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Rishi Sunak declines to rule out calling summer election as ministers put travel plans on hold to attend cabinet – UK politics live
Wed, 22 May 2024 14:49:12 GMT
Prime minister says there will be a general election ‘in the second half of the year’ when asked at PMQs
In an interview with Sky News this morning, Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, was asked if the UK would follow Ireland, Spain and Norway in formally recognising a Palestinian state. No, he replied. He told Sky:
We have a long-standing position on this that we will be prepared to recognise the state of Palestine at the time that it most helps the peace process, and we will continue to keep that under review.
We will continue to keep that under review. But our position is that this is not the right time to do it at the moment.
Dubbed “Sue’s shit list” by one senior Labour official, it has been drawn up by the former civil servant to identify the most immediate problems Labour would face in office if it wins the election expected this year.
Senior Labour officials said that any one of the areas on Gray’s “government risk register” could puncture a honeymoon period for a new administration led by Sir Keir Starmer.
Continue reading...Giving up booze doesn’t have to mean missing out, especially if you get creative with fruit, herbs and infusions. Here is how to enjoy all your favourite drinks without the hangover
There is nothing better on a summer’s evening than sipping a cocktail as the sun goes down. And, as the variety of non-alcoholic options increases, there is no need to miss out if you are teetotal or moderating your drinking. So, what are the best booze-free varieties going? Bartenders share their favourite recipes.
Continue reading...After years working for backcountry trail crews, Benjamin Alva Polley had a healthy respect for the whims of the wilderness. But when he and his wife headed to Alaska’s Brooks Range – the most remote frontier – fear crept in
Silence washed over me as the float plane buzzed away, leaving us alone. I turned around and saw fresh grizzly and moose tracks the size of dinner plates imprinted in the mud. Panic tiptoed in, but it didn’t reign. I tried not to dwell on it, taking a deep breath and sinking into the beauty rioting everywhere. I didn’t want my wife to know I was intimidated.
We were about to hike and packraft on our honeymoon in a remote Alaska wilderness. The bush pilot had just dropped the two of us off in the Brooks Range, a 700-mile mountain range arcing the width of northern Alaska. We had packrafts (lightweight, inflatable kayaks), all-weather gear and food – a load of about 70lb each, nearly half our body weight. We had rented a satellite phone, the only way to contact the rest of the world for emergencies, and I’d jotted a list of Alaskan contacts on paper if we needed rescuing. The consequences if something went wrong were mind-boggling.
Continue reading...Photographer Steve Fitch has captured motel signs across the US, showing a range of styles during different decades, displayed at a new exhibition at the Joseph Bellows Gallery in La Jolla, California. ‘What does matter is the idea of theme and variation, how a collection can be interesting because of the variety of specimens,’ Fitch said. ‘A collection of butterflies illustrates this idea, for example, and photography is such a great medium for collecting and comparing, which is what my motel sign project is ultimately all about’
Continue reading...In the US, millennials and gen Z often don’t take their annual leave for fear of looking like slackers. But they are still booking some time on the beach …
Name: Quiet vacationing.
Age: The phrase is a new one, the thing it describes less so.
Continue reading...Alongside rare birds, reptiles and insects, this corner of Dorset, poignantly depicted in Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May, serves up brilliant heathland walks, sea views and pints of local ale
Mike Leigh’s brilliant 1976 Dorset-based comedy Nuts in May begins with Keith and Candice-Marie taking the chain ferry from Sandbanks across the mouth of Poole harbour to the Isle of Purbeck, where they camp, visit Corfe Castle, walk along the mighty Jurassic coastline and end up in an altercation with a young Brummie couple called Finger and Honky. For me, watching Nuts in May is an annual tradition, as is visiting the peninsula where it was filmed. Most of us have places for which we feel a particularly strong pull; one of mine is Purbeck. And since this peninsula’s recent status as England’s first “super” nature reserve, I’m beginning to understand why.
Being a relatively remote peninsula, Purbeck has seen little major development over the past 70 years, despite its south coast location. On a human scale, the landscape is relatively unchanged since Keith and Candice-Marie’s ill-fated camping trip half a century ago. Behind the scenes, however, years of conservation work from seven organisations – including the National Trust, RSPB, Dorset Wildlife Trust and Natural England – has led to the creation of a near-continuous jigsaw of restored habitats, making it the UK’s first designated super nature reserve, running clockwise from Brownsea Island and the Studland peninsula to Arne, further west on Poole harbour.
Continue reading...Met Office issues amber warning for next few days, with persistent rain across much of the country
Heavy rain could bring flooding and travel disruption across much of the UK on Wednesday and Thursday with an amber warning issued for part of the country.
The Met Office has issued the warning for parts of north Wales and north-west England, including Liverpool and Manchester, for 24 hours from noon on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Winter downpours also made 20% wetter and will occur every three years without urgent carbon cuts, experts warn
The seemingly “never-ending” rain last autumn and winter in the UK and Ireland was made 10 times more likely and 20% wetter by human-caused global heating, a study has found.
More than a dozen storms battered the region in quick succession between October and March, which was the second-wettest such period in nearly two centuries of records. The downpour led to severe floods, at least 20 deaths, severe damage to homes and infrastructure, power blackouts, travel cancellations, and heavy losses of crops and livestock.
