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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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We are US civil rights lawyers. Trump’s policies have driven us to seek justice internationally| Thomas Becker and Antonio Romanucci
On Tuesday, a human rights commission will hold an extraordinary hearing over the administration’s alleged attacks on protesters, journalists and others We are constitutional law, civil rights, and human rights scholars and practitioners who have spent decades litigating government abuse cases in the United States. Despite the US legal system’s flaws, our work – from securing a record civil settlement for George Floyd’s family to holding Bolivia’s ex-president accountable in US federal court for the massacre of Indigenous protesters – has demonstrated that US courts can reign in state power and provide a path to accountability. But this pathway is narrowing. As Donald Trump attacks the courts, weaponizes the Department of Justice, and targets attorneys who challenge his administration, we have been forced to seek justice beyond our borders. Continue reading...
Colombia’s elephant-costumed anti-corruption activist sworn in as senator
Luis Carlos Rúa revealed himself to be Elefante blanco just three days before election for ‘his own safety’. Now he is tackling graft from senate floor When 102 senators were sworn in for Colombia’s latest parliamentary session, they included 32 women, 69 men – and one cartoon elephant. He had some difficulty making his way down the narrow central aisle of Congress’s ceremonial chamber, weaving past fellow senators in sharply tailored suits and dresses, before taking the oath in his pot-bellied white plush costume. Continue reading...
Wingtip from downed fighter jet flown by ace pilot brought to US museum
Lockheed P-38 Lightning nicknamed ‘Marge’ and flown by Richard Bong crashed in 1944 over what is now Papua New Guinea A wingtip of a downed fighter jet once flown by second world war ace pilot Richard Bong has been taken to his home state of Wisconsin from Papua New Guinea, where it crashed more than 80 years earlier. The piece of the plane named after the pilot’s girlfriend, Marge Vattendahl, underwent a remarkable journey by air, land and sea before its procurement by the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin. Continue reading...
We launched a war on nature. Now we are in a climate warzone | Rebecca Solnit
Summer is not what it once was. We have been robbed of one of life’s great joys Far beyond the fires raging across Europe and North America, the smoke, dangerous to breathe, hangs in the air, dimming the view, changing the very color of sunlight into something grimly unsettling. An estimated 20,000 are said to have died in the extreme heat in Europe earlier this year, and heat is climate change’s quiet killer, compared to the dramatic violence of death by fire or flood. In eastern Washington, 600 homes have just burned down, and in both Europe and North America, firefighters have died in the effort to contain the climate-fueled firestorms. Continue reading...
Calls for UK bank tax to fund cost of living help as HSBC profits hit £7.5bn
Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners Business live – latest updates Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year. Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages. Continue reading...
UK plastic ‘waste colonialism’ found to be polluting Turkey’s farming heartland
A Guardian investigation finds irrigation canals polluted with microplastics in Turkey, a major destination for UK waste • ‘Nobody cares’: Turkish farmers bear the burden of UK’s plastic waste problem High levels of microplastics and other plastic contamination have been discovered in a waterway close to a major recycling hub in Turkey supplied with plastic waste by British companies. The polluted waterway, which floods into agricultural fields after heavy rain, feeds into a larger canal used for irrigating crops on the Çukurova plain, in the city of Adana, in the south of the country. It is one of the largest and most fertile agricultural basins in Turkey. Continue reading...
Trump slams oil companies for ‘making too much money’ from his war on Iran
US president hits out at ExxonMobil and Chevron, saying they should ‘give some of that back to the public’ Business live – latest updates Donald Trump has criticised oil companies for “making too much money” from the global energy market disruption caused by his war on Iran. Brent crude had been trading at about $70 (£52) a barrel before the first US-Israeli strikes at the end of February, but by the end of April had soared as high as $126 and is now trading at about $85 a barrel. Continue reading...
About 1,000 fewer prisoners to get early release as Burnham tightens rules
Justice secretary says ministers would have liked to block more but doing so would cause prison system to ‘break’ UK politics live – latest updates About 1,000 fewer prisoners will be released early after Andy Burnham’s intervention to exclude those convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from the scheme. The justice secretary, Alex Norris, said 5,000 prisoners would be released over 10 months from October in England and Wales, down from the government’s original plan for 6,000 from September. Continue reading...
Mother of PC Harper ‘bitterly disappointed’ that son’s killers remain eligible for early release – UK politics live
Government revises plans to tackle prison overcrowding amid pressure from MPs and victims but domestic abusers and killers could still be released early Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. The mother of PC Andrew Harper said her family are “bitterly disappointed” that her son’s killers remain eligible for early release after the government revised plans to tackle the overcrowding crisis in prisons. Following pressure from victims, MPs and frontline prison officers, rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers will be excluded from the scheme for England and Wales, the government said on Monday. It feels like we’re letting Andrew down again. We’ve been through the justice system, we thought we’d done as best as we could. Now we’re standing up to fight again … so I just feel really let down, for Andrew’s sake as well as ours. Continue reading...
