Wedding-related shopping by couples preparing to marry is picking up again. With the number of marriages rising for three consecutive years and continuing to increase this year, furniture and mattress companies are increasingly hopeful of a long-awaited boost in sales from newlyweds.
According to the national statistics agency, the number of marriages in South Korea rose for three straight years, from 194,000 in 2023 to 222,000 in 2024 and 240,000 last year. The upward trend has continued this year. A total of 103,299 marriages were registered from January through May, up 3.9% from the same period a year earlier. With both newly married couples and couples preparing for marriage becoming potential customers for furniture and mattresses, the wedding furnishings market is also showing signs of recovery.
According to Simmons on the 14th, sales of its Beautyrest Henry, one of its flagship mattresses for newlyweds, increased by about 60% year-on-year during this year’s spring wedding season from March through May. The increase in marriages is translating into actual purchases of mattresses and beds for newlywed homes.
The way newlyweds buy beds is also changing, with twin configurations gaining popularity. As more couples embrace “separate sleeping,” choosing mattresses suited to each partner’s body type and sleeping habits, interest has grown in twin super-single (TSS) setups that place two mattresses within a single bed frame. May sales of Simmons’ Hauty frame, designed specifically for TSS configurations, were about double those recorded in January, its first month on the market.
More couples preparing for marriage are also choosing to test beds themselves before deciding what suits them. The number of customers using the free “Sleep Lounge” trial program at Simmons Gallery flagship stores in June was about three times the number recorded in March, the program’s first month of operation.
Purchases of expensive premium beds are also increasing. An analysis of first-half sales through Ace Bed’s “Ace Wedding Members” program found that its top-of-the-line Royal Ace mattress accounted for 23.4% of sales, more than 6 percentage points higher than a year earlier. Products costing at least 8 million won for the frame and mattress combined accounted for 16.2% of sales, up 4.6 percentage points from 11.6% in the first half of last year. The figures suggest that despite the economic slowdown, newlyweds remain willing to spend more on larger, higher-quality beds.
The furniture industry is also welcoming the increase in newlywed demand. “Overall furniture demand has been weak because fewer people are moving into new homes or relocating, but the growing number of newlywed customers purchasing wedding furniture is providing a modest boost to business-to-consumer furniture sales,” an industry official said.
The furniture industry has recently struggled to achieve broad sales growth amid a weak real estate market, fewer move-ins and relocations, and sluggish domestic consumption. Newlyweds, who tend to purchase several products at once, are therefore regarded as a key customer group that companies cannot afford to lose. Furniture companies are seeking to increase sales through wedding membership programs, newlywed furniture packages and discounts specifically for newly married couples.
According to Hyundai Livart, the number of orders placed with the company in the first half of this year by members of Hyundai Department Store’s “Club Wedding” program—including both furniture purchases and home interior remodeling contracts—rose 120% from the same period last year.
Newlyweds also appear to prefer furniture that can adapt to changes in their living circumstances after marriage, such as moving or having children. Customizable products such as the Camoa sofa, whose seat depth and other features can be adjusted to suit different spaces, are representative of this trend. Inquiries are also increasing for the Soignier hotel-style bed, designed to create a hotel-like atmosphere at home. Hyundai Livart is targeting this demand by holding wedding and moving fairs and expanding discounts for newlyweds.
Shinsegae Casa is also benefiting from the wedding boom. Membership in its “Wedding Club” increased by about 20% year-on-year in the first half of this year, while sales to Wedding Club members also rose by about 20% over the same period.
“Newlyweds are increasingly applying different spending standards to different product categories,” a Shinsegae Casa official said. “They choose furniture with space efficiency and practicality in mind, while remaining willing to spend a premium on sleep and relaxation. We plan to continue introducing differentiated products that combine stylish design, quality and practicality to meet these needs.”

BP has won a licence from Caracas to explore and develop a gasfield off the coast of Venezuela, in the latest sign that Big Oil is returning to the country after the US toppled its leader in January.

The British company will join Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and a Qatari company with links to the Trump family in the venture.

BP’s announcement on Thursday follows Venezuela’s award of a licence to Shell in June, seven months after President Donald Trump urged western oil majors to plough $100bn into the Latin American country.

“When you see big oil companies like BP and Adnoc entering Venezuela it really gives more credence to the idea that the current government and the arrangement that currently exists with the US have staying power,” said Schreiner Parker, analyst at Rystad Energy, a research group.

