Songs of Love and War
Four songs on Middle Eastern conflicts with a sense of love for Arab identity and commitment to the Palestinian cause.
China Loses Big In Israel-Iran Conflict – Forbes
- China Loses Big In Israel-Iran Conflict Forbes
- Xi Jinping Breaks Silence on Israel-Iran Conflict As China Warns Citizens Newsweek
- China weighs strategic impact as US mulls military response in Iran South China Morning Post
- Xi, Trump Take Opposite Sides on Iran-Israel Bloomberg.com
- China ‘condemns’ Israel as it looks to show itself as a potential peace broker CNN
Kenyan ‘miracle babies’ pastor dies in road crash
Televangelist Gilbert Deya has died in an accident and at least 30 other people are reportedly injured.
Lone Air India survivor carries coffin of brother killed in crash
A visibly upset Ramesh was overcome with grief carrying his brother's coffin to the crematorium.
Lone Air India survivor carries coffin of brother killed in crash
A visibly upset Ramesh was overcome with grief carrying his brother's coffin to the crematorium.
Trump weighs joining Iran strikes after calling for ‘unconditional surrender’
US strikes could involve using superior weaponry to hit an underground nuclear site, sources say.
Angela Rayner faces Chris Philp at PMQs – UK politics live
Deputy prime minister takes PMQs facing shadow home secretary
Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, will be taking PMQs shortly. And she will be up against Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary.
When Kemi Badenoch became Tory leader, she did not appoint a deputy (or even a “de factor deputy”, a post that has existed in Tory politics in recent years) and she said she would decide who would stand in for her at PMQs on a case by case basis. Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, got the gig the first time Starmer was away.
Chris Philp follows Alex Burghart in rotating for Kemi Badenoch at PMQs. One Westminster wag asks “When is it going to be Robert Jenrick’s turn?”
We have this profound challenge of the number of people joining the armed forces being outweighed by the outflow the people leaving. So ultimately its about retention.
And the number one issue reason cited in last month’s attitude survey for the armed forces for leaving was family life. We know the quality of housing is unfortunately poor. It’s due to the basically to the structural nature of those homes.
To wrap up this topic, the state of housing for the armed forces is in a poor state because your government did not do enough for it?
[The housing] which is not in a good enough state because of your government?
What did I do about it? I did something that hasn’t been done for 30 years – yes, it completed under Labour – and now we would recommend to the government, when they bring forth their housing defence white paper, that we set up a housing association.
Continue reading...IDF strikes destroy Iran air force attack helicopters, missile launchers – The Jerusalem Post
U.K. Parliament bans women from being prosecuted for late-term abortion – NPR
- U.K. Parliament bans women from being prosecuted for late-term abortion NPR
- Lawmakers Vote to Decriminalize Abortions for Women in England and Wales The New York Times
- British lawmakers vote to decriminalize abortion for pregnant women while America cracks down CNN
- MPs vote to decriminalise abortion for women in England and Wales BBC
- Abortion remains a criminal offence in the UK because of the left’s timidity. We must learn from that – and fast The Guardian
Trump demands Tehran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as Israel continues pounding Iran with airstrikes | First Thing
The Israel-Iran conflict is at a critical juncture as thousands flee Tehran. Plus, Alex Padilla makes speech about being handcuffed
Good morning.
Israel’s war on Iran appeared to be approaching a pivotal moment on Tuesday night after five days of bombing and retaliatory Iranian missile strikes, as Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from Tehran and weighed his military options.
What’s the latest in the conflict? Israel’s defence forces said they launched a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning, warning residents in parts of the city to urgently evacuate.
What’s the situation on the ground? Some Tehran residents are fleeing the capital, with witnesses citing strong explosions hitting buildings in western and eastern parts of Tehran on Tuesday evening, the Associated Press reports.
This is a developing story. Follow our live updates here.
What did Padilla say? “If that is what the administration is willing to do to a United States senator for having the [audacity] to simply ask a question, imagine what they’ll do to any American who dares to speak up.”
What did Lander’s wife say? In a news conference after the arrest, Meg Barnette said she was “extraordinarily proud” of her husband and called the ordeal “shocking and unacceptable.”
Continue reading...UK firm not racist for rejecting Chinese applicant over security concerns, tribunal rules
Judge says not discrimination to refuse to hire people from ‘hostile’ states like China and Russia if it may pose risk to British security
Refusing to give a job to Chinese and Russian people in companies that deal with issues of national security and require security clearance is not racist, an employment tribunal has ruled.
