31 h. ago The Guardian view on Fifa’s new ‘peace prize’: Gianni Infantino should concentrate on the day job | Editorial

The president of world football’s governing body should abandon geopolitical networking and address criticisms over World Cup ticketing To general bemusement, Gianni Infantino, the president of world football’s governing body, Fifa, was pictured congratulating Donald Trump last month at the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, having been personally invited by the US president. Mr Infantino did not hold back in lauding the president’s peace-making prowess, commenting: “Now we can really write some new pages. Pages of togetherness, of peace, in a region which really, really needs it.”News that Fifa is to launch its own annual peace prize, with the inaugural award to take place in Washington next month, would therefore seem to point to only one outcome. To use a metaphor from another sport, it surely looks like a slam dunk for the man Fifa’s president describes as a “winner” and “close friend”. As Mr Infantino told an American business forum on the day he announce...

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38 h. ago David Squires on Fifa’s peace prize and Donald Trump’s eligibility

Our cartoonist on how the US president’s actions in office may have put him in line for an awardBuy a Squires cartoon in our Print ShopDavid’s latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

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41 h. ago Bel Trew answers your questions: From aid shortages in Gaza to morale in the Israeli military

Chief international correspondent Bel Trew answers your questions on Gaza’s aid crisis, the fragile ceasefire, regional power dynamics, and morale in the Israeli military

Events

42 h. ago Willing states must act to save international legal order, warns top academic

Yale professor says wars in Ukraine and Gaza and threats from Donald Trump risk the ‘total collapse’ of the global courts systemA coalition of states is needed to stop the international legal order falling apart, a distinguished international academic has warned.Oona Hathaway, the president-elect of the American Society of International Law and a former Pentagon legal adviser, said the core of the postwar global order – the prohibition on taking land by force – was under unprecedented challenge in a “scary moment” for the world. Continue reading...

Events

54 h. ago BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders

Sources say Robbie Gibb amplified criticisms of Trump, Gaza and trans rights coverage, and had ‘a lot of oxygen in the room’‘Make no mistake – this was a coup’: the extraordinary downfall of the BBC’s top bossesA BBC board member with links to the Conservative party “led the charge” in pressuring the corporation’s leadership over claims of systemic bias in coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights, the Guardian has been told.Sources said Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness. Continue reading...

Politics

58 h. ago If you care about the BBC, stand up and defend it: this could be the beginning of the end | Polly Toynbee

Replacing the TV licence with a means-tested alternative may help disarm the right of one of its most effective weaponsGotcha! The BBC’s enemies have taken two scalps and inflicted maximum damage. The shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, make it look as if the BBC accepts that it does indeed suffer from “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights. But in this political coup, only the BBC’s sworn ideological foes think a cherrypicked sample of journalistic errors amounts to “systemic” bias.It was indeed a bad mistake to splice together two bits of Trump’s speech; but it needed a quick apology, not a decapitation. The BBC’s chair, Samir Shah, I’m told, tried to persuade Davie to stay to avoid this apparent capitulation to critics: Davie should indeed have stood his ground, not weakened the BBC by walking away.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

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59 h. ago Donald Trump threatens legal action against BBC over Panorama scandal: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Follow the latest fallout from the BBC as director-general Tim Davie and chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness both resign amid a series of crises at the corporation.

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60 h. ago Unrwa has the capacity and expertise to support a postwar Gaza. We want to help make this peace work | Philippe Lazzarini

With a ceasefire in place, rebuilding must begin, justice be delivered and healing seriously addressed by Palestinian and Israeli societiesPhilippe Lazzarini is the commissioner-general of UnrwaAfter two years of brutal warfare in Gaza, a fragile ceasefire – the first phase of US president Donald Trump’s 20-point plan – offers some respite to an exhausted population. For my Unrwa colleagues on the ground in Gaza, the constant fear of being killed by bombs and guns may have abated, but there is still much to worry about – access to shelter, food and clean water remains challenging, and winter is approaching fast.There is no time to lose in tackling widespread hunger and disease. The scale of physical and psychological trauma is immense, and expectations about access to healthcare and education are growing. The next weeks and months will determine whether this watershed moment will lead to a new dawn or be a prelude to greater despair.Philippe Lazzarini is commissioner-general of the ...

Events

3 d. ago BBC bosses quit in disgrace after corporation admits doctoring Donald Trump video and is accused of bias on war in Gaza and transgender reports

An impartiality row rocked the national broadcaster after an internal report accused it of bias, censorship and doctoring footage of Donald Trump.

