Leadership of populist three-time PM could have ramifications for Ukraine, EU and Slovakia's rule of lawSlovakia's president, Zuzana Caputova, will on Monday hand the country's former prime minister Robert Fico a mandate to start negotiations to form a coalition government after his Smer-SD party won almost 23% of the vote in weekend elections.If he succeeds, the populist, pro-Russian leader's fourth term as prime minister could have significant ramifications for Slovakia's military support for Ukraine, EU unity and cohesion, and the rule of law in the central European country. Continue reading...
Former president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination delivered the odd remarks during a speech in IowaFaced with a litany of criminal charges, Donald Trump on Sunday told a campaign rally in Iowa that he would prefer to die by electrocution rather than be eaten by a shark if he ever found himself on a rapidly sinking, electrically powered boat.The former president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination delivered the bizarre remarks during a speech in the community of Ottuma. He was pontificating over batteries for electric powered boats while recounting a conversation he claimed to have with a boat manufacturer in South Carolina. Continue reading...
August searches of Marion County Record's office and homes of its publisher and a city council member have been sharply criticizedThe police chief who led a highly criticized raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended, the mayor confirmed to the Associated Press this weekend.Marion mayor Dave Mayfield in a text said he suspended chief Gideon Cody on Thursday. He declined to discuss his decision further and did not say whether Cody was still being paid. Continue reading...
Comic book author and graphic novelist wants to spend time in the role tackling industry's lack of diversityThe comic book author and graphic novelist Bobby Joseph has become the first person of colour to be appointed the UK's comics laureate.Joseph, who was one of the first authors to create a British comic with black characters, was appointed to the role at the Lakes international comic art festival (LICAF) in Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District on Saturday. Continue reading...
French actor says in open letter never, ever have I abused a woman' and says he has been subject of lynching'The French actor Gerard Depardieu has written for the first time about allegations of rape and sexual assault against him, saying in Le Figaro that he was the victim of a lynching orchestrated by a media court".In an open letter written in a literary style, he wrote: Never, ever have I abused a woman." Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent on (#6F7T3)
Exclusive: Campaigners concerned that opposition from Tory MPs is delaying legal protections for rentersMillions of people living in damp and run-down properties are suffering worsening mental and physical health due to delays passing crucial reforms into law, research suggests.A survey by the homelessness charity Shelter found that about 40% of people in rented homes had experienced poor health as a result of their living conditions in the last year - amounting to almost 3 million people in England. Continue reading...
by Sam Jones in Madrid and Helen Livingstone on (#6F7R9)
Thirteen bodies found after fire tore through three adjoining clubs in Murcia but police fear number could riseThe death toll from a fire that tore through three adjoining nightclubs in south-eastern Spain, killing at least 13 people, could rise as rescuers continue to search through the wreckage, police have said.The blaze in the city of Murcia broke out at about 6am on Sunday morning in the La Fonda club, before spreading to the neighbouring Teatre and Golden clubs, officials said. Continue reading...
A new trailer teases footage from behind the scenes of her stunning sellout spectacle, live performances and time with Jay-Z and their children, including rehearsals with daughter Blue IvyBeyonce has announced a new concert film based on this year's massive tour for her 2022 album Renaissance.When I am performing, I am nothing but free," the musician, 42, says in the trailer for Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce. My goal for this tour was to create a place where everyone is free and no one is judged." Continue reading...
Raising money from business leaders and wooing megadonors for cash is a big game at party conferenceLunch with Rishi Sunak and the chance to hobnob with senior ministers? That will set you back 3,300 a person at the Conservatives' conference business day this year.Raising money from business leaders and wooing donors for more cash is a big game at the annual gathering, which is a profit-making endeavour for the party. Corporate leaders will be gathering for special closed sessions and policy roundtables on Monday with ministers, the events including Jeremy Hunt in conversation with the managing director of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent on (#6F7PX)
Just for One Day to tell stories around 1985 fundraising concert during two-month run next yearBob Geldof, the musician who harnessed the power of rock and pop to save lives, has issued a characteristic warning to the Old Vic over its plans for a musical about the 1985 Live Aid concert.It better not be shit," Geldof said, while giving his approval for the London theatre's production. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: Eleven people have died since the start of September in a spate of shootings and bombings - this is how the country is managing Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGod morgon. The prime minister of Sweden is calling in the army to help tackle an unprecedented" epidemic of gang violence and terrorist-like" attacks that has seen a record 11 people die in shootings in September alone and a wave of bomb attacks - including four within a single hour.It might not be what we in Britain expect in Scandinavia, but maybe we should have seen it coming - the issue has dominated Swedish politics for the last few years and partly led to the country last year electing the most far-right government in its history.Conservatives | Tory MPs should get over their excess of doom and gloom" about their electoral prospects and get behind" Rishi Sunak, international development minister Andrew Mitchell has said. Mitchell suggested that rival groups of Conservative MPs at the party conference in Manchester should be more disciplined before the election.Brexit | The government has admitted it will cost businesses 330m each year in additional charges when new post-Brexit border controls on animal and plant products imported from the European Union are implemented next year.Cost of living | Families are eating less healthily and turning to ready meals and processed foods due to the cost of living crisis, a study has found. More than two-thirds of people (69%) said they considered themselves to be healthy eaters but 28% said they were eating less nutritious food because it is too expensive, according to the BBC Good Food Nation survey.Climate crisis | Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland have all experienced their hottest Septembers on record, with unseasonably high temperatures set to continue into October, in a year likely to be the warmest in human history.Jake Abraham | The actor Jake Abraham, best known for his role in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, has died aged 56. Abraham, who played Dean in the British gangster film, revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis in July and said he was receiving palliative care. Continue reading...
