Global Pulse

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  • Australians paying $10m a day in interest on soaring credit card debt

    Australians paying $10m a day in interest on soaring credit card debt

    Australian households are facing growing financial pressure amid a soaring national credit card debt crisis, with fresh data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) laying bare the scale of the burden now weighing on family budgets. The central bank’s latest figures show that consumers added an additional $1.1 billion in credit card charges during May, pushing the month’s total national credit card spending to $29.9 billion.

    In a striking shift that signals growing cost-of-living stress, debit card transactions – where consumers draw on their own savings rather than borrowed money – dipped by $11 million to $59.6 billion over the same period. Most alarmingly, RBA data confirms that the total stock of interest-accruing credit card debt held by Australians now sits at $19.4 billion, a sum so large that the collective daily interest bill already outpaces the annual earnings of many full-time workers across the country.

    Sally Tindall, director of data insights at financial comparison platform Canstar, explained that more and more households are turning to credit cards as a temporary buffer to cover ongoing essential expenses, as wage growth fails to keep pace with rising inflation and living costs. At the current trajectory, Tindall calculated that Australian borrowers collectively pay an estimated $10 million in credit card interest every single day.

    “That’s money that could otherwise be going towards savings, paying down a mortgage or simply helping with everyday living costs,” Tindall noted. The financial analyst warned that the situation could rapidly worsen if borrowers continue to build up balances: if consumers maxed out their current credit limits and carried those balances forward, the collective daily interest cost would surge from $10 million to roughly $55 million at the current national average interest rate of 18.61%.

    Tindall stressed that credit cards are not inherently problematic – they can serve as a helpful financial management tool for households that pay off their full balance before the due date each billing cycle. The risk emerges when routine monthly spending rolls over into long-term debt, which accumulates interest at the steep average rate that eats away at household disposable income.

    To avoid long-term financial strain, Tindall encouraged Australian borrowers to target a zero credit card balance each month. She added that while most consumers have not yet reached their credit limits, that fact should not be interpreted as permission to keep increasing spending. “Just because your bank has approved you for up to a certain amount, doesn’t make it a good idea to hit that number,” she said, warning that persistent high-interest credit card debt can push already vulnerable households deeper into financial instability.

  • Nigel Farage resigns as MP to force by-election he will stand in

    Nigel Farage resigns as MP to force by-election he will stand in

    In a dramatic Tuesday press conference broadcast live from central London, senior British right-wing political figure Nigel Farage announced his immediate resignation as the Member of Parliament for Clacton — and immediately confirmed he would run in the resulting by-election, casting the move as a stand against what he calls a coordinated smear campaign by the UK political establishment and national media.

    Farage’s resignation comes on the heels of two successive damaging revelations published by *The Sunday Times*, which have opened new ethical and regulatory probes into the Reform UK leader’s financial ties. First, the outlet reported earlier this month that British-Thai crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne donated £5 million to Farage personally in early 2024, just months before Farage won the Clacton seat in a general election. Now, a second follow-up investigation revealed that 32-year-old convicted aristocrat George Cottrell — who the paper describes as Farage’s closest personal advisor for more than a decade — covered the cost of Farage’s personal security and social media team in the 12 months leading up to Farage’s election to the House of Commons.

    Cottrell, a self-described crypto gambler nicknamed “Posh George,” has a criminal record: he previously faced up to 20 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to 21 charges including money laundering, fraud, blackmail and extortion. He has accompanied Farage on official trips around the UK and across Westminster, the *Sunday Times* confirmed. He is also linked to Harborne through Tether.bet, an online casino and bookmaker that issues its own digital token, in which Harborne holds a partial ownership stake.

    The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is already conducting an official inquiry into whether Farage violated parliamentary rules of conduct by failing to properly declare Harborne’s £5 million donation. Farage confirmed Tuesday that a second separate investigation into the Cottrell payments has now been launched in response to the latest *Sunday Times* reporting. Under House of Commons procedural rules, an ongoing standards investigation is paused if a sitting MP resigns — but the inquiry can be immediately reactivated if the MP wins re-election.

    In fiery remarks from the press conference podium, Farage denied any wrongdoing, framing the revelations as an unfair attack by his political and media opponents. “The establishment has decided they can’t beat us fairly. They’ve chosen to use foul means,” Farage told reporters. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve not broken the law in any way. I’ve not misused public money. My personal MP expenses are zero.”

