U.S. Judge says Kari Lake broke law in overseeing Voice of America toggle caption Tom Brenner/AP A federal judge overseeing a raft of legal challenges to the Trump administration's drive to dismantle the Voice of America ruled Saturday evening that Kari Lake had acted unlawfully in running the network's parent agency. "Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution," U...
U.S. Judge says Kari Lake broke law in overseeing Voice of America toggle caption Tom Brenner/AP A federal judge overseeing a raft of legal challenges to the Trump administration's drive to dismantle the Voice of America ruled Saturday evening that Kari Lake had acted unlawfully in running the network's parent agency. "Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution," U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote in his ruling . He declared all of Lake's actions over the past year to be null and void. That includes the layoffs of more than 1,000 journalists and staffers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the Voice of America. Sponsor Message NPR first reported in depth last August on questions about the legality of her taking on the title and powers of the agency's self-declared acting chief executive. The judge's ruling represents an absolute rebuke to the Trump White House and especially to Lake and her inner circle. It follows a series of courtroom exchanges in which Lamberth has found the government's arguments that Congress had no role to play in the future of the agency and the network unconvincing and called Lake's credibility into question from the bench. Last summer he threatened Lake with contempt of court. Lake told NPR Saturday night that she would appeal the ruling from Lamberth, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan. "The American people gave President Trump a mandate to cut bloated bureaucracy, eliminate waste, and restore accountability to government," she wrote. "An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM. Judge Lamberth has a pattern of activist rulings — and this case is no different." If left standing, Lamberth's decision would open the door to reversing a series of sweeping acts taken by Lake in trying to kill Voice of America and other international networks that receive federal funding. They include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadc...
"But I believe this is a conversation that one needs to have after we have a careful reflection as to what has transpired, especially in recent days and hours," he told BBC Newsnight.
"But I believe this is a conversation that one needs to have after we have a careful reflection as to what has transpired, especially in recent days and hours," he told BBC Newsnight.
As a new book of his lyrics, poems and selected musings is published, the White Stripes’ singer, songwriter and general guitar hero reflects on poetry, politics and why writing a song is like reupholstering a chair On the jacket of Jack White: Collected Lyrics & Selected Writing Volume 1, the poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib writes: “I wish I read more people who talked about Jack White as a write...
As a new book of his lyrics, poems and selected musings is published, the White Stripes’ singer, songwriter and general guitar hero reflects on poetry, politics and why writing a song is like reupholstering a chair On the jacket of Jack White: Collected Lyrics & Selected Writing Volume 1, the poet and critic Hanif Abdurraqib writes: “I wish I read more people who talked about Jack White as a writer of lyrics.” He makes a good point. White is celebrated as a singer, guitarist, producer and generator of indelible riffs but not so much as a wordsmith. His new book, edited by official archivist Ben Blackwell, sets the record straight. Following 2023’s The White Stripes Complete Lyrics 1997-2007, it covers every song White has written outside that band, along with several poems, Instagram ruminations and scans from his notebooks. White, 50, thinks fast and talks fast. He’s sitting in the Nashville headquarters of Third Man, a record label, recording studio, pressing plant, publishing house, shop and ever-expanding vessel for White’s vision of what is worth valuing and preserving in American culture. He’s a kind of historian of American vernacular, drawn to the relationship between pop and the avant garde, between maverick auteurs and the communal imagination. His own work proves that defiant eccentricity is no obstacle to stadium shows and Bond themes, and that being wildly prolific hasn’t diminished his mystique. With this book, he turns his curatorial eye on himself. Continue reading...
Home is indeed where the heart is. On Friday Sabrina Wittmann signed a new deal to stay at FC Ingolstadt, continuing a partnership whose roots go back nearly two decades but which became of wider public interest when the third-tier club appointed her as the first female coach of a German professional football team in summer 2024. There is no tokenism in the club’s choice, underlined not only by th...
