President

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that Iran is facing a different leadership style under President Trump, describing him as someone who "actually takes action." • The comments follow ongoing regional instability, with Iran continuing to target Gulf countries and tensions remaining high in the Strait of Hormuz. • Simultaneously, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the discovery of an underground tunnel network located in southern Lebanon.

Leftwing Democrats are having their moment in the sun, with Zohran Mamdani in New York, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and endless calls for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028. Has Democratic socialism shifted from the political fringe to the mainstream? And can this group lure back the all-important swing voters?Jonathan Freedland speaks to Bhaskar Sunkara, president of the Nation magazine, founding editor of Jacobin and author of The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme InequalitiesArchive: AP, ReutersWatch Jonathan Freedland on our new Politics Weekly YouTube channelSend your questions and feedback to [email protected] support the Guardian. Go to theguardian.com/politicspodus Continue reading...

• Both Houses of Parliament have passed the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, aimed at curbing exam-related malpractices. • The legislation introduces severe penalties for those involved in paper leaks or unfair means, including up to 10 years in prison and fines reaching Rs 50 lakh. • This move signifies a rigorous crackdown on systemic cheating and corruption within public examinations to ensure fairness and integrity for candidates.

Republican senators sought written limits on settlement, but president held firm despite risk to attorney general pickUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s refusal to officially end a hugely controversial agreement giving him broad tax immunity and creating a 1.8bn slush fund underscored how the US president’s own self interest takes precedence above all else in his government.For weeks, Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, has said that the slush fund portion of the agreement was dead. And for a few brief hours on Wednesday, it seemed that the president might agree to a relatively modest request from two Republican senators to put in writing that there were certain limits on an extraordinary tax immunity deal. After all, it seemed like a small price to pay in exchange for getting Blanche, a staunch Trump loyalist who previously served as his personal lawyer, confirmed permanently as the US attorney general. Continue reading...

• National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik clarified on Wednesday that he is not proposing a constitutional revision to allow the incumbent president to serve a second term. • The statement follows speculation that changes to the Constitution could be used to extend the current presidency beyond the single five-year term limit. • This clarification aims to dismiss claims that the legislative leadership is seeking to manipulate term limits for political gain or personal extension.

• The Federal Reserve is projected to raise interest rates twice before the end of the year, signaling a shift toward tighter monetary policy. • Market analysts are using the CME Group's FedWatch tool, which tracks futures prices, to calculate the probability of these upcoming rate hikes. • This development is significant because historical data suggests that increased interest rates often trigger corrections in major indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

• The "Wall of Receipts" is being updated to track the voting patterns of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. • The analysis focuses specifically on their decisions regarding the interim and certiorari dockets over the past year. • This tracking is significant as it monitors the judicial consistency and ideological leanings of the three appointees selected by former President Donald Trump.