Blanche defends Trump’s White House media ban: ‘It’s a privilege … not a right’

Exclusive: Dedicated service to support sexual assault victim-survivors as they navigate legal system to open in NSWGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt took Shannon Stokes two years and 11 days to successfully prosecute her former boyfriend for sexual assault and domestic violence offences. The lengthy trial left her feeling as though “there wasn’t going to be an end in sight”.Prosecutors secured convictions on nine of the 11 charges, and he was later sentenced to five years in prison. Continue reading...

John Kennedy pushes back against such spending as pro-Trump ‘public service announcements’ air before midtermsAs the White House expands a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to promote Donald Trump’s political agenda before the November midterm elections, US senator John Kennedy told CBS News on Sunday “there ought to be a rule” against such spending – before tacitly admitting such spending is “probably” illegal.Kennedy, the US president’s fellow Republican, was asked by Margaret Brennan, the CBS Face the Nation host, about the White House spending to air multiple ads featuring Trump – including one that was produced for his 2024 election campaign. Continue reading...

PM says he is willing to expend political capital to bring in universal service that would be funded by ‘everybody’Analysis: can Labour hang on to Burnham bounce?Andy Burnham will fight the next election with a pledge to finally fix the broken social care system, acknowledging that he is willing to expend political capital by asking taxpayers to cover the cost.As Labour’s party conference began in Liverpool, he pledged to “rip the plaster off” to radically transform care, setting out a vision for a universal service that would be free at the point of use for everybody in England. Continue reading...

Vučić not allowed to seek third presidential term and PM election will test his grip on rule after widespread protestsSerbia’s populist president, Aleksandar Vučić, has resigned to pursue an attempt to become the prime minister in an upcoming early parliamentary election that will test his firm rule in the Balkan country after nearly two years of protests.Vučić’s second presidential term would otherwise end in May next year. He is banned by the Serbian constitution from seeking a third term and said he was resigning to lead his rightwing Serbian Progressive party (SNS) in the 25 October ballot. Continue reading...

Counter-terrorism police investigate whether Iran is behind suspected bomb plot after member of public calls 999 over suspicious vehiclesCounter-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran is behind a suspected bomb plot after armed officers found explosives on three vans parked minutes from an RAF base used by the US military.The Guardian understands that after five men were arrested on terrorism charges, investigators were examining materials found in the vans, with an initial view being they were consistent with improvised explosive devices. Continue reading...

Thom Tillis says Trump’s decision to back Paxton over John Cornyn has put the Senate seat at risk for RepublicansUS senator Thom Tillis on Sunday criticized Donald Trump, his fellow Republican, for the president’s support of Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas Senate Republican primary.“He made a colossal mistake,” Tillis, a frequent Trump critic from North Carolina, said during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union in reference to the president’s support of Paxton who defeated Cornyn in the May primary. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Move by Shabana Mahmood comes after closure of Afghan scheme last year but experts say numbers too small to deter Channel crossingsUK politics live – latest updatesShabana Mahmood will announce a new legal route for refugees that prioritises Afghan women and girls and Palestinians, unfreezing a scheme that will put the most vulnerable refugees on a faster path to permanent status.The change marks a shift in Mahmood’s approach to asylum seekers after the abrupt closure of the Afghan resettlement scheme last year and changes that will keep refugee status under constant review for two decades. Continue reading...

Conference delegates grateful ousting Starmer has paid off, but relief tempered by fiscal headwinds aheadUK politics live: Pat McFadden tells Labour activists they should not defend benefits system ‘status quo’ because it ‘writes off’ claimantsEven Andy Burnham’s closest allies accept that deposing Keir Starmer to install their man as leader was a huge political gamble. But if the mood at the Labour party conference in Liverpool is anything to go by, it is one that – so far – has paid off.The contrast with last year, when Starmer retained his grip on the party and Burnham slunk away from Liverpool early, could not be more stark. Their relief at their turn of fortune is tempered only by the fiscal headwinds ahead. Continue reading...

Governments will be hoping row over the contentious Orange Order march down Garvaghy Road can be defusedPortadown march: latest updatesLike a ghost from its troubled past Drumcree has unexpectedly reappeared to remind people of how far Northern Ireland has changed in 30 years but also how easily history can undermine the present, if imperfect, peace and stability.Three decades ago parts of Northern Ireland came to an almost annual standstill as Protestant Orange Order protesters blocked roads in support of members wanting to march down what they called its traditional route, the Garvaghy Road, on the Sunday before the annual 12 July parade. Continue reading...

Waltz says Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to end war because they ‘were asking for everything up front’The Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations said the US rejected Iran’s proposal to end the ongoing war there because Iranian negotiators “were asking for everything up front”.Echoing comments by Donald Trump on Saturday, the president’s UN ambassador Mike Waltz told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that Iran had asked for relief “from billions and billions of sanctions that are going into place” as part of an economic blockade on Iran. The blockade is aimed at putting pressure on Iran to stop its attacks ‌on vessels in the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Pat McFadden urges Labour MPs to back overhauls, amid signs party looking to cut payments for some 16- to 24-year-oldsUK politics live – latest updatesLabour MPs have a moral responsibility to accept significant changes to the welfare system to help get more young people into work, the work and pensions secretary has said.In a sign he is looking to overhaul the welfare state, Pat McFadden said it was time for Labour to “renew” the system first created by the Clement Attlee government and given a new deal by New Labour. Continue reading...