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Politics
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Former Pakistani minister arrested over alleged child rape in 1990s Manchester
Exclusive: Rukhsar Ahmed was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week despite being on police bail in the UK A former Pakistani state minister has been arrested on suspicion of raping vulnerable young girls in Manchester in the 1990s, the Guardian can reveal. Rukhsar Ahmed, who was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week after five years out of office, is on police bail in the UK after his arrest in July 2024 on suspicion of rape and trafficking children in care as part of a grooming gang. Continue reading...
Man charged in connection with death of girl on camping trip in Scotland
Police say man, 35, was known to nine-year-old girl, who was found seriously injured in industrial estate in Arbroath A man has been charged in connection with the death of a nine-year-old girl who died while on a family camping trip in Scotland. The girl, from West Yorkshire, was found seriously injured just after midnight on Monday morning at the Elliot industrial estate in Arbroath, Angus. Continue reading...
‘They’re selling the safety of the traveling public’: TSA workers decry Trump privatization push
Union exploring options to oppose program that would put US airport screening into hands of private contractors The labor union representing workers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is raising alarms over a new program that will expand privatizing security checkpoints at three airports. The agency informed the union last month of plans to enact the TSA Gold+ program, which would shift security and control of the screening technology into the hands of private contractors at airports in Tampa, Charleston and Des Moines. Union workers are expected to lose their union contract and benefits once a contractor takes over. Continue reading...
From media deals to roster rules: Five priorities for MLS’s new commissioner
Larry Berg will have plenty of things on his to-do list when he officially starts as the league’s commissioner in January As Larry Berg fielded his first wave of questions as MLS commissioner-elect, he tried to make clear his ambitious vision to take the league to another level. Until a question about the league’s broadcasting plans came up, that is. To his right sat Don Garber, whose 28-year tenure in the role will conclude at year’s end. “Well, as the incoming commissioner, I’m allowed to kick it to the current commissioner to answer that question,” Berg said with a laugh as he briefly reclined in his chair at the league’s headquarters in Manhattan. “Only for a few months,” Garber said. Continue reading...
Why is Anthropic destroying books? | Kathryn James
The AI company apparently found destructively scanning ‘all the books in the world’ easier than dealing with copyright in its quest for training data Should we destroy all the books in the world? An answer to this question can be found in the court documents of Bartz v Anthropic PBC. The northern California district court case, decided in late July this year, highlighted the improbably named “Project Panama”, one of the AI company Anthropic’s efforts to improve its large language model Claude. “What is Project Panama?” court exhibit 21 asks, in an internal memo. The answer: “Project Panama is our effort to destructively scan all the books in the world.” The memo advises discretion: “Why use a codename? … [B]ecause we don’t want it to be known that we are working on this.” Continue reading...
Andy Burnham reveals wife’s reaction to third Labour leadership bid
Burnham said his wife, Marie-France van Heel, took some persuading after he ran and lost in contests in 2010 and 2015 Andy Burnham has revealed his wife’s dismayed reaction when he told her he wanted to make another attempt at becoming Labour leader. Burnham said that his wife, Marie-France van Heel, had been surprised by his decision to run, having lost contests in 2010 and 2015 to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn respectively. Continue reading...
Peruvian cardinal hails $150m lead poisoning settlement for 1,300 people as a ‘historic milestone’
Cardinal Pedro Barreto received death threats and harassment during his almost 20-year campaign against a US mining company’s operations in the Andes A Peruvian cardinal who received a barrage of death threats when he challenged the firm behind a toxic smelter has called a $150m (£111m) out-of-court settlement to more than 1,000 people who were allegedly poisoned by the plant as children “a historic milestone”. Cardinal Pedro Barreto, 82, was in Rome meeting Pope Leo XIV and other cardinals in June when he received news that the firm that ran the smelter, the Doe Run Company, a subsidiary of Renco Group, would pay $150m to 1,373 Peruvians who have suffered health impacts since childhood. Continue reading...
Let’s call Trump’s approach to Iran what it is: kindergarten diplomacy | Moustafa Bayoumi
Amid stop-and-start threats and with a divided staff, it’s clear Trump has no idea how to end a war that shouldn’t have begun On Thursday, 23 July, after weeks of escalating attacks between the US and Iran, Donald Trump told a reporter that Iran hadn’t received “enough pain yet”, and he leveled a threat. “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before,” he warned. “I am close to making a decision.” Then, on Monday 27 July, he called it off. A few days later, on Friday 31 July, Trump said : “We’ll be hitting them very hard. At some point, they’re going to say: ‘We just can’t take it any more.’” This time, it took him just one day to back down. Continue reading...
‘What they’re doing qualifies as torture’: new details of ICE force-feeding revealed
Exclusive: cases of Afghan man, Ukrainian man and Saudi woman show repeated nasogastric tube insertions and lack of legal representation One hunger striker in an immigration detention center was force-fed for almost six months. One detained immigrant with mental health problems was about to be force-fed, until his attorney intervened and stopped the process. Read part one and part two of our Ice force-feeding series Continue reading...