    A former commodities trader who left the finance sector decades ago to lead the Brexit campaign, Farage pushed back against criticism of his outside income, arguing that political leaders should not be barred from earning money outside of parliament. “Britain’s political and media class seem to fundamentally object to any MP who has outside income,” he said. “Making money is not a crime. I gave up my former job in finance at a huge cost to fight for Brexit, and came out of that decades-long fight with very little money. Since then, I have earned income through work as a broadcaster and social media influencer, and that is entirely legitimate.” He described Harborne’s £5 million donation as a “large personal gift” and a “lottery win,” asking reporters, “Do we want leaders that know how to make money?”

    Farage cited the recent publication of details of his multi-million pound property portfolio — including a home owned by his daughter that was featured in an article in *The Times* — as the “final straw” that pushed him to resign. “I’ve never been angrier in my life,” he said of the coordinated coverage from *The Times*, *Sunday Times* and Sky News. Notably, both *The Times* and *Sunday Times* are owned by News Corp, the media company controlled by the Murdoch family. Farage has previously praised 95-year-old Rupert Murdoch as a “remarkable bloke” and “very good man,” and the pair were photographed celebrating together at a garden party shortly after the 2016 Brexit referendum, where both were reported to be in an ecstatic mood.

    Farage also claimed he has been the target of repeated threats, recalling one recent incident where he was forced to flee his local pub by a hostile crowd that later damaged his car. Critics of the Reform UK leader have previously linked his inflammatory rhetoric to a rise in violent far-right protests across the UK and Northern Ireland, where far-right demonstrators have targeted care workers and migrant communities in violent attacks.

    Rupert Lowe, a former Reform UK MP who now leads the rival right-wing party Restore, rejected Farage’s framing of the controversy, saying the MP was clearly aware he was required to declare Harborne’s donation to parliamentary authorities. “He should have declared that five million pounds. He knows it. We all know it,” Lowe told reporters. “Now he is going to weaponise a by-election to distract from that… Will Farage fund it out of his own pocket? Because he bloody well should.”

  • Switzerland and Colombia scoreless at the half as both teams vie for spot in World Cup quarterfinals

    Switzerland and Colombia scoreless at the half as both teams vie for spot in World Cup quarterfinals

    In a tightly contested World Cup round of 16 clash at Vancouver’s British Columbia venue on Tuesday, Switzerland and Colombia headed into the halftime break deadlocked at 0-0, with a coveted quarterfinal berth hanging in the balance for both sides. The winner of this knockout matchup is set to take on tournament defending champions Argentina this coming Saturday at Kansas City, Missouri’s Arrowhead Stadium, setting the stage for a potential high-stakes clash with the reigning titleholders. For Switzerland, the occasion carries significant historical weight: the European side has not advanced to a World Cup quarterfinal since they hosted the global tournament back in 1954, marking a nearly 70-year drought for the nation. Compounding their challenge on Tuesday, the Swiss were forced to play down a key player, starting midfielder Johan Manzambi, who suffered an injury during a training session the day prior and was sidelined for the knockout fixture. Colombia, by comparison, has more recent experience in the late stages of men’s World Cup competition: the South American side advanced to the quarterfinals during the 2014 tournament hosted by Brazil, before ultimately falling to the host nation in their knockout clash. The first genuine scoring opportunity of the opening half went Colombia’s way in the 21st minute, when midfielder Gustavo Puerta uncorked a long-range effort that was parried away by Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to keep the match scoreless. Switzerland responded with their own dangerous chance nine minutes later, when Fabian Reider fired a powerful strike on goal, which Colombia goalkeeper Camilo Vargas punched down to prevent a breakthrough. Just minutes after that stop, Vargas was called into action again, smothering a close-range attempt from Swiss winger Dan Ndoye to preserve the stalemate heading into the halftime locker room. With 45 minutes of regulation (plus extra time and penalties if needed) still to play, both sides remain locked in a battle to keep their World Cup title hopes alive and advance to face Argentina.

