Plus: Key takeaways from China's biggest political meeting ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| | | Hello. Four of the six US crew members on board a refuelling plane that crashed in western Iraq have died, US Central Command (Centcom) has said. We have the latest. After China's biggest political meeting ended on Thursday, our correspondents report on the three main takeaways. And finally, meet the seal who's gone viral after being repeatedly spotted in London. | | | | | | |
| TOP OF THE AGENDA | | Deadly crash 'not due to hostile or friendly fire', US military says | | | | | File photo of a US Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling tanker, seen in Israel in February. Credit: EPA | | The US refuelling plane that crashed was involved in an "incident" with another aircraft, and neither hostile nor friendly fire was to blame, Centcom has said. It has not given an update on the two crew members who survived the crash. Meanwhile, with the price of oil hovering around $100 (£75) a barrel and Iran vowing to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the US has authorised countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum in a bid to curb price rises. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it wouldn't "provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government", but as business reporter Nick Marsh notes, "data shows that Moscow has already become a significant financial beneficiary" from the conflict. | | | | | | | |
- Anti-missile system: The US is relocating parts of a missile defence system from South Korea to the Middle East, according to reports.
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| | | | - Alberta separatists: The King "expressed his concern" over the movement while meeting Indigenous leaders at Buckingham Palace, they said.
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| | | BEYOND THE HEADLINES | | What we learnt from China's biggest political meeting | | | | | | | China's push to be the world's leading superpower depends largely on President Xi Jinping's ability to manage the economy. Credit: AFP via Getty Images | | China's biggest political gathering - the National People's Congress (NPC) - has come to an end. Although it effectively functions as a rubber-stamp parliament, approving decisions made behind closed doors by the top echelons of the Chinese Communist Party, its announcements signal the priorities of the world's second-largest economy. Our correspondents explain what we can learn about where China is heading from the tightly-controlled and heavily scripted meeting. | | | | | | |