Results for “press secretary”

After a series of combative press briefings between the Trump administration and journalists, the US president surprised many by reportedly offering Dana White, the head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and a longtime friend, the role of White House press secretary. Trump praised White as a “violent fighter and warrior”, but US media reports say he has already turned down the offer. Was it a punchy choice by the president or simply a punchline? Jack Pownall takes a closer look.

A lifestyle podcast or brief TV clip is less taxing than a full press conference – but No 10 insists the PM is not ducking accountability In an interview this week Andy Burnham said he believed the traditional media was less relevant and the world was “not like that any more”. But some people are now asking: does this change in approach mean less scrutiny? The question was in part prompted by Burnham’s decision to travel to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) without the usual accompanying pack of reporters, instead bringing just one TV crew and a news agency journalist. Continue reading...

Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO says he will meet with the US president on Monday to discuss the offer.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was asking mixed martial arts promoter Dana White to be the new White House press secretary. Trump has repeatedly tried to hitch his MAGA brand of politics to White's enormously successful Ultimate Fighting Championship.

US President Donald Trump has offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the chief executive of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Vice President JD Vance and Gulf allies are advising Trump to end the war, but other advisers are making the case for renewed attacks.

Lisa Nandy calls for whistleblowers to be protected and highlights bravery of women who came forward in case Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has warned that Russell Brand’s conviction for rape and sexual assault must be a “wake-up call” to the media world and beyond, after widespread concerns over the failures to confront his behaviour. With renewed calls from TV insiders for a new examination of how Brand’s treatment of women was tolerated for so long, Nandy said the case was a “defining moment for our country”. Continue reading...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is under growing pressure, with victorious Democrats planning to target him in Congress and Republicans blaming the Iran war he championed for their election losses. President Donald Trump has stood by Hegseth so far, insisting he's doing "a very good job". But Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both blamed midterm election losses on the Iran war, for which Hegseth is a key advocate and spokesman.

Markle, 82, was taken into custody near Tampa, according to news wires from AP and Reuters, citing unnamed sources Thomas Markle, the father of Prince Harry ’s wife Meghan Markle, has been arrested by US federal agents in Florida on charges related to child sexual abuse material, according to federal law enforcement sources. Markle, 82, was taken into custody near Tampa, according to news wires from the Associated Press and Reuters, citing unnamed sources. The Duchess of Sussex said last month that she was “deeply distressed” about allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images was found at her father’s former home. Continue reading...

Crashing into a shop awning ended the first outing of the Jess Express – but the opposition’s electoral momentum will be harder to stop Get our daily political email , free app or daily news podcast Jess Wilson has barely put a foot wrong since becoming Victorian Liberal leader a little under a year ago. That was until this week, which ended with her campaign bus reversing into a small business . The bus was launched on Friday, a few days earlier than planned, in what appeared to be an effort to reset Wilson’s relationship with the Spring Street press pack. Continue reading...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's future is in question after Tuesday's, November 3, midterms setback. On Thursday, November 5, he issued a video message vowing to fight efforts in Congress to impeach him and defending the ‌Iran war as “courageous and historic”. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Philip Turle has more.

Brand has been supported by Tony Lyons, who runs Maha Action, and has appeared on stage with Mehmet Oz Weeks before Russell Brand ’s conviction for rape and sexual assault by a court in the UK, he appeared as a featured speaker on a video call for Maha Action, an American group closely allied with the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr . It was a reflection on the warm embrace Brand, a comedian and actor, has received from prominent Trump administration officials and other leaders in Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” (Maha) movement, where Brand has used his star status to criticize vaccines and vaccine mandates, junk food, and pharmaceutical companies. He has also heaped praise on Kennedy and other members of the Trump administration. Continue reading...

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, November 6: Italian, British, French and Bulgarian papers discuss the bomb threats that diverted multiple flights across Europe on Thursday. British papers discuss Russell Brand's rape and sexual assault conviction. Finally, kids in Hanoi chase tourists – not for money, but for vocabulary. Bonus: we learn a fun fact about chihuahuas.

