List of All Articles with Tag 'rl'

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has named two rival players from Manchester City as the Premier League's top performers over the last half-decade. Man City beat Man Utd in last season's FA Cup final.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday responded to a reporter’s query about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s claim that the GOP could soon open an impeachment inquiry into the president by laughing as he exited a White House event. Mr Biden was caught cracking a smile and chucking on his way out of the East Room after delivering remarks on his administration’s efforts to increase the availability of mental health treatment. Earlier in the day, Mr McCarthy had said that an impeachment probe would provide the House with “the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed” before they can attempt to oust Mr Biden, which many in his conference have been pushing to do since before he took office. It’s not known whether the House will actually initiate an impeachment inquiry into Mr Biden, but multiple prominent Republicans have become increasingly vocal in their promotion of conspiracy theories and false claims about alleged criminality on the part of the president. Mr McCarthy told Fox News host Sean Hannity late Tuesday that the House Oversight Committee’s widely panned probe into Mr Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was “rising to the level of an impeachment inquiry” even though the younger Mr Biden does not hold and has never held public office. Republicans have spent years alleging that Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, was the reason Mr Biden carried out Obama administration policy as vice president when he pushed Ukraine’s then-president, Petro Poroshenko, to oust a prosecutor whose firing had been demanded by the US, EU, IMF and other entities that were backing financial aid for Ukraine. The false allegations were what motivated then-president Donald Trump to attempt to blackmail Mr Poroshenko’s successor, Volodymyr Zelensky, into announcing sham investigations into the Bidens, leading to Mr Trump’s first of two impeachment trials. Read More Trump begs Congress to help save him from his legal troubles Trump, January 6 and a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election: The federal investigation, explained Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his presidency?

Rudy Giuliani will not contest claims from two Georgia election workers who have accused the former attorney to Donald Trump of smearing them with false and defamatory statements surrounding the 2020 presidential election. A late-night federal court filing from Mr Giuliani’s attorneys on 25 July states that he “concedes solely for the purposes of this litigation” that he made false statements about Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss that “carry meaning that is defamatory”. He also conceded that his statements meet the “factual elements of liability” for their claims that amounted to “intentional infliction of emotional distress”. The two women were subject to relentless abuse fuelled by false claims that they manipulated votes, damage that Mr Giuliani has refused to concede stemmed from his statements. “Giuliani’s stipulation concedes what we have always known to be true,” attorney Michael J Gottlieb Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP said in a statement. “Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss honorably performed their civic duties in the 2020 presidential election in full compliance with the law; and the allegations of election fraud he and former-President Trump made against them have been false since day one.” “While certain issues, including damages, remain to be decided by the court, our clients are pleased with this major milestone in their fight for justice, and look forward to presenting what remains of this case at trial,” he added. The two-page filing from Mr Giuliani’s attorneys indicates he will continue to argue that spurious claims about voter fraud in the state were protected speech. A spokesperson for the former New York City mayor indicated that the concession was in an effort to bypass a fact-finding portion of the case, which would involve the public disclosures of emails, text messages and other communications involving his claims. US District Court Judge Beryl Howell had threatened Mr Giuliani with sanctions and put him on the hook for $90,000 in legal fees following claims that he failed to preserve evidence related to the case. His latest filing came as a response to an order from the judge demanding an explanation. Ted Goodman, political adviser to Mr Giuliani, said in a statement shared with The Independent that he “did not acknowledge that the statements were false but did not contest it in order to move on to the portion of the case that will permit a motion to dismiss.” “This is a legal issue, not a factual issue. Those out to smear the mayor are ignoring the fact that this stipulation is designed to get to the legal issues of the case,” he added. In their testimony to the House select committee investigating the events surrounding the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Ms Freeman and Ms Moss revealed the depth of abuse they endured, forcing them from their jobs and making them feel unsafe after the former president and Mr Giuliani promoted debunked conspiracy theories involving them. They later filed a defamation suit against Mr Giuliani as well as right-wing outlet One American News Network, which settled with the women last year. A report from Georgia’s State Election Board following a year-long investigation also dismissed bogus claims of election fraud and cleared the allegations against the women. The fraud claims were “unsubstantiated and found to have no merit,” the investigation concluded, reporting on the work of the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and investigators from the Secretary of State’s office vetting the alleged fraud Earlier this month, Bernie Kerik – a former New York City Police Department commissioner who worked with Mr Giuliani to support bogus voter fraud claims – was directed by the judge to provide “a document-by-document privilege log of any withheld record that provides sufficient information to ‘enable other parties to assess the claim’ that ‘the information is privileged or subject to protection as trial preparation material.’” He also was ordered to show why those records and other statements should be withheld. But a joint filing on 24 July from attorneys for Mr Kerik and the two election workers reveals that the parties reached an agreement to receive those documents – which were also sought in the unrelated federal investigation surrounding Mr Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. The former president’s campaign withdrew its claim of privilege over those documents, and Mr Kerik’s legal team has handed over thousands of documents to prosecutors investigating the former president’s mindset and decision making as he baselessly stated that the 2020 election was “stolen” and “rigged” against him despite a lack of evidence. Read More Giuliani team that tried to find evidence of 2020 fraud hands over hundreds of documents to January 6 probe Trump, January 6 and a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election: The federal investigation, explained Trump news – live: Trump begs Congress to help save him from legal troubles as Jan 6 indictment decision looms All the lawsuits and criminal charges involving Trump and where they stand