Continue reading...Photographer Gideon Mendel has filmed and photographed floods around the world extensively. He travelled by boat through the historic town centre of Port Alegre, documenting the reflections across a city that had become a liquid landscape
Continue reading...French leader to leave for archipelago on Tuesday night with intention of restoring ‘calm and order’
The French president will travel to the Pacific island of New Caledonia on Tuesday, just over a week after riots erupted in the French overseas territory leaving six dead and hundreds injured.
The unrest over plans for an electoral overhaul has resulted in dozens of shops and businesses being looted and burned, with cars torched and road barricades set up. A state of emergency and curfew remain in place, with army reinforcements.
Continue reading...We would like to hear from Taylor Swift fans about their preparations for the Eras tour
We would like to hear from Taylor Swift fans about their preparations for the UK Eras tour. How far will you be travelling? Will you be wearing or making anything special for the occasion? How much will you be spending? Tell us all about it below.
Continue reading...The travel photography site Capture the Atlas has published the seventh edition of its Milky Way photographer of the year collection. The Milky Way season ranges from February to October in the northern hemisphere and from January to November in the southern hemisphere. The best time to see and photograph the Milky Way is usually between May and June, when hours of visibility are at their maximum on both hemispheres – away from light-polluted areas such as cities, and preferably at higher elevation
Continue reading...For one memorable season in the 90s, I travelled with a group called Colney Hatch. It gave me a fleeting but fascinating window into the treatment of women who are ‘with the band’
‘Everyone knows you would do absolutely anything for him. You can do this, surely?” In 1993, I was living in St Petersburg in the former Soviet Union for a year as part of my university course, studying Russian. I had fallen wildly in love (by which I mean in lust) with the lead guitarist of a Ukrainian punk rock band, Colney Hatch. And here was the band’s manager asking me to do just this one little thing: break the band in the west.
It was true that this was a Meat Loaf situation: I would do anything for love. Still, the only music industry names I had even heard of were Stock, Aitken and Waterman. When the band’s manager sensed reluctance – based on the fact that I was a clueless 21-year-old, had no contacts in the world of rock and had been to London only once, to go to John Lewis when I was eight – he said: “You want them to succeed, don’t you? Or are you just a groupie?”
Continue reading...ICC warrants against Israeli officials would mean they can’t travel — and their patrons in the U.S. would be pressured over continued arms sales.
The post Can a U.S. Ally Actually Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in the ICC? appeared first on The Intercept.
When asked what makes this an “emotional support squid” and not just another stuffed animal, its creator says:
They’re emotional support squid because they’re large, and cuddly, but also cheerfully bright and derpy. They make great neck pillows (and you can fidget with the arms and tentacles) for travelling, and, on a more personal note, when my mum was sick in the hospital I gave her one and she said it brought her “great comfort” to have her squid tucked up beside her and not be a nuisance while she was sleeping.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered...
The 71-year-old veteran peace activist discusses the war on Gaza, the Biden administration, and shaking up Congress.
The post Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine appeared first on The Intercept.
The 22-year-old woman and her child were civilian casualties of a U.S. drone strike, but the Pentagon won't return the family's messages.
The post Pentagon Compensated Zero Civilian Victims in 2022 — Despite Evidence That the U.S. Killed a Mom and Child in Somalia appeared first on The Intercept.
“We’re continuing to work around the clock with the government of Israel and with the government of Egypt to work on this issue,” the State Department said.
The post American Medical Missions Trapped in Gaza, Facing Death by Dehydration as Population Clings to Life appeared first on The Intercept.
What’s the reason for our increasingly bumpy air travel – and does it mean a crash is more likely?
Friday 24 February 2023, an afternoon flight. I’m travelling from Charleston, South Carolina, to New York’s LaGuardia airport after a vacation with my kids and a friend. In the last few years, I’ve become sufficiently weird about flying to check in advance for high wind, and today, unfortunately, it’s windy. After takeoff, the captain informs us that once we get below 10,000ft, he’ll be advising the stewards to stay seated. He uses the words a “few bumps”, which I tell myself sounds almost charming – Whoops-a-daisy! Just a few bumps! – and “moderate turbulence”, which is less reassuring. In airline parlance, “moderate”, I’m aware, means extremely unfun if you happen to be frightened of flying.
About 45 minutes before we’re scheduled to land, an attendant comes over the address system. “In light of the severe turbulence we’re expecting,” he says, “we need everyone to make sure their seatbelts are securely fastened and bags are fully underneath the seats in front. If you need to use the bathroom, go now.” There is a short pause. “This is going to be rough, folks.” I twist in my seat to look back at my friend. Jesus Christ, it’s actually happening. We’re all going to die.
Continue reading...From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors. You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
From biking adventures to city breaks, get inspiration for your next break – whether in the UK or further afield – with twice-weekly emails from the Guardian’s travel editors.
You’ll also receive handpicked offers from Guardian Holidays.
Continue reading...Trump has spoken out against The Apprentice, but he’s not the first celebrity to attack an unflattering big-screen portrait
More than any film at this year’s Cannes film festival – more than Megalopolis or that film where Demi Moore pushes Margaret Qualley’s face out of her spine – Ali Abbasi’s new film The Apprentice has dominated the news cycle.
