Kenyan parents of Peter Mutuku Mutisya claim his neck had marks like he had been strangled. No injuries were recorded on the official report
When Peter Mutuku Mutisya’s body was found floating in a dam on Del Monte’s farm in Kenya last month his family and friends had already been searching for days.
Mutisya, 25, worked as a chemical sprayer at the neighbouring farm and was relied on by his relatives, to whom he would offer lifts on his prized motorbike.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Inquiry comes after discovery of body of Peter Mutuku Mutisya, 25, in a dam on the plantation
Human rights groups are investigating a death at a Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya after a man’s body was found in a dam there last month.
The body of Peter Mutuku Mutisya, 25, was discovered floating in the dam on Del Monte’s plantation near Thika on 17 November, four days after friends said he had gone there to steal pineapples.
Continue reading...As Tuesday’s crucial vote looms, MPs from both wings of the party say PM has tied his future to a bill that cannot succeed
• Read more: The UK’s deal with Rwanda must stay within the rule of law
Senior Tories from across the party are warning that Rishi Sunak’s emergency Rwanda plan will never become law in its current form, ahead of the most critical vote of his premiership.
Liberal Tories confirmed last night that, despite their desire to back the PM against the right, “serious concerns” remain about the plan and more reassurances will be required. Meanwhile, a self-styled “star chamber” of legal figures examining the proposals for the Tory right is understood to have found problems that are “extremely difficult to resolve”.
Continue reading...There’s no chance of a fair election on Sunday, but Egypt president’s weakness on Gaza is showing in a country racked by poverty, corruption and inflation
For Egyptians, the only signs that an election is imminent are the posters of President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s face plastered on every available wall and billboard across the country.
The repetitive images of Sisi – always gazing into the distance with a stiff, forced smile – are so ubiquitous that people have turned to the only venue for free expression they have left and have begun making memes of them to share online. One picture that circulated features Jack and Rose from the film Titanic sitting on the deck of the ship surrounded by Sisi’s campaign posters. In another, people joke that a pregnant woman passed so many pictures of Sisi on her way to work that her newborn baby resembled the incumbent president.
Continue reading...ERG lawyers conclude plans will not forestall court challenges, echoing concerns of goverment’s own legal team
Rishi Sunak has been dealt a fresh blow over his Rwanda legislation as a legal assessment for the Tory right has concluded that the prime minister’s plans are not fit for purpose.
Bill Cash, who chairs the “star chamber” of lawyers for the European Research Group, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that “at present” the legislation is not “sufficiently watertight to meet the government’s policy objectives” such as circumventing individual legal challenges by people seeking to remain in the UK.
Continue reading...Continent’s chief negotiator says an agreement for fair and equitable funding is a matter of life and death
Fair and equitable finance for climate adaptation is a matter of life and death for the African continent, but talks at Cop28 so far have failed to deliver, the chief negotiator for the African group has warned.
Adaptation is being discussed as part of the global stocktake (GST), the assessment of where the world is on delivering the commitments made in the 2015 Paris agreement. The long-awaited global goal on adaptation (GGA) – a collective commitment proposed by the African group in 2013 and established under the Paris agreement – to drive political action and finance for adaptation on the same scale as mitigation, is also due to be completed in Dubai.
Continue reading...Video of fight shows villagers with sickles and rifles chasing down suspected gang members amid gunfire
A clash between gunmen from a criminal gang and residents of a small farming community in central Mexico left 14 people dead and seven injured, local authorities said on Saturday.
Dramatic video of the fight on Friday posted on social media showed villagers in cowboy hats with sickles and hunting rifles chasing down suspected gang members amid bursts of automatic gunfire.
Continue reading...Guerrilla leader turned president says, faced with having to reduce their carbon consumption, upper classes fear ‘the barbarians are coming’
Middle-class fears of losing a high standard of living because of green policies is driving the rise of the far right across the world, the president of Colombia has warned.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian at the Cop28 UN climate summit, Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first leftwing president, said the world had to find carbon-free ways of being prosperous, and that his country’s rich biodiversity would be the basis of its wealth after phasing out fossil fuels.
