London
An obscure government panel has suspended London Mayor Ken Livingstone for one month for bringing “disrepute” onto his office. The agency cited Livingstone for an incident last year in which he called a reporter a Nazi. When the reporter said he was Jewish, Livingstone, who had apparently been drinking at a party, then compared him to a “concentration camp guard.” Many British politicians, including Livingstone’s political opponents, spoke out against the suspension, and Prime Minister Tony Blair called it “bloody stupid.” It’s unclear whether the panel even has authority over the London mayoralty, which has only been an elective office for about a decade. A High Court judge froze the suspension pending Livingstone’s appeal.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
January’s books feature a revisioned classic, a homeschooler's memoir and a provocative thriller dramedyThe Week Recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Call Me Ishmaelle’ by Xiaolu Guo, ‘Homeschooled: A Memoir’ by Stefan Merrill Block, ‘Anatomy of an Alibi’ by Ashley Elston and ‘Half His Age’ by Jennette McCurdy
-
‘Jumping genes': How polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
-
Venezuela’s Trump-shaped power vacuumIN THE SPOTLIGHT The American abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has thrust South America’s biggest oil-producing state into uncharted geopolitical waters