This is because The Apprentice is a Donald Trump biopic, and one that has aggressively chosen not to pull a single punch. Played by Sebastian Stan, the Trump of The Apprentice is seen receiving liposuction and hair transplants, and more seriously, raping his wife Ivana. Although reaction has been mixed – Peter Bradshaw called the film “obtuse and irrelevant” in his two-star review this week – it may yet prove to cause damage to Trump’s election chances this year.
Continue reading...A baffling misunderstanding of the charm and appeal of the grouchy cartoon cat is one of many reasons to hate this atrocious new take, along with the many, many ads
There’s not that much to Garfield. Understanding the orange tabby of funny-pages repute is pretty simple: he has a set of integral, inalienable traits – his ill temperament, his cynical outlook, his sedentary lifestyle, his motivation primarily in self-interest and his indifference to owner Jon Arbuckle – that define the grouchy yet likable pop-cultural fixture. Any depiction of a Garfield that eschews these qualities, even while adhering to such superficial markers as his love of lasagne or hatred of Mondays, ceases to be Garfield at all and instead becomes a common cat by any other name, no different than Get Fuzzy’s Bucky, or worse, the godless bastard Heathcliff. In fact, insofar as Garfield-ness is inscribed from the feline personality model projected on to cats by humans, a Garfield in spite of himself may as well be a dog, an unnatural oxymoron with nothing to distinguish himself from the rest of the herd.
The makers of The Garfield Movie chose not to heed this ontological lesson in their approach to Jim Davis’s blueprint. The all-new, all-animated vehicle for the newspaper comic-strip fixture mutates him into an on-trend, readily marketable rebrand of himself. Given slightly larger eyes and a slightly smaller mouth to up the cuteness factor on some of his expression models, this Garfield has softened his rougher edges, even going so far as to relax his staunch anti-Odie stance. To be fair, director Mark Dindal and the writing brain trust of Paul Kaplan, Mark Torgove and David Reynolds had to do something, the source material’s premise of “lazy a-hole cat mostly just sits around” fighting the narrative needs of cinema. But audiences have spent decades of mornings with Garfield. We know Garfield. Garfield is a friend of ours. Senator, Chris Pratt is no Garfield.
Continue reading...
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the most popular digital assets today, capturing the attention of cryptocurrency investors, whales and people from around the world. People find it amazing that some users spend thousands or millions of dollars on a single NFT-based image of a monkey or other token, but you can simply take a screenshot for free. So here we share some freuently asked question about NFTs.
NFT stands for non-fungible token, which is a cryptographic token on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish it from other tokens. NFTs are unique and not interchangeable, which means no two NFTs are the same. NFTs can be a unique artwork, GIF, Images, videos, Audio album. in-game items, collectibles etc.
A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that allows for the secure storage of data. By recording any kind of information—such as bank account transactions, the ownership of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or Decentralized Finance (DeFi) smart contracts—in one place, and distributing it to many different computers, blockchains ensure that data can’t be manipulated without everyone in the system being aware.
The value of an NFT comes from its ability to be traded freely and securely on the blockchain, which is not possible with other current digital ownership solutionsThe NFT points to its location on the blockchain, but doesn’t necessarily contain the digital property. For example, if you replace one bitcoin with another, you will still have the same thing. If you buy a non-fungible item, such as a movie ticket, it is impossible to replace it with any other movie ticket because each ticket is unique to a specific time and place.
One of the unique characteristics of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is that they can be tokenised to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought, sold and traded on the blockchain.
As with crypto-currency, records of who owns what are stored on a ledger that is maintained by thousands of computers around the world. These records can’t be forged because the whole system operates on an open-source network.
NFTs also contain smart contracts—small computer programs that run on the blockchain—that give the artist, for example, a cut of any future sale of the token.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) aren't cryptocurrencies, but they do use blockchain technology. Many NFTs are based on Ethereum, where the blockchain serves as a ledger for all the transactions related to said NFT and the properties it represents.5) How to make an NFT?
Anyone can create an NFT. All you need is a digital wallet, some ethereum tokens and a connection to an NFT marketplace where you’ll be able to upload and sell your creations
When you purchase a stock in NFT, that purchase is recorded on the blockchain—the bitcoin ledger of transactions—and that entry acts as your proof of ownership.
The value of an NFT varies a lot based on the digital asset up for grabs. People use NFTs to trade and sell digital art, so when creating an NFT, you should consider the popularity of your digital artwork along with historical statistics.
In the year 2021, a digital artist called Pak created an artwork called The Merge. It was sold on the Nifty Gateway NFT market for $91.8 million.
Non-fungible tokens can be used in investment opportunities. One can purchase an NFT and resell it at a profit. Certain NFT marketplaces let sellers of NFTs keep a percentage of the profits from sales of the assets they create.
Many people want to buy NFTs because it lets them support the arts and own something cool from their favorite musicians, brands, and celebrities. NFTs also give artists an opportunity to program in continual royalties if someone buys their work. Galleries see this as a way to reach new buyers interested in art.
