Push

• Hongkongse functionarissen benadrukten innovatiepartnerschappen en AI-ontwikkeling tijdens een bezoek aan Zweden, waarbij zij streefden naar diepere internationale samenwerking. • Focusgebieden omvatten kunstmatige intelligentie en levenswetenschappen om de positie van Hongkong als wereldwijde I&T-hub te versterken. • De reis benadrukt het uitbreiden van grensoverschrijdende banden te midden van de groeiende vraag naar geavanceerde tech-oplossingen in Oost-Azië.

• Republikeinen streven agressief naar extra zetels in het Huis van Afgevaardigden via herindelingsinspanningen, maar de strategie zou flink kunnen averechts werken. • De push riskeert Democraten te mobiliseren en belangrijke nieuwe kiezers te vervreemden, wat potentieel kan leiden tot nettoverliezen in plaats van winst. • Dit is van belang te midden van de tussentijdse verkiezingen, aangezien het de controle van de GOP over het Huis kan ondermijnen, ondanks gunstige kaarten in sommige staten.

• Kevin González, een 18-jarige met terminale dikkedarmkanker, is kort na de hereniging met zijn ouders in Mexico overleden. • De in Chicago geboren tiener, die vocht tegen terminale kanker, pleitte voor de vrijlating van zijn ouders uit bewaring van de Amerikaanse immigratieautoriteiten; hij is kort na hun hereniging in Mexico overleden, aldus zijn familie tegenover mediakanalen. • De ouders van de 18-jarige Kevin González waren halverwege april in Arizona in bewaring gesteld door Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nadat zij zonder toestemming de Amerikaanse grens vanuit Mexico waren overgestoken in een poging hem in Chicago te bezoeken nu zijn gezondheid verslechterde.

• De Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) heeft beloofd een nul-tolerantiebenadering aan te nemen tegen de illegale handel in narcotica als onderdeel van bredere inspanningen om een drugsvrije regio in Zuidoost-Azië te creëren. • De toezegging werd aangekondigd tijdens de 48ste ASEAN-top in Cebu, Filipijnen, en weerspiegelt een eensgezind regionaal beleid tegen de handel in en het gebruik van narcotica. • Het drugsvrije initiatief vertegenwoordigt een significante gecoördineerde inspanning tussen ASEAN-lidstaten, waaronder Indonesië, Myanmar, Filipijnen, Singapore, Thailand en Vietnam, om georganiseerde misdaadsyndicaten te bestrijden en middelengebruik te verminderen.

• Vastgoedgeschillen, roofbouwdoor ontwikkelaars en stijgende zeespiegels brengen deze historische zwarte gemeenschap in gevaar. • Op het perceel van een halve acre van Arthur Champen op Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, dempt een bosje southern live oaks, palmettos en dennenbomen het geraas van de auto's op de nabijgelegen snelweg 278. • Zijn haint blue-gekleurde huis, verlicht door de zon, staat op palen om het te beschermen tegen de overstromingen die bij vloed optreden.

• ByteDance heeft een verhoging van 25% in de uitgaven aan kunstmatige intelligentie-infrastructuur voor 2026 aangekondigd als onderdeel van een grote strategische impuls om haar concurrentiepositie in de AI-sector te versterken. • De investeringsstijging weerspiegelt de toewijding van ByteDance om rekenmiddelen, datacenters en AI-ontwikkelingsmogelijkheden op te schalen ter ondersteuning van haar bestaande platforms en opkomende AI-producten. • De toename in uitgaven plaatst ByteDance naast andere grote Chinese techbedrijven die hun AI-investeringen opschroeven te midden van intensiverende wereldwijde concurrentie met Amerikaanse technologiebedrijven.

• President Trump verklaarde op 8 mei 2026 dat hij hoopt dat de bijeenkomst van vrijdag zal leiden tot een tweede gesprek met deelname van Volodymyr Zelenskyy van Oekraïne. • Trump temperde de verwachtingen voor dit diplomatieke initiatief te midden van aanhoudende spanningen in het Rusland-Oekraïne-conflict. • Het initiatief onderstreept de Amerikaanse inspanningen om een vredesakkoord te bemiddelen, wat mogelijk de Europese veiligheidsdynamiek en de toewijzing van hulp zal veranderen.

• Senator Lisa Murkowski leidt een bipartisan effort in de Senaat om een onafhankelijke herindelingscommissie op federaal niveau op te richten, met als doel partijpolitieke gerrymandering bij congressional elections te verminderen. • De voorgestelde wetgeving zou staten verplichten om onafhankelijke commissies te gebruiken in plaats van partijpolitieke wetgevende lichamen om House-districten te trekken, met een focus op het vergroten van het aantal competitieve races en de vertegenwoordiging van kiezers. • Voorstanders stellen dat de wet de politieke macht in sterk verdeelde staten kan hervormen, terwijl tegenstanders waarschuwen dat het inbreuk kan maken op de bevoegdheid van staten over verkiezingen.

