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Politics
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Trump threatens to declare strait of Hormuz ‘territory of the United States’
Seriousness of remark made in New York on Friday, and whether it signaled new policy position, not clear Donald Trump has threatened to declare the strait of Hormuz as “a territory of the United States” as his administration struggles to conclude the war with Iran. During a speech at a police academy on Long Island, New York, on Friday, the US president said he would “pretty soon” designate the waterway – a crucial chokepoint for global trade, through which about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies typically pass – a US territory. Continue reading...
BBC seeks to subpoena Trump’s eldest children and son-in-law over defamation lawsuit
Network wants to serve Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr after president sues over January 6 documentary The BBC is trying to subpoena Donald Trump’s children as it builds its defense against the president’s defamation lawsuit centered on a documentary on the January 6 insurrection. In a motion filed Friday, the BBC sought authorization to serve Trump’s two eldest children, Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, with subpoenas for testimony and their records on the events of 6 January 2021. Continue reading...
Ontario free to axe Toronto bike lanes, region’s top court rules
Win is significant for region’s premier, Doug Ford, who blames protected zones as cause of city’s traffic ills The Ontario government is now free to rip out Toronto’s bike lanes on its busiest streets after the region’s top court ruled in favour of the province on Friday, overturning a lower court’s decision that decreed removing the lanes would violate constitutional rights. The win is significant for Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, and his government, who have long railed against Toronto’s bike lanes, blaming the protected zones as the cause of the city’s traffic ills . Continue reading...
Struggling Venus Williams suffers 14th straight defeat in Cincinnati rout
Seven-time major champion beaten 6-2, 6-2 Williams, 46, loses 11th match of the season Tsitsipas advances as Dimitrov squanders lead Colombian Emilia Arango handed Venus Williams a 14th straight loss dating to July of last year, defeating the fading seven-time grand slam champion who is currently ranked 615th in 66 minutes by 6-2, 6-2 at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters. The 46-year-old Williams was given a wild card entry at an event where she reached a semi-final a dozen years ago. She has played and lost 11 times this season while competing on organizer free entries. Continue reading...
Jason Arday found dead after resigning from Cambridge over plagiarism claims
Academic was pronounced dead at his home in south London after police called to address after 3pm on Friday Jason Arday, the black academic who resigned last week as a professor at the University of Cambridge , has been found dead at his home in south London. The Metropolitan police said officers were called to Arday’s address by the London ambulance service after 3pm on Friday. Continue reading...
‘Devastating’: bulldozers plough through Big Bend national park as Trump’s border work pushes ahead
Heavy machinery seen operating in famous Santa Elena Canyon amid outcry over new wall infrastructure in beloved Texas park Bulldozers have begun plowing up ground at the mouth of Big Bend national park’s famed Santa Elena Canyon as part of the Trump administration’s multibillion-dollar “smart wall” expansion on the US-Mexico border, according to new footage taken by activists who have been monitoring the site. Tensions have run high since the Trump administration announced plans to erect new border security infrastructure in the roughly 500-mile Big Bend region of south-west Texas, which includes the Lone Star State’s largest and most-visited national park. Continue reading...
Emergency alert warning of wildfire risk sent to phones in England and Wales
People urged not to light barbecues, campfires or anything else that could spark fire during period of extreme heat Millions of people across England and Wales have received an emergency alert to their phones as the government warns against activities that could start fires. The deputy prime minister, Louise Haigh, said it was the most extensive use to date of the emergency alert system, with phones beaming a siren noise about 7pm, with the warning “there is a serious risk of wildfires nationally”. Continue reading...
US forest service chief reportedly pressed staff for more support for wildfire near his ranch
Michael Boren requested more aircraft for 7-acre Cabin Creek fire, some of which were diverted from other fires Michael Boren, the US undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and environment who oversees the US Forest Service, reportedly pressed agency staff last month to deploy more aircraft to a 7-acre (2.8-hectare) fire that was burning near his Idaho ranch, according to a Washington Post report on Friday. The Cabin Creek fire in Idaho began on about 12 July as a result of an unattended campfire , and spread across several acres in Idaho’s Sawtooth national forest . By 15 July, the forest service said that the fire was 100% contained . Continue reading...
Madonna will not be playing Glastonbury in 2027, Emily Eavis says
Festival organiser says she has booked next year’s headliners but would not say if Taylor Swift is among them Madonna will not be performing at next year’s Glastonbury, the festival’s organiser, Emily Eavis, has said. The singer, who has the most top 10 singles in UK chart history of any female artist, has never featured at Britain’s biggest music festival. Continue reading...
