The U.S. has provided Ukraine, Russia, and Europe with "outlines of a durable and lasting peace," U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on April 17. The U.S. and Ukraine have signed a memorandum of understanding on a minerals deal that is yet to be finalized, Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said on April 17. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio communicated the same to Russia over a phone call. "Rubio spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "The encouraging reception in Paris to the U.S. framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement," Bruce said. The U.S. has led separate talks with Ukraine and Russia in Saudi Arabia to reach a ceasefire. On April 6, Zelensky said Russia is rejecting an unconditional ceasefire because it wants to continue launching missile strikes from the Black Sea. Moscow has shown signs it is unwilling to move forward on a peace deal with Ukraine. Russian authorities have listed maximalist demands in ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine and the U.S. Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready if Russia also agrees to the terms.

In recent years, the festival has expanded its scope, spotlighting not just feature films but also television series across competition and themed sections. While the main competition results are under wraps until the winners are announced, here's a look at some standout selections from this year's lineup. At any film festival, the opening and closing selections tend to draw special attention, and this year is no exception. In honor of the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, MIFF appropriately opened with a wartime drama: ‘His Name Was Not Listed', a screen adaptation of the novella by celebrated Soviet author Boris Vasilyev. Vasilyev is best known for his poignant wartime stories, including ‘And the Dawns Here Are Quiet' and ‘Tomorrow Was the War' – which have been adapted for screen numerous times. Interestingly, ‘His Name Was Not Listed' had never been made into a film during the Soviet era, although it was staged at Moscow's iconic Lenkom Theatre and later adapted for television. Now, at last, this deeply human story reaches the silver screen. The festival closes with ‘What We Wanted to Be', a romantic melodrama from Argentine director Alejandro Agresti. The story centers on a man and woman who meet every Friday at the same café to share who they might've become in a different life. Spanning decades, their imagined selves evolve alongside their real lives, offering a tender meditation on love, dreams, and the quiet power of tradition. With this year marking eight decades since the defeat of Nazi Germany, MIFF is honoring the occasion with a series of war-themed films. Beyond the premiere of ‘His Name Was Not Listed', the retrospective sections shine a light on both iconic and early-career works by legendary Soviet filmmakers. Among the most anticipated screenings is Tatyana Lioznova's ‘Seventeen Moments of Spring', a 12-part espionage drama from 1973 that has become a cultural touchstone in Russia. Originally made for television, the series will be shown in its entirety over six days – a rare chance to see it on the big screen. For generations of Russians, its hero isn't just Colonel Maxim Isaev from Yulian Semyonov's novels, but rather his on-screen alias, Otto von Stierlitz. The show's cultural impact was immense, sparking widespread use of its quotes and even inspiring an entire subgenre of dry, absurdist “Stierlitz jokes.” What's more, the historical premise isn't purely fiction. In 1943, Allen Dulles – then head of the US Office of Strategic Services – stepped up contact with German officials, concerned about how the war would end and what the postwar order might look like. By early 1945, Dulles and SS General Karl Wolff had met twice to discuss Germany's conditional surrender. When Soviet leadership got wind of it, tensions flared between Stalin and Roosevelt. Eventually, on April 29, 1945, the German surrender was signed – with Soviet representatives present, and the process managed by military officers rather than intelligence agents. MIFF also turns the spotlight on student films by two giants of Russian cinema. The first, ‘There Will Be No Dismissals Today', is a collaboration between Andrei Tarkovsky and Alexander Gordon. Featuring future Soviet film legends – Lev Durov, Sergey Nikonenko, Natalia Arinbasarova, Alexander Kaidanovsky, Yuri Bogatyrev, and Alexander Porokhovshchikov – the film offers a glimpse of greatness in its early stages. MIFF's retrospective offerings also include mid-century American masterpieces – films that long ago became cornerstones of global cinema and are always worth revisiting. Audiences will get to see Charlie Chaplin's final silent films, ‘City Lights' and ‘Modern Times', on the big screen. While talkies had already taken hold in the 1930s, Chaplin remained loyal to silent cinema until his full transition with 1940's ‘The Great Dictator'. Billy Wilder's ‘Sunset Boulevard' (1950) adds another layer to this conversation. No MIFF would be complete without its fan-favorite “Wild Nights” section – a showcase for the bold, bizarre, and genre-defying. This program is all about breaking boundaries and challenging audiences. Set in 1957, it follows a ragtag group trying to foil Dracula's interstellar scheme to turn a sleepy town into his undead army. The film is made even more fun by cameos from cult icons Judith O'Dea (Night of the Living Dead) and Lloyd Kaufman, founder of Troma Entertainment. South Korean director Min Kyu-dong returns to thrillers after a 20-year detour into romantic comedies. His latest, ‘The Old Woman with the Knife', features a sixty-something hitwoman who takes out society's worst while wrestling with her own past. Min's breakout horror film Memento Mori (1999) marked him as a talent to watch – and now, he's come full circle. Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt makes her feature debut with ‘The Ugly Stepsister', a twisted reimagining of Cinderella from the villain's point of view. Finally, Argentina's ‘Play Dead' dives deep into classic horror territory, echoing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. By Dmitry Kuzmin, Russian movie critic and contributor to one of the country's top streaming services

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine starting Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons, as Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds of captured soldiers in the largest exchange since Moscow's full-scale invasion started over three years ago. “We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the ceasefire “another attempt by Putin to play with human lives.” He wrote on X that “air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine,” and “Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin's true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.” The two sides meanwhile exchanged hundreds of POWs on Saturday. Russia's Ministry of Defense said that 246 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv, and that “as a gesture of goodwill” 31 wounded Ukrainian POWs were transferred in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care. Zelenskyy said that 277 Ukrainian “warriors” have returned home from Russian captivity. Putin's ceasefire announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding three-year war. Trump spoke shortly after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had stopped short of stating his forces would reject Putin's request, but dismissed the Russian move as playing for time to regroup its invasion forces and prepare additional attacks. Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday its forces pushed Ukrainian troops from the village of Oleshnya, one of their last remaining footholds in Russia's Kursk region where the Ukrainians staged a surprise incursion last year. Zelenskyy wrote on X that Ukrainian forces “continued their activity on the territory of the Kursk region and are holding their positions.” Russian and North Korean soldiers have nearly deprived Kyiv of a key bargaining chip by retaking most of the region, where Ukrainian troops staged a surprise incursion last year. In other developments, the Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired 87 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks overnight into Saturday. Russian attacks damaged farms in the Odesa region and sparked fires in the Sumy region overnight, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Saturday. Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following. © Copyright 2025 The Globe and Mail Inc. All rights reserved.

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. The US leadership, including President Donald Trump, is aware of the fundamental causes of the conflict in Ukraine. However, a longstanding anti-Russian sentiment - built over many years and decades - hinders their ability to pursue reasonable solutions, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told VGTRK interviewer Pavel Zarubin. "In my view, the leadership of the US administration, including President Donald Trump, understands the root causes of the Ukraine conflict. Yet, an anti-Russian backdrop has been cultivated over recent years and even decades across both America and Europe," Ushakov explained. "This environment prevents many officials - some of whom share our perspective - from advocating for more sensible ideas." Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly voiced his support for resolving the Ukrainian crisis, emphasizing that such a solution must consider Russia's interests and address the root causes of the conflict. According to Putin, only by doing so can lasting peace be achieved - a goal Moscow strongly advocates for. Earlier, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov disclosed that during a conversation on February 12, Putin briefed President Trump on the importance of tackling the underlying issues fueling the Ukrainian conflict.

