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Get out the private jets, it’s climate conference time!Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary David Cameron, and King Charles III each took their own private jetsas did many other hypocrites world leadersto attend the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai, where it is apparently an “open secret,” per Politico, that “the top temperature goal is mostly gone.”

“This government’s approach to tacklingclimate change, as we have set out repeatedly, is not about banning or reducing people from flying,” said a Sunak spokesman. “It is through investing in new technologies of the future, as evidenced by the flight just yesterday using sustainable aviation fuel.”

Innovation is well and good, but the whole world-leaders-coming-in-on-private-planes thing looks a bit bad when the topic at hand is reversing climate changeand when the news is so dismal. “A short trip on a private jet will produce more carbon than the average person emits all year,” noted one Green Party critic.

Methane agreement scorned: That’s not the only bit of controversy that’s come from this year’s Cop28 summit. NBC reports thatroughly “50 oil and gas companies worldwide have pledged to shore up leaky methane systems by 2030,” which “could rapidly reduce emissions of the potent gas and forestall some climate change effects.” Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the conference’s president and the one who announced this agreement, is the United Arab Emirates’ climate envoy and the CEO of ADNOC, an oil and gas company.

“Every piece of equipment, every component, can leak methane along the supply chain,” scientist Arvind Ravikumar explained to NBC. He said roughly 10 percent of leaks in the supply chain create more than 50 percent of total methane emissions.

By asking oil and gas companies to fix something that’s in their self-interest to fix anyway, the conference attracted criticism from climate activists. “Methane emissions and gas flaring are symptoms of a more than century-long legacy of wasteful, destructive practices that are routine in the oil and gas industry as it pursues massive profits without regard for the consequences,” they wrote in response. “The only safe and effective way to ‘clean up’ fossil fuel pollution is to phase out fossil fuels.”

Kamala Harris promises to throw money at the problem: Our own vice president just pledged $3 billion of U.S. taxpayers’ hard-earned money to the Green Climate Fund. But Congress still has to approve this, and given the spending battles that have led to looming government shutdowns and an ousted speaker, it’s unclear whether this money is Harris’ to spend.

Middle East update: Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen fired at several commercial ships over the weekend, prompting a U.S. Navy destroyer to shoot down three drones, including one that was headed for the U.S.S. Carney warship. ” The strikes marked an escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war, as multiple vessels found themselves in the crosshairs of a single Houthi assault for the first time in the conflict,” reports the Associated Press.

“A Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said in a statement on Sunday that the militia had targeted two Israeli ships in the area of the Bab al-Mandeb strait off southern Yemen, but did not mention the American naval vessel,” per The New York Times. The Houthi militants have said they will keep firing at Israeli ships in the Red and Arabian Seas until the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip is stopped.

Meanwhile in Gaza, the ceasefire has expired and Israel seems to be eyeing an expansion of its military campaign into the south. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called for mass evacuations from Khan Younis, warning civilians that it is likely to strike there. With an estimated three-quarters of the population of the Gaza Strip displaced, it’s unclear where evacuees ought to take refuge.

Scenes from New York:

Functional school system we’ve got here! A 7th grade girl, bullied and beaten on video at NYC's Mark Twain gifted and talented middle school, is now escorted by a staffer acting as a bodyguard during school, and her parents pick her up every day to accompany her out of the building. The DOE offered the victim a "safety… https://t.co/P5Y0GsO8UW

