Confirmation of a sixth conservative on the nine-member court is due on Monday, the result of ruthless Republican politics
The almost certain confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court on Monday represents a “power grab” by Republicans facing possible wipeout at the ballot box, activists and analysts say.
Related: Revealed: ex-members of Amy Coney Barrett faith group tell of trauma and sexual abuse
Continue reading...Donald Trump seeks to score points from deal; Palestinians call it ‘a new stab in the back’
Israel and Sudan have agreed to work towards normalising relations in a deal brokered by the US that would make Sudan the third Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past two months.
Donald Trump sealed the agreement in a phone call on Friday with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, his Sudanese counterpart, Abdalla Hamdok, and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s transitional military council.
Continue reading...Move is part of a campaign by Trump administration to reorient US foreign policy in a more socially conservative direction
The US has today signed an anti-abortion declaration with a group of about 30 largely illiberal or authoritarian governments, after the failure of an effort to expand the conservative coalition.
The “Geneva Consensus Declaration” calls on states to promote women’s rights and health – but without access to abortion – and is part of a campaign by Trump administration, led by secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to reorient US foreign policy in a more socially conservative direction, even at the expense of alienating traditional western allies.
Continue reading...Trump administration reportedly considering move against organisations that documented Israeli rights abuses
The Trump administration is reportedly considering labelling a number of leading international humanitarian organisations as antisemitic after they documented Israeli rights abuses against Palestinians, including settlement building in the occupied territories.
The groups include the UK-based Amnesty International and Oxfam as well as the US organisation Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International accused the Trump administration, and the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, of attempting “to silence and intimidate international human rights organisations”.
Continue reading...Lawyers struggling to find parents deported to Central America, says ACLU, after US government removed 1,030 children in 2018
Three years after Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on undocumented migrants crossing into the US, lawyers are still struggling to find the parents of 545 children separated from them under the “zero-tolerance” policy, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
In a court filing, the ACLU said that about two-thirds of the parents had been deported back to the country of origin in Central America, leaving their separated children behind. In the rush to carry out Trump’s orders, the locations of the parents were not recorded and three years later they still cannot be found.
Continue reading...Ireland orders six-week lockdown; Trump says Americans ‘tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots’ discuss Covid; Canada passes 200,000 cases. Follow latest updates
Still in New Zealand and Suff reports that 440 fishermen from Russia and the Ukraine arrived on Friday and are isolating at the Sudima Hotel, near Christchurch Airport. The outlet says:
Stuff previously reported about 440 fishermen from Russia and Ukraine were due to arrive (in NZ) on two flights chartered by fishing companies – the first of which is thought to have touched down from Moscow via Singapore on Friday.
Many of the 237 people onboard have been isolating at the Sudima Hotel, near Christchurch Airport, since their arrival.
The New Zealand Herald is reporting that 11 international sailors in a Christchurch hotel have tested positive for Covid – 14 more cases are “under further investigation”, according to the ministry of health.
“All are imported cases detected at routine day 3 testing. None involve cases in the community,” the ministry said, according to the Herald.
#BREAKING Health officials have confirmed 11 international seamen in a Christchurch hotel have tested positive for Covid — 14 more cases are 'under further investigation". https://t.co/huU1IMW9fj pic.twitter.com/UiXWm7nevj
Continue reading...Senior virologist warns Belgium might need to return to full lockdown if surge not checked; Bulgaria move follows record daily cases
The UK prime minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday he would impose tougher lockdown restrictions on the Greater Manchester region in the north of England despite failing to reach a deal on funding support with local leaders.
Related: PM confirms Covid tier 3 restrictions for Greater Manchester as talks fail
At no point today, were we offered enough to protect the poorest people in our communities through the punishing reality of the winter to come.
Related: Greater Manchester: Burnham condemns ministers as tier 3 talks collapse
Continue reading...With little more than two weeks to reverse his dismal standing in the polls, and amid a coronavirus resurgence that could sink his pursuit of a second term, Donald Trump has embarked on a tour of battleground states.
Related: Trump's hopes fade in Wisconsin as 'greatest economy' boast unravels
Continue reading...
Here’s a summary of the latest events:
Mitch McConnell announced Saturday that the Senate will vote Tuesday on a Paycheck Protection Plan funding bill and Wednesday on the same $500bn Covid-19 aid package that Democrats blocked last month on the grounds that it didn’t go far enough.
“It is long past time for the two parties to agree where we can and get more money out the door,” the Senate majority leader said in a statement.
