Xi calls for closer ties with Spain in face of global 'chaos'

(The Center Square) – Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America led 77 of its pro-life organization colleagues in sending the acting U.S. attorney general a letter asking the Department of Justice to stop undermining pro-life states’ laws by favoring the abortion drug industry over these states. 

President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Marjorie Dannenfelser told The Center Square that “the DOJ has a clear opportunity to stand with states seeking to uphold their laws and protect women and the unborn from the dangers of unregulated abortion drugs sent through the mail.”

“Instead, the DOJ is siding with the abortion industry, dismissing legitimate state concerns and even attempting to dismiss the case of [an abortion pill] coercion survivor Rosalie Markezich,” Dannenfelser said.

She said Markezich’s ex-boyfriend “ordered the drugs online from California and pressured her to take them against her will in Louisiana.”

Dannenfelser stated that the “reckless Biden-era holdover policy” of mail-order abortion drugs “has created a dangerous public health crisis by stripping away basic medical safeguards – including doctor visits and ultrasounds – allowing these powerful drugs to be shipped across state lines with a click of a button.”

Dannenfelser told The Center Square that the letter SBA Pro-Life America and 77 other pro-life groups sent to the DOJ “urges the Trump-Vance administration to reverse course and stand with vulnerable women and the unborn rather than continuing to defend Biden’s disastrous COVID-era mail-order abortion scheme.”

“Our government’s choice to side with an industry that profits from ending the lives of unborn children and endangering women has real, painful consequences for Americans everywhere,” Dannenfelser said.

“It has turned high-risk drugs into something that can be bought and shipped with a click – often landing in the hands of abusers and sending women and girls to the emergency room,” Dannenfelser said.

“The DOJ and FDA have both the authority and the duty to act immediately and restore commonsense safety standards,” Dannenfelser told The Center Square. “Voters nationwide strongly support it and the GOP base demands it.” 

When the Department of Justice was reached for comment, a spokesman told The Center Square: “President Trump is the most pro-life President in history, and his track record speaks for itself.”

“The Department of Justice represents FDA in these matters, and FDA is continuing to review the safety data for mifepristone,” the DOJ spokesman said. 

“We asked the courts to stay these cases while that review is ongoing,” the DOJ spokesman said.

In its letter to acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, SBA Pro-Life America urged the DOJ “to stop siding with the abortion drug industry against pro-life states,” according to an SBA press release. 

“Louisiana, Florida and Texas, and Missouri, Idaho and Kansas sued the FDA in three separate cases to protect their citizens from the harms of abortion drugs and to stop policies that undermine their state laws, and the DOJ previously moved to dismiss all three cases,” the SBA press release said.

According to the release, “a recent report from a pro-abortion group claims there were over 1.1 million abortions in the U.S. in 2025.”

Additionally, there was “a 26% increase of mail-order drug abortions in states with pro-life laws,” the release said.

A critically endangered Borneo orangutan has been born at Madrid's zoo, described by keepers as strong and developing normally.

After an eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy, mother Surya gave birth to a male weighing about 1.5 kilos (3.3 pounds) on April 2, the Madrid Zoo Aquarium said in a statement.

The zoo released a video showing Surya cradling the newborn, which will be named through a public vote from a list of options proposed by the caretakers.

Surya has now given birth to four offspring, with keepers describing her maternal care from the outset as exemplary, and the baby feeding regularly, a key indicator of healthy development.

"When the baby is nursing, everything stops. She stays completely still until he finishes, and only then moves to eat or do anything else. She is a real supermom," said Maica Espinosa, a primate keeper at the zoo.

Orangutans usually give birth to a single baby or occasionally twins. They give birth, at the most, once every six years, and the interval between babies can be as long as 10 years.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies Bornean orangutans -- known for their dark brown fur and gentle temperament -- as "critically endangered", citing rapid habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade as major threats.

The species lives in the wild only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and on the island of Borneo, which is divided among Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

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The EU told Meta Wednesday that charging rival AI chatbots for access to its WhatsApp platform runs against the bloc's antitrust rules, rebuffing the measure taken by the US giant in response to a probe.

Meta started charging a fee as redress in March after an EU probe found it had "effectively" barred third-party artificial intelligence assistants from the messaging platform  -- in breach of competition rules. 

But the European Commission, the European Union's competition watchdog, said it was unsatisfied with the remedy.

"Replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta's conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position, that may seriously harm competition," said the bloc's antitrust chief, Teresa Ribera. 

