Top World News

Official forecaster’s chair says chancellor knew about revised predictions well before her budget change of heartBusiness live – latest updatesThe Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has cast doubt on claims Rachel Reeves dropped plans to raise income tax in this week’s budget because of rosier forecasts, pointing out she knew about these well before the change of heart.In a move likely to exacerbate tensions with the Treasury, the OBR chair, Richard Hughes, has taken what he acknowledged was the “unusual step” of writing to the Treasury select committee to explain how its forecast evolved, “given the circumstances in this case”. Continue reading...

RFK Jr signed order withdrawing rule that would mandate testing for the cancer-linked toxin in talc-based makeupThe Food and Drug Administration is poised to kill a proposed rule that would require testing for toxic asbestos in talc-based cosmetics, a problem that has been linked to cancer.Talc is widely used, including in cosmetics, food, medication and personal care products. The order was signed by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, leader of the “Make America healthy again” (Maha) movement. Continue reading...

Far-right minister defends killing of two men who appeared to have given themselves up, saying ‘terrorists must die’Video of an Israeli military raid in the West Bank shows soldiers summarily executing two Palestinians they had detained seconds earlier.The shooting on Thursday evening, which was also witnessed by journalists close to the scene, is under justice ministry review, but has already been defended by Israel’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who declared that “terrorists must die”. Continue reading...

The Trump administration was dog piled by critics after a Lebanese news outlet claimed that the United States is demanding the return of an advanced bomb it had recently dropped on the country but failed to detonate.A local Lebanese news outlet, Al-Markaziya, reported that a recent Israeli strike on central Lebanon near Beirut that killed five people and injured 25 saw at least one bomb – an American-made GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, a precision-guided glide bomb that costs around $39,000 to manufacturer – land without detonating.And, according to the outlet as reported by India Times on Friday, Trump administration officials are now asking for the bomb to be returned, and out of fear that it could be reverse engineered and allow Trump administration adversaries like China or Iran develop similar weapons.With more than 4,000 Lebanese having been killed from Israeli strikes since late 2023, a significant share of which was done with American-made weapons given Israel is the single-largest recipient of American foreign aid, the alleged request was largely met with mockery and scorn among critics.“Is this a meme?” asked X user “tweeterbird,” who’s shared content critical of the Trump administration for its focus on artificial intelligence, as well as content critical of the Israeli government. “This is so stupid it feels like a joke.”“What can be more ridiculous than this?” asked another X user, “ManofGod,” whose profile says they specialize in AI and robotics.Israel has launched an extensive campaign against Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent siege on Gaza. Among Israel’s most notable operations in Lebanon was its 2024 pager attack, an operation that saw thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies explode simultaneously across the country, killing and injuring thousands of civilians and Hezbollah members alike.Is this a meme? This is so stupid it feels like a joke.— tweeterbird (@loki8588) November 27, 2025

French government-owned company to receive funding for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C Business live – latest updatesUK energy bill payers will hand over £2bn a year in subsidies to EDF, the French company building two nuclear power stations, according to government figures.EDF, owned by the French government, will be entitled to £1bn in annual payments as soon as Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, comes on to the grid in 2030. The sum is due under the contracts-for-difference system that guarantees low-carbon energy companies a fixed price for the electricity they generate. Continue reading...

New Democratic party victory is crushing defeat for Unity Labour, which has held power since 2001The New Democratic party (NDP) in the Caribbean country of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is celebrating a historic landslide victory, taking 14 of 15 seats, according to preliminary results.The decisive vote was a crushing defeat for the Unity Labour party (ULP), which has been in power since 2001. Continue reading...

Robert Sullivan’s self-imposed removal comes after accusations he provided financial support in exchange for arrangement which included sexA longtime Roman Catholic priest in Alabama has voluntarily left the clergy after a woman alleged to his superiors that he provided her financial support in exchange for “private companionship” including sex beginning when she was 17.Robert Sullivan’s self-imposed removal from the priesthood – known as laicization – was announced Wednesday, the day before the US holiday of Thanksgiving, in a public statement from Birmingham, Alabama, by Bishop Steven Raica. Continue reading...

