Geert Wilders faces shutout as centrists hail huge gains in knife-edge Dutch election 30. October 2025 (12:58) Far right neck and neck with liberal D66 but all major mainstream parties have ruled out working with anti-Islam firebrandGeert Wilders is almost certain to be shut out of the next Dutch government after a knife-edge general election in which support for his far-right Freedom party (PVV) slumped and the liberal-progressive D66 party made spectacular gains.With more than 98% of votes counted from Wednesday’s election, the two parties were neck and neck on a projected 26 seats each in the Netherlands’ 150-seat parliament, with the difference between them only a couple of thousand votes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
German dentists hold memorial recognising sadistic practices of profession under Nazis 30. October 2025 (12:41) Recent studies have exposed theft of gold fillings, excruciating extractions, human experiments and forced sterilisationsGerman dentists have offered a belated acknowledgment of their profession’s brutal practices under the Nazis, admitting broad “systemic” involvement in crimes at concentration camps, including sadistic tooth extractions, human experiments, forced sterilisations and murder.Their central professional organisation, the German Society for Dental, Oral and Orthodontic Medicine (DGZMK), held its first memorial ceremony exposing the atrocities committed by dentists during the Nazi era and paying tribute to the victims, at Berlin’s Humboldt University on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK rule change allows Palestinian scholars to bring families from Gaza 30. October 2025 (12:10) Previous visa policy had forced the students ‘to choose between their education and their family’Palestinian students taking up scholarships at UK universities will be allowed to bring their families from Gaza with them after the government said it would consider case-by-case exemptions.The students had previously been unable to take up their scholarships because they were barred from bringing their children or dependents by existing student visa policies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Reeves should be sacked if she broke house rental rules, says Badenoch 30. October 2025 (11:36) Tory leader says chancellor should have been on top of paperwork when she rented out her south London homeUK politics live – latest updatesRachel Reeves must be sacked as chancellor if she broke any laws in failing to get a licence to rent out her south London home, Kemi Badenoch has said, arguing that it was up to the chancellor to have been on top of the necessary paperwork.With pressure building on Reeves despite Keir Starmer saying he believed the chancellor’s apology for an “inadvertent” breach of Southwark council’s rules was sufficient, Badenoch said this was not the end of the matter. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tories call for Reeves to quit after breaking home rental rules but PM rules out investigation – UK politics live 30. October 2025 (11:34) Reeves has been renting out her south London home without the specific £945 licence required by the local councilRobert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says he thinks it is a mistake for the Conservatives to be saying Rachel Reeves should have to resign over the rental licence error. He explains why in a post on social media. Here is an extract.Kemi Badenoch’s call for Starmer to sack Reeves, for failing to register her family home when she rented it on moving to Downing Street, lowers the bar quite significantly for sackable offences by ministers. I am not certain all her shadow cabinet colleagues will thank her.The point is that there is a clear distinction between Rayner’s failure to take stamp duty advice and Reeves’s failure to register her home with the council for rent. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dutch election results: far-right and centrist parties in tight race to top as vote count continues – Europe live 30. October 2025 (11:14) Geert Wilders’s PVV inches ahead of D66 but centrist party expected to lead talks to form next coalition governmentWilders’s PVV is currently in the lead by just over 2,300 votes, NOS reported, with more ballots to be counted from the Caribbean Netherlands, overseas postal vote, and some cities, including parts of Amsterdam.So, it’s as close as it could be, and it could even take days before we know the final result, as postal votes will take a moment to count. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Virgin Media O2 seals deal with Elon Musk firm to boost UK rural mobile coverage 30. October 2025 (11:05) Service scheduled to launch in 2026 will be first in Britain to use Starlink’s satellites to connect to handsetsVirgin Media O2 has announced a “landmark” partnership with Elon Musk’s satellite company aimed at improving rural mobile network coverage.The deal with Starlink Direct to Cell is said to be the first of its kind to utilise the billionaire’s company position as the world’s largest satellite-to-mobile constellation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Wife of British journalist ‘abducted by ICE’ speaks out: ‘We’re being kept in the dark’ 30. October 2025 (11:00) Soumaya Hamdi says she has barely spoken to Sami Hamdi since he was taken over his pro-Palestinian advocacyThe wife of a British political commentator who was detained by immigration authorities while on a speaking tour of the US said she has only been able to speak with him for “30 seconds” since he was taken into custody on Sunday over his pro-Palestinian advocacy.Soumaya Hamdi told the Guardian she first learned her husband, Sami Hamdi, was detained at San Francisco international airport when a friend asked her to confirm rumors he had been “abducted by ICE”. When he was finally able to briefly call her, Hamdi only had enough time to say he had been taken to an immigration detention center in McFarland, California, where he remains. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Arts organisations still in ‘funding limbo’ after crash of Arts Council England online portal 30. October 2025 (11:00) Arts professionals complain of ‘cruel’ bureaucratic process since grant processing platform crashed in July Arts organisations and artists have said they are still in “funding limbo” with mounting bills and uncertain futures after this summer’s crash of Arts Council England’s grant processing platform.ACE’s online portal, Grantium, was used by artists to submit and manage funding applications. But when it crashed in July, it left thousands of applications for vital funding in doubt – a situation that persisted for several months until applications reopened in late September. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Extremists exploit political ‘trigger events’ to recruit people online, says study 30. October 2025 (10:00) NYU report monitored social feeds and found groups call for retaliatory action after politically motivated violent eventsExtremists are exploiting political violence on online platforms to recruit new people to their causes and amplify the use of violence for political goals, according to a new report that monitored social platforms after recent attacks.Researchers at New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights tracked social media feeds for several months this year, including in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
