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• Bei der Wahl zum New York City Council wird die Unterstützung durch Zohran Mamdani angezweifelt, da der Amtsinhaber mit niedrigen Umfragewerten und einer gespaltenen Basis zu kämpfen hat. • Der entschlossene Kandidat weigert sich trotz schlechter Zahlen, zugunsten eines zentristischen Herausforderers zurückzutreten. • Dieses lokale Rennen signalisiert eine sich verschiebende Dynamik der Demokraten in der Stadtpolitik mit nationalen Auswirkungen.

• Wähler in Virginia haben knapp einen von den Demokraten unterstützten Plan zur Neugestaltung der Kongresswahlbezirke genehmigt, der mehrere amtierende Republikaner gefährdet. • Die Maßnahme zieht die Wahlkreisgrenzen neu, um die Demokraten in Schlüsselbezirken zu begünstigen, was das Gleichgewicht für die Zwischenwahlen 2026 verschiebt. • Dieser Kampf um die Wahlkreisgrenzen an der Küste unterstreicht die nationalen Spannungen über faire Karten und parteipolitische Vorteile.

The firms said last week that they will be reducing parental leave and other benefits for employees starting next yearRecent moves by US companies Deloitte and Zoom to reduce how much paid parental leave they offer employees could signal a larger reduction in benefits in corporate America, according to labor market experts.American workers are already seen as having less benefits and labor protections than many of their counterparts across the world, especially in Europe. Continue reading...

Former prime minister says policies will lose support without continued lower prices, while Malcolm Turnbull points to some progress in USGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastKevin Rudd has described Donald Trump’s cuts to support for green industries as “unfortunate”, warning that Australians would conclude the clean transition was “bullshit” if it did not offer tangible benefits to their lives.But – in some of his first comments since finishing his term as Australia’s ambassador to the US – the former prime minister said climate policies would have staying power if they delivered affordable prices, a reliable energy supply and new job opportunities. Continue reading...

Roberts-Smith, who has denied five charges of war crime murder, says he was always going to attend: ‘I never thought about not coming’Booing has marred Anzac Day commemorations in Melbourne and Sydney, while on the Gold Coast, the Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith attended the dawn service at Currumbin Beach.One man was arrested at the Sydney dawn service at Martin Place, where there was a small but noisy interjection of booing during the Indigenous acknowledgement of country. Continue reading...

Former soldier says he will ‘pay my respects’ at commemoration in Queensland where he has been living since being released on bailGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBen Roberts-Smith will attend an Anzac Day service in Queensland on Saturday morning, describing the day as “sacred” to him, the first commemoration since he was criminally charged.Roberts-Smith, the recipient of the Victoria Cross and once one of Australia’s most lionised soldiers, faces five charges of the war crime of murder, allegedly committed during his service with the SAS in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. Continue reading...

Partner of soldier accused of war crimes says the couple discussed possibility of moving overseas to ‘create some normalcy in our lives’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBen Roberts-Smith was planning to leave Australia to live overseas and had a business class flight out of the country booked in four days’ time when he was arrested at Sydney airport this month, court documents allege, with investigators telling a court “his willingness to return to Australia to face prosecution cannot be judged”.Roberts-Smith was ultimately granted bail last week under strict conditions, a move opposed by prosecutors who said there was potential concern he was a flight risk and might try to avoid ever having to face trial for a series of alleged murders he committed in Afghanistan. Continue reading...