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Politics
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Panama canal fees soar due to Iran war and El Niño as ship ‘pays $4m to jump queue’
Falling water levels linked to weather system are expected to limit number of slots to transit shipping lane Business live – latest updates Commercial ships travelling through the Panama Canal are facing a rise in costs amid disruption triggered by the Iran war and falling water levels linked to this year’s intense El Niño weather system . Highlighting the fragility of global trade, a container ship reportedly paid about $4m (£3m) to jump a queue of vessels waiting to pass through the vital maritime choke point. Continue reading...
Live facial recognition cameras to be used on UK’s busiest shopping street
Sadiq Khan has indicated the technology will be deployed on London’s Oxford Street despite human rights concerns The Metropolitan police are understood to be planning to use live facial recognition (LFR) technology on Britain’s busiest shopping street. In June the Met said it would introduce the technology in London’s West End by Christmas and into a further six areas next year. Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has indicated that the newly pedestrianised Oxford Street will be included. Continue reading...
Inglorious Twelfth? Calls for grouse season to be banned to prevent wildfires and peatland damage
As London restaurants say wild birds are smaller and fewer this year, experts say countryside should not be ‘playground for bloodsports’ Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in Mayfair to dine on grouse served with bread sauce and game chips. But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK’s moorlands, may be disappointed. Wildfires have been raging on moors across the UK, burning habitats and incinerating wildlife after record-breaking heat has turned the landscape into a tinderbox. Continue reading...
In Ohio, Haitians’ American dream shatters as Ice prepares to deport them
US immigration has ramped up operations against Haitians, whose temporary protected status was removed by Trump When Monsanto Maler walked out of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) facility in Blue Ash, Ohio , at 9.15am on Sunday with an ankle monitor freshly attached to his left leg, he put his hand over his face, burst into tears and fell to the ground. He had come to the US in June 2023, fleeing gangs in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti , where he had been hit over the right side of his head, leaving a large, visible scar. Continue reading...
Anger after Trump’s secret flight swap appears to offer up staff and media as decoys | First Thing
Democrats demand congressional briefing after passenger-laden Air Force One sent on decoy flight despite security scare. Plus, the 11 biggest wellness trends of 2026 so far Good morning. Democrats have called for a congressional briefing after a charade in which Donald Trump was secretly spirited into a different plane than the one the public and press believed he was travelling on. How did the plot to smuggle Trump off the plane unfold? In this video , the Guardian breaks down the footage from that day, showing how the president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies before flight. Where have progressives enjoyed electoral success this week? Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, won her Democratic primary for US Senate in a race centered on immigration enforcement. Flanagan, who beat the congresswoman Angie Craig, recently told the Guardian: “So often I think Democrats are like: ‘What do we think we can win?’ Instead of: ‘What are the fights that we should be picking?’” What happened in South Carolina’s abbreviated special Republican primary? Darline Graham, appointed to complete the Senate term of her late brother, Lindsey, will face the congressman Ralph Norman in a runoff on 25 August. The winner will face the Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in November’;s midterms. Continue reading...
Heat, algae and AI: proposed datacenter could damage Everglades, experts warn
Plans for hyperscale datacenter in Palm Beach county prompt concerns over water and electricity demands About 16 miles (26km) south-west of Donald Trump ’s Mar-a-Largo estate, near the northern edge of the Florida Everglades, developers have proposed a hyperscale datacenter on a 202-acre (82-hectare) parcel of land surrounded by water. Local environmentalists warn that the proposed 600MW datacenter in western Palm Beach county could damage the wetlands, which the federal government and the state of Florida have spent a combined $6bn to restore after decades of drainage and development. One concern is that the datacenter could exacerbate an existing issue of toxic bacterial blooms in a water system which has already been stressed by drought, fertilizer runoff and warm water temperatures. In recent summers, the bright blooms of blue-green algae have covered nearly half of Lake Okeechobee, which feeds into the Everglades. Continue reading...
Fever’s White says critics can ‘go to hell’ over handling of Sophie Cunningham controversy
Coach was booed by sections of Fever fanbase Fever’s success on court continues despite distractions Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has pushed back on those who have criticized how she has handled the controversy that erupted after Saturday’s game between her team and the Chicago Sky. Sky’s DiJonai Carrington was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul after she struck Fever’s Sophie Cunningham in the head and neck during Saturday’s game. Afterwards, White, – who previously coached Carrington at the Connecticut Sun – said she did not believe Carrington intentionally aimed for Cunningham’s neck. White was booed by some Fever fans before Tuesday’s win over the New York Liberty, while Indiana’s lieutenant governor h as called for her to be fired . Continue reading...
