A reduced short bet on Metro Bank Holdings Plc is all that remains of the bearish wagers by

“I think there are very many men who are happily married and also have affairs,” Rebecca said during an interview

Republican lawmakers and Gov. Bill Lee have approved hundreds of laws in Tennessee this year

Republican presidential candidates offered full-throated support for Israel to defend itself and lambasted President Joe Biden’s policies in

Meghan Markle sent a handwritten 'personal letter' to Taylor Swift, only to be rejected by her representative

Paul McCartney says artificial intelligence has been used to extract John Lennon’s voice from an old demo to create “the last Beatles record," decades after the band broke up

A court in Moscow on Wednesday handed a former state TV journalist a 8 1/2-year prison term in absentia for protesting Russia's war in Ukraine, the latest in a months-long crackdown against dissent that has intensified since Moscow's invasion 20 months ago. Marina Ovsyannikova was charged with spreading false information about the Russian army, a criminal offense under a law adopted shortly after the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine. She held a picket in the Russian capital in July 2022, and held a poster that said “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is a killer. His soldiers are fascists. 352 children have been killed (in Ukraine). How many more children need to die for you to stop?” Ovsyannikova, who until March 2022 worked at for Russia's state-run Channel One, was detained and placed under house arrest, but managed to escape to France with her daughter. Russian authorities put her on a wanted list and prosecuted and tried her in absentia. In March, 2022 Ovsyannikova made international headlines after appearing behind the anchor of an evening Channel One news broadcast with a poster that said “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.” She quit her job at the channel, was charged with disparaging the Russian military and fined 30,000 rubles ($270 at the time). Thousands of Russians have been fined and hundreds have faced criminal charges over publicly speaking out or protesting against the war in the last 20 months. The Kremlin has used legislation outlawing criticism of what it insists on calling a “special military operation” to target opposition figures, human rights activists and independent media. Top Kremlin critics have been handed lengthy prison terms, rights groups have been forced to shut down, independent news sites were blocked and independent journalists have left the country, fearing prosecution. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Federal health advisers are recommending that a decades-old birth control pill be sold without a prescription

The Filipino coast guard earlier removed China's floating barriers in the disputed South China Sea.

An explosion in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, has killed a teenage boy and injured at least 162 people

The bipartisan agreement to raise the debt limit cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday evening despite vehement criticism from many House Republicans. The House Rules Committee voted 7-6 to advance the legislation that codifies the bipartisan agreement struck between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s team and negotiators from President Joe Biden’s administration. The rule will now go to the full House floor before the agreement comes to a full House vote. The rule passed after an hours-long deliberation in the committee that included multiple amendment proposals. The vote comes as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the United States will be unable to satisfy its debt obligations come 5 June. The House of Representatives is set to vote But many House Republicans raised objections, including members of the House Freedom Caucus who had previously opposed Mr McCarthy’s bid for speaker in January. Rep Andy Biggs (R - AZ) told The Independent that Mr McCarthy’s deal with the White House was a repeat of his past behaviour. “When he was been in leadership for 13 years, it was not uncommon for him to be the point man to go negotiate a spending cap deal with the Democrats,” he said. Many Republicans criticised the fact that the legislation keeps in place Mr Biden’s student loan forgiveness, only claws back a small sliver of money meant to increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service and raises the debt limit until January 2025, after the 2024 presidential election. Rep Bob Good (R - VA) told The Independent that the bill symbolised a surrender from House Republican leadership. “We have literally come together and our leadership and their leadership and agreed on a Democrat bill,” Mr Good told The Independent. But many allies of Mr McCarthy also opposed the legislation. Rep Nancy Mace (R - SC), who voted for Mr McCarthy for speaker in January, announced her opposition to the bill. “Washington is, was and always will be lousy at responsibly spending your tax dollars,” she tweeted. “That won’t change unless we demand change.” Rep Chip Roy (R - TX) refuted the idea that conservatives would want the United States to default on its debt obligations. “The only person who would default in this town is Joe Biden unless Republicans default on the American dream by voting for this bad bill,” he said at a press conference. “That is why this group will oppose it, we will continue to fight it, today, tomorrow, and no matter what happens, there’s going to be a reckoning about what just occurred.” Mr Roy had tweeted on Monday that during the negotiations for the speakership, Republican leaders pledged that nothing would pass the Rules Committee without at least seven Republican votes and the committee would not allow for reporting out rules without unanimous Republican votes. During the negotiations, Mr Roy tried to stress his opposition and said why Republicans should oppose the bill. “We're not going to reduce spending through this deal. Unless we actually stand up and reduce spending it'll be on us to choose to,” he said during the hearing. “But this deal isn't going to reduce spending even though everybody's going around saying it will.” But some Republicans stressed that the agreement was the only one that could pass the House and Senate and end up on the president’s desk. “We only control one-half of one-third of government,” Rep Erin Houchin (R - IN) said. “There’s no better deal to be had.” Mr McCarthy expressed confidence in a press conference that he would have enough votes to raise the debt limit. “I’m not sure what in the bill people are concerned about,” he told reporters, saying it is the largest savings in congressional history. “We’re pulling money back for the hard-working taxpayers that are going to China. Are they opposed to work requirements for welfare?” The Congressional Budget Office estimated that if the bill passed, the budget deficit would be reduced by about $1.5 trillion through a period from 2024 to 2033. In addition, the provision in the legislation that would exempt for veterans, people experiencing homelessness and adults between the ages of 18 and 24 who were in foster care when they turned 18 from work requirements to obtain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would mean 78,000 people would gain benefits. The increase comes despite the fact that the legislation would raise the age for work requirements for SNAP from 50 to 54. On the Senate side, both Republican and Democratic leaders praised the agreement. “Congress will vote on legislation that locks in that important progress,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R - KY) said in remarks on the Senate floor. “Republicans have a tremendous opportunity to take on an existential challenge facing our economy and future generations of Americans. We have a chance to start bringing Washington Democrats’ reckless spending to heel.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ((D - NY) said the bill was a reasonable compromise. “Of course, nobody is getting everything they want – there is give on both sides – but this agreement is the responsible, prudent and very necessary way forward,” he said on the Senate floor. Mr Schumer said he would bring the bill up as quickly as possible for consideration before the default deadline on 5 June. Read More Biden ‘optimistic’ about McCarthy negotiations as AOC slams ‘dysfunctional’ debt ceiling system Debt ceiling deal reached between Biden and McCarthy Conservatives bark after the debt limit deal. Will they actually bite McCarthy? GOP chairman moves to hold FBI director Wray in contempt over Biden doc Utah Republican Chris Stewart planning to resign from Congress, AP source says Debt limit deal is in place, but budget deficit is still a multi-decade challenge for US government

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in seven months, another sign that the labor market remains largely unaffected by higher interest rates