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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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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...
We’ll never be royals: the California town where Prince Harry and Meghan lived says goodbye
As the couple plans their return to the UK, Montecito’s whirlwind stint on the global stage may be coming to an end The bucolic coastal California town of Montecito was thrust into the limelight six years ago as the backdrop for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s second act following an acrimonious split from Buckingham Palace. But as the couple plans their return to the United Kingdom, Montecito’s whirlwind stint on the global stage may be coming to an end. Continue reading...
UK reports unexpected deficit of £1.8bn as John Healey prepares for first budget
July data shows total public debt was £2.98tn, or 94% of GDP – up £96bn on a year earlier Business live – latest updates The UK government ran a larger than expected £1.8bn deficit in July, underlining the challenges facing the chancellor, John Healey, as he draws up his first budget. City economists had expected a shortfall of zero for July, a month when Treasury receipts tend to be swollen by self-assessment income tax payments. Continue reading...
Israeli settler attacks shift to heart of territory earmarked for Palestinian state
Report says West Bank violence moving from Israeli-controlled areas to those under direct Palestinian rule Violent Israeli settler attacks in the two areas of the occupied West Bank under direct Palestinian rule have almost doubled since 2025, as settlers pursue a self-proclaimed “great settlement revolution” in the very heart of the territory earmarked for a Palestinian state. According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din , shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in 2026 have taken place in the so-called Areas A and B – placed under Palestinian Authority governance in the 1995 Oslo accords. Continue reading...
Brethren church denies paying far-right activists to stage election stunts targeting Albanese and others
Church director tells parliamentary inquiry reporting by Nine newspapers a ‘complete lie’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has denied it secretly paid far-right influencers to stage stunts targeting Anthony Albanese and other politicians during an appearance at a parliamentary inquiry into the 2025 election. The church also refuted claims it had coordinated hundreds of volunteers to support Liberal candidates, including at polling booths across the country. Continue reading...
UK men with heart disease at higher risk of developing and dying from cancer
Decade-long study finds stark gender difference in outcomes of people with heart disease Millions of men with heart disease have a higher risk of developing and dying from cancer, according to a decades-long study. The biggest drivers behind male cases were smoking, obesity and drinking too much alcohol, researchers said, with the link most pronounced in lung and oesophageal cancers. Continue reading...
Back on track: can Burnham fix the north’s woeful rail services?
From a new high-speed line to better intercity links, the PM has a chance to tackle problems he criticised as Manchester mayor For passenger rail travel, the north of England was the future, once. But since that first train from Darlington to Stockton in 1825, many have felt short-changed. As one angry passenger put it, 200 years later: “What is it about the rail industry which makes them think they can treat passengers in the north as second-class citizens?” That complaint came from the former mayor of Greater Manchester, who frequently set out a different vision for the train services he would like. Now that Andy Burnham is in No 10, he has the opportunity to win those battles – or perhaps see them a little differently. For now, what unresolved issues could the railway expect to be pursued with greater urgency? Continue reading...
Rewilded land remains green amid drought-stricken English countryside, images show
National Trust’s Holnicote estate says restored wetlands and rivers offer proof of resilience to drought, wildfires and flooding Aerial footage of an estate in Somerset has revealed the benefits of rewilding land in the face of extreme weather brought about by the climate crisis. The area of the National Trust’s Holnicote estate where rivers have been returned to their natural courses and wetlands have been restored have remained green and lush during the five heatwaves across the summer. In contrast, the surrounding countryside has become parched and brown. Continue reading...
Russia’s simulated enemy attack around disputed islands angers Japan
Russian fleet launched missile drill near what Moscow calls the Kuril Islands but Japan regards as its Northern Territories Japan has criticised missile tests carried out by Russia’s navy around the disputed islands visited by Vladimir Putin last week amid continuing tensions between the two countries. Russia’s Pacific fleet said on Thursday that it had fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, the largest island in the disputed archipelago, simulating an attack on enemy vessels, hitting all of its targets approximately 300km away. Continue reading...
