Pope says democracy ‘not in good health’ as he warns against populists
At an event in northeast Italy, Pope Francis says a ‘crisis of democracy’ is having an impact on several nations around the world. Pope Francis has decried the state of democracy and warned against “populists” during a short visit to Trieste in northeast Italy. Speaking at an annual Roman Catholic Church convention on social affairs on Sunday, Francis noted that many people felt excluded from democracy, with the poor and the weak left to fend for themselves. “It is evident that democracy is not in good health in today’s world,” he said, denouncing polarisation and partisanship. “Ideologies are seductive. Some people compare them to the Pied Piper of Hamelin. They seduce you, but they lead you to deny yourself,” he said, referring to a fairy tale where a rat catcher uses his magic powers to steal away a town’s children. He said the “crisis of democracy” afflicted various nations, but did not give any specific examples. Ahead of last month’s European Parliament elections, Catholic bishops in several countries also warned about the rise of populism and nationalism, with far-right parties already holding the reins to power in Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands. The pope’s speech came on the day France holds a parliamentary run-off election, with the far-right National Rally (RN) expected to take the biggest share of the vote, a month after populist parties scored gains in European Union elections. Francis urged people to “move away from polarisations that impoverish” and hit out at “self-referential power”. “Let us not be deceived by easy solutions. Let us instead be passionate about the common good,” the pope said, highlighting the damage caused by political “corruption and illegality”. The pope, who himself rules as an absolute monarch in the tiny Vatican state, said it was also important to teach children the importance of democratic values, warning that “indifference is a cancer of democracy”. “I am concerned about the small number of people who went to vote. Why is it happening?” he asked. Pope Francis concluded his visit to Trieste with a mass in front of some 8,500 worshippers in the city’s main public square before heading back to the Vatican in the early afternoon. As is now normal, the 87-year-old pontiff got around the region mainly by wheelchair and appeared in good form. In September, he is due to fly more than 32,000km (19,900 miles) on a 12-day journey around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore – the longest of his 11-year papacy. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
Tennis: Iga Swiatek defeated by Putintseva in the third round at Wimbledon
The world’s top-ranked female player continued her grasscourt nightmare at Wimbledon, losing in three sets to Yulia Putintseva. Iga Swiatek has never had much affection for grass and any hope that this year’s Wimbledon would kindle a blossoming love affair for the surface went up in flames as the world number one was sent tumbling out in a 3-6 6-1 6-2 defeat by Yulia Putintseva. On paper, the fiery 35th-ranked Kazakh should have been easy pickings for the top-seeded Swiatek on Saturday, who had not dropped a set in their previous four meetings and came into the encounter on a 21-match winning streak that included banking a fifth grand slam title at the French Open. Yet slick grass courts just do not suit Swiatek and in a cauldron atmosphere on Court One, Swiatek disintegrated under huge pressure from Putintseva, who dusted herself down after losing the first set to launch an attacking barrage that the Pole could not contain. The huge Swiatek groundstrokes that had inflicted so much punishment in the opener were now being returned with interest, while the Pole’s movement seemed suddenly sluggish, her feet a fraction of a second slower to adjust to the ball. Putintseva broke twice in the second set and twice more in the third before sealing a three-set victory to set up a fourth-round clash against Jelena Ostapenko. For Swiatek, it was yet another disappointment at Wimbledon, where last year’s run to the quarterfinals remains her best effort. It was not, therefore, as big a shock as it may have seemed. None of her 22 singles titles has come on grass, a surface on which she has never even reached a final. Another year of disappointment at Wimbledon for Iga Swiatek. Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan shakes hands after defeating Swiatek, right, in their third-round match on day six of The Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club [Susan Mullane/USA TODAY Sports] Adblock test (Why?)
Will Iran’s new president fulfil his promises?
