Uganda’s leading media outlets shut down by army chief
NTV and Daily Monitor say their offices in the capital are under "military siege".
Fresh hostilities in Gulf suggest US-Iran memorandum was too broadly worded
Document appears to have been subject to conflicting interpretations on key issues of Lebanon ceasefire and strait of Hormuz
The sudden eruption of fresh hostilities in the Gulf – just 10 days after Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict – threatens to put the two countries back on the path to war.
It appears the deliberately opaque wording in the memorandum has been unable to withstand the pressure of conflicting interpretations, and as a result supporters of the deal inside Tehran are on the back foot. Statements to the effect that Iran’s government should never have agreed to reopen the strait of Hormuz are proliferating – and not just among the country’s hardliners.
Continue reading...Bill Cassidy accuses Trump of treating Congress as ‘merely an appendage’
Out-going Louisiana senator’s rebuke over Iran war is rare instance of a Republican politician standing up to Trump
Bill Cassidy, the Republican senator from Louisiana who is being ousted from his position after Donald Trump successfully backed a challenger in May’s primary, has accused the US president of treating Congress as “merely an appendage” in his handling of the Iran war.
In an interview on Sunday with CBS News’s Face the Nation, the out-going Cassidy explained his recent face-to-face row with Trump over the president’s failure to brief Congress on the prosecution of the hostilities with Tehran. In a fleetingly rare instance of a Republican politician directly standing up to Trump, Cassidy let rip at a Capitol Hill lunch over the senator’s support for a war powers resolution that was a symbolic rebuke to the White House.
Continue reading...Body of boy, 15, recovered from Manchester reservoir amid UK heatwave
At least seven people have died in water-related incidents during record-breaking June temperatures
The body of a 15-year-old boy has been recovered from a reservoir near Manchester, as police renewed warnings about the dangers of swimming in open water during soaring temperatures.
Greater Manchester police said officers had been called to reports of a boy getting into difficulty in the water near Cowbury reservoir in Stalybridge at about 6.30pm on Saturday. A body was recovered later that evening, and was identified as the missing teenager.
Continue reading...Pauline Hanson’s One Nation withdrew more than $800,000 of election spending claims after AEC inquiries
The Australian Electoral Commission is examining if party breached laws in its $6m public funding claim after the last election, documents show
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The Australian Electoral Commission questioned Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party over more than $800,000 of claimed electoral expenditure for the last election, Guardian Australia can reveal.
Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show that the inquiries prompted the party to withdraw more than 140 items as it sought to provide additional information to justify almost 15% of the party’s $6.01m public funding claim.
Continue reading...Parliament has been getting frosty as winter closes in – but Labor may make one more gamble before the break
As Labor pushes on with reforms, the Coalition must decide whether to join in the parliamentary deal-making
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It’s the last week of parliament before the winter break, and not a minute too soon; tensions have been running a little high lately.
The lower house speaker, Milton Dick, has been yeeting MPs mere moments into question time and accused Angus Taylor of “demeaning” the parliament by calling Anthony Albanese a liar; Andrew Hastie claimed One Nation “has declared war on me, so they shall have war”; Labor has been goading the Coalition and its media “cheer squad” for opposing the budget; the Greens hate Labor’s NDIS bill; and people in the Coalition seem to be mad at everyone, including themselves.
Continue reading...Biden calls Trump ‘a loser’, portraying him as incompetent, corrupt and vain
Pugnacious speech invokes Trump’s ‘vanity projects’ to makeover Washington and the ‘brazen, blatant corruption’
Joe Biden called Donald Trump “a loser” in a pugnacious speech on Saturday that invoked his presidential successor’s attempted makeover of Washington DC to portray him as incompetent, corrupt and vain.
He delivered those remarks while giving the keynote address at a gala in Hanover, Maryland, hosted by the state’s Democratic party, which is hoping to help wrest control of Congress away from Trump and his Republican allies during November’s midterm elections.
Continue reading...Donald Trump threatens to annihilate Iran after crossfire over Hormuz – as it happened
Iran attacked Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, and threatened a ‘complete halt’ to talks
We will soon be closing this liveblog, but you’ll be able to stay up-to-date with our ongoing coverage of the Middle East here.
Here is a summary of today’s events:
Iran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.
US president Donald Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement in a post of social media and said the US may be “forced to militarily complete the job”. Iran also accused the US of violating the ceasefire agreement.
