All posts tagged: live

Sunak cancelling meeting after Greek PM’s Parthenon marbles comments ‘wasn’t a snub’, minister claims – UK politics live | Politics

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Rishi Sunak cancels meeting with Greek PM amid Parthenon marbles row Good morning. Rishi Sunak does not have all the qualities of a great human being but, among other virtues, he is generally calm and polite, and that makes his row with the Greek PM about the Parthenon marbles even harder to comprehend than it otherwise would be. The official explanation is that Sunak cancelled his meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis because Mitsotakis went back on a promise not to raise the issue of the sculptures during his three-day visit to the UK. But did anyone in No 10 seriously think that Mitsotakis would be able to get through media interviews without being asked about the subject? And so if the pretext for cancelling the meeting was flaky, was this all just some political ruse to present Sunak in a positive light ahead of the election. (One of the problems with political commentary at this stage of the political cycle is that it is assumed that everything is motivated by calculations about electoral positioning. Roughly 80% …

Geert Wilders says he is there for ‘everyone’ amid uncertainty over Dutch government formation – Europe live | Netherlands

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Wilders argues he is there for ‘everyone’ amid uncertainty over government formation Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader whose Party for Freedom (PVV) won the most seats in last week’s election, is upping efforts to portray himself as an acceptable possible prime minister. The Party for Freedom is a “broad” people’s party, he wrote on social media this morning. “2.4 million people voted for us. High and low educated, native and immigrant, employed, retired, young and old. From the city, the countryside,” he wrote, adding: “The PVV is there for everyone”. But despite his strong election performance, Wilders’ views remain controversial – and it is unclear if the PVV can reach agreements with other parties to form a coalition. Geert Wildersmeets the press as Dutch parties’ lead candidates meet for the first time after elections. Photograph: Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters Updated at 08.17 GMT Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Tom van der Meer, a professor of political science at the University of Amsterdam, said today that when …

Russia-Ukraine war live: ‘enemy attempts to storm Avdiivka from all directions’, says Ukrainian official | Ukraine

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Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Ten people have died in snowstorms in Ukraine, the country’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, has said. Icy winds and storms have swept in since Sunday, cutting power and blocking roads, particularly in the south. “As a result of worsening weather conditions, 10 people died in Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions,” Klymenko wrote on Telegram. “Twenty-three people were injured, including two children,” he added. A total of 411 settlements in 11 regions had lost power, and more than 1,500 vehicles had to be rescued, Klymenko said. Summary It is Tuesday and this is the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the Russian war against Ukraine. Here are the top developments. Russian forces are intensifying their drive to capture Avdiivka, trying to advance on all sides, according to Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka’s military administration. “The Russians have opened up two more sectors from which they have begun making assaults – in the direction of Donetsk … and in the so-called industrial …

Greed blamed for failure of Wilko rescue deal as MPs examine retailer’s collapse – business live | Business

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Introduction: “Everyone got a little bit greedy” as Wilko failed, claims Putman. Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Greed has been blamed for the failure to agree a rescue deal for Wilko, as MPs prepare to examine the collapse of the discount retailer this autumn. Doug Putman, the billionaire Canadian business executive, says he came very close to agreeing a deal that would have saved thousands of jobs, but was thwarted by the homeware chain’s suppliers. Putman told Radio 4’s Today Programme that he really thought he had a deal to take over Wilko, which closed its doors last month with the loss of around 12,000 jobs. But, he explains, companies – such as Wilko’s IT suppliers – refused to budge on fees they wanted to charge for the transition. Putman says these companies were “super inflexible” about cooperating for the “four months or so” that he would have needed their systems before transitioning to his own. Putman, who owns HMV, says: I thought …

Israel-Hamas war live: 33 Palestinians freed after 11 Israeli hostages released; Gaza truce extended by two days | Israel-Hamas war

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Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature 11 Israeli hostages freed, taken to Tel Aviv hospital Eleven Israeli hostages, nine children and two women, were freed by Hamas late Monday and taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv to reunite with their relatives. The fourth batch of hostages was made up of dual nationals of France, Germany and Argentina, according to Qatar. The Israel Defense Forces named the 11 released on Monday as Eitan Yahalomi, Sharon Kunio, three-year-old twins Emma and Yuly Kunio, Karina Engel, Mika Engel, Yuval Engel, Sahar Kalderon, Erez Kalderon, Or Yaakov and Yagil Yaakov. According to Haaretz, Diego Engel-Bert, the brother of Karina Engel-Bert and uncle of Mika Engel, 17, and Yuval Engel, 11 told Channel 12 News: We are all here glued to the screen and full of happiness and longing. It’s good to have a chest to stop the heart from escaping. We’re starting to see a little light in the darkness we are in, waiting for them to come so we …

Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live: Lehrmann returns to witness box for cross-examination | Law (Australia)

