quinta-feira, 5 de março de 2026

Kristi Noem Fired

 


 

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/05/us/trump-news

What We’re Covering Today

Kristi Noem Fired: President Trump announced Thursday on social media that he was firing his homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, and wanted Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. In his announcement, Mr. Trump said Ms. Noem would move into a previously nonexistent security role. 

 

Secretary Under Siege: Ms. Noem’s tenure had been marred by a string of controversies, and she faced intense questioning this week from congressional Republicans, including about a lucrative advertising contract. Mr. Trump on Thursday contradicted her testimony that he had signed off on the $220 million ad campaign.

 

Markwayne Mullin: Senate Republicans have enough votes to confirm Mr. Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, on their own. The chamber is in a standoff over funding the department, and Senate Democrats again blocked an effort to end the weekslong shutdown on Thursday. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said Ms. Noem’s firing did not change Democrats’ demands for restrictions on immigration enforcement. “The rot is deep,” he said.

Donald Trump removes US secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem

 

Trump removes Noem as DHS secretary

 


From 1h ago

18.55 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/mar/05/donald-trump-war-powers-latest-news-updates

 

Trump removes Noem as DHS secretary

 

Kristi Noem, the embattled Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, has been removed from her position by Donald Trump.

 

In a post on Truth Social, the president said that Noem had “served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results”, before noting that she would become the special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas” – a new “security initiative” that he plans to announce this week in Doral, Florida with Latin American leaders.

 

Trump announced that he was nominating Republican senator Markwayne Mullin to be the new homeland security secretary.

 

“A MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter, Markwayne truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda,” the president said of the Oklahoma lawmaker.

 

As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”

Portugal fined £8.7m by EU court for failing to protect biodiversity

 


Portugal fined £8.7m by EU court for failing to protect biodiversity

 

The court of justice said Portugal had committed serious infringements of EU environmental law

 

Lisa O’Carroll

Thu 5 Mar 2026 19.38 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/05/portugal-fined-eu-court-biodiversity-protection-failure

 

Portugal has been fined €10m (£8.7m) by the EU’s court of justice for failing to comply with environmental laws that require it to protect biodiversity. It has also been ordered to pay €41,250 a day until it complies with a previous court order made in 2019.

 

The court said it was imposing the maximum fine possible to “encourage” Portugal to bring the infringement to an end.

 

The daily fine corresponds to a penalty of €750 for each of the 55 sites that the court said had “still not been protected” despite Lisbon having been ordered seven years ago to comply with EU laws. The fine will be reduced by €750 a day per site that is brought into compliance.

 

The court said in a statement: “The court considers that these are particularly serious infringements of EU environmental law, in which Portugal has persisted.

 

“Given that Portugal’s territory hosts rich biodiversity, including 99 habitat types and 335 species covered by the habitats directive, what is at stake for the European Union’s common heritage there is especially important.

 

“In view of this, as well as the considerable duration of the infringement and Portugal’s capacity to pay, the court sets the amount of the lump sum at €10m.”

 

The European Commission has battled for years to try to force Portugal to conserve and protect habitats and species in areas that should have been designated for conservation under the EU habitats directive.

 

Under EU law, sites of “community importance for the Atlantic biogeographic region” include Peneda-Gerês, Portugal’s only national park, the natural park Litoral Norte and the Minho and Lima rivers.

 

Also included are Valongo, home to rare fern species and an important site for the golden-striped salamander, the Serra D’Arga mountain range and Corno do Bico, a protected landscape, records show.

 

Lisbon was ordered by the court to comply with the EU habitats directive in a case brought by the European Commission in 2019 after allegations it had failed to designate sites of community importance as special areas of conservation (SAC).

 

Under the directive, countries had to designate SAC sites that needed protection within six years, with accompanying measures to protect rare habitats and species.

 

In 2019 the court found that Portugal had failed to fulfil its obligations to designate 61 areas under the Atlantic and Mediterranean biogeographical biodiversity classification.

