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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after vehicle hits pedestrians in London
Suspect held after five people injured, including three who were taken to hospital, in Ealing on Saturday afternoon A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a vehicle hit multiple pedestrians on a busy London road before driving away, police have said. Five people were injured, including three who were later taken to hospital, during the incident in Ealing Broadway, Ealing, west London, at about 2.30pm on Saturday. Continue reading...
Pro-One Nation Facebook groups appear to be run by foreign ‘meme factories’ that monetise content
Exclusive: Guardian analysis suggests several groups with thousands of members run by what expert calls ‘engagement farm’ operations in south-east Asia Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Some of the largest One Nation supporter groups on Facebook appear to be run from overseas by foreign digital creators who monetise content. Guardian Australia examined 14 of the largest pro- One Nation public groups with at least 8,000 members, and found most were created this year. Continue reading...
Venezuela earthquakes: death toll rises again to more than 1,400
Search for survivors continues with nearly 70,000 people reported unaccounted for by their family members The death toll in the twin earthquakes which struck Venezuela earlier this week has risen to 1,430, according to one of the country’s top politicians Jorge Rodríguez. Another 3,200 people were injured and 3,100 left homeless by the disaster, the National Assembly president added, speaking on state television. Continue reading...
Utah’s Cottonwood fire spreads overnight to cover 92,000 acres
Firefighters are battling the blaze in Fishlake national park that was stoked by strong winds and low humidity Hundreds of firefighters in Utah have struggled to suppress a wildfire that scorched an additional 20,000 acres (8,000 hectares) as of Saturday, as low humidity and strong winds accelerated the fire spread, according to state officials. The Cottonwood fire erupted on Monday in the Fishlake national forest, located in central Utah. The blaze intensified overnight, growing from about 70,000 acres (28,000 hectares) to more than 92,000 acres (37,000 hectares) on Saturday morning, according to the US Forest Service. The fire is at a 0% containment level and is the largest blaze currently burning in the US, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Continue reading...
UK minister working up plans for state-owned housing developer
Exclusive: Steve Reed is looking at government run scheme that could borrow at lower rates than private developers The housing secretary has been working up plans for a state-owned housing developer, according to details leaked to the Guardian, as the government looks for ways to stimulate stubbornly low rates of housebuilding. Steve Reed has been looking at proposals to set up a new state-owned developer which could borrow at lower rates than private developers and housing associations, according to plans leaked to the Guardian. Continue reading...
White House unveils new images of US ‘patriot passports’ for America’s 250th
Democrats called plans for commemorative passports and gold coin with Trump portrait ‘more befitting a monarchy’ Donald Trump ’s efforts to brand the US government with his name and image advanced on Friday when the White House unveiled new images of a passport watermarked with his portrait to mark America’s 250th. The White House called it simply the “patriot passport”, while on Truth Social Trump introduced it as “The U.S.A.’s New Passport, which says, “Welcome, but be good!”. Continue reading...
Bahrain condemns Iranian drone attack after overnight US strikes
No immediate reports of damage after Bahrain hit by ‘number of drones’ as ship in strait of Hormuz also targeted Bahrain said it was attacked by Iran with a wave of drones on Saturday, apparently in response to overnight US strikes on Iran . A ship in the strait of Hormuz was also attacked. Bahrain’s foreign ministry said a “number of drones” were launched at the country, though there were no immediate reports of damage. It condemned the attack and described it as a “flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents”. Continue reading...
California officials unearth 117 dog bodies, many with bullet fragments, at ‘no-kill’ shelter
Police say they also found more than 600 dog collars in area where they suspect animals were killed Investigators uncovered 117 dead dogs at a northern California animal rescue sanctuary, with many of the canine remains having evidence of gunshots. Miranda’s Rescue, a sanctuary outside Fortuna, California , described itself as a “no-kill” facility. Investigators said the organization accepted hundreds of dogs each year from shelters across the San Francisco Bay Area in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. Continue reading...
