1 hour ago US might dragged Netanyahu to the table. The real prize for Trump would be keeping him there | Jonathan Freedland

The ceasefire in Gaza happened because the US president lost patience, but now he must be vigilant. If Israel’s PM can scupper the plan, he willAfter so many images of death and devastation, what sweet relief to see pictures of joy. On the world’s TV news broadcasts, the screen was split on Thursday: celebrations in Gaza and celebrations in Israel, the scenes of cheering and clapping mirroring each other, as if to confirm that this was a war the peoples themselves wanted over long ago – and which most never wanted to begin.The images were not unfamiliar. We had seen a version of them in January, when a ceasefire was announced to great jubilation. That held only until mid-March, when Israel broke the agreement and resumed its bombardment of Gaza, an experience that should temper, and caveat, the current hope with the knowledge that things can unravel at any moment. Still, this time, even the region’s most seasoned pessimists concede, the deal looks more durable. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Picture exclusive: Old City Hall transformation underway as Sadiq Khan's former HQ is dismantled

Four years after the Greater London Authority departed, renovation of iconic ‘glass testicle’ near Tower Bridge gathers pace

Politics

7 h. ago London Palestine protest: Route and road closures revealed ahead of city

Protesters will march in London this weekend, calling for full enforcement of the Gaza ceasefire and greater humanitarian support

Events

7 h. ago Stephen Miller is the most dangerous man in the Trump administration | Judith Levine

In the White House deputy chief of staff, we see that Maga will not simply end with Trump. We must keep our eyes on MillerIn an interview on Monday, CNN’s Boris Sanchez asked Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, whether Donald Trump intended to abide by federal judge Karin Immergut’s order blocking the deployment of the national guard in Oregon.Miller said neither yes nor no. But the implication was no. The administration had already filed an appeal with the ninth circuit. He said: “I would note the administration won an identical case in the ninth circuit just a few months ago with respect to the federalizing of the California national guard.” Actually, it didn’t quite win. As I understand it (and lawyers, please correct me) the administration won a temporary stay on a temporary injunction against federalizing the California national guard in Los Angeles.Judith Levine is Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism...

Politics

7 h. ago Who will run against Trump in 2028? Please step forward now – don’t wait | David Kirp

A leading Democrat, backed by substantial funding, should enter the 2028 presidential race right nowThe Democratic politicians on the national scene, charged with leading the opposition, continue to bring a butterknife to the ongoing gunfight that is US politics under Donald Trump. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, comes across as a weary grandpa, glasses perched halfway down his nose as he reads his script in sleep-inducing monotone. Quick – who’s the minority leader of the House? You get bonus points if you can identify Hakeem Jeffries. Charismatic he is not.What’s to be done?David Kirp is professor emeritus at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California-Berkeley Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize

Leader of country’s opposition receives award after scrutiny surrounding committee and comments by Donald TrumpVenezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado has won the Nobel peace prize.The committee commended Machado as a “brave and committed champion of peace” who “keeps the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness”. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago New Year's Eve fireworks: Sadiq Khan hikes ticket prices for tourists, but freezes cost for Londoners

Residents will continue to pay £20 or £35, but visitors will be charged £40 or £55 - a rise of up to 14%

Economics

10 h. ago Sadiq Khan calls for pause in new immigration rules after 200 to 300 TfL staff put at risk of deportation

Mayor says people who joined TfL on graduate visa have been ‘left in limbo’ by Government restriction on foreign workers

Events

24 h. ago The Guardian view on Trump and the ceasefire deal: hope at last, but the real work is just beginning | Editorial

This is the best prospect of ending Israel’s war in Gaza since it began. But a long-term solution remains distantDonald Trump called the pause in hostilities he has brokered the first step to a “strong, durable and everlasting peace”. No one can do more to determine the outcome than the US president. This was, for him, a modest statement, acknowledging that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his plan – it being their decision, not his, to break a multi-point agreement into a multi-stage discussion. Two parties so far apart agreed on one thing: both would rather defer the really difficult issues.In Israel and Gaza, there was joy – however tentative – at the announcement. An end to the annihilation, the release of all hostages and the resumption of large-scale aid have all been desperately needed. There is every reason to fear that this will not lead to a lasting peace, and every reason to strive to ensure that it does. In finally reining in Benjamin Netanyahu, and...

