Democrats express ‘grave concerns’ over secretive ICE deportation flights

French football captain warned against prospect of far-right National Rally party gaining powerThe French football captain, Kylian Mbappé, has angered Marine Le Pen’s far-right party after expressing concerns about it winning next year’s presidential election.Mbappé, 27, who grew up in Paris’s northern suburbs, in a family with Algerian and Cameroonian heritage, told Vanity Fair this week: “I know what it means and what consequences it can have for my country when people like them come to power.” Continue reading...

Justices said decision was due to ‘improper external influences on the jury’ by a court clerk during the trialSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe South Carolina supreme court on Wednesday overturned the murder convictions of Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney, due to “shocking jury interference” and ordered a new trial in the 2021 killing of his wife and son.In a unanimous opinion, the justices said that “although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial” because of what they described as “improper external influences on the jury” by a court clerk during the trial, according to CNN. Continue reading...

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network says criticism of Israel is routinely misrepresented as antisemitic – and that Palestinian voices are being excluded from debateGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPalestinian voices are being excluded from the debate on social cohesion, the peak body for Palestinians in Australia has said after it was refused leave to appear before the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion.The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (Apan) made detailed submissions on the issues of antisemitism – including how it is defined – as well as on racism and social cohesion, but was told it did not have a “direct and substantial” interest in the public hearings, which are under way in Sydney. Continue reading...

Figures show the treasurer’s reforms will make the tax system fairer but some will not have the advantages enjoyed by their parents As Jim Chalmers was doing the round of the parliamentary press gallery on Tuesday, he was encouraging journalists to see the tax reforms in the budget as the most ambitious since the turn of the century.The core of the tax package is that instead of paying tax on just half of profits on the sale of investments held for more than a year, we will return to the pre-1999 version where investors would get a discount based on inflation. Continue reading...

Case attracts widespread attention as example of China balancing enthusiastic adoption of AI with job securityA court in China has ruled in favour of a worker whose company replaced him with artificial intelligence (AI), awarding him more than £28,000 in compensation.The worker, whose surname is Zhou, joined a tech company in the eastern city of Hangzhou in 2022 to work as a quality assurance supervisor overseeing large language models used in AI products. Continue reading...

Uline, owned by billionaire Republicans Richard and Liz Uihlein, halts construction of a new facility in KenoshaUline, a business and shipping supplies company owned by billionaire Trump supporters Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, is pausing the construction of a new distribution facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin, citing economic uncertainty.The construction pause comes in a key battleground state, where Trump won in 2016 and 2024, but lost to Biden in 2020. Continue reading...

Researchers say rise not inevitable and it is important to unpick what is behind differences in obesity trendsA continuing rise in obesity around the world is not inevitable, research suggests, with rates in some countries levelling off or potentially in decline.Researchers say focusing on what has been described as a global epidemic of obesity hides large variations in trends across different countries, sexes and age groups. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Young inmate took own life in Long Bay prison five months after independent inspector warned of ‘ligature points in cells across all areas’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA 19-year-old man has died in a Sydney prison unit that an independent watchdog previously recommended be closed because it “simply cannot provide a safe environment”.The man was on remand, awaiting a hearing or sentencing, when he hung himself on Sunday in Long Bay correctional centre’s Metropolitan Special Programs Centre (MSPC). Continue reading...

State officials told vendors at the facility to prepare for a breakdown of the tented camp beginning next monthSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailAn alliance of environmental groups and immigration advocates has welcomed what looks to be the imminent closure of Alligator Alcatraz, the notorious immigration jail in the remote Florida Everglades celebrated by Donald Trump for its harsh conditions.State officials told vendors at the facility on Tuesday to prepare for a breakdown of the tented camp beginning next month, the New York Times reported, citing its ongoing cost. Continue reading...

The country’s new leadership has pledged to reverse years of democratic backsliding, but they must act quickly• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereUnder blue skies on Saturday, crowds cheered as the EU flag was raised on the facade of the Hungarian parliament after a long absence. It was a powerful symbol on the day Péter Magyar was sworn in as Hungary’s prime minister, with a declaration that Hungarians had given his party a mandate to launch “a new chapter” in the country’s history, and change the system.The new government, seen as an experienced technocratic team, immediately signalled its new direction. “Hungary’s place is in Europe; naturally, firmly and without question,” foreign minister designate Anita Orbán said. Soon after, Hungary dropped its long-standing veto over sanctions against violent Israeli settlers – a sign it no longer sought to be outside the EU mainstream. Continue reading...

Lineup to include pastor who called Democratic platform ‘demonic’, Christian author who said he would die in fight to overturn 2020 election and rabbi who has defended tortureThe defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will this weekend headline a faith rally on the National Mall in Washington DC hosted by a private foundation operating in partnership with the White House, which includes some speakers that experts have characterized as Christian nationalist or extremist.Rededicate 250, billed as the faith-based component of America’s semiquincentennial, features speakers including a Detroit pastor who has called the Democratic platform “demonic” and launched his own memecoin after praying at Trump’s second inauguration; a rabbi who has defended the use of torture and authored an essay titled “The Virtue of Hate”; and a Christian author and radio host who said in 2020 he would die in the fight to keep Joe Biden out of the White House and was later named in a defamation suit over 2020 election fraud claims. Continue reading...

With US inflation at a three-year high, US president insisted he’s not focused on economic hardship sparked by the conflictSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailDonald Trump has said the growing financial pressure inflicted on Americans by the war on Iran is “not even a little bit” motivating him to make a peace deal with Tehran.With US inflation at a three-year high, and fuel costs still climbing after a sharp rise in oil prices, the US president said on Tuesday that he is not focused on the economic hardship sparked by the conflict. Continue reading...