There are many places to buy digital assets, like opensea and their policies vary. On top shot, for instance, you sign up for a waitlist that can be thousands of people long. When a digital asset goes on sale, you are occasionally chosen to purchase it.
To mint an NFT token, you must pay some amount of gas fee to process the transaction on the Etherum blockchain, but you can mint your NFT on a different blockchain called Polygon to avoid paying gas fees. This option is available on OpenSea and this simply denotes that your NFT will only be able to trade using Polygon's blockchain and not Etherum's blockchain. Mintable allows you to mint NFTs for free without paying any gas fees.
The answer is no. Non-Fungible Tokens are minted on the blockchain using cryptocurrencies such as Etherum, Solana, Polygon, and so on. Once a Non-Fungible Token is minted, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and the contract or license is awarded to whoever has that Non-Fungible Token in their wallet.
You can sell your work and creations by attaching a license to it on the blockchain, where its ownership can be transferred. This lets you get exposure without losing full ownership of your work. Some of the most successful projects include Cryptopunks, Bored Ape Yatch Club NFTs, SandBox, World of Women and so on. These NFT projects have gained popularity globally and are owned by celebrities and other successful entrepreneurs. Owning one of these NFTs gives you an automatic ticket to exclusive business meetings and life-changing connections.
That’s a wrap. Hope you guys found this article enlightening. I just answer some question with my limited knowledge about NFTs. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below. Also I have a question for you, Is bitcoin an NFTs? let me know in The comment section below
The Intercept’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft shows how digital outlets are uniquely vulnerable.
The post Scarlett Johansson Isn’t Alone. The Intercept Is Getting Ripped Off by OpenAI Too. appeared first on The Intercept.
Musician is on supervised release, and judge’s reading will decide whether he is adequately attempting to ‘re-enter society’
The rapper BG is no longer at risk of a return to federal prison after performing alongside fellow artists with prior felony convictions while on supervised release from custody, according to prosecutors.
But a federal judge is prepared to scrutinize every lyric the musician, whose legal name is Christopher Dorsey, has written since he got out of prison on gun charges to determine whether he is adequately attempting “to re-enter society as a responsible, law-abiding citizen” – or whether his supervised release conditions should be tightened, according to new court filings.
Continue reading...And for some reason Justice Samuel Alito can’t stop talking about this witch trial judge.
The post The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Is Constitutional, After All appeared first on The Intercept.
Judge Aileen Cannon to hear arguments in court for the first time since indefinitely postponing trial
Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the classified documents case against the former president Donald Trump are due in court on Wednesday for the first time since the judge indefinitely postponed the trial earlier this month.
The case, one of four criminal prosecutions against Trump, had been set for trial on 20 May but US district judge Aileen Cannon cited numerous issues she had yet to resolve as a basis for canceling the trial date.
Continue reading...Defense rests after calling two witnesses, and Donald Trump Jr attacks a question about why his father didn’t take the stand
Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial inched toward its final stretch on Tuesday with a fizzle, not a bang.
The former president’s defense rested after calling two witnesses, and Trump – despite previously saying that he would take the stand – was not among them. After the defense announced its decision to rest, Judge Juan Merchan told jurors to return on Tuesday 28 May for closing arguments, and that they should expect to start deliberations the following day.
Continue reading...Ministers should think again after judges ruled the authoritarian move to constrain demonstrations was unlawful
Judges in the high court have found that the former home secretary Suella Braverman acted unlawfully in making it easier for the police to criminalise peaceful protest. That is a very good thing for society and democracy. The rights of non-violent assembly are among our fundamental freedoms, providing a touchstone to distinguish between a free society and a totalitarian one. Liberty, the civil rights campaigners who took the government to court, ought to be congratulated for standing up for all our rights. At the heart of this case was whether a minister could, without primary legislation, decide what words meant in law. The court, thankfully, thought that such matters were best left to the dictionary.
During protests by environmental groups in the summer of 2023, Ms Braverman had decided to rule by diktat. Consulting only the police, and not the protesters who would have been affected, she used so-called Henry VIII powers that the government had conferred upon itself a year earlier. These allowed her to lower the threshold at which the police would intervene to impose conditions on public protest, defining “serious disruption” as anything “more than minor”. There’s an ocean of difference between the two. But Ms Braverman was unconcerned that she was shamefully pursuing a nakedly authoritarian move to constrain the right of peaceful protest by stripping words of their meaning.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...The U.S. held Saeed Bakhouch at Guantánamo Bay for 20 years without charge, then sent him to have his rights violated in Algeria.
The post After Torturing Him, U.S. Breaks Guarantees of Safety to Former Guantánamo Detainee appeared first on The Intercept.
ICC warrants against Israeli officials would mean they can’t travel — and their patrons in the U.S. would be pressured over continued arms sales.
The post Can a U.S. Ally Actually Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in the ICC? appeared first on The Intercept.
Republicans seek help from secretary of state after prosecutor Karim Khan requests arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu
The Biden administration is willing to work with Congress to potentially impose sanctions against international criminal court officials over the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, said on Tuesday.
At a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing, Republican Lindsey Graham told Blinken he wanted to see renewed US sanctions on the court in response to the move announced by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday.
