Two former employees of Houghton University in New York were fired in April after refusing to remove gender pronouns from their email signatures. Raegan Zelaya and Shua Wilmot, residence hall directors at the Christian university, had used “she/her” and “he/him” respectively. Both maintained that the pronouns were included both as a gesture of inclusion and to help people identify their gender when contact was by email. Although neither employee was transgender, they saw their inclusion of the pronouns as positive. The university, which is affiliated with the conservative branch of the Methodist Church, claimed the terminations were unrelated to use of pronouns.
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the French Open with a muscle injury, marking the first time the Spaniard will miss the tournament since 2004. Nadal, who won the tournament a record 13 times, has been dogged with injuries in recent years with a fractured rib and abdominal injury in 2022 and a hip injury in 2023. The severity of this latest ailment has prevented Nadal from "competing at 100%", and he stated that time has caught up with him. Nadal has outlined that he still wants to compete professionally but will take an extended break from tennis to allow his injuries to heal. He will be absent from the French Open draw, where players such as Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud are among the favourites to win.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has met with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a potential rival for the GOP presidential nomination, ahead of his campaign launch as he swung through the first-in-the-nation primary state. Sununu is seriously considering a presidential bid and has publicly criticised some of DeSantis’s policy moves, including the Florida governor’s still-escalating battle with Disney, which Sununu and some other Republicans consider at odds with "free market" conservatism. Support here could be pivotal in the governor’s efforts to pull ahead of clear front-runner and potential rival Donald Trump in 2024.
There was no plan B for Russia in Ukraine and Putin cannot win, lose, or stop, according to New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman. He reveals that Ukraine's 1991 independence was seen as an "unfortunate historical misunderstanding" by the Russian elite, who have sought to bring Ukraine back into the fold ever since. Ukraine, just like Russia, did not have a plan B; the fight against Russian aggression and its invasion of the eastern part of Ukraine has been long and tiring. Marich believes Ukraine's path to peace "is NATO."
The National Archives has uncovered 16 records showing that former President Trump and his top advisers were aware of the correct declassification process when he was president and knew he was breaking rules by taking classified documents to Mar-a-Lago. The findings were revealed in a letter sent to Trump by archivist Debra Steidel Wall, who wrote: “The 16 records in question all reflect communications involving close presidential advisers, some of them directed to you personally, concerning whether, why, and how you should declassify certain classified records.” The documents will be turned over to Special Counsel Jack Smith as part of the criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents.
Meanwhile, the former Attorney General under the Trump administration and Bush administration, Bill Barr, hinted that the situation could “expose” former President Trump if he “played games” after the government requested the classified documents. “The problem is what did he do after the government asked for them back and subpoenaed them? And if there’s any games being played there, he’s going to be very exposed,” Barr said.
In a poll of 1,571 registered voters, conducted by Republican polling firm WPA Research, President Joe Biden would be vaulted to a massive lead over Trump if the former president faces further criminal charges arising from the federal and state criminal investigations into his conduct. The poll found that voters currently prefer Biden over Trump by a margin of 47% to 40%, including a 14-point lead for the sitting president amongst registered independents. Even if Trump were to receive all of the indicted votes, the president would still hold a 4-point lead.
The pursuit of faithfulness in book-to-film adaptations is overrated, according to The Guardian's film critic, Adam White. In an op-ed, White explains that faithfulness as a concept tends to be spurious the closer it is scrutinised, and can hinder a filmmaker's ability to make creative casting choices based around race or age. White also argues that an exact representation of a novel on screen is not necessary if a film is to be considered successful, citing adaptations such as Blade Runner and Shrek as popular movie franchises that have taken liberties with the source material. There have also been successes in unfaithful casting choices, White writes, such as critics initial doubts around Renee Zellweger's portrayal of Bridget Jones, which were soon disregarded after the film's release.
