After MI5 issues China espionage alert to parliament, Luke Pollard says message should be heeded by all citizens
Ordinary UK citizens need to watch out for online contact with Chinese spies, the defence minister has said, after MI5 issued an espionage alert to parliament.
Luke Pollard said a warning given to parliamentarians on Tuesday that China was attempting to recruit individuals with access to sensitive information should also be heeded by the public at large.
Continue reading...Beijing reimposes 2023 ban, citing Japan PM’s comment that military would respond to Chinese attack on island
China has suspended imports of Japanese seafood again, as the fallout over the Japanese prime minister’s comments about Taiwan continues to escalate in one of worst bilateral disputes in years.
The ban was first reported on Wednesday by the Japanese outlets Kyodo News and NHK, and appeared to be confirmed by China’s foreign ministry, which said there was “no market for Japanese seafood in the current climate”.
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin authorises the guarding of fuel sites by reservists, internet blackouts and tighter sentencing for acts of sabotage
Russia has passed sweeping laws to bolster its defences at home against Ukrainian drone strikes and sabotage operations, reflecting the Kremlin’s expectation of a protracted war with Ukraine.
Almost four years into Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine – a full-scale invasion he expected to last only weeks – Moscow is being targeted almost daily by Ukrainian drones striking energy facilities, while Ukrainian operatives have assassinated a number of high-profile Russian military figures deep inside the country.
Continue reading...UN committee to consider claim by prominent Māori leader Tureiti Moxon that alleges government policies have harmed Indigenous people
The United Nations has agreed to hear an urgent complaint against New Zealand’s coalition government alleging it is responsible for significant and persistent discrimination against Māori.
Prominent Māori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon, has filed the complaint to the UN’s committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD).
Continue reading...US president also claims Mohammed bin Salman ‘knew nothing’ about murder of journalist
Donald Trump has shrugged off the Saudi regime’s 2018 murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the journalist was “extremely controversial” and unpopular, dismissing the killing by observing “things happen”.
The US president made the remarks at the White House on Tuesday while welcoming Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the first time since Khashoggi’s murder and dismemberment in Istanbul by Saudi state operatives.
Continue reading...US House today voted on the release of government files relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Find out how your representative voted
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that will force the release of investigative files related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after Donald Trump and his Republican allies backed down from their opposition amid a scandal that has dogged the president since his return to the White House.
Though Trump has for months dismissed the uproar over the government’s handling of the Epstein case as a “Democrat hoax”, he signaled his support for the House bill over the weekend, and said he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk. Here is how the House voted.
Continue reading...On first official visit to UK, leaders say aim is not to ‘break the British Treasury’ but to find solution to help clean up ‘mess’ left by colonialism
The Caribbean’s slavery reparations body has decried misleading press reports that suggest their aim is to “break the British Treasury” by demanding trillions of pounds, as they call for a mutually beneficial restorative justice programme.
Prof Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caricom Reparations Commission (CRC), which was set up to progress the Caribbean’s pursuit of justice for centuries of enslavement and colonisation by European nations, made the comments during the body’s first official visit to the UK.
Continue reading...Thomas Massie urged accountability amid House vote and renewed calls for former prince Andrew to testify
The “same kind of consequences” faced by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein must be inflicted on “perpetrators of heinous crimes” linked to the disgraced financier in the United States, a congressman has said.
Thomas Massie, a Republican representative, also pointed to the sacking of Peter Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, as an example of the fallout faced by those with ties to the late pedophile.
Continue reading...Youth wing of conservatives say younger people will be left carrying can for older generation
A row over pension changes is threatening the future of the German coalition government, with a youth wing of the conservatives of the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, gaining support for an attempt to block legislation which they argue will leave younger Germans carrying the can for the older generation.
An 18-strong group of young MPs, the Junge Union, has been accused of holding Merz’s coalition government to ransom over its demands to revise proposed pension changes, which would guarantee pension increases for the next six years.
Continue reading...Mexico’s president responds to Trump’s latest warning that he could authorize strikes against drug cartels in country
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has again dismissed Donald Trump’s threat of military action against drug cartels inside her country, telling reporters: “It’s not going to happen.”
Sheinbaum made the comments on Tuesday morning in response to the US president’s latest warning that he could authorise strikes in Mexico.
Continue reading...German pop duo who last year said their wish was ‘to leave together’ had joint assisted death at their home in Grünwald
Alice and Ellen Kessler, the pop singing sisters who were famous in Europe in the 1960s, especially in Italy where they were credited for bringing glamour to the country’s TV network, have died aged 89.