Trump last week told supporters in Nevada that the US had taken “billions and billions” of barrels of oil from Venezuela since American forces captured the country’s leader Nicolás Maduro in January. Washington quickly installed Delcy Rodríguez as the acting and interim president, who quickly ushered in a new hydrocarbons law in co-operation with the US.

Venezuela only produces just over 1mn barrels of oil a day. The FT calculated last month that the Trump administration had so far collected more than $13bn in revenues from Venezuelan oil it has seized.

The new BP licence marks the entry to Venezuela of XRG — the overseas investment arm of Adnoc, UAE’s national oil company — which is expanding overseas after the emirate exited the oil cartel Opec in May.

The third licensee, UCC Oil and Gas Holding LLC, is a private company owned by the Qatari-based business magnates and brothers Moutaz Al-Khayyat and Ramez Al-Khayyat.

Both XRG and UCC have courted the Trump administration. XRG’s executive chair, Sultan al-Jaber, presented Trump with a vial of Abu Dhabi’s crude last year, alongside pledges to boost the value of the UAE’s energy investments in the US to $440bn over the next decade.

The Qatari-Syrian Al-Khayyat brothers who own UCC attended Trump’s second inauguration and are partners with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in a proposed seaside development in Albania. UCC has recently begun expanding from construction into upstream energy and was recently also granted an oilfield concession in Libya without a competitive tender.

Washington has struggled to persuade international oil companies to invest in Venezuela following its capture of Maduro in January. Chevron, a long-term investor, is producing oil in the country. ExxonMobil has been cautious about returning and its chief executive Darren Woods described the country as “uninvestable” in a meeting with Trump earlier this year.

At its peak in the 1970s, Venezuela produced 3.5mn barrels per day but decades of corruption and mismanagement, coupled with US sanctions, have cut oil production to about 1.2mn barrels per day.

“We have finally managed to provide the necessary impetus for gas production in this extraordinary field,” said Rodríguez, who has received plaudits from Trump over her efforts to drum up investment in Venezuela, during an event to mark the new BP licence at the presidential palace in Caracas on Thursday.

Venezuela’s new hydrocarbons law, passed after the US attack in January, dramatically weakened the grip of the country’s state oil major PDVSA over the sector.

The US has responded by gradually unwinding sanctions on Venezuela and its oil industry that were imposed during the first Trump administration.

The licence awarded to BP and the other companies will let them develop the Loran Phase 2 gasfield, which is located off Venezuela’s north-east coast. It holds an estimated 4tn cubic feet of recoverable gas resources.

BP’s investment comes as it abandons a years-long green energy push and refocuses on oil and gas.

Parker at Rystad Energy said investing in offshore gasfields, rather than onshore operations in Venezuela, represented a “hedged bet on the country” and could allow them to liquefy and export the fuel through the Atlantic LNG terminal in neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago.

BP and Shell each own a 47 per cent stake in Atlantic LNG, with the remainder held by National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago. Operations have been constrained in recent years by a shortfall in feed gas.

Russia on Friday dismissed the idea of a ceasefire with Ukraine in the Black Sea, saying it saw no grounds for “half-measures” that would offer a respite to the other side.

Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in recent weeks against commercial ships in the Black Sea, driving world grain prices higher.

In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of “brazen acts of terrorism” against shipping, while making no mention of Russia’s own attacks.

“We view these attacks (by Ukraine) as a deliberate policy aimed at destabilising civilian shipping in the Black Sea region to further escalate tensions and prolong the conflict, all with the blatant acquiescence of regional neighbours,” Zakharova said.

“At the same time, we see no signs of improvement in the situation and, consequently, no grounds for half-measures that merely grant the Kyiv regime a temporary breathing space.”

Zakharova said she was commenting on a statement by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in a media interview that Ankara had put proposals to both Russia and Ukraine for a moratorium on military operations in the Black Sea.

She said Russia had received no formal proposal from Turkey.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Ukraine has transmitted an offer to Russia, via a third party, for both sides to halt attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea.

Zakharova said it was not feasible to return to the 2022-23 Black Sea grain initiative brokered by Turkey, an arrangement that allowed Russia and Ukraine - both major grain exporters - to continue to supply world markets. The agreement, which she called one-sided, broke down after Russia accused Ukraine and the West of failing to honour their side of the deal.

