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The president is trailing the hard right - and forthcoming European elections could leave him a political lame duckIn the latest of his visionary speeches on the future of Europe, Emmanuel Macron called for the EU to transform itself into a military power or face death". Yet his own presidency of France may be about to enter a long twilight zone unless he can reverse his party's deepening slump in June's European parliament election.Macron's unpopularity is the main reason why his centrist pro-European Renaissance party is trailing a distant second in opinion polls behind Marine Le Pen's hard-right National Rally (RN). Le Pen's list is led by Jordan Bardella, 29, the rising star in the populist anti-immigration party. Renaissance, whose list is headed by little-known MEP Valerie Hayer, is down to 17.5% in the latest survey while the RN is on 31%. The two parties were neck-and-neck in the last European election, five years ago .Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre Continue reading...

NYPD officers move on to campus on Tuesday evening to clear out Hamilton Hall building taken over by protesters, with reports of more arrests at City College of New York

For the first time Ukraine had the right conditions to make reparations to those subjected to crimes such as rape and sexual slavery. What would it take to replicate this globally?Across the world, women and girls continue to be plagued by gross human rights violations. One that is specifically targeted at them is conflict-related sexual violence. Living in conflict, for so many people, means the possibility of being subjected to life-altering crimes such as sexual torture, rape and slavery.Now, survivors of wartime sexual violations in Ukraine are to receive reparation payments. It is a landmark case - the fastest that a country at war has created a system to fulfil the right to reparation. Why has this right not been enacted in a timely manner globally? Continue reading...

New York City police have entered Columbia University in an apparent effort to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters who seized and occupied a classroom building and have been demonstrating on the campus for two weeks. Some students were escorted off campus with their hands zip tied behind their backs. Some protesters were loaded on to law enforcement buses parked outside the university.

Images on TV show police on campus in New York after students take over Hamilton Hall building amid continuing protests

Time magazine called the ex-president's plans an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world'Donald Trump has warned that Joe Biden and his family could face multiple criminal prosecutions once he leaves office unless the US supreme court awards Trump immunity in his own legal battles with the criminal justice system.In a sweeping interview with Time magazine, Trump painted a startling picture of his second term, from how he would wield the justice department to hinting he may let states monitor pregnant women to enforce abortion laws. Continue reading...

Police say four officers who died serving warrant over firearms possession were heroes' as investigation into shooting continuesEight law-enforcement officers were shot, four fatally, during a shootout on Monday outside a home in North Carolina while serving a warrant to someone wanted for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. It was the deadliest attack on US law enforcement since 2016.Three of the four law-enforcement officers killed were working on a fugitive taskforce as agents with the US Marshals Service, and the fourth was a police officer who had recently been named officer of the month by his department. Continue reading...

Keith Davidson takes stand as judge fines ex-president maximum financial penalty for violating gag order - and threatens jail timeDonald Trump was confronted with the details of how the former lawyer for Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor, secured the $130,000 in hush money at the heart of his criminal trial in New York, after being found to be in criminal contempt of a gag order prohibiting attacks on witnesses.The direct examination of the lawyer, Keith Davidson, is expected to continue on Thursday when the trial resumes. Here are the key takeaways from day nine of People of the State of New York vs Donald J Trump: Continue reading...

Trump's trial got moving again with testimony from the attorney representing Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in hush-money negotiations

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Hush-money trial hears about ex-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard asking Keith Davidson: Did he cheat on Melania?'Donald Trump's New York criminal trial heated up on Tuesday afternoon as Keith Davidson, former attorney for both Stormy Daniels, the adult film actor, and Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model, was questioned by prosecutors about texts in which he was asked whether Trump had cheated on his wife.In those texts, former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard asked Davidson: Did he cheat on Melania?" and Do you know if the affair was during his marriage to Melania?" Continue reading...

A pro-Palestine demonstrator used a jug to defend against officers. Now the image has become a meme of the movementAs college students across the US demand administrators divest from Israel and support Palestinian freedom, scenes of brutal arrests have spread across social media. But in recent days, a more playful meme has emerged: the water-cooler jug as an icon of resistance.Last week, students at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, barricaded themselves inside of a campus building after police showed up to their protest in riot gear. The situation turned tense: while the students held the line against the police, who struck them with batons, one anonymous protester decided to fight back, bonking a cop on the helmet with a water jug that had originally been used as a drum. Continue reading...

