Millions

About 5,000 councillors and six mayors up for election in England, while Scotland chooses 129 MSPs, and Wales selects 96 members of the SeneddHere is Nigel Farage’s overnight eve-of-poll statement. The Reform UK leader said:The Tories tried to remove the gutless Keir Starmer and failed.The only way to finally remove the most unpopular and unpatriotic prime minister in our lifetime is to back Reform. Continue reading...

After two years in parliament, Reform UK leader has brought in £2m on top of his Commons salaryNigel Farage’s income since being elected MP has hit £2m, analysis shows“There’s no money in politics,” Nigel Farage complained almost a decade ago, describing himself as “53, separated and skint”.He has since proved himself wrong. After two years in parliament, Farage has brought in £2m, including hospitality, through speeches, presenting, writing news articles, promoting gold bullion – and even recording modestly priced Cameo clips for his fans. It seems that every £70 video counts when it comes to making cash. Continue reading...

State’s top insurance regulator says insurance company violated law while handling claims from 2025 wildfiresCalifornia is seeking millions of dollars in penalties from State Farm after an investigation found the insurance company was slow to investigate and underpaid claims from the 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires, regulators announced on Monday.State Farm violated the law hundreds of times in a sampling of 220 cases, the state’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, said. The maximum penalty amount allowed by law would be about $4m if State Farm is found to be “willful” in violating state law. Regulators may also temporarily suspend the company’s license, effectively prohibiting the state’s largest home insurer from writing new policies for a year in California. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ‘Fish sludge’ in coastal waters now has nutrient levels equivalent to those in untreated effluent of country the size of Australia, report findsNorwegian fish farms are filling fjords and other coastal waters with nutrient pollution equivalent to the raw sewage of tens of millions of people each year, a report has found.Norway is the largest farmed salmon producer in the world, and nutrients in fish feed are excreted directly into coastal waters. Analysis from the Sunstone Institute found that Norwegian aquaculture released 75,000 tonnes of nitrogen, 13,000 tonnes of phosphorus and 360,000 tonnes of organic carbon in 2025. Continue reading...

Liberal frontbencher says the country’s ‘sovereign capabilities’ have been eroded. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCyber criminals have hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry’s computer system and siphoned off US$2.5 million, Agence France Presse reports.It is the most amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution in the debt-saddled country, which is recovering from a crippling economic crisis in 2022 after Colombo defaulted on its US$46 billion external debt.To put it bluntly, if ANZUS is going to continue for another 75 years, we need to invest in our industrial base and our defence force. Continue reading...

Shell Australia says campaign needed to ‘counter-balance’ claims by levy advocates – but Ed Husic urges industry ‘do not spend millions defending the indefensible’The gas giants are mounting a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to fight against a new export tax, prompting Labor MP Ed Husic to accuse the industry of “defending the indefensible”.Shell Australia is among half-a-dozen oil and gas companies contributing around $1m to an Australian Energy Producers (AEP) campaign that attempts to justify the amount of tax the industry pays, a parliamentary inquiry heard on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Experts say Muslims and other minorities have been disproportionately deleted from the electoral roll ahead of the West Bengal elections this weekMillions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote ahead of a critical state election this week, after a controversial electoral revision described by critics as a “bloodless political genocide” and mass disenfranchisement of minorities.In West Bengal, a total of 9.1 million names have been deleted from the register, more than 10% of the electorate. While many were dead or duplicates, about 2.7 million people have challenged their expulsions, but still been removed. Continue reading...

2Apply’s over-collection of personal information adds to the power of the real estate industry in the competitive rental market, Carly Kind saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn online rental platform has been urged to stop collecting users’ personal information after the Australian privacy commissioner found the gathering of “excessive” data compounded the vulnerability of tenants amid the housing crisis.RentTech platforms are increasingly used by real estate agents in Australia for people applying for rental properties to submit applications and supporting documentation. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has identified 57 different rent platforms operating in Australia. Continue reading...

A Trace analysis found that revenue from fining white-collar criminals is drying up – due to presidential pardonsThis story was originally published by the Trace, a non-profit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here.Since his return to office last year, Donald Trump has pardoned dozens of white-collar criminals. He’s also forgiven their fines, penalties and restitution, to the tune of billions. Some of that revenue was supposed to go to a fund to help victims of violent crime – and the organizations that serve them are feeling the pinch. Continue reading...

Landmark ruling finds Wright Prospecting successfully made out its contractual claim to 50% of past and future royalties from Hope Downs iron ore projectGina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has lost its bid to retain royalties from the mammoth Hope Downs iron ore project and will be forced to pay Wright Prospecting half of its earnings from the project, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.In a landmark ruling in the Western Auestralia supreme court on Wednesday, justice Jennifer Smith said that Wright Prospecting had successfully made out its contractual claim to 50% of past and future royalties paid from the project. Continue reading...

Expert said federal law bars officials from taking actions in their jobs that benefit their own financial interestsA high-profile US defense department official who oversees the agency’s artificial intelligence efforts made a profit of up to $24m selling a private investment he held in Elon Musk’s AI company earlier this year, according to government ethics records released this month. The value of his stake totaled a maximum of a million dollars when he joined the department.Emil Michael, who is the Pentagon’s under secretary for research and engineering under the Trump administration, oversees negotiations with AI companies and has been pushing the defense department to rapidly increase the widespread use of AI. Continue reading...