Swift western pressure on Serbia to step back from conflict does not resolve the chronic problems of Kosovo's nationhoodThe signs this weekend suggest that the immediate crisis over Kosovo has been defused. Some Serbian troops are pulling back from the border, and the threat of a return to armed conflict has receded for now.The Biden administration acted decisively on Friday, drawing on some of the lessons from the run-up to the Ukraine invasion, going public with US intelligence on Serbian troops movements, and calling Belgrade to threaten sanctions and ostracism. The Nato peacekeeping force, Kfor, was immediately reinforced by the transfer of command of a battalion of British troops who were in the region for training. Continue reading...
International development minister warns colleagues jostling for position not to be self-indulgent'Tory MPs should get over their excess of doom and gloom" about their electoral prospects and get behind" Rishi Sunak, a cabinet minister has said, with a veiled warning to colleagues jostling for position not to be self-indulgent".The international development minister, Andrew Mitchell, suggested on Sunday that rival groups of Conservative MPs, who have been proposing an array of policy ideas at the party conference in Manchester, should be more disciplined before the election. Continue reading...
Musee d'Orsay adds AI and VR to display of artist's last works, never previously seen togetherFor a man who died in 1890, Vincent van Gogh seemed remarkably au fait with 21st-century parlance.Asked why he had cut off his left ear, the artist replied that this was a misconception and he had in fact only cut off part of my earlobe". So why did he shoot himself in the chest with a revolver, causing injuries from which he died two days later? Continue reading...
The Old Oak, about tensions in a former mining village when refugees arrive, has touched a nerve more raw now than when filming beganThe veteran film-maker Ken Loach is famous for storylines that depict life's bleakest injustices. But his latest film has touched a political nerve that is more raw now than when it was conceived before the pandemic.Loach, now 87, has said that The Old Oak, which opened in cinemas on Friday, will be his last in a career spanning more than six decades. The six-week shoot was challenging, he says, but plays down the difficulties of making a big film at his age with the sight in one eye almost gone. Continue reading...
A structural failure' during Sunday service trapped dozens in Santa Cruz church in Gulf coast city of Ciudad MaderoThe roof of a church has collapsed in northern Mexico during a Sunday mass, killing at least nine people and injuring about 50, authorities said as searchers probed the wreckage late into the night looking for survivors and other victims.Approximately 30 parishioners were believed to have been trapped in the rubble when the roof caved in, officials said. Searchers crawled under the roof slabs and officials brought in dogs to help search for possible survivors. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Defence and trade affected by poor post-Merkel rapport, says chair of foreign affairs committeePoor relations between France and Germany are slowing down key decisions in the EU including deals on defence in Ukraine and trade, an influential German MEP has claimed.David McAllister, chair of the European parliament's foreign affairs committee and a key figure in the opposition Christian Democrats party, says he is concerned that the lack of contact between the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is causing delays on key decisions on battle tanks and fighter jets, and a future trade deal with Latin America. Continue reading...
Jeremy Rockcliff's administration is teetering on the edge of collapse after Elise Archer quit as attorney general amid a leaked messages scandal. Here's the state of play
Joe Biden urges Congress to swiftly approve Ukraine aid left out of US government funding bill; Rishi Sunak rows back on defence minister's suggestion that British troops could carry out training in Ukraine
Comments from the UK prime minister come after his defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said soldiers could be deployed to Ukraine to carry out trainingThere are no immediate plans to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday, rowing back from comments by his defence minister who had suggested troops could carry out training in the country.To date, Britain and its allies have avoided a formal military presence in Ukraine to reduce the risk of a direct conflict with Russia. Continue reading...
Refugee Council study suggests asylum claims by three out of four crossing Channel would be grantedSuella Braverman's claim that most asylum seekers are economic migrants has been challenged by an analysis which suggests that three out of four people crossing the English Channel in small boats this year would be granted asylum if their claims were processed.Using Home Office statistics on Channel crossings, the Refugee Council said that 74% of arrivals in 2023 would be recognised as asylum seekers, an increase from 65% last year. Continue reading...
