French president Emmanuel Macron has called for restraint in both words and actions in dealing with the Ukraine conflict, after US president Joe Biden described Russian president Vladimir Putin as a ‘butcher’ and said he should not remain in power. ‘I wouldn't use this type of wording because I continue to hold discussions with president Putin,’ Macron told France 3. 'What do we want to do collectively? We want to stop the war that Russia has launched in Ukraine without waging war and without escalation.'

John Herdman’s team beat Jamaica 4-0 on Sunday in front of a packed house to complete a remarkable 12 months for Canadian footballOh? Canada? Yes, Canada.Almost four decades after their only appearance at a men’s World Cup, Canada are back, becoming the first North American nation to secure passage to Qatar 2022. Continue reading...

Adam Kinzinger vows to ‘get to the bottom’ of insurrection after Clarence Thomas’s wife reportedly urged White House to overturn Trump’s election defeatAdam Kinzinger, one of two Republican members on January 6 committee, on Sunday vowed to “get to the bottom” of events surrounding the 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol but refused to reveal whether the panel intends to question Ginni Thomas – wife of US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas – over reports of her urging the White House to overturn Donald Trump’s election defeat.Senior Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from relevant cases and warned the integrity of the supreme court is at stake. Continue reading...

Joint event had been planned ahead of Doha Forum that would have set process in motion to grant group diplomatic recognitionThe US was poised to set the Taliban on the path to diplomatic recognition before the plan was derailed by the Afghan rulers’ sudden U-turn on a promise to allow girls’ education, the Guardian understands.The group prompted international outrage and confusion on Wednesday when it reneged on a deal to allow teenage girls to go to secondary school, just a week after the education ministry announced that schools would open for all students. Continue reading...

Howard Hubbard made admission during a deposition last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed in New YorkThe former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday. Continue reading...

The Russian president may look isolated over Ukraine, but important players are hedging their betsWhen Vladimir Putin recognised Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics, days before his invasion of Ukraine, one of the most powerful denunciations came from Kenya’s envoy to the UN. Martin Kimani cited his country’s own history as he warned against irredentism and expansionism: “We must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression,” he said.On two general assembly resolutions – the first denouncing the invasion, the second blaming Russia for creating a humanitarian crisis – 140 or more nations have approved. Only four have voted with Russia to oppose them: a rogues’ gallery of Belarus, Eritrea, Syria and North Korea. Yet widespread condemnation, along with the west’s unexpected unity, should not be mistaken for Russian isolation. Having boasted of a relationship with “no limits”, and sharing a common interest in countering the global might of the US and Nato, China is now seeking to portray itself in a more nuanced light and avoid economic and political damage – but is not, in reality, distancing itself from Russia. Beijing is not alone. Few of the world’s most populous nations, and only a few leading players outside the west, have assailed Mr Putin. Continue reading...

Journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service after nearly 20 years with the right-leaning cable channelChris Wallace has said working at Fox News became “increasingly unsustainable” before he jumped ship to CNN last December after almost 20 years with the right-leaning cable channel.His departure dealt a blow to Fox’s news operation at a time when its opinion side had become preeminent. The veteran journalist’s new show begins on archrival CNN’s streaming service this week and the 74-year-old spoke to the New York Times. Continue reading...

Ex-president also had warm words for Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un at event as primary races heat up before midterms electionsDonald Trump chose a rally in Georgia on Saturday night once again to praise Vladimir Putin, calling the Russian president “smart” even as he said the invasion of Ukraine amounted to a “big mistake”.The Republican former president also had warm words for China’s president Xi Jinping and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and referred to such leaders collectively by saying: “The smartest one gets to the top.” Continue reading...

Analysis: Any unseating of Russia’s president is that country’s business, not that of the US president

French president cautions against verbal escalations after US is forced to deny it is seeking regime change

Ginni Thomas’s advocacy for an overturned 2020 election show a clear conflict of interest on the supreme courtGinni Thomas is a rightwing firebrand, married to the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas. She is also wedded to the lie that Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election. In a recently revealed 10 November 2020 email to Mark Meadows, Trump’s then chief of staff, she opined: “The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.” It was up to Meadows to help overturn the election.Unfortunately for all of us, Justice Thomas may agree with his wife’s political agenda. In February 2021, Thomas dissented from the rejection by the court of a challenge brought by Pennsylvania Republicans to the results of the 2020 election. He called the refusal by the six-person majority “inexplicable”, even as he acknowledged that the election had been “free from strong evidence of systemic fraud”. Continue reading...

With a potential second booster on the horizon for vulnerable groups, the White House is still struggling to drum up interest for additional shots – and fundingAs vaccine makers seek authorization for a fourth dose of their Covid vaccines in America, existing delays with vaccination and a lack of federal funding could slow the next booster rollout across the country, experts say.“We’re way behind the eight-ball,” said Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. The rollout of the first round of boosters, authorized in the US last fall, “just fell off the cliff”, with many Americans still not realizing they are eligible or that the booster is recommended. Continue reading...

