Author: AFP
The Cannes film festival said Wednesday that the screening of a documentary about Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassouna at the event next month would honour her work after the “horror” of her death in an Israeli air strike last week. “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” by Iranian director Sepideh Farsi is to be shown at ACID Cannes, at this year’s May 13-24 festival, which runs parallel to the main competition. The film features conversations between Farsi and Hassouna as the 25-year-old photographer documents the impact of Israel’s devastating war on the Palestinian territory. Hassouna was killed along with…
Tesla reported a 71 percent drop in first-quarter profits Tuesday in results that lagged analyst estimates as Elon Musk’s automaker warned of a hit to demand due to “changing political sentiment.” The electric vehicle producer reported profits of $409 million following a drop in auto sales that analysts said reflected brand damage due to Musk’s work for the Trump administration. Revenues fell nine percent to $19.3 billion. The company retreated from its 2025 guidance, citing unpredictability over trade policy and demand. “Uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets continues to increase as rapidly evolving trade policy adversely impacts the global…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced plans to stage a summit with the Arab League group of states later this year as Moscow searches for new partners after its three-year offensive on Ukraine. Slapped with sweeping Western sanctions after sending troops into Ukraine, Russia has turned towards Asian, African and Arab countries for political and economic ties. “We plan to hold a summit between Russia and Arab countries this year,” Putin told Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq, in the first-ever visit to Russia by an Omani head of state. “Many of our friends in the Arab world support…
US President Donald Trump will visit the Middle East next month on a three-country tour, his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. “He will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 until May 16,” Leavitt told a White House press briefing.
Prince William will represent Britain’s royal family at the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, Kensington Palace said Tuesday. The heir to the throne will attend the service “on behalf” of King Charles III, the palace said, in a decision in keeping with modern tradition. Charles, when he was Prince of Wales, represented his late mother Queen Elizabeth II at the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005. Elizabeth never attended the funeral of a pontiff during her reign from 1952 to 2022. The British monarch is head of the Church of England, the mother church…
A number of global leaders have announced they will travel to Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, which is likely to draw huge crowds in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Here is a list of the expected VIP guests. Americas — US President Donald Trump said he and his wife Melania would attend the ceremony, adding in a social media post that “We look forward to being there!” “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!” he said in another post. — President Javier Milei of Argentina,…
The World Health Organization chief said Tuesday that operations and jobs would be slashed as US funding cuts had left the UN agency with a budget hole of several hundred million dollars. “The sudden drop in income has left us with a large salary gap and no choice but to reduce the scale of our work and workforce,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told member states, according to a transcript of his remarks. The United Nations health agency has been bracing for President Donald Trump’s planned full withdrawal of the United States — by far its largest donor — next January. The…
President Donald Trump and his White House predecessor Joe Biden led the way in paying respects from the United States to Pope Francis, who died Monday at 88. Trump, who has had a sometimes thorny relationship with the Vatican, ordered US flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House, and at federal property across the world. “He was a good man, he worked hard and loved the world,” Trump said at a White House event marking Easter. He had earlier posted on social media: “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!”…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Russia needed to give a “clear answer” about whether it would accept a ceasefire on striking civilian targets, a proposal that Moscow said it would “analyse”. “Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at least civilian infrastructure. And we expect a clear answer from Moscow. We are ready for any conversation on how to ensure this,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
The death of Pope Francis silences arguably the most powerful moral voice on the world stage critical of Donald Trump, with the pontiff taking the lead against the US president’s mass deportations of migrants. When Trump first ran for president in 2016, Francis was unsparing on Trump’s signature promise to build a wall to seal off Mexico, telling reporters, “Anyone, whoever he is, who only wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian.” Trump fired back that the pope was “disgraceful.” After Trump’s stunning election win, most world leaders either embraced or found ways to accommodate him,…