Continue reading...Jonathan Lehrer, 57, and alleged accomplice appear in court after bodies of Daniel Langlois and Dominique Marchand were found
An American chocolatier and his alleged accomplice have been charged in the Caribbean island of Dominica with the murder of a Canadian animation innovator and eco-resort owner and his partner days after their bodies were found in a burned-out car.
Jonathan Lehrer, 57, and Robert Snider appeared in magistrates court in Roseau, the capital, on Wednesday to face charges relating to the murders of Daniel Langlois and Dominique Marchand. They did not enter a plea.
Continue reading...US and Britain express support for Guyana over Maduro threat to seize a third of its territory while Brazil calls for peaceful solution
The United States has said it would conduct flight operations within Guyana that build on its routine engagement, as Britain and Brazil expressed concerns about growing border tensions between Guyana and Venezuela.
The long-running spat over the oil-rich Essequibo region, which is being heard by the international court of justice (ICJ), escalated over the weekend when voters in Venezuela rejected the ICJ’s jurisdiction and backed the creation of a new Venezuelan state.
Continue reading...Re-examination finds what were taken to be veins of leaves are actually bone growth patterns
Two small, oval fossils thought to be prehistoric plants are actually the remains of baby marine turtles, researchers have revealed.
The fossils, found in rocks dating to between 132 and 113 million years ago, were discovered in Colombia in the middle of the 20th century by Padre Gustavo Huerta, a priest with a penchant for fossil plants.
Continue reading...The staunch anti-communist, at first supportive of her brothers’ efforts, became disillusioned with the Cuban government
Juanita Castro, the sister of the Cuban rulers Fidel and Raúl Castro who worked with the CIA against their communist government, has died in Miami at 90. Florida had been her home since shortly after fleeing the island nearly 60 years ago.
The journalist María Antonieta Collins, who co-wrote Juanita Castro’s 2009 book, Fidel and Raúl, My Brothers. The Secret History, wrote on Instagram that she died on Monday.
Continue reading...40 fishing boats loaded with donations, Father Christmas figurines and nativity displays sail amid rising tensions
Santa Claus is coming to the South China Sea, on a mission to spread Christmas cheer to Filipino fisherfolk, troops and coastguard officials while hopefully avoiding an international dispute with China.
At 1am on Sunday, the convoy of 40 fishing boats loaded with Christmas donations, Father Christmas figurines and nativity displays set sail from El Nido, Palawan, in the Philippines, on its way to disputed areas that Beijing claims, without legal grounds, as its own.
Continue reading...Newspaper tycoon’s son seeks meeting with foreign secretary as Briton, 76, faces trial and possible life sentence
Foreign secretary David Cameron is being urged to demand the release of newspaper tycoon Jimmy Lai as the British national prepares for a high-profile trial in Hong Kong this month.
Lai, 76, is facing a life sentence, accused of colluding with foreign forces under the draconian national security law introduced by Beijing in 2020 following mass protests.
Continue reading...International Federation of Journalists says 68 killed covering Israel-Gaza war, more than in any other conflict in over 30 years
A leading organisation representing journalists worldwide has expressed deep concern at the number of media professionals killed around the globe doing their jobs in 2023, with more journalists killed during Israel’s war with Hamas than in any other conflict in more than 30 years.
In its annual count of media worker deaths, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said 94 journalists had been killed so far this year and almost 400 others had been imprisoned.
Continue reading...Chinese military aircraft including 12 fighter jets also detected in Taiwan’s air defence zone in past 24 hours
Taiwan’s defence ministry has said that a Chinese balloon crossed the Taiwan Strait median line on Thursday, about a month before Taiwan’s presidential election.
The ministry of national defence (MND) earlier described it as a “surveillance balloon” but the defence minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng later told reporters at parliament: “our initial understanding is that it was a sounding balloon”.
Continue reading...Shinji Aoba has admitted starting fire but has pleaded not guilty, saying a psychological disorder makes him incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong
Prosecutors in Japan are seeking the death penalty for the suspect in an arson attack in 2019 that killed 36 people in one of the country’s deadliest crimes for decades.
Shinji Aoba, who was not arrested until he had recovered from the burns he sustained in the attack on an animation studio in Kyoto, admitted in court in September 2023 to starting the fire.
