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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'...

The report also mentioned that US President Donald Trump is expected to hold a situation room meeting on Iran with his top national security and foreign policy team. Iran , through Pakistani mediators, gave the US a new proposal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage,  Axios  reported on Sunday, citing a US official and two sources with knowledge of the matter. The report also mentioned that US President Donald Trump is expected to hold a situation room meeting on Iran with his top national security and foreign policy team, during which he would review possible actions to take going forward. The Iranian demand would require the US to lift the blockade  of Iranian assets crossing the Strait, which is the only leverage that it can use against the regime when negotiating for a nuclear deal. Trump  already signaled on Sunday that he plans to keep the blockade active until a ...

Donald Trump cancelled a planned trip by US officials to Pakistan for talks on the Iran war on Saturday, shortly after Tehran's delegation had left Islamabad. The US president said special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would be wasting "too much time", adding that if Iran wanted to talk "all they have to do is call". Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi held talks with mediator Pakistan, saying afterwards he had shared Iran's position on ending the war but was yet to see whether the US was "truly serious about diplomacy". Diplomatic efforts have stalled despite Trump's extension of a ceasefire that had been due to expire on 22 April to allow talks to continue. Both sides have been locked in a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran restricting passage through the key shipping route in the wake of the US and Israel commencing strikes in February, as well as over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The ...

King Charles and Queen Camilla's state visit to the US will go ahead "as planned", Buckingham Palace has said, after a shooting incident in Washington DC raised security concerns. A statement on Sunday said the decision had been made "after discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day". It is understood there will be minor adjustments to some of the engagements because of security concerns. They were raised after a gunman attempted to storm the White House Correspondents' Dinner at a Washington hotel on Saturday night. The acting US attorney general says the suspect was likely targeting Donald Trump, who was there. The palace said the King was "greatly relieved" to hear the US president, Melania Trump and other guests had been unharmed. It's understood the King and Queen privately reached out to the Trumps to express their sympathies for those caught up in the attack. The US couple and other senior administration figure...

The United States is taking stock of a shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, DC, where President Donald Trump was rushed from the scene.   A gunman charged a security checkpoint outside the ballroom for the annual media gala on Saturday night, before being taken down by US Secret Service agents as shots were fired. CBS News reported the alleged attacker told authorities he was targeting officials in the Trump administration. Here’s how leaders in the US and around the world are responding to the news: United States: Figures across the political aisle condemned the attack at the event, which was also attended by First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and many other senior government officials, along with hundreds of journalists and celebrities. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who attended the event with his wife Kelly, said both were “praying for our country tonight”. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said:...

NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX took out a $20 billion bridge loan last month to refinance much of its existing debt ​ahead of its blockbuster U.S. initial public offering, according to a ‌regulatory filing. The borrowing, revealed for the first time in excerpts of its regulatory filings that were reviewed by Reuters, came from a syndicate of lenders which were not identified. Under ​the terms of the loan, SpaceX could be forced to use proceeds ​from its IPO to repay it, if it is not repaid ⁠with other funding sources within six months of the offering. SpaceX did not ​respond to a request for comment. SpaceX is expected to be the largest IPO in history  ​when it lists this summer. The rocket and artificial intelligence conglomerate is expected to garner a valuation in the range of $1.75 trillion, Reuters previously reported. The information was contained in an S-1 ​document, which companies preparing to go public file with the U.S. Securities and ...

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Wednesday, disclosed key Federal Government interventions aimed at reducing the financial pressure on airlines following rising concerns over the cost of Jet A1 fuel and the threat of service disruptions in the aviation sector. The Minister made the disclosure after hours of meeting with a delegation from the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, airline operators, and oil marketers, among other stakeholders. The meeting was convened in response to the sharp increase in aviation fuel prices, which operators say has become unsustainable. Keyamo stated that President Bola Tinubu has approved a generous discount on certain outstanding fees owed to the Federal Government by airline operators. He explained that the decision is part of efforts to provide immediate relief to the sector and prevent a breakdown in air transport services. He also revealed that in the coming da...

He added that the US will continue to blockade Iran's ports until Tehran presents a "unified proposal". After opening higher in Asia, the global benchmark wholesale oil price dipped to $97.60 (£72.14) a barrel. But the price rose again as reports of ships being attacked in the Strait of Hormuz emerged , with the price briefly hitting $100 a barrel before falling back slightly. Energy markets have been volatile since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February and Tehran responded with threats to target vessels in the key Strait of Hormuz waterway .  The initial two-week ceasefire had been due to expire on Wednesday evening Washington time. Trump did not give a new deadline for the ceasefire extension. Trump said on Truth Social that the Iranian government has been "seriously fractured" and that the US will hold off from launching new attacks after Pakistan called for more time for Tehran to agree a deal. Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the...

New York  —    The Gates Foundation has launched an independent investigation into ties between the philanthropic organization and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The foundation, which provides billions of dollars in charitable donations, said in a statement  Tuesday that it has “commissioned an external review to assess past foundation engagement with Epstein” and is examining its policies for “vetting and developing new philanthropic partnerships.” Employees of the foundation were informed in March, adding that the review process will be completed in the summer. The firm didn’t comment if the results of the investigation will be made public. The Wall Street Journal  first reported the news. The Gates Foundation is also laying off 500 employees in the next few years in a cost-cutting move, a change originally announced in January   Epstein-related documents released by the Justice Department, totaling more than 3 million pages, con...

This week, Rihanna fronted the cover of W Magazine in head-to-toe Dior. Her eyes were ringed in purple shadow, her cheeks blended with orange blush, and a whacky lilac buccaneer-style hat by milliner Stephen Jones framed her face. And yet even with all that to look at, all eyes were on baby Rocki — her 7-month-old daughter, happily cradled in her arms. Rihanna the mother has been the theme of many of her magazine covers and campaigns. She fronted HommeGirls and US Vogue while heavily pregnant, and has turned campaign shoots for her clothing brand Savage x Fenty  into family portraits. Two of her children – eldest son Rza and now little Rocki – have had major fashion magazine spreads before their first birthdays. But despite Rihanna’s growing family, little has changed with regard to her sartorial DNA. The viral Vogue   cover of a pregnant Rihanna, captured by Annie Leibowitz in 2022, made waves for the way the pop star’s lacey bustier c...