Home is indeed where the heart is. On Friday Sabrina Wittmann signed a new deal to stay at FC Ingolstadt, continuing a partnership whose roots go back nearly two decades but which became of wider public interest when the third-tier club appointed her as the first female coach of a German professional football team in summer 2024. There is no tokenism in the club’s choice, underlined not only by the contract extension but by the 34-year-old’s recent completion of her coaching pro licence, awarded to her just over a month ago. “I’ll always be the first woman in Germany coaching a professional men’s team,” Wittmann says, “but I want to be seen as a coach. “It’s OK to be the first woman, I’m really proud of it, but in the end I want to be a good coach, I want to be a good manager, I want to be a good human being towards my players. It’s about how you want to be seen, not just about being the first.” Wittmann is not unhappy to be a pioneer and recognises the power of her presence in the game but is convinced that the real power is to be perceived on equal terms to her male counterparts. This is why extending the adventure with Ingolstadt – “where I know every single employee” – makes perfect sense. The club are well aware of the importance of Wittmann’s trailblazing but to them she is just Sabrina, with – as the managing director, Dieter Beiersdorfer, put it in the statement that announced the new contract – “her many years of experience at FC Ingolstadt 04 [having] instilled in her an exceptional sense of identification with and responsibility for our club”. Continuing to work with Wittmann is an endorsement of her qualities rather than a matter of principle. View image in fullscreen Sabrina Wittmann issues instructions during an Ingolstadt training session: ‘I want to be a good human being towards my players.’ Photograph: FC Ingolstadt 04 Born in Ingolstadt, 50 miles north of Munich, in 1991, she took her first steps in football there as a teenager, after being encoura...
An inflation shock triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran could wreck a fragile global economic recovery that had been expected to gain momentum this year. With oil and gas prices spiking, despite a pledge from Donald Trump to protect tankers making their way through the crucial strait of Hormuz shipping chokepoint, central bankers and economists have warned that a prolonged conflict could incr...
An inflation shock triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran could wreck a fragile global economic recovery that had been expected to gain momentum this year. With oil and gas prices spiking, despite a pledge from Donald Trump to protect tankers making their way through the crucial strait of Hormuz shipping chokepoint, central bankers and economists have warned that a prolonged conflict could increase retail prices around the world and force them to rip up growth forecasts for this year. On Friday, the International Monetary Fund managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said a 10% increase in energy prices that persists for a year would push up global inflation by 40 basis points and slow global economic growth by 0.1-0.2%. “The world economy has been remarkably resilient. Shock after shock, and yet growth is at 3.3%,” Georgieva told Bloomberg. Some economists argue that a jump in the price of energy and transport costs, significant though they are for households and businesses, could prove to be a sideshow if the bombing of Iran by the US and Israel destabilises financial markets already worried about ballooning AI stocks and the impact of US import tariffs. “It’s not like this war has started with the world in a settled place,” said Lord Jim O’Neill, the ex-chief economist of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and former government adviser. There are also analysts who worry about the chaos prompted by Iran’s retaliatory bombing of Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and, most recently, Azerbaijan, which could trigger a further re-ordering of global strategic alliances – and not to the west’s benefit. O’Neill, a crossbench peer, said the White House appeared to have given little consideration to the geopolitical impact of its opportunistic assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and subsequent bombing campaign. “The Gulf states will be thinking the US is an unreliable partner and be drawn towards China, India and Brazil,” he said. O’Neill became famous more than 20 years ago f...
There is a specific, restless energy to Neil Warnock that defies the traditional laws of ageing and the modern conventions of football management. At 77, he still wakes up in the dead of night to obsess over the overlapping runs of a National League South full-back. “When I was thinking about the system this morning at four o’clock, [I was like]: ‘What are you doing?’” he said, a smile cutting thr...