  • Tears of relief? Messi adds another incredible chapter to World Cup career

    Tears of relief? Messi adds another incredible chapter to World Cup career

    The 2026 FIFA World Cup has already delivered its most dramatic contest, a clash that will be remembered as one of the tournament’s greatest underdog comebacks, as an aging but indefatigable Lionel Messi steered defending champions Argentina to a stunning 3-2 victory over Egypt at Atlanta Stadium. When the final whistle blew, the football icon stood center pitch, overcome with tears, collapsing into the arms of his teammates after scripting another legendary chapter in his already unparalleled career.

    With less than 20 minutes remaining on the clock, giant screens inside the stadium captured a look of uncharacteristic despair on Messi’s face. Egypt held a comfortable 2-0 lead, and elimination seemed all but certain for Argentina – a fate that would have mirrored the emotional World Cup exit endured by Messi’s contemporary Cristiano Ronaldo just days earlier, when Portugal fell to Spain in stoppage time. But this Argentina side, forged in the fire of championship glory, refused to accept defeat. Over a staggering 14 minutes, they rattled off three unanswered goals to pull off one of the most remarkable turnarounds in World Cup history.

    At 39, Messi no longer dominates matches with the blistering pace that defined his peak. He conserves his energy, picks his moments, and relies on the razor-sharp footballing intelligence that has made him a generational talent. Even when his penalty was saved by Egypt’s inspired goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the first half – marking the second penalty miss of this tournament for Messi, making him the only player in World Cup history to miss two non-shootout penalties in a single edition – the legend never wavered.

    Egypt had put in a near-perfect performance to that point. Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring in the first half, and Mostafa Zico doubled their advantage after an earlier goal was disallowed by VAR for a foul far from the attacking box. Shobeir’s heroic stop from the spot kept Argentina off the board, and Egypt was on the cusp of pulling off one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.

    That all changed with 11 minutes left on the clock. Messi delivered a pinpoint cross that Cristiano Romero nodded home, giving Argentina a flicker of hope. Just over four minutes later, Messi struck a blistering left-footed shot that cannoned off the crossbar and past Shobeir to level the score. In stoppage time, Enzo Fernandez headed home the winning goal, breaking Egyptian hearts and sending Argentina through to the quarter-finals.

    In the chaotic celebrations that followed, Messi’s teammates lifted their talisman high above their heads, while jubilant Argentine fans stayed in the stands long after the final whistle, singing their team’s anthems to a thundering drumbeat. That collective sacrifice from the side, the hard work off the ball and the willingness to play to their captain’s strengths, has been the backbone of Argentina’s run. As former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, put it: “That was incredible. Spectacular. Argentina were down and out. They were out of the tournament at one point. Egypt are so frustrated with the refereeing decisions that have gone against them… Then Lionel Messi just stepped in and took over. Beautiful assist, great finish for his goal, and then the substitutions worked for Argentina.”

    The result also reshapes the tournament path for England, who had been gearing up for a potential semi-final clash with Egypt if the underdogs held on. Instead, England now faces the prospect of a meeting with Messi and Argentina in the semi-finals, should they get past Norway in the quarter-finals. Even at 39, Messi casts an intimidating shadow over any opponent, as Egypt learned the hard way.

    This tournament has already cemented another set of historic milestones for Messi. He became the first player in World Cup history to score in six consecutive knockout matches, and currently sits on eight goals at this 2026 tournament – the highest tally by any player through the first five matches of a World Cup since Gerd Muller scored 10 for West Germany at the 1970 Mexico edition. Across his last nine World Cup outings, Messi has now contributed directly to 16 goals: 13 goals and three assists, a run of form that has England bracing for a potential high-stakes meeting with the legend.

    Head coach Lionel Scaloni’s side are far from a one-man team, however. They blend attacking flair with defensive steel, anchored by a refusal to accept defeat that carried them through a 3-2 scare against Cape Verde in the knockout round opener. Statistics underscore just how unlikely this comeback was: Opta data gave Argentina just a 0.6% win probability when Romero scored their opening goal, making this the latest any side has come from two goals down to win a 90-minute World Cup match in tournament history.

    Amid a tournament already packed with dramatic contests, including England’s 3-2 thriller against Mexico at the Azteca, this matchup between Argentina and Egypt has emerged as the frontrunner for the best game of the 2026 World Cup so far. For Messi, the tears after the final whistle were a reminder that even after more than two decades at the top of global football, the emotion of the World Cup still hits as hard as ever. Now, the champion prepares for his next challenge: a quarter-final clash against the winner of the Switzerland vs Colombia match, with history still within his reach.

