2 h. ago Donald Trump demands France 'Free Marine Le Pen' and brands her presidential election ban a 'witch hunt'

Marine Le Pen, 56, was convicted of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament and taking advantage of expenses to employ assistants actually working for her party.

Politics

5 h. ago Mike Pence to get JFK Profile in Courage Award for certification of 2020 election

‘Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election,’ Caroline Kennedy says

Politics

20 h. ago All the president’s pens and a baby mammoth: photos of the day – Thursday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Politics

23 h. ago Germany could BAN AfD candidates from running for office under proposed new rules

The law would block those with 'multiple convictions of inciting to hatred' from standing in elections, according to a draft agreement between the parties seen by German newspaper Die Welt.

Politics

29 h. ago Trump imposes tariffs on uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands near Antarctica

Australian prime minister surprised after external territories – including tiny Norfolk Island and remote islands home to penguins – targeted by US presidentA group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to penguins, have been swept up in Donald Trump’s trade war, as the US president hit them with a 10% tariff on goods.Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which form an external territory of Australia, are among the remotest places on earth, accessible only via a two-week boat voyage from Perth on Australia’s west coast. They are completely uninhabited, with the last visit from people believed to be nearly 10 years ago. Continue reading...

Politics

45 h. ago The secret to finding one of the most endangered bumblebees in the US? Dogs

Experts are desperate to analyse rusty patched bumblebee nests for information that might help save them. But they are extremely hard to find – unless you’re a trained conservation canineWords and photographs by Anne Readel in Somers, WisconsinOn a summer day in Somers, Wisconsin, Dave Giordano heard an unexpected buzzing in his back yard. What he found shocked him – a rusty patched bumblebee nest. The discovery was so rare it made the local news.Once widespread across the midwest and eastern US, the rusty patched bumblebee has seen its population plunge by nearly 90%, prompting its listing in 2017 as the first federally endangered bumblebee in the US.Main image: Two rusty patched bumblebee gynes in the nest discovered by Dave Giordano in August 2023. Below: Jay Watson, a conservation biologist, observes a nest (marked with orange flags) found in a rodent burrow Continue reading...

Politics

54 h. ago Could Marine Le Pen’s guilty verdict help fuel the far right? – podcast

The parliamentary leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, has been banned from public office for five years for embezzlement, ruining her chance of a presidential run. Angelique Chrisafis reportsIt is a sentence that has prompted anger among rightwing leaders across the world and led to accusations that democracy is being threatened. This week, Marine Le Pen, the parliamentary leader of the National Rally (RN), the largest opposition party in the French parliament, was banned for five years from public office for embezzlement. Along with more than 20 others, she was found to have used money for European parliament assistants to pay party workers.The shock sentence could end Le Pen’s hopes of running for president in 2027. She is now appealing and has hit back furiously, as have her supporters and allies. Some of her support could hurt her more than it helps, however. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in response that “more and more European capi...

Politics

66 h. ago Trump compares himself to Marine Le Pen as he tears into France for barring her from politics: 'This is a big deal'

President Donald Trump compared himself to convicted French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, calling her ban from elective office a 'very big deal.'

Politics

2 d. ago ‘We will not let French people have election stolen from them,’ says Le Pen – Europe live

Far-right leader says guilty verdict was ‘a nuclear bomb’ used against her as her party president calls for protestsLe Pen ban is ‘political and partisan’, says French far-right party’s presidentIn Kyiv, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has offered an update on the talks with the United States over a new minerals deal.Sybiha told a press conference held with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kestutis Budrys, that one round of consultations had already taken place and that an agreement providing for a strong American business presence in Ukraine would contribute to his country’s security infrastructure, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

Politics

2 d. ago Outrage grows over Marine Le Pen's blocked presidential run: Trump and European allies offer support as 'tyrannical judges' are accused of 'depriving millions of people of their representation'

Le Pen has pledged to fight the court-imposed prohibition that appeared to exclude her goal of seeking and potentially winning the French presidency in 2027.

Politics

3 d. ago AP PHOTOS: Under the new Trump administration, Transgender Day of Visibility has a different tone

Supporters of transgender rights gathered on the National Mall on Monday to rally for equality on Transgender Day of Visibility, following a wave of policies signed by President Donald Trump aimed at erasing transgender people from government records, sports and even history.

Politics

3 d. ago Marine Le Pen attacks ban on French presidency run as a ‘political decision’

Far-right leader, who was found guilty of embezzlement of European funds, says conviction is a ‘denial of democracy’The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has railed against a Paris court’s “political decision” to bar her from competing for the presidency in 2027, attacking the move to ban her from running for public office as “a denial of democracy”.In a day of high political drama, Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement of European parliament funds on a vast scale, a conviction for which she was also handed a four-year prison sentence, with two of those years suspended and two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet. She was also ordered to pay a €100,000 (£84,000) fine. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Who is Marine Le Pen? Convicted politician unable to stand at next presidential election

French National Rally parliamentary leader receives a four-year prison sentence for embezzling EU funds

Politics

3 d. ago Marine Le Pen is in 'fighting mood' and will appeal her four

France's hard-right leader will appeal her conviction for embezzlement of public funds, her lawyer said Monday, after a court handed her a five-year ban on running for office.

Politics

3 d. ago Fury as court bans Marine Le Pen from presidential run and hits her with four

Le Pen, 56, was handed a five-year ban from holding public office after being convicted of embezzlement by a court in France today.

Events

3 d. ago A canine rescuer, a hobby horse and freezing rain: photos of the day – Monday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Marine Le Pen verdict throws National Rally into chaos but could boost far right | Angelique Chrisafis

Conviction is a huge blow to her party and harms her drive for respectability, while serving the victimisation narrativeEurope live – latest updatesIt is a political earthquake that is almost certain to end Marine Le Pen’s ambitions for the 2027 presidential election and throws her far-right party into chaos just as it was setting its sights on taking power in France.Barred from running for political office for five years with immediate effect after being convicted of embezzling European funds for her party, Le Pen’s political future is now thrown into doubt. She will probably not be able to mount a fourth campaign for the presidency in two years’ time. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Sarah Hadland flooded with messages after sharing hospital snap with 'double'

The actress was marking Mother's Day on Sunday when she shared the photo

Events

3 d. ago Marine Le Pen banned from running for French president after embezzling EU funds

Le Pen handed jail sentence and immediate five-year ban from political office, excluding her from running in the French presidential elections in 2027

Politics

3 d. ago Marine Le Pen banned from running for French presidency in 2027 and given four

French far right leader barred from running for public office for five years with immediate effect after guilty verdict in trialFull story: Le Pen barred from running for French presidency in 2027The judges have begun reading their verdicts.Patrick Maisonneuve, lawyer for the European parliament, arriving in court, said that what was at stake was the embezzlement of European taxpayers’ funds. Continue reading...

Events