List of All Articles with Tag 'pol'

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The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial museum has denounced a political spot by Poland's ruling party that uses the theme of the Nazi German extermination camp to discourage participation in an upcoming anti-government march. The state-run museum attacked “instrumentalization of the tragedy” of the 1.1 million people who were murdered at the site during World War II, arguing that it is an insult to their memory. “It is a sad, painful and unacceptable manifestation of the moral and intellectual corruption of the public debate,” the state museum said. The 14-second video published Wednesday by the Law and Justice party shows images of the former death camp, including the notorious “Arbeit Macht Frei” gate, and the words: “Do you really want to walk under this slogan?” The reference is to a now-deleted tweet from journalist Tomasz Lis, who claimed that President Andrzej Duda and ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski deserve to go to prison. He published the tweet amid a heated debate over a law passed by the party lawmakers and signed by Duda that is viewed by the U.S., the European Union and many Polish critics as anti-democratic. “There will be a chamber for Duda and Kaczor,” the tweet said, using a nickname for Kaczynski. He used the Polish word ”komora,” which can be simply a dark cell or chamber but which many in Poland associate with the gas chambers used by Germans in mass murder during the war. Lis has since deleted the tweet and apologized. "It is obvious that I was thinking of a cell, but I should have foreseen that people of ill will would adopt an absurd interpretation. I hope that Mr. Duda and Mr. Kaczynski will pay for their crimes against democracy, but on a human level I wish them health and long life,” Lis said. “I never wished death on anyone.” President Duda weighed in with a tweet that implied criticism of the party that supports him. “The memory of the victims of German crimes in Auschwitz is sacred and inviolable; the tragedy of millions of victims cannot be used in political struggle; this is an unworthy act," he said. The purported aim of the new law is to create a commission to investigate Russian influences in Poland. But critics fear that it will be misused ahead of fall elections to target opponents, in particular opposition leader Donald Tusk. They say the commission could be used by the ruling party to eliminate its opponents from public life for a decade. The law was approved this week by Duda, to widespread criticism in Poland and by the EU and the United States. Critics in Poland have informally dubbed it “Lex Tusk,” and its passage has energized the political opposition. Tusk plans to lead a large anti-government march on Sunday in Warsaw, the capital. The march is to be held on the 34th anniversary of the first partly free elections in Poland after decades of communism, on June 4, 1989. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Poland's president approves law on Russia's influence that could target opposition Migrants with children stuck at Poland's border wall; activists say Belarus won't let them turn back Ukraine soccer league set for a title-deciding game in a remarkable, war-hit season

By Jonathan Cable LONDON The Bank of England will be far more aggressive in policy tightening than previously

The person behind the popular Twitter parody account The Secret Tory has finally been revealed and it’s not who you might expect. The Secret Tory Twitter account was started in April 2019 and has since gathered a following of almost 200,000 people by tweeting about the dire state of the government, even releasing a book last year. Followers of the satirical account include people such as Gary Lineker, Gary Neville, James O’Brien and Dermot O’Leary. The account has purported to be run by an “anonymous Conservative MP”, though, over the years, guesses from Twitter users have ranged from people in politics to high-profile comedians. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now, the identity of the person behind the account has been revealed as Henry Morris – a personal trainer from Yorkshire. Who is Henry Morris? In a bizarre clip posted on Twitter, Morris revealed his true identity saying he is the man who has been “amateurishly lampooning [the Conservative’s] proto-fascist antics”. Speaking to the BBC, Morris explained how it all started, saying: “I inadvertently started parodying Mark Francois at the height of Brexit when I was bored between training clients in my gym.” Morris continued: “It took on a life of its own almost immediately, I remember people in the gym laughing about the account without knowing it was me, and it was very nice to have my hunch confirmed that I could make people laugh.” The account began life named Mark ne-Francois-pas, mocking the name of the Conservative MP Mark Francois. Other iterations saw it named Michael Govern Ready before becoming The Secret Tory. It seems some were rather disappointed by the news that he is not actually a real politician. One person replied to revelation: "Moral of the story, never trust a Tory real or fake." Another said: "What a crock of s**te." "To be fair - @secrettory12 does look like an MP. Just one from a suburb of a major Australian city…" another person suggested. Morris, who now lives in Wales, made a small apology to those who truly thought it was an anonymous MP mocking their own party. He said: “If people are feeling cheated I'm not a real MP, I'd like to say I'm sorry. But I'm not. It's got a lot more to do with the behaviour of the people sitting in Westminster, than my skills as a con artist.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to announce his candidacy in the 2024 race on Tuesday, according to three sources familiar with his plans.