Continue reading...In the survey of Democrats and independents in five battleground states, 2 in 5 voters said a ceasefire and conditioning aid would make them more likely to vote for Biden.
The post Conditioning Aid to Israel Would Boost Support for Biden in Key States, New Poll Finds appeared first on The Intercept.
With FDA approval on the horizon, an internal document lays out measures to treat PTSD and stanch the suicide crisis.
The post The VA Is Quietly Fast-Tracking MDMA Therapy for Veterans appeared first on The Intercept.
Ex-president’s jail sentence precludes him from standing for new MK party in decision that could affect general election results
South Africa’s highest court has ruled that former president Jacob Zuma cannot run for parliament in national elections on 29 May, the latest twist in the most competitive polls since the country’s first post-apartheid vote 30 years ago.
The constitutional court found that Zuma was ineligible to stand for election due to a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court in 2021, after he failed to appear before a corruption inquiry.
Continue reading...From targeting humanitarian vehicles to standing by as mobs attack trucks, Israel is blocking aid from reaching Gaza.
The post The State Department Says Israel Isn’t Blocking Aid. Videos Show the Opposite. appeared first on The Intercept.
Since Dobbs, state-level Republicans have sought to strip power from DAs elected in Democratic cities who won’t prosecute abortion care.
The post Republicans Can’t Decide: Do They Hate Prosecutors Because of Bail Reform or Abortion? appeared first on The Intercept.
With Bowman’s challenger handpicked by AIPAC, the Israel lobby is cementing its status as the biggest player in Democratic primary politics.
The post Outside Groups Spent $285,000 Backing Jamaal Bowman. AIPAC Alone Just Dropped Nearly $2 Million to Attack Him. appeared first on The Intercept.
As brutal police repression sweeps campus encampments, schools have been cutting ties with pro-Palestine faculty members without tenure.
The post University Professors Are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
After inquiries from The Intercept, Duane Kees stepped down from his ethics panel position.
The post This U.S. Attorney Resigned Amid an Ethics Investigation. Yet He Wound Up Overseeing Judges’ Ethics. appeared first on The Intercept.
The 71-year-old veteran peace activist discusses the war on Gaza, the Biden administration, and shaking up Congress.
The post Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin on Disrupting the U.S. War Machine appeared first on The Intercept.
The 22-year-old woman and her child were civilian casualties of a U.S. drone strike, but the Pentagon won't return the family's messages.
The post Pentagon Compensated Zero Civilian Victims in 2022 — Despite Evidence That the U.S. Killed a Mom and Child in Somalia appeared first on The Intercept.
The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
Antony Blinken’s report identifies “incidents that raise concerns,” but says Israel is not blocking humanitarian aid.
The post Israel “Likely” Used U.S.-Supplied Weapons in Violation of International Law. That’s OK, Though, State Department Says. appeared first on The Intercept.
ICC warrants against Israeli officials would mean they can’t travel — and their patrons in the U.S. would be pressured over continued arms sales.
The post Can a U.S. Ally Actually Be Held Accountable for War Crimes in the ICC? appeared first on The Intercept.
Republicans seek help from secretary of state after prosecutor Karim Khan requests arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu
The Biden administration is willing to work with Congress to potentially impose sanctions against international criminal court officials over the prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over the Gaza war, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, said on Tuesday.
At a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing, Republican Lindsey Graham told Blinken he wanted to see renewed US sanctions on the court in response to the move announced by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday.
Continue reading...Spanish PM says possibility of two-state solution should not be destroyed by force. Plus, Russia begins nuclear weapons drills
Good morning.
Ireland, Spain and Norway have announced plans to formally recognize a Palestinian state, prompting Israel to instruct “the immediate recall” of Israel’s ambassadors to Ireland and Norway. It is expected to take similar measures with Spain.
Israel in diplomatic defensive. Israel urged “nations of the civilised world” to refuse to implement any international criminal court arrest warrants issued against its leaders after the world’s top court alleged the Israeli prime minister and his defence minister were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In other news. Individual members of Israel’s security forces are tipping off far-right activists and settlers to the location of aid trucks delivering vital supplies to Gaza, enabling the groups to block and vandalise the convoys, according to multiple sources.
What’s next in the legal saga? After the defense rested, Merchan told jurors to return on 28 May for closing arguments. Merchan said he would also announce his instructions to jurors the next day and expected that they would then start deliberating.
Continue reading...Proposal by Steve Cohen comes after Chuck Schumer said incident casts doubt on Alito’s impartiality on the highest US court
A handful of states held primaries last night, including Georgia, where Democrats in the Atlanta-area Fulton county made Fani Willis their nominee for district attorney once again. You may remember her as the prosecutor who brought charges against Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election. Here’s more about her primary win, from the Associated Press:
Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney overseeing Georgia’s expansive criminal case against Donald Trump and his allies for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, has won her Democratic primary bid for re-election with nearly 90% of the vote.
Continue reading...Judge Aileen Cannon to hear arguments in court for the first time since indefinitely postponing trial
Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the classified documents case against the former president Donald Trump are due in court on Wednesday for the first time since the judge indefinitely postponed the trial earlier this month.
The case, one of four criminal prosecutions against Trump, had been set for trial on 20 May but US district judge Aileen Cannon cited numerous issues she had yet to resolve as a basis for canceling the trial date.
