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‘We want our taxes spent here’: 11 Democrats weigh in after sweeping the US midterm elections
Democratic leaders and seat-flipping victors from Tuesday’s ‘blue tsunami’ offer post-election comments The broad repudiation of Donald Trump , his policies and the Republican party, focused on Trump’s personal unpopularity, high costs of living and the Iran war, offer Democrats an opportunity to reset the US domestic agenda. But what will they do with it? Here, Democratic leaders and seat-flipping victors from Tuesday’s “blue tsunami” offer their post-election comments. Continue reading...
Endangered giant burrowing frog returns to wild after tadpoles rescued from ashes of black summer fires
Tadpoles collected from puddles in East Gippsland were transported to Melbourne zoo, where they were raised to metamorphosis and successfully bred in captivity for the first time After the 2019-20 black summer bushfires , scientists in eastern Victoria stumbled across something they had been after for years: puddles of tadpoles from the southern giant burrowing frog, one of the state’s most cryptic amphibians. The fires had torn through extensive areas in East Gippsland, sparking concerns for the survival of the frog, which is considered critically endangered in Victoria. Continue reading...
Albanese government warned it’s ‘sleepwalking into another robodebt scenario’ over use of algorithms and AI
Centre for Public Integrity report says mandatory audit and public register of all automated decision-making needed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The federal government is “sleepwalking its way into another robodebt” scandal amid a lack of transparency and legislation around use of algorithms and artificial intelligence in decisions, the chief executive of independent thinktank the Centre for Public Integrity said. Dr Catherine Williams launched the centre’s “Computer Says No” report on Thursday, which examines the use of automated decision-making (ADM) tools by the government and calls for urgent reform. Continue reading...
Australia has an especially bad inflation problem. So why are we only middle-of-the pack on the misery index?
Comparing Australia to other countries may not be much comfort but does offer some perspective on the economy Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Is Australia’s inflation problem worse than the rest of the world’s? A day after the Reserve Bank delivered its fifth interest rate hike for the year, increasingly stressed mortgage holders would be justified asking. Continue reading...
Muslim Votes Matter softens anti-Labor stance ahead of Victorian election in bid to defeat One Nation in at-risk seats
Exclusive: Advocacy group will put volunteers on the ground in Labor-held outer suburban seats that could swing towards Pauline Hanson’s party Get our daily political email , free app or daily news podcast Muslim Votes Matter will relax its anti-Labor position at this month’s Victorian election, putting volunteers on the ground in key outer suburban seats the incumbent government risks losing to One Nation. The grassroots advocacy group will direct its supporters to vote for Labor ahead of Pauline Hanson’s party in all lower house Victorian electorates and will aim to have volunteers on the ground in the seats of Greenvale, in Melbourne’s north, and Narre Warren South, in the city’s south-east, which the party fears could be seized by One Nation. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...
Fleabag creator donates flat to help early-career writers live in London
Phoebe Waller-Bridge joins stars signing up to scheme aimed at tackling class barriers in theatre Phoebe Waller-Bridge has donated a London flat so that early-career writers can afford to live in the capital. The creator of the hit show Fleabag bought the property specifically for Writers’ Block, a new scheme tackling class barriers in theatre. The flat will be offered to writers from disadvantaged backgrounds, who will pay only bills. Waller-Bridge has also made what the initiative described as a “generous financial contribution”. Continue reading...
UNHCR criticises UK’s 30-year ‘earned settlement’ plans for refugees
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood maintains rigorous rules for those who arrive on small boats UK politics live – latest updates The United Nations refugee agency has said a government plan to make refugees wait up to 30 years before they get permission to settle in the UK “raises significant concerns”. The strategy was unveiled earlier this week by Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, as she announced a softening of aspects of her immigration plans, but kept some of the rigorous rules drawn up by her office last year. Continue reading...
Joy in Iran over ‘Trump’s defeat’ in US midterm elections – but war is not over
Iran celebrates its claimed role in ‘regime change’ amid pressure on US president to ‘finish the job’ with attack US midterms live – latest updates Iran this week unveiled a massive new billboard and banners over Enqelab Square in central Tehran. The billboard pledged in English: “We will kill Trump” – elevating the degree of personal animus with which Donald Trump is viewed in official Iranian circles. The poster depicts the US president behind bars with his head bowed. And in a sense, given the US midterm election results on Tuesday, Iran has indeed killed Trump, or at least the second term of his presidency. Trump’s reverse is all the more piquant because it comes on the day Iran’s leadership celebrates the anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979, an event that ensnared Jimmy Carter, and a reminder of how Iran has ruined the prospects of more than one US president. Continue reading...
