US engaging in ‘extreme rightwing tropes’ reminiscent of 1930s, British MPs warn
The US is engaging in “extreme rightwing tropes” with echoes of the 1930s and threatening “chilling” interference in European democracies, British MPs warned ministers on Thursday.The House of Commons rounded on Donald Trump’s national security strategy, which stated that Europe was facing “civilisational erasure” and vowed to help the continent “correct its current trajectory and promote patriotic European parties”.Matt Western, a Labour MP and chair of parliament’s joint committee on the UK government’s national security strategy, said: “The United States consensus that has led the western world since the second world war appears shattered.“The prospect of United States interference in the democratic politics of Europe, I believe, is chilling … The absence of condemnation for Russia is extraordinary, though not surprising.” He said the US pivot left the UK “especially vulnerable”.
Liam Byrne, another Labour MP and chair of the business select committee, said it was “not hard to see the rhymes with some extreme rightwing tropes which date back to the 1930s” and called for closer defence cooperation with Europe.Keir Starmer and his ministers have been cautious not to criticise Trump and have sought to play down the implications of the strategy document.Seema Malhotra, a Foreign Office minister, insisted repeatedly on Thursday that the US “remains a strong, reliable and vital ally for the UK” and that ministers agreed with some aspects of the strategy, “like the importance of sustaining freedom and security”.She told the Commons that the UK government did “take a different view” than the US “on some areas”, including on European strength and the value of multiculturalism.“What we see is a strong Europe coming together to defend Ukraine with the UK helping to lead the coalition of the willing of more than 30 countries,” she said, adding that European countries were “stepping up on defence spending”.
Bobby Dean, a Liberal Democrat MP, said the strategy was “a document rooted in racist, white supremacist ideology and it should be called out accordingly”, arguing that “mild disagreement will not cut it”,Invited by Dean to condemn the strategy’s language, Malhotra said she did not agree with its narrative of civilisational erasure,“I’m proud of our country,I know that migration is an essential element of Britain’s national story,” she said,“We are a thriving multicultural society and I’m proud of that, and we will stand up for our values in the UK and across the world.
”James MacCleary, another Liberal Democrat MP, said the strategy presented a “bleak and dystopian vision of the world”, which prioritised “interference in European democratic processes to promote a specific ideology and worldview”.Mike Wood, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, said the strategy “makes it even more important that the UK remains a cornerstone of European and global defence”.Malhotra repeatedly insisted it was for the US to set its own strategy and that “friends and allies respect each other’s choices and traditions”.The US strategy, which was published last Friday, called for an end to mass migration and criticised European policies on the issue for “creating strife”.It said European countries were mired in “censorship of free speech” and “loss of national identities and self-confidence”.
“It is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies,” the document said.The Russian government welcomed the document, calling it “largely consistent” with its vision.Trump continued to attack European leaders in an interview this week, accusing them of failing to control immigration, and suggested that European countries would “not be viable countries any longer” without changes to their border policy.“I think they’re weak, but I also think that they want to be so politically correct … I think they don’t know what to do,” he told the Politico podcast The Conversation.
US is the best place for drug companies to invest, says boss of London-based GSK
The chief executive of GSK has declared that the US is the best place for pharmaceutical companies to invest.Emma Walmsley said the US led the world in launches of drugs and vaccines and, alongside China, was the best market for business development.She is the latest boss of a leading UK drugmaker to talk up business opportunities on the other side of the Atlantic, after AstraZeneca’s Pascal Soriot hailed the “vital importance of the US”.The UK government, which has been trying to strengthen the pharmaceutical sector, confirmed on Wednesday that the proportion of revenues from new medicine sales that companies need to pay back to the NHS would fall next year – from 22.5% to under 15%
Disney to invest $1bn in OpenAI, allowing characters in Sora video tool
Walt Disney has announced a $1bn equity investment in OpenAI, enabling the AI startup’s Sora video generation tool to use its characters.Users of Sora will be able to generate short, user-prompted social videos that draw on more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters as part of a three-year licensing agreement between OpenAI and the entertainment giant.The agreement – a landmark deal amid intense anxiety in Hollywood over the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of entertainment – will not cover talent likenesses or voices.Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, hailed a deal which paired his firm’s “iconic stories and characters” with OpenAI’s AI technology. It will place “imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before”, he claimed
EU watchdogs raid Temu’s Dublin HQ in foreign subsidy investigation
Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin have been raided by EU regulators investigating a potential breach of foreign subsidy regulations.The Chinese online retailer, which is already in the European Commission’s spotlight over alleged failures to prevent illegal content being sold on its app and website, was raided last week without warning or any subsequent publicity.“We can confirm that the commission has carried out an unannounced inspection at the premises of a company active in the e-commerce sector in the EU, under the foreign subsidies regulation,” a commission spokesperson said on Thursday.Temu was approached for comment.Its headquarters are on St Stephen’s Green, one of Dublin’s most prestigious addresses
No guarantee tobacco tax cut would lure Australian smokers from illegal trade and raise more revenue, report says
Slashing the tobacco excise might not be enough to lure smokers back to legal cigarettes, and could even widen the multi-billion dollar hole blown in the budget by the booming illicit trade, new research shows.The analysis from the e61 Institute comes as Jim Chalmers revealed next week’s mid-year fiscal update will reveal an extra $12.7bn in unanticipated spending, including an additional $6.3bn in higher than expected disaster relief payments.The treasurer said “the biggest job … has been making room for unavoidable pressures and payments without a substantial deterioration in the bottom line”
Fed cuts interest rates by a quarter point amid apparent split over US economy
The US Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it was cutting interest rates by a quarter point for the third time this year, as the embattled central bank appeared split over how best to manage the US economy.The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, has emphasized unity within the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the board of Fed leaders that sets interest rates. But the nine-to-three vote to lower rates to a range of 3.5% to 3.75% was divisive among the committee that tends to vote in unanimity
Leon to cut jobs and close fast food restaurants
Fast food chain Leon is planning to close restaurants and cut jobs, less than two months after it was bought back from Asda by its co-founder John Vincent.The chain said on Wednesday that it had appointed administrators to lead a restructuring programme, and it was considering how many of its 54 restaurants would need to shut. It did not say how many roles could be affected.Vincent, who founded Leon in 2004 with Henry Dimbleby, who later became a government food tsar, and chef Allegra McEvedy, bought the business back in October, four years after he sold it to the billionaire Issa brothers’ EG Group petrol forecourts business in a £100m deal.The chain has now hired advisers from Quantuma after applying for an administration order, and aims to put the business into administration as soon as possible, a process which will help it to manage debt payments as it attempts to secure its long-term future
How to use a spent tea bag to make a boozy, fruity treat – recipe | Waste not
Christmas food gifts: Gurdeep Loyal’s recipes for Mexican-spiced brittle and savoury pinwheels
Festive treats: Adriann Ramirez’s recipes for pumpkin loaf and gingerbread cookies
Nutcracker stocking fillers: Brian Levy’s recipe for sugar plum and coffee cookies | The sweet spot
How to make the perfect Dubai chocolate bar - recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …
The ultimate unsung superfood: 17 delicious ways with cabbage – from kimchi to pasta to peanut butter noodles