  • Watch: Marine Le Pen confirms run for French presidency

    Watch: Marine Le Pen confirms run for French presidency

    In a political development that has sent ripples across France’s electoral landscape, Marine Le Pen, the long-serving leader of the National Rally party, has formally confirmed her bid for the French presidency in the upcoming 2027 election. The announcement came alongside a second key revelation: Le Pen revealed she intends to launch an appeal against a recent conviction on charges of embezzling public funds.

    Le Pen, a polarizing but enduring figure in French politics who has already run for the presidency twice before, first reached the runoff round of the 2017 election before falling to Emmanuel Macron, and repeated that performance in 2022, losing again to the incumbent centrist president. Her decision to launch a third bid solidifies the National Rally’s position as the primary opposition force to Macron’s centrist agenda, and sets the stage for another bitter ideological battle over the future of France’s economy, immigration policy, and role in the European Union.

    The legal cloud hanging over Le Pen stems from a 2024 conviction in a years-long investigation into alleged misuse of European Parliament funds by National Rally lawmakers. The court found Le Pen guilty of siphoning approximately €4.6 million in public money to pay fake party staffers between 2004 and 2017, handing down a four-year suspended prison sentence, a €100,000 fine, and a five-year ban from holding public office. That ban, if upheld on appeal, would bar Le Pen from taking office even if she won the presidential election.

    Speaking to supporters and reporters following the announcement, Le Pen framed the conviction as a politically motivated attack by establishment forces designed to block her path to the presidency, echoing longstanding claims from the National Rally that the French judicial system is biased against right-wing populist candidates. She emphasized that clearing her name through the appeal process is a critical precursor to her presidential campaign, noting that she has full confidence in the French appellate system to correct what she calls a miscarriage of justice.

    Political analysts note that Le Pen’s announcement reshapes the French electoral timeline ahead of 2027, forcing rival parties on both the left and right to adjust their campaign strategies to account for a third Le Pen candidacy. Her persistent popularity among working-class and rural French voters, paired with widespread discontent with Macron’s economic and immigration policies, has positioned the National Rally as a formidable contender in the upcoming race, even with the ongoing legal challenge.

  • New video shows man believed to be Tyler Robinson before Charlie Kirk shooting

    New video shows man believed to be Tyler Robinson before Charlie Kirk shooting

    On the second day of preliminary court proceedings tied to the attempted shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, investigators have released never-before-seen surveillance footage that prosecutors identify as showing the prime suspect, Tyler Robinson, moving through a downtown parking structure before the alleged incident. The grainy but clear clip captures a figure matching Robinson’s description moving through multiple levels of the garage before climbing onto an adjacent rooftop and sprinting across its surface, according to law enforcement officials testifying during the hearing. This new visual evidence comes as prosecutors build their case against Robinson, who stands accused of plotting to assassinate Kirk during a public speaking event earlier this year. Legal analysts note that the footage provides critical context for establishing the suspect’s movements in the hours leading up to the alleged attack, helping investigators confirm timeline details that align with witness statements and other evidence collected at the scene. The preliminary hearing is ongoing, with more evidence expected to be presented in the coming days as the judge determines whether there is probable cause to move the case to a full trial. The alleged plot against Kirk, a high-profile conservative figure who frequently speaks on college campuses across the United States, sparked renewed debate around political violence and security for public commentators ahead of the 2024 election cycle.

  • Presidency bid while continuing court fight a gamble for Le Pen

    Presidency bid while continuing court fight a gamble for Le Pen

    Marine Le Pen, the president of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, has placed a bold and calculated bet on overlapping legal and political paths as she prepares for a 2027 presidential run, a move that carries both substantial potential upside and major looming risks.

    The sequence of events began when a French regional appeal court delivered a ruling that effectively lifted a ban barring Le Pen from holding public office – a ruling that cleared a major obstacle for her presidential candidacy. Despite this outcome, Le Pen has rejected ending the legal process here, opting instead to escalate her case to France’s highest court of appeal, the Court of Cassation.

