Vanuatu’s new prime minister has said his government intends to “revisit” a security agreement with Australia, arguing it does not reflect his country’s priorities including climate change and travel mobility for its citizens. Jotham Napat, who was elected in February, said the pact with Canberra had to be taken “back to the drawing board” as … Read more
Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, said on Wednesday that Democrats would not provide the necessary votes to pass a stopgap funding bill, dramatically raising the risk of a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. Announcing the decision in a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer urged Republicans to consider a shorter … Read more
The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has “formally corrected the record” in parliament for referring to himself as a former solicitor during a 2014 speech. During a debate on high-speed rail, Reynolds had said he “worked as a solicitor in Manchester city centre” before changing careers. On Wednesday evening, he told the House of Commons: “I … Read more
Donald Trump has been condemned by a leading US Muslim civil rights group for seeking to use the word “Palestinian” as an insult when he attacked the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, as “not Jewish any more”. “President Trump’s use of the term ‘Palestinian’ as a racial slur is offensive and beneath the dignity of … Read more
Noel Clarke is trying to create “moral equivalence” between his alleged sexual misconduct and the behaviour of his accusers, the high court has heard. Giving evidence in his libel claim against the Guardian, the 49-year-old actorclaimed that some of his accusers voluntarily engaged in or initiated sexually loaded banter, were promiscuous and bragged about their … Read more
Federal prosecutors have sent a criminal subpoena to a Manhattan hotel housing undocumented immigrants through a New York City program providing shelter to asylum seekers, according to a copy of the filing obtained by the Guardian. The subpoena issued on Wednesday asks the hotel to provide “a list of full names of aliens currently residing” … Read more
The founder of an animal rescue charity who discovered 70 starving pythons and dozens of dead snakes on a couple’s property near Durham has called for better laws to protect reptiles reared as pets. Daniel Holmes, of Knaresborough Exotic Rescue, said the condition of the snakes – some of whom he thinks had not been … Read more
The US government is relying on a rarely used provision of the law to try to deport a prominent Palestinian activist who recently completed his graduate studies at Columbia University, where he was a leader in last year’s campus protests. A government charging document addressed to Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent US resident and green card … Read more
DiCaprio speaks up for Western Australia forest Leonardo DiCaprio has drawn the world’s attention to the government’s decision to allow the mining company South32 to clear native forest in WA’s jarrah forests for bauxite mining. The actor claimed the operation at Boddington could threaten the critically endangered woylie (or brush-tailed bettong) and that the government … Read more
Canada announced retaliatory tariffs on nearly $30bn worth of American imports after US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports went into effect on Wednesday. The Canadian government said it will be following a “dollar-by-dollar” approach and institute 25% tariffs on American imports, including steel, computers and sports equipment. Donald Trump first announced the tariff on … Read more