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Pro-Palestinian protesters have taken over Hamilton Hall, a key campus building, after talks to end the encampment failedPro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University have occupied a building on campus in an escalation of their months-long demonstration against Israel's war in Gaza.The takeover of Hamilton Hall - named after one of America's founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton - followed the failure of talks with university authorities aimed at winning the protesters' agreement to dismantle an encampment of about 120 tents. Continue reading...

The regime wants to crush resistance. But those it rules continue to push back against its brutalityThe protests that exploded across Iran following Mahsa Amini's death in custody in September 2022 were a turning point. The young Iranian-Kurdish woman had been detained by the morality police" for improper hijab". Not only did young women take to the streets and cast off their scarves in fury, but parents and grandparents came too. The protests were strikingly socially diverse. Critically, men joined the cries of woman, life, freedom". The regime reacted with predictable fury, killing hundreds and arresting thousands. It succeeded in suppressing the demonstrations. But many women refused to return to obeying the strict dress code.It was inevitable that the Iranian leadership would strike back. Its quarrel is not only with women's liberties, but with the precedent set for defiance. It is determined to crush opposition as it crushed the street protests, with a court sentencing a popular rapper to death - not for violence but simply dissent. Toomaj Salehi, courageous in supporting the nationwide protests in 2022, was found guilty of corruption on Earth". He had previously been sentenced to six years over his role, before being freed by a court citing a technicality. Continue reading...

The right has painted nonviolent protests against the war on Gaza as hotbeds of woke' terrorism. It's a pretext for repressionAcross the world people have been shocked by social media footage of heavily armed law enforcement officers arresting peacefully protesting students and professors at university campuses around the United States. The so-called land of the free and home of the brave" looks neither free nor brave - except for the brave protesters who continue to stand up to state and university repression.Although government repression of student protests is not unique to either the US or this particular period, the current orgy of state repression is very much an illustration of the current crisis of liberal democracy as it is squeezed by both illiberalism and neoliberalism. Continue reading...

Authorities clear two buildings at Cal Poly Humboldt overnight, arresting students and faculty and detaining at least one journalistPolice cracked down on a pro-Palestine demonstration at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, early on Tuesday morning, clearing two buildings that protesters had occupied since last week, arresting dozens of people and detaining at least one journalist.The public university on California's far north coast said in a statement early Tuesday that an operation by law enforcement, which included police from across the state, had restored order" to the campus. Continue reading...

Pro-Palestine protesters disrupted a US Senate armed forces committee where the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, was giving testimony. As Austin spoke, one protester got up carrying a 'let Gaza live' sign and said: 'How can you talk about US leadership when we're supporting genocide in Gaza?'

Police say officers were in Charlotte serving warrant for suspect, who was also killed, wanted over firearms possessionEight law-enforcement officers were shot, four fatally, during a shootout on Monday outside a home in North Carolina. The officers were serving a warrant to a person wanted for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon when the shooting began.As marshals approached a home on the 5000 block of Galway Drive in Charlotte, the subject of the warrant began shooting at them in the front yard, police said. Officers shot back and killed the man. Continue reading...

No dog person himself, apparently even Trump sees the bad optics in having a puppy killer' as a running mateKristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, had a shot" at being named Donald Trump's presidential running mate - but blew it by boasting about shooting her dog to death, a Trump insider reportedly said.She was already unlikely to be picked as VP but had a shot," the New York Post quoted an unnamed Trump ally as saying. Continue reading...

Dozens of protesters have taken over a building at Columbia University in New York, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestine flag out of a window, as the UN human rights chief said he was troubled" by how law enforcement has dealt with the recent wave of campus demonstrations. In the latest escalation of uprest on US campuses, video footage showed protesters on Columbia's Manhattan campus locking arms in front of Hamilton Hall early on Tuesday and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Protesters ignored the Monday ultimatum to abandon their encampment or risk suspension

An intense and organized effort to bring down personal and professional repercussions on participants is playing out onlineAs demonstrations over the war in Gaza have surged on campuses, around cities and in offices across the US in recent weeks, a visible tension has emerged between the desire for public protest and a fear of professional reprisals.On the Columbia University campus, where the latest spike in protests began on 17 April, demonstrators have worn masks and used blankets to block counter protesters from filming students. Protesters at a tent encampment at the University of Michigan handed out masks upon entry, and students there refused to give reporters their full names in case the school took punitive action against them. At Harvard, the Palestine Solidarity Committee told the Guardian they had suspended doing press interviews out of regard for student safety. Continue reading...

