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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Sightings of Meghan at star-studded retreat fuel Cotswolds rumours
Reports of Soho Farmhouse visit add to speculation Duke and Duchess of Sussex could be settling in the area When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed back in England earlier this summer, six years after they moved to California and quit as working royals, speculation was rife about where they would call home. Now, members of the luxury countryside retreat Soho Farmhouse have said they spotted Meghan arriving for an early morning coffee, sparking speculation that the couple were settling down in the exclusive countryside enclave of north Oxfordshire. Correspondent for the Royalist Tom Sykes said the duchess was seen arriving at the Comfy Farm lounge before 9am, where she was introduced to senior staff members by name. Continue reading...
John Healey backs growth but says Labour must be honest on spending
Chancellor ducks questions on whether he will have to raise taxes but says he will stick firmly to fiscal rules Business live – latest updates John Healey has said boosting economic growth will be his defining mission as chancellor as he warned Labour had to “be honest” about the need to control public spending at next month’s budget. In his first big speech since taking the job in July, Healey said the top priority for his 28 October budget would be to support stronger growth across the UK while sticking firmly to the government’s fiscal rules. Continue reading...
Next overturns equal pay ruling that raised basic wages for shop staff
Retailer wins appeal against 2024 decision forcing it to pay shop workers the same as warehouse employees The UK retailer Next has overturned a 2024 court ruling forcing it to pay its shop staff the same higher basic pay rates as its warehouse workers under equal pay rules. The chain, led by the Conservative peer Simon Wolfson, said it had “won a landmark victory in its ongoing equal pay litigation”. It has succeeded in its appeal to the employment appeal tribunal “on the key issue of basic pay”, it said. Continue reading...
Oasis recordings up for auction despite band’s objections
Archive documenting concerts, rehearsals, soundchecks and conversations estimated at up to £1.6m An archive of more than 100 hours of Oasis recordings – including concerts, rehearsals and candid conversations between Noel and Liam Gallagher – is to be auctioned for up to £1.6m despite objections from the band. The collection was amassed by the band’s sound engineer Huw Richards, who worked with Oasis from the release of their 1994 debut album, Definitely Maybe, until 2001. It comprises 209 DAT tapes, 73 analogue cassettes and three MiniDiscs, and is being sold by Richards’s son, Owain. Continue reading...
Four arrested after baby dies on camping trip in Staffordshire
Two women and two men arrested on suspicion of murder after death of three-month-old girl near Great Wyrley Four people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a three-month-old girl died in Staffordshire while camping with her family. Officers said they were made aware of the death on Saturday at 8.45am after being called by paramedics from the West Midlands ambulance service, who were responding to a report of a child in cardiac arrest. An air ambulance was also sent but the child was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...
Legal veterans lead fightback against Trump’s ‘full-out assault on democracy’
Advocacy groups expand legal challenges and condemn president’s ‘self-serving attempts to take over midterms’ A cluster of advocacy groups that boast veteran lawyers, voting experts and ex-judges have expanded legal challenges to Donald Trump’s authoritarian executive orders on voting and other presidential actions they see as a “war” on the rule of law in the US. Heavy legal opposition to Trump’s two executive orders on elections to curb voting rights and supplant the authority of states on election matters has come from the Democracy Defenders Fund, the Campaign Legal Center, the American Civil Liberties Union and kindred groups. Continue reading...
Elon Musk thanked by German far-right leader after landmark election win praised by Russia | First Thing
Populist, far-right, anti-immigration AfD wins vote in eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. Plus, 50 years since The Muppet Show first hit our screens Good morning. A far-right leader who has won an important state election in Germany has thanked Elon Musk for his support , as voices in Europe warn the result is a serious moment for the continent. No far-right party has led or formed a government in Germany since the defeat of Nazism at the end of the second world war. Ulrich Siegmund, the Alternative für Deutschland’s lead candidate, thanked Musk on X after the tech billionaire said “Well done!” in German to the AfD co-founder Alice Weidel. The populist, far-right, anti-immigration party won the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. Will the AfD be able to form a state government? Despite its resounding victory, the party fell just short of a majority. It was seeking an absolute majority in the state legislature to govern alone and overcome the so-called “firewall” of the mainstream parties, which refuse to work with it. The final results showed the AfD falling three seats short, with 39 lawmakers in an 83-member legislature. What has been the reaction in Washington and Moscow? Donald Trump posted a screenshot of the election projection without comment on his Truth Social site. The Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev took a screengrab of Trump’s post and praised a “historic win for the pragmatic AfD”. The AfD is pro-Kremlin, urging a stop to support for Ukraine and pushing for Ukrainians in Germany to no longer receive refugee status. Who else has been saying Trump’s war may not achieve its aims? The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said on Sunday morning Washington might not be able to reach an agreement with Tehran that would prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. “We are strangling their economy to try to bring either a change in policy from the existing regime or a new regime,” he said. Continue reading...
