Latest news with #LGBT
The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- General
- The Guardian
Exit poll in Polish presidential run-off puts candidates neck and neck
An exit poll in Poland's crucial presidential run-off suggested the race is too close to call, giving a slight lead to the liberal contender, Rafał Trzaskowski, but with the difference between the two candidates within the margin of error. The poll by Ipsos Poland, released at 9pm local time (8pm BST) on Sunday as polls closed, put Trzaskowski, backed by the current government led by Donald Tusk, on 50.3%, with the rightwing contender Karol Nawrocki on 49.7%. The poll's margin of error was 2%. Despite the slim margin offered by the poll, Trzaskowski immediately appeared on stage in Warsaw to claim victory. 'We've won!' he announced to cheers from the crowd, before giving a victory speech thanking his family and supporters. In a speech at his own campaign headquarters, Nawrocki did not concede, saying he remained confident he would win when all the votes were counted. During a bitterly fought and often bad-tempered campaign, the two men have offered very different visions of Poland, and the result of the race will have enormous implications for the country's political future, given the president's ability to veto government legislation. Trzaskowski is the pro-European, progressive mayor of Warsaw, who supports the liberalisation of abortion laws and the introduction of civil partnerships for LGBT couples. Nawrocki, a historian and former amateur boxer, has firmly rejected these moves and would likely veto any moves to implement them if elected. The run-off came after neither candidate achieved more than 50% of votes in a crowded first-round vote two weeks ago. The winner will replace the outgoing president, Andrzej Duda, who will step down in August after completing two terms. Duda is a political ally of the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled Poland until Tusk's coalition won parliamentary elections in late 2023. Tusk's time as prime minister has been marked by difficulties bringing his broad coalition into line, but also by having an ideologically opposed president in office. While the presidential role is largely ceremonial, it does have some influence over foreign and defence policy, as well as the critical power to veto new legislation. This can only be overturned with a 60% majority in parliament, which Tusk's government does not have. Trzaskowski would smooth the way for Tusk to govern with intent, while a Nawrocki win would prolong the current deadlock, making it difficult for the government to pass any major reforms before the 2027 parliamentary election. 'Tusk knows the stakes and that if Nawrocki wins, he's got a lame-duck administration for the next couple of years. And it will be worse than with Duda as Nawrocki will come in fresh, with a new mandate from what effectively turned into a referendum on the government,' Prof Aleks Szczerbiak, who teaches east and central European politics at the University of Sussex, said. Trzaskowski, the Oxford-educated mayor of Warsaw since 2018, who previously held ministerial posts and served in the European parliament, has sought to project himself as a safe pair of hands to work with the government on implementing progressive reforms. However, he has had to defend himself against suggestions he is out-of-touch and elitist, and against allegations about foreign funding for online advertising promoting his candidacy. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Nawrocki, a historian and former museum director, has been head of the Institute of National Remembrance, a state research body often accused of peddling a politicised version of history, since 2021. During the campaign, a number of scandals about his alleged past conduct were aired in the media. In the final days of the campaign, both candidates sought to court voters of candidates knocked out in the first round and mobilise their supporters. 'This election could be decided by single votes,' Nawrocki told a rally of supporters last week. Trzaskowski also said every vote would be crucial. 'Encourage everyone, so that as many Poles as possible vote in the presidential election,' he told a rally on Friday. A high turnout in the parliamentary vote in 2023, especially among younger urban Poles, was seen as crucial to securing victory for Tusk's coalition.