LSE research suggests faith-based admissions requirements deter disadvantaged childrenChurch of England and Roman Catholic primary schools take fewer pupils with disabilities or special needs than other local schools in England, according to research that suggests faith-based admissions requirements deter pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.The findings led the author, Dr Tammy Campbell of the London School of Economics, to conclude that faith schools serve as hubs of relative advantage" for children from more affluent families who were less likely to have special needs. Continue reading...
Workspace provider IWG says 73% have cut rental costs while 80% have changed to accommodate hybrid workingMore than half of businesses have opened offices or working spaces outside city centres, in response to the shift towards hybrid working, according to new research.Flexible workspace provider IWG, which operates about 300 offices under brands including Regus and Spaces, said that 82% of firms have changed their office space needs to cater for more flexible working.If you ask intelligent people to commute unnecessarily for two hours a day, to come to an office to use a laptop that they could have used down the road from their home, they are going to question that." Continue reading...
Arrest made after reports that image of deceased young mascot was displayed at football ground to goad Sunderland fansA man has been charged with a public order offence after the image of football mascot Bradley Lowery was displayed during a match.The six-year-old Sunderland fan, who struck up a close friendship with the team's striker Jermain Defoe after being diagnosed with neuroblastoma, died in 2017 having helped raise more than 1m for charity. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker, Aubrey Allegretti and Aletha Adu on (#6F7FA)
Rishi Sunak's hopes of united front flounder with MPs and even ministers challenging policy and jockeying for positionRishi Sunak is struggling to hold together his fractured party as the first day of the Conservative conference saw attempts at a united front collapse into rival groups battling over tax, culture wars and the fight to be the next Tory leader.In his own carefully planned comments, the prime minister used interviews and a rally in Manchester to portray himself as a figure of change, making difficult but necessary long-term choices above the fray of petty politics. Continue reading...
by Ruth Michaelson in Istanbul and agencies on (#6F755)
Action follows suicide bomb blast outside Turkish government building claimed by Kurdish militantsThe Turkish defence ministry says its warplanes carried out raids on suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday after a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital.A ministry statement said 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers' party, or PKK, were destroyed" in the aerial operation, including caves, shelters and depots. Continue reading...
A row over tax cuts, a car crash start for Onward and the home secretary accused of attention-seekingI don't know what the intention was around that - it might just be get attention ... This side of a general election, I might politely suggest it is about delivery, and the government will be judged on delivery.- Priti Patel on home secretary Suella Braverman's speech in the US this week Continue reading...
Speaking on Desert Island Discs, comedian revealed how she confronted unnamed man she believed to be a perpetrator of sexual assault'The comedian Katherine Ryan has spoken on Desert Island Discs about the moment she decided to confront a male comedian over allegations of predatory behaviour.Last month Deadline reported that Russell Brand, who is facing allegations of sexual assault and rape against him after an investigation by the Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches first published on 16 September, was dropped from Comedy Central's Roast Battle in 2018 after Brand was reluctant to be roasted when Ryan, repeatedly accused him of being a sexual predator" in comments which were not broadcast. Continue reading...
Rival governments urged to work together to best manage donations for Derna after catastrophic floodingThe government in eastern Libya has been forced to postpone a reconstruction conference for the stricken city of Derna amid concerns about how donations will be spent and a lack of coordination with the west of the country.A large part of Derna was destroyed on the night of 10 September when severe flooding caused two dams above the town to burst. The death toll has been put at more than 10,000, but no official figure is yet deemed accurate. Continue reading...
Prime minister says the best tax cut we can give is to cut inflation' after Michael Gove says taxes should be cut before general electionThe BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is starting. As well as Rishi Sunak, Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, is also being interviewed.Q: Do you still think we've had enough of experts?Economic forecasting was invented to make astrology look respectable. Continue reading...
Four others were injured in the blaze in the Teatre club in Murcia, south-eastern Spain, as rescue workers search for more victimsAt least 13 people have been killed in a fire in adjoining Spanish nightclubs, amid fears the death toll could rise further as rescue workers continued to search for those still unaccounted for.Outside the club, young people hugged each other as they waited for information after the fire, which broke out in the early hours in the two-storey Teatre nightclub, also called Fonda Milagros, on the outskirts of the southern city of Murcia. Continue reading...
Leader of Polish opposition addresses supporters as large parts of the capital come to a standstillHuge crowds have gathered in central Warsaw at a rally organised by opposition leader Donald Tusk, two weeks before a crucial election that will have major implications for the future political course of Poland and its role in Europe.As a closely fought and vicious campaign enters its final straight, Tusk had called on supporters to rally in Warsaw to put on a show of strength and galvanise the opposition. Victory, he claimed, was in sight. Continue reading...
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