Last year was the most dangerous to be a reporter since 2015. Without the courage of correspondents risking everything to report from conflict areas, we could be at risk of zones of silence' spreading around the worldConflict in Gaza, war in Ukraine, a battle over the global environment - the world is becoming an increasingly hostile place, particularly for frontline journalists.Last year saw 99 killings of reporters, up 44% on 2022 and the highest toll since 2015.Jonathan Watts is the Guardian's global environment writer Continue reading...

Public life is polluted by lies, abuse and the disregard for basic norms - and the prime minister is not blamelessPedro Sanchez has built a reputation as a successful political gambler, but suspending public duties and threatening to resign, as he did last week, was a political bombshell. It was so extraordinary it led to five days of national puzzlement and the wildest speculation over his motives: from mental health to true love and all kinds of shenanigans associated with the dark arts of politics in between. His announcement that he would not, after all, be resigning, came as another surprise, even to some of his political allies.The timing of this apparently self-inflicted political turmoil adds to its oddity. The centre-left socialist prime minister spent months putting together a fragile parliamentary majority after a close election in July 2023. His coalition government is now on the verge of passing a contentious amnesty law for Catalan officials involved in the unauthorised vote on Catalonia's independence in 2017, and his Spanish Socialist Workers' party (PSOE) is leading the polls ahead of a momentous regional election in Catalonia on 12 May.Maria Ramirez is a journalist and deputy managing editor of elDiario.es, a news outlet in Spain Continue reading...

Nothing screams covering up war crimes' like insisting that there should absolutely not be an independent investigationDid you know that the Palestinians are the very first people in the world to ethnically cleanse and mass murder themselves? I know it sounds weird, but - as American and Israeli politicians keep reminding us - these are savages" that we are talking about here. Normal rules don't apply, you've got to follow the Palestine Rules.The Palestine Rules dictate you do the following: ignore every international agency if that agency says anything remotely critical about Israel. Certainly don't listen to international aid agencies like Oxfam when they argue that the government of Israel is deliberately blocking and/or undermining the international humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip". Nope, the fact that babies in Gaza are dying of malnutrition is all their fault. The fact that children in Gaza are starving at the fastest rate the world has ever known is nothing to do with Israel, it's the fault of those pesky Palestinians. Continue reading...

League is in unique position to help with climate crisis, setting ambitious goal for a 50% drop in its carbon footprint by 2030From a climate perspective, the world is in peril. It's undeniable at this point. Today, though, there are organizations working to find solutions. But when it comes to the universe of pro sports, which has long been a source of pollution like other big businesses, where can answers be found? That's the question those within leagues like the National Basketball Association are debating now. While the NBA has its own challenges when it comes to air travel and its carbon footprint, the league is also progressing forward with substantive changes, small and large, to assuage the climate crisis. And it's in a unique position to do just that.Unlike anonymous research departments or lesser-known scientific organizations, the NBA is one of the most popular outfits in the world. It's on the minds and lips of millions of people on a daily basis. This gives it the chance to manufacture change. A point not lost on many around the league. Continue reading...

Cheng Charlie' Saephan, who was born in Laos and immigrated in 1994, wants to provide for his family and find a good doctor'It was about eight years after a cancer diagnosis when Cheng Charlie" Saephan, his wife and their friends bought a batch of lottery tickets at a north-east Oregon convenience store in early April.They ended up winning the eighth-largest jackpot in US lottery history, officials revealed Monday, when Saephan appeared at a news conference and wondered how much time he had left to enjoy the windfall he is splitting with two of his loved ones. Continue reading...

Eight law-enforcement officers were shot, four fatally, during a shootout outside of a home in North Carolina in the US. Police said the officers were serving a warrant to an individual wanted for possessing a firearm, who was also killed, when the shooting began

University says move is to ensure safety on campus' after talks to reach compromise failColumbia University's pro-Palestinian protesters ignored an ultimatum on Monday to abandon their encampment or risk suspension. The university said it started suspensions early on Monday evening.We have begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus," the university said in an update on its website. Once disciplinary action is initiated, adjudication is handled by several different units within the university based on the nature of the offense." Continue reading...

