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Starbucks To Shut 2,000 South Korea Stores For Half A Day After Promo Row
Coffee chain to hold 'historical awareness' training after backlash against marketing campaign that evoked 1980 military crackdown.
‘Regrettable’: Republican senator breaks with Trump after president delays Jay Clayton’s nomination for intelligence director – live
Senate intelligence committee chair Tom Cotton says hearing postponed after Trump ordered Jay Clayton to not appear; delay extends lapse of powerful US surveillance toolTrump derails confirmation process for Jay ClaytonSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump also denied (again) that the memorandum of understanding includes a $300bn fund for Iran, and denied that he had asked the Gulf states to commit funding.“It’s false,” Trump told reporters as he sat alongside Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “You can invest if you want. What am I going to do, say no one is ever allowed to invest? We’re not investing, we’re not putting up 10 cents and people can decide to do it. That’s up to them.”In short, what it does is it opens the strait of Hormuz immediately … It also provides a framework whereby if the Iranians give us what we need – on stopping the funding of terrorism, on no longer pursuing a nuclear weapon – then they can get some benefits, be re-invited into the world economy. Continue reading...
Middle East crisis live: Iran agrees to destroy enriched uranium stockpile, memorandum read out by US officials says
Senior US officials read out MOU text to journalists, insisting down-blending is a starting point; deal says sanctions relief tied to nuclear actionAnalysis: Where does Iran deal leave US-Israel relationship?Trump also addressed media reports of a leaked US-Iran deal (see post at 11:57), denying claims it includes a $300bn reconstruction fund for Tehran.“We’re not putting up 10 cents,” he said. “We are not investing and we do not have a fund.”It’s not final. It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head.If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, okay, because they’ve misbehaved for 47 years.” Continue reading...
Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady for fourth time this year
US central bank makes decision in first meeting under new chair and Trump appointee Kevin WarshThe US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for the fourth time this year after its first meeting under new chair, Kevin Warsh, a Donald Trump appointee who has taken over the central bank during a tumultuous time for the US economy.“Economic activity is expanding at a solid pace despite elevated uncertainty that owes, in part, to the conflict in the Middle East,” the Fed’s open market committee said in a short statement. “Productivity growth and capital investment are strong. Job gains have kept pace with the workforce, and the unemployment rate has changed little.” Continue reading...
Families of Rex Heuermann victims confront US serial killer: ‘Save a spot in hell’
Judge imposes life without parole after emotional statements at Gilgo Beach killer’s sentencingSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe families of eight women killed by Rex Heuermann spoke at the Gilgo Beach killer’s sentencing in Riverhead, New York, on Wednesday, more than three decades after the 62-year-old Manhattan architect began his killing spree.Heuermann pleaded guilty to murdering seven women and admitted to the killing of an eighth victim in April. Just before being sentenced to life in prison without parole on Wednesday for his admitted crimes, Heuermann offered a weak, generalized apology for his actions. Continue reading...
French police in £660m deal with UK authorised to use water cannon on asylum seekers
Refugee charity says decision to let officers request the devices as part of public order powers is ‘sickening’French riot police deployed in northern France under a £660m deal with the UK are authorised to use water cannon against asylum seekers, the Guardian has been told.Two specialist policing units, including a 50-officer riot squad, have begun working to prevent asylum seekers and people smugglers from launching small boats under the landmark UK-France deal in time for the summer months. Continue reading...
Trump tells G7 summit he hopes Europe ‘finds its way’ on immigration and energy – as it happened
This blog has now closed – see all our coverage of the G7 summit hereRutte says the adjustment in the US pledge to the Nato Force Model is “not primarily about where forces and assets are currently, but about who would do what if our defence plans were activated.”He says historically the model was “overly reliant” on the US.“You will likely have seen news adjusting its contributions to the Nato force model. In some cases, this has been cast as a problem, as the US pulling away from its allies, but that is not the reality. The US has made clear that it is committed to Nato.That commitment comes with an expectation that allies will more fairly share the responsibility for our security here in Europe.” Continue reading...
