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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Louise Haigh accuses ‘cabal of men’ around Keir Starmer of mistreating women in cabinet
Former transport secretary said she was one of several victims of ‘sexist and unpleasant’ press briefs Louise Haigh has accused Keir Starmer’s allies of briefing “consistently and viciously” against her after she resigned as transport secretary as she spoke openly about her departure from the cabinet in 2024 and her reasons for backing Andy Burnham. Talking to the BBC’s Nick Robinson, she said she had been a victim of a “cabal of men mistreating women”, who also targeted her cabinet colleagues Lisa Nandy, Bridget Phillipson and Angela Rayner, as well as Starmer’s former chief of staff Sue Gray. Continue reading...
Muchova into Wimbledon final after nailbiting tie-break defeat of Coco Gauff
Czech 10th seed clinched a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) victory Faces compatriot Noskova or Ukraine’s Kostyuk next Karolina Muchova edged out Coco Gauff in a deciding-set tie-break, saving a match point in a dramatic last-four clash to reach her first Wimbledon final on Thursday. The Czech 10th seed clinched a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) victory and will face either compatriot Linda Noskova or Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in Saturday’s show-piece match. Full report to come Continue reading...
Tributes paid to mother and children found dead at home in Bedfordshire
Relatives describe ‘unimaginable loss’ as police seek father who is suspected of killing them before fleeing to Zimbabwe Tributes have been paid to three members of the same family who were found dead in their home in Bedfordshire on Monday. Nothabo Zandile Tshuma and her daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were described as much-loved members of their community who brought joy to those around them. An international manhunt is under way for their husband and father, 45-year-old Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, who is suspected of killing them before leaving the UK for Zimbabwe. Continue reading...
‘It was back-to-back explosions’: Iranians recall 48 hours of terror after US attack on port cities
Residents in Bandar Abbas and Sirik regions describe communities in fear and ‘feeling abandoned’ after US launch fresh strikes over two-day period Residents in southern Iran have described two nights of fear this week after explosions shook coastal communities as the US launched fresh strikes on targets including the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik . US Central Command confirmed the attacks, saying they were carried out to “further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the strait of Hormuz”. Continue reading...
Former top BHP economist urges tougher government policies to push miners to decarbonise
Exclusive: ‘The preferred policy is, of course, a carbon price,’ Dr Huw McKay says, amid slowdown in BHP action on emissions Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A former chief economist at mining company BHP says stronger climate policy by governments is needed to “move the needle” and incentivise tough decarbonisation decisions at major resource companies. Internal documents, leaked to Guardian Australia and the ABC earlier this year, showed BHP had delayed vast renewables projects in the Pilbara, scrapped a project that would have delivered significant cuts to global emissions, and war-gamed options to push the electrification of its polluting diesel truck and train fleets into the next two decades. Continue reading...
Growing legal bill for failed defence of controversial NSW protest laws runs to hundreds of thousands of dollars
Exclusive : Documents show $117,455.50 was spent in a single legal fight over laws rushed through after Bondi attack Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales government has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees to unsuccessfully defend constitutional challenges against protest laws that were expected to be struck down. The costs, outlined in documents obtained by Guardian Australia via freedom of information legislation, include $117,455.50 of taxpayers’ money on a single challenge to controversial public assembly restriction declaration (Pard) laws. Those laws were enacted following the Bondi beach terror attack and were in place during a now infamous rally against the Israeli president , Isaac Herzog, in February. Continue reading...
This huge hairy-legged Australian arachnid may be the fastest spider on the planet
A brown huntsman is the quickest of more than 250 species analysed by scientists in the UK and Germany If arachnophobes were not frightened enough by the horrific ability of Australia’s huntsman spiders to drag dead mice up the sides of fridges , they now have another reason. They might be the fastest spiders on the planet. Continue reading...
