The gulf state’s prime minister said he was making the move due to ‘exploitation and abuse of the Qatari role’
The EU has edged closer to calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East after a meeting of the 27 bloc leaders last night.
Leaders have struggled to agree language from the outset of the conflict, engaging in torturous discussions over whether they should use the word ceasefire, pause, or pauses in the first official bloc-wide declaration in October.
Continue reading...European leaders to focus on future of European economy as Donald Tusk says if words were bullets, Europe would have the world’s strongest power
Charles Michel, the European Council president, opened today’s session.
He welcomed Enrico Letta, who prepared a report on the future of Europe’s single market for the leaders’ consideration.
Continue reading...Following reports of battery investigation into West against unnamed man, rapper’s team allege wife Bianca Censori was being assaulted
Representatives for Kanye West have alleged that a man physically and sexually assaulted his wife Bianca Censori in an incident in Los Angeles.
Sources previously told TMZ that West was being investigated as a suspect in a battery incident earlier this week, after the rapper was alleged to have struck a man who had grabbed Censori.
Continue reading...Company, which also makes Quality Street, says reducing sugar, salt and fats could harm ‘strategic freedom’
Nestlé faces a resolution at its AGM on Thursday that could force the world’s largest consumer goods company to cut back on high levels of salt, sugar and fats in its food and drinks.
The Swiss-headquartered multinational is urging investors to reject the proposal, arguing a move away from “indulgent products” could harm its “strategic freedom”.
Continue reading...Rating of -59 is record low for a prime minister in modern times – matching John Major’s score in August 1994, according to Ipsos
Rishi Sunak’s approval rating is at a record low for a prime minister in modern times, according to the polling company Ipsos.
In its latest Political Monitor report it says net satisfaction with Sunak (% satisfied with how he is doing his job minus % dissatisfied) is now at -59. This matches John Major’s -59 score in August 1994, the record low for a prime minister in the Ipsos data going back to the 1980s.
Starmer’s ratings have also fallen since February. 25% are satisfied with his performance as Labour leader (-4) and 56% are dissatisfied (+1). His net score of -31 is his worst as Labour leader since he recorded a -29 in May 2021. Among Labour supporters, satisfaction with his performance has also dropped from 58% to 51%.
When presented with a head-to-head choice, the public think Keir Starmer would make the most capable prime minister over Rishi Sunak by a margin of 22 points (44% to 22%). 22% say neither and 10% don’t know.
This is an increase in Keir Starmer’s lead since January (from 13 points to 22), and is similar to Starmer’s 20pt lead over Boris Johnson in July 2022. Although 2019 Conservative voters still prefer Sunak over Starmer by 49% to 20%.
Nobody from a list of 6 potential alternative Conservative leaders stands out as doing particularly better versus Keir Starmer in a head-to-head contest
Starmer leads each of the following as most capable PM:
Continue reading...Prosecutors claim influential AfD leader Björn Höcke used Nazi slogan ‘Everything for Germany!’ in speech
One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party has arrived in court for his trial on charges of using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state’s governor.
Björn Höcke, 52, is the leader of the regional branch of the AfD in the eastern state of Thuringia and a powerful figure on the party’s hard right.
While never formally a national leader of AfD, the former history teacher has been influential as the 11-year-old party has steadily headed further right and ousted several comparatively moderate leaders.
At the trial at the state court in Halle, Höcke is charged with using symbols of unconstitutional organisations. He is accused of ending a speech in nearby Merseburg in May 2021 with the words: “Everything for Germany!”
Prosecutors contend he was aware of the origin of the phrase as a slogan of the Nazis’ SA stormtroopers. Using symbols of unconstitutional organisations can carry a fine or a prison sentence of up to three years.
Höcke insisted in a debate with a conservative rival last week that he was unaware it was a Nazi slogan and claimed many others had used it. “Everyone out there knows it’s an everyday saying,” he said.
Continue reading...There were 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% have been forced to relocate
Unwanted home moves cost renters more than half a billion pounds a year, with tenants coughing up an average of £669 every time they are forced by landlords to leave their home, a survey has revealed.
Analysis by the homelessness charity Shelter estimated that there had been 830,000 unwanted moves in England over the past 12 months, meaning 40% of renters who move house are doing so because they have been compelled to look for other accommodation.
Continue reading...Media executive’s exit comes as broadcaster faces a number of controversies
James Warburton, the chief executive and managing director of Seven West Media, left the company on Thursday, amid a tumultuous period for the broadcaster.
The prominent media executive was due to step down before the end of the financial year, according to executive changes first announced late last year.
Continue reading...Prosecutors accuse suspects of working with Russian secret service in attempt to undermine support for Ukraine
Two Russian nationals have been arrested in southern Germany suspected of plotting sabotage attacks on US military facilities, German prosecutors announced on Thursday.
The men, named as Dieter S and Alexander J, are suspected of operating as Russian spies on behalf of the Kremlin, according to German media sources.
