How — and why — Britain is ‘triggering’ Trump

This weekend, January 11-12, U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will be visiting Mainland China. The Labour government, which came to power thanks to an election landslide in July 2024, considers the trip to be of great importance to the U.K. economy. But according to Politico reporters Hannah Brenton and Dan Bloom, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s “virulent…

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As storm Trump approaches, EU tries to play it cool

by Olivier BAUBE / Max DELANY Donald Trump hasn’t even moved back into the White House yet — but the volatile US president-elect has already succeeded in rattling his counterparts in the EU. With under two weeks to go to his inauguration, Trump set alarm bells ringing with a string of provocative statements including refusing…

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UN watchdog says Australia violated asylum seekers’ rights

by Nina LARSON Australia violated the rights of asylum seekers arbitrarily detained on the island of Nauru, a UN watchdog ruled Thursday, in a warning to other countries intent on outsourcing asylum processing. The UN Human Rights Committee published decisions in two cases involving 25 refugees and asylum seekers who endured years of arbitrary detention…

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Vietnam jails ex-lawyer over Facebook posts

A Vietnamese court jailed a prominent former lawyer for three years on Friday over Facebook posts, a ruling condemned by rights groups as a fresh attack on freedom of expression in the communist country. Tran Dinh Trien, former deputy chair of the Hanoi Bar Association, is the latest high-profile lawyer to be targeted by authorities…

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Bill Byrge, actor in Ernest films, dies aged 92

Actor Bill Byrge, known for his roles in the Ernest movies, has died aged 92. His death was first confirmed in a Facebook post shared by his cousin, Sharon Chapman. “My cousin, Bill Byrge, passed away in the Nashville area today at 12pm. He was a beautiful soul who made people laugh without even trying,”…

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