 

A spokesperson for the Portuguese government said that the litigation went back 30 years and spanned 12 governments, but that last April the government launched “an intensive legislative process that allowed rapid progress in the designation of SACs and the approval of management plans”.

 

“Very little remains to be done for the work to be completed and for Portugal to fully comply with the obligations arising from the habitats directive.”

A report by the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, released on March 4, 2026, found that 54% of Reform UK members believe non-white British citizens who were born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave the UK.

 


Most Reform members believe non-white UK citizens born abroad should be forced or encouraged to leave, poll finds

A report by the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, released on March 4, 2026, found that 54% of Reform UK members believe non-white British citizens who were born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave the UK.

 

The study, titled "State of Hate: It Could Happen Here," was based on a survey of 629 party members conducted by Survation between late January and mid-February 2026.

 

Key Poll Findings

Targeting Citizens Born Abroad: More than half (54%) support the removal of non-white British citizens born abroad, compared to 24% who feel the same about white citizens born abroad.

Targeting UK-Born Citizens: Roughly one in five (22%) believe non-white British citizens whose parents were born in the UK should also be forced or encouraged to leave.

Social Attitudes: Nearly half (46%) of Reform members reported they do not like mixing with people of other ethnicities, religions, or backgrounds in their local area, compared to 23% of the general British public who feel this way.

Authoritarian Sentiment: 54% of members expressed a preference for a "strong and decisive leader" who has the authority to override or ignore Parliament.

Civil War Fears: Approximately two-thirds (66%) of Reform UK members believe a civil war will occur in Britain.

 

Context and Reactions

The findings come as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage attempts to court more centrist voters. However, Hope Not Hate chief executive Nick Lowles stated the data shows a membership base that is "more pessimistic, angry and extreme than the British public".

The poll was published shortly after high-profile political shifts, including the defection of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman to Reform UK on February 24, 2026. Additionally, Rupert Lowe—who recently left Reform to lead the rival Restore Britain party—advocates for even more extensive "mass deportations".

Most Reform members believe non-white UK citizens born abroad should be forced or encouraged to leave, poll finds

 


Most Reform members believe non-white UK citizens born abroad should be forced or encouraged to leave, poll finds

 

Nigel Farage’s recent efforts to woo centre-ground voters may cause tension in party’s right flank, says Hope Not Hate

 

Ben Quinn Political correspondent

Tue 3 Mar 2026 22.00 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/03/half-reform-voters-believe-non-white-british-citizens-forced-encouraged-leave

 

More than half of Reform UK members believe non-white British citizens born abroad should be deported or encouraged to leave, according to the first publicly available poll of those in Nigel Farage’s party.

 

The findings come as the Reform leader attempts to court centre-ground voters while facing pressure from his right flank, including a hardline new party launched by Rupert Lowe, who left Reform after falling out with Farage.

 

According to the research published by the anti-racism group, Hope Not Hate (HnH), 54% of Reform members thought non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, while one in five (22%) also supported it for non-white citizens whose parents were born in the UK.

 

Survation, a respected polling company, surveyed 629 Reform members between 29 January and 16 February. Reform said in December that it had about 270,000 paid-up members.

 

The findings were described by HnH, which publishes its annual “State of Hate” report on Wednesday, as evidence of tensions in Farage’s party.

 

Its chief executive, Nick Lowles, said: “With a dilution of Reform’s policies to win more moderate voters, or if they were to form a government, you could see a number of their members becoming quite disillusioned.”

 

There was considerable support among Farage’s own members for two of his rivals on the right: Lowe and the activist Tommy Robinson. Two-thirds had a positive view of Lowe, who recently launched Restore Britain and advocates mass deportations.

 

HnH, which has been monitoring the far right for decades, said it was sounding an alarm on the rise of a more explicitly racial nationalism, which defines English identity by “blood and ancestry”.

