Month: October 2022

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. ...

Iran has deployed military experts in Russian-occupied Crimea to help launch drone attacks on Ukraine, the White House says. The Iranians are trainers and tech support workers, a US spokesman said. The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was struck by so-called "kamikaze" drones on Monday, deployed by Russia but believed to be Iranian-made. The UK has announced sanctions on Iranian businesses and individuals responsible for supplying the drones. "We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. A "relatively small" number of Iranians are providing technical support and Russians are piloting the drones in Ukraine, ...

Australia has reversed a decision made four years ago to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the 2018 move had undermined peace and "put Australia out of step with the majority of the international community". She stressed that Australia remained a "steadfast friend" to Israel. Its embassy will stay in Tel Aviv. Israel's government called the U-turn short-sighted and deeply disappointing, and summoned the Australian ambassador. "In light of the way in which this decision was made in Australia, as a hasty response to an incorrect report in the media, we can only hope that the Australian government manages other matters more seriously and professionally," Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in ...

A record number of voters turned out in the US state of Georgia on the first day of early voting, with the state the site of several key races in the November midterm elections. Almost double the number of people - 131,000 - cast their ballots than in the same period of the 2018 midterms. The figure nearly matches the number of voters on the first early voting day of the 2020 presidential election. Georgia is home to some of the country's most closely-watched races. The midterm elections on 8 November will determine seats in the two chambers of Congress - one-third of those in the Senate and all in the House of Representatives - as well as some governors and local officials. As the elections will decide control of Congress, they wi...