- Ukraine ally Britain eases new sanctions on Russian oil as fuel prices surge over Iran war AP News
- UK waters down new Russian oil sanctions as fuel prices rise BBC
- UK defers import ban on diesel, jet fuel derived from Russian crude Reuters
- Starmer criticized for easing Russia sanctions politico.eu
- UK struggles to reassure Ukraine after easing new sanctions on Russian oil The Guardian
Israeli security minister stirs diplomatic outrage with flotilla activist abuse video – The Guardian
- Israeli security minister stirs diplomatic outrage with flotilla activist abuse video The Guardian
- Australia news live: Penny Wong rebukes Israel over ‘shocking and unacceptable’ treatment of flotilla activists The Guardian
- Netanyahu said to balk at new Iran deal framework in tense phone call with Trump The Times of Israel
- Several nations summon Israeli envoys as Ben-Gvir taunts flotilla activists Al Jazeera
- Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir taunts flotilla activists CNN
Iran’s Mojtaba Khamenei frames war with US, Israel as ‘jihad,’ analyst says – Fox News
- Iran's Mojtaba Khamenei frames war with US, Israel as ‘jihad,’ analyst says Fox News
- Leader: Nation’s epic resistance against US, Israeli armies places heavier duty on officials ISNA News Agency
- Leader: Epic of third sacred defense proof Shahnameh is Iran's reality نورنیوز
- Ayatollah Khamenei: Iranian people have written epics in face of two global terrorist armies saba.ye
- Mojtaba Khamenei Issues New Message on Ferdowsi Day IranWire
White House resisted letting doctor with Ebola return to U.S. – The Washington Post
Israel’s parliament has voted to dissolve itself. What’s next? – Reuters
- Israel's parliament has voted to dissolve itself. What's next? Reuters
- Israeli lawmakers advance bill to dissolve parliament Al Jazeera
- MKs advance bill to dissolve Knesset, potentially trigger slightly earlier elections The Times of Israel
- Is Binyamin Netanyahu facing his last stand? The Economist
- Netanyahu is facing electoral catastrophe — and could place Israel in existential peril The Forward
US puts pressure on Palestinian leaders to withdraw bid for UN vice-presidency role – The Guardian
Archaeologists Excavated a Giant Stone Jar And Found a Grim Surprise – ScienceAlert
- Archaeologists Excavated a Giant Stone Jar And Found a Grim Surprise ScienceAlert
- A Discovered Trove of Bones and Teeth Yields New Clues to the Century-Old Mystery of 'Death Jars' in Laos Smithsonian Magazine
- Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved New Scientist
- Massive jar in Laos contained remains of 37 people, revealing ancient burial rituals and Asian trade links Archaeology News Online Magazine
- The death jar: a new mortuary tradition at the Plain of Jars, Lao PDR | Antiquity Cambridge University Press & Assessment
US test fires mobile rocket system near Mount Fuji in rapid ‘shoot and scoot’ drill – ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
U.K. spy plane “dangerously intercepted” by Russian military jets over Black Sea, defense ministry says – CBS News
- U.K. spy plane "dangerously intercepted" by Russian military jets over Black Sea, defense ministry says CBS News
- Russia ‘dangerously’ intercepts British spy plane over Black Sea: Ministry Al Jazeera
- Ukraine war latest: 'Dangerous' warplane flybys won't deter us, UK warns Moscow Sky News
- Russian jet causes ‘dangerous’ near miss after flying close to RAF spy plane The Guardian
- UK says surveillance plane dangerously intercepted by Russian jets last month Reuters
Sierra Leone becomes latest African country to receive deportees from US – BBC
How protesters are set for Ireland’s parliament over Yves Sakila’s ‘disturbing’ death – BBC
- How protesters are set for Ireland's parliament over Yves Sakila's 'disturbing' death BBC
- Concerns 'excessive force' used against Congolese man RTE.ie
- Gardaí investigate role of security guards’ restraint in case of man who died on Dublin’s Henry Street The Irish Times
- Concern over 'disturbing' footage of man being restrained on ground before his death The Journal
- Irish PM urges full investigation into death of Congolese man restrained outside store Yahoo
UK announces ‘historic’ trade deal with Gulf states in G7 first – CNBC
- UK announces 'historic' trade deal with Gulf states in G7 first CNBC
- UK strikes £3.7bn trade deal with six Gulf states The Guardian
- Britain clinches $5 billion Gulf trade deal in shadow of Iran war Reuters
- UK agrees £3.7bn trade deal with six Gulf states BBC
- UK confirms Gulf trade deal in boost for service industries Financial Times
Murder or accident? Mystery of Mango tycoon’s hiking death after son’s arrest – BBC
- Murder or accident? Mystery of Mango tycoon's hiking death after son's arrest BBC
- Mango clothing tycoon’s son named suspect in death of billionaire whose brand stretches across US Fox News
- Son of Mango fashion chain founder posts bail after arrest in Spain over father’s fatal cliff fall AP News
- Mango founder’s son arrested in connection to father’s plunging death CNN
- Court names Mango tycoon's son as suspect in probe into father's death Reuters
Streeting says he resigned because Labour ‘in fight of our lives against nationalism’, and is currently losing – UK politics live
Former health secretary standing down after saying he no longer had confidence in Keir Starmer as PM
Labour is in a curious, transitional state at the moment. Officially Keir Starmer is committed to staying as leader and prime minister until the next election. There is no formal leadership contest underway. But, informally, it has already started, with Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting already setting out their offer to the Labour membership. We will hear more from Streeting this afternoon. But much of the parliamentary party is already working on the basis that a Burnham premiership is all-but-inevitable, and so Streeting’s interventions may turn out to be more about shoring up his position in a potential future Burnham administration than a rehearsal for an election that may never happen.