Simon Levy handed whole-life tariff for double murder and rape
Errors by police and prosecutors left serial sex offender free to murder Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins Simon Levy, the sexual predator left free by police errors to murder two women, will never leave prison after being sentenced to a whole-life tariff. Levy was convicted on Friday of murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later. He was also convicted of attacking and raping another woman, 35, in January 2025, who survived and gave damning testimony against him. Continue reading...
‘Unrig the economy for working people’: the California candidate who wrote updated labor laws
Marni von Wilpert helped draft Protecting the Right to Organize act, and now wants work toward implementing it Legislation that would modernize federal labor law began with a handful of lawyers meeting, of all places, in an ice-cream shop. “We wrote for hours what we would do to amend the National Labor Relations Act,” said Marni von Wilpert, a member of the San Diego city council who was then an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Bringing together “our collective experience as labor lawyers over the years, really trying to unrig the rules so that working people could have a fair shot”. Continue reading...
Halting the march of the armyworm: fungus discovery offers hope to African farmers
South African scientist’s breakthrough research shows soil fungus could be used in fight against devastating crop pest Hearing about fields full of dead caterpillars enveloped in a mysterious white substance intrigued the South African scientist Letodi Luki Mathulwe. Something was killing off the African armyworm – one of the most devastating pests for farmers in east and southern Africa. The white substance was a naturally occurring fungus and it was wiping out the caterpillar, which gained its name from its march-like advance through fields of crops. Continue reading...
Germany approves lifting curbs on spy agencies in security ‘revolution’
Reforms comply with wishlist of intelligence services which say Germany lags behind allies and enemies The German government has approved a draft law aimed at lifting many of the restraints on its spy agencies imposed during the postwar period as the country reels from two attacks in a month that have exposed serious security gaps. The controversial changes, which must still pass parliament, largely comply with a wishlist pulled together by the foreign and domestic intelligence services, which have long complained Germany lags behind its allies and enemies. Continue reading...
Number of children injured in e-scooter crashes in England surges
Calls for speed limiters or mandated helmet use after research into injuries at three paediatric trauma centres The number of children involved in crashes on e-scooters has soared in recent years, with some as young as nine involved in collisions, research has found. Researchers carried out a review of injuries among the under-16s at three specialist paediatric trauma centres – Alder Hey in Liverpool, and Sheffield and Royal Manchester children’s hospitals – between January 2019 and December 2024. Continue reading...
At least 15 dead after overcrowded ferry capsizes on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe
Operation under way to rescue dozens missing after boat overturned by waves at world’s largest manmade lake At least 15 people have died and 27 are missing after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. The boat had a capacity of 90 people, but was carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members and an unknown number of children, Zimbabwe’s civil protection unit (CPU) said, citing ticket sales. Continue reading...
Drone footage shows rare bird’s-eye view of stingrays off New York coast
With wing spans up to 3ft, the shy cownose ray species typically arrive in Long Island waters in the warmer months Drone footage of dozens of stingrays in the ocean off New York has captivated beachgoers and marine enthusiasts, offering a rare bird’s-eye view of a species that scientists say has visited the area for decades. The footage was captured las`t Friday off the coast of Southampton on the Long Island peninsula by Joanna Steidle, a Hamptons-based professional drone pilot known for her aerial ocean shots . It shows cownose rays gliding through the water en masse near the surface. Continue reading...
Trump’s secret flight switch indicates severity of assassination threat by Iran
Iran lost top leaders in the war and US ‘humiliation ... a form of revenge’, say experts, after administration’s flight ruse Since the joint US-Israeli strikes in February that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and scores of other senior Iranian officials on the first day of the war, a revenge plot to kill Donald Trump should not have appeared far-fetched. But the US administration’s elaborate ruse to spirit Trump off of Air Force One in Turkey last month indicates a credibility to the Iranian threat that has surprised many in Washington – including the Trump aides and journalists left on the jet that may have remained the target of an Iranian missile strike. Continue reading...
‘Bold and ethical’: doctors on AOC’s egg-freezing journey - and Maga’s criticisms of it
In documenting the process, AOC is defying the right’s pronatalist narratives about motherhood and women’s careers On Sunday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced that she is freezing her eggs . The 36-year-old New York congresswoman took to Instagram to document the process, complete with jabbing a syringe into her stomach on camera. “Don’t be weird about this,” Ocasio-Cortez said, “even though I know all of you will be.” Continue reading...