The fight against AI data centers is important – but it’s just a starting point | Bruce Schneier and Nathan E Sanders
AI companies want to capture the value created by entire industries. That concentration of wealth and power is society’s greatest risk Opposition to AI datacenters has emerged as a primary theme in US politics, one that – surprisingly – doesn’t fall along party lines. We applaud people coming together for constructive debate on any issue, and agree that communities need to evaluate whether any economic benefits these datacenters bring is worth their costs. Still, we worry that a focus on datacenters obscures the larger impacts of AI on people’s lives: the concentration of power of AI companies, and their widespread political and financial influence. Local datacenter opposition is grounded in legitimate concerns about misallocation of land resources when housing is at a premium, pressures on already higher energy prices, and localized environmental impact. Unlike other resource-consuming and polluting industrial facilities, datacenters produce very few jobs . The fact that US opposition to datacenters seems to be most fierce among lower-income communities reflects righteous indignation with an inequitable bargain, where tech companies and developers profit from exploiting local resources but offer little in return. On a global scale, their carbon footprint could grow unsustainably if usage accelerates. And all this is in aid of a technology that many fear will propagate misinformation, take their jobs, or even cause existential risks for humanity. Continue reading...
Former US Olympian pleads not guilty to damaging reflecting pool amid Trump’s renovation
David Hearn is accused of destroying ‘American flag blue’ lining material on the bottom of the reflecting pool David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to damaging Washington’s reflecting pool after a $14.7m renovation project. Hearn, a three-time US Olympian, was indicted last week on a single felony count of property destruction. He appeared in local superior court in Washington DC, to enter the plea after he was criminally charged over the incident in mid-June. Continue reading...
US air force cancels promotions over grading error in security test
‘Highly unprecedented anomaly’ meant 135 people given incorrect scores and wrongly informed of promotions The air force has canceled the promotions of dozens of service members after discovering what it said was a grading error in a test of their security knowledge. The “isolated and highly unprecedented anomaly” was announced in a press release on Tuesday, which said 135 airmen and women had been awarded incorrect scores on the security forces specialty knowledge test (SKT) and been wrongly informed they had earned promotion. Continue reading...
Doreen Lawrence will not foot any of legal bill in failed attempt to sue Daily Mail
Exclusive: Source close to co-claimant Prince Harry says he is ‘protective’ of social campaigner and will not ‘see her out of pocket’ Doreen Lawrence, the social justice campaigner, will not foot any of a multimillion-pound bill for the failed attempt to sue the publisher of the Daily Mail, the Guardian understands. Lawrence, the mother of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence , whose case was the subject of a long-running Daily Mail campaign from the late 1990s, was one of seven claimants defeated in court over claims the Mail titles used unlawful methods to source stories. Continue reading...
Fraudster Cottrell was introduced as Farage’s chief of staff, says ex-Reform candidate
Exclusive: Questions grow over close ally’s role in 2024 election in which he held no official position UK politics live – latest updates Why is Farage quitting as an MP, only to stand again? George Cottrell was routinely introduced as Nigel Farage’s chief of staff before the 2024 election despite denials that he had any official role, according to a Reform candidate who stood aside for the party leader. Others who have been closely involved in the party have also claimed Cottrell arranged for the Land Rovers that ferried Reform’s newly elected MPs to parliament, and that he covered the cost of a fundraising lunch with potential donors before the national vote. Continue reading...
Legionnaires’ outbreak rocks New York as experts warn of rising climate threat
Officials say climate crisis ‘worsening our exposure’ to bacteria as at least 28 people sickened in Manhattan A New York outbreak of legionnaires’ disease, a rare but severe form of pneumonia, highlights the microbe’s growing and disproportionate impacts in a warming climate. At least 28 people have been sickened in an outbreak on the Upper East Side, a wealthy neighborhood between Central Park and the East River in Manhattan. Health department officials, seeking to stop the outbreak, have sampled water from nearly 160 building cooling towers to test for the bacteria. Continue reading...
Trump’s consumer protection head has earned grudging respect – but does he have the authority to do his job?
Chris Mufarrige has taken aim at Facebook scams and junk fees, but consumer advocates say he has an uphill climb As the director of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection bureau, Chris Mufarrige is the top enforcer protecting Americans against predatory companies. He’s got an uphill climb, consumer advocates say. Continue reading...
Flight of fancy: San Francisco moves to build private luxury airport terminal
City seeking bids to build and operate separate terminal, following Los Angeles, London and other cities Sick of the TSA lines? Tired of playing musical chairs at the gate? Rather sit as far from your fellow airplane passengers for as long as possible, in the comfort of your own private, luxury airport terminal? Soon you may get your wish. And San Francisco international airport wants to be your genie – for a fee. Continue reading...
