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Politics
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ABC and SBS need ‘oversight’ committee to vet Israel coverage, Jillian Segal tells royal commission
Antisemitism envoy says public broadcasters, which currently have ombudsman to handle complaints, need independent oversight committee Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal wants a new ‘oversight’ committee to vet the ABC and SBS’s Israel coverage, she told the royal commission on Thursday morning. Both the ABC and SBS have independent ombudsman to handle complaints. Continue reading...
Nigel Farage v Count Binface - podcast
Political correspondent Ben Quinn talks about the forthcoming byelection in Clacton after all Reform’s serious rivals declined to take part On Tuesday, after months of scandal about his finances, Nigel Farage tried to take back the initiative. He was resigning as an MP, he explained, to trigger a byelection in his Clacton seat – giving “the people” a chance back him against “the establishment”. But, as the Guardian political correspondent Ben Quinn explains, things may not have gone quite to plan. After all Reform’s political rivals announced they wouldn’t take part in Farage’s “stunt”, it left him the prospect of six weeks of campaigning against the novelty candidate Count Binface . Count Binface on Clacton byelection: ‘I didn’t know old Farage was going to self-detonate’ Millions of pounds and many, many questions: the untold story of why Reform figures face NCA scrutiny Continue reading...
Maine contenders: the Democrats who could replace Graham Platner
Democrats have until 27 July to pick a new candidate to face Susan Collins in November – here are the options so far A month after he won Maine’s Democratic primary, Graham Platner, the oyster farmer turned insurgent candidate has suspended his campaign after being accused by a former girlfriend of severely sexually assaulting her in 2021 – an allegation he denies as “categorically untrue”. Now that Platner has said he will file paperwork to withdraw from the race, Maine Democrats have until 27 July to select a replacement to face Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, in a race widely seen as pivotal to control of the Senate. The state party said on Wednesday it would hold a nominating convention to pick a new candidate. Continue reading...
Trump to ask US supreme court to reconsider birthright citizenship ruling
Request for rehearing comes after Fox News report of Texas hospital advertising maternity services in Mexico Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask the US supreme court to reconsider its ruling that the 14th amendment to the US constitution guarantees birthright citizenship in light of what he described as shocking new evidence: a hospital in Texas advertising its services to expectant mothers in Mexico on a pair of billboards. “Signs and Billboards are being put up all over our Southern Border, and Mexico, advertising BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, with ‘Deliveries starting at $4000’, the president wrote on his social media platform, in what appeared to be a wild exaggeration of a Fox News report on just two billboards. Continue reading...
Graham Platner ends Maine Senate campaign after sexual assault allegation
Democratic marines veteran and oyster farmer has been dogged by controversy since entering contest last year Woman accuses Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexual assault Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, is suspending his campaign following a sexual assault allegation. Platner announced his decision in a video posted to social media on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...
Pet prescriptions could be capped at £21 under proposed vet sector reforms
Ministers also considering licence requirement and regulator to try to cut bills and increase choice UK vets may have to have a licence and cap prescriptions for pet medicine at £21 under plans being considered by the government. Ministers are also considering establishing a regulator for the veterinary sector, including inspections, a mandatory licensing system and published compliance reports to improve accountability and choice. Every vet practice could need an official operating licence – similar to GP surgeries and care homes – under proposals in a white paper. Continue reading...
All lobbying should be publicly declared in transparency laws shake-up, watchdog says
Ethics and integrity commission chief says overhaul is crucial to help restore trust in standards All lobbying of government ministers, aides and senior officials should be publicly declared – from WhatsApp chats to party conference meetings – in a fundamental shake-up of transparency laws, the government’s ethics watchdog has said. A review led by Doug Chalmers, the head of the ethics and integrity commission , has called for a new register to highlight who is lobbying, which policies they are seeking to influence and who in government they are meeting. Continue reading...
Disability benefits system ‘not working’ Timms review finds
Interim report into Pip found process had systematic and deep-rooted problems and required bold and radical overhaul A landmark government review of disability benefits has warned “challenging discussions” remain on how to overhaul and pay for a system it concludes is unfit for purpose and too often leaves vulnerable claimants dehumanised and degraded. The Timms review of the personal independence payment (Pip) concluded the benefit, claimed by nearly 4 million people in England and Wales, suffered from systematic and deep-rooted problems that had undermined public trust in the benefits system. Continue reading...
Ambassadorial appointments should be subject to veto by MPs, committee recommends
Foreign affairs select committee says Peter Mandelson episode was ‘nothing short of disastrous’ for government Political selections for ambassador posts should be subject to a veto by MPs, a parliamentary committee has recommended, as it made damning criticisms of how Peter Mandelson became Britain’s top diplomat in Washington. The foreign affairs select committee concluded that Mandelson’s appointment was “nothing short of disastrous”, “highly damaging” for the British government and “painful and offensive to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein”. Continue reading...
