Obama to become first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima |TheNews Linzer

The US president ‘will not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb’ at the end of the second world war, national security adviser Ben Rhodes says

Barack Obama has announced he will visit Hiroshima, Japan, becoming the first sitting president to visit the site where the US dropped an atomic bomb in 1945, killing an estimated 140,000 people the final days of the second world war.

In a statement the White House confirmed the visit, saying Obama’s visit will “highlight his continued commitment to pursuing peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons”. Obama will be joined with prime minister Shinzo Abe, who is hosting the G7 summit in Ise-Shima later this month.

Earlier this month White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the president does not believe the US should apologize for its use of atom bombs on Japan in 1945, a point reiterated by national security adviser Ben Rhodes on Tuesday.

Obama “will not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II”, Rhodes wrote in a post on Medium. “This visit will offer an opportunity to honor the memory of all innocents who were lost during the war.” Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com- Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 10 May 2016 14.16 BST

North Carolina's 'bathroom bill' battle embarrasses residents on both sides | TheNews Linzer

The escalating fight over LGBT rights has turned the historically sophisticated, inclusive southern state into a battleground of intolerance

In the family of southern states, North Carolina has long been the cousin who made it.

It enjoyed excellent universities, world-class industries, smooth roads and political stability. A whole class of people arose called “halfbacks”: people who retired from the north-east states to Florida, only to realize North Carolina was better and moved halfway back.

Now, with the state squaring off against the federal government about who can use which bathrooms, the state finds itself at the pointy end of jokes, and lumped in with more strident southern states like Mississippi and – most bitterly – South Carolina.

It’s unfamiliar for North Carolinians. It’s uncomfortable. And many are asking: how did we get here? How did the high-achieving, well-educated cousin end up with a black eye and busted knuckles, reeling over a public toilet? Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com- Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 10 May 2016 13.09 BST

Donald Trump: I don't need Republican unity to win | TheNews Linzer

• Donald Trump expresses surprise at Paul Ryan’s withheld support
• Palin vows to campaign against speaker but McCain will back nominee

Facing rebellion from within his own party, Donald Trump has dismissed unity as a prerequisite for winning the White House in November.

“I think it would be better if it were unified,” said the presumptive Republican nominee in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press broadcast on Sunday. “And I think there would be something good about it. But I don’t think it actually has to be.”

Trump’s last two opponents in a rumbustious primary, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, dropped out abruptly this week. Senior Republicans, including former presidents George HW Bush and George W Bush and House speaker Paul Ryan, subsequently refused to endorse him.

Trump’s lack of support within the Republican party, especially from elected officials who will also facing voters in November, has come as a striking rebuke to his candidacy. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com- Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Monday 9 May 2016 08.02 BST

Panama Papers: US launches crackdown on international tax evasion

Barack Obama is taking executive action to close loopholes used by foreigners in US, White House announces

Barack Obama is launching a crackdown on international tax evasion in response to recent disclosures in the Panama Papers revealing the scale of offshore financial activity.

In a series of initiatives announced by the White House on Thursday night, the president will take executive action to close loopholes used by foreigners in the US and call on Congress to pass legislation

Though the later steps may hit political obstacles in an election year, the package of measures are among the most comprehensive response yet to the Panama Papers revelations, disclosed by a consortium of international journalists including The Guardian. 

“In recent weeks, the disclosure of the so-called ‘Panama Papers’ – millions of leaked documents reportedly revealing the use of anonymous offshore shell companies – has brought the issues of illicit financial activity and tax evasion into the spotlight,” said the White House in a statement. Continue reading...

Published By - Theguardian.com- Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 6 May 2016 02.07 BST

Neither George HW nor George W Bush will endorse Donald Trump

Non-endorsements come as Trump has become presumptive nominee and many have tried to come to terms with fact that he will be party’s standard-bearer

Neither George HW nor George W Bush, the only two living former Republican presidents of the United States, will endorse Donald Trump.

In statements released to the Guardian on Wednesday evening, spokesmen for both former presidents said they would be sitting out the 2016 election. Freddy Ford, a spokesman for George W Bush, told the Guardian: “President George W Bush does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign.”

The statement by the 43rd president was echoed in one released by his father. Jim McGrath, a spokesman for George HW Bush, told the Guardian: “At age 91, President Bush is retired from politics. He naturally did a few things to help Jeb, but those were the ‘exceptions that proved the rule’.” Continue reading...

