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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Voting begins in US midterm elections – in pictures
Americans are voting in midterm elections with control of the House and the Senate at stake for the remainder of Donald Trump’s second term in office, while voters are also electing governors and other state and local officials Continue reading...
Justice department funds research into gender dysphoria and violent crime in latest anti-trans effort
Experts say ‘very dangerous’ move diverts attention from violence driven by far-right extremist ideologies The US Department of Justice is funding research aimed at exploring whether there is a link between gender dysphoria and violent crime. Last month, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm of the justice department, said it would grant up to $1m for studies into the frequency and type of violence committed by people who have been diagnosed and treated for gender dysphoria. Continue reading...
‘Well-known individual’ fails in bid for injunction against Guardian and ITN
Person’s anonymity remains in place subject to any appeal against high court decision A “well-known individual” has failed in his bid to stop two media organisations from publishing allegations of inappropriate sexual activities, the high court has ruled. The legal team for the anonymous individual, known in court only as PPT, claimed he was “highly likely” to attempt suicide if the allegations were published by the Guardian and ITN. PPT denies the allegations. Continue reading...
Reform UK councillor charged with 12 counts of rape
George Madgwick of Hampshire county council has been charged with a total of 35 offences A Reform UK councillor has been charged with 12 counts of rape, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. George Madgwick, a councillor on Hampshire county council, has been charged with a total of 35 offences. Continue reading...
True crime novel about 1949 murder of Paris life model wins France’s biggest literary prize
Philippe Jaenada wins Prix Goncourt with novel that seeks to solve 77-year-old case and which ends up rehabilitating reputation of its victim A literary true-crime investigation that tries to solve a 77-year-old cold case and ends up rehabilitating the reputation of its life model victim has won France’s most prestigious literary prize. The author Philippe Jaenada was announced on Tuesday afternoon as the winner of the Prix Goncourt for L’Inconnue du quai de Javel (The Unknown Woman of the Quai de Javel), a recreation of the murder of 29-year-old Breton woman Louise Cansot. Continue reading...
UK meat processing firms’ fridges heat up after cyber-attacks
Cybersecurity experts say incidents had minimal effect but may represent the ‘foothills’ of a wider threat Meat processing firms in the UK have been hit by cyber-attacks after hackers raised the temperatures of supermarket freezers across Europe. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it was working with the affected companies but that the national impact was minimal. Continue reading...
Four planes flying across Europe targeted by bomb threats
Flights from London, Manchester, Copenhagen and Israel affected but no explosives found after touchdown Europe live – latest updates Four planes have landed safely after bomb threats were made across Europe, including for two flights that departed from the UK, according to reports. Polish officials said they received bomb threats on Tuesday involving two Warsaw-bound flights, but the planes landed safely and no explosives were found. Continue reading...
US supreme court to hear arguments in Catholic preschools’ LGBTQ+ exclusion case
A decision could reshape the relationship between religious freedom and nondiscrimination laws in the US The US supreme court will hear arguments on Tuesday over a challenge brought by two Catholic preschools in Colorado , arguing that they should be admitted to the state’s free education system despite their rejection of children with LGBTQ+ parents. A decision in the case, St Mary Catholic Parish v Roy , could reshape the relationship between religious freedom and nondiscrimination laws in the US. Continue reading...
The US midterm races that will decide control of Congress – mapped
These graphics explain what the Democrats would need to do to flip the Senate and House of Representatives A turning point in Donald Trump’s second term has arrived. Voters across the US are deciding whether to keep the president’s Republican allies in control of Congress, or return Democrats to the majority. Many indicators of voter sentiment suggest the Democrats are favored to take back control of the House of Representatives, and potentially the Senate. Winning either would be a significant victory for the party and give it the power to block Trump’s legislative agenda and more aggressively investigate his administration. Continue reading...
Ticket sellers, Virgin flight credits and a 25-hour laundry cycle: meet Choice’s 2026 Shonky award winners
Australia’s worst products and services for the year have been named by consumer advocacy group Choice Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Concert tickets that surge to $1,650, an airline pocketing $75m of unused flight credits and a washer/dryer cycle that takes 25 hours have all made the dishonour roll in consumer advocacy group Choice’s annual Shonky awards. Now in their 21st year, the Shonkys spotlight Australia’s worst products and services as decided by Choice. Continue reading...
