Britain

The BBC reports: Former US President Donald Trump has said “it is great to be home” as he arrived in Aberdeen on a visit to his Scottish golf properties. It is Mr Trump’s first visit to the UK since 2019 after leaving office. He attended a ceremony to break ground on a new course at his Aberdeenshire resort, Trump International …

“If you are an American and you really believe and appreciate America’s core values, it doesn’t matter your ethnicity, when you come here it’s like a second home. Our founding fathers, when they launched the revolution, were not revolting against the British way of life. “They were revolting because they wanted the rights of Englishmen. That’s what they believed. The …

Politico Europe reports: He hopes to win the hearts and minds of devoted Donald Trump supporters ahead of next year’s U.S. election. But Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis failed to impress British business chiefs at a high-profile London event Friday, in a tired performance described variously as “horrendous,” “low-wattage” and “like the end of an overseas trip.” One U.K. business …

CNN Business reports: The embattled chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporaration (BBC), Richard Sharp, resigned on Friday after a report found he failed to disclose his involvement in facilitating a loan of almost $1 million to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Sharp claimed the breach was “inadvertent and not material,” but said he was resigning to “prioritise the interests …

The Telegraph reports: Andrew Bridgen has been expelled from the Conservative Party after he made controversial comments about coronavirus vaccines. Mr Bridgen was stripped of the Tory whip and forced to sit as an independent MP in January after he tweeted claims that Covid vaccines were the “biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”. A Conservative Party spokesman confirmed this …

The Guardian reports: Rupert Murdoch’s media business secretly paid Prince William a “very large sum of money” to quietly settle a phone-hacking claim, according to new court filings. The Prince of Wales received the previously undisclosed payment in 2020 after bringing a legal claim against the owner of the Sun and the News of the World. Details of the settlement …

The Associated Press reports: U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab grudgingly resigned Friday after an independent investigation found he bullied civil servants, though he criticized the report as “flawed.” Raab’s announcement came the day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak received the findings of an investigation into eight formal complaints that Raab, who is also justice secretary, had been abusive toward …

The BBC reports: A councilor accused of saying white men should have black slaves has been suspended by the Conservative Party. Political opponents identified the voice of Andrew Edwards on a recording of someone making racist remarks. Mr Edwards, who represents the Haverfordwest Prendergast ward on Pembrokeshire council, said he could not comment as the case had been referred to …

The BBC reports: Singer Melody Thornton has apologised after rowdy audience members halted a performance of The Bodyguard musical. The ex-Pussycat Dolls star was unable to complete the show’s final song due to the disruption at Manchester’s Palace Theatre on Friday. Speaking on Instagram, Thornton said she “fought really hard” to finish the show, but it had not been possible. …

The BBC reports: The husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested in connection with an investigation into Scottish National Party finances. Peter Murrell, 58, is being questioned after being taken into police custody on Wednesday morning. Police Scotland said officers were carrying out searches at a number of addresses as part of the investigation. Ms Sturgeon stood …

The BBC reports: Manchester Arena bomb survivors have filed landmark legal action against a conspiracy theorist who claims the attack was faked. Martin and Eve Hibbert, who were left with severe disabilities after the 2017 blast, are suing Richard D. Hall [photo] for defamation and harassment. It is the first time such action has been launched in the UK against …

Deadline reports: King Charles’s upcoming Coronation will be swimming with world leaders and dignitaries, but it has emerged that the US president will not be among them. British press reports this weekend that Joe Biden will not be attending the ceremony on May 6 in London, citing previous commitments. No US president in history has attended the Coronation of the …

The Guardian reports: Paul O’Grady, the beloved TV presenter and comedian who broke on to the scene with his drag act persona Lily Savage, has died at the age of 67. His husband, Andre Portasio, confirmed in a statement that O’Grady died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening. Days ago, O’Grady had finished a stint playing Miss Hannigan in the …

CNN reports: The terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland has been raised from “substantial” to “severe” just days before a potential visit to the country by US President Joe Biden, but the White House has said the change won’t alter his plans. The decision to raise the threat level to “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely, was made by …

The Guardian reports: Scottish nationalists picked Humza Yousaf to be the country’s next leader on Monday after a bitterly fought contest that exposed deep divisions in his party over policy and a stalled independence campaign. The 37-year-old practising Muslim succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP) and will take over as head of the semi-autonomous …

Rolling Stone reports: In 1997, after attending a Royal Gala evening, Geri Halliwell kissed Prince Charles on the cheek. According to royal protocol and etiquette, you’re only allowed to shake a royal’s hand, so the scandalous moment landed on the front pages of newspapers and went down in pop culture history. Now, instead of daring Ginger Spice to kiss Charles …

People Magazine reports: The Duchess adopted the monarch’s two surviving corgis, Sandy and Muick (pronounced “Mick”), gifted to the Queen by Ferguson, her ex-husband Prince Andrew and their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. But caring for the U.K.’s most famous pets comes with some stress. “They are national icons, so every time they run chasing a squirrel, I panic,” …

Agence France-Presse reports: Nominations for a leader to succeed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as head of Scotland’s ruling party will close on Friday amid an uproar over a top contender’s conservative views on gay marriage. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, a 32-year-old rising star in the SNP, caused controversy this week after revealing that she would have voted against same-sex marriage, …

The Associated Press reports: Andrew Lloyd Webber, the English composer who created the scores for blockbuster musicals such as “Cats,” “The Phantom of the Opera’’ and “Evita,” has written the anthem for King Charles III’s coronation, adapting a piece of church music that encourages singers to make a “joyful noise.” The work by Webber is one of a dozen new …

CNN reports: Nicola Sturgeon, the figurehead of the Scottish independence movement, dramatically announced on Wednesday that she would resign after eight years as Scotland’s first minister. The Scottish National Party leader made the announcement at a press conference in Edinburgh. She will stay in office until a new SNP leader is appointed. Sturgeon said she knows the “time is now” …