Published By - Theguardian.com- Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Thursday 5 May 2016 07.41 BST

Indiana primary: 10 things we learned on an eventful night

Trump emerged as the presumptive Republican nominee in Tuesday night’s primary as Cruz left the race and Sanders won an upset victory over Clinton

We’re going to wrap up our live coverage of the Indiana primaries shortly. Here’s what happened:

• Donald Trump emerged as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee with a resounding victory in Indiana, as Ted Cruz suspended his presidential campaign.
• Bernie Sanders scored an upset victory over Hillary Clinton, though the two split the delegate pile. Sanders vowed the nominating race was not over.
• Cruz did not mention Trump as he mothballed his campaign but called for the Republican party to look to the far horizon (his 2020 bid?).
• “I’m sorry to say, it appears that path [to victory] has been foreclosed,” Cruz said. “We gave it everything we’ve got.”

Published By - Theguardian.com - Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Wednesday 4 May 2016 04.07 BST

Ted Cruz bruised in Indiana as Leicester City stage huge soccer upset

Republican candidate heckled by 12-year-old on eve of primary as England witnesses a sporting fairytale



High noon for Ted Cruz in Indiana
Donald Trump is on the verge of a win in Indiana tonight that would leave him the likely Republican nominee. One recent public poll had the real estate mogul up 15 points over rival Ted Cruz, who was heckled by a 12-year-old and quizzed about his birthplace while his wife faced questions over whether he was a serial killer yesterday. Oh, and he seemed to ignore his running mate Carly Fiorina falling off the stage. These indignities and others came on the last day of campaigning in a state he desperately needs to win in order to continue his strategy of denying Donald Trump the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the GOP nomination. Here’s where the delegate count stands for both parties. On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton is a few points ahead of Bernie Sanders in the polls. Results are expected some time after 6pm ET and we’ll have live coverage throughout the evening. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Tuesday 3 May 2016 13.27 BST

Bernie Sanders vows a contested convention despite 'tough road' ahead

The underdog presidential candidate in the Democratic primary admitted ‘uphill climb’ to nomination but promised to shape the party’s future

Bernie Sanders acknowledged “an uphill climb” ahead of him in the Democratic nomination race on Sunday, but vowed to continue battling against Hillary Clinton despite his diminishing chances of catching her.

In a press conference to mark the one-year anniversary of an insurgent campaign that few ever imagined, he also revealed plans for a new series of mega-rallies in California and renewed calls on the party’s handpicked superdelegates to change their allegiances before this summer’s national convention.

The Vermont senator conceded that in order for such appeals to make a difference, he would also have to win a majority of the remaining “pledged delegates”, whose votes are fixed according to election results. He would require him to win 65% of those 1,083 in remaining states to have a chance. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Sunday 1 May 2016 22.16 BST

Obama takes aim at Trump and Republicans at final correspondents' dinner

The president mocks the billionaire’s foreign policy and business credentials and pokes fun at himself and other politicians

Barack Obama has delivered a scathing satirical take-down of Donald Trump, lampooning the Republican frontrunner’s foreign policy and business credentials, and ending his final White House correspondents’ dinner by literally dropping the mic and saying: “Obama out.”

In the traditional tongue-in-cheek address to the Washington press corps, the president also had fun at the expense of fellow Democrats Bernie Sanders, who was present, and Hillary Clinton, whose efforts to appeal to younger voters were mercilessly mocked.

Although he did not linger on Trump for as long as some had expected during the half-hour speech, especially those who recall the correspondents’ dinner in 2011 where he roasted the celebrity tycoon as he sat in the room, Obama did deliver some zingers. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Sunday 1 May 2016 06.12 BST

New Hampshire Republicans try to limit Trump's convention influence

The state’s party establishment is trying to pack convention committees with anti-Trump officials despite the mogul’s clear win in the February primary

New Hampshire’s Republican establishment is trying to limit the influence of Donald Trump supporters at the party’s crucial national convention in July despite the presidential frontrunner having won the state’s primary overwhelmingly.

In an email obtained by the Guardian, the state’s Republican leadership proposed a slate where the delegate chair and every committee slot would be filled by supporters of other candidates.

Trump won overwhelmingly in the Granite State’s February primary with 35% of the vote. His nearest competitor, John Kasich, only received 15% of the vote in the state’s first-in-the-nation primary. Under New Hampshire’s relatively proportional rules, where any candidate who gets over 10% of the vote receives delegates, Trump was awarded 11 of the state’s 23 delegates. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Tech News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Sunday 1 May 2016 01.54 BST

Trump forced from his motorcade amid chaotic protests at California convention

• Hundreds stormed area where frontrunner went to address Republicans
• With entrance blocked, Trump was forced to exit vehicle to access hotel

Protesters in California forced Donald Trump to leave his motorcade and walk along a highway on Friday, amid chaotic demonstrations in which activists torched an American flag and set fire to a piñata of the Republican frontrunner.