Na twee jaar in het parlement heeft de leider van Reform UK £2 miljoen verdiend bovenop zijn salaris als lid van het Lagerhuis. Analyse laat zien dat het inkomen van Nigel Farage sinds zijn verkiezing tot MP de £2 miljoen heeft bereikt.

Amerikaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken stelt dat de VS er beter voor staat dan andere landen die getroffen worden door verstoringen in de olievoorziening

Authorities investigate leak of 2.9 million voters’ details, adding to turmoil around independence pushAlberta separatists have delivered more than 300,000 signatures to elections officials in western Canada, in support of their attempt to force an independence referendum in Canada’s oil-rich province.But the effort stumbled immediately as a separatist-linked group posted the personal data of nearly three million residents online in one of the largest data breaches in Canadian history, fomenting fears of a possible political interference crisis. Continue reading...

Sightline Intelligence sent AI-supported tool to company that provides drones to Israeli military, research group saysAnti-war activists in Portland, Oregon, are pushing city authorities to ensure no local resources, tax breaks or investments support a local company that appears to be supplying artificial intelligence software to the Israeli military.The company, Sightline Intelligence, manufactures AI-supported video technology that is used in drones to interpret target movements and make quick decisions based on the perceived threat level. Cargo documents appear to show Sightline has shipped its technology to Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer that provides drones to that country’s military and exports to others. The activists argue that such sales violate the UN’s arms agreements. Continue reading...

US says it has destroyed six small Iranian military boats – which Tehran denies – while Iran launched barrage of attacks on US-allied United Arab EmiratesDonald Trump sends warships to break Iran’s strait of Hormuz blockadeWe are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The US and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf on Monday as they wrestled for control over the strait of Hormuz amid dual maritime blockades, taking the region back to the brink of full-scale war.The fresh volleys of missiles and drones came after Donald Trump launched a new effort to get stranded tankers and other ships through the vital energy and trade route that has been virtually shut since the US-Israeli war against Iran began in late February.Trump warned that Iran’s forces would be “blown off the face of the earth” if they attacked US vessels trying to reopen a route through the strait. The president announced the US operation – called Project Freedom – on Monday to help hundreds of ships trapped in the Gulf.Centcom chief Adm Brad Cooper declined to say whether he thought the ceasefire with Tehran that begun on 8 April remained in effect amid Iranian attacks in the region but acknowledged Iran’s Revolutionary Guards tried to “interfere” with Trump’s operation.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Monday’s events showed there was no military solution to the crisis. He said peace talks were progressing with Pakistan’s mediation and warned the US and the UAE against being drawn into a “quagmire by ill-wishers”.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that no commercial vessels had crossed the strait in the past few hours, and that US claims to the contrary were false. Iranian state media also denied reports the US had sunk Iranian vessels.The UK and Saudi Arabia both called for de-escalation after Iran’s attacks on the UAE – the first on the US ally since Washington’s ceasefire with Tehran took effect about a month ago.In Oman, two people were injured by an attack on a residential building in Bukha, on the Hormuz strait’s coastline, an Omani state news agency reported.A fire on a South Korean-operated vessel that had an explosion in the Hormuz strait has been extinguished, ship operator HMM said. South Korea’s foreign ministry said all 24 crew on the HMM Namu – including six South Koreans – were unharmed. Trump blamed an Iranian attack.International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that inflation was already picking up and the global economy could face a “much worse outcome” if the war dragged into 2027 and oil prices hit about $125 a barrel. Continue reading...

Foreign minister Penny Wong visits Fiji this week to progress the security and economic agreement Australia looks close to signing a landmark security and economic agreement with Fiji, part of the Albanese government’s efforts to contain China’s growing influence across the Pacific.But, pushback from Beijing has undermined a separate deal with Vanuatu’s government, resulting in a scaling back of a deal aimed at locking in Australia as the country’s primary security partner. Continue reading...

Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi has called for discussions to revise the constitution, saying it should ‘reflect the demands of the times’Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called for “advanced discussions” on revising the pacifist constitution, as large demonstrations were held nationwide to oppose any changes to the country’s supreme law.Speaking during an official visit to Vietnam, Takaichi said the constitution, which was written by US occupation forces after the second world war, “should periodically be updated to reflect the demands of the times”. Continue reading...

• A new POLITICO‑Citrin Center‑Possibility Lab survey released Friday shows that strong majorities of both Republicans and Democrats favor an independent commission to draw U.S. House district lines, weakening arguments against ending partisan gerrymandering. • The Trump administration is weighing proposals to codify independent redistricting panels by tying federal funds to states that adopt such commissions, a strategy that could reshape battleground districts in 2026 and beyond. • Civil‑rights groups and voting advocates cheered the poll findings, arguing that independent commissions would reduce partisan manipulation of maps that currently skew toward both parties.