Continue reading...Internet references conflating the two films drew anger in Japan, which was twice attacked by nuclear weapons during the second world war
Audiences in Japan will finally get to see Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan’s hit biopic about the creator of the nuclear bomb – following criticism that it was marketed in a way that trivialised the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The movie’s distributor in Japan, Bitters End, said on Thursday that the film, which examines J Robert Oppenheimer’s moral quandary over his key role in the world’s first nuclear attack on 6 August 1945, would be released in 2024.
Continue reading...While deputy premier is considered the frontrunner, suggestions his two rivals may team up would make vote ‘incredibly close’
Senior Queensland Labor figures say they expect a contested ballot for the party leadership, despite attempts to rally support behind the deputy premier, Steven Miles, to avoid a messy contest to succeed Annastacia Palaszczuk.
Miles declared his intention to run for the Labor leadership on Sunday, just hours after Palaszczuk announced she would retire from politics and endorsed him as her successor.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Palaszczuk reveals she changed her mind in recent weeks
It was only a couple of months ago that Annastacia Palaszczuk insisted she would lead the Labor party to next year’s state election.
I feel refreshed, I feel energised and I’m absolutely determined to lead the party and this government to the next election. I just want to make that very clear to everybody.
In 2015 Annastacia promised good, decent government for the people of Queensland. That’s exactly what she’s delivered for the last nine years. Congratulations on your premiership. You are one of the true Qld Labor greats
Continue reading...Southerly buster sweeps up the NSW coast bringing thunderstorms and dropping temperatures by up to 10C
Parts of South Australia have received more than two months of rainfall in under 24 hours, as a record-breaking heatwave begins to ease across most of New South Wales.
SA’s state emergency service has warned of potential localised flooding with the heaviest rainfall expected on the Eyre Peninsula, the west coast, and the north-west pastoral districts.
Continue reading...Woman found in critical condition north of Brisbane later died at scene while 32-year-old man died in hospital following injuries sustained in nearby house fire
Police say they are investigating the alleged domestic violence killing of a Brisbane woman who was stabbed and later collapsed in front of a neighbour’s home.
About 7pm, emergency services were called to a street in Kallangur, north of Brisbane, where the woman – understood to be a New Zealand national and a mother of young children – was found in a critical condition. She died at the scene soon afterwards.
Continue reading...Labor leader says state is ‘in good shape’ and ‘now is the time for me to leave’ following months of speculation about her future
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has announced her retirement from politics, saying she had “given my all” and “now is the time for me to leave”.
Palaszczuk made the announcement at a press conference on Sunday following months of speculation about her future.
Continue reading...Fees for foreign investors who leave properties vacant will double and taxes will triple for those who buy existing houses
Foreign investors in Australia will face higher fees and steeper penalties for buying existing homes and leaving them empty as the government aims to address housing affordability.
The federal government on Sunday announced new rules tripling taxes for foreigners who buy existing houses in Australia and a doubling in fees for those who leave dwellings vacant.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president updates French president on military progress as he visits Argentina’s far-right populist as he is sworn in
The leader of the democratic opposition in Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has said she is on her way to Brussels to address foreign ministers and take part in the EU-Belarus consultative group meeting.
“We will discuss legalisation issues, Lukashenko’s sham 2024 elections, stronger sanctions to help free political prisoners and strategies to counter Russia,” she wrote on X.
With the Kremlin in full control of state media and able to decide who can and cannot run, the Navalny camp says this is not a real election.
But it sees the 100-day campaign window as a rare opportunity to draw Russians into a political conversation and convince them that the Ukraine war and the economic strains it has brought are problems of Putin’s making.
Continue reading...Ban comes as jailed Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi begins new hunger strike before award ceremony
Iran has banned Mahsa Amini’s family from travelling to France to receive the EU’s top human rights prize on her behalf, as the family of the imprisoned Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi said she had begun a new hunger strike before Sunday’s award ceremony in Oslo.
In Mohammadi’s absence, her 17-year-old twin children Ali and Kiana, will instead collect the award on her behalf, reading out a speech their mother smuggled out of her cell.
Continue reading...Stubbornly high inflation forces central banks to avoid cuts, but markets expect falls next year
The western world’s largest central banks are poised to keep interest rates on hold this week amid concerns over stubbornly high inflation, despite growing expectations for sharp cuts in borrowing costs next year.
