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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Investigations launched into polling firm at centre of Reform UK allegations
British Polling Council and Market Research Society announce inquiries into JL Partners, which has been accused of breaking transparency rules What is the latest finance scandal facing Reform UK? A polling firm at the centre of allegations that Reform UK breached electoral law is being investigated by two industry bodies. JL Partners, which is run by former Conservative aides, has been accused of breaking transparency rules by failing to declare that three separate polls had been commissioned by the party. Continue reading...
How much does Donald Trump care about winning the midterms? Apparently, not much at all | Jonathan Freedland
Such is the US president’s narcissism that he would see a Democratic victory as proof that he’s indispensable – meanwhile, his every decision spells calamity for voters What is Donald Trump playing at? If it’s true that the best way of understanding the behaviour of an organisation is to assume it’s controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies, perhaps that same logic extends to the current conduct of the president of the United States. Maybe he secretly wants Republicans to lose the looming midterm elections that will decide the balance of power in the US for the next two years and for which the first postal ballots were sent out today. That’s not as mad a theory as it sounds. Indeed, there are at least two reasons why Trump might either be unbothered by Republican defeat in November or even covertly desire it. We’ll come to those, but let’s start with a pattern of behaviour that is hard to explain as anything other than calculated self-sabotage. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Martin Rowson on the return of the Falklands debate – cartoon
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Judge set to declare mistrial in Lindsay Clancy case after jury deadlocked again
Defense lawyer has asked for an hour to request emergency stay after jury deadlocked for third time Lindsay Clancy murder trial: live updates The judge in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children, plans to declare a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict and remained deadlocked after a week of deliberations. Jurors in Plymouth state court spent more than 38 hours in deliberations over the charges against the 36-year-old mom, which came on the heels of a weeks-long trial that directed national attention to maternal mental health issues that can occur postpartum. Continue reading...
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert says she will retire at end of year
Seven-year tenure included both growth and tumult Internal and external candidates are on league’s radar WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring at the end of the year, bringing to a close her seven-plus years at the helm of the league and a stewardship that has been transformative and at times tumultuous. Engelbert is the second-longest tenured WNBA president or commissioner, and she helped negotiate a lucrative collective bargaining agreement this past spring that resulted in the league’s first set of million-dollar player salaries. Continue reading...
Russia strikes Ukraine intelligence HQ in ‘major escalation’
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has told SBU to deliver ‘appropriate, tangible response’ to Kyiv strike The head office of Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency has been hit in a Russian drone attack, sending plumes of black smoke rising into the air in the heart of Kyiv. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he had instructed the SBU to deliver an “appropriate, tangible response” to the strike, while the foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, described it as a “major escalation”. Continue reading...
Lindsay Clancy murder trial: judge declares mistrial after jury deadlocks – live updates
Jury returns to tell judge for a third time it cannot reach a verdict in case of Massachusetts woman who killed her children The jury was sent out on Thursday afternoon to decide whether the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse is criminally responsible for fatally strangling her three children – eight-month old Callan, five-year-old Cora and three-year-old Dawson – in January 2023. Over the past five weeks, the trial, which has been called “America’s saddest murder trial” , has renewed nationwide attention on postpartum mental healthcare. Clancy’s defense maintains that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis – a condition estimated to affect around two women per 1,000 births – and therefore should not be held criminally responsible for her actions. Continue reading...
Canary staff not paid amid fears for news website’s future
Outlet faced significant financial challenges after it had funds blocked by bank without explanation Workers at the leftwing news outlet the Canary fear it will not survive beyond this year amid access to funds being blocked and allegations of financial mismanagement and internal turmoil. The site, which was founded in 2015 against a backdrop of the wave of support for the then Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, appeared set to expand after a multimillion-pound injection of funds last year. Continue reading...
New York City police fatally shoot man who climbed up Brooklyn Bridge cables
Officers clipped to bridge had tried to talk man, who was holding a knife, into coming down safely, officials say New York City police shot and killed a man on Friday morning after he climbed onto the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge and approached officers with a knife extended, New York police department officials said. At a news conference Friday, NYPD officials said that a 911 call came in at around 3.28am on Friday morning, reporting that a man was walking on the beams of the Brooklyn Bridge. Continue reading...