Massoud Pezeskhian has promised to bring changes at home and engage leaders abroad. Iran has elected a new president. Masoud Pezeshkian has been described by many as a moderate candidate – who’s been promising social reforms and engagement with the West. But in the Iranian system, it is the supreme leader – not the president – who has the final say. So, will Pezeshkian’s election bring any shift in policy? And how will he deal with the many economic and political challenges facing Iran? Presenter: Dareen Abughaida Guests: Foad Izadi – Head of the American Studies Department at the University of Tehran and a specialist in US-Iran-related issues Roxane Farmanfarmaian – Lecturer in modern Middle East politics at the University of Cambridge and specialist in Middle East security Mehran Kamrava – Professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar Adblock test (Why?)
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso military leaders sign new pact, rebuff ECOWAS
The military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have hailed a newly signed treaty as a step “towards greater integration” between the three countries, in the latest showing of their shift away from traditional regional and Western allies. During a summit in the Nigerien capital of Niamey on Saturday, the three leaders signed a confederation treaty that aims to strengthen a mutual defence pact announced last year, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The signing capped the first joint summit of the leaders – Niger’s General Abdourahmane Tchiani, Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traore, and Mali’s Colonel Assimi Goita – since they came to power in successive coups in their bordering West African nations. It also came just months after the three countries withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc in January. Speaking at the summit on Saturday, Tchiani called the 50-year-old ECOWAS “a threat to our states”. The West African economic bloc had suspended the three countries after their respective military takeovers, which occurred in July 2023 in Niger, September 2022 in Burkina Faso and August 2021 in Mali. ECOWAS also imposed sanctions on Niger and Mali, but the bloc’s leaders have held out hope for the trio’s eventual return. “We are going to create an AES of the peoples, instead of an ECOWAS whose directives and instructions are dictated to it by powers that are foreign to Africa,” Tchiani said. Burkina Faso’s Traore also accused foreign powers of seeking to exploit the countries. The three nations have regularly accused former colonial ruler France of meddling in ECOWAS. “Westerners consider that we belong to them and our wealth also belongs to them. They think that they are the ones who must continue to tell us what is good for our states,” he said. “This era is gone forever. Our resources will remain for us and our population’s.” For his part, Mali’s Goita said the strengthened relationship means an “attack on one of us will be an attack on all the other members”. Shifting influence Reporting from Abuja on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris noted that the three military leaders met just a day before ECOWAS was set to have a meeting in the capital of Nigeria. Efforts to mediate the countries’ return to the bloc were expected to be discussed, Idris said. “Many people believe that the meeting in Niger was to counter whatever is coming [from] ECOWAS and to also outline their position: That they are not returning to the Economic Community of the West African States,” he explained. Idris added the newly elected president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, recently visited the three countries in an informal capacity in an effort to mend the ties. “However, it’s not clear whether or not he’s got a positive response,” he said. Adama Gaye, a political commentator and former ECOWAS communications director, said the creation of the three-member Alliance of Sahel States has “weakened” the economic bloc. Still, Gaye told Al Jazeera that “despite its real-name recognition, ECOWAS has not performed well when it comes to achieving regional integration, promoting intra-African trade in West Africa and also in ensuring security” in the region. “So this justifies the feeling of many in West Africa – [the] ordinary citizenry and even intellectuals – [who are] asking questions about the standing of ECOWAS, whether it should be revised, reinvented,” he said, urging the bloc to engage in diplomacy to try to bridge the rift. Violence and instability The Niamey summit also came a day before the United States is set to complete its withdrawal from a key base in Niger, underscoring how the new military leaders have redrawn security relations that had defined the region in recent years. Armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have jockeyed for control of territory in all three countries, unleashing waves of violence and spurring concern in Western capitals. But following the recent coups, the countries’ ties to Western governments have frayed. French troops completed their withdrawal from Mali in 2022, and they left Niger and Burkina Faso last year. Meanwhile, US Air Force Major General Kenneth Ekman said earlier this week that about 1,000 military personnel would complete their withdrawal from Niger’s Air Base 101 by Sunday. The US is also in the process of leaving a separate, $100m drone base near Agadez in central Niger, which officials have described as essential to gathering intelligence about armed groups in the region. While pushing out former Western allies, the military leaders in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have increasingly pursued security and economic ties with Russia. However, it remains unclear if the new approach has helped to stem the violence that has plagued the countries, which are home to about 72 million people. In 2023, Burkina Faso saw a massive escalation in violence, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) tracker. In Niger, slight gains against armed groups largely backslid following the coup, according to ACLED. Meanwhile, an offensive by Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries saw “elements” of the Russian-government-linked group “involved in the indiscriminate killing of hundreds of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, and looting of property, as well as triggering mass displacement”, ACLED said. About three million people have been displaced by fighting across the countries. Adblock test (Why?)