Hundreds of protesters repeatedly tried to storm the hotel where Trump was due to address the California Republican convention in Burlingame, near San Francisco International Airport.

Some protesters managed to get inside the Hyatt Regency by booking rooms in advance. When inside they unfurled two large Stop Hate banners from the upper floors that could be seen from outside, where protesters hurled eggs, clashed with baton-wielding police, and blocked roads. Continue reading...






Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Saturday 30 April 2016 00.10 BST

Protesters clash with Trump supporters at California rally

Republican frontrunner restates plans for US-Mexican wall at Orange County event as large crowd demonstrates outside venue



Donald Trump ran into a buzzsaw of angry protests at his inaugural rally in California, as a large crowd enraged by his stance on immigration clashed with his supporters outside the venue, blocked cars from leaving and shattered the windows of a police cruiser.

Trump swept into the Golden State on Thursday, more than a month before the 7 June primary, and delighted his conservative, mostly white audience inside an amphitheatre at the Orange County Fairgrounds by blaming illegal immigrants for a spike in murders and other violent crimes. He also vowed again to build a wall on the US-Mexican border.

Outside the venue, a crowd of largely Latino but also white and African American demonstrators shouted and chanted slogans before the event, then returned as it drew to a close.

Hundreds of people formed human barricades on an approach road to a nearby freeway, blocked the Fairgrounds exits, and waved banners that said “Build a Wall Around Trump” and “Dump the Trump”. Continue reading...





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 09.26 BST

Egyptian cleric defends CIA agent convicted over his rendition

Abu Omar says Sabrina De Sousa, who faces extradition to Italy, is a scapegoat and the real culprits are more senior officials

The radical Egyptian cleric who was kidnapped in Milan by the CIA in 2003 has come to the defence of a former CIA officer convicted for her alleged role in his extraordinary rendition.

Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, who is known as Abu Omar, told the Guardian in a telephone interview that he believed Sabrina De Sousa, who faces imminent extradition to Italy, was a scapegoat and ought to be pardoned by Italy’s head of state, Sergio Mattarella. De Sousa, a 60-year-old dual American and Portuguese citizen, faces a four-year prison sentence and is due to be extradited from Portugal on 4 May.

“Sabrina and the others who were convicted are scapegoats. The US administration sacrificed them. All of those higher up in the hierarchy are enjoying their immunity,” he said. “These people higher up, without doubt they should be convicted in this case. They should face trial.”





Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Friday 29 April 2016 12.06 BST

Barack Obama says world needs a united Europe

US president urges continent to not give in to ‘fears over security and inequality’ by creating new barriers

The world needs a strong, democratic and united Europe, Barack Obama said on Monday, to guard against rising intolerance and authoritarianism within the European Union and across the globe.

In an ambitious and sweeping speech urging modern Europe to remember its emergence from division, war and hatred, the US president said: “We cannot allow fears about security and inequality to undermine our commitment to universal values. That is a false comfort.”

Speaking in Germany on the final day of his tour of Europe and the Middle East, Obama had a blunt message for the continent. “Perhaps you need an outsider to remind you of the magnitude of what you have achieved from the ruins of the second world war.”

Patrick Wintour in Hanover

Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Monday 25 April 2016 13.41 BST

Prince, superstar and pioneer of American music, dies aged 57

Purple Rain singer whose sprawling career spanned decades and genres dies at his Paisley Park recording studio in his home state of Minnesota



The unique and endlessly creative artist Prince has died at his Paisley Park home, outside Minneapolis, aged 57, leaving behind him a gaping hole in musical genres as diverse as R&B, rock, funk and pop.

The death was announced by his publicist Yvette Noel-Schure after police had been called to the premises which double as his music studio in the Minnesota city. No details were immediately given for the cause of death, though last week he was rushed to hospital apparently recovering from a bout of flu that had forced his private jet to make an emergency landing in Illinois.

Published By - Theguardian.com - Sports New, LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Thursday 21 April 2016 18.21 BST

Donald Trump secures much-needed primary win in New York

Businessman secures key victory in Empire State as he seeks to clinch the 1,237 delegates needed to become the Republican nominee

Donald Trump swept to victory in his home state of New York on Tuesday, reviving his hopes of winning the Republican party nomination outright. The billionaire businessman was always expected to thrive in his home state and there was never much doubt that he would defeat Ted Cruz, the Texas senator whose brand of conservatism went down badly here, and Ohio governor John Kasich, who struggled to make an impact. Continue.....

Published By - Theguardian.com - LifeStyle News, Politics news, UK and world political comment and analysis: Wednesday 20 April 2016 04.02 BST