Read our Privacy noticeA 12-foot-tall statue of a Black woman erected in Times Square meant to “confront preconceived notions of identity and representation” has spurred vitriol from right-wing provocateurs. “How does this statue erected in Times Square ‘confront perceived notions of identity and representation,’ it’s just some obnoxious looking overweight black woman, it’s reinforcing those preconceived notions,’” X user @dsisme48 wrote. open image in gallery A 12-foot-tall statue of a black woman in Times Square has garnered disgusting commentary from right-wing commentators. “Fat black women have somehow elevated themselves to the top of the pyramid,” X user @basedalright added. Like, ‘if you don’t eat right, you are gonna become like that’”Grounded in the Stars is set to stand in the heart of Times Square until June 17.

President Trump announced on Thursday that the United States intended to sign a trade deal with Britain that would bring the two nations closer and roll back some of the punishing tariffs he issued on that country’s products. Both sides consider a trade pact deeply beneficial, and a deal has been under discussion since Mr. Trump’s first term. But the announcement on Thursday was scant on details, reflecting the haste of the Trump administration’s efforts to negotiate with more than a dozen nations and rework the global trading system in a matter of months. The agreement, which Mr. Trump said would be the first of many, would include Britain’s dropping its tariffs on U.S. beef, ethanol, sports equipment and other products, and buying $10 billion of Boeing airplanes. The United States in return said it would pare back tariffs that Mr. Trump has put on cars and steel, though it will leave a 10 percent levy in place for all British exports.

An Indian defense company says that it did not resell sensitive technology to Russia that was supplied by one of the biggest corporate donors to the populist Reform U.K. party. The New York Times reported in March that, according to 2023 and 2024 shipping records, the British aerospace manufacturer H.R. Smith Group exported equipment to India that had been flagged as critical to Russian weapon systems. The Indian company, Hindustan Aeronautics, is the biggest trading partner of the Russian arms agency Rosoboronexport. Smith recently provided The Times with a statement from Hindustan Aeronautics staying that the British equipment was not sold to Russia.

International reactionsIn the wake of escalating border tensions, the Indian Government has temporarily closed more than 25 airports across northern, western, and central regions. As per the reports, this decision is effective until May 10, 2025.The Airports Authority of India (AAI) issued Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) leading to the suspension of operations at 27 airports, including major hubs like Leh, Chandigarh, Amritsar, and Jodhpur. The advisory also highlights key safety issues: the mandatory visa requirement for entry, risks of sexual assault targeting female travelers, and societal discrimination faced by LGBT+ individuals.Read more: Skip Switzerland: 6 countries gaining popularity as top summer vacation destinations Airlines have raised safety alarms over threats such as GPS spoofing, which could misdirect aircraft into conflict zones. This emerging risk further complicates operations in the already unstable regions of the Middle East and South Asia.The temporary closure of 27 airports in India indicates the severity of the current border situation. Keep checking this space for further updates.

THIS IS the gigantic German car factory that pumps out hundreds of thousands of vehicles a year with its army of robot engineers. The whopping Volkswagen plant, which can churn out up to a million cars a year, is three times the size of Monaco. This team of robots assist human engineers across the various stage of car production, helping VW churn out many of its most popular car models. Despite being best known for its family cars, VW actually sold more sausages in 2024 than it did vehicles. The vast factory is expected to be converted by 2030 into a multi-platform plant as automobile manufacturers all over the world prepare to ramp up electric car production.

Britons’ interest in the housing market has always been keen, but in recent years it has had to compete with a preoccupation over whether the UK economy will tip into recession. With the outlook for house prices in the years ahead now much more promising, they could become a talking point again. However, that may depend on how quickly the Bank of England cuts interest rates. It’s a far cry from the dire warnings about the housing market that were prevalent during the post-pandemic rise in interest rates, which reached a peak of 5.25 per cent, up from a record low of 0.1 per cent in less than 24 months. Demand has been remarkably resilient despite economic headwinds ALAMYIn November 2023 the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted that house prices would decline