Keir Starmer says scrapping UK’s Rwanda migrant deportation plan
Previous Conservative government’s policy was ‘never a deterrent’, new PM says, calling it ‘dead and buried’. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will not continue with the previous Conservative government’s policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. “The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It’s never been a deterrent,” Starmer told his first news conference on Saturday, after his Labour Party won a landslide in the general election. “I’m not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don’t act as a deterrent,” he told reporters after a cabinet meeting, describing the plan as a “problem that we are inheriting”. Parliament approved the contentious law in April, declaring Rwanda a safe third country, which bypassed an earlier UK Supreme Court ruling that said the scheme was unlawful on human rights grounds. The authorities started detaining asylum seekers in May. Then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who promised to stop migrants and asylum seekers arriving on small boats from mainland Europe, had pushed for the policy. Rights activists and critics of Sunak’s government had slammed the plan to deport people to Rwanda rather than handle asylum claims at home as inhumane. They raised concerns about the East African country’s own human rights record and said asylum seekers faced the risk of being sent back to countries where they would be in danger. But when faced with opposition in parliament, Sunak said in April, “No ifs, no buts. These flights are going to Rwanda.” Tens of thousands of asylum seekers – many fleeing wars and poverty in Africa, the Middle East and Asia – have reached Britain in recent years by crossing the English Channel in small boats on risky journeys organised by people-smuggling gangs. During his Saturday news conference, Starmer said the Rwanda scheme was widely expected to fail. “Everyone has worked out, particularly the gangs that run this, that the chance of ever going to Rwanda was so slim – less than 1 percent,” he told reporters. “The chances were of not going, and not being processed, and staying here therefore in paid-for accommodation for a very, very long time.” Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, had called on the new Labour government to follow through on its campaign promise to scrap the Rwanda pact. “Our asylum system must be made to focus on delivering as fairly and efficiently as possible the security and certainty to which every refugee is entitled however they may arrive,” Callamard wrote in a social media post. That, she added, is “just as demanded by our international obligations, the rule of law and basic respect for every human person”. But Suella Braverman, a Conservative hardliner on immigration who is a possible contender to replace Sunak as party leader, criticised Starmer’s plan. “Years of hard work, acts of Parliament, millions of pounds been spent on a scheme which had it been delivered properly would have worked,” she said on Saturday. “There are big problems on the horizon which will be, I’m afraid, caused by Keir Starmer.” With a record number of people coming ashore to the United Kingdom in the first six months of the year, it is also unclear what Starmer will do differently to tackle the migration crisis. Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, told The Associated Press news agency that the Labour government is going to need to find a solution to the small boats coming across the English Channel. “It’s going to have to come up with other solutions to deal with that particular problem.” Meanwhile, reporting from London on Saturday afternoon, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands said that apart from the Rwanda policy announcement, it remains unclear what Starmer’s Labour government is going to look like. “There was a lot of talk about change that the government is going to bring to British life and British politics,” said Challands, referring to the news conference. “His main theme is that the years of Conservative tumult are done,” Challands added. “And for the first time in a long time, the country is going to be treated first by the government in power, rather than the party that it comes from.” Adblock test (Why?)