There is a specific, restless energy to Neil Warnock that defies the traditional laws of ageing and the modern conventions of football management. At 77, he still wakes up in the dead of night to obsess over the overlapping runs of a National League South full-back. “When I was thinking about the system this morning at four o’clock, [I was like]: ‘What are you doing?’” he said, a smile cutting through the post-match gloom at Ebbsfleet. The setting was hardly Premier League-like – a crowd of 1,467 huddled under a gloomy sky – but for Warnock, the stakes of the dugout remain existential. Even if the reality of his years occasionally intrudes on his tactical scouting. “When you get to my age, you have to go to the toilet a few times [which is why he was awake] … but I’m enjoying every minute of this.” Warnock’s return to the frontline with Torquay United feels less like a managerial appointment and more like the return of a beloved stage actor for one last showing. Having joined the Gulls as a football adviser in 2024 after the Bryn Consortium’s takeover, he stepped into the breach as caretaker on 1 March after Paul Wotton was sacked. It is his 21st managerial spell. At Ebbsfleet, the air was thick with celebrity worship not usually reserved for managers in the National League South. The press box was full, with local reporters used to the quiet hum of the sixth tier alongside national outlets seeking a glimpse of Warnock. “I still can’t quite believe it,” said Toby, 34, a lifelong Torquay fan before the match. “I have called in sick for this game. I will probably continue to do so. I usually make it to a couple of games a season but I want to enjoy this as long as it lasts. I think he can get us promoted. He’s only done it eight times before.” That may be too tough a task, even for Warnock. Torquay, ravaged by injuries and sagging under the weight of recent relegation and administration, were dismantled 3-0. Warnock’s 3-5-2 system, designed to let his wingbacks fly fo...
China should build an underground network across its western region to protect key energy and defence facilities, securing long-term reserves while boosting national security and crisis resilience, energy experts have said. Zhang Shishu, chief technical expert at Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), a state-owned energy and infrastructure giant, called for critical facilities to b...
China should build an underground network across its western region to protect key energy and defence facilities, securing long-term reserves while boosting national security and crisis resilience, energy experts have said. Zhang Shishu, chief technical expert at Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), a state-owned energy and infrastructure giant, called for critical facilities to be embedded deep beneath the Earth’s surface at a safer, less detectable level. In an article for the Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang said that strategic sites – such as the southwestern hydropower hubs and the northwestern oil and gas fields – were ideal for subterranean facilities to store oil, natural gas and rare metals. A view of the Baihetan hydropower station, which straddles the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan in southwestern China. Photo: Xinhua “Major national projects should prioritise relocating essential facilities below ground to shield them from potential attacks and make them less visible,” the article said. Advertisement “Moving critical infrastructure underground and building concealed strategic tunnels with backup systems would significantly reinforce national defence and border security.” The article, published in February, was written by a team of PowerChina engineers led by Zhang. Advertisement
AI chatbots are recommending illegal online casinos to vulnerable social media users, putting them at increased risk of fraud, addiction and even suicide. Analysis of five AI products, owned by some of the world’s largest tech companies, found that all could easily be prompted to list the “best” unlicensed casinos and offer tips on how to use them. These operators, operating typically under the fi...
AI chatbots are recommending illegal online casinos to vulnerable social media users, putting them at increased risk of fraud, addiction and even suicide. Analysis of five AI products, owned by some of the world’s largest tech companies, found that all could easily be prompted to list the “best” unlicensed casinos and offer tips on how to use them. These operators, operating typically under the fig leaf of a licence from tiny jurisdictions such as the Caribbean island of Curacao, have been linked to fraud, addiction and even suicide. But tech firms appear to have few controls in place to prevent AI chatbots recommending them, drawing condemnation from the government, the UK gambling regulator, campaigners and a leading addiction expert. Some of the bots offered advice on bypassing checks designed to protect vulnerable people, while Meta AI, part of the social media group behind Facebook, described legally required measures to prevent crime and addiction as a “buzzkill” and a “real pain”. Several offered to compare bonuses – incentives designed to hook in players – and make recommendations based on which sites offered quick payouts or allowed payments and withdrawals in cryptocurrency. Big tech companies have vowed to tweak their AI software in response to mounting concern about the potential risks to users, particularly young people and children. High-profile incidents include chatbots talking to teens about suicide and services such as Grok’s “nudification” feature, which allows users to generate images of women and even children undressed or as victims of violence. Now, an investigation by the Guardian and Investigative Europe, an independent journalism cooperative, has found that chatbots appear to be acting as conduits to offshore casinos. Such websites are not licensed to operate in the UK – meaning they are doing so illegally – and have been accused of targeting people with gambling problem. An inquest earlier this year found that illegal casinos were “part of...
