Accused said Holly Willoughby attack was his ‘ultimate fantasy’, court hears

Posted on by

Jury hears of Gavin Plumb’s online searches and messages, including saying he didn’t ‘care about the consequences’

A man accused of masterminding a plot to kidnap, rape and murder the television personality Holly Willoughby searched on Google for “how to meet people who plan to kidnap celebrities”, a court has heard.

Gavin Plumb’s online searches were read to a jury at Chelmsford crown court along with messages in which he said attacking Willoughby had been his “ultimate fantasy” and that “fantasy isn’t enough anymore [sic], I want the real thing”.

Continue reading...

Judge partially lifts Trump gag order in hush-money case – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Trump’s trial, read our full coverage here.

While his primary contest may be too close to call, the vote count thus far shows Republican congressman Bob Good trailing his challenger John McGuire by a small amount.

Good is now casting aspersions on the fairness of the election, NBC News reports:

Good claimed during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast Monday that Lynchburg “did not secure their drop boxes.”

“There’s no accountability for when those boxes were opened,” Good said. “They were apparently left to be stuffed for two or three days after the election.”

Continue reading...

EU centrists’ deal paves way for von der Leyen to return as commission president

Posted on by

Agreement between three pro-European blocks would make Estonian PM top diplomat and former Portuguese PM council president

Ursula von der Leyen looks likely to clinch the nomination for a second term as European Commission president under a deal by EU leaders from the three pro-European political groups that sews up the bloc’s top jobs.

According to the agreement made by the centre-right European People’s party (EPP), the Socialists and the Liberals, von der Leyen will be nominated for a second five-year mandate at the head of the EU executive at a Brussels summit on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Taxing super-rich debate should start with 2% levy, says economist behind plan – Yahoo Finance UK

Posted on by
  1. Taxing super-rich debate should start with 2% levy, says economist behind plan  Yahoo Finance UK
  2. International scheme to tax billionaires’ wealth technically feasible, study finds  The Guardian
  3. Brazil Unveils Global Billionaire Tax Plan That Has Split G-20  Bloomberg
  4. Brazil-backed G20 report calls for global, wealth-based income tax  Fox News
  5. Macron joins Brazil's Lula to tax billionaires — but is it all it's made out to be?  POLITICO Europe
Posted in Uncategorized

Experts warn Julian Assange plea deal could set dangerous precedent

Posted on by

Human rights organisations want the next UK government to seek assurances from the US that it will not pursue journalists publishing classified information

The next UK government must push the US for reassurance it will not pursue journalists for publishing classified information, human rights organisations and experts have argued after the release of Julian Assange.

Experts have warned that the plea deal struck between the WikiLeaks founder and the US authorities – which will see him plead guilty to one charge under the Espionage Act, but avoid serving any additional time in custody – could set a dangerous precedent.

Continue reading...

Stonehenge likely to be put on world heritage danger list over tunnel plan

Posted on by

Unesco officials recommend adding Wiltshire stone circle amid fears road scheme would compromise its integrity

Stonehenge is likely to be put on a list of world heritage sites that are in danger because of the plan to build a tunnel under the precious landscape.

Unesco officials have recommended adding the Wiltshire stone circle and the area around it to the list because of concerns that the tunnel would “compromise the integrity” of one of the Earth’s great prehistoric sites.

Continue reading...

Anti-DEI law forces closure of University of Utah LGBT center

Posted on by

News comes amid anti-diversity legislation that has gutted inclusionary programs at several public universities

After 21 years of service, the University of Utah’s LGBT Resource Center will close on Friday, as the second-largest public university in the state comes into compliance with HB 261, Utah’s version of the anti-DEI legislation that has swept the country and gutted inclusionary programs at several public universities.

“As we’ve evaluated how best to comply with the legislation, I want to be clear that we’ve faced very difficult decisions,” the vice-president for student affairs, Lori McDonald, said in a statement. “The law and subsequent guidance require a foundational change in how we approach student support, and we will follow the law. This isn’t about changing the words we use; we’re changing how we approach the work.”

Continue reading...