The commission said it intended to order Meta to reinstate third-party AI assistants' access to WhatsApp under the same conditions as before its October 2025 policy change as part of interim measures pending completion of the probe.

Opened in December, the EU investigation is part of attempts by the 27-nation bloc to rein in Big Tech firms, many of which are based in the United States, which has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump.

Meta has integrated its own generative assistant, Meta AI, across the company's platforms, which also include Facebook and Instagram, used by billions of people globally.

Its restrictions on rivals apply when AI is the core service offered -- as with a chatbot or assistant -- though firms can still use AI for support functions such as customer service via WhatsApp.

EU regulators are concerned that locking WhatsApp's more than three billion users into Meta AI could give the company a commercial advantage over rival chatbots, particularly smaller market entrants.

The investigation was extended to Italy and now covers the entire European Economic Area (EEA), made up of the bloc's 27 states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, the commission said Wednesday. 

Italy had been previously excluded for it had opened its own separate probe into the matter.

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A student aged about 13 opened fire at random in a Turkish school Wednesday killing four people and wounding 20, just one day after a shooter wounded 16 people and then killed himself in another school, officials said.

Kahramanmaras province governor Mukerrem Unluer said a teacher and three students were killed in the latest attack. The attacker also died during the incident.

"A student came to school with guns that we believe belonged to his father in his backpack. He entered two classrooms and opened fire randomly, causing injuries and deaths," Unluer told reporters. 

Four of the wounded were in serious condition and undergoing surgery, he said.

The attacker, an eighth‑grade student, was the son of a former police officer, Unluer said, adding that the suspect was carrying five guns and seven magazines.

"We suspect he may have taken his father's weapons," the governor said.

"He shot himself. It is not yet clear whether this was suicide or happened amid the chaos," he said.

Police detained the ex-student's father, Ugur Mersinli, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

Footage released by IHA private news agency showed a person, body and face covered, being evacuated in an ambulance, as well as tearful parents who had rushed to the school in the southern province's main city, Kahramanmaras.

Another video, taken by a resident of a nearby building, verified by AFP, shows students jumping from a first-floor window of the school to escape the gunfire, while dozens of others flee through the courtyard.

About 15 gunshots can be heard in the one-and-a-half-minute video.

Police increased security around the building, and television footage showed ambulances in the area. 

The incident prompted the interior and education ministers to travel to the city. 

-'Will be held accountable'-

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors had launched an immediate investigation into the shooting. 

On Tuesday, an ex-student opened fire with a shotgun at his former high school in Siverek district of Sanliurfa province, wounding 16 people before killing himself in a showdown with police. Ten students were among the casualties.

Speaking to the ruling AKP party in parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised that those found to have been negligent or at fault "will certainly be held accountable" over the school shootings. 

Police detained one suspect after Tuesday's attack and suspended four officials from duty, Erdogan said. The school was ordered closed for four days.

Main opposition CHP leader Ozgur Ozel called for broader security measures. 

"At this point, it is clearly evident that violence in schools can no longer be explained by isolated incidents," he wrote on X. 

"This issue has turned into a growing and deepening security vulnerability," he said. 

Measures such as ensuring full control at school entrances and exits, increasing the number of security personnel, strengthening camera systems, intensifying police patrols around schools, and keeping emergency crisis plans ready are now essential, he added. 

"The security of schools is entrusted to our state. No negligence or deficiency in this regard can be excused anymore," Ozel said.

School shootings in Turkey had been rare until this week. In May 2024, a former student killed a private high school principal in Istanbul with a firearm five months after he was expelled. 

Turkey has strict gun laws that require licensing, registration, mental and criminal background checks, and severe penalties for illegal possession.

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Radical left-wing Peruvian presidential candidate Roberto Sanchez told AFP Tuesday that he was confident of reaching the second round of voting after a late surprise surge from rural polling stations.

With more than 90 percent of ballots now counted, partial official results showed Sanchez in second place, behind right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.

His late rise appeared to be driven by strong support in Andean regions, where votes have taken longer to be processed.

"We are proceeding calmly, with composure, we are confident in the support of our people...The ballot papers do not lie," Sanchez said.

Sanchez edged past right-wing former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga by a few hundredths of a percentage point.

Lopez Aliaga alleged fraud, without providing evidence.

He gathered hundreds of supporters outside Lima's Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Tuesday and gave authorities 24 hours to annul the election.

Sanchez defended the vote and called on "democratic forces and the international community" to monitor the count.

