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Politics
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Minister tells social media firms to remove posts that ‘celebrate’ dangerous driving after A66 crash
Luke Pollard warns government will force platforms to remove content, after latest deadly crash involving a car driving in wrong direction A minister has pressed social media companies to remove content from their platforms showcasing dangerous driving in the wake of a fatal collision that killed seven people in Middlesbrough. The crash in the early hours of Saturday, in which PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died, occurred when a Volkswagen Passat, containing five individuals aged between 23 and 17, crashed head-on with a marked armed response vehicle while driving the wrong way on the A66. Continue reading...
Hakeem Jeffries meeting with Jared Kushner sparks backlash amongst Democrats ahead of midterm elections – US politics live
House Democratic leader meets with president’s son-in-law has ignited fury amongst own party Democrats incredulous over Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner meeting Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’ meeting with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, has sparked backlash from his own party and other Donald Trump critics. Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition. The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver. In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable. We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us. Tim Scott defended fellow US South Carolina Republican senator Darline Graham’s knowledge of national security issues ahead of their state’s runoff election on Tuesday. Graham, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat held by her brother Lindsey Graham after his sudden death in July, is in a Republican primary runoff against South Carolina congressman Ralph Norman. Dan Sullivan supports Dan Sullivan against Dan Sullivan in Alaska ’s US Senate election , says a former Alaska mayor who recently backed the race’s Republican incumbent over a challenger sharing their name. That development provided another of multiple absurd elements to Dan S Sullivan’s campaign for a third term in the US Senate, which – beside Mary Peltola, a former Alaska Democratic congresswoman – has drawn opposition from Dan J Sullivan. The Donald Trump aide Natalie Harp flooded a since-disabled social media account with pro-Trump posts on the day that the president’s supporters attacked the US Capitol in early 2021 , years before she went to work for him and developed an extraordinary close relationship with him, a new report has revealed. A series of moves by Donald Trump ’s administration to sow doubt in the integrity of US elections has intensified concern among voting experts – and sparked hope among election deniers – that it could declare a national emergency. The White House and US federal agencies have released a string of documents this summer – including disputed analyses of alleged voting by noncitzens and historical intelligence memos – stoking expectations that the US president could move to exert greater control over November’s US midterm elections. Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed the threat of a fresh round of US economic sanctions as a “desperate” ploy , even as its president acknowledged that the Iranian people are facing “many problems” amid Washington’s efforts to isolate and debilitate the country’s economy. Continue reading...
UK ‘adding fuel to the fire’ by giving weaponry blueprints to Ukraine, says Russia
Moscow warns of increased tensions with Britain as Burnham visits Kyiv to offer declassified details of missile components Europe live – latest updates The Kremlin has warned of an escalation in tensions between the UK and Russia as Andy Burnham arrived in Kyiv to present Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints to allow Ukraine to improve its production of long range missiles. In his first trip abroad as the prime minister, Burnham will give Ukraine previously classified information on the British manufactured components for long-range cruise missiles. Continue reading...
Thames Water creditors accused of ‘shuffling deckchairs’ with plan for new board
Campaigners say proposal for £10bn rescue deal in bid to avoid nationalisation is a ‘cosy stitch-up’ Business live – latest updates The group of creditors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have been accused of shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic after proposing an overhaul of the stricken utility’s board. In a bid to stave off temporary nationalisation by Andy Burnham, the lenders said they would appoint Liz Barber, the former chief executive of Yorkshire Water, and Clive Selley, the former chief executive of network operator Openreach, as directors if they are allowed to take formal control of the company. Continue reading...
Children make up half of mpox cases in Guinea-Bissau as epidemic spreads
West African country reports 46 suspected cases in outbreak declared in July, amid fears virus may be spreading undetected More than half of the mpox cases reported in Guinea-Bissau have been among children, local authorities have said, almost two months since the country announced an epidemic. A national outbreak was declared on 4 July, just over a week after a 27-year-old woman became the first confirmed case of mpox in the west African country. Since then, there have been seven confirmed cases and 46 suspected cases. Half of those patients have been children, with 16 under the age of four. Continue reading...
Alarm over $20m plan to supply ICE officers with electric-shock gloves
Civil liberties groups decry plan to use gloves linked to death of Kentucky man allegedly shocked 27 times in county jail Plans to supply Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with special gloves that can deliver electric shocks have alarmed experts and drawn scrutiny amid some high-profile lawsuits over their use in local correctional facilities. In one extreme case, a 43-year-old man died after allegedly being shocked 40 times by officers with a combination of the gloves and a Taser in a county jail in Kentucky, and the man’s widow is suing authorities . Continue reading...
From Arizona to Wisconsin, election deniers are vying for office nationwide
Republicans who deny Joe Biden won the 2020 election are running for governor and secretary of state across the US Election deniers are back on the ballot. In most swing states, at least one major Republican candidate has questioned or outright denied the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. Continue reading...
