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Trump should fear the BBC – these are the people who made Noel's House Party | Emma Brockes
The public broadcaster has often spoken truth to power, and can more than match the president’s prized unpredictability For the greatest account of the BBC’s finest hour, one must turn to Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel, Human Voices, written in 1980 and set 40 years earlier, at the corporation’s Portland Place wartime HQ. Flanked by sandbags and infused with a smell of cooking “from the deep hold that suggested more strongly than ever a cruise on the Queen Mary”, the organisation that Fitzgerald describes is at once noble and deeply eccentric. “Broadcasting House stood headed on a fixed course south,” she writes. “With the best engineers in the world, and a crew varying between the intensely respectable and barely sane, it looked ready to scorn any disaster.” In other words, a formidable foe, one that in the spring of 1940, in the face of anticipated Nazi invasion, decided “without prompting, that truth was more important than consolation, and, in the long run, would be more effective”. I bring this up in respect to the gathering storm of Donald Trump versus the BBC, a fight triggered by the US president’s $10bn defamation lawsuit – $10bn! It’s a wonder he didn’t go for $10 gazillion – brought against the corporation at the end of last year in response to a poorly edited episode of Panorama. The BBC was at fault, editing together comments made by the US president at a rally on 6 January 2021 to give, as the corporation’s apology put it, “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”. But it is fighting the lawsuit. Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Why are prices so high? Robert Reich answers your questions – Stateside with Kai and Carter
The vast majority of Americans say they are struggling to pay for gas and groceries, and are cutting back on luxuries. But what or who is actually behind these price rises? We asked you to tell us what's gotten too expensive in your own life. Now, Kai Wright and Carter Sherman enlist Guardian columnist and former labor secretary Robert Reich to explain why you’re feeling the pinch. From breaking down the market factors behind the cost of a $16 cheesesteak, to explaining why AI is playing into the price of a Nintendo Switch 2, Reich reveals who you should point the finger at in this economy. Additional music by Epidemic Sound Robert Reich has written this week’s edition of How We Win, a pop-up opinion newsletter with bold ideas for defeating Trumpism. Sign up here Send us your questions on how the US economy is shaping the US election Continue reading...
Why one of the US's reddest counties is losing faith in Trump – video
As the midterm elections loom, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel to rural West Virginia, a Republican party stronghold, to explore how soaring gas prices, war in the Middle East and datacenter expansion are affecting Donald Trump's popularity among his base. Although the state remains staunchly Republican, there are signs of a new politics emerging – and local Democrats are looking to capitalize on it Continue reading...
Key US voters say economy is getting worse ahead of midterms, exclusive poll finds
Nearly 61% believe country is in recession and 65% of independents say economy is worse, according to new Harris poll Send us your questions on how the US economy is shaping the midterm elections With the midterm elections less than three weeks away, key voting groups including independents, rural voters and even some Republicans are increasingly disenchanted with Donald Trump’s economy, according to an exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian. The majority of those surveyed were pessimistic about the economy, with three quarters of Americans saying they are concerned about a recession while 61% wrongly believe that the US is already experiencing one. By its typical definition, the US is not currently experiencing a recession. Continue reading...
After struggles v Spain, the USWNT’s midfield puzzle won’t be easily solved
The lack of cohesion in the center of the park is evident for the US, with Emma Hayes continuing to try different combinations The discourse around the US women’s national team may have been a harsh one if not for a fourth-half surge against Spain. In the latest of their back-to-back bookings, where Emma Hayes’ team plays the same opponent twice, Spain looked far more confident and effective than the four-time champions. Both teams were missing a handful of crucial players; Naomi Girma and Sam Coffey headlining the US’s absentees, while Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey and Clàudia Pina were among Spain’s. Continue reading...
Bueckers broadsides to Lady Magic’s spice: the greatest trash talkers in WNBA history
With the season approaching its climax, we look at the players who have perfected the art of smack talking through the years Today, even the most casual of WNBA fans have watched some of the league’s biggest stars talking trash on the court. But while the snarling convos look heated, most of the time, they are good-natured, competitive fun. Still, we wondered, who are the best trash talkers in the game? Which players over the years have turned talking smack into an art form? Let’s explore. Continue reading...
UK threatens to ban Eritreans over returns policy
Move comes after east African country abruptly withdrew returns cooperation earlier this year UK politics live – latest updates Eritreans could be stopped from coming to the UK unless the country agrees to accept more rejected asylum seekers and criminals, Shabana Mahmood has warned. VIPs and officials from the east African country have already been stripped of fast-track access to UK visas after their government refused to cooperate with the return of its nationals, the home secretary said. Continue reading...
Charity watchdog to criticise ‘intimidation’ after Farage calls for prosecution of groups helping asylum seekers – UK politics live
Charity commissioner to use speech to say there is a difference between ‘heated discussion’ and harassment or abuse Reform leader Nigel Farage has postponed a major announcement that was due to take place in Essex this morning after an ITV investigation aired last night showing party councillors and election candidates making graphic threats of extreme violence and expressing racist and misogynistic views. Three councillors have already stood down from the party, which said it was conducting an investigation over the first revelations from the ITV undercover investigation. More are expected from the undercover filming of senior Reform politicians and officials working at its UK headquarters. Continue reading...
