Meet Midas, the viral kitten with four ears

Yahoo Finance
Biden's coming new tariffs on China reflect 'lessons learned'
A sweeping White House move on China tariffs that is expected to be unveiled early next week "reflects lessons learned," according to a former official who was involved in the process.
Yahoo Finance
How rich homebuyers are avoiding high mortgage rates
Homebuyers with means are turning to an old strategy to get around a new crop of high mortgage rates: all-cash deals.
Reuters
Ukraine plans record power imports after infrastructure damage
Ukraine plans record electricity imports from five European countries on Monday after reporting significant energy infrastructure damage from Russian strikes, the energy ministry said. Imports are expected to rise to 19,484 megawatt hours (Mwh), beating the record of 18,649 Mwh at the end of March after the first wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy sector. With the country facing a significant deficit in the system, it plans to import power from Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Moldova on Monday.
AFP
US, Japanese banks lead fossil fuel financing
The world's biggest banks financed fossil fuels to the tune of $705 billion in 2023, with US and Japanese lenders leading the way, an annual report by climate campaigners said Monday.Since the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the top 60 banks have provided a total of $6.9 trillion to the sector, according to the coalition's 15th annual report titled "Banking on Climate Chaos".
Associated Press
Ukraine's Zelenskyy says his army is locked in 'fierce' border battles amid a Russian assault
Ukrainian troops are locked in intense battles with the advancing Russian army in two border areas, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, while the death toll from a Russian apartment building collapse blamed on Ukrainian shelling rose to 15. Zelenskyy said “fierce battles” are taking place near the border in eastern and northeastern Ukraine as outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian soldiers try to push back a significant Russian ground offensive. “Defensive battles are ongoing, fierce battles, on a large part of our border area,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Sunday.
AFP
India vote resumes with Kashmir poised to oppose Modi
India's six-week election resumed Monday including in Kashmir, where voters are expected to show their discontent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cancellation of their disputed territory's semi-autonomy and the security crackdown that followed."What we're telling voters now is that you have to make your voice heard," said former chief minister Omar Abdullah, whose National Conference party is campaigning for the restoration of Kashmir's former semi-autonomy.
Associated Press
Thousands protest in Georgia over the weekend against 'Russia-style' law on foreign influence
Georgia's parliament green-lit a final vote on a proposed law that critics see as a threat to media freedom and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union on Monday, a day after police dispersed the latest protests against it. The bill is nearly identical to one that the governing Georgian Dream party was pressured to withdraw last year after street protests. Renewed demonstrations have rocked Georgia for weeks, with demonstrators scuffling with police, who used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.
Associated Press
German court backs intelligence agency's designation of far-right party as suspected extremist case
Germany's domestic intelligence agency was justified in designating the far-right Alternative for Germany as a suspected case of extremism, a court ruled Monday, rejecting an appeal from the opposition party. The administrative court in Muenster ruled in favor of the BfV intelligence agency, upholding a 2022 decision by a lower court in Cologne, German news agency dpa reported. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has rejected the designation strongly.
Associated Press
Australian judge lifts court ban on X showing video of Sydney church stabbing
An Australian judge Monday lifted a ban on the social media platform X showing Australians a video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church. The temporary ban was put in place April 22, but the judge rejected the application from Australia’s eSafety Commission to extend the court order that would have expired Monday. Australian Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett said he would publish his reasons for imposing and lifting the order later.
AFP
China says to sell initial batch of long-dated bonds this week
China will start selling an initial batch of long-dated bonds this week, the Ministry of Finance announced Monday, as Beijing looks to increase support for the world's second-largest economy.The Ministry of Finance did not specify the number of bonds that will be issued.
AFP
Asian markets mixed as traders pause ahead of US inflation data
Equities fluctuated Monday with traders taking a breather after the past weeks' healthy run as they absorbed weak Chinese data and news that Beijing planned to start selling almost $140 billion of bonds to boost the stuttering economy.Investors did take some heart after it emerged that Chinese authorities were set to begin selling the first batch of almost $140 billion in sovereign bonds this week to raise cash to boost the economy.
CNN
Plane makes successful wheels-up emergency landing in Australia after circling airport for hours
Two passengers and a pilot emerged unscathed from a small plane after it was forced to land without landing gear following a mechanical failure at Newcastle Airport in Australia’s New South Wales.
CNN
Flash floods threaten South as severe storms pummel already waterlogged region
Flash flooding could strike across the South early this week as yet another round of severe storms drench already saturated ground, including parts of Texas where hundreds of people were rescued during torrential downpours last week.
AFP
Indonesia flood death toll rises to 41 with 17 missing
The number of people killed by flash floods and cold lava flow from a volcano in western Indonesia over the weekend has risen to 41 with 17 more missing, a local disaster agency official told AFP Monday.But from this morning it has grown again, the figure reached 41 (dead)," Ilham Wahab, West Sumatra disaster mitigation agency official, told AFP. Rescuers were searching for 17 still missing, three in Agam district and 14 in Tanah Datar, both the worst-hit areas of the flood and home to hundreds
Reuters
Israeli forces step up attacks on Gaza's Jabalia camp and Rafah
Israeli tanks, under cover of heavy fire from air and ground, pushed further into Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, residents and Hamas media said, while tanks and troops crossed a key highway on the outskirts of Rafah in the south. In Jabalia, tanks were trying to advance towards the heart of the camp, the biggest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps. Residents said tank shells were landing at the centre of the camp and that air strikes had destroyed clusters of houses.
AFP
US sanctions test China's 'no limits' friendship with Russia
Chinese banks are tightening scrutiny over trade with Russia for fear of incurring strict new US sanctions over the Ukraine war, testing the "no limits" friendship between the two countries.But Washington's recent vow to go after financial institutions that help Moscow fund the conflict has tested the boundaries of Beijing's bonhomie -- and left its banks fearful of getting cut off themselves.
CNN
Deadly cold lava flow from active volcano and widespread flooding hits Indonesia
At least 37 people have been killed, and more than a dozen injured on the Indonesian island of Sumatra after heavy rains triggered flash flooding and a cold lava flow from an active volcano, search and rescue officials said on Sunday.
Associated Press
Long-haul carrier Emirates sees $4.7 billion profit in 2023 as airline takes flight after pandemic
The long-haul carrier Emirates announced Monday it saw record profits of $4.7 billion in 2023 as the airline fully took flight after the turbulent years of the coronavirus pandemic disrupted its operations. Emirates, owned by Dubai's government, announced revenues of $33 billion, compared to $29.3 billion the year before. “Throughout the year, we saw high demand for air transport and travel related services around the world, and because we were able to move quickly to deliver what customers want, we achieved tremendous results,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and CEO of Emirates said in a statement.
Associated Press
Lithuanian president is the front-runner as country heads to runoff vote in two weeks
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda won the most votes in a weekend presidential election, officials said Monday, but he still faces a runoff in two weeks against Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. Nausėda won 44% of the votes and Šimonytė nearly 20%, according to preliminary results published by Lithuania's Central Electoral Commission. It asked whether the constitution should be amended to allow dual citizenship, a decision that would have affected hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians living abroad.
Reuters
Factbox-Key issues for South African voters in wide open 2024 election
South Africans will vote in a national election on May 29 with an unprecedented sense of uncertainty about the outcome, as polls suggest the African National Congress will lose its majority after 30 years in power. With coalition government looking like a possibility for the first time since the end of apartheid, a dizzying array of 70 parties from Marxists to social democrats to free marketeers are vying for voters' attention in the last weeks of campaigning. The following are the key issues that matter to voters who will elect a new National Assembly that will then choose the next president.

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