Hawaii braces for direct hit from Tropical Storm Lala
Storm expected to strengthen to hurricane as state of emergency declared amid danger of ‘life-threatening’ floods Tropical Storm Lala is set to hit Hawaii’s Big Island with hurricane force in a matter of hours, bringing dangerous winds, heavy rainfall and high surf in a sign of what a strengthening “super” El Niño in the Pacific may bring. The tropical storm is currently about 420 miles (675km) south-east of Hilo on the archipelago’s largest island, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said in its latest advisory, packing winds of 60mph (97km/h). Lala is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Big Island. Continue reading...
Israeli military plans to transfer law enforcement in occupied West Bank to police
Palestine’s vice-president calls plan ‘flagrant violation of international law’ and a step towards full Israeli annexation Israel’s defence minister wants to transfer law enforcement powers for Israelis in the occupied West Bank over to the police, a plan that Palestine’s vice-president described as a “flagrant violation of international law” and step towards full Israeli annexation. Israel Katz announced that he had ordered the military to draw up plans for the handover of responsibility for policing Israeli settlers amid domestic and international criticism of the army’s failure to tackle militants besieging three Palestinian families . Continue reading...
‘It’s due to climate’: the people of Stourbridge on the town’s wildfires
Thursday has been described by residents as ‘horrendous’, ‘distressing’ and ‘one of the scariest days of my life’ People in Stourbridge have described the fires that devastated more than a dozen homes as “horrendous” and “distressing”, with one describing blazes that surpassed the height of residential houses. Multiple fires spread across the West Midlands on Thursday as temperatures reached record highs of 38.1C in the UK, during the country’s fifth consecutive heatwave. Continue reading...
People detained at Mississippi ICE facility sickened by gas leak and denied medical care
Facility also had no air conditioning for two days amid extreme heat, according to one of the people detained People detained at an overcrowded federal immigration camp in Mississippi were sickened by a mystery gas leak, then denied medical care when they complained of headaches and other symptoms, it has been alleged. A lengthy power outage at Adams county detention center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility run by the private operator CoreCivic , also left it without air conditioning for two days this week, according to one detainee who contacted the Guardian through his family. Continue reading...
French court blocks Macron’s social media ban for under-15s
Constitutional council says curbs infringe freedom of expression and privacy as president vows to rework legislation France’s top court has blocked a ban on social media access for under-15s, ruling that it infringed freedom of expression and privacy. The decision is a blow to President Emmanuel Macron as momentum builds around the world for Australian-style restrictions on children’s use of social media. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on Nigel Farage: Clacton cannot acquit him | Editorial
Reform won a contrived byelection, but scrutiny continues – while the party increasingly attacks the watchdogs and journalists asking awkward questions Nigel Farage didn’t attend the count of the byelection he forced upon Clacton. Instead, Reform UK’s leader celebrated his win with supporters at a “ Farage Fest ”, filmed by a friendly TV channel. For a politician who claims to speak for the people, it was telling that at his triumph he preferred an audience of believers. Mr Farage won because his toughest opponent on the campaign trail was a comedian in a jumpsuit with a bin on his head. That Count Binface nevertheless won 27% of the vote captured the absurdity of a contest the main parties had boycotted as a Faragist stunt. Reform UK’s leader wanted to turn scrutiny of his finances – notably an investigation into whether he failed to report a £5m gift from an overseas crypto billionaire – into a “fight” with the “establishment”. But the result determined who represents the Essex seat, not whether he broke parliamentary or electoral rules. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
Trump’s spying on left-wing groups recalls J Edgar Hoover’s Cointelpro | Ken Roth
The FBI from the 1950s to the 1970s tried to infiltrate and discredit leftist organizations. Trump seems to be repeating that sordid practice It is bad enough that the Trump administration blocked a federal criminal investigation when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent killed Renee Good as she was turning her car away from him in Minneapolis the past January. Just before the shooting, Good and her partner had been observing and protesting against ICE officers. Instead, it turns out the administration has been investigating progressive and even mainstream groups that have been involved in protests against Donald Trump’s sweeping deportations, according to newly released government documents. Continue reading...
