A second term for Trump has chilling implications for critical independent journalism and the media the industry
Donald Trump’s second term promises to deliver historic threats to US press freedom – directly from the Oval Office.
The president-elect made it clear during the campaign that he had the media in his sights. He told a rally on the eve of the election that he “wouldn’t mind” if an assassin shot the journalists standing in front of him.
Hunter Biden cut the line while thousands of people who deserve similar considerations of mercy languish in prison
When Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would be pardoning his son, Hunter – who was facing sentencing in two federal criminal cases – he helped cement Donald Trump’s much-repeated argument that the American judicial system is rotten, politicized and in need of an overhaul.
It’s a stupid refrain, but there are some heavy issues with Biden’s choice to do this now. What are we to make of the hypocrisy of a president who promised he’d “never interfere in the dealings of the justice department”, and swore even up until six weeks ago that he would not pardon his son? Or the fact that he just delivered Trump and the Republican party the kind of ammunition they need to justify pardoning, say, the orchestrators of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol? More morally troubling is that there’s a million other worthy causes that Biden could be using his pardon powers for.
The president-elect’s two main arguments for his tariff threat – to reduce migration and to combat drugs – are not credible
“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff, and it’s my favorite word,” said Donald Trump last month. Pundits, politicians and financial markets are trying to figure out why, since he announced a week ago that he would impose tariffs on the United States’s three biggest trading partners: 25% for Mexico and Canada, and 10% for China.
One theory is that tariffs can be a beautiful distraction. Trump, more than any previous US president, has fed on distractions for years, both to campaign and to govern. He can move seamlessly from one distraction to the next, like a magician preparing for the opportune moment to pull a coin from where it appears to have been hidden behind your ear.
Governing body has yet to address captain’s concerns
‘I’ve not signed an over-rate sheet since the Ashes’
Ben Stokes has revealed a personal stand-off with the International Cricket Council about over-rate penalties, including his refusal as England captain to sign the relevant post-match paperwork as a protest against the system.
Speaking before the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington, and naming an unchanged England XI as they target an unassailable 2-0 lead, Stokes laid bare his frustrations at the sides being docked three World Test Championship points and 15% of their match fees for the sluggish, albeit four-day, series opener in Christchurch.
Triggered by an austerity budget, a no-confidence vote threatens fresh instability – and Macron’s future
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With threats mounting inside and outside the EU’s borders and Germany in paralysis, the last thing Europe needed was fresh upheaval besetting its other big power. Yet that is exactly what France is facing with a no-confidence vote expected today that could bring down the government.
The shaky minority administration assembled by Prime Minister Michel Barnier only three months ago began to wobble badly on Monday after he triggered an extraordinary constitutional mechanism to force through an austerity budget.
Czech foreign minister says Europe ‘needs to send a strong signal to Moscow that this won’t be tolerated’
A senior European diplomat said that up to 100 “suspicious incidents” in Europe this year could be attributed to Russia, as western officials grapple with how to respond to suspected Russian sabotage attempts.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with Nato counterparts in Brussels, the Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, stressed that Europe “needs to send a strong signal to Moscow that this won’t be tolerated”.
After a sizeable sinkhole appeared on a sleepy street in south Wales, here are some of the more incredible views of the phenomenon from Greenwich to Guatemala
Hedge fund with £197m stake leads push to prioritise Sydney exchange as FTSE 100 firm outlines ambitious copper production targets
An activist investor in Rio Tinto has demanded the miner scrap its primary London listing and focus on Australia, as the FTSE 100 firm outlined its long-term investment strategy.
Palliser Capital called on the metals and minerals firm to drop its “outdated” dual listing structure across the London and Sydney financial markets.
Figures in the art world including Amy Sherald and Marilyn Minter share their concerns ahead of Trump’s return
The Iraqi artist Vian Sora has seen the absolute worst that politics has to offer – she spent most of her first 30 years living under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in Iraq, then endured the destruction of her country following the US invasion in 2003. Years later, she surfaced in the United States as a refugee. Her art, which mixes bright, neon colors with motifs from the ancient history of her homeland, is a testament to the history that has scarred her and her resilience as a survivor.
Settled now in Louisville, Kentucky, along with the family that she worked tirelessly to bring over from Iraq, she is a part of an art community grappling with what their vocation will mean now that Donald Trump has been elected president. The stakes for Sora are not just creative; her family itself may be threatened by Trump’s presidency. “I am acutely frightened by the prospects of refugees and immigrants becoming persona non grata,” she said, “as my sister has an asylum case that remains in jeopardy.”
Those waging a war on woke have turned their attentions to twentysomethings’ supposed rejection of ham and mustard sarnies. Clearly this is what people mean by bread and butter issues ...
