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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Government could pay higher rents to spread asylum accommodation across UK
Greater use of private rental properties would form part of PM’s plan to spread accommodation more evenly across UK Ministers are considering paying higher prices for housing asylum seekers in private rental properties as part of Andy Burnham’s plan to spread accommodation more evenly across the country. The shift towards more private rental accommodation, known as “dispersal”, and the use of former military barracks, are cheaper than expensive hotels for asylum seekers. Continue reading...
UK universities face ‘financial crisis’ amid collapse in international students
Higher education figures call on Labour to reverse tax on fees and warn institutions at risk of ‘going under’ University leaders are warning of financial turmoil in British higher education, after new figures suggest a collapse in international student numbers will deprive the sector of vital income and undermine its future. The sector’s leaders called on the government to rethink the levy on international student fees imposed under Keir Starmer, as a former universities minister warned that there was a risk of a university “going under” because of the financial crisis. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on A-level and T-level results: a boost to the nation’s confidence | Editorial
Young people should be proud of their achievements. Ministers should focus on what comes next A strong set of A-level results should raise confidence in Britain’s future. These are difficult exams , and schools and colleges across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are rightly proud of their achievements. Top grades are up, especially in maths, which remains the most popular subject. A total of 262,820 18-year-olds have gained a place at university or college – 3% more than last year. But the headline success masks some troubling trends. The humanities made up only a quarter of entries, while subject choices are becoming more specialised. Huge gender gaps are also striking: girls made up 79% of English A-level entries but just 19% in computing. In T-levels there has been an improvement, although their newness makes this year’s results harder to assess or compare. But the dropout rate remains higher than in the qualifications that T-levels are supposed to replace, while take-up remains low. Five years in, such ongoing issues cannot be dismissed as teething troubles. Continue reading...
BAE Systems to pay $36m penalty after 104 violations of US arms export rules
State department says it has reached administrative settlement with company’s US arm to resolve breaches The UK defence firm BAE Systems is to pay a $36m (£26.7m) civil penalty after breaching US arms exports regulations more than 100 times. The US Department of State announced on Thursday it had reached an administrative settlement with the US arm of BAE to resolve 104 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Continue reading...
Ukraine ‘proposes deal with Russia to halt attacks on civilian ships in Black Sea’
Kyiv said to have suggested agreement in apparent attempt to reopen crucial grain corridor, according to Reuters Ukraine has proposed a deal with Russia that would see both sides halt their attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea, Reuters has reported, in an apparent attempt to reopen a crucial grain corridor. Kyiv is said to have made the offer via a third party. Moscow has yet to respond, the news agency added. The busy waterway is a key export route for both Russia and Ukraine, used to transport grain and other vital foodstuffs worldwide. Continue reading...
Edinburgh international film festival showcases a Scottish industry in rude health
This year’s festival is superpowered by a strong year for Scottish cinema, showing it can thrive under the ‘four dimensional perpetual catch-22’ of global ambitions • Borges, ballet and BDSM: Peter Bradshaw’s 10 must-see movies at Edinburgh international film festival Now that its disastrous collapse and speedy rebirth is a trauma slowly receding in the rear-view mirror, the Edinburgh international film festival can set its sights on bigger things. Apart from its traditional role providing a showcase for the best of current world cinema, the festival has an ace up its sleeve for 2026: the undeniable confidence and conspicuous achievement of its home film industry in Scotland. Just as Cannes likes to give a decent amount of houseroom to favoured French directors, and Sundance sees at least part of its job to talk up US independent cinema, Edinburgh acts as a vector for Scottish film-makers to gain valuable exposure and get their work in front of significant festival audiences. Inevitably, some years are harder than others, but Edinburgh’s 2026 edition feels stronger than it has been for years. The festival’s opening gala slot, traditionally a local film, has been given to The Incomer, a surreal comedy starring Domhnall Gleeson and set Scotland’s far north, and which picked up a major award at the Sundance festival earlier this year. Among a clutch of strong films are Borges and Me, based on Jay Parini’s memoir of escorting author Jorge Luis Borges on a trip around the Highlands; Sunny Dancer, a “chemo camp” comedy filmed in Loch Lomond, starring Bella Ramsay as a teenager dealing with the aftermath of cancer; and The Education of Jane Cumming , the extraordinary true life story of the 19th-century Edinburgh schoolkeeper who inspired The Children’s Hour. Scottish artist Douglas Gordon is the focus of a new documentary, Douglas Gordon by Douglas Gordon, while Scottish Ballet perform in These Violent Delights, a film rendering their dance version of Romeo and Juliet. Past glories are due to live again with a 30th anniversary screening of junkie classic Trainspotting (with the added bonus of a live club night featuring a DJ set from Irvine Welsh). Continue reading...
