| | | | | | | Hello. The 2024 US election spotlight is on New Hampshire, the next stage for the race for the Republican presidential nomination. My colleague Kayla Epstein has been talking to voters about what will sway them to pick one candidate over the other. In Moscow, Russia editor Steve Rosenberg talks to women who want their relatives in the reservist force sent to Ukraine brought back home. We also have the Oscars nominations covered and news of a theft targeting an unlikely item. |
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| | | | | | Questions Answered | | Bills and borders top voters’ concerns | | | | Conversations with voters at campaign events often turned back to the economy. Credit: Getty Images |
| | Polls have opened in New Hampshire for voters to pick their preferred candidate for their party's presidential nominations. Republicans have a choice between two names: former President Donald Trump and a former governor and member of his cabinet, Nikki Haley. | | | | How are Donald Trump’s prospects looking? | | The former president looks near certain to win the Republican presidential nomination. In New Hampshire, the second state to choose its nominee, Mr Trump has opened a double-digit lead over former UN ambassador Nikki Haley. | | What drives support for Mr Trump? | | Voters look back on the Trump presidency as a rosier time. Chris Ager, the state committee chair of the New Hampshire Republicans, said Trump supporters were drawing a stark contrast between how they felt during his presidency, and how they feel now. "[Trump is] essentially saying, 'Were you better off now than you were four years ago? Data says most people say no, we're not better," Ager said. | | Does Ms Haley stand a chance? | | A Trump victory is looking very likely [in New Hampshire], but not guaranteed. Ms Haley has been blazing through the state trying to court moderate Republicans and independent voters. The state's large share of unaffiliated voters - those who chose not to register with a political party - are free to vote in the Republican primary and are currently up for grabs. | | | | | | |
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| AT THE SCENE | Moscow, Russia | | White headscarves and red carnations | | | | The women met via social media and have formed a group called The Way Home. Credit: BBC | | In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilised 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine. Their wives think it’s time to bring them back home, and prevent more Russians from being sent to the front. | | | | Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor |
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| Every Saturday, wives of mobilised reservists don white headscarves and travel into the centre of Moscow. Near the Kremlin walls they lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Red carnations are placed by the Eternal Flame. It is their form of peaceful protest in a country where public criticism of anything related to the war comes with a risk. Their frustration, though, is palpable.
Antonina claims that, despite being diagnosed with stomach ulcers, her partner was deployed to an assault unit in Ukraine. She says that he telephoned her on 4 December. "He was crying. He was frightened. It sounded like he was saying goodbye." She says he called again on 13 December. That was the last time she heard from him. Antonina says she's since been told that her partner was wounded in action. "There are some people who want to fight. Who volunteer for it and sign contracts," Antonina says. "Let them fight. But send us back our husbands who don't want to be there. They've done their duty to the motherland. Send them home.” |
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| | The big picture | | Yemen’s politically motivated killing spree | | | | The son of Yemeni human rights lawyer Huda al-Sarari was fatally shot in 2019. Credit: Jack Garland/BBC |
| | More than 100 assassinations took place in Yemen between 2015 and 2018. All used the same method, the detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) as a distraction, followed by a targeted shooting. BBC Arabic’s Nawal al-Maghafi has investigated the killing spree and those behind it. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | All boxed in | | For centuries, cupboard-like beds were all the rage. | | |
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| | And finally... in California | | Stanley cups have recently enjoyed a surge in popularity thanks to TikTok influencers and water-bottle hobbyists. But one woman in California took that obsession a step too far, stealing $2,500 (£1,970) worth of the prized containers. And if you wonder what $2,500 of Stanley cups looks like, police in the city of Roseville have taken just the picture for you. |
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| | | | | | | | US Election Unspun newsletter | | Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday to your inbox. | | |
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– Sofia
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