
-
Nick Rockett flies to victory in magical Mullins Grand National
-
Ovechkin on the brink of the 'impossible'
-
Anthony, Bird to enter basketball Hall of Fame
-
'Phenomenal' Munster edge O'Gara's La Rochelle to reach Champions Cup quarters
-
Munster edge O'Gara's La Rochelle to reach Champions Cup quarters
-
Rahul, Jaiswal fire as Delhi and Rajasthan register big IPL wins
-
Aston Villa beat Forest for seventh straight win ahead of PSG trip
-
Jaiswal, Archer help Rajasthan thrash Punjab in IPL
-
Inter's title charge stalls after throwing away points at Parma
-
Real Madrid stumble at home to Valencia in Liga
-
Leading garment producer Bangladesh holds crisis talks on US tariffs
-
PSG win 13th French title ahead of Aston Villa Champions League clash
-
Nick Rockett storms to victory in the 'Mullins' Grand National
-
Despair and sadness follow death of Malian musical great Amadou
-
Arsenal held by Everton, Wolves push Ipswich closer to relegation
-
Lions contender Prendergast fires Leinster to Champions Cup quarters
-
Nick Rockett wins the 'Mullins' Grand National for father and son
-
Last-gasp Buendia goal keeps Leverkusen's Bundesliga title hopes alive
-
Video shows last minutes before Gaza aid workers' deaths, Red Crescent says
-
Zverev 'mentally' affected by Australian Open defeat
-
Rahul guides Delhi to third straight IPL victory
-
Arsenal draw at Everton to edge Liverpool closer to Premier League title
-
Senate Republicans move forward with Trump tax cuts
-
Sinner regrets 'unfair' doping ban as he prepares return to courts
-
Isa hat-trick powers Toulon into Champions Cup quarters in Saracens thriller
-
'Hang tough, it won't be easy': Trump defiant on tariffs
-
Zelensky slams 'weak' US reply to Russian strike on his hometown
-
Musiala hamstring tear compounds Bayern's injury crisis
-
Selfies, goals and cheers at South Africa's grannies World Cup
-
Tsunoda frustrated with 15th in Red Bull qualifying debut
-
Rain forecast adds new element to combustible Japanese GP
-
Ukraine mourns 18 killed in Russian missile strike
-
Germany's Mueller to leave Bayern Munich after 25 years
-
India's Modi clinches defence, energy deals in Sri Lanka
-
Verstappen snatches 'special' pole for Japan GP with lap record
-
Cambodia hails opening of naval base renovated by China
-
Verstappen snatches 'insane' pole for Japan GP in track record
-
Thousands rally for South Korea's impeached ex-president Yoon
-
New Zealand hammer Pakistan by 43 runs to sweep ODI series 3-0
-
Myanmar quake death toll passes 3,300: state media
-
India's Modi in Sri Lanka for defence and energy deals
-
'No one to return to': Afghans fear Pakistan deportation
-
Fractious Republicans seek unity over Trump tax cuts
-
America's passion for tariffs rarely pays off, economists warn
-
Trump's global tariff takes effect in dramatic US trade shift
-
North Korea's Kim fires new sniper rifle while visiting troops
-
Norris fastest in McLaren 1-2 as fires again disrupt Japan GP practice
-
Vital European defence startups still facing hurdles
-
'I don't have a voice in my head': Life with no inner monologue
-
Pakistan chasing 265 to win shortened third New Zealand ODI
RBGPF | 100% | 69.02 | $ | |
RELX | -6.81% | 48.16 | $ | |
AZN | -7.98% | 68.46 | $ | |
BTI | -5.17% | 39.86 | $ | |
RYCEF | -18.79% | 8.25 | $ | |
GSK | -6.79% | 36.53 | $ | |
RIO | -6.88% | 54.67 | $ | |
NGG | -5.25% | 65.93 | $ | |
VOD | -10.24% | 8.5 | $ | |
SCS | -0.56% | 10.68 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.13% | 22.29 | $ | |
BCC | 0.85% | 95.44 | $ | |
BCE | 0.22% | 22.71 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.7% | 22.83 | $ | |
BP | -10.43% | 28.38 | $ | |
JRI | -7.19% | 11.96 | $ |

US House rejects Trump-backed speaker in first ballot
The new US Congress was thrown into chaos on its first day Friday as rebel right-wing Republicans defied incoming president Donald Trump to block Mike Johnson from returning as speaker of the House of Representatives.
The Louisiana congressman -- who was boosted by several messages of support from Trump -- needed a simple majority to be elected as Washington's top legislator, who presides over House business and is second in line to the presidency.
But divided Republicans failed to elect a speaker in the first round of voting -- raising fears of a repeat of the chaos of the last two years of their House rule -- after a nail-biting ballot that earned blanket coverage across US television networks.
The vote marked another embarrassment for Trump, who was shown the limits of his sway over House Republicans for a second time after they rebuffed his demands for a suspension of the country's borrowing limit in December.
Trump's looming presidential inauguration raises the stakes of the speakership fight, since the House can do nothing until its leader is decided -- including completing the certification of the 78-year-old Republican's victory, set for Monday.
The contest now goes to a second round, but Johnson risks losing Trump's support if that battle drags out, which would likely prompt moderate Republicans to start casting around for other options.
Johnson needed 218 votes in the lower chamber, where the Republican majority narrowed to 219-215 as Trump was sent back to the White House in last year's historic presidential election.
- No one's first choice -
Trump threw his full weight behind his man early Friday with a social media post wishing him "Good luck" and "very close to having 100% support."
Johnson sought to appease conservatives in the hours before the vote by pledging to "reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory."
But the 52-year-old attorney fell short -- having failed to bring party rebels, who include several high-profile Trump allies, into line.
Johnson's habit of crossing the aisle to cut deals with the Democrats angered conservatives in the 2023-25 session, while fiscal hawks lined up to attack him for what they saw as weakness on the deficit.
Johnson actually won the vote by 216 to Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries' 215 -- and there is very little doubt a Republican will ultimately claim the speaker's gavel -- but he fell short of a majority after three of his members decided not to back him.
Johnson was a virtual unknown to the wider public before becoming speaker but came to Trump's attention when he spearheaded efforts in Congress to overturn the 2020 election.
Far from his party's first choice, the attorney and religious rights campaigner won the gavel in 2023 largely because he lacked the enemies on his own side that prompted the downfall of other Republicans.
He already had one Republican "no" on the scoreboard going into Friday's vote, from Kentucky's Thomas Massie, while a handful of other conservative hard-liners had publicly declared themselves open to a change at the top.
- 'Tired of voting' -
Johnson "was only electable the first time because he hadn't held any type of leadership position, nor had he ever fought for anything, so no one disliked him and everyone was tired of voting," Massie posted on X.
"He won by being the least objectionable candidate, and he no longer possesses that title."
The last time it took more than one round of voting to pick a speaker at the start of a new Congress was the very last time the body opened for a new session, in January 2023. Before that it last happened a century ago, in 1923.
Failure in subsequent rounds would open the path for a potential rearguard action from anti-Johnson conservatives, and cloak-and-dagger talks between the two parties that could see the emergence of a consensus Republican backed by Democrats.
No credible Republican alternative for round two had yet been floated publicly.
The most obvious would be House Whip Steve Scalise, a loyal Trumpist who has been clear in the past that he has ambitions of his own, although he has suffered health issues.
The party's right fringe is likely to see Scalise as more of the same, however, and rejected him along with whip Tom Emmer when Kevin McCarthy eventually prevailed in 2023. Their candidate would likely be Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan.
C.Kovalenko--BTB