Penny Mordaunt increases pressure on government not to make concessions to EU Penny Mordaunt has refused to explicitly back Theresa May’s Chequers plan for Brexit, increasing pressure on the government not to make dramatic concessions to Brussels in the crucial days ahead. The international development secretary said she would not give a “running commentary” on the proposals when asked if ...

Revamp of east London site aims to create ‘world’s most joyful museum for children’ The V&A has announced its ambition to create the “world’s most joyful museum” for children and young people in a £13.5m revamp of its east London outpost, the Museum of Childhood. The redevelopment is intended to make the museum more immersive and interactive, to inspire, it hopes, ...

An Afghan official says a Taliban assault in northern Jawzjan province has killed 12 members of the security forces and wounded another 10. Gen. Faqir Mohammad Jawzjani, provincial police chief in Jawzjan, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the attack took place in Qush Typa district late on Monday.   Jawzjani says the assault was a failed attempt to ...

The International Monetary Fund has warned a trade war between the US and China risks making the world a “poorer and more dangerous place” in its latest assessment of the global economy. The IMF has lowered its forecast for global growth this year and next.   It said that a full-blown trade war between the US and China would put ...

Google is shutting down its long-shunned Plus social network for consumers, following its disclosure of a flaw discovered in March that could have exposed some personal information of up to 500,000 people.   The announcement came in a Monday blog post , which marked Google’s first public description of the privacy bug.  Google deliberately avoided disclosing the problem at the ...

Officials are warning residents along Florida’s gulf coast to prepare for a possibly “life-threatening hurricane”, which is due to strike later this week. Hurricane Michael may reach category three strength before it arrives in Florida, possibly on Wednesday, and will then move up the US East Coast.   Michael, which is the 13th named storm of the season, is already ...

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is campaigning for his designated successor and former foe Anwar Ibrahim, urging voters to support Anwar’s return to active politics. Mahathir’s appearance at a late night political rally Monday marked the first time in two decades that the two shared the same stage, after setting aside a bitter political feud to form an alliance that ...

A jailed councilman in Venezuela arrested on suspicion of involvement in a failed assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro has died of suicide, the government said Monday. The official suicide claim drew swift denial from opposition leaders close to Fernando Alban, and a few dozen of his supporters gathered outside the headquarters of Venezuela’s intelligence service yelling “Maduro killer!” contending ...

The death toll from a 5.9 earthquake that hit Haiti over the weekend rose to 15 people with 333 injured, authorities said Monday, as thousands of people slept outdoors fearing aftershocks would topple their cracked homes. Haiti’s civil protection agency said it will soon deploy 70 soldiers to the Nord-Ouest and Artibonite provinces that were hardest hit, noting it already ...

President Donald Trump has apologised to his new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for what he described as a “campaign of lies” during the confirmation hearings. He was referring to the acrimonious debate over Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination, after sexual assault allegations were made against him.   Mr Kavanaugh said he was not bitter despite the “contentious” confirmation.   He has ...