Former Liberal MP condemns Coalition for backing gambling reforms that ‘let down’ vulnerable Australians
Jenny Ware, member of inquiry that recommended wagering advertising ban, says ‘public health crisis’ demands stronger response from major parties Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The former Liberal MP Jenny Ware has condemned her one-time Coalition colleagues for backing Labor’s gambling legislation, claiming “vulnerable Australians have been let down”, as the parliament failed to back a full ban on wagering ads. Ware, a member of the Peta Murphy-led inquiry in 2023 that recommended entirely ending wagering advertising and inducements, called gambling a public health crisis that demanded a much stronger response from both sides of politics. Continue reading...
Python named Jodie Foster first snake to receive pioneering cancer treatment
Chester zoo resident, 23, ‘back to her usual feisty self’ after electrochemotherapy for tumour in her jaw A 15ft (4.5-metre) python is believed to be the first snake in the world to be given a pioneering, life-saving cancer treatment normally used on humans. The 50kg reticulated python, named Jodie Foster after the Hollywood star, has just turned 23 and lives at Chester zoo. Keepers first became concerned that she may be unwell when she began eating less and spending more time inactive in her habitat. Continue reading...
Anxiety over war, wildfires and cyber-attacks leads to growth in cash stocks in EU
Value of banknotes in circulation rises from €1bn in 2016 to €1.6bn in 2026 as people advised to keep stash of cash The number of banknotes in circulation in the EU is increasing despite widespread smartphone payments, new data shows, with wildfires ripping through parts of Europe fuelling demand for an emergency stash of cash. While cash plays second fiddle to contactless payments in many cities across Europe, the amount in circulation is actually going up, Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), said at the MacGill summer school conference in Ireland. Continue reading...
Alleged rapist arrested after returning to Brisbane crime scene that night, police say
Man, 32, charged with six counts of rape, stalking and assault after woman was allegedly attacked in Brookfield Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Queensland police say a man accused of raping and assaulting a young woman, who was taking a morning bushwalk, has been arrested after he returned to the crime scene in his vehicle later that evening. A woman, aged in her 20s, was walking in the semi-rural Brisbane suburb of Brookfield about 6.30am on Thursday when she was allegedly stopped by the man and sexually assaulted. She told police her attacker fled on foot. Continue reading...
Tiananmen Square vigil organisers found guilty in Hong Kong of ‘inciting subversion’
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung - leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance – were tried under under a 2020 national security law Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China’s deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 were found guilty of “incitement to subversion”, in a case widely criticised as exemplifying the erosion of freedom of expression in the Chinese city. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41 “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power”, a press summary handed out to reporters said. Continue reading...
Catholic Schools NSW boss sacked after appearance at Icac inquiry into alleged Liberal party corruption
Watchdog investigating whether Dallas McInerney arranged illegal political donations from schools to lobbying companies controlled by the Reformers The chief executive of Catholic Schools New South Wales, Dallas McInerney, has been sacked after appearing at a watchdog inquiry into allegations of corruption in the state’s Liberal party . The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) is investigating the allegation that McInerney, who gave evidence to the inquiry this week and last week, arranged and approved illegal political donations from Catholic Schools NSW to lobbying companies controlled by conservative factional group the Reformers, under the guise of consultancy services. Continue reading...
Court ends case against police charged over tasering and pepper spraying ‘vulnerable’ First Nations man
Court finds ‘defects’ in investigation of two senior constables charged over 2024 incident at Mareeba watch house in far north Queensland Two police officers charged with criminal offences over the use of capsicum spray, Tasers and restraints on a “cognitively and emotionally vulnerable” First Nations man in police custody have had the case against them permanently stayed, after a court found “defects” in the subsequent investigation. Andrew David Couchman, 54, and Ulrich Weiss, 45, both senior constables, were both charged over the incident at the Mareeba watch house in far north Queensland in January 2024. Continue reading...
