Syria expected to hold parliamentary election in September, official says
Voting for the People's Assembly is expected to take place from September 15-20, added the official, Mohamed Taha.
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Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
Iran's Supreme Leader 'sleeping and getting high' as Ayatollah threatens Israel's existence from hidden bunker
Iran 's Supreme Leader spends his days 'sleeping and high on substances' in his hidden bunker, according to insiders within Israel 's national intelligence agency. A Mossad-linked X account last week shared the new information on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a series of attacks on his leadership. 'How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances? Water, electricity, life!' the account wrote. 'Consuming drugs and conversing with spirits are not desirable traits for someone leading a country,' a second post read earlier this month. It comes after Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Khamenei to stop threatening the existence of his people from his underground bunker. 'I want to convey a clear message to Khamenei the dictator,' Katz recently said. 'If you continue to threaten Israel, our long arm will again reach Tehran and with even greater force — and this time to you personally. Do not threaten, lest you be harmed.' A ceasefire has been in place between Israel and Iran since late June, following days of fiery attacks from both sides after Israel's surprise strikes wiped out top Iranian military figures and nuclear scientists. At the height of the 12-day conflict, there were widespread reports that Khamenei was hiding out in a bunker amid increased concerns for his safety. At this point, Israel had dismantled and destroyed Khamenei's senior network, wiping out key leaders and allies of the Supreme Leader. Mohammad Bagheri, the commander in chief of Iran's military and second highest commander after Khamenei, was among the first casualties identified after the strikes. Hossein Salami, commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was also killed, along with Gholamali Rashid, the deputy commander in chief of the armed forces. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the airspace unit of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Gholamreza Mehrabi, the deputy intelligence chief of the Armed Forces and Gen. Davood Sheikhian, the commander of air defense, were also wiped out. Simultaneously, bombs exploded at the homes of nine scientists, killing them instantly and at the same time. While the Mossad has not formally confirmed the X account's affiliation, two intelligence agents recently said the account appears authentic. 'Some of the information it has shared could only have come from Mossad,' said Beny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. The accountholder urges supports who are 'contacting us through private messages, for your own security, please ensure you are using a VPN.' Khamenei has been accused of abusing drugs in the past, despite declaring illicit substances 'un-Islamic' in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution. Iranians face the death penalty for drug related offenses. In 2022, an Iranian academic publicly claimed the Supreme Leader had a drug habit. 'Many viewers do not know this, but Khamenei himself uses drugs,' Nour Mohamed Omara told a television station in Turkey at the time. 'He has a special village in Balochistan, where the drugs used by the leader are produced,' the academic added. 'This village is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and no one is allowed in.' The same Mossad-linked account has been making efforts to reach and communicate with Iranians who are increasingly disenfranchised with their leadership. After the 12-day Iran-Israel war, the account posted: 'A ceasefire has been put into effect. Now, the extent of the damage is becoming clear. At this moment, the regime is focused on its senior officials, not on caring for its citizens. 'We stand with you and have formed a team of specialized doctors, including experts in cardiology, diabetes. pulmonary diseases, infectious diseases, oncology, as well as support for pregnant women and psychological assistance.' The account warned Iranians interested in utilizing the services to contact them via a VPN for their own safety.
The Guardian
a minute ago
- The Guardian
Monday briefing: How automatic voter registration could redraw Britain's political map
Good morning. A 12-year-old today will be able to vote in the next general election, unless it's called early. When I first heard that, I laughed. No wonder there's so much focus on Labour's plan to lower the voting age to 16. But it's another reform that could have a far greater impact on who votes – and who wins. The government has announced plans to introduce automatic voter registration, or AVR, where people are added to the electoral roll using existing government data, such as tax or passport records. Right now, voters in the UK have to register themselves. It's a clunky and outdated system. One study recently the most difficult registration processes in any liberal democracy. The result is that millions of people fall through the cracks. In 2023, about 8 million UK adults weren't correctly registered to vote, according to the Electoral Commission. So what could AVR mean politically? How does it shift power in a significant way, for parties both on the right and the left? I spoke to Luke Tryl, director of the nonprofit organisation More in Common, to find out. Euro 2025 | In a stunning comeback, England won the Euros on penalties, beating Spain 3-1 in extra time. They were scored by Chloe Kelly, Niamh Charles and Alex Greenwood. Trade | Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen announced a US/EU trade deal after a meeting on Trump's golf course in Scotland. The deal involves a 15% baseline tariff for most EU exports to the US. Gaza | Keir Starmer will recall his cabinet for an emergency meeting on the Gaza crisis, as cross-party MPs warned his talks with Donald Trump provided a critical juncture in helping to resolve the conflict. Thailand and Cambodia | The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will meet in Malaysia today for talks to end a border conflict that has led to deadly military clashes and the displacement of 150,000 people. Health | Demand for weight loss drugs is becoming so 'unsustainable' that demand may soon outstrip supply, pharmacists have said, warning supply problems could encourage people to turn to unregulated online sources, despite the risks. The core case for automatic voter registration, beyond party politics, is simple: it expands the franchise. It ensures that as many eligible people as possible are actually able to vote. Tryl pointed out that certain groups are much less likely to be registered, which in turn deepens existing inequalities. Those most likely to be missing are younger people, renters, lower-income families, settled migrants, students and people from minority ethnic backgrounds. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) recently found a stark 19 percentage-point turnout gap between homeowners and renters. 'Those groups end up having a disproportionately lower electoral voice because they're not registered, and that has a real impact on policy,' he said. It's not just about democratic engagement. Who is in the voter pool clearly influences what decisions get made and who is ultimately elected, Tryl explained. He added that people in poorer communities often face a range of barriers, from time poverty and low awareness to disconnection from the political system and a lack of stable housing. Students, he said, may struggle with dual registration, while some migrants may not realise they're eligible to vote, or may not feel entitled to take part. How will it shift power? One of the biggest potential political impacts is on boundary changes. Registration rates vary between seats, Tryl said, so some MPs, especially in under-registered urban areas, are effectively representing far more people than others. And that's because constituency boundaries are based on the number of registered voters, not the number of eligible people. 'The difference in some seats can be tens of thousands of people,' he said. So where does this under-registration happen? 'It's mostly cities; places like Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, London. MPs in these inner-city areas are representing larger populations, but that's not reflected in boundary calculations. If legislation goes through and we assume more eligible voters are registered, those people will finally be counted,' he added. Simply put, Tryl explained, this would mean more representation, and more parliamentary seats in urban and student-heavy areas. But with the total number of seats in parliament fixed at 650, that shift would inevitably come at the expense of rural, more affluent constituencies. 'It's hard to argue against the principle of automatic registration, but the boundary changes could make rural constituencies, some of which are already geographically large, even bigger,' Tryl said. Who is set to benefit? The most obvious party set to benefit is Labour, which tends to perform better in urban and student-heavy areas. But Tryl tells me that others are also likely to gain from this change. 'The Greens tend to perform better in inner cities and student areas. Some of the inner-city areas that we're talking about are where the independents have done very well, in parts of Birmingham and potentially in parts of London,' Tryl said. 'The big losers are likely to be the Conservatives, who tend to represent more affluent, high-registration areas, and the Liberal Democrats, who've made gains in the so-called Blue walls – former Tory, leafy, affluent strongholds.' Last week, Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana formally launched a new political party, targeting the very inner-city seats likely to gain from automatic voter registration. Polling suggests the party could capture about 10% of the vote, potentially eating into Labour and Green support. Zack Polanski, who is running to be the next Green party leader, has already said he is open to working with any party willing to challenge Reform. This emerging 'Green-left' alliance could be pivotal in shaping the electoral map. On Friday, the group We Deserve Better, backed by the Guardian columnist Owen Jones, launched a campaign calling for a formal electoral pact between Corbyn and Sultana's party and the Greens. As for Reform UK, it's difficult to draw firm conclusions for now, Tryl said. But previous research (pdf) suggests the party's base is made up largely of older, non‑graduate, culturally conservative voters, many disillusioned with the Conservatives or drawn from the Brexit camp. Will this increase voter turnout? While this reform could have a far bigger effect on the electorate than extending the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds – there are about 1.5 million of them in the UK compared with an estimated eight million eligible voters who aren't registered – it is unlikely to lead to a dramatic surge in turnout, Tryl said. Voter turnout in UK general elections used to be consistently high, staying above 70% from 1945 right up until 1997, and even topping 80% in 1950 and 1951. But it had plunged to just 59.4% by the time Tony Blair secured his second term in 2001. Turnout did climb again between 2010 and 2019, yet it has never returned to 70%. In the most recent election in 2024, it slipped again, landing at 59.7%. 'I think that represents a wider democratic disillusionment and disengagement,' Tryl said, but added that there was public support for AVR. 'Forty-five per cent said they supported it, just 21% opposed. So it is more popular than allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote. But clearly that needs to go and sit alongside wider democratic engagement in a nonpartisan way.' People need to feel that voting matters. And, Tryl added: 'The fundamental challenge is too many people do not think that government is either willing, because they think politicians are only in it for themselves, and the system is rigged, or capable … to take on Britain's big challenges to bring about the change the country needs. When seven in 10 people say the country is getting worse, and the top word used to describe Britain is 'broken,' you've got overlapping crises: of trust, of exhaustion, of people feeling like they've lost control and agency. That is driving disengagement far more than the specifics of the democratic system.' The task for every party across the political spectrum in the coming years, Tryl said, is to prove that 'government can work and that it can be a force for good'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Four years ago, the Conservative MP David Amess was stabbed to death in his surgery by an Islamic State sympathiser. In a searing interview by Anna Moore, his daughter Katie (pictured above) expresses her pain at his violent death, and the government's refusal to hold an inquiry. Alex Needham, acting head of newsletters The University of Edinburgh played an 'outsized' role in the creation of racist scientific theories and greatly profited from transatlantic slavery. Brilliant reporting by my colleagues of a landmark inquiry into the university's history. Aamna Films and TV shows might be eschewing sex scenes, but literary fiction is going in the other direction, with Sally