Hungary comes ‘within millimetres’ of shutting down nuclear power plant amid drought crisis – Europe live
PM Péter Magyar says country nearly forced into decision as extreme heat and low water levels in Danube pose challenges in region Hungary has come “within millimetres” of having to shut down its nuclear power plant overnight, prime minister Péter Magyar said, as low water levels in the Danube continue to pose challenges for countries in south-eastern Europe. “Around 1:30 a.m. we were a few millimetres away from completely shutting down the Paks Power Plant , but then the water level stopped falling and by morning it had risen 1.5 centimetres. The last turbine is currently operating safely,” Magyar said on social media. Continue reading...
US trade group warns Trump wants ‘fair treatment’ in fight over Labor’s levy on tech giants to pay for news
National Foreign Trade Council ‘disappointed’ at move to expand News Bargaining Incentive but Australian experts say government is not going far enough Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A major US trade body has rubbished the Albanese government’s plan to make more big tech platforms pay for Australian journalism, issuing a veiled warning about how Donald Trump may respond to the “deteriorating trend”. The National Foreign Trade Council said it was “disappointed” at the Australian government’s move to expand its News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) to take in Microsoft’s LinkedIn, amid trade tensions between Washington and Canberra including newly increased tariffs on Australian goods . Continue reading...
Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption when killed, jury told
Journalist’s son says his mother was examining leak from Electrogas, part owned by Yorgen Fenech who is on trial Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption by the businessman Yorgen Fenech and members of Malta’s government when she was killed, a jury has heard. The heir to one of Malta’s biggest fortunes, Fenech is on trial for murder, accused of commissioning and paying for Caruana Galizia’s killing in a car bombing in October 2017. Continue reading...
BP profits more than double as Iran war sends oil prices soaring
Energy company’s $5.73bn quarterly profits come after Shell posted second highest quarterly earnings on record Business live – latest updates BP has reported its highest quarterly profits since the first year of Russia’s war on Ukraine because of rising oil and gas prices caused by the Middle East crisis. The oil company’s quarterly profits more than doubled to $5.73bn (£4.27bn) in the three months to the end of June, up $2.5bn from the quarter before, as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continued to disrupt energy exports from the Gulf. Continue reading...
Metro Bank customer fights for £14,000 refund after AI-linked fraud
Lender was told money was being taken without authorisation, with cash used to buy credits for Claude chatbot A Metro Bank customer has told of his fight to get more than £14,000 back after its systems failed to stop a fraud involving the AI chatbot Claude. Zoli Rutter, a businessman from Sussex, had a total of £14,244 taken from his bank account. The scam involved fraudsters buying credits to use Claude. Continue reading...
Three lions die of suspected heatstroke at Tokyo zoo as Japan swelters
Most of the zoo’s 16 lions have struggled to cope with high humidity this summer Three lions from a Tokyo zoo have died from suspected heatstroke and others are undergoing treatment, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, as the big cats struggle in Japan’s high levels of humidity. Japan sweltered through its hottest summer on record last year and parts of the country have hit 40C in recent weeks, qualifying for the new “cruelly hot day” designation . Continue reading...
Nine Lives, the feral cat that terrorised New Zealand’s rare ducks, is caught after three years
Large tabby cat that wiped out dozens of rare pāteke, or brown teal, has been killed after eluding trappers with its ‘very erratic’ behaviour A notorious feral cat given the name “Nine Lives” because it eluded trappers for three years has been caught and killed in New Zealand, ending its devastating rampage against one of the country’s rare duck populations. The cat, a large grey tabby, is estimated to have killed dozens of New Zealand’s rarest mainland duck – or 1% of its population – plus a host of kiwi chicks, native geckos and other native wildlife during the three years it was known to be roaming the Purerua peninsula, near the top of the North Island. Continue reading...
‘Scott and Damien are afraid’: senior Liberal quizzed at Icac about former staffer’s message
NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, tells inquiry Jean-Claude Perrottet had a talent for recruiting A senior New South Wales Liberal says the younger brother of former Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet had a “talent” for recruiting and renewing new members to the party, a corruption inquiry has heard. On Tuesday, NSW shadow attorney general and Liberal leader in the upper house, Damien Tudehope gave evidence as part of the Independent Commission Against Corruption ’s (Icac) Operation Rosny, where he was also asked about a 2018 message in which his former staffer, and younger brother of the former premier, Jean-Claude Perrottet, wrote to other Reformers that “Scott and Damien are afraid”. Continue reading...