Trump's 'rambling and incoherent' G7 press conference pushes MS NOW to cut away
Donald Trump’s much-anticipated press conference to address his Iran peace deal didn’t last long on MS NOW, with host Alicia Menendez cutting in as he discussed the war before taking questions, with the president sounding both hoarse and out of breath.Before taking questions, the president jumped from topic to topic about the attack on the Middle Eastern country as he was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.With the president taking deep breaths after every sentence which were amplified by his microphone, he was telling the assembled reporters about burying Iran's nuclear program, saying, “Those mountains collapsed right on top of everything. Nobody's going to get that for a long time unless we want to get it. We will get it. But we're the only ones that can. And they say China has the equipment to get it, and we have the equipment.”At that point the audio was cut and Menendez informed her audience, “A rambling, incoherent president of the United States attempting to take a victory lap over his page and a half Iran agreement. Let's bring in MS NOW Senior National Security Reporter David Rohde and former Undersecretary of State under President Barack Obama, Richard Stengel. So much to tease apart from what we have just heard from the president of the United States, let's start with a fact check on the way he described the JCPOA and how it compares to the agreement currently before him.”“Well, Alicia, as you know, we haven't actually seen that agreement. We do know, supposedly that it's one and a half pages long,” Stengel observed. “The JCPOA agreement, which was negotiated over two years with a number of other countries that he's visiting now, England, France, Russia, was hundreds of pages long, and it was specifically about nuclear enrichment and the nuclear threat.”“There are no kind of reflexive protections in the Trump agreement. And it's also just much broader. I mean, to get to the fact check, he talked about the $1.5 billion that was given to Iran after the signing of the JCPOA,” he elaborated. “That was Iran's money. That was interest on the money that was in the United States that Iran had deposited here. Again, it's been reported that this will be a $300 billion fund that Iran will be able to access, as well as a relaxation of the sanctions against Iran, which gives them billions and billions of dollars. So, as you say, it's incredibly inarticulate and 100% wrong over and over.” - YouTube youtu.be
Forced adoption survivors to get full apology from UK government, says Phillipson
Education secretary describes historical practice in England as a ‘shameful period’ in country’s historyDowning Street is to make a full apology on behalf of the state to those affected by historical forced adoption in England, the education secretary has confirmed.Bridget Phillipson, giving evidence to MPs on the education select committee on Wednesday, described it as a “shameful period” in UK history. Continue reading...
Burnham says he wants to ensure Makerfield byelection ‘changes British politics’, in eve-of-poll speech – as it happened
This blog has now closed. See all our UK politics coverage hereAndy Burnham may have trouble getting through to Keir Starmer if he tries ringing him after the Makerfield byelection to urge him to set a timetable for his departure. Burnham reportedly wants to call Starmer this weekend. (See 9.47am.) But, in his interview with Sky News, Starmer said: “I’m sure I’ll talk to Andy after the weekend.”If Starmer declines to take Burnham’s call, he may be following Ed Miliband’s example. In a Times story today, Patrick Maguire and Steven Swinford report:Sir Keir Starmer’s relationship with Ed Miliband has broken down to such an extent that the energy secretary has been accused of “ghosting” the prime minister in recent weeks.Senior government sources claimed that Miliband declined to take calls from the prime minister during a tense stand-off over defence spending. Continue reading...
After Bungee Tragedy, Another Brazilian Woman Dies In 100-Foot Fall While Hiking
A witness told local media that the guide lunged and tried to hold onto her by grabbing her arm, but nearly went over too.
Russia warship fires warning shot at British couple – The Latest
Keir Starmer has called the firing of warning shots by a Russian warship at a British yacht sailing across the Channel on Tuesday ‘deeply concerning and reckless’.Russia’s defence ministry said the yacht was on a ‘dangerous course’ and several attempts were made to contact it – a claim disputed by the retired couple onboard the 40ft yacht.Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh – watch on YouTube Continue reading...
