As speculation over who will be named the next James Bond reaches fever pitch, Paapa Essiedu is warning film fans not to bet on him being cast as the super-spy.

Asian shares are higher even though the latest data showed China's economy is weaker than expected

Activist investor ValueAct Capital has taken a stake in Walt Disney, sources familiar with the matter said on

President Joe Biden plans to host Sweden’s prime minister at the White House on Wednesday in a show of solidarity as the United States presses for the Nordic nation’s entry into NATO, a week before the alliance's summit. Biden and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will “review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said a statement announcing the meeting. The leaders also will discuss the war in Ukraine and matters involving China. Sweden and neighbor Finland ended their longstanding policy of military nonalignment after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both applied for NATO membership, seeking protection under the organization’s security umbrella. Finland, which shares a more than 800-mile or 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, joined NATO in April. But Sweden, which has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, has seen its ascension delayed by Turkey and Hungary; NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand. NATO had hoped the road to Sweden’s membership would be smoothed out before the alliance’s summit July 11-12 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Sweden’s entry would be a symbolically powerful moment and the latest indication of how Russia’s war is driving countries to join the alliance. Those hopes have dimmed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has resisted, with his government accusing Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that it says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish organizations and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. Last week, he condemned Sweden over a Quran-burning protest. Swedish police allowed the protest outside a mosque in central Stockholm, citing freedom of speech after a court overturned a ban on a similar Quran-burning. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he would gather senior officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland on Thursday to try to overcome Turkey’s objections. Hungary also has yet to ratify Sweden’s bid. Hungarian lawmakers said a long-delayed parliamentary vote on that would not happen until the autumn legislative session. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has alleged that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the condition of Hungary's democracy. High-ranking Hungarian officials have said they support Sweden’s membership bid while also making vague demands from Stockholm as conditions for approval. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Don't miss out on the latest rumors surrounding Shohei Ohtani's free agency and the teams vying for his signature.

As Tom Sandoval hoped his ex Raquel Leviss would find 'peace and happiness,' she had her own unexpected way of doing so

Meta and the European Union (EU) have agreed on a stress test in July on the EU's online

Rising rents for space in London’s West End helped offset the impact of soaring interest rates for landlord

France's top appeals court on Wednesday rejected a request to reopen a rape claim against film director Luc Besson, ending one of the most high-profile cases to emerge in the...

A high-ranking Russian general has been killed in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia in an airstrike carried out using British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, according to multiple reports from both sides. Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov was among the Russian military commanders present in the Dune hotel when a barrage of cruise missiles struck the southern region. Russia’s defence ministry did not immediately confirm the death but it has been reported by the country’s tightly-controlled state media. An aid to the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, wrote on his Telegram channel: “It is reported that today in the Berdiansk area, the Russian Lieutenant General Oleg Yuriyovych Tsokov was liquidated.” In September last year the same general was gravely wounded on the battlefield but survived, the mayor said. A member of Ukraine’s parliament, Yurii Mysyagin, said that the “the British ‘Storm Shadow’ came to visit accurately”. This comes as a senior Russian general who was leading Moscow’s forces in Zaporizhzhia said he was suddenly dismissed from his position after he accused the military leadership of betraying his troops with a lack of support. Read More Ben Wallace accused of ‘scolding’ Ukraine over demands for weapons: ‘We’re not Amazon’ Ukraine’s greatest weapon isn’t on the battlefield Russia's Defense Ministry says Wagner mercenaries are surrendering their weapons to the military El Nino is threatening rice crops while grain supplies already are squeezed by the war in Ukraine

Lionel Messi was substituted just 37 minutes into his return to action for Inter Miami against Toronto in Major...

The Seattle Mariners are still stuck under .500 and a loss to the Washington Nationals yesterday did not help. Today in the rubber match at home the 38-40 Mariners need to take the series win to start to climb out of fourth place in the AL West. The Nationals are 31-48 and last place in the NL East....