Prime minister said his government would bring in legal requirement for companies to say what they pay when listing new jobs Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog. Employers will be forced to publish salaries on job adverts, Andy Burnham has announced, in the government’s latest “small fix” to help improve people’s lives. Whether you’re a young person starting out or a parent trying to support your family, you should know what a job pays before spending your time and effort applying for it. That’s why we will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what you pay. Andy Burnham has said he wants to “recast” the UK’s deal to cede control of the Chagos Islands after resistance from Washington, which said the agreement could instead be modelled on America’s Greenland deal with Denmark. Shabana Mahmood’s changes to the migration system could harm women and children, a Labour MP has warned, as members of her own party continue to raise concerns with the home secretary’s proposals. The EU is seeking a firmer pledge from the British government to guarantee European students discounted rates on university tuition fees before a much-anticipated summit this month. Continue reading...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed reports on Thursday that he planned to leave the administration after Republican midterm losses, telling The New York Times he intended to serve through the end of President Donald Trump’s term. Rubio, a potential presidential candidate in 2028, declined to discuss his plans.

Philippine official says there are ‘signs that point to Thomas Markle Jr’s involvement in crime’, but he’s not yet being treated as a suspect The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, has been named as a “person of interest” in the Philippine authorities’ inquiry into child sexual abuse image allegations made against her father, Thomas Markle Sr. The country’s interior and local government secretary, Jonvic Remulla, told a press conference in Manila there were “signs that point that the son is involved in the crime as well”. Continue reading...

As France confronts another wave of strikes and protests, Gaëlle Martinez, National Secretary of the trade union Solidaires, presents the general strike as more than a confrontation over wages, public spending or the cost of living. Her account reveals a deeper struggle over economic dignity, the future of public services and the democratic right to collective protest. “People just want to live, not survive.” For Martinez, deteriorating schools, insufficient salaries and the dismantling of public services are not isolated policy failures. They are interconnected symptoms of political and economic priorities that, in her assessment, place fiscal restraint above social welfare. Her demand for “a new budget” that is “not based on cuts” is accompanied by a call to “tax the biggest companies, the richest companies where the profits are made.”

Lana Nusseibeh, one of the Gulf nation’s top diplomats, has led the effort to deny her country’s role in Sudan. Now it’s complicating her bid to become secretary general of the United Nations.

Cohort who were told they could apply for indefinite leave now face ‘distress and uncertainty’ over 30-year ‘earned settlement’ plans Shabana Mahmood has been accused of causing “distress and uncertainty” to hundreds of thousands of refugees by quietly introducing plans to force them to wait up to 30 years before being granted the right to settle in the UK. The Refugee Council said the home secretary’s hardening of plans came despite her personal reassurances last year that only “illegal entrants who are not refugees will face a 30-year wait for settlement”. Continue reading...

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, November 5: "Loser" and "Reborn in the USA" are just some of the headlines dominating the international press after the Democrats stomped to victory in the US midterm elections. What impact will their success have on the rest of Donald Trump's presidency? How will he govern with a Democratic-controlled Congress? These are just some of the burning questions after that vote. Also, do the midterm results signal the end of the MAGA woman and the "Mar-a-Lago face"?

Michel Barnier says Britain could avoid having to join the single currency, but free movement is non-negotiable Good morning. Andy Burnham is back from the Commonwealth summit, but the Commons is on mini-recess until Tuesday, and there is not much in the political diary for today. But Nigel Farage , the Reform UK leader, will be holding a press conference, which means reporters will have the chance to ask him why his eve-of-poll “I don’t go with the consensus that Trump is going to get smashed” prediction turned out to be so wrong. Another recent claim from Farage has been that, if the UK were to reapply to join the EU, it would have to sign up to the euro. This allegation was never taken particularly seriously by people who actually know how the EU works; while new members are theoretically obliged to sign up to the euro, six of the 27 current members do not use it, one has a formal opt-out (Denmark), and there is plenty of precedent to suggest the EU would easily accept a fudge giving the UK an opt-out. But what is, and what remains unnegotiable, is the condition to join the single market. There is no negotiation possible. No possible negotiation on any kind of cherry-picking or the single market ‘a la carte’. The UK knows quite perfectly the condition to be part of and to rejoin the single market and the customs union. But what is, and what remains unnegotiable, is the condition to join the single market. There is no negotiation possible. No possible negotiation on any kind of cherry-picking or the single market ‘a la carte’. The UK knows quite perfectly the condition to be part of and to rejoin the single market and the customs union. Continue reading...