The EU’s support for Israel makes it complicit in genocide
It has been nine months since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, injured more than 86,000, and displaced more than 1.9 million. Despite frequent words of condemnation, European leaders have done little to stop it. Worse still, many European countries continue to stand by Israel economically and militarily. As the United States is considered the biggest backer of the Israeli war machine, it is easy to discount European support. A closer look at the extent of European financial and military assistance for Israel, however, lays bare the EU’s complicity in the continuing genocide in Gaza and various atrocities in the occupied West Bank. Supplying arms used for genocide The EU is the second-largest arms supplier to Israel after the US. According to figures from the European External Action Service’s COARM database, between 2018 and 2022, EU member states sold arms worth 1.76 billion euros ($1.9bn) to Israel. Arms have continued to flow from EU countries to Israel even after the International Court of Justice made an interim ruling in January that the Israeli army was plausibly committing genocide. The EU has a system in place to implement arms embargoes but has refused to apply to Israel, leaving member states to slowly implement measures under pressure from civil society with scant political will to do so and falling far short of what is required. Some EU countries including Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium’s Wallonia region, have announced that they would suspend arms transfers to Israel, but some of these statements were not followed up with timely concrete actions, or when they were, these amounted to temporary or partial arms transfer suspensions, which fell far short of a full arms embargo on Israel. According to SIPRI, Germany is by far the largest European supplier, providing Israel with 30 percent of its weapons between 2019 and 2023. Exports increased tenfold last year from 32.3 million euros ($35m) to 326.5 million euros ($354m) with the majority of licences granted after October 7. According to EU data, between 2018 and 2022 there were other large European suppliers to Israel. These included Romania which issued export licences worth 314.9 million euro, Italy – with 90.30 million euros ($98m), the Czech Republic – with 81.55 million euros ($88.3m) and Spain – with 62.9 million euros ($68.1m). The EU has not yet released data for arms transfers for 2023. Beyond supplying Israel directly, EU arms are often indirectly exported to Israel via the US. Although arms exports are subject to end-user agreements, the US refuses to comply with this stipulation and EU countries don’t enforce it. This makes it impossible to track the full extent to which EU arms and components exported to the US eventually end up in weapons systems shipped to Israel. Nevertheless, known EU military exports to Israel can be directly connected to the genocide in Gaza. Israeli’s Merkava tanks, operating in Gaza since the ground invasion began in late October, are using engine components manufactured by German company MTU (a subsidiary of Rolls Royce), while Sa’ar corvettes, warships built by German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, have been active in the waters surrounding the besieged strip. British company BAE Systems, in conjunction with German company Rheinmetall, manufactures M109 self-propelled howitzers which have been used to shell densely populated areas in Gaza. Amnesty International has found evidence that these artillery weapons also deployed white phosphorus munitions, which can burn skin down to the bone and cause organ dysfunction; their use in civilian areas is restricted under international law. US-manufactured F-35 fighter jets used to carpet-bomb Gaza rely on European components with at least 25 percent of spare parts being exported directly to Israel from Europe. Only the Netherlands has placed restrictions on these following a legal case taken by civil society organisations, which was won on appeal. European public money for Israeli arms European countries not only export weapons to Israel amid growing international consensus that Israel is carrying out genocide in Gaza, but they are also spending public money to support the arms manufacturers that produce them. New research by the Transnational Institute and Stop Wapenhandel reveals that European taxpayers’ money to the tune of 426 million euros ($461.7m) is currently funding companies that arm Israel. German company Rheinmetall, which sends tank shells to Israel, has received over 169 million euros ($183m) while Finnish-Norwegian company Nammo, whose shoulder-fired “bunker buster” rocket launchers are exported to Israel has received more than 123 million euros ($133m). Other beneficiaries include Leonardo, ThyssenKrupp, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems, and Renk. European public money is also going into financing security and defence projects that benefit Israel’s war machine. Since 2008, 84 Israeli entities have received 69.39 million euros ($75m) from a total of 132 security projects. The Ministry of National Security has participated in the most EU-funded security projects, despite systematically