Comedian Tim Dillon isn't expecting a certain member of the British royal family to stream his newly released stand-up special on Netflix. And he thinks the same logic should apply to Democrats who may fault him and other entertainers for President Donald Trump's return to power. “You can't go to war with straight white men for four years and then ask why they didn't vote for you,” Dillon told CNN. I've made fun of Meghan Markle a lot. I just think you have to pick your fights in a better way.” As with much of Dillon's commentary, the provocation was delivered in the style of a punchline — but with a point that matters for both political parties as well as the fast-changing media landscape. Digital creators like Dillon — irreverent, predominately male and previously politically unclassifiable — emerged as a key force behind Trump's victory. Democrats and Republicans alike have credited these podcasters, YouTubers and self-styled contrarians for driving support for Trump among men, particularly those under 40. It's not yet clear if the dynamic will hold. Democrats say they're already adapting to address corners of the Internet they have long overlooked, and Republicans concede Trump's singular celebrity may prove challenging to replicate. Within the entertainment industry, opinions are mixed on how this new wave of influencers will wield their clout going forward. Some have pulled back from partisan politics in the wake of the election while other influential figures, like Barstool's Dave Portnoy, have selectively criticized Trump's performance so far. Regardless of how the two parties proceed, Dillon predicted: “You're going to see a lot more attention being paid to the Internet.” Then, less than two weeks before Election Day, he released an 83-minute interview with Trump's running mate JD Vance – an improbable booking that remains surreal, if not absurd, even to Dillon. “It was actually the goal and why I started comedy — JD Vance,” Dillon said with his characteristically dry delivery. We just have this podcast that's big and people listen to it.” Stand-up comics have become some of the country's most recognizable and highest-paid celebrities. Dillon's latest release, “I am Your Mother,” rose to Netflix's coveted Top 10 most-watched list after debuting on Tuesday. From sit-downs with Dillon and the comedian Theo Von to appearances with the online pranksters known as the Nelk Boys, podcaster Joe Rogan and Twitch streamer Adin Ross, Trump's team placed calculated bets on an ecosystem of influencers who may not be conventionally political but command attention — and, more crucially, loyalty — from the digital generation. “Trump understands the two cultural forces that I've seen in my lifetime that have changed the way people have behaved: reality television and social media,” Dillon said. “He understands social media and using it to communicate. I felt like he just had the upper hand.” Comedian Andrew Schulz, for example, recently asserted that Trump's appearance last year on his popular “Flagrant” podcast made the Republican's supporters “feel more comfortable voicing how they were already going to vote” but didn't alter their ballot. “Maybe in those situations, he feels a little less radioactive,” Schulz told the Los Angeles Times. The Trump campaign, though, certainly saw value in these appearances (Trump once appeared three hours late for a campaign event so he could tape his interview with Rogan). Democrats also clearly disagree with Schulz and are now making a push to match the right's digital dominance. The Democratic National Committee recently announced plans to overhaul its online communications. Already, the party's potential 2028 contenders have made early attempts to mimic Trump's success. Gretchen Whitmner recently gabbed on a Detroit Pistons basketball podcast while Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro talked Philadelphia Eagles and Trump with outspoken ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith earlier this year. More simply, some say what the party really needs is its own Joe Rogan. A person close to Harris' campaign said several popular online shows turned down offers to interview the Democratic nominee, including Hot Ones and podcasts hosted by the Ringer's Bill Simmons and former NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce, for fear of alienating Trump supporters in their audience. “Voters are attuned to when candidates are inauthentic and in 2025 there are very few Democrats who could go in there and hold their own because it's a different part of the internet that Democrats have not lived in,” said Ammar Moussa, a Democratic strategist who oversaw rapid response for the Harris campaign. “I don't think our solution to winning elections is as simple as finding a candidate who can go on the Nelk boys. But how many Dem operatives are regularly listening to Joe Rogan or Andrew Schlutz or even know who the Nelk boys are?” Rogan, Schulz and Von have publicly said they offered Harris interviews as well. Harris instead sat down with Alex Cooper's sex-positive show “Call Her Daddy” and “All the Smoke,” hosted by former NBA stars Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, but mostly focused on rallies and high-stakes television appearances during her short three-month campaign. As for his interview with Vance, Dillon said he wished he had pressed the Republican on the outsized influence of tech giants like billionaire Elon Musk in Trump's orbit, which he has since criticized on his show. Dillon has also been bothered by the administration's crackdown on foreign college students involved in campus protests against Israel. “We always talk about these antisemitic conspiracy theories that run rampant. I think a great way to feed those theories are things like this — deporting people that have been critical of Israel.” Initially working off a list of potential podcasts recommended by Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, the campaign ultimately fielded suggestions from the