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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
5543 stories archived
Petrol prices on track to top $2 a litre as Bowen sounds death knell for fuel excise relief
Petrol now costs more than $1.90 a litre in every capital city, with diesel expected to exceed $2.40 a litre Petrol prices could surpass $2 a litre and diesel $2.40 in coming days, after the government’s 16-cent discount ends on Sunday. The 32-cent per litre reduction in fuel excise, introduced in March at the peak of the fuel price spike, was halved to 16 cents in July. Continue reading...
Bessent ‘to-do’ list shows proposal for US to buy $5bn-$10bn of Japanese yen
Treasury secretary’s notepad, photographed by Reuters on Friday morning, prompts questions over US plans During a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent carelessly revealed plans for the US to buy $5bn-$10bn in Japanese yen in a scribbled “to do” list left visible to a Reuters photographer. The image, taken over Bessent’s shoulder during a portion of the meeting open to journalists, showed a Camp David notepad with the underscored words “To Do” followed by “Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil”. Continue reading...
Adani to pay no company tax despite $1bn revenue from Queensland coalmine
Indian conglomerate offsets earnings from Carmichael mine to report $340.6m loss, after promising billions in taxes and royalties Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Indian conglomerate Adani will pay no company tax despite generating almost $1bn in revenue from coal mining in Queensland over the past year. Financial accounts show the Carmichael thermal coal operations used large costs – including production and related party logistics expenses – to offset its $963.5m revenue in the 12 months to 31 March. This resulted in a recorded $340.6m loss for the year, erasing it’s tax bill. Continue reading...
Justice department moves to dismiss its charges against Olympian over reflecting pool
Lawyers now say damage to pool liner attributed to David Hearn instead is result of installation by contractor The justice department has moved to dismiss a criminal case charging former Olympian David Hearn with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial‘ reflecting pool, instead blaming damage to the pool liner as “the result of flawed installation by the contractor”. Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing in DC superior court on Friday evening that they had received information about a “rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026”. Continue reading...
San Francisco pitbull rescued after two days trapped in railway tunnel
Pup named Roo, who ran away from home, was found curled up next to rail track – and was ‘thrilled’ to be rescued A two-year-old pitbull who ran away from home braved two days in a dim San Francisco railway tunnel before being rescued. Caltrain operators spotted the pup named Roo on his first day in the tunnel. Looking at the dog’s unmoving body, they had assumed he had been fatally struck by a train, according to a recent social media post from the San Francisco animal care and control shelter. Continue reading...
Labour wins decisive victory in Greater Manchester mayoral byelection
Bev Craig, the city council leader, succeeds Andy Burnham as mayor, reversing Reform gains in May local elections Labour has stormed to a decisive victory in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, seizing back areas that recently fell to Reform UK and the Greens. Labour’s Bev Craig, the Manchester city council leader, will now succeed Andy Burnham and hold one of the most powerful political positions outside Westminster. Continue reading...
Illinois officer who killed Sonya Massey denied medical release from prison
Sean Grayson, diagnosed with colon cancer, was sentenced to 20 years for killing Massey in Springfield in 2024 A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy won’t get an early medical release from his two-decade prison sentence for killing Sonya Massey inside her home after the Black woman called 911 about a possible prowler, state officials decided on Friday. Sean Grayson had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to the 2024 shooting, and his attorney noted in January that the cancer had advanced to his liver and lungs. Continue reading...
F-35B jet crashed near Marine Corps in San Diego, pilot ejected safely – officials
Pilot of stealth fighter jet, who has not been identified, was treated for non-life threatening injuries sustained in crash An F-35B fighter jet crashed near a US Marine Corps base in San Diego on Friday morning, sparking a small fire that first responders doused. The pilot, who has not been publicly identified, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to a statement from the Marine Corps Miramar air base. Officials say the pilot is in stable condition and received treatment at a local medical facility. Continue reading...