JD Vance continued to reiterate the administration’s triumphant line on the war with Iran hours before the latest round of strikes were exchanged. “America wins either way,” he said.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was in Baghdad for a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart. He called for a security framework to be established with the Gulf nations after it struck US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation to US strikes.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRCG has said on state-run SNN TV that it will respond with more force if there are any more blow-for-blow attacks from the US.
Countries including Jordan, the UAE and Italy all condemned Iran’s attacks.
Continue reading...Lucy Powell agrees Ed Miliband would be ‘good’ as Andy Burnham’s chancellor
Labour deputy leader says she thinks energy secretary would suit Treasury but ‘tittle-tattle’ over posts ‘unedifying’
Ed Miliband would make a “good” chancellor to Andy Burnham, Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, has said, before the likely next prime minister’s first major speech on the economy since he returned to Westminster.
Powell, who served as Miliband’s chief of staff in opposition and is close to the former party leader, appeared to endorse him to run the Treasury – although some in Burnham’s camp acknowledge such a move could be politically risky.
Continue reading...Australian man charged with murder after girl found dead in suitcase in Thailand
The 17-year-old's body was found discarded near a railway track on Saturday, police say.
Burnham may have to boost defence spending to pass ‘Moscow test’, says ex-military chief
Adm Sir Tony Radakin says UK currenly ‘falls short’ of level required to keep Russian threats at bay
The former head of the armed forces has told Andy Burnham that plans for defence spending must meet a “Moscow test” to keep Russian threats at bay, warning the UK currently “falls short” of that level of commitment.
Adm Sir Tony Radakin, who was the chief of the defence staff until last year, said that if the government’s defence investment plan (Dip), expected to be published this week, was “not enough” then the probable next prime minister would have to find more funding before the general election.
Continue reading...Escalating US-Iran strikes threaten interim peace agreement
Tehran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait amid efforts to open strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct oversight
A new round of escalating strikes between Iran and the US has continued, further undermining the fragile interim peace agreement between the two countries, and prompting Donald Trump to threaten violence that would ensure Iran “will no longer exist”.
On Sunday, Tehran launched drone and missile attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait after new US strikes on sites in southern Iran and threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war. Trump said that a moment might come soon when he abandoned talks and the US would “militarily finish the job”.
Continue reading...Eleven killed after plane carrying skydivers crashes in eastern France
The pilot and 10 passengers died in the incident, local officials said.
Ministers urged to curb energy costs as Great British homes face 13% bill surge
Quarterly Ofgem price cap rises to equivalent of £1,862 a year from 1 July amid growing consumer energy debt
Ministers are facing growing pressure to lower energy costs as households in Great Britain face the steepest rise in summer bills in four years this week.
The quarterly cap on gas and electricity charges will rise by 13% from Wednesday to the equivalent of £1,862 a year for an average household, just days after figures revealed that consumer energy debt had reached record highs.
Continue reading...Two boys rescued from Venezuela earthquake rubble after days of being trapped
Rescuers spent six hours carefully digging to reach one of the boys, as many residents continue searching through the rubble by hand, still waiting for heavy machinery to arrive.
French skydiving plane crashes near Nancy, reportedly killing all 11 onboard
Five students and five instructors dead along with pilot after plane fell suddenly near aerodrome, says prefect
A skydiving plane has crashed in north-eastern France, killing all 11 people onboard, according to the region’s prefect.
The parachuting-school plane crashed near Nancy at 11am, said Yves Séguy, the prefect of the Meurthe-et-Moselle region.
Continue reading...The Trump Pentagon appointee who has divided top Republicans – The Washington Post
The Trump Pentagon appointee who has divided top Republicans The Washington Post
Complaints filed to police watchdog over Met’s handling of Al Fayed abuse allegations
IOPC confirms complaints from three survivors of alleged sexual misconduct by late Harrods owner in addition to ongoing investigation
Survivors of abuse at the hands of the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have complained to a watchdog about how the Metropolitan police handled allegations.
More than 400 claims of sexual misconduct have been made against Al Fayed, including rape and human trafficking, dating between 1977 and 2014.
Continue reading...Saudi Arabia helicopter crash kills all 14 on board – Al Jazeera
Good-faith lawsuit? LDS church in fight with podcaster over Mormon name
Church sues excommunicated member over Mormon Stories podcast but John Dehlin says name free for all to use
Trademark changes and copyright infringement disputes take many forms. Dunkin’ Donuts changed its name to Dunkin’ because Donuts did not suggest the vigorous, on-the-go attitude the coffee company wants to project.
But what happens when a church changes its name, but former adherents continue to use the original term in ways it may not like?
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