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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Senior Russian banker fired after warning over wartime economy
Andrei Klepach of VEB said Russia’s economy was falling behind China, US and ‘in some respects Ukraine’ The chief economist at Russia’s second largest bank has been fired after a series of critical comments about the state of the economy, including warnings that Moscow would not win a prolonged economic war with Ukraine. Andrei Klepach, who had served in the role at the state-controlled development bank VEB since 2014, was fired days after Russian media reported on a scathing speech he had delivered to fellow economists in May. Continue reading...
Angus Taylor links support for NDIS reform to removal of ‘widow tax’ loophole
Coalition leader tells Antony Albanese that delaying repeal of ‘cruel’ measure is ‘unconscionable’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Angus Taylor says the Coalition will only support the Albanese government’s proposed overhaul of the NDIS if it first removes the “widow tax” loophole from its changes to taxing investment properties. The warning comes as the Albanese government hopes to land a deal with the opposition this week in order to pass the bill in the Senate after the Greens ruled out supporting changes to the scheme that are expected to boost the federal budget’s bottom line by $37.8bn over four years. Continue reading...
Two Republicans with the same name are running for Senate in Alaska. The bigger threat? Democrat Mary Peltola
Observers call Peltola, who won the red state’s House seat twice and is running to unseat Dan Sullivan, ‘a unicorn’ Dan J Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher and US Forest Service employee living in the town of Petersburg in south-eastern Alaska, who is running as a Republican for the US Senate. Dan S Sullivan is a Republican US senator, who has represented Alaska since 2015. Both candidates will appear on the ballot, one name after the other, when Alaskans vote in primary elections this week – a complicated quirk of the contest that has drawn howls from Republicans. Continue reading...
Rhossi, a rare sea turtle, recovers after 5,000-mile trek from Wales to Texas
Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, near death on Welsh beach in 2023, is thriving in Houston despite lingering pneumonia A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle native to the Gulf of Mexico is largely thriving after he was found nearly dead on a beach in Wales in late 2023, nursed back to health and then flown to Houston recently to continue recovering – though scans revealed signs that the creature has been grappling with lingering pneumonia, according to his caretakers. Rhossi’s condition was detailed in a blogpost on Friday from the Houston zoo, whose veterinary team was tasked with caring for the creature – believed to be no older than age four – and giving him the best chance possible at an eventual, successful return to the wild. Continue reading...
Trump’s tough-guy image has been undone by his own actions | Mohamad Bazzi
The president was forced to hide in a catering truck amid the Iran war, in an encapsulation of the conflict’s failures For decades, Donald Trump cultivated a public image based on strength and dominance. He was a brash New York real estate mogul; a reality TV star who deployed his signature phrase: “You’re fired!” to eliminate contestants from The Apprentice; and eventually US president and undisputed leader of the Republican party. In recent months, Trump has taken his boastfulness to an extreme, reportedly telling confidants that he’s “the most powerful person to ever live” and comparing himself with some of history’s most feared leaders, including Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and Mao. Continue reading...
Claressa Shields has everything – except the rival who could transform her sport
The American has proved again that she’s in a class of her own. But is that a good thing for her sport? Over the weekend, more than 16,000 fans, including former and current world champions such as Floyd Mayweather, Terence Crawford, and Shakur Stevenson, filled State Farm Arena in Atlanta to witness Claressa Shields dominate Kaye Scott . Shields made quick work of Scott winning by TKO in six rounds after unleashing a flurry of punches against the Australian, whose corner threw in the towel to stop the fight before more damage could be done. Continue reading...