Ultimate respect to Dan for just being Dan.

Donald Trump signaled his claims about the 2020 presidential election being rigged against him will feature prominently in

Hoping for an unprecedented three-peat, the USWNT won their first match against Vietnam. Here's what we learned before they clash with the Netherlands. The United States opened their conquest for a fifth World Cup win with a three-to-zero victory over Vietnam. This was the first match of gr...

Firefighters and civilians battling the nine-day wildfires ravaging Rhodes are contending with continuous flare-ups fuelled by unpredictable winds, as temperatures neared a scorching 40C. Greece’s civil protection agency extended the state of emergency across the entirety of Rhodes on Wednesday, which will remain in place for six months, “to deal with emergencies and manage the consequences of catastrophic forestry fire”. In the town of Malonas, which was evacuated on Saturday, The Independent watched on alongside exhausted volunteers as a section of the charred forest nearby reignited. The handful of volunteers gathered outside St George’s Church stood up to watch as a firefighting plane flew overhead, dousing the flames in water – as smoke continued to rise skywards. They expected to venture out again alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of other civilians on Wednesday night to do what they could to keep the fires at bay – having fought back the flames as they encroached on the sleepy inland town just the night before. “We have no energy, we have no power – not enough to stop this ... We are waiting for the wind to calm down to try again tonight to finish the job, but it is very difficult because after 10 days everyone is very tired,” a volunteer named Panos said, adding: “I’m going to sleep now for one hour.” He spoke as firefighters were mobilised to the nearby village of Apollona, while fires also burned further south in Vati and Gennadi. “The fires have started again,” a fire service official told The Independent. “A little wind and the fire returns … That’s the problem.” Having been told to evacuate both Malonas and nearby Kalathos at the weekend, Miles and Tristan, both in their 50s and originally from England, returned to Tristan’s house in Malonas on Wednesday to bring his four cats home. After receiving the “stressful” emergency alert telling them to leave Kalathos for either Kallithea – which they felt at the time was unsafe – or Lindos, where locals had already been told it was safe to return and where they knew a hotel manager who could put them up for the night. “Even if we’re just camping down on sofas in the hotel reception, it’s shelter, whereas if we went to Kallithea we would literally be on the street,” said Tristan. Speaking in the entrance to Tristan’s home as a firefighting plane flew overhead, dropping water a short distance away, the pair said they now planned to stay put. “We’re fed up with it now,” said Miles, an artist who has lived in Rhodes for 17 years. Tristan added: “Also, now [the authorities] are willing to allow everyone to help [keep flare-ups at bay], whereas before they just didn’t want the complications of it – non-Greek speakers being where they are [with] no skills, no car. I haven’t even got boots. They said ‘what are you going to do: walk over the ground in trainers? They’re just going to melt.” Describing a “pattern” of flare-ups each afternoon, Tristan said: “It’s been almost identical for three days, it’s really weird.” Miles added: “Clear in the morning. By the afternoon, the sky’s gone dark ... there’s smoke everywhere, and you can see it for miles.” However, the skies remained clear as they spoke – prior to the individual flare-up witnessed by The Independent some 15 minutes later. “That’s why the helicopters are flying over now, they’re damping down near the edges to try and make sure it doesn’t come back,” said Miles. Read More Infernos, black skies and fleeing tourists: Greece wildfires in pictures as blazes ravage Corfu and Rhodes Summer holidays to fire-hit Rhodes on sale for just £295 – half the usual price Tragic 'last words' of hero pilots who died in plane crash fighting Greek wildfires Tourists flying into Greece inferno reveal why they refuse to cancel holiday