president's children or other influencers who interviewed Trump. After each appearance, Bruesewitz, a 28-year-old who served as Trump's Gen Z whisperer and as a liaison between the campaign and online creators, would print out the metrics for Trump to review. One person involved in the entertainment industry called the months since the election a “dissection period” where many comedians are anticipating a surge of invitations and requests from ambitious politicians but are still weighing how much they care to engage, if at all. For online creators, there may be limited audience payoff in serving as the new political gatekeepers. For instance, Shapiro's appearance on Steven A. Smith's podcast drew just 27,000 views on YouTube — a figure dwarfed by subsequent interviews in the last month with billionaire businessman Mark Cuban and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro. “The entertainment business wants to make money,” Dillon said. There was a belief after Trump was elected the first time that the job of the entertainment business was to act as a resistance to Trump, and it proved pretty ineffective. I think what it should be doing is entertaining people. I don't think it's going to effectively marshal any type of political capital.” In his latest Netflix special — which also cracked the streaming service's Top 10 list — Andrew Schulz made no mention of the presidential race where he briefly held a starring role. But his online show recently hosted Chamath Palihapitiya, the billionaire investor and “All-In” podcast host who has emerged as staunch defender of Trump's tariff policies. Since speaking to Trump and Vance last year, Von has mostly interviewed other comedians and entertainers, though he did release a two-hour episode with right-wing commentator Candace Owens. Dillon's weekly show has largely reverted to hour-long monologues, aside from a conversation with Steve Bannon, the populist strategist and former Trump adviser. Conventional Republican figures, so far, have had less luck breaking into these spaces than Trump, even amid a continued dalliance with the alt-right. While he's open to inviting presidential contenders or their running mates on his show down the line, he isn't interested in vetting them for America along the way. “I find everyone really boring, and the only person I really am interested in hearing from is myself,” Dillon said.

Now, for hundreds of people already at US colleges and universities, it is turning into a one-way ticket back to their home countries as President Donald Trump's administration continues an aggressive effort to revoke visas and push academics out of the country – whether voluntarily or in handcuffs. Visa programs in the US are complicated, with many requirements and conditions, and the State Department says it has broad powers to terminate them. Coming to the United States for anything but tourism usually means wading through an alphabet soup of visa types – more than two dozen for people who do not intend to become permanent residents of the US. The much less common M-1 visa applies to students in a vocational program. To accept students with those visas, an educational institution first must be certified by the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit, or ICE, through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, known as SEVP. In its disputes with Harvard University, the Trump administration has threatened to decertify the university from SEVP unless it agrees to give the Department of Homeland Security detailed disciplinary records on its international students – part of a broader White House effort to bring elite US colleges into lockstep with its political ideology. Additionally, many people with educational plans come to the US on a J-1 “exchange visitor” visa. Professors, researchers and physicians typically come to the US on a J-1 visa. Related video What the State Department told Jake Tapper about revoking student visas “Many prestigious scholarships, fellowships or grants are specifically tied to J-1 sponsorship,” Murray told CNN. All three types of educational visas use a government online database called SEVIS – the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System – to allow colleges and universities to provide legally required information to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security about international students at their institutions. That information includes the student's address and confirmation of their academic work. “Institutions have codes of conduct and disciplinary measures in place to address student conduct which may result in terminating a student's SEVIS record as outlined by SEVP, just as there are established grounds for the government or the institution to withdraw its certification.” While a person's legal status – their ability to remain in the United States – is determined by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, visas are issued by the State Department and can be revoked for a number of reasons, including violating laws and providing false information on an application. The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual makes clear a visa holder does not have to be formally charged with any crime before a visa can be terminated. Related article ‘They've never been afraid before': Why some green card holders' concerns are growing Secretary of State Marco Rubio has terminated hundreds of visas under a rarely used provision that allows for revocation if a person's presence in the US “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” First, the State Department revokes a visa, then ICE tells the student to leave immediately or, in at least one case, finds and detains them. Her lawyers say she is unfairly being punished for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights. And removal orders for students have not just affected visa holders. Some of the students targeted never were protesters and or charged with a crime, plaintiff's attorney Dustin Baxter said. Related