The United States on Thursday announced a major development involving airplane manufacturer Boeing , confirming a $10 billion order from Britain. The deal was revealed by US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick during the signing of a bilateral trade agreement between the US and the UK.The aircraft deal is expected to be led by International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus. As per industry sources IAG plans to order around 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and a similar number of long-haul jets from Airbus, including the A350 and A330neo, in a carefully balanced fleet expansion.“It’s a split order,” a source told Reuters.Though the announcement was made by the US government, Lutnick held back from revealing more details, saying he would let the airlines make the announcement themselves.More details are expected when IAG releases its quarterly earnings report on Friday.This new order will add to Boeing’s existing backlog, which already includes 149 aircraft ordered by UK-based buyers, 109 from airlines and 40 from a leasing company, valued at over $12 billion before discounts.Bloomberg News reported that apart from the 30 planes, IAG could also negotiate options for further purchases.Boeing is currently working to boost production of its best-selling 737 MAX to 38 jets per month, following a turbulent year that saw quality issues and a change in leadership.This high-stakes order also comes at a time of heightened trade tensions between the US and the EU, as the union had previously threatened to impose tariffs on Boeing planes if broader negotiations with Washington failed.

Uefa will resist pressure to change its rule that the Europa League winner qualifies for the following season’s Champions League. Either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur will get that backdoor route to the riches of next season’s Champions League despite their awful domestic campaigns — they are 15thand 16th in the Premier League table respectively. Uefa chiefs believe the new format has been a success and are none too happy that Arsène Wenger, the former Arsenal manager who is now Fifa’s global head of football development, has called for the Europa League winners rule to be reviewed. United and Tottenham, who will contest the Europa League final, are 15th and 16th respectively in the Premier League JAVIER GARCIA/TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC/REX/SHUTTERSTOCKOther critics claim the Europa League is now weaker as no teams drop down from the Champions League — until last season eight did so — and there

There was plenty of mutual congratulating between President Trump in the Oval Office and Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, who dialed in on a speakerphone. “This is a really fantastic, historic day,” Mr. Starmer said. It’s the first trade deal since Trump ramped up tariffs. Mr. Trump’s rewriting of the global trade playbook shocked financial markets, and his administration has been under pressure to reach deals to reduce uncertainty. Mr. Trump said that this deal would be the first of many.

At 9:46 a.m. on Sept. 28, 2023, police officers in Northumbria, England, received a call about an unusual crime. A majestic, broad-leaved sycamore tree that had stood for some 150 years in a dip along Hadrian’s Wall had been cut down. By the time the first officer arrived on the scene two hours later, several local people had gathered at the site, and news of the destruction was spreading. Body-cam footage recorded by a local police officer, Peter Borini, showed him cordoning off the felled tree with blue and white police tape. The gray trunk had been sheared off close to the base, and the rest of the trunk and its dense canopy of leaves lay where it fell, sprawled over a portion of Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman fortification that stretches 70 miles across northern England.

"Asylum decisions are some of the most serious that the government makes - the wrong decision can put lives at risk. There are therefore potentially lethal consequences resulting from these faulty summaries," said Martha Dark, founder of tech rights group Foxglove. "People have to undergo so much re-traumatisation with these processes ... and then you reduce it to a summary. So that's a testament to the dehumanisation of the asylum system. "These types of applications are just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, I was disturbed that all migrants will have to be fluent in English (news, May 8) and will be required “to express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions”, to speak English “flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes” — and that the required standard is to be “almost the equivalent of a foreign language A-level”. My paternal grandparents arrived here in 1900 and spoke no English all their lives. My father only spoke English fluently after attending school at the age of five. My three brothers and I share between us four doctorates: two were university professors, one a principal lecturer and another a Hunterian professor at the Royal College of Surgeons of

Arne Slot has compared Conor Bradley to the Paris Saint-Germain right back Achraf Hakimi and said Liverpool’s history shows they will cope with the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Slot said “we always know this club will generate new stars again” as he expressed his disappointment at Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave his boyhood club at the end of the season. For the Liverpool head coach to point out the similarities he sees between Bradley and Hakimi, who this week scored as PSG beat Arsenal to reach the Champions League final, highlighted the faith the club have in the Northern Ireland international. Liverpool are keeping tabs on Frimpong, who has a release clause of £30m, as a potential new arrival at full back REXHe also confirmed that Bradley would start against Mikel Arteta’s side on Sunday as the club turn to the future. Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, who

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Manchester United will take a full-strength squad to southeast Asia for their post-season tour — even though it means that they will return to the UK less than 48 hours before the beginning of the international break. Ruben Amorim said it was important that all the United squad, including senior players such as the captain Bruno Fernandes, make the seven-day, 14,000-mile round trip to the Far East, where the team will play a southeast Asian all-star side in Kuala Lumpur on May 28, before taking on a Hong Kong XI in Hong Kong two days later. Players have complained of burnout in the past, but Amorim said that the tour would be beneficial to the club financially — United are expected to pocket £8million —