Cat survives Utah apartment fire by sheltering in closet for three days
Toast the cat escaped his namesake fate when blaze ripped through building and displaced more than 40 families A pet cat quite fittingly named Toast survived a devastating fire that recently gutted an apartment complex in Utah by hiding in a closet – and then safely endured a days-long wait before being rescued, according to officials. Beside prompting comments across the news and social media landscapes about cats having nine lives, Toast’s death-defying story provided a slight measure of glad tidings surrounding a blaze that ultimately displaced hundreds of residents. Continue reading...
RFK Jr has a new cooking show. Are any Trump officials doing their actual jobs? | Arwa Mahdawi
Shouldn’t the health secretary have his hands full with the cyclosporiasis outbreak, measles or rabbit fever? Not when there are crispy salmon cakes to prepare … The US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has got his work cut out for him. A cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce has the entire country playing salad roulette: one bad leaf and you could become very unwell. The condition isn’t normally deadly, but, on Monday, officials in Michigan confirmed the first two fatalities. Meanwhile, it’s the worst year for measles in the US since 1991. A disease that was once eliminated now looks as though it’s back with a vengeance – thanks in part, according to experts, to anti-vaxxers such as Kennedy himself. And this week New York officials are warning about a rare tick-borne illness called rabbit fever (tularemia) . Still, despite having rather a lot on his plate, Kennedy has found the time to front a new cooking show, hosted on YouTube. It’s called The Real Food Show and it’s supposed to help Americans prepare healthy, affordable meals at home. The first episode features the chef and TV personality Andrew Gruel (perfect name) teaching the US to prepare crispy salmon cakes with … salad. Which is certainly a bold way to kick things off. Continue reading...
Nolan Wells went to an island with friends and never came home. His death has renewed debate over race and justice in Mississippi
Uncertainty around the investigation into the death of the 18-year-old, whose body was found after a 4 July boat trip with friends, has led some to question whether justice will be meted out equally Almost a month after his body was found, mystery still shrouds what happened to Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old college student from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. There are the facts: Wells was alive on the morning of 4 July when he and a group of friends took a boat out to Horn Island, a barrier island off the coast of Mississippi. Hundreds of people were on the island, enjoying a last hurrah before returning to work or school after the holiday weekend. Wells was due to report to Southwest Mississippi Community College the following Monday for football camp, but he never returned home with his friends that day. The last known photos of him were taken around 4pm that afternoon. Continue reading...
Michigan Senate Democratic primary race remains too close to call as El-Sayed holds narrow lead – US politics live
The former public health official has slight lead over congresswoman Haley Stevens, but vote count could continue well into the day El-Sayed holds narrow lead in Michigan Senate primary but race too close to call Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. The race for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Michigan remains too close to call early on Wednesday with Abdul El-Sayed , a progressive former public health official, holding a narrow lead over congresswoman Haley Stevens . Also in Michigan, Jocelyn Benson clinched the Democratic nomination in the governor’s race and will face the John James, who won the Republican contest. Benson, the state’s secretary of state, will take on James, a congressman who received an endorsement from Donald Trump , to replace the term-limited Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer , in November. Further down ballot, William Lawrence, a progressive, won a competitive three-way Democratic primary race in Michigan’s seventh congressional district. Lawrence, a community organizer who co-founded the Sunrise Movement , will now challenge Republican incumbent Tom Barrett , who has bucked his own party while in office, after he flipped the key battleground district red in 2024. Meanwhile in Washington state, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the two-term centrist Democrat, has advanced to the general election for her competitive US House seat . She’ll face the Republican candidate and state senator, John Braun , who is backed by Trump. The state votes on single ballots – meaning the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to November’s contest. More here . And in Missouri, Democratic congressman Wesley Bell won his primary in the St Louis area on Tuesday, ending the progressive former representative Cori Bush’s bid for a comeback. Bell’s victory blunted the momentum pro-Palestinian candidates have shown in recent elections. In this deep-blue district, this also makes Bell the favorite to win a second term in the November election. More here . Also in the midwest, Cindy Holscher, a state senator, won the Democratic nomination in Kansas’s gubernatorial race. She beat two other Sunflower state politicians to advance to the general election. Ty Masterson , the Trump-backed Kansas state senate president, clinched the GOP nomination in a crowded race. It’s set to be a fierce competition, as Republicans are angling to retake the governor’s mansion from Democratic control. Continue reading...
Trump administration has paid back 60% of $165bn in tariff refunds
Government has so far returned $100bn to companies that paid levies US supreme court ruled illegal Business live – latest updates The Trump administration has refunded about $100bn from the tariffs it collected before the US supreme court ruled them illegal, according to reports. The $100bn (£74bn) figure, which represents 60% of the total $165bn collected from Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs, was reported by customs officials to the US court of international trade (CIT) on Tuesday, according to the Financial Times. Continue reading...
Mexico’s top university orders 58,000 students to resit entrance exam after suspected cheating
National Autonomous University of Mexico says applicants must take test in person after online debacle Mexico’s largest and most prestigious university has announced that about 58,000 students will have to resit their entrance exam after abnormally high test results raised suspicions of widespread cheating. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (Unam) said the exam would take place in person after its first attempt at a fully remote online version led to a debacle and thousands of annulled results. Continue reading...
