UK leader Starmer slams ‘lies and misinformation’ after attacks from Elon Musk

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer answers a question from the media during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Center at Epsom Hospital on January 06, 2025 in Epsom, Britain. (Reuters)
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer answers a question from the media during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Center at Epsom Hospital on January 06, 2025 in Epsom, Britain. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 06 January 2025
Follow

UK leader Starmer slams ‘lies and misinformation’ after attacks from Elon Musk

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer answers a question from the media during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Center.
  • Tesla CEO has taken an intense and erratic interest in British politics since the center-left Labour Party was elected in July
  • Musk has accused Starmer of failing to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England’s director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned “lies and misinformation” that he said are undermining UK democracy, in response to a barrage of attacks on his government from Elon Musk.

The billionaire Tesla CEO has taken an intense and erratic interest in British politics since the center-left Labour Party was elected in July. Musk has used his social network, X, to call for a new election and demand Starmer be imprisoned. On Monday he posted an online poll for his 210 million followers on the proposition: “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.”

Asked about Musk’s comments during a question session at a hospital near London, Starmer criticized “those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible,” particularly opposition Conservative politicians in Britain who have echoed some of Musk’s claims.

Musk often posts on X about the UK, retweeting criticism of Starmer and the hashtag TwoTierKeir -– shorthand for an unsubstantiated claim that Britain has “two-tier policing” with far-right protesters treated more harshly than pro-Palestinian or Black Lives Matter demonstrators. During summer anti-immigrant violence across the UK he tweeted that “civil war is inevitable.”

Recently Musk has focused on child sexual abuse, particularly a series of cases that rocked northern England towns in which groups of men, largely from Pakistani backgrounds, were tried for grooming and abusing dozens of girls. The cases have been used by far-right activists to link child abuse to immigration, and to accuse politicians of covering up the “grooming gangs” out of a fear of appearing racist.

Musk has posted a demand for a new public inquiry into the cases. A huge, seven-year inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, though many of the 20 recommendations it made in 2022 — including compensation for abuse victims — have yet to be implemented. Starmer’s government said it would act on them as quickly as possible.

Musk also has accused Starmer of failing to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England’s director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013.

Starmer defended his record as chief prosecutor, saying he had reopened closed cases and “changed the whole prosecution approach” to child sexual exploitation.

He also condemned language used by Musk about Jess Phillips, a government minister responsible for combating violence against women and girls. Musk called Phillips a “rape genocide apologist” and said she deserved to be in prison.

“When the poison of the far-right leads to serious threats to Jess Phillips and others, then in my book, a line has been crossed,” Starmer said. “I enjoy the cut and thrust of politics, the robust debate that we must have, but that’s got to be based on facts and truth, not on lies.”

Musk has also called for the release of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a far-right activist who goes by the name Tommy Robinson and is serving a prison sentence for contempt of court.

Starmer said people “cheerleading Tommy Robinson … are trying to get some vicarious thrill from street violence that people like Tommy Robinson promote.”

Starmer largely avoided mentioning Musk by name in his responses, likely wary of giving him more of a spotlight — or of angering Musk ally Donald Trump, who is due to be inaugurated as US president on Jan. 20.

Musk’s incendiary interventions are a growing worry for governments elsewhere in Europe, too. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, another target of the X owner’s ire, said he is staying “cool” over critical personal comments made by Musk, but finds it worrying that the US billionaire makes the effort to get involved in Germany’s election by endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Starmer said the main issue was not Musk’s posts on X, but “what are politicians here doing to stand up for our democracy?”

He said he was concerned about Conservative politicians in Britain “so desperate for attention they are amplifying what the far right are saying.”

“Once we lose the anchor that truth matters … then we are on a very slippery slope,” he said.

While some Conservatives, including party leader Kemi Badenoch, have echoed Musk’s points, the main UK beneficiary of his interest has been Reform UK, the hard-right party led by Nigel Farage that has just five seats in the 650-seat House of Commons but big expansion plans. Farage said last month that Musk was considering making a multimillion-dollar donation to the party.

But Farage is critical of Tommy Robinson, refusing to let him join Reform, and on Sunday Musk posted: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”

Farage tweeted in response: “Well, this is a surprise! Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree.”


