Defense head pick Pete Hegseth now dogged by questions over alcohol use

Questions have also been raised over reports the embattled former Fox News host mismanaged two veterans groups

Questions continued to dog Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, on Monday following reports he was twice ousted from previous organisations he led over financial mismanagement and improper behavior, with reporters asking him directly if he had an alcohol problem.

Hegseth, 44, who was visiting Capitol Hill to drum up support for his troubled nomination, did not respond when a journalist asked “Do you have an alcohol problem?” as he arrived for a meeting with Republican senators.

Continue reading...

Trump says he will block Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn bid to acquire US Steel

Acquisition of Pittsburgh-based steel producer by Japanese company has faced opposition from steelworkers and Biden

Donald Trump said on Monday that he intends to block Japan’s Nippon Steel’s $14.9bn bid to acquire US Steel in a move that will fuel further fears about a global trade war when the Republican returns to the White House next month.

“I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan” the US president-elect said in a statement on Monday, adding: “Through a series of Tax Incentives and Tariffs, we will make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST! As President, I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!”

Continue reading...

Smartphones should carry health warning, Spanish government told

Report by committee of experts also calls for doctors to ask about screen time during checkups

Smartphones sold in Spain should carry a label warning users about their potential health impacts, experts have told the Spanish government, in a report that calls for doctors to ask about screen time during checkups.

As Spain pushes forward with a draft law to limit children’s exposure to technology, the 50-member committee of experts has also called for minors to have limited exposure to digital devices until they are 13 to mitigate what they see as a public health problem.

Continue reading...

Meloni says Italy aims to protect jobs after CEO of Fiat owner Stellantis quits

Company is at loggerheads with Italian government, which claims it has not invested enough in the country

The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has said her government will try to protect jobs as political tensions mount with Fiat maker Stellantis after the abrupt resignation of its chief executive.

Meloni said she would attempt to “defend” employees in the carmaker’s Italian operations in the wake of the surprise exit of Carlos Tavares, its longstanding chief executive, who left after the company said “different views have emerged” between the executive and its board.

Continue reading...

Court rules former Nazi camp guard, 100, can face trial in Germany

Gregor Formanek is charged with aiding and abetting 3,322 murders at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp

German authorities are pressing for a 100-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard to face trial almost 80 years after the end of the second world war.

The higher regional court in Frankfurt said on Tuesday it had overturned a decision by a lower court under which the suspect had been deemed unfit to stand trial.

Continue reading...

Syrian insurgents advance on Hama city after capturing Aleppo

Forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad in ‘violent confrontations’ with armed groups in Hama, according to reports

Syrian insurgents fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have launched attacks in the central province of Hama, threatening to cut off government troops from a key route linking the capital, Damascus, with rebel-held Aleppo.

The army was engaging in “violent confrontations” with armed groups in Hama, the Syrian state news agency Sana reported.

Continue reading...

Michel Barnier defends budget in TV interview as government faces no confidence vote on Wednesday – as it happened

Minority government of prime minister faces near-certain defeat in a no-confidence vote that could spark crisis

The Libertés, indépendants, outre-mer et territoires (Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories, Liot) group, which has about two dozen elected members, will not vote for Wednesday’s censure motion (i.e. the no confidence motion over the budget).

“At this stage, none of the Liot MPs intend to vote for censure tomorrow,” Harold Huwart, the MP for Eure-et-Loir and spokesperson for the parliamentary group, was quoted as saying:

First of all, because the country is in a difficult moment, censorship is an act whose final consequences no one can measure. Voting for censorship is particularly irresponsible.

None of the deputies (of Liot) want to be associated with an act of destabilisation plotted by extremes who come together in a desperate attempt.

Let’s be clear: a motion of censure is not a coalition or a political agreement, it is nothing other than the expression of a disavowal of the policy and budgetary choices proposed by the Government.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis: Israel will not differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah if ceasefire collapses, defence minister Katz says – as it happened

Israel Katz says Israel will no longer offer Lebanon an exemption and will enforce ‘maximum impact and zero tolerance’

Israeli media reports that the cabinet is set to meet in the coastal city of Nahariya on Tuesday, a symbolic show of renewed security in the north after the ceasefire deal with Lebanon came into effect.

The move has received some criticism, however, with Hebrew news site Ynet reporting that the heads of local authorities in the north of Israel are angry that they have not been invited to participate.

Continue reading...

Unknown disease kills 143 people in south-west DRC, local authorities say

Infected people described as having flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches

An unknown disease killed 143 people in a south-west province of Democratic Republic of the Congo in November, local authorities told Reuters.

Infected people had flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches, Remy Saki, the deputy governor of Kwango province, and Apollinaire Yumba, the provincial minister of health, said on Monday.

Continue reading...