Category Archives: World News

Russian American journalist Masha Gessen put on Kremlin’s wanted list

Posted on by

Prominent journalist – who lives in the US – was placed on the list after discussing atrocities committed in Ukraine by Russian forces

Russian police have put prominent Russian American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.

It is the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown against dissent in Russia that has intensified since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine more than 21 months ago, on 24 February 2022.

Continue reading...

US regulators approve two gene therapies for sickle cell disease

Posted on by

Blood disorder that can lead to premature death affects estimated 100,000 people in the United States, most of whom are Black

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a pair of gene therapies for sickle cell disease, including the first treatment based on the breakthrough Crispr gene-editing technology, opening up two “transformative therapy” avenues for some patients.

The FDA approved Lyfgenia from Bluebird Bio, and a separate treatment called Casgevy by partners Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Crispr Therapeutics. Both therapies are made from the patients’ own blood stem cells and were approved for people aged 12 and older.

Continue reading...

Blow to Trump as court upholds most of gag order in election interference case

Posted on by

Federal appeals court rules Trump free to speak about special counsel Jack Smith but maintains other restrictions

Donald Trump may now assail the special counsel who brought the federal criminal case against him over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, in addition to being free to criticize the judge, the justice department, the Biden administration and the case as politically motivated.

The former president remains barred, however, from attacking potential trial witnesses, court staff or the special counsel’s staff, as well as the family members of any court staff or the special counsel’s staff.

Continue reading...

Trump expert witness paid nearly $900,000 for testimony in fraud case

Posted on by

Court hears Eli Bartov, professor at NYU, has worked about 650 hours on New York fraud case at rate of $1,350 per hour

An accounting expert who came to Donald Trump’s defense in his $250m fraud has racked up nearly $900,000 in fees for his testimony, a court heard on Friday.

New York University Stern School of Business research professor Eli Bartov testified on Thursday that he had found “no evidence here of concealment” in his review of the financial statements at the heart of the case.

Continue reading...

Six teenagers convicted in France over teacher’s beheading in 2020

Posted on by

Samuel Paty had shown pupils caricatures of the prophet Muhammad during a class on freedom of expression

Six teenagers have been convicted in connection with events leading to the beheading of their teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, in a case that horrified France.

One, a 13-year-old girl at the time, was convicted of making false accusations. Five others, who had been aged between 14 and 15, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy with intent to cause violence.

Continue reading...

Marine and Jean-Marie Le Pen to stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds

Posted on by

French far-right party denies irregularities in employment of parliamentary assistants

French far-right politician Marine Le Pen will stand trial alongside 27 others over alleged misuse of EU funds, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Friday, charges that Le Pen’s party said it contested.

Twenty-eight defendants will be brought to court, including Le Pen and her father, Jean-Marie, the office said, confirming French media reports.

Continue reading...

‘He embodied who we are, warts and all’: Dublin mourners bid farewell to Shane MacGowan

Posted on by

Tears and applause as band plays Fairytale of New York and people recall memories of pubs, squats, youth, dreams and loss

They followed the horse-drawn carriage singing songs that were written as raucous ballads. But on this day, the crowds of mourners sung softly, their voices floating into a grey Dublin day in farewell to Shane MacGowan.

The Pogues singer was dead but for mourners his lyrics seldom felt so alive as his funeral cortege wound through the heart of Ireland’s capital on Friday.

Continue reading...

Almost 100 journalists killed and 400 imprisoned in 2023, says report

Posted on by

International Federation of Journalists says 68 killed covering Israel-Hamas war, more than in any other conflict in over 30 years

A leading organisation representing journalists worldwide has expressed deep concern at the number of media professionals killed around the globe doing their jobs in 2023, with more journalists killed during Israel’s war with Hamas than in any other conflict in more than 30 years.

In its annual count of media worker deaths, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said 94 journalists had been killed so far this year and almost 400 others had been imprisoned.

Continue reading...

Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer killed in Gaza

Posted on by

Tributes pour in for one of the leaders of a young generation of writers in Gaza who chose to tell their stories in English

Tributes poured in for the Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer on Friday after friends said he was killed in a strike on Gaza.

Alareer was one of the leaders of a young generation of writers in Gaza who chose to write in English to tell their stories, with friends describing his defiance in the face of the Israeli army’s assault on the Gaza Strip.

Continue reading...

EU agrees plan to enable member states to end all gas imports from Russia

Posted on by

New power to allow importers to sever ties would help to end Europe’s reliance on Russian supplies

EU countries may soon be able to halt their last remaining Russian gas imports under plans to ban Russian energy companies from their pipelines and terminals.

The European Council and parliament have agreed new rules that could empower the EU’s member states to crack down on companies from Russia and Belarus that have continued to import Russian gas into Europe since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by buying import capacity at key EU import terminals and pipelines.

Continue reading...

