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President Donald Trump has unveiled a new Boeing 747-8 jet for Air Force One that the Qatari government donated last year as an "unconditional" gift to the US. The US military has finished modifications to the luxury jumbo jet, which has been valued at an estimated $400m (£300m). "This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody's ever seen before," Trump said in a speech at Joint Base Andrews on Friday. The US Air Force said in a press release that the jet will begin initial commissioning flights - a "final exam" to test out the aircraft's modifications - before it will be used to transport the president. Modifications to the jet included upgrades in security, mission communications, logistics support, and advanced technology, the Air Force said. Any potential threats from the previously owned aircraft have been "neutralised", it added. The interiors of the aircraft have been m...

Beijing/Hong Kong  —    When the wheels of Air Force One lifted up from Beijing on Friday, US President Trump was wrapping a three-day visit  with many questions still outstanding about what exactly he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had agreed to. Over the weekend, statements from both sides have started to demystify the outcomes of a meeting that was largely about resetting the tone between the world’s top economies after a fractious year that drove both to the edge of decoupling. Now, the US and China are poised to set up two new institutions – a “board of trade” and a “board of investment” – to manage those economic ties, statements from the White House and China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed Sunday. The White House also said that China would purchase at least $17 billion per year of US agricultural products and make an initial purchase of 200 American-made Boeing aircraft. Beijing’s readout did not directly confirm those deals, saying instead t...

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...