Missing Australian hiker found dead in Wyoming, officials say
Body of William Standish discovered in Teton mountains as investigators say fatal fall likely cause of death A 28-year-old Australian hiker who lost contact with his family while hiking the Continental Divide Trail between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in Wyoming has been found dead, according to authorities. The man, identified as William Standish, was discovered by rescuers on Wednesday morning in the Wigwams, a series of rocky peaks on the west slope of the Teton mountain range, the Teton county coroner said. Investigators say it was likely he suffered a fatal fall. Continue reading...
Jurors in Lindsay Clancy murder trial visit home where children were killed
Defense lawyers say Clancy was ill with postpartum psychosis when she killed three children in January 2023 Jurors walked through the Massachusetts home where Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children, a rare visit on Friday that let them see first-hand the place where an outwardly ordinary family life unraveled into tragedy. After being driven past two businesses relevant to the narrative of the January 2023 killings, jurors were escorted in groups of six to view the inside of the house, including the basement where the children died. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org . In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
Gavin Newsom reveals personal income of $1.7m-$2m in tax return release
California governor and wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, release 2022-2024 filings amid Trump investigation Gavin Newsom and his wife made from $1.7m to $2m annually from 2022 through 2024, and paid about half a million a year in federal and state taxes, according to tax returns released by his office. The California Democratic governor’s office released more than 700 pages of tax filings spanning four years for reporters to review, offering a window into Newsom’s finances as he prepares to leave office and considers a 2028 presidential bid. Newsom’s office did not release returns for 2025, because the couple filed for an extension and will complete those returns in October. Continue reading...
Trump backtracks from promise to let Ukraine build Patriot missiles
US president tells reporters during Camp David cabinet meeting technology ‘a hard thing to give away’ Donald Trump has backed off a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defense interceptors, telling reporters that handing over the underlying technology was “a hard thing to give away” during a cabinet meeting at Camp David. The retreat, billed by the White House as “something different” for the cabinet to experience together, was the first such meeting at the presidential compound of Trump’s second term. Continue reading...
High court clears way for clinical trial giving puberty blockers to children
Legal challenge to King’s College London research study claimed it could harm participants but was rejected A clinical trial of drugs that can delay puberty can go ahead after a high court judge threw out a legal challenge on Friday. Campaigners had launched the attempt to halt the planned research into puberty blockers, to be run by researchers at King’s College London (KCL), on the grounds that they believed it could harm the children taking part. Continue reading...
Is the cyclosporiasis outbreak slowing? Test-makers are hopeful
Data by one test-maker shows a positivity drop, but rate could be influenced by number of people taking test Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The maker of a popular laboratory test said the cyclosporiasis outbreak in the US may be slowing. An outbreak of infections from the single-celled parasite has grown to more than 18,000 suspected and confirmed cases in late July, the nation’s largest on record. The midwest has been hit particularly hard in the outbreak, where public health officials have linked infections in nine states to iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms’ Mexico operations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said people in at least nine states appear to have connected cases. Continue reading...
Burnham risks first revolt as PM over apparent support for North Sea drilling
Labour MPs fear No 10 team lack up-to-date energy insight and don’t fully recognise voters’ climate concerns Andy Burnham was told he could face the first revolt of his premiership as Labour MPs and climate experts condemned his apparent support for renewed drilling for oil and gas. As the UK suffers through drought, fires and heatwaves, the prime minister gave the strongest indication yet on Friday he was minded to allow for new drilling. His comments came just hours before the UN secretary-general warned “every new fossil fuel project” made heatwaves more dangerous. Continue reading...
Water cuts loom as US unveils long-awaited response to Colorado river crisis
Federal government plan outlines cuts to California, Arizona and Nevada but fix is likely to be only temporary The US government released its anxiously awaited plan for how to manage the Colorado river crisis on Friday, outlining cuts in water supplied to California, Arizona and Nevada. The proposal from the US Bureau of Reclamation spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming from facing mandatory cuts, for now. But it is a temporary fix as the states that rely on the river continue to fight over a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource that supplies huge swaths of the western US. Continue reading...
