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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Hong Kong’s leader apologises for residential fire that killed 168 people
Blaze last year was deadliest housing fire globally since 1980 and some ex-residents and victims’ families say they still need justice Hong Kong’s leader has apologised for government shortcomings that contributed to a fire that killed 168 people in the city last year, a rare sign of public contrition that nevertheless failed to impress some victims’ families. The chief executive, John Lee, and seven other officials bowed in apology at the release of a report that pointed to “decades of failure” by government bodies. Continue reading...
Hold your nose: a £1.25bn subsidy for rich Rolls-Royce’s new engine had to happen
The chancellor’s budget giveaway is, unfortunately, a reflection of how life works in the global aerospace business It wasn’t a “nothing” budget for engine-maker Rolls-Royce. The company was handed £1.25bn from public coffers to part-fund the development of a next-generation engine for single-aisle commercial planes. The chancellor buried this giveaway in two short sentences in the stodgy middle of his speech, presumably because it would look too much like a case of corporate welfare just after he had grumbled about the £14bn extra we’ll be paying in debt interest this year. Continue reading...
More prisoners recalled to jail than released in England and Wales
Ministry of Justice figures show recalls rose 27% in year to June despite emergency measures to ease overcrowding More people were recalled to jails in England and Wales in the first half of this year than were released, despite government efforts to reduce the prison population, according to figures released on Thursday. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows that 12,338 people were recalled to custody between the beginning of April and the end of June, while 12,278 people were released. It continues a trend set between January and March, when 13,193 people were returned to prison and 12,977 released. Continue reading...
MLS announces ‘sprint season’ schedule, with accommodations for cold-weather locales
Season will begin on 19 February in Miami MLS Cup due to be played on Memorial Day weekend Decision Day lands on 8 May Major League Soccer’s 2027 “sprint season” will begin on 19 February, with MLS Cup taking place during Memorial Day weekend at the end of May. The stopgap half-season is a one-off, as the North American league inverts its calendar to align with most top leagues around the world beginning with the 2027-28 season. The nuts and bolts of the change were initially announced in March . Continue reading...
Cuts like a knife: Canadian rocker Bryan Adams trolls Trump with new song
Rocker wrote a ‘love letter’ to Canada with a new album – and some pointed commentary about the US president Lake Ontario, the vast body of water that straddles the US-Canada border, has gone by many names over the centuries: Lac Saint-Louis, Lacus Ontarius, Skaniadorio, Cataraqui Lake. But one thing it will never be called, says Canadian rock star Bryan Adams , is Lake America. In his new song Lake Ontario, Adams takes aim at the US president, Donald Trump , accusing him of “breaking the peace” between the people who live on the lake’s shores. The ‘lake of shining waters ’ is what the Iroquois called her It’s a First Nations name – not an executive order. But things weren’t going his way in Iran So like a baby tossing the toys from the pram You can push us to the brink But where the open road divides Continue reading...
Brazil’s victory for the planet and democracy: seven lessons from Lula’s win
The trouncing of the far right provides a playbook for social and environmental movements in other countries facing elections, including the US, Spain and France Thank you, Brazil, for demonstrating how the far right can be trounced while protection for the Amazon is strengthened. In a world where nature and democracy appeared to be bleeding out in tandem, voters and forest defenders in this global south powerhouse have shown it is possible to staunch the flow. This should provide much needed inspiration and, more practically, a playbook for social and environmental movements in other countries facing elections, including the US, Spain and France. The astonishing comeback victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s presidential runoff against his extreme right challenger Flavío Bolsonaro has brought oceans of rapturous supporters on to the streets, while also thrilling conservationists, climate activists and social justice campaigners across the world. Continue reading...
Metropolitan police refers itself to watchdog over Meghan warning letter
Announcement made as Philippines police investigate suspected child sex abuse images reportedly found at her father’s former home The Metropolitan police says it has voluntarily referred itself to the official watchdog for failing to pass on a letter detailing allegations against the Duchess of Sussex’s father. Continue reading...
Israeli leader Netanyahu accused of using ‘ugly’ smear tactics to cling to power
Prime minister claims Arab Israeli parties used foreign backing to steal elections, in which his coalition lost its majority • Israel election – latest updates Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of using smear tactics to cling to power, after he claimed that Arab Israeli parties had used foreign backing to “steal” Tuesday’s election, in which the prime minister’s coalition lost its parliamentary majority. Netanyahu and his allies called on the internal security service, Shin Bet, to investigate alleged vote buying and other irregularities in Palestinian communities in Israel, supposedly funded by foreign money. Continue reading...
Meta discussed ‘whisper strategy’ against social media critic Jonathan Haidt, files show
Court documents reveal staff considered ways to ‘get academic community to disavow’ influential US author Meta staff discussed deploying a “whisper strategy” to undermine the influential US academic whose work has inspired a global social media crackdown , according to court documents. Employees at the parent group of Facebook and Instagram sought to discredit Jonathan Haidt, the social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation , a book that helped tip the debate about online safety towards more stringent measures such as the under-16 ban in Australia. Continue reading...
