Katy Perry takes last-minute astronaut lessons before rocket to space
Singer Katy Perry is undertaking final preparations before she meets up with an all-female crew into space.
The crew – made up of Perry, former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and journalist Lauren Sanchez – managed to get in some last-minute astronaut lessons in Texas on Sunday, according to photos shared online by BlueOrigin.
It will be the first female-only mission in more than six decades.
Perry also shared some snaps of her own, vowing to put “the ‘ass’ in astronaut” in the coming hours in a post with Ms Sanchez.
The two can be seen clad in blue jumpsuits, especially made by Ms Sanchez for the mission.
Earlier on Sunday, Perry said she had been given “confirmation” that her journey aboard the rocket on April 14 was written in the stars.
In a video posted to Instagram, she said she is “always looking for little confirmations from the heavens, from my guides, from my angels, from my higher self”.
“When I’m looking for it, it’s pretty loud,” she added.
Earlier in the week, Perry told the Associated Press that she plans to go boldly where other women have rarely gone before.
“I am talking to myself every day and going, ‘You’re brave, you’re bold, you are doing this for the next generation to inspire so many different people but especially young girls to go, ‘I’ll go to space in the future.’ No limitations,” she said.
She added: “I’m really excited about the engineering of it all. I’m excited to learn more about STEM and just the math about what it takes to accomplish this type of thing.”
Blue Origin Flight NS-31 is the first launch with an all-female crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo space flight in 1963.
The Bezos-funded rocket is set for lift-off on April 14 at 8.30am local time, or 2.30pm BST.
The craft will then fly through space for around four minutes before floating back down to Earth, with the entire journey taking a little over 10 minutes.
During her Texan space training this week, Perry said she had noticed two unexpected coincidences linked to nicknames her mother calls her.
She said: “When I was invited to come on this voyage, I looked up the capsule. On the very front of it is the outline in the shape of a feather and when I saw that it was like a total confirmation because my mum has always called me feather.
“And so I’m in space training today and there’s a lot to digest. We’re almost finished with the day and they showed us the capsule and we run simulations in another capsule and tested the noise and what to expect and all these different things and they reveal the capsule name.
“The capsule’s name is Tortoise. A wave, just the most energetic wave, just shot through my body. And I was like, ‘What? This capsule’s name is Tortoise?’
“My mum calls me two nicknames. Feather and tortoise. What are the chances that I’m going to space on a rocket in a capsule with my symbol, the feather, called Tortoise?”
She added: “There are no coincidences, and I’m just so grateful for these confirmations and so grateful that I feel like something bigger than me is steering the ship.”
It will be the 11th human flight for the Blue Origin programme, which has taken passengers, including the company’s billionaire founder Jeff Bezos, to space since 2021.
Ms Sanchez said the mission is about inspiring others to “dream big” and praised the women on board as “incredible storytellers”.
Hamilton identifies key to finding form: ‘I will do a better job’
Lewis Hamilton insists he is “adjusting” to changing his driving style as he looks to find his feet at Ferrari after a mixed Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
The seven-time world champion, who has struggled in the opening month of his Ferrari career, finished fifth in the race on Sunday – his best finish so far in 2025 other than his sprint win in China.
It was an improved display for Hamilton, who started ninth, with Ferrari showing promise with a different strategy to frontrunners McLaren and Mercedes. However, they were still short of pace compared to race winner Oscar Piastri.
Yet Hamilton still only has 25 points to his name and is already 52 points behind championship leader Lando Norris, heading into race five in Saudi Arabia next week.
“I think what’s clear, as humans, we get really stuck in our ways,” Hamilton said, when asked about adapting to his new team and car.
“I’ve been driving a certain style and way for a long time with the same team, a new car has new systems… this car requires a different driving style, I’m adjusting to that, slowly getting into that.
“I was a long way away from Charles [Leclerc] last weekend and this weekend… I’ve got to do a better job, I know I can and I will.
“I’ve got to make it easier for myself, I’m doing it the hard way at the moment. Will try next week to start in a better place, I think I’ve figured out how the car likes to drive.
“If I qualify better I can have a much better weekend.”
Leclerc, however, was more downbeat as he missed out on a podium late on in the 57-lap race.
“We are just not fast enough, that’s the summary,” he said.
