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Labour called SNP first minister John Swinney ‘shameless’ for claiming credit when it was the result of king’s US visitDonald Trump’s announcement that he will lift punishing US tariffs on scotch whisky has been overshadowed by a row between rival Scottish party leaders over claiming credit for the decision.The whisky industry and business leaders were delighted by the US president’s sudden announcement on his Truth Social network on Thursday that he would end the tariffs to mark the visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Continue reading...

Mark Rowley says Zack Polanski’s comments risk undermining officers confronting ‘dangerous’ suspectsThe Green party leader, Zack Polanski, thoughtlessly undermined the confidence of officers to deal with dangerous people by sharing a critical social media post after the Golders Green stabbings, according to the head of the Metropolitan police.Officers were filmed detaining the suspect after two Jewish people were stabbed in the north-west London suburb on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Decision follows backlash from Italian government and European CommissionThe jury of the Venice Biennale has quit just days before the prestigious art exhibition was due to begin, amid a row over the decision to allow Russia to participate.The resignation of the five-member international jury was announced late on Thursday in a brief statement by the Venice Biennale organisers, and came a day after the Italian culture ministry sent inspectors to Venice in search of information about the decision to allow Russia to have a pavilion at this year’s event. Continue reading...

Congress advances Homeland Security funding after Republicans used procedural tool to pass up to $75bn for ICE and border patrolSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA historically long 75-day partial government shutdown has ended after the House voted narrowly to advance funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following a late-night Republican rally to boost a GOP budget blueprint.The tides turned on Wednesday evening when the House passed the Republican resolution following a last-minute deal over unrelated ethanol fuel provisions that flipped enough holdouts to push it over the line. Continue reading...

With voter loyalty a distant memory, the Lib Dems’ cost of living policies and criticism of Trump could gain them ground It has been an election buildup dominated by the rise of Reform UK and the Greens, and the contrasting woes of Labour and the Tories. But there is a chance that on 8 May the Liberal Democrats, largely ignored in recent weeks, could wake up as the biggest party in English local government.This is just one of several paradoxes for the party’s leader, Ed Davey, and his team. They are fifth in many national polls, with a rating barely changed from 2024. But Lib Dem bosses are sanguine, convinced that UK politics is now so different, so atomised, to make headline polling almost irrelevant. Continue reading...

• A politically ambitious Connecticut Democrat abandoned bipartisan negotiations on government funding amid party pressure for inclusion. • The walkout escalates tensions over federal budget priorities and spending cuts. • This could delay funding bills critical for upcoming fiscal deadlines.

Labor under pressure to scrap group voting tickets as Avi Yemini details plan to funnel votes to conservative parties at state election A rightwing provocateur’s plan to register the “Free Palestine party” and use it to funnel votes to conservative parties in Victoria’s state election has renewed concern over the state’s voting system.Avi Yemini, a former Israeli solider and self-styled investigative journalist who creates content for his YouTube channel Rebel News Australia, on Tuesday announced plans to register the party, which he said would “flow our preferences on to parties that want to free Palestine from Hamas” in the November poll. Continue reading...