Want to know what all your co-workers earn? Be careful what you wish for | André Spicer
A new proposal for openness about pay could have unexpected downsides – if workers become demotivated, resentful and more likely to quit Would you like to know what your colleagues are paid? If the Equality and Human Rights Commission gets its way, you will be able to find out. Under its proposals , workers will be able to request detailed information about the pay, bonuses and other perks received by their co-workers. The government agency argues that if we increase pay transparency, we can also reduce the pay gap between men and women. But countries that have tried this model have discovered that there are downsides to it too. The gap between men’s and women’s pay had started to close when equal pay legislation was introduced in Britain in the 1970s, and then more women moved into previous male-dominated occupations in the 80s and 90s. Today, women in the UK earn on average about 6.8% less than what men earn. André Spicer is professor of organisational behaviour at the Bayes Business School at City, University of London. He is the author of the book Business Bullshit Continue reading...
‘I blacked out’: Canadiens blow 4-0 lead with less than three minutes to go in loss to Jets
Winnipeg had been on nine-game losing streak Comeback on Tuesday night breaks NHL record The Winnipeg Jets had every reason to stop believing. They were down four goals in the third period, less than three minutes from a 10th straight defeat, in their fifth game in eight nights. Their coach was on the hot seat. Their season had been rocked from the start when former MVP goalie Connor Hellebuyck asked for a trade. The Bell Centre was roaring and a Montreal Canadiens win looked certain, but Kyle Connor still had faith. Continue reading...
‘A win the size of Texas’: Democrats celebrate shrinking Republican dominance in a big state
Voters watched results in near disbelief as James Talarico claimed victory in Senate race and Gina Hinojosa was elected state’s first Latina governor US midterms 2026 live – latest updates Track live results from all 50 states Tell us: what do you want to know about the midterm election results? “This is amazing,” exclaimed Tiffany Dunsmore, 44, the owner of Austin Scavenger Hunt, as the city skyline gleamed in the distance on a balmy night. “I cannot believe Texas went blue!” For 32 long years, turning Texas blue had been an elusive prize for Democrats in the US’s second biggest state. There were false dawns, nearly men and broken dreams. But on Tuesday the party’s agony finally came to an end. Continue reading...
‘A historic beatdown’: Americans take back their country in rebuke to Trump
Rebecca Solnit and other leading writers on the epic changes to the political map This is a special election edition of How We Win , a Guardian opinion series with leading thinkers, offering bold ideas for America’s political future. Sign up here to receive future editions in your inbox. Continue reading...
Police say explosive devices found in Belfast are linked to ‘rightwing terrorism’
Suspect arrested after police uncover stash of 17 improvised explosive devices in operation An arsenal of explosive devices discovered in Northern Ireland is believed to be linked to far-right terrorism, police have said. The stash of 17 improvised explosive devices and other material was found during searches in the Shankill Road area of Belfast on 30 and 31 October. Continue reading...
Where Trump and Republicans lost the midterm elections - a visual analysis of key states
The Democrats have taken control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. These charts and maps reveal the key trends and races behind this result The Republicans have lost seven Senators, 25 House districts and five governor races. As of 8.00am Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday, more than 1,800 of nearly 2,500 counties with Senate elections had returned more than 90% of their votes. Americans did not turn out in significant numbers for the Republicans amid high fuel prices and dissatisfaction with the president. Continue reading...
US midterms voters said: enough is enough. Is this the beginning of the end for Trump?
With Democrats in power, Trump may be under siege and lose his dominance over the Republican party – but his id will relish at the prospect of fighting US midterms 2026 live – latest updates Tell us: what do you want to know about the midterm election results? Donald Trump posted a document on social media this summer by a supposed historian that compared him with, among others, Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler. That now seems fitting: the US president has himself fought one battle too many, and appears to have brought about his own destruction. Tuesday’s US midterm elections were a thumping, shellacking and extinction-level event rolled into one. Ruby-red Republican strongholds once deemed safe toppled like dominoes. Democrats won Senate seats for the first time in Kansas since 1932, in Texas since 1988 and in South Carolina since 1998. Continue reading...
World Series champion Teixeira wins US House seat as former NFL reporter Tafoya’s Senate bid fails
Former MLB star wins for Republicans in Texas Tafoya loses to Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota Former World Series champion turned Republican politician Mark Teixeira will represent Texas’s 21st Congressional District in Washington after defeating Democrat Kristin Hook in Tuesday’s midterm elections . On Wednesday morning, Teixeira was leading with 54.5% of the votes after 99% of the ballots had been counted. Continue reading...
