The US and European Union's top diplomats on Friday assailed Russia's foreign minister as being negative and unconstructive in a rare sit-down appearance with him at...

'You know what I learned? I still enjoy my own company,' Sheinelle Jones wrote after her 'first destination trip alone'

Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was cut by the Kansas City Royals after batting

South Africa’s state-owned power utility is escalating rolling blackouts, after a breakdown in a generation unit at Duvha

Cleaning system on Paris-London route is "highly effective at eliminating bugs" says train operator.

Russell Martin has been confirmed as Southampton’s new head coach. The former Scotland international joins on a three-year deal after leaving Swansea. Martin verbally agreed to take over at St Mary’s last month, while the clubs remained in discussions over compensation. “It’s a privilege to accept this opportunity at Southampton, a club with such a long and rich history,” he said. “My aim is to get this club back where it belongs – in the top flight of English football. I am ready for this challenge and will give everything to achieve this aim and to give the supporters a team that makes them proud. I’m thrilled to be here and cannot wait for the work to begin.” Leicester were also interested in the 37-year-old but Southampton moved quickly following their relegation from the Premier League. Several of his backroom staff, including assistant Mat Gil, are expected to join Martin. Southampton and Swansea disagreed over the amount of compensation which should be paid, which has seen the move dragged out. They had been haggling over £700,000 with Martin’s release clause for Championship clubs and Premier League sides different. The Saints felt they should pay the smaller amount, around £1.25million, after their relegation from the top flight while the Swans were believed to be holding out for £2million. Martin guided Swansea to 10th in the Championship last season despite having a bottom-four budget and the youngest squad in the division. He has been praised for his style and Southampton will be hoping the ex-Norwich defender can guide them back to the Premier League at the first attempt. They finished bottom after a disastrous season which has seen them use three managers. Nathan Jones replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl in November but lasted just 14 games, winning one, and was sacked in February. Ruben Selles took charge for the final months of the campaign but was unable to keep Saints up. Last month chief executive Martin Semmens stepped down from his role following relegation having been in the post since 2019. Jason Wilcox was announced as Southampton’s director of football in January, joining from Manchester City, and will officially start work next week. He is a fantastic fit for what we are trying to achieve Jason Wilcox, Southampton director of football Wilcox added: “Russell has shown fantastic qualities in his managerial career so far and is someone who we believe will thrive in the great environment we have here at Southampton. “He is a fantastic fit for what we are trying to achieve, with a strong record of developing and nurturing young, talented players to fulfil their potential and deliver results on the pitch. We can’t wait for Russell to get started working with the team at Staplewood as we get ready for the new season.” Swansea are in talks with Barnsley boss Michael Duff, as revealed by the PA news agency on Sunday, with the former Burnley midfielder expected to be Martin’s replacement. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live The greatest show and spotlight on bowlers – Women’s Ashes talking points England approach ‘validated’ despite defeat in opening Ashes Test Harriet Dart beats Anhelina Kalinina again to book quarter-final spot

Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd. is installing filters in the vent shafts at one of its largest

Barbers Hill High suspended Darryl George claiming his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes, which violate the district’s dress code

The Big Ten's punishment of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh isn't exactly what was expected.

LONDON British consumers buying cryptoassets will get a 24-hour "cooling-off" period for the first time from October under

Vietnam needs to prioritize growing the economy with inflation under control and its export-dependent businesses struggling with declining

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday’s meeting between him, other Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden had produced no forward progress on an agreement to stave off what economists say would be a catastrophic default on America’s sovereign debt. Mr McCarty, who has kept the House in recess for the last two weeks and for a majority of the days since he and Mr Biden last met on 1 February, told reporters outside the White House that Mr Biden and both Republican and Democratic leaders had merely reiterated the positions they held when the House Speaker and the President met 97 days before. “Nothing has changed since then ... everybody in this meeting reiterated the positions they were at. I didn't see any new movement,” he said. The California Republican’s last meeting came just a few weeks after he eked out enough votes to claim the Speaker’s gavel with support from extremist and white nationalist members of the House Republican Conference, many of whom demanded that he use the need to lift the government’s century-old statutory debt ceiling as leverage to force Mr Biden to roll back much of the legislative record he and Democrats accomplished over the prior two years. Since that February meeting, the White House and the House of Representatives have remained far apart on what is needed before legislation allowing the US to resume issuing new debt instruments can reach Mr Biden’s desk for his signature. For his part, the president’s view has remained consistent since the beginning of the year. Mr Biden has repeatedly said that Congress should pass a “clean” debt ceiling increase and negotiate on spending cuts desired for next fiscal year when Congress begins work on a budget. Mr McCarthy characterised Mr Biden’s insistence that the Congress lift the debt ceiling on its’ own and address the spending cuts Republicans covet during the regular budgeting process as intransigent even though Republicans have not introduced a budget proposal for the next fiscal year. He also accused Senate Majority Leader Check Schumer of trying to stymie negotiations so Congress would be left without a choice but to pass the “clean” debt ceiling increase desired by Democrats and Mr Biden. “Chuck's whole idea before was to take us to the brink and someone's going to have to break right. I don't want to play politics with this. I think this is too important,” said the Speaker, who suggested the only reason Mr Biden had called a meeting was because the GOP-led House had passed a bill to raise the debt limit while enacting drastic cuts to government programmes favoured by Democrats. That legislation, which passed the House with a bare majority of GOP votes last month, would provide just a year’s worth of relief coupled with spending provisions that slash non-defence spending by as much as 20 per cent. Among the programmes on the chopping block: President Joe Biden’s student debt relief initiative, as well as funding for new IRS personnel. The plan would also add new work requirements for adults on Medicaid, cap the growth of the federal government, and impose 2022 limits on discretionary spending. The White House said in response to the bill’s passage that Republicans were attempting to “strip away health care services for veterans, cut access to Meals on Wheels, eliminate health care coverage for millions of Americans and ship manufacturing jobs overseas”. While the House-passed bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, thus far Mr McConnell and Senate Republicans have backed up Mr McCarthy’s demand for Mr Biden to sign off on GOP-endorsed austerity measures in exchange for Republican votes to allow the US to continue paying its’ debts. Prominent GOP figures frequently claim that raising the statutory debt limit to enable the US to continue meeting financial obligations — a practice that was once routine under presidents of both parties and met no objections when it was done under Mr Biden’s predecessor — is akin to authorising new spending. That claim, however, is not how the debt limit works. Raising the debt limit does not increase or decrease the amount of money that is spent on programmes that have already been authorised by Congress and have had funds allocated to them in appropriations legislation. Experts say a failure to raise the debt limit would force the government to default on its debt and precipitate a worldwide financial crisis. The last time the US flirted with that disastrous outcome was 2011, when Republicans controlled the House and Democrats controlled the Senate and the White House. Mr Biden, then the vice president under Barack Obama, led the negotiations with congressional leaders that headed off a default, but not before the US had its credit rating decreased for the first time in history. That 2011 dispute ended with Republicans suffering a drop in their approval ratings and facing accusations of endangering the US economy for political reasons. It also came along with an unprecedented downgrade in America’s credit rating. Those same charges are being raised again now by the White House and the president’s allies in Congress, who are holding firm on Mr Biden’s call for a clean debt limit boost. Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that unless Congress acts, the US will by 1 June cease having the legal ability to issue debt instruments that allow the government to pay for spending already authorized and incurred. Despite attempts by reporters to get Mr McCarthy to guarantee that the US would not default, the House Speaker repeatedly refused to make such a promise.