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    Marco Rubio is promoting troubling ideas about ‘Western civilization’ | Ted Widmer

    In a recent visit to Greece, the secretary of state suggested that Europe must rediscover the values of conquest and expansionThey had obviously worked hard on the backdrop – and it was magnificent. On 7 October, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, delivered a major speech in Athens, outdoors, with the Acropolis behind him. The sun was setting, bathing the ancient scene, including the Parthenon, in the light of the golden hour.The golden hour, but yet not quite the golden age. This was not Pericles defending democracy. Instead, Rubio offered a haunting vision of the choices facing the west, arguing that the US and Europe must rediscover the values of exploration and conquest that once drove centuries of expansion, or face decline and irrelevance. Continue reading… More

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    The Gulf has entered a new era of instability. If its leaders think they can rely on old alliances, they are wrong | Nesrine Malik

    The latest attack by Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia may prove to be more calamitous for the region than the world imaginesOn Saturday, Houthi rebels launched a shocking and deadly attack on Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh. At the time of writing, the missile strike on King Khalid international airport has killed at least 13 people and left 300 injured, marking a significant turn in a regional conflagration that is only getting more intense. It was the single most deadly attack on any Gulf country since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February. In Saudi Arabia, a country that is unaccustomed to such fatalities, the death toll is bewilderingly high and likely to prompt a bloody response.Over the past year, the Gulf has entered a new era of instability that is not temporary and cannot be reversed. This may feel like an overstatement – casualties have been relatively low, after all, compared with Gaza and Iran – but the gradual erosion of peace and security in places such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE has changed the region more dramatically than its leaders would like to acknowledge.Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist Continue reading… More

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    Trump and Rubio weigh firing Kimberly Guilfoyle after reports of improper conduct

    Senior official says president and US secretary of state are ‘extremely pissed off’ by conduct of US envoy to GreeceDonald Trump and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, are considering firing US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.A senior US official said Sunday that Trump and Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and would likely decide on what action to take this week after Monday’s federal holiday. Continue reading… More

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    Trump’s deal with Putin will have little impact on US diesel prices, experts say

    Analysts say fuel will take weeks to ship and quantity is too small to affect prices, while full deal is unlikely to be met given damage to Russian refineriesTrump announces partial ceasefire but Zelenskyy says deal is ‘news to me’Donald Trump’s deal with Vladimir Putin to temporarily lift sanctions on US imports of Russian diesel will have little “meaningful” effect on motorists and businesses in the US and overseas, energy and foreign policy analysts have predicted.The US president infuriated Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he announced the deal on Friday, writing on Truth Social that the agreement with his Russia counterpart to supply millions of tonnes of diesel was essential to reduce fuel prices in the US, which have soared after his decision to go to war against Iran. Continue reading… More

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    ICE agent strikes man with vehicle during pursuit in Texas, officials say

    Parra-Hernandez suffered a broken leg and taken to a hospital after being hit by car during an ICE operationAn Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent driving a vehicle struck a man on Saturday while trying to pursue him and someone else in the Houston area, according to authorities.The federal agency had been trying to pull over and arrest Jose Mendoza-Cervantes in north-west Harris county, Texas, when he and the victim, Miguel Parra-Hernandez, exited the vehicle, officials said. Continue reading… More

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    Physicians’ group calls for ban on raw milk – as it’s becoming increasingly popular in the US

    As raw milk industry experiences record growth, experts say it might contain pathogens that can sicken peopleAs raw milk becomes increasingly popular among Americans, there have been several recent disease outbreaks tied to the product, alarming public health officials.Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics called for a ban on sales of unpasteurized milk in the United States. Continue reading… More

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    Despair after 200-year-old ‘grandmother’ tree toppled for Trump’s border wall: ‘It crushes your heart’

    Protesters spent months occupying an ancient cottonwood. Then a tense standoff with US border patrol came to a headA 200-year-old cottonwood tree near the US-Mexico border, known as the “grandmother”, has been destroyed to make way for the construction of Donald Trump’s border wall, despite a months-long effort by protesters trying to save it.In late July, land defenders began a tree-sit in the ghost town of Lochiel, Arizona, taking turns occupying a platform high in the tree’s canopy. The group remained there for more than 70 days. Continue reading… More