ICE’s tactics look increasingly like torture | Judith Levine
Plans for gloves that can deliver electric shocks underline the homeland security department’s sadistic practices On 11 August, the Associated Press reported that the Homeland Security Agency will spend up to $20m to equip its agents with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks to the skin of a person deemed uncooperative. The “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices”– branded Glove, for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter – will be supplied by their manufacturer, Compliant Technologies, through a no-bid contract . News of the acquisition inspired the editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes to publish a cartoon of an ICE agent wearing the glove, underneath which are a branding iron, an iron maiden, a rack, and other compliance technologies. AKA, instruments of torture. Continue reading...
The treasury bond mess: is this the demise of the US as a safe haven?
The US is scooping up treasury bonds in an effort to raise their price and push yields down – but it’s not working The bond market is driving the Trump administration crazy. Last week, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced that the government would sharply ramp up its purchase of treasury bonds, in an effort to raise their price and thus push down their yield, which amounts to the interest rate the government pays on its debt. It didn’t quite work as planned. Yields on treasurys fell after Bessent’s bond market intervention but soon bounced back. By Friday afternoon, the yield on the 10-year treasury was back near where it was before the secretary’s announcement. The yield on the 30-year bond was again trading around its highest level in 20 years or more. Continue reading...
Devastation, doubt and blame: Hurricane Helene looms over North Carolina’s US Senate race
The Democratic and the Republican candidate each blame the other for the bungled recovery effort after storm struck region Two years after North Carolina suffered the worst natural disaster in its history when Hurricane Helene struck the state’s western half, life in the hardest-hit areas appears back to normal. Downtowns are lively, blocked roads have been reopened and rivers are flowing below their banks. But the telltale evidence of the disaster’s expensive impacts can still be seen – from “for rent” signs in storefronts whose businesses never came back to debris from the storm still lurking in some waterways. And in the race for North Carolina’s US Senate seat, it’s almost as if the hurricane never left. Continue reading...
The men claiming to defend women’s sports are throwing sex toys at female athletes
The WNBA has attracted grifters who care little for basketball – and whose latest stunt exposes the hollowness of their supposed concern I regret to inform you that yet another dildo has hit a WNBA court. The Chicago Sky v Golden State Valkyries game was sullied by sex toys being chucked on to the playing surface on Friday . Aren’t we tired of all this yet? To paraphrase the Sky’s Natasha Cloud , it takes a lot of effort to bother with such a juvenile act. This is yet another controversy for the WNBA, a league that up until a few years ago, most media observers ignored. The WNBA is full of incredibly talented players and has a rich history, but most sports fans treated all but ignored it for the majority of its 30-year existence. But when Caitlin Clark went pro, the league surged. Ratings, attendance, and interest exploded. But not all attention is good attention. Continue reading...
Ex-mayor Dan Sullivan supports incumbent Dan Sullivan’s Senate bid against third Dan Sullivan
Endorsement of Republican incumbent over challenger with same name adds twist to unusual campaign in Alaska Republican senator Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola advance in Alaska Senate primary Dan Sullivan supports Dan Sullivan against Dan Sullivan in Alaska ’s US Senate election , says a former Alaskan mayor who recently backed the race’s Republican incumbent over a challenger sharing their name. That development provided another of multiple absurd elements to Dan S Sullivan’s campaign for a third term in the US Senate, which – beside Mary Peltola, a former Alaska Democratic congresswoman – has drawn opposition from Dan J Sullivan. Continue reading...
Minister tells social media firms to take down dangerous driving content in wake of fatal A66 crash in Middlesborough – UK politics live
Defence minister says police ‘need time’ but ‘in the meantime’ the government has told platforms to take down content glorifying dangerous driving Cleveland police and crime commissioner Matt Storey was on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning to take questions on the fatal A66 crash. Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak died when their Volkswagen Passat, believed to be using cloned plates, collided with a marked armed response vehicle early on Saturday near Middlesbrough. Without being able to say whether that was anything like involved in this case, it’s absolutely idiotic for anybody to be doing anything other than being completely 100% focused on the road when they’re behind the wheel of a vehicle. And for somebody to be filming themselves or doing anything like that is absolutely ridiculous, and of course nobody should be doing that. And it is a worrying situation if that’s becoming more prevalent because it is incredibly dangerous. Continue reading...
Woman stranded in Spain after UK’s eVisa system mistakes her for twin sister
Nidia Webb, who is legally settled in UK, falls foul of ‘known issue’ with Home Office’s digitised immigration process A woman who is legally settled in the UK was left stranded at a Spanish airport after the Home Office’s post-Brexit visa system mixed her up with her twin sister. Nidia Webb fell foul of what she was told was a “known issue” with the eVisa, which was brought in as part of the government’s drive to digitise the UK’s immigration system but has faced problems that have caused concern for thousands of people. Continue reading...