Here are some of the stories out today covering Starmer, Burnham and Streeting.
Ailbhe Rea in the New Statesman says an insider describes the atmosphere in No 10 now as “very, very odd”. She says:
Starmer and his remaining loyal cabinet ministers want to make every day that they are still in office count, and are determined to cut through the noise of the leadership drama. Many cabinet ministers, who may not survive long in their posts if Starmer is replaced as Prime Minister, are desperate to set a legacy and bank achievements in their briefs while they can. “Let’s get out there and make the case for what we’re doing,” has been Starmer’s message to colleagues. There is even a fleeting hope inside Downing Street that the leadership speculation “burns itself out”, that “Wes and Andy tearing chunks out of each other for weeks might just make Keir look better”. But even many loyalists accept that is wishful thinking. “The writing is on the wall, even if we don’t know exactly what form that takes yet,” one concludes.
Patrick Maguire, Geraldine Scott and Larisa Brown in the Times say Starmer could stay in Downing Street until early next year. They report:
Ministers familiar with Starmer’s thinking say he has no plans to step down before the Labour Party conference in September and is unlikely to relinquish office before Christmas.
They told The State of It, the political podcast from The Times and Sunday Times, that there were still significant obstacles ahead for Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, who on Tuesday refused to rule out breaking Labour’s manifesto pledge against tax rises.
Caroline Wheeler in the i says cabinet ministers are already angling for jobs in a Burnham administration. She says:
Senior ministers are preparing visits to Makerfield amid growing expectations in Westminster that Burnham could ultimately take the Labour leadership – and with it the power to appoint the next Cabinet.
“The equation cabinet ministers are making is that if they go and he wins they will get a plum job,” one senior source said. “If they don’t go and he wins, he will remember. And if they don’t go and he loses, he will remember.”
Many now believe that Burnham is lining up to make Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, as his chancellor. It comes as Miliband’s special adviser was seconded to work with Burnham for the by-election campaign …
Burnham is also widely expected to make Lucy Powell, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, his deputy prime minister. Multiple sources said that other women likely to be given top jobs include Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, and Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, who is also the co-chair of the influential soft-left Tribune group of MPs.
Sam Blewett at Politico has taken an in-depth look at the team supporting Burnham. He says the key figure is Kevin Lee, director of the Greater Manchester mayor’s office, who has been advising Burnham with little break since 2010.
Continue reading...James Murdoch to acquire half of Vox Media in deal reportedly worth $300m
Deal is the biggest acquisition for Murdoch since family resolved dispute over future control of media holdings
James Murdoch, second son of publishing giant Rupert Murdoch, has agreed to acquire some of Vox Media’s assets, including New York magazine, in a deal believed to be worth around $300m.
The 53-year-old publishing scion is acquiring the assets through his company, Lupa Systems, which has built up holdings in Art Basel, the traveling art fair business, and Tribeca Enterprises, the media and entertainment company co-founded by Robert De Niro, and the Indian streaming service Bodhi Tree Systems.
Continue reading...‘Indefensible’: alleged child abuse survivor takes on Albanese government over $2.5bn Nauru deal
Lawyers of Hazara man who was allegedly sexually abused by carer launch bid to prevent imminent deportation to Pacific island
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The Albanese government’s $2.5bn deal with Nauru, under which hundreds of non-citizens will be sent to the tiny Pacific island, will face another legal challenge prompted by an alleged child abuse survivor.
Legal representatives for Abdul*, a Hazara man who was re-detained in immigration detention earlier this month, have launched a bid to prevent the 29-year-old’s imminent deportation to Nauru by challenging its compatibility with Australia’s constitution.
Continue reading...ChatGPT and other AI bots made huge errors before Scottish election, study finds
Exclusive: Electoral Commission calls for new controls, as Demos finds tools made up fake scandals, invented candidates or gave wrong date
The Electoral Commission has called for new legal controls over misinformation from AI chatbots, after a thinktank found they had made serious mistakes during the recent Scottish election.
The thinktank Demos said its investigation had found that AI services gave voters misinformation to 34% of the questions it posed, which it said raised worrying questions about the lack of regulation of AI platforms in the UK.
Continue reading...EU ties billions in Ukraine aid to unpopular tax reforms – The Kyiv Independent
- EU ties billions in Ukraine aid to unpopular tax reforms The Kyiv Independent
- EU signs MoU with Ukraine, paving way for disbursement in mid-June Reuters
- EU Ties Part of Ukraine €90 Billion Aid to Unpopular Tax Measure Bloomberg.com
- Ukraine primed for €9B payout from EU loan next month politico.eu
- FIREPOWER: Should the EU Ukraine loan finance PURL packages? Euractiv
January 6 police officers sue Trump over $1.8bn fund, alleging ‘presidential corruption’
Retired Capitol police officer and DC officer allege Trump’s $1.8bn fund unlawfully rewards January 6 rioters and allies
Two police officers who clashed with rioters at the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection in 2021 have sued Donald Trump over plans to create a $1.776bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
The fund, which critics have argued is essentially a slush fund, is set to compensate allies of the US president who he claims were victims of prosecutorial overreach.
Continue reading...DWP pursued woman’s employer for nonexistent ‘benefit debt’
Exclusive: Employer of woman who cares for disabled mother was asked to deduct ‘debt’ from salary despite court ruling she had nothing to pay
A woman providing full-time unpaid care for her elderly disabled mother says her job was put in jeopardy after welfare officials wrongly pursued her employer for a nonexistent “benefit debt” quashed by the courts nearly four years ago.
The 44-year-old woman said she was staggered when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrote to her employer out of the blue this month demanding they deduct the long-forgotten universal credit overpayment “debt” from her salary.
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