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Our refusal to reckon with the dark side of Purim reflects a refusal to reckon with the dark side of ourselvesLater this month, on the holiday of Purim, Jewish people will dress in silly costumes, eat triangular pastries, and listen to an ancient story about attempted genocide. What we notice, and don't notice, about that story says a lot about what we notice, and don't notice, in Israel and Palestine.The tale comes from the book of Esther. It begins with a dissolute Persian king. He hosts a banquet, gets drunk, orders his queen to display her beauty" to the revelers, and, when she refuses, banishes her from the throne. As her replacement he chooses Esther, a beautiful young maiden who, unbeknownst to him, is a Jew. Then he makes a calamitous personnel decision: he selects Haman, a pathological Jew-hater, to be his right-hand man. The stage is now set for an epic clash. Continue reading...

Revealed: rhetoric by interim US attorney for DC includes falsely claiming Kamala Harris self-identified' as BlackTrump's appointee as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia and nominee to hold the position permanently, Ed Martin, has repeatedly made derogatory and racist comments in past social media posts and columns.Martin's rhetoric includes falsely claiming Kamala Harris is self-identified" as Black and calling her the new Rachel Dolezal, claiming Planned Parenthood targets Black communities for abortions, claiming that the supreme court justice Sonia Sotomayor made racist comments to white males about her own identity and invoking false claims about Dr Martin Luther King Jr to affirm support for the Republican party and the Tea Party movement. Continue reading...

Today's Jeddah summit will be crucial. But so too is the need for European unity to counter Russian aggression now, and deter it in the future

Economic uncertainty and polarisation are a potent cocktail that extremist politicians such as Clin Georgescu thrive onIn a forest outside Bucharest, a woman cradled her infant in one arm while raising the other in a Nazi salute. She was one of about 70 people who gathered on 30 November last year to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, a leader of Romania's interwar fascist Legionary Movement and head of its paramilitary wing, the Iron Guard.Codreanu and his ally, Ion Antonescu - Romania's virulently antisemitic wartime dictator - were central figures in the country's Holocaust history. Codreanu was assassinated in 1938 and Antonescu was executed as a war criminal in 1946. Continue reading...

The president has slashed $400m in funding from Columbia University. He wants to stifle criticism of Israel - but the real target is dissentFor those who fear Donald Trump is a despot in the making, don't worry: he has an answer. I've stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America," he triumphantly declared in his State of the Union address. It's back!" JD Vance scolded Europe in his speech at the Munich security conference last month, declaring that free speech is in retreat" across the continent.Like all authoritarian creeds, Trumpism turns reality on its head and empties words of their meaning in an effort to sow confusion and disarray among its critics. On the same day Trump announced the revival of free speech in Congress, he posted on Truth Social that federal funding for educational institutions that allow illegal protests" will be ceased. Notably, illegality was not defined, but the issue Trump is referring to, of course, is Palestine. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came," he declared. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!"Owen Jones is a Guardian columnistDo 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...

Donald Trump's talk of tariffs and the unpredictability of a trade war is causing investor uncertainty in the ASX 200

From cries of McCarthyism' over Palestinian activist's detention to fears over a Trumpcession' - key US politics stories from Monday at a glanceThe Trump administration's decision to have immigration authorities arrest pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil for alleged support of Hamas is an attack on free speech, the American Civil Liberties Union warned on Monday.This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American," said Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can read the latest story hereSecretary of state Marco Rubio has announced that USAid will cancel the majority of its programs, while the rest will be folded into the state department.Writing on X, Rubio said:After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID.The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States. Continue reading...

Critics condemn arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, Columbia University graduate student who led protests over Gaza warA judge has blocked the deportation of the prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's protests against Israel over the war in Gaza. Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University until this past December who holds permanent US residency, is being detained by US immigration authorities at a facility in Louisiana after his arrest, according to information from officials.A spokesperson for the US's homeland security department - as well as the country's top diplomat - confirmed the arrest. In a statement to the Associated Press, a homeland security department spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said Khalil's arrest was made to support Donald Trump's presidential orders prohibiting antisemitism". Continue reading...

US president's late-night social media post came after Turnbull criticised Trump's leadership as chaotic'

Health secretary accuses food companies of exploiting loophole' over food safety and urges greater transparencyThe US secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has directed the Food and Drug Administration to revise safety rules to help eliminate a provision that allows companies to self-affirm that food ingredients are safe.The move would increase transparency for consumers as well as the FDA's oversight of food ingredients considered to be safe, Kennedy said on Monday. Continue reading...

Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, announced the new version, raising privacy concerns for those using CBP OneOn day one of his presidency, Donald Trump issued a directive abruptly ending the government's use of CBP One - an online application that had served as the primary means for people at the southern border to apply for asylum in the US. On Monday, the administration announced it has reimagined the app as a platform for self-deportation".Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, announced that the app had been rebranded as CBP Home" and that anyone with the old CBP One app would be redirected to the new version. Continue reading...

Judge denies Edward Kelley's motion to dismiss separate charges of plotting to kill federal agents investigating himA man pardoned by Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection who also was convicted of plotting to kill federal agents investigating him is still legally liable for the plot, a judge ruled on Monday.Edward Kelley was pardoned by the president for his role in the US Capitol riot, but he remained in prison on separate charges. The Tennessee man had developed a kill list" of FBI agents who had investigated him for the Capitol attack. Continue reading...

Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all down by at least 2% and Tesla shares fall 15% for worst day since September 2020The US stock market continued to drop on Monday as the White House denied that Donald Trump's trade policies were causing lasting chaos within the economy.The S&P 500 fell 2.7%, the Dow Jones dropped 2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 4% as investors sold shares in the so-called magnificent seven" - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla. Tesla's shares had their worst day since September 2020, falling 15%. Continue reading...

Darren Beattie, former Trump speechwriter who founded far-right website, repeated baseless innuendo on XA top official in the US state department deleted abusive tweets in which he said the then Florida senator Marco Rubio - who is now secretary of state - had a low IQ" and spread unsubstantiated rumors about his sexuality, CNN reported.In tweets from 7 January 2021, Darren Beattie referred to scurrilous online rumors and added: Forget the war promotion and the neocon sugar daddies, forget the low IQ, forget the 2016 primary, Rubio is TOUGH ON CHINA (and good for military industrial complex) So be a good DOG and vote for him!!!" Continue reading...

Nathan Hochman says he would consider support only if pair fully accept complete responsibility' for 1989 killingsThe Los Angeles district attorney has said he is opposed to the resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have been in prison for decades for the 1989 killings of their parents, and said the brothers first needed to acknowledge and fully accept responsibility for the murders.Nathan Hochman said at a press conference on Monday that he would ask the court to withdraw the resentencing motion filed in the case by his predecessor George Gascon. The new DA, who took office in December, said last month that he did not believe the brothers should receive a new trial. Continue reading...

Surviving aid to be administered by state department in radical narrowing of definition of US national interest

Former central banker won landslide victory in Liberal party race as trade war with US hastens transfer of powerCanada's incoming prime minister, Mark Carney, has met with Justin Trudeau as the pair discuss a transfer of power after the former central banker's landslide victory at the Liberal party's leadership race.The meeting on Monday sets the stage for an imminent federal election and gives Canada a fresh leader to square off against the United States president, with the two countries locked in a bitter trade war provoked by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

President says in post his administration will not tolerate' actions of protesters at Columbia and other US universitiesDonald Trump said on Monday that the arrest of a prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests last year, is the first arrest of many to come".We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it," the US president wrote in a post on Truth Social. Continue reading...

Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil a targeted, retaliatory' attack on his first amendment rights, say civil rights groupsFree speech organizations and advocates are expressing outrage after a prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests last year, was arrested and detained over the weekend.Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent US resident with a green card, was taken into custody by federal immigration authorities on Saturday night, who reportedly said that they were acting on a state department order to revoke his green card. Continue reading...

The president has signed orders to ban gender transitions for people under 19, end birthright citizenship and moreDonald Trump has signed more than 50 executive orders since returning to the presidency in January, including enacting steep tariffs, ending birthright citizenship, curbing DEI and gender radicalism" in the military and pardoning January 6 rioters.The US president promised in his inaugural speech that these orders would amount to a complete restoration of America". Continue reading...

Other major updates from second Trump administration's first 100 days include cuts to intelligence-sharing and reports of infighting between Musk and RubioLast week, Donald Trump shook global markets with his back and forth on tariffs, declined to rule out the possibility of a US recession because of his policies, and gave the longest-ever presidential address to Congress.The Trump administration also cut off intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, cut $400m in funds to Columbia University, and two key figures - Elon Musk and Marco Rubio - denied internal fighting after media reports on an angry exchange during the cabinet meeting. Continue reading...

Republican faces backlash for saying Democrat shook his pimp cane' at Trump during congressional addressThe extremist Republican US House member Lauren Boebert has been accused of racism, ableism and hypocrisy in one fell swoop after criticizing a Black Democrat for shaking his pimp cane" at Donald Trump during the president's recent speech to Congress.Al Green was given multiple opportunities to stand down, to sit down, to behave, to show decorum," Boebert told Real America's Voice, a far-right outlet, while discussing the Texas Democratic congressman's ejection from the House chamber for shouting about Trump's threats to social benefits spending on 6 March. Continue reading...