Caffè Nero will continue opening new shops in the UK and overseas, but has warned coffee prices are likely to keep rising as the war in Iran and higher staffing costs feed through. The family-owned business, which has just bought the 15-store Compass Coffee based in Washington DC to convert to its main brand, is aiming to open as many as 30 UK stores and between 50 and 70 more this year across the...
Caffè Nero will continue opening new shops in the UK and overseas, but has warned coffee prices are likely to keep rising as the war in Iran and higher staffing costs feed through. The family-owned business, which has just bought the 15-store Compass Coffee based in Washington DC to convert to its main brand, is aiming to open as many as 30 UK stores and between 50 and 70 more this year across the 10 other countries it operates in. Gerry Ford, who founded Caffè Nero in 1997 and remains its majority shareholder, said the 1,151-outlet business, which employs 11,000 people around the world, was outperforming its bigger rivals Starbucks and Costa. Starbucks has been closing outlets in North America and Costa’s owner Coca-Cola recently ditched plans for a sale after losses widened and sales fell at established stores. Ford suggested those brands had expanded too rapidly and suffered from multiple management changes. “We have been more consistent in what we are trying to do. We have not had massive growth upswings. We are going at a steady pace,” he said. “We can expand more rapidly or slow down. We have more flexibility as not trying to hit a quarterly reporting target. We are able to have longer-term planning. View image in fullscreen Caffè Nero founder Gerry Ford said the chain was outperforming its bigger rivals Starbucks and Costa. Photograph: Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/Shutterstock “We don’t want to take over the world. We need to move to our own rhythm. “We never wanted to suffer the consequence of trying to be everywhere for everybody.” After buying up Nottingham’s 200 Degrees for about £9m in October 2024 and snapping up Wales’ Coffee#1 and former Tesco-owned operator Harris +Hoole in recent years, the business is expanding those brands as well as its eponymous chain. However, Caffè Nero’s plans for more acquisitions are on hold for at least a year as the group absorbs its series of recent acquisitions which have led to higher borrowing and related finance costs. In ...
The sad thing for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is that the cycle of racism feels endless. It was prevalent in football before his playing days and throughout his career as a prolific striker, and it has persisted since he retired in 2008. Football’s racism problem has been thrust back into the spotlight in recent weeks after Vinícius Júnior accused Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him in Real Ma...
The sad thing for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is that the cycle of racism feels endless. It was prevalent in football before his playing days and throughout his career as a prolific striker, and it has persisted since he retired in 2008. Football’s racism problem has been thrust back into the spotlight in recent weeks after Vinícius Júnior accused Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him in Real Madrid’s Champions League tie with Benfica, and four Premier League players were racially abused on social media across a single weekend, prompting police investigations. “We keep on getting dragged back into it,” Hasselbaink says. “It’s like we have to start all over again. It never ends.” Hasselbaink knows first-hand how it feels. During his time at Atlético Madrid he sometimes heard racist chants, and once, walking out of a stadium, was spat on by supporters. “I was the only one being spat on, and I was the only black player in the team really,” he says. “Nobody helped me.” He trails off. How did it make him feel? “It makes you feel worthless. It makes you feel like you’re a piece of shit. Everybody moved on. It wasn’t really spoken of. People saw it. What can you do when you stand by yourself?” Hasselbaink says he “didn’t have it as bad as Vinícius”, who has been allegedly racially abused 20 times in eight years at Real Madrid – most of them in Spain. The 53-year-old worries it will be difficult for Uefa, which has launched an investigation, to prove the accusation against Prestianni after the Benfica winger covered his mouth with his shirt. Kylian Mbappé alleged he had heard Prestianni call Vinícius a “monkey” five times but Prestianni denies using racist language. View image in fullscreen Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was a prolific striker before retiring in 2008. Photograph: Tony Olmos/The Guardian “We all think he has said something, because why is he covering his mouth?” Hasselbaink says. “But we cannot prove it. That is still a grey area. “In the name of law, you have to...
