US deficit grows to US$666 billion as lawmakers eye tax cuts
The US budget deficit grew to US$666 billion (S$900 billion) in just-ended fiscal year 2017, according to official data released on Friday, after lawmakers took a step towards enacting US$1.5 trillion in tax cuts.
The deficit climbed 13.6 per cent from a year ago, or by US$80 billion, with much of the nearly US$4 trillion the US government spent last year associated with caring for the country's ageing population.
The deficit now accounts for 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product, up from 3.2 per cent in 2016.
President Trump's administration has championed tax cuts which it says will spur economic growth, leading to future tax revenues.
Student shoots dead two in Brazilian school
A young student at a private school in Brazil shot dead two other children and wounded four more on Friday, the emergency services said.
There were conflicting reports from the authorities about the ages of those involved - from 11 up to 16.
Speaking on Globo television, a police officer said the assailant was the son of a policeman and that the pistol used was police-issue. Local media reported that the boy had been bullied.
British PM Theresa May's 'lonely' Brexit photo goes viral
Social media on Friday mocked embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May over a photograph of her sitting alone in a room awaiting EU Brexit talks, calling it a "metaphor" for her isolated position.
In the viral snap, May is seen alone at a large table decorated with four potted plants, apparently lost in her thoughts.
She was in fact waiting for European Council President Donald Tusk, with whom she was to hold talks to try to break the deadlock in Brexit negotiations.
Former actress accuses Harvey Weinstein of forcing himself on her
A former actress became the latest woman to publicly accuse disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, telling reporters he exposed and forced himself on her.
Heather Kerr, now 56, who appeared on 1980s US sitcom The Facts Of Life, claims Weinstein attacked her during a private meeting when she was an aspiring actress in her 20s.
Weinstein spelled out his plan, she told reporters, starting with him having sex with her, and then introducing her at parties to other men with whom she needed to sleep.
Lionel Messi posts video of son singing in Catalan, Gerard Pique replies
Barcelona's Argentine legend Lionel Messi entered the highly-charged drive by Catalonia for independence on Friday when he posted a video on social media of his child singing in Catalan.
The clip on Instagram shows Messi's two-year-old son Mateo singing a nursery rhyme in the regional language.
Among the flood of comments triggered by the post was one from Messi's team mate, Gerard Pique, who had a sarcastic dig at Spain.