The decision by Joe Biden to halt his trip to Australia has cost the media a wasted expense of up to $25,000 per person, wiping out costs for hotel bookings, ground transportation, a shared press filing centre, among other costs. Organised by the White House Travel Office, the now-cancelled charter flight cost $1.1m or around $21,000 per person for the 55 travel journalists who had reserved seats. Journalists will be immediately off the hook for a deposit of around $11,500 each and will be forced to scuttle for last-minute, alternative return travel plans from Hiroshima to Washington, losing some or all of the cost of their return flights from Sydney to Washington. Some correspondents fear the mounting expenses from such overseas trips will force their bosses to pull back coverage of the president on overseas trips, thus damaging chances of any future charter flights.
Amid an ongoing culture war over free speech, gay rights and other progressive issues, record efforts to ban books are fueling fights in Texas, Virginia and across the US. Yet only one previous case of a library book ban has ended up before the Supreme Court, that of Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, largely forgotten outside law school classrooms. The Pico saga began on Long Island in September 1975, when two members of the Island Trees school board searched the library of Island Trees High School, finding nine books they deemed “objectionable”. Months later, the board removed all nine books for being “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and just plain filthy”. Five students, including the student council president, sued the board in January 1977. The US Court of Appeals ruled in favour of the students, in June 1982, but with only two justices fully joining their opinion, the ruling set a weak precedent. Book-banning continues to this day, drawing in victims of the lawfare culture.
Concerns about the health of U.S. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein are growing amid revelations this week that she was diagnosed with encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by complications from shingles. Feinstein still managed to cast a couple of votes after returning from a two-month absence last week, but her home-state party seems to be increasingly concerned about her ability to continue to work. As it stands, Feinstein's aides have revealed hardly any information about her medical conditions. However, State Party Progressive Caucus Chairman Amar Shergill told The Washington Post that Feinstein's struggles "during simple conversations with reporters about when she was working and when she wasn't” may suggest she is no longer capable of "representing her constituents in D.C."
Despite growing tensions, there is no indication that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, or California Governor Gavin Newsom, deem it their role to ask Feinstein to step down. If she does, the subsequent appointment will be politically fraught. Newsom, who would make the selection, would need to choose between three Democratic members of the House from California who are vying to replace her: Adam B. Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee. Newsom is also under pressure to appoint a Black woman, in line with a promise made in 2021 to replace Senator Kamala Harris. Among the key choices are Lee, who was a past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and is currently the highest-ranking Black woman appointed to Democratic leadership in the House. However, others, including former Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, may be in contention for the role.
Acclaimed British author Martin Amis has died at the age of 73 from oesophageal cancer. Amis wrote several novels and non-fiction books, including Money and London Fields, and was considered one of the most influential writers of his time. He won a Somerset Maugham award for his first novel, the Rachel Papers, in 1974. Known for his darkly comic subject matter and satire, Amis was also a public intellectual, commentator on current affairs and politics, and memoirist. His most recent novel, Inside Story, was published last year. He was the son of novelist and poet Kingsley Amis.
British writer Martin Amis has died aged 73. The author of 15 novels, seven non-fiction works, and a short story collection, his satire revealed the excesses of UK society. He was awarded the prestigious James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction twice, in 1987 for The Old Devils and in 1991 for Time’s Arrow. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Senior Minister Michael Gove and former Prime Minister David Cameron were among those who paid tribute to Amis's "incredible talent", calling his death "a great loss".
British writer Martin Amis, known for his dark comedic novels, has died at the age of 73. The cause of his death was esophageal cancer, according to his wife, Isabel Fonseca.
Scottish money manager Baillie Gifford, best known for backing high-growth tech firms, has acquired shares in The New York Times through its Sustainable Growth Fund. The asset manager, which holds £250bn ($343bn) in assets, has justified its inclusion of the US newspaper group in the fund by arguing that it plays an important role in holding institutions to account, shining a light on high-profile scandals. Baillie Gifford added that the paper's value would increase over time, given the rise of artificial intelligence and the need for reliable, fact-based reporting.