How the ABA changed basketball forever: Dr J, George Gervin and the league that dared to be different
Fifty summers after the ABA-NBA merger, George Gervin, Ralph Simpson and others reflect on the league whose swagger and innovations changed basketball forever After practice, George Gervin wanted to go home. He was a rookie playing for the Virginia Squires of the upstart American Basketball Association, and the sleek, Detroit-born hooper didn’t yet know what being a pro quite meant. He didn’t know that the real workouts often started after practice. But his teammate Julius “Dr J” Erving quickly showed him the ropes. “Doc would say, ‘Hey, young fella! Where you going? Me and you ain’t done!’” Gervin tells the Guardian. “Me and him would play one-on-one after practice. It was beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful experiences I had as a young pro.” Continue reading...
Burnham considering public inquiry into UK activities of Jeffrey Epstein
Minister says PM has agreed to meet victims of sex offender – and is mulling separate inquiry into Mohamed Al Fayed Andy Burnham is considering launching a public inquiry into the UK activities of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a minister has said. The victims’ minister, Alex Davies-Jones, said the prime minister had agreed to meet Epstein’s victims, was “looking into” an inquiry and was “taking this very seriously”. A separate inquiry into the alleged actions of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed is also being considered. Continue reading...
Badenoch defends decision to allow man jailed for antisemitism to stand as councillor
Tory leader praises Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s ‘contrition’ but says she has higher thresholds for MP candidates Kemi Badenoch has defended her party’s decision to allow a former neo-Nazi who was jailed for subjecting a prominent Labour politician to antisemitic abuse to stand as a councillor. Badenoch said her party was not giving Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who is standing for election in Somerset, a “national platform”. Continue reading...
Next upgrades profit outlook again as it benefits from summer spending
Retailer expects to end year with pre-tax profit of £1.2bn, about £25m higher than forecast previously Next has raised hopes that UK shoppers are still willing to spend despite pressures on household budgets, as it upgraded its profit guidance for the third time this year. The clothing and homeware retailer said it benefited from sunny weather and the release of some “pent-up demand” in the Middle East and northern Europe in the 13 weeks ended on 1 August. Continue reading...
Zelenskyy rails at lack of anti-missile defences amid deadly Russian attack on Kyiv – Europe live
Ukrainian president tells allies that anti-ballistic measures could have saved lives as at least 17 die and more than 40 are injured in huge attack Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha responded to the latest overnight attacks on Kyiv, saying that “Russian strikes take no summer vacation.” “Support for Ukraine and pressure on the aggressor must not pause either. Every interceptor counts,” he said. “They are life-saving tools, and I urge all partners to expedite all relevant decisions. Russia’s ability to produce these tools of ballistic terror must be disrupted. Additional, tough sanctions are critical and urgent.” Continue reading...
Justice minister defends early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers amid possible legal challenge – UK politics live
Jake Richard acknowledges ‘unimaginable pain’ of Harper’s family but says government faces an ‘unenviable position’ Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog. Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation. Well, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too. We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible. Because without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country. We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately. I feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away. And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially. Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work. Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals. An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling. BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin. The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi activist as a candidate for a local election in Somerset despite him being jailed in 2016 after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of the former Labour MP Luciana Berger. Pupils in Scotland’s schools received their exam results this morning, with exam pass rates at all levels having risen this year, including a record number of National 5 passes. Continue reading...
Chris Bowen vows to override Queensland and NT to force renewables-powered AI datacentres
Energy minister says Australian households and energy reliability will be protected by new federal legislation Energy minister Chris Bowen says the federal government will override state governments that oppose new national rules on datacentres, with commonwealth legislation forcing new AI datacentres to be powered by renewable energy and banning those fuelled by gas. Bowen said he expected his counterparts in Queensland and the Northern Territory – who had protested the new federal rules at a meeting last week – to be unhappy with the move, but said the Albanese government was committed to powering the AI revolution with renewable energy. Continue reading...
El Niño could push 50m people into acute hunger before end of next year
UN forecasters warn of worsening conditions in 45 countries currently experiencing severe food insecurity About 50 million people are likely to be pushed into acute hunger before the end of next year by the rapidly developing El Niño weather system , according to forecasting. This is in addition to the hundreds of millions of people already facing dangerous levels of hunger, owing to years of drought in parts of Africa and pressure on food prices from the war in Iran. Continue reading...
Labor’s gambling reform friendless as Coalition withholds support amid drug and sex worker allegations
Sarah Henderson says bill ignores gambling inducements, uniting parties and independents against controversial legislation Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Labor will be forced to make major changes to its planned crackdown on online gambling advertising, as the Coalition, Greens and independents demand tougher rules to stop betting companies offering generous inducements as well as further limits on broadcast ads. After a two-day inquiry including sensational evidence that gambling companies allegedly provided illegal drugs and access to sex workers to keep problem gamblers betting, the Coalition confirmed on Wednesday afternoon it would seek “crucial amendments” before agreeing to support the government’s legislation. Continue reading...