Pete Hegseth dismisses reports of deteriorating conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln
Defense secretary said conditions on aircraft carrier deployed in support of Iran war have been ‘completely misrepresented’ The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, insisted a wave of reports describing deteriorating conditions and mental health struggles onboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln have been “completely misrepresented”, pushing back against growing congressional pressure over the ship’s record-breaking, nearly nine-month deployment. “We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama, adding that “some deployments are longer than others” and praising sailors enduring “high seas” and “austere conditions with less port calls”. Continue reading...
Nearly 100 children detained as adults under UK-France migration deal
Figures emerge in critical letter to Home Office from organisation appointed to scrutinise detention facilities Nearly 100 children have been wrongly identified and detained as adults under Shabana Mahmood’s “one in, one out” deal with France, the Guardian can disclose. Home Office staff said that of 304 age-disputed cases arising from the scheme over nine months, 94 – or 31% – were ultimately found to be minors. Children are supposed to be excluded from the scheme, while government policy limits immigration detention of unaccompanied children to 24 hours. had been awaiting deportation for more than six months, despite being supposed be held for up to 28 days only “in exceptional cases”. were being readied for removal to France despite having TB or requiring hospital treatment. faced removal after being separated from family members with whom they had travelled, which she said had a “particularly damaging impact”. Continue reading...
Nicola Jennings on Nigel Farage, Count Binface and the Clacton byelection – cartoon
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Third person dies at New Jersey immigration detention center
Jose Chajon-Raxon experienced ‘seizure-like activity’ at Delaney Hall and later died after being hospitalized A Guatemalan immigrant detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Newark, New Jersey , facility suffered a medical emergency and later died after being hospitalized, according to the Trump administration. Jose Chajon-Raxon is now the third immigrant to die after being held at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center that reopened in May 2025 amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Continue reading...
Tesla paid Elon Musk 2.5m times more as CEO than its average worker in 2025
Tech billionaire’s $158.3bn deal an outlier in report showing widening gap of CEO to worker pay at top companies Elon Musk received over 2.5m times as much compensation at Tesla as the company’s average worker, according to a new report on the growing gap between top corporate executives and their workers. Musk’s $158.3bn pay deal was an outlier but came as the gap between CEO and worker pay continued to grow . Excluding Musk, last year the average ratio of CEO to worker pay for the top S&P 500 companies was 312 to 1, up from a 285:1 ratio in 2024. With Musk, the average pay ratio was 5,387:1, according to the executive pay watch report released this week by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US. Continue reading...
Max Miller’s ex-wife sues him for sharing image of daughter as part of custody battle
Republican congressman publicly shared links to evidence his team compiled in response to domestic abuse allegations Emily Moreno, the ex-wife of Max Miller, has sued the embattled Republican congressman and his lawyer for uploading a picture of their infant daughter to a publicly accessible Dropbox folder as part of their custody battle. The complaint argues that Miller “recklessly published and disclosed to the world a nude image” of their daughter. The photos in the lawsuit were part of a tranche of evidence that Miller’s team compiled in response to the domestic abuse allegations the lawmaker is facing following his divorce. Those allegations include holding a gun to Moreno’s head, pouring boiling water on her, and actions that resulted in his two-year-old daughter’s collarbone being broken, all of which Miller denies. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid . In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...
Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard over Jewish students
Federal court rules administration failed to plausibly show ongoing violation of civil rights law A US federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit that claimed Harvard University failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment in the aftermath of the war in Gaza. In a ruling on Thursday, US district judge Richard Stearns in Boston said the administration’s lawsuit – filed in March – failed to plausibly show an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law on Harvard’s campus. Continue reading...
Train derailment in East Sussex closes several routes
Rapid emergency response under way after Southern rail service comes off tracks in Lewes area A passenger train has derailed in East Sussex, prompting a rapid emergency response in the area. Several rail routes were closed after a Southern service came off the tracks near Lewes just before 4pm. Continue reading...
‘Birmingham Four’ lawyers hope spycops inquiry will reopen case
Undercover officers working for West Midlands’ ‘special projects team’ planted evidence to convict men, lawyers claim Lawyers representing four men convicted of terror offences are increasingly hopeful that revelations from the undercover policing inquiry could boost the chances of their case being reopened. Ten years ago, Khobaib Hussain, Naweed Ali, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz were arrested and later convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in the UK after an elaborate covert police operation. Continue reading...
UK records hottest day of the year as fifth summer heatwave reaches peak
Kew Gardens in London hits 38.1C and 40C-plus expected in parts of Europe with continent trapped under heat dome Europe heatwave – latest updates The UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far with a provisional temperature of 38.1C in southern England as Europe sweltered under a major heat dome. As temperatures on the continent approached 40C at the peak of the summer’s fifth heatwave, the thermometer at Kew Gardens in west London surpassed the previous high of 38C on 28 June, the Met Office said. Continue reading...