Sycophancy in stereo as former Trump hater Michael Cohen loses his nerve
Fawning, deferential, oleaginous – this was the Untruth and Reconciliation Commission as Trump called in to 77 WABC “Our next guest is a ‘ racist ’, a ‘ conman ’ and a ‘ cheat ’ – someone who behaves more like a ‘mobster’ than a president. Please welcome Donald J Trump!” That is how Michael Cohen could have introduced Trump on his New York radio show on Thursday. After all, Cohen used such terms to describe the US president in his testimony to Congress in 2019. But now Trump’s former personal lawyer and self-described fixer had different words: “boss” and “sir”. Just like old times. Continue reading...
‘Keffe D’ told detectives years ago his nephew fired the shots that killed Tupac
The former gang leader was charged with planning the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur in 1996 Jurors on Thursday heard Duane “Keffe D” Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur. Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas. At the time of the interview, his nephew had been dead for a decade. Continue reading...
From ‘predator’ to ‘conman’: how Michael Cohen has described Trump
President’s one-time ‘attack dog’ became his fierce critic – but now Cohen says he has forgiven his former boss Donald Trump has given a radio interview to none other than Michael Cohen , his former longtime personal fixer turned fierce critic, after an apparent reconciliation set the stage for their first public conversation in eight years. Cohen once had such a tight relationship with the US president that he described himself back in the day as his “attack dog with a law license”, but later became the star witness in Trump’s 2024 criminal trial over his hush-money payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in an effort to interfere with the 2016 election. Continue reading...
Democrat Aisha Wahab wins California special election to fill Eric Swalwell’s US House seat
Progressive wins bitter fight for seat formerly held by congressman who quit amid sexual misconduct claims Progressive Aisha Wahab was elected to Congress in a special election on Tuesday following a bitter intra-party battle over the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell, who resigned in April after facing sexual misconduct allegations. Swalwell has denied the allegations. Wahab, a state senator, was widely considered the frontrunner in the district in California ’s East Bay and had the backing of the state Democratic party as well as Our Revolution, labor unions, local officials and the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta. She won the primary for the special election for the final months of Swalwell’s term by more than 20 points over Hernandez, the president of the board of directors for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (Bart) agency. Continue reading...
Fashion tech founder sentenced to prison for $300m fraud scheme
Christine Hunsicker, former CEO of CaaStle, gave investors falsified documents that overstated profit and cash reserves A fashion tech founder was sentenced to five years in federal prison for her involvement in a $300m “fraud scheme” spanning from 2019 to 2025, the Manhattan US attorney’s office announced on Thursday. Christine Hunsicker, 49, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. Hunsicker, the founder and ex-CEO of CaaStle Inc, had pleaded guilty this March to one count of securities fraud in relation to a scheme that “defrauded hundreds of investors”, authorities said . Her attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...
Jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan taken to hospital
Move may signal attempt to improve relations between military-backed government and ex-leader’s party The jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has been transferred to a hospital in Islamabad for medical examination, fulfilling a longstanding demand by supporters who say his health has deteriorated during more than three years in prison. The move followed a supreme court order this week and is seen as a potential first step toward easing tensions between Khan’s party and Pakistan’s powerful military establishment, which have been at odds since his removal from office in 2022. Continue reading...
Website behind widely shared fake election polls run by 21-year-old
Exclusive: Rahil Prakash tells the Guardian: ‘I wanted to see if fake polls could penetrate the ecosystem that easily’ A 21-year-old recent college graduate was behind an anonymous website that put out widely shared fake election polling in Wisconsin, Nevada and California, the Guardian can reveal. The website, Median Strategies, abruptly shut down and withdrew its polling earlier this week following questions from a reporter from the Los Angeles Times . In an unsigned statement , it described a “short-term social experiment” to examine how fake polling “could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification”. Continue reading...