Foodie in Fairbanks: the unexpected culinary scene in the middle of Alaska
Locals and visitors of the Golden Heart City have a plethora of food choices to choose from – Thai, Chinese, Korean and even Moldovan cuisine Charlie Boonprasert and Tutu Navachai arrived in Fairbanks in the 1980s, when their friend offered them jobs mining and cooking at a gold lease. The pair, originally from northern Thailand, soon realized there was almost no south-east Asian food available in Alaska’s remote interior. But they did find a small Thai population in Fairbanks yearning for a taste of home, and a chance to meet up and gossip. Continue reading...
JD Vance claims US holds all the cards in Iran and will win ‘either way’
Vice-president appeared on Bill Maher’s show hours before more military strikes were exchanged in strait of Hormuz JD Vance said on Friday that the US wins “either way” regarding negotiations with Iran , pointing to what he called the destruction of its nuclear program and diminishment as a country. “If we make the final deal, then great,” the US vice-president told HBO’s Bill Maher . “If we don’t make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed. They’re still much weaker as a country, so my attitude is America wins either way.” Continue reading...
Germany and Italy swelter in heatwave as records tumble across Europe
Denmark experiences highest temperature on record on Saturday in eastward spread of weather system Europe heatwave – latest updates Germany and Italy endured sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths in western Europe spread eastwards, after temperatures broke records above 40C (104F). Denmark registered its highest temperature on record on Saturday, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute. “With 36.6C north of Odense, we have the warmest day ever since measurements began in 1874,” it said in a post on X. Continue reading...
Lebanon-Israel deal may block war crime victims from seeking justice, experts warn
Agreement could also end hopes of ICC jurisdiction in Lebanon – a move advocates pushed for to prosecute Israel A new agreement between Lebanon and Israel could block victims of Israeli war crimes in Lebanon from pursuing accountability and hinder future efforts to give the international criminal court jurisdiction in the country, legal experts warned. Lebanon and Israel signed a 14-point framework agreement in Washington on Friday designed to work towards an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Continue reading...
GB News pundit charged with fraud during time as Labour adviser
Exclusive: Matthew Torbitt faces two counts by false representation in relation to travel and expense claims A prominent political commentator has been charged with fraud in relation to his time as a Labour adviser, the Guardian can reveal. Matthew Torbitt, a regular guest pundit on GB News, faces two counts of fraud by false representation in relation to his travel and expenses claims while working in parliament. Continue reading...
‘It’s become a litmus test’: wins for Israel critics shine light on key issue for Democrats
Candidates who believe Israel has committed genocide won big in New York – will it push the party to move their way? Regardless of which party wins control of Congress in November, New York City voters have all but ensured that next year a vocal bloc of new House Democrats will arrive on Capitol Hill, elected, in large part, because they believe Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza. That is an upshot of the primary elections held Tuesday in New York, where voters ousted two incumbent House Democrats and replaced a third who is retiring with progressives championed by Zohran Mamdani. Continue reading...
The AI bubble has further to run despite the looming crash
As tech firms make huge profits and investors fear losing out, both are doing their best to hold off the day of reckoning OpenAI staggers AI model release after White House request Every couple of decades, investors will ask themselves how long can the stock market keep climbing. Is it safe to buy more shares? Is their pension or equity portfolio vulnerable should financial markets, and especially those in the US, come crashing down to earth? When stock markets rise to historically high levels – and beyond the level when normal profits can sustain share prices – a few “experts” typically warn of an impending crash. Continue reading...
Appeals court rejects Trump EPA bid to abandon rule restricting deadly soot pollution
Decision leaves in place Biden-era standard on pollution from coal-fired plants, factories and other industrial sources A federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Environmental Protection Agency ’s attempt to abandon a Biden -era rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel is a setback for the Trump administration ’s deregulatory agenda and its repeated efforts to boost coal, a reliable but polluting energy source. Continue reading...
‘Like a dead body’: after warehouse fire, LA residents say air thick with smell of rotting food
Cleanup under way after week-long fire at a Boyle Heights facility spoiled tens of millions of pounds of frozen food Something is rotten in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights. For a week, thick black smoke filled the air while a massive warehouse burned near downtown Los Angeles, prompting a state of emergency and evacuation orders in the immediate area as air quality worsened. Firefighters finally extinguished the flames on Wednesday, but not before half the warehouse’s 85m lbs of frozen food were lost in the fire – leaving roughly 40m lbs of food to rot. Continue reading...