Trump cuts military drills with South Korea citing ‘very good relationship’ with Kim Jong-un – US politics live
President orders Pentagon to scale back ‘inappropriate and hostile’ exercises with South Korea Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. US president Donald Trump said he ordered the Pentagon to scale back “inappropriate and hostile” military drills with South Korea, hours before the exercises began on Monday. Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone impersonating Donald Trump’s chief of staff, the Guardian understands. The UK prime minister was in contact with an unknown individual pretending to be the senior White House aide Susie Wiles before concerns were raised about the incident. No messages of significance were sent and the suspicious activity was quickly reported to the appropriate authorities, it is understood. Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner , held a rare meeting with Hamas ’s political chief on Sunday in Egypt , in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed road map. Republican senator Bill Cassidy – a medical doctor who voted to confirm anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy as federal health secretary in early 2025 – on Sunday denounced Donald Trump ’s “crazy, stupid” claims about the safety of the combined MMR vaccine for undermining faith in immunization. Democrats on Sunday intensified their demands for answers from the Trump administration over conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as the aircraft carrier’s nearly nine-month deployment continued fueling concern over crew morale, mental health and living conditions. US attorney general Todd Blanche on Sunday declined to assure that the federal justice department he helms would always act independently of the White House and Donald Trump . “No, I’m not going to pledge that,” he said when asked about the topic by NBC’s Meet the Press host, Kristen Welker. “And no attorney general should ever pledge that.” Continue reading...
Virgin Trains gets go ahead to run services to Europe in new blow to Eurostar monopoly
Operator wins track access approval for up to 20 daily return trains through tunnel to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam in 2030 Virgin Trains has been granted track access by the rail regulator to run new services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam in 2030, in a step forward for its plans to break’s Eurostar’s passenger monopoly on the cross-Channel route. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said it had granted approval for Sir Richard Branson’s company to run up to 20 new daily return services through the Channel tunnel. Continue reading...
Burnham exchanged messages with individual impersonating Trump chief of staff
PM was in contact with unknown person pretending to be senior White House aide Susie Wiles, it is understood Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone impersonating Donald Trump’s chief of staff, the Guardian understands. The prime minister was in contact with an unknown individual pretending to be the senior White House aide Susie Wiles before concerns were raised about the incident. No messages of significance were sent and the suspicious activity was quickly reported to the appropriate authorities, it is understood. Continue reading...
Geno Auriemma on UConn’s basketball dynasty: ‘We’ve tried for 40 years to empower women’
The 12-time national title-winning coach discusses Connecticut’s time on top, his bond with Paige Bueckers, the Pat Summitt rivalry and why he isn’t retiring just yet Let’s get one thing out of the way right from the jump: UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma says he isn’t retiring anytime in the “foreseeable future”. That may come as a relief to fans of the program who have never known anyone else to be at its helm. Though he declined to promise an exact timeline, Auriemma made one thing clear while speaking to the Guardian last week: he’s going to be sticking around. Continue reading...
Massive Attack and Paris Paloma join musicians urging Burnham to reject new North Sea drilling
Brian Eno and Olly Alexander also among signatories saying exploitation of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields defies reality More than 200 musicians including Massive Attack and Brian Eno have written to Andy Burnham, urging him to reject plans for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. The letter, signed by artists such as Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma, called on the prime minister to reject the Rosebank oilfield , warning the project will fail to lower energy bills or provide energy security as most of the oil is likely to be exported. Continue reading...
Housebuilding near train stations to get ‘default yes’ under new planning changes – UK politics live
Thousands more houses could be built near transport hubs including on green belt sites The new national planning policy framework is aimed at providing clearer national policies for plan-making and decision-making, meaning that conflicting local policies will carry less weight when they are inconsistent with national policies. Other changes will include: Stronger support in principle for development, meaning a more explicit presumption in favour of building in sustainable locations. Pubs will get protection from being turned into housing or offices with developers having to prove there is no reasonable prospect of keeping a pub as a going concern, including evidence that it was marketed for sale for at least a year. A requirement for at least 40% of homes to be accessible on bigger developments and stronger protections for community facilities. Stronger support for growth and infrastructure including support for AI growth zones and datacentres. Continue reading...
JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon warns UK chancellor not to hike taxes on banks
Billionaire CEO of world’s biggest bank says any windfall tax on sector’s bumper profits could harm jobs in the City Jamie Dimon, the boss of the US bank JP Morgan, has urged John Healey not to use his first budget as chancellor to increase taxes on banks’ bumper profits. Speculation has been growing that a windfall tax could be imposed on UK lenders to fund Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, with campaigners estimating such a move could raise £19bn. Continue reading...
