The Prime Minister will this week kick off what he has called the “next phase” of Government, as he announces the markers for his “missions” that Number 10 say will allow the public to hold Sir Keir and his team to account on their promises and will be reached by the end of the Parliament. The milestones will run alongside public sector reform, Downing Street said. This will include a focus on reforming Whitehall, spearheaded by the as-yet-unannounced new chief civil servant the Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet ministers, so it is geared towards the delivery of Labour’s missions, according to Number 10. The same focus will also influence decisions for next year’s spending review, it has been suggested. Writing in The Sun on Sunday, the Prime Minister compared “focusing the machinery of government” to “turning an oil tanker” and said that “acceptance of managed decline” has “seeped into parts of Whitehall”. “The British people aren’t fools. They know a ruthless focus on priorities is essential,” he wrote. The Sunday Times reported that one of the milestones would focus on early education, with the aim to raise the number of children who are ready for school, educationally and socially. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said that “it’s estimated that more than a million school days worth of teacher time each year is spent dealing with” children who are not prepared for school. Labour’s missions, as laid out in their July election manifesto, focus on economic growth, energy security and cleaner energy, the NHS, childcare and education systems, as well as crime and criminal justice. Ahead of revealing the details, Sir Keir said in a statement: “This plan for change is the most ambitious yet honest programme for government in a generation. “Mission-led government does not mean picking milestones because they are easy or will happen anyway – it means relentlessly driving real improvements in the lives of working people. “We are already fixing the foundations and have kicked-started our first steps for change, stabilising the economy, setting up a new Border Security Command, and investing £22 billion in an NHS that is fit for the future. “Our plan for change is the next phase of delivering this Government’s mission. “Some may oppose what we are doing and no doubt there will be obstacles along the way, but this Government was elected on mandate of change and our plan reflects the priorities of working people. “Given the unprecedented challenges we have inherited we will not achieve this by simply doing more of the same, which is why investment comes alongside a programme of innovation and reform.” The so-called “missions” outlined in Labour’s election manifesto focused on five key policy areas: kickstart economic growth; make Britain a clean energy superpower; take back our streets; break down barriers to opportunity; and build an NHS fit for the future. 🚨 New polling with @ObserverUK Keir Starmer has seen an 8 point drop in his net approval rating after a significant uptick in the number disapproving of his performance. 22% approve of his performance vs. 54% who disapprove. This gives Starmer a net rating of -32%. pic.twitter.com/J33nMnwflP — Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) November 30, 2024 The announcement comes after a first five months in office that has seen anger over Budget proposals and reports of tension in Number 10. Polling for The Observer newspaper by Opinium indicates that more than half of the public disapprove of the Prime Minister’s performance. According to the survey of approximately 2,000 adults, 54% of people disapprove of his performance, compared with 22% who approve, leaving him with a net rating of -32%.A southeast Louisiana official has been accused of committing perjury for failing to disclose information related to a controversial grain terminal in the state's Mississippi River Chemical Corridor in response to a lawsuit brought by a prominent local climate activist. St. John the Baptist Parish President Jaclyn Hotard denied in a deposition that she knew her mother-in-law could have benefited financially from parish rezoning plans to make way for a 222-acre (90-hectare) grain export facility along the Mississippi River. Hotard also said in court filings, under oath, that no correspondence existed between her and her mother-in-law about the grain terminal, even though her mother-in-law later turned over numerous text messages where they discussed the grain terminal and a nearby property owned by the mother-in-law's marine transport company, court records show. The text messages were disclosed as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by Joy Banner, who along with her sister, Jo Banner, successfully led efforts to halt the $800 million grain terminal earlier this year. It would have been built within 300 feet (91 meters) of their property and close to historic sites in the predominantly Black community where they grew up. The legal dispute is part of a broader clash playing out in courts and public hearings, pitting officials eager to greenlight economic development against grassroots community groups challenging polluting industrial expansion in the heavily industrialized 85-mile industrial corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans often referred to by environmental activists as “Cancer Alley.” “We are residents that are just trying to protect our homes and just trying to live our lives as we have a right to do,” Banner said in an interview with The Associated Press. The Banner sisters gained national attention after cofounding the Descendants Project, an organization dedicated to historic preservation and racial justice. In the text messages turned over as part of Joy Banner's lawsuit, Hotard, the parish president, says that she wished to “choke” Joy Banner and used profanities to describe her. Hotard also said of the Banner sisters: “I hate these people.” Hotard and her attorney, Ike Spears, did not respond to requests for comment after Tuesday's filing. Richard John Tomeny, the lawyer representing Hotard's mother-in-law, Darla Gaudet, declined to comment. Banner initially sued the parish in federal court in December 2023 after Hotard and another parish councilman, Michael Wright, threatened her with arrest and barred her from speaking during a public comment period at a November 2023 council meeting. “In sum: a white man threatened a Black woman with prosecution and imprisonment for speaking during the public comment period of a public meeting,” Banner's lawsuit says. It accuses the parish of violating Banner's First Amendment rights. Wright and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. Hotard and Wright have disputed Banner's version of events in court filings. At the November 2023 meeting, Banner attempted to highlight Hotard's alleged conflict of interest in approving a zoning change to enable the grain export facility's construction. Banner had also recently filed a complaint to the Louisiana Board of Ethics against Hotard pointing out that her mother-in-law allegedly would benefit financially because she owned and managed a marine transport company that had land “near and within” the area being rezoned. In response to a discovery request, Hotard submitted a court filing saying “no such documents exist” between her and her mother-in-law discussing the property, the grain terminal or Joy Banner, according to the recent motion filed by Banner's attorneys. Hotard also said in her August deposition that she had “no idea” about her mother-in-law's company's land despite text messages showing Hotard and her mother-in-law had discussed this property less than three weeks before Hotard's deposition. Banner's lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial early next year. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96
