Nigel Farage says ‘there’s every chance of general election in 2027’

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Reform UK leader criticises Angela Rayner’s ‘entitlement’ and vows to ‘stop the boats’ within two weeks if elected

Nigel Farage has said there is every chance of a general election in 2027, declaring he will run on a pledge to “stop the boats” within two weeks of entering No 10.

Speaking at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, he said the chaos in government and Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister meant the party needed to be “ready” to fight a contest two years early.

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EU fines Google nearly €3bn for ‘abusing’ dominant position in ad tech

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Regulators ordered the tech giant to end ‘self-preferencing practices’ in advertising services but declined to force sale

European Union regulators on Friday hit Google with a €2.95bn ($3.5bn) fine for breaching the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services, marking the fourth such antitrust penalty for the company as well as a retreat from previous threats to break up the tech giant.

The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, also ordered the US company to end its “self-preferencing practices” and take steps to stop “conflicts of interest” along the advertising technology supply chain.

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Damage to Labour from Rayner’s resignation is only just beginning

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Deputy leader election campaign will distract from Starmer’s reset and winner may well come from left of party

At 9.30am on Monday morning, as MPs made their way back to Westminster, Keir Starmer gathered the entire staff of No 10 in the Pillared Room of Downing Street to tell them they were about to enter the next, delivery, stage of government.

“We go into phase two in good spirits, confident and with conviction,” he told them, as some of those gathered shuffled awkwardly. His remarks, after all, followed a difficult summer during which Labour vacated the pitch to Reform UK and ahead of what is likely to be an even more turbulent autumn.

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Trump sends 10 stealth fighter planes to Puerto Rico amid war on Caribbean drug cartels

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Move comes after accusing Venezuela of buzzing US warship and a deadly US missile strike in Caribbean Sea

Donald Trump is sending 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to bolster US military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean region, it was reported on Friday.

If follows a deadly US missile strike on Tuesday on a boat in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration insisted was carrying 11 Venezuelan drug traffickers, and comments by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Wednesday that such attacks “will happen again”.

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M23, Congolese forces may have committed war crimes in Congo, UN rights report finds – Reuters

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  1. M23, Congolese forces may have committed war crimes in Congo, UN rights report finds  Reuters
  2. Land quarrels in rebel-occupied Congo threaten Trump peace deal  Reuters
  3. UN suspects all sides in DR Congo conflict guilty of war crimes  Al Jazeera
  4. U.N. Accuses Rwanda-Backed Rebels of Slaughtering Children, Other Civilians in Congo  The Wall Street Journal
  5. UN decries crimes including gang rape, murder, torture in Congo conflict over last year  AP News
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Crowds gather outside Giorgio Armani’s Milan HQ to pay respects before funeral

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Funeral chamber to be set up at Teatro Armani where people can view casket before a private service on Monday

Twice a year, the usually calm Via Bergognone in Milan shuts down due to excited fashion week crowds descending on Teatro Armani. Home to the Giorgio Armani headquarters since 2000, the sprawling space includes a purpose-built theatre where each show season a catwalk is constructed.

On Friday, crowds again began to gather outside, but this time the mood was much more sombre. They had come to pay their final respects to the visionary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died on Thursday at the age of 91.

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Political Paralysis Puts France in Market’s Crosshairs – Bloomberg.com

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  1. Political Paralysis Puts France in Market’s Crosshairs  Bloomberg.com
  2. Could France's economic turmoil spark eurozone debt crisis?  dw.com
  3. France faces sovereign rating test amid political chaos  Reuters
  4. French Socialists confirm they’ll oust PM, push for center-left replacement  politico.eu
  5. France’s curse and Bayrou’s political suicide  Financial Times
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LEAKED: Israel Is Considered a “Genocidal, Apartheid Country” Abroad, According to Israel’s Own Research – Drop Site News

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  1. LEAKED: Israel Is Considered a "Genocidal, Apartheid Country" Abroad, According to Israel’s Own Research  Drop Site News
  2. Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, scholars' association says  Reuters
  3. Another Reason Not to Trust the ‘Experts’ - by The Editors  The Free Press
  4. Why did genocide scholars association say Israel’s war on Gaza is genocide?  Al Jazeera
  5. Almost 300 reported killed in Gaza in 3 days since global experts accused Israel of genocide  CBS News
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Egypt sidelined from Gaza ceasefire talks amid fears it will be drawn into war – Middle East Eye

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  1. Egypt sidelined from Gaza ceasefire talks amid fears it will be drawn into war  Middle East Eye
  2. After Trump Comments, Hamas Says It’s Ready for Deal on All Hostages  The New York Times
  3. Israel tells Hamas to surrender or see Gaza City leveled, as group says it’s open to deal  The Times of Israel
  4. Trump says US in 'very deep' negotiations with Hamas, urges release of hostages  Reuters
  5. Hamas to Trump: We Are Ready to Release All Israeli Captives in Comprehensive Ceasefire Deal  Drop Site News
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Western troops in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’, Putin says

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Russian president’s threat follows French proposal for postwar support for Kyiv that would include presence of Nato countries’ forces

Vladimir Putin has said any western troops placed in Ukraine would be “legitimate targets” for Russian strikes, upping the stakes as Kyiv’s allies scramble to come up with a convincing offer of postwar support to Ukraine.

Speaking a day after the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced still-vague plans for a package of support for Ukraine backed by 26 nations, Putin on Friday said any guarantees that involved boots on the ground would violate Moscow’s longstanding objections to Nato troops in Ukraine.

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US and UN discuss Gaza reconstruction plan before general assembly

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Talks aimed at preventing row at UN conference, where several countries plan to recognise state of Palestine

A potential UN-endorsed reconstruction plan for Gaza, including a one-year technocratic government, an international stabilisation force, disarmament of Hamas and a rejection of mass deportation of Palestinians, is being discussed with the US to prevent the UN general assembly descending into a bitter row about the symbolic recognition of Palestine as a state.

It is almost certain that the UK, France, Canada, Belgium and Malta will recognise the state of Palestine at a UN conference on 22 September to be held on the sidelines of the general assembly, in the week when world leaders deliver major speeches.

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