Pakistan school roof collapse kills at least 34 children and teacher
Another three pupils from al-Khair school in Peshawar in critical condition after search for survivors At least 34 schoolchildren and a female teacher have died after the roof of a school collapsed during morning classes in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar. As panicked parents and relatives thronged the site of the privately run al-Khair school to search for their loved ones, rescue workers spent hours pulling children from the rubble. Continue reading...
LGBTQ+ people go into hiding in Senegal as hundreds are arrested
At least 320 people detained for ‘acts against nature’ after law criminalising homosexuality toughened, HRW reports Mass arrests, forced HIV testing and barriers to legal representation are part of an escalating crackdown against LGBTQ+ people in Senegal, according to a new report . More than 320 individuals have been arrested and detained on allegations of “acts against nature” since February, according to HIV Justice Network , an organisation quoted in the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. Among these, at least 84 were charged with “voluntary HIV transmission”, solely on the basis of their HIV status. Continue reading...
Elon Musk suggests US government was behind Starlink restrictions in Ukraine – Europe live
Ukraine president Zelenskyy said he felt ‘betrayed’ by the US after Trump’s diesel deal and the Starlink restrictions As Ukraine reported problems with Starlink satellite internet terminals and US data that warns of Russian ballistic missile attacks, Kyiv also faced the harsh reality that its European allies cannot offer any ready-made alternatives, Reuters reported. European countries have voiced strong support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy. But the problems with vital data highlighted that Ukraine and Europe depend heavily on US systems for both low-orbit satellite communications – provided by SpaceX via Starlink – and space-based infrared sensing that feeds into early-warning systems. Continue reading...
Woman charged after allegedly poisoning colleague’s curry lunch with snail pellets
Western Australia police say woman ‘experienced numbness to her tongue’ after tasting the curry at her workplace in Perth A woman has been charged after allegedly poisoning a co-worker’s lunch curry with snail pellets. WA Police say a 58-year-old woman brought a container of curry to share with colleagues at her workplace in Perth’s southern suburbs in February. Continue reading...
ADF member ‘person of interest’ after video recorder found in HMAS Leeuwin women’s showers
Vice Admiral Buckley calls incident an ‘act of sexual violence’ and a ‘despicable betrayal of trust’ The defence department says a member of the Australian Defence Force is a “person of interest” in investigations after a video recording device was found in a bathroom on HMAS Leeuwin, in what the chief of Navy called a “despicable betrayal of trust”. A day after senator Jacqui Lambie told the Senate that a hidden camera had been found in a female shower facility onboard the naval ship, docked in Cairns, navy chief Matt Buckley confirmed a “video recording device” had been located in one of the ship’s bathrooms. Continue reading...
Wallace & Gromit maker Aardman falls short of return to profit
Animation studio narrows annual loss to £1.1m amid ‘challenging market’ in children’s content Don’t break out the celebratory Wensleydale just yet. Aardman, the British animation studio behind the cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his beloved dog Gromit, has fallen short of a target to get back in the black, its accounts show. The employee-owned business was aiming to record a small profit in 2025 after two years of consecutive losses but was hit by production delays and a “challenging market” in children’s content. Continue reading...
Doctors treating Elizabeth Struhs recommended involuntary mental health assessment of her mother, coroner hears
Inquest into death of Queensland girl denied insulin by her religious parents is told Kerrie Struhs believed God would heal her daughter Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Doctors were so concerned about the religious beliefs of Elizabeth Struhs’ mother they recommended she be subjected to an involuntary mental health assessment because she delusionally believed her daughter would be healed from type 1 diabetes, a coroner has heard. Child safety officers, nonetheless, decided to return the eight-year-old home to live with her mother, Kerrie Struhs, over the objections of Brisbane-based doctors , in 2019. Continue reading...
UK economy unexpectedly grows 0.1% in August despite fall in consumer spending
Latest data comes just two weeks before chancellor’s budget looks to help consumers traverse the cost of living crisis The UK economy unexpectedly continued to grow in August despite a fall in consumer spending before chancellor John Healey’s budget. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.1% last month, compared with 0.4% growth in July. City economists had forecast the economy would shrink by 0.1%. Continue reading...
No timeline for lifting Land Registry paywall as ownership remains opaque
Defra promised in March to work towards free access to data on large plots in England and Wales The government has refused to say when the public will be able to freely access information about who owns large plots of land across England and Wales. Emma Reynolds, the previous secretary of state for the environment, announced in March that the paywall protecting large amounts of the Land Registry would be partly lifted. Continue reading...
Burnham v Swinney: will the UK PM overshadow the SNP’s conference?
