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Suleimani killing: Donald Trump defends threat to hit cultural sites in Iran US president a vows ‘major retaliation’ if Tehran takes revenge over US killing of General Qassem SuleimaniDonald Trump has defended his threat to target Iranian cultural sites – widely seen as a war crime – if Tehran retaliates for the killing of General Qassem Suleimani.On bellicose form, the US president also lashed out at Iraq following its parliament’s demand for American troops to be expelled from that country, and vowed to respond with crippling sanctions. Continue reading... Go to Source

Top FTSE bosses paid typical worker's annual salary in just 33 hours High Pay Centre figures should be ‘source of national shame’, say unionsSenior executives in the UK’s top 100 companies took just 33 hours to be paid more than the typical worker’s annual salary, according to data that unions say should be a “source of national shame”.Figures released by the High Pay Centre thinktank showed that the typical FTSE 100 chief executive is paid 117 times more than the median worker, at £901.30 an hour or £3.46m a year. Continue reading... Go to Source

Golden Globes 2020: 1917 and Fleabag lead British invasion with major wins The first big awards show of the year saw British victories across the board, including for Olivia Colman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sam MendesIt was a night of stratospherically high star-wattage – Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Elton John, the list goes on – and big wins for British productions at the 77th Golden Globes, a night overstuffed with largely unsurprising awards, host Ricky Gervais’s apathy toward award shows, and calls to vote in 2020. Related: Ricky Gervais targets Apple, Epstein and Cats in Golden Globes monologue Continue reading... Go to Source

Anti-abortion activists increasingly targeting UK university students NUS reports rise in anti-abortion societies in students’ unions and demonstrations nationwideAnti-abortion campaigners are increasingly targeting students at UK universities, where there has been a rise in the number of anti-abortion societies on campus and demonstrations by outside groups displaying graphic imagery.The campaign has gathered momentum on the back of a continuing debate about freedom of speech in universities. Some student unions have been threatened with legal action if they attempt to prevent anti-abortion groups opening on campus. Continue reading... Go to Source

Pompeo scrambles to defend Trump claim killing Suleimani will save US lives Secretary of state attempts to defend legality of air strikePete Buttigieg: ‘Pompeo did not prove strike prevented attack’The Trump administration was scrambling on Sunday to justify its claim that the killing of Iran’s most powerful general was about stopping a war rather than starting one, as tensions spiralled by the hour. Related: Trump vows to hit 52 sites 'very hard' if Iran retaliates over Suleimani killing Continue reading... Go to Source

Anti-Isis coalition suspends operations as Iraqi MPs vote to expel US troops Group to focus on protecting its forces after US killing of Iranian general Qassem SuleimaniThe international coalition fighting Islamic State has suspended operations against the terrorist group so its forces can concentrate on protecting US, UK and other troops at bases in Iraq following the killing of Qassem Suleimani.The announcement came minutes before the Iraqi parliament passed a motion calling for the expulsion of US troops, in the aftermath of the assassination by the US of the Iranian general and the leader of Iraq’s Hezbollah militia outside Baghdad airport on Friday. Continue reading... Go to Source

Trump vows to hit 52 sites 'very hard' if Iran retaliates for Suleimani killing As general’s body is returned to Iran, president says targets represent the 52 US hostages taken by Iran in 1979 Donald Trump has threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites “very hard” if Iran attacks Americans or US assets in retaliation for the drone strike that killed the Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani and an Iraqi militia leader.The US president made the threat in a tweet hours before Suleimani’s body arrived in Iran for burial and ramifications of the killings were reverberating across a nervous region, where many believe the aftermath could spark a new era of bloodletting and instability. Continue reading... Go to Source

Britain 'on same page' as US over Suleimani killing, says Raab Foreign secretary says UK sympathetic to Washington and focused on restoring calmDominic Raab has said Britain is “on the same page” as the US in relation to Friday’s assassination of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani.Amid continuing questions about the legal justification for US actions, Raab said the UK government was “sympathetic” to Washington’s situation. Continue reading... Go to Source

Making of a martyr: how Qassem Suleimani was hunted down The drone strike on Iran’s enforcer could radically transform the Middle EastFor Qassem Suleimani, the 62-year-old head of Iran’s Quds Force, and one of the most powerful men in the Middle East, the short flight from Damascus to Baghdad late on Thursday was routine. Travelling by private charter, the architect of Tehran’s strategic efforts from Lebanon through Syria and Iraq to Yemen would have avoided all formalities at one of the world’s most securely guarded airports.As his plane touched down just after midnight on Friday morning after reportedly disappearing from commercial flight trackers shortly before landing, two cars were waiting to greet the burly general at the aircraft steps. Continue reading....

Labour leadership: Jess Phillips says party could argue to rejoin EU Birmingham Yardley MP opens up divide with fellow contender Keir Starmer, who wants party to move onThe Labour leadership contender Jess Phillips has said she would be prepared to argue for Britain to re-enter the European Union at the next general election, opening a divide with the shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer, who has insisted Labour must move on.Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill cleared its first parliamentary hurdle before Christmas, and the prime minister is expected to use his comfortable majority to carry it through parliament in time for Britain to leave the EU at the end of this month. Continue reading... Go to Source

Rebel alliance ready to put a halt to the ‘disneyfication’ of Edinburgh Some residents fear the city’s public spaces are being sacrificed to tourismFor 800 years or so the castle that keeps watch above Scotland’s capital has borne witness to the bloody rise and fall of kingdoms and nations. Now, the war is one of ideas, with Edinburgh’s eternal soul on the line.On one side is Underbelly, the London events company which claims to have taken Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations to another level. It is backed by a city council which has gleefully watched the numbers rise in those indexes that confer tourism superstardom: unique-users, profits and exposure. Continue reading... Go to Source