20 h. ago ‘We’re going to stand up to Trump,’ says Mark Carney in second Canadian election debate

PM focuses on threat from across the border as most polls show his Liberals leading Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party in tight raceCanada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, faced sustained attacks from his Conservative rival at an election debate on Thursday but the Liberal leader sought to focus attention on what he calls Canada’s top threat: Donald Trump, the US president.Most opinion polls show Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party trailing Carney’s Liberals ahead of the 28 April vote for Canada’s federal government. Continue reading...

Politics

35 h. ago Trump approval rating knocked by poll showing Americans trust Democrats with economy more than Republicans: Live

Gold prices begin to slip after reaching a new record amid ongoing uncertainty over Donald Trump’s erratic tariff strategy

Politics

36 h. ago Trump approval rating knocked as poll shows Americans trust Democrats with economy more than Republicans: Live

Gold prices begin to slip after reaching a new record amid ongoing uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariff strategy

Politics

40 h. ago Turnbull says negative gearing ‘examined by every government’ – as it happened

This blog is now closedPeter Dutton insists he ‘believes in climate change’ after refusing to say if impacts of global heating worseningAnywhere but Canberra: Australian voters on what matters to themInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionListen to the latest episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastBoth parties claim victory in last night’s debateThe political reaction to last night’s debate is coming in thick and fast. No surprises here that the Liberals believe their leader Peter Dutton won with flying colours, while Labor has backed Albanese for the victory.I saw a very weak, indecisive Prime Minister and a very strong Opposition leader. And I was particularly blown away, Bridget, by the prime minister not fessing up that his own government modelled changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax with respect to homeownership.The prime minist...

Politics

41 h. ago Australia news live: Turnbull says negative gearing ‘examined by every government’; measles warning issued for greater Melbourne area

Follow today’s news liveAnywhere but Canberra: Australian voters on what matters to themInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionListen to the latest episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastBoth parties claim victory in last night’s debateThe political reaction to last night’s debate is coming in thick and fast. No surprises here that the Liberals believe their leader Peter Dutton won with flying colours, while Labor has backed Albanese for the victory.I saw a very weak, indecisive Prime Minister and a very strong Opposition leader. And I was particularly blown away, Bridget, by the prime minister not fessing up that his own government modelled changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax with respect to homeownership.The prime minister says the government did not commission any advice on negative gearing or capital gains tax changes, but the t...

Events

46 h. ago ‘Who is going to face Mr Trump’: Canada leaders’ debate dominated by US crisis

Mark Carney’s Liberals have surged in the polls since Donald Trump’s attacks on Canada, scuppering Conservative calls for change after Trudeau eraPrime Minister Mark Carney said the key question in Canada’s upcoming election is who is best to deal with Donald Trump as he faced his Conservative rival in a French-language leaders’ debate on Wednesday.Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said during the debate Canada needs change after a decade of Liberal party rule and Carney is just like his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. Carney responded: “Mr Poilievre is not Justin Trudeau. I’m not Justin Trudeau either. In this election the question is who is going to face Mr Trump.” Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago For the first time in years, the public trusts Republicans less on the economy than Democrats, poll finds

Trump’s own economic approval rating has fallen as he continues his trade war with China

Politics

59 h. ago Dutton admits he made mistake on Indonesia in ABC leaders’ debate as Albanese evasive on electricity prices

Opposition leader also says ‘I’ll let scientists pass that judgment’ when asked if climate change impacts getting worse in second showdownPolls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverageAnywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guideListen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastPeter Dutton has admitted he made a mistake by wrongly claiming the Indonesian president had announced a proposal for Russia to base military aircraft in Indonesia, and declined to state whether the impacts of climate change were getting worse.The opposition leader has also confirmed his plan to reduce the size of the federal public service by 41,000 positions by 2030 would not pay for the entirety of the Coalition’s policy platform, suggesting further cuts to government spending may be necessary.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Politics

60 h. ago Leaders’ debate live: PM says he has ‘no reason’ not to trust Trump as Dutton says ‘I don’t know the president’

Prime minister and Coalition leader face off in showdown hosted by ABC. Follow live updatesPolls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverageAnywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guideGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastAlbanese says Labor didn’t commission modelling on negative gearingAnthony Albanese said Peter Dutton’s suggestion that the housing crisis is something that developed in the last two years is “nonsense”.Everyone watching this program knows that this has been developing for a long period of time. We have not had enough homes been built. The former government did not bother to have a housing minister for half the time they were in office. What we’ve done since we came to office, is look towards the big issue which is supply.The experts say that what that potentially [would] do is is diminish supply, not increase it. That’s why the key to fixing the housing issues is supply.It certainly wasn’t commissioned by us to do so.W...

Politics

61 h. ago Leaders’ debate live: Albanese ‘optimistic’ about nation’s future as Dutton says households facing ‘existential’ cost

Prime minister and Coalition leader face off in showdown hosted by ABC. Follow live updatesPolls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverageAnywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guideGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastAlbanese says Labor didn’t commission modelling on negative gearingAnthony Albanese said Peter Dutton’s suggestion that the housing crisis is something that developed in the last two years is “nonsense.”Everyone watching this program knows that this has been developing for a long period of time. We have not had enough homes been built. The former government did not bother to have a housing minister for half the time they were in office. What we’ve done since we came to office, is look towards the big issue which is supply.The experts say that what that potentially [would] do is is diminish supply, not increase it. That’s why the key to fixing the housing issues is supply.It certainly wasn’t commissioned by us to do so.W...

