Speculation is growing over whether Donald Trump might pardon Edward Snowden after the US president told an interviewer that the exiled former intelligence operative was “not being treated fairly”.
Related: Edward Snowden on 9/11 and why he joined the army: ‘Now, finally, there was a fight’
Continue reading...Rate of new deaths could rise in California and Colorado over the coming four weeks and decline in Arizona, CDC says
The US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is set to reach 200,000 by Labor Day as children across the country prepare to return to school, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) forecast.
The rate of new deaths could rise in California and Colorado over the coming four weeks and decline in Arizona, the CDC said. More than 160,000 people have died from Covid-19 in America, although scientists have pointed out the number of excess deaths so far this year exceeds even this toll.
Continue reading...Israel’s relationship with neighbours is no longer defined by occupation, Palestinians say
Shortly after Donald Trump announced he had brokered a “huge breakthrough” deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the White House published a list of bullet points detailing what it had achieved.
Only at the bottom, just after “expanded business and financial ties between these two thriving economies”, did the very last sentence blandly mention what had previously been the key regional issue: the fate of the Palestinians.
Continue reading...The US president began his political career with the ‘birtherism’ lie about Obama. He’s doing the same once more
“Mr President,” a reporter asked on Thursday. “After three and a half years, do you regret, at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?”
A disbelieving Trump asked: “All the what?”
Continue reading...Move over payment guideline violations prompts maker Epic Games to take legal action
Apple and Google have removed the enormously popular video game Fortnite from their app stores for violating their in-app payment guidelines, prompting the maker, Epic Games, to take legal action challenging the tech giants’ iron grip over the industry.
Its removal from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store came after Fortnite circumvented the companies’ in-app payment system and hefty fees, encouraging users to pay the gaming company directly.
Continue reading...
Just hours after Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate, in her home state of California fierce speculation had already begun as to who might replace her in the Senate if she wins a spot in the White House.
Related: If Kamala Harris wins, who might fill her California Senate seat?
From Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem and Julian Borger in Washington:
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a historic Washington-brokered deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories.
Continue reading...Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden on Thursday called on all governors to mandate mask wearing to slow the spread of the coronavirus that has killed more than 165,000 people in the United States. In his second day on the campaign trail with former rival and now running mate Kamala Harris by his side, Biden made the call for a nationwide mandate on masks after a virtual meeting with public health advisers in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Continue reading...Trump hails US-brokered pact as ‘peace agreement’ but cracks quickly appear as Netanyahu denies change of plan
Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a historic Washington-brokered deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories.
However, cracks in the deal became quickly apparent after its announcement on Thursday, with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying there was “no change” to his annexation plans, while the UAE insisted that it “immediately stops annexation”.
Continue reading...Common ground rests on a ‘peace plan’ aided by splintered Arab solidarity over Palestine
The peace deal that few saw coming had been gathering steam in plain sight. Even before the election of Donald Trump, Israel and the UAE had been inching closer, drawn together by three factors – enmity with Iran, a loathing of the Muslim Brotherhood, and a mutual belief that the agreed formula for peace with Palestinians was no longer working.
More than anything else, combating Iran became the conduit for the two sides. The adage of a foe of a foe becoming a friend has rarely been more apt. Tehran’s determination to acquire a nuclear weapon, its extensive reach into the Arab world, potential to shut off the Strait of Hormuz, and Shia Islamic revolutionary zeal, provided enough common ground for both sides to sharply deepen intelligence links to strategic levels over the past four years.
Continue reading...Donald Trump has vowed to push ahead with the reopening of America’s schools, despite the US suffering nearly 1,500 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, the highest number in a single day for three months.
Continue reading...A huge wildfire has prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles, with firefighters hoping to rein in the blaze before temperatures spike later on Thursday.
The Lake fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon in dense forest land in the Lake Hughes area of the Angeles national forest, some 60 miles (97km) north of downtown Los Angeles.
