US peace envoy to meet Vladimir Putin to discuss Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine ahead of US president’s 100 days in office next week
US peace envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow today for further talks with Russia, including president Vladimir Putin, on Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.
Hoping to get results before Trump’s 100 days in the office next week, Witkoff will have to find a way to convey the sense of the president’s frustration with the Russian attack on Kyiv on Thursday, while hoping to make good progress as Washington tries to put pressure on Kyiv to agree to its proposal.
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Advertising group WPP has reported that its clients are waiting to see how the trade conflict unfolds.
Mark Read, chief executive officer of WPP, told investors this morning:
“While WPP is not itself directly affected by tariffs, they will impact a number of our clients as well as the broader economy. At this point we have not seen any significant change in client spending and we reiterate our full-year guidance which already reflected a challenging environment.”
“They voted for change because they didn’t think that the economy worked well enough for them and their families. They saw the erosion of good jobs that paid a decent wage. They saw industries that once powered their towns disappear. And as elected politicians we have to respond to that”.
“Some may say that under this very consequential president we have at the moment, this is a rollercoaster period and therefore a challenge to us all. But we would say that a rollercoaster is fine, as long as we are rolling in the right direction.”
Countries trade blows across line of control in disputed Kashmir as tensions rise after deadly shooting
Troops from Pakistan and India exchanged fire overnight across the line of control in disputed Kashmir, officials have said, after the UN urged the nuclear-armed rivals to show “maximum restraint” after a deadly shooting in the region.
Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.
Rodrigo Nunes, a senior lecturer in political theory, explains how delivery drivers are taking to the street to demand better pay and conditions, while worker-owned delivery app services are thriving
On 1 April, Brazilian couriers organised a day of action in which thousands of workers engaged in pickets and protests in at least 60 cities, with places such as São Paulo reporting a sharp drop in deliveries. While companies are yet to respond to the demands for better pay and conditions, the mobilisation was a clear step-up for a process of national organisation that began in 2020.
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people working for delivery apps in Brazil rose by 979.8%, with the number of delivery and passenger drivers in the sector now around 1.4 million. This boom coincides with the period in which the country finally felt the effects of the post-2008 recession. Economic decline, corruption and the impeachment of the then president, Dilma Rousseff, ended 13 years of successful left-leaning governments by the Workers’ party (PT). In the years that followed, a series of austerity measures and labour reforms were put in place, the political spectrum moved steadily to the right and the far-right libertarian politician Jair Bolsonaro was elected president in 2018.
The world No 1 swept the board with a result comparable to the great performances of Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov and Alexander Alekhine, but it won’t count for Fide ratings
Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, soared to a new landmark in chess history last weekend, when the 34-year-old won all his nine games in the Grenke Freestyle Open at Karlsruhe, Germany.
It was a result comparable to the great historical performances. Bobby Fischer won the 1963-64 US Championship with an 11/11 “picket fence”, then defeated both Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6-0 in the 1971 Candidates. Anatoly Karpov triumphed at Linares 1994 with a 11-2 total, while further back the yardstick performance was Alexander Alekhine’s 14-1 at San Remo 1930.
Dear Abby advises a man who seems to have some financial issues, despite his father being well off financially, who doesn't seem to be helping him financially compared to his other children.
"She was a friend to all and her smile and kind spirit will be greatly missed. She passed too early- but she left the earth doing what she loved, with the ones she loved.”
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