I just announced the Senate will vote next week on hundreds of billions more dollars for relief programs that Democrats do not even oppose. Working families have already waited too long for Speaker Pelosi’s Marie Antoinette act to stop. Let's make law. pic.twitter.com/iR7OYKuCKw
Continue reading...It could be the most significant election for US foreign policy since 1940, with huge implications for the UK
The British government has a long history of misreading America – from Lord Palmerston expecting the Confederacy to survive the civil war, to Ernie Bevin being shocked that the US would not pay the UK’s postwar bills, to Tony Blair believing in 2003 that he could ride the US military tiger in Iraq and create a democracy.
Few serving or former British diplomats are confidently predicting the outcome of this November’s presidential election, or even whether an increasingly erratic Donald Trump will accept the result as legitimate. The collective delusion about the 2016 election hangs heavy.
Continue reading...Trump plans in-person rally on Monday as next presidential debate cancelled; Europe records 100,000 daily cases for first time; Canada at ‘tipping point’. Follow latest updates
I’m going to hand over to my colleague in London Aamna Mohdin.
Thanks for reading.
The ministry of health in India has said there were 73,272 new infections in the country over the past 24 hours.
There were also 926 new deaths, taking the death toll to 107,416. It is the seventh straight day where deaths have been below 1,000.
Continue reading...Tweet calling for troops’ return by Christmas puts peace negotiations in jeopardy and was greeted enthusiastically by the Taliban
Donald Trump has announced on Twitter that he wants to bring all US troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas – a plan that came as a surprise to administration officials and which puts complicated peace negotiations in jeopardy.
Multiple officials told the Associated Press they had not been informed of any such deadline and military experts said it would be impossible to withdraw all 5,000 US troops in Afghanistan and dismantle the US military headquarters by the end of the year.
Continue reading...After Donald Trump fell ill with Covid-19, we look at which of his close contacts have contracted the virus
For White House staff and senior visiting officials and journalists, the coronavirus outbreak in Donald Trump’s inner circle has become like a whodunnit amid a shortage of information and mounting anxiety.
As cleaners in hazmat suits have been pictured disinfecting areas – including briefing rooms and the White House press and communications “shop” where three staff have been infected – the questions now being asked are: who caught Covid from whom and when and where? And who might be next?
Continue reading...The president’s words fell on deaf ears to those just down the street from the White House who wouldn’t get the same treatment
Washington’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, has struggled to bring the US capital’s coronavirus infection rate down.
In July, she ordered the wearing of masks in crowded places outside, and the order has largely been obeyed: on Tuesday afternoon, more than nine in ten people walking around the city were wearing masks, and almost everyone in shops and cafes.
Continue reading...New York governor Andrew Cuomo has denounced Donald Trump over remarks he made telling Americans 'to get out there' and not fear Covid-19. Cuomo attacked Trump's comments as 'just more denial' after the president returned from the White House following a three-night stay at the Walter Reed national military medical center. 'Don't be afraid of Covid? No. Be afraid of Covid. It can kill you. Don't be cavalier.'
Continue reading...After a three-day stay at a military hospital to treat symptoms of coronavirus, a contagious Donald Trump returned to the White House and immediately took off his face mask while posing for cameras.
Video footage suggests the US president was experiencing laboured breathing during part of the photo op in which he also gave two thumbs up and saluted as he watched Marine One lift off from the south lawn.
Trump later waved and walked inside, where masked staff were visible, only to reemerge for what appeared to be a film shoot. In the film, which he tweeted soon after, Trump offered some bizarrely contrary advice about the virus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans: 'Don’t let it dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it. You’re gonna beat it'
After releasing an upbeat video message from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, US president Donald Trump left hospital to wave to his supporters in a motorcade. Throngs of flag-waving Trump supporters gathered outside the hospital where Trump was being treated for Covid-19. The move was criticised as insanity' by one Walter Reed doctor. In the video message Trump thanked the medical team, saying: 'The work they do is just absolutely amazing.' He added that his time in hospital has been 'a very interesting journey' and that he has 'learnt a lot about Covid'.
Concerns mount over spread of the virus within the building, and whether it could disrupt the functioning of government
Golden autumn sunshine shone down on Washington on Saturday to illuminate a US capital upended as Donald Trump began his first full day in hospital battling coronavirus amid a presidential election thrown into chaos.
Related: Amy Coney Barrett: quick confirmation under threat as three senators infected
Continue reading...President says next few days will be the ‘real test’ as he battles Covid-19
Donald Trump released a new video message on Saturday evening saying that he is “doing well”, his wife Melania is “doing very well” and the next few days will be the “real test” after he was taken to hospital with Covid-19.
“I came here, wasn’t feeling so well, I feel much better now. We’re working hard to get me all the way back,” Trump said from behind a desk in his suite at the Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
Continue reading...Donald Trump has been flown to a military hospital after contracting Covid-19. Officials said the president would spend a few days at the Walter Reed national military medical centre. While he was in transit, a video was posted to Trump's Twitter account in which the president addressed the camera directly, thanking people for their support