Ed Sheeran calls situation in Palestine ‘catastrophic and unjustifiable’ at solo concert
Singer Ed Sheeran opened a solo concert in Philadelphia on Saturday by addressing the recent fallout over the removal of his tour’s opening act, Macklemore, due to the rapper’s pro-Palestinian comments. “I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be…
Trump returns to White House as State Department issues security alerts for Middle East
President Trump cut his weekend trip to Camp David short a day early, returning to Washington, D.C., on Saturday evening. The president touched down at the Ellipse just before 8 p.m., according to a White House pool report. The White House’s official social media account shared a video clip of Trump departing Marine One. The…
Trump Faced Loss After Loss. He Then Turned to a Familiar Target: The Press.
The president’s ban of three media outlets from the White House fits a pattern of using the apparatus of government to crack down on his perceived enemies.
A.I. Gone Rogue? Trump Proposes Not New Rules but an ‘A.I. Force.’
The president proposed a follow-up to his Space Force but continued to dismiss worries about A.I.’s pace or potential for harm.
Ed Davey takes aim at Reform and Elon Musk as Lib Dem conference begins
Ed Davey urged delegates not to be deterred in the face of Reform’s hope ‘that the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down’. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA View image in fullscreen Ed Davey urged delegates not to be deterred in the face of Reform’s hope ‘that the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down’. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Ed Davey takes aim at Reform and Elon Musk as Lib Dem conference begins Leader says party ‘won’t give up the fight’ to defeat ‘nasty populism’ in first-day speech to delegates in Brighton The Liberal Democrats’ leader, Sir Ed Davey, took aim at Nigel Farage and Elon Musk on the first day of his party’s annual conference, saying Lib Dems would not give up the fight to defeat “nasty populism” and Reform UK’s “£72m arsenal of hate and lies”. On stage at Brighton Centre, Davey called on the assembled delegates not to be deterred in the face of Reform’s hope “that the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down until eventually we just give up”. He also praised earlier speakers for showing “why we care and why we fight” and contrasted this with Reform, which, he said, “care about their own bank balance and they fight because two crypto billionaires gave them 72 million quid”. Davey, who entered conference season having to address frustrations over his leadership expressed , also used the speech to recall his early political life as a student campaigning successfully for his university college to boycott Barclays, due to its investments in apartheid-era South Africa. He spoke of his “visceral shock [and] overwhelming anger at seeing human beings treating other human beings with total contempt” and drew parallels between that experience and the need to not look away “when we see human dignity under attack”. Lib Dems have ‘moral responsibility’ to block Reform, says Ed Davey as party gears up for snap election Davey said: “Today – we are back. Fighting again the fight that fired me up at university. The fight to end injustices. In our country and around the world. The fight to defeat the nasty populism of Trump, Le Pen, the AfD and the rest. “The fight to stop the world’s richest man who learned racism in apartheid South Africa from funding racism around the world.” He also referred to the “fight to defend the Royal National Lifeboat Institution after volunteers for the coastal rescue charity were recently targeted online amid anti-migrant protests”.
Small boat arrivals are ‘wealthy men’ who do not deserve help, says Reform’s Danny Kruger
Danny Kruger’s claim was immediately dismissed as false . Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA View image in fullscreen Danny Kruger’s claim was immediately dismissed as false . Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA Small boat arrivals are ‘wealthy men’ who do not deserve help, says Reform’s Danny Kruger The fact that some migrants pay people smugglers thousands of pounds makes them well off, MP claims Asylum seekers who arrive on small boats across the Channel are “wealthy men” who do not deserve the help of the British state, according to the Reform UK MP Danny Kruger. The former Conservative, who defected last year, said the fact that some migrants were paying people smugglers thousands of pounds – often using their life savings or borrowed money – made them well off. The claim was immediately dismissed . Speaking at the Big Brue festival in Bruton, Somerset, Kruger said: “, most of them [are] comparatively wealthy and fit young men who’ve crossed safe countries to begin the journey to the UK.” Asked ’s moderator, the editor of the Independent, Geordie Greig, how he knew these men were wealthy, Kruger said: “Because they’re paying thousands of pounds. They’re paying thousands of pounds to people smugglers to get here. Comparatively wealthy, compared to the people who I think most of us can regard as really deserving of the compassion of the British taxpayer.” Seema Syeda, a Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants spokesperson, said it was untrue that most asylum seekers who arrive on boats are wealthy. She said: “The reality is that most asylum seekers who arrive here are denied the right to work, live off as little as £8 a week, and can end up in destitution. But in the end, whether rich or poor, people fleeing war and persecution deserve to be welcomed. The right to safety is a human right. “Many people arriving here have been forcibly displaced due to war, genocide or imperialism that the British state has, past and present, funded or supported.” Earlier this month, Reform politician Matt Goodwin, the party’s unsuccessful candidate at the Gorton and Denton byelection, caused outrage when he said at the party’s annual conference that the “best and the brightest” of the British population had been replaced by “drug-dealing goat-herders” through immigration. Kruger said Goodwin was correct to make these incendiary remarks. He said: “There are some drug-dealing goat-herders who we’ve admitted to this country, so I mean, it’s factual.” Asked , he said: “Yes I do.” He added: “And they don’t like our country.” Kruger said he was concerned “about kind of massive cultural transformation.
