Scrutiny

Call for ‘clear and truthful account’ comes amid questions about the Reform leader’s property spendingThe Labour party has written to Nigel Farage urging him to stop “evading reasonable scrutiny” over the £5m personal gift he received from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.The letter coincides with approval of a planning application that reveals the Reform leader’s plans to transform a dilapidated Kent property into a luxury beachfront residence. Continue reading...

Scientists praise moves to investigate, retract or remove controversial studies. The authors stand by their workThree scientific papers that raised questions about vaccine safety and were used by the Trump administration to justify controversial changes to US vaccine policies have over the last two months been removed, retracted or placed under investigation by the journals that published them.In some cases, the actions occurred years after scientists first raised alarms about the studies’ scientific merits. Continue reading...

Shadow minister says the Coalition must treat minor party as an opponent, not an enemy. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.James Paterson, the shadow defence minister, has told 7.30 that One Nation’s increased prominence should bring increased scrutiny. He says the party is not the Coalition’s enemy but “an opponent”. More coming up. Continue reading...

Yves Sakila died after being restrained by security guards ‘in broad daylight’Irish authorities have agreed to a second postmortem on the body of a Congolese man who died after being restrained by shop security guards on a Dublin street, prompting an outcry and comparisons to the death of George Floyd.A forensic pathologist from England is to conduct an independent postmortem this week on Yves Sakila, 35, an alleged shoplifter who was pursued and pinned to the ground in the city centre on 15 May. The police force, An Garda Síochána, is investigating. Continue reading...

• Prediction markets have evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry allowing users to bet on diverse real-world outcomes, including elections, interest rate decisions, and military operations. • Regulators and observers are increasingly concerned that some participants are leveraging privileged insider information to gain an unfair advantage and profit. • This scrutiny matters because the rise of these markets creates potential loopholes for insider trading that could undermine the integrity of financial and political forecasting.

Case involving seven-year-old boy is latest flashpoint in debate over race relations in Latin America‘Argentina needs to end its fantasy of being a European country’: Lucrecia Martel on the story of a killingA woman celebrating her 32nd birthday on a train journey in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais was horrified when a fellow passenger alerted her that an unknown man had been secretly filming her seven-year-old son.When confronted, the man – an Argentinian tourist – initially refused to show his phone. But after being pressed by other travellers, the man admitted he had sent the images to a WhatsApp contact. Continue reading...

Two other small British children who stayed at same hotel fell critically ill from same condition months earlierThe travel company Tui is under scrutiny over its safety protocols after a British baby girl died from a gastric illness following a stay at an Egyptian hotel – the same resort where two other children were left critically ill from the same condition months earlier.Ariella Mann, one, died in January from a kidney condition linked to E coli after falling ill at the five‑star Jaz Makadi Aquaviva hotel in Hurghada on an all‑inclusive two‑week package holiday booked through Tui. Continue reading...

Accounts for Reform UK leader’s media company suggest money was not withdrawn at time of property purchaseNigel Farage is facing fresh scrutiny over his claim that he paid for his £1.4m house from a reality show fee rather than the millions gifted to him by a crypto billionaire.Accounts for the Reform leader’s personal media company, Thorn in the Side Ltd, suggest that money was not withdrawn from the firm at the time of the house purchase. Continue reading...

FBI director reportedly took a snorkel excursion at site containing remains of more than 1,000 navy sailors and marinesThe FBI director, Kash Patel, is facing new scrutiny following reports that he participated in a snorkeling excursion around the USS Arizona during a trip to Hawaii last summer.The outing was first reported this week by the Associated Press, which obtained government emails describing the excursion as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona – the site that holds the remains of more than 1,000 US navy sailors and marines who died at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Continue reading...

Property portfolio in spotlight as Reform UK leader faces official inquiry over money accepted from billionaireA week ago, Nigel Farage was toasting Reform UK’s successes in the May elections, and bragging about his prospects of becoming prime minister.But there is a saying about a week in politics – and it has been a long seven days for the party leader, who is now facing questions over a £5m gift and his extensive property portfolio. Continue reading...

Catalano’s lawyer says press attention ‘potentially detrimental’ to Australian Community Media co-owner’s mental healthA media mogul charged with assaulting his wife has avoided facing court in person over concerns growing media attention could be detrimental to his mental health.Antony Catalano, 59, was charged with assault, false imprisonment and making threats to kill over an incident in the early hours of March 13. Continue reading...

Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, seeks to present issue as irrelevant in interview with Laura Kuenssberg Labour has accused Nigel Farage of attempting to dodge scrutiny as the Reform leader continued to face questions over the £5m gift he received from a crypto billionaire shortly before the last general election.Asked about the gift from Christopher Harborne on Sunday, the party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, sought to present it as an irrelevance to voters and said it had complied with all the rules. Continue reading...

• Nexstar Media Group's upcoming earnings report draws focus amid legal hurdles for its $5 billion-plus acquisition of TEGNA. • The company issued over $5 billion in new debt to fund the deal, prompting investor attention on leverage ratios and free cash flow generation. • Updates on the merger's progress and financial health could influence stock performance and broadcasting sector consolidation trends.

• Venezuela's opposition coalition announced victory in April 10 municipal elections, claiming to have won majorities in 200+ municipalities, though the National Electoral Council has delayed official results release. • International election observers from the Carter Center and UN raised concerns about transparency and irregularities in voting procedures, with some polling stations reporting technical malfunctions. • The disputed results threaten to deepen political crisis in the oil-rich nation already facing severe economic collapse and humanitarian crisis, with potential for renewed street protests and international diplomatic intervention.

• Intelligence officials testified before Congress on March 18 regarding Iran war threats and national security, with National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard deflecting questions about pre-war intelligence she offered Trump, while facing Democratic accusations of misusing national security powers for domestic political interference. • FBI Director Kash Patel made his first Capitol Hill appearance since a viral video showed him celebrating with the U.S. men's hockey team at the Winter Olympics; Patel has fired dozens of FBI agents in his first year, raising concerns about loss of national security expertise during elevated terrorism threats. • Multiple terrorism-related incidents occurred this month, including a gunman inspired by Iranian ideology killing two at a Texas bar, suspects arrested for explosives near New York City, a shooting at Old Dominion University in Virginia, and a car attack on a Michigan synagogue.