article Lawsuit alleges traffic stops, dismissed cases used as criteria to revoke student visas Meanwhile, many universities got no formal notice of their students' visa revocations and found out only by seeing a student's name in government records, school officials say. After four students and two recent graduates of Stanford University in California had their student visas rescinded, the “University learned of the revocations during a routine check of the SEVIS database,” it said in a statement on April 4. “Up until Trump took office, it was really up to the designated school officers to initiate that revocation in SEVIS,” said Jeff Joseph, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Related article Why ICE is really moving detainees over a thousand miles from where they were arrested In fact, the State Department's website advises J-1 visa holders, “If your visa has expired and you do not plan to travel outside of the US, you do not need to renew the visa.” ICE tells F-1 visa holders, “You can stay in the United States on an expired F-1 visa as long as you maintain your student status.” But a number of students who have been told via email by the Department of Homeland Security their visas were revoked are getting the message they must “self-deport” within seven days if they want to avoid being arrested. The federal government will find you,” one such email says, according to Boston immigration attorney Nicole Micheroni, who said she received the message apparently intended for a client. Before a person in ICE custody can be deported, several steps can be taken, including exercising the right in many cases to petition the Board of Immigration Appeals. But the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 2024 that visa revocations are almost never appealable. “Congress granted the Secretary (of State) broad authority to revoke an approved visa petition ‘at any time, for what he deems to be good and sufficient cause,'” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote. A student visa holder “who violates a term or condition” of their legal status cannot apply for another visa until being out of the country for at least five years, according to State Department guidelines. Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a nephrology specialist and an associate professor at Brown University, was deported in March after ICE said she returned to the US from a trip to her native Iran, where she attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Student visa approvals have returned to pre-Covid levels, but 2024 figures were still less than three-quarters of the 2015 record. Hundreds of institutions of higher education cited “social and political environment” in the US, as well as “feeling unwelcome,” as factors in declining international student enrollment during the first Trump administration, the non-profit Institute of International Education found. Trump's tone on international students has changed dramatically since the earliest days of his presidential ambitions. “When foreigners attend our great colleges & want to stay in the US, they should not be thrown out of our country,” Trump tweeted in August 2015, two months after launching his first campaign with a famous escalator ride at Trump Tower. A decade later, his administration has canceled more than 1,000 scholars' visas – and counting. CNN's Gloria Pazmino and Rafael Romo contributed to this report.

Appraisal of international public affairs leaders warned companies against aligning with ‘polarizing' Trump ally Associating with the Donald Trump administration's multibillionaire adviser Elon Musk and misusing artificial intelligence are among the most surefire ways for companies to damage their brands, a new survey of more than 100 international public affairs leaders found. “If you squander stakeholder and consumer goodwill on these issues, it won't be coming back anytime soon,” said Bruen, before calling on companies to “slow down” and “make a distinction between transitory and tectonic transitions”. Nearly 30% of a 117-member group hailing from 17 different countries and 58 industries – among them former heads of state and US officials – indicated that aligning oneself with Musk, or being targeted by him, generated the strongest likelihood possible of being thrust under heightened scrutiny. After Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, Musk has overseen brutal federal budget and staffing cuts overseen by the president's so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge), giving him what Guzman has described as a “controversial omnipresence in the media landscape”. That observation falls in line with some public opinion polling that has suggested strong disapproval of the work Musk has done for Trump. And there were subsequently reports that Musk would gradually shift away from his prominent place within the Trump administration. “The impact of association with influential figures in today's heavily divided environment cannot be understated, especially with a deeply polarizing leader like … Musk,” Guzman wrote in a summary of the index's findings. Yet an even greater threat to brands were earning stories that feature “creating deepfakes, misinformation, biased decision-making or unethical applications that cause harm or manipulate public perception”, the survey said. An unnamed council member reportedly said: “AI, if not understood or managed in companies, can have an incredible trickle-down effect that may not be reversible.” One of the group's experts noted that organizations these days need to regard AI policies as equally standard to those that account for more mundane aspects of their operations. Rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aiming “to ensure fair treatment and full participation for all individuals” was labeled brands' third top risk. Anticompetitive practices and facing allegations of defamation round out the top five reputational risks flagged by the first edition of a survey planned for quarterly publication.