Democrat Scott Colom is leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the southern state; JD Vance pointed to the war in Iran as the ‘obvious’ culprit for Republicans’ loss Live results | How do you feel about the results? Sign up for Breaking News US email Welcome to our continuing coverage of the 2026 midterms where almost 24 hours after Democrats secured their historic sweep of the US Congress, two Senate seats remain in play. Counting in Alaska is expected to continue into Thursday, while in deep red Mississippi , Democrats could be close to pulling off another almighty upset. Currently, Democrat Scott Colom is leading his Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 1,138 votes with almost 96% of the vote counted. Donald Trump claimed Republicans fared poorly because he was not on the ballot – after repeatedly urging voters to pretend he was on the ballot. JD Vance pointed to Trump’s ongoing war in Iran as the “obvious” culprit for the loss. Pete Hegseth’ s role leading the unpopular war could lead to him taking the fall – despite Trump publicly backing him. Republicans including Trump foe Thomas Massie have criticized the defense secretary. Ron DeSantis , Florida’s governor, said the “close to an extinction-level event for Republicans” was caused in part by his party failing to target their ad spending on issues that would motivate voters. Continue reading...

JD Vance calls Iran war into question as Thomas Massie files eight articles of impeachment Send us your questions about the US midterms results and Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ Pete Hegseth is increasingly looking like he may take the fall for Republicans’ midterm losses, despite Donald Trump’s vocal support for his defense secretary, even calling him a champion of war. The war in Iran, which voters and Trump have named as a key reason for Republicans’ midterm losses, “has been primarily a Department of War-led effort because you chose to take military action to resolve a foreign policy matter”, a former senior Pentagon official told CNN . Continue reading...

The cult Italian film-maker began as an assistant to Roberto Rossellini but moved into sex films, believing ‘eroticism to be a fundamental key to human expression’ Italian film director Tinto Brass, who was once hailed as the “Antonioni of the 70s” but came to be better known for bringing Italian erotic cinema to a wider audience with films such as Caligula and Salon Kitty, has died aged 93. His wife Caterina Varzi and children Bonifacio and Beatrice Brass announced the news of the director’s death to Italian press agency Ansa on Wednesday. Continue reading...

The US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer talked to the press after the midterm election results. Democrats are riding their sweep of Congress into a new era, eager to meet voter demands for change with plans to tackle high costs of living and confront President Donald Trump's final years in the White House.

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood maintains rigorous rules for those who arrive on small boats UK politics live – latest updates The United Nations refugee agency has said a government plan to make refugees wait up to 30 years before they get permission to settle in the UK “raises significant concerns”. The strategy was unveiled earlier this week by Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, as she announced a softening of aspects of her immigration plans, but kept some of the rigorous rules drawn up by her office last year. Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s unrelenting focus on the ‘beautification of Washington’ and Fox News ratings did not stop the Democrats’ decisive midterm election wins This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday . Standing at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on Monday afternoon, Donald Trump zeroed in on his closing message of the high-stakes midterm elections: it can take a long time to get rid of filth. Less than 24 hours before Americans headed to the polls, the US president staged a bizarre press conference in which he touted his troubled $14m renovation of the Washington DC landmark and blamed his predecessors for the algae that once bloomed in its water. Continue reading...

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, November 4: US papers react to the results of the midterm elections, with Democrats retaking control of Congress and the headlines running from a "repudiation" of US President Donald Trump to a "blue tsunami". We also look at the historic firsts celebrated by the local press, the blame game already under way, and what the results mean for Trump's final two years in office.