Paris mayor plans to triple SUV parking tariffs to cut air pollution

Posted on by

‘It’s a form of social justice,’ says Anne Hidalgo of move to target richest drivers to tackle climate breakdown

Paris intends to triple parking charges for large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in order to push them out of the city and limit emissions and air pollution, the mayor has said.

“It is a form of social justice,” Anne Hidalgo announced on Friday of the plan to deliberately target the richest drivers to tackle the climate breakdown and air pollution. “This is about very expensive cars, driven by people who today have not yet made the changes to their behaviour that have to be made [for the climate].”

Continue reading...

No 10 team arrives in Delhi to revive talks over free trade deal

Posted on by

Exclusive: Pre-election agreement would provide a major boost to Narendra Modi and Rishi Sunak

Senior Downing Street officials have flown to Delhi to kickstart talks over a multibillion pound free trade agreement, with the government of Narendra Modi having indicated it is keen to finalise a deal in the next three months.

UK trade negotiators are in the Indian capital talking to their Indian counterparts as they look to revive a deal that looked a distant prospect just a few months ago.

Continue reading...

Footage shows IDF parading scores of Palestinian men around in underwear

Posted on by

Israeli media claimed images show Hamas fighters but several civilians have been identified including a journalist

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said it is concerned by images of semi-naked Palestinian men being paraded by the Israeli military in Gaza, adding that all of those detained must be treated in keeping with international humanitarian law.

“We strongly emphasise the importance of treating all those detained with humanity and dignity, in accordance with international humanitarian law,” Jessica Moussan, a spokesperson for the ICRC, said in a statement.

Continue reading...

The defamation trial gripping Australia: Bruce Lehrmann, Brittany Higgins and the witnesses so far

Posted on by

An allegation of rape, fiercely denied, in a ministerial office is being interrogated by weeks of testimony and cross-examination in a defamation trial brought by the accused

It has become one of Australia’s most convoluted and damaging political sagas, polarising the public.

An allegation of rape, fiercely denied, in a ministerial office in Parliament House has been discussed in news reports, interviews, speeches, and reams of commentary. It was examined in an aborted criminal trial, covered in four separate inquiries and now the first of several related civil cases is again calling witnesses and poring over evidence.

Continue reading...

Home Office ordered to give full cost of Rwanda deportation plan

Posted on by

Top civil servant summoned to give ‘full and frank’ answers after costs of scheme rose from £140m to £290m

The Home Office has been ordered to disclose the full costs of Rishi Sunak’s secretive deal to deport migrants to Rwanda, as insiders told of turmoil within the department over the controversial policy.

Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary of the Home Office, will be hauled before the public accounts committee on Monday, after the initial costs of the scheme rose from £140m to £290m.

Continue reading...

‘Cloak and dagger tactics’: Tories paid Rwanda an extra £100m for asylum deal

Posted on by

Ministers criticised after civil servant tells MPs payment was made in April after £140m had already been sent

UK ministers have been accused of using “cloak and dagger” tactics after a leading civil servant revealed in a letter that they had paid Rwanda a further £100m to send asylum seekers there.

Sir Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office’s top civil servant, told MPs the payment was made in April after £140m had already been sent. He added that a further payment of £50m was expected next year.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Low Mississippi River levels take toll on farmers

Posted on by

Economic loss from disruption on important travel route for grain exports estimated to be $20bn

Extreme drought and a warm autumn have left water levels on the Mississippi exceptionally low for the time of year. This is causing problems for farmers who rely on the river as a travel route for the crops: 60% of US grain exports use the waterway to reach the Gulf coasts.

The total economic loss is estimated to be about $20bn and, despite attempts to dredge the river, it remains worryingly low as the country enters an important month for grain transport.

Continue reading...

Cop28: president says summit ‘has already made history’ as negotiations enter final days – as it happened

Posted on by

Sultan Al Jaber holds press conference at start of second week as summit focuses on children, education and food

Canada has been asked by the Cop28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, to help develop language on the potential phase down or phase out of fossil fuels, its environment minister told reporters on Friday morning.

Steven Guilbeault, a former activist who is environment minister for the fourth largest oil and gas producer in the world, announced that Canada would require its fossil fuel industry to cut its emissions between 35% to 38% below 2019 levels starting in 2030 on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Why are third party candidates a threat to Biden in 2024? – podcast

Posted on by

This week, Joe Biden admitted that he probably would not be running for re-election if Donald Trump was not likely to be the Republican candidate. The thoughts of a rehashed presidential race in 2024 has many Americans dreading next year, and some are looking to third-party or independent candidates as potential alternatives.

So why hasn’t an outsider been more successful in the past? Is running independently of the Democrat and Republican parties a legitimate offer to voters, or nothing more than an election spoiler? And if the answer is the latter, why should the president be the one to worry?

This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Nitish Pahwa of Slate about why Democrats are worried that Biden could suffer the same fate as Hilary Clinton in 2016

Archive: CNN, CSPAN, CBS News, AP News

Continue reading...