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Politics
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Washington sees this Senate race as a key test for Democrats. Michigan voters just want to get by
Daily realities of healthcare, prices and Gaza driving wave of anti-establishment sentiment among Democratic voters in closely watched contest In Macomb county, Michigan – a blue-collar Detroit suburb that twice voted for Barack Obama before backing each of Donald Trump’s three runs for the US presidency – residents are exhausted. Time and again, township trustee Shannon King, a Democrat still making up his mind, hears similar complaints. “You’re going backwards in your paycheck. You’re going backwards in your healthcare,” he said. “You go to work every day. You might have a side hustle. Your significant other has a side hustle, too. And you’re still struggling to do childcare.” Continue reading...
Britain’s markets attracting generation of highly educated entrepreneurs
Nearly a quarter of market traders now hold master’s degree, PhD or medical doctorate, research shows One in five young market traders now holds a master’s degree, PhD or medical doctorate, according to exclusive figures shared with the Guardian, in a sign of how Britain’s markets are attracting an unexpected new generation of highly educated entrepreneurs. Separate data from Kerb, the street food collective behind some of London’s best-known food markets, points in the same direction. Almost three-quarters of its founders have university degrees, including one in four with postgraduate qualifications. About 95% work in their businesses full-time rather than treating them as weekend side hustles. Continue reading...
Austrian court rules ski resort hotel’s burkini ban is discriminatory
Hotel did not allow two Muslim women to wear the full-body bathing suit, which has become bugbear of European far right An Austrian court has found an Alpine hotel’s ban on burkinis discriminatory, a politically explosive ruling in a country where the far right is on the rise. The full-body bathing suit worn by some Muslim women has become a bugbear of the European far right, which has campaigned to restrict Muslim dress in public spaces. Continue reading...
Farage told me he would quit politics after Brexit. Now, mired in scandal, he should do it and mean it | Simon Jenkins
His byelection stunt shows he is clearly rattled by a perilous position. Wildcards rarely endure: his future is behind him Britain’s politics was never so weird. First, the people of Makerfield choose who should be the new prime minister. Now the people of Clacton are to confirm the man who is currently his most popular challenger. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is still running ahead of all other parties, and he is ahead of all other current leaders. It would be foolish to underestimate him. Farage is a cut above the normal populist upstart. His image as the amiable duffer in the golf club bar was once that of a traditional Tory backbencher. He took to Brexit not as an economic theoretician but as a flag-waving nationalist. He exploited race as a populist issue, coded as immigration, but had little interest in any wider political programme. Brexit to him was simply a mid-career adventure. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Nato leaders will not mention World Cup to Donald Trump to avoid irritating him at summit
As alliance gathers in Ankara, European leaders informally agree strategy to try to keep US president on side Europe live – latest updates Nato leaders have informally agreed not to mention the football World Cup to Donald Trump in case they irritate the US president at a crucial time for the military alliance. Officials said European leaders had discussed in the sidelines of the summit in Ankara how to keep Trump on side amid concerns he could further destabilise Nato with threats over defence spending. Continue reading...
Golden Boot: World Cup 2026 top goalscorers
Who is winning the battle to be top scorer at the World Cup? Live and updated throughout the tournament All-time World Cup goalscorers The Golden Boot is awarded to the World Cup’s top goalscorer, with assists used as a tie-breaker if two or more players finish level. The 2026 tournament has three former Golden Boot winners taking part: Kylian Mbappé of France (eight goals in 2022), England’s Harry Kane (six goals in 2018) and James Rodríguez of Colombia (six goals in 2014). Mbappé and Kane are among the pre-tournament favourites to finish top scorer in North America, alongside Norway’s Erling Haaland – making his World Cup debut – and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Continue reading...
IMF upgrades UK growth forecast as fears over impact of Iran war diminish
July update projects GDP growth of 1% this year, making UK the third fastest-growing economy in the G7 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its growth forecast for the UK, while leaving those for other G7 countries weaker or unchanged, amid hopes the economic impact of the Iran war may be less severe than feared. In a July update of its World Economic Outlook, which was finalised before the latest outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East , the Washington-based organisation projected UK gross domestic product to grow by 1% this year – up 0.2 percentage points from its April forecast . Continue reading...
Marine Le Pen launches France presidential campaign after court decision to shorten ban
France’s far-right leader plans to take part in 2027 vote after court of appeal upholds her conviction for embezzlement The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen launched her presidential campaign on Wednesday, after a decision by a court of appeal shortened her ban on running for office, allowing her to take part in the 2027 vote. Le Pen said voters would decide her future. Continue reading...
Ruth Ellis, last woman hanged in UK, granted posthumous conditional pardon
Ellis was executed in 1955 after fatally shooting her partner David Blakely UK politics live – latest updates Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in UK, has been granted a conditional pardon in light of evidence that she was a victim of domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour. She was executed in 1955 after she shot and killed her partner, David Blakely, who she met while working in the nightclub she managed two years earlier. Continue reading...
Democrats accuse Graham Platner of trying to put ‘thumb on the scale’ of process to replace him
Maine’s embattled US Senate nominee has faced calls to withdraw after a sexual assault allegation he denies Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, has been accused of trying to influence the process of picking his replacement amid a chorus of calls for him to withdraw from the race. Platner has publicly said he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” after an allegation of sexual assault, which he denied, was published on Monday . Continue reading...
