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Prime minister says vote will be held on 19 September after ‘positive, factual and robust’ campaign Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced her country’s next general election will be held on 19 September, firing the starting pistol on a campaign race lasting more than seven months. On Tuesday, Ardern said the forthcoming election campaign would be “positive, factual and robust”, and that her party had signed up to Facebook’s transparency tool to counter instances of misinformation that had been seen overseas. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36AtmeC

State department denies journalist seat on official plane, following public feud with news outlet over tough questions on Ukraine The state department has removed an NPR reporter from the pool of journalists traveling to Europe and Asia with Mike Pompeo, following the secretary of state’s public feud with the news organization. The State Department Correspondents’ Association says that Michele Kelemen, an NPR diplomatic correspondent, has been denied a seat aboard Pompeo’s plane during his trip, which includes a visit to Ukraine. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2RwA6ps

Trump’s defense ignored the former adviser’s revelations, instead railing against the former vice-president’s son A second day of opening arguments by Donald Trump’s defense at his impeachment trial in the US Senate has concluded. Here are six key takeaways: Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37w9bQg

A brutal, trippy portrait of what it must feel like to lose your grip on reality boasts an Oscar-worthy performance Most years at Sundance, usually within the midnight movies strand, a horror film breaks out, terrifying all those able to endure it, kickstarting a buzz that continues through to release with poster quotes daring only the bravest of audiences to go see. In previous years there’s been Saw, Hereditary, Get Out, The Babadook and The Blair Witch Project but this year, the scariest film isn’t about a sadistic killer or an evil cult. It’s not even a scary movie in any traditional sense. It’s a film about the bone-chilling horror of living with dementia and it’ll haunt me for weeks. Related: The Nest review – Jude Law and Carrie Coon fall apart in eerie 80s drama Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2t6YGEc

The creator of The Thick of It and Veep discusses why modern politics has moved beyond satire. And: Bryan Graham on Kobe Bryant Anushka Asthana talks to the writer and director Armando Iannucci about his third feature film, The Personal History of David Copperfield , an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s eighth and most autobiographical novel. They discuss the parallels with modern life, including the rise in homelessness. Iannucci talks about why he decided to set another new project, Avenue 5 , in space, 40 years in the future. The Thick of It creator also discusses why he thinks modern politics has made satire redundant. And: Guardian US deputy sports editor Bryan Graham on the death of Kobe Bryant Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36vZekF

Fox News Breaking News Alert Dershowitz, speaking in Trump's Senate trial, tells House Dems they chose the 'wrong' impeachment criteria 01/27/20 6:10 PM

Updates from the quarter-final at Rod Laver Arena Any thoughts? Email or tweet @mike_hytner 2.05am GMT The players are out on the court, and have just finished warming up. “Ladies and gentlemen, find your seats quickly please,” says the umpire, and we’re just about ready to go. 1.56am GMT Kenin, of the US, is through to her maiden grand slam semi-final, having just beaten Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 after an hour and 32 minutes in the first match of the day on Rod Laver. Kenin, the first woman through to the semis, will play the winner of Barty v Kvitová next. But the American 14th seed says she doesn’t care who she meets. “I’m in the semi-finals, at this point whoever I play they’re playing really well.” She’ll be watching on though. “I’ll watch it’ll be an exciting match.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/38KIPu0