Ratko Mladić, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’, given hero’s funeral in Serbia
Fanfare at Belgrade funeral of man convicted of genocide raises questions for Serbia’s EU membership plan Europe live – latest updates Thousands of mourners have gathered in Belgrade for the funeral of Ratko Mladić, a Serbian general convicted of orchestrating the worst massacre in Europe since the second world war, and whose hero’s return home has raised international alarm. Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia” for his role during the Balkans genocide in the 1990s, Mladić died in prison in late August, aged 84, while serving a life sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Continue reading...
‘The most anti-union president’: how Trump turned his back on US workers
Labor experts stunned at how anti-worker Trump has been with actions since last Labor Day that have hurt unions Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to champion US workers. Shortly before Labor Day last year, he said: “Every policy of the Trump administration is designed to lift up the American worker and “promote great-paying blue-collar jobs”. But in the year since last Labor Day, Trump has taken many actions that have hurt US workers and unions, with some labor experts saying they’ve been stunned at how anti-worker Trump has been. In the months after Trump returned to office, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( Osha) cut workplace inspections by 20% , compared with Joe Biden’s last year in office. Even though Trump campaigned as a champion of coal miners, his administration has repeatedly delayed implementation of a rule to limit silica dust , which has afflicted and killed many coal miners with black lung. The United Mine Workers union has urgently called for “immediate enforcement” of the stalled silica dust rule. Continue reading...
‘Nakedly political’: US attempts to link trans support to authoritarianism in new HHS report
HHS releases report linking ‘gender ideology’ to political violence – a study scientists say was poorly conducted The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released a report linking “gender ideology” to leftwing authoritarianism and political violence – a study scientists say was poorly conducted and “nakedly political”, likely leading to greater politicization of science and health. It follows attempts by the administration to limit access to gender-affirming care – including, on Friday, an agreement reached between the Department of Justice and a New York hospital to no longer offer pediatric gender-affirming care. Dozens of hospitals stopped offering gender-affirming care after the Trump administration began investigating them for offering the standard of care. Continue reading...
US labor unions saw membership gains in 2025, mostly in states with bargaining protections
Uptick in US union membership coincides with high public approval ratings of unions After years of decline, union membership in the US increased by 411,000 members in 2025, the largest increase since 2008, according to a new report . The report makes clear the impact that “right to work” laws can have on union membership: most gains were concentrated in states that protect collective bargaining. Continue reading...
Leader of group behind flag campaign in England charged with 14 offences
Ryan Bridge, who co-founded Raise the Colours, to appear in court on charges including racially aggravated harassment The leader of a group responsible for raising union jack and St George’s flags across England has been charged with 14 offences, including racially aggravated harassment, threatening behaviour and assault. Ryan Bridge, 45, of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, co-founded Raise the Colours, which describes itself as a “grassroots movement for unity and patriotism”. Seven counts of using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress; Three counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of, or provoke, unlawful violence; Two counts of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress; One count of racially aggravated fear of violence; One count of common assault. Continue reading...
Former Louisiana mayor completes 90-day jail term for raping 16-year-old boy
Judge admits he made mistake in sentencing Misty Roberts, who faced up to 17 years in prison after conviction The former Louisiana mayor Misty Roberts has completed the 90-day jail sentence that she received for raping a 16-year-old boy while still in elected office and been released from custody, according to state corrections records. The 44-year-old finished her jail term on what was the Labor Day holiday in the US, one week after the judge who presided over her case rejected a request from prosecutors to force her to serve a harsher sentence. Continue reading...
BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri reveals she has incurable blood cancer
Newscaster says rare but treatable condition polycythaemia vera left her feeling like she ‘had her batteries taken out’ The BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri has been diagnosed with a rare form of incurable blood cancer, she has revealed. Doctors told the broadcaster last November she had polycythaemia vera (PV), which cannot be cured but is treatable. The condition, which affects about 8,000 people in the UK, is associated with an increased risk of the blood clots that can cause a stroke, heart attack or deep vein thrombosis. Continue reading...
Grindr pays £26m to settle UK lawsuit over allegedly sharing users’ HIV status
US-owned dating app allegedly allowed ad firms access to private information in breach of UK law Business live – latest updates Grindr will pay £26m to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of users in the UK who allege that the US dating app shared highly sensitive personal information, including in some cases their HIV status, with advertising companies. The settlement brings to an end a two-year legal battle, after the UK law firm Austen Hays filed a claim at the high court of England and Wales in April 2024 on behalf of Grindr users alleging violations of UK privacy laws during a period up to early 2020. Continue reading...
Lindsay Clancy was failed by our warped understanding of motherhood | Moira Donegan
Clancy’s case became a referendum on mothers, healthcare, and the status of women Most family annihilators are men. It’s a grim fact that such incidents are common enough to have a discernible pattern. The massacre is carried out by a husband and father, often one who is on the verge of bankruptcy or divorce ; typically, it forms the finale of a long reign of domestic violence terror. About half the time , the perpetrator kills himself after slaughtering his family. Gun use is common – a large number of what are termed “mass shootings” in the United States are in fact family annihilation killings, in which a man turns his weapon on his family members. Other times, the killer uses knives, or fires. Continue reading...
