The Guardian

Detained pro-democracy activist spoke for first time about charges against him under Hong Kong national security lawJimmy Lai, the detained pro-democracy activist and media mogul who is the target of Hong Kong’s most high-profile national security case, took the stand in court on Wednesday. For the first time since he was detained in December 2020, Lai spoke publicly about the charges against him, for which he faces spending the rest of his life behind bars.Four years after his arrest, the 77-year-old seemed older and not as strong as he used to be. His first words – swearing an oath on the Bible – were delivered hoarsely. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/20/jimmy-lai-hong-kong-trial-key-points-testimony

Author : Helen Davidson and Amy Hawkins

Publish date : 2024-11-20 16:01:48

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Detainee, identified as Ana, mocked and leered at by male guards after they strapped her almost naked to a chairA female migrant in mental distress was kept in solitary confinement for a month at a Florida detention center, then mocked and leered at by male guards after they strapped her almost naked to a restraint chair, a federal civil rights complaint alleges.The reported sexual and mental abuse of the detainee, identified solely as Ana, took place at the Baker county detention facility, a rural camp 30 miles west of Jacksonville with a long history of allegations of mistreatment, harassment, retaliation and cruelty to detainees. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/20/florida-migrant-solitary-confinement-abuse

Author : Richard Luscombe in Miami

Publish date : 2024-11-20 14:43:36

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National Education Association criticises WWE founder as an ‘unqualified’ pick for education secretary The Federal Reserve must not remove Wells Fargo’s $1.95tn asset cap until the bank has fixed its risk management and compliance issues, top Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren told the US central bank on Wednesday, reports Reuters.In a letter to Fed chair, Jerome Powell, and the central bank’s regulatory chief, Michael Barr, Warren said the Fed must reject Wells Fargo reported appeal to have the punishment imposed in 2018 lifted until it “can show that it can properly manage the risks associated with running a large bank”. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/nov/20/donald-trump-linda-mcmahon-matt-gaetz-us-politics-live

Author : Léonie Chao-Fong (now) and Amy Sedghi (earlier)

Publish date : 2024-11-20 13:48:42

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Save Our Safer Streets crowdfunds to challenge Lutfur Rahman over scrapping three LTNs in London boroughThe mayor of Tower Hamlets is facing a judicial review this week over his decision to remove three low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the east London area of Bethnal Green.The campaign group Save Our Safer Streets (SOSS) says the LTNs are vital to protect children in deprived areas from pollution and the risks of heavy traffic. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/20/safety-activists-take-tower-hamlets-mayor-to-court-over-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-ltn-reversal

Author : Harriet Grant

Publish date : 2024-11-20 12:30:03

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Prominent Republicans reluctant to release report into allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump nomineeThe House ethics committee is expected to meet on Wednesday to vote on releasing a report examining allegations of sexual misconduct against former Republican representative Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US justice department.The panel has previously said it was investigating claims that Gaetz “may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift”. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/20/matt-gaetz-house-ethics-committee-vote

Author : Joan E Greve

Publish date : 2024-11-20 11:00:04

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Row over issue continues with questions likely at PMQs as Angela Rayner faces shadow minister Alex BurghartGood morning. Keir Starmer is travelling back from the G20 summit in Brazil, but he won’t be in the Commons in time for PMQs, and so Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, will be taking questions on his behalf. In line with recent practice, Kemi Badenoch, the new Conservative leader, won’t go up against a deputy, and she will miss the session too. The Tories don’t have a deputy leader, but Badenoch is getting Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, to stand in for her.The PM might not be answering, but that does not mean the questions get any easier. The situation in Ukraine is looking increasingly perilous, inflation is going up, and figures out yesterday have reignited the row about the government’s decision to cut the winter fuel payment. But the Conservatives may also want to ask about farmers, and the plan to extend inheritance tax to some farms. Traditonally the Tories have liked to think of themselves as a pro-countryside, pro-farming party, and they will have been reassured by the fact that, when they lined up alongside farmers at yesterday’s rally, they did not just have Jeremy Clarkson with them; the Liberal Democrats, the Green party, Greenpeace and even Just Stop Oil were on the farmers’ side too.The job of BBC Verify is to do exactly that but they’ve failed on their own terms.The government is refusing to say how many family farms are subject to their tax raid, only offering partial and out of date statistics which fail to account for the full scale of their reforms. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/nov/20/farming-inheritance-tax-keir-starmer-angela-rayner-uk-politics-live

Author : Andrew Sparrow

Publish date : 2024-11-20 09:44:02

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Rate cut unlikely until 2025 as energy prices blamed for stronger-than-expected inflation of 2.3%Inflation rises to 2.3%Any lingering hope that the Bank of England might deliver a pre-Christmas interest rate cut next month appears to have evaporated, after official data showed inflation jumping to 2.3% in October.The CPI measure had been expected to tick up, after dipping to 1.7% in September, but 2.3% was stronger than expected. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/nov/20/uk-inflation-jump-dashes-hope-interest-rate-cut-december