Telstra glitches continue as ‘secondary’ outage hits triple-zero calls and regional trains remain stranded
Carrier says some still unable to connect to emergency hotline a day after initial mobile network outage Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Telstra customers are still having trouble calling triple zero on Thursday morning as the telecommunications giant confirmed a secondary issue stemming from Wednesday’s national outage continued to impact calls. Some who tried to call the emergency hotline were receiving an error message and their phones would try to connect to an alternative network, Telstra said. Continue reading...
Louise Lasser, star of cult sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Woody Allen comedies, dies aged 87
The 1970s soap parody made a household name of Lasser, who was also known for her collaborations with ex-husband Allen and later films including Requiem for a Dream Louise Lasser, star of cult 70s sitcom Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and early films by Woody Allen (to whom she was married for four years), has died aged 87. The New York Times reported she died “at home in Manhattan” . Lasser’s role as a satirically conceived housewife in suburban Ohio in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, designed as a parody of daytime soap operas, made her a national star, landing her on the cover of People magazine and Rolling Stone. The series lasted a year and a half, between January 1976 and July 1977, but due to its five-days-a-week schedule squeezed more than 300 episodes out of its two season run. Lasser’s Hartman, with her signature pigtails, was preoccupied with domestic minutiae but found herself in unsettling and disturbing situations, including bizarre deaths. The show was intended to explore the changes sweeping ordinary life in the US in the 1970s. Continue reading...
Burnham promises Labour MPs he will not use party discipline to ‘stifle debate’
Prime minister in waiting looks to address frustrations backbenchers had with Keir Starmer’s style of party management Andy Burnham has promised MPs that he will never use party discipline to “stifle debate” and says they should raise problems and policy ideas “without fear or favour”. Nominations for the Labour leadership will open on Thursday, and Burnham is expected to be the only candidate. On Wednesday night the former armed forces minister Al Carns confirmed he would not seek to enter the race to replace Keir Starmer. Continue reading...
US launches strikes on Iran for a second day after Trump says agreement to end the war is ‘over’
Attacks on three locations across Iran came after three tankers in the strait of Hormuz were targeted on Tuesday Middle East crisis – live updates The US military carried out strikes on Iran for a second day, hours after president Donald Trump said that an interim agreement to end the war was “over” . Late on Wednesday Iranian state media reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas in the strait of Hormuz; in Sirik, another southern coastal city; and the south-western Bushehr province, home to Iran’s nuclear-power-plant complex. Continue reading...
'Gratuitously cruel': How trans youth became political targets – Stateside with Kai and Carter
Last week, the US supreme court ruled that Idaho and West Virginia can continue enforcing their bans on transgender athletes playing on girls’ and women's teams in schools. It’s the latest development in the political and legal attack on trans people – and especially trans youth – that has surged in recent years. On the heels of that decision, Kai Wright talks with Guardian reporter Sam Levin , who has been covering the debate over trans athletes in California and speaking with students and their families, and Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project, who is the first out trans person to argue in front of the US supreme court. They walk through the legal and political strategies animating the anti-trans movement, and discuss why this most recent decision could open the door to the erosion of civil liberties for everyone Trans youth athletes vow to keep playing after US supreme court ruling How the US supreme court case on trans athletes could unravel LGBTQ+ rights I’m a 14-year-old trans athlete. No one should face the vicious attacks I have faced Continue reading...
US stock markets fall amid Iran strikes and potential higher interest rates
Dow down 1.09%, or 500 points, as S&P 500 sees a small loss and tech-heavy Nasdaq rises slightly Middle East crisis live US stock markets fell on Wednesday as Donald Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran was over and the Federal Reserve flagged concerns that would warrant higher interest rates. Trump’s comments on the Iran-US war at the Nato summit in Ankara sent oil prices sharply higher. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped more than 5% to crest $80 a barrel. US stocks fell in step, with the Dow down 1.09%, or 500 points, at closing Wednesday afternoon. The S&P 500 saw a small loss while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose slightly. Global stocks had fallen earlier in the day, with the UK’s FTSE 100 down 1% as Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.1%. Continue reading...