    Her decision rests on two core arguments: she has maintained her innocence despite two lower courts already finding her guilty of the charges against her, and she frames the continued appeal as a matter of principle. Le Pen says she cannot stand before French voters with a permanent criminal conviction on her record. By taking the case to the Court of Cassation, Le Pen gains a key legal benefit: her conviction is automatically suspended under French law, and she is legally presumed innocent until the high court issues a final ruling.

    The trade-offs of this strategy are stark. If Le Pen had accepted the appeal court’s ruling this Tuesday, her opponents would almost certainly have framed her acceptance as a quiet admission of guilt, a line of attack they would have weaponized extensively throughout the election campaign. That path, however, would have allowed her to proceed with a largely conventional campaign: while the appeal court’s sentence required her to wear an electronic ankle monitoring tag for 12 months, standard sentence reductions for good behavior would likely have cut that term to just a few months – ending well before official campaign activities ramp up in 2027.

    By choosing to escalate, the ankle tag requirement is immediately put on hold, removing that public and symbolic liability for now. But the new risk is severe. If the Court of Cassation chooses to expedite its review and upholds the lower court’s conviction as early as January 2027, Le Pen would be required to begin serving the ankle tag sentence immediately – right as her presidential campaign enters its most critical, high-visibility phase.

    Political analysts broadly suspect that Le Pen and her RN legal team are banking on drawing out the appellate process for months, delaying a final ruling until after the presidential election takes place. If Le Pen wins the presidency, she would gain immediate presidential immunity from criminal proceedings, meaning she would not have to serve any part of the sentence until she leaves office – effectively achieving her goal of avoiding punishment before the vote.

    This plan, however, relies entirely on the Court of Cassation moving at its traditionally slow, deliberate pace. A critical unknown remains: what if the high court’s judges conclude that the RN is deliberately manipulating the legal timeline for political gain? In that scenario, they could choose to prioritize the case and issue a quick ruling that would throw Le Pen’s campaign into chaos just as it gains momentum. What looks like a shrewd calculated gamble today could yet turn into a major political liability.

  • UK train operator bans Palestine badges after pressure from pro-Israel legal group

    UK train operator bans Palestine badges after pressure from pro-Israel legal group

    A major British train operating company has implemented a ban on staff wearing pro-Palestine solidarity badges during working hours, following a formal legal complaint lodged by a pro-Israel advocacy group that argued the political symbols created a hostile environment for Jewish passengers. The incident that sparked the policy change dates back to June 14, when a Jewish passenger was traveling on a London North Eastern Railway (LNER) service connecting Edinburgh to London. The passenger, who identifies as Jewish, filed a complaint stating that a food service employee wearing an official RMT trade union “Palestine Solidarity” badge left them feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome during their journey.

    The badge at the center of the dispute was produced and distributed by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), Britain’s main rail workers’ union. It features the text “Palestine Solidarity” overlaying the Palestinian national flag alongside the RMT’s official logo. After receiving the passenger’s complaint, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), a pro-Israel legal organization, issued a formal legal letter to LNER last month pressing the company to address the issue.

    In its complaint, UKLFI argued that political symbols worn by customer-facing rail staff violate the UK’s 2010 Equality Act, which places a legal obligation on service providers to avoid subjecting customers to harassment based on protected characteristics, including religion. The group claimed the badge could create an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for Jewish, Israeli and Zionist passengers.

    In response to queries from Middle East Eye, an LNER spokesperson confirmed the company’s existing uniform policy regulates the badges staff may wear while on duty. Under the policy, customer-facing staff are only permitted to wear one small pin badge on their blazer lapel, which must either be issued directly by LNER, aligned to an official company charity or public campaign, or limited to the standard logo of the worker’s trade union. Unauthorized external items, including political solidarity badges, are not permitted under the existing policy.

    LNER Managing Director David Horne confirmed in a response to UKLFI that the company had taken swift and appropriate action following the complaint. Horne noted that the employee involved was spoken to on June 17, three days after the reported incident, and reminded of the company’s uniform requirements. A company-wide briefing was also issued to all LNER staff to reiterate that no unauthorized badges or accessories may be worn as part of the official uniform during working hours. Horne added that the chair of LNER’s internal On Train Company Council, the staff representative body, was informed of the disciplinary action and expressed agreement with the company’s position.

    UKLFI director Caroline Turner praised LNER’s response, saying the organization was pleased the rail provider acted quickly and decisively to address the complaint. “Public transport providers serve passengers from every community,” Turner said in a formal statement. “Jewish passengers should be able to travel without being confronted by political messaging from staff members whilst receiving services.”

