5 h. ago Trump boasts he has his ‘highest poll numbers’ ever – but some surveys show him sinking to a record second

President’s approval rating fell this week amid backlash over the Epstein files and the rising cost of living

Politics

3 d. ago ‘An impossibility made possible’: how tiny Curaçao made World Cup history

Caribbean island team are the smallest to reach tournament after appointing wily coach and drawing on diasporaThe delay in Dick Advocaat becoming Curaçao’s head coach might have been ominous but instead was the foundation for glory. Frustrated by the national federation’s financial problems, he deferred starting until January 2024, when the issues were resolved and players paid, paving the way for a historic World Cup qualifying campaign.Curaçao will be the smallest nation – by land area and population – to play at the 2026 World Cup after their 0-0 draw in Jamaica on Wednesday. The Caribbean island has a population of 156,000, sinking the previous record holders Iceland, which has about 400,000 inhabitants. Last month Cape Verde were confirmed as surprise tournament debutants but the African nation is almost 10 times bigger by area than the former Dutch colony, indicating the level of achievement by Advocaat and his squad. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Donald Trump boasted to friends about 'banging' his assistant, Epstein email claims

The email was released as part of a 23,000 document trove of communications and papers handed to Congress by Epstein's estate.

Politics

8 d. ago Satisfaction with democracy below 50% in eight out of nine western countries, poll finds

Ipsos survey reveals fake news, lack of accountability, extremism and corruption seen as biggest threatsSatisfaction with democracy is below 50% in eight out of nine western countries surveyed in a poll, and majorities in all but one fear for its future, with fake news, lack of political accountability, extremism and corruption seen as the biggest threats.An Ipsos survey of almost 10,000 people in Croatia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US found satisfaction with democracy low in all except Sweden, with deep concerns about the future state of electoral politics. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago From 'photos of Donald and girls in bikinis' to threats to take down 'borderline insane' Trump, extraordinary details inside trove of bombshell Epstein emails

Thousands of pages of material from Epstein's estate have been published, revealing how the disgraced financier repeatedly discussed Trump in private correspondence.

Events

9 d. ago Who supports Reform and why? The charts that show who favours Farage’s party

Based on the largest poll of supporters yet, these charts and maps show five distinct groups that could hand Reform a majorityResearch based on a poll of 11,000 Reform UK supporters, the biggest survey of its kind, tells us more about who is intending to vote for the party than has been previously known.The in-depth polling analysis from Hope Not Hate reveals a voter coalition that stretches from struggling workers and frustrated graduates to wealthy retirees, in places from Hitchin to Runcorn. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Elena Rybakina sinks Aryna Sabalenka to claim WTA Finals and record prize

Former Wimbledon champion wins 6-3, 7-6 (0)Unbeaten Rybakina takes home £3.98mElena Rybakina re-established herself as one of the significant players in women’s tennis as she closed out a week of devastating performances against the best in the world by completely overpowering Aryna Sabalenka to capture one of the biggest titles of her career at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a 6-3, 7-6 (0) win.Having finished the season-ending tournament unbeaten in her five matches, Rybakina is now $5.235m (£3.98m) richer, earning the greatest prize money haul in the history of women’s sports. The victory marks the 26-year-old’s fourth big title after wins at Wimbledon in 2022, and Indian Wells and the Italian Open a year later. This is her third title of the season and her 11th title on the WTA Tour overall. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump gushes over Bari Weiss and boasts about ‘60 Minutes’ payoff — but TV viewers didn’t see that

‘Why would you subject yourself to this type of criticism? Just put it in, because it’s the first thing that I was looking for,’ one CBS News insider said of the network’s decision to omit Trump’s settlement boast from the on-air broadcast

Politics

2 w. ago CBS News heavily edits Trump 60 Minutes interview, cutting boast network ‘paid me a lotta money’

Trump said Paramount’s sale to David and Larry Ellison was ‘greatest thing that’s happened in a long time’ for free pressThe CBS News program 60 Minutes heavily edited down an interview with Donald Trump that aired on Sunday night, his first sit-down with the show in five years.Trump sat down with correspondent Norah O’Donnell for 90 minutes, but only about 28 minutes were broadcast. A full transcript of the interview was later published, along with a 73-minute-long extended version online. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago SNL’s Trump boasts about cognitive test as he hijacks mock NYC mayoral debate in Cold Open sketch: ‘It’s about me’

James Austin Johnson starred as President Donald Trump in Saturday’s Cold Open sketch

Politics

3 w. ago From CBS to TikTok, US media are falling to Trump’s allies. This is how democracy crumbles | Owen Jones

We’re watching the Orbánisation of the US – and as in Hungary, control of the media is key to consolidating powerDemocracy may be dying in the US. Whether the patient receives emergency treatment in time will determine whether the condition becomes terminal. Before Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, I warned of “Orbánisation” – in reference to Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán. There, democracy was not extinguished by firing squads or the mass imprisonment of dissidents, but by slow attrition. The electoral system was warped, civil society was targeted and pro-Orbán moguls quietly absorbed the media.Nine months on, and Orbánisation is in full bloom across the Atlantic. Billionaire Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, and his filmmaker son, David, have become blunt instruments in this process. Trump boasts they are “friends of mine – they’re big supporters of mine”. Larry Ellison, second only to Elon Musk as the world’s richest man, has poured tens of millions into R...

Politics

4 w. ago Nicolas Maduro pleads with Trump not to start 'crazy war' with Venezuela after US president threatened military action

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded with Donald Trump to avoid a 'crazy war' as an escalating US military campaign sent tensions soaring.

Events

4 w. ago Nicolas Maduro pleads with Trump to avoid 'crazy war' after boasting of having 'thousands' of Russian anti

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded with Donald Trump to avoid a 'crazy war' as an escalating US military campaign sent tensions soaring.

Politics