Economics

26 h. ago ‘It’s over! It’s over!’ they shout, but people here in Gaza still fear what the future may bring | Hassan Abo Qamar

Phase one of Donald Trump’s peace plan has brought joy and relief, yet it’s hard to believe this fragile peace will lastHassan Abo Qamar is a Palestinian writer and journalist based in GazaOn Thursday morning, I didn’t wake up to the sound of explosions, but to my brother shouting: “It’s over! It’s over!” For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. I wondered: what is happening? Has another loved one been targeted? What is over? Then he told me that Donald Trump had said it. “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” the president wrote on his social media. For the first day in a long time, people in Gaza woke up to news that could be called happy. The ceasefire went into effect at noon. The sound of Israeli warplanes still echoed in the sky, but, for once, they didn’t feel frightening.The first phase of the agreement only includes the exchange of prisoners. That means 20 Israeli hostages in Gaza thought to be alive and...

Politics

29 h. ago London pollution has fallen, but Sadiq Khan is still full of hot air

London pollution has fallen, but Sadiq Khan is still full of hot air  The Telegraph

Politics

29 h. ago Sadiq Khan claims 'diverse' London is reason for American tourism surge

The mayor’s comments were likely a thinly veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump

Politics

33 h. ago Prosecutors insist social media posts did not jeopardize Mangione fair trial

Two Justice Department officials reposted comments President Donald Trump made about the alleged murderer

Events

39 h. ago Prosecutors say no harm was done by social media posts about assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO

Federal prosecutors say no harm was done to the prospects for a fair trial when two U.S. Justice Department officials reposted potentially inflammatory comments President Donald Trump made about Luigi Mangione after his arrest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO

Events

51 h. ago London mayor race: Sir James Cleverly considers running, saying: 'I'd be stupid not to think about it'

‘Watching London go wrong angers me enormously,’ says former Tory foreign secretary

Politics

52 h. ago Why Tony Blair just can’t kick the habit of imperial interference in the Middle East | Oliver Eagleton

The Blair-Trump fantasy for postwar Gaza shows the former PM still thinks that free enterprise can solve all the world’s ills“There are two types of politician,” Tony Blair observed in 2012. “Reality creators and reality managers.” While postwar politics was generally a matter of steady management, he claimed, the emerging order called for more creativity, “both in the economy and foreign policy”. Only a particular type of visionary leader was fit for the task.More than a decade later, Blair has now joined forces with the pre-eminent reality-creator, Donald Trump, to draft a hallucinatory 20-point plan for Gaza. It aims to turn the devastated Strip into what seems to resemble a colonial protectorate: cleansed of armed conflict, buzzing with development projects and a “special economic zone” through which foreign capital can flow, and overseen by an international “board of peace” with Trump himself as chair. Continue reading...

Society

54 h. ago London mayor Sadiq Khan under fire for including VHP in Diwali celebration

London mayor Sadiq Khan under fire for including VHP in Diwali celebration  Siasat.com

Events

57 h. ago Teacher banned after telling pupil he would have sex with her when she turned 18 & calling her ‘one horny girl’

A TEACHER has been banned after reportedly telling a pupil he would have sex with her when she turned 18, calling her "one horny girl". Head of science at a south London school, the teacher was suspended and permanently banned following the shocking incident. Amrinder Singh Pannu, 38, made the lewd comments to one of...

Events

2 d. ago Trump labels Democrats ‘insurrectionists’ as he threatens ‘Grim Reaper’ Vought to start cutting American jobs in ‘4 to 5 days’

Trump made the incendiary comments during a bilateral meeting alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

Politics

3 d. ago Mayor, residents call for London councilmember to resign after using racial slur

Mayor, residents call for London councilmember to resign after using racial slur  Lexington Herald Leader

Politics