The Star
20 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Pro-EU and MAGA visions clash in Poland's closely fought presidential runoff
WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland holds a knife-edge presidential election on Sunday which will determine whether the largest country in the European Union's eastern wing cements its place in the bloc's mainstream or turns towards MAGA-style nationalism. Turnout holds the key to the contest between Rafal Trzaskowski of ruling centrists Civic Coalition (KO), who holds a narrow lead, and Karol Nawrocki, backed by nationalists Law and Justice (PiS). Parliament holds most power in Poland but the president can veto legislation so the vote is being watched closely in neighbouring Ukraine, as well as in Russia, the U.S. and across the EU. Both candidates agree on the need to spend heavily on defence, as U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding from Europe, and to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia's three-year-old invasion. But while Trzaskowski sees Ukraine's future membership of NATO as essential for Poland's security, Nawrocki has recently said he would not ratify it as president as this could draw the alliance into a war with Russia. Trzaskowski says strong relations with both Brussels and Washington are essential for Poland's security, but Nawrocki, who met Trump in the White House in May, prioritises relations with the United States. If Nawrocki wins, he is likely to follow a similar path to President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally who has used his veto power to block the government's efforts to undo the previous PiS administration's judicial reforms which the EU says undermined the independence of the courts. Coming around a year-and-a half since Prime Minister Donald Tusk took office, the vote provides the stiffest test yet of support for his broad coalition government, with Nawrocki presenting the ballot as a referendum on its actions. Voting begins at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and is due to end at 9 p.m., with exit polls published soon afterwards. The electoral commission says it hopes final results will be announced on Monday morning or early afternoon. Opinion polls show that the difference between the candidates is within the margin of error. In 2023, huge queues outside polling stations in large cities forced some to stay open later than planned. Analysts said that high participation by younger, liberal, urban Poles was crucial in securing a majority for Tusk. Trzaskowski is hoping that such scenes will be repeated on Sunday. "Encourage everyone, so that as many Poles as possible vote in the presidential election," he told a rally in Wloclawek, central Poland, on Friday. Nawrocki, who draws inspiration from United States President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, told supporters in Biala Podlaska in the country's east that "these elections could be decided by single votes". SOCIAL ISSUES The two candidates also differ on social issues, with Trzaskowski favouring the liberalisation of abortion laws and introduction of civil partnerships for LGBT couples, while Nawrocki says predominantly Catholic Poland should reject such moves. The first round of the election on May 18 saw a surge in support for the anti-establishment far-right, suggesting that the KO-PiS duopoly that has dominated Polish politics for a generation may be starting to fracture. Nevertheless, after a tumultuous campaign in which Nawrocki in particular faced a slew of negative media reports about his alleged past conduct, once again candidates representing the two main parties are facing off in the second round. PiS has traditionally enjoyed high support in small towns and rural areas, especially in the south and east. These areas are typically more socially conservative than larger cities and poorer, creating a sense of exclusion that PiS has tapped into. "They want to build a Poland for the elites," Nawrocki told voters in Biala Podlaska, referring to his opponents from KO. "I am simply one of you, I am a citizen of the Polish state who has travelled a long road to be able to today face a person who is the creation of a political laboratory!" KO, meanwhile, campaigns on a pro-European centrist agenda that appeals to more liberal-minded Poles who mainly live in cities or bigger towns. Trzaskowski took heart from the turnout at a rally in Ciechanow, central Poland. "Looking at this mobilisation, I see how much hope you have - hope in a future in which Poland plays a leading role in the European Union," he said. (Reporting by Alan Charlish; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
New York Post
a day ago
- Business
- New York Post
DOGE started the war on waste —now it's up to Congress to keep it going
As Elon Musk steps back from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency, making the savings his team found stick is now in Congress's hands. DOGE's crack team of mostly young techies shined a light on surreal instances of fraud and waste— from the literal mine where all federal government employee resignations are processed by hand to millions of dollars in fake unemployment claims filed with birth dates 15 years in the future. But for all of the fanfare, outrage, and outright hysteria over DOGE's supposedly drastic measures, the department's actual power was limited to mostly cancelling grants and contracts, which put a major cap on how much in savings could actually be realized. Much of the discretionary spending it lined up for the chopping block was approved by Congress, and Congress alone can decide its fate. Republicans make sure that DOGE's efforts aren't fruitless, and should, as quickly as possible. First, pass the $9.4 billion 'rescissions package' that the White House plans to deliver to the House on Tuesday, which