Republican governor says on social media no encampments will be allowed' as videos show police using pepper sprayProtesters who returned to the University of Texas at Austin on Monday were greeted by dozens of law enforcement officers, many in riot gear. At least 43 protesters were arrested as police and campus security used pepper spray and flash-bang charges on the crowd.The Republican governor, Greg Abbott, on social media reposted video of troopers arriving on the 50,000-student campus. No encampments will be allowed. Instead, arrests are being made," Abbott posted. Continue reading...

Protesters arrested in city's historic French Quarter as witnesses allege officers used indiscriminate' force to clear protestPolice arrested a dozen pro-Palestine protesters in New Orleans' historic French Quarter, as efforts to set up an encampment in the city's center were suppressed by local law-enforcement officers.Officers used batons and tasers on protesters who had congregated in Jackson Square Park, according to eyewitnesses and video reviewed by the Guardian. Three people received treatment in hospital as a result, according to two sources in direct contact with arrestees. Continue reading...

T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint and AT&T say they will appeal against excessive' fines meted out by US regulatorThe Federal Communications Commission on Monday fined the largest US wireless carriers nearly $200m for illegally sharing access to customers' location information.The FCC is finalizing fines first proposed in February 2020, including $80m for T-Mobile; $12m for Sprint, which T-Mobile has since acquired; $57m for AT&T, and nearly $47m for Verizon. Continue reading...

A driver has filmed several zebras running from a sheriff's car in Washington state. Local media has reported that the animals escaped from a trailer on Sunday night while being transported to Montana

Relations have been frosty between the Florida governor and the former president since the Republican presidential primary beganDonald Trump claimed to have the full and enthusiastic support" of Ron DeSantis after the two men met on Sunday for a golf course breakfast in an apparent attempt to thaw their relationship after the Republican primary.I am very happy to have the full and enthusiastic support of Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida," Trump posted to his Truth Social platform on Monday afternoon. Continue reading...

The vice-president returned to the city, pressing the case to Black voters that the Biden administration has been there for themKamala Harris once again visited Atlanta to tout investments made by the Biden administration in minority and underserved communities, highlighting $158m in infrastructure spending on a project to build a cap over Atlanta's most traveled highway, the Downtown Connector.The vice-president's appearance is the continuation of a full court press in Georgia to solidify support among Democrats - and specifically Black Democrats - for the administration. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say they will not retry case after judge declared mistrial last week when jurors unable to reach unanimous verdictProsecutors said on Monday they will not retry an Arizona rancher whose trial in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property ended last week with a deadlocked jury.The jurors in the trial of George Alan Kelly were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a verdict after more than two days of deliberation. The Santa Cruz county superior court judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial on 22 April. Continue reading...

Bakish's departure confirmed as Paramount continues talks with Skydance Media over proposed tie-upThe boss of Paramount Global, the media empire behind CBS, MTV and Channel 5, is leaving with immediate effect as its owners scramble to finalize a blockbuster merger.Bob Bakish's exit from the firm was confirmed on Tuesday as Paramount continues negotiations with Skydance Media, a production company, regarding a tie-up. Continue reading...

Pro-Palestinian protesters joined by Columbia faculty after 2pm ET ultimatum to leave or face suspension passesLast week, Joe Biden vowed to take another stab at convincing Congress to pass legislation that would allow him to tighten immigration policy and deter new migrants from entering the United States.But Politico reports that nothing significant appears to be in the works - a consequences of the opposition from Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress that would likely kill any compromise reached on the highly divisive issue:Talks around resuscitating the bipartisan border compromise that senators struck in February have been nonexistent in Washington. And despite the president's proclamation, administration officials and immigration policy experts both say it's highly unlikely any legislative momentum for border security materializes between now and November.They pulled a rabbit out of a hat on Ukraine, but there's no chance they're getting anything out of Mike Johnson's House on border security," said an immigration advocate familiar with the White House's thinking, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations with administration officials. They've known that since December, when they realized they had to count votes in the House. There's no chance of legislation on this, and they know that. It's rhetorical posturing."In the short term, the two leaders ordered their national security teams to work together to immediately implement concrete measures to significantly reduce irregular border crossings while protecting human rights. President Biden and President Lopez Obrador also pledged to advance initiatives to address the root causes of migration throughout the Western Hemisphere, noting that increasing shared prosperity and security will be of critical importance in effectively addressing the migration challenge over the longer term. Continue reading...