Progressives back substitute teacher over Wasserman Schultz in Florida
Group backs Elijah Manley in primary election in bid to unseat veteran Democrat in newly drawn district A progressive group has endorsed a 27-year-old substitute teacher who overcame childhood homelessness in his bid to unseat the veteran Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) said it is backing Elijah Manley in next week’s primary election in Florida’s newly drawn 20th congressional district, casting the race as a contest between a young economic populist and a stalwart of the Democratic party establishment. Continue reading...
Canadian plasma clinics pause collections after deaths of two donors
Government launches investigation into potential unsafe practices at Spanish healthcare company Grifols A chain of private plasma donation clinics in Canada said Friday it is pausing collections after the deaths of two donors and a new government investigation into potential unsafe practices. Grifols, the Spanish healthcare company that runs 17 clinics across Canada and is the country’s only private clinic for plasma donation, said it informed Health Canada of its decision to temporarily pause collections on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Martin Rowson on Nigel Farage and the Clacton byelection – cartoon
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Donald Trump can’t beat Iran and Nigel Farage can only beat a bin. When it counts, these populists are just losers | Jonathan Freedland
The pattern in the US and Britain is clear. They serve up stunt after stunt to mask incompetence and the betrayal of all those who trusted them It’s a shame Nigel Farage ducked the announcement of his victory in the Clacton byelection, which confirmed his return as MP for the seat he had needlessly resigned from just a few weeks earlier. You’d have thought he would have loved it. It was the culmination of a stunt, an exercise in politics as performance. It was a display animated by – and seeking to inflame – grievance, a million miles away from the hard, grinding work of tackling the problems that underlie those grievances. It was an attempt to deflect scrutiny, distract attention and evade responsibility. It was, in other words, everything nationalist populists like him excel at. Indeed, the only thing. Reform UK said Farage stayed away because Essex police had warned of a “ credible threat ” to his security, a claim swiftly denied by Essex police. (Add a flexible approach to the truth to that list of nationalist populists’ talents.) Still, it was a slightly odd claim to make. Recall Farage’s favoured explanation – there are others – for the undeclared £5m gift he received from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, which prompted the very parliamentary investigation that so riled the Reform leader he felt compelled to quit his seat and seek a preemptive not guilty verdict from the people of Clacton: namely, that he needed the money to pay for private, enhanced security. It seems £5m was not quite enough to ensure the lucky recipient would be safe standing next to a man dressed as a bin. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Students squeezed out of university courses after bumper crop of top A-level grades
Students narrowly missing grades are being rejected, while some on oversubscribed courses are asked to defer Students across the UK have found themselves unexpectedly squeezed out of their desired university courses as this year’s bumper crop of A-level grades has not always translated into the places many were hoping for. With close to a third of the A-levels awarded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland achieving the top A and A* grades this year, universities are taking a tougher stance by rejecting students who narrowly missed their expected grades and who in previous years would still have gained a place. Continue reading...
Belgian student strikes gold worth €9m while digging sewers
Kobe, 18, who made discovery on site of former brewery in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, at first thought trove was €1 coins For a student with a summer job working on a Belgian building site, “money down the drain” has taken on a whole new meaning: excavating the trenches for a sewage system, he stumbled across a hidden trove of gold worth an estimated €9m (£8m). “We suddenly saw something lying there,” 18-year-old Kobe told the Belgian news network VTM . “At first I thought it was €1 coins. So we started digging them up. Then we saw a gold bar. It turned out to be a bit more than we thought.” Continue reading...
Baby with heart defect at center of US surrogacy dispute handed to parents
Biological parents given custody of child born in Texas amid dispute over surrogate mother’s claim of abortion request A two-day-old baby with a rare heart defect at the center of a complex surrogacy dispute in Texas has been handed over to the parents’ custody and is receiving care, lawyers for the parents said on Friday. The baby has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a defect that requires surgeries to correct. The baby was born on Wednesday to surrogate mother McKenna West of Alaska after she reportedly refused requests to get an abortion from the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California – requests they deny making. Continue reading...
‘Let’s see what he can do’: will Burnham bring Barnsley voters back to Labour?
With questions over Farage’s finances and a new face in No 10, could Barnsley council be a bellwether for changing Labour fortunes? Labour marked its worst performance in more than 50 years when voters went to the polls in Barnsley in May, but 100 days on from those seismic local elections, the political landscape has shifted drastically. Could the South Yorkshire town, where Reform UK reaped the benefits of dissatisfaction with Labour, prove to be a test case for whether the governing party has turned the tide? Continue reading...