    The RMT, which has been one of the most prominent British trade unions supporting Palestinian solidarity and backing protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, declined to comment on the LNER decision. The union has previously issued public statements condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, encouraged its members to organize pro-Palestine advocacy in workplaces, and called on workers to join national pro-Palestine marches across the UK.

    LNER’s decision comes against a backdrop of growing national debate in the UK over the limits of pro-Palestine solidarity expression in public workplaces, in the wake of Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza that began in October 2023. Palestinian solidarity campaigners have raised widespread concerns that British employers are disproportionately restricting displays of support for Palestinians, while opponents argue that customer-facing public service staff should not display overt political messaging that could alienate passengers or service users.

    The LNER case is not an isolated incident. Earlier in 2024, the UK Department of Health and Social Care endorsed a review of anti-Jewish hate and racism in the National Health Service led by the government’s antisemitism adviser Lord John Mann. The review recommended mandatory antisemitism training for 1.5 million NHS workers, alongside a ban on all NHS staff displaying political symbols including pro-Palestine badges in the workplace, and a ban on staff attending pro-Palestine protests while wearing official NHS uniform. Since the outbreak of the war, multiple British public sector workers have faced disciplinary action for displaying pro-Palestine solidarity in the workplace. One high-profile case involved a British-Palestinian nurse who was ordered to remove a video call background depicting a watermelon, a common symbol of Palestinian solidarity, after it was flagged as potentially antisemitic.

  • Marine Le Pen to run for French presidency and appeal conviction in top court

    Marine Le Pen to run for French presidency and appeal conviction in top court

    France’s most prominent hard-right political figure, Marine Le Pen, has made two sweeping announcements that have reshaped the country’s 2027 electoral landscape: she will stand as the National Rally’s candidate for president in next year’s election, and she will escalate her legal fight against a recent embezzlement conviction by bringing the case to France’s highest civil court.

    Le Pen, who has led the nationalist National Rally party since 2011, made the declaration during a combative primetime interview on French national television, pushing back against the penalty handed down by a Paris appeals court earlier this week. The court found Le Pen guilty of misappropriating €2.8 million (£2.4 million) in European Union parliamentary funds through a years-long fake assistant scheme, a ruling that upholds an earlier 2024 conviction and requires the far-right leader to wear an electronic monitoring tag for 12 months. While the court confirmed Le Pen retains her eligibility to run for office even with the tag in place, Le Pen argues the monitoring device makes effective campaigning impossible.

    “I can’t campaign with a tag,” Le Pen told the outlet. “I want to pursue all legal avenues to defend my innocence in this case.”

    Hours after the guilty verdict was handed down, Le Pen held closed-door strategy talks with her hand-picked party successor, 30-year-old National Rally President Jordan Bardella, senior party aides, and her legal team before making her long-awaited announcement. The decision ends months of widespread political speculation that Le Pen would step aside to let Bardella lead the party’s 2027 ticket, a move that would have allowed her to avoid the political damage of campaigning while facing a criminal conviction.

    When asked directly if any scenario existed where she would abandon her candidacy, Le Pen gave a definitive answer: “No, there isn’t. I am here tonight to tell you I am candidate for the 2027 elections.” She added that her campaign would launch immediately, with the stated goal of “beginning the rebirth of France,” and that she would not reverse her decision under any circumstances.

    The guilty conviction stems from a scheme that prosecutors say operated between 2004 and 2016, when Le Pen and several other party officials diverted EU funds earmarked for European Parliament parliamentary assistants to instead pay salaries for full-time National Rally party staff. While Le Pen has repeatedly denied orchestrating the scam, she acknowledged earlier this year that the arrangement constituted “a mistake.” This week’s appeals court ruling fully upheld the initial guilty verdict from 2024.

    Public prosecutors have also announced they plan to appeal the verdict, though it is not yet clear what changes they are seeking to the ruling.

    Le Pen struck a unifying tone regarding her relationship with Bardella, who had long been viewed as the likely front-runner for the party’s nomination if Le Pen stepped aside. She noted that the pair have worked alongside each other for years, framing their shared political project as larger than either individual’s personal ambition. “We both have beliefs – we both imagine this role seriously. And we have character… The tests we have gone through have made us stronger, both in will and in the quality of our work together,” she said.

