A new European route is offering child-free seating for travelers.

Myanmar won’t take over the rotating leadership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as scheduled in 2026, in the latest blow to efforts by its ruling generals to gain international recognition after violently seizing power in 2021

Donald Trump’s lawyers plan to request the judge presiding over a criminal trial into alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels be removed due to his campaign donations and family’s ties to the Democrat Party, according to a report. It’s the latest in a series of legal manoeuvres by the former president to move the Manhattan criminal trial slated to begin next March away from New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records related to alleged payments to conceal negative stories about him prior to the 2016 presidential election. Mr Trump attorneys Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche noted in a statement to the New York Times that Justice Merchan’s daughter was the chief operating officer of Democratic consulting firm Authentic Campaigns. They also claimed that the judge had donated $15 to Joe Biden’s Act Blue online fundraising platform during the 2020 presidential campaign, and $10 to two other pro-Democrat groups. The lawyers also took issue with Justice Merchan’s oversight of a tax fraud trial which saw the Trump Organization found guilty and fined $1.6m in January. They claimed that Justice Merchan had encouraged former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to turn against his longtime boss. “President Trump, like all Americans, is entitled under the Constitution to an impartial judge and legal process,” lawyers Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche, said in a statement to the Times. The attorneys have not yet filed a formal motion for recusal. Mr Blanche did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Independent. Mr Trump’s lawyers recently filed to have the criminal case shifted to federal court, which Manhattan District Attorney Melvin Bragg has opposed. Under New York laws, judges must recuse themselves if they or a relative has “an interest that would be substantially affected by the proceeding”. In April, Mr Trump became the first sitting or former president in US history to be criminally indicted. He is alleged to have directed his fixer Michael Cohen to pay Ms Daniels to suppress a planned story about an affair in 2006. Ms Daniels claimed she and Mr Trump had sex, and that she later accepted $130,000 in the days before the 2016 election. Mr Cohen also allegedly had the National Review pay for a story about an affair Mr Trump had with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, only to never publish her account. In 2018, Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations for his role in the hush money payments and was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Mr Trump’s trial is due to begin during the 2024 presidential campaign. Read More Trump news - live: Trump caught on tape revealing he kept classified papers after presidency, report says Trump caught on tape discussing classified documents he kept after leaving White House, reports say Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Ellen DeGeneres's height has been the subject of discussion on social media

The US secretary of state Antony Blinken met with China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday as the two nations try to salvage a diplomatic relationship and ensure that it does not spiral towards conflict. Beijing has described ties between the two nations as being at a low point thanks to America’s “wrong perception” of the country. Mr Xi said he hopes Mr Blinken will make "more positive contributions" to stabilising China-US relations. "State-to-state interactions should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity," Mr Xi said. "I hope that, through this visit, Mr Secretary, you will make more positive contributions to stabilising China-US relations." Mr Blinken told the Chinese president that Joe Biden believes that the US and China have an obligation to manage our relationship and that “the US is committed to doing that”. Mr Blinken said the US and China agreed on the need to stabilise their bilateral relationship, adding that America is clear-eyed about the challenges that China poses. Mr Blinken also said US expected additional visits by senior US officials to China over the coming week. Hours of talks across two days have seemingly done little to bridge the two sides' differences on issues ranging from the status of Taiwan to trade, human rights or their approach to the war in Ukraine. However, the fact that the discussions are so extensive on the first visit to China by a US secretary of state in five years will only be seen as a positive by Washington. Mr Blinken’s meeting with Mr Xi was roughly 30 minutes long and could help facilitate a summit between Mr Biden and the Chinese president later in the year, it was reported. According to a video posted online by Chinese state television, Mr Xi said that “the two sides agreed to follow through with the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali. The two sides have also made progress and reached the agreement on some specific issues. This is very good”. Mr Xi said China “hopes to see a sound and steady China-US relationship” and believes that the two countries “can overcome various difficulties”, according to Xinhua. Ahead of the meeting with Mr Xi, Mr Blinken met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi who warned that the US that the two nations “must take a responsible attitude toward the people, history and the world, and reverse the downward spiral of US-China relations.” According to the nation’s state media, he also said “it is necessary for the US to reflect deeply and work with China to manage differences and avoid strategic surprises”. Mr Wang spoke with Mr Blinken for more than three hours and told the US secretary of state that Washington must choose between “cooperation or conflict”. “The Secretary of State’s trip to Beijing this time comes at a critical juncture in China-US relations,” Mr Wang told Mr Blinken, according to state broadcaster CCTV. “It is necessary to make a choice between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation or conflict. We must reverse the downward spiral of China-US relations, push for a return to a healthy and stable track, and work together to find a correct way for China and the United States to get along,” Mr Wang added. He also reportedly asked the US to stop speculating on the “China threat theory” and lift “illegal unilateral sanctions” against China. On Sunday, Mr Blinken met with the Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang for seven and a half hours hoping to ease the tensions between the two sides. Mr Blinken invited the Chinese foreign minister to visit Washington and the invitation was accepted, according to US state department spokesperson Matt Miller. He called the talks with Mr Qin “candid, substantive and constructive”. “The Secretary invited foreign minister Qin to Washington to continue discussions, and they agreed to schedule a reciprocal visit at a mutually suitable time,” Mr Miller said. He added that Mr Blinken had emphasised the “importance of diplomacy and maintaining channels of communication across the full range of issues to reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation”. Mr Blinken stressed “the need to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation” in his talks with Mr Qin on Sunday. China took a strong stand on Taiwan with reports suggesting that Mr Wang told the US secretary of state that China has no room for compromise and concessions on the Taiwan issue. “On this issue, China has no room to compromise or concede,” Mr Wang told Mr Blinken, according to CCTV. “The United States must truly adhere to the One China principle confirmed in the three joint US-China communiques, respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and clearly oppose ‘Taiwan independence’.” “Despite very low expectations for any breakthroughs made during Blinken’s visit to China, there is still hope that both sides can maintain their ‘bottom line’ in the relationship,” state-run Global Times said in an editorial on Monday. “This is going to be a process of sustained diplomacy,” one senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity told Reuters. The Taiwan premier Chen Chien-jen told the media: “For this high-level interaction between China and the United States, Taiwan closely grasps the relevant details.” “Qin Gang pointed out that the Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests, the most important issue in Sino-US relations, and the most prominent risk,” Chinese state media quoted Mr Qin as having told the US diplomat. Read More Blinken opens second day of talks in Beijing on mission to ease soaring US-China tensions Blinken seeks to warm up frosty US-China relations in high-stakes Beijing trip Watch: Antony Blinken visits China for high-stakes meeting after ‘spy balloon’ Watch: Antony Blinken visits China for high-stakes meeting after ‘spy balloon’ Blinken seeks to warm up frosty US-China relations in high-stakes Beijing trip Taiwan handbook teaches civilians how to spot ‘enemy’ Chinese soldiers

A series of court challenges are seeking to upend longstanding real estate industry practices that determine the commissions agents receive on the sale of a home — and who foots the bill

The two former rivals will square off in the same fight event for the first time since their 2019 rematch

The University of Miami has confirmed that the scholarship will be a recurring opportunity

Just hours after former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was dealt state charges accusing him, along with 18 other defendants including Donald Trump, of taking part in a broad criminal conspiracy to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, he mounted an effort to move his case to federal court.

Fousey gained widespread attention on August 23, during the 12th day of his Subathon

Andrew Tate suggests joining The War Room to overcome challenges like tribalism and western exploitation

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a judge to oversee an inquiry into allegations that the country supplied arms to Russia on a ship that docked secretly at a naval base in December