Rooney, Miranda July, Yael van der Wouden and others all writing recent novels that explicitly explore the sex lives of their protagonists. Why? Because sex, writes Lara Feigel, opens 'selfhood to otherness with extravagant force'. Alex Labour MP Chris Hinchliff was suspended for what No 10 called 'persistent knobheadery'. His crime? Pushing stronger environmental protections. He told the Guardian this language reflects 'a certain set of people … for whom it's all a personality thing, it's all a game'. Aamna In a piece of great tenderness and beauty, Poppy Noor writes about her son Mo Ibrahim Lingwood-Noor, who died in childbirth, and how she moved through the aftermath of this devastating event. Alex Cricket | India drew in the fourth test against England after Ravindra Jadeja (pictured above) and Washington Sundar both completed centuries. England lead the series 2-1. Cycling | Tadej Pogacar has sealed his fourth Tour de France victory in Paris after the final stage from Mantes-la-Ville to the Champs Élysées. The 26-year-old beat his closest rival, Jonas Vingegaard, by almost four and half minute Formula One | Oscar Piastri comfortably won the Belgium Grand Prix as rain lashed down on to the track. The 24-year-old Australian saw off his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. England's Euro victory dominates the front pages – with the Guardian labelling them 'Queens of Europe'. The Mirror has 'LionYESses', while the i also goes with 'Queens of Europe!' The Sun focuses on goalie Hannah Hampton with 'The Hann of God'. Elsewhere, the Times has 'Starmer to press Trump on Gaza'. The Financial Times reports 'Brussels accepts 15% US tariffs to fix 'unfair' trade relations, says Trump', and the Telegraph says 'Trump: Wind power is a 'con-job''. Finally, the Mail focuses on protests in Epping, with 'Now shut migrant protest hotel'. The hunt for the next Dalai Lama The Guardian's south Asia correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, and the Tibet activist Lhadon Tethong discuss the battle between Buddhist monks and the Chinese state over the successor to the Dalai Lama (pictured above). A bit of good news to remind you that the world's not all bad Despite not making the Belgium squad, footballer Yana Daniëls (pictured above) is making her own contribution to Euro 2025, handcrafting boxes for every player-of-the-match trophy in a converted Wirral garage, using locally sourced wood from Arrowe Park. After suffering from a career-threatening injury a decade ago, Daniëls was forced to plan ahead. She said, 'When you get older you start to realise: 'How long will I play on for? Will I need to find a normal job?' Daniëls' interest in carpentry developed through DIY requests from fellow teammates for the Liverpool changing rooms, including a table and a personalised shoe rack. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
Scotsman
30 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Investors need certainty to build the homes Scotland needs
We must unlock the investment that would deliver new housing, says Colin Brown Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... In May 2024, the Scottish Parliament declared a national 'housing emergency' with some councils also declaring a housing emergency in their areas. The announcement of the emergency came two months after the Scottish Government laid the Housing (Scotland) Bill before the Scottish Parliament. The Bill continues to work its way through Holyrood and is expected to come into force later this year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Observers in the world of institutional investment and those working in the sector have been watching the progress of the Bill with interest. Of particular concern to investors are proposals around rent controls. Colin Brown is a Partner at TLT To give one example that has occurred recently – a London-based investment firm, was about to commit many millions of pounds to its first Scottish investment before discovering that a committee considering the Bill had voted to include purpose-built student accommodation as subject to statutory rent controls. All of the financial appraisals the firm had undertaken in making the decision to invest in Scotland were potentially being ripped up by MSPs and they had no power to do anything about this. In this situation, the Scottish Government moved quickly to make clear it would not support rent control for purpose-built student accommodation. Whilst the project is now starting to come out of the ground it remains to be seen whether they consider Scotland a safe haven for future investment. The rental income which institutional investors derive from their investments in bricks and mortar helps to fund many individuals' pensions. The investors need to understand that in exchange for making their money available they will get a return on their investment and this return has generally been left to market forces – the law of supply and demand. The housing emergency should make investment in new build housing in Scotland a win-win. The country gets much-needed new housing to alleviate the emergency, and the investment funds get to deploy their capital to deliver housing and make a return on their investment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the UK in the first quarter of this year £1.2 billion was invested in private rental accommodation with the potential for £6bn to be invested by the end of the year. 76 per cent of this investment is being directed outside London, with Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds leading the way. Every penny of this investment creates new housing and sustains and creates job opportunities. The fact that Scotland has not been able to open the investment tap when cities in England are seeing private rental accommodation expand, could be seen as a missed opportunity. In launching the latest consultation, the Social Justice Secretary acknowledges that rental properties are a crucial element of the efforts to tackle the housing emergency. Government policy has slowed investment into the sector in recent years and resulted in lower investor confidence in providing much-needed housing. Rent caps and controls are of course not universally despised and a balance must be struck between protecting tenants and unlocking the investment that delivers the new housing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The latest consultation on exemptions for certain types of properties from rent control closed earlier this month. There will be investors with capital looking for a home waiting to see if the legislative and political environment in Scotland means they should be deploying more of this in Scotland or continuing to explore opportunities which guarantee a better return elsewhere.