Be among the first to get it. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a pro-Ukraine Republican representing Pennsylvania, visited Ukrainian troops near the front line on April 18, following his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. They're fighting for their democracy, they're fighting for the freedom – all of us in America need to stand behind them," Fitzpatrick said in a video address filmed on the front line, published on his Facebook account. I encourage all my colleagues in Congress to come here." Fitzpatrick's visit comes as Washington signaled that it was ready to cease its mediation efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine if one of the sides "makes it difficult." In a post shared on Facebook, Fitzpatrick published another video, showing him signing an artillery shell with a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “It was my profound honor to deliver a very ‘personal' message to Vladimir Putin today, from the front lines of the war near the Russian border, on behalf of our PA-1 community,” Fitzpatrick wrote. He said he had spent several days on the ground, visiting artillery units of the National Guard and the drone operators from the Third Assault Brigade, who he praised for "completely changing warfare - not just here but across the globe." According to Fitzpatrick, the territories previously occupied by Russian forces were "completely burned down." Earlier on April 17, Fitzpatrick met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which the two discussed U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, the proposed full and unconditional ceasefire, and broader efforts to achieve what Zelensky described as “a dignified and lasting peace.” Zelensky praised Fitzpatrick's commitment, particularly his decision to meet with Ukrainian soldiers near the front. Thank you for your support!” Zelensky said.

Microplastics have been found for the first time in human ovary follicular fluid, raising a new round of questions about the ubiquitous and toxic substances' potential impact on women's fertility. Follicular fluid provides essential nutrients and biochemical signals for developing eggs. Contaminating that process with bits of plastic quite likely has implications for fertility, hormonal balance and overall reproductive health, the authors wrote. The findings represent a major step toward figuring out how and why microplastics impact women's reproductive health, but are also “very alarming”, Luigi Montano, a researcher at the University of Rome and study lead author, said. Food is thought to be a main exposure route: recent studies found them in all meat and produce products tested. Microplastics are particularly dangerous because they can contain any number of 16,000 plastic chemicals. That includes highly toxic compounds like PFAS, bisphenol and phthalates that are linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, hormone disruption or developmental toxicity. Montano's latest paper is part of a larger project he's leading for which he has also detected microplastics in human urine and semen, and examines the impacts on fertility. He said he suspects microplastics are among chemicals driving plummeting sperm counts and a drop in overall sperm quality. “We have proven this decline, especially in areas where pollution is bad,” Montano said. Animal research has linked the presence of microplastics to ovarian dysfunction and health problems, like reduced oocyte maturation, and a lower capacity for fertilization. Another study on mice showed alterations to ovarian tissue. Montano added that the bisphenol, phthalates, PFAS and other highly toxic chemicals that use microplastics as a “trojan horse” to get into the body, and into the ovaries, are “very dangerous”. The chemicals are already well-known for disrupting hormones and harming women's reproductive health. The follicular fluid paper offers a “very important finding”, said Xiaozhong Yu, a University of New Mexico microplastics researcher, but he added that more work is needed to determine the dose and level of exposure at which adverse effects start to happen. His team is also attempting to answer some of those questions with broader epidemiological research. Similarly, tea bags can release billions of particles, and microwavable plastic is also a problem. Plastic utensils that briefly come into contact with hot pans can also leach chemicals, and wood and stainless steel alternatives are better.