In a crunch week for the global economy, the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank are expected to keep interest rates at their current restrictively high levels to ensure inflation continues to fall back from the highest levels in decades.
Continue reading...Drama also claims the prizes for best director, best screenwriter and best actress for Sandra Hüller
An arthouse whodunit about sexual jealousy and simmering creative rivalry between two married writers was everyone’s envy at Saturday night’s European Film Awards (EFA) in Berlin, with Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall beating her competitors to take home four of the five major awards.
Centred around a deadly fall from the top floor of a chalet in the French Alps, Triet’s drama scooped the European equivalent of the Oscars’ coveted prizes for best film, best director and best screenwriter, as well as a best actress award for the film’s lead, Sandra Hüller.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here
Russian police have put the prominent Russian American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.
The independent Russian news outlet Mediazona was the first to report on Friday that Gessen’s profile has appeared on the online wanted list of Russia’s interior ministry, and the Associated Press was able to confirm that it was. It was not clear from the profile when exactly Gessen was added to the list.
Continue reading...Home of the patisserie falls for US doughnuts with hundreds of people lining up for opening of first branch
France, the country that gave the world the word “patisserie”, a nation famous for its macarons, meringues and millefeuilles, whose restaurants strive for gastronomic perfection and whose baguette is on the UN heritage list, has fallen for another foreign interloper: the American doughnut, or more precisely the Krispy Kreme.
On a freezing morning last week, 400 people, some having camped out all night, formed an uncharacteristically orderly queue for the opening of the US chain’s first outlet in a central Paris shopping centre.
Continue reading...Qatar says mediation efforts continue to secure new ceasefire and free more hostages despite ongoing bombardment
Mediation efforts are continuing to secure a new Gaza ceasefire and free more hostages held by Hamas despite the ongoing Israeli bombardment that is “narrowing the window” for a successful outcome, Qatar’s prime minister said Sunday.
“Our efforts as the state of Qatar along with our partners are continuing. We are not going to give up,” sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the Doha Forum, adding that “the continuation of the bombardment is just narrowing this window for us”.
If Israel is above international law, sanctions should be put on it. Israel should not be allowed to continue violating international humanitarian law and international law.
Our main concern is not the day after. It is today. We want the stop of atrocities and genocide that is happening today.
Continue reading...Developing countries pushing for ‘balanced package’ as summit hopes to keep 1.5C increase alive
• China ‘would like to see agreement to substitute renewables for fossil fuels’
There is some more food-related news from the conference today, writes Fiona Harvey.
The Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF) launched on Sunday, a group that’s being called the “high ambition coalition for food”. It has Brazil, Sierra Leone and Norway as co-chairs, and other prominent members include Rwanda and Cambodia.
Strengthen national visions and food systems transformation pathways, inclusive of 10 priority action areas and consistent with science-based targets.
Update Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) in line with these updated National Food System Transformation Pathways and/or Implementation Plans, by 2025 at the latest.
Report annually on targets and priority intervention areas
“Peasant family farmers, Indigenous and local communities, forest collectors, pastoralists, fisherfolk, and agricultural workers, are among the populations most harshly affected by climate change worldwide. Yet they are also the central actors who can sustainably transform food systems. Supporting their livelihoods through specifically tailored public policies is essential to achieve an agroecological transition towards healthy, resilient and sustainable food systems.”
Let’s face it: climate summits are broken. The delegates talk and talk, while Earth systems slide towards deadly tipping points. Since the climate negotiations began in 1992 more carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels has been released worldwide than in all preceding human history. This year is likely to set a new emissions record. They are talking us to oblivion.
Continue reading...When Joe Sacco created Palestine no one knew what ‘comics journalism’ was. Now his pioneering book has eager new readers
An acclaimed nonfiction graphic novel about Gaza, which pioneered the medium of “comics journalism”, has been rushed back into print after surging demand since the fresh outbreak of the conflict two months ago.
Palestine, by Joe Sacco, was originally released in comic book form by the American publisher Fantagraphics 30 years ago, then published as a single volume by the company, and by Jonathan Cape in the UK in 2003.