Continue reading...Extraordinary measures turn Maricopa county elections office into fortress ahead of 2024 vote to protect staff and ballots
Maricopa county, Arizona – a campaign battleground where election workers have faced violent threats – has taken extraordinary measures to protect its staff and the counting of ballots.
The Guardian obtained a document from the county listing security changes it has made since the 2020 election. Those include stationing a Swat team on-site at the main building where votes are tabulated and deploying the sheriff on horseback.
Continue reading...The economy is doing well – far better than under Trump – but Democrats must ask voters if they want a sociopathic infant with fascist tendencies
The new Harris poll, conducted for the Guardian is troubling, not only because it shows Americans are still pessimistic about the economy but also because – with election day just five and a half months away – so many Americans believe the economy is bad when in fact it’s damn good.
In the Harris poll, 55% think the economy is shrinking and 56% believe the US is in a recession. In fact, the economy is growing.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com
Continue reading...Exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian shows 55% believe economy is shrinking, in troubling sign for president’s re-election bid
Nearly three in five Americans wrongly believe the US is in an economic recession, and the majority blame the Biden administration, according to a Harris poll conducted exclusively for the Guardian. The survey found persistent pessimism about the economy as election day draws closer.
The poll highlighted many misconceptions people have about the economy, including:
55% believe the economy is shrinking, and 56% think the US is experiencing a recession, though the broadest measure of the economy, gross domestic product (GDP), has been growing.
49% believe the S&P 500 stock market index is down for the year, though the index went up about 24% in 2023 and is up more than 12% this year.
49% believe that unemployment is at a 50-year high, though the unemployment rate has been under 4%, a near 50-year low.
Continue reading...Exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian shows the majority of Americans think the country’s in recession – but it isn’t. Test your own knowledge here
The United States is less than six months away from sending either Joe Biden or Donald Trump back to the White House.
For many voters mulling this decision, the economy is front of mind. But how it’s doing, and how it’s feeling, are not one and the same.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Chris Bowen says nuclear energy is ‘slow, expensive and risky’
Chris Bowen is also asked about the latest CSIRO report released today, showing electricity from nuclear power in Australia would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind.
CSIRO and Aemo have looked at large-scale nuclear for the first time. It finds that that would be far more expensive than renewables, despite claims from the opposition – quite inappropriate attacks on CSIRO and Aemo from the opposition, that they hadn’t counted the cost of transmission. The cost of transmission and storage is counted, and still renewables comes out as the cheapest.
And of course, CSIRO points out that nuclear will be … very slow to build. So nuclear is slow and expensive and is risky when it comes to the reliability of Australia’s energy system.
Continue reading...Trump has spoken out against The Apprentice, but he’s not the first celebrity to attack an unflattering big-screen portrait
More than any film at this year’s Cannes film festival – more than Megalopolis or that film where Demi Moore pushes Margaret Qualley’s face out of her spine – Ali Abbasi’s new film The Apprentice has dominated the news cycle.
This is because The Apprentice is a Donald Trump biopic, and one that has aggressively chosen not to pull a single punch. Played by Sebastian Stan, the Trump of The Apprentice is seen receiving liposuction and hair transplants, and more seriously, raping his wife Ivana. Although reaction has been mixed – Peter Bradshaw called the film “obtuse and irrelevant” in his two-star review this week – it may yet prove to cause damage to Trump’s election chances this year.
Continue reading...We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
This week, from 2021: Early in Trump’s presidency, emboldened neo-Nazi and fascist groups came out into the open but were met with widespread revulsion. So the tactics of the far right changed, becoming more insidious – and much more successful. By Brendan O’Connor
Continue reading...Defense rests after calling two witnesses, and Donald Trump Jr attacks a question about why his father didn’t take the stand
Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial inched toward its final stretch on Tuesday with a fizzle, not a bang.
The former president’s defense rested after calling two witnesses, and Trump – despite previously saying that he would take the stand – was not among them. After the defense announced its decision to rest, Judge Juan Merchan told jurors to return on Tuesday 28 May for closing arguments, and that they should expect to start deliberations the following day.
Continue reading...Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei sparks diplomatic row with remarks about Spanish prime minister’s wife
Spain has said it is permanently withdrawing its ambassador from Argentina as a result of a growing diplomatic feud with the South American country’s radical rightwing president, Javier Milei.
Milei – a notoriously pugnacious ally of the fellow populists Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro – sparked the row last weekend by insinuating that Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, was “corrupt”.
Continue reading...In the survey of Democrats and independents in five battleground states, 2 in 5 voters said a ceasefire and conditioning aid would make them more likely to vote for Biden.
The post Conditioning Aid to Israel Would Boost Support for Biden in Key States, New Poll Finds appeared first on The Intercept.
And for some reason Justice Samuel Alito can’t stop talking about this witch trial judge.
The post The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Is Constitutional, After All appeared first on The Intercept.
Greens accuse Alternative for Germany of being ‘Putin’s extended arm’ after AfD’s lead candidate in European parliamentary elections says he will step down
Terry Reintke, a Green lead candidate in the European elections, has argued that despite Maximilian Krah’s move to step down from the AfD’s leadership board, Alternative for Germany is still extremist.
