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Burt Bacharach, one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, has died aged 94.

The US musician composed more than 500 songs during his career and was behind hits such as I Say A Little Prayer, Walk On By, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head, and Do You Know The Way To San Jose.

Bacharach had written for stars including Dionne Warwick, Cilla Black, Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield, and he provided a mellow alternative soundtrack to rock and roll in the 1960s and 1970s.

Pic: Dezo Hoffman/Shutterstock
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Pic: Dezo Hoffman/Shutterstock

His music had quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies, and more than 1,200 artists performed his songs.

Bacharach won six Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award, and three Oscars during his seven-decade career.

He died of natural causes at his home in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday with his family by his side.

Earning comparisons with American greats George Gershwin and Cole Porter, Bacharach started his career as a songwriter in the early 1950s, working with Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich, before forging a professional relationship with lyricist Hal David in 1957.

But it was when Bacharach and David met Dionne Warwick in 1961 that their talents really took flight, with 39 of her chart hits written by the pair.

Singer Noel Gallagher was among those paying tribute, writing on Instagram: “RIP Maestro. It was a pleasure to have known you.”

‘Innovative and original’

“I’m a person that always tries to deal with melody,” said Bacharach, speaking about his music talents.

David once told an interviewer: “He was just different. Innovative, original. His music spoke to me. I’d hear his melodies and I’d hear lyrics. I’d hear rhymes, I’d hear thoughts and I’d hear it almost immediately.”

Performing in concerts around the world late into his career, Bacharach had fans across the generations thanks to a resurgence of lounge music in the 1990s.

Remixes and samples of his work kept him in the public consciousness long after he stopped turning out the hits, as did Hollywood’s use of many of his tunes as soundtracks to their movies.

Despite being crowned the king of easy listening, his fans would argue his use of mixed meters and complex melodies made his compositions far from “easy”.

File photo dated 22/10/08 Burt Bacharach performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra, to launch the BBC Electric Proms series, at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, north London. Composer Burt Bacharach, whose orchestral pop style was behind hits like I Say A Little Prayer, has died aged 94. Issue date: Thursday February 9, 2023.
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Burt Bacharach performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra

Later collaborations with stars as diverse as Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello and Dr Dre, plus a Pyramid Stage performance at Glastonbury Festival in 2015, proved the point that Bacharach never went out of fashion.

Bacharach tweeted his performance of Toledo with Costello three days before he passed.

On his Instagram page, a homage was paid to Bacharach as a “father, husband and friend”.

It continued: “He gave the world so much, and we are eternally grateful. The music is always there, so please keep listening.”

Bacharach married four times – the final time being in 1993 with his surviving wife Jane Hansen, and they had two children together.

Burt Bacharach and Jane Hansen in 2013. Pic: Rob Latour/Shutterstock
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Burt Bacharach and wife Jane Hansen. Pic: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

‘A great inspiration’

More tributes were paid on social media, with the lead singer of The Charlatans, Tim Burgess, writing: “One of the greatest songwriting legacies in the history of ever. Farewell Burt Bacharach, you were a king.”

Journalist Tony Parsons tweeted: “If Elvis gave the music its body and Dylan gave the music its mind, then beautiful Burt Bacharach gave the music its grace, sophistication, and class.”

Dave Davies, guitarist for The Kinks, wrote that it was a “very sad day”.

He added: “[Burt] was probably one of the most influential songwriters of our time. He was a great inspiration.”

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Donald Trump announces sweeping global trade tariffs – including 10% on UK imports

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Donald Trump announces sweeping global trade tariffs - including 10% on UK imports

Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.

Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.

“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.

Follow live: Trump tariffs latest

He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.

Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.

President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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Pic: AP

His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.

Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.

The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.

It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.

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Trump’s tariffs explained

The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.

The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.

“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.

“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.

“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”

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Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?

The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.

Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.

It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.

The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.

Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.

The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.

Read more:
What do Trump’s tariffs mean for the UK?
The rewards and risks for US as trade war intensifies

A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.

But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.

He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.

“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”

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‘A genius actor’, ‘firecracker’, and ‘my friend’: Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

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'A genius actor', 'firecracker', and 'my friend': Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.

The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.

She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.

Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.

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Watch: Val Kilmer in his most iconic roles

He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.

“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”

Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”

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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.

“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

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Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.

Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.

Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.

“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”

The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.

Nicolas Cage added that “I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing”.

“I thought he was a genius actor,” he said. “I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.

“He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.”

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‘No justification for this’: World reacts to Trump’s tariff announcement

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'No justification for this': World reacts to Trump's tariff announcement

World leaders have begun reacting after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs across the world.

Mr Tump announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK.

He said he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners.

Speaking at a White House event entitled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders, hitting at foreign “cheaters”.

These are some of the world leaders’ reactions.

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Trump’s tariffs explained

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said there is “no justification” for US tariffs.

“I deeply regret the US decision to impose 20% tariffs on imports from across the European Union,” the taoiseach added.

“We see no justification for this. More than €4.2bn worth of goods and services are traded between the EU and the US daily.

“Disrupting this deeply integrated relationship benefits no one. Tariffs drive inflation, hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic, and put jobs at risk.”

Read more:
Trump’s tariffs will have consequences – Ed Conway
UK reacts to Trump’s tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order, on the day he delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Donald Trump holding the signed executive order. Pic: Reuters

Manfred Weber, the president of the largest party in the European Parliament, the EPP, said: “To our American friends, today isn’t liberation day – it’s resentment day. Donald Trump’s tariffs don’t defend fair trade; they attack it out of fear and hurt both sides of the Atlantic.

“Europe stands united, ready to defend its interests, and open to fair, firm talks.”

What to expect from the EU

There will be a response from the European Union – the question is how soon, and how tough.

A symbolic reprisal is one choice – putting tariffs on classic American products such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes or bottles of bourbon.

That won’t damage the European economy, but it won’t make much of a difference, either.

There’s a reluctance to slap wide-ranging, indiscriminate tariffs simply because that would increase costs for many European manufacturers.

So something more targeted may look appealing and that could mean going after the tech giants – Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, for example.

Companies who have already had rows with EU regulators and are seen as being, to varying extents, close to the White House.

If Europe could specifically target Tesla, it probably would.

There are also those suggesting the EU should hold fire for the moment, confident that Trump’s tariffs will backfire and keen that the effects are visible.

One fear is that some of the cheap goods that were destined for US markets will now be diverted to Europe, flooding its market.

Another fear is how the Windsor Framework will be affected, now that there are different US tariffs on either side of the Irish border.

And finally there is that insult from the President, who called the European Union “pathetic”. A few minutes later, a senior EU diplomat sent me a message saying “the US is Brexiting the world, but you can’t stop the march of folly”.

Transatlantic relations are getting even icier.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would fight tariffs with countermeasures.

“It’s essential to act with purpose and with force, and that’s what we will do,” he told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss Canada’s response.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “It is the American people who will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs.

“This is why our government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs. We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as close ally of the US president, called the tariffs “wrong” and said they would not benefit the United States.

“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global players,” she said.

The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to protect the country’s companies and workers and to “continue to be committed to an open world.”

His Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, said: “We don’t want growing trade barriers.

“We don’t want a trade war.

“We want to find our way back to a path of trade and cooperation together with the US, so that people in our countries can enjoy a better life.”

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