Thunderstorms disrupt Gatwick and Heathrow as hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled
Passengers report being stuck on grounded planes in sweltering conditions as severe weather causes travel disruption across Europe Europe heatwave: latest updates Thunderstorms have caused severe delays to hundreds of flights at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, leaving passengers stuck on grounded planes for hours in the scorching heat. Overnight, downpours and thunderstorms lit up the skies of London after back-to-back days of 30C-plus weather as the UK and much of Europe experienced a record-breaking heatwave . Continue reading...
Who would the US need to beat to win the World Cup? Probably only Spain, France and England
Mauricio Pochettino’s team won their group after some impressive performances. But they’d probably need to beat some of the world’s best to claim the title Football Unites the World … in wishing it had paid more attention in applied mathematics class. Or so the Fifa slogan could have been expanded to say, given the mind-warping that arose from the formula for slicing the newly expanded 48-team tournament down to 32 sides for the first knockout round . After all, why do a random draw when you can build a matrix with 495 possible scenarios in order to assign the fixtures for the eight best third-placers? Anyway, what matters is that Mauricio Pochettino’s team will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, and no new format is going to stop us from – in time-honored fashion – speculating wildly about what may happen next while we still have the chance, with the potential for American wins rated using one of the mantra-loving manager’s motivational rallying cries of choice. Continue reading...
Children embrace Cornish language as it enjoys ‘remarkable resurgence’
Go Cornish Celebration engages younger generation as council finalises strategy to boost everyday use of Kernewek Seven-year-old Albie, a pupil at Trewirgie infants’ school in Redruth, did not hesitate when asked why he liked learning Kernewek, the Cornish language. “We used to talk this way in the old days,” he said. “And I like speaking now. I enjoy the songs we sing, the Cornish books we read, all the words. It’s fun.” Continue reading...
The war for Burnham’s ear: politicians and wonks fight for influence over a PM
There is high emotion, a deluge of policy papers and an ‘excruciating’ jostle for jobs as Labour’s probable next leader settles back into Westminster life As well as being the most popular politician in the country – for now – Andy Burnham is also the most popular man at Westminster. Labour MPs, the unions, Whitehall civil servants, political advisers and thinktanks are all among those battling for the ear of the next prime minister. “There are so many different demands all at once. But the supply of face time with Andy is significantly smaller than the demand. It’s been like laying down a new train track simultaneously with driving the train at 200mph,” one close ally said. Continue reading...
Australia to double penalty for social media ban breaches to $99m as tech giants accused of ‘not doing enough’
Prime minister Anthony Albanese says too many children still on platforms but he is ‘heartened’ by world-leading law Social media bans go global: big tech faces a reckoning after Australia’s crackdown Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The federal government will double the penalty for breaches of Australia’s youth social media ban to $99m, arguing tech companies are “not doing enough” to keep children off harmful social media sites. And the eSafety commissioner, now investigating potential breaches of the law by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, will have its information-gathering powers strengthened under proposed further reforms. Continue reading...
‘I’m missing out’: the cash-strapped UK university students forced to live at home
Experts say students from poorer backgrounds increasingly having to limit their options because of money worries Most days, Mariam spends hours simply waiting. The 19-year-old University College London student often finishes her lectures by mid-morning but has careers events or society meetings in the evening. The three-hour round trip to her family home means travelling back and forth makes little sense, so she waits on campus instead. More often than not, by the time the event starts, she is too exhausted to stay long. Continue reading...
The UFC match plot: how a far-right group tried to assassinate Trump at his own event
Court files show how men connected through TikTok and encrypted apps planned attack on White House UFC fight When Tycen Proper, 19, finished high school, his family gave him at least $3,000 of “graduation money”, according to court documents. Despite the generosity, he seemed content to just live at his parents’ home, in a tiny Ohio town near Amish country, and spend more and more time on the internet. But Proper did have ambition of a kind, an affidavit says . He quit his job to focus on a special project that he was planning with friends from the internet. His mother saw him studying maps of Washington DC. He also put his graduation money into investments that made his father uneasy: a rifle, a shotgun, body armor, ammunition. Continue reading...