US military launches fresh strikes on Iran – Middle East crisis live
Iranian state media report explosions in several locations hours after Donald Trump threatened further military action at Nato summit Iran’s IRNA is reporting power cuts in Chabahar after reports of explosions from the area. Tonight’s strikes come 24 hours after the US had launched strikes on more than 80 Iranian targets around the strait of Hormuz and revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Tehran to export oil after Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Australia news live: Telstra warns of ‘secondary issue’ after yesterday’s network outage; trains in regional Victoria cancelled again
Carrier says some customers still can’t connect to triple zero on its network. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Public transport commuters in New South Wales and Victoria have been urged to plan ahead and seek alternative travel plans this morning as networks continue to be affected by yesterday’s Telstra outage. The NSW transport department said last night that passengers on Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink regional rail services “should expect flow-on impacts” and “plan ahead and check the latest service information before commencing their journey due to ongoing disruptions affecting rail operations”. Victorians have been advised “not to travel on V/Line services” if possible, with regional train services reduced to “a very limited coach service”. Metro rail services in both Sydney and Melbourne remain unaffected. Late last night, Telstra confirmed a secondary issue flowing on from yesterday’s widespread national mobile outage that affected calls, including triple zero. Continue reading...
Maddy Cusack did not want Sheffield United to know about talks with club’s former chaplain, inquest told
Dr Delroy Hall said Cusack struggled to juggle two jobs Cusack was found dead at her home in September 2023 The former club chaplain at Sheffield United has told an inquest into Maddy Cusack’s death that she repeatedly asked him not to inform the club that she had been speaking to him. Dr Delroy Hall volunteered in the role at Sheffield United from 2017 until November 2023, about two months after Cusack’s death on 20 September 2023. Hall told the court on Wednesday that he thought players would come to him to discuss problems as a “last resort”. Cusack spoke to him multiple times in August 2023, including specifically on 23 August, and Hall said she asked him three or four times: “Please don’t tell anyone I’m talking to you.” In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org , or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
Fourth person killed by agents from Trump’s Memphis anticrime taskforce
Shooting death at an extended-stay motel is fourth officer-involved death since initiative began in September Federal agents killed a man at a Memphis motel Wednesday morning in a Drug Enforcement Administration operation with the Memphis Safe Task Force, the fourth officer-involved death since the anticrime initiative began in September. Donald Trump established the federal taskforce by executive order last year, amid a surge of troops and federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-run cities that he claimed were overrun with crime. All four of the deaths have occurred in the last two months. Continue reading...
White House’s World Cup head defends Trump lobbying Fifa over red card
Andrew Giuliani claims actions of referee Raphael Claus over US player Folarin Balogun ‘very, very highly suspicious’ Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House’s World Cup taskforce, has defended Donald Trump’s lobbying of Fifa to lift the suspension of US player Folarin Balogun for Monday’s game against Belgium. The US president claimed that Brazilian referee Raphael Claus , who showed Balogun a red card in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, was “a little bit suspect if you check his past”. This was apparently a reference to a match-fixing investigation by Brazil’s senate in 2024 that examined how referees were assigned to games but did not accuse Claus of wrongdoing. Continue reading...
Mahmood to close loophole blocking deportation of Rochdale grooming gang ringleader
Home secretary expected to amend Immigration Act but hurdles remain if Pakistan continues to refuse to take Shabir Ahmed back Shabana Mahmood is planning to change the law so the government can move towards deporting the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gang. The home secretary is expected to amend the 1971 Immigration Act, which prevents Shabir Ahmed from being removed from Britain. Continue reading...
Police investigate £37,500 donation to Jenrick leadership campaign
Met confirms inquiry after elections watchdog referred allegations that donations in 2024 were from foreign source Police have launched an investigation into £37,500 of donations to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to become Conservative leader in 2024 after a referral from the elections watchdog. The Metropolitan police confirmed on Wednesday they were undertaking an inquiry after the Guardian revealed in April that they were assessing the evidence about donations to Jenrick, who has since joined Reform UK. Continue reading...
How social media is changing Wimbledon from eminent tournament to ‘bucket list’ event
From high-profile influencers to live ticket-queue tracking, some fear aggressive marketing is ruining championships From photos of influencers in crisp white linen dresses posing in front of floral displays at Centre Court to videos promising hacks to beat the queues and secure tickets, the hype around Wimbledon has never been bigger on Instagram and TikTok. The social media frenzy has caused concerns that Wimbledon is increasingly becoming a tourist event rather than a tennis tournament, overrun with influencers using the championship’s iconic aesthetic to build their profiles and attracting attenders more interested in dressing up and taking photos than watching the games. Continue reading...
Atmosphere in Iran remains highly charged after Ayatollah’s funeral and escalation of grievances with US
World is witnessing a turning point, says ministry spokesperson, as Iran seeks to assert independence amid rising tensions Before a foreign ministry press briefing at the Grand Hotel Tehran, the assembled reporters were asked to stand for the national anthem that duly blared from fuzzy speakers. At the podium, the ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed the world was witnessing a turning point in the history of Shia Islam. A century from now, he claimed, the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be revered as a second Imam Hussain, the martyred grandson of the prophet Muhammad. Donald Trump, meanwhile, would be seen as a latterday Yazid, the tyrannical 7th century caliph. Continue reading...