Germany urges EU to cut Russians’ holiday visas after sabotage attacks
Belarusian said to have had tourist visa issued by Italy is investigated over alleged attempt to attack Leipzig airport Europe live – latest updates Germany is urging its European partners to introduce tighter limitations on Russian citizens entering the EU on tourist visas, after recent sabotage attacks which Berlin has blamed on Moscow . German authorities are investigating a Belarusian national, who also holds a Russian passport, over the alleged attempt to attack Leipzig airport using drones and explosives. Continue reading...
Deadlocked jury in Lindsay Clancy trial resumes deliberations after dispute
Jury starts seven day of deliberations after foreperson told judge juror won’t follow instruction about reasonable doubt The deadlocked jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial started a seventh day of deliberations Friday, a day after the jury’s foreperson told the judge a single juror won’t follow the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt. The extraordinary disclosure made in the form of a note delivered to the judge offered the clearest glimpse yet of what may be keeping jurors from reaching a verdict on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three children. Continue reading...
Has Reform UK donations exposé caused a split in Nigel Farage’s party?
Senior party figures do not appear united, but Farage may be more concerned about impact on performance in polls UK politics live – latest updates Midway through an event at Reform’s annual conference on Friday there was question for the audience: who was worried about a Channel 4 News exposé of potential wrongdoing by party officials over donations? Almost no hands went up. The faithful might be sanguine. But make no mistake, Nigel Farage faces yet another problem. Careful plans have been again upset. After months of answering – or primarily dodging – questions about his own finances, Farage had planned to use Reform UK’s biggest conference yet to make a blitz of policy announcements. Continue reading...
Texas man sentenced to 20 years in prison over death of teen in 1980s
James Elmore Jr sentenced in death of Laura Miller, whose body was found in 1986 in notorious ‘Texas Killing Fields’ A man found guilty in the death of teenager Laura Miller, whose body was recovered in 1986 in the notorious so-called “Texas Killing Fields”, was given a 20-year prison sentence on Thursday. James Elmore Jr received that punishment from a Galveston county jury that a day earlier had convicted him of manslaughter in connection with Laura Miller’s death, which inspired her father, Tim Miller , to launch Texas EquuSearch, a non-profit organization specializing in searching for missing people. Continue reading...
Australia’s housing prices are trending down. See which suburbs have had the biggest falls
Cotality says prices have declined in most capital cities over winter. Search the data to see how they have changed in your area Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia’s property market is facing a rare price correction, as rising interest rates and less favourable tax settings for investors accelerate a downturn. Most capital cities recorded winter price falls, according to Cotality data, with Sydney leading the decline. That weakness is expected to continue, as higher inflation could lead to further interest rate hikes , denting demand. Continue reading...
North Carolina becomes first state to send out mail-in ballots for US midterms
State decides to proceed hours after Trump administration asks supreme court to let it carry out proposed crackdown North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots for November’s US midterm elections on Friday, as Donald Trump’s administration fights to impose sweeping restrictions on the practice before millions of Americans cast their votes. The state’s decision to proceed – hours after Trump’s officials asked the supreme court to let the administration press ahead with its proposed crackdown – comes amid deep uncertainty over whether new federal rules governing mail ballots will be allowed to take effect, and whether the US Postal Service can implement the changes in time. Continue reading...
What is the latest finance scandal facing Reform UK?
Nigel Farage’s party has been referred to the police by Labour and the Lib Dems for potential breaches of the law UK politics live – latest updates Nigel Farage is facing yet another finance scandal following a n undercover investigation into how the party is funded . The potential wrongdoing – denied by the party – appears serious enough to have been immediately referred to the police by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. These are the main legal issues for Reform and what any investigation will have to consider. Continue reading...
Deadly escalation in Black Sea attacks prompts fears of even higher food prices
Russian and Ukrainian strikes in July killed more crew than in whole war to that month, preventing grain exports A summer of hostilities in the Black Sea proved deadly for seafarers, as Russia and Ukraine attacked each other’s ships and port infrastructure, preventing vital grain exports and prompting concerns that the conflict will push global food prices even higher. More crew were killed in the Black Sea in July than during the entirety of the war before that month as the conflict has intensified , making the body of water the most dangerous in the world for commercial shipping. This is despite the conflict between the US and Iran, with vessels still being targeted in the strait of Hormuz , Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Continue reading...