Several countries across the Middle East have reportedly moved away from the US dollar in reaction to ongoing dollar rationing strategies set in place by the United States. As previously reported, on 15 May 2021 Iraq band all business deals and exchanges of the dollar with Iran, and underlining an existing case where the nation’s authorities made it more difficult for individuals to obtain dollars as the US had revealed increasing concerns that much of its currency was being smuggled to Iran, which is under sanctions. This extreme measure against the dollar has since highlighted a trend in the Middle East where the continuous slowing of the currency’s value has led Saudi Arabia's finance minister to state it is “open” to pricing oil sales using different currencies, including the Chinese yuan and the euro. Similarly, in February this year, Iraq confirmed its intention to conduct business with China using yuan, instead of dollars.
France and the US have admitted that their diplomats destroyed the passports of Sudanese citizens who had applied for visas, leaving them trapped in the war-torn country. The diplomats claim that they were following protocol to stop sensitive documents falling into the wrong hands. However, this has done nothing to assuage the anger of the stranded Sudanese citizens. The rush to evacuate embassies, because of the fighting erupted between the rival forces of Sudan’s top generals earlier this year, caused many documents to be left behind, including passports that had been submitted for visa applications.
Martin Amis, the novelist who helped redefine British literature with dark, satirical novels, has died aged 73. His heavy doses of cultural criticism and misanthropic bite saw him compared to Kingsley Amis, his father. The so-called London trilogy is thought to have dramatised the greed, compromised morals and a society asleep at the wheel and continues to hold a place in contemporary British literature. His most recently published novel, “Inside Story” (2020), was described as a “novelized autobiography” that included reminiscences of fellow writers and friends including Christopher Hitchens and Saul Bellow. Earlier this week, a film adaptation of his 2014 novel “The Zone of Interest” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and died at his home in Lake Worth, Fla. His survivors include Mr. Amis’s two children from his first marriage; two children with wife Isabel Fonseca, and a daughter from another relationship.
British novelist Martin Amis has died from oesophageal cancer aged 73. Amis wrote 14 novels including the best-sellers "Money," "The Information" and "London Fields." He also authored a 2000 memoir, "Experience." His first book, "The Rachel Papers," was published in 1973 when he was 23. Amis is known for having redefined British fiction and emerged as a leading intellectual in the country during the 1980s and 1990s, along with contemporaries Ian McEwan and Salman Rushdie.
The head of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed that his mercenaries and Russian allies have captured the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a claim that Ukrainian military officials have contradicted. While the situation appears to be critical for the Ukrainian forces, who are facing a barrage of artillery fire and aerial bombardment, they insist that their troops are remaining engaged in combat operations. Bakhmut is seen by many as something of a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression, with Kiev's defence of the city central to two strategic objectives: degrading the Russian forces, and forcing Russian commanders to draw troops from alternative front lines, thereby weakening their positions there. While Ukrainian forces have been making progress on the northern and southern flanks of the city, the battle is still in its early stages.
Orcas off the coast of Spain and Portugal have led to the sinking of boats, leading researchers to believe they may be seeking revenge for a female orca that had suffered a traumatic experience with a boat. A marine biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal suggested that a female orca called White Gladis had started attacking boats after a “critical moment of agony” and had taught other adult orcas to do the same. While the “disruptive” interactions between orcas and boats were generally minor, some had resulted in sinkings. Researchers warned that the situation could become an issue for the safety of sailors and the orcas themselves, especially as the animals are endangered in the area.
The late author Martin Amis, who left the UK for America in 2011, was known for his sharp views on English life and society. In his novels, he frequently depicted debased culture and class consciousness, such as the “rampant and… laughably undiscriminating enthusiasm” of the American audience. Amis saw the decline of civilisation as a result of losing the Empire and regretted the contraction in English literature. At a talk held in 2006, he asked an audience whether they felt morally superior to the Taliban – only around a third put their hands up. Before Amis’s death in September, he won planning permission to build a two-bedroom house and underground swimming pool at his London home amid opposition from “Nimby” neighbours who drew up a petition against him.