Republican midterm convention will be ‘Trumpist pageantry’ - at the party’s own risk
A historically unpopular president will take centre stage as the party seeks to sway voters with an unprecedented event It seemed like a good idea at the time. In December 1978, Jimmy Carter, a US president besieged by inflation and energy crises, watched as thousands of Democrats descended on Memphis, Tennessee, for a rare midterm convention . “It was wild,” recalls Elaine Kamarck , who attended as a 28-year-old working for the Democratic National Committee. “ It became a forum for Ted Kennedy to informally announce his opposition to president Carter. There was a lot of hostility to the president there. The Democrats have sworn ever since never to do anything this stupid again.” Continue reading...
Russia and North Korea open first road bridge across their shared border
Connection across Tumen River is further sign of closer ties between the two countries since start of war in Ukraine Russia and North Korea have opened the first road bridge across their shared border , in the latest sign of the rapidly deepening ties between the two countries since the start of the war in Ukraine. The one-kilometre bridge spans the Tumen River between Khasan in Russia’s far east and Tumangang in North Korea, along a remote and sparsely populated stretch of the countries’ shared border just a few miles from the coast. Continue reading...
Radiohead announce 2027 tour with shows in Australia and Japan
UK band will play 16 shows across Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as five shows in Saitama Radiohead will return to Australia to play 16 shows across three cities next year, marking the band’s first tour of the country in 15 years. On Monday afternoon, the British rock band unveiled the itinerary for its May 2027 tour, which also includes five shows in Japan. Continue reading...
Jaguar Land Rover confirms plan to cut 4,000 jobs over two years
Carmaker, which is battling Trump tariffs and fallout from cyber-attack, wants to reduce 34,000-strong UK workforce Business live – latest updates Jaguar Land Rover has announced thousands of job cuts as it grapples with tough conditions in the car market, Donald Trump’s tariff wars and the fallout from a cyber-attack. Britain’s largest carmaker, which is owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, on Monday confirmed the anticipated cuts, saying it wants to reduce its 34,000-strong UK workforce by about 4,000 over two years, as part of an effort to save £1.7bn. Continue reading...
Australia’s top bureaucrats want to block sharing of clips from parliament on social media to save them from ‘ridicule’
Secretaries board concerned material posted without proper context as Greens warn ban could result in lack of transparency Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The nation’s top bureaucrats want the Albanese government to ban video footage from parliamentary hearings being edited and shared on social media, in an extraordinary attempt to stop online ridicule and abuse. But the Greens say highly paid public service chiefs shouldn’t be allowed to control footage from open parliamentary hearings, warning the proposed controls would limit a key tool of government transparency. The secretaries board – made up of the heads of government departments and chaired by the Prime Minister and Cabinet boss Steven Kennedy – said they were concerned about material from hearings being presented online without proper context. Continue reading...
25 years ago, two strangers met in the twin towers and escaped on 9/11. What happened next?
Stanley Primnath and Brian Clark were two of only four individuals known to have survived above the impact zone in the north tower He has told the story hundreds of times, but it never seems to fade. If anything, it only becomes more vivid. “Oh, gosh,” exclaims Stanley Praimnath, his voice cracking with an “ooooooh!” as if bearing a weight. “It’s like reliving that day.” Nearly 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC on September 11 2001. But Praimnath and another office worker, Brian Clark, were two of only four individuals known to have survived from above the impact zone in either tower of the World Trade Center. The two strangers met in the smoke and fire of the 81st floor of the south tower, and walked down 1,620 steps into the rest of their lives. Continue reading...
For baseball’s Black and Latino players, it’s always 1926 somewhere
From home-run celebrations to tilted caps, players embracing joy continue to collide with an old guard devoted to Dust Bowl grimness Over the last several years, simultaneously lauded and paralyzed by its ironclad traditions, baseball has undergone various forays into reinvention, trying to free itself from its unwritten rules of retaliation , its seeming aversion to joy, its demand that every generation of player of every culture and background play the game with the grimness of a Dust Bowl farmer. The sport even attempted to change those customs by promoting a cultural shift with an industry-wide motto : Let the Kids Play. But in a time of intense division within the aggressive backdrop of Trumpism, the result is a racial clash that is actually a generational and cultural one that predates current politics by a century. Howard Bryant is the author of 11 books, including Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field, and Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. He writes at Substack . Continue reading...
CBS’s Champions League studio panel are back and ready to irritate each other
Kate Scott, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards discuss their oft-viral approach to covering soccer for a US audience It takes something special for a sports broadcast to outshine the action on the field. Yet that is often what happens on CBS Sports, where the Champions League studio show has struck a rare chord with viewers, most often broadcast on streaming branch Paramount+. The usual group (Kate Scott, Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, and Micah Richards), have become fixtures on the American TV circuit, thanks in large part to their on-air chemistry. Scott guides the show expertly – all with with a mass of banter and ribbing along the way. Continue reading...