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Politics
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Nobody Wants This creator says she disagrees with Adam Brody’s ‘free Palestine’ comments
After Brody called out the ‘death and misery’ in Palestine, the Netflix hit’s Jewish creator said they don’t see eye to eye The creator of the hit Netflix comedy Nobody Wants This has responded to star Adam Brody’s recent support of Palestine amid the Israel-Gaza war . “Everyone is entitled to a different opinion,” Erin Foster said in an interview with the Not Skinny Not Fat podcast when asked about Brody calling for a free Palestine. Continue reading...
Allegations against Thomas Markle Sr challenge media’s Meghan narrative
Duchess of Sussex’s decision to cut ties with elderly father cast in new light as he faces sexual abuse image claims Meghan ‘deeply distressed’ by allegations against father The depiction of the Duchess of Sussex by certain sections of the media has often been one of a fame-hungry daughter casting off an elderly father in his declining years and keeping him from his grandchildren as she embraces the international celebrity stage. Their estrangement has been the subject of countless headlines since her marriage to Prince Harry. But her statement today, released after child sex image allegations made against Thomas Markle Sr , 82, suggests deeper, darker fears as the cause. Continue reading...
Mamdani loves Arsenal. He should challenge them to cut ties with the UAE over Sudan | Sasha Lezhnev and John Prendergast
The New York mayor’s passion for the Gunners and human rights presents an opportunity to push back on the club’s lucrative UAE sponsorship Like him or not, there is no doubt that New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s passion for certain issues is electric, and that passion played a large part in him getting elected. But today, two of his biggest passions are on a collision course. On one hand, Mamdani is now arguably the US’s most high-profile supporter of English Premier League champions Arsenal. A superfan since he was a child , he has put the Gunners into the American spotlight more than anyone since becoming mayor. The Empire State Building gleamed in Arsenal’s red and white when they won the Premier League title. He wrote an essay about what Arsenal’s championship means to him, talks about Arsenal at press conferences and interviews and inaugurated Thierry Henry Way near Times Square in honor of the Arsenal legend. Continue reading...
Being pro-Trump has been ‘easy radio’ for conservative hosts like Jesse Kelly. Those days are ending.
Conservative media personalities who have long benefited from boosting the president will be forced to wrestle with the likely fallout of Republican losses in next month’s US midterm elections Nothing lasts forever. Jesse Kelly knows his meteoric rise through conservative radio will end one day – just like Donald Trump ’s power over the Republican party. Every day, the 6ft 8in Kelly walks a tightrope between sycophancy and criticism of the US president: the same fine line many rightwing hosts have attempted to tread throughout Trump’s rise, fall, and then resurrection from the political graveyard after his 2020 presidential election defeat. Continue reading...
UK government to make unprecedented intervention in setting of water bills
Exclusive: Angela Eagle tells utility bosses next price review ‘must focus on value for money for customers’ UK politics live – latest updates Ministers will make an unprecedented intervention in water bills and how companies prioritise investment, directing bosses to bring down costs and stop leaks and sewage overflows. Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, has told suppliers in England and Wales she plans to intervene in the next price review – conducted by the water regulator, Ofwat. Continue reading...
Ebola patient in Nigeria did not visit DR Congo, escalating concern over spread of virus
Switzerland says patient is wife of Swiss diplomat and believed to have contracted virus while travelling in Uganda An Ebola patient in Nigeria is a Swiss woman who has not travelled to the epicentre of the current outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo and is believed to have contracted the virus while travelling with her husband in Uganda, the Swiss foreign ministry has said. The new information contradicts accounts from Uganda, which previously said the woman had travelled to eastern DR Congo, and will raise concerns about the ability of authorities to contain the outbreak, which is already the most geographically widespread in history. Continue reading...
Netanyahu orders ‘very extensive’ operation in West Bank after two Israeli soldiers killed
Israel’s prime minister gives order after military says it thwarted ‘terror attack’ by two armed Palestinians Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the army to prepare for a “very extensive” operation in the occupied West Bank after two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire near a checkpoint in Hebron. The Israeli military said it had thwarted a “terror attack” by two armed Palestinians from Hebron, amid heightened tensions before next week’s election. Continue reading...
Met police searching for suspect after man shot near Royal Artillery Barracks
Victim left with life-threatening injuries after incident in Frances Street, Woolwich, south-east London Police are searching for a suspect after a man was shot near the Royal Artillery barracks in south-east London. The victim has been left with life-threatening injuries after the incident, which took place in Frances Street, Woolwich, located 600 metres from the barracks. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham says he has emergency stockpile of beans, soup and Twiglets
PM’s revelation follows launch of advice for households to have enough water and food to get by in civil emergency Andy Burnham has stockpiles of beans, soup and Twiglets in case of a civil emergency, he has said, adding that a new government campaign was not reason for panic buying. The prime minister was questioned on his domestic supply situation after the Be Ready campaign advised households to have enough bottled water and long-life food to keep going in case of an emergency, such as one caused by a weather event or cyber-attack or something else. Continue reading...
