US President Donald Trump met senior military leaders at the White House yesterday to discuss how to respond to the chemical attack on civilians in Syria on Saturday, allegedly perpetrated by the Assad regime. Meanwhile, Russia warned the US that any military response to the attack, in the rebel-held city of Douma, would have “grave repercussions”.
Daily Briefing
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Trump meets generals as Russia wags finger
Clinton warns of Brexit effect on Northern Ireland
Hillary Clinton has written an article in The Guardian to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, signed to bring peace to Northern Ireland during her husband’s presidency. She warns that Brexit must not be allowed to undermine the peace process, saying a hard border would prompt a return to the “bad old days”.
Iceland supermarket to stop using palm oil
Frozen goods supermarket chain Iceland is to stop using palm oil in its own-brand products by the end of this year. Production of the now-ubiquitous oil has a devastating environmental impact, with rainforests in places including Borneo felled, threatening the existence of species including orangutans. Most UK consumers oppose its use.
Cosby paid woman $3.4m to settle case
TV star Bill Cosby, accused by multiple women of being a sexual predator, paid former basketball player Andrea Constand almost $3.4m (£2.4m) in a civil settlement in 2006, a court has been told. Cosby is undergoing a retrial for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting Constand, after a jury failed to reach a verdict at a first trial last June.
Trump calls FBI raid on his lawyer ‘disgraceful’
A raid by the FBI on the offices of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer yesterday was a “disgrace” and an “attack” on America, the US president has said. FBI agents seized files including documents relating to the alleged pay-off made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump. The raid is believed to be related to the Trump-Russia inquiry.
Black Lives Matter page exposed as fake
A high-ranking Australian union official has been suspended amid reports he ran a fake Black Lives Matter Facebook page that solicited donations from some of its 700,000 supporters. The page, set up by Ian McKay, who is not black, had almost twice as many followers as the official Black Lives Matter page, according to CNN. The broadcaster reports that some of the donations were sent to Australian bank accounts.
Pistorius loses final appeal against jail
Former Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has reached the end of the road legally, after Africa’s highest court yesterday rejected his final appeal against a 13-year jail term for the killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Pistorius was originally convicted of culpable homicide, but a prosecution appeal saw that upgraded to murder, with his sentence extended.
Man hospitalised after eating hot chilli
An American man ended up in hospital after eating the world’s hottest chilli pepper, the California Reaper, during a chilli-eating contest in upstate New York. The unidentified 34-year-old experienced “crushingly painful” headaches in the following days, because arteries in his brain had become constricted. He was diagnosed with reversible cerebral vascoconstriction syndrome.
Buckingham leaves Fleetwood Mac – again
Guitarist and singer Lindsey Buckingham has left legendary rock group Fleetwood Mac, for the second time in the band’s history. Buckingham, now 68, joined the band in 1974, with his then-partner Stevie Nicks, and quit in 1986. He rejoined in 1996 but will now be replaced by Crowded House singer Neil Finn and guitarist Mike Campbell.
Briefing: the local elections
Voters will head to the polls on 3 May for the last set of elections before the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union in 2019.
The local elections will be “the first England-wide test of electoral opinion since last year’s dramatic general election”, says the BBC.
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