Continue reading...António Guterres says UN has no clear route map to stop conflict and world institutions are ‘caught in a time warp’
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has vowed he will not give up seeking a ceasefire in Gaza after the US wielded its veto to block the move at the security council on Friday, leaving the UN without a clear route map to stop the conflict lasting many months.
Speaking at the Doha Forum in Qatar, Guterres did not directly criticise the US in his address but said the security council was “paralysed by geostrategic divisions”. He added world institutions “are weak and outdated, caught in a time warp reflecting a reality of 80 years ago”.
Continue reading...Emergency declaration used to sell $106.5m worth of ammo for Israel’s tanks as reports of fierce fighting in southern Gaza city of Khan Younis emerge
The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said on Saturday.
The state department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5m for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Continue reading...The Israeli military has launched a relentless bombardment of the city, which it claims is the Hamas command centre
For Almaza Owda, in Gaza’s besieged second city of Khan Younis, thoughts have turned to how she might die.
On Thursday night, four days into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) assault on the southern city, Owda – who is living in a tent in the grounds of a UN school turned shelter – described her feelings.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Pre-election agreement would provide a major boost to Narendra Modi and Rishi Sunak
Senior Downing Street officials have flown to Delhi to kickstart talks over a multibillion pound free trade agreement, with the government of Narendra Modi having indicated it is keen to finalise a deal in the next three months.
UK trade negotiators are in the Indian capital talking to their Indian counterparts as they look to revive a deal that looked a distant prospect just a few months ago.
Continue reading...Economic loss from disruption on important travel route for grain exports estimated to be $20bn
Extreme drought and a warm autumn have left water levels on the Mississippi exceptionally low for the time of year. This is causing problems for farmers who rely on the river as a travel route for the crops: 60% of US grain exports use the waterway to reach the Gulf coasts.
The total economic loss is estimated to be about $20bn and, despite attempts to dredge the river, it remains worryingly low as the country enters an important month for grain transport.
Continue reading...The portable unit, comprising mini cubes of medical equipment, enables surgeons to be operating within an hour, designers claim
India has designed and built a “flatpack” field hospital that can be flown to a disaster area by helicopter and assembled faster than an Ikea bookcase.
The hospital is contained in 72 small waterproof cubes, each weighing under 15kg and measuring 38cm x 38cm x 38cm (15 x 15 x 15in). They are packed with tents and specially designed medical equipment.
Continue reading...Human Rights Watch warns bar on women means unqualified men now teach boys, fewer subjects are taught and beatings are routine
The Taliban is causing “irreversible damage” to Afghanistan’s education system through the reintroduction of corporal punishment, curriculum changes and the use of unqualified teachers to replace women, most of whom have been barred from schools, Human Rights Watch has warned.
After taking power in 2021, the Taliban banned girls from secondary schools. A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), published on Wednesday, warns that boys’ education has also suffered under the Taliban, although this has gone largely unreported.
Continue reading...Fahad Shah, whose case was a symbol of harassment of region’s media, says he has different outlook after months behind bars
During his more than 600 days behind bars, Fahad Shah, a Kashmiri journalist, had begun to lose hope that he would ever see freedom again. It was in February last year that Shah, 34, the editor of the Kashmir Walla, one of the last remaining independent news websites in the region, was arrested on charges of “glorifying terrorism” and publishing “anti-national content”.
What followed was a crushing 21 months for Shah as his high-profile case became a symbol of the growing harassment faced by Kashmiri journalists. He was granted bail in one case, only to be swiftly re-arrested and hit with new, more draconian charges.
Continue reading...Foxconn and Pegatron temporarily shut factories near Chennai because of torrential rains that have claimed at least four lives
Taiwan’s Foxconn and Pegatron have halted production of Apple iPhones at their factories near Chennai in southern India because of heavy rains, sources close to the matter said on Monday.
In Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai, the state’s largest city and a major electronics and manufacturing hub, at least two people died and the runway of one of the country’s busiest airports was submerged after torrential rain as the city braced for a severe cyclone expected to hit in the next 24 hours. Two others had died elsewhere. Cyclone Michaung was expected to make landfall on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh around noon on Tuesday, the country’s weather office said, with sustained winds of 90kph to 100kph (56mph to 62mph), gusting to 110kph.