A phone-free Yellow Wall: are Dortmund urging fans to be present or policing them?
It makes sense that sports teams want to keep influencers out of their games. The battle some clubs are waging with their fans, however, is a different dilemma By all appearances, things on the Yellow Wall seemed as they always had been. The stadium announcer hollered out the first names of Borussia Dortmund’s starting lineup and the supporters responded with their last names, tens of thousands of voices bellowing as one. Dozens of black and yellow flags waved over Europe’s largest standing terrace, a mass of faces fixed on the field beneath them. And then Signal Iduna Park, sold out with 81,365 fans, roared when Max Beier’s lone goal led Dortmund to victory over Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday, putting the home side even on points with Bayern Munich atop the Bundesliga standings. Continue reading...
DC United are worse than awful; they’re hopeless
The team have gone from MLS’s flagship franchise to their most depressing – even among 2026’s other stragglers Sign up for our free newsletter here For years, the crisp air and changing colors of October brought forth a host of wonderful memories for DC United fans – visions of Eddie Pope heading home the winner in Major League Soccer ’s first-ever championship game, or Marco Etcheverry, Jaime Moreno and others tearing through defenders, helping establish MLS’s first true dynasty. Nowadays, United fans have a different tradition: hearing the team’s ownership apologize for yet another depressing season and offer promises of a brighter future. With Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss to Toronto, United will now miss out on the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season – in a league that lets at least 50% of teams into the playoffs each year, with 60% of teams or more making it in five of those seven years. If United fail to make it again next year, they’ll tie an all-time MLS record. Continue reading...
Alaska Senate race: what to know about Democrats’ alleged ballot-stacking effort
Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign reportedly recruited a second Dan Sullivan in the race in what Republicans call a ploy to split votes US politics live – latest updates Republican officials have called for an investigation into an alleged ballot-stacking scheme in Alaska’s competitive Senate race by Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign. For months, Donald Trump and others accused Peltola and Democrats of recruiting candidates with the same name as her Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, to purposefully confuse voters when they cast their ballots in November’s midterms. Continue reading...
Eight of England’s nine water companies still failing on environment, report finds
Angela Eagle tells industry ‘people are sick of excuses’ as pollution levels remain high despite billions in investment Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, has summoned water industry bosses to Whitehall after a report found that the environmental performance of the big companies has worsened despite investment. “People are sick of excuses,” Dame Angela said, after the Environment Agency joined the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Natural Resources Wales and Ofwat for a joint report that rated eight of the nine water companies in England as “poor” or “requiring improvement”. Continue reading...
Elke Sommer, prolific German star of A Shot in the Dark and And Then There Were None, dies aged 85
The Berlin-born actress had a gift for languages that took her to Hollywood, landing roles alongside Peter Sellers, Dick Van Dyke and Paul Newman Elke Sommer, the prolific German star of the Pink Panther film A Shot in the Dark, early 70s Agatha Christie adaptation And Then there Were None, and British sex comedy Carry On Behind, has died aged 85. Bild magazine reported that Sommer had died in Los Angeles of heart failure. German-born Sommer, whose best-known film roles were in the 1960s and 70s, was one of the wave of European performers who crossed over to Hollywood and English-language cinema with considerable success, following the post-war emergence of European New Wave cinema. Sommer was one of the few German actors to make waves at the time, as Hollywood made much of her bombshell image. Continue reading...
Bears swing big with trade for star Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons
Tennessee get two first-round picks, one fourth-rounder Chicago are chasing first Super Bowl title since 1985 The Chicago Bears have acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in a blockbuster trade with the Tennessee Titans, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Thursday. The Bears sent their first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, along with a fourth-rounder in next year’s draft, to the Titans for Simmons and a fifth-round selection in 2028. Continue reading...
The ‘breathing space budget’ – breathing space for the government, that is | John Crace
John Healey aced the morning-after media round because his Martin Lewis measures left nothing to challenge him on Maybe it had been one of the greatest acts of political genius after all. The day after the budget is usually the moment when things start to fall apart. When clued-up journalists and economists have had a chance to go through all the fine points the chancellor would rather everyone had missed. The forecasts that suggest everything is predicated on a wing and a prayer. The hidden unfunded tax cuts. The greater-than-expected spending commitments. But on Thursday morning Andy Burnham and John Healey could afford themselves a sigh of relief. All had gone about as well as they could have hoped. It turns out that when you don’t make any massive tax or spending commitments , there isn’t a great deal to unravel. All there had been was a raft of small-scale interventions designed to help people with their personal finances. Call it the Martin Lewis budget . In fact, Healey and Lewis now seem unable to get through the day without spending some time with each other. They certainly can’t stop talking about one another. It’s becoming unhealthily co-dependent. The gods of small things. Continue reading...
