Nigel Farage launches Brexit Party’s UK election campaign
Nigel Farage is launching the Brexit Party’s election campaign for the upcoming UK general election, which takes place on 12 December. The former leader of UKIP, who now leads the Brexit Party, was a key figure in securing a referendum and a public vote to leave the European Union. The Brexit Party wants the UK to leave the EU without a deal in place, and currently has no seats in parliament, although it does have 29 MEPs. On Thursday, Farage conducted an interview with Donald Trump on his show on a British radio station, in which the US president urged the Brexit Party to get behind Boris Johnson. Farage responded by saying he would be “right behind” Johnson, if the prime minister dropped the Brexit divorce deal he struck with the European Union two weeks ago and instead went for a “clean break” Brexit without a deal.
ISIS confirms death of Baghdadi, threatens US with revenge
The so-called Islamic State (IS) confirmed on Thursday that its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed in a weekend raid by the US special forces in northwestern Syria — and vowed revenge against the US. The group confirmed its leader’s death in an audiotape posted online and said a successor, who’s been identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, had been named. An spokesman for the terror group also threatened the US with retaliation for the killing of its leader. Baghdadi’s death is likely to cause Islamic State to splinter, leaving whoever emerged as its new leader with the task of pulling the group back together as a fighting force, analysts told Reuters. It remains to be seen whether the loss of its leader will affect the group’s capabilities. But even if it faces difficulties in the transition, the underlying ideology and the sectarian hatred it promoted remain attractive to many, they said. IS also confirmed the death of its spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir.
Corbyn accuses Trump of interfering in UK elections
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour party, on Thursday accused the US President of interfering in the UK elections after Trump told Nigel Farage’s radio show that it would be “so bad” if Corbyn was elected prime minister. Corbyn wrote on Twitter that the US leader “is trying to interfere in Britain’s election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected”. His comments came as LBC aired a phone interview conducted by Brexit party leader Nigel Farage — who also hosts a regular show on the radio station — with Trump. During their conversation, the US leader said, “Corbyn would be so bad for your country. He’d be so bad, he’d take you in such a bad way. He’d take you into such bad places”. Meanwhile, he described Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a “fantastic man and I think he’s the exact right guy for the times” and said the two of them enjoyed “a great friendship”.