From Washington to Sacramento, communities rallied against the Trump administration Continue reading...

Insurance market says fine art losses were limited because rich residents took such possessions with themLloyd's of London expects losses of $2.3bn (1.78bn) from the California wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles this year, but fine art losses were limited because rich residents took their prize possessions with them.The Eaton and Palisades blazes in Los Angeles in early January killed 29 people and were only fully contained after 24 days, having burned more than 14,973 hectares (37,000 acres) and destroyed more than 16,000 buildings. Continue reading...

Nate Vance reportedly spent three years trying to help Ukraine repel Russian troops and has been alarmed by his cousin's remarks

Election of Trump and threats to democracy front of mind as activists remember peaceful marchers attacked by policeWhat would John Lewis do today?On a Sunday morning 60 years ago, activists rewrote the story of the civil rights movement in their own blood on the streets of Selma, Alabama. State troopers turned their truncheons on a peaceful march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge at the behest of Alabama's stridently and infamously racist governor George Wallace, protecting Alabama segregation and white supremacy. Continue reading...

Projects to detect, treat and research new ways to fight TB among those disrupted by sudden funding freezeDangerous new forms of tuberculosis (TB) for which there is no treatment could emerge as a result of US aid cuts, a top doctor has warned.Dr Lucica Ditiu, who heads the Stop TB Partnership, said she feared that interruptions to people's treatment would allow the airborne bug to mutate into a new, untreatable form. Continue reading...

The Seattle Sounders are as deep as they appear, while Sporting KC set an ignominious mark with yet another lossIt's time for celebration in Seattle - the Sounders have vanquished their bogey team. After knocking LAFC out of the playoffs with a 2-1 win in November, Saturday's 5-2 result felt like conformation that LAFC no longer have Seattle's number after they knocked the Sounders out of the Open Cup and Leagues Cup in 2024. Those results were part of a 10-match unbeaten run against Seattle that dated back to May 2021. Continue reading...

The three-time MVP has a strong case to win his fourth award. But that is to ignore the brilliance - and freshness - of Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOn Sunday afternoon, two of the best teams in the NBA's Western Conference faced off on national television. When it was over, the Oklahoma City Thunder had routed the Denver Nuggets 127-103, pulling away in the fourth quarter thanks to a barrage from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 40 points on the day. But because it was the NBA, the game was less about the teams and more about the stars at the center of the action - who just so happen to be the league's top two MVP candidates.Denver's Nikola Joki has been named NBA MVP three times in the past four years. That's rarefied air. Only three men - Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird - have won the award three times in a row. And only a small number of guys, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, have won it three out of four years. The year Joki didn't win it during his streak, he lost a close vote to Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid in an especially heated contest that included accusations of racism. Continue reading...

Former central banker has positioned himself as uniquely able to handle Canada's trade war with the US. Plus, why Michael Sheen paid off more than $1m of his neighbors' debts

Donald Trump was out of town when the shooting occurred, and the man has been hospitalizedAn armed man believed to be traveling from Indiana was shot by US Secret Service agents near the White House after a confrontation early Sunday - while Donald Trump was out of town, according to authorities.No one else was injured in the shooting that happened around midnight about a block from the White House, according to a Secret Service statement. The president was in Florida at the time of the shooting. Continue reading...

Lawmakers proposed seven bills curbing trans rights in this legislative session. Five passedWhen Wyoming legislators in 2022 passed a law banning trans girls from competing in middle and high school girls' sports, the Cowboy State, by its governor's own estimate, had a grand total of four transgender student athletes competing within its boundaries.Still, in this year's legislative session, which wrapped up on Friday, trans athletes were again a focus of lawmakers. They introduced bills to extend the ban on trans women in athletics to intercollegiate sports and ban universities from competing against teams with trans women. Continue reading...

Former prosecutors criticize Pam Bondi's decision to halt enforcement of bribery laws as short-sighted and dangerousA radical makeover at the US department of justice has seen key drives to fight corruption hamstrung in ways that could benefit US businesses operating abroad and foreign kleptocrats, including some Russian oligarchs.The moves have sparked sharp criticism by former US prosecutors, transparency experts and top Democrats, who warn that the moves to cut back on anti-corruption efforts is a huge setback for American efforts to clean up global business practices and tackle the power of oligarchs and of authoritarian rulers. Continue reading...

