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The Republican Party has lost one of its most significant backers, as tech billionaire Peter Thiel says he will no longer be donating to any political effort, including Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

Sources close to Thiel told Reuters that the famed investor declared "on multiple recent occasions that he had withdrawn from U.S. politics."

Born in Germany, Thiel cut his teeth in the finance and tech industries, making his fortune by co-founding PayPal PYPL and being an early investor in Facebook META , among many other enterprises.

His current net worth stands at $8.2 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Thiel had backed Trumps successful 2016 presidential campaign with $1.25 million. While he didn't support the former presidents 2020 campaign, he donated $35 million in the 2022 midterm elections, supporting 16 Republican candidates for federal congressional seats.

According to non-partisan research site OpenSecrets, Thiel Capital Thiel's VC firm was the fifth-largest donor to the Republican Party in 2022, and the11th largest overall donor when including all parties.

Privately-held logistics company Uline, owned by Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, was listed as the largest donor of the 2022 cycle, having contributed $89.8 million to the Republican Party.

Citadel, a hedge fund led by investor Kenneth C. Griffin came in second with $72.7 million and trading firm Susquehanna International Group was third with $56.4 million.

Also Read: Ron DeSantis Says Xi Jinping Wants To Take Taiwan At Some Point: US Will Counter Chinas Hostile Action

A business associate of Thiel's said that the Republican Party's recent focus on "culture war" issues drew him away from the party, citing the partys position on abortion and transgender people's rights as examples.

The GOP should be more focused on how the U.S. can innovate and compete with China on the global market, said the source.

Earlier this month, The NY Times reported that Thiel is currently involved in one of many so-called "secret coalitions" of wealthy conservatives looking to "disrupt but advance the Republican agenda."

Grown dissatisfied with the political action of elected Republican politicians, these coalitions have allegedly invested hundreds of millions of dollars into side projects. The report indicates that Thiel is part of a coalition called the Rockbridge Network, which has invested $30 million on "conservative media, legal, policy and voter registration projects, among other initiatives."

Earlier this week, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic leaders expressed support for President Joe Biden's bid for the 2024 presidential candidacy.

Late last year, a report found that the Koch brothers, historically some of the wealthiest and most important contributors to the Republican Party, had been diverting funds to back Liz Cheney, as she considers a 2024 presidential campaign.

Still, a recent poll shows that Trump continues to be the favorite to win the Republican nomination, beating second-in-line Ron DeSantis in preliminary surveys.

Now Read: Joe Biden Endorsed By Bernie Sanders For Presidential Run: Last Thing This Country Needs Is A Donald Trump

Picture from Wikimedia Commons by Gage Skidmore.

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Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of ‘lying’ about starvation in Gaza

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Bob Geldof accuses Israeli authorities of 'lying' about starvation in Gaza

Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.

Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.

Appearing on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Geldof said the claims are false.

Follow latest: Gaza aid airdrops a ‘smokescreen’ and ‘distraction’, says UN agency chief

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Israel challenged on starvation in Gaza

Mr Phillips asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.

“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”

In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.

The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.

“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.

“This month, up to now, a thousand children or a thousand people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”

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Gaza: ‘This is man-made starvation’

In the interview with Mark Austin on 23 July, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.” He also claimed that since May more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.

It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.

The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.

MSF then called the lack of food and water on the ground as “unconscionable”.

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Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza

In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.

Read more:
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Surgeon claims IDF ‘deliberately’ shooting boys at Gaza aid points
Security shot at Palestinians at Gaza aid centre – ex-guard

It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.

“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”

The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.

“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.

“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”

You can watch the full interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips at 8.30am tomorrow.

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Honda takes a page from Tesla playbook, launches new insurance business

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Honda takes a page from Tesla playbook, launches new insurance business

Say what you will about Elon Musk, but Tesla has changed the way that millions of people buy cars and, by extension, car insurance. Now, Honda is taking a page from Tesla’s successful playbook and launching its own in-house insurance business. Enter: Honda Insurance Solutions.

Honda Insurance Solutions is being launched as a fully licensed insurance agency serving the insurance needs of Acura and Honda customers, but it’s not stopping at competitive pricing and coverage options for Honda cars and motorcycles. Honda Insurance Solutions promises to go several steps beyond Tesla’s offering with coverage for trailers, RVs, homes, and even pets.

“Honda Insurance Solutions offers customers access to coverage through a brand they know and trust,” says Petar Vucurevic, President, American Honda Insurance Solutions, LLC and Senior Vice President, American Honda Finance Corporation. “Insurance is a key touchpoint in the vehicle ownership journey, and we aim to deliver a superior experience tailored to the unique needs of each customer, while promoting safer driving and increased peace of mind on the road.”

The company says the launch of its new insurance business is just part of Honda’s broader digital vehicle sales platform strategy, with future plans to integrate insurance offerings into new products.

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Electrek’s Take


Electric CUVE scooter; via Honda.

It’s important to note some of the key differences between Honda’s insurance offering and Tesla’s. Honda isn’t offering discounts, they’re not bundling insurance premiums into the vehicle financing, and they’re not building their insurance offerings into their dealerships’ checkout/F&I offices. Not yet, anyway.

What Honda is doing right now is deepening relationships with its existing customers and finding ways to make money on products it hasn’t sold them – whether that’s the Harley parked in the garage next to their Prologue or the garage itself.

It’s a smart play. And, once Honda figures out a way to cut franchise dealers out entirely and go to a direct sales model, it’ll look even smarter.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Honda.


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Politics

Demographics will ‘leapfrog’ Bitcoin adoption in Pakistan — Bilal Bin Saqib

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<div>Demographics will 'leapfrog' Bitcoin adoption in Pakistan — Bilal Bin Saqib</div>

<div>Demographics will 'leapfrog' Bitcoin adoption in Pakistan — Bilal Bin Saqib</div>

A young and tech-savvy population, combating inflationary pressures, is driving Bitcoin adoption and a new financial system in Pakistan.

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