US midterm elections 2026 live updates: Democrats take control of Congress in major setback for Trump
Democrats flip seven Senate seats in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina; ‘blue wave’ rejects Trump’s agenda Track live results from all 50 states Full report: Democrats win control of Congress in ‘blue wave’ Tell us: how do you feel about the US midterm election results? Tell us: what do you want to know about the midterm election results? Good morning and welcome to the US politics live blog. In case you fell asleep early, yesterday evening resonated as an extinction level-event for Donald Trump’s Republican Party, a worst-case scenario for the GOP that even the starkest polls might’ve underestimated. Trump, uncharacteristically gracious, accepted his party’s resounding defeat, congratulated Democrats, and told The New York Times that he was “absolutely willing to accept” the election results. That was very much in doubt after the Trump administration spent months seeking to exert greater influence over the elections process through executive orders and the courts. Deb Haaland, running in New Mexico, became the first Native American woman elected as governor. Keisha Lanca Bottoms became the first Black woman ever elected governor. Abdul El-Sayed, the victorious Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, became the first Muslim voted into the upper chamber. Several key congressional races, including contests in Colorado, Michigan, Maine, New York, California, and North Carolina, remain to be called. Continue reading...
Election week in Trumpland: algae, space proclamations and a deflection of blame
Donald Trump’s unrelenting focus on the ‘beautification of Washington’ and Fox News ratings did not stop the Democrats’ decisive midterm election wins This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday . Standing at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool on Monday afternoon, Donald Trump zeroed in on his closing message of the high-stakes midterm elections: it can take a long time to get rid of filth. Less than 24 hours before Americans headed to the polls, the US president staged a bizarre press conference in which he touted his troubled $14m renovation of the Washington DC landmark and blamed his predecessors for the algae that once bloomed in its water. Continue reading...
Trump blamed Fox News for Republican losses even as network’s hosts went easy on him
Fox News pundits hardly criticized the US president in midterms coverage but Trump was still quick to cast blame In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, Donald Trump made clear that he would place some blame on his favorite cable channel , Fox News, if his party did poorly. On election day, he didn’t disappoint. Continue reading...
Israel’s election commission rejects Netanyahu claims of voting fraud
Move comes after attorney general blocked Shin Bet call to interrogate politicians from Palestinian-led parties Israel’s election commission on Wednesday confirmed the final results of the 27 October vote that stripped Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition of their governing majority, rejecting claims of mass fraud promoted by the prime minister. His main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, warned that Netanyahu had launched a “pogrom against democracy”, attempting to hold on to power by discrediting valid votes and weaponising security forces against parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel. Continue reading...
UK to deploy facial recognition in biggest-ever immigration crackdown
Documents show Home Office developing programme to use technology for general immigration enforcement The Home Office is preparing to deploy facial recognition technology at transport hubs and public events as part of the biggest immigration enforcement crackdown in British history. Policy documents show the government has been developing a programme to deploy live facial recognition (LFR) cameras for “general immigration enforcement”, including non-criminal immigration offences. Continue reading...
US midterm elections 2026: live results from Senate, House and governor races in all 50 states
With many seats still to come in, the Democrats have taken control of the Senate, House and several key governorships. Find live updating results in full here US midterm elections – live updates The US legislature, Congress, has two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Continue reading...
More than 900 academics urge UK to reverse decision to bar Andreas Malm
Blocking Swedish writer’s entry for event with Palestine Action co-founder is attack on free expression, letter says More than 900 academics have voiced their opposition to the government’s decision to block the climate academic Andreas Malm from entering the UK, warning that the move represents “a grave violation of academic freedom and freedom of expression”. Malm, the author of How to Blow Up a Pipeline and a leading climate scholar, was prevented from entering the UK last week by the Home Office after being told that his presence in the UK “may not be considered to be conducive to the public good”. Continue reading...
BMW warns on profits as it counts cost of plan for 8,000 job cuts
German carmaker slashes profit margin to between -0.5% and 0.5% this year in face of competition from China The German carmaker BMW has issued its second profit warning in a year, blaming the costs of a restructuring programme including significant job losses in the face of continuing competition from China. The company is the latest to issue a profit downgrade in the German car sector, with Mercedes-Benz last week cutting its profit outlook. Western automakers have struggled to keep pace with lower-cost domestic rivals in China, which has led to reduced sales there and a rise in exports to Europe. Continue reading...