US and EU sanctions against Israeli extremists mark pivotal step against far right pred 19 urami in 59 minutami International moves target two high-profile individuals with connections to senior figures in far-right politicsThe latest US and EU sanctions against individuals implicated in pro-settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territories represent a significant escalation in international moves against key far-right extremists in Israel.While previous sanctions announcements have focused on individual settlers implicated in violence – often little known outside Israel – the latest moves mark the targeting of two far more high-profile individuals with connections to senior figures in far-right politics in Israel, including national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Train driver who upskirted female passenger avoids jail sentence pred 20 urami in 11 minutami Paolo Barone found guilty of voyeurism after taking photos of sleeping woman on train to St Albans in 2022A Thameslink train driver who took photos up a woman’s skirt while she was asleep on a train has avoided jail, despite being found guilty of voyeurism.The driver, Paolo Barone, was on his way home from a shift in September 2022 when he saw that the woman, 51, had fallen asleep on a train travelling from London Blackfriars to St Albans in Hertfordshire. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Diplomacy and drones: how Israel’s reported attack on Iran unfolded pred 20 urami in 19 minutami Country’s leaders took time to weigh response to Iran’s strike under gaze of allies urging restraintMiddle East crisis: live updatesJust before dawn on Friday the explosions of air defence systems woke Iranians across the historic city of Isfahan. The breaking news alerts that followed roused people around the world, to worry that the region had moved a step closer to full-blown conflict.There was little doubt who had launched the attack, even before any details of what happened were clear. It came just days after an unprecedented barrage of Iranian drones and missiles were aimed directly at Israel, whose government had vowed it would respond. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Person apparently sets self on fire outside Trump trial in New York pred 20 urami in 24 minutami Images of person in flames shown on television and social media amid ex-president’s hush-money trialTrump trial – live updatesA man set himself on fire on Friday lunchtime outside the lower Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial in a hush-money case.Pictures of the person in flames were carried live on television and spread on X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
World leaders urge calm after Israeli drone strike on Iran ratchets up tension pred 20 urami in 32 minutami Tit-for-tat attacks have breached taboo of direct strikes on each other’s territory but Tehran has no ‘immediate’ plans to retaliateMiddle East crisis – live updatesWorld leaders urged calm on Friday after Israel conducted a pre-dawn drone sortie over Iran following a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks that crossed an important red line that has for decades held the Middle East back from a major regional conflict.There were tentative hopes late on Friday that the apparent strike attempt against an airbase near the city of Isfahan was sufficiently limited to fend off the threat of a bigger Iranian response and an uncontrolled spiral of violence between a nuclear power and a state with the capacity to develop nuclear weapons quickly. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Unilever to scale back environmental and social pledges pred 21 urami in 1 minuto Environmental groups say bosses should ‘hang their heads in shame’ as firm bows to pressure from shareholders to cut costsUnilever is to scale back its environmental and social aims, provoking critics to say its board should “hang their heads in shame”.The consumer goods company behind brands ranging from Dove beauty products to Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream was seen as perhaps the foremost proponent of corporate ethics – particularly under the tenure of its Dutch former boss Paul Polman. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hoopla around Truss and Rayner shows Michael Ashcroft still steering the debate pred 21 urami in 4 minutami Former Tory chair turned political biographer and publisher is behind books that have put former PM and Labour’s deputy in the spotlightsIf this week’s tetchy exchanges between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak at prime minister’s questions proved one thing, it was the ability of the veteran businessman, donor and publisher Michael Ashcroft to set the political agenda.While Starmer revelled in the publication of 10 Years to Save the West, which was written by the former prime minister Liz Truss and published this week by Ashcroft’s Biteback Publishing, Sunak wanted to focus on another Biteback book – Ashcroft’s own Red Queen?, a biography of Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Extremist Israeli settlers hit by EU and US sanctions pred 21 urami in 9 minutami Far-right group Lehava and several individuals accused of violence targeted in dual announcementsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe EU and the US have imposed tough new sanctions against key figures alleged to be behind extremist violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.The sanctions – announced within hours of each other by the EU and by the US Treasury – targeted a number of prominent individuals and organisations, most prominently Bentzi Gopstein, the leader of the Levaha group, who reports in the Israeli media suggest has acted as an adviser to the far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Muted Iranian reaction to attack provides short-term wins for Netanyahu pred 21 urami in 16 minutami Israeli prime minister’s main concern is his political survival but a multi-front war is still a strong possibilityMiddle East crisis – live updatesIn the aftermath of Iran’s unprecedented salvo of missiles and drones fired directly at Israel at the weekend, Benny Gantz, a centrist member of the Israeli war cabinet, said the country would respond “in the place, time and manner it chooses”.That turned out to be explosions in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday morning. Although no Israeli official has claimed responsibility for what seem to have been drone strikes on a military installation, Tehran, which had launched its attack after an airstrike on its consulate in Damascus, has downplayed the incident. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jeremy Hunt’s tax cut plans to face IMF scrutiny next month pred 21 urami in 36 minutami Annual health check to examine whether tax increases or spending cuts will be needed after electionJeremy Hunt’s plans for a fresh tranche of pre-election tax cuts will be put under the microscope when the International Monetary Fund conducts its in-depth look at the UK economy next month.IMF officials said the team sent to London to conduct its annual health check would be looking closely at whether tax increases or spending cuts would be needed after the general election. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
