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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Rise in migrant deaths as 19 bodies found along Arizona border last month
Pima county figures show highest number of monthly migrant deaths in two years as critics condemn US policy According to newly released data from the medical examiner’s office in Pima county, Arizona, the remains of 19 migrants, including children, were recovered along the Arizona-Mexico border last month. The figure accounts for the highest number of monthly deaths in that area since 2024 and brings the number of total remains found to 73 this year, 14 more than the same time period last year. Continue reading...
With ICC sanctions, Trump wants to make the world safe for war criminals | Kenneth Roth
The US is engaged in a lawless quest to protect American and Israeli officials The Trump administration has taken another step in its crusade against the international criminal court by imposing sanctions on two more senior ICC officials. The growing number of sanctioned jurists – now 13 – does not change the lawless nature of this quest. Donald Trump and his henchman, Marco Rubio, want to make the world safe for US and Israeli war criminals. No one should let them. Continue reading...
‘It could only have been one person’: top former detective says system failed the murdered journalist Lyra McKee
Jason Murphy believes he knows who killed McKee in Derry, but culture of silence and mistrust of police is denying her family justice When Lyra McKee was shot and killed on the night of 18 April 2019, approximately 150 people were in her vicinity. The 29-year-old journalist had watched in a crowd as rioting broke out in Derry, Northern Ireland. Police footage captured the grainy outline of a man firing a handgun. “Someone’s fucking shot,” a bystander could be heard crying in mobile phone footage shown as evidence in court. “There’s a fucking kid shot in the head.” Continue reading...
Airbus bows to remote working demands after series of strikes
Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a week Airbus has reportedly bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series strikes over its chief executive’s return-to-the office orders. The world’s largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. Currently, staff are able to work remotely for two. Continue reading...
Digested week: So Harry and Meghan are moving back to the UK. Who cares?
And as Diana’s brother announces a new book, what can possibly be left to say about the princess? Plus, the joys of car rental and Reform’s Whitehall farce There are some days you never forget. It was about 6.30 in the morning the day after we had done a long drive back from hospital. Anna was five years old, Robbie just two and both were wide awake and had got me out of bed. I took them downstairs to plonk them in front of the TV to try and buy myself some time. I switched the TV on and didn’t turn it off for the rest of the day. Princess Diana had been killed in a car crash. I just stared and stared, not quite taking it in. Hard to believe that it all took place nearly 30 years ago, but Penguin has just announced that next month it will be publishing a biography of Diana written by her brother, Charles Spencer. “I want to speak on Diana’s behalf and do so in an openly positive way,” he has said, adding that she was “A one-off, dynamic character, full of love, charisma and self-doubt, who gave life a hell of a go, and left the world a far better place, despite exiting the stage while still so young.” Yup. Well it was hardly ever going to be a hatchet job, was it. Continue reading...
Democrats rally behind progressive Aisha Wahab after win in California special election – US politics live
First Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to California legislature held lead throughout race over main opponent Melissa Hernandez Sign up for the US Breaking News email Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. Following a bitter intra-party battle, progressive Aisha Wahab has been elected to Congress in a special election to fill the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell , who resigned in April after facing sexual misconduct allegations (he has denied the allegations). Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen , who turned on the president in 2019, when he compared him to a mobster during congressional testimony, executed another 180-degree turn , showering the president with praise during a friendly conversation between the two men on Cohen’s New York City radio show. The White House faced fresh questions over whether Donald Trump ’s closest aide, Natalie Harp , had access to US government secrets without security clearance. At a Rose Garden event to promote Melania Trump ’s advocacy for foster children, the first lady opened with a joked about her lack of recent public appearances , as her husband looked on with something less than rapt attention. One week after Trump ordered his navy secretary to redesign a new aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller - to scrap the modern electromagnetic system used to launch fighter jets, and install old-fashioned steam-powered catapults instead - CNN reports that the navy is considering another change to the same ship: removing the name of Miller, a Black sailor known for his heroism during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and naming it instead the USS Donald Trump. The non-partisan Cook Political Report updated its midterm election forecast to rate the US Senate races in both Texas and Iowa , which had leaned in favor of Republicans , as toss ups that could break for Democrats. Continue reading...