“We don’t have that pace in the car, Mercedes were a bit better in degradation. The pace was just not there, it’s very disappointing when you do everything quite well but it’s P4.
“There is no regrets, we need to find some pace.”
F1 next heads to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for round five of the 2025 season and the final race in the Asian triple-header.
Report hits back at ‘disgraceful’ accusations of two-tier policing
MPs have declared the police response to last summer’s riots “entirely appropriate”, dismissing accusations of disproportionate policing.
A new report from the Home Affairs Committee, released Monday, investigated the police handling of the widespread disorder following the tragic murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 of last year.
The committee found no evidence to support claims of “two-tier policing”, where certain groups are policed more rigorously than others.
The report rejected such accusations as “disgraceful”, concluding that the police response to the violence and criminality was justified.
MPs said: “Those participating in disorder were not policed more strongly because of their supposed political views but because they were throwing missiles, assaulting police officers and committing arson.
“It was disgraceful to see the police officers who bore the brunt of this violence being undermined by baseless claims of ‘two-tier policing’.”
During the riots, mosques, community centres and libraries were attacked and hotels housing asylum seekers were also targeted.
Committee chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley added: “Organised disorder is rightly met with a robust response; any implied equivalence with planned non-violent protests is simply wrong.”
By January 22 this year, 1,804 arrests had been made and there were 1,072 charges from the disorder, with the majority for serious public order offences, the report said.
In total, 246 events of protests, counter-protests and incidents of disorder took place, including 88 seen as “significant” with many resulting in disorder, it added.
In the worst violence seen since the 2011 riots, MPs urged the Government to release funding to forces to cover costs from the disorder, which was estimated to total more than £28 million by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
They also called for the Government to focus on a strategy for retaining police officers, alongside recruitment, after staff during the riots worked for long hours with many suffering injury and trauma.
Some 44,438 public order police officer shifts were worked to cover the national response to the disorder between August 1 and 18, while 302 officers were injured including up to 69 who were taken to hospital.
The report said: “Police forces did their best to ameliorate the impact on officers but it is clear that the disorder has had a detrimental effect at a time when many officers were already struggling with heavy workloads, fatigue and stress.”
MPs also found shortfalls in national policing structures that hindered the response to the disorder, and meant forces were not always able to access support they needed.
The parliamentary committee agreed with findings from a watchdog that police forces should have better anticipated the risk of disorder in general, and that it should not have been taken for granted that planned protests following the Southport disorder would remain peaceful.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) had said that a number of events in 2023 and 2024 were indicators of potential future disorder, but this had not been reflected in police intelligence assessments.
It also found there were gaps in intelligence linked to social media and the dark web.
MPs also recommended a boosted ability for police to monitor and respond to social media at a national level.
It was also highlighted that the criminal justice system has failed to keep pace with the social media age, which created an information vacuum that “allowed disinformation to flourish” in the wake of the Southport murders.
The report recognised the belief that speculation and misinformation that the suspect was an asylum seeker was a driver of disorder.
MPs said the Crown Prosecution Service and Merseyside Police were ultimately limited on what they could publish about the then unnamed suspect, Axel Rudakubana, by the Contempt of Court Act 1981, which prevents the publication of information that could prejudice criminal proceedings.
They welcomed a review into the law by the Law Commission, which published a consultation paper last month to consider “whether there should be contempt of court liability for those who risk prejudicing a criminal trial by releasing information in the interests of public safety or national security”.
Dame Karen added: “It is a grim reality that bad actors sought to exploit the unspeakable tragedy that unfolded in Southport.
“The criminal justice system will need to ensure its approach to communication is fit for the social media age.
“Lessons must be learned from how the whole criminal justice system worked together.
“It will need to ensure that police forces can improve how they deal with regular policing work as well as supporting them to develop capacity to respond to crises.
“The Government’s plans for police reform will be especially important for making sure national policing structures support forces effectively in emergencies.”
Responding to the report, Emily Spurrell, chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and PCC for Merseyside Police said the ensuring capability and improved information sharing at a national level “must be a priority for all involved in policing reform” after the findings over the nationally coordinated policing response.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is always important that we always learn lessons, and we are working closely with policing to improve national decision making, and to ensure that officers get the support they need to keep our streets safe.
“We also agree social media has put well-established principles around how we communicate after attacks like this under strain, and we must be able to tackle misinformation head on. That is why we have asked the Law Commission to carry out a review into the rules around Contempt of Court as soon as possible.”
