Boris Johnson has hailed “real progress” on US-UK trade – despite his earlier refusal to commit to securing a free trade deal between the two countries by the time of the next general election. Speaking as he met US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington DC, the prime minister spoke of British and American collaboration
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The US will again double the money it gives to help developing nations respond to climate change, President Biden has announced. Mr Biden said in April that America would double its contribution to $5.7bn (£4.2bn), but speaking at the United Nations General Assembly he said it would increase again to over $11bn (£8bn). In his
A US doctor who said he performed an abortion in defiance of a new Texas law is being sued by two people seeking to test the legality of the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. Former lawyers in Arkansas and Illinois have filed lawsuits against Dr Alan Braid, who in a weekend Washington Post opinion
Vaccinated passengers will be able to enter the US from the UK and EU from November onwards, ending almost two years of coronavirus travel restrictions. The new rules would be part of broader policy changes for international travel and will apply to fully vaccinated people – meaning those who have received two doses of a
A body found in Wyoming is believed to be that of missing Gabby Petito, US officials have said. The FBI said the body was found by law enforcement agents who had spent the past two days searching campgrounds. “Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we found Gabby, but her family
New York multi-millionaire and property heir Robert Durst has been convicted of his best friend’s murder in a case that has fascinated America for years following an infamous TV documentary. A jury in Los Angeles reached the guilty verdict after a total of just seven hours of deliberation over three days. They concluded that he
A SpaceX capsule carrying the first all-civilian crew into space has touched back down on Earth after three days in orbit. The four amateur astronauts orbited the planet every 90 minutes at a speed of more than 17,000mph and an altitude of up to 363 miles – higher than the International Space Station and Hubble
Police are searching for the boyfriend of a woman who went missing while the couple were on a road trip across the US. Officers in Florida say they are working with the FBI to find 23-year-old Brian Laundrie, regarded as a person of interest in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito. Mr Laundrie
An influential US government advisory panel has rejected plans to give COVID-19 booster jabs to most Americans – only backing them for people aged 65 and over, and those at high risk of severe disease. The decisions were made by a committee of experts who advise the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and deliver a
The base of the world’s largest tree has been wrapped in a flame-resistant blanket, in an attempt to save it from wildfires raging through California. The General Sherman Tree, located in a national park in the Sierra Nevada, was covered in an aluminium wrapping that can withstand intense heat for short periods. In Sequoia National
A new security deal between the United States, Britain, and Australia in the Indo-Pacific “severely damages regional peace” and “intensifies the arms race”, China has said. On Wednesday, the three western powers announced they will establish a security partnership that will help Australia acquire US nuclear-powered submarines. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
Four amateur astronauts are due to spend about three days in orbit in a world first, after they blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday evening. The Inspiration4 mission, backed by SpaceX, was organised by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who is also one of the passengers. They are the first all-civilian crew
The first all-civilian crew ever to orbit the earth have blasted off on their historic mission. The Dragon capsule containing the four citizen astronauts was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The launch is the latest giant leap in a new era of commercial space travel. One of
The US’s top military officer took secret action to limit former president Donald Trump’s ability to launch a military strike or deploy nuclear weapons, according to a new book. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley was worried Mr Trump would “go rogue” in the wake of the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. It
Extreme weather will cost the US well over $100bn (£72bn) this year, according to President Biden. Mr Biden said nearly one in three American communities had been hit by weather disasters in the past few months. Speaking at Colorado’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Mr Biden said: “We know what the driver is – climate change.
Hurricane Nicholas has made landfall along the Texas coast, bringing the threat of up to 20 inches (50cm) of rainfall to parts of the Gulf Coast which have already been battered by storms this year. Nicholas is the 14th named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Nearly all of Texas’ coastline is under a