face is just saying so much here," she said. "Is Don Bacon alone, and will others join him?" "Don Bacon is not alone, and amen to Don Bacon," Dent said, laughing. "Yeah, as you just pointed out, look, the economy, tariffs – the world's on fire, and here we are talking about renaming the gulf. That's what we all call it, the gulf, right? I mean, the Gulf of Mexico. But seriously, I mean, with all these issues, I mean, this is a distraction from the very real challenges that Congress needs to deal with right now." Cornish saw the president's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as a "power move" intended to show he can do whatever he wants, but GOP strategist Kristen Soltis Anderson isn't sure voters see it that way. "It's a very, very, very low priority to your average voter," she said, "and so that both means that it's a way for someone to say, 'I oppose it, not because I'm anti-Trump, but just let's focus on other things.' I mean, I believe that this was part of Donald Trump's inaugural address, and I remember at the time thinking this feels very small in a big moment, in a big moment in American history. This just feels kind of small." Watch below or click here. - YouTube youtu.be

May 7, 2025 - World

A woman who died after eating a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms told a doctor it tasted "delicious", a court heard Wednesday, as her Australian host faced triple murder charges.Erin Patterson, 50, is accused of murdering the parents and aunt of her estranged husband by cooking and serving up the poisonous beef-and-pastry meal.She is also charged with the attempted murder of her husband's uncle, who survived the dish after a long stay in hospital.Patterson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.A hospital doctor testified about two of the four poisoned lunch guests -- Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian, a pastor.He treated the pair, who are the aunt and uncle of Erin Patterson's husband, when they were rushed to hospital suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea.When the couple first arrived, they were "conscious" and "alert", doctor Christopher Webster told the court in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne."They were clearly unwell but were not distressed. They were both able to freely communicate," he said.- Suspicion fell on meat -A day earlier, they lunched on individually prepared beef Wellingtons at Erin Patterson's home in the sedate Victoria state farm village of Leongatha, the court has heard.The doctor said he initially suspected the couple had food poisoning from the meat in the beef Wellington."I did ask Heather what the beef Wellington tasted like and she said it was delicious," he told the court. The next morning, a doctor from another hospital called him to say the two other lunch guests -- Erin's parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson -- had suspected poisoning from death cap mushrooms. Ian and Heather Wilkinson were then transferred for acute care at another hospital. Within days, three of the four lunch guests were dead. Ian Wilkinson, the pastor, lived after weeks of hospital treatment.The court has heard lunch host Erin Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, had been invited to the meal but declined, saying he was uncomfortable with the prospect.Erin Patterson went to hospital two days after the lunch, but left five minutes later against medical advice, the doctor said."I was surprised," he told the court. Patterson later returned and told Webster her children had also consumed the beef Wellington -- but not the mushrooms or pastry. She was hesitant to tell them about the poisoning in case they became "frightened", the doctor said."I said: 'They can be scared and alive or dead'."The court also heard from another of Don and Gail Patterson's sons -- Matthew -- who said he had called the lunch host to ask where the mushrooms came from.Erin Patterson told him she bought some of the mushrooms at a "Chinese shop", but could not recall which one, he said.Matthew said he thought the accused was a devoted mother who had a positive relationship with his parents.The prosecution alleges Erin Patterson deliberately poisoned her lunch guests and took care that neither she, nor her children, consumed the deadly mushrooms.Her defence says it was "a terrible accident" and that Patterson ate the same meal as the others but did not fall as sick.The trial is expected to last six weeks.lec/djw/mtp

May 7, 2025 - World

The Trump administration is preparing to deport a group of migrants to Libya aboard a U.S. military aircraft, a plan that stunned human rights observers and marked a dramatic escalation in the president’s immigration enforcement crackdown.That’s according to the New York Times, which reported Tuesday that a military flight carrying the migrants could depart as early as Wednesday. The nationalities of those slated for deportation remain unclear.“The decision to send deportees to Libya was striking,” according to the report. “The country is racked with conflict, and human rights groups have called conditions in its network of migrant detention centers ‘horrific’ and ‘deplorable.’"ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreamsThe planning for the new deportation operation has been described as “tightly held,” and could still be postponed due to logistical, legal, or diplomatic hurdles, the Times reported.“The Libya operation falls in line with the Trump administration’s effort to not only deter migrants from trying to enter the country illegally but also to send a strong message to those in the country illegally that they can be deported to countries where they could face brutal conditions,” according to the report.The White House declined to comment. But the Times noted Tuesday that the State Department cautions against traveling to Libya “due to crime, terrorism, unexploded land mines, civil unrest, kidnapping and armed conflict.”

May 7, 2025 - World

Half-point cut to be made to banks’ reserve requirement ratio and 1tn yuan released into banking systemBusiness live – latest updatesChina will cut interest rates and inject some much-needed liquidity into the domestic economy, as the country steels itself for a bruising trade war with the US.The People’s Bank of China said on Wednesday it would make a half-point cut to the banks’ reserve requirement ratio, its benchmark interest rate, and release 1tn yuan (£103.6bn) into the banking system. Continue reading...

May 7, 2025 - World

Foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp tells top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas he believes Israel is in breach of rights obligations linked to trade agreementThe Dutch government, seen as one of Israel’s most loyal allies in the European Union, is calling for an urgent review of the EU Israel association agreement, the basis for the EU-Israeli free trade agreement, the Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp told the Guardian.Veldkamp described the Israeli ban on the supply of aid into Gaza as “catastrophic, truly dismal” and in clear breach of international humanitarian law. Continue reading...