Minnesota officials say US government stopped sharing evidence on fatal ICE shootings
State authorities investigating killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti said federal officials paused transfer of evidence The federal government has stopped sharing evidence with Minnesota authorities who are investigating the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers during a violent anti-immigration, anti-protest crackdown in the state earlier this year, state officials said in recent court filings. Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration in March for access to materials they said they needed to independently investigate the shootings. Continue reading...
Trump’s top border official defends Big Bend border wall plan despite mounting opposition
CBP commissioner Rodney Scott says $46bn Texas project is justified amid court-ordered pause on wall’s construction The Trump administration’s top border official defended plans to build a wall and other infrastructure in the Big Bend of Texas despite mounting opposition against the project and a court-ordered pause on construction, saying his goal of fortifying the country’s borders was “non-negotiable”. Rodney Scott, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), said the $46bn wall project was justified despite a bipartisan coalition of landowners, local businesses and environmentalists who view it as a waste of taxpayer money that could be destructive to a region with historically low migrant crossings, in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press. Continue reading...
Ukraine troops report ongoing problems with Starlink satellite network
Communications system still faces speed restrictions despite Trump claim that Musk had resumed full service Trump, Musk, Zelenskyy: who is blaming who in the Ukraine-Starlink row? Ukrainian forces continue to report widespread disruptions to the Starlink satellite network , despite Donald Trump’s claim that Elon Musk had lifted restrictions on the service. The slowdown, which has affected the key communications system used by Ukrainian troops, began last week after Trump and Starlink founder Musk publicly criticised Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, over continued strikes on Russian oil refineries. Continue reading...
A Democratic win in Texas is a long shot – but Ken Paxton’s weakness is obvious | Moira Donegan
Republicans are resorting to childish taunts to defend an uncommonly dishonorable state attorney general It’s a bit like Lucy with the football. Every few years, Democrats convince themselves that a Texas Senate seat might finally switch from red to blue. On paper, it makes sense. Texas is a large and urbanizing state with an increasingly educated – and increasingly non-white – population. Other one-time Republican strongholds that have undergone similar demographic shifts have turned purple or even blueish – think Georgia, for example. The border counties along the Rio Grande valley, with their deep poverty and big Latino populations, were long thought to be fertile ground to nurture a kind of anti-Trump populism that could be converted into pro-Democratic sentiment. The state Democratic party is anemic there, but a few talented candidates have emerged. Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
Potholes, bus fares and headphone dodgers: will Burnham’s strategy of ‘everyday fixes’ succeed?
Since Burnham took office Labour has prioritised small fixes to try to show voters it can make a genuine difference, with government insiders delighted at the public reaction In the first episode of Armando Iannucci’s political satire The Thick of It, the hapless minister Hugh Abbot is in the back of a taxi, frantically brainstorming for an on-the-hoof policy he can announce to the assembled national press. “So you want something sexy and eye-catching, and that is free and universally popular and instantly applicable. No one can possibly object to it,” says the addled junior advisor Ollie Reeder. “Well, really, you should have said something before then, because I’ve got a file about that fucking thick of that back in the office.” Continue reading...
‘An orchestra being gassed should be an alarm signal’: the musical activists targeted in Paris
New World Orchestra’s musicians are shocked at French police targeting peaceful gathering with teargas Europe live – latest updates As riot police encircled Place de la République last week, lobbing teargas canisters to disperse demonstrators, the conductor Étienne Jarrier and his orchestra played on. They kept playing even after everyone else had disappeared and teargas was being fired into the central Paris square. It was only when Jarrier noticed his musicians were being directly targeted that he ordered them to stop. “There were teargas canisters landing in the double bass and music stand cases, and starting fires the musicians had to stamp out,” he told the Guardian. Continue reading...
Oil hits five-month high amid fears US will renew strikes on Iran
Brent crude rises to $114.72 a barrel after Tehran threatens retaliatory attacks on Gulf oil and tech facilities Business live – latest updates Oil has hit its highest level in more than five months as fears of fresh escalation in the Middle East conflict grip the energy markets. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, rose by 1% on Friday morning to $114.72 a barrel – its highest level since May. Continue reading...
Trump to rally in Florida after stoking Ramaswamy ad furor – US politics live
Trump to campaign for gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, who has distanced himself from president; Trump doubled down on support for Ramaswamy Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. Donald Trump is travelling to Florida today to speak at another rally as midterm election day races nearer. The president will stump for gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds. Whether Donalds regards this as helpful remains to be seen after he removed mentions of the president from his website and has barely uttered his name during the race for governor. Continue reading...