Following the footsteps of an 1890s alpinist in the Dolomites
“I always imagined I would see it for myself…” My father-in-law’s voice tailed off and his cancer-gnarled fingers tightened their grip on mine as tears engulfed us both. Spring sunshine streamed into the bedroom, a stark reminder of new life unfurling as his life ebbed away. “I will go there,” I vowed to him. “And I’ll tell you all about it when I return.” A promise I knew I could not keep.
I met my father-in-law, Gulliver Immink, at a wedding, on the same day that I met his son. Of Dutch descent like me, he was delighted to see the romance blossoming, aided no doubt by his discrete deliveries of bottles of Champagne to the love birds. His cancer diagnosis came a little over a year later, shortly before our wedding.
On my first visit to Gulliver’s home, I was struck by a photograph of a mountain peak bearing the name Cima Immink. Ever the raconteur, Gulliver regaled me with tales of the peak in the Dolomites that was first scaled in 1891 by the indomitable Jeanne Immink, his great-great-grand aunt. An extraordinary, and controversial woman, Jeannette Friederike Hermine Immink (née Diest) was a pioneering alpinist. The first woman to climb in trousers rather than skirts, Jeanne enjoyed a brief yet action-packed mountaineering career in the 1890s, during which she scaled some of Europe’s most challenging peaks and routes, was credited with several first ascents, and invented the climbing harness.
Gulliver and I often plotted to visit Cima Immink, and the nearby peak of Campanile Giovanna, also named in honour of Jeanne, together. However, “time and tide wait for no man”. And, so it was, that I found myself paying my respects to both Jeanne and Gulliver at the foot of Cima Immink that summer.
The imposing peak is part of the Pale di San Martino, the largest massif in the Dolomites. Submerged beneath a shallow sea 300 million years ago, these mighty coral reefs were thrust up by tectonic forces and whittled into dramatic spires by the elements. Ringed by these pinnacles is the Altipiano delle Pale plateau, a former seabed that now lies exposed 2,700m above sea level, and 1,200m above the town of San Martino di Castrozza. In the words of the intrepid traveller and writer Amelia Edwards in 1872: “I doubt if a more lonely, desolate or tremendous scene is to be found this side of the Andes.”
It took the 38-year-old Jeanne Immink ten hours to climb from San Martino to the peak of Cima Immink (2,862m) – an elevation difference of 1,375m – and back. That included a pause in each direction to duck behind some Arolla stone pine trees to exchange her tweed skirt for “revolutionary” knickerbockers, as the latter weren’t regarded as suitable attire for ladies. Lacking the fitness to retrace Jeanne’s steps (her nickname was La Donna Instancabile or “The Tireless Woman”), I travelled up to the Altipiano by gondola and cable car, chatting with my venerable mountain guide and artist Narci Simion as the views of San Martino di Castrozza opened up below us.
Thanks to its location between the Po Valley and Tyrol, the lush Alpe di Castrozza valley and Passo Rolle mountain pass above it has long been a strategic crossing point for merchants and armies. The Habsburgs paved the Rolle pass (1863-1874), transforming San Martino di Castrozza into a wealthy, thriving destination. Large Victorian hotels emerged, accustomed to hosting members of the Habsburg monarchy, European politicians, artists and literati as well as seasoned climbers and travellers.
During the First World War, the town was occupied by Austrian troops who fixed their defensive line on the Lagorai peak by the Rolle Pass. When that line fell in 1915, the retreating troops burned San Martino to the ground, leaving just one lonely bell tower standing. Rebuilt under Mussolini to rival Cortina d’Ampezzo, the flourishing village was then annexed by German troops in 1943 before becoming part of the autonomous region of Trentino-South Tyrol in 1946.
Throughout this tumultuous history, a handful of families have remained loyal to San Martino, dedicated to building – and rebuilding – their hotels and climbing the peaks that tower above it. The hoteliers include the Toffol, Panzer and Langes families, while climbing dynasties include the Zagonels, Bottegas and Zecchinis. These families remain active in the town today, which is intrinsically linked to alpinism to an extent I have never encountered elsewhere.