Four masked men entered the villa of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, near Parma in northern Italy, and made off with the artworks Thieves stole paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse from a museum in Italy a week ago, police have said.Four masked men entered the villa of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, near Parma in northern Italy, and made off with the artworks on the night of Sunday 22 March, a police spokesperson said, confirming a report on the Rai television network. Continue reading...

More than 3,000 No Kings events scheduled in cities and towns in third set of protests since Trump re-electionWhat to know about the third No Kings protests happening in MarchGood morning. Today our US politics blog will cover the third No Kings march as millions of people are expected to protest against the Trump administration at more than 3,000 events across the United States.A flagship event will be held in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, where massive anti-ICE demonstrations broke out earlier this year after federal agents killed two residents. Continue reading...

Anti-authoritarian rallies, taking place in all 50 states plus 16 countries, are expected to be biggest in US historyMillions of Americans are expected to take to the streets on Saturday for the No Kings protests against the Trump administration. More than 3,000 events are planned in all 50 states, plus in 16 countries, according to a coalition of organizers that includes “anti-authoritarian” groups Indivisible and 50501, labor unions and other grassroots organizations.“I would expect March 28 to be the biggest protest in American history,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible. Continue reading...

• More than 3,000 No Kings protests are scheduled across the United States and worldwide Saturday, with millions expected to participate in what organizers describe as potentially the largest day of protest in U.S. history. • Indivisible organizer Leah Greenberg stated protesters will "stand against illegal war abroad" and "stand against secret police at home," signaling unified opposition to Trump administration policies. • The demonstration represents the third iteration of the nationwide No Kings protest movement, with major protests planned in major cities including St. Louis, according to Democracy Now! reporting.

• One in 10 Americans who held Affordable Care Act plans last year dropped health insurance entirely after federal subsidies expired, according to a survey by the health policy think tank KFF. • The expiration of federal subsidies has forced millions to make difficult choices about maintaining coverage, with significant gaps now in the insurance market. • Hannah Frigand, senior director of the HelpLine for Health Care for All in Massachusetts, highlighted the tough decisions people face regarding health insurance plans in the post-subsidy environment.

• Over 3,000 'No Kings' protests are planned across the U.S. and worldwide on March 28, potentially marking the biggest day of protest in U.S. history against the Trump administration. • Organizers like Leah Greenberg of Indivisible state participants are rallying in every state and county to oppose illegal war abroad and secret police at home. • Protests echo the rallying cry 'In America, we have no kings,' building on prior nationwide demonstrations amid geopolitical tensions.

Government-backed bank in talks about recompensing about 37,000 people whose money was misplacedUK politics live – latest updatesBusiness live – latest updatesNational Savings & Investments is preparing to repay hundreds of millions of pounds to its customers over missing savings, in what is expected to be the single biggest payout in the bank’s 160-year history.The government-backed savings institution is in discussions with the Treasury to recompense about 37,000 people whose money has been misplaced due to historical failings. Continue reading...

• House Republicans announced an investigation into rampant hospice fraud in Southern California, alleging tens of millions in taxpayer funds lost to improper payments. • The House Oversight Committee sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom requesting documents on state oversight of federally funded hospice programs. • Fraud involves companies receiving payments for ineligible patients, prompting calls for stronger controls amid ongoing healthcare waste concerns.

Michael Smith, 52, charged after flooding platforms with thousands of AI songs and boosting them with botsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to defrauding music streaming platforms and his fellow musicians out of millions in royalties by flooding the services with thousands of AI-generated songs – and using automated “bots” to artificially boost the number of listens into the billions.As part of a deal with federal prosecutors in New York’s southern district, 52-year-old Michael Smith pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Continue reading...

Court’s decision to eliminate Save plan and internal shuffling on who handles what when it comes to student loans presents new challenges for borrowersSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMany Americans with student debt are again facing future upheaval after a federal appeals court recently ordered the end of a Biden-era student loan repayment program, known as the Saving on a Value Education (Save) Plan, a move that coincided with another grim revelation: new education department data shows that by the end of 2025, 7.7 million borrowers had defaulted on $181bn in federal student loans.The Save plan, which was launched in 2023, is an income-driven repayment program created with the goal of cutting undergraduate loans in half, bringing some borrowers’ monthly payments to $0, and offering early forgiveness for low-balance borrowers. Shortly after the program was announced, Republican attorneys general across the country sued to get it killed, arguing that it was an overstep of executive power and imposed heavy taxpayer costs. Continue reading...

• Political operatives tied to Trump, including those from Safe America Media and People Who Think, secured DHS contracts for a $220 million public awareness ad campaign launched amid urgent needs. • The March 3 DHS memo justified limited competition with 10-12% commissions below the 15% industry norm, marking it as the most expensive U.S. government marketing effort in the past decade outside military and COVID campaigns. • The campaign featured Gov. Kristi Noem in a cowboy hat at Mount Rushmore, sparking White House friction and perceptions of her positioning for a future political run without Trump's direct approval.

Heat warnings are in effect across region as record-high temperatures are forecast in California, Nevada and ArizonaSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMillions of people in the western US are preparing for extreme heat as unprecedented temperatures are forecast across California, Nevada and Arizona.The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a heat advisory for California’s Bay Area and central coast regions as temperatures are expected to reach up to 90F (32C). Continue reading...