The identical twins had chosen to have a joint assisted death at their home in Grünwald, close to Munich, on Monday, said Wega Wetzel, a spokesperson for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben (DGHS), a Berlin-based assisted dying association.
Continue reading...María Corina Machado pens a ‘freedom manifesto’ as plan to force Nicolás Maduro from power remains unclear
Venezuela’s top opposition leader, the Nobel laureate María Corina Machado, has declared her country “at the edge of a new era” as Donald Trump refused to rule out a ground invasion to topple its authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, but also signalled he was open to talks.
Machado, who has lived in hiding since her movement’s candidate was widely believed to have beaten Maduro in last year’s presidential election, made her claim in a “freedom manifesto” that was published on Tuesday as uncertainty continued to shroud the South American country’s future.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Tshering Tobgay says his country is doing ‘a lot more than our fair share’ on climate and west must cut emissions ‘for the happiness of your people’
The wealthy western countries most responsible for the climate crisis would improve the health and happiness of their citizens by prioritising environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth, according to the prime minister of Bhutan, the world’s first carbon-negative nation.
Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy and biodiversity hotspot situated high in the eastern Himalayas, is among the world’s most ambitious climate leaders thanks to its people’s connection with nature and a strong political focus on improving gross national happiness rather than just GDP, Tshering Tobgay told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Senior aide to Mohammed bin Salman allegedly led campaign to identify users who were posting critically about Saudi regime
A senior official in Mohammed bin Salman’s entourage, who is expected to travel with the crown prince on his first trip back to the US in seven years, has previously been accused by US prosecutors of playing a central role in a conspiracy to infiltrate Twitter and identify users who were posting critically about the Saudi regime.
Bader al-Asaker, who has headed Prince Mohammed’s private office since before he became crown prince, has never been formally charged by the US government for his role in the 2014-15 scheme, but was accused in court by a US government lawyer as having led the campaign to find a “mole” who would be able to extract sensitive information from the social media company, which is now known as X.
Continue reading...Kingdom’s de facto ruler to arrive on first White House trip since killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018
Donald Trump is to welcome Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman to Washington on Tuesday, in a red-carpet visit expected to result in the sale of highly advanced US F-35 fighter jets to the Gulf monarchy.
The crown prince’s arrival in Washington will be his first White House visit since the 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist and critic of the kingdom Jamal Khashoggi. The CIA later determined Khashoggi’s murder was approved by the crown prince, leading to global condemnation.
Continue reading...Chinese airlines offer free cancellations and film releases postponed after Japanese PM’s comments on Taiwan
Chinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of tickets to fly to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s stance on Taiwan continues.
Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country could get involved militarily if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Her comments prompted fury from China’s government, which issued warnings against Chinese travellers and students going to Japan.
Continue reading...UN logs 260 attacks in October alone, its highest monthly tally, as settlers attack farmers and burn olive trees
Violence has increased across the occupied West Bank as Palestinian farmers try to harvest their olive trees before the end of the season, in the face of a concerted campaign of harassment by groups of armed and aggressive Israeli settlers.
Dozens of new incidents have occurred in recent days across much of the occupied territory as settlers step up a broader effort to intimidate and harm Palestinian communities.
Continue reading...Cedric Irving Jr charged over death of ‘legend’ John Beam, who was shot and killed on Laney College campus last week
The 27-year-old man charged with murder in the fatal shooting death of revered Oakland college football coach John Beam made his first appearance in court on Tuesday and was ordered to remain in jail without bail.
Cedric Irving Jr, who does not have a criminal record, was charged with murder and use of a gun during the crime, Alameda county district attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said at a news conference. He did not enter a plea on Tuesday and is scheduled to do so at a hearing on 16 December.
Continue reading...Former treasury secretary steps away to ‘rebuild trust’ after severe backlash but will continue teaching Harvard classes
The Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers said he would be stepping back from public life after documents released by the House oversight committee revealed email exchanges between Summers and the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who called himself Summers’ “wing man”.
Politico reported on Monday that Summers, a former treasury secretary, expressed deep regret for past messages with Epstein.
Continue reading...The resolution, which includes references to an independent Palestine, was passed by a vote of 13-0 with China and Russia abstaining
The UN security council has endorsed proposals put forward by Donald Trump for a lasting peace in Gaza, including the deployment of an international stabilisation force and a possible path to a sovereign Palestinian state.
The resolution, passed by a vote of 13-0 with abstentions by China and Russia, charted “a new course in the Middle East for Israelis and Palestinians and all the people of the region alike”, the US envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, told the council chamber.
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