will claw back $8.3 billion in foreign aid from the African Development Foundation and the US Agency for International Development. USAID, which Team Trump has near-totally dismantled, absolutely deserves such a slash: It bankrolled a mess of beyond-parody projects, like sending terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki to college and improving LGBT workplace inclusion in Serbia. The package will also yank $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees PBS and NPR. NPR and PBS long ago abandoned their role as nonpartisan public resources; both should have to rely on the non-government funding they insist dwarfs what the feds now provide. House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to bring the package to the floor pronto and get it passed; the Senate should follow suit. But $9.4 billion is barely a drop in the bucket of the $1.9 trillion deficit, and far below the $175 billion in savings that DOGE touts on its website — a figure that represents more than $1,000 per US taxpayer if Congress can keep following up. That means the recessions package can only be the start: The next round of federal budgeting must aim to translate the majority of the DOGE savings into law, over the screams of special interests and other feeders at the federal trough, Democratic distortions amplified by the lefty media, and the fears of weaker-willed Republicans. Once agencies get used to their bloated budgets, wrenching money (no matter how ill-spent) back is an exercise in teeth-pulling; expect a lot of kicking and screaming. Though Musk won't be as hands-on at DOGE, the department's work isn't over; much of the team he hired will stick around, battling the fund-sucking bureaucracy. Some DOGE employees have been embedded into permanent roles at other agencies to keep on cutting waste, such as Jeremy Lewin at the State Department, and Stephanie Holmes and Tyler Hassen at the Interior. Musk didn't hit the (always unlikely) $2 trillion-in-savings goal he had on Day 1 of DOGE, but the effort drew crucial attention to Uncle Sam's incomparable talent for misspending taxpayer money. The cat is out of the bag; as voters long suspected, the feds are taking way more money than they need. DOGE started the war on waste; now it's up to Republicans in Congress to finish the job.
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Hate crime probe launched after pride decorations removed in Scots town
Cops are urging anyone with information to get in touch COPS have launched a hate crime probe after yobs ripped down Gay Pride decorations. Officers were made aware that overnight rainbow coloured LGBT flags had been removed on the Isle of Arran. Advertisement 1 Isle of Arran cops are hunting down yobs who 'commited a hate crime' Credit: Alamy One furious local said: "It's an absolute disgrace and so disrespectful, I hope they catch the people who are responsible." Police are urging anyone with information to get in touch. Sergeant Clare Neilson, Arran Police Office, said: "We are taking this very seriously and are following positive lines of enquiry. "If anyone has any information or saw people acting suspiciously, get in touch. Advertisement "Anyone with private CCTV or dash-cam footage should check to see if they captured anything." The Pride march kicks off from the Brodick Port Carpark and boasts a string of activities. Revellers can enjoy food, drink and live music, plus a ceilidh and other local activities. Michael Gettins, Chair of Arran Pride, said : "[Last year] was so fantastic that the Committee decided to do it all again. Advertisement "This year we will have even more noise, even more colour and much, much more fun. "We look forward to welcoming family, friends and our allies to celebrate again with us." Elsewhere cops have launched a mystery death probe after human remains were discovered. Officers were summoned this morning to Motherwell, Lanarkshire following reports of a human corpse. Advertisement Cops are urging members of the public to avoid the scene as they comb the area for clues. The town's Calder Road area has been locked down and a police presence will be visible. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "The death is being treated as unexplained and extensive enquiries are ongoing."
Barnama
a day ago
- Politics
- Barnama
Police Investigate Organisation Of LGBTProgramme In Petaling Jaya
SHAH ALAM, May 31 (Bernama) -- Police are investigating the attempt to organise a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) programme believed to be taking place in Petaling Jaya on June 21. Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said his team had detected a post on social media believed to be made by the youth wing of a political party planning to organise the programme. He said so far, his team had received 21 police reports lodged at 11 district police headquarters by non-governmental organisaitons (NGOs) and the public opposing the organisation of this event. "Investigations are being conducted under Section 298A of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 by the Classified Crime Investigation Unit (USJT) of the Criminal Investigation Department (JSJ) Bukit Aman," he said in a statement today. Hussein also reminded the public and any individuals not to participate in the programme, which is seen as exceeding the sensitivity of the people and violating the country's laws that do not support any form of LGBT practices within the country. He also said that any party that remains adamant can be subjected to strict action through legal provisions such as Section 298A of the Penal Code, Section 505(c) of the Penal Code, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. "The police will continue to monitor this development and take appropriate action to ensure public order and to comply with the country's laws," he added. -- BERNAMA