You are what you eat. And if you eat sandwiches? Then you’re probably woke, I’m afraid. While the convenience food may have been invented by a degenerate earl who, legend has it, didn’t want a proper meal to interrupt his gambling, some sarnies have now been deemed politically correct by the MailOnline – who are, of course, leading experts in wokeness. The MailOnline is getting flak for a recent headline that states gen Z “are ditching English classics like ham and mustard in favour of fancy woke fillings”.
What sort of PC fillings are we talking about? Quinoa, vegan camembert and kale on artisanal sourdough with a non-binary condiment (they-onnaise)? Nope. It seems what has ruffled the MailOnline’s feathers is … chicken. According to The Great British Sandwich Study, a wholesome survey conducted by the bread maker Allinson’s, older generations are partial to a ham sandwich while gen Z prefer chicken. Most boomers also like cheddar while younger consumers are fond of fancier fillings. Pretty inoffensive stuff, right? Yet somehow this has been packaged up into a culture wars piece. It’s funny how conservatives love to accuse the left of being snowflakes, yet they’re the ones getting upset by a sandwich.
After South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in the country, thousands of protesters took to the streets alongside the leading opposition Democratic party, urging MPs to head to the national assembly and vote it down. Following a dramatic night in which soldiers attempted to block MPs from entering parliament, lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill rejecting the martial law declaration, prompting the president to backtrack. Here is how the night unfolded in Seoul
Russia is engaging in a 'shadow war' with Nato states, which is reportedly part of a deliberate strategy to undermine the alliance’s ability to support Ukraine. At the same time Russia's military industrial complex is producing arms at a formidable rate, and with Nato countries struggling to keep up in term of numbers, the arms race is having a big impact on the frontline. Josh Toussaint-Strauss finds out how Russia is using hybrid warfare alongside boosting its arms industry to outpace Nato, and what this all means for the war in Ukraine
The Matildas return to winning ways as three emerging talents score their first international goals in the 3-1 victory over Taiwan
Peeeeeep! Here we go. And the Matildas are on the attack immediately.
The national anthems are complete, team photos have been taken, Matildas midfielder Chloe Logarzo has shed a tear on her return to the side, and the captains are running through their final instructions. We are about to get underway …
Footage released of spaniel chasing deer in ‘deeply distressing’ incident in Richmond Park
Police are looking for the owner of a pet dog that is believed to have chased and killed a deer in Richmond Park in south-west London.
Video footage of what appeared to be a Spaniel relentlessly chasing a deer was released by the Royal Parks Police following the incident on Monday at about 12.30pm near to Sheen Cross.
The Walmatjarri elder and blues musician Kankawa Nagarra has won the $50,000 Australian Music prize (AMP) for her debut album Wirlmarni, seeing off competition from Nick Cave, the Dirty Three and Amyl and the Sniffers.
Inspired by the UK’s Mercury prize, the AMP focuses “entirely on artistic merit” and aims to “financially reward and increase exposure” for Australian musicians who release the best album in a calendar year.
South Korean opposition parties said they had submitted a motion to impeach the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his short-lived declaration of martial law.
“We’ve submitted an impeachment motion prepared urgently,” representatives for six opposition parties including the main Democratic party said on Wednesday, adding they would discuss when to put it to a vote, but it could come as soon as Friday.
Former Sydney radio host Alan Jones allegedly committed 11 offences against one man between 2008 and 2009, including touching his inner thigh, rubbing his penis and kissing him on the mouth, according to police charge sheets.
The details of the 26 criminal charges allegedly committed by Jones against nine victims were revealed in a 26-page document made available to media.
Police confirm serial killer nurse is being interviewed about cases at a second centre, Liverpool Women’s hospital
Cheshire police have interviewed Lucy Letby in prison under caution over the alleged murders of more babies she cared for.
Letby, a former neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester hospital was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others, with two attempts on the life of one of her victims, in August 2023.
November was Ukraine’s worst month since September 2022 for territory lost to Russian forces. These charts and maps show the latest developments in the war
Ukraine lost an area equivalent to the size of New York City to Russian forces in November – the worst monthly figure for Ukrainian defenders since September 2022.
After the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia gained ground quickly before being pushed back in a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Last year, with the conflict mostly at a stalemate, Institute for the Study of War (ISW) data shows that Russian forces took 2,233 sq km (862 sq miles) of territory. Already in 2024 they have taken about 2,656 sq km.
A court in Japan has sentenced an Australian woman to six years in prison after finding her guilty of smuggling methamphetamine into the country, ignoring her claims that she had been the victim of an online romance scam.
Donna Nelson, from Perth, was found guilty of smuggling 2kg of the drug concealed beneath a false bottom in her suitcase when she arrived at Narita airport near Tokyo from Laos in January 2023.
Hong Kong carrier removes episode from entertainment system after social media complaint that it might breach national security laws
Hong Kong’s flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, has apologised over the inclusion of a Family Guy episode in its inflight entertainment system that features a scene depicting Tiananmen Square.
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