As I crossed the Altipiano with Narci Simion, he recounted stories of early visitors to San Martino and the Aquile di San Martino (San Martino Eagles) guiding company, of which he was president for many years. Established in 1881, the original Aquile guides were local shepherds and hunters, who honed their climbing skills to become revered for their bravery and intimate knowledge of the Dolomites. We made our way to the Rifugio Rosetta, a stone hut perched on an outcrop in the eery lunar plateau, its cheery white and blue painted shutters providing welcome relief from the monochrome landscape.
Jeanne Immink stayed in the original rifugio (also burned down in 1915) in August 1891 before summiting one of her first peaks in the area, the Pala di San Martino. Scanning the walls of the atmospheric hut, papered with images of climbers of bygone eras, I found a photo of Jeanne. Taken by the pioneering German climber and mountain photographer Theodor Wundt while climbing the sheer face of Cima Piccolo, the image graced the front cover of his book about Dolomite climbs, Wanderungen in den Ampezzaner Dolomiten (Berlin, 1894). The image of a woman mountain climbing – in trousers – generated almost equal shock, consternation, outrage and admiration.
The owner of the Rosetta, the accomplished climber and mountain guide Mariano Lott, welcomed Narci with the warm embrace of trusted friends. But when Narci presented me – “May I introduce you to a descendant of Jeanne Immink” – I was grasped by both hands in amazement and virtually bowed to. As I learned over the following days, neither Narci nor Jeanne require introduction here, both are local legends.
Most hikers following the narrow trail leading from Rifugio Rosetta over the Passo di Ball to Rifugio Pradidali won’t realise they’re passing Cima Immink. The muscular peak forms part of a series of summits in a stupendous landscape best appreciated as part of the Palaronda trek, a four-day hut-to-hut hiking tour. Covering some 22 miles and 9,800 vertical feet, this circular route requires a good level of fitness, a head for heights and, ideally, experience of hiking at altitude. In return, you’ll enjoy blissful immersion in the unparalleled beauty of the Pale di San Martino, experiencing its scale and majesty as the setting sun blushes the limestone spires pink, apricot and lilac. Evenings spent in the Rosetta and Pradidali huts are convivial affairs, feasting on simple local fare in the company of thermal-clad outdoorsy types.
Whether you complete the Palaronda, tackle one of the challenging via ferrata routes that criss-cross the Pale or simply ride up the cable car for lunch at the Rifugio Rosetta, it is essential to toast your alpinism with a drink at La Mia Enoteca back down in San Martino. Soft jazz plays, candles flicker, and the walls and timber beams of the wine bar are plastered with photographs of generations of local climbers and Aquile mountain guides, including Renzo Debortolis, the wine bar’s founder. Debortolis’ son, Matteo, serves glasses of crisp Trentino white wine, shearing off melt-in-the-mouth slithers of ham with his flywheel slicer to accompany them.
I met Narci here after our hike, poring over his private collection of antique Dolomites climbing guides and some of his coveted paintings of them. Impervious to the late summer chill, leathery-skinned mountain men sat on the small patio, discussing the prestigious Piolets d’Or (golden ice axes) awards being hosted in town, the Oscars of mountaineering. To my delight, Narci deemed me capable of summiting Cima Immink, confirming my next Dolomites adventure.
I learned many things from my father-in-law but his last words to me ring loudest in my ears. “Please come back soon. I don’t think I have much longer.” Don’t put off your dreams, they won’t wait for you.
Fly from London to Bolzano with SkyAlps (from €190 one-way, including in-flight South Tyrolean wines and snacks), which is 1 hour 40 minutes drive from San Martino di Castrozza.
Stay in the charming two-bedroom Jeanne Immink apartment at Langes Residences, open June through September in summer.
For more information about San Martino di Castrozza visit sanmartino.com. Visit palarondatrek.com for details about hiking and via ferrata in the Pala San Martino. German and Dutch speakers can learn more about Jeanne Immink in the book Die Frau, die in die Wolken stieg by Harry Muré.
UK property prices surge to new record high
House prices have surged to a new record high, defying expectations amidst shifts in the property market.
According to Rightmove, the average asking price for a home in Britain reached £377,182 in April, a substantial £5,312 increase from March. This 1.4% leap surpasses the typical 1.2% April uptick, marking a significant jump in property values.
