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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Burnham’s visit to Kyiv marks a renewal of badly needed support for Ukraine
As well as pledging military help and diplomatic backing, the prime minister could be useful in dealing with the US Since moving into Downing Street in July, Andy Burnham – a foreign policy neophyte – has expressed strong support for Ukraine. But on Monday he saw the bitter human cost of the war up close for the first time, visiting Kyiv during his first international trip as prime minister. The occasion was the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave awards to the families of fallen soldiers. Relatives wept, hugging Ukraine’s president. Photos of young men in their prime were shown on a giant screen. Continue reading...
San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York pleads no contest after arrest at Ohio trailer park
46-year-old charged with possessing criminal tools York fined and sentenced to two days in jail 49ers CEO also owns stake in Leeds United The San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York has pleaded no contest to two criminal charges after being arrested in Ohio over the weekend. KRON4 News in San Francisco reported that York was initially arrested on suspicion of engaging in prostitution but that count was amended to a charge of disorderly conduct. He was also charged with possessing criminal tools. Continue reading...
John Oliver on ‘smart’ appliances: ‘Spying on you through the washing machine’
The host also discussed the rise of forgotten monthly subscriptions for anything from dishwashers to litter boxes On the Sunday night episode of his HBO show, John Oliver discussed the rise of subscription-based business models across the worlds of music, film and TV, beauty, food, cleaning services and more. “Subscriptions are now basically everywhere and many of us don’t even realize how much we spend on them,” Oliver said. Continue reading...
Vuelta a España: giant hail forces stage three abandonment in Pyrenees
Huge hailstones prompt organisers to act 15km from end Riders seen heading into hotel on route to take cover A torrential hailstorm in the French Pyrenees forced the abandonment of the third stage of the Vuelta a España on Monday. With 15km (9.32 miles) remaining of the 174km ride from Gruissan to Font-Romeu, the skies darkened as the peloton scaled the Col de Mont-Louis and huge hailstones began pelting the riders. Continue reading...
Burnham hands secret missile technology to Ukraine – The Latest
Andy Burnham is making his first foreign visit as prime minister to Ukraine, marking the country’s independence day. Burnham will use the trip to announce that the UK government will declassify information about missiles to help Ukraine build its own. Lucy Hough speaks to senior international correspondent Luke Harding – watch on YouTube Luke’s new book Betrayal: Trump, Putin and the New Age of Conquest is out on Thursday Continue reading...
Washington Post ordered to reinstate opinion writer fired over Charlie Kirk posts
Arbitrator determined the Post improperly fired Karen Attiah, a union-protected employee, over social media posts An independent arbitrator has ordered the Washington Post to rehire the high-profile opinion columnist Karen Attiah, abruptly fired by the news organization last September over comments she made on social media about Charlie Kirk , the then recently slain conservative activist. On Monday, an arbitrator ruled that the Post had violated her rights as a union-protected employee and ordered the newspaper to reinstate her and compensate her for lost wages. Continue reading...
Households in Great Britain ‘could owe energy suppliers £7bn by end of year’
After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UK Households in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as £7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning. Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about £500m over the past year to a record £6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices. Continue reading...
How can we stop destroying the prospects of a generation? Scrapping compulsory GCSE resits will be a start | Polly Toynbee
Michael Gove calls the axing of his Tory strategy ‘bringing back stupid’. He doesn’t seem to care that it did more harm than good GCSE results day was marked with the usual front pages filled with pictures of beaming students. What you didn’t see was the invisible third of 16-year-olds in England who failed their maths and English GCSEs, the obstacle to their future. That’s 360,000 failed in a system designed by Michael Gove as education minister to mark out winners from losers. It’s a cast of mind shared by many in his party who still yearn for the 11-plus , which consigned a random number of children to failure before they’d hardly begun. A few councils still do it. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Toddler invades pitch during Minnesota’s MLS win over San Jose: ‘There’s a baby on the field’
Child wandered on field during MNUFC’s 5-1 win Minnesota posts win was ‘Like taking money from a baby’ A toddler interrupted a Major League Soccer match between Minnesota United and San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday by invading the pitch – a bizarre scene punctuated by an on-air analyst saying, “There’s a baby on the field.” With a minute and a half to play in the game that Minnesota won 5-1 at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, the small child took to the field – and the referee blew his whistle to stop play. Continue reading...