By Charlotte Van Campenhout and Rishabh Jaiswal AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -A fire blazed on a ship off the Dutch coast with

The tragic last words of two heroic pilots who died fighting wildfires in Greece have been revealed, as blazes continue to rage across Europe. Commander Christos Moulas, 34, and co-pilot Pericles Stefanidis, 27, were killed just before 3pm on Tuesday when their plane, which had been dropping water, crashed near the town of Karystos on the island of Evia near Athens. A firefighter on the ground is believed to be the last person to speak with the pair, telling Greek broadcaster OPEN: “I still can’t believe that three minutes ago I was talking to them and after exactly 10 minutes I learned that the plane had crashed. “We had contact with them,” he continued. “They did not report any problems with the aircraft. They told us, ‘We are ready to try. We go for a last supply and we leave.’ Have you been affected by this story? Email tara.cobham@independent.co.uk “A few minutes after we spoke, we learned over the radio that the aircraft had crashed,” he added. Footage showed the bright yellow CL-215 aircraft releasing its load of water before its wingtip apparently snagged on a tree branch. Moments later it disappeared into a deep fold in the ground from which a fireball erupted. The pilots, who were both said to be passionate about flying, died at the scene, with investigations into the tragedy ongoing, according to the Greek Fire Brigade. Greek City Times said Commander Moulas’ wife is believed to be three months pregnant with their first child. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said of the tragedy on Tuesday: “Today, we Greeks mourn the tragic loss of our pilots Christos Moulas and Pericles Stefanidis in Evia. “They gave their lives saving lives, proving how risky their daily firefighting missions are,” he continued. “The state respectfully stands by the families of the two heroes. They are two children, two brothers of all of us.” A three-day period of mourning in the Armed Forces was announced by the defence ministry to honour the pair. Mr Mitsotakis continued: “Words are poor to describe the national mourning for their loss... So, we grit our teeth and turn our silence into strength. In their memory, we continue the war against the destructive forces of nature.” The prime minister has warned of tough days ahead as Greece is bracing for at least another 48 hours of scorching wildfires and soaring temperatures, until conditions possibly improve after Thursday. He told ministers: “All of us are standing guard. In the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism.” The Greek Fire Brigade has already been battling more than 500 fires for almost two weeks, while the high temperatures of the recent new heatwave are set to peak throughout Europe on Wednesday, exceeding 44C in some areas of Greece. A blaze in Rhodes prompted “the biggest evacuation in Greek history”, with over 20,000 people forced to flee homes and hotels over the weekend, while around 2,500 people have already been evacuated from Corfu, which has been enduring dozens of blazes. Croatia, Portugal, Turkey, Italy and France are among the other European countries that have been battling wildfires in recent days, while the extreme weather conditions on the continent are being mirrored globally, from the US to Asia and Africa. Italy suffered a twin pounding from the elements when severe storms battered the north, killing a woman and a 16-year-old girl scout, while southern regions sweltered. In the south, a bedridden 98-year-old man died when fire swept through his home. The charred bodies of a couple in their 70s were found in their burnt-out home on the outskirts of Palermo, the regional capital of Sicily, according to Italian media reports. Another woman in her late 80s died in the Palermo province after an ambulance was unable to reach her home due to fires in the area. In north Africa, Algeria was fighting to contain devastating forest fires along its Mediterranean coast in a blaze, which has already killed at least 34 people. Read More Greece fires – live: Rhodes and Corfu brace for another 48 hours of wildfire hell as temperatures rise When will heatwave in Europe end? New forecast shows relief in sight Watch: Rhodes wildfire burns for seventh day as temperatures rise on Greek island How to tell if you have Covid or heatstroke Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad?

The Israeli Supreme Court won’t block immediate implementation of a new law curbing judicial oversight of government actions.

The second round of group stage fixtures at the 2023 Women's World Cup is now well under way as teams look to join Spain and Japan in the knockout stages.

Egypt’s biggest state-owned lenders are dangling higher returns on dollar-denominated certificates of deposit to foreigners and locals, in