“One thing does not change: the AfD and its right-wing extremist friends are Putin’s extended arm in the EP,” she said.
Continue reading...Howard Burton eschews flashy presentation for a copiously detailed study of the artist’s life and times
Here is a mammoth 148-minute documentary about the Renaissance painter Raphael, which in its sheer length and detail is an impressive achievement in itself by its writer and director Howard Burton, whose calm, scholastic tone is a continuous presence on the voiceover. Burton, a theoretical physicist, co-founded the Ideas Roadshow platform with his wife Irena in 2012, and this is their first narrative film: a detailed disquisition on Raphael’s life and times that, while in some ways resembling an extended evening-class lecture with nifty PowerPoint graphics, is clear and informative enough to hold the attention – though perhaps you might need a break every now and then.
Burton is not an art historian by training (though does hold an MA in philosophy) and while you might class him as a knowledgable amateur he commits fully, amassing as much as seems humanly possible from the raft of textbooks he cites in the film’s credits. Burton splits things up into five lengthy sections – largely chronological – and isn’t afraid to go into granular detail at any stage of proceedings, drilling down into the exact architecture of the papal apartments Raphael was asked to decorate, for example, or examining in near-forensic detail the precise contributions of Raphael’s workshop collaborators to various paintings. The first 20 minutes, in which Burton offers a detailed, homework-style outline of the bafflingly complicated political and military context of Renaissance Italy, is hardly the most pulse-pounding start.
Continue reading...Maximilian Krah’s SS remark highlights growing divisions within European far-right and nationalist groups
The lead candidate for Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in the European parliamentary election has resigned from the German far-right party’s leadership, as growing divisions between Europe’s nationalist parties threaten to undermine their expected gains in next month’s ballot.
Maximilian Krah, who last weekend told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that the SS, the Nazis’ main paramilitary force, were “not all criminals”, said in a statement on Wednesday that his comments were “being misused as a pretext to damage our party”.
Continue reading...Reports say investigators looking into possibility that Russian security services ordered vandalism in Paris
France is investigating whether graffiti painted on the wall of Paris’s Holocaust memorial last week was a destabilisation operation coordinated from Russia, French media have reported.
On the morning of 14 May, about 20 spray-painted red hand symbols were discovered on one of the memorial’s exterior walls, which is dedicated to honouring individuals who saved Jews from persecution during the Nazi occupation of France.
Continue reading...Those who have stayed behind in Ukraine’s second city, with so much and so many lost, are creating a version of normal life
Under the late spring sun on Saturday afternoon, these were some of the sounds to be heard in Kharkiv’s Shevchenko Park: birds chirruping; young couples chatting and laughing over iced coffees; tinny pop music playing from speakers mounted on lamp-posts; pensioners gossiping on the benches; and, at 11 minutes to three, a prolonged explosion that reverberated in the chest like a rumble of thunder.
A few miles away, in a quiet residential suburb, a glide bomb launched from a Russian fighter jet had smashed into a courtyard. As the resulting boom reached the park, people stopped in their tracks for a split second, then continued on, as if nothing had happened.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/Shogouki [link] [comments] |
The acting sports minister of Ukraine, Matviy Bidnyi, has told his country’s athletes to keep a “cold head” and pay no attention to any provocation from their Russian counterparts at the Olympic Games this summer.
Speaking to the Guardian at the ministry of youth and sports in Kyiv, Bidnyi predicted that Russia will use its representatives in Paris as part of their propaganda operation and explained recommendations have been drawn up to help the Ukraine team avoid becoming embroiled in controversy.
Continue reading...After 20 months of relative peace, the homes and lives my charity has been helping rebuild are on the frontline once more
The Russian offensive on the Kharkiv region this month has, after 20 months of relative peace, again placed many of the villages where my charity works, repairing homes destroyed by bombs, at the forefront of the war.
I began volunteering in Kharkiv two years ago, having dropped out of my master’s degree in Russian literature and set up the charity to support Ukrainians. After the region’s liberation in September 2022, hundreds of thousands of people had started to return to Kharkiv city and the wider region from other parts of Ukraine, and countries that had taken them in as refugees. The villages where I work were reawakening, the craters that lined the streets had been filled, shops were reopening, electricity was back on. People’s return was mostly driven by a desire to be at home.
Ada Wordsworth is the co-founder of KHARPP, a grassroots project repairing homes in eastern Ukraine
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Shaun Walker reports on Russia’s recent offensive in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine
“We were taking a stroll in Shevchenko Park, which is in the centre of Kharkiv. It was a really nice warm, sunny day. People were sitting outside chatting and drinking coffees.”
Shaun Walker, the Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent, was walking around a park in Kharkiv, Ukraine, when he heard an explosion in the distance.
Continue reading... submitted by /u/IntergalacticJets [link] [comments] |
The US and others have criticised the chief prosecutor for seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The ICC needs support
The international criminal court was born more than two decades ago, largely from the genocides of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, and the contradictory impulses that they inspired: the grim recognition of the worst of human nature and the optimistic determination to address it. More than 120 countries ratified its founding treaty. But the world’s superpower – and other major players including Russia, China and India – refused.