Australia has just 12,000 sea lions left – and ‘carnage’ may await them as bird flu takes hold, scientists warn
Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in pinnipeds in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pups Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Scientists have warned deadly H5 bird flu could cause “carnage” for Australia’s seal and sea lion populations after detection of the virus in long-nosed fur seals in South Australia. SA confirmed Australia’s first case in a mammal on Saturday after a dead long-nosed fur seal found at Beachport on the Limestone Coast tested positive for H5N1. Continue reading...
Guns, axes, explosives: violent museum heists are on the rise, says Europol
EU police agency says shift could point to involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific artefacts Robberies at European museums are becoming increasingly violent, with thieves brandishing guns, assaulting staff and using sledgehammers, axes and even explosives to smash their way into buildings and display cases, according to a report by Europol The EU police agency said that while museum thefts were generally seen as a non-violent form of organised property crime, member states had detected a recent shift “towards violent and forceful methods” that could point to the involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific cultural artefacts. Continue reading...
Man suspected of killing five people in Oregon found dead, officials say
Authorities suspect Benjamin Charles Parker, 36, died by suicide after he was found in vehicle in Washington state A man suspected of killing five people in rural Oregon was found dead in a suspected suicide, local law enforcement officials said on Sunday. The five homicide victims were found on Saturday at a home in a rural community near Forest Grove, Oregon, about 30 miles (48km) outside Portland, when authorities responded to a report of a vehicle fire. Continue reading...
Video shows hundreds held captive after Nigeria mosque kidnapping
Gunmen attacked worshippers in Dekara village on Friday taking women, children and older people An armed group has posted a video showing what residents said were about 600 women, children and older people abducted in an attack on a mosque in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State last week. The video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp, showed large groups of people seated in a forested area surrounded by armed men. Several children could be heard crying in the background. Continue reading...
Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott found guilty of sexually abusing children
Five-day trial at high court in Glasgow heard Dott subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse The former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of sexually abusing two primary school age children. The 49-year-old subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse, with the girl targeted between 1993-96 and the boy between 2006-10. A five-day trial at the high court in Glasgow heard Dott exposed himself in front of both children, touched them inappropriately, and kissed them. On Monday, he was found guilty of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards them. In both cases the abuse happened in the Glasgow area. Continue reading...
‘Staggering’: watchdog condemns police after Indigenous teenager on bus wrongfully arrested – then searched
Ombudsman Iain Anderson says he is concerned police ‘had no clearly understood definition of racial profiling’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The commonwealth and ACT ombudsman has criticised the Australian federal police for failing to clearly define “racial profiling” after police in Canberra pulled guns on an Indigenous teenager who they mistook for a suspect in an aggravated burglary. The scathing investigation, released on Tuesday, made eight recommendations to the Australian federal police (AFP) and ACT Policing after investigating the November 2025 incident. ACT Policing sits under the AFP as the community policing arm. Continue reading...
Why does the New York Times keep calling the left ‘divisive’?
The newspaper often uses the word to describe elections with progressive contenders, implying a previous whole destroyed by the left “El-Sayed and Stevens Project Party Unity After Divisive Race,” announced the New York Times on 5 August, the day the democratic socialist Abdul El-Sayed beat out his centrist Democratic rival, Haley Stevens, in the Michigan senatorial primary. “Divisive” is now the Times’s favorite attack word, deployed repeatedly to disparage and try to undermine the astonishing recent advances by self-identified democratic socialists and other progressive candidates. Four days after that first story, the Times again landed “divisive” under “Obama and El-Sayed Discuss Unity After Ugly Michigan Primary.” El-Sayed, it asserted, had “narrowly prevailed in a divisive primary after campaigning on a progressive and anti-establishment platform”. Continue reading...