Continue reading...The president says he opposes providing additional money to the postal service to help it deliver mail-in ballots
Donald Trump admitted on Thursday he opposed additional funding for the United States Postal Service (USPS) in order to make it more difficult to deliver mail-in ballots.
Trump’s comments lend evidence for critics who say the president is deliberately trying to hamstring the USPS in advance of the November elections to help his re-election bid.
Continue reading...India’s infections grow by nearly 67,000 in one day; Russia vaccine not yet completed its final trials; global deaths climb towards 750,000. Follow the latest updates
Hello everyone. I am taking on the global live feed from London and will be bringing you all the latest updates on what is happening around the globe. Please do keep in touch with me as I work and contact me if you have any questions, news tips or thoughts. Thanks in advance.
Twitter: @sloumarsh
Instagram: sarah_marsh_journalist
Email: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. Thanks for following along.
My colleague Sarah Marsh will take you through the next few hours.
Continue reading...UK move takes effect as of 4am BST on Saturday; Pandemic has killed three quarters of a million people; Germany case jump shows ‘unsettling trend’; Iraq reports record daily Covid-19 cases
Britain’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France will lead to a reciprocal measure, French junior minister for European affairs Clément Beaune said late on Thursday.
“A British decision that we regret and which will lead to a measure of reciprocity, hoping that things will return to normal as soon as possible,” Beaune said on Twitter at midnight.
Une décision britannique que nous regrettons et qui entraînera une mesure de réciprocité, en espérant un retour à la normale le plus rapidement possible @Djebbari_JB https://t.co/6pA0qDQun6
La France regrette la décision du Royaume Uni et appliquera des mesures de réciprocité dans le champ des transports. J’ai dit à mon homologue @grantshapps notre volonté d’harmoniser les protocoles sanitaires pour assurer un haut niveau de protection des deux côtés de la Manche. https://t.co/bH7LkqD3LB
Hi, Helen Sullivan joining you now.
I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours. Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com with questions, comments and news from your part of the world.
Continue reading...Too much is being read into the greenback’s recent weakening against the euro
The dollar is in freefall! The global greenback is doomed! screamed recent headlines. Actually, such sensational headlines are “too sensational”, to echo that noted authority on currencies, Miss Prism, in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
The dollar’s fall in July to a two-year low against the euro was the immediate impetus for these stories. In fact, the dollar’s recent slide is one in a series of readily explicable fluctuations. When the Covid-19 pandemic went global in March, the dollar strengthened on the back of safe-haven flows into US Treasuries, as it does at the start of every crisis. By May, the Federal Reserve, acting as global lender of last resort, had accommodated this mad scramble for dollars by pouring buckets of liquidity into financial markets and the greenback gave back its early gains.
Continue reading...As coronavirus case numbers soar, the state prepares to host Rimpac, the world’s largest international maritime military exercise
In a year when the coronavirus has caused multinational war games to be conducted virtually or canceled, the world’s largest international maritime military exercise begins in Hawaii next week.
The Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) war games, which run through the end of August, come as Hawaii struggles to contain community spread of the coronavirus amid what has become the highest reproduction rate in the country.
Continue reading...Bob Woodward’s second book on the Trump White House has a title, Rage, and promises to reveal the secrets of “25 personal letters exchanged between [Donald] Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that have not been public before”.
Related: It Was All a Lie review: Trump as symptom not cause of Republican decline
Continue reading...Joe Biden and Kamala Harris accused Donald Trump of leaving the US “in tatters” by failing to lead the country through the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout, as they debuted the Democratic presidential ticket the party hopes will defeat him in November’s election.
Related: 'Ready on day one': Joe Biden welcomes Kamala Harris at their first event as running mates – live
Continue reading...The US president’s hair-washing complaints on Wednesday prompted the government to propose an easing of shower pressure standards.
Continue reading...Joe Biden has picked his former one-time presidential rival Kamala Harris to be his running mate, making her the first woman of color on a major party presidential ticket. The Guardian's Lauren Gambino explains Harris's trailblazing background, the 'hunger for black, female leadership' and the excitement around the Californian senator's nomination