    If Le Pen wins the 2027 presidency, she confirmed the pair will continue their partnership: she will serve as head of state, while Bardella will take the role of prime minister. “We have a solid partnership, we complement each other,” she added.

    In the lead-up to this week’s court ruling, Le Pen repeatedly stated she would not run for the presidency if she was forced to wear an electronic tag, arguing that the monitoring would prevent her from campaigning with the full freedom required for a national campaign. When asked how she would proceed if her upcoming appeal to the Court of Cassation fails to overturn the tagging requirement, Le Pen said she would leave the final judgment up to French voters. “We will see, and the French will be the judge, because the good news from this evening is they will be free to choose,” she said.

    The Court of Cassation is expected to take several months to issue a ruling on the appeal. If the court upholds the conviction, Le Pen will be required to wear the electronic tag during the most high-profile phase of the 2027 campaign, which kicks off in earnest early next year. Political analysts warn the scenario would create both significant embarrassment and a practical handicap for her candidacy, just weeks before the first round of voting scheduled for April 18, 2027. The run-off vote is scheduled for May 2.

  • ‘Abandoned and left to die’: Family of Hussam Abu Safiya says he has been betrayed by rights groups

    ‘Abandoned and left to die’: Family of Hussam Abu Safiya says he has been betrayed by rights groups

    The family of a prominent detained Palestinian doctor has issued a desperate final appeal for international intervention, accusing global human rights bodies and the wider international community of betrayal amid mounting evidence that the medic is being tortured to death in Israeli custody. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a respected paediatrician and former medical director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, has been held without formal charges by Israeli authorities since his abduction in December 2024. His rapidly deteriorating health, compounded by ongoing abuse and denied medical care, has left his life hanging by a thread, according to lawyers and advocacy groups monitoring his case.

    In an exclusive interview with Middle East Eye, Abu Safiya’s son Elias, a medically trained professional who once worked alongside his father at Kamal Adwan during Israel’s military campaign in northern Gaza, said the era of quiet diplomatic appeals has ended. “The moment for simple appeals has passed. This is a final, urgent call for every person of conscience to intervene and speak out publicly about my father’s situation,” Elias stated. He added that the stark double standard in global responses to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has left his family with no illusions: “The world clearly does not see us as fully human, or as people deserving of equal rights. There is exponentially more support for Israeli causes than for Palestinian lives. We have been abandoned, and Palestinians like my father are left to die alone in Israeli prison cells.”

    The gravity of Abu Safiya’s condition was first confirmed by his lawyer, Nasser Odeh, who visited the medic on July 2 at Israel’s secretive Rakefet underground interrogation facility, located inside Nitzan Prison in northern Israel. Odeh told reporters he barely recognized his client after brutal new assault left visible injuries across his face and head. The paediatrician was described as extremely frail, struggling to breathe and speak, and suffering severe psychological breakdown. In a devastating message passed through his lawyer, Abu Safiya reportedly said: “This is the last time you will see me… They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.”

    Details of the abuse emerged publicly after Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), an Israeli advocacy group, issued an urgent warning last week that Abu Safiya’s life is in imminent danger, calling for his immediate release. According to PHRI’s investigation, four to five Israeli prison guards assaulted Abu Safiya in his cell ahead of his June Supreme Court hearing, beating him with a hammer and metal batons that left him with extensive injuries across his body and skull. After the attack, the medic was transferred to the Rakefet facility, where he has faced daily beatings that have repeatedly knocked him unconscious. He has been held in solitary confinement for more than a month, and has been consistently denied any form of independent medical treatment.

    Abu Safiya already carried six pieces of shrapnel in his leg from an Israeli quadcopter attack that targeted his family as they slept inside Kamal Adwan Hospital earlier in 2024. The untreated wound continues to bleed and swell, and he has developed an enlarged heart from chronic high blood pressure during his detention. Medical analysts close to the family say his current symptoms, resulting from the recent head assaults, strongly suggest he has developed a life-threatening blood clot putting pressure on his brain.

