Author: Press Room

Perhaps the biggest shock after the 2025 NCAA Tournament men’s basketball bracket was revealed on Sunday was seeing the North Carolina Tar Heels as one of the “First Four” teams that will play San Diego State to determine who will be the No. 11 in the South Region. There’s a large contingent that isn’t too happy with that decision by the selection committee. Social media erupted with backlash after the Tar Heels were named as the last team of 68 to make it in, and there’s some backing to that vitriol.  North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis reacts in the…

Rain, snow, hail, dust, fire, tornadoes. A giant cross-country storm system last week led to one hazard after another, lashing California with an atmospheric river, fueling wildfires in Oklahoma and spawning tornadoes from Missouri to Alabama.A part of Texas felt like Mars. Huge stretches of communities across the Midwest and South were reduced to rubble. A governor lost a farmhouse to fire. And the area near a tiny town in Mississippi was struck by a tornado twice.It has all added up to a devastating mix. Since Friday, at least 40 deaths across seven states have been attributed to the storm.Here…

Ukrainian forces have pulled almost entirely out of the Kursk region of Russia, ending an offensive that had stunned the Kremlin last summer with its speed and audacity.Ukrainian soldiers at the front described a retreat that was organized in places and chaotic in others, as Russian forces stormed through their lines and forced them back to a sliver of land along the border.By the time one Ukrainian assault platoon retreated from its position less than a week ago, all their vehicles had been destroyed, drones hunted them night and day and they were almost out of ammunition.Russian forces were closing…

Washington — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who is being detained by federal immigration authorities, is “going to leave — and so are others.””We’re going to keep doing it,” Rubio said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, served as a negotiator on behalf of students during Columbia University’s 2024 student encampment protests. He was arrested March 8 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detained in New Jersey before being transported to a federal detention facility in Louisiana. Officials were acting on…

As Mutuum Finance (MUTM) continues to gain traction in the DeFi market, investors are looking ahead to March 2025 to assess its potential value. The project is gaining momentum in its recently launched presale. The presale is now in phase 3 after selling out the second one faster than expected. Over $3.4 million has been raised, attracting more than 5700 holders. Investors are piling in at $0.02 before the price jumps 25% to $0.025 in phase 4. Those buying today are set for a 200% ROI when the project finally launches at $0.06. In addition, analysts predict a $1 target…

After a huge night out in Melbourne, tragedy struck as a life was cut short when two young mates began playfighting in their CBD accommodation.

Investors are turning to sanctions-proof bets on Russian bonds and the rouble to wager that Donald Trump’s rapprochement with Vladimir Putin will send a wave of capital rushing back into Russia’s economy.Hedge funds and brokers have been scoping out how to trade Russian assets that have been shunned by the west but which they believe could rally sharply if the US president relaxes sanctions as part of a deal to broker a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine, investors and traders said.The rouble has surged almost a third against the dollar this year on hopes of an end to the…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain’s water regulator stands accused of allowing Thames Water to come under the control of hedge funds and other creditors without a formal transfer of ownership for Britain’s largest water company.Legal control of Thames Water has passed to creditors providing a controversial £3bn loan to the cash-strapped utility without Ofwat’s formal approval, according to claims set out in a letter to the regulator earlier this month by Charlie Maynard, a Liberal Democrat MP.Senior creditors of the utility include the hedge funds Elliott…

A 4-year-old Washington girl was “dragged” by a coyote just inches from the front door of her home on March 11, her father told local news.The incident comes amid a string of coyote encounters and attacks in a Bellevue neighborhood, prompting state wildlife officials to lethally remove two coyotes in recent days. “It was just walking on the mat,” Chang Tong of Bellvue told KIRO, referring to his doormat outside his home in the Factoria neighborhood.He and his daughter were inside, standing by the front door, when the 4-year-old reportedly pushed the door open and stepped outside.MEET THE OLDEST LLAMA IN…

The pontiff, 88, continues papal duties despite ill health, approving long-term church reform from his hospital room.The Vatican has released the first picture of Pope Francis since the 88-year-old was admitted to hospital last month for double pneumonia. The picture, published on Sunday, shows Francis from behind, facing an altar after celebrating mass in a chapel at the hospital. The pope entered Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment. He has not been seen in public since. The pontiff, who has been receiving oxygen throughout his treatment, appears to be breathing…