The US urged Serbia and Kosovo to immediately de-escalate tensions in northern Kosovo after clashes injured dozens of

By Prerana Bhat and Indradip Ghosh BENGALURU U.S. home prices will decline less than previously expected this year

A former staffer who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault has defected to Moscow and spoken to Russian state media in a news conference that lasted several hours.

Ron DeSantis gave his first 2024 campaign rally at an Iowa megachurch on Tuesday - attacking a predictable list of foes, including the federal government and its bureaucracy, Dr Fauci and Disney. “No excuses, I will get the job done,” the Florida governor told the audience at Eternity Church on 30 May 30, in Clive, Iowa as he warned Republicans that they faced a Democratic sweep in 2024 if they did not learn to win elections again. Earlier Mr DeSantis attacked his rival Donald Trump by saying “he’s taking the side of Disney in our fight down here in Florida. I’m standing for parents, I’m standing for children.” Meanwhile, Florida attorney Michael Sasso, chosen by Mr DeSantis to be part of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District – given responsibility for Walt Disney World’s special tax district in legislation passed in February – has resigned just three months after taking the job. This comes with Mr DeSantis facing three new lawsuits after he signed a new law just hours before announcing his presidential campaign last week making it harder to vote in the Sunshine State. Read More Culture wars, parenting and tiptoeing around Trump: Five takeaways from Ron DeSantis’s 2024 launch Ron DeSantis called out for ‘ignoring’ Hollywood beach shooting: ‘He doesn’t care’ DeSantis hits familiar targets of Fauci, Disney and ‘wokeism’ in first rally as 2024 candidate

The House of Representatives is on track to vote Wednesday on a bill to suspend the nation's debt limit through January 1, 2025, as lawmakers race to prevent a catastrophic default.

Tara Reade, who accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, has defected to Russia. The former Senate aide appeared in a bombshell interview on Russian state TV on Tuesday alongside accused Kremlin spy Maria Butina and said she was feeling “at home” in Moscow. Ms Reade, 59, who worked in Mr Biden’s office decades ago, said she made the “very difficult” decision to move to the Russian capital because she no longer felt safe in the US. “I am still kind of in a daze a bit but I feel very good. I feel very surrounded by protection and safety,” she said. “And I just really so appreciate Maria [Butina] and everyone who’s been giving me that at a time when it’s been very difficult to know if I am safe or not.” “You have US and European citizens looking for safe haven here. And luckily, the Kremlin is accommodating. So we’re lucky,” she was quoted as saying by state-owned news agency Sputnik. Ms Reade previously accused Mr Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when she was a staff assistant and had called for him to drop out of the 2020 presidential race. She worked as Mr Biden’s aide in 1993. There have also been some media reports about inconsistencies in her allegations against Mr Biden. Ms Reade’s educational background had been called into question years ago. The president had previously denied the sexual assault allegations against him. “To my Russian brothers and sisters, I am sorry right now that American elites are choosing to have such an aggressive stance,” she said in the interview. “Just know that most American citizens do want to be friends and hope that we can have unity again.” “I am enjoying my time in Moscow, and I feel very at home,” she said. “I just didn’t want to walk home and walk into a cage or be killed, which is basically my two choices,” she added. She also said she took her time to decide for herself. “I’m not an impulsive person. I really take my time and sort of analyse data points. And from what I could see based on the cases and based on what was happening and sort of the push for them to not want me to testify, I felt that while [the 2024] election is gearing up and there’s so much at stake, I’m almost better off here and just being safe.” “My dream is to live in both places, but it may be that I only live in this place and that’s OK,” she added. In 2020, a high-profile lawyer of the #MeToo era, Douglas H Wigdor, had dropped Ms Reade as a client. Read More Ahead of House debt ceiling vote, Biden shores up Democrats and McCarthy scrambles for GOP support Debt limit agreement clears first hurdle despite Republican anger. Here’s what happens next UN court issuing appeal ruling in long-running trial of 2 Serbs accused of crimes in Balkan wars The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

A hacking group suspected of ties to an Asian government has broadened its targets to government agencies in