Waffles and caviar for breakfast, fish and chips for dinner. The Guardian's reviewer digests a social week in WashingtonThe annual White House correspondents' dinner in Washington is ostensibly about the dinner poking fun at the president. But like the Oscars, or the Met Gala, it's also about the parties.But how to decide which parties to attend and which ones to skip? Every day of the White House correspondents' dinner weekend is now inundated with competing events.The rules were as follows: two food options were chosen at random at each party, and given a score out of 10 based on taste and execution. The parties reviewed were cocktail parties only; sit-down dinners were not included. Where the primary reviewer could not attend, a secondary reviewer sent notes. The final list was submitted to a three-judge appeals panel" made up of longtime MSNBC contributors, though the ranking could only be overturned in the event of plain error by the reviewer. The rankings were not overturned.Events not reviewed: Washington Women in Journalism awards ceremony, White House Foreign Press-Meridien party, WME-Puck party, Washingtonian/embassy of Qatar soiree, Politics and Inclusion dinner, Washington AI Network-TGI Friday lunch, Substack New Media party. Continue reading...

South Dakota governor's account of family dog Cricket killing neighbor's chickens may be an offence, according to state lawKristi Noem, the South Dakota governor and Republican vice-presidential hopeful, may have committed a class two misdemeanor offence when her fated dog Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehair pointer Noem deemed untrainable" for hunting pheasant, killed a neighbor's chickens.Under South Dakota law, any person owning, keeping, or harboring a dog that chases, worries, injures, or kills any poultry or domestic animal is guilty of a class two misdemeanor and is liable for damages to the owner thereof for any injury caused by the dog to any such poultry or animal." Continue reading...

Students called on the school to cut ties with the weapons manufacturer, which donated $150,000 this yearA university in Portland, Oregon will pause" accepting donations from Boeing after students called on the school to cut ties with the manufacturer amid the war in Gaza.In addition to setting up an encampment on campus, students also addressed a letter to Ann Cudd, the president of Portland State University (PSU), demanding the university cut ties with Boeing. Continue reading...

Three of the striped African mammals recaptured but one remains at large after escaping from trailer en route to MontanaThree zebras were successfully recaptured by state police and rodeo professionals after wandering on to a major interstate in Washington state, though one remains on the lam.On Sunday, four zebras escaped from their trailer while being transported to Montana via Interstate 90, the Seattle Times reported. Continue reading...

The Israeli prime minister has good reason to worry, and the defenses he has offered so far are unlikely to help himThe Israeli government believes that the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague is about to file war crimes charges against Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. We can't know for sure - the ICC has kept its plans close to the vest - but the Israeli prime minister has good reason to worry, and the defenses he has offered so far are unlikely to help him.The ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan's most likely target is Netanyahu's starvation strategy for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Because the Israeli government has refused to let ICC staff enter Gaza, it will take time for Khan to complete the detailed investigation required to demonstrate other possible Israeli war crimes, such as indiscriminately bombing civilian areas and firing on military targets with foreseeably disproportionate civilian consequences. But the facts surrounding Israel's obstruction of humanitarian aid are readily available. Continue reading...

Anyone who thinks far-right congresswoman will drop plan to remove Mike Johnson is simply out of their mind', aide saysAnyone who thinks Marjorie Taylor Greene will drop her threat to force the removal of the Republican US House speaker, Mike Johnson, is high, drunk, or simply out of their mind", a senior aide to the far-right Georgia congresswoman said.That's absurd," her deputy chief of staff Nick Dyer told Politico, adding that Greene was not going to tell the press" her plans for activating the motion to vacate she filed more than a month ago. Continue reading...

Galena survived six days of travel with no food or water before being discovered in relatively good shape by Amazon employeeIn the famous Schrodinger's cat hypothesis, a cat in a box is both alive and dead until someone looks inside - and in the case of one mischievous cat from Utah discovered inside an Amazon return package, it was very much alive.The cat, Galena, survived being shipped all the way from Lehi, Utah, across the US to California after sneaking into the package. Galena, six, an indoor-only cat, traveled more than 500 miles in a 3-by-3ft shipping container, according to NBC. Continue reading...