The British government says it is suspending free trade negotiations with Israel and has leveled new sanctions targeting West Bank settlements as it criticizes Israel's military actions in Gaza.

Tuesday's actions came a day after the U.K, France and Canada condemned Israel's handling of the war in Gaza and its actions in the occupied West Bank.

This year's Cannes Film Festival is at its halfway mark, but it's been an attention-grabbing affair since its start — from new rules for its red carpets, nerves about potential U.S. tariffs and the return of Tom Cruise.

And that says nothing about the films, seen as a strong slate as Cannes has become increasingly important to the Oscars' best picture hopefuls. As the festival enters its second week, it's become clear that this year's films are reckoning with geopolitical doom, climate change and other calamities that closely resemble current events.

The Chelsea Flower Show bloomed with royals, celebrities and a pup or two at the gardening showcase highlight resilient landscapes and natural planting.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla toured the show Monday before it opens to regular visitors. The king is a patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, which puts on the annual event in London.

Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen was forced into a draw Monday by more than 143,000 people worldwide playing against him in a single, record-setting game.

Billed as "Magnus Carlsen vs. The World," the online match began April 4 on Chess.com, the world's largest chess website, and was the first-ever online freestyle game to feature a world champion.

Denzel Washington sandwiched a whirlwind trip to the Cannes Film Festival, in between Broadway performances, for the premiere of Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" on Monday — and was rewarded with a surprise: an honorary Palme d'Or.

Cannes had flipped around some of its scheduling to accommodate Washington's speedy France trip, which came on his lone off-day while performing "Othello" in New York. Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux surprised Washington with the award before the Monday night premiere.

Barcelona aims to return belatedly to its Camp Nou stadium after two years of reconstruction work for a preseason friendly on Aug. 10.

Club president Joan Laporta set the date for the traditional season-opening Joan Gamper Trophy game when he spoke in a television interview late Monday.

It's all or nothing when Manchester United and Tottenham meet in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

For the winner of the all-English showdown in Bilbao there is the mother of all get-out-of-jail-free cards with entry to the Champions League.

Australia's central bank on Tuesday reduced its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage for a second time this year, to 3.85% after inflation fell within a target range.

The Reserve Bank of Australia reduced its cash rate from 4.1%. The reduction from 4.35% at its February board meeting was Australia's first rate cut since October 2020.

The Taiwanese president said Tuesday that trade tensions between the United States and Taiwan are just "frictions between friends" in a show of optimism as tariff negotiations are underway with Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 32% tariffs on all imports from Taiwan as part of sweeping duties levied against all U.S. trading partners last month.

On the eighth annual "World Bee Day," the bees did not seem bothered.

They should be.