Prime minister presents new kind of challenge for SNP, and his Scottish visit will loom large over its big event This year, even Andy Burnham is invited to the Scottish National party conference. But by the time John Swinney stands up to address members on Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen to reinvigorate the case for a second independence referendum, his party may regret giving the UK prime minister so much prominence in the conference buildup. Burnham is expected to visit Scotland on Friday – the middle of the event – in a thinly veiled attempt to overshadow the SNP gathering. While he will be in a different venue, the former Manchester mayor’s presence in Scotland will loom large over the event. Since taking over at No 10 in July, Burnham has largely avoided direct confrontations with his political rivals, rarely attacking Nigel Farage or Kemi Badenoch. But he has taken a different approach with the Scottish first minister. Continue reading...
Thursday briefing: Thanks to an erratic Trump, peace in Ukraine is still far away
In today’s newsletter: As Russia resists a ceasefire and Trump’s shifting priorities unsettle allies, an end to the conflict isn’t getting any closer Good morning. In his usual asinine unconventional approach to international relations, Donald Trump announced on Sunday (via Truth Social, how else) an “ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine”, apparently without checking with either side. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said any such deal was “news to me,” nonetheless declared he was “ready and we will accept it”. Vladimir Putin responded by blowing up some Ukrainian power plants. This has been the tenor of much diplomacy during Trump’s tenure: false starts, U-turns, incoherent positions (and some playful flirting with Vlad). Meanwhile fighting continues, and America’s allies attempt to manage the fallout. Andy Burnham hosted Zelenskyy at Downing Street yesterday, stating the UK is doubling down on its support for Ukraine, and pointedly calling on others to “follow suit”. UK | Sally Rooney has said she is being forced to withdraw her books from sale in the UK because of her support for the banned organisation Palestine Action. Gaza | Israel is refusing to allow a key military outpost project for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to proceed in Gaza, the Guardian has learned. EU | Britain will benefit from much closer trading relations with the EU even if that means giving up its ability to negotiate free trade agreements, the Scotland secretary has said . Ukraine | Ukraine’s military has suddenly had its access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted as the Trump administration has increased pressure on Ukraine to immediately halt long-range strikes on Russia’s oil industry. Vaccine | Guinea-Bissau has not approved the controversial hepatitis B study in newborns that would be funded by the US government and private partners, the African country’s minister of health said. Continue reading...
Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly asked celebrity chaser friend if he could post phone to her in WA to throw in water, court told
Stacey Parker was contacted following alleged murders, years after meeting Lamarre-Condon in Sydney and bonding over scepticism of Covid vaccines Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updates Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Beau Lamarre-Condon asked a friend in Western Australia if he could post her a phone to be thrown into a body of water, and told her he’d been “set up” over the disappearance of two men, a court has heard. Lamarre-Condon, 31, has been accused of fatally shooting Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. Continue reading...
‘Manosphere’ podcasts and moon-landing conspiracy theories to remain online under new laws, Wells says
Communications minister rebuts claims that Labor’s digital duty of care laws would lead to government control of speech Follow our Australian politics live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australians could still “listen to manosphere podcasts” or “say the moon landing was fake” under proposed new online safety laws, Anika Wells has stressed as she rubbished claims they would lead to government censorship The communications minister also said she was considering updates to the digital duty of care laws to allow individual Australians to directly sue big tech companies flouting the new rules. This has been a key demand from the Greens for their support for the laws, while the Coalition accuses Labor of plans to “secretly control Australian speech”. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...
UK households have paid extra £13,961 on bills since 2021 amid soaring inflation, TUC says
Trades Union Congress urges chancellor to tackle rising additional living costs in this month’s budget UK households have paid almost £14,000 on average in additional costs for mortgages, loans, energy and water bills over the past five years, according to a report urging the chancellor to tackle soaring living costs at the budget. With less than a fortnight before John Healey’s first budget as chancellor, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said the cost of living crisis was weighing on the economy as hard-pressed households held back on spending. Continue reading...
Parents of Chloe Moffat want Treasury staff held to account over her death
Exclusive: David and Anne Moffat to meet permanent secretary after coroner found Treasury ‘materially contributed’ to employee taking her own life The parents of a woman who killed herself after facing disciplinary proceedings at the Treasury will call for anyone found to have contributed to their daughter’s death to be held to account. A coroner found in August that the Treasury had “materially contributed” to Chloe Moffat’s death after the 26-year-old personal assistant was called into a surprise disciplinary meeting about anonymous complaints alleging she had disclosed sensitive information at work, which she denied. Continue reading...
The global economy is muddling through against the odds. But a storm is coming | Larry Elliott
Finance ministers gathering for the IMF annual meeting know the need for multilateral cooperation to deal with many crises. There is little chance of that Not much has gone right for the global economy this year, and plenty has gone wrong. Two big regional wars are destabilising prices and supply chains everywhere. Businesses and consumers are feeling the effects of a serious energy shock. Rising inflation has made it a lot more expensive for governments to finance their debts. China and the US are at loggerheads over trade. Yet, so far, the impact has been modest. It is something of a miracle that the finance ministers and central bank governors gathered for this year’s annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok are not having to deal with a full-blown crisis. This is not like the autumn of 2008, when the meetings took place during the worst of the global banking meltdown. Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...