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May 29, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was criticized Friday after giving what was intended as a motivational speech to a group of Navy sailors.Hegseth joined the military personnel for a workout drill on USS Boxer, which is docked in Singapore, when he stopped to give a pep talk about the ongoing Iran war.“The president said 'Iran can either do it the right way, with a deal across the table, or they can deal with my guy on the left.' That happened to be me. But it's not me. It's you guys!” Hegseth said.People online mocked Hegseth's message to the group."The cringe level is off the charts," journalist Aaron Rupar, who has 1.1 million followers, wrote on X."Hegseth is an actor playing a Secdef in a cheesy movie," former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), a frequent Trump administration critic and veteran, wrote on X."Pete Hegseth got how many of our fellow Americans killed and injured and how many bases destroyed all because he used GROK to plan a war with Iran and then got America's A-- handed to her?" Pastor Ben Dixon, a political commentator with more than 164,000 followers, wrote on X."This is so ... stupid!" Gwilym Eades, a lecturer in human and environmental geography at Royal Holloway University of London, wrote on Bluesky.the cringe level is off the charts https://t.co/SvhS7oolvs— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 29, 2026

May 29, 2026 - World

This blog is now closedMinisters are proposing new laws to crack down on damage to undersea cables amid “hostile activity by Russia”, the Press Association reports. PA says:Tougher penalties for ship owners and operators who recklessly damage underwater infrastructure will be set out in a white paper later this year, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said.Acts of sabotage linked to a hostile state already carries life imprisonment for the most serious cases but undersea malicious activity sometimes operates in a “grey zone” which is difficult to prosecute, DSIT said.It’s astonishing that Reform have admitted they knew about Kenyon’s social media accounts. Nigel Farage needs to urgently explain to the public why, if his party was aware of his online history, he was happy to put forward a candidate who has made vile degrading comments about women, multiple homophobic posts and spread dangerous false narratives about the Manchester Arena bombing.I am rough around the edges. I have made mistakes in my life. I’m not perfect. Nobody is. Not a single person in the world is perfect. I think everybody does say things that eventually they regret.It was a crude attempt at a joke to probably about 50 followers.No offence was meant, and it’s not something I’d do now.I think I’ve addressed the issue. I think that no offence was meant and it wasn’t a direct comment to her. If you go into any building site in the area or any public barracks, I think you’d hear a hundred times worse said. Continue reading...

May 29, 2026 - World

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereThe incident comes just days after the Czech president, Petr Pavel, has urged Nato to “show its teeth” in response to Russia’s repeated testing of the alliance’s resolve on its eastern flank, suggesting a range of options including switching off its internet, cutting off its banks from global financial systems and shooting down jets that violate allied airspace.Speaking to the Guardian in Prague last week, Pavel called for “decisive enough, potentially even asymmetric” responses to counter Moscow’s provocative behaviour against the alliance or risk the Kremlin intensifying its actions. Continue reading...

May 29, 2026 - World

Refugee charities say the numbers revealed in freedom of information data are ‘shocking’Lone children were held at UK-run detention centres in France on nearly 300 occasions last year, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.Data obtained by the Guardian shows they are part of about 900 instances when unaccompanied minors have been detained at British short-term facilities near Calais and Dunkirk over the last four years. Continue reading...

May 29, 2026 - World

Opposition says bill to prevent ‘foreign influence’ in elections gives ruling party carte blanche to annul will of votersSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Amid fierce criticism from opposition groups, Mexico’s senate has passed ‌a constitutional amendment to include “foreign interference” as grounds to annul election results in the country.The bill, which was presented by the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, defines foreign interference as “illicit financing, propaganda, the systematic ⁠dissemination of misinformation, digital manipulation, and ⁠the intervention of foreign governments ⁠or agencies”. Continue reading...