Survivors of violent crime criticise MoJ for not explaining offender restriction zones
Campaigners accuse ministers of trying to grab headlines with announcement before a working system is ready Survivors of violent crime and families of victims have criticised the UK government for announcing “world first” plans to introduce restriction zones for serious offenders freed from prison within a few weeks without spelling out how they would work. Key campaigners who have championed the idea of the zones , designed to “lock” offenders into specific areas, accused the government of seeking to grab headlines rather than providing the detail that would reassure survivors and families. Continue reading...
Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon price rises in western Europe ‘highest in world’
World’s largest streaming services have also increased subscription costs repeatedly in US, research finds Business live – latest updates Subscribers to Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in western Europe have faced higher price increases than in any other market in recent years, according to research. Over the past four years the world’s largest subscription video streaming services have dramatically changed their business models introducing lower-priced, basic advertising tiers to attract new subscribers , while also increasingly monetising users willing to pay more for a premium experience. Continue reading...
Indiana mayor calls it ‘unacceptable’ for thousands to have no power two weeks after storm
Gary mayor says 12 days is ‘too long’ for residents to go without power after storm downed trees on to power lines The mayor of Gary, Indiana , has said it is “unacceptable” that thousands of residents in the city are still without power nearly two weeks after an 11 August storm known as a derecho brought 90 mph, straight-line winds, downing trees on to power lines. “We’re at day 12, and 12 days is too long for families to be without power,” Eddie Melton, Gary’s mayor, said in a video address on Sunday , adding that he is continuing to pressure the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (Nipsco) to restore the city’s power before the end of Tuesday. Continue reading...
Twelve people arrested over A66 crash that killed seven including two police officers
Nine men and three women aged between 19 and 61 arrested as part of investigation of events leading to deadly collision Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including being involved with organised crime as part of the investigation into events leading to a crash on the A66 which killed two police officers and five others. Cleveland police said nine men and three women, aged between 19 and 61, had been arrested on suspicion of offences ranging from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Continue reading...
At least six injured in Reno, Nevada, wildfire as 42,000 forced to evacuate
Fast-moving, ‘human-caused’ fire in Reno leaves thousands of homes and businesses without power, officials say Tens of thousands of people in Nevada were urged to evacuate as a fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire bore down on the city of Reno. The Hawk fire began on Saturday to the north-west of the city, and quickly grew, showing “extreme fire behavior”. Continue reading...
French police accused of rising use of violence to stop Channel crossings
NGO criticises ‘human cost’ of UK-funded crackdown on attempts to set off from French beaches in small boats People trying to cross the Channel to the UK have reported an increase in French police use of violence on beaches to prevent them from getting into dinghies, according to a French NGO. Utopia 56, which works on beaches from where migrants attempt Channel crossings, says so far this year 2,720 people have reported being victims of French police violence, compared with 1,954 over the same period last year, when crossings overall were much higher. Continue reading...
Up to £464m ‘moved through more than 3,000 UK high street shell companies’
Research shows firms are branded as beauty and convenience but apparently operate in money-laundering and terrorist financing sectors Up to £464m has “moved through” more than 3,000 UK shell companies branded as beauty and convenience stores but apparently operating in the money-laundering and terrorist financing sectors, a new analysis sets out. The companies – listed as hairdressers, barber shops and salons, on the one hand, or mini-marts and corner shops on the other – show “remarkably similar lifespans” of about six months despite their seemingly different purposes. Continue reading...
Race Across the World star Jo Gardiner dies a year after son
Gardiner, who had cancer, is remembered as ‘one of a kind’ after competing in BBC show with son Sam in 2020 Tributes have been paid to the Race Across the World star Jo Gardiner, who has died a year after her son and co-star Sam was killed in a car crash. The physiotherapist from Manchester died after “a long and courageous battle with cancer”, relatives said. She was 61 and is survived by her other son, Charlie. Continue reading...