violating the human rights of Palestinians for decades. In addition, much of the knowledge production that has been used in the development of Israel’s digital war tools currently deployed in Gaza was likely honed and perfected in universities benefitting from European research funding. Since October 7, the EU has granted 126 million euros ($136.5m) in funding to 130 research projects involving Israeli entities. Of these projects, two are providing a total of 640,000 euros ($693,000) to arms company Israel Aerospace Industries. In the years preceding October 7, 2023, Israeli entities received 503 million euros ($545m) under Horizon Europe (2021-2023). In addition, EU countries have been spending taxpayers’ money on Israeli arms for decades, thus supporting its military-industrial complex. Israel is among the world’s top 10 arms exporters, with roughly 25 percent of its defence exports going to European countries. Israeli companies regularly market their products as “battle-tested”, a strategy that is legitimised by EU countries when they do business with them. Drones are by far the most popular product and the EU’s border guard agency Frontex leases them from Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for surveillance flights over
Beryl to intensify as deadly storm barrels towards Texas coast
Storm is expected to again reach hurricane strength over Gulf of Mexico after killing at least 11 across the Caribbean. Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to strengthen as it heads towards the US state of Texas, after cutting a deadly trail across the Caribbean. The storm is expected to hit the coast of Texas on Sunday night, two days after it made landfall in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Beryl was downgraded to a tropical storm, but it is expected to again strengthen to a hurricane as it travels over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. While no deaths were reported in Mexico, Beryl killed at least 11 people across the Caribbean after its strong winds and heavy rains lashed Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and northern Venezuela. As it swept over the region, the storm rapidly grew to a Category 4 hurricane before briefly reaching Category 5 intensity, according to the United States-based National Hurricane Center (NHC). That made it the fiercest storm ever recorded that early in the Atlantic Hurricane Season, a reality scientists say has been fuelled by human-caused climate change. Waves crash as Hurricane Beryl strikes in Playa del Carmen, Mexico [Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters] Beryl is expected to make landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane somewhere between the city of Brownsville and north of Corpus Christi, NHC senior specialist Jack Beven told the Associated Press news agency. However, he cautioned the storm could strengthen further “if Beryl stays over water longer” than expected. He said the storm could see its winds increase from between 27 to 37 kilometres per hour (17 to 23 mph) over the next 24 hours. The agency warned of storm surges in northeastern Mexico and along the coast of Texas, as well as flash flooding and life-threatening rip currents. Beryl had caused property damage and power outages across Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, the country’s top tourist destination. 4am CDT July 6th Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Beryl: Forecast to strengthen later this weekend in the Gulf of Mexico & become a #hurricane again before impacting portions of northeastern Mexico and the Texas coast Sunday night into Monday. Latest: https://t.co/RX183IoxPZ pic.twitter.com/Q9lBmHgbd2 — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) July 6, 2024 Hundreds of tourists were evacuated from hotels along the coast as the storm approached, with the military deploying about 8,000 troops to Tulum with food supplies and 34,000 litres of purified water. At Cancun airport, about 100 domestic and international flights scheduled between Thursday and Friday were cancelled. The storm had travelled along the coast of northern Venezuela, where three people were killed. Three others were killed in Grenada, where two islands – Carriacou and nearby Petite Martinique – were hardest hit. Tevin Andrews, the minister for the islands, on Friday appealed to the United Nations and humanitarian organisations for “anything that would allow a human being to survive”. The neighbouring Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was also badly hit, Simon Springett, the top UN humanitarian official for the eastern Caribbean and Barbados, told AP. At least three more people were reported killed in the country. Olive Rowe stands among the remnants of her home in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in St Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica [Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters] Two people were also killed in Jamaica, where thousands remained without power. Atypically warm waters – which fuel major storms – have largely been blamed for Beryl’s intensity. North Atlantic waters remain between 1-3 degrees Celsius (1.8-5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Adblock test (Why?)