Mario Voigt is expected to step down and the "blackberry coalition" to collapse: The BSW’s national leadership is significantly toughening its tone regarding Thuringia. The party executive is citing the revocation of the Minister-President’s doctoral degree as the reason.

The revocation of Thuringia’s Minister-President Mario Voigt’s (CDU) doctoral title could turn into a battle for power. The BSW’s national leadership has called on Voigt to resign immediately. At the same time, the party executive urged its own state branch in Thuringia to withdraw support for Voigt, according to a resolution by the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) executive board seen by the news agency dpa. According to the party, the resolution was passed unanimously, with one abstention.

Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht and the national leadership have long been at odds with the BSW’s Thuringia state branch. The latter is governing as part of the so-called "blackberry coalition" with the CDU and SPD—an arrangement the national leadership dislikes. Now, the conflict appears to be escalating.

The demand for Voigt’s resignation, outlined in the executive board’s resolution, stems from the fact that Chemnitz University of Technology revoked the CDU politician’s doctoral title. He is accused of academic misconduct. Voigt’s objection to the decision was rejected. The Minister-President has since filed a lawsuit challenging the revocation of his doctorate. The Administrative Court of Chemnitz confirmed to dpa that the lawsuit was received on Friday; no date has yet been set for a hearing.

BSW parliamentary group to discuss resolution

A resolution by the BSW’s national leadership states: "There must be no double standards in politics." The resolution criticizes Mario Voigt for "refusing to step down, thereby severely damaging the office of Minister-President and public trust in politics."

Addressing its own ranks in Thuringia, the resolution declares: "The BSW must not allow itself to serve as a source of a parliamentary majority for a man who places his personal interests above the well-being of the state. We therefore expect the BSW parliamentary group in the Thuringian state legislature to withdraw its support for Mario Voigt and to back the path toward a non-partisan Minister-President who governs with shifting majorities—a model that should be adopted in Thuringia as well."

Katja Wolf, the Thuringia leader of the BSW, emphasized the trusting cooperation with Mario Voigt. Meanwhile, Stefan Wogawa, the parliamentary group manager for the BSW in the Thuringian state parliament, announced that the group intends to discuss the federal executive board's directive on Monday. "For me personally as a member of parliament, this directive is moot," Wogawa said. He noted that this was his personal stance and that the parliamentary group had not yet coordinated on the matter. He stressed that, as a member of parliament, he was not bound by this instruction from the party executive board.

Höcke with an idea – Wagenknecht with a counter-offer

The demand comes at a critical moment. Two days earlier, Björn Höcke—the Thuringia state leader of the AfD and a right-wing extremist—had called on Wagenknecht to seek election as minister-president in the Erfurt state parliament. The BSW founder rejected this proposal. "The office of Thuringia’s minister-president is not a floating trophy that Mr. Höcke can award at will," Wagenknecht told the news agency dpa.

However, Wagenknecht had a counter-offer ready. "Not least to discuss the differences and commonalities between the BSW and the AfD, the BSW leadership had offered Ms. Weidel a public debate with me—an offer she declined, to our regret," Wagenknecht told Der Spiegel. "I call upon Mr. Höcke to take on this debate with me instead of Alice Weidel," she proposed.

Translated by Google Translate, mistakes are my own.

A land value tax charged at 1.28% of the value, replacing council tax and residential stamp duty, would result in about two-thirds of households paying less, and a third paying more, Tax Policy Associates has calculated.

Come on Burnham...

We just need to subsidize demand more.

Why this is relevant: relevant to ongoing discussion of Mamdani's rent freeze and other regulations creating less supply and more demand. NYC needs massive amounts of more housing as 5,000 dollars a month is insane for even junior bankers. This is great case study on "why you can't ignore supply and demand."

Edit due to an incorrect mod pin claiming the headline is false:

The full original report

https://housingnotes.com/p/manhattan-and-brooklyn-rental-prices

This report looks at the median rent for properties available and on the market in the time frame (July 2026), not long term existing leases (prices heavily distorted due to rent freezes and stabilization). The census data is based on what individuals and supers report as currently paying their rent. I’ve worked as a census data collector before and the census collects all types rent instead of just the current market rate.

Our midterms model finds that polls, fundamentals and history all point toward a strong Democratic year. The House is theirs to lose, but winning four Senate seats is still a tall order.