Continue reading...Researchers find turning to fatty and other unhealthy foods for solace reduces vascular function and raises risk of heart disease
Using fatty foods to comfort eat during times of stress can impair the body’s recovery from the pressure, research suggests.
Many people turn to unhealthy foods such as chocolate or crisps when they are feeling the strain, but researchers have found that this can reduce blood flow to the brain and cause poorer vascular function – which in turn can have a negative effect on mental health and cognitive function, and increase the risk of heart disease.
Continue reading...Shadow minister tells health service ‘money is tight’ and that it must provide better value for taxpayers
The shadow health secretary has accused the NHS of using every winter crisis and challenge it faces as an excuse to ask for more money.
Speaking on a visit to Singapore, Wes Streeting said the health service needs to accept “money is tight”, and that it must rethink how the care it provides could be better value for money for the taxpayer.
Continue reading...Investors may sell shares to oil-rich state’s Public Investment Fund, which already owns a stake, report says
Saudi Arabia could take effective majority control of London Heathrow, the UK’s major airport, with other investors considering selling their stakes, according to reports.
The oil-rich state’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) allied with private equity investor Ardian to announce the purchase of a 25% stake in the airport last month from Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure giant that had been the primary owner of Heathrow for 17 years.
Continue reading...The then chancellor’s plan proved to be of no economic benefit and was decried by scientists – but it clearly set out the political aims of ‘Dishy Rishi’
There is no blue heritage plaque above the stainless-steel open kitchen at the branch of Wagamama at London’s Festival Hall – but the restaurant might have claims to one. It was here, in delivering a couple of plates of katsu curry – one chicken, one vegan – on 8 July 2020, that our current prime minister in effect launched his campaign for the country’s leadership.
During that lockdown spring as pandemic chancellor, Rishi Sunak had one of the few enviable public roles: he was cast as the man who saved the economy by giving money away. By the time he pitched up at Wagamama that lunchtime, his various Covid-help schemes had dished out £176bn in furlough payments and loans and deferred taxes. In those efforts Sunak, little known before the crisis, had sometimes looked like the only sober and responsible member of her majesty’s government. The headline act of his summer budget statement, “eat out to help out”, changed that narrative.
Continue reading...Former immigration minister says legislation will not work, as talk grows of Tory plot to oust PM
The former UK immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said he will not vote for Rishi Sunak’s bill aimed at deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda this week, in a blow to the prime minister.
Jenrick, who resigned over the bill, said it would not work and needed to go further in setting aside human rights law if it was to have a chance of getting the Rwanda scheme to work.
Continue reading...Storms bring warnings for north-east and south-west Scotland, north-west of England and West Yorkshire
The UK will continue to be battered by heavy rain caused by the coming together of two storms, Elin and Fergus, with four yellow weather warnings for rain in place on Sunday.
The Met Office warnings for heavy rain are in place in the north-east of Scotland including Aberdeen, the south-west of Scotland and most of the north-west of England and West Yorkshire.
Continue reading...Academics at Columbia College in Chicago are in a fierce dispute over cuts to courses and poor working conditions
The longest strike of adjuncts in US labor history is still ongoing, with academics at Columbia College in Chicago remaining in a fierce dispute over cuts to college courses and a host of complaints over poor working conditions.
The fierce dispute began when Columbia College leadership suddenly announced plans to implement significant cuts to courses and course sections, and consolidating classes which have ballooned class sizes, citing a $20m budget shortfall.
Continue reading...Counties in swing states like Georgia overwhelmed with requests at the same time as they scramble to prepare for 2024
Deb Cox has been elections director of Lowndes county in southern Georgia for more than a decade – and has never before received so many time-consuming demands for public information.
Like many elections officials across the country, Cox has been inundated with Freedom of Information Act and open records requests from rightwing activists who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. That’s forced her and other local officials to spend an unusual amount of time and money providing polling documents to partisan groups – an additional burden as they scramble to prepare for the fraught 2024 presidential election.
Continue reading...Hungarian appearance at two-day event part of Orbán’s transatlantic attempt to bolster Russia’s war
Allies of Hungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán will hold a closed-door meeting with Republicans in Washington to push for an end to US military support for Ukraine, the Guardian has learned.