First Thing: US aircraft carrier arrives to relieve USS Lincoln amid reports of poor living conditions
The USS George Washington has arrived in the Middle East. Plus, an investigation into the add-on utility fees that can lead to evictions Good morning. The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East , to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln from its record deployment amid concerns about poor living conditions and morale. What are conditions like on the Lincoln? The ship has spent more than 250 days at sea supporting US operations against Iran without a significant port visit or date to return home for the 5,000 sailors and marines onboard. Reports from families of crew members published in the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes military newspapers described food and water shortages, disrupted mail services, plumbing problems, low morale and worsening mental health, prompting Democratic lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon. How are people fighting back? At least 13 lawsuits have challenged Rubs since the start of 2025 across five states – including a case in California that led to a nearly $500,000 settlement last fall with a national property manager. “Some California landlords have tried to get away with illegal rent increases by shifting utilities and other fees to tenants and pretending those new charges are not ‘rent’” under state law, Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, said when announcing the settlement. Efforts to limit or ban add-on utility fees are also gaining momentum across several cities. Continue reading...
What does Tyson’s shutdown of two US beef plants mean for grocery costs?
Meat producer closes facilities in Utah and Iowa as beef prices rise for consumers amid historic cattle shortage Tyson Foods, the largest meatpacking company in the US, announced last week that it is closing two of its facilities in Iowa and Utah and selling a beef facility in Washington state, and will lay off hundreds of workers as the supply of cattle hits a 75-year low. The historic cattle shortage has been driven by a multi-year drought, rising costs and severe economic pressures, including consolidation among cattle ranchers. Beef prices have soared over the last year due to the shortage, though economists said the Tyson plant closures likely won’t hit consumer prices so hard. Continue reading...
Daily Mail accused of stalking woman mistaken as White Stripes drummer Meg White
The tabloid boasted in a now-deleted article that they found White and promised to reveal her ‘secret new life’ The Daily Mail newspaper secretly tailed and photographed a woman in Detroit and then published an article and photographs falsely accusing her of being former The White Stripes drummer Meg White, even after she told the newspaper it had mistaken her identity, multiple sources have told the Guardian. The rightwing British tabloid quietly removed the article and photographs, first published on 6 August, from its website last week. The Mail did not issue a correction or editor’s note explaining the removal. Continue reading...
He has a work permit, a coffee shop – and an ICE ankle monitor: ‘Is this America?’
Business owner Assim Alkhawaja was arrested by ICE as he dropped off Lyft passengers at a military base. Now he’s stuck in a terrifying fight to stay in the US Deep within the bowels of San Diego’s federal courthouse, Assim Alkhawaja sat on the floor outside a nondescript office, waiting to be called for his ICE-mandated immigration appointment. He stared straight ahead, his posture tense, his face a mask. The hallway was brown, as was the carpet. Above Alkhawaja’s head hung a framed stock photo of a waterfall. A few paces away, official government signs encouraged people without legal status to self-deport. “Leave on your own terms,” they read, in several languages. “Claim a free flight and an exit bonus for each member of your family.” Continue reading...
Gun stash discovered in German forest believed to be linked to Russia, say reports
Authorities believe handguns found in forest near Berlin were to be used to carry out assassinations for Russian intelligence, Sueddeutsche reports German security authorities discovered handguns stashed in a forest near Berlin last year that they believe were to be used to carry out assassinations on behalf of Russian intelligence, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday. The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...
Voting rights experts skeptical over Trump pledge of 1,000 election monitors
Department of Justice plan raises questions over its ability to recruit so many people – and what they would do Former officials and voting rights experts have expressed skepticism over a pledge by the Trump administration to dispatch 1,000 monitors across the country to scrutinize November’s US midterm elections . While the Department of Justice (DoJ) has expressed hope that the operation will be the largest in its history, its plan raised questions over its ability to recruit so many people – and what they would do. Continue reading...
Proposed London datacentre will have annual carbon footprint of 27,000 flights to New York
Exclusive: Planning documents show datacentre in north Ockendon will be incompatible with UK net zero targets A “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 27,000 flights from London to New York, planning documents show. The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in north Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218 hectares of green belt to run servers and data storage systems for AI and cloud computing. Its developer, Digital Reef, has described the scheme as “a unique opportunity to create a sustainable datacentre campus of the future”. Continue reading...
