Qatar sends mediators to Tehran in sign talks to reopen strait of Hormuz are reaching climax

Posted on by

Iran has threatened to impose tolls on shipping, while US demands that Iran hand over its highly enriched uranium may be deferred. Is there an end in sight?

Qatar has rushed a team of mediators to Tehran in a sign that talks to open the strait of Hormuz, in return for the lifting of US sanctions and asset freezes, are reaching a climax.

The aim would be to sign a memorandum of understanding on the strait that would lead to 30 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme – so deferring discussion of the US demand that Iran hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Continue reading...

Carlo Petrini, Slow Food movement founder, dies aged 76

Posted on by

Italy’s president leads tributes to campaigner who spent four decades promoting sustainability and local cuisine

Carlo Petrini, the journalist who founded the Slow Food movement in protest against the arrival of the first McDonald’s in Italy, has died aged 76.

Petrini, who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in recent years, died in his home town of Bra in northern Italy’s Piedmont region. He had led Slow Food, which since 1986 has campaigned against fast-food culture by promoting sustainability and local cuisine, as president until 2022.

Continue reading...

Turkey seeks to calm investors after opposition ruling sparks sell-off – Financial Times

Posted on by
  1. Turkey seeks to calm investors after opposition ruling sparks sell-off  Financial Times
  2. Turkey opposition vows to resist court ruling ousting leader as political crisis deepens  NBC News
  3. A Turkish court ousts the opposition leader from his job  The Economist
  4. Turkish court ousts opposition leader in boost to Erdogan  dw.com
  5. Turkey Stocks Start Bouncing Back After Court Blow to Opposition  Bloomberg.com
Posted in Uncategorized

‘Full-on summer heat’: western Europe braces for unusually high temperatures

Posted on by

Portugal, Spain, France and UK expected to exceed 30C on Friday and into next week, with new May records predicted

A large swathe of western Europe is bracing for the first significant heat event of the summer, with temperatures forecast to rise to more than 10C above the norm and new monthly records for May expected to be set in possibly hundreds of places.

Temperatures across Portugal, Spain, France and the UK were expected to exceed 30C (86F) on Friday and into next week, reaching 32C in Paris and London and 35C in south-west France, with highs of up to 38C in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir regions of Spain.

Continue reading...

Progressive Democrats criticize 2024 election autopsy for silence on Gaza | First Thing

Posted on by

The 192-page report does not mention Gaza or Joe Biden’s age. Plus, is the world heading for another Ebola crisis?

Good morning.

On Thursday, the Democratic party published a postmortem – spanning 192 pages – of its 2024 election defeat, after an initial decision to withhold the document prompted an angry backlash.

What’s in the postmortem? It focuses on key demographics that Kamala Harris lost, including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states. “Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate,” the report says. “The math doesn’t work.” The autopsy says that Democrats must focus less on “abstract issues and identity politics”.

What does the move tell us? The cancellation, which avoided political embarrassment for Donald Trump, is the latest signal that congressional support for the US president’s war is diminishing.

What happens next? The vote has been postponed until lawmakers return from a recess in June, when it appears likely that the resolution could pass.

Continue reading...

UN’s climate crisis vote shows political momentum is growing, say experts

Posted on by

Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as ‘new chapter’ that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation efforts

When the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu’s prime minister hailed the result as the start of “a new chapter” in climate action.

“The task before all of us now is to translate legal clarity into meaningful action, stronger cooperation, and greater protection for present and future generations,” said Jotham Napat.

Continue reading...

Local US newspaper workers allege Hearst is trying to ‘destroy unions’

Posted on by

Media company says it is ‘committed to good faith bargaining’ amid claims including contract violation

Workers at local newspapers owned by Hearst allege the company is trying to “destroy unions” amid claims of widespread anti-union tactics, including violating union contracts and bad-faith bargaining.

The Albany Newspaper Guild, which represents the Times Union newspaper in Albany, New York, said it had been more than 17 years since the union had a contract and there had been little progress toward reaching a new one.

Continue reading...

Xi hosted Trump, then Putin: Spot the differences in Beijing – Reuters

Posted on by
  1. Xi hosted Trump, then Putin: Spot the differences in Beijing  Reuters
  2. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 20, 2026  Institute for the Study of War
  3. Spot the Difference: Putin Gets Trump Treatment From Xi in China  Bloomberg.com
  4. Putin, Xi signal unity but fail to reach deal on pipeline sought by Russia  The Washington Post
  5. China’s Xi gives Putin a red-carpet welcome – and makes a veiled jab at the US  CNN
Posted in Uncategorized

‘No errors’: NYT defends its allegations of systematic Israeli sexual abuse of Palestinian inmates – The Times of Israel

Posted on by
  1. ‘No errors’: NYT defends its allegations of systematic Israeli sexual abuse of Palestinian inmates  The Times of Israel
  2. Opinion | Your Questions About Nicholas Kristof’s Column on Palestinians and Sexual Assault  The New York Times
  3. How can I explain to my 93-year-old mother why it suddenly seems ok to hate Jews?  The Forward
  4. A Miscarriage of Journalism at ‘The New York Times’  The Free Press
  5. Israel must fight back against antisemitic bullying disguised as journalism - opinion  The Jerusalem Post
Posted in Uncategorized

Japan’s Buddhist hall housing 1200 year old ‘eternal flame’ in Japan destroyed by fire – WION

Posted on by
  1. Japan's Buddhist hall housing 1200 year old 'eternal flame' in Japan destroyed by fire  WION
  2. ‘Eternal Flame’ Still Burns After Fire That Destroyed Buddhist Hall in Japan  The New York Times
  3. Sacred ‘Eternal Flame’ Hall Destroyed in Miyajima Blaze  Tokyo Weekender
  4. Buddhist hall in Japan known for housing 1,000-year-old eternal flame burns to the ground  Yahoo
  5. Flames, Fire and Fragility: Japanese Temples in the Wake of the Reikadō Fire on Miyajima  Substack
Posted in Uncategorized

Former Green Party by-election candidate apologises for sharing ‘false flag’ post – BBC

Posted on by
  1. Former Green Party by-election candidate apologises for sharing 'false flag' post  BBC
  2. Green candidate for Makerfield by-election quits after 12 hours  The Times
  3. Green party candidate for Makerfield byelection withdraws after nine hours  The Guardian
  4. Ex-Green candidate shared post calling anti-Semitic attack a ‘false flag’  The Telegraph
  5. Green Party leader Zack Polanski has issued a statement after the major announcement. He said the “greatest threat” was Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and slammed Andy Burnham  facebook.com
Posted in Uncategorized