Day: October 21, 2022

Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is facing up to six months in jail for refusing a summons to testify before Congress about the January 6 US Capitol riot. Bannon, 68, was found guilty in July of two counts of contempt for defying a congressional committee's legal summons. Prosecutors say his refusal to cooperate has "exacerbated the assault on the Capitol". He has denied any wrongdoing. Earlier this week, the Justice Department called on Bannon to receive six months in prison as well as a $200,000 (£176,916) fine - on the high end of what's permitted under sentencing guidelines for the two counts. Each count is punishable by between 30 days to one year in prison and a fine ranging between $100 to $100,000. A key fi...

Argentines are celebrating the return of football legend Diego Maradona's World Cup final shirt to the country. Thirty-six years after Argentina beat Germany in the 1986 World Cup final, the shirt which Maradona wore in the first half has been handed back to the Argentine Football Association (AFA). Former Germany midfielder Lothar Matthäus, who had swapped shirts with Maradona at half time, donated it to the Argentine people. The AFA thanked him in a moving video. Another Maradona shirt, which the Argentine wore when he scored the "Hand of God" goal against England in the quarterfinal of the 1986 World Cup, was sold for a record £7.1m earlier this year. That shirt was put up for auction by former England midfielder Steve Hodge. Bu...

An inquiry into Canada's worst mass shooting has released audio of a call that lead to political interference claims in the massacre investigation. The head of the RCMP, the federal police force, was accused of pressuring local officers to help advance the Trudeau government's gun control plans. The accusation stemmed from notes from the call first released in June as part of the inquiry. Commissioner Brenda Lucki has denied any meddling in the investigation. On Thursday, the Nova Scotia mass casualty commission posted "partial audio recordings" and transcripts of the conference call between Ms Lucki and local RCMP personnel. The 28 April 2020 recording was made by a media relations officer at RCMP headquarters who was on the meeti...

When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis strolled up to the podium on a sunny day in early October, he didn't look the part of a man standing just feet from the shattered remnants of boats and properties left ruined by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach. Dressed in finely pressed grey trousers and a blazer, he looked more ready to take on a day at his office in the state capital of Tallahassee hundreds of miles away. The scene was made stranger by the sight of the man standing a few steps over his right shoulder: US President Joe Biden, a political rival with whom he has clashed on everything from Covid-19 restrictions and LGBT rights to "woke" education and border security. "Mr President, welcome to Florida," Mr DeSantis said after a warm embrace. "We appreciate working...

News of Liz Truss's resignation has prompted quick reaction from political leaders and media commentators around the world, with many editorials focused on the brevity of Truss's time in office and the ongoing political chaos in Britain. Among foreign politicians, France's President Emmanuel Macron said that on a personal level, he was always "sad to see a colleague go", but that the most important thing was for Britain to find stability as soon as possible. At the White House, reporters asked US President Joe Biden whether Ms Truss had made the right decision. He replied that it was her decision to make, adding that he wouldn't "weigh in on her judgment". In an earlier statement, Mr Biden said close relations with the UK would continue, and thanked Ms ...

A New York court has dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against the actor Kevin Spacey. The case was brought by Anthony Rapp, who says the actor inappropriately touched him at a party in 1986 when he was aged 14. Mr Rapp, now 50 and also an actor, filed the legal action in September 2020 and had been seeking around $40m (£36m) in damages. Mr Spacey, an Oscar winner, has denied the accusations against him. He is separately facing five charges in the UK of sexual assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty. That trial is due to begin in June 2023. On Thursday, following a three-week civil trial in a Manhattan federal court, a jury found that Mr Rapp had not proved his claim that Mr Spacey had made an unwanted sexual advance. ...