The world is growing nervous about U.S. assets and for good reason. That has led to a dramatically unbalanced situation in which nearly everyone everywhere has a financial stake, direct or indirect, in what happens in the United States, while the U.S. has only a passing interest in what happens elsewhere. Unless you're a market junkie, you may not realize how dramatic this shift has been. Back in 2010, U.S. stocks made up 48 per cent of the MSCI World stock market index – a hefty but not overwhelming share of the global action. Now, the U.S. share of that benchmark has surged to around 72 per cent. In practical terms, that means anyone who buys a global stock market index fund is really buying a U.S. fund in disguise. From an investor's perspective, the world outside the U.S. has dwindled to little more than an afterthought. The risks of betting so much of the world's wealth on a single country are surging now that Washington is in the hands of incompetents. Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs underline how incoherent his economic agenda is. Meanwhile, the enormous U.S. budget deficit continues to swell on his watch, raising concerns about how much longer the rest of the world will be willing to finance Americans' extravagance. The foreign-exchange market is already registering its concerns. The U.S. dollar has lost about 8 per cent of its value against other major currencies since Mr. Trump was inaugurated. Despite all the international friction over trade and rising yields on U.S. government bonds – both things that would normally be expected to propel the U.S. dollar higher – investors are headed for the door. In the most recent edition of Bank of America's widely followed Global Fund Manager Survey, a net 61 per cent of big investors said they expected the U.S. dollar to depreciate over the next 12 months. That is the most bearish that large money managers have been on the greenback since 2006. In just three months, Mr. Trump has managed to trash much of the credibility that the U.S. has spent decades building up. As many commenters have observed, his country is starting to resemble a banana republic. The U.S. budget deficit is expected to surpass 6 per cent of gross domestic product this year. Budget gaps of that size used to occur only during emergencies such as wars. Recent market upheavals suggest that “investors [have] started to question the role of the dollar as the reserve currency,” according to a note this week from Zhengyang Jiang, a finance professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School, and several colleagues. The growing doubts around the greenback mean that foreign investors are likely to demand higher yields on U.S. Treasury bonds as compensation for the increasing risk of holding U.S.-dollar assets. This is not good for U.S. equity prices because it makes bonds a more attractive alternative to stocks. Unfortunately, Washington's other option – cutting its deficit to restore faith in the greenback – doesn't bode well for Wall Street, either. Any attempt to reign in the deficit is likely to result in lower corporate profits and thus lower stock prices. What should investors take away from all this? One useful idea is to make sure your portfolio is not betting too much on an increasingly fragile-looking U.S. economy. “Late last year, we suggested investors should begin diversifying away from the U.S.,” Beata Manthey, an equity strategist with Citigroup, wrote in a note this week. Tariff frictions, the rise of China as a developer of artificial intelligence and Europe's new willingness to spend on defence all suggest that investors may want to start looking for growth elsewhere. Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following. © Copyright 2025 The Globe and Mail Inc. All rights reserved.

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. Iran does not intend to establish contacts with Syria's transitional government until it ensures security in the country, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. "Iran is not engaging with the current Syrian government. We have no contacts and we are not in a hurry to establish them. <...> We are not taking any measures against it (the new transitional government - TASS). We are just waiting for them to complete their work to ensure security, stability and to establish an inclusive legitimate government that includes all ethnic groups," he told RT in an interview. According to the top Iranian diplomat, the Syrian issue was raised during his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Both Iran and Russia are extremely concerned about the situation in Syria, and both sides are interested in ensuring stability and security in the region, Araghchi added.

This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies. Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. In the recent meeting held at the White House between economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa and U.S. President Donald Trump over U.S. tariff measures, it became clear that Trump considers the current situation surrounding car exports and defense burden-sharing with Japan to be problematic. Meanwhile, a subsequent meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials showed their interest in the topic of rice exports to Japan. When Akazawa entered the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, he found himself being ushered into the chair right in front of Trump's desk for a face-to-face meeting with the U.S. president. His original negotiating partners, namely Bessent, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, intently watched the conversation between Akazawa and Trump on the sidelines. Trump spouted off, saying that the U.S. trade deficit with Japan is as high as $120 billion (about ¥17 trillion) and that not a single U.S. car is running on Japan's roads. He went on to complain that the United States is defending Japan, but Japan is not bearing any of the burden. The U.S. trade deficit with Japan is actually $68.5 billion as of 2024. Akazawa stressed that Japanese companies have been contributing greatly to job creation in the United States through investment and that Japan does not discriminate against U.S. cars. At a ministerial-level meeting held afterward at a different location, Bessent, Greer, and Lutnick said that U.S. motor vehicle safety standards were not being treated as at the same level as Japan's. As these topics had already been touched on in the USTR report on foreign trade barriers, the Japanese side were already aware of them. However, Bessent and other officials did not specify in advance what they would prioritize in the talks and refrained from evaluating the Japanese proposal to increase its imports of agricultural products. Akazawa has reportedly asked them to clarify what issues they are prioritizing. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba intends to soften the U.S. position with more specific proposals, with increases to the imports of U.S. rice and soybeans being considered as one bargaining chip. However, the prevailing view within the Japanese government is that: “Now that Trump has mentioned it, we have no option but to include some measures.” Ishiba is considering a visit to the United States in order to reach an agreement with Trump before the House of Councillors elections in the summer. The Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations are among the first bilateral talks related to the tariff measures and are thus other countries are paying close attention to them. Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting, readable fomat.