This record comes despite recent changes to stamp duty regulations, which became less generous for some buyers in England and Northern Ireland starting April 1st. H
owever, potential homebuyers may find some relief in the recent dip in mortgage rates, with some lenders, including Barclays, cutting rates below 4%. This shift in the mortgage landscape could potentially offset the impact of the stamp duty changes and influence market activity in the coming months.
Global market volatility, after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs, has fuelled analysts’ expectations that the Bank of England could make more base rate cuts in the months ahead.
April’s average asking price figure surpassed a previous record of £375,131, set in May 2024.
Rightmove said that, when setting their asking price, new sellers still need to be cautious of the high competition for buyers.
Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove said: “We’ve seen our first price record in nearly a year, despite the number of homes for sale being at a decade high.
“The increased choice seems to be bringing more movers into the market, with both buyer and seller numbers up as the market remains resilient.
“Confidence from new sellers is a good sign for the overall health of the market, but they do need to be careful when setting their asking price.
“The high level of supply in the market right now means that buyers are likely to have plenty of homes in their area to choose from, and an overpriced home will stick out for the wrong reasons.
“Our research also shows that getting the price right the first time is key. Homes that don’t need a reduction in price are more likely to find a buyer, and to find that buyer in less than half the time.”
Since the stamp duty increase, the level of agreed sales falling through has remained steady, according to Rightmove.
The website said this indicates that there has been “no major pull-out” from agreed deals by first-time buyers and home-movers who were unable to complete before the tax rise.
The last-minute rush to complete sales from those who were able to beat the deadline also means that the queue of buyers waiting to complete their purchase eased during March, the website said – marking the first time the queue has shortened during the month of March since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
However, the queue of buyers has now started to tick up again, Rightmove said.
The website also said it is seeing a North/South divide in terms of trends.
The majority of the Midlands and northern England regions, as well as Wales and Scotland, are seeing above-average increases in demand versus last year.
By contrast, the higher-priced South West and South East are seeing smaller increases in buyer demand and prices, Rightmove said.
It said London appears to be an outlier. Despite being the only region with fewer buyer inquiries than a year ago, average asking prices in the capital have jumped to a new record high, driven by inner London, Rightmove said.
But it added that, with London typically being more exposed to the impact of global tensions, as well as currently seeing weaker demand trends, this price trend may fall back.
The average asking price in London in April is just shy of £700,000, at £699,200.
Rightmove said the full impacts of tariffs will play out over the coming weeks and months, and if the Bank of England opts for further and faster rate cuts, starting in May, this could lead to mortgage rates reducing more quickly than anticipated.
Ms Babcock added: “It’s important to remember that among records and national trends, Great Britain’s housing market is made up of thousands of diverse local markets, each uniquely responding to market changes and world events.
“London, for example, is likely to see greater knock-on effects from US tariffs than the rest of Great Britain, while northern regions appear to be performing more strongly post-stamp duty rise.
“It’s difficult to predict what the next few months will bring, but if mortgage rates reduce more quickly, it would be a helpful boost to buyer affordability.”
Phill Sandbach, director at estate agent John German in the Midlands, said: “March was a very busy month, with more completions than in the post-pandemic stamp duty holiday.
“Solicitors worked really hard to get so many movers through. April has started off as a busy month for us, with market appraisal requests, viewings and offers across all of our East and West Midlands offices.”
The global event bringing fresh energy to planet-positive solutions
As we navigate significant environmental and social challenges, the return of ChangeNOW, the world’s biggest expo of solutions for the planet, is much needed to reinvigorate climate action. The 2025 edition, which will take place from April 24th to 26th, will host 140 countries, 40,000 attendees, 10,000 companies and 1,200 investors.
Visionary leaders, established businesses and start-ups alike will gather to showcase over 1,000 sustainable solutions and groundbreaking innovations in key sectors such as clean energy, biodiversity, sustainable cities and the circular economy.
The ChangeNOW 2025 summit will be held at the iconic Grand Palais in Paris, a nod to the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. Reuniting for the occasion will be guest speakers Mary Robinson, the former (and first female) president of Ireland, Laurent Fabius, former French prime minister, Patricia Espinosa, former UN climate chief and diplomat and Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, leading climate scientist and professor – all of whom were in the French capital a decade earlier to help shape the Paris Agreement at COP21.
