Vice-president faces challenges as he assumes potential role of point man in endeavor to end a war he opposed
As a man who wears his Christian beliefs on his sleeve, JD Vance is no doubt acutely conscious of Jesus Christ’s dictum from his sermon on the mount declaring that “blessed are the peacemakers”.
Yet the US vice-president, a Catholic convert who recently found himself at odds with Pope Leo, is discovering the difficulties of living up to that standard while serving a mercurial political master who is waging a war Vance once cautioned against.
Continue reading...State visit of UK royals continues as monarch to tell US lawmakers that ‘our countries have always found ways to come together’
Hello and welcome to our coverage of US news as the Trumps continue hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla during their state visit.
As expected, the British royals have a packed itinerary of events this morning including been greeted by Donald and Melania Trump at the White House, signing the guest book and exchanging gifts.
Continue reading...The reaction to the Washington DC shooting shows that Americans are swinging between outrage, exhaustion and numbness
In the early hours of Sunday, I awoke to check the time on my phone and learned that there had been a shooting – apparently, an assassination attempt – at this year’s White House correspondents’ dinner, an event held annually to honor the journalists who cover presidential politics.
I stayed awake just long enough to read that the attack had been thwarted and that no one had been killed, and then I went back to sleep.
Francine Prose is a former president of PEN American Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Continue reading...The female-created YouTube sketch series Smatouha Minni (You Heard It From Me) uses satire to confront misogynistic attitudes
In Beirut’s Gemmayzeh neighbourhood a rented flat has been transformed into a film set: bright studio lights in a cosy living room. At its centre is Maria Elayan – though she is barely recognisable. Filming for the third season of Smatouha Minni (You Heard It From Me), a feminist series in Arabic, the actor is in a padded muscle suit, wearing a slicked-back black wig and beard.
“If your wife asks you to change the diapers, you should change her,” the Palestinian-Jordanian barks, mimicking an aggrieved self-help podcaster. An hour later, she is slouched in a hoodie, shisha pipe in one hand and a gaming console in the other, shouting: “Mama, I’m hungry. Can you make me a sandwich?”
Continue reading...Japan Airlines will introduce the robots for trial run at a Tokyo airport amid country’s surge in inbound tourism and worsening labour shortages
Japan’s famously conscientious but overburdened baggage handlers will soon be joined by extra staff at Tokyo’s Haneda airport – although their new colleagues will need to take regular recharging breaks.
Japan Airlines will introduce humanoid robots on a trial basis from the beginning of May, with a view to deploying them permanently as a solution to the country’s chronic labour shortage.
Continue reading...Artists and writers argue scrappy nature of self-published booklets is incompatible with artificial intelligence
The self-published zine has long been central to cultural revolutions, from queer activism to Black feminism and the riot grrrl punk movement, producing titles such as Sniffin’ Glue and Sweet-Thang along the way. But now the traditionally analogue art form faces a new shift: artificial intelligence.
AI may seem incompatible with the these cult DIY booklets, but some creatives, designers and artists have begun to experiment with the technology, causing alarm in parts of the underground publishing world. It has been their Dylan-goes-electric moment.
Continue reading...Britain’s king and queen have met Donald and Melania Trump on the first day of their US state visit, which will also include stops at New York City and Virginia. It was arranged to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US’s independence
Continue reading...Fans of late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel and Hollywood residents pushed back against Melania Trump's demand that the American Broadcasting Company and parent company Walt Disney Co fire the comedian over a monologue he delivered in a parody segment days before the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner over the weekend. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denounced Kimmel, saying he 'disgustingly called first lady Melania Trump "an expectant widow"'
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Apple laptop sets new performance bar with more storage, new chips and plenty of options, but now has two-tier specs depending on processor
Apple’s Macs have been on a roll this year with the brand new budget MacBook Neo and a faster MacBook Air M5, but now it’s time for its workhorse MacBook Pro to be upgraded with the fastest, most powerful M-series chips.
The latest MacBook Pro comes in two screen sizes and a large range of chip and configuration options. The 14in version starts with the M5 chip costing £1,699 (€1,899/$1,699/A$2,699) and then jumps to the more powerful M5 Pro from £2,199 (€2,499/$2,199/A$3,499) before climbing further for the 16in version or the top M5 Max chip. A pricey machine for professional workloads.
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