Michael Marra wins Scottish Labour leadership election
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The Anglo-French moment
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Ex-Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joins Palantir
Former cabinet minister and Labour Party deputy leader Lord Tom Watson has become a senior vice president at US tech firm Palantir. Announcing his appointment on X, Lord Watson said Palantir was "the most interesting company on the planet, doing work of real consequence". He said the company had "challenges" and that while some criticism was "propaganda" there were "legitimate questions about large technology companies and sovereign control". The company has attracted controversy, with some MPs calling for more scrutiny of its use of data within NHS contracts. Palantir is currently involved in a legal battle with the Mayor of London's office, over its decision to block the Metropolitan Police from agreeing a contract with the company. The Mayor's Office said it was not satisfied the deal adequately ensured value for money but also raised concern about the firm's values. Palantir has argued that its software has improved NHS databases in a number of areas such as waiting lists and hospital supplies, while its work with police forces has helped tackle corruption and identify women at risk of domestic violence. Louis Mosley, head of UK and Europe at Palantir Technologies, welcomed the appointment of Lord Watson saying he brought a "deep understanding of how AI is changing the ways the state can help people in Britain, where more than one in six Palantirians are based". Lord Watson was a Labour MP for more than 20 years and became a senior figure in the party, serving as a minister as well as a key behind-the-scenes operator, who reportedly orchestrated efforts to remove Tony Blair as prime minister. In 2015, he was strongly criticised for publicising unsubstantiated claims of sex abuse . Brittan died before learning that the police had dropped their investigation and that he had no case to answer. At the time, Lord Watson said he was "sorry for the distress Leon Brittan's family experienced" but that he felt he had a "duty" to report claims. After leaving the House of Commons he was given a peerage and took up a position as the chair of UK Music. He is currently on a leave of absence from the House of Lords, having announced earlier this year that he needed time to recuperate from cancer treatment. Mosley said Lord Watson had also given up his parliamentary pass and that his Palantir contact prevented him from returning to the Lords as an active peer while working for the company.
Badenoch says she is instructing lawyers to challenge government after Tory-run council's 94% tax hike
This video can not be played Watch: Badenoch says she will challenge government over Wandsworth tax hike Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she has brought in lawyers to potentially challenge the government over local funding cuts, after a record council tax rise in one of her party's flagship local authorities. She told BBC Newsnight the proposed 94% hike in Wandsworth, a south-west London borough run , was "outrageous" but that "they're not doing it because they want to". Badenoch said the Conservative Party had "instructed lawyers" to see if an £84m-a-year government funding cut, which Wandsworth Council has blamed for the increase, can be blocked. The government said it was "fixing an outdated funding system so funding goes where need is greatest". Wandsworth has long had one of the lowest council tax rates in the country, with an average Band D property currently paying just over £1,000, compared to above £2,000 in an increasing number of London boroughs. But this would nearly double with the planned £958 rise. There has been heavy criticism since the move was announced in a council meeting on Tuesday. A final decision is to be made early next year. Changes to the funding formula for councils announced last year will see money redistributed from some council areas to others. Wandsworth Council said it stood to lose £84m annually in funding . Commenting for the first time on the row, Badenoch accused ministers of seemingly "taking money from areas that don't vote Labour and giving it to places that do vote Labour". "I think it is outrageous that Wandsworth Council is having to put up council tax. "But they're not doing it because they want to. It is because the government has taken away 40% of their funding. "So we have actually instructed lawyers, as the Conservative Party, to see if we can challenge the government on this decision." Kemi Badenoch on BBC Newsnight interview on a range of topics on Newsnight's new primetime Friday evening edition. BST on BBC Two Pressed on how the rise will still mean Wandsworth's council tax is lower than many councils across the country, Badenoch said it would still worry some families. "I think if you suddenly have a nearly 100% increase in your council tax, you would be extremely worried. Families have budgets," she said. "Just because on average it's lower than somewhere else doesn't mean that people are going to be able to afford it." She refused to say what alternative rate of increase she would propose, but questioned why a 40% cut was being imposed on the council when "Andy Burnham has not found 40% of anything to cut" himself.