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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Top mountaineer Nirmal Purja confirmed dead after 11 hit by avalanche in Pakistan
World-renowned climber had been leading expedition on Broad Peak when avalanche struck A world-renowned Nepali mountaineer and former UK Special Forces member has died after being among 11 climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak. Nirmal Purja was killed leading an expedition of 10 other people on the world’s 12th-highest mountain when an avalanche struck at around noon on Thursday. Continue reading...
New York City’s Flatiron building enters new era with $58.5m apartments
Manhattan’s triangular building will open this fall to wealthy residents, with 36 apartments exposing Flatiron’s ‘steel skeleton’ New York City’s Flatiron building has had many lives: as a structure seen as a deathtrap; as a nuisance which created a deadly, petticoat-lifting, wind current and, mainly, as a commercial space. Now, the triangular building, a favorite of tourists and locals alike, is entering a new era: as a residential building, where apartments cost up to $58.5m. Continue reading...
D4vd hearing details high hopes and brutal end of girl at heart of murder case
Texts reveal that singer and Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been in touch stretching back to when she was 11 years old The rising pop singer D4vd and 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez were in the throes of a clandestine relationship months before her mangled and decomposing body turned up last September stuffed in an impounded car registered to the musician. D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, is set to stand trial for murder, child sexual abuse and mutilation of human remains in connection to the teenager’s death. Continue reading...
The Manchester mayoral result holds the key for the future of progressive politics | Neal Lawson
Voters on the left are more fragmented than ever – but they will pull together behind a convincing cross-party message The author is director of the cross-party campaign organisation Compass The results of the election for a new mayor to succeed Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester show progressives standing at the threshold of a new era. But only if they work together. New mayor Bev Craig was elected using the supplementary vote which uses voters’ second preference if no one wins more than half the vote in the first round. Despite the Burnham bounce, Labour received only 47% of the vote in the first round, well down on Burnham who never achieved below 63% in his three campaigns. But when second preferences kicked in, it’s estimated that about seven in 10 progressives who had backed other parties piled in behind Craig. Continue reading...
Democrats’ ‘climate hushing’ prompts activists to turn up the volume
Nationwide actions seek to counter view that talking about climate crisis distracts from affordability messaging This summer, torrential rains have washed away Texas neighborhoods, dangerous heat has blanketed swaths of the country, and smoke from Canadian wildfires has choked communities as far south as Florida. Research makes clear that global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. Yet the climate crisis has largely disappeared from the political agenda, with many Democrats who once described it as an existential threat now shying away from talking about it. Continue reading...
Purple reign: how shade became British gardeners’ favourite
Britons move away from trend of grey paving and pristine lawns in an embrace of colour, with lavender a top choice If you manage to spot a garden in bloom this summer, beyond the strips of bleached and torched grass, there may be one colour you see more than any other: purple, the horticultural hue of the season. Plants such as lavender, salvias and catmint are in vogue, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which conducted extensive research into the colours Britons best love to see in their gardens. Continue reading...
Biohacker Bryan Johnson is keeping his girlfriend’s menstrual blood in his freezer | Arwa Mahdawi
The longevity influencer and his girlfriend, Kate Tolo, say they’re studying women’s health – a worthy goal, but perhaps some skepticism is in order The tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson has devoted his life to dodging death . The 48-year-old is obsessed with becoming the healthiest person in the world and is on a quixotic quest to reverse his biological age and live forever. As such, Johnson is disciplined about what he eats, takes dozens of supplements a day, and measures every single biomarker possible, boasting that he is “certainly the most biologically measured person ever”. In short: good luck finding any ice cream in his freezer. But you know what you will find? His girlfriend’s menstrual blood. On Thursday, Johnson, a chronic oversharer, posted a photo of his 30-year-old girlfriend, Kate Tolo, on X with the caption : “Kate’s period blood is in my -80 °C freezer. Around 10 mL.” Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Women’s football continues to be used as a pawn in Gianni Infantino’s Fifa tenure | Suzanne Wrack
With youth and senior qualifiers on the horizon, Fifa’s aborted plan to sell stakes in its major tournaments would have heavily impacted the women’s game Despite not having been deemed worthy of more than a single mention in Fifa’s 25-page sales deck to its 211 member associations on its doomed proposal to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors, now very expensive waste paper, it was women’s football that had found itself on the frontline in the fight for the “soul of football”. Uefa’s statement that European national teams would not “participate in any Fifa competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that Fifa will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership”, was a bold, necessary and effective declaration of war against the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino. Continue reading...