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Key events Questions about night The Project interview went to air Bruce Lehrmann stayed up all night and got home at 6.30am after The Project aired in 2021 but he said in his affidavit that he went home and couldn’t sleep, a federal court has heard this morning. After the court was shown a text he sent saying he was going home at 6.30am, he said: My recollection is I went home at some point, I clearly didn’t recall either going out again, and coming back home. Lehrmann agreed under cross-examination that he had presented at Royal North Shore hospital on the Tuesday after The Project aired on the Monday night. Network Ten’s barrister Matt Collins KC took Lehrmann to notes about a conversation he had with a doctor at the hospital when he was seen at 9pm. Collins put it to him that he had told the medical registrar he had been “contacted by multiple journalists on the morning of 15 February”. Lehrmann disagreed, saying he would not have told the doctor that. Lehrmann …

Fulham v Wolves: Premier League – live | Premier League

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Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Marco Silva wants his side to start well and play well. More news as I get it. Fulham make two alterations to the side comprehensively beaten by Villa before the internationals: Joao Palhinha is suspended for accumulating five bookings, so Harrison Reed somes in, while whiole TOm Cairney is prepared to Bobby De Cordova-Reed. I’m going to write these down, then we’ll have a think about what they mean. Teams! Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Bassey, Ream, Robinson; Iwobi, Reed; Cairney, Pereira, Willian; Jiménez. Subs: Rodak, Tete, Adarabioyo, Wilson, Ballo-Touré, De Cordova-Reid, Lukic, Vinicius, Harris. Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-5-2): Sá; Kilman, Bueno, Gomes; Semedo, Bellegarde, Lemina, Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Hwang, Cunha. Subs: Doherty, Traoré, Silva, Bueno, Kalajdzic, Jonny, Doyle, Sarabia, Bentley. Referee: Michael Salisbury (Penwortham) Updated at 19.09 GMT Preamble If you’re already getting 10 points deducted, getting them deducted this season is an absolute touch – which, on the face of things, has little to do with tonight’s match, given Everton played yesterday. But …

George Santos faces expulsion vote this week as Congress reconvenes – live updates | US Congress

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Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Senate Democratic leader says vote on Biden’s national security package could happen next week The Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has told lawmakers they could be voting on Joe Biden’s proposal to send more than $100b in aid to Israel and Ukraine and to pay for southern border security as soon as next week. “One of the most important tasks we must finish is taking up and passing a funding bill to ensure we as well as our friends and partners in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region have the necessary military capabilities to confront and deter our adversaries and competitors. It’s also critical that we provide humanitarian assistance for innocent Palestinian civilians who have nothing to do with Hamas. These national security priorities are interrelated and demand bipartisan Congressional action,” Schumer said in a “Dear Colleague” letter. “That’s why I intend to bring the President’s national security supplemental package to the floor as soon as the week of December 4th.” …

Dutch ‘scout’ for post-election talks resigns over fraud claims – Europe live | Netherlands

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Dutch ‘scout’ resigns Gom van Strien, the scout for the post-election talks, has stepped down. This comes after fraud claims surfaced over the weekend, which the scout has denied. The planned talks with party leaders have been cancelled for the moment. Updated at 09.10 GMT Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Polish president to swear in two-week government in apparent bid for delay Polish president Andrzej Duda is set to swear in a government under the leadership of conservative Law and Justice’s Mateusz Morawiecki today – despite the fact that it will almost certainly fall within two weeks. While Poland’s opposition won sufficient votes in last month’s election to form a government, Duda decided to first give Law and Justice the opportunity. The new government needs to win a vote of confidence within two weeks, but most likely will not have support in the Sejm. ????????⚖️Good morning, today Poland will have its weirdest government ever appointed around 4:30 PM Warsaw time – the doomed Morawiecki 2023 cabinet, with …

Badenoch says she expects ‘much tougher’ immigration curbs as Braverman adds to pressure on Sunak – UK politics live | Politics

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Kemi Badenoch says she backs tougher immigration measures as Suella Braverman’s ‘deal’ published Good morning. After Suella Braverman was sacked as home secretary, her allies told the Daily Express she had a “grid of shit” ready to unleash on Rishi Sunak. The latest instalment from this media planning schedule landed on the front page of the Daily Telegraph last night, and in his story for the paper Charles Hymas publishes details of what Braverman claims is the deal she agreed with Sunak when he offered her the Home Office in response for her backing in the Tory leadership contest last autumn. Hymas says: Mr Sunak agreed to a four-point migration plan as he sought her support during his leadership bid last year, allies of Mrs Braverman say. Chief among them was a pledge to raise the minimum salary threshold required for a foreign skilled worker visa from £26,000 to £40,000, a proposal that was publicly backed last week by Boris Johnson, the architect of the post-Brexit points-based migration system. A copy of the agreement on …