Márton Ugrósdy, the deputy state secretary for the prime minister’s political director’s office, and Attila Demkó, a leading pro-Orbán academic, along with members of the Hungarian embassy in Washington, will on Monday begin a two-day event hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank.
Continue reading...Rightwing conspiracy theorist was banned from platform in 2018, but could be back after 2m votes cast
The social media platform X will reinstate the account of the US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones after a poll of the site’s users backed his return, its owner, Elon Musk, has said.
“The people have spoken and so it shall be,” Musk posted in reply to a poll on Saturday on whether to reinstate the Jones account. Close to 2m votes were cast by the time the poll closed, with about 70% voting in favour of Jones’s return.
Continue reading...Three deaths reported in Montgomery County and a further three in the suburbs of Nashville, officials say
Severe storms and tornadoes in Tennessee killed at least six people on Saturday and caused what local emergency services described as extensive damage with tens of thousands of residents without power.
“At this time we can confirm that three people are deceased, two adults and one child as a result of the tornado that touched down this afternoon. Additionally, 23 people have been treated at the hospital,” the Montgomery County in Tennessee said.
Continue reading...Trump ahead 47% to 43%, worrying some Democrats as others caution avoiding ‘mad poll disease’
Donald Trump has nudged ahead of Joe Biden in national polling for the 2024 presidential election, a survey published on Saturday revealed, a day after the US president branded his predecessor as “despicable” at an event in California.
The Wall Street Journal poll shows Biden with the lowest approval rating of his presidency, a finding broadly in line with other recent studies that have sparked concern in Democratic circles less than a year before voters go to the polls.
Continue reading...Reuters exclusively reported that German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp may need to hand over cash or keep hold of some pension liabilities […]
The post Thyssenkrupp may have to pay up to forge steel business deal appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters was first to report that Allete Inc (ALE.N), a U.S. power utility and renewable energy developer that has a […]
The post US power utility Allete explores sale appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters exclusively reported that The U.S., EU and UK are pressuring Liberia, the Marshall Islands and Panama to increase oversight […]
The post U.S., allies pressure Liberia, Marshall Islands, Panama over Russia oil sanctions appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters exclusively reported that The U.S. Air Force has eliminated Boeing (BA.N) from its competition to develop a successor to […]
The post Boeing eliminated from US Air Force’s ‘Doomsday Plane’ competition appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters reported that Google (GOOGL.O) has called on Britain’s antitrust regulator to take action against Microsoft (MSFT.O), claiming its business […]
The post Google pushes for antitrust action against Microsoft in UK cloud market appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters was first to report a debt crunch at Swedish property group SBB has left the European Central Bank at […]
The post ECB haunted by bond buys in Swedish property crisis appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters exclusively reported that Huawei Technologies’ (HWT.UL) new smart car software and components firm is set for a valuation of […]
The post Huawei’s new smart car firm valued up to $35 billion amid advanced stake talks appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters was first to report that Four major banks, including Standard Chartered Plc (STAN.L) and HSBC Plc (HSBA.L), have quit […]
The post Four banks quit initiative assessing climate targets appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters was first to report Meta Platforms’ (META.O) paid no-ads subscription service launched in Europe this month faced one of […]
The post Meta Platforms’ paid ad-free service targeted in Austrian privacy complaint appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
Reuters was first to report that French telecoms firm Orange (ORAN.PA) told Reuters on Monday that it had decided to […]
The post France’s Orange withdraws from process to buy stake in Ethio Telecom appeared first on Reuters News Agency.
