Donald Trump opens door to US joining revamped TPP
Amid crucial talks to revamp a continental trade pact, US President Donald Trump opened the door Thursday to joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued to hold out for a Nafta deal with the US and Mexico.
In an interview with CNBC to be broadcast in full on Friday, Trump suggested he was open to the United States joining the TPP, which he had rejected only a year ago.
"I would do TPP if we were able to make a substantially better deal," he said. "The deal was terrible, the way it was structured was terrible. If we did a substantially better deal, I would be open to TPP."
The US president, however, was equivocal about the chances that negotiations under way in Montreal would lead to a deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
In an Israeli cave, scientists discover jawbone of earliest modern human out of Africa
Scientists on Thursday announced the discovery of a fossilized human jawbone in a collapsed cave in Israel that they said is between 177,000 and 194,000 years old.
If confirmed, the find may rewrite the early migration story of our species, pushing back by about 50,000 years the time that Homo sapiens first ventured out of Africa.
Previous discoveries in Israel had convinced some anthropologists that modern humans began leaving Africa between 90,000 and 120,000 years ago. But the recently dated jawbone is unravelling that narrative.
Football: Mourinho signs contract extension at Man United
Jose Mourinho has signed a contract extension that will keep him at Manchester United until at least 2020, the club said on Thursday, putting an end to rumours he is unhappy at Old Trafford.
Mourinho became the first United manager in history to win a major trophy in his first season when he secured the League Cup last year, and he also led the club to victory in the Europa League, the only competition they had never won.
But this season they are a distant second in the Premier League to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who are 12 points clear in the table and unlikely to be caught barring a spectacular collapse.
Actor Casey Affleck withdraws as 2018 Oscar presenter
Oscar-winning Casey Affleck, who has been accused of sexual harassment by female crew members on earlier films, has withdrawn as a presenter at the 2018 Academy Awards, a spokeswoman for the organisation said on Thursday.
Affleck, 42, who won the best actor Oscar last year for his performance in the family drama Manchester By The Sea, was expected to present this year's best actress award in keeping with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tradition.
A publicist for Affleck, Mara Buxbaum, confirmed that Affleck would not be attending this year's ceremony, which is scheduled for March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, but declined further comment.
Former teen model accuses magician David Copperfield of sexual assault
A former teen model has accused illusionist David Copperfield of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1988 after he judged a modelling competition in Japan that she took part in.
Copperfield, 61, said in statements on Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday that he had been falsely accused of sexual misconduct in the past and was about to "weather another storm".
Hours later, entertainment news website The Wrap published the allegations by Brittney Lewis, who said Copperfield invited her to one of his shows in California after meeting her at the September 1988 competition when he was 32 and she was 17.