Tuesday briefing: Inside the right’s heated climate-denial debate
In today’s newsletter: A small chorus of right-leaning critics are trying to convince politicians that climate action is deeply unpopular, downplaying its seriousness in the process Good morning. Half of England and all of Wales are officially in drought, wildfires have burned through parts of the Cairngorms, Suffolk and the Isle of Wight, and reservoirs are running low . Farmers have warned that there could soon be food shortages, and the Royal Horticultural Society is considering moving its hydrangeas to cope with the heat. Many people are now asking a question rarely associated with British summertime: when will it rain? The Guardian has been covering how the climate crisis is supercharging wildfires in Europe, the impossible choices firefighters face about which places to save, the number of people who have died in England due to heat, and the air conditioning haves and have-nots . Had you been reading another newspaper, you may have come away with a very different impression of this extreme weather. UK news | Rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers will be excluded from early release plans to ease critical prison overcrowding in a major intervention by Andy Burnham. UK politics | Nigel Farage has made his clearest admission that he was in talks to return to lead Reform UK months before the 2024 general election, casting fresh doubt on previous claims that he was not involved in politics when he received a £5m gift. Spain | A growing chorus of voices has accused Morocco of helping to fuel the crisis in Ceuta, with the leader of the Spanish enclave describing last week’s border crossings as an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity that was seen as being “if not orchestrated, at least encouraged or permitted by Morocco”. Middle East | New talks between Washington and Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of US strikes on the country, Donald Trump said on Monday. Environment | A plastic manufacturer in the north of England is facing potential legal action over emissions of benzene, a carcinogenic chemical with no safe level, the Guardian can reveal. Continue reading...
Charity cyclist Bob Montgomery, 82, dies one day after 5,200km ride across Australia
Montgomery died in a single-vehicle crash in Sydney just one day after completing his latest fundraising cycling trip with his teenage grandson Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Bob Montgomery, a charity cyclist who has just finished a 5,200km bike ride from Broome to Bowral, died on Monday at the age of 82. His family confirmed his death on social media, saying he had died unexpectedly just a day after completing the cycling feat alongside his grandson, Tom, as a fundraiser for motor neurone disease. Continue reading...
Public urged to avoid hospital unless ‘life might be in danger’ after record day for Sydney emergency departments
Winter flu season is putting pressure on the health system, with medical staff bracing for the ‘worst three weeks of the year’ Sick patients in New South Wales have been told to avoid the emergency room unless their life is at risk after a record day for winter presentations put the hospital system under strain. The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, said just under 10,000 people presented to emergency departments in Sydney on Monday, the “biggest ever recorded winter day in history”. It was around 1,000 more people than the average. Continue reading...
Cancer survivors need protection from future discrimination, say German politicians
Campaigners say people who have had cancer face discrimination in areas including bank loans, adoption of children and insurance German politicians who have survived cancer have spearheaded proposals to protect people long in remission from what they call rampant discrimination in areas including bank loans, adoption of children and insurance. The policy known as “the right to be forgotten” (RTBF) is a central demand of a community estimated to number 5.5 million people in Germany: former cancer patients who have been given a clean bill of health by their doctors. Continue reading...
Approval of east London datacentre labelled ‘slap in the face’ for local democracy
Campaigners decry Angela Rayner’s backing for Brick Lane project that has only 11 affordable homes A £500m redevelopment of the Truman Brewery estate in Brick Lane, east London, has been approved, clearing the way for the construction of a datacentre, offices and apartments despite opposition from Tower Hamlets council and local campaign groups. The housing secretary, Angela Rayner, made the decision in a letter issued on her behalf last week by the housing minister Matthew Pennycook, rejecting demands from the council and campaigners for for the site to be used for hundreds of homes instead. Continue reading...
GPs’ breast cancer guidelines ‘miss’ 95% of women who will develop disease
Findings prompt calls for review of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence criteria Young women in England who later develop breast cancer are not being referred for early tests or preventive treatment because current guidelines used by GPs miss 95% of patients, research suggests. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) criteria used to decide who should be referred by family doctors for further breast cancer risk assessment and specialist care is failing to spot the vast majority of women under 50 who will go on to develop the disease in the next 10 years, according to the University of Cambridge and the Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR). Continue reading...
UK plastic manufacturer could face legal action over toxic emissions
Exclusive: Environment Agency is considering whether to prosecute Huntsman Polyurethanes over emissions of carcinogenic benzene A plastic manufacturer in the north of England is facing potential legal action over emissions of benzene, a carcinogenic chemical with no safe level, the Guardian can reveal. The Environment Agency (EA) is considering taking legal action against Huntsman Polyurethanes in Teesside for a potential breach of licence, which is a criminal offence. Continue reading...