The Guardian – World

Republicans secure majority of votes to send articles introduced by Thomas Massie to committee, meaning there won’t be a full vote on chamber floorHouse Republicans block effort to impeach Pentagon chief Pete HegsethSign up for the US Breaking News emailDuring his press conference, Hegseth was resolute that the articles of impeachment are baseless, and that all attacks were carried out legally.“As for the articles themselves, Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen, everyone was a lawful operation ordered by the commander-in-chief, then ordered by myself, notified to Congress and executed by American warriors who did their jobs,” he said. “We destroyed terror regimes’ capabilities. We sank the boats carrying poison into our communities. We put a narco dictator in handcuffs. These are not high crimes. This is the job, and it’s the job well done.” Continue reading…

Former police officer accused of murdering Baird and Luke Davies cross-examined in NSW supreme courtGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBeau Lamarre-Condon has denied making a fake dating app account of Jesse Baird after their breakup, a court has heard.The former police officer is accused of fatally shooting Baird and his new partner, Luke Davies, with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home in Sydney on 19 February 2024. Continue reading…

Former CFMEU official Paul Tzimas tells inquiry he suffered fractured ankle and a colleague was left with major injuries and severe PTSDGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former union official has told a royal commission that underworld figure Mick Gatto attended a meeting that was called after the official and a colleague were seriously assaulted at a construction site.Paul Tzimas is the first witness associated with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union to appear before the royal commission into the integrity of major public and civil infrastructure construction projects in Victoria. Continue reading…

Women are reportedly upstairs neighbors of three Black students, including one who uploaded video to TikTokTwo white students at the University of Mississippi were captured making offensive monkey gestures in a widely panned Ring video that has prompted a school investigation.On Saturday, freshman Jakiyra Metcalf uploaded the surveillance clip from her apartment door to TikTok, showing one woman thumping her chest and babbling like a monkey. Another woman jumped into the camera’s view and mimicked the monkey noises. Continue reading…

The US actor died in Poland on Tuesday, ‘after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure’, his wife saidStacy Keach, one of America’s finest stage actors who became best known for playing scruffy private eye Mike Hammer on TV and whose career was nearly derailed after he was imprisoned in 1984 for trying to smuggle cocaine into Britain, has died aged 85.Keach died at home in Magdalenka, Poland on Tuesday, “after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure,” his wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach, said in a statement. Keach had previously suffered a heart attack onstage in Chicago in 2017. Continue reading…

Tech consultant convicted of second-degree murder in 2023 stabbing death of Cash App founderNima Momeni, the man convicted of murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee, has been sentenced to 16 years to life.Momeni, 42, has been in San Francisco’s county jail since late April of 2023, after he was arrested in connection with the stabbing death of Lee, who had created the mobile payment service and was serving as the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin at the time of his death. Continue reading…

Asic says customers should not have to check every transaction to ensure they receive the correct interestGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMacquarie Bank is set to pay a $14m court-imposed penalty after it admitted to breaking the Corporations Act with its “welcome rate” promotions.The penalty comes amid a crackdown by Australian Securities and Investments Commission over complex savings conditions that risk short-changing consumers grappling with the cost of living. Continue reading…

Trump-appointed judge Jeffrey T Kuntz partially denies British broadcaster’s motion to dismiss over editFederal judge Jeffrey T Kuntz ruled on Tuesday that Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC can proceed, denying in part the British broadcaster’s motion to dismiss the case. The president’s $10bn defamation lawsuit stems from the BBC’s splicing together of disparate comments he made before the 6 January US Capitol insurrection, as rendered in a Panorama documentary called Trump: A Second Chance.“Accepting the allegations in the complaint as true, the Court finds Trump plausibly pled damages where Trump alleges a defamatory documentary released toward the election caused reputational harm,” the Trump-appointed Florida district court judge wrote. “It would be difficult for the Court to accept a different framing without completely negating the significance and fragility of political elections.” Continue reading…

250ft arch risks ‘permanently diminishing’ memorials to ex-president and relatives at Arlington cemetery, lawsuit saysNine members of the Kennedy family political dynasty have sued the Trump administration, asking a federal judge to block the president’s plan to build a towering, gilded arch they say would cast a shadow over their relatives’ graves in Arlington national cemetery.The family’s complaint states that the 25oft triumphal arch, topped with a Lady Liberty-like winged figure, would “obstruct the clear sightline of the Kennedy Gravesites” and “fundamentally alter the experience of visiting” their family’s memorial at Arlington national cemetery. The project, they argued in a statement, risks “permanently diminishing these memorials”. Continue reading…

Head of major review into adult social care will say that governments have been ‘asleep at the wheel’ of vital systemSuccessive governments in England have been “asleep at the wheel” on social care, leaving the system to grow as a chaotic patchwork of local services with no clear vision, Louise Casey, the head of the social care commission, is to warn.Lady Casey, who is preparing proposals for a big review of adult social care, will say the result is that in effect “no one is in charge” of a system that provides vital services for millions of vulnerable people. Continue reading…