Israel continues Gaza attacks, says ‘gaps’ remain in renewed truce talks
An Israeli delegation has travelled to Qatar after a new Hamas proposal earlier this week generated renewed hope for a truce agreement, as fighting continues to rage across Gaza. The Israeli negotiators, led by spy chief David Barnea, met mediators in Doha on Friday, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The talks were set to resume next week, the office said, when another negotiating team would be deployed to Qatar. The office added there were still “gaps between the parties” in their positions. The latest development came after Hamas on Wednesday said it had presented new “ideas” to Qatari, Egyptian and Turkish mediators on how to reach a ceasefire and captive-exchange deal to halt the nine-month-long conflict. At least 38,011 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza, which began following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed at least 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics. While details of Hamas’s latest proposal were not immediately clear, a US official said Thursday they contained a substantial shift in the group’s previous position. The official, in a call with reporters, described the update as a “breakthrough”, while cautioning that obstacles remained. On Friday, Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha said the group’s latest proposals “have been met with a positive response by the mediators”, while adding “the official Israeli position has not yet become clear”, according to The Associated Press news agency. Both Israel and Hamas have come under increased pressure to reach a deal, but talks surrounding a United Nations-backed plan outlined by US President Joe Biden in May have stalled in recent weeks. A major sticking point for Hamas has been whether Israel would resume fighting after the dozens of Israeli captives still held by the group were released. Meanwhile, despite repeated US claims that Israel supported the plan, Netanyahu has repeatedly said the war would not end until Hamas is “eradicated”. In a call with Biden on Thursday, Netanyahu again said the war would only end with Israel “achieving all its objectives”. Fighting continues in Gaza Despite the latest diplomatic flurry, fighting continued to rage in Gaza on Friday, with Israeli forces focusing their attacks on the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah and northern Gaza City. At least 10 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital following attacks on the two southern cities, hospital officials told Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum. He also reported “unrelenting” attacks in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood where he said the Israeli military has been “demolishing entire blocks”. Meanwhile, the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed its fighters had killed 10 Israeli soldiers in an ambush in Shujayea. Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the claim. Tensions remained high around the Lebanon-Israel border, where increased fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli military has continued to stoke concerns over a wider escalation. The Lebanese group said it targeted several Israeli military positions near the border on Friday. Hezbollah later said in a statement that leader Hassan Nasrallah had met a Hamas delegation to discuss “the latest developments in the negotiations” and “security and political developments” in Gaza and the region. The fighting in Gaza has uprooted about 90 percent of Gaza’s population, forcing many to live in unsanitary conditions with little access to healthcare or other aid. Nearly 500,000 people face “catastrophic” hunger in the enclave, according to the United Nations. On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic warned that Israeli army orders this week for more than 250,000 Palestinians to evacuate from eastern Khan Younis would only further inflame the humanitarian catastrophe. “This evacuation decision is certain to worsen overcrowding, and cause severe shortages in the already overwhelmed remaining hospitals, at a time when access to emergency medical care is critical,” the two wrote in a joint statement, adding that forced evacuations are creating “a humanitarian crisis within the crisis”. “A ceasefire is all the more important now, and would make possible a surge of humanitarian assistance to Gaza as well as the release of all hostages,” they said. Adblock test (Why?)
New PM Starmer names ministerial team after landslide UK election win
Rachel Reeves becomes the UK’s first female finance minister while David Lammy is appointed as foreign secretary. The United Kingdom’s newly elected Keir Starmer has announced key members of his ministerial team after his centre-left Labour Party’s landslide general election victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule. Starmer on Friday appointed Rachel Reeves as finance minister, the first woman to hold the post in UK history. The former child chess champion and Bank of England economist has pledged to grow the nation’s economy while showing strong fiscal discipline. “It is the honour of my life to have been appointed chancellor of the exchequer,” Reeves wrote on social media platform X. “To every young girl and woman reading this, let today show that there should be no limits on your ambitions.” British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves react during a campaign event at a farm in Oxfordshire, UK, July 1, 2024 [Phil Noble/Reuters] Starmer appointed David Lammy, a trailblazing lawmaker, as foreign secretary. Born to Guyanese immigrants, Lammy grew up in Tottenham, an area of north London, where he has represented in Parliament