RAF airbase in Cyprus hit, two more drones shot down as Cooper defends decision to allow US to use UK bases for Iran strikes – UK politics live

Posted on by

Foreign secretary confirms strike on Akrotiri base but says it ‘simply not true’ the UK is being dragged into an Iraq-style conflict

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge went on Sky News to criticise Keir Starmer and his handling of the conflict.

“I’ve been very clear for weeks that if we were in government and the US had asked for our permission, we would have given them permission…but what they got with the prime minister as we saw last summer with the other bombing of nuclear facilities is the worst of both worlds: sitting on the fence, not showing strong leadership, very unclear.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis live: Kuwait mistakenly shoots down three US fighter planes, as US says Iran’s ‘reckless’ attacks threaten regional stability

Posted on by

Israeli military says fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah could take ‘many’ more days; US crew bailed out safely after crash-landing, says Kuwait

Bahrain has said that one person was killed by shrapnel from an intercepted missile. The death of a foreign worker at Salman Industrial City, working on a boat there, marks the kingdom’s first reported fatality in the war.

Bahrain, home to the US navy’s 5th fleet, said it intercepted 61 missiles and 34 attack drones launched against it. It said some shrapnel had gotten through, striking buildings and the naval base.

Continue reading...

Khamenei’s death brings Khomeini’s grandson into focus – Reuters

Posted on by
  1. Khamenei's death brings Khomeini's grandson into focus  Reuters
  2. The C.I.A. Helped Pinpoint a Gathering of Iranian Leaders. Then Israel Struck.  The New York Times
  3. Khamenei’s Wife Dies From Injuries Sustained in U.S.–Israeli Attack, State Media Says  WSJ
  4. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led the Islamic Republic since 1989, is dead at 86  AP News
  5. Here are some of the contenders to be Iran's supreme leader after the killing of Khamenei  PBS
Posted in Uncategorized

Democrats thrown into disarray as US offensive on Iran creates cracks

Posted on by

Lawmakers from Sanders to Mark Kelly offer mixed feelings on Trump’s action and killing of Iranian supreme leader

As Republicans celebrated the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with praise for Donald Trump’s decisive action, Democrats faced their own divisions and a reckoning over how to present a united front.

Most were quick to condemn the US president for sidelining Congress to launch an illegal and unconstitutional war and demanded a swift vote on a war powers resolution that would restrain his military onslaught.

Continue reading...

Israel strikes Lebanon after Iran ally Hezbollah fires missiles over border

Posted on by

Conflict spreads as militant group targets Israel over Ali Khamenei killing and IDF responds with Beirut strikes

Israel has carried out heavy airstrikes on the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut after the Iran-backed Lebanese group launched missiles and drones towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Residents of Beirut were woken by the sounds of about a dozen blasts at 3am as Israel struck three different locations in the south of Lebanon’s capital. Bombings continued into the late hours of the morning, with the area almost entirely deserted by the time of a strike at around noon.

Continue reading...

Judge adjourns Paris trial of Islam scholar accused of raping three women

Posted on by

Former Oxford professor Tariq Ramadan did not appear in court as he was in a Geneva hospital, according to lawyers

The prominent Swiss academic and Islam scholar Tariq Ramadan has not appeared in court for the first day of his trial in Paris on charges of raping three women in France between 2009 and 2016.

The head judge in the case adjourned proceedings until Wednesday and ordered a medical report on Ramadan’s health, after his lawyers said he was in hospital in Geneva because of his multiple sclerosis.

Continue reading...

Drones hit Saudi oil refinery as Iran strikes targets across region – Euronews.com

Posted on by
  1. Drones hit Saudi oil refinery as Iran strikes targets across region  Euronews.com
  2. Iran strikes Qatar and Saudi energy sites as US jets shot down by Kuwaiti 'friendly fire'  BBC
  3. Iran attack on giant Saudi refinery pushes up oil prices  Axios
  4. Saudi Arabia’s Biggest Oil Refinery Halts After Drone Attack  Bloomberg.com
  5. Iran strikes Europe for first time and hits Saudi Aramco refinery  Seeking Alpha
Posted in Uncategorized

6 Voters React to Attacks on Iran Ahead of the Texas Primaries – The New York Times

Posted on by
  1. 6 Voters React to Attacks on Iran Ahead of the Texas Primaries  The New York Times
  2. Just one in four Americans say they back US strikes on Iran, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds  Reuters
  3. CNN poll: 59% of Americans disapprove of Iran strikes and most think a long-term conflict is likely  CNN
  4. CBS News poll on Americans' views on Iran prior to conflict  CBS News
  5. Voters split on whether Iran strikes were necessary: Survey  The Hill
Posted in Uncategorized

UK house prices rise in February as chancellor avoids ‘negative speculation’

Posted on by

Rachel Reeves’ upcoming spring forecast has not led to slowdown, as property tax rumours did in November

House prices in the UK increased in February as Rachel Reeves avoided a repeat of the pre-budget “negative speculation” that depressed the market, as she prepares to present the spring forecast on Tuesday.