"These elections must be respected," he said.

Sanchez, a 57-year-old psychologist, said his government would push for a new constitution and power sharing with indigenous peoples.

"Were such proposals to advance, they would mark a fundamental shift in Peru’s policy regime" said Pablo Nano, an economist with Scotiabank.

Sanchez told AFP his policies reflected the wishes of lots of Peruvians.

"There is an immense desire for change" among marginalized communities, said the congressman and former minister under then president Pedro Castillo.

Castillo was elected in 2021 for a five-year term but lasted only 17 months.

Parliament removed him from office and he was later sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for rebellion.

"He will be released by our government, in accordance with the presidential prerogative that grants" the power to pardon him, Sanchez said, wearing a tall wide-brimmed straw hat reminiscent of Castillo.

More than 27 million voters were eligible to elect a president and members of parliament in Sunday's vote. Voting was compulsory.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday said he would not "yield" to pressure to join the Iran war after US President Donald Trump threatened to scrap a UK trade deal.

"We're not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war," Starmer told parliament.

"I'm not going to change my mind. I'm not going to yield. It is not in our national interest to join this war," the Labour leader added.

In a phone interview with Sky News, Trump threatened to alter an agreement struck with Britain that limits the impact of his US tariffs blitz.

Trump, who has repeatedly slammed Starmer's policies, said strains in the relationship with the NATO ally would "not at all" negatively affect King Charles III's state visit to the United States this month.

In reference to the royal trip, Starmer told parliament that the two nations' "long standing bonds... are far greater than anyone who occupies any particular office at any particular time".

London and Washington concluded a trade agreement last year capping US tariffs at 10 percent on most British manufactured goods.

In return, the UK agreed to open its markets further to American ethanol and beef, sparking concerns in the country.

At the time, it was an advantageous agreement for London, which benefited from the lowest tariffs granted by the US.

This advantage has, however, been weakened since the US Supreme Court struck down some tariffs and Washington retaliated by imposing a temporary 10-percent tariff on almost all of its imports pending a new tariff regime by July.

- No 'exit plan' -

While Trump praised his good relationship with Starmer at the time of the agreement, ties have since deteriorated, particularly over the war in the Middle East.

Starmer angered Trump by refusing to allow British bases to be used for the US's initial strikes on Iran last month.

He later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose".

"It's a relationship where when we asked them for help, they were not there," Trump told Sky News.

"When we needed them, they were not there. When we didn't need them, they were not there. They still aren't there," he insisted.

Starmer's Labour government, which has sought to build bridges with Trump since his return to the White House in January 2025, has recently hardened its rhetoric toward its historic ally.

Finance Minister Rachel Reeves on Tuesday hit out at the "folly" of Trump launching a war with Iran "without a clear exit plan".

Starmer told parliament on Monday that Trump was wrong to threaten to destroy Iranian "civilisation", while on Sunday Health Minister Wes Streeting criticised Trump's language as "incendiary, provocative, outrageous".

Against this backdrop, Reeves was to see US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Wednesday as part of an International Monetary Fund meeting to detail the economic impact of the conflict.

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(The Center Square) – A man accused of orchestrating one of Minnesota’s largest Medicaid fraud schemes has failed to appear in court, forcing a delay in his $11 million trial and prompting a search by law enforcement.

Last week, Abdirashid Ismail Said, 50, did not show up for a scheduled pretrial hearing in Hennepin County, leading a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. His jury trial was set to begin this week.

Said was able to leave after posting a $150,000 unconditional bond, which did not require him to surrender his passport. A lower, $50,000 conditional bond would have required him to give up travel documents, but he instead chose the higher amount with fewer restrictions.

Investigators in his case had previously warned he was a flight risk, citing Said’s family connections abroad, including a wife and child in Nairobi, Kenya.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office is now working with federal authorities to locate Said.

“A warrant has been issued for Mr. Said’s arrest after he failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing,” Ellison said in a statement. “My Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is working with federal law enforcement to locate Said and ensure he faces justice for the fraud he committed. This is a deeply frustrating setback, however I remain committed to doing everything I can to hold Said and other Medicaid fraudsters accountable.”

Said’s current whereabouts remain unknown, though there are multiple reports that he has left the country.

"In the unlikely event that Said ever return, Judge Hoyos has reset bail to $2 million," said Bill Glahn, a policy fellow with Center of the American Experiment. He added that: "Campaign filings records confirm that, back in 2015, Said donated the maximum $1,000 to the state representative campaign of now-Congresswoman Ilhan Omar."