— Susan Edelman (@SusanBEdelman) December 3, 2023

QUICK HITS DO YOU LOVE ROUNDUP ? Then possibly consider donating to Reason ‘s Webathon (and writing my name in that sweet, sweet comment section so my superiors know not to fire me next time I say something too spicy). Who knows, maybe you can win a trip to the shooting range with me next year if enough interest is expressed! (Just kidding, New York City doesn’t have those, because the city pols hate fun and freedom.) Today, the Supreme Court “will weigh whether members of the Sackler family, who owned the company, should be shielded from current and future lawsuits connected with Purdue in exchange for paying about $5.5 billion to address the addiction crisis,” reports Axios. “A growing number of Chinese have entered the United States this year through the Darin Gap, exceeded only by Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Haitians,” The New York Times reports. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died on Friday. “Buy now, pay later” schemes receive heightened scrutiny. Deranged behaviorand vandalismoutside a Jewish-owned restaurant in Philadelphia. Socialized medicine kills: “Canadian woman is diagnosed with cancer, told she has 2 years to live at most, that she is not a candidate for surgery but would she like medical help committing suicide? She declines, comes to the United States, spends a lot of money, and is treated within weeks,” writes Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution. The expansion of grief leave, with no government mandates necessary. A thread that will possibly leave you optimistic about the future of humanity. Lol: Oh boy do I have a good one for you. https://t.co/N7uaylLuaw

— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) December 3, 2023

Check out the trailer for the show Zach Weissmueller and I are launching. It’s called Just Asking Questions and we’re thrilled to release new episodes to our YouTube every Thursday and to our podcast feed every Friday: An announcement from me and @LizWolfeReason pic.twitter.com/cSKiPvPLlI

— Zach Weissmueller (@TheAbridgedZach) December 2, 2023

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Entertainment

Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’

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Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it's 'an underdog just like me'

Snoop Dogg has become a co-owner and investor of Swansea, with the US rapper hailing the Welsh football club as “an underdog that bites back, just like me”.

The former Premier League club, which plays in the English second tier, confirmed the US rapper and producer plans to use his own money to invest in it, Sky Sports reports, although it didn’t disclose financial details.

“My love of football is well known, but it feels special to me that I make my move into club ownership with Swansea City,” the music icon said in the announcement.

“The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me,” he added. “This is a proud, working class city and club.

“An underdog that bites back, just like me.

“I’m proud to be part of Swansea City. I am going to do all I can to help the club.”

Swansea’s American owners, led by Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, are trying to grow the Championship club’s global brand and increase commercial revenue.

Snoop Dogg, 53, who has 89m followers on Instagram and more than 20m on X, helped launch the team’s 2025-26 home shirt last weekend.

More on Snoop Dogg

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The club ownership group said: “To borrow a phrase from Snoop’s back catalogue, this announcement is the next episode for Swansea City as we seek to create new opportunities to boost the club’s reach and profile.”

Luka Modric, who recently signed with AC Milan from Real Madrid, joined Swansea’s ownership group in April.

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Politics

Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

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Diane Abbott suspended from Labour Party

Diane Abbott has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation.

A party spokesperson confirmed the decision to Sky News but did not give a reason why.

Politics Live: The Starmtroopers are coming for the Corbynites

It comes after the veteran MP defended previous comments about racism which sparked an antisemitism row and led to a year-long suspension.

She apologised at the time and was readmitted back into the party before the 2024 general election.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing.”

Sky News understands that the suspension is not related to the four rebels who lost the whip on Wednesday for “repeated breaches” of party discipline, including voting against the government’s welfare cuts.

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The action has been taken because of an interview in which she doubled down on her claim Jewish people experience racism differently to black people, which previously sparked a huge controversy.

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Diane Abbott

In a letter to The Observer in 2023, Ms Abbott argued that people of colour experienced racism “all their lives” and said that was different to the “prejudice” experienced by Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers.

Shortly after it was published, she issued a statement in which she said she wished to “wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them”.

However in a new interview with BBC Radio 4’s Reflections programme this week, she said she did not look back on the incident with regret.

Ms Abbott said: “Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know.

“But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they’re black. They are different types of racism.”

She added: “I just think that it’s silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism.

“I don’t know why people would say that.”

Commenting on the suspension, Ms Abbott told Sky News: “It’s obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. My comments in the interview with James Naughtie were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept.”

