Top World News

The U-turns keep coming – but Starmer’s allies insist they’re his best hope of revival

Prime minister wants cabinet ministers to move on from policies that have tanked with votersBefore the 2015 UK election, the Australian political expert Lynton Crosby devised a strategy for the Tories that became known as “scraping the barnacles off the boat” – shedding unpopular policies that hindered the party’s electoral appeal.Instead, the party focused on core issues it believed would help win over floating voters: the economy, welfare, the strength of David Cameron (and weakness of Ed Miliband) and immigration. Everything else was deprioritised and the Conservatives stuck to their messages rigidly. It worked. Continue reading...

ArticleImg
Federal agent shoots man in Minneapolis as tensions in city run high

Mayor urged calm as protesters gathered on the scene, as city continues to reel in aftermath of Renee Nicole Good’s killingA federal officer has shot a man in the leg during an enforcement operation in north Minneapolis, sparking protests in a city still on edge after the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent last week.The shooting occurred about 7pm local time, according to witnesses. Several hundred protesters gathered at the scene on Wednesday night facing off with agents who blocked off the area and used smoke and other crowd control weapons. Continue reading...

Ugandans to vote in election expected to extend Museveni’s four-decade rule

Campaign beset by violence with supporters of rival candidate Bobi Wine teargassed and detainedUgandans are preparing to vote in an election that is expected to result in Yoweri Museveni extending his nearly four-decade grip on power in the east African country, after a campaign beset by violence.Security forces have frequently clamped down on supporters of Museveni’s main opponent, Bobi Wine, by teargassing and shooting bullets at events and detaining people. Authorities have also arrested civil society members and suspended rights groups. On Tuesday, they shut down internet access and limited mobile phone services countrywide. Continue reading...

ArticleImg
Iranian airspace reopens – as it happened

US president says ‘important sources’ told him executions are not going ahead. This live blog is now closed – our new blog is hereFor the first time in days, Iranians were able to make calls abroad from their mobiles on Tuesday, according to reporting by Associated Press. Texting services have not been restored, however, and nor has the internet.Although Iranians were able to call abroad, they could not receive calls from outside the country, several people in the capital told Associated Press. The internet remained blocked, they said, though it is possible to access some government-approved websites. Cloudfare - an internet infrastructure provider, and one of several companies and monitors tracking the status of internet traffic in Iran – said traffic volumes have remained “at a fraction of a percent of previous levels”. Its latest update as of 01:00 UTC (which is about three hours and 30 minutes ago), shows a continued widespread blackout. Iran has been under an internet shutdown since Thursday night. Brief windows of connectivity were observed on Friday, but these did not last, according to Cloudfare.Netblocks, an independent global internet monitor, also notes that while some phone calls from Iran are connecting, there is “no secure way to communicate” and the general public remain cut off from the outside world. Continue reading...

Senate backs Donald Trump in Venezuela resolution as Vance casts tie-breaking vote – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.US Senate kills resolution that would have limited Trump action in VenezuelaDonald Trump repeated his threat to withhold federal funding to sanctuary cities on Truth Social today.“ALL THEY DO IS BREED CRIME AND VIOLENCE! If States want them, they will have to pay for them!,” the president wrote in a post. Continue reading...