Nvidia CEO reportedly targeted by Chinese spy
Jensen Huang reported to have had close relationship with tech company executive suspected of passing intel to China US intelligence agencies believe the Nvidia chief executive, Jensen Huang, has been targeted by a Chinese spy who had done business with him, according to a new report by the New York Times. Alice Huang or Huang Le, of no relation to the Nvidia CEO, is an executive at a Singapore-based datacenter company called Megaspeed. She had previously been suspected of smuggling Nvidia chips to China , prompting American officials to surveil and monitor her. Those officials have determined that she was acting as a Chinese intelligence asset, passing commercial information to Beijing, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources. Continue reading...
Brewers manager Pat Murphy takes shot at ‘horseshit’ Yankees team after World Series win
Murphy offers critique of 2023 edition of Yankees Howard Bryant: Brewers expose baseball’s biggest lie Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy was captured taking a shot at a “horseshit Yankees team” after he celebrated his team clinching the World Series on Wednesday night. A video of Murphy talking to Jake Bauers emerged in which the manager tells the Brewers’ soon to be a free agent: “You’re going to be a rich fucker. Just remember when you were on that horseshit Yankees team and you guys were all playing for yourself? Just remember, say, ‘This is the way we used to do it.’” Continue reading...
Reader Q&A: Guardian economics columnist Aditya Chakrabortty answers your questions
Guardian columnist, senior economics commentator and host of the new Radical Thinking podcast Aditya Chakrabortty will be online at 2pm GMT (9am EDT) on Friday to answer your questions on the big ideas around economics, society and democracy Send your questions to conversations@theguardian.com or join the discussion on Friday from 8am Aditya Chakrabortty is the Guardian’s award-winning senior economics correspondent. Through his regular opinion column, he shares his thoughts on the economy and its impact on society and earlier this year he was awarded an MBE for services to public understanding of the economy and wider social issues. Last month he launched his new Saturday podcast Radical Thinking, where he interviews major thinkers about the ideas that have shaped our times. He has conducted conversations with Yanis Varoufakis on democracy and the Eurozone crisis and Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on Gaza, fascism and climate chaos. Continue reading...
‘Strength of matriarchs’: New Mexico’s Deb Haaland poised to be first female Native American governor
Ex-congresswoman is connecting with young people and Native voters with promise to expand the social safety net The road to Isleta Pueblo, a Native American tribal community just 20 minutes south of downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico , is peppered with campaign signs. Among the many names of candidates running in next week’s midterm elections and tribal elections later in November, there’s one that is poised to make history. Deb Haaland is set to become the first Native American female governor in the US when voters cast their ballots on 3 November. Recent polling shows her with a comfortable lead over her opponent, Republican Gregg Hull, a businessman and the longtime mayor of the city of Rio Rancho. Her bid for office also signals the growing power of the Democratic party in the state, where Democrats control the legislature, hold all top offices and have enacted progressive policies, such as universal childcare , that have been heralded across the country. Continue reading...
Reform UK launches its own ‘newspaper’ with Farage on front page
Party aims to build a ‘significant national publishing operation’ as first edition of the Reformer is distributed UK politics live – latest updates Reform UK has launched what it is calling a newspaper, featuring large pictures of Nigel Farage, which the party hopes will replace mainstream media for its supporters. Though the party is hiring qualified journalists to write its newspapers, the only “reporter” credited with writing articles is Farage, the party leader. Continue reading...
Finland launches criminal investigation into Google’s clearing of forest for datacentre site
Authorities allege company may have breached Finnish environmental laws by forgoing required impact assessment ‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentre Finnish police have launched a criminal investigation into possible breaches of the country’s environmental laws at the site of a planned Google datacentre in rural northern Finland. Authorities allege that Tuike Finland, a Google subsidiary, cleared and drained 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest at the planned site in Muhos before environmental impact assessments required by Finnish law had been completed. Continue reading...
South Carolina tossup means state may elect Democrat to Senate for first time in 28 years
Poll shows Annie Andrews, a Democrat, tied with the Republican incumbent, Darline Graham, sister to Lindsey Graham US politics live – latest updates A US Senate race in one of the most Republican states in the country is now a dead heat, according to a new poll showing Annie Andrews, a Democrat, tied with Darline Graham, the Republican incumbent senator. South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, and Donald Trump won it by nearly 18 points in 2024, but a New York Times/Siena poll this week has the two candidates neck and neck, at 48% each. Continue reading...
How did the Spain train crash happen and what will investigators be asking?
Audio file appears to point finger at control centre, but there are questions around signalling and technical issues At least 69 people died when a high-speed train from Madrid to Seville hit another train on the same track from behind near Toledo on Wednesday morning. Both trains had been brought to a halt earlier when the signalling system failed. The driver of the state-owned Spanish train, a Renfe AVE service, was told by controllers to restart the journey, but crashed into the train in front, run by the private operator Iryo. The front carriages of the AVE train and rear of the Iryo train were destroyed and others derailed. Continue reading...