Author: The Guardian

Donald Trump’s lawyers have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the producers of “The Apprentice” in an attempt to block the film’s sales and release in the United States. shocked audiences at its world premiere.The Trump campaign said earlier this week it would take legal action against Ali Abbasi’s film, with spokesman Stephen Chang vowing to “address the blatantly false claims made by these fake filmmakers.””This garbage is pure fiction, and its sensational lies have long been exposed,” Zhang told Variety on Monday. “This ‘movie’ is pure malicious slander and should not see the light of day or even deserve a…

Rishi Sunak will retreat from the campaign trail on Saturday, spending the day at home in his constituency and in London after a difficult first few days of the general election campaign.Three sources have said the prime minister is taking the unusual step of a day away from public events on the first Saturday of the campaign and instead will spend it in discussion with his closest advisers.Conservatives aides said the move was not part of an attempt to reset his campaign after a first week plagued by missteps and high-level resignation announcements.Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is in contrast…

A California city has agreed to pay $900,000 to a man who underwent a 17-hour police interrogation that forced him to lie about murdering his father, who was still alive.When police in Fontana, a city east of Los Angeles, questioned Thomas Perez Jr. in 2018, they recommended they euthanize Perez’s dog because of his behavior, according to a complaint and video of the encounter. Perez’s attorneys announced this week that the city had agreed to settle Perez’s lawsuit for $898,000 after a judge said the interrogation appeared to be “unconstitutional psychological torture.”The extraordinary case of forced false confessions sparked widespread…

A graduating Harvard University student went off script and upbraided Harvard over the university’s treatment of students protesting against what they say is a genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza.“As I stand here today, I must take a moment to recognize my peers – the 13 undergraduates in the class of 2024 that will not graduate today,” said student Shruthi Kumar, who was chosen to deliver the English commencement remarks for the undergraduate class.Kumar’s thoughts were widely supported by other Harvard students. More than 1,000 students walked out of the ceremony as part of a staged protest, many…

The South African side have only been competing in European club rugby for two seasons, but their first trophy has already been tucked away. If it’s not quite on par with last year’s Springbok side that won the World Cup, it’s still a piece of history that can strengthen the current balance of power at the Oval.Not for the first time either, this was a match that was contested by a superb South African team for a decisive decision. The destructive ‘bomb squad’ front row, who had made such a strong reputation for themselves at Test level, were key once…

Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has released a high-profile new video ad they are calling Snapped, which attacks Donald Trump as a candidate who will stop at nothing to grab power again.The aggressive, 30-second spot is voiced by an old Hollywood foe of the former president, the actor Robert De Niro, and will be distributed nationally.Against a backdrop of dramatic orchestral music and news images from Trump’s presidency, the De Niro voiceover begins: “From midnight tweets, to drinking bleach, to teargassing citizens and staging a photo-op, we knew Trump was out of control when he was president, and then he lost…

Wayne Rooney’s appointment as Plymouth manager is expected to be ratified within the next 24 hours, with the former England captain signing a three-year deal. Rooney is determined to repair his managerial reputation after a disastrous spell in charge of Birmingham City, who were relegated to League One earlier this month.The 38-year-old is set to return to the Championship with Plymouth following productive talks with the club’s director of football Neil Dewsnip. Dusnip maintains good relations. Dusnip was the Devon club’s caretaker boss at the end of the season and had been in charge of Everton’s academy before teenage Rooney…

Police have arrested a man suspected of assaulting pro-Palestinian demonstrators in a violent attack at the University of California, Los Angeles, last month.In late April, a group of masked people marched on to the campus at night and attacked a Gaza solidarity encampment. They threw fireworks, beat students, and attacked staff and student journalists while law enforcement and campus-hired security guards failed to intervene for hours.The attack caused outrage and sparked fierce criticism of the university, its leader and the campus police department.Edan On was taken into custody by UCLA police on Thursday on a felony charge – what appears…

After Andy Murray suffered a five-set loss to Stan Wawrinka in the 2017 French Open semi-finals, he was struggling but still didn’t realize how much his life was about to change. The lengthy best-of-five sets that had characterized him for most of his career were now excruciating.”I couldn’t sleep that night,” Murray said Friday. “I had a lot of pain in my hip. I remember getting up that night and lying on the couch in excruciating pain. I never recovered. I couldn’t extend my leg behind me properly after that game. It was such a shame.Murray said that loss would…

The UN’s top court has ordered Israel to halt its assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a ruling that will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country.The president of the international court of justice, Nawaf Salam, said the humanitarian situation in Rafah had deteriorated further and was now classified as “disastrous”, meaning the ICJ’s previously issued provisional measures were insufficient.He said the court had voted by a majority of 13 votes to two that “Israel shall, in conformity with its obligations under the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, and…