As the world awaits Beijing’s response to the Ukraine war, history shows its reaction could be complicatedThe troops gathered on the border. The supreme leader decided that it was time to invade, to teach the other side a lesson. Shortly afterwards, troops breached the internationally recognised border and clashed with local forces.Not Ukraine 2022, but Vietnam 1979. In January of that year, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping told the US president Jimmy Carter that he wanted to “spank the butt” of his neighbours. For a month, Chinese and Vietnamese forces clashed, leading to a death toll of tens of thousands. Chinese troops withdrew in March 1979, when, unlike Vladimir Putin, Deng sensibly decided to declare a famous victory and head home. Since then, there has been no unambiguous breach of an international border by Chinese troops. Continue reading...

The brave protests of 1968 spawned an organisation that is still giving voice to Putin’s critics todayIn August 1968, as Soviet tanks rolled into Prague, a small group of students and writers in Moscow organised a protest in solidarity with the people of Czechoslovakia. The poet Natalya Gorbanevskaya and seven other dissidents sat down in Moscow’s Red Square and unfurled banners with slogans that have a chilling resonance today: “We are Losing Our Friends”; “Shame on Occupiers”; “For Your Freedom and Ours”; and “Long Live a Free and Independent Czechoslovakia”.This extraordinary act of courage was met with customary brutality. The activists were arrested and most served long sentences in penal colonies. Gorbanevskaya was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Continue reading...

West must prepare for a long fight ahead, president says, as Russian missiles hit Lviv in act of defiance

Without any declared candidacy, and with little spent on Republican candidates, the purpose of Trump’s war chest remains opaqueDonald Trump’s ferocious money-raising machine, powered in equal measure by grassroots giving and large individual and corporate donations, has never really stopped turning – and it is currently raising huge sums of cash.As of this month, Trump has $123m saved in his Save America political fund, more than the Republican and Democratic national committees combined, and 12 times as much as the fund – Pac for the Future – for the Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Continue reading...

Nebraska Republican Jeff Fortenberry stepped down after concerted pressure from both Washington and his own stateThe Nebraska congressman Jeff Fortenberry has resigned from office after a California jury convicted him of lying to federal authorities about an illegal campaign donation from a foreign national.In a letter to the House on Saturday, nine-term Republican Fortenberry said he was resigning from Congress, effective 31 March. Continue reading...

President’s ‘tax on richest 700 Americans’ may face opposition from conservative DemocratsJoe Biden is set to announce a tax aimed at US billionaires as part of his 2023 budget plans on Monday in a move that will likely delight many progressives in his party but could meet opposition from conservative Democrats who have already stymied his domestic agenda.The Washington Post, citing five sources and an internal administration document, said the “billionaire minimum income tax” plan would establish a 20% minimum tax rate on all American households worth more than $100m. Continue reading...

President seeks to re-establish US as a leader in global affairs after years of Trump-led disengagementIn a speech in Poland on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Joe Biden indicated his intent to re-position the US as a leader in global affairs after four years of disengagement during the Trump administration.It is not a task many thought Biden would so firmly take on when he took office in 2021. Initially, Biden focused on healing domestic wounds following four chaotic years of the Trump administration and the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading...

Few people on Putin’s TV network were true believers... which is the really frightening thingWhen Adolf Hitler was ascendant, the American foreign correspondent Dorothy Thompson invented the “macabre parlour game” of guessing who would “go Nazi” if the Germans invaded. With Vladimir Putin, there is no need to imagine who would collaborate, as so many have already collaborated with the Russian propaganda effort.Some were convinced ideologues. Others were has-been politicians such as Alex Salmond and George Galloway: conceited old men, grateful that Putin’s RT (Russia Today) network still wanted to broadcast them. The rest were not has-beens but never-beens: wannabe pundits the national media would not touch; TV presenters who never had star billing; desperate young reporters who could not break into the UK’s exploitative media sector. Continue reading...

Putin’s murderous reign can only be ended from within. Western powers must now do all they can to encourage a coup

Poland is taking ‘significant responsibility’ in the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the US president, Joe Biden, said during a visit to Warsaw, adding that other Nato countries should help share the burden.Biden also told his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, he viewed Nato’s Article 5 guarantee of mutual defence between member states as a ‘sacred commitment’.More than 2 million people have fled the war to Poland, out of the roughly 3.8 million who have left Ukraine all together

Huge search and resue mission discovered body of Craig Clouatre, who went missing north of Yellowstone this weekA Montana sheriff has thanked a huge search and rescue mission, involving people on the ground as well as helicopters, that discovered a missing hiker who appears to have been killed by a grizzly bear north of Yellowstone national park.“We’re fortunate to have a group of experienced volunteers on our [search and rescue] team and we’re thankful for the folks who have come to help,” the Park county sheriff, Brad Bichler, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Trio file lawsuit against homeland security department, alleging questions about faith were in violation of constitutional rightsThree Muslim Americans filed a lawsuit this week alleging that US border officers questioned them about their religious beliefs in violation of their constitutional rights when they returned from international travel.The men involved in the lawsuit claim that US border officers at land crossings and international airports peppered them with questions about whether they were Muslim and attended a mosque and how often they prayed. Continue reading...