Strangers in their own land: Mexicans deported from Trump’s America find refuge in ‘Little LA’
With plentiful jobs and community support, one Mexico City neighbourhood has become a haven for those who have lived much of their lives in the US With its wide avenues lined with tall palm trees, its quaint cafes and old-school cantinas, as well as the mix of English and Spanish spoken on the street, the Tabacalera neighborhood in downtown Mexico City has a certain US feel – so much so that it is has become known as Little LA . The nickname is about more than appearances, however. In recent years, this corner of the metropolis has become a haven for many Mexicans deported from the US, particularly those who spent years or decades living across the border and for whom Mexico feels like a foreign country. In Little LA, they have found a more familiar place to belong. Continue reading...
We would like to speak to people who have been homeless in England about what helped them off the streets
Was it a government initiative or help from a charity? Or perhaps the support of friends and/or family? Andy Burnham has called on local leaders to offer all rough sleepers in England a route off the streets by Christmas , as he pledges another £100m to end street homelessness. The prime minister has promised he will mount a Covid-style campaign to get everyone off the streets this winter, arguing that rough sleeping has become so common it now “feels like part of the scenery”. Continue reading...
‘The friendship disappeared’: López faces Romero after years of sparring and support
Boxing’s most mercurial star is putting an old friendship aside as he moves up to 147lb to challenge Rolly Romero for the welterweight title he won from Ryan Garcia For more than a decade, Teófimo López’s friendship with Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero endured through amateur tournaments, Las Vegas sparring sessions and the mismatched peaks and troughs of two volatile careers. That friendship ended, López says, the moment they signed to fight one another. On Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena along the Vegas Strip, the 29-year-old López will challenge for Romero’s World Boxing Association welterweight title. The former lightweight and junior-welterweight champion is moving up to 147lb in pursuit of a belt in a third division. For Romero, himself a three-weight belt-holder after stacking titles at 135lb and 140lb, a victory would add another marquee name to a résumé transformed by last year’s upset of Ryan Garcia . The fight will be broadcast globally on Dazn pay-per-view and will see the champion go off as a roughly 2-1 underdog. Continue reading...
Durham art gallery opens with works by Tracey Emin and Steve McQueen
The Light aims to bring art of international significance to north-east England Works by Tracey Emin, Steve McQueen and Olafur Eliasson have gone on display at a new contemporary art gallery and museum in north-east England which aims to show works of international significance. The Light is a £17m redevelopment of a museum in Durham that closed 10 years ago to considerable local uproar. Continue reading...
From Showtime to Insurance Time: how the LA Lakers became a $12.5bn hedge fund play
Bob Iger and Josh Kushner’s $12.5bn bid to buy the Lakers shows that NBA teams are no longer family dynasties, but quick flips for private equity sharks For years, the NBA was built on the alliance of patient money and marketing pizzazz, and no team captured that curious mixture better than the Los Angeles Lakers. Through Showtime in the 1980s and the dominance of the Shaq-Kobe years, the Lakers became the benchmark for a league and a sport intent on global conquest: charismatic, ambitious, and flashy, a sporting-cultural amalgam in which athleticism and celebrity held equal rank. Through careful front office recruitment, savvy coaching, and the harnessing of Hollywood’s star power, the Lakers evolved from a team into a “brand,” establishing a template that virtually every other outfit in the NBA has felt compelled to mimic in the years since. But the razzle-dazzle on the court – the Laker Girls, Magic flinging no-look passes, Shaq smashing the glass, Jack Nicholson smiling his Joker smile in the front row, all eyebrows and mischief – depended on a far more staid and stable arrangement off it. Real estate investor Jerry Buss bought the Lakers for $16m in 1979, and remained the majority owner until his death in 2013, when his children assumed control of the franchise. When Jerry Buss died, the Lakers were valued at $1bn. Now, the team looks set to be sold to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared, for $12.5bn. The sale is still under negotiation and will need to be approved by the NBA’s board of governors; the Buss siblings are also now bickering over whether to join the stampede and sell their minority 17.8% stake in the franchise to Iger and Kushner, which has added a subplot of Shakespearean family intrigue to proceedings. But in the likely event it goes through, the sale would make the Lakers the most valuable franchise in basketball. It would also signal an acceleration in private equity’s scramble to get its claws into the world of sport. Continue reading...
Retail sales in Great Britain fall despite heatwave increasing food and drink demand
Volume of goods sold in stores and online dropped 0.5% in July, ONS says Business live – latest updates Retail sales across Great Britain weakened last month despite the men’s football World Cup and record temperatures boosting the demand for food and drink. The Office for National Statistics said the volume of goods sold in stores and online fell 0.5% in July. That is down from 0.7% rise in June – revised down from initial estimates of 1% – and a 1.3% rise in May. Continue reading...