Ombudsman’s report says delays have profound consequences and limit users’ ability to lead independent livesDisabled people are having to wait up to two years to get a wheelchair because of delays involving NHS bodies and private firms that make them.The situation is revealed in a report by the parliamentary and health service ombudsman for England, Paula Sussex, who said hold-ups were having profound consequences and limiting wheelchair users’ ability to lead independent lives. Continue reading…

Thinktank Niesr says timid rate rise last week likely to make inflation more persistent feature of UK economyThe Bank of England is risking higher interest rates for longer after a hesitant response to rising inflation, according to leading thinktank.In a searing critique of the central bank’s tactics, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said a timid increase in interest rates last week was likely to mean inflation staying above the Bank’s 2% target until at least 2030. Continue reading…

Estranged father of Duchess of Sussex was arrested for keeping child sexual abuse material, authorities sayThe estranged father of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has been jailed after US authorities said he cut an electronic monitoring device off his ankle, days after his arrest for keeping child sexual abuse material in storage units in California.Thomas Markle, 82, was in custody awaiting a hearing in federal court in Tampa, Florida, first assistant US attorney Bill Essayli said. He was arrested shortly after he cut off the ankle bracelet at 1.45am on Tuesday, Essayli said. Continue reading…

New indictment claims Mohammad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian and Iraqi national, plotted while in US custodyUS federal prosecutors have said that an Iranian operative jailed in New York was responsible for the foiled attack on a UK air force base where American B-1 bombers were stationed.A new indictment alleged that Mohammad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian and Iraqi national, plotted while in custody and then transmitted plans – using coded messages in calls to his family – to two co-conspirators to buy large quantities of chemicals that could be used as explosives in an attack on the RAF Fairford base in September. Continue reading…

Arrests made after three properties were searched in relation to inquiry into late businessmanFrench police have made arrests after raiding three properties, including the Ritz hotel in Paris, in relation to an investigation into sexual abuse and trafficking by Mohamed Al Fayed.Several individuals were taken into custody for questioning last month and later released, according to the Paris public prosecutor’s office. Another property in Paris and one in Saint-Tropez, both with links to Fayed, were also searched in mid-October. Continue reading…

Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot has mandate to try to form a government – with Netanyahu waiting if he failsOpposition lawmakers have wasted no time after Israel’s new Knesset was sworn in, deploying their majority to seize control of the legislature from Benjamin Netanyhau and his allies.Although they are still too divided to form a government, the opposition requested a vote for a new speaker, who sets the Knesset’s agenda. Once Netanyahu loyalist Amir Ohana has been replaced, the six opposition parties will be able to work on key legislation even if they fail to broker a coalition. Continue reading…

Countries clash over Sea Lion project as Hamburg tribunal risks deepening sovereignty disputeThe people of the Falkland Islands face “devastating consequences” if Argentina is successful in blocking development of its offshore oilfield, the attorney general for England and Wales has told an international tribunal.Ellie Reeves, representing the British government at a hearing of the international tribunal for the law of the sea (Itlos), said billions of pounds vital to the future of the British overseas territory would be lost. Continue reading…

Hamish Falconer says UK has ‘not accepted principle’ of linking electricity trade to ‘cohesion fund’ but two sides will discuss issueBritain is willing to discuss paying towards infrastructure schemes in poorer parts of the EU in return for access to the European electricity market, according to the minister in charge of renegotiating the bilateral relationship.Hamish Falconer, the cabinet minister in charge of EU talks, told the Guardian he was sure the two sides would discuss the issue after this month’s summit, as ministers look to deepen ties with the union over the next few years. Continue reading…

New alliance with the Netherlands and Baltic and Nordic countries comes in response to 41% increase in Russian naval activity around UKRussian naval activity around the UK has increased by 41% in the first nine months of the year, a British defence minister has said, as the Royal Navy announced plans to step up a 10-country maritime defensive effort in response.Luke Pollard, the minister for defence readiness, described the figure as “a huge increase”, justifying a new drone and warship initiative from “the alliance of beer-drinking nations” – the UK, the Netherlands and the Baltic and Nordic countries. Continue reading…

US-led talks in Abu Dhabi break up after four hours but are expected to resume tomorrow as Zelenskyy says humanitarian issues were discussedUS officials seek ‘final end’ to Russia-Ukraine war as talks beginThe EU has said it stands ready “to come with a swift and united response” after France blamed Iran for a spate of cyber-attacks on supermarket freezers and chillers that caused millions of euros of damage.Speaking to journalists on Monday, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said “Europe-wide sanctions” would be imposed against those responsible as he announced France believed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were “responsible for this attack”.We acknowledge that France has attributed these (cyber-attacks) to Iran. Pending discussions with member states, we as (the) European Union, we stand ready to come with a swift and united response.We as the EU, we have consistently called on all states to refrain from malicious behaviour in the cyberspace. And we will continue to address such malicious behavior, making use of all the tools that we have also under the EU cyber diplomacy toolbox, including sanctions. Continue reading…