Texas Democrat James Talarico faces grilling from voters at town hall in tight Senate race 15. October 2026 (05:08) Talarico casts himself as a moderate who would put Texans’ needs over party allegiances amid close contest against Republican Ken PaxtonJames Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, sat face to face with several undecided voters who grilled him on a slew of contentious issues including Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, during a CNN town hall on Wednesday evening.One voter, a devout small business owner, questioned the authenticity of Talarico’s faith, referencing a past remark where he described God as nonbinary. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brazil cuts work week to 40 hours in win for Lula ahead of runoff 15. October 2026 (04:45) Congress approves constitutional amendment that bans six-day workweeks, which could effect up to 30 million Brazil’s congress has approved a constitutional amendment to shorten the working week to a maximum of 40 hours, a move that could affect 30 million workers and that will hand a political victory to the leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the presidential runoff in under two weeks.In an attempt to overturn the first-round lead secured by his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula has strongly championed the amendment, which will give some workers an extra day off each week. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senior Victorian public servants hid loss of up to $285m from Covid grants given to ineligible businesses 15. October 2026 (04:39) Whistleblowers applauded as Ibac finds ‘decisions were made to withhold information about the magnitude of the loss’Senior public servants in one state covered up losses suspected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars arising from flawed Covid-19 business support payments, an investigation has found.During the pandemic, the Victorian government spent an estimated $257m on support grants to 9,000 ineligible businesses.Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updates Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labor and Coalition block bill that would ban incarcerated women being shackled in childbirth 15. October 2026 (02:22) Liberal Paul Scarr breaks ranks to condemn major parties, saying he will write to Queensland attorney general Labor and the Coalition have blocked a vote on a bill that would have banned the shackling of incarcerated women during childbirth, with the government saying it was the responsibility of the states and territories.Independent senator Lidia Thorpe introduced the bills into the Senate, which would prevent shackling and stop children being strip-searched. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
As One Nation rises, Victorian Labor has promised to make abortions free. Is the timing pure politics? 15. October 2026 (02:17) Facing the prospect of election defeat, Labor is hoping to make abortion a defining issue as the Liberals attempt to stave off claims they would oversee a rollbackFollow our Australian politics live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastVictorian Labor’s plan to make abortion free has been years in the making. But make no mistake: the timing of the announcement is pure politics.On Thursday morning, the state’s health minister, Ingrid Stitt, announced if re-elected in November, Labor would invest $30m over four years to remove the out-of-pocket cost of abortion care, which can quickly add up to more than $1,000.Benita Kolovos is Guardian Australia’s Victorian state correspondent Continue reading...(The Guardian)