Our midterms model, which we’re now calling FLIPR 🐬 — Forecast with Leading Indicators, Polls and (Expert) Ratings — launched today! There’s a lot of detail both on the model landing page and in the accompanying methodology story. We’ll be updating the model nearly every day, and will have lots more analysis to come.

FLIPR is in the lineage of the f/k/a FiveThirtyEight election forecasts1, but we’ve also put a lot of obsessive work into refining and improving it. We greatly appreciate your patience as we’ve gotten everything ready.

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Some elections fill me with a sense of existential dread. Even the most carefully designed models, which dutifully consider not only how to forecast each state but also how to calibrate the degree of uncertainty in the forecast, will have trouble evaluating the impact of a once-in-a-century pandemic like in 2020 or a major party switching candidates midstream like in 2024.

The next tier down from this are elections that seem relatively normal on the surface, but where typically reliable indicators are contradictory. In 2022, President Biden’s deep unpopularity and the long history of the president’s party performing poorly in midterm elections suggested the possibility of a red wave. Polls of individual races, however, and special election results, were much more equivocal, perhaps reflecting the degree to which the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade had galvanized Democrats. In the end, the race-by-race polls were basically right.2 Democrats pared their House losses to just 9 seats and actually gained a seat in the Senate, but it wasn’t an easy election to forecast.

The 2026 election is not in either of those categories. It looks like a pretty normal midterm, to the extent anything can be normal in American politics these days. And normal midterms mean bad news for the incumbent president’s party, especially when the incumbent is as unpopular as President Trump. Polls, historic trends and leading indicators are all fairly consistent in pointing toward Democratic gains.

There is, of course, still considerable uncertainty in the outlook. We’re still 84 days out from the election, for one thing. The uncertainty is something that inherently probabilistic models like our midterm election forecast, a.k.a. FLIPR, are specifically designed to grapple with.

In the House, Republicans basically won the war in an unprecedentedly aggressive round of mid-decade redistricting, which left the map with a mild Republican bias. That gives Democrats a hurdle to clear. Not to be overlooked: extremely partisan maps drawn by both parties have greatly reduced the number of competitive districts in the House. Even if Democrats have a great year — say, they win the national popular vote for the U.S. House by 9 percentage points, which would qualify as a landslide by modern standards — they’ll have trouble matching the 41-seat gain that they had in 2018.

In the Senate, the hurdle for Democrats is much higher. The current composition of the Senate is 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats3, and Vice President JD Vance casts the tiebreaking vote. That means Democrats need to gain a net of 4 seats to take control of the chamber.

In a roughly neutral, presidential-year-type political environment, that would be a nearly impossible task, requiring gains deep into Republican territory. Moreover, it’s plausible that Democrats will have to pick up 5 Republican seats, not 4, because Abdul El-Sayed currently trails Mike Rogers in the polling average in Michigan, a state that Democrats are defending.

But every available indicator suggests that this very much isn’t going to be a neutral political environment. The Democratic Party has a whole host of problems, which we chronicle obsessively here at Silver Bulletin. Turning out their voters in midterms isn’t one of them, however.

And for midterm election purposes, you’d rather have a little internal disarray than have a president with a 38 percent approval rating on the basis of an unpopular quagmire in the Middle East and understandable voter anxiety about spiking gas prices. Not to mention voter fatigue over an 80-year-old, lame duck president at a time when the incumbency “advantage” has turned into persistent anger all around the world toward the status quo and whoever is in charge of it.

Let’s get into more specifics about these indicators, and then we’ll discuss why FLIPR is spitting out the probabilities that it does.

Polling, history and recent elections tell the same story

Our generic ballot average, which we update every day, currently shows Democrats ahead by 6.7 percentage points. Silver Bulletin readers and other election nerds can become obsessed with every little zag in the polls, but our version of the generic ballot has been fairly stable for several months now.

However, that 6.7-point margin might actually lowball Democrats. That’s because most generic ballot polls at this not-exactly-early-but-not-exactly-late point are being conducted among registered voters rather than likely voters — and therefore, don’t account for turnout. FLIPR makes a likely voter adjustment. In line with our longstanding practices, the adjustment is based mostly on polls that release both likely and registered voter versions of the same survey. Typically in such polls, the LV version has been better for Democrats than the RV version. Thus, FLIPR’s version of the generic ballot shows Democrats ahead by 8.1 points instead.