I’ve been struggling to imagine Elon Musk might do if he gets his trillion-dollar payday. He could spend a million dollars a day for 3,000 years. Or, more realistically, $100 million a day for 30 years. He could spend the $290 million he invested in Donald Trump’s re-election and do it 3,400 times, wherever and whenever he pleases. Or buy more media properties, spending up to 20 times the $44 billion it took to buy Twitter and make it into a misinformation swamp, key to Trump’s success.But the money the Tesla board just handed Musk isn’t guaranteed. He has to meet goals like delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles and dramatically increasing Tesla’s stock price. Ordinary citizens can prevent that, but we need to take our efforts to another level.The global Tesla Takedown campaign has spearheaded the challenges to Musk with protests at showrooms and charging stations. So signs, chants, music, inflatable animals, and a clear message that driving a Tesla means supporting all that Trump and Musk have done. They brought people out who’d never participated before and, as people have followed their lead globally, helped: Drop European Tesla sales nearly 40 percent in a year. Drop US sales 19 percent from two years ago, despite lowering prices and margins.Despite EV sales increasing overall, drive Tesla’s US share to an eight-year low,. Led Cybertrucks to sell just 16,000 in the US through September, despite Musk saying they’d sell 250,000 and having his other companies buy them. Drop Tesla’s stock price to 71 percent from its January high, before rebounding in part due to third quarter sales, when people grabbed EV’s of all kinds to buy them before Trump’s tax bill ended the $7,500 tax credits.The campaign did lose some momentum after DOGE, and as Musk left the White House and feuded with Trump. Musk became less visible and maybe seemed less toxic. But he just joined fellow tech lords at a lavish White House dinner for Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman, bone saws optional. And he’s continued promoting ultra-right wing parties globally, like the German Alternative für Deutschland, while his Grokipedia praises White Supremacists and French Grok promotes Holocaust denial. Add to that an estimated 400,000 children and 200,000 adults who’ve died because of DOGE’s USAID cuts. Whether Musk gains or loses power remains hugely consequential. Tesla showroom protests remain a powerful way for citizens everywhere to push back. But they need to put more energy into engaging America’s 2 million existing Tesla drivers as allies, by asking them to display anti-Musk stickers, magnets, or vinyl decals. Without them, Teslas on the street function as de facto advertisements. People see the cars. It’s the EV brand people have heard of most and their owners seem content. Their presence seems uncontroversial, and they do have a great charging network, so why not buy one if you’re considering an EV.But when Teslas display anti-Elon statements, this changes the message. “I BOUGHT THIS BEFORE ELON WENT CRAZY.” “HERE FOR THE CLIMATE, NOT ELON.” “ANTI-ELON TESLA CLUB.” “FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS BUY NEW TESLAS.” Such stickers proclaim clearly that drivers bought the cars to help address climate change, not to promote would-be dictators. When most bought their cars, Musk really was an environmental hero, particularly when Tesla also bought the leading rooftop solar installer, Solar City. The bumper stickers, magnets and decals make clear that the drivers won’t buy a Tesla again, and neither should others. They become rolling advertisements against purchasing the car.Tesla Takedown has sometimes linked to particularly clever stickers. But their prime push for existing Tesla owners is to pressure them to sell their cars to undercut new sales. That’s fine when it happens. But especially with Trump killing EV credits, switching to a new equivalent EV, like replacing any car, is costly. Like $5,000-10,000 costly, despite all the great new EVs on the market. Most Tesla owners won’t switch just to make the political point, and that cuts them off as potential participants in the campaign. The bumper sticker approach invites them in.If the anti-Tesla campaign and its volunteers want to enlist more existing Tesla owners, they could:Highlight links to inexpensive stickers, magnets, and decals that anti-Tesla activists could send to or give to friends with Teslas. They can even ask vendors to add Tesla Takedown QR codes.Post template letters and emails that people can send friends and neighbors who own Teslas. Or, where legal, put them under Tesla windshields.Publicize alternatives. We bought a Chevy Bolt for $20,000 after the $7,500 tax credits that Musk has now helped kill, and it’s been great.Press companies and municipalities not cancel Tesla fleet orders, boycott Starlink, support alternatives to Tesla high speed charging stations, and to have their pension funds divest from the company. The latter might also ell pay off financially — even Peter Thiel just sold three-quarters of his holdings.The campaign is pushing on those more institutional demands, but the more they existing Tesla owners they can bring in, the more impact they’ll have. If we want to limit Elon’s destructive power, the Tesla owners can play a key role Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of Soul of a Citizen and The Impossible Will Take a Little While, with nearly 300,000 copies in print between them