US Open tennis: Sabalenka, Alcaraz, Pegula and Medvedev in action on day six – live
The latest third-round updates from Flushing Meadows You can mail Niall and follow us on TikTok and Bluesky The third round gets under way today in New York, pitting seeded players against each other for the first time. The draw is about to really take shape, and there are some intriguing matches coming up. Here’s the order of play this afternoon. Arthur Ashe Stadium (from 11.30am local/4.30pm BST) (3) Jessica Pegula v Leylah Fernandez (31) Yibing Wu v Carlos Alcaraz (2) Continue reading...
Woman, 45, killed in Florence in seventh alleged femicide in Italy since mid-August
Lorena Isceri was thrown off a motorway bridge, allegedly by ex-boyfriend Federico Vella A 45-year-old woman has been killed and thrown off a motorway bridge near Florence, in the seventh alleged femicide in Italy since mid-August. Lorena Isceri was abducted on Thursday afternoon, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Federico Vella, in the Rifredi area of Florence, before being forced into the boot of his car and driven towards the bridge on the A1 motorway. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...
Nigel Farage meeting a 'shadowy foreign donor'? It can only be another establishment stitch-up | Marina Hyde
The only thing more dodgy than Reform’s financial dealings is the egregious lunchtime combination of oysters, Guinness and champagne How many sarcastic air quotes is too many for quoting Nigel Farage’s suggestion that Reform have been ““““““““hoaxed”””””””” by some undercover investigators into appearing to seek to get round electoral law to bag a £500k donation from a foreigner, as well as commissioning off-the-books polling and failing to identify it to newspapers? I don’t feel eight was too many. I could run to nine. Amazing, really, that it’s been as long as a few weeks since Farage had a crash-out and forced a byelection. All any of us wants is for Nigel to once again resign after a staged shitfit and ask a few thousand members of the public to judge him. For whatever reason, though, the law of our country does not amount to an “ONLY THE PEOPLE OF CLACTON CAN JUDGE ME” tattoo, and so it is that as Reform’s conference gets under way today, the party has been reported to the police for allegedly using foreign money to fund its activities. It’s all based on a covert sting carried out by Verbatim – an investigative group founded by journalists from the non-profit Centre for Climate Reporting – and broadcast last night on Channel 4 News. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Colombian president posts video purporting to show 23 ‘neutralised’ guerrillas in body bags
Footage provokes outrage, as bellicose and performative far-right politics continue to spread across Americas Colombia’s hardline president, Abelardo De La Espriella, has provoked outrage after posting a video on social media in which he strides through rows of white body bags that he says contained the corpses of 23 “neutralised” guerrillas. De La Espriella took power last month vowing “all-out war” against illegal armed groups and he published the footage on Thursday in an apparent attempt to show he was fulfilling that pledge. Continue reading...
Populism poses serious challenge to independent central banks, Bailey says
Bank of England governor says central bankers must explain decisions or risk being seen as ‘unrepresentative elite’ The governor of the Bank of England has said the rise of populist politicians presents a serious challenge to independent central banks. As Nigel Farage’s Reform UK gathered for its annual conference in Birmingham , Andrew Bailey said central bankers must be prepared to explain their decisions to the public, or risk being attacked as an “unrepresentative elite”. Continue reading...
Latcho Drom director Tony Gatlif dies aged 77
Film-maker acclaimed for his celebrations of Roma culture had been working on a ‘historical film project’ in Provence Tony Gatlif, the French director of more than 20 films that mostly concentrated on celebrating Roma culture across the world, has died aged 77. His family said in a statement to AFP that Gatlif died on Wednesday of “a health issue” while working on a “historical film project” in Arles in Provence, France. “The beauty of his films, his generosity, his joy, his poetry, and his love of music will remain with us forever.” Continue reading...
Man jumps out of first-floor window to escape kidnappers in Lincoln
Five jailed after targeting victim and subjecting him to ordeal linked to past relationship breakdown Dramatic footage shows a kidnapped man jumping from a first-floor window into a tree before running into the street and, by chance, coming across a police car. Lincolnshire police said the ordeal of the unnamed man had been “horrifying” and the presence of a marked police vehicle “may have saved his life”. Continue reading...