Thousands of homes without power as Storm Austen hits south-west England
Dozens of schools in Cornwall also affected by conditions as another storm heads for Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England Thousands of homes are without power and schools have been closed as the first named storm of the year hits UK shores. Storm Austen brought severe conditions to parts of the south-west, with a gust of 76mph recorded at St Mary’s Airport on the Isles of Scilly on Friday morning. Just before 11am, more than 16,000 homes in the south-west were without power, according to National Grid. Continue reading...
The mega-Maga contender in deep-red Florida who doesn’t want to talk about Trump
Byron Donalds removed mentions of the president from his website and has barely uttered his name – will his ploy prove successful in a tight governor’s race? It took Byron Donalds, addressing a wildly supportive crowd at a rally in Florida’s bluest county, some time to list those he blamed for any “affordability” issues they might be experiencing. Joe Biden, and the radical policies of the Democrats, were at fault, the Republican nominee for Florida governor insisted in his stump speech at Broward county’s Green Glades West ranch, even though neither has wielded power in Washington for almost two years. Continue reading...
This man has quit Badenoch’s increasingly hard-right Tory party – others should be brave enough to do the same | Polly Toynbee
The London Assembly’s Andrew Boff is one of many who reject Kemi Badenoch’s authoritarian position. They are the only chance for the party’s future The chair of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff, resigned this week from the Conservative party after 53 years of membership. He quit after being blocked from entering the race to be Tory candidate for London mayor because he supports the European convention on human rights (ECHR), putting him at odds with Kemi Badenoch’s hardline position. Messages of support for one of the capital’s longest-serving Conservative politicians quickly poured in from fellow Tories. Gavin Barwell, Theresa May’s Downing Street chief of staff, has backed Boff, warning Badenoch that others would follow him over the ECHR edict. But the rest sent messages privately, not daring to reveal themselves under a leadership that doesn’t tolerate dissent. In an interview last year , Badenoch decreed that rebels “should not and cannot stand as a Conservative candidate” if they do not agree with leaving the ECHR. She also bars anyone supporting net zero . Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Leaked trove reveals extent of far-right AfD’s efforts to court Trump and Maga allies
Documents show German party’s scramble to request support after president’s 2016 election win and co-leader’s pursuit of Steve Bannon A data leak from Germany’s far-right German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has revealed the extent of efforts by the party to court Donald Trump and other leading figures in the Maga movement, stretching back more than a decade. The trove also reveals the pains the AfD took in wooing the president, whom they saw from the beginning as a potential ally, with senior party officials agonising over the wording of an obsequious congratulatory telegram when he was elected in 2016, which included the wish that his “hopes as a person be fulfilled”. Continue reading...
What’s up with Trump’s unhinged rants on male candidates’ bodies at rallies?
Trump’s latest tactic to champion Republicans at midterm rallies? Assessing men’s bodies in meticulous detail Speaking at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, earlier this month, to support the Republican senator Jon Husted, Donald Trump broke from his prepared remarks. Trump said he had recently learned that Husted played football at university. The president, 80, said this had prompted him to conduct a physical assessment of Husted. Continue reading...
‘They wanted to make a scene’: the 72-year-old paraded in dramatic arrest for ‘voter fraud’
Omar Muñoz, one of 28 people charged in California, speaks out about being dragged from his home in front of cameras as DoJ accused of ‘disgusting’ PR campaign Omar Muñoz was getting ready to have his morning coffee just after 5am on Monday when he heard a loud bang at the front door of his Los Angeles home. “Open up or else we’ll break down the door, and it’ll be bad for you,” the man on the other side yelled, Muñoz, 72, recalled. Continue reading...
First Thing: Former DHS aide Lewandowski investigated over claims he profited from government role
Investigation marks a rare move by the DoJ against an ally of the US president. Plus, why the world’s coral reefs are facing a dire future Good morning. Corey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and top aide at the Department of Homeland Security, is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government. The DoJ has not yet issued subpoenas or other legal demands in the criminal investigation, and a lawyer for Lewandowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The justice department under Trump has investigated several prominent critics of the president, but investigations of people close to Trump have been rare. Lewandowski served as a top aide to Kristi Noem during her tenure as homeland security secretary. Lewandowski allegedly signed some DHS contracts despite having questionable legal authority as a special government employee, according to one DHS official. Certain grants and contracts, including those involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were put on hold at Lewandowski’s direction, according to two other sources. Where else has Trump suffered a legal setback? Donald Trump has been ordered by a US judge to cooperate with the discovery process mandated for his lawsuit against the BBC and to sit for a deposition by 11 December – or else he could be subject to sanctions, including possible dismissal of the $10bn lawsuit. What request has Trump claimed he made of Google? Trump has said Google rejected his request to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or America. Google has previously acceded to Trump’s demands, with locations labeled “Gulf of America” and “Lake America” for US users at the president’s request. Continue reading...