News Round-Up

• “Far Right National Rally win first round of elections in France with leader Marine Le Pen declaring President Macron’s alliance was ‘almost wiped out’ as it is forced into third” – Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won the first round of legislative elections in France yesterday, leaving incumbent president Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in third place, reports the Mail.
• “Marine Le Pen’s hard-right party humiliates Macron in French polls” – The National Rally is on course to take 33% of votes in first round of France’s parliamentary election, according to the Times.
• “French elections: far right on course for first round victory. What happens now?” – The Guardian explains what happens in round two of the French parliamentary election – in essence, if no candidate in a constituency polled more than 50% of the votes cast, any candidate who received less than 12.5% is eliminated and a second ballot is held on July 7th.
• “Boris Johnson urged to hit campaign trail in Clacton to help beat Nigel Farage” – Boris Johnson has been urged to hit the campaign trail in Clacton ahead of the General Election to help beat Nigel Farage and clear the way for a political comeback, reports the Express.
• “Starmer hopes July will be wet to reduce number of Channel crossings” – Keir Starmer will be hoping that the start of next month is unseasonably wet – to reduce the chance of his likely premiership being torpedoed by rows over his migrant policy, write Dan Hodges and Glen Owen in the Mail.
• “‘Nigel Farage is today’s Julius Caesar’” – Classical historian Mary Beard says that populism has always been fuelled by “dissatisfaction and discontent”, according to the Telegraph. Comparing Farage to Julius Caesar is meant to be a smear, but it’s not a very well-chosen one.
• “Tory Remainers are the authors of their party’s defeat” – Just as Europe recognises the costs of the EU, we’re about to make a terrible mistake, says Robert Tombs in the Telegraph.
• “Italian study showing a reduction in life expectancy with increased Covid vaccination has been published” – A recent Italian study shows that, when health and age confounders are accounted for, the single and double doses of the vaccine have a detectable and negative effect on all cause mortality, write Profs. Norman Fenton and Martin Neil on their Substack.
• “Summer Covid wave ‘building’ after rise in hospital admissions” – Scientists say that a summer Covid wave is “building” following a rise in hospital admissions amid the emergence of the new ‘FLiRT’ variants, reports the Telegraph. 
• “Thousands of heart patients are dying due to waiting for specialists” – A new study shows most patients who see their GP with heart failure symptoms, such as breathlessness, extreme fatigue and swollen ankles, wait at least a year to get a diagnosis, says the Mail.
• “Keir Starmer’s Gaza’s stance could cost party in the General Election” – A Muslim backlash against Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza could cost the party key seats this week, according to the Mail.
• “No, Israel is not starving the people of Gaza” – There’s more food in Gaza now than when Hamas was in charge, says Jake Wallis Simons in the Telegraph.
• “‘The keffiyeh isn’t a fashion statement. To me, it’s a symbol of hatred’” – The Telegraph’s Zoe Strimpel explains why she has no time for the keffiyeh.
• “Enfranchising 16 year-olds is vote rigging” – Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner can wax lyrical all they like about the virtues of giving children the right to vote, but we all know the game they’re playing, says Esther McVey in the Mail.
• “The Netherlands stung savers with 100% tax rates – and now owes them billions” – A Dutch Supreme Court decision serves as a warning for other countries seeking to raise revenue from taxes on savings and investments, reports the Telegraph. 
• “Bin Laden aide says he wants to mentor British Muslim children” – A former aide to Osama Bin Laden says he is keen to mentor British Muslim children after spending 20 years in jail for his involvement in terror attacks, according to the Mail.
• “Biden ‘will discuss major decision with family’ after debate disaster” – Joe Biden is set to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with his family at Camp David, says the Mail.
• “White House photographer says aides knew for months Biden wasn’t fit for office” – After Joe Biden’s horrendous debate performance, current and former aides are saying the quiet part out loud and revealing what the President is like behind the scenes, writes Katelyn Caralle in the Mail.
• “Democrat insiders reveal Joe Biden was set up to fail in a ‘soft coup’” – Sources tell the Mail on Sunday that Biden was deliberately set up to fail in his recent debate with Donald Trump. Is it all part of a plan to replace him with Michelle Obama?
• “Cock-up or conspiracy? Thoughts on Joe Biden’s spectacular debate failure and whether it reflects a deliberate takedown by rivals in his own party” – On Substack, Eugyppius considers the theory that we’re witnessing the deliberate destruction of Biden’s candidacy by forces in his own party.
• “Wimbledon hires thousands of security guards to prevent protesters” – Wimbledon is braced for a series of protests, with eco-zealots and pro-Palestinian activists set to target the tennis championships, reports the Mail.
• “Just Stop Oil activist is arrested and dragged out of her home” – The Mail has dramatic footage of a Just Stop Oil activist being carried by her arms and legs, as police arrested her on suspicion of plotting to disrupt U.K. airports.
• “‘My electric car has been soul-destroying – I can’t wait to go back to petrol’” – Telegraph readers pull the plug on EVs as range anxiety and charger woes worsen.
• “Falkland Islands eyes economic boom in talks to exploit huge oil field” – The Falkland Islands has opened the door to oil exploration in its waters for the first time in history in a move that could trigger an economic boom for locals, reports the Telegraph.
• “Almost half of Labour voters are in step with Tories on gender laws” – A new poll suggests that even Labour voters are not convinced by the Party’s stance on sex and gender, according to the Mail.
• “Audiences attending the Slave Play are offered ‘self care tips’” – Theatre-goers attending Slave Play in London’s West End are being offered “self-care” tips to help them cope with the production’s plot and sexually explicit themes, reports the Mail.
• “Glastonbury is thrown into chaos as hundreds sneak in for just £50” – Hundreds of people have snuck into Glastonbury by vaulting the fences – causing stages to be shut down from overcrowding and people to panic from the crush, according to the Mail. So much for the crowd’s support for open borders.
• “Google’s Jigsaw expands efforts to combat online ‘toxicity’ and invest in censorship tools” – A new Google initiative has been launched to “identify and mitigate toxicity that frequently reduces participation in online debates”. What could possibly go wrong? asks Didi Rankovic in Reclaim The Net.
• “Muslim entrepreneur and former Tory Zia Yusuf just gave THE SPEECH of this election campaign for Reform UK” – Dan Wootton clips a speech by Zia Yusuf at a Reform rally, which he and others think heralds the arrival of a new political star.

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