‘Clear route back to government’ declares Martin as FF & FG set to keep SF out of power again while Hutch still in fightBEIRUT (AP) — Syria's de facto leader said Sunday it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans to dissolve his Islamist group that led the country's insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview with Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad's decades-long rule, ending the country's uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011. Al-Sharaa said it would take time to hold elections because of the need for Syria's different forces to hold political dialogue and rewrite the country's constitution following five decades of the Assad dynasty's dictatorial rule. Also, the war-torn country's battered infrastructure needs to be reconstructed, he said. “The chance we have today doesn’t come every 5 or 10 years,” said al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. “We want the constitution to last for the longest time possible.” Al-Sharaa is Syria's de facto leader until March 1, when Syria's different factions are set to hold a political dialogue to determine the country's political future and establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together. There, he said, HTS will dissolve after years of being the country's most dominant rebel group that held a strategic enclave in the country's northwest. Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor, as Israel continues to target Syrian weapons and military infrastructure even after the ouster of Assad. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The Israeli military did not comment on the airstrike Sunday. Israel, which has launched hundreds of airstrikes over Syria since the country's uprising turned-civil war broke out in 2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that backed Assad. Unlike his criticism of key Assad ally Iran, al-Sharaa hoped to maintain “strategic relations” with Russia, whose air force played a critical role in keeping Assad in power for over a decade during the conflict. Moscow has a strategic airbase in Syria. The HTS leader also said negotiations are ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria, and hopes that their armed forces will integrate with the Syrian security agencies. The Kurdish-led group is Washington’s key ally in Syria, where it is heavily involved in targeting sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State group. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been clashing with the SDF even after the insurgency, taking the key city of Manbij, as Ankara hopes to create a buffer zone near its border in northern Syria. The rebels attacked near the strategic northern border town of Kobani, while the SDF shared a video of a rocket attack that destroyed what it said was a radar system south of the city of Manbij. In other developments: — Syrian state-run media said a mass grave was found near the third largest city of Homs. SANA said civil defense workers were sent to to the site in al-Kabo, one of many suspected mass graves where tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have been buried during a brutal crackdown under Assad and his network of security agencies. — An Egyptian activist wanted by Cairo on charges of incitement to violence and terrorism, Abdulrahman al-Qardawi, was detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria, according to two judicial and one security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to to talk to the press. Al-Qardawi is an Egyptian activist residing in Turkey and an outspoken critic of Egypt's government. He had reportedly visited Syria to join celebrations after Assad's downfall. His late father, Youssef al-Qaradawi, was a top and controversial Egyptian cleric revered by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. He had lived in exile in Qatar for decades. — Lebanese security forces apprehended an armed group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media. The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security officials are working to return them to Syria. Kareem Chehayeb, The Associated Press
Opinion Op-Ed Antisemitism is often subtle. Very few antisemites openly express their Jew hatred. But it’s there. And it often manifests itself through actions and decisions rather than words. With all that we know about rising antisemitic activity and attitudes it should come as no surprise that discrimination against Jews exists in the labor employment market just as it does in other areas of American life. We have seen reports of educational institutions seeking to “balance” admissions to the detriment of Jewish applicants. Similarly, concerns have been expressed about antisemitism in the publishing world and the mental health field. But how deep is the problem? And how does one measure the extent of antisemitic bias? A recent Anti-Defamation League study answers some of those questions. And the answers are disturbing. The ADL study involved a test conducted by Bryan Tomlin, a labor economist. Over the period of May to October 2024, Tomlin applied through craigslist.org for 3,000 administrative assistant job postings. For each application Tomlin used identical resumes, except for certain characteristics specific to Jewish identity. For example, he used female names like “Rebecca Cohen” that signal that the applicant is Jewish; Israeli names like “Lia Avraham,” and Western European background names like “Kriste Miller.” Tomlin found that Jewish American job candidates need to send 24% more applications to prospective employers in order to receive the same number of positive first responses as Americans with Western European backgrounds and names when applying for the very same jobs. Even more upsetting, Israeli Americans — who were clearly established as American citizens in the study — needed to send 39% more applications to receive the same number of positive responses. ADL noted that the Tomlin survey results are much different than a study conducted by the University of Connecticut a decade ago, which found that Jewish applicants received significantly higher employer preference rates than applicants from all other religions. ADL attributes the change to mounting negative perceptions of Jews that have developed over the past several years and an increasing number of younger Americans who have been influenced by that thinking and who are starting to take managerial positions with the authority to make hiring decisions. The infection of antisemitism is real. And the depth of its reach is alarming. Studies like the Tomlin report in the labor field will be followed by similar efforts in other targeted areas like housing and various business endeavors. But studies alone are not the answer. Nor is litigation over hiring bias or other forms of discrimination. While each of those efforts is helpful, the response to antisemitism needs more. It needs your help. And there is a lot you can do: • Educate yourself and others about Jewish history, culture and Jewish contributions to society. • Engage in open dialogues to challenge stereotypes and myths. • Encourage empathy by sharing personal stories of those affected by antisemitism. • Advocate for legislation that protects against hate crimes. • Join efforts to build alliances with diverse communities to encourage solidarity and mutual support. • Use social media responsibly to counteract hate speech and to spread positive messages. Combating antisemitism is an ongoing process. Every small action helps. We urge you to join the effort. ■ TAGS Anti-Defamation League Antisemitism