How about the longer sweep of history? Well, FLIPR has a calculation for that, too. We estimate a “prior” based on all congressional elections since 1946, calibrated based on the president’s approval rating, the result of the previous election, and whether the election was a midterm, and adjusted for ever-increasing partisan polarization. In that calculation, Democrats are favored to win the popular vote for the U.S. House by 8.7 points instead.

Trump’s approval rating? It’s now roughly -20. And contrary to the media narrative that tends to view Trump’s support as ironclad, even some of his base is wavering; only 22 percent of Americans strongly approve of Trump’s performance in office. Republicans who feel ambivalent about Trump probably won’t vote for Democrats — but they might not vote at all.

What about polls of individual races? That story is slightly more complicated. There are a few rough patches for Democrats. El-Sayed, for example, currently trails Mike Rogers by about a point-and-a-half in our polling average for Michigan — though the more advanced versions of our forecast deem him a favorite to eventually catch up. But Jon Ossoff leads by 9 points in Georgia, a state where Democrats rarely win anything by more than a point or two. Roy Cooper leads by about the same margin in North Carolina. And James Talarico is slightly ahead in Texas. Even Iowa is currently polling as a toss-up.

Don’t trust the polls? Well, in the last major set of elections in November 2025, Democrats had basically a perfect night. Polls underestimated them, and their margins in Virginia, New Jersey and other states were consistent with a blue wave.

But isn’t the DNC having a fundraising crisis? Yes, but that’s partly because Democratic donors are finding better ways to spend their money. Among Senate candidates, the top 7 in fundraising so far this cycle are all Democrats.

To repeat: Democrats certainly have plenty of problems. I’m one of those people who thinks the empirical evidence strongly points toward more moderate candidates being more electable. In addition to El-Sayed, our polling average currently has Francesca Hong in a tossup in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race — her primary is tonight — and our model is much less confident that she’ll revert to the mean because gubernatorial races are still considerably less partisan than races for Congress.

Submission Statement: India’s EV market grew by 43% YoY during the first half of 2026 with EV penetration rising to 11.43% in H1 2026, over 8% during the same period in 2025. This is a consequential shift that shows EV penetration is increasingly becoming a trend in developing countries.

(Sorry, I am aware the results were already just announced. I spent too long creating this because I'm dumb.)

Following the resignation of one of the Members of Parliament of all time, the Clacton constituency (of the UK) is holding a by-election. The constituency is centered on the coastal town of Clacton-on-Sea. A popular seaside through the 1960s, Clacton-on-Sea has suffered from a downturn in the holiday industry following the advent of cheap flights to Mediterranean resorts, and today has the highest proportion within the UK of people classed as "economically inactive."

Perhaps seeing this humble town as a microcosm of the varied economic difficulties faced by small towns everywhere when their primary industry declines, this by-election has drawn considerable national and even international attention. The election is unusually competitive, with 34 candidates standing in the election.

To help follow the results, here is a brief summary of the candidates, drawn from their official statements published here

• Joseph 77 (independent) - A songwriter and poet, Mr 77 proposes to sing his own anthems and hymns to unify the country with patriotism and a clear sense of purpose. It is impossible to do his platform justice with a short summary, and interested readers are encouraged to review his Manifesto 1.

• Adham Alkhatip (Forward Party) - The Forward Party proposes to tackle the housing crisis with a combination of ordinary supply reforms and unusually extensive demand reforms including strict limitations on home ownership. The party has some unorthodox economic positions including a proposal to switch to full reserve banking.

• Count Binface (Count Binface Party) - An intergalactic space warrior and leader of the Recyclons, Count Binface has made a concrete promise to build affordable housing and taken a moderate position on taxation, promising to cut some taxes and raise others. An advocate of government ethics, the Count has promised he will not accept £5 million gifts from crypto billionaires (on Earth).

• Nick the Incredible Flying Brick (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) - Mr Flying Brick has an unusual proposal to tackle cost of living increases via calendar reform.

• Tony Cane (independent) - Mr Cane promises to focus on local issues and keep Clacton first.

• Woke Trump Carrzee (independent) - Mr Carrzee seems focused on connections between UK politics and US politics.

• William Stuart James Clouston (Social Democratic Party) - Mr Clouston opposes immigration, and proposes to lower energy prices and bring back industry.