US appeals court rejects Trump’s latest bid to delay paying E Jean Carroll $5.8m
US president contested judge’s order to release money after Carroll’s 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him A Manhattan federal appeals court late on Wednesday rejected Donald Trump ’s latest bid to delay the payment of more than $5m to E Jean Carroll following her successful 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him. The US court of appeals for the second circuit made its decision hours after Trump filed paperwork fighting Manhattan federal court judge Lewis Kaplan’s order releasing this money – which has been held in a court-controlled account since June 2023. Trump denies all wrongdoing. Continue reading...
Five pressing questions for Reform UK about its finances
Questions swirl about origins of gifts, loans and donations as even party supporters wonder if it can weather the storm UK politics live – latest updates Why is Farage quitting as an MP, only to stand again? Scrutiny is mounting on Reform UK’s finances. On Tuesday, amid an investigation by parliamentary standards into an undisclosed £5m gift, Nigel Farage announced he would resign and trigger a byelection in his constituency of Clacton-on-Sea. Continue reading...
Germany set to make rental e-scooter operators liable for accidents
Measures would make it easier for victims to seek compensation, with companies such as Bolt and Lime held responsible for damage Victims hit by rental e-scooters on German streets will have an easier time gaining compensation from their operators under legislation due to pass parliament that would put the vehicles on a similar legal footing to cars. The draft law by the right-left coalition government, which has been welcomed by consumer rights advocates, says that given the rapid rise in the use of e-scooters in recent years coupled with high accident rates, rental operators such as Lime and Bolt should be held liable. Continue reading...
LGBTQ+ inclusion in film at a three-year low, Glaad survey suggests
The advocacy group’s Where We Are In Film study finds a decrease in queer people of color and zero trans characters in 2025 films LGBTQ+ characters are slowly disappearing from film in a trend that disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ characters of color, according to a report published today. An annual study of films by Glaad (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has found that just 46 of 225 films released in 2025 contained LGBTQ+ characters, making only 20.4% of last year’s movies inclusive of the queer community. Continue reading...
‘New terrifying levels’: 10 people fatally shot by immigration officials in Trump’s second term
As Trump’s immigration crackdown continues, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s death marks another high-profile killing by ICE officers Early on Tuesday morning, 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo took his coffee and a meal his wife had prepared for him, said goodbye to his dog, and left the house he built. He drove his white van, picked up three co-workers, and headed towards a construction site to work on some houses. But Salgado never made it to work. During a “targeted enforcement operation”, officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shot and killed Salgado and arrested the three other men. Continue reading...
Licence to drill? How a Trump-linked Texas oil company is elbowing its way into Greenland
Greenland Energy says billions of barrels of crude lie beneath territory and claims it has exploration permits – a claim flatly denied by Nuuk On 10 June, a snowy-haired American in his 60s addressed the residents of a remote Greenland hamlet. He was there to tell them about a business venture supported by figures linked to Donald Trump. “So,” Robert Price said via an interpreter, “we have a project to drill for oil here.” The Texas oil company that Price represents, Greenland Energy, hopes to prove that billions of barrels of crude lie underground by bringing in 300 shipping containers of drilling kit. Continue reading...
LGBTQ+ cruise ship refused entry to Egypt days after Turkey turned it away
Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers informed of change as one of those onboard pledges to ‘sparkle and spend elsewhere’ A LGBTQ+ cruise ship blocked from Turkish waters earlier this week has been refused entry into Egypt. The Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers, including the Broadway performer Patti LuPone , woke on Thursday morning to find a note placed under their cabin doors informing them that the ship was urgently looking for alternative ports. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham urged to scrap income tax and NI in radical fiscal overhaul
Economists including Jim O’Neill write an open letter calling for a single levy to replace six major taxes Prominent economists including Andy Burnham ally Jim O’Neill, are urging him to pursue radical tax and spending reform, to “unlock the gridlock that plagues the country”. O’Neill joins Jonathan Portes, economics professor at Kings College London, and Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, in calling for bold action in an open letter. Continue reading...
Republicans ask WNBA to protect Caitlin Clark from possible ‘racially motivated’ attacks
Clark has been on the end of hard fouls during career Black players routinely receive racist abuse in WNBA Eleven Republican politicians have written to the WNBA asking the league to protect Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark from “multiple attacks” on court. Clark has been on the receiving end of hard fouls since she entered the league in 2024 after a stellar college career with Iowa. Recently, the Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas hit Clark in the throat during a game. Thomas was not called for a foul at the time but the WNBA later suspended her for one game. Thomas and her family received racist abuse and death threats after the incident. Continue reading...