Prosecutors allege Said was behind the largest Medicaid fraud case ever charged by the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, first announced in December 2023. According to investigators, Said operated three Medicaid-funded home health care agencies and used them to fraudulently bill the state for taxpayer-funded services.

Investigators say the scheme included nearly $1 million billed for patients who reported never receiving services, more than $300,000 in overbilling and over $5.8 million tied to undocumented or fraudulent claims. Said faces multiple felony charges, including racketeering, perjury and multiple counts of aiding and abetting theft by swindle.

Said was previously convicted of Medicaid fraud in 2022, ordered to pay $77,000 in restitution and barred from working with any Medicaid-funded agency. Despite that restriction, prosecutors allege he further defrauded the taxpayers of millions of dollars.

Four other individuals have already been charged in the broader investigation, and additional charges are expected as the case unfolds.

This development comes as scrutiny grows over fraud in Minnesota’s public programs, with lawmakers warning that weak oversight may have allowed billions in taxpayer dollars to be lost.

In an exclusive interview with The Center Square, state Rep. Kristin Robbins said the scale and scope of fraud in Minnesota stunned even lawmakers who pushed for years to investigate it.

“We didn’t have any idea of the breadth and the depth of the fraud here,” Robbins said.

Robbins, R-Maple Grove, is chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee in the Minnesota legislature. 

She described how shocked she has been by both the scale of alleged fraud and the state’s failure to catch it—which allowed fraudsters to go undeterred for years.

“The brazenness of that is stunning to me,” Robbins said. “The fact that they don’t have a red flag on everyone who’s already been charged … is that complete dereliction of duty? I think it is.”

Independent and federal investigators now estimate the potential value of fraud schemes in Minnesota could range between $9 billion and $20 billion.

Suppliers and buyers at a trade show in southern China were cautious on Wednesday as they weighed costs for ice cream machines, home appliances and cars that have risen since the start of the Middle East war.

Chinese exporters and Middle Eastern buyers at the opening day of the Canton Fair -- one of the largest trade shows in the world -- gloomily told AFP that the Iran war has pummelled orders and led to price hikes.

The fair gives foreign buyers a chance to meet face-to-face with Chinese manufacturers and assess their products up close, establishing new supply agreements and shoring up old contacts.

But standing by a row of deep fryers and ovens, kitchenware company sales manager Li Jin told AFP that some customers in the Middle East "dare not place orders" while shipments still have not reached others.

Many cargo vessels that would normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz en route to the Middle East have been floating in limbo since Tehran effectively closed the vital waterway in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran that began February 28.

Washington announced its own blockade of Iranian ports on Sunday after peace talks with Tehran failed, dashing hopes for an imminent reopening of the trade route.

Fresh orders from Middle East customers have dried up, said Li, whose company usually exports 20 to 30 percent of its products to the region.

"If it weren't for the war, we would have had a steady stream of new orders coming in," Li said.

The rising cost of raw materials has also pushed the company to hike prices to make up for thinner profit margins, she added.

- More safety, more business -

Customers remain in a "wait-and-see" mode, said Zora Wang, a sales manager at a company selling factory machinery. 

"Even though they are sending out inquiries, their actual intent to purchase in the near term is not very strong," Wang told AFP. 

But Wang said many of her clients work with freight forwarders -- third-party logistics and transportation agents -- to use other shipping channels or overland routes to ensure shipments still reach them in the Middle East.

Ahmad Alibasha, a Syrian general manager at a Chinese trading company, said Middle East customers "just don't want to order right now", with purchases from the region plummeting more than 50 percent since the conflict began.

"We will prefer the calm and the quiet and the safety, because more safety means more business," Alibasha told AFP, hopeful business would pick up if the war ends.

US President Donald Trump told The New York Post on Tuesday a new round of talks with Tehran could take place in Pakistan "over the next two days", while a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran holds.

In the meantime, Chinese car exporters in a sleek showroom told AFP that the conflict has caused them to pivot operations to other regions, including South America and Africa.

- Shipment headache -

This year's Canton Fair, which is held twice a year in the Chinese manufacturing hub of Guangdong province -- is featuring a record 32,000 enterprises, state media said Wednesday.

Buyers, including those from the Middle East, packed into the sprawling exhibition centre to scout new suppliers.

Abdallah Mebarkia, a Saudi Arabian business owner, scoured the cavernous halls for televisions, washing machines and household appliances to sell to distributors in his country.