Politics

3 d. ago Tim Davie resigns as BBC director general after accusations of ‘serious and systemic’ bias in coverage

Davie tells staff departure was “my own decision” but it comes with the BBC preparing to apologise for the way it edited a Trump speechTim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and the head of BBC News have resigned after a former adviser to the corporation accused it of “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights.In a shock move, Davie said his depature was his own, but comes with the BBC preparing to apologise for the way the broadcaster edited a Donald Trump speech. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago BBC under fire with 'serious questions' over alleged bias in edited Trump footage and trans coverage

The BBC must ‘set the benchmark for accurate and fair reporting’, says committee chair Caroline Dinenage

Politics

7 d. ago Camouflage clothing may be having a moment – but in our violent world, is that wise? | Ellie Violet Bramley

Some say it’s just ‘a stylish alternative to denim’, but the politics of who gets to wear military-adjacent garb is increasingly fraughtOn a recent visit to Gaza, Steve Witkoff, the real estate mogul and Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, wore a “camouflage” top. I write “camouflage” in inverted commas because it was blue and, amid the dusty devastation of Gaza, there was nothing about it – or the bumbag he wore with it – that helped Witkoff blend in.It’s an odd paradox that a pattern designed to melt military personnel into their surroundings – the word is derived from the French camoufler, “to disguise” – when worn by certain people, in certain ways, does the opposite. Witkoff being a glaring example.Ellie Violet Bramley is a freelance writer Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago US suggests UN Security Council authorize Gaza stabilization force for 2 years

The United States has produced a draft text for the U.N. Security Council that would provide a mandate for an international stabilization force in Gaza for at least two years

Events

9 d. ago As Trump’s Gaza plan unravels, what’s next for the Middle East? Join live Q&A with Bel Trew

With tensions rising once more and the US rushing to uphold its fragile deal, chief international correspondent Bel Trew will answer readers’ questions on what – if anything – is achievable for the Middle East under the current framework

Politics

1 week ago This isn’t a real ceasefire in Gaza – it’s a holding pattern before war returns | Sanam Vakil

Israel’s airstrikes have exposed the fragility of Trump’s ‘peace plan’. Without international support, it risks crumbling altogether Israel’s recent airstrikes in Gaza, which have killed more than 100 people, show just how fragile this arrangement truly is. This is not the first violation since it came into effect on 10 October, but rather one of many over past weeks – showcasing that without stronger enforcement mechanisms and determined planning this is a ceasefire in name only.According to Israel, this round of violence resulted from Hamas fire against IDF forces in Rafah, an area still under Israeli control, resulting in the death of an IDF reservist. Hamas has denied involvement. Israel responded with additional strikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis. With each side interpreting violations to suit its own interests, the ceasefire’s vague structure leaves a wide margin for miscalculation and opportunism.Sanam Vakil is a senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa pr...

Events

2 w. ago Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 96 overnight as ceasefire looks increasingly fragile

Netanyahu ordered strikes on Tuesday evening after firefight between Israeli troops and Palestinian militantsIsraeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight killed at least 96 Palestinians, half of them children, in what appeared to be the gravest challenge yet to the increasingly fragile US-brokered ceasefire and the deadliest day since the truce began.The strikes, one of the bloodiest attacks in the two-year war, killed at least 46 children and 20 women and injured 200 people, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency. They took place hours after Donald Trump said nothing would jeopardise the ceasefire agreement he had helped broker. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago At least 100 Palestinians dead in Israeli strikes, say rescuers

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs he was ‘deeply concerned’ by the latest Israeli strikes on Gaza

Events

2 w. ago Starmer ‘deeply concerned’ by strikes on Gaza and UK ‘in close touch’ with US

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that the ceasefire is back in effect after dozens of people were killed overnight.

Events

2 w. ago Tony Blair ‘has a contribution to make’ to Trump’s Gaza peace deal, UK’s Middle East minister says

Exclusive: Hamish Falconer has spoken to The Independent on Gaza and why cutting international aid has not made the migrant crisis worse

Politics

2 w. ago Jared Kushner is back – and so are big questions about his financial ties | Mohamad Bazzi

Kushner’s investment firm is backed by three Arab petrostates critical to the Gaza agreement. And the deals keep comingIn Donald Trump’s first term, his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner was omnipresent. He worked on criminal justice reform, Covid-19 vaccine development and modernizing technology across federal agencies. His portfolio extended to foreign policy, as he brokered a new North American trade agreement and negotiated peace deals in the Middle East. But when Trump returned to the White House in January, Kushner stayed out of the limelight and declined to take a formal role in the administration.A few weeks ago, Kushner re-emerged as a central player behind Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, which so far has achieved a ceasefire, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory. Kushner took a victory lap, as Trump and others in the US administration gave him significant credit for helping negotiate ...

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