From gen Z's interest in natural' materials to the darker boom boom' aesthetic of the Trump era, the trend wheel has turned back to peltsI'll admit it, Carrie Bradshaw in aviators and a fur coat, smoking and drinking beer while watching baseball, spoke to me. It was season two of Sex and the City, 1999. She was bruised from a recently ended relationship but on the brink of dating the new Yankee" and I was a teenager, probably home from playing racketball and on the brink of Quorn sausages for dinner.While it wasn't the whole equation, the fur coat was certainly part of it. The way she could shrink into it and appear nonchalantly, breezily beautiful despite unwashed hair and an aching heart. I'm not proud, but I was young, and this to me then looked like something I wanted a piece of.Ellie Violet Bramley is the Guardian's acting fashion and lifestyle editor Continue reading...

With PGA Tour's marquee event approaching and Trump's intervention seemingly unsuccessful, the sport is at crossroadsAn opening address from Jay Monahan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational here involved almost 1,500 words. A mere 108 of them referred to the Saudi Arabian elephant in the room. Or more specifically, the status of unification talks between the PGA Tour, which Monahan leads, and the Saudifronted LIV circuit.Monahan was very keen to speak about innovation, about corporate partners, about fan engagement. Fluff. A blunt reality is that any excitement created by the announcement of a framework agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has long since dissipated. No wonder: that shock press release landed on 6 June 2023. Continue reading...

A winding down of operations in Gaza has allowed Israel to turn its attention to the West Bank, with devastating effectsIt has been just over six weeks since a ceasefire came into effect in Gaza, and it's clear that it would more accurately be called a reduce" fire, rather than a cessation. Scores of people are still being killed; enough, in any other scenario, to be deemed both alarming and newsworthy. More than 100 people have died since 19 January, Gaza's civil defence service spokesperson says. Those killings constitute, alongside other breaches, a grim record of hundreds of reported ceasefire violations by the Israeli government.The latest among them is Israeli authorities' decision to halt humanitarian aid into Gaza, in order to put pressure on Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms: mere hours after the first phase of the ceasefire expired, Israel cut off all supplies. In doing so, Israel is using food and civilian relief as a political tool to achieve its objectives, a move that the Qatari foreign ministry, the midwife of hostage releases and ceasefire agreements over the past few months, called a clear violation" of the terms of the truce and of international humanitarian law. Continue reading...

US president ducks question on whether he thinks the US will face a recession; watchdog fears US seeing a rapid decline in civic freedoms - key US politics stories from Sunday at a glanceDonald Trump has refused to rule out the possibility the US economy will head into recession this year and that inflation will rise, as his chaotic trade tariffs policy caused uncertainty and market turbulence.The US president predicted that his economic goals would take time and a period of transition to bear fruit. But when asked in an interview with the Fox News show Sunday Morning Futures are you expecting a recession this year?" he demurred. Continue reading...

Civicus, an international non-profit, puts country alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and SerbiaThe United States has been added to the Civicus Monitor Watchlist, which identifies countries that the global civil rights watchdog believes are currently experiencing a rapid decline in civic freedoms.Civicus, an international non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world", announced the inclusion of the US on the non-profit's first watchlist of 2025 on Monday, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia. Continue reading...

The actor was likely alone in his house for days, disoriented and too frail to seek help, after death of wife Betsy ArakawaThe actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, who were found dead last month in Santa Fe, New Mexico, were rarely apart from each other, and it's that closeness that may have led to the circumstances of their deaths.Arakawa had become Hackman's caregiver in his later years when he developed Alzheimer's disease and became incapable of carrying out even the simplest of tasks. She ran the household errands, made sure he remained active and protected him from illnesses. Continue reading...

Homeland security secretary pledges lie detector tests for employees she suspects are passing information to pressHomeland security secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday announced new leadership at the agency tasked with immigration enforcement as she also pledged to step up lie detector tests on employees to identify those who may be leaking information about operations to the media.Noem confirmed, in addition, that the government will expand immigration detention operations further into the military sphere, following reports of the intention to use the huge Fort Bliss army base close to the US-Mexico border in Texas for that purpose. Continue reading...

President downplays recent stock market volatility that followed his ducking and weaving over tariff policyDonald Trump on Sunday refused to rule out the possibility that the US economy will head into recession this year and that inflation will rise, as his chaotic trade tariffs policy cause uncertainty and market turbulence.The US president predicted that his economic goals would take time and a period of transition to bear fruit. But when asked in an interview with the Fox News show Sunday Morning Futures are you expecting a recession this year?" he demurred.Reuters contributed reporting Continue reading...