Month: September 2023

Serbia pulls some troops back from Kosovo border after warning from US | Serbia

Serbia has pulled some of its troops back from the Kosovo border after US warnings that it could face punitive measures for what the White House called an “unprecedented” buildup of Serbian troops and armour. The Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, announced he had ordered troops to be pulled back. In a statement to the Financial Times, he said any military action would be counterproductive, adding: “Serbia does not want war”. A Kosovan government official confirmed a partial Serbian withdrawal on Saturday, with the removal of troops and equipment that had been moved into positions around the border in the past five days, leaving behind a still significant force that is permanently based in the area. The withdrawal followed a public declaration of concern by the White House, a stern call to Vučić from the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the reinforcement of the Nato peacekeeping force in Kosovo, Kfor, with hundreds of British troops. In his conversation with Vučić, Blinken called for “​​immediate de-escalation” and a return to his previous agreement to normalise …

Kevin McCarthy’s Stunning Shutdown About-Face

Kevin McCarthy’s Stunning Shutdown About-Face

The speaker made a last-minute reversal to avert a government shutdown. It could cost him his job. Anna Moneymaker / Getty September 30, 2023, 5:52 PM ET For weeks, Speaker Kevin McCarthy seemed to face an impossible choice as he haggled over spending bills with his party’s most hard-line members: He could keep the government open, or he could keep his job. At every turn, McCarthy’s behavior suggested that he favored the latter option. He continued accepting the demands of far-right Republicans to deepen spending cuts and dig in against the Democrats, making a shutdown at tonight’s midnight deadline all but a certainty. Read: Why Republicans can’t keep the government open With just hours to go, however, the speaker abruptly changed course, defying his conservative tormentors and partnering with Democrats to avert a shutdown. The House this afternoon overwhelmingly approved a temporary extension of federal funding. If the Senate approves the House legislation tonight, as it is expected to, the deal will put off a shutdown for at least 45 days and buy both parties …

British troops could deploy to Ukraine for first time to train soldiers, says Grant Shapps | Ukraine

The new defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said he has held talks with army leaders about deploying British troops within Ukraine for the first time for a training programme. Shapps, who met Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for talks in Kyiv earlier this week, said the proposal being discussed would reduce the reliance on the UK and other Nato members’ bases. The programme of training for Ukraine’s military, supported by 10 other nations, has taught skills to more than 26,500 recruits and is on track to have trained more than 30,000 soldiers by the end of the year, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Shapps also disclosed that he talked to Zelenskiy about how the navy could help to defend commercial vessels from Russian attacks in the Black Sea. After a briefing with Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, the chief of the general staff, and other senior personnel at Salisbury Plain, Shapps said: “I was talking today about eventually getting the training brought closer and actually into Ukraine as well. …

Tory turmoil as third of voters desert party and factions launch rival manifestoes | Conservatives

The coalition of voters that delivered the Tories a big majority at the last election is crumbling, according to dramatic new evidence that the party is losing support in key battlegrounds across England. The findings, revealed in a special poll of 2019 Tory voters for the Observer, comes as Rishi Sunak faces a series of competing and contradictory demands from warring Tory factions ahead of the party’s conference in Manchester. With the prime minister also attempting to breathe new life into his government during his first conference as leader, MPs in “red wall” seats will present him with a plea to “turbocharge” the northern economy after the HS2 fiasco, while figures on the right are to present their own manifesto this week. Liz Truss is also set to demand lower taxes and a smaller state. It comes as exclusive polling for the Observer reveals that a third of those who voted Conservative in 2019 now intend to switch to other parties. It suggests that the Tories have lost voters in crucial areas – their southern …

Canadian breaks speed record for eating 50 Carolina reapers | Guinness World Records

A Canadian man who broke his own world record for the fastest time to eat 50 of the world’s hottest chilli pepper went on to eat 85 more. On Tuesday, Guinness World Records announced that Mike Jack of Canada consumed 50 Carolina reapers, the world’s hottest pepper with 1.64m Scoville heat units, in 6 minutes and 49.2 seconds. For comparison, a jalapeño has between 2,500 and 8,000 SHUs. Video posted online by Guinness World Records showed Jack donning a red bandana and gloves as he scarfed down the peppers in front of a blowing fan, at times closing his eyes tightly and breathing heavily. Onlookers could be heard cheering him on and yelling, “Go, Mike!” Once Jack was done eating the 50 peppers – an average of one every eight seconds – he went on to eat 85 more. In total, Jack consumed 135 Carolina reapers. The stunt helped propel him to second place on the League of Fire’s reaper challenger leaderboard, which tracks the highest number of Carolina reapers eaten in a single sitting. …