Two men charged and drugs, guns and cars linked to CFMEU seized as police investigate alleged corruption
Police arrest five men and search six properties including the union’s Victorian headquarters Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Two men have been charged and Victorian police have seized drugs, guns and cars linked to the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the building industry. On Monday, detectives from Taskforce Hawk arrested five men and searched six properties including the Victorian headquarters of the union, saying they were investigating secret commissions, fraud and drug trafficking. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham arrives in Ukraine with plans to share UK blueprints for long-range missiles - Europe live
UK PM to announce support for France in setting up missile assembly lines during his Kyiv visit, as coalition of willing the meets later today Burnham visits Ukraine with promise of boost for Kyiv’s long-range missiles UK prime minister Andy Burnham will tell the Ukrainian people that the UK “is four-square behind Ukraine’s independence , and Russia’s threats only strengthen the UK’s resolve”, the PM’s office said on Monday. In addition to announcing that Britain will boost Ukraine’s capacity to make its own long-range missiles, Burnham is expected to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and chair his first meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. Continue reading...
Dominic Perrottet’s brother allegedly shared ‘dirt’ including secret phone recording of minister, Icac hears
Charles Perrottet appeared to be furthering fugitive developer Jean Nassif’s interests by undermining adversaries, a former NSW MP claims Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Dominic Perrottet’s brother shared “dirt” – including a secret pocket phone recording of a minister – to try to help a property developer achieve political outcomes, lawyers assisting a corruption inquiry have alleged. Former New South Wales Liberal MP and staffer Chris Spence told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Monday that Charles Perrottet may have been acting in the interests of fugitive property developer Jean Nassif when Perrottet shared audio recordings with Spence in 2021, although he denied having knowledge of any plans Perrottet may have had at the time. Continue reading...
UK graduate job vacancies plunge to lowest in a decade
Just 8,383 jobs for people leaving university were advertised in July, says recruitment website Adzuna Business live – latest updates Graduate job vacancies in the UK have sunk to their lowest level since they started being tracked a decade ago, according to a recruiting site. Just 8,383 jobs for people leaving university were advertised in July, the recruitment website Adzuna reported on Monday, down 45% compared with the same point last year and the lowest since the company started gathering the data in 2016. Continue reading...
How do you vaccinate 1,000 tiny penguins against bird flu in the wild? It’s ‘really tricky’ but there is a way
Phillip Island’s ‘iconic’ little penguins get first bird flu vaccinations in what is thought to be largest program of its kind Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast More than 1,000 little penguins have received their first dose of bird flu vaccine in Victoria, in what is believed to be the world’s largest vaccination program involving wild birds. Catherine Basterfield, the chief executive of Phillip Island Nature Parks, said vaccinations began early last week and were ramping up. Continue reading...
Wild beaver kits born in Norfolk for first time in more than 500 years
Pair are offspring of two beavers who mysteriously arrived in Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham in December Wild beaver kits have been born in Norfolk for the first time in more than 500 years. The pair of newborns are the offspring of two free-living beavers who mysteriously arrived in Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham in December. Continue reading...
Father of USS Lincoln sailor taken into ICE detention while son deployed in Middle East
Joshua Aviles says he is on a nine-month Middle East deployment and learned his has father has been arrested while he was waiting for green card approval The father of a US sailor on board the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East during the Iran war has been taken into federal immigration detention, the sailor said. The border patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, originally from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida, a spokesperson for the US homeland security department said on Sunday. Continue reading...
Guests joked Alan Jones and alleged victim looked ‘like a great couple’ at luncheon, court hears
Radio host’s indecent assault and sexual touching trial enters fourth week, with shock jock Jason Morrison telling court complainant C appeared ‘stuck’ beside Jones Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Fellow shock jock Jason Morrison has told t he Alan Jones trial that guests at a luncheon hosted by the 2GB breakfast presenter were joking that Jones and a young staffer “look like a great couple” as the pair sat next to each other at a Sydney restaurant. Morrison, who often filled in for Jones, told the court a fellow guest made the “sarcastic” remark about the two men at the event on the lower north shore 20 years ago. Continue reading...
New Zealand to consider banning children under 16 from social media
Prime minister Christopher Luxon’s party to introduce bill seeking the ban, citing harm to a generation of children New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon has said his party will introduce a bill in parliament that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media, proposing fines of up to 10% of a platform’s global revenue for non-compliance. The bill would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users’ ages, including by utilising existing account information, facial technology and digital identity documents. Continue reading...
New daily diabetes pill that helps with weight loss launches in UK pharmacies
Foundayo will be available on private prescription, with pharmacists warning of counterfeit GLP-1 problem A new daily pill that treats diabetes and helps with weight loss will be available in UK pharmacies from Monday. Pharmacists said the move would be welcome for people who cannot use weight-loss jabs, but also issued a warning over the growing problem of fake, unlicensed or counterfeit versions of GLP-1 tablets . Continue reading...