Author: Buzzo

Planned strike action on Avanti West Coast train services has been suspended for the rest of January.The strike dates that are cancelled are Sunday 19 January and Sunday 26th January with the aim of allowing intensive talks to take place following recent approaches by Avanti to the RMT union.RMT members who are train managers at Avanti West Coast are still planning to strike on each Sunday from 2 February until 25 May unless an agreement is reached. “This suspension reflects our good will and commitment to finding a resolution to this rest day working dispute,” a RMT spokesperson said.”We are…

Hundreds of mourners flocked to Paris’s venerable Val-de-Grâce church on Thursday to pay their final respects to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the architect of France’s modern far-right movement who was known for his racist and antisemitic remarks.A speaker at the requiem Mass praised Mr. Le Pen, saying he had “perceived, before all others, the dangers that threaten France today.” A choir sang a French military song asking God for “the ardor to fight.” The crowd repeated the words of a prayer to Joan of Arc, with its plea that “the people of France will always be a Christian people.” But since…

On Thursday Anduril announced it is building its massive weapons factory, Arsenal-1, in Columbus, Ohio, confirming TechCrunch’s earlier reporting. In a blog post, the company said that it will invest close to $1 billion of its own money into the project and that the factory will be five million square feet. The post also claims it will bring 4,000 jobs to the area.  The factory is a huge step for the defense tech startup, founded by Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens and others, allowing it to scale production of its autonomous systems for surveillance and weapons. Part of Ohio’s appeal was…

Family handoutBipin Joshi (far right) with his sister Puspa, father Mahananda and mother PadmaIn a remote village in western Nepal, thousands of miles from Israel, Mahananda Joshi was sitting restlessly at home on Thursday, his phone in his hand.The phone is never far from his hand now. And never on silent. He is waiting for news of his son, Bipin Joshi, a 23-year-old Nepalese agriculture student who was kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza.Any time the phone rings, Mahananda, a local schoolteacher, thinks it might bring news of Bipin, or even – his deepest hope – his son’s voice…

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., revealed on Thursday who he plans to appoint to the Senate once Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., resigns, as he is expected to be confirmed to be President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of State after his inauguration. The governor selected Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to be the next senator. CONFIRMATION DELAYS STACK UP FOR TRUMP NOMINEES AS PAPERWORK LAGS IN FEDERAL OFFICES Florida AG Ashley Moody and Gov. Ron DeSantis at public event.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Moody has been a key ally of DeSantis in the state and worked in tandem with him to facilitate his agenda as governor. When asked…

PoliticusUSA is brought to you without ads or big tech influence by reader subscriptions. Please support our work by considering becoming a subscriber.In a letter to Garland, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and House Judiciary Democrats wrote:The American people now deserve the opportunity to read Volume 2 of Special Counsel Smith’s report, which explains how President Trump knowingly retained hundreds of presidential and highly classified records at his Mar-a-Lago club and then deliberately defied subpoenas, obstructed law enforcement, hid evidence, and lied about his continuing retention of these records. It is in the very nature of American…

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Thursday morning that he is “confident” that a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal can still be “implemented” Sunday as families of two Americans slated for immediate release await answers. “There’s a deal,” Kirby told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “We’re confident that we’re going to be able to start implementing it on Sunday. There are some implementing details that still need to be ironed out. We’re working with the Israelis on that very, very hard right now.”But we’re confident that we’re going to get there,” he added. From left, American hostages being held in Gaza:…

Badenoch says Britons not as rich as they think and refusing ‘to live within our means’Badenoch accuses Labour of making mistakes, and says the last Conservative government made mistakes too, using the passages briefed in advance. See 9.36am and 11.45am.Badenoch goes on to say the UK is not as rich as it thinks. If we are going to turn our country around, we’re going to have to say some things that aren’t easy to hear. Let’s start with our problems. We think we are rich, but we are living off the inheritance that previous generations left behind, a complacency that…

The Canadian government is preparing billions of dollars in retaliatory measures on U.S. exports to Canada if President-elect Donald J. Trump makes good on a threat to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, setting up a potential showdown between two countries that are each other’s largest trading partners. Canada is assembling a list of measures, including tariffs on U.S. exports to Canada and levies or other restrictions on key Canadian exports to the United States, if Mr. Trump imposes a sweeping 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods.But the government made clear that it will wait to see what Mr. Trump might…

Google mapsThe gymnasium in Spisska Stara VesTwo people were killed and one was injured after a student carried out a knife attack at a school in eastern Slovakia.Local police initially said the suspect – an 18-year-old student of the gymnasium – was on the run and urged people not to approach him. However, he was apprehended a short time later. “We assure the public that all necessary measures are being taken to make you feel safe,” police said.They added that the teenager’s victims were two fellow students and a teacher. Slovak media reported that the attack took place in Spisska…