The foreign secretary added that the UK will not shift its position on reparations Good morning. Wednesdays are normally the most exciting day of the week at Westminster, because it’s PMQs, but today (unless we get some mega surprise) all the action is taking place somewhere else. In part, that’s because Andy Burnham is still at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua. But mostly because anyone in SW1 with even a passing interest in politics will be far more interested in the outcome of the US midterm elections. You can catch up with all the drama on our US politics live blog. While the US results are undoubtedly fascinating, quite how relevant they are to the UK is a bit harder to discern. Donald Trump is still president for the next two years, and none of the chaos he has caused for Britain and other European allies is going to go away; conceivably, he could end up even more disruptive. Trump was first elected president in 2016 only months after the UK voted for Brexit and there will be progressives in Britain hoping the US results show that what Ed Davey is this morning calling the “politics of hate, division and economic harm” might be on their way out this side of the pond too. Maybe? But it is probably too soon to get carried away. Our US coverage is all here . In so far as there is any interesting UK reaction, I will post it here. People have been honestly a bit bruised by the past, what happened in the past, the sense that we just really just wanted to sweep this issue under the carpet and not confront it. My sense is there’s a bit of a sigh of relief that, OK … at least there’s a sense of we’ve got a shared interest now in moving the Commonwealth on. No … For us, that’s never been what it’s about. And that’s why it’s been important that … I did have this conversation with our partners in advance. I said, ‘Look, we are going to say we are willing to say that we’re open to an apology, but we’re not going to shift our position on reparations.’ It’s not for us. It’s

Democratic candidate defeated Republican Gregg Hull, businessman and longtime mayor of Rio Rancho US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Deb Haaland, the former interior secretary under Joe Biden, has been elected governor of New Mexico and will become the first Native American woman to govern a US state. Haaland, a Democrat, defeated her Republican opponent Gregg Hull, 60, a businessman and the longtime mayor of the city of Rio Rancho. Continue reading...

Moody was elected over Nixon in a contest seen as a measure of whether the state remains reliably Republican US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Ashley Moody fended off a challenge from Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, to win Florida’s special election and retain her seat in the US Senate. It was the first election win for the Republican, who was appointed by Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis in January 2025, when Marco Rubio became US secretary of state. Moody will serve the remainder of his term until the 2028 election. Continue reading...

Party hopes disapproval with Trump’s presidency gives them advantage as Republicans defend slim majority Republicans are defending their majority in the US Senate against resurgent Democrats, who believe voters’ dissatisfaction with Donald Trump will put them back in control of Congress’ upper chamber just two years after being driven into the minority. The first race results have begun trickling in, with the Associated Press calling the Virginia Senate election for Democratic incumbent Mark Warner, who was expected to win. Continue reading...

The US secretary of state also discusses laying the groundwork for 'free, fair, and credible elections'.

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, November 3: We look at reactions and analyses in Poland, where pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk is involved in a standoff with the nationalist president over the composition of the constitutional court. In other news, there's fresh outrage at big tech, after Google went rogue in Finland and cut down 250,000 trees for data centre projects. Finally, cheese is France's most stolen food product, and it's the stuff of cold, calculated crime.

The prime minister wants an ‘honest discussion’ about how immigration has changed since Brexit Good morning. In a Today programme interview broadcast this morning at 8.10am, Shabana Mahmood , the home secretary, ended by saying this about her plans to tighten the rules that determine when foreign workers and their dependants can get settlement. As a result of these changes, roughly half a million people who were going to settle at five years are not now going to settle. So on any measure, these are still very significant changes. Mahmood appeared to accept that her U-turn could cost billions. She insisted that, compared with doing nothing, her plans will lead to significant savings. But she would not dispute claims that the savings would have been far higher if she had stuck to the 2025 plans. When the BBC’s Iain Watson put it to her that the concessions would in effect cost about £7.5bn, Mahmood just said an impact assessment would be published in due course. Mahmood refused to deny that she was in effect ordered to change her plans by Andy Burnham. I have not proposed freedom of movement coming back. I do believe that we should have an honest discussion with people about how immigration has changed since the Brexit vote because the shorter-term migration of people coming from Europe and then going back has been replaced with long-term settlement in bigger numbers, and that was the Boriswave … Continue reading...

One of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders has written the U.N. Secretary General and requested that the organization deploy a delegation to Haiti for dialogue and mediation as clashes between gangs and an international force intensify

How far will the president of the United States press this time if Tuesday’s Midterm elections don’t go his party’s way? From “only if the Republicans win” campaign promises to a US Justice Department that’s already gotten involved in races, will the White House weigh on the outcome? How will ballot counting go? What’s changed since his “stop the steal” rhetoric begat the January 6th, 2021 storming of the US Capitol?