There may have been obvious setbacks to environmental policy around the world of late, the United States’ recent withdrawal from the Paris Agreement being a notable one. However ChangeNOW 2025 intends to reaffirm the spirit of Paris, while serving as a catalyst for progress ahead of COP30 and the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC). “Ten years after COP21, ChangeNOW is where leaders and changemakers converge to accelerate the ecological and social transition,” states Santiago Lefebvre, founder and president of ChangeNOW. “Thousands of solutions will be showcased demonstrating that meaningful progress is within reach.”
His message of positive climate action will be supported by a multitude of world famous faces who will be in attendance at the auspicious event. Natalie Portman, Academy award-winning actress, director, author, activist, and producer; Captain Paul Watson, Founder of Sea Shepherd and Ocean Conservationist; Hannah Jones, CEO of The Earthshot Prize and Olympic champion boxer and gender equality advocate Imane Khelif are just a few of the names set to appear at ChangeNOW 2025.
With over 500 speakers and 250 conference sessions exploring climate action, biodiversity protection, resource management, and social inclusion, ChangeNOW 2025 will also hear the insights of acclaimed corporate leaders from Accor, Bouygues, Henkel, Lidl, Nexans, and Saint-Gobain, who will explain how businesses can be the ones to drive real change.
And the event will not only be an opportunity for global policymakers to discuss next steps in climate action, it will also be a platform for nations to showcase local innovations through their country pavilions. Expect impactful solutions from countries including South Africa, The Netherlands, and Ukraine – demonstrating international collaboration on the topic of climate.
In addition to the packed program of speakers, workshops, exhibits and networking opportunities, ChangeNOW 2025 will host the Impact Job Fair on Saturday, 26 April, with over 150 recruiters and training organisations offering in excess of 600 roles. Dedicated to the public and young professionals, the interactive workshops, educational activities, and career opportunities in sustainable sectors on offer aim to inspire the next generation of changemakers.
The summit will also present the annual Women for Change conference and the accompanying portrait exhibition, which showcases 25 women who are set to have a significant positive impact on their communities, countries or on a global scale over the next 10 years. Created in 2021, the Women for Change initiative aims to platform and provide opportunities for women who are leading change around the world but require further recognition or investment to continue their work. The annual flagship event, which takes place on the afternoon of April 24th, offers women the chance to discuss new ideas, network with likeminded people, and also acquire funding to help solidify their leadership, and amplify their impact.
Step outside the Grand Palais and take a few steps to the Port des Champs Elysées, on the bank of the Seine, where the The Water Odyssey village awaits. One of the event’s standout features, the immersive 1,000 m² exhibition is open to the public and highlights solutions to maritime and river sustainability challenges – offering a mix of conferences, interactive displays, and sensory experiences to engage all ages.
For three days, ChangeNOW will transform Paris into the global capital of impact, bringing together policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and the public in the pursuit of sustainable progress.
Book your ChangeNOW 2025 ticket here
China halts critical rare earth exports as Trump teases new tariffs
Chinese exports of a wide range of rare earth minerals and magnets, key to semiconductor and auto industries worldwide, have come to a screeching halt amid an escalating trade war with the US.
Shipments of the key minerals were suspended last week, increasing the risk of shortages for overseas companies in these industries, Reuters reported, citing sources close to Beijing.
Following president Donald Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing has restricted the export of seven rare earth and related materials used in the automotive, defence and energy industries.
Exporters in China are now required to apply to the ministry of commerce for licences, a process that could take anywhere from six or seven weeks to several months, according to sources.
Overseas shipments of these key materials and magnets, essential for assembling cars, robots, and even drones and missiles, stopped on 4 April as companies began a long, uncertain wait for their government licences.
“When asked by my clients when their cargoes will be able to leave China, we give them an estimated time of 60 days, but it may actually take longer than that,” one China rare earth trader told Reuters on the condition of anonymity.
China produces over 90 per cent of some of the world’s most critical rare earth minerals such as yttrium, dysprosium and terbium, and the new export restrictions sever their supply lines to users around the globe.
Industry experts are concerned that if the export halt lasts longer than two months, it could deplete existing stockpiles of these minerals built up by customers.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, doubled down on his controversial trade policy, saying on Sunday that no country, especially China, was exempt from tariffs on their exports to the US.
“Nobody is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair trade balances and non-monetary tariff barriers that other countries have used against us, especially not China, which by far, treats us the worst!” Mr Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The president said he would announce the tariff rate on imported semiconductors next week, adding that there could be flexibility for some companies in the sector.