It is not discriminatory to stop people from “hostile” states taking up certain jobs in the defence sector because of the risk to British security, the judgment says.
Continue reading...Women more worried about economy under Trump than men, poll finds
Exclusive: poll shows 62% of women and 47% of men across political spectrum say economy and inflation getting worse
Women across the political spectrum are more concerned about the state of the US economy and inflation under Donald Trump than men are, according to a new exclusive poll for the Guardian.
More Democrats than Republicans are now concerned about the economy following the president’s return to power. But pessimism was higher for women even among Republicans and independents, according to a new Harris poll.
More women said they are very worried about food prices (52% of women compared to 39% of men)
More women said they’re spending more time trying to find deals or go to more affordable stores (36% versus 26%)
More women said their financial security is getting worse because of their difficulty in affording essential goods and services (55% versus 46%)
Continue reading...Israeli forces kill or injure 11 Palestinians awaiting food trucks, say Gaza officials
IDF ‘looking into’ incident in central Gaza, as over a hundred die in recent days near or along routes to distribution sites
Eleven Palestinians were killed or injured on Tuesday morning after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd waiting for food trucks in central Gaza, civil defence officials in the devastated territory have said.
More than a hundred Palestinians have died in recent days after being targeted by the Israeli military in Gaza as they gathered near food distribution centres or on routes along which trucks were expected to travel.
Continue reading...Iran’s Axis of Evil Seems to Be Unraveling, but Was It Ever Even There? – Haaretz
- Iran's Axis of Evil Seems to Be Unraveling, but Was It Ever Even There? Haaretz
- How Tough Is Iran? A String of Military Losses Raises Questions. The New York Times
- Why Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ Is Missing in Action WSJ
- How Iran lost the Middle East Its proxies are sick of dying for the ayatollah UnHerd
- Explainer: How Iran's network of Middle East power faded Reuters
Photos capture shooting of a man by a Kenyan police officer during protests against police brutality – AP News
- Photos capture shooting of a man by a Kenyan police officer during protests against police brutality AP News
- Kenyan police shoot bystander at close range during latest protests Al Jazeera
- Clashes in Kenya protests over death of blogger in custody BBC
- Police officer arrested over shooting of civilian during Kenya protest Reuters
- Father of a man shot during latest protests in Kenya calls for police accountability Click2Houston
A battle of sounds stops at the inter-Korean border – NPR
- A battle of sounds stops at the inter-Korean border NPR
- South Korea turns off propaganda loudspeakers to North BBC
- South Korea Turns Off Speakers Blasting K-Pop Into North Korea The New York Times
- Police arrest ROK man for launching anti-North Korea leaflets near border NK News
- South Korea's new president turns off loudspeakers at the border with North Korea VPM
Lawyer who defended drug lord ‘El Chapo’ elected as judge
Silvia Delgado was one of the most controversial candidates to run in Mexico's judicial election.
Flights to Bali cancelled after volcanic eruption in Indonesia – Euronews.com
- Flights to Bali cancelled after volcanic eruption in Indonesia Euronews.com
- Watch Indonesian volcano spew ash over 11km into the sky BBC
- Indonesia volcano spews ash more than 6 miles into sky, dozens of Bali flights canceled CNN
- Dramatic ash cloud blankets sky in Indonesia as volcano erupts The Washington Post
- Volcanic eruption in Indonesia forces evacuations and flight cancelations ABC News
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy warns diplomacy in ‘crisis’ after Trump’s early G7 exit – Al Jazeera
- Ukraine’s Zelenskyy warns diplomacy in ‘crisis’ after Trump’s early G7 exit Al Jazeera
- Trump Skips Zelensky Meeting as G7 Talks End With Little for Ukraine The New York Times
- Zelensky’s G-7 Visit Is Overshadowed by Trump’s Exit WSJ
- Carney says support for Ukraine will be ‘unwavering’ on final day of G7 summit BBC
- Zelenskiy leaves G7 with no Trump meeting or fresh arms support from US Reuters
UK inflation eases slightly to 3.4% as food price rises offset transport cost falls
Annual rate slows in May from 3.5% in April despite record increase in chocolate prices
Inflation in the UK eased slightly to 3.4% last month as a steep fall in air fares and petrol prices was offset by a jump in the cost of food.
May’s decline in the consumer prices index (CPI), down from the official figure of 3.5% for April, complicates the Bank of England’s interest rates decision on Thursday, although policymakers are still almost certain to hold interest rates at 4.25%.
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