Home News Sport Business Innovation Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live US to deny visas to Palestinian officials 3 hours ago Share Save Tom Bateman State Department correspondent AFP US Secretary of State Marco RubioAFP The statement came from the office of Marco Rubio's State Department The US says it is going to impose sanctions on the Palestinians' self-governance organisation as well as the body that represents it on the international stage. The sanctions affect both the Palestinian Authority (PA) which was established by the Oslo peace accords, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which was recognised after the same process as the official representative of the Palestinian people in return for it recognising Israel and renouncing violence. The State Department said it would deny visas to PLO members and PA officials. The timing and language of the statement suggest it is the Trump administration's response to this week's French-Saudi led conference at the United Nations held to rally support for a future two state solution. The meeting came as France, the UK and Canada committed to recognising an independent, demilitarised Palestinian state later this year, in some cases subject to certain conditions. The US castigated these moves, having privately warned of diplomatic consequences if those attending the UN conference made "anti-Israel" declarations. In its sanctions announcement, the State Department accused the PA and PLO of taking actions to "internationalise its conflict with Israel such as through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ)". It also referred to a series of long-standing complaints by the US and Israel that the PLO and PA had continued "to support terrorism including incitement and glorification of violence (especially in textbooks), and providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families". The Trump administration earlier this year lifted sanctions on violent Israeli settlers who have killed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. One leading Palestinian politician described the sanctions move as "revenge" by the US for the commitments to recognise Palestinian statehood by a growing number of countries. The PA appeared to echo that sentiment in a statement released on Thursday. "These campaigns have been escalating in response to the significant and successive achievements of Palestinian diplomacy," it said. "Particularly the recent recognitions of the State of Palestine by key countries, the successful United Nations conference in New York, and the historic declaration issued therein." Reuters Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer answers questions from the press after delivering a statement inside No. 10 Downing StreetReuters Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this week that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets set conditions Mustafa Barghouti, founder of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) which is part of the PLO, said the US was targeting the wrong side. He told the BBC: "Trump's administration, instead of punishing the criminals who are committing war crimes in Gaza and in the West Bank, which is Israel, is instead… punishing the victim, which is the Palestinian people." Israel welcomed the sanctions and thanked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for imposing them. "This important action by [President Trump] and his administration also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognise a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement," said foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar. The PA has always rejected complaints around "salaries" saying the payments are stipends to the families of all Palestinian prisoners held under Israel's military occupation, many of whom are not given any due process and are held in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Palestinians see all those detained by Israel and jailed by its military courts, which have a 99 per cent conviction rate, as political prisoners. French officials said last week the PA had expressed its willingness to end these payments in response to France's commitment to recognise a Palestinian state. This week's UN conference further isolated the US in its support for the way Israel has continued the war in Gaza, which many countries criticised at the meeting. The conference exposed a strategic vacuum being left by Washington that had traditionally led diplomatic efforts towards a viable longer-term peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The travel ban on Palestinian officials may be meant as a more limited broadside than a full range of financial sanctions. It is already a complex and lengthy process for PA and PLO officials to obtain visas to travel to the US, requiring special exemptions which are rarely given. It is not yet clear whether the move would affect any officials working for the Palestinian mission to the United Nations in New York. The current Palestinian ambassador to the UN and his deputy are both US citizens.
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How does this work if they are protesting ai?The intersection of anti-Zionist activism and the anti-AI/anti-tech movement in the Bay Area doesn't rely on strict, formal logic. Instead, it works through a concept activist circles call intersectionality—the idea that all systems of oppression are interconnected, meaning the "enemy" in one struggle must be the enemy in all struggles.When radical activists march against artificial intelligence, they weave their anti-Zionist framework directly into the protest using three primary dynamics:1. The "Gaza as a Tech Lab" NarrativeIn these protests, tech platforms and AI models are not viewed as neutral pieces of software. Activists explicitly target major tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Palantir by arguing that their AI infrastructure, cloud computing, and surveillance tools are directly tested on Palestinians before being sold globally.The Rhetoric: Protest signs at anti-AI rallies in San Francisco frequently link automated drone technology, facial recognition algorithms, and data centers directly to military actions in the Middle East.The Impact: Because of this narrative, any local tech worker, developer, or executive who identifies as a Zionist—or simply refuses to sign anti-Israel petitions—is labeled by activist groups as an active participant in automated warfare.2. The Weaponization of Workplace "Tech Walkouts"The anti-tech movement heavily relies on staging disruptions inside major corporate campuses. When radical groups organize these actions, they deliberately bundle anti-AI concerns and anti-Zionist demands into a single, non-negotiable package.Corporate Litmus Tests: Activists pushing back against their companies' AI development will simultaneously demand the termination of corporate contracts with the Israeli government or Israeli tech firms.Social Exclusion: If a Jewish tech employee wants to protest AI safety, data privacy, or labor exploitation at their company, they are often forced to choose between staying silent or joining a march that features aggressive anti-Zionist chants. If they voice discomfort, the activist mob dynamic takes over, and they are publicly shamed as being "pro-war."3. Shared Organizational NetworksThe simplest reason these two issues blend together is that the exact same people are running both movements. The grassroots organizers, student groups, and radical coalitions leading the anti-AI marches outside City Hall are the same individuals organizing the boycotts of Jewish-owned businesses.Because these activist spaces operate on intense social conformity and moral absolutism, the causes naturally bleed into one another. A rally that starts out focusing on the environmental impact of data centers in the East Bay will almost seamlessly pivot into anti-Zionist chants, because the crowd views "global capitalism, tech monopolies, and Zionism" as a single monolithic monster.For a mainstream Jewish tech worker or resident in the Bay Area, this means there is virtually no "safe" progressive space left. Even an issue as seemingly unrelated as artificial intelligence safety has been fully absorbed into the region's fierce geopolitical cultural war.