Burnham to chair growth meeting call at No 10 North – UK politics live
The PM will be working alongside chancellor John Healey, Lou Haigh, Angela Rayner and Sally Jameson with regional mayors expected to be involved Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog. Prime minister Andy Burnham will be working from No 10 North in Manchester today, where he will chair what some in government are referring to as the “growth situation room”. Burnham said yesterday that fly-tippers will be forced to pay for the clean-up when they dump waste illegally. The prime minister laid out his plans to crackdown on waste crimes as he visited an illegal dump in West Yorkshire. Racism and sexism have become normalised in Britain, the equalities minister has said, as she warned that young men were being sucked into violent misogyny by the “cesspit” of social media. Bridget Phillipson said she was increasingly worried about how commonplace misogyny and racism had become, fuelled by online interactions and statements by politicians she said would not have been acceptable a few years ago. Phillipson suggested her sweeping reforms to special educational needs provision could be adapted to give parents greater protections if they are unhappy about the service being provided for their children. The former education secretary told the Guardian ministers were open to making changes to the plans, which were announced earlier this year but which have since been subject to consultation. Education Lucy Powell on Thursday addressed the GCSE gender gap, which shrank to its narrowest point this century. Almost one in four boys in England received top grades in maths while results in English improved across the board. “The white working-class review that was recently done, that was one things it found, that more boys need to see the purpose of education, they need to see the line of sight into work,” Powell told the Press Association. Meanwhile, Burnham told reporters that funding for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s security arrangements on their return to the UK was a “private matter” , the Press Association reports. Harry and Meghan are expected to return to live in Britain later this month. After six years in the US, they will be moving with their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to a non-royal residence outside London. Continue reading...
Weather tracker: Extreme rainfall deluges Japan and South Korea
Unprecedented downpours cause deaths, evacuations and transport chaos. Plus, Hurricane Lala batters Hawaii South Korea and Japan were hit by extreme rainfall late last week and into this week. On 13 August in the city of Chiba near Tokyo there was a record-breaking 115mm of rainfall in just one hour, while the nearby city of Sakura broke its own record with 97mm in one hour. A level five emergency warning for heavy rain was issued by local authorities – the highest alert level and the first time one has been issued since the system was implemented in May. More than 100,000 households were asked to evacuate, with more than 20,000 in the Chiba prefecture left without power, while thousands of people were stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport. Thirteen people have been confirmed dead, at least three of whom were found trapped inside their vehicles, with one person still missing. Continue reading...
Footage shows French police clashing with people on beach as they try to leave in small boat
Film emerges as France says it has prevented 185 ‘small boat crossing events’ in three months since new £660m deal with UK Footage has captured the moment French police officers clashed with people on a beach in northern France as the authorities attempted to intercept a dinghy attempting to reach the UK. Men wearing lifejackets appear to throw objects at the police to try to keep them away from their dinghy. The officers then use Pava spray before slashing the inflatable boat with a knife. Continue reading...
Australian police charge man accused of attempting to share Ukrainian military intel with Russian agents
Vladmir Teslov, 27, charged after allegedly seeking to provide information about Ukrainian forces to ‘Russian intelligence services’ Australian police have charged a man who allegedly joined the Ukrainian military and sought to provide information about its activities to people he suspected were Russian agents. Vladimir Teslov, a dual Russian-Australian citizen, appeared in court on Friday after the Australian federal police (AFP) charged him with an attempted foreign interference. The offence carries a 20-year prison sentence. Continue reading...
I put myself in the prime minister’s shoes – and learned some uncomfortable lessons | Zoe Williams
On the political survival game everyone in Westminster’s playing, I discovered an unnerving reflection of our country’s atmosphere of mistrust No 10: Full Confidence is the game all the lobby journalists and backbenchers are playing on their phones. Westminster hasn’t been so united by an app since the early 2010s, when everyone was trying to figure out what David Cameron saw in Angry Birds . The game is quite engrossing: you are the prime minister, taking office, and your name is Yusuf Dunmore. Popularity starts high in all the important areas – cabinet, backbenchers, the media, the public. But from there, every decision you are called upon to make, from nominating a chancellor to your answers at PMQs, confronts you with an invidious choice between one crisis and another. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...