Politics

69 h. ago Canadian election debate advanced by 2 hours to avoid conflict with hockey game

Politics is bowing to Canada’s most popular sport as the French-language leaders’ debate was abruptly rescheduled to minimize a conflict with a Montreal Canadiens hockey game

Politics

4 d. ago Music can lift mood, foster community and even rewire brains – but does it need to have a purpose?

The therapeutic role music can play is the focus of a string of new books and even an entire BBC radio station. But why can’t we just listen to music for music’s sake?Growing up, I never questioned the intrinsic value of classical music. My father practising classical and jazz guitar was the aural wallpaper to my childhood, and at my rural state school I took lessons on the recorder, the violin, the cello, the trombone, the piano. The after-school clubs on offer included, somewhat implausibly, an ocarina ensemble. Music was art, and wasn’t art the point of it all, when you got right down to it? The reason to live, after we cater for all our basic needs? It was certainly what led me to become first a classical musician, and then a music historian.But when my dad died unexpectedly in 2019, it threw my relationship with music into sharp relief. All of a sudden, I couldn’t bear listening to it. It was too painful, or it grated on my nerves and made me angry. I started to question how an...

Politics

5 d. ago Celebrity Big Brother 2025 LIVE: The reason Mickey Rourke was removed revealed by ITV

Rourke ‘was considered to be threatening and aggressive’ to his fellow housemate

Politics

5 d. ago Celebrity Big Brother 2025 LIVE: The reason Mickey Rourke was removed from ITV series revealed

Rourke ‘was considered to be threatening and aggressive’ to his fellow housemate

Culture

5 d. ago Mickey Rourke LIVE: Celebrity Big Brother sacking reason as star's huge paycheck to be 'slashed'

Celebrity Big Brother has removed Hollywood star Mickey Rourke from the ITV show's house following "further use of inappropriate language and unacceptable behaviour"

Politics

9 d. ago Donald Trump tariffs LIVE: US President's reason for pausing tariffs

US President Donald Trump's announcement of blanket on friends and foes alike last week, wiping out trillions of pounds from stock market values across the globe

Politics

9 d. ago Palau president delivers barb at Peter Dutton over ‘water lapping your door’ hot mic joke

Surangel Whipps Jr also strongly backs Australia’s bid to host a UN climate conferenceElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastThe president of Palau has delivered a pointed barb at Peter Dutton while strongly backing an Australian bid to host a UN climate conference on behalf of the Pacific, arguing that it would boost regional solidarity and he would be “deeply disappointed” if the attempt was abandoned under the Coalition.Speaking at a renewable energy conference in Sydney on Wednesday, Surangel Whipps Jr described seeing two-thirds of an island in his archipelago country disappear under water in his lifetime. “For those of us in the Pacific who have lived through storm surges, rising ocean levels and increasingly high tides, the phrase ‘water lapping at our door’ is not a metaphor or a punchline. It’s our fear and reality,” he said.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newslette...

Politics

9 d. ago Palau president backs Australia’s bid to host Cop31 climate summit after Dutton labels it ‘madness’

Surangel Whipps Jr says he would be ‘deeply disappointed’ if attempt were abandoned under CoalitionElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastThe president of Palau has strongly backed an Australian bid to host a UN climate conference on behalf of the Pacific, arguing that it would boost regional solidarity and clean energy investment and he would be “deeply disappointed” if the attempt were abandoned under the Coalition.Speaking in Sydney, Surangel Whipps Jr stressed he did not want to offer a view on the Australian election but said leaders should heed the results of a Lowy Institute survey that suggested 70% of the population supported Labor’s proposal for the country hosting the Cop31 climate summit late next year.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump tariffs live: US markets see worst day in five years as president claims ‘stock is going to boom’

US president insists country is going to flourish as markets close sharply down; Republican ex-leader Mitch McConnell says tariffs are a ‘bad policy’US stock markets have worst day since Covid over Trump tariffsGlobal markets in turmoil amid Trump tariffsTrump’s chaos-inducing global tariffs, explained in chartsIn the aftermath of the disastrous debate against Donald Trump that ultimately ended his political career, Joe Biden skipped a White House meeting with the congressional Progressive caucus in favor of a Camp David photoshoot with the fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz, a new book says.“You need to cancel that,” Ron Klain, Biden’s former chief of staff and debate prep leader, told the president, as he advocated securing the endorsement of the group of powerful progressive politicians perhaps key to his remaining the Democratic nominee. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump denies market turmoil is a problem, claiming ‘stock is going to boom’ – US politics live

US president insists country is going to flourish as former Republican leader Mitch McConnell says tariffs are a ‘bad policy’ US stock markets tumble as investors shaken by Trump tariffsIn the aftermath of the disastrous debate against Donald Trump that ultimately ended his political career, Joe Biden skipped a White House meeting with the congressional Progressive caucus in favor of a Camp David photoshoot with the fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz, a new book says.“You need to cancel that,” Ron Klain, Biden’s former chief of staff and debate prep leader, told the president, as he advocated securing the endorsement of the group of powerful progressive politicians perhaps key to his remaining the Democratic nominee. Continue reading...

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