Starmer and Merz Ink Treaty Locking in Defense Cooperation
Conservative leader Merz, who hailed 'an historic day for Anglo-German relations,' has made clear his regret over Britain quitting the European Union and is keen to deepen cooperation with the government in London. Starmer said it would 'bring the UK and Germany closer than ever' as they confront challenges like Donald Trump's trade onslaught and Russia's war on Ukraine.
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Los Angeles Times
21 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
U.K., France and 23 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now'
LONDON — Twenty-five countries including Britain, France and a host of European nations issued a joint statement on Monday saying the war in Gaza 'must end now' and Israel must comply with international law. The foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada and Japan said 'the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths' and condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.' 'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the statement said. 'The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,' it added. The signatories included the foreign ministers of about 20 European countries as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the European Union commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management. The U.S. and Germany did not sign the statement. The signatories called for an immediate ceasefire, adding they are prepared to take action to support a political pathway to peace in the region. Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians is in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times. Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive. Israel's military offensive has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties. Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
USA Today
21 minutes ago
- USA Today
Ellen DeGeneres confirms Trump provoked UK move: It's 'just better'
Ellen DeGeneres is making a rare political comment regarding the motivation behind her move from the United States – and it's about President Donald Trump. The former talk show host, in her first public event since leaving the U.S., confirmed Trump was the catalyst for her move with wife Portia de Rossi to the English countryside, according to the BBC and the Guardian. "We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, '(Trump) got in,'" DeGeneres said during a conversation event in South West England on Sunday, July 20. "And we're like, 'We're staying here.'" DeGeneres and de Rossi bought a house in Cotswolds, England, in 2024, following her Last Stand…Up Tour, according to the outlets. The couple had originally planned for the home to be a "part-time house" where they would spend three to four months out of the year, but made the move permanent after the 2024 election. "It's clean. Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here," she added. DeGeneres joined fellow comedian Rosie O'Donnell in a move from the U.S. post-Trump election. O'Donnell announced in late 2024 that she had moved to Ireland, and her comments regarding her exit have reignited her longstanding feud with Trump. Donald Trump threatens to revoke longtime foe Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship In a Truth Social post July 12, Trump said that "because of the fact that Rosie O'Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship." The president does not have constitutional power to revoke citizenship. In response, O'Donnell posted a picture of Trump and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, asking if he is "rattled again? 18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours." Rosie O'Donnell slams Donald Trump as 'tangerine Mussolini' as feud escalates And in November, Eva Longoria revealed she no longer lives in America full-time, telling Marie Claire in an interview: "I'm privileged. I get to escape and go somewhere. Most Americans aren't so lucky. They're going to be stuck in this dystopian country, and my anxiety and sadness is for them." Contributing: Jay Stahl, Edward Segarra and Anna Kaufman
39 minutes ago
UK to hold inquiry into violent clash between police and miners during 1984 strike
LONDON -- The British government said Monday that it will hold a public inquiry into the 'Battle of Orgreave,' a violent confrontation between police and striking coal miners that became a defining moment in the conflict between unions and then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. Some 120 miners and police were hurt when officers clashed with miners trying to stop trucks entering the Orgreave Coking Plant in northern England on June 18, 1984. It came three months into a nationwide strike over plans to close two dozen coal pits and lay of 20,000 miners. The bitter dispute between the National Union of Mineworkers and the government was a decisive moment in Thatcher's bid to break the power of trade unions and remake the U.K. economy along free-market lines. The strike ended in defeat for the miners after a year and hastened the end of British coal mining, which employed 180,000 people at the start of the strike. Today, no coal mines remain. Campaigners have long called for an inquiry into why police from across the country were sent to Orgreave and what their orders were. Images of mounted police in riot gear charging stone-throwing miners with truncheons and dogs shocked and divided the nation. Some 95 picketers were arrested and charged with riot and violent disorder, but all charges were later dropped after evidence from the police was discredited. The Home Office said the inquiry will be led by Pete Wilcox, the bishop of Sheffield, and start in the fall. It will have the power to compel witnesses to testify under oath. Kate Flannery, secretary of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, said the announcement of an inquiry was 'really positive news.' She said it must be given 'unrestricted access to all relevant information including government, police and media documents, photos and films.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the events at Orgreave 'cast a shadow over communities in Yorkshire and other mining areas. 'The violent scenes and subsequent prosecutions raised concerns that have been left unanswered for decades, and we must now establish what happened,' she said.