since 2000. Lammy became the youngest member of parliament (MP) when he was first elected at age 27. He soon gained ministerial experience, serving in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Lammy on Friday reiterated his support for international efforts to secure an “immediate ceasefire” in Israel’s war on Gaza and for the release of remaining hostages after he was named foreign secretary. The 51-year-old said he would “get to work with tireless diplomacy” towards those twin aims. “All of us recognise the agony of communities who have seen the scenes coming out of Israel and Gaza,” Lammy said from the Foreign Office. “But the job now is to get to work with tireless diplomacy to support an immediate ceasefire and move towards getting those hostages out”. Incoming Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy leaves Downing Street in London, Friday, July 5, 2024 [Thomas Krych/AP Photo] Rayner named as Starmer’s deputy Angela Rayner, elected as deputy leader in 2020 – chosen independently of the actual leader by party members – will be Starmer’s deputy prime minister and retain the levelling up, housing, and communities brief. The 44-year-old has often spoken about her tough background, growing up in a deprived public housing block and leaving school early as a young mother. She started her career as a trade union official before embarking on a career as a lawmaker. Yvette Cooper, who served in former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet between 2008 and 2010 as chief secretary to the treasury and work and pensions secretary, has been named home secretary. The first surprise in the assembly of the Labour leader’s top team was Lisa Nandy’s promotion to culture secretary after Thangam Debbonaire, who held the brief in the shadow cabinet, lost her seat to the Green Party. Otherwise, the Cabinet mirrors Starmer’s shadow team, including Pat McFadden, who played a central role in shaping Labour’s election campaign, being named chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. John Healey was named defence secretary and Shabana Mahmood was named justice secretary. Wes Streeting was named health secretary and Bridget Phillipson was named education secretary. Ed Miliband, former leader of the Labour Party and opposition leader between 2010 and 2015, was named energy secretary. Lucy Powell will be the leader of the House of Commons. Adblock test (Why?)
Defiant Biden says no intention to exit presidential race in TV interview
US president says his recent debacle in a televised debate with Donald Trump was due to ‘exhaustion’ and a ‘bad cold’. United States President Joe Biden used a much-anticipated interview with ABC News to reiterate that he is the candidate to beat Donald Trump in November’s presidential election and again called his recent disastrous debate against Trump “a bad episode”. Biden, 81, told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in a taped interview that “I have a cognitive test every single day”, referring to the tasks he faces daily as president. “Every day, I’ve had tests. Everything I do,” he said. “I just had a bad night. I don’t know why.” Stephanopoulos asked whether the debate debacle “was a bad episode or a sign of a more serious condition” and whether Biden was being realistic in his belief that he could beat Trump, 78, given the gap opening in opinion polls between the two candidates and growing concern among Democrats that Biden should step aside. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that one in three Democrats want Biden to quit the race. “I don’t think anyone is more qualified,” Biden said in the interview, blaming his debate performance on exhaustion and a “really bad cold”. The polls, Biden said, were inaccurate. Asked whether he was more frail, Biden said, “No”. Asked also whether he would drop out if fellow Democrats in Congress said he was hurting their re-election chances in November, Biden said: “If the Lord Almighty comes out and tells me that, I might do that.” The 22-minute interview, which ABC said was not cut or edited, was being closely watched by Democrats concerned about the president’s ability to serve another four years, or beat Trump. A republican, in the election, after his faltering debate performance on June 27. The interview, even before it aired in full, seemed to do little to assuage viewers about Biden’s age and fitness to stand for election. A handful of Democratic Party donors and business leaders are making their displeasure with Biden’s candidacy known loudly, halting funding or looking at possible alternative candidates. Some of Biden’s closest political allies, including former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have raised questions about his health. “It hard to imagine this good man beating Trump and serving four more years in the most demanding job on earth,” Ron Fournier, a former White House correspondent, said on social media alongside a clip of the ABC interview. I’ve seen enough: It hard to imagine this good man beating Trump and serving four more years in the most demanding job on earth. You see it too, Biden Dems. You’ve seen it for months. You’re doing your boss and your country a grave disservice. https://t.co/E2UN4Fvgl4 — Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) July 5, 2024 Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued a statement on Friday asking Biden to weigh his decision to run carefully, the rare Democratic governor not to issue a statement of support to the president in recent days. “President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years,” she said. “The best way forward right now is a decision for the president to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.” Adblock test (Why?)