    Derek Summerfield, an honorary senior lecturer at King’s College London and a leading researcher on the psychiatric impacts of detention and torture for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody, told Middle East Eye that the systemic abuse of Abu Safiya fits a long-standing pattern that has grown worse in recent years. “Torture is very much an everyday matter in Israel and has been used as a weapon against Palestinians in interrogation suites for decades. The savagery inflicted on Palestinian detainees has increased markedly since 2023. The Israeli state feels it has complete impunity, and doctors who speak out are specifically targeted as part of that crackdown,” Summerfield explained. He added that Israeli authorities likely intend for Abu Safiya to die in custody rather than be released to share his account of abuse with the global public. “Dr Abu Safiya represents a heroic resilience that Israel is determined to quash. The more international pressure we can build, the more likely it is they will back down and not allow him to die,” Summerfield said.

    Abu Safiya is one of 14 Gaza-based doctors currently held without charge by Israel, and his case echoes the tragic fate of another prominent Gazan health leader, Adnan al-Bursh, the former head of orthopaedics at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital. Al-Bursh was detained by Israeli forces in December 2023 and was found dead in Israeli custody in April 2024. Testimonies from released prisoners confirm he was repeatedly beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted during his detention, and Israel has still refused to return his body to his family for burial.

    According to data collected by Healthcare Workers Watch, an organization that tracks the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, Abu Safiya was specifically targeted for harsher humiliation, starvation and torture because of his public profile and his refusal to abandon his patients. When the Israeli military declared northern Gaza a combat zone and ordered all civilians and medical staff to evacuate, Abu Safiya stayed behind to continue treating injured and sick children. He also publicly spoke out about the widespread famine and child casualties caused by Israeli military operations, a stance that his family says has made him a target. Last year, in October 2024, Elias’s 20-year-old brother Ebrahim was killed by Israeli fire; the family believes the killing was a deliberate act of revenge against Abu Safiya. “We don’t even know whether to grieve the son we already lost, or wait to grieve the father we are losing now. Words cannot describe the depth of the pain we have endured,” Elias said.

    Elias, who worked alongside his father through relentless Israeli bombardments and the eventual siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said he remains deeply proud of his father’s unwavering commitment to his patients. “When the local population was being starved and killed, he stood steadfast and refused to betray their trust or shirk his responsibilities, and as a result people saw him as a beacon of hope. I don’t have the words to describe how proud I am of his courage,” Elias said. He added that his father’s last instruction to him was to speak out not just for him, but for all Palestinian health workers being abused in Israeli custody.

    International bodies including the United Nations have called for the immediate release of all detained Palestinian healthcare workers, and PHRI has filed a formal petition with Israel’s Supreme Court calling for Abu Safiya’s release and access to an independent medical evaluation. The court is set to receive a response from Israeli state authorities on July 7. Israeli Knesset member Ofer Cassif has also publicly called for Abu Safiya’s immediate release. Elias noted that even within Israeli society, the severe abuse of his father has become impossible to ignore.

    Activist groups across the UK are mobilizing this week to shine a spotlight on Abu Safiya’s case, with a coalition of medical organizations set to demonstrate Friday outside the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in London. The RCPCH has a long history of training doctors from Gaza, and activists will deliver a petition urging the college to publicly condemn the targeting, detention and killing of Gazan health workers and call for Abu Safiya’s immediate release. To date, the college has not issued any public statement on the case.

    “Dr Abu Safiya’s situation is no longer tolerable for any medical professional with a conscience. When one paediatrician is punished for protecting children, all paediatricians must speak up. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health used to train Gaza’s doctors and has a duty to speak up,” said Reyhana Alborz, co-chair of Child Health Advocates 4 Palestine. Amira Nimerawi, co-founder and CEO of Health Workers 4 Palestine, echoed that sentiment, telling Middle East Eye: “Every institution with the power to demand his release has the facts in front of them. Silence at this point is not neutrality, it is complicity in whatever happens next to him.”

    For Elias, carrying his father’s message forward is both a privilege and a duty, rooted in the example his father set until the moment of his arrest. “He was still defending his people, still carrying the humanitarian mission of his profession up to the point of his arrest, and it is a privilege and an honour to carry his message to the world. He taught us that sacrifice comes at a price, and this is a price we have paid and continue to pay,” Elias said. “Those who remain silent now are complicit and colluding with Israel, and I urge anyone who is in a position of influence to put pressure on these criminals by speaking out for my father and all of the Palestinian prisoners.”