The Middle East war has had a "heavy impact" on his business, he told AFP, calling his shipment costs -- now up 50 to 70 percent -- a big "headache".

Shipping prices have risen as vessels stay put in the Gulf for fear of attack if they set sail, while others take long and costly alternative routes to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

About a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas normally pass through the strait, with its closure pushing up the price of shipping fuel.

"A lot of delays" have also been caused by the Hormuz blockade, Mebarkia said, with some of his goods still stuck in the key waterway.

Jordanian business owner Asad Mohammad Abbas Asaad, who was inspecting drink dispensers and blenders at his supplier's booth, bemoaned the higher shipping costs which have doubled the import price of a container of those goods.

Buyers at the Canton Fair all expressed hopes that the war would end soon and reduce both trade turbulence and the wider instability in the region.

"We always hope for peace," Asaad said.

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Hungary's new leader Peter Magyar said Wednesday he had told President Tamas Sulyok, a supporter of ousted prime minister Viktor Orban, that he should resign following Orban's election defeat.

Magyar, who routed the nationalist Orban in Sunday's election, said he had issued the call to Sulyok during a meeting to discuss convening the new parliament, expected in early May.

"I repeated to him that, in my eyes and in the eyes of the Hungarian people, he is unworthy of embodying the unity of the Hungarian nation, incapable of ensuring respect for the law," Magyar told journalists outside the presidential palace after the meeting.

If the president refuses to step down, Magyar added, his government will introduce a law removing him and "all the puppets nominated to top posts by the Orban system". He said the posts included the chief prosecutor and the head of the constitutional court. 

He said the president had responded "enigmatically" to the demand.

Magyar, whose Tisza party won a two-thirds legislative majority in the elections -- giving the power to amend the constitution -- said Hungary's new parliament would probably convene around May 6-7.

He said he had pushed Sulyok to set the earliest date possible.

Orban, an ally of US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin, lost the elections after 16 years in power.

Trump had vocally endorsed Orban, but said Tuesday he liked Magyar, telling ABC News: "I think the new man's going to do a good job -- he's a good man."

Trump noted that Magyar was formerly a member of Orban's party and said he had similar views on immigration, according to ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, who posted the remarks on X.

Magyar said Wednesday he welcomed Trump's "very friendly" comments.

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European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that an EU-developed age verification app was ready to go, as the bloc pushes to better protect children from online harm.

Brussels has been under pressure to come up with more stringent measures to safeguard children online as several EU capitals move ahead with plans to ban social media under a certain age.

To that end, five EU countries including France and Italy last year started testing an age-check app that von der Leyen said Wednesday was now "technically ready". 

"This app will allow users to prove their age when accessing online platforms. Just like shops ask for proof of age for people buying alcoholic beverages," von der Leyen told journalists in Brussels. 

She said the app uses the same model adopted during the Covid pandemic, when Brussels developed a tool allowing people to prove they had been vaccinated as countries reopened after lockdowns.

Once the app is available, users would be able to download it from an online store, set it up with their passport or ID card and then use it to prove they are above a certain age to access some websites or platforms, she said.

The app is "completely anonymous" to ensure people cannot be tracked when accessing websites, and based on open-source code, allowing for non-EU states to adopt it if they wish. 

"Online platforms can easily rely on our age verification app. So there are no more excuses," von der Leyen said. 

"Europe offers a free and easy to use solution that can shield our children from harmful and illegal content,"

- 'Our duty' -

Pressure to act at EU level has been rising since Australia's groundbreaking social media ban for under-16s.

France has been spearheading the push alongside partners including Denmark, Greece and Spain -- with a hotly debated ban for under-15s working its way through the French parliament.

But even if the legislation is adopted, putting it into place will be tricky.

Brussels has said enforcement would lie with the European Union, provided the bill conforms to the bloc's laws, and the new app was conceived as a way to ensure compliance with whatever rules are adopted at national level.

Even if bans become law, there are concerns that children and young teens will get around the age verification system by using virtual private networks or switching to newer platforms.

The 27-country EU has some of the world's strictest rules regulate the digital space, with multiple probes ongoing into the impact on children of platforms including Instagram and TikTok.

Von der Leyen has advocated going further with an EU-wide minimum age limit, but first wants to hear from experts.

She said a special panel studying further measures would deliver its recommendations by summer. 

"It is our duty to protect our children in the online world, just as we do in the offline world, and to do that effectively, we need a harmonised European approach," she said.

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