White House says only person committing war crimes is actor ‘for his awful movies and terrible acting ability’The long-running war of words between George Clooney and the White House has ignited again after the Oscar-winning actor criticised Donald Trump’s threat to Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight”.On Wednesday, in a speech to 3,000 high school students in Cuneo, Italy, Clooney said the US president had committed a war crime with his threat. Continue reading...

George Clooney calls Donald Trump’s ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’ threat to Iran a war crime
White House says only person committing war crimes is actor ‘for his awful movies and terrible acting ability’ The long-running war of words between George Clooney and the White House has ignited again after the Oscar-winning actor criticised Donald Trump’s threat to Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight”. On Wednesday, in a speech to 3,000 high school students in Cuneo, Italy, Clooney said the US president had committed a war crime with his threat. Continue reading...
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Iran cannot ‘hijack’ strait of Hormuz with shipping tolls, says Yvette Cooper – UK politics live
As Keir Starmer continues his Gulf visit, foreign secretary says laws of the sea prevent Tehran from charging for passage of ‘international transit route’ Good morning. Keir Starmer is still in the Gulf, and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has been doing a round of interviews this morning, ahead of delivering a speech on foreign policy this evening. As Jamie Grierson reports, Cooper has been arguing forcefully that Lebanon must be included in the US-Iran ceasefire. The starting point here is this is an international transit route. It’s international shipping that uses this. This is part of the international law of the sea. This is a a route between the high seas; it is a trading route. As part of the international maritime law, this is a transit route between the high seas. And whether you talk about Dover or Gibraltar or other straits around the world, there may be territorial waters there, but there’s also an international shipping route and an international transit route, which means that freedom of navigation principles apply and that countries cannot simply hijack those kinds of international transit routes and unilaterally apply tolls. They cannot do that as part of the laws of the sea and the United Nations conventions. Continue reading...

Campaigners demand action to break UK’s ‘addiction’ to herbicides
Use of glyphosate has risen 10-fold in 30 years, raising fears for public health It was Scottish farmers in the 1980s who pioneered the practice of spraying glyphosate on their wheat just before harvest. Struggling in the damp glens to get their crop to dry evenly, they came up with the idea of accelerating the process by killing it a week or two before harvesting. Glyphosate, then a revolutionary herbicide that killed everything plant-based but spared animal life, seemed perfect for the job. Soon the practice spread to wetter, colder agricultural regions around the world. Continue reading...

Four people die in Channel small-boat sinking
French authorities say situation still being assessed after taxi-boat sank between France and UK Four people have died after a small boat sank in the Channel between France and Britain, French local authorities said on Thursday. “A taxi-boat sinking occurred today. The situation is still being assessed and remains subject to change,” local authorities in Calais said in a press statement. Continue reading...

Middle East crisis live: Trump warns Iran to comply with ‘real agreement’ as ceasefire in doubt over Israeli attacks on Lebanon
US president warns that the US will start ‘shooting’ again unless Iran fully complies with deal Middle East ceasefire in serious doubt as Israel assaults Lebanon and Iran blocks oil tankers The UK foreign minister, Yvette Cooper, has said Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement. In other remarks now being reported by Reuters, Cooper added that shipping through the strait of Hormuz must be toll-free. Amid ceasefire talks, Tehran has proposed fees or tolls on vessels to safely pass through the strait. Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested the US and Iran could collect tolls in a joint venture, while the White House said the priority was reopening the strait without limitations. And my principles and values made sure that our decisions were that we wouldn’t get involved in the action without a lawful basis, without a viable, thought-through plan.” Continue reading...