NAHT leader says schools watchdog for England does not raise standards, amid opposition to ‘Nando’s-style’ scoringSchool leaders are being pressurised “to the point of destruction”, the head of a teaching union has said, as he put the education establishment “on notice”.During a speech to the union’s annual conference in Belfast, Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), outlined his criticisms of Ofsted, the schools watchdog for England. . Continue reading...

Colombia hosted nearly 60 countries at pivotal time on world stage for fight to transition to a clean energy futureLooking out to sea from the grey sandy beaches of Santa Marta, on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, it is never hard to spot evidence of the country’s thriving fossil fuel export trade. Oil tankers ride at anchor on the horizon, and sometimes, locals say, lumps of coal wash up on the shore, blown off the collier ships that carry cargos from the nearby mines.It was here, on Wednesday evening, that the Colombian government took a bold step to shift its economy – and that of the rest of the world – away from dependence on coal, gas and oil and into a new era of clean energy. With the first ever conference on “transitioning away from fossil fuels”, the host joined nearly 60 countries determined to loosen of the grip of petrostates on the world’s future. Continue reading...

Ed Davey attacks Reform calling it ‘Maga franchise’ and says Elon Musk funnels far-right ideas into UK via XUK politics live – latest updatesThe Liberal Democrats are pushing for a ban on MPs accepting payments from X as part of a proposed wider crackdown on what Ed Davey will call a “serious threat” to UK democracy from Donald Trump’s US and other countries.Announcing the plan on Tuesday, the Lib Dem leader renewed his attacks on Reform UK – a series of whose MPs have taken money from X – calling it “a franchise of Maga politics” rather than a British political entity. Continue reading...

Peers and campaigners say proposal for three-year window to impose controls breaks promise of quick actionPeers will vote on Monday on a government move that could delay action on children’s access to social media for up to three years, which has triggered a backlash from campaigners and senior figures in the Lords.Ministers tabled an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill that would allow them to wait before introducing new restrictions, Critics warn it risks watering down earlier commitments to act within months and could result in only limited interventions such as parental controls rather than sweeping measures on access. Continue reading...

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is urging the state House to approve a revived AI Bill of Rights before a special session, following Senate passage of sweeping AI restrictions. • The legislation would remove from office local officials violating the rules and prohibit companion chatbots from interacting with minors without parental consent. • This move addresses rising concerns over AI safety, governance, and potential misuse in public and private sectors amid generative AI's rapid adoption.

• Northland analysts have initiated a buy rating on USA Rare Earth as the U.S. pursues rare earth independence from China. • The move reflects broader geopolitical efforts to establish domestic supply chains for critical materials essential to technology and defense sectors. • Rare earth elements are vital for electronics, renewable energy, and military applications, making supply chain security a strategic priority.

Justice department has already identified 384 foreign-born people whose US citizenship it wants to revokeThe Trump administration is reportedly pushing the justice department to pursue hundreds of denaturalization cases, in which Americans born outside of the US are stripped of their citizenship.The justice department has already identified 384 foreign-born US citizens, whose citizenship it wants to revoke and will begin the process in the coming weeks, according to the New York Times. Continue reading...

• House Republicans openly questioned President Donald Trump's mid-decade redistricting strategy on Wednesday, following a Democratic victory in Virginia on Tuesday that threatens the GOP's slim House majority. • The Virginia vote paves the way for as many as four Republican seats to be lost, intensifying GOP concerns about the redistricting war Trump sparked. • Republican lawmakers are now expressing misgivings about the strategy, signaling potential fractures within the party over Trump's aggressive electoral positioning ahead of the November midterms.

The campaign, fronted by a CGI squirrel, is part of government initiative to boost financial risk taking, amid fears UK growth is being stymiedNils Pratley: the ‘Savvy Squirrel looks a hit too tame’City firms are pinning their hopes on a government-endorsed advertising blitz fronted by a finance “savvy” CGI squirrel to encourage cautious British savers to shift out of cash and start investing.The long-awaited retail investment campaign, which will cost up to £50m, is part of the chancellor Rachel Reeves’ nationwide push to encourage more financial risk taking, amid fears risk-averse consumers are losing out and ultimately stymying UK growth. Continue reading...

House Democratic leader says result should serve as a warning to Ron DeSantis after latest blow to Donald Trump’s redistricting battleHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The vote to approve new congressional maps in Virgina could embolden Florida’s Republican-controlled state assembly to consider tit-for-tat changes to its own map, the House Democratic leader has said.If Florida Republicans proceed with this illegal scheme, they will only create more prime-pick up opportunities for Democrats.We are prepared to take them all on, and we are prepared to win. Continue reading...

Farmers have been calling for higher prices for weeks, amid soaring diesel and fertiliser costs and limited supplyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastColes has increased home-brand milk prices by up to 20c a litre, with Woolworths set to follow as war in the Middle East starts to hit Australian grocery costs.The price rise will support the company’s bottom line against pressure from higher fuel and operating costs, while some of the revenue will be temporarily passed on to dairy farmers. Continue reading...