 

“Its spread is dangerous because of the proposed solutions that follow, most notably ‘remigration’. This concept repackages older ideas of ethnic cleansing and forced repatriation in softer, more bureaucratic language,” the report states.

 

 

It warned that extreme racial nationalist views of who is British or English were breaking into the mainstream with the backing of Reform UK and media cheerleaders.

 

HnH drew a link between racially charged views on identity pushed by far-right activists during a backlash to Black Lives Matter and recent interventions by Reform UK figures such as Matthew Goodwin and Suella Braverman.

 

Goodwin, who lost the Gorton and Denton byelection last week, refused to disown his claim that UK-born people from minority ethnic backgrounds were not necessarily British.

 

The former academic had said: “It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody ‘British’.”

 

After the podcaster Konstantin Kisin claimed last year that Southampton-born Rishi Sunak was not English – sparking an online debate which emboldened the far right – Braverman wrote in the Telegraph that she was a proud British Asian but not English.

 

The UK’s far right was now “bigger, bolder and more confrontational”, according to HnH. It said Restore Britain was also creating a realignment on the far right after attracting support from activists across its spectrum, but it was still a fragile coalition.

 

 

HnH said the most important new development last year was the “unite the kingdom” rally in London led by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. More than 150,000 people took to the streets in the largest far-right protest in British history.

 

A quarter of the British population identify positively with Robinson’s movement, according to other polling for HnH by Focaldata using a nationally representative group of 8,185 people.

 

Another rally is being planned by Robinson, who has drawn the support of the billionaire owner of X and Tesla, Elon Musk.

 

Robinson is now in the US, where he was this week feted by rightwing figures including a political appointee at the state department in Washington and a congressman.

 

The wave of anti-migrant protests that reignited in Epping in July last year outside a hotel housing asylum seekers was also highlighted in the HnH report, which tracked 251 such demonstrations throughout 2025.

 

“One worrying feature is that these anti-migrant protests have persisted through the winter months in key areas, with some attracting several thousand people. As we head towards the hot summer months, we will very likely see a surge in activity once again,” it said.

Should schools prioritise British values and teach British culture?



Should schools prioritise British values and teach British culture?

In the United Kingdom, all state-maintained and independent schools are legally required to "actively promote" what the Department for Education (DfE) defines as Fundamental British Values. These values are intended to prepare students for life in modern Britain and serve as a safeguard against extremism.

 

Fundamental British Values

The government defines these specifically as:

Democracy: Understanding how citizens can influence decision-making through the democratic process.

The Rule of Law: Appreciating that living under the law protects individuals and is essential for safety.

Individual Liberty: Understanding that the freedom to choose and hold beliefs is protected by law.

Mutual Respect and Tolerance: Accepting that people of different faiths (or no faith) should be respected and not subject to discrimination.

 

Why Schools Prioritise Them

Legal & Inspection Requirements: Schools must demonstrate they promote these values to receive positive ratings from Ofsted, the UK education inspectorate.

Social Cohesion: The values are seen as the "bedrock" of a cohesive society, promoting inclusivity and helping students navigate a diverse modern world.

Safeguarding: Part of the Prevent duty, teaching these values aims to strengthen students' resilience against radicalization.

 

Arguments and Perspectives

While the requirement is clear, the implementation is often debated:

Supporters: Argue these principles are essential for a stable, happy society and help children develop a sense of identity and responsibility to their country.

Critics: Some suggest the term "British values" implies these principles are unique to Britain, potentially fostering "exceptionalism" or marginalizing other cultural traditions.

Educators' Challenge: Teachers often have to balance "promoting" these values as superior with their duty to encourage critical thinking, where students can debate the weaknesses or complexities of concepts like democracy.

How schools teach culture varies; many include British heritage and traditions (e.g., Remembrance Day, Royal events) while simultaneously celebrating global festivals like Eid and Diwali to reflect modern Britain's multi-ethnic nature.