If the markets reject OpenAI and Anthropic, the US should nationalize them | Bruce Schneier and Nathan E Sanders
From space to telecommunications, the US has a long history of fostering technology for the public good. These AI models could be aligned to democratic values, not corporate profits OpenAI, and then Anthropic, were each formed by AI developers who feared unrestrained corporate AI development – specifically, that companies like Google and Meta would steer the technology towards deleterious, maybe even catastrophically unsafe, outcomes for society. Their founders proclaimed that their new labs, uniquely, could be trusted to develop the technology in humanity’s best interest. But each, in turn, were themselves co-opted by the same market incentives, themselves becoming corporate behemoths zealously guarding future investor value rather than the public interest. It was only a few weeks ago, in June, when OpenAI and Anthropic each filed for their IPOs and were met with buzz about trillion-dollar valuations. The hype around their valuations is so extreme that many worry about their potential for concentrating wealth on a global scale. In an effort to leave something for the rest of us, some observers have proposed that the federal government seize a share of these companies’ stock to create a US sovereign wealth fund , or redistribute their revenues to produce a dividend for taxpayers. Continue reading...
Iran war and high living costs fueling last-minute holiday bookings, Tui says
Geopolitics and cost of living crisis have cost Europe’s largest travel company €60m so far Holidaymakers are waiting until the last minute to book their trips because of the continuing uncertainty caused by the war in Iran and the cost of living crisis, according to Tui , Europe’s largest travel company, which said the war had cost it €60m (£51m) so far. In the weeks after the outbreak of war at the end of February, Tui recorded a temporary drop-off in customers wanting to travel to Cyprus or Turkey, in what the company called a “volatile market”. Continue reading...
Trump plays down Air Force One plane switch as criticism grows over ‘decoy’ passengers – US politics live
President says Secret Service wanted him on ‘different plane’ due to threat as Democrats call for congressional briefing Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. President Donald Trump said he slipped away from Air Force One after a trip last month in Turkey because the Secret Service and military wanted him on a “different plane” due to a threat that he insisted didn’t scare him. Continue reading...
Just 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation amid drought and wildfires
Exclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwaves UK heatwave live – latest updates Just 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within a key government department tasked with protecting the environment and maintaining food security, a freedom of information request has revealed. The officials make up 0.3% of staff within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Continue reading...
Barnaby Joyce claims One Nation ‘one of the gayest parties in Australia’ as former candidate’s comments surface
One Nation MP says failed WA candidate’s comments describing same-sex attraction as a mental illness are ‘highly offensive’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Barnaby Joyce has defended One Nation as “one of the gayest parties in Australia” after comments surfaced from one of its failed candidate describing same-sex attraction as a mental illness. The former National turned One Nation MP was asked to respond to a series of homophobic comments made by a former Western Australian legislative council candidate for One Nation in a video last month, as first reported by ABC on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...
Great Britain faces electricity supply shortfall during solar eclipse
Event expected to hit solar power just as fifth heatwave of summer increases use of air conditioning and fans Great Britain faces a shortfall of electricity supplies on Wednesday evening as the near total solar eclipse is expected to wipe out solar power generation. The government’s electricity grid operator raised an official alarm that there is currently not enough power generation expected as the moon blocks up to 95% of the sun over parts of the country, the most dramatic eclipse visible in Great Britain since 1999. Continue reading...
David Crowley defeats Francesca Hong to win Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor
Crowly pulls off last-minute victory in tight race after polls had shown his progressive opponent as a clear frontrunner David Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, pulled off a last-minute victory after re-entering the Wisconsin governor’s race and snagging an endorsement from Tony Evers, the outgoing governor. The race came down to the wire, with Francesca Hong and Crowley running close to each other as each batch of results came in. Polls had shown Hong as a clear frontrunner in the race, but with large chunks of voters still undecided and an ever-changing field of candidates, polling was difficult. Polls in Michigan similarly showed progressive Abdul El-Sayed with a more sizeable lead than he ended up with in his victory in the Democratic primary for US senate. Continue reading...
UK heatwave live: Met Office issues extreme heat warning as government convenes emergency Cobra meeting
Parts of country face fifth heatwave of the summer with highs of 38C forecast this week We have some comments from the Liberal Democrats and Green party on the Cobra emergency meeting scheduled for later today. While welcoming the government’s announcement, the Lib Dem environment spokesperson Pippa Heylings said emergency meetings were not enough to put out fires or protect our communities, saying “we urgently need a national strategy to make the UK climate-ready”. Continue reading...