Speaker Election: BJP Gets 4-MP Boost From YSRCP.. – Greatandhra

Posted on by
  1. Speaker Election: BJP Gets 4-MP Boost From YSRCP..  Greatandhra
  2. Rare showdown for Speaker as NDA picks Om Birla again  Hindustan Times
  3. Om Birla vs K Suresh - Rare Election For Lok Sabha Speaker Today: Top 10  NDTV
  4. Congress held both Speaker, deputy post in Nehru & Indira era: BJP  The Times of India
  5. Speaker fight: TMC keeps INDIA on edge, says 'not consulted', 'could have given names'  The Indian Express
Posted in Uncategorized

Tesla recalls majority of Cybertrucks for fourth time

Posted on by

Windshield wiper and trunk bed trim problems cause more delays in the truck’s promised mass launch

Tesla said on Tuesday it was recalling most Cybertrucks in the United States over issues with their windshield wipers and exterior trim.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Tesla has now issued four recalls for its 2024 Cybertruck.

Continue reading...

Reactions to Julian Assange plea deal differ across the US political divide

Posted on by

Leftist film-maker Michael Moore applauds deal while Mike Pence says it ‘dishonors’ US military members

Reaction to the news that Julian Assange had agreed to plead guilty to a single charge under the Espionage Act in order to go free came from various parts of the US political spectrum on Tuesday.

James Clapper, director of US national intelligence in 2010 when Assange and his WikiLeaks organization published secret US intelligence documents with a consortium of newspapers including the Guardian, told CNN: “I actually think this came out pretty well … Critical to this was his plea of one count of espionage.

“He’s paid his dues,” Clapper added. “There was a damage assessment done at the time – there was concern but I don’t recall direct proof that assets in Afghanistan and Iraq supporting or helping the US were exposed.”

Continue reading...

Hillary Clinton: waste of Biden’s debate time to rebut Trump ‘nonsense’

Posted on by

Former secretary of state, who has debated both men, says Trump ‘starts with nonsense and digresses into blather’

Hillary Clinton has said it would be a “waste of time” for Joe Biden to attempt to refute Donald Trump’s contentions in Thursday’s presidential debate because “it’s nearly impossible to identify what his arguments even are”.

The former secretary of state wrote in a New York Times opinion piece that Trump “starts with nonsense and then digresses into blather”.

Continue reading...

Princess Anne ‘doing fine’ in hospital after injury, husband says

Posted on by

Sir Tim Laurence brings Princess Royal ‘a few little treats from home’ and says she is making ‘slow but sure’ progress

The Princess Royal, who is recovering from head injuries believed to have been inflicted by a horse, is making “slow but sure” progress, her husband has said.

V Adm Sir Tim Laurence visited Anne after she spent a second night at Southmead hospital in Bristol, where she remains under observation having had a concussion.

Continue reading...

PPE worth £1.4bn from single Covid deal destroyed or written off

Posted on by

UK government deal struck at height of pandemic described as ‘colossal misuse of public funds’

An estimated £1.4bn-worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) bought by the government in single a deal has been destroyed or written off, according to new figures described as the worst example of waste in the Covid pandemic.

The figures obtained by the BBC under freedom of information laws showed that 1.57bn items from the NHS supplier Full Support Healthcare will never been used.

Continue reading...

Ukraine war: Zelensky sacks top general accused of incompetence – BBC.com

Posted on by
  1. Ukraine war: Zelensky sacks top general accused of incompetence  BBC.com
  2. Top Ukrainian General Replaced Amid Criticism Over Heavy Casualties  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  3. Zelensky Removes Gen. Yurii Sodol Amid Criticism of Excessive Casualties  The New York Times
  4. Zelenskyy fires top Ukrainian commander after claims his soldiers suffered heavy losses  NBC News
  5. Ukraine's Zelenskyy replaces military's commander of joint forces  Fox News
Posted in Uncategorized

Trump mocked for claiming he was ‘tortured’ in Georgia mugshot arrest

Posted on by

Former US president made the claim in a fundraising email that advertised coffee mugs featuring his mugshot

Donald Trump has been met with a chorus of online mockery after claiming that he was “tortured” while being processed at the Fulton county jail in Georgia last August, an occasion that generated the mugshot that he has since turned into a money-making device as he campaigns for a second presidency.

The outlandish and unsubstantiated claim came in a fundraising email and drew at least one unflattering comparison with one of the former president’s political nemeses: John McCain, the former Republican senator for Arizona whose real experience of torture and incarceration during the Vietnam war was a target for Trump’s mockery.

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war: ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian officials over attacks on Ukrainian civilian targets – as it happened

Posted on by

International criminal court issues arrest warrants for Russia’s former defence minister Sergei Shogu and military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov

President Maia Sandu welcomed the start of the EU accession talks with Moldova, stressing that her country is within the European family.

“We are stronger together,” she said on X.

Continue reading...