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – As U.S. Government Executives are working to implement the Biden Administration’s new Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, (AI) they are not [...] More
The post As Government Leans in on AI, Security is Big Concern appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — As the new era of fifth generation (5G) mobile communications advances, China remains steadfast on dominating the field. That poses a national [...] More
The post Who’s Really Winning the Global 5G and Cloud Computing Infrastructure Race? appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — In the days after Hamas fighters launched a terrorist attack in Israel in October, an illicit amphetamine known as Captagon was reportedly found in [...] More
The post How the Captagon Trade is Bolstering Iran and its Web of Militias appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — While hardly a match for the overwhelmingly cutting-edge and highly trained Israeli forces, Hamas’s competency on the battlefield lies not in weapons [...] More
The post A Look Inside Hamas’s Weapons Arsenal appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE – Hamas thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support as it released 25-year-old Russian-Israeli dual national Ron Krivoi from captivity on Sunday in [...] More
The post Russia, Hamas and a Moment of Global Challenge appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Israeli intelligence has regained its sea legs. After the terrorist attack launched by Hamas last month, it’s clear that Shin [...] More
The post How Israeli and U.S. Intelligence have rebounded since Hamas Attack appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT – Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed in a meeting held in San Francisco this week, that [...] More
The post Artificial Intelligence in a Risk-Filled World appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Almost two-and-a-half years after the U.S-backed Afghan government crumbled and the Taliban regime resumed power in Afghanistan, Chinese investors are maneuvering into [...] More
The post Is China the Real Winner in Afghanistan? appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — This is the twentieth anniversary of the Six Party Talks, established in 2003, to resolve the nuclear issue with North [...] More
The post A Nuclear North Korea Presents Opportunity for Global Leadership in a Complicated World appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING – CIA Director Bill Burns is in the Middle East as part of a Biden Administration push to ease tensions in the region [...] More
The post Director Burns’ Middle East Mission appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — When Russian President Vladimir Putin rose to power in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, one of his promises to [...] More
The post The Price of Putin’s Unkept Promises appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
OPINION — The October 7 massacre perpetrated against innocent Israelis, Americans and other foreign nationals by the terrorist group Hamas and enabled by its primary [...] More
The post A Call to Action for the Intelligence Community Following Hamas Terror Attack appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – As supporters of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim political party Hezbollah bury dozens of militants killed in small-scale clashes with Israeli soldiers since [...] More
The post What Happens if Hezbollah Makes Good on its Vow to Escalate Violence in the Middle East? appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – A second aid convoy arrived in Gaza as Israel continued striking targets in the region ahead of an expected ground operation [...] More
The post Is Iran’s ‘Ring of Fire’ Strategy Heating Up? appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – Nearly two weeks after Hamas militants invaded Israel, targeting, kidnapping and killing civilians in a bloody massacre, questions remain around just [...] More
The post Deciphering Hamas’s Web of Support appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — Early after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as Russian troops threatened Kyiv and Russian cruise missiles destroyed targets [...] More
The post Ukraine’s Big ‘Adventure Capital’ Opportunity appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
OPINION — Many analysts of global affairs play fast and loose with the term “game changer.” My somewhat curmudgeonly analysis of events like UAE-Israel normalization [...] More
The post Why Hamas’s Attack Will Change Israel As We Know It appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Right from the moment Hamas launched its massive attack on Israel on October 7, everyone has been puzzling about how [...] More
The post Why Did Israeli Intelligence Fail? History Suggests Many Causes. appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+REPORTING — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare trip out of the hermit country last month, to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and pledge [...] More
The post What are the Implications of the Growing Alliance Between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea? appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
The Ukraine Diaries is a series of personal writings by national security experts who took part in The Cipher Brief’s recent visit to Kyiv as [...] More
The post The Ukraine Diaries: The Biggest Challenge is not Allowing Ukraine to Lose this War appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
The Ukraine Diaries is a series of personal writings by national security experts who joined The Cipher Brief’s recent visit to Kyiv as part of [...] More
The post The Ukraine Diaries: Ukraine Embodies the Values We Were Raised to Believe In appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
The Ukraine Diaries is a series of personal writings by national security experts who joined The Cipher Brief’s recent visit to Kyiv as part of [...] More
The post The Ukraine Diaries: Is Ukraine a Vital U.S. National Security Interest? appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
After originally being removed in 1997, a replica statue of “Iron Felix” Dzerzhinsky, has now been placed outside the headquarters of Russia’s foreign spy service. [...] More
The post The Return of ‘Iron Felix’ and the Future of Russia’s Leadership appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
SUBSCRIBER+REPORTING — The United States this month, announced a fresh slate of sanctions on a family nexus of seven Hezbollah operatives and bankrollers spanning Lebanon to Latin [...] More
The post Hezbollah is Operating in Latin America. What does that mean for the U.S.? appeared first on The Cipher Brief.