“We wanted to uncomplicate it from a lot of other companies because we want to make our chips and semiconductors and other things in our country,” he said.
It remains unclear if makers of consumer products like smartphones and laptops may see exceptions.
Mr Trump said that some of these products were just being moved to a different “tariff bucket”.
“These products are subject to the existing 20 per cent fentanyl tariffs,” he said, referring to his years-long accusation of Chinese companies supplying US groups involved in the creation of synthetic opioids.
Mr Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, explained that “a special focus type of tariff” is expected soon to cover smartphones, computers and other electronics in a month or two.
“He’s saying they are exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they are included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two,” Mr Lutnick told ABC News.
Democrat senator Elizabeth Warren criticised the Trump administration’s latest plan, calling it a “no tariff policy” but only “chaos and corruption”.
Britain’s aid cuts harm the world – and the UK itself
When the government announced that it was to divert almost half of the annual foreign aid budget to defence spending, the outcry, beyond the aid community and the demonstrative resignation of the development minister, was rather less than might have been expected in response to such a drastic switch.
To be sure, the muted response had its causes, which included the acceptance that Europe was going to have to pay a lot more towards its own defence; the continuing strength of UK public support for Ukraine; and the regrettable reality that foreign aid is rarely a popular destination for taxpayers’ money. If there was also an element of ignorance – or, at the very least, a reluctance to acknowledge the likely consequences of such a major redirection of resources – such excuses are no longer tenable, if ever they were. The scale of the likely damage has now been spelt out in an analysis by the charity Save the Children – and a disastrous picture it presents, too.
As is so often the case, the first to suffer will be the poorest, and chief among those are women and girls, mothers and babies. Programmes designed to widen access to education, family planning, clean water and food are all likely to be cut back or ended, affecting as many as 12 million people. Almost 3 million fewer children could be in education compared with five years ago. Poor sanitation means the spread of disease; curtailing sexual health programmes risks increasing the spread of HIV. By any measure, these add up to a big step in the wrong direction.
Even those dismal figures, however, do not tell the whole story. When the reallocation between the aid and defence budgets was announced, the prime minister insisted that aid to Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan would be protected. Together, however, these commitments amount to nearly £7bn of the £9.2bn that is envisaged to be the aid budget in 2027. To that has also to be added the £3bn or so that currently goes from the foreign aid budget towards the cost of accommodating asylum seekers and irregular migrants in the UK. Save the Children estimates a “black hole” of at least £750,000 that could presage the end of practically every other aid programme, with as many as 55 million people affected around the world.
One very partial remedy might be for the government to reallocate the asylum costs to domestic spending departments. But this looks unlikely. While it was questioned at one time by none other than the foreign secretary, David Lammy, the use of the foreign aid budget to fund accommodation for asylum seekers is clearly designed to fend off criticism and, with the number of small-boat crossings only rising, these costs look unlikely to come down soon, despite the home secretary’s hopes of cutting spending by speeding up procedures. Dan Paskins of Save the Children has it right when he says, “We should not fund our response to one crisis at the expense of others.”
International pressure to keep up foreign aid spending is also diminished. The Trump administration went so far as to disband one of the world’s biggest aid agencies, USAID, with some immediate dire consequences, including for earthquake relief in Myanmar. Rather than being seen as an example of what not to do, however, that one move seemed to give others a green light to downgrade their own foreign aid efforts. The UK was one – and the scale of the cut was savage. At 0.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI), the UK’s aid contribution is now at its lowest for 25 years.
It is a far cry from the 0.7 per cent of GNI that is called for by the UN, was promised by the Blair government, and was finally reached by the UK in 2013. This is where it stayed until 2021, when it was “temporarily” reduced to 0.5 per cent by the Johnson government in the light of Covid spending pressures. Last year’s Labour manifesto included an undertaking to restore the budget to 0.7 per cent. For all the current special circumstances, the government should be held to its pledge.
Summary cuts to vital aid programmes harm the intended recipients above all. But they harm the donor country and its government, too. They damage its reputation and its projection of “soft power”, but they also threaten to increase multiple risks, from the spread of disease to security threats and enforced migration, any or all of which could eventually reach our shores. A supposedly short-term slashing of the foreign aid budget today can all too easily translate into much higher costs for everyone tomorrow.