The average price of a home rose to £273,176 last month, up by 0.3% from the month before, Nationwide said. It matched January’s monthly increase, and was above analysts’ forecasts of a 0.2% gain. The annual growth rate remained steady at 1%, the country’s biggest building society said.

Continue reading...

Missing Florida man found over a week later trapped in shoulder-deep mud

Posted on by

Local crews rescued Andrew Giddens, 36, near a borrow pit after he faced freezing weather without food or water

A Florida man who had been missing since Valentine’s Day was found over a week later trapped in mud up to his shoulders, authorities said.

Andrew Giddens, 36, had reportedly gone several days without food or water by then, and officials ultimately rescued him in dramatic fashion to end his nightmarish ordeal.

Continue reading...

European military installations are targeted in Iran retaliation – Defense News

Posted on by
  1. European military installations are targeted in Iran retaliation  Defense News
  2. As Trump Bombs Iran, America’s Allies Watch Fitfully From Sidelines  The New York Times
  3. Trump’s Iran War Widens, Forcing Reluctant Allies to Choose  Bloomberg.com
  4. GORDON SONDLAND: No more 'restraint': Europe must stand with America on Iran  Fox News
  5. ANALYSIS | U.S. allies are trying to walk diplomatic tightrope on Iran attacks | CBC News  CBC
Posted in Uncategorized

Hezbollah said to have launched drone that struck UK RAF airbase in Cyprus

Posted on by

Two more drones intercepted on Monday, authorities say, in what appears to be sustained targeting of base

A one-way attack drone – said to have been launched by Lebanon’s Hezbollah – struck the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus at about midnight on Sunday, prompting a partial evacuation of the military facility.

Two more drones were successfully intercepted on Monday morning, the Cypriot authorities said, as part of what appears to be a sustained targeting of the base on the third day of the war in the Middle East.

Continue reading...

Labour council accuses minister of ‘moral bankruptcy’ over social care dispute

Posted on by

Hartlepool leaders ‘furious and appalled’ after meeting with Steve Reed about growing cost of social care

The housing, communities and local government secretary has been accused by a Labour council of showing “arrogance, indifference and moral bankruptcy” towards children in social care.

In an unusually forthright attack, Labour leaders of Hartlepool council said they were “furious and appalled” at Steve Reed after a meeting with him last week. A cross-party delegation had asked the secretary of state for £3m to help alleviate the growing cost of social care.

Continue reading...

‘Simply not true’ UK is being dragged into Iraq-style conflict, says foreign secretary

Posted on by

Yvette Cooper says plans under consideration to evacuate about 300,000 Britons from Middle East amid Iran war

It is “simply not true” that the UK is being dragged into another Iraq-style conflict in the Middle East, Yvette Cooper has said, after an RAF base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian drone.

The attack was part of a barrage of strikes by Tehran around the Middle East after a US-Israeli attack on Saturday that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The UK foreign secretary confirmed ministers were considering possible plans to evacuate about 300,000 Britons from the region.

Continue reading...

Lack of a clear Iran plan could suck US into a long conflict: ‘Where does this go?’

Posted on by

Fears that decision to strike could be open-ended as Trump comes under pressure to spell out his vision for the country

Donald Trump is under pressure to spell out his vision for Iran amid the ongoing attacks on the country and reports of the first American casualties since the launch of unprovoked US and Israeli military strikes.

Trump’s critics are demanding that the White House provide greater clarity about what comes next. Opponents and analysts say the lack of a clear plan outlined so far has created a danger of the US being sucked into a long-lasting conflict of the sort that Trump repeatedly vowed to avoid.

Continue reading...

Pauline Hanson censured over Muslim comments but only two Coalition senators back motion

Posted on by

It is Hanson’s second censure within four months, this time over comments questioning whether there were ‘good’ Muslims

Pauline Hanson has been censured again by the federal Senate, with two Liberal senators crossing the floor to support a motion calling out the One Nation leader’s “inflammatory and divisive” recent comments about Australian Muslims.

Hanson dismissed the motion – her second censure within four months, after her stunt of wearing a hijab in the parliament last year – as a “joke”, theatrically slapping herself on the wrist before storming out of the chamber prior to the final vote. The Greens and much of the crossbench backed Labor’s censure motion, while the Coalition resolved to oppose it, saying censures should be reserved for the most serious conduct.

Continue reading...