Eric Adams says officials will place people in ‘healthy living conditions with wraparound services’ as debate swirlsNew York mayor Eric Adams has ordered that every homeless encampment in the city should be taken down within two weeks, arguing that the situation is not only dangerous to those living there but to the city itself.“We’re going to rid the encampments off our street and we’re going to place people in healthy living conditions with wraparound services,” Adams said Friday, though he provided few details on exactly how that extra provision would be provided for them. Continue reading...

Wife of supreme court justice Clarence Thomas sent texts to Trump’s chief of staff urging overturning of 2020 election resultMembers of the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack are weighing whether to demand that Ginni Thomas, the wife of the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, cooperate with the inquiry, according to two sources familiar with the matter.A move to request cooperation from Ginni Thomas, who was revealed to have pushed in text messages to Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows to overturn the results of the 2020 election, would mark one of the most aggressive steps taken by the panel. Continue reading...

Race marshal says trio’s decision to bring dogs inside ‘affected the competition for racers’ as Peta condemns Alaska raceA fierce winter storm in the last stretch of this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog, which ultimately forced six mushers to quit the same day, now has seen three mushers punished for sheltering their dogs instead of leaving them outside in the harsh conditions.Mille Porsild of Denmark, Michelle Phillips of Canada and Riley Dyche of Fairbanks were penalized for taking dogs inside shelter cabins to ride out the storm with winds so strong, they whipped up white-out conditions, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday. Continue reading...

Complex social and political elements swirl round gang – with roots in El Salvador – accused of hacking four US teens to deathThe mythology of the street gang is rooted in American popular culture, from West Side Story to The Warriors to Training Day.But a recent trial in the seemingly endless suburban landscape of Long Island, New York, has thrown a spotlight on the harsh reality of gang activity, and the circumstances in which it flourishes. In particular, one of the most brutal organizations at work in the US: Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. Continue reading...

Abortion bans, anti-LGBTQ laws, book bans – the party sees hot button issues as a tried and test path to victory. Democrats ignore it at their peril, experts say“Sue-thy-neighbour” laws that ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in Texas and now Idaho. A “don’t say gay” bill censoring discussion of sexual orientation in schools in Florida. A ban on Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, by a school board in Tennessee.America’s national government might be under Democratic control but its red states are on the march with sweeping laws targeting abortion, LGBTQ+ people and the teaching of race in schools that threaten to turn back the clock to an era when a citizen’s rights depended on where they lived. Continue reading...

From a friend’s charming stories to a senator’s heartfelt backing, here are some non-enraging moments from the SenateThe confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson officially wrapped up this week after four days of extensive questioning, heated exchanges and other contentious moments.But Jackson, who was questioned by Republican senators on a variety of issues, was widely praised for her patient demeanor and thoughtful responses. Continue reading...

Property where LGBTQ+ rights champion Cleve Jones lives was purchased by a new owner last monthA prominent San Francisco LGBTQ+ rights activist is being uprooted from his home in the Castro neighborhood after the new owner of the property nearly doubled his rent to $5,200.Cleve Jones, 67, who moved to San Francisco in 1973 and first conceived of the Aids Memorial Quit, is reportedly moving out of his rent-controlled, one-bedroom apartment this week. The move comes after he was notified of a significant price increase from the property’s new owner, who claims that the apartment is not Jones’ primary residence. Continue reading...

Australia must figure out how to respond to an increasingly crowded Pacific, without increasing tensions in the regionA leaked draft security agreement being negotiated between China and Solomon Islands could have security implications for the whole Pacific. The draft document sets out a broad framework covering Chinese “police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces” deployments to Solomon Islands. The agreement also allows China, with the consent of Solomon Islands, to make ship visits, provide logistical support and have stopovers and transition in Solomon Islands.All Pacific countries have a stake in protecting the stability and security of the region. Pacific Islands Forum members, including Australia, agreed in the 2018 Boe Declaration to address regional security challenges collectively. A bilateral agreement such as the one proposed between China and Solomon Islands undermines that sentiment and shows a limited appreciation for security of the region as a whole by whomever was the leaked draft’s initial author. Continue reading...