Who is Hasan Piker – and why are some conservatives outraged about his return to the ABC?
The leftwing commentator has been invited to appear on the Planet America program in Australia on Monday night The ABC is set to air the return of its Planet America program on Monday night as the US midterm elections gain steam, with a new episode featuring the leftwing commentator Hasan Piker. Host John Barron said the episode will focus on the “rise of Democratic socialists and the populist left”, with Piker speaking about “what it’s like in the eye of a political storm”. But the appearance quickly sparked the ire of conservatives in Australia. Continue reading...
Wildfires rage in France and Greece as Belgium tackles enormous blaze – Europe live
Wildfire thought to be largest in Belgium’s history creeps closer to German border prompting evacuations Belgium’s King Philippe will visit the area affected by what is believed to be the largest wildfire in the country’s history this morning, after a weekend of intense firefighting in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve. The fire has been raging since Friday afternoon, burning more than 3,000 hectares of land, provisional figures show. Continue reading...
Victorian teachers are to be the best paid in Australia. A union rebellion helped seal the deal
Salaries will rise 28.3% to 32.4% over four years, an outcome partly shaped by a rank-and-file rebellion within the Australian Education Union Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Victoria’s school teachers are set to become the highest paid in the country, after accepting the state government’s latest pay and conditions offer after a year-long bargaining process. Australian Education Union (AEU) members voted 79% in favour of the offer on Monday, which will deliver total pay rises of between 28.3% and 32.4% over four years, plus a $2,000 bonus at the start of the agreement. The union also confirmed a planned strike will not go ahead on Wednesday. Continue reading...
My generation had no voice on Brexit – but Burnham gives the young fresh hope on Europe | Ceira Sergeant
Brexit didn’t create all the problems young people now face, but renewing close ties with Europe will give us so many opportunities I was 14 when the UK voted to leave the EU. Too young to vote, but not too young to understand that a decision was being made that would affect the rest of my life. In many ways, Brexit was my political awakening. It taught me that politics matters, because decisions made by people in power can change your future before you’ve even been given a say. Ceira Sergeant is a student and the founder of National Rejoin March Youth Continue reading...
Hamas calls for Trump’s Board of Peace to ‘compel’ Israel over Gaza peace plan – Middle East crisis live
Jared Kushner set to meet Netanyahu following talks with Hamas Jared Kushner meets with Hamas ahead of talks with Netanyahu on Gaza Welcome to our live coverage of the latest in the continuing conflicts in the Middle East . Donald Trump ’s envoys met with Egyptian , Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday, a diplomatic source said, aiming to advance the US president’s Gaza peace plan, even as Israel pressed on with airstrikes in the territory. Israel resumed its airstrikes on Gaza in the past few days after scaling back the attacks earlier this month. One of those wounded in the Khan Younis strike died from their wounds, medics at Nasser hospital said later. A separate airstrike, which the Israeli military said targeted another militant, hit an apartment in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, wounding several people, medics said. A senior Israeli official said on Sunday that Israel was concerned about Washington’s demand to end targeted assassinations of Hamas militants in Gaza as the group rebuilds its forces, Reuters reported. Trump’s peace plan calls for the immediate cessation of military operations in Gaza and foresees Hamas disarming as Israeli troops withdraw from the territory and Gaza is rebuilt. Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday condemned Israel’s rejection of the peace road map , saying the country is obstructing peace efforts. The top US military commander in the Middle East visited the USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea amid reports of mental health and supply issues onboard. Adm Brad Cooper praised the leadership of the long-deployed aircraft carrier. Continue reading...
Monday briefing: What can Andy Burnham learn from Spain’s Pedro Sànchez?