Lithuania Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas steps down after investigations and protests

Lithuania Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas steps down after investigations and protests
Updated 21 sec ago
Follow

Lithuania Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas steps down after investigations and protests

Lithuania Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas steps down after investigations and protests
  • Paluckas stepped down on Thursday following investigations into his business dealings that prompted protests in the Baltic country’s capital calling for his resignation
  • Paluckas, who is also a Social Democrat, ascended to the role late last year after a three-party coalition formed following parliamentary elections in October
VILNIUS: Lithuania Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas stepped down on Thursday following investigations into his business dealings that prompted protests in the Baltic country ‘s capital calling for his resignation.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced Paluckas’ resignation to the media on Thursday morning. A spokesperson for Paluckas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Paluckas, a newly established leader of the center-left Social Democrats, ascended to the role late last year after a three-party coalition formed following parliamentary elections in October. His entire cabinet is now expected also to resign, potentially leaving the country without an effective government weeks before Russia holds joint military exercises with neighboring Belarus.
Lithuanian foreign policy is unlikely to change as a result of the government shakeup. Nausėda, who was elected separately, is the country’s face on the world stage and has been one of the most stalwart supporters of Ukraine in its fight against invading Russian forces.
Paluckas has recently been dogged by media investigations into his business and financial dealings. Several media outlets published investigations in July regarding Paluckas’ past and present ventures and alleged mishandlings, including ones more than a decade ago. The Baltic country ‘s anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies subsequently launched their own probes.
In a devastating blow to his reputation, the media also revealed that Paluckas never paid a significant part of a 16,500 euro fine ($19,039) in connection with a 2012 criminal case dubbed the “rat poison scandal.”
Paluckas was convicted of mishandling the bidding process for Vilnius’ rat extermination services while serving as the capital city’s municipality administration director. Judges for the country’s top court in 2012 ruled that he abused his official position by illegally granting privileges to the company that offered the highest price in the bid.
He was also sentenced to two years behind bars, but the sentence was suspended for one year and he ultimately was never imprisoned.
The Social Democratic party leader denied any wrongdoing regarding his business affairs, labeling the criticism as part of a “coordinated attack” by political opponents.
He resigned before the opposition could formally launch impeachment proceedings. New coalition talks are expected to start shortly to form a new cabinet.

Zelensky urges ‘regime change’ in Russia and calls for confiscation of assets

Zelensky urges ‘regime change’ in Russia and calls for confiscation of assets
Updated 12 min 47 sec ago
Follow

Zelensky urges ‘regime change’ in Russia and calls for confiscation of assets

Zelensky urges ‘regime change’ in Russia and calls for confiscation of assets
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that the world should push for “regime change” arguing that President Vladimir Putin otherwise would continue to destabilize its neighbors

HELSINKI: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that the world should push for “regime change” in Russia, arguing that President Vladimir Putin otherwise would continue to destabilize its neighbors.

“I believe Russia can be pushed to stop this war. It started it, and it can be made to end it, but if the world doesn’t aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries,” Zelensky told a conference marking 50 years since the signing of the “Helsinki Final Act” on respecting borders and territorial integrity.

Zelensky also called for the confiscation of Russia’s financial assets, following the latest deadly strike by Moscow on Kyiv.

“We need to fully block Russia’s war machine ... put every frozen Russian asset, including the stolen wealth of corruption to work defending against Russian aggression. It’s time to confiscate Russian assets, not just freeze them, confiscate them and use them to serve peace, not war,” Zelensky told the Helsinki conference in an online address.


Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation

Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation
Updated 44 min 15 sec ago
Follow

Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation

Suspected arsonist appears in court over Melbourne synagogue fire that shocked the nation
  • The federal government has committed $20 million to rebuild the synagogue
  • Giovanni Laulu appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday after his arrest Wednesday

MELBOURNE: A suspected arsonist accused of destroying a Melbourne synagogue appeared in court seven months after the crime shocked the nation and triggered a large-scale investigation.

Giovanni Laulu, 21, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court Thursday after his arrest at a Melbourne home on Wednesday.

Police allege Laulu is one of three masked men who spread a liquid accelerant around the interior of the Adass Israel Synagogue then set it alight before dawn on Dec. 6. A worshipper preparing for morning prayers suffered minor burns.

Laulu is the first suspect to be caught, but police have foreshadowed more arrests. Police suspect there are also accomplices who planned the attack from overseas.

Laulu was charged with arson, reckless conduct endangering life and car theft.

Laulu confirmed his name but otherwise remained silent during the brief court appearance. He did not enter pleas or apply to be released on bail.

His lawyer told Magistrate Brett Sonnett this was not Laulu’s first time in prison. Laulu was then remanded in custody and will appear in court next on Aug. 6.

Prosecutors sought 12 weeks to gather evidence against Laulu and said 11 cell phones need to be analyzed. Sonnett gave the prosecution until Oct. 22 to present their case to Laulu’s lawyers.

Federal and state police, plus Australia’s main domestic spy agency, have been investigating the crime, which is suspected to be politically motivated. Police say more than 220 law enforcement officers have devoted more than 50,000 hours to the investigation.

State Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said Victoria Police would be relentless in pursuing and holding those involved in the synagogue arson to account.

“Victoria Police has seen first-hand the impact this incident has had in the Victorian community — the fear and distress a crime like this can cause,” Bush said in a statement.

“People deserve to be safe and feel safe, particularly when it comes to their places of worship. This is not negotiable in any way. We remain committed to identifying all those who seek to cause this kind of fear and harm, and ensuring they are brought to justice,” he added.

A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia since the Oct. 7, 2023. The synagogue attack is the only incident that has been classified as an act of terrorism, a designation that increases the resources available to the investigation.

The federal government has committed 30 million Australian dollars ($20 million) to rebuild the synagogue.


London’s Heathrow hit by more flight cancelations after air traffic failure

London’s Heathrow hit by more flight cancelations after air traffic failure
Updated 31 July 2025
Follow

London’s Heathrow hit by more flight cancelations after air traffic failure

London’s Heathrow hit by more flight cancelations after air traffic failure
  • The second outage in as many years at NATS also affected Gatwick Airport near London, Edinburgh Airport in Scotland and other locations

LONDON: At least 16 flights to and from London’s Heathrow Airport were canceled on Thursday, a day after technical problems with Britain’s air traffic control system caused widespread disruption across the country’s airports.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which provides air traffic control services for planes flying in UK airspace and the eastern part of the North Atlantic, said on Wednesday its systems were fully operational with capacity returning to normal after it switched to a back-up system.

The second outage in as many years at NATS also affected Gatwick Airport near London, Edinburgh Airport in Scotland and other locations, resulting in 122 cancelations as of 1830 GMT on Wednesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Heathrow’s website showed that at least 16 flights, including departures to Brussels and Toronto and arrivals from New York and Berlin, had been canceled on Thursday.

Heathrow, Britain’s largest and Europe’s busiest airport, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the latest cancelations.

Ryanair Chief Operating Officer Neal McMahon called on NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, saying no lessons had been learnt since the August 2023 disruption caused by a malfunctioning in the automatic processing of flight plans.

NATS, which on Wednesday apologized to those affected by the failure, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a response to McMahon’s comments.

Heathrow was also hit by a fire at a power sub-station in March which stranded thousands of passengers.


China summons chip giant Nvidia over alleged security risks

China summons chip giant Nvidia over alleged security risks
Updated 31 July 2025
Follow

China summons chip giant Nvidia over alleged security risks

China summons chip giant Nvidia over alleged security risks
  • The California based firm said earlier this month that it would resume H20 sales to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had halted exports

BEIJING: Chinese Internet authorities summoned Nvidia on Thursday to discuss “serious security issues” over some of its artificial intelligence (AI) chips, as the US technology giant finds itself entangled in trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Nvidia is a world-leading producer of AI semiconductors, but the United States effectively restricts which chips it can export to China on national security grounds.

A key issue has been Chinese access to the “H20,” a less powerful version of Nvidia’s AI processing units that the company developed specifically for export to China.

The California-based firm said earlier this month that it would resume H20 sales to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had halted exports.

But the firm still faces obstacles — US lawmakers have proposed plans to require Nvidia and other manufacturers of advanced AI chips to include built-in location tracking capabilities.

And on Thursday, Beijing’s top Internet regulator said it had summoned Nvidia representatives to discuss recently discovered “serious security issues” involving the H20.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said it had asked Nvidia to “explain the security risks of vulnerabilities and backdoors in its H20 chips sold to China and submit relevant supporting materials.”

The statement posted on social media noted that, according to US experts, location tracking and remote shutdown technologies for Nvidia chips “are already matured.”

The announcement marked the latest complication for Nvidia in selling its advanced products in the key Chinese market, where it is in increasingly fierce competition with homegrown technology firms.



CEO Jensen Huang said during a closely watched visit to Beijing this month that his firm remained committed to serving local customers.

Huang said he had been assured during talks with top Chinese officials during the trip that the country was “open and stable.”

“They want to know that Nvidia continues to invest here, that we are still doing our best to serve the market here,” he said.

Nvidia this month became the first company to hit $4 trillion in market value — a new milestone in Wall Street’s bet that AI will transform the global economy.

New hurdles to the firm’s operation in China come as the country’s economy wavers, beset by a years-long property sector crisis and heightened trade headwinds under US President Donald Trump.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the country to enhance self-reliance in certain areas deemed vital for national security — including AI and semiconductors — as tensions with Washington mount.

The country’s firms have made great strides in recent years, with Huang praising their “super-fast” innovation during his visit to Beijing this month.