If you think kids will respect a robot teacher, you have never met a kid | Dave Schilling
A New York school district has paused plans to bring an android into the classroom. Is this our educational future? What’s more harrowing than sending your child to school? Maybe getting stuck on a city bus that can’t drop below 55 miles per hour or it will explode, but that’s about it. Once your kid hits school age, you have to decide (if you’re lucky) between public and private education, vet the teachers, and neurotically worry about whether they’re learning enough and are socializing effectively. For seven hours a day, someone who’s practically a stranger is responsible for the wellbeing of one of the most important people in your life. It’s a stressful situation, but maybe it would be less so if your kid’s teacher was a humanoid robot. Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...
Why generations swear by hot caldo – ‘a Mexican Gatorade’ – in summer
Across Latin American households in the US, the steaming broth nourishes while keeping family traditions alive When Patty Rodriguez hears the word caldo now, she thinks fondly of home. But as a child growing up in southern California , she despised eating the piping-hot soup-like meal during the summers. Rodriguez would swirl around the chunks of fish with her spoon and imagine that she was performing a magic trick where the dish disappeared. She would roll her eyes as she asked her family why they served the dish more often when it was hot outside. “This is not a hotel,” Rodriguez recalled her mother and aunts saying. “You don’t choose what you want to eat. You’re going to eat what we make.” As an adult, Rodriguez realizes that caldo , which translates to broth in Spanish, was an inexpensive meal that could feed her Mexican American household for several days. It provided the nourishment and hydration needed during the hot summer months. Continue reading...
Brazil’s HIV advocates say they predicted USAID funding cuts: ‘We would see the trends’
At the Aids 2026 conference, Brazilian advocates said health systems need to be more independent from foreign funding HIV advocates from Brazil, whose health system operates independently from foreign aid, say they predicted a dramatic reduction in donor funding for HIV and wish other countries had prioritized independence sooner. While the dissolution of USAID might “feel like a rupture”, it’s something advocates at the Brazilian HIV NGO Gestos have seen coming for a long time, Juliana Cesar, Gestos’s political liaison coordinator, said during a session at the Aids 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro. Continue reading...
On the ground in the English seaside town rightwing influencers say is being ‘invaded’
Some in Dover say their town is being exploited by content creators and politicians, but others claim there is a genuine problem If you believe rightwing influencers and politicians, Dover and the wider Kent coast has been the site of an “invasion” for years now. And, for an online audience of millions, they and their camera crews have been the vanguard in the nation’s defence. Indeed, if you believe all you see on the algorithms of amateur Channel watchers, the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, braved a hail of French gunfire as he took to the water in a fishing boat this week; an attempt by the French authorities, he suggested, to deter him in his mission of highlighting the small boats crisis. Continue reading...
Colorado declares town abandoned amid water and leadership crisis
Hartman residents asked for declaration after infighting exacerbated water crisis and all town leaders resigned A small town in south-eastern Colorado was recently declared abandoned after all of its local public leaders resigned amid a drinking water supply crisis. The office of Colorado’s secretary of state, Jena Griswold, announced the fate of Hartman on 29 July, a little more than a month after being advised in writing that the town “had lacked chlorine in its water for [more than] one month and the water was not potable and ‘smells horrible’”, according to public documents. Continue reading...
Spanish PM calls for urgent EU meeting after ‘selfish’ responses to Ceuta crisis
Pedro Sánchez hits out at ‘polarising and unlawful reaction’ over mass crossing into Spanish enclave in north Africa Europe live – latest updates Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called for an urgent meeting of EU interior ministers after what he called some member states’ “selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction” to this week’s mass border crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in north Africa. More than 50,000 people crossed into the enclave from Morocco on Thursday and Friday, with at least 67 people dying in the attempt. Some drowned, while others were crushed as they attempted to cross a breakwater barrier. Continue reading...
Scores injured as earthquake hits near Naples in seismic swarm
At least 21 injured and more than 250 evacuated in strongest quake to hit southern Italian region in 40 years At least 21 people have been injured after a 4.7-magnitude earthquake rocked a region near Naples, in southern Italy. The quake, which occurred at 7.46pm on Friday night, caused power outages, disrupted public transport and damaged buildings and a pier in Campi Flegrei, the site of Europe’s largest volcanic crater. Continue reading...
Boxer secures Tuvalu’s first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a bout
Tarona Taafaki makes history in women’s 75kg category All boxers eliminated in semis receive bronze medals A boxer has made history for Tuvalu by winning the tiny Pacific island nation’s first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a single fight. Twenty-year-old Tarona Taafaki, one of five entrants in the women’s 75kg category, received a bye to the semi-finals where she lost on an unanimous points decision to India’s Lovlina Borgohain on Friday. At Commonwealth Games, all boxers eliminated in the semis receive bronze medals. Continue reading...
A progressive lumberjack has fewer than 100 days to turn Maine’s Senate seat blue. Can he do it?
Troy Jackson gained the Democratic nomination, but now he needs to consolidate support to take on Susan Collins Troy Jackson is ready to move on. In fewer than 100 days, the new Democratic nominee has to convince Maine voters to send him to the US Senate – and he’s trying to do it without dwelling on Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race after accusations of rape, which he denies. Continue reading...