Legislature was accused of gerrymandering after substituting its own new district maps for ones drafted by outside commissionA Maryland judge ruled on Friday that the state’s new congressional map is unconstitutional, the first map by a Democratic-controlled state legislature to be struck down by a court this redistricting cycle.So far courts have intervened to block maps they found to be GOP gerrymanders in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, infuriating Republicans and leading conservatives to push for the US supreme court to limit the power of state courts to overturn maps drawn by state legislatures. Continue reading...

School board ditches policy ‘rooted in racism’ that was widely ignored in practiceThe New Orleans school board has unanimously reversed a little known but century-old ban on jazz in schools in a city which played a huge role in developing jazz and where it is still played nightly at various venues.“I’m very glad that we can rescind this policy. I want to acknowledge it. It was rooted in racism,” the Orleans parish school board president, Olin Parker, said during the meeting on Thursday night. “And I also want to acknowledge the tremendous contributions of our students and especially of our band directors, whose legacy continues from 1922 through present day.” Continue reading...

The footage suggests the international legion fighting alongside the Ukrainian military is playing an increasingly active role. The video clips show an American in combat gear posing in front of the burnt remains of what he said was a Russian tank. The videos were posted by James Vasquez, a US army veteran and building contractor from Connecticut, who according to his Twitter feed, arrived in Poland on 15 March, crossed into Ukraine the next day, bringing with him several surveillance drones. He was sent to the frontlines from Lviv on 18 March

Nebraska Republican Jeff Fortenberry found guilty in case involving illegal campaign contributions from foreign billionaireA Nebraska congressman has been found guilty of three felonies for lying to the FBI about illegal campaign contributions from a foreign billionaire.A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Jeff Fortenberry, a nine-term Republican, on Thursday of concealing information and two counts of providing false statements to authorities. Continue reading...

Kyiv knows concessions will not bring security: on the contrary, they will provoke a new Russian offensiveWestern analysts are trying to develop different scenarios for Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The “menu” is expansive: a protracted conflict with a gradual transition to low-intensity hostilities; a nuclear disaster; the use of chemical or biological weapons to bring victory in land operations; political compromise on the side of Ukraine and others.The only scenario that is not discussed is the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Everywhere there are some “buts”, as if the need to “sacrifice” something to Russia is considered unavoidable.Maria Zolkina is a political analyst at Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a Kyiv-based thinktank Continue reading...

Teen fell from the Orlando Free Fall ride, which opened late last year at Icon ParkA 14-year-old boy fell to his death from a ride at an amusement park in Orlando, sheriff’s officials said.Sheriff’s officials and emergency crews responded to a call late Thursday at Icon Park, which is located in the city’s tourist district along International Drive. The boy fell from the Orlando Free Fall ride, which opened late last year. Continue reading...

Republicans are becoming so hysterical because people like Judge Jackson pose a revolutionary threat to the status quo“Black Girl Magic” is on full display in the supreme court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Republicans are apoplectic. The juxtaposition of Jackson’s calm, confident, professionalism with the hostile, cynical and contemptuous questioning by senators such as Texas senator Ted Cruz is an object lesson for the entire world on the ongoing dynamics of systemic racism in the United States.Rather than do their constitutional duty of engage with a prospective supreme court justice on the pressing legal issues of the day, the Republican committee members have opted to throw racist red meat to their rabid white supporters who are gripped by fear of people of color. Cruz led the charge with his attacks on critical race theory, asking Jackson whether she agrees “that babies are racist” and trying to paint the judge as a dangerous person who would force white children to learn about racism.Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color and author of Brown is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority. He is a Guardian US columnist

Governor Brad Little signed SB1309, banning all abortions after six weeks’ gestational age – and it is enforced not through state action, but private lawsuitsIf there was any doubt that Roe v Wade has been nullified, Idaho’s governor, Brad Little, put an end to it on Wednesday, when he signed SB1309, known officially as the Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act, into law. Like Texas’ SB8, Idaho’s new law bans all abortions after six weeks’ gestational age, in plain violation of Roe. But like SB8, the law may well be able to go into effect as scheduled next month, because it is enforced not through state action, but through private lawsuits.The supreme court is likely to overturn Roe this summer anyway, in the widely anticipated Dobbs v Jackson ruling. But almost all abortions have been illegal in Texas since September, when the court gave its blessing to SB8’s private enforcement provision and allowed the law to go into effect. Since the court gave the nod to SB8, other Republican-controlled states have rushed to pass copycat bills, eager to outlaw abortion within their borders even before the downfall of Roe in a few months. According to the reproductive rights research group the Guttmacher Institute, SB8 copycat bills have been introduced in 12 states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee. But Idaho’s is the first to be signed into law.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

US increasing exports of seaborne liquefied natural gas to cut Europe’s dependence on Russia and starve war machine