Continue reading...Dani Mansour, 19, charged after allegedly filming himself damaging two police vehicles amid anger over stabbing of bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel
The first person arrested and charged for taking part in the Wakeley riots was granted bail after appearing at Blacktown local court on Thursday. .
Dani Mansour, 19, was charged with riot, affray and destroying or damaging property as part of the mob that allegedly attacked police in Wakeley on Monday night. The incident took place in the aftermath of the stabbing of bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church.
Continue reading...Mark Menzies allegedly spent £14,000 of campaign funds on medical costs and demanded £6,500 from aide to ‘escape captors’
A Conservative MP has lost the party whip over allegations he misused campaign funds and demanded thousands of pounds from an aide to pay off “bad people” in the middle of the night.
Mark Menzies, 52, was suspended from the Tory parliamentary party on Wednesday night while an investigation is carried out.
Continue reading...Shares in Beyoncé and Neil Young song fund rise amid hopes uncertainty over its future could be over
The embattled British music royalties investment fund Hipgnosis, which owns the rights to songs by artists from Beyoncé to Neil Young, has agreed to a $1.4bn (£1.1bn) takeover by a music and theatrical rights rival after months of turmoil over the company’s structure and leadership.
The Concord Chorus deal, which offers Hipgnosis shareholders a 32% premium to Thursday’s share price at $1.16 a share, could put an end to uncertainty over the FTSE 250 firm’s future.
Continue reading...Adding another insecticide to the protective netting has proved effective in fight against the disease that killed 600,000 in 2022
Two new types of mosquito bed nets have been found to reduce cases of malaria by up to a half, raising hopes of combating the disease, which is becoming increasingly resistant to treatments and prevention efforts.
Nets treated with two types of insecticide rather than one were trialled in 17 African countries where malaria is endemic between 2019 and 2022.
Continue reading...Premier Chris Minns is alarmed at the ‘wildfire’ of rumour and graphic content online after Wakeley and Bondi stabbings
Social media pages “infamous” for spreading misinformation have been taken down after the Wakeley church stabbing attack, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said on Thursday, while expressing alarm at the “wildfire” of rumour and graphic content still proliferating on tech platforms.
On Monday night YouTube was live broadcasting Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel’s service at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church. After the stabbing occurred, video clips spread through WhatsApp groups before police had arrived on scene.
Continue reading...Advocates say the boy took his own life, leaving his family ‘devastated’ and triggering a coronial inquest
A 10-year-old First Nations boy has died in an apparent suicide in state care in Western Australia, advocates for the family say.
Advocates for the family say the boy, who cannot be named, took his own life on Friday night, leaving his family “devastated” and triggering a coronial inquiry.
Continue reading...Police say the sheep was shot dead after confronting officers called to the property in Waitakere, west of Auckland
An aggressive ram believed responsible for the deaths of an elderly New Zealand couple has been put down by police after it was found alongside the two bodies in a paddock.
The NZ Herald reported the pair, aged in their early 80s, were found dead in a field of their rural property early on Thursday morning.
Continue reading...Demand for private treatment booms as NHS waiting lists remain long, while more people also sign up for dental cover
Britain’s health cover market has grown by £385m in a year as the NHS crisis prompted more people to seek out private medical treatment and demand for dental insurance increased, according to a report.
The total health cover market, including medical and dental insurance and cash plans, grew 6.1% to £6.7bn in 2022, the latest year for which figures are available, according to the health data provider LaingBuisson.
Continue reading...Disappointment and frustration as parliamentary inquiry into youth justice reform ‘degenerates into a squabble’
Queensland’s only independent state MP, Sandy Bolton, had high hopes last October when she was made chair of a parliamentary committee tasked with coming up with solutions on youth crime.
It was the first parliamentary committee to be independently chaired in more than two decades, and Bolton hoped it would stymie the politicisation of the issue by taking “a collaborative and bipartisan approach” that would lead to “constructive solutions”.
Continue reading...Former secretary of the home affairs department recommends preparation of a ‘war book’ to allocate roles in the event of conflict
Australia needs a comprehensive national plan for war – a “war book” – to coordinate civil and military roles and “focus the national mind” on the possibility of future conflict, the former secretary of the home affairs department Mike Pezzullo has said.
In a speech to an invitation-only security seminar last week, Pezzullo said Australian leaders needed to resurrect a practice adopted in the 1930s and prepare “a war book” which clearly allocated roles and responsibilities in the event of a conflict.
Continue reading...The US talks of Aukus as ‘binding’ the allies for decades to come, but Richard Marles says Australia must become more ‘self-reliant’
Australia’s defence overhaul has accelerated some projects and cut others and has already prompted a plea from China to abandon a “cold war mentality”.
But as the dust settles on a plan to increase overall military spending, the Albanese government has also sent some significant signals on how it sees the future of the Indo-Pacific region – and these aren’t exactly how Australia’s top security ally, the US, might see things.
Continue reading...