Public service union refuses to back Labor at Victorian election, condemning job cuts and $1.2bn consultant spend
Exclusive: Community and Public Sector Union denounces ‘privatisation by stealth’, joining growing number of unions turning on Carroll government Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Victoria’s public servants union says it will not support Labor at this month’s state election, condemning the government for cutting public service jobs while spending $1.2bn on consultants. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) will announce the decision on Wednesday, joining several other unions that have refused to back Labor or are actively campaigning against the government ahead of the 28 November poll. Continue reading...
Snowy Hydro 2.0 executives awarded bonuses totalling $751,925 despite cost blowout
Annual reports show NSW renewable company’s CEO opted out of cash bonus, while CSIRO’s chief received an extra $200,000 Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Executives at the troubled Snowy Hydro company collectively banked bonuses worth a combined $751,925 in the last financial year, despite its renewable energy project blowing out to 12 times its original cost. But Guardian Australia can reveal chief executive, Dennis Barnes, who has a base salary of $1,845,126, opted not to accept the extra cash. Continue reading...
America has always been drawn to an unelected elite. Meet the courtier class | Nancy Isenberg
From Hamilton to the ‘Epstein class’, we have long been fascinated by a charismatic yet shadowy set of power brokers. American aristocracy is alive and well Americans remain awed by the extravagance of the super-rich, oddly enticed and generally accepting of the fact that the monied elite have privileges that they use to their own advantage. After the Hollywood celebrity and the professional athlete, the figure who invites the most curiosity is what is colloquially termed “powerbroker”. We’re talking about the dealmaker, the inside player – or in the words of Sade’s song, a “smooth operator”. Continue reading...
British people don’t need to apologise for slavery – but the government does | Olivette Otele
Andy Burnham’s intervention is important. Because when it comes to Britain’s role in the transatlantic trade, the collective amnesia is stunning Departing from his predecessors’ stances, the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, surprised us all when he stated he was open to listening to calls for an apology for the UK’s role in centuries of transatlantic enslavement. King Charles is expected to speak with “unflinching honesty” and “sincere sorrow” about the UK’s role in the transatlantic slave trade at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua and Barbuda today. Burnham was quick to add that financial reparations were off the table. But he was in favour of discussions about debt restructuring – one of the key concerns of the Caribbean community (Caricom) and the African Union. The opposition, led by Kemi Badenoch, argued that apologies were a distraction. Beyond political bickering and point-scoring lies a deeper question. Why does Britain struggle to fully understand its colonial past and to grapple with the negative impact of its legacies? One the one hand, the country celebrates its historical conquests as far back as the Battle of Hastings and applauds the wealth that derived from the products of colonisation, such as cotton . On the other, it refuses to accept that harm was caused to populations whose lands it forcefully occupied – and that the trafficking of African captives has changed how we think and what we assume about different racial groups to this day. Olivette Otele is a historian and distinguished research professor of the legacies and memory of slavery at Soas University of London Continue reading...
Federal judge dismisses Trump lawsuit seeking Harvard admissions data
Demand for individual applicant records as part of purported civil rights review fails on procedural grounds A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit on Monday filed by the Trump administration seeking individual applicant records from Harvard, finding the government failed to meet procedural requirements before filing the lawsuit against the university. Judge Myoung J Joun did not rule on the merits of the case, rather he granted a request from Harvard to dismiss the case on procedural grounds, finding that the justice department failed to demonstrate it took necessary steps to seek voluntary compliance before moving for judicial enforcement. Continue reading...
Car finance: Barclays becomes first big lender to offer payouts for mis-selling of loans
Bank to make ‘early settlement’ offers before outcome of legal battle, with those who accept likely to get money before Christmas Business live – latest updates Barclays will this month start offering compensation to tens of thousands of people who claim they were mis-sold car loans, with some of those who accept likely to see the money land in their account before Christmas. Amid an ongoing legal battle over an industry-wide compensation scheme for victims of the UK’s car finance scandal, Barclays has become the first big UK lender to break cover and begin offering payouts to some customers who have complained. Continue reading...
