Author: Press Room

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump may have had more contacts than the two publicly announced telephone calls over recent months, the Kremlin said in video footage published by state television.Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said that he wants the three-year conflict in Ukraine to end and has warned of the risks of it escalating into a world war between the United States and Russia.There have so far been two announced phone calls between Putin and Trump this year – on February 12 and on March 18 – though…

After President Trump spoke on the phone with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine last week, the White House wanted to make one thing clear: The Ukrainian leader was grateful to the American president. Very grateful.The statement recounting the call mentioned four times that Mr. Zelensky had thanked the president for his efforts to negotiate terms of a ceasefire with Russia. It then went on to note that Mr. Zelensky was “grateful” for Mr. Trump’s leadership.The description revealed a pattern in the Trump administration’s shaping of its foreign policy agenda: When it comes to diplomacy, Mr. Trump wants an implicit or…

Israeli forces were expanding their offensive in Gaza on Sunday, taking control of more territory and issuing fresh evacuation orders for residents who had only recently returned to their homes.The Israeli military renewed its offensive in Gaza this past week after talks to extend a fragile, temporary cease-fire that came into effect in mid-January reached an impasse. On Sunday, it said that those operations had moved into additional areas in the north and south of the enclave.Israel said that its troops had begun operating in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, to expand a buffer zone. The military also said that…

As driver-assist systems gain traction in China, one local startup that invested in the tech years ago is finally seeing results. Xpeng , listed in the U.S. and Hong Kong, has delivered more than 30,000 cars a month since November. The company last week said it expects that pace to continue for a doubling in sales versus 2024 — and that it will achieve profitability in the fourth quarter. What’s selling is the company’s lower-priced Mona M03 and its Xpeng-branded P7+ car, which includes advanced driver-assist software at no extra cost. With the automaker’s plans to upgrade the P7 and…

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is partnering with country singer Lee Greenwood to donate Trump-endorsed “God Bless the USA” Bibles to classrooms across the state. Inspired by Greenwood’s hit “God Bless the USA” song, this unique bible includes a King James interpretation of the bible as well as the texts of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and several other founding documents.While campaigning in 2024, President Donald Trump endorsed the God Bless the USA Bible, saying, “You have to have it, for your heart, for your soul.”In a video promoting the Bible released last year, Trump said, “We must…

Norfolk State entered Saturday’s matchup against Maryland in the women’s NCAA Tournament as considerable underdogs. But the Spartans pushed the Terrapins well into the fourth quarter before losing 82-69.The first-round game got off to a surprising start with Norfolk State scoring the game’s first seven points. The historically black university located in Virginia also entered the locker room with a 32-30 lead at halftime. The underdog Spartans trailed by just four points early in the fourth quarter.Despite losing to Maryland, longtime Norfolk State head coach Larry Vickers said his team showed it deserved better. Norfolk State head coach Larry Vickers during…

Earlier this month Sasha Stone watched the Oscars alone at her home in a town outside Los Angeles. For someone who has spent more than two decades as one of the premier chroniclers of awards season, it was a notably unglamorous way to take in the ceremony. But she was thrilled that “Anora,” the frantic story of a New York stripper’s romance with a young Russian man, took top honors as part of a historic haul.Stone believed the film had the virtue of not pushing a partisan agenda, which has become one of the top criteria for her when judging…

Young Australians travelling overseas will be targeted on social media, podcasts, at airports and with text messages warning them of the dangers of methanol poisoning and urging them to keep an eye on their mates.The dedicated advertising push from the Federal Government comes after friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles died last year after drinking cocktails tainted with methanol while on holiday in Laos.Two Danish tourists, an American and a British backpacker also died.The Jones and Bowles families had called for greater education for travellers about the danger and signs of methanol poisoning.Foreign Minister Penny Wong said they were foremost…

It is the sort of buzzy production that was once a staple of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Tennessee Williams’s “A Streetcar Named Desire,” with its Oscar-nominated lead man, Paul Mescal, has people clamoring for tickets to BAM’s production this month.The excitement recalls a period when the performing arts center consistently drew crowds to see imports like the Royal Shakespeare Company or cutting-edge work by directors like Peter Brook, composers like Philip Glass or choreographers like Pina Bausch and Martha Graham.Over the past decade, though, critics say the academy’s pioneering triumphs have been scarcer, the schedule thinner and the productions…

As questions continue to swirl around Washington about the future of TikTok, the name of one potential suitor for the popular video app keeps coming up: Oracle.On Tuesday, Oracle met with top aides on Capitol Hill to talk about how the U.S. tech giant, which processes and serves TikTok user data, plans to work with the Chinese-owned video app in the United States in the coming weeks, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.The questions came as TikTok stares down an April 5 deadline from a federal law that prohibits its distribution…