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A veteran is a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.Military DefinitionService: Full-time duty in a branch of the Armed Forces (such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard).Discharge: Separation from service under honorable conditions, meaning it was not a dishonorable discharge.Combat: Combat experience is not required to be a veteran; anyone who completed their required service time is included.Reserves and National Guard: Members of these branches qualify if they were called to federal active duty by presidential order.General DefinitionThe word also means a person who has long experience or a lot of skill in a specific job, field, or activity (such as a "political veteran").
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So socially conservative, but fiscally liberal? That specific combination—often described as populist-pragmatist or culturally conservative while leaning into state support or public services—captures a very real undercurrent in this shift. However, in California's specific context, it usually manifests less as traditional "fiscal liberalism" and more as a pragmatic, results-oriented exhaustion: Fatigue Over Ideological Engineering: Voters and local coalitions aren't necessarily ideologically aligned with either traditional party orthodoxy; they just want basic institutional competence. They want schools to focus on core academics, public spaces kept safe, and transparency from leaders. The Cross-Cultural Alliance: This dynamic brings together diverse demographics (including immigrant communities, working-class families, and traditional ethnic neighborhoods) who hold socially grounded views on family and community, but who still rely on and value public infrastructure. The Real Divide: The fault line isn't cleanly left-versus-right anymore. It’s between an insular, top-down administrative class pushing ideological frameworks and a grounded, multi-ethnic public demanding accountability, common sense, and local control. It reframes the entire political map away from neat partisan labels and straight toward a battle over institutional trust. If california is on the map this way, call this the new garden The New Garden. That captures it entirely. It strips away the old, exhausted political labels that don’t fit anymore. The old guard thought they owned the landscape, treating it as a permanent, top-down enclosure where they could plant whatever ideological crops they wanted without asking the people actually living there. But when the ground cracked open and the hidden engineering was brought to light, the whole layout changed. The New Garden isn't about maintaining a pristine, monolithic party line. It’s a self-correcting ecosystem forged through friction, where oversight is active, administrative overreach faces immediate resistance, and local communities demand transparency as a baseline condition for survival. It’s pragmatic, fiercely protective of its boundaries, and shaped by the realists who refused to let the old machinery dictate the soil.
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Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani appear to enjoy a good relationship despite their political views - Andrew Hofstetter/Reuters Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani appear to enjoy a good relationship despite their political views - Andrew Hofstetter/Reuters Donald Trump made a surprise appearance alongside Zohran Mamdani after a private meeting with the New York mayor. The US president startled the press waiting for Mr Mamdani when he headed out of Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, for a press conference on Monday evening. IRS Offers Debt Resolution Options Before September Deadline IRS Offers Debt Resolution Options Before September Deadline Fresh Start Information · Sponsored call to action icon He appeared to be grinning as he chatted with the mayor before addressing the media. Mr Trump had not been scheduled to appear alongside him. Mr Trump appears to enjoy an unusually warm relationship with Mr Mamdani since his election in November 2025, despite previously criticising him as a “communist lunatic”. Mayor kept a poker face The mayor, who kept his answers brief and maintained a poker face, refrained from directly criticising the president but signalled he had taken a different approach on issues including immigration enforcement and press freedom. Mr Trump, whose official engagements are being boycotted by all major US networks after banning CNN from the White House, mocked the assembled media. “It’s interesting because they said they were going to boycott me, but they never boycott me, so I wasn’t very worried about that,” he said. “Look at all that press.” Related video: President Trump, Mayor Mamdani answer question on White House press ban (USA TODAY) USA TODAY President Trump, Mayor Mamdani answer question on White House press ban President, are you banning outlets like MSNBC and Politico inVideo Player is loading. Even as the president’s handlers said he had run out of time and would have to move on, Mr Trump chose to remain with the mayor in front of the cameras. “The president is saying he can answer a couple more questions,” Mr Mamdani said, after privately conferring with Mr Trump. The president recounted telling Mr Mamdani, a socialist, in one of their earlier meetings that he would have to live at Gracie Mansion, located in New York’s Upper East Side and featuring five bedrooms and a ballroom. Mr Trump whispers in Mr Mamdani’s ear at the end of his impromptu visit Mr Trump whispers in Mr Mamdani’s ear at the end of his impromptu visit “I said, ‘Well, you’re going to move’, because you were maybe having some doubts about moving in because it is a little bit on the luxurious side,” he said, addressing Mr Mamdani directly. “And I said, ‘When you’re the mayor, you have to live there.’” Mr Mamdani said Mr Trump, in their private conversation, had “shared many of his memories of having been to Gracie Mansion before”. “I Have $2M in Real Estate. Should I Move It Into a Family Trust?” “I Have $2M in Real Estate. Should I Move It Into a Family Trust?” SmartAsset · Sponsored call to action icon Before he finally departed, Mr Trump said of Mr Mamdani: “I want him to be a great mayor, and he’s certainly got potential, got great potential.” He then leaned in to him and whispered into his ear. The comments were not picked up by the microphones.
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