DoJ appears to ignore New Mexico deadline for key Epstein ranch files
State attorney general set 31 July deadline for documents relating to abuse of girls at Epstein-owned Zorro ranch The US Department of Justice (DoJ) appeared to ignore a Friday deadline set by Raúl Torrez, the attorney general of New Mexico, to share information about the abuse of girls at a remote ranch formerly owned by the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Torrez’s office asked the DoJ in February for unredacted files after he reopened a dormant criminal investigation into activities at Zorro ranch, a remote 10,000-acre property in desert scrub outside New Mexico. Continue reading...
Laura Loomer, Lindsey Graham and the deepening Iran crisis: what’s behind Trump’s reset with Zelenskyy?
The US administration has struck a warmer tone of late as Ukraine has shown its value as an ally in the Middle East As leadership pairings go, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a match made in heaven. It is a far cry from the warm rapport and kindred spiritedness that defined Ronald Reagan’s relationship with Margaret Thatcher , or even the guarded pragmatic friendliness Reagan forged with Mikhail Gorbachev to effectively end the cold war . Continue reading...
‘The lead singer is unavailable’: Is Nigel Farage spending his summer in hiding?
The Reform UK leader is keeping a low profile and his approval ratings have sunk since Burnham took office. What’s the outlook for the Clacton byelection? This time last year, Nigel Farage was making the political weather . His freewheeling weekly press conferences filled a sparse news agenda, setting out eye-catching policies on areas such as crime and immigration. This year? Less so. The Reform UK leader is expected to hold a press conference in London next week. If so, it would be just his third since May’s local elections and the first in the capital in more than three months. The man who was everywhere now appears to be in hiding. Continue reading...
The US war on Iran is spinning out of control | Mohamad Bazzi
Trump’s conflict keeps escalating, with Saudi Arabia joining airstrikes in Iraq and reportedly planning an attack on the Houthis. A recession could follow The US war against Iran is spiraling out of control. Over the past week, the conflict has expanded across the Middle East , with attacks and counterattacks in at least five other countries. Instead of a quick war that sought to topple Iran’s regime, Donald Trump has started a regional conflict that risks severely disrupting energy supplies and prices – and triggering a global recession. After a few days of relative calm, the conflict resumed with the Pentagon carrying out almost nightly strikes against Iran, and Tehran retaliating against US military bases in the region. The conflict also extended to attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt. And there’s little sign that peace negotiations between the US and Iran, which are being brokered by Pakistan and Qatar, are making much progress. Continue reading...
The Democrats have one last chance to halt the erosion of US democracy – and it’s less than 100 days away | Timothy Garton Ash
American democrats need a Hungarian-style landslide to overwhelm Trump’s attempts to rig November’s midterm elections In these days of extreme weather events, it seems odd to say that the US needs a big landslide. But a landslide defeat for President Donald Trump in November’s midterm elections is exactly what is required if the country is to start reversing his deliberate and rapid erosion of its democracy. The respected Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University argues that in 2025 the US saw one of the most rapid declines in liberal democracy on record. “Democracy in the USA,” says its Democracy Report 2026, “is now at its worst in 60 years.” As the imperial republic marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, the danger seen at the very beginning of its constitutional order by anti-federalists such as Patrick Henry – that of an overmighty president abusing his executive power in an attempt to become a new king – has come closer than ever before. Continue reading...
Local media needs support if devolution push is to succeed, publishers say
Shift from Westminster risks weakening scrutiny as regional titles battle hostility, big tech and ‘news deserts’ Greater support for local media is needed to hold mayors and councils to account under Andy Burnham’s plans for devolution , which would involve a massive transfer of power into local government, publishers have said. A range of figures involved with local news broadly welcomed new plans unveiled by the prime minister, but said that monetising content, barriers erected by populist politicians and the roles of big tech and the BBC were among the challenges they faced. Continue reading...
Zelenskyy warns of low air defence supplies after Russian strike kills nine in Ukraine – Europe live
Twenty-two people were injured in overnight attack in which Kyiv said it was able to shoot down just one of 27 Russian ballistic missiles There has been an update by the Spanish government on the Ceuta border crisis, with officials saying the death toll has risen to 67. The government also announced plans to install a containment barrier extending from the breakwater into the sea to deter further crossings after tens of thousands of migrants entered the Spanish enclave from Morocco this week, AP reported. The Spanish foreign minister, José Albares, said that “practically the entirety of those who entered Ceuta have already returned to Morocco” . In a post on X, he added: It is not possible to travel from Ceuta or Melilla to mainland Spain without presenting identification at a police checkpoint. The integrity of the Schengen area is fully guaranteed. Continue reading...