- Iran War News Live Updates: Iran Wants Deal to Lift Hormuz Blockade That Postpones Nuclear Talks WSJ
- Iran makes new offer to open Strait of Hormuz, seeks end of US blockade, officials say Fox News
- Trump Skeptical of Iran’s Strait of Hormuz Proposal WSJ
- Iran Offers Plan to Focus on Strait of Hormuz and Delay Nuclear Talks The New York Times
- Middle East crisis live: Iran’s foreign ministry condemns US seizure of Iranian-linked tankers as ‘piracy and armed robbery’ The Guardian
Virginia weighs legality of new congressional map favoring Democrats that could reshape US House
The case is part of a national redistricting fight with high stakes for the November midterm elections
Virginia supreme court justices on Monday questioned whether the state’s Democratic-led legislature complied with constitutional requirements when it sent a congressional redistricting plan to voters, in a case that carries high stakes for the balance of power in the US House.
The new districts, which could net Democrats four additional seats, won narrow voter approval last week. But a Republican legal challenge contends the general assembly violated procedural rules by placing the constitutional amendment before voters to authorize the mid-decade redistricting. If the court agrees that lawmakers broke the rules, it could invalidate the amendment and render last week’s statewide vote meaningless.
Continue reading...Bahrain strips 69 people of citizenship over Iran support
Rights groups have described the move as a 'blatant abuse of power'.
Leavitt blames democrats for ‘cult of hatred’ against Trump
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed democrats for promoting the rhetoric which fuels 'cult of hatred'.
Melania Trump urges ABC to ‘take stand’ on Jimmy Kimmel after widow joke
In a parody aired days before the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Kimmel called Melania an "expectant widow".
US supreme court weighs blocking lawsuits against Roundup makers alleging weedkiller causes cancer
Case centers on glyphosate, pesticide used in Roundup and other products that has been linked to cancer in some studies
Members of the US supreme court peppered lawyers for the former Monsanto Company with a barrage of questions over pesticide regulation on Monday, wrestling over whether federal law preempts state actions that permit consumers to sue companies for failing to warn of product risks such as cancer.
The case, Monsanto v Durnell, centers on glyphosate – a weedkilling chemical used in the popular Roundup brand and numerous other herbicide products sold by the former Monsanto company, which is now owned by Germany’s Bayer.
Continue reading...Will vote make a difference to Palestinians under Israeli occupation?
The Palestinian Authority's Fatah party and its affiliates sweep council vote.
The Art of the Nuclear Deal – The New York Times
- The Art of the Nuclear Deal The New York Times
- Trump Seeks to Abolish Iran’s Atomic Stockpile, a Problem He Helped Create The New York Times
- How Iran Accumulated 11 Tons of Enriched Uranium The New York Times
- Opinion | Negotiation Won’t End Iran’s Nuclear Threat WSJ
- America’s allies must push to neutralise Iran’s nuclear ambitions The Times
Who holds the cards in Iran-US talks?
Both the US and Iran claim to have the upper hand in negotiations over the war, but who holds the cards?
Iran FM in Russia says US has offered new round of talks
Russia is hosting Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg for talks on a possible new round of talks.
King Charles arrives in Washington for state visit fraught with tension
The British monarch and Queen Camilla come to a city still reeling from shooting at dinner attended by Trump
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at the White House on Monday for a state visit in Washington, a city still rattled by a weekend shooting and a transatlantic alliance showing fresh signs of strain.
British flags could be seen lining lamp-posts outside the White House, where Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, were set to host the royals for a private tea and a tour of the newly expanded White House beehive on the south lawn.
Continue reading...Pope Leo meets Sarah Mullally, first woman to be Archbishop of Canterbury – The Washington Post
- Pope Leo meets Sarah Mullally, first woman to be Archbishop of Canterbury The Washington Post
- Pope and first female Archbishop of Canterbury meet and pray together Reuters
- Pope prays with Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally in historic encounter, vows dialogue AP News
- Anglicans, Catholics must work to overcome differences, pope tells archbishop of Canterbury OSV News
- Archbishop of Canterbury meets and prays with Pope Leo XIV ArchbishopofCanterbury.org
Putin pledges support for Iran in talks with FM Araghchi – DW.com
- Putin pledges support for Iran in talks with FM Araghchi DW.com
- Iran's flurry of diplomacy continues in Russia, as Trump reviews Iran's latest proposal NPR
- Iranian foreign minister meets with Putin as U.S.-Iran talks falter The Washington Post
- Middle East war live: Putin hosts Iran’s top diplomat, Israel strikes east Lebanon France 24
- Iran foreign minister presses on with regional tour despite Trump canceling envoys’ visit CNN
China seeks to block US tech giant Meta from AI acquisition
Bejing tightens scrutiny of AI industry amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry with the US over the technology.
Britain becoming ‘soft target’ for Russian propaganda, says security expert
Fiona Hill tells MPs UK is ‘vulnerable’ because it does not educate people on how to deal with information warfare
Britain is becoming a soft target for Russian and other state propaganda because the UK is not prepared to educate people on how to deal with information warfare, according to a former White House adviser and security expert.
Fiona Hill told a parliamentary committee that she feared the UK had become “extraordinarily vulnerable” to online manipulation feeding into the electoral system because there was a lack of discussion about civil defence.
Continue reading...Britain’s lifetime smoking ban set to become law – Reuters
- Britain's lifetime smoking ban set to become law Reuters
- UK lawmakers approve lifetime smoking ban for today's under-18s Reuters
- Let the Kids Smoke The Free Press
- Proposed Lifetime Smoking Ban to Become Law in Britain The New York Times
- Bill banning people born after 2008 from buying tobacco clears UK parliament | Smoking The Guardian
At least four killed in train collision on outskirts of Indonesian capital – Reuters
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive for high-profile US state visit
The British monarch’s US visit underscores shared history amid strained ties and tensions over the Iran conflict.
Top Foreign Office official ‘felt pressure’ for ‘rapid outcome’ on Mandelson vetting
Ian Collard tells MPs he had not seen UKSV assessment summary before briefing Olly Robbins on clearance
A top Foreign Office security official who played a key role in granting Peter Mandelson’s vetting clearance “felt pressure to deliver a rapid outcome” because of contacts from Downing Street, MPs have been told.
In testimony relayed to parliament via the Foreign Office (FCDO), Ian Collard said he had not seen the assessment summary produced by the vetting agency when he gave an oral briefing to Olly Robbins, the department’s former permanent secretary. Instead, Collard had received an oral briefing from a member of the FCDO’s personnel security team.
Continue reading...Mandelson and McSweeney: a partnership forged on winning and crushing the Labour left
Former chief of staff who helped bring Mandelson out of Labour shadows for Washington post to be questioned by MPs on vetting process
Like many Labour stories, Peter Mandelson’s and Morgan McSweeney’s both start at Lambeth council.
Mandelson was in his mid-20s. It was 1979, and he was a new councillor under the leadership of “Red” Ted Knight. He came to despise the local party, describing the Lambeth Labour party’s leadership as “contributing very little to the economic development of south London, instead politicising everything, attacking the police and the Tory government, and making the council go broke.”
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