Darcy Graham runs in four as Scotland roar to 12-try rout of Romania | Rugby World Cup 2023

Reports of Scotland’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Romania were routed here, comprehensively outclassed by opponents that tore into their task with determination and precision. The Oaks have conceded 242 points in three matches and their limitations have been ruthlessly exposed. All that matters for Scotland, though, is that a second consecutive bonus-point victory has set up an unmissable encounter with Ireland in Paris next Saturday. Step by step, they have created a chance to earn what had looked an unlikely place in the last eight. They scored 12 tries, the attacking bonus point was wrapped up six minutes before half-time, and a team showing 13 changes might have passed for the first XV. The fly-half Ben Healy was flawless off the tee, booting 11 conversions and scoring a try in the second half, finishing with 27 points. Bath’s Cameron Redpath and Gloucester’s Chris Harris made hay in midfield while the super-charged wing Darcy Graham grabbed a hat-trick before half-time and ended with four. Space and time will be harder to come by against Ireland but …

How the U.S. Ended Up on the Brink of Government Shutdown

How the U.S. Ended Up on the Brink of Government Shutdown

September 30, 2023, 5 PM ET Editor’s Note: Washington Week with The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here. The American government on the brink of shutdown: With the federal government about to run out of money, we explore how the country got to this point, who will be affected, and how U.S. support for Ukraine has become a divisive political issue. Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic and moderator, Jeffrey Goldberg, this week to discuss these issues and more: Anne Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlantic; Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent at The New York Times; Leigh Ann Caldwell, an anchor at Washington Post Live and a co-author of the Early 202; and Asma Khalid, a White House correspondent at NPR and a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Read the full transcript here. Source link

US House passes stopgap funding bill under the wire without funding for Ukraine | US Congress

The House passed a bill Saturday to extend government funding for 45 days, sending the legislation to the Senate with just hours left to avert a federal shutdown. Unless Joe Biden signs a funding bill before midnight, the government will shut down. The bill passed the House in an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 335 to 91, with 209 Democrats joining 126 Republicans in supporting the legislation. Ninety Republicans opposed the bill. The bill – unveiled by the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, just hours before the final vote – would extend funding through 17 November and allocate $16bn for disaster aid. The House bill does not include additional funding for Ukraine, which has become a source of outrage among hard-right lawmakers. McCarthy introduced the bill under suspension of the rules, meaning he needed the support of two-thirds of House members to advance the proposal. Although Democrats criticized the bill’s lack of Ukraine funding, they ultimately provided McCarthy with the support needed to get the legislation across the finish line. Speaking after the vote, McCarthy expressed …

Tinder goes ultra-premium, Amazon invests in Anthropic and Apple explains its new AirPods

Tinder goes ultra-premium, Amazon invests in Anthropic and Apple explains its new AirPods

It’s that time of the week again, folks — time for Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s newsletter that recaps the past few days in tech. The news cycle never sleeps, and it’s exhausting — this reporter knows all too well. But fortunately, neither does WiR. Our curated list of the top stories this week will get you up to speed in no time. On the agenda for this blustery, fall-vibes edition of WiR (it’s really starting to feel like autumn on the East Coast), we have Tinder’s wildly expensive ($499 per month) new premium tier, Amazon investing up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic, and Apple executives breaking down the AirPods’ new features. Elsewhere, we cover Reddit starting to pay users real money for high-quality posts; OpenAI raising capital and giving ChatGPT a “voice”; Telegram’s metamorphosis into a super app, and Uber becoming tighter with taxi companies. As always, there’s a lot to get to, so let’s hop to it. And if you haven’t already, sign up here to get WiR in your inbox every …

Three teenagers arrested after boy fatally stabbed in Luton | UK news

Three teenagers have been arrested after a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Luton on Friday. Police were called to Nunnery Lane, Bedfordshire, after reports that three teenagers had been stabbed at about 7pm. One boy, who has not yet been named, was taken to hospital with multiple stab wounds and pronounced dead shortly after. A second teenager was injured in the attack and is being treated at hospital for potentially life-threatening injuries while another was also seriously injured. Three teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody. Earlier on the same day, at 4pm, two people were stabbed in Sundon Park Road, an incident which police say is connected. One teenager received life-threatening injuries while the other is said to have serious but not life-threatening injuries. One man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the first incident and currently remains in police custody for questioning. DI Lee Martin, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “Appalling violence in Luton cost …