In today’s newsletter: The Spanish prime minister has remade himself as Europe’s leading leftwing standard-bearer. Could his success offer the UK’s PM a route forward? Good morning. To international onlookers, Pedro Sànchez appears to have achieved the impossible. Where other European leftist and left-ish premiers have flopped and flailed, the Spanish PM has endured. Since June 2018, Sánchez has ruled from Madrid, implementing a raft of progressive policies. More recently, he has emerged as a leading, and often lone, left-wing European voice on the global stage, striking a defiant tone on everything from the Trump administration’s war in Iran (“the smokescreen of war to hide their failure”) to Israel’s actions in Gaza (“exterminating a defenceless people”). The fact that the international press has nicknamed him El Guapo (the handsome one) can’t hurt. UK economy | The UK should expect to see a new cost of living crisis , with official figures released this week by the ONS expected to show how soaring energy bills drove up inflation close to 3% in July. Ceuta | Moroccan police arrested 111 people this weekend, who were trying to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides after social media posts called for another mass crossing. Jason Arday | The University of Cambridge has defended its mental health support for the academic Jason Arday. UK politics | Andy Burnham is being urged to protect 4 million gig economy workers, who thinktanks warn miss out on key statutory rights including: parental leave, redundancy pay and protection against unfair dismissal. Indonesia | Rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, searching for bodies after a powerful earthquake killed at least 51 people, and injured more than 100. Sànchez understands that anchoring his party to the left … is where he can govern. Monday | Nominations close for candidates seeking to replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader. Tuesday | Opening arguments expected to begin in a lawsuit brought by multiple US states against Meta about social media addiction. Thursday | Students in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will receive their GCSE results. Continue reading...
Hayden Panettiere – a life in pictures
The American actor known for her roles in Nashville, Heroes and Remember the Titans has died aged 36 Continue reading...
Labor pledges opt-out register for online gambling ads akin to Do Not Call register for spam calls
The new measure falls short of calls for gambling ads to move to an opt-in model, or for an outright ban Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Labor government has pledged a new single-service opt-out register for gambling ads - an idea similar to the Do Not Call register for spam calls - as part of amendments to its wagering ad bill, as well as restrictions on inducements and limiting commissions for agents. Communications minister Anika Wells has also confirmed gambling companies will face a new levy to pay for the register, a beefed-up measure to curb wagering ads, after concerns were raised through a Senate inquiry that Australians would struggle to find or complete individual opt-out options on each online service. Continue reading...
More women will die if domestic abusers leave prison early, victim’s parents warn
Parents of Michaela Hall, whose partner killed her after he left prison in 2021, say Probation Service cannot cope with mass release More women will die if ministers include domestic abusers in the early prison release scheme, the parents of a woman murdered by her partner shortly after he was freed have warned. Michaela Hall, a 49-year-old charity worker, was killed in her home in Cornwall, by Lee Kendall in 2021 two weeks after he was released from prison, where he had been serving a sentence for assaulting her. Continue reading...
Nothing less than radical whole-system change is required to fix the NHS's maternity services | Julia Sanders
It’s vital that Yvette Cooper’s taskforce acts on the Amos and Ockenden reports – and puts the needs of women and families at the heart of maternity services It is hard to find the words to describe the agony for those who have experienced preventable baby loss, injury or maternal death. Understandably, families who have been through this have campaigned relentlessly for local and national investigations. Every family deserves to know what caused their loss or trauma, but current and past reviews have failed to deliver on resolution and accountability. The vital debate about how to ensure safe maternity care has intensified since the publication of two reports , led by Valerie Amos and Donna Ockenden, and the appointment of Yvette Cooper as secretary of state for health and social care, offering a golden opportunity for system-wide change. “I want to make it a personal crusade to put the cradle back at the heart of the NHS,” Cooper told the Guardian last week , adding that she was committed to introducing a new national maternity commissioner. Julia Sanders is professor of clinical midwifery at Cardiff University and was an expert adviser to the national maternity and neonatal investigation led by Valerie Amos Continue reading...
Public in England and Wales wrongly think most killers are minority ethnic
Research from King’s College London finds that Reform voters’ perceptions were furthest from the truth The public overestimate how many minority ethnic people are killers, as well as how many foreign national offenders there are, a new study has found. The research from King’s College London tested knowledge and perceptions of crime at a time when radical right parties are trying to link offending to ethnicity and nationality to gain votes. Continue reading...