Author : Heather Stewart

Publish date : 2024-11-20 08:35:18

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Founder of Apple Daily paper denies seeking to influence foreign policy against China and says advocating for the independence of Hong Kong was ‘a reality too crazy to think about’Pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai has said he “never” tried to influence foreign policy or ask foreign officials to take concrete action on Hong Kong, on his first day giving evidence at his national security trial.Lai has been charged with one count of conspiracy to publish seditious publications and two counts of conspiracy to foreign collusion, under the city’s punitive national security law (NSL), introduced in 2020. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/20/jimmy-lai-hong-kong-witness-stand-collusion-trial

Author : Helen Davidson and agencies

Publish date : 2024-11-20 07:07:56

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Move comes as Putin lowers threshold for use of nuclear weapons; North Korean troops have participated in battle, South Korea saysMore on the news that Joe Biden has authorised the provision of antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, which was first reported by the Washington Post.Here is some further context from the Post’s story:The Biden administration is deeply concerned about Russia’s assaults against Ukraine’s frontlines in recent weeks and sees a pressing need to blunt the advance, officials said. The Pentagon believes that the provision of the mines is among the most helpful steps the Biden administration can do to help slow Russia’s attack, officials said.One official said the type of antipersonnel landmine is “nonpersistent,” meaning that the mines self-destruct or lose battery charge to render them inactive within days or weeks, reducing the danger to civilians. The official said that Ukrainian policymakers had committed to not deploying the mines in densely populated areas. Arms control experts said that even nonpersistent mines pose a safety hazard. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/nov/20/russia-ukraine-war-live-biden-us-weapons-missiles-putin-nuclear

Author : Philip Wen

Publish date : 2024-11-20 06:33:57

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‘Maya’ describes what she saw as abusive behaviour by undercover officer – who vanished and reappeared seven years laterA woman has revealed how an undercover police officer formed a long-term intimate relationship with her without disclosing his real identity, vanished from her life – and then reappeared seven years later.When the officer came back, she says, he persuaded her to break up with her then boyfriend of five years, saying he wanted to resume their relationship and have children together. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/20/i-indulged-in-a-lot-of-self-harm-uk-woman-tells-of-damaging-spy-cop-relationship

Author : Rob Evans

Publish date : 2024-11-20 05:00:32

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Rail, Tram and Bus Union denies it was a concession, suggesting train officials misread its initial demandsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn emergency court hearing may be needed to ward off the largest shutdown in recent memory on Australia’s busiest train network.Trains from Newcastle to Wollongong and across Sydney are due to lay dormant from Friday morning until Sunday night amid an escalating pay dispute between the New South Wales government and drivers.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/20/sydney-train-strike-to-run-on-thursday-rail-union-backs-down-on-eve-of-pearl-jam-concert

Author : Australian Associated Press

Publish date : 2024-11-20 03:50:15

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Bell, 19, was last seen leaving her Brunswick home in October and remains yet to be formally identified have been found in DandenongFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA man accused of murdering missing teen Isla Bell has fronted court after human remains were found at a Melbourne rubbish tip.St Kilda East man Marat Ganiev, 53, appeared in the Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday charged with murder.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/20/isla-bell-death-missing-melbourne-teen-brunswick-two-men-charged-ntwnfb

Author : Australian Associated Press

Publish date : 2024-11-20 02:50:02

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Wendy Hansen’s four-wheel drive found at train station in Brisbane after 63-year-old’s body found in Coffs HarbourFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe bizarre disappearance and death of a Queensland grandmother found partially buried hundreds of kilometres from her hometown has taken another turn.Police have located a car belonging to Wendy Hansen, 63, at a train station in Brisbane’s north. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/nov/20/car-found-as-police-investigate-disappearance-of-queensland-woman-found-dead-800km-from-home-ntwnfb

Author : Australian Associated Press

Publish date : 2024-11-20 02:00:11

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Famed session musician, who also performed with the Beatles, Tom Jones, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, died after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’sVic Flick, the famed British session musician who picked out the famous jangly guitar motif on the James Bond theme song, has died aged 87.The musician’s son, Kevin Flick announced his father died on 14 November, after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/20/vic-flick-james-bond-theme-guitarist-dies-aged-87

Author : Sian Cain

Publish date : 2024-11-20 00:49:25

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Some experts liken tariffs to a game of whack-a-mole, with trade flows simply rerouted if the potential rewards are big enough Businesses are bracing for the economic impact of a second Trump presidency, which, if his campaign promises are to be believed, will mean tariffs across nearly all imports to the US, especially those from China.But amid the gloom over the spectre of a renewed global trade war, some manufacturers may be looking to those who already have a playbook on dealing with aggressive US levies, such as China’s solar companies. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/20/donald-trump-tariffs-plan-china-imports-companies-impact-ntwnfb

Author : Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent, and Helen Davidson in Taipei

Publish date : 2024-11-20 00:05:21

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