The result, almost inevitably, was that it became regarded – in the reported words of one elected official to the chief prosecutor, Karim Khan – as “built for Africa and thugs like Putin”. In fact, Vladimir Putin’s indictment a year ago, applauded by the US and others, was regarded as a gear change for a body that had overwhelmingly charged African leaders and officials.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Russian forces have gained ground in Kharkiv, a region that Ukraine had largely reclaimed in the months after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Ukraine has been evacuating civilians from around Vovchansk, where Russian forces control 40% of the city. They launched a surprise assault in the region on 10 May that has led to their biggest territorial gains in 18 months
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak says 16 international firms have committed, but standards have been criticised for lacking teeth
The first 16 companies have signed up to voluntary artificial intelligence safety standards introduced at the Bletchley Park summit, Rishi Sunak has said on the eve of the follow-up event in Seoul.
The standards, however, have been criticised for lacking teeth, with signatories committing only to work toward information sharing, invest in cybersecurity and prioritise research into societal risks.
Amazon
Anthropic
Cohere
Google / Google DeepMind
G42
IBM
Inflection AI
Meta
Microsoft
Mistral AI
Naver
Open AI
Samsung Electronics
Technology Innovation Institute
xAI
Continue reading...For one memorable season in the 90s, I travelled with a group called Colney Hatch. It gave me a fleeting but fascinating window into the treatment of women who are ‘with the band’
‘Everyone knows you would do absolutely anything for him. You can do this, surely?” In 1993, I was living in St Petersburg in the former Soviet Union for a year as part of my university course, studying Russian. I had fallen wildly in love (by which I mean in lust) with the lead guitarist of a Ukrainian punk rock band, Colney Hatch. And here was the band’s manager asking me to do just this one little thing: break the band in the west.
It was true that this was a Meat Loaf situation: I would do anything for love. Still, the only music industry names I had even heard of were Stock, Aitken and Waterman. When the band’s manager sensed reluctance – based on the fact that I was a clueless 21-year-old, had no contacts in the world of rock and had been to London only once, to go to John Lewis when I was eight – he said: “You want them to succeed, don’t you? Or are you just a groupie?”
Continue reading...This isn’t “politics by other means,” it’s never-ending conflict.
The post Israel Wants Endless War Without the Politics. Biden’s Going Along for the Doomed Ride. appeared first on The Intercept.
Anglo agrees to enter talks with larger rival, though BHP calls its £38.6n offer ‘final’
Financial markets have scaled back their expectations for an interest rate cut in June, and August is also looking slightly less likely. They are forecasting a reduction by September, though.
Before today’s inflation data, which showed services inflation is more stubborn than expected, markets had fully priced in two rate cuts this year, one by August and another one before the end of the year. Investors are now split on whether there will be a second reduction.
The cost-of-living crisis is not over - no matter how much ministers pretend it is. Prices are still going up. Food and energy bills are much higher than a couple of years ago. And many are being hit by soaring mortgage repayments.
That’s because household budgets have been decimated by the highest price rises in the G7 and wages have flatlined over the last 14 years.
Pay packets are still worth less today than in 2008, with working people on course to end this Parliament poorer than at the start.
Continue reading...Critics claim that the technology is not up to the job – we examine whether the facts bear this out
The belief that a heat pump is unable to warm a home in the depths of winter is widely held, especially in the UK.
One recent survey of more than 4,000 adults across the UK, Germany, France and the US last autumn found that 35% believed that air-source heat pumps are not up to the job.
Continue reading...With Bowman’s challenger handpicked by AIPAC, the Israel lobby is cementing its status as the biggest player in Democratic primary politics.
The post Outside Groups Spent $285,000 Backing Jamaal Bowman. AIPAC Alone Just Dropped Nearly $2 Million to Attack Him. appeared first on The Intercept.
Since Dobbs, state-level Republicans have sought to strip power from DAs elected in Democratic cities who won’t prosecute abortion care.
The post Republicans Can’t Decide: Do They Hate Prosecutors Because of Bail Reform or Abortion? appeared first on The Intercept.
As brutal police repression sweeps campus encampments, schools have been cutting ties with pro-Palestine faculty members without tenure.
The post University Professors Are Losing Their Jobs Over “New McCarthyism” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
After inquiries from The Intercept, Duane Kees stepped down from his ethics panel position.
The post This U.S. Attorney Resigned Amid an Ethics Investigation. Yet He Wound Up Overseeing Judges’ Ethics. appeared first on The Intercept.
Georgian protesters opposed to a 'foreign influence' bill picketed the Georgian parliament amid a major police presence during the third, and final reading of the bill. Police attempted to disperse demonstrators and people were seen being detained. The 84-30 vote has cleared the way for the bill to become law. The draft now goes to the president, Salome Zourabichvili, who has said she will veto it, but her decision can be overridden by another vote in parliament, which is controlled by the ruling party and its allies. Government critics and western countries have criticised the new bill as authoritarian and Russian-inspired
Continue reading...The powerful lobbying group is going against a Capitol Police officer who fended off January 6 insurrectionists.
The post Neither Candidate Has Much to Say About Israel. So Why Is AIPAC Pouring Money Into This Race? appeared first on The Intercept.
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