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Today marks 365 days since Keir Starmer stepped into No. 10 as Labour's first prime minister since Gordon Brown.

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UK's Palestine Action loses bid to pause ban as ‘terrorist' group
Pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action has lost a bid to pause the British government's decision to ban the organisation under 'anti-terrorism' laws pending their legal challenge. Huda Ammori, who co-founded the group in 2020, had asked London's High Court to stop the proscription of Palestine Action as a 'terrorist' organisation, before a full hearing of her case that banning the group is unlawful later this month. On Friday, the High Court refused to pause the ban and, following a late-night hearing, the Court of Appeal rejected an appeal against that decision at just after 2130 GMT. This means the proscription of Palestine Action is upheld and will come into force at midnight. The proscription came after British lawmakers this week decided to ban Palestine Action after its activists broke into a military base last month and sprayed red paint on two planes in protest at the UK's support for Israel's war on Gaza. Proscription would make it a crime to be a member of Palestine Action that carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Proscribed groups under British law include ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. Ammori's lawyer Raza Husain said the proscription marked the first time the UK had sought to ban a group carrying out such direct action, describing it as 'an ill-considered, discriminatory, authoritarian abuse of statutory power'. Protesters gathered outside the UK's Royal Court of Justice during Friday's ruling. Police swarmed the crowd, but Palestine Action said that its protests will not stop. After the parliamentary vote against the organisation on Wednesday, critics decried the chilling effect of the ban, which puts the non-violent campaigners on a par with armed groups like ISIL and al-Qaeda. 'Let us be clear: to equate a spray can of paint with a suicide bomb isn't just absurd, it is grotesque. It is a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity, and suppress the truth,' said independent British lawmaker Zarah Sultana. Brendon Ciaran Browne, associate professor at Trinity College Dublin, told Al Jazeera the UK government's decision is 'absolutely absurd'. 'Essentially, what we're witnessing here, is an attempt to enforce a chill effect on everyone who is absolutely abhorred by the UK government's complicity [in Israel's war on Gaza] and their flagrant breaches of international law that we have seen now for the best part of 21 months,' he said on Friday. Referring to Palestine Action's stunt at a British military base, Browne noted that the UK government has existing legislation to deal with this. 'Those who are allegedly involved can be charged with criminal damage. There are other ways to do this. But what you're seeing here is the UK government again using the terrorism act to target those who are engaged in direct action … This is a draconian, silly move by the UK government,' he added. Palestine Action describes itself as 'a pro-Palestinian organisation which disrupts the arms industry in the United Kingdom with direct action'. It says it is 'committed to ending global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime'. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the UK's interior minister, has said that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest, and her lawyers say the case should be brought at the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission instead. Rights groups have accused Israel of repeatedly committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023. Since then, at least 57,268 Palestinians have been killed and 135,625 wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Brazil's Lula hints at 2026 re-election bid
DUQUE DE CAXIAS, Brazil (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva suggested on Friday that he will stand for re-election in 2026, but stopped short of making a formal announcement. "Get ready. If everything goes the way I am thinking, this country will, for the first time, have a president elected four times by the Brazilian people," Lula told an event in Rio de Janeiro. The 79-year-old leftist leader was elected in 2022 for his third non-consecutive term, having previously served as president between 2003 and 2010. His remarks come as he faces a popularity crisis, with his approval ratings hovering around historic lows amid high inflation in Latin America's largest economy, and tensions with Congress, where he lacks a solid coalition. Lula is Brazil's oldest sitting president ever and has had some health scares, including a pair of emergency surgeries last year to treat and prevent bleeding in his head.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk has a one-word response to 'America Party' polls
Elon Musk has a one-word response to 'America Party' polls originally appeared on TheStreet. Elon Musk may now be reaching a political crossroads of his own making. Just a few days before, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had pledged to launch a new "America Party" party if former President Donald Trump's contentious tax-and-spending bill were to pass. "If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day," Musk wrote on X. "Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty."With the "Big Beautiful Bill" now on its way to Trump's desk for a July 4th signing, political watchers have their eyes on what Musk will do next. The 800-page legislation makes permanent the 2017 tax cuts that were President Trump's signature legislative accomplishment, and it slims funding for several federal programs, while it adds more than $3 trillion to the national January, Trump appointed Elon Musk as senior advisor and de facto director of the newly founded "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), tasking him with reducing bureaucratic waste through an executive order- until his departure in late May. On July 4, Musk reposted a poll showing 40% of voters said they are likely to back a single word from Elon Musk: "Encouraging." An outspoken fan of Bitcoin and Dogecoin, Musk has repeatedly clashed with government regulators over their perceived overreach, most recently with the One Big Beautiful Bill. Meanwhile, President Trump has also dabbled in crypto as a key pillar of his economic policy platform, bringing forth Acts on stablecoins and removing redundant laws in the crypto industry, often referred to as Operation Choke Point 2.0. Crypto bettors are watching it super closely. On crypto betting platform Polymarket, the odds of Musk starting a party by December 31 are now up to 49%, with more than $700,000 in wagers put in. Another crypto betting platform, Kalshi, shows a similar movement, with 41% odds as of July 4, up from under 10% a week before. At press time, BTC is trading at $109,935.55, nearing the 24 hour high of $110,000, as per Kraken. Elon Musk has a one-word response to 'America Party' polls first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data