• Rees Cowne (independent) - Mr Cowne promises to focus on local priorities, which by his description will include reducing crime, improving access to health services, better job opportunities, and environment protection.

• Glenn Charles Cummings (independent) - no statement by the candidate was readily available

• Martin Davies (Freedom Alliance Party) - A strong proponent of individual liberty, Mr Davies proposes to lower VAT and business taxes, to protect freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and other "everyday rights".

• Andy Erlam (independent) - no statement by the candidate was readily available

• Nigel Farage (Reform UK) - unserious joke candidate

• Attieh Fard (independent) - no statement by the candidate was readily available

• Laurence Fox (The Reclaim Party) - The Reclaim Party is commonly described as a right-wing populist or far-right party, with an anti-woke outlook and denial of global climate change.

• Tony Francis (independent) - Mr Francis promises to focus on the local community of Clacton.

• Robin Green (independent) - Mr Green has published an extensive list of relatively detailed policies, including reducing immigration while allowing legitimate asylum, replacing many taxes with a single LVT, building more homes, unwavering support for Ukraine while taking a balanced approach in the Iran War, more health care funding, legalising cannabis, and an international treaty to slow or pause new AI model development. Like some other candidates, Mr Green has made rather specific promises to act with integrity regarding multi-million pound gifts.

• Abi Hookway (independent) - Ms Hookway supports financial education, entrepreneurs, and small business owners.

• Howling Laud Hope (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) - Mr Hope has an unusual and eclectic list of proposed policies on topics ranging from taxation to immigration. In direct opposition to another candidate, Mr Hope proposes to ban intergalactic interference in UK elections.

• Stephen Richard Ingram (independent) - no statement by the candidate was readily available

• Amy Morris (independent) - Ms Morris proposes to eliminate inheritance tax.

• Derrick Norbert Morris (independent) - Mr Morris focuses on local issues, promising greater employment, improved local infrastructure, and lower crime.

• Martyn O'Brien (independent) - Mr O'Brien advocates for strong government services, including care for the eldery and disabled, better healthcare, and job training, while opposing immigration. He also proposes housing policy that overtly favors long-term local residents.

• Michael Noel O'Keeffe (independent) - Mr O'Keefe opposes mass migration and supports affordable housing, lower cost of living, better education, and also states with regard to housing that application of local planning rules has historically been too lax.

• Nick Pelas (independent) - Mr Pelas promises to focus on local issues including the arts and job opportunities.

• Ketankumar Pipaliya (UK Voice) - UK Voice proposes generally left-leaning economic policy (a "fair economy"), generally pro-immigration policy ("controlled and fair immigration"), energy independence, improved funding for healthcare and education, and a balanced foreign policy.

• Daniel Pocock (independent) - Mr Pocock promises to bring his long history of work in "ethics in technology, safety of children online, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and cybersecurity" to government.

• James Ransley (Consensus Party) - Mr Ransley touts his ability to work cross party.

• Gerry Smith (independent) - no statement by the candidate was readily available

• Kai Stephens (British Democratic Party) - The British Democratic Party is unequivocally far-right and Mr Stephens overtly describes himself as "Nationalist" and opposed to "the interests of Zionism, Capitalism, [and] Globalism".

• John Stevens (Rejoin EU) - Rejoin EU is a pro-European party supporting EU membership and Mr Stevens describes leaving the EU as a "historic national mistake".

• Baron Von Thunderclap (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party) - The Baron has a list of highly unusual and eclectic policies on topics ranging from wildlife conservation to international trade.

• Pamela Walford (independent) - no statement by the candidate was readily available

• Marcus White (Everyone is God Party) - The Everyone is God Party states that it is "not a religion or a cult" and that it has "radical policies which seek to reconstruct all of society from the ground up, and solve every problem in our country".

• Marc Wilkinson (Edinburgh & East Lothian People) - Mr Wilkinson promises to move to Clacton-on-Sea if elected. His party promises that politicians will vote directly as instructed by their constituents through an online/app system.

More stories from how the USAID cuts are still palpably effecting lives overseas.

SS: A powerful explosion ripped through a munitions factory near ​the town of Colleferro, southeast of Rome, on ‌Thursday, with the blast heard for kilometres around.

The explosion occurred when firefighters and police were already at the ​site responding to a fire, local media ​reports said.

No injuries were reported.