The first song I fell in love with Baggy Trousers by Madness. I remember thinking it was the most brilliant thing I’d ever heard, partly because there was a man in huge trousers suspended from the ceiling playing a saxophone on Top of the Pops. That probably helped. It was hilarious! The first single I bought The Smurfs? I think I just asked for it rather than went out and bought it myself because...
The first song I fell in love with Baggy Trousers by Madness. I remember thinking it was the most brilliant thing I’d ever heard, partly because there was a man in huge trousers suspended from the ceiling playing a saxophone on Top of the Pops. That probably helped. It was hilarious! The first single I bought The Smurfs? I think I just asked for it rather than went out and bought it myself because I was three. Apparently I was mesmerised by both Kate Bush and the Smurfs, so I had great taste in music. The first single I bought with my own pocket money was probably I Should Be So Lucky, because I hadn’t become acquainted with the Fall yet. The song I inexplicably know every lyric to It’s weird when lyrics you don’t particularly like find their way into your memory. I know more music hall songs than I should for my age, because we were forced to sing them in drama school. I also remember the lyrics to the Hold a Chicken in the Air song from Spitting Image. I was 11 at the time. The best song to play at a party Ghost Town by the Specials. It’s probably the best song ever made. It’s not really the best thing to play at a party, but sometimes it’s nice to have a sit down and contemplate things. The song I can no longer listen to The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. This was the opening music they’d play every night when I was on tour with the play What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton. I was understudying and assistant stage managing at the time, and the stage manager was a total arsehole. He made my life a misery. Every time I hear this music I feel as if I’m standing in the wings again and I feel physically sick. The song that changed my life Probably The Container Drivers by the Fall. I was always more into comedy than music. I found bands that took themselves really seriously embarrassing. When I discovered the Fall it was a complete revelation. The lyrics were just so funny and mundane. The song that gets me up in the morning Java by Bert Kaempfert. I love Bert Kaempf...
By late afternoon in Putrajaya, the smell of smoke fills the air. Charcoal pits glow along the side of the road as office workers and families with school-aged children in tow move through the haze with the deliberate purpose of people who have not eaten since dawn. This is a Ramadan bazaar in full bloom: rows of bright pink drinks in plastic cups, towers of kueh – bite-sized sweet and savoury sna...
By late afternoon in Putrajaya, the smell of smoke fills the air. Charcoal pits glow along the side of the road as office workers and families with school-aged children in tow move through the haze with the deliberate purpose of people who have not eaten since dawn. This is a Ramadan bazaar in full bloom: rows of bright pink drinks in plastic cups, towers of kueh – bite-sized sweet and savoury snacks – in every colour, and, at one particularly busy stall, rows of whole chickens turning slowly over an open flame. Nur Afifi has no time for small talk. His ayam golek (rotisserie chicken) operation is running at full tilt and he is watching the birds like a man who knows exactly how much each one is worth. Advertisement “I run a school canteen at a religious school, so during Ramadan the canteen closes,” said the 36-year-old, his eyes still on the grill. “That’s why I opened an ayam golek stall here instead.” Chicken is grilled over charcoal at Nur Afifi’s stall in Putrajaya, where he says one month of sales can help cover the rest of the year. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof Each chicken sells for 25 ringgit (HK$50). On a typical day, he moves roughly 150 of them. Over 30 days, that translates to more than 100,000 ringgit (HK$198,000) in gross sales. One month. One product. Enough money to sustain him for the rest of the year. Advertisement “People say it is only one month,” he said. “But that one month can cover us for the whole year.”