Babies more likely to have heart defects from Louisiana’s areas with industrial pollution, study finds
Compared to infants in the state’s low-pollution areas, the odds were 4.3 times higher for babies from toxic hotspots A study looking at babies hospitalized in New Orleans found that babies born to mothers from neighborhoods in south-east Louisiana with high levels of industrial pollution were four times more likely to suffer from severe congenital heart defects. Published last week, the study in the Environmental Health journal looked at medical records for 454 infants hospitalized at the two major Louisiana hospitals that can provide surgery for heart defects in babies. Researchers traced back where the mothers of these infants lived, examining the levels of industrial toxic pollution in their communities using the US Environmental Protection Agency’s risk-screening database. Compared to infants from low-pollution areas in the region, the odds of congenital heart defects were 4.3 times higher for infants from toxic hotspots, and 3.1 times higher for infants from places with intermediate levels of pollution. Continue reading...
Judge orders Iowa to permit Satanic Temple holiday event at state capitol
Federal court says group likely to win its free speech claim and tells officials to approve application within seven days A federal judge ordered state officials in Iowa on Monday to permit a local Satanic Temple organization to hold a holiday event in the rotunda of the state capitol after years of denying the group’s application. The religious organization and Iowa Republican state officials have been in a legal battle over the group’s applications to hold a holiday event at the state capitol in recent years. Continue reading...
Trump’s troubles with Iran could open the door to China
Beijing launches diplomatic salvo to woo Gulf leaders and bolster its influence in the region China has held a flurry of meetings with Gulf leaders in a sign that Beijing is stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. The diplomatic salvo comes before a highly anticipated meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping when the US president is expected to attend the Apec conference in Shenzhen, China, on 18 and 19 November. Continue reading...
Giannis says Dončić could be best scorer of all time as Lakers star pours in 42 against Heat
Slovenian is averaging 38.3 points a game this season Antetokounmpo offers high praise to fellow All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo has offered high praise to his fellow All-Star Luka Dončić after the Los Angeles Lakers star went on another scoring tear on Monday night. Dončić scored 42 points in the Lakers’ 138-117 win over Antetokounmpo’s Heat to bring the Slovenian’s scoring average this season to 38.3 points per game, the best in the NBA . Continue reading...
New tool will help gardeners move away from thirsty English classics to drought-resistant plants
Exclusive: Garden Climate Assessment Tool will allow users to predict a plant’s response to the projected climate in a given location “In the 20th century, we could pretty much grow the same things with confidence, we could learn from previous generations,” said Prof Sam Brockington, a curator at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. “But now we’re moving into climate scenarios that we just don’t have the traditions to understand fully.” Continue reading...
Millions of Americans crippled by medical debt despite relief efforts
Stopgap measure does not solve fundamental problem that millions can’t afford the healthcare they need, experts say Some of the millions of Americans who collectively owe billions of dollars for medical expenses have seen their debt forgiven in recent years, and there has been a dramatic uptick in aid this year. But the relief still only covers a small fraction of the outstanding balance and is just a stopgap measure that does not solve the fundamental problem: people in the US get into serious financial trouble because they can’t afford the healthcare they need, experts say. Continue reading...
Brazil publishes first global ‘roadmap’ for phasing out fossil fuels
Cop30 host sets out steps to break link with coal, oil and gas as it aims to move focus from negotiating to implementing All countries can start to break their dependence on fossil fuels now without needing to wait for new technologies or economic changes, Brazil’s government has said ahead of a global climate summit. Brazil, the host of last year’s UN climate conference , set out the world’s first global “roadmap” for phasing out fossil fuels on Tuesday, showing that countries could boost their economies and pull people out of poverty while breaking the link with coal, oil and gas. Continue reading...
Rent rises of up to 88% still passing in England despite Renters’ Reform Act
While tenants are challenging increases in record numbers, renters and landlords say system is ‘not working for anyone’ The rent tribunal system is “not working for anyone”, tenants and landlords have said, as rent increases of up to 88% continue to be approved despite Labour’s pledge to curb unfair rises. Tenants are challenging rent increases in record numbers since the Renters’ Reform Act came into effect in May, making the process easier and less risky for renters. Continue reading...