Washington Post’s opinion editor resigns after just one year in role
Adam O’Neal did not give reason for his departure at end of August, in another major shakeup at US publication The Washington Post had realized a state of relative calm in the five months since the paper was turned upside down in February, when nearly half the newsroom was laid off and its unpopular publisher, Will Lewis, abruptly resigned . But on Friday, staffers were shocked to find out that Adam O’Neal, a millennial hired last year to lead its opinion section, was already leaving. Continue reading...
The week around the world in 20 pictures
Wildfires in Europe, Russian missile strikes in Lviv, a tornado in Wisconsin and Spencer Tunick in Spain – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading...
Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In breaks 73-year record to become longest-running UK No 1 single
Duetting stars surpass record set in 1953, when crooner Frankie Laine hit the top with I Believe Sam Fender and Olivia Dean have scored the longest running UK No 1 single in history with Rein Me In , beating a record that has stood since 1953. Back then, the UK singles chart had been running for less than a year and contained just 12 songs when I Believe, a bombastic ballad by US crooner Frankie Laine, hit No 1 and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart. Continue reading...
Tony Romo placed on leave from CBS Sports after OWI arrest in Wisconsin
CBS sidelines Romo indefinitely after arrest JJ Watt promoted to lead booth in absence Arrest followed Wisconsin OWI traffic stop Tony Romo has been placed on leave from his role as the lead analyst on CBS’ NFL coverage following his arrest last week on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence. CBS Sports announced Friday that the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback was on leave “until further notice”. JJ Watt will join Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson as CBS Sports’ lead NFL team during Romo’s absence. Continue reading...
Mahershala Ali on Marvel’s cursed Blade reboot: ‘If they wanted to do it, we would’ve done it’
Two-time Oscar winner was to take on role of vampire-hunting antihero but said project is no longer happening Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali has confirmed that his Blade reboot is no longer going forward. The star of Moonlight and Green Book had been attached to play Marvel’s vampire-hunting antihero in 2019. The role had originally been played by Wesley Snipes in three films between 1998 and 2004. Continue reading...
Florida woman’s autopsy report reveals extent of alligator attack
Brittany Clark struggled for her life before dying from brutal injuries in rare attack, autopsy report confirms A woman who was killed in a rare alligator attack while swimming with her boyfriend in Florida struggled for her life before dying from the brutal injuries inflicted on her by the animal, newly released autopsy results confirmed. The report containing the results of Brittany Clark’s autopsy, published on Thursday, also contained new details about the extent of the 28 June mauling that unfolded in Seminole county’s Little Big Econ state forest. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on England’s centralised state: Andy Burnham must unbundle it | Editorial
Devolution should finance transport, skills and industry, not become a rightwing contest to promise the largest tax giveaway That England is among the rich world’s most centralised countries underpins Andy Burnham’s critique of the economic history of the past 40 years. Only post-communist Europe deindustrialised as rapidly as Yorkshire and the Midlands did in the 1980s. Centralisation did not close every factory or pit, but left regions without the powers, finance or institutions to cushion the shock or build a resilient, replacement economy. Hence Mr Burnham’s radical and welcome plan to unbundle English government. There are three facets to his devolution programme. The first are the detailed and concrete proposals contained in a cabinet paper Mr Burnham released on Friday. This appears to be a blueprint to create a decentralised state organised around mayors as the key regional economic actors, while jointly governed pan-regional agencies could emerge, say for transport, energy, investment and industrial systems, that cross mayoral boundaries. Regions without mayors will get a chance to have one – or limit themselves to weaker powers. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on the Lovell telescope: budget cuts to physics are bad science and worse politics | Editorial
Funders have picked a damaging fight with scientists and the public. They should reconsider their plans The iconic Lovell telescope, housed at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, has always expanded our view of the universe – from tracking the Sputnik launch in 1957 to its current contributions to the study of dark matter. It is now threatened with closure after it was announced that government funding will not continue past March 2028. The projected savings are just £2.8m a year. This is just the latest in a rolling package of cuts from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) – which disperses government funding to particle, astro and nuclear physics, among other disciplines – aimed at saving about £160m over the next four years. The STFC has insisted that the measures are a result of cost overruns. That may be true, but it is hard not to see this as part of a larger shift in what kind of science the government funds and prioritises, and what areas it allows to wither. Continue reading...