Oklahoma man put to death in first of three US executions scheduled on same day
If all executions go ahead, it will be first time in over 15 years there have been over three judicial killings in US in one day Carlos Cuesta-Rodriguez has been put to death by the state of Oklahoma, in the first of three executions scheduled for Thursday in a rare triple procedure that underlines the renewed appetite in the US for state killings. Cuesta-Rodriguez, 70, was pronounced dead at 10:13am at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was sentenced to death for murdering his common-law wife Olimpia Fisher in 2003. He had unsuccessfully appealed for mercy, saying he was remorseful and had struggled all his life from mental illness. Continue reading...
‘The colander worked best!’ Guardian readers share their experience of the solar eclipse
Readers recall the breathtaking sight and community spirit of the rare celestial treat – and the handmade contraptions they saw it through On Wednesday evening, millions of people in Europe watched a rare solar eclipse . We asked some of them to share their photographs and experiences of this celestial treat. Here are some of their responses. Continue reading...
DRC’s fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth province
Man dies in Bas-Uele after travelling from Haut-Uele, as head of WHO says outbreak on track to be deadliest ever The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a sixth province, officials have said, a day after the head of the World Health Organization said the outbreak was on track to surpass the deadliest in history, which erupted more than a decade ago and killed more than 11,000 people. Jean Kaseya, the director general of Africa CDC, said a death had been recorded in the previously unaffected Bas-Uele province. Kaseya said the man had travelled from Isiro, in Haut-Uele province, to Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele, where he died. Continue reading...
The Lakers have become a poker chip for some of the most powerful men in America
One of the most famous teams in the world is about to change hands for the second time in less than a year for more than $10bn. Will anyone push back? One of the most brutal lessons we must learn as fans is that the team we shed blood, sweat and tears for is seen by those who own it as just one of many assets. That gap has never felt as wide as it does this week. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that the Los Angeles Lakers are set to change hands, for the second time in 10 months, for $12.5bn, a sum that would be a record for any North American sports team. (The deal must be approved by the NBA’s board of governors before it can go through.) The buyers aren’t diehards who saved up every penny like the good Dr Jerry Buss in the 1970s . Those days are gone. If and when the deal is approved, the new owners will be venture capitalist Josh Kushner and his business partner, Bob Iger. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, the titleless Wormtongue to Donald Trump’s Saruman. Iger used to run Disney. These men have connections across the political world and influence in every corner of the American empire. A franchise woven into a city’s identity should never become an asset vastly wealthy people move around like a chip around a poker table. But that is exactly what the Lakers are about to become. The way the deal came together should terrify anyone who still thinks sports belong to the fans. Mark Walter took control of the team from the Buss family last October at a valuation of roughly $10bn. Now he is set to cash out around $2bn richer. That’s not how this is supposed to work. The old guard, like Buss, used to guard their NBA teams like heirlooms and pass them down. Walter is set to flip the team after less than a year. Continue reading...
Hegseth criticized for locking Democrats out of closed-door defense budget talks
Republican lawmakers express concern after US defense secretary repeatedly excluded Democrats from briefings US politics live – latest updates Republican senators have criticized the Pentagon for locking Democrats out of classified briefings on defense spending, warning that Pete Hegseth’s approach could jeopardize passage of Donald Trump’s record $1.5tn military budget increase. The US defense secretary has made at least two trips to Capitol Hill in recent weeks to pitch the budget, but has repeatedly excluded Democrats from the closed-door sessions, according to lawmakers from both parties. Continue reading...
One Nation staffer accused of posing as leftwing content creator in ‘undercover’ videos
Exclusive: The videos, filmed at anti-One Nation rallies, were posted to party’s social pages and appear to be endorsed by Pauline Hanson Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The owners of a progressive social media page have accused One Nation of impersonating them at anti-Pauline Hanson rallies while shooting a series of “undercover” videos. Hanson’s party has recently published a string of videos with a young male host attending leftwing protests. In the clips – published on pages owned by One Nation and Hanson on Instagram, TikTok and X – a party staffer seeks to embarrass protesters in filmed interviews. Continue reading...
Is Australia’s Buy Now Pay Later boom at an end?
Several firms promised to disrupt the consumer credit market by offering consumers their purchases instantly and the bill later. Did it work? Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Afterpay has never turned a profit in Australia. Last month, it spent millions to take over a Sydney Olympic Park arena. The company says Afterpay Arena will be the first venue where Australians can “buy now, pay later” for their event tickets, merchandise, dinner and even alcohol. Continue reading...
French ambassador to CAR faces investigation over alleged misconduct
Inquiry follows security concerns over reported visits of dozens of women to Bruno Foucher’s official residence France has opened disciplinary proceedings against its ambassador to Central African Republic over allegations of misconduct, after claims he brought dozens of women into his official residence, raising potential security concerns. The investigation comes as Paris seeks to rebuild relations with CAR after their sharp deterioration in recent years amid Russia’s expanding influence in the former French colony. Continue reading...