Exception for care workers will allow up to 300,000 people to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years UK politics live – latest updates Shabana Mahmood has softened plans to force low-paid workers to wait 15 years before settlement in the UK following a backlash from fellow cabinet ministers and backbench Labour MPs. Under pressure from health unions to make an exception for care workers, the home secretary has moved to allow up to 300,000 people to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years. Continue reading...

Network calls move 'assault' on press freedom, warns of 'dangerous pattern' that undermines ability to report facts.

Italy is the European country with the largest number of journalists under police protection. There, journalism is a profession particularly susceptible to threats and intimidation, but the European Union's measures to protect press freedom are slow to be implemented. FRANCE 24's team has more.

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, November 2: Bulgarian papers discuss the country's new president. In Belarus, some political prisoners are held in psychiatric wards instead of prisons. Also: Hitler's Eagle's Nest burned down. Will it be rebuilt and should it? Finally, the queen of Halloween, Heidi Klum, flaunts her most disgusting costume yet. 

Home secretary to make some migrants wait 10 years or more for right to settle in UK Good morning. Often these days, when the government has a big announcement and just before the relevant minister starts to give the details in a statement to MPs, Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, erupts with fury and rants and raves at the Treasury bench about how all the main points have already been leaked to the media, in contravention of the ministerial code. Not today. Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will this afternoon unveil the final version of her plans to make foreign workers wait longer before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain, and we know relatively little about what she will say. The original plans were unveiled last November and they would require most workers to wait 10 years, not five, for ILR, with care workers having to wait 15 years. They would also apply to foreign workers already here, not just new arrivals. These proposals were hugely controversial, and Andy Burnham himself was among the ministers arguing that care workers should be treated more kindly. Continue reading...

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome Thibaut Bruttin, Director General and Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), who says, “When a journalist is killed, it is everyone's right to know what is being endangered.” His warning captures the central democratic dilemma explored in this interview marking the United Nations' International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. As journalists confront lethal violence, imprisonment, political intimidation and increasingly hostile working environments, the struggle for press freedom has become inseparable from a more fundamental question: who controls the public's access to truth?

Survey finds UK government’s decision to impose trade ban was not a decisive factor in how Israelis voted in election The UK government’s decision to impose a ban on trade in goods from illegal settlements was not decisive in how Israelis voted in their general election , but a majority think the Israeli government’s settlements policy should change if it is going to lead to further sanctions, a new poll of Israelis shows. There had been fierce criticism of the UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband’s decision in September to impose a trade ban and wider sanctions on illegal settlements, with some claiming it would drive Israeli voters into the arms of Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the crash, which happened near President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, as a "horrific tragedy".

MPs say Shabana Mahmood’s new rules risk staff shortages in health and social care and second Windrush scandal Shabana Mahmood will announce sweeping new rules on Monday on how long legal migrants must wait for settlement in the UK, with most likely to wait a decade and some up to 15 years. Ministers – including the housing secretary, Angela Rayner – had raised concerns about the effect the rules would have on care workers already in the UK who would be likely to face a 15-year wait for settlement, also known as indefinite leave to remain (ILR). Continue reading...

Mann taken to hospital with superficial injury after weapon accidentally discharged while holstered Hollywood director Michael Mann has been taken to the hospital following an apparently accidental shooting at a Los Angeles gun range, according to the Associated Press. Mann, 83, reportedly shot himself in the leg while at the The Range LA. The news was first reported on celebrity website TMZ. He sustained what his representative described as a superficial injury after a weapon accidentally discharged while holstered. Continue reading...

One of the most famous addresses in the world, 10 Downing Street in London, is home not just to prime ministers, but also to a 19-year-old tabby cat named Larry. Correspondent Holly Williams looks at how the official pet of the British leader's residence and Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office has become a favorite of the press – and a political fixture whose nine lives have so far outlasted six prime ministers.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, with a focus on economic and security challenges.

Turkey has nominated its former foreign minister and UN ambassador Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu for the position of UN secretary-general, state-media reported on Saturday. The submission was officially backed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has been particularly vocal in calling for reform of the UN Security Council.