The clip of the interview was re-posted by Brian Leishman, one of the MPs suspended on Wednesday, who said: “Diane Abbott has fought against racism her entire life.”

Bell Riberio-Addy, who lost her role as trade envoy in yesterday’s purge, also came to Ms Abbott’s defence, saying: “Before condemning her based on headlines, I would listen to her clip and note she discussed the different forms that racism takes and condemned all forms of racism.”

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell made similar comments, saying that in the interview his colleague “forthrightly condemns antisemitism & discusses the different forms of racism”.

But Labour MP David Taylor told Sky News he has “long thought Diane Abbott shouldn’t be a member of our party due to her appalling positions on everything from Bosnia to Syria”.

He added: “As the Jewish Labour Movement have said, antisemitism targets Jews regardless of how they look, and many in the community are visibly Jewish and suffer racism for it.”

In the interview, Ms Abbott said she “of course” condemns antisemitic behaviour in the same way she would condemn racist behaviour because of the colour of someone’s skin, adding: “I do get a bit weary of people trying to pin the antisemitic label on me because I spent a lifetime facing racism of all kinds.”

Ms Abbott made history when she was elected as Britain’s first black female MP for Labour in 1987.

She is the longest-serving female MP in the Commons, giving her the title “Mother of the House”.

As an MP on the left of the party she has often clashed with the leadership throughout her career – bar her time serving in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

Read more from Sky News:
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Five reasons to be confused by Starmer’s MP suspensions

Many MPs rallied in support of Ms Abbott last year when it was not clear if she would be reinstated in time for the general election, or allowed to stand.

She went on to retain her seat of Hackney North and Stoke Newington with a majority of over 15,000.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner hinted action could be taken against Ms Abbott when she told The Guardian earlier on Thursday that she was “disappointed” in her colleague’s remarks.

“There’s no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party, and obviously the Labour Party has processes for that,” she said.

A source close to the decision to suspend her told Sky News there is a “very slim chance” she will be allowed back in, given she did antisemitism training and apologised last time.

It raises questions about whether Ms Abbott could join the new party being formed by Mr Corbyn and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana.

For the time being, Ms Abbott will sit in the Commons as an independent MP.

Adnan Hussain, who was elected as the independent MP for Blackburn last year, said on X: “We’d be honoured to have a giant like Diane join us, she [should] come to the side that would really appreciate her for the legend she is.”

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UK

Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

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Child who died in Minehead school coach crash was 10-year-old boy, police say

The child who died in a school coach crash in Somerset on Thursday was a 10-year-old boy, Avon and Somerset Police have said.

A specially trained officer is supporting the child’s family, the force said, adding that two children taken to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children by air ambulance remain there as of Friday.

Four children and three adults also remain in hospital in Somerset.

There were between 60 to 70 people on board when the incident happened near Minehead, just before 3pm on Thursday.

The coach was heading to Minehead Middle School when it crashed on the A396 between Wheddon Cross and Timbercombe.

Flowers outside school
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Pic: PA

Police said that 21 people were taken to hospital, including two children who were taken via air ambulance.

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer for Devon and Somerset, said the coach “overturned onto its roof and slid approximately 20ft down an embankment”.

Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said the road where it happened is “very difficult to manoeuvre”.

“You have a very difficult crossing at Wheddon Cross, and as you come out to dip down into Timbercombe, the road is really windy and there are very steep dips on either side,” she told Sky’s Anna Botting.

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Tearful MP reacts to coach crash

It comes after a teacher at Minehead Middle School praised the “incredibly brave” pupils for supporting each other after the coach crash.

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No further action over Kneecap at Glastonbury, police say

“You have looked after each [other] in what was a life-changing event, we will get through this together,” they wrote on Facebook.

“I feel so lucky to be your teacher. I am so grateful to my wonderful colleagues during this time who were also fighting to help as many people as we could.”

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