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Calls are growing among his MPs for UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to be replaced, while he has said he will "get on with governing". It is a dramatic turnaround for the man who won a landslide victory two years ago but has since made several U-turns on unpopular policies and faced a series of scandals. Several key government figures have resigned in a sign of growing discontent after the Labour Party lost almost 1,500 councillors in local elections across England last week. Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are seen as among the possible contenders to lead the UK. How did we get here? The current leadership crisis was triggered by a round of local elections last week, but discontent towards Sir Keir's leadership has been mounting for some time. Last year, Sir Keir's government changed direction on three major policies in a month  after pressure from within his ow...

The US leader was greeted with a gun salute, cheering children and a tour of the stunning 15th Century Temple of Heaven. Trump is also joined in Beijing by tech bosses, including Tesla's Elon Musk and Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and Trump's son Eric. On Thursday evening, a lavish banuquet at the Great Hall of the People was held in honour of the occasion. BBC reporters were able to see the banquet menu, with the main course including lobster in tomato soup, Beijing roast duck and pan-fried pork bun. Dessert options included trumpet shell-shaped pastry and tiramisu. In a banquet speech, President Xi called it a "historic visit", adding "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" and "Make America great again" can go hand in hand. China-US relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world, Xi says. Their relations concern the well-being of the two countries of 1.7 billion p...

CANNES, France, May 13 (Reuters) - The Cannes Film Festival  revved up the glamour on Wednesday night with a buzzy red carpet for the midnight screening of ​the original "The Fast and the Furious" with star Vin Diesel. Diesel, wearing ‌a black jacket with a racecar design "Fast Forever" - the next sequel in the series set for 2028 - in sequins on the back, went up and down the line ​of shouting fans who had gathered for hours at the ​carpet to pose for selfies. He was joined on the carpet by ⁠Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, who shot to fame with the ​2001 film about street racing that launched a franchise for Universal Pictures and ​spawned nine sequels and a spin-off, "Hobbs & Shaw." To date, the franchise has made over $7 billion at the global box office. Their co-star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash ​in Southern California in 2013, was represented by his only daughter, Meadow, ​who had a cameo role in "Fast X." ...

Madonna, Shakira and K-pop boy band BTS will co-headline the Super Bowl-style half-time show at this summer's World Cup final. The tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, concludes with the final in New Jersey on 19 July. The BBC understands the show will be 11 minutes long. There have been reports the show could last longer than 15 minutes, which the laws of the game say the interval should not exceed. The half-time show during last summer's Club World Cup final in the US between Chelsea and Paris St-Germain lasted more than 24 minutes. Pre-match performances at showpiece occasions such as the Champions League final have become commonplace, but this will be the first half-time show at a World Cup final. Colombian pop star Shakira is releasing her official World Cup song Dai Dai - an Italian phrase meaning "let's go" or "come on" and also featuring Nigerian singer Burna Boy - on Thursday. The 49-year-old H...

LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Refinery attacks tied to the wars in Iran  and Ukraine  have knocked out nearly 9% of global oil refining capacity in recent months, deepening ​a fuel supply crunch and likely delaying recovery by months after fighting ends. The Iran war has not only slashed energy supply by disrupting tanker ‌traffic out of the Gulf, but marks the biggest hit to refining since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with damage to facilities and crude shortages forcing cuts in processing. "The current tightness will continue to underpin the refined product market," Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen told Reuters. "Not least considering the damage done to refineries." Crude prices have surged, with benchmark Brent hitting $126 a barrel in April, a four-year high. Some prices have risen even faster, including jet ​fuel, which hit a record high in March. Tightened supply has forced refiners, traders and retailers to tap crude and fuel inventories to meet demand...

Vladimir Putin has used his annual Victory Day speech in Moscow's Red Square to justify his war in Ukraine and denounce Nato. Speaking in front of hundreds of military personnel and flanked by a few world leaders, the Russian president said he was fighting a "just" war and called Ukraine an "aggressive force" that is being "armed and supported by the whole bloc of Nato". His remarks come amid muted celebrations across parts of Russia to mark the nation's biggest national holiday, which commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. Ahead of the celebrations, Russia and Ukraine agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire, which was announced by US President Donald Trump on Friday. For the first time in nearly two decades, no military hardware featured in Moscow's Victory Day parade. But under tightened security, military personnel marched in droves across Red Square. Addressing the crowd, Putin started his speech by comme...

May 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait ​have lifted ‌restrictions on the U.S. military’s ​use ​of their bases and ⁠airspace that ​were imposed ​after the launch of a U.S. ​operation to ​reopen the Strait of ‌Hormuz, ⁠the Wall Street Journal reported on ​Thursday, ​citing ⁠U.S. and Saudi ​officials. Reuters could ​not ⁠immediately verify the report.

Argentina winger ‌Gianluca Prestianni faces the prospect of missing his ⁠country’s opening ⁠World Cup matches after FIFA extended his six-game suspension for homophobic conduct to ⁠have a worldwide effect. “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the six-match ban imposed by UEFA ‌on SL Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni to have worldwide effect,” a FIFA spokesperson said on Wednesday. "The sanction has been extended in accordance with Article 70 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.” The Benfica player was handed the ban by UEFA following accusations he directed a slur ⁠at Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr during February’s Champions League playoff clash, which Real won 1-0. The worldwide extension, which was requested by UEFA, means Prestianni would miss Argentina’s first ⁠two World Cup fixtures if he ⁠is selected. The ban covers UEFA club competition games or competitive international matches, but not friendlies or domestic league games. UEFA originally imposed a ⁠si...

New artificial intelligence (AI) tools and capabilities from Google, Microsoft and xAI will now be tested by the US Department of Commerce before they are released to the public. The tech firms have agreed to voluntarily submit their models for testing through Commerce's Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI). The new pacts are an expansion on agreements by AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic that were reached during the Biden Administration, and will see AI models from all of the companies evaluated for their capabilities and security. "These expanded industry collaborations help us scale our work in the public interest at a critical moment," CAISI's director Chris Fall said. Overall, the evaluations of the AI tools will cover "testing, collaborative research and best practice development related to commercial AI systems." Google's best known AI tool, through its DeepMind subsidiary, is Gemini, a chatbot that is widely available o...

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has condemned a new wave of US sanctions on the country as "illegal and abusive". An executive order, signed on Friday by US President Donald Trump, targets officials in the energy, defence, financial or security sectors of Cuba's economy - as well as those he alleges to have committed "human rights abuses" or corruption. It comes as protesters   marking International Workers Day   marched outside the US Embassy in Havana, denouncing a US blockade of oil to Cuba that has caused widespread blackouts and fuel shortages. Trump continues to tighten US foreign policy towards   the island nation and has indicated he wants to change its communist leadership. Late on Friday, Trump told an audience in Florida that the US would be "taking over" the Caribbean island, which lies 145km (90 miles) from the US state of Florida, "almost immediately". "On the way back from Iran, we'll have one of our...

The US has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions if they pay Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. An alert on Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) warned  US persons and companies were generally banned from paying Iranian government entities, and non-US persons may risk exposure to sanctions if they pay. "Maritime industry participants involved with vessels calling at Iranian ports face significant sanctions risk under multiple sanctions authorities targeting Iran's shipping sector and ports", OFAC said. Iran has severely limited traffic through the strait since the war began in February. The US has also enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Iran has called the US interception of ships entering and leaving Iranian ports under the blockade "piracy". Tehran says it has collected tolls from ships in order to navigate freely through the strait, with Hamidreza Haji Bababei, deputy speaker of Iran'...