Fifa suspended two US staff members for World Cup match against Belgium
Team manager and security member missed match Incident may have been related to Balogun controversy Two US Soccer staff members were suspended by Fifa for their team’s World Cup defeat to Belgium on Monday. Team manager Sam Zapatka and US Soccer vice-president of security Frank Pannell weren’t allowed at the match. Fifa has not given a specific reason for the suspensions. Continue reading...
Police hunting man after wife and two daughters found dead in Bedfordshire
Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, believed to have left UK before bodies of partner and children were discovered Police are hunting for a man after the deaths of his wife and two daughters in Bedfordshire. Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, known as Zandile, and Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were found dead in a detached house in Great Denham, near Bedford, on Monday. Continue reading...
Statesman, comedian and dealer of hard truths: how Kylian Mbappé became the king of this World Cup
The Frenchman is a footballer, flautist and a thespian. There’s no question he is the most thrilling and compelling figure at this year’s tournament This has been the World Cup of characters, bold fashion statements, and bantz: we’ve had Thomas Tuchel rubber-banding around the England dressing room like a teen at his first all-ages rave, and Iván Barton booting Miguel Almirón from the field as if sentencing him to death . Mauricio Pochettino and his $500 overshirt have brought fresh energy and inspiration to the wardrobes of convex middle-aged men the world over. Jokester Javier Aguirre’s avuncular “ fuck you ” at Anthony Gordon has pushed bilateral relations between Mexico and England to their warmest point since the British-brokered peace that ended the Pastry War of 1839. Erling Haaland has shown it’s possible to be Jaws in front of goal and Scooby Doo once the ball is in the back of the net, that there’s nothing about football so important that it can’t make way for some silly bit of online comedy. Even Harry Kane, a man who often seems like he was media trained in the womb, has squeaked thrillingly, if briefly , to life. Continue reading...
First Thing: Trump calls Iran’s leaders ‘scum’ and declares fragile ceasefire over
Hostilities between US and Iran resume as US president lashes out at ‘vicious, violent people’. Plus the fall out from the USMNT’s exit from the Fifa World Cup Good morning. Hostilities have resumed between the US and Iran. Tehran accused the US of violating the agreement intended to end the war, after the US military launched strikes around the strait of Hormuz and revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Iranian oil exports. The attacks were the latest in a string of ceasefire violations by the two sides despite a truce that came into effect in April, and have led to an immediate 3% rise in oil prices. Speaking at the Nato summit in Ankara, Donald Trump said the memorandum of understanding with Iran was over and called the country’s leaders “vicious, violent people” who he would not deal with because they were, in the US president’s words, “scum”. He nevertheless appeared to indicate that talks would continue. Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, backed the US attacks, saying: “When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully react.” What occurred to break the fragile ceasefire? The US military said that it hit more than 80 targets in the early hours of Wednesday in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were passing through the strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Iran responded by launching attacks on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said 85 facilities had been targeted. How could Democrats replace Platner? It is possible for Democrats to select a new Senate nominee in Maine, but the clock is ticking. To have a new candidate on the ballot for November’s midterm elections, Platner needs to end his campaign by 5pm ET on 13 July, according to state law. That would give the Democrats a two-week window – until 5pm ET on 27 July – to pick a replacement. Continue reading...
ICE raided their city, taking parents, spouses and friends. That’s not where it ends
Three families in Los Angeles on the devastating aftermath of ICE detentions and deportations that overwhelmed their city last summer Last summer, Angelenos began to vanish. Armed, masked immigration agents plucked people off street corners and out of their workplaces, in parking lots and department stores. Partners and primary breadwinners, grandparents and children, carwasheros and coffee shop regulars were arrested, detained and deported – disappearing from their neighborhoods. Continue reading...
Modern forensic analysis leads to arrest in Georgia 1985 murder cold case
Items analyzed were discarded behind a Cracker Barrel and led to charges in the killing of John Warren Items that were found discarded behind a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Georgia in 1985 have led to charges against a suspect in an Ohio killing committed at about that time, investigators announced recently. As told by authorities, the case centering on killed traveling salesman John Warren is among the latest in the US criminal justice system to illustrate how the application of modern forensic testing techniques on evidence collected decades earlier can lead to closure of cold murder cases. Continue reading...
Race discrimination case over child’s swim puts ‘Dutch paradox’ in focus
Father of boy refused entry to pool says case is reminder that some Dutch do not acknowledge reality of racism When Henri Duiker went to check whether his 12-year-old son and his friend were enjoying their first “disco” swim evening alone, he was baffled. Instead of being in the water, Henri’s son was standing alone by the desk at the Watergeus pool, in Zoetermeer in the Netherlands. He did not have any ID to prove he was under 13 and pool attendants had told him he could not swim – although his friend of the same age and size had not been not asked for his documents. Continue reading...
German car industry warns of job collapse unless ‘bold decisions’ made to address Chinese threat
VW to propose 100,000 job losses to board and says car plants could be put under foreign ownership to save jobs Europe live – latest updates The German car industry has warned of a potential collapse of employment in the sector in Europe unless society and workers accept that “bold decisions” are needed to address competition from the Chinese and other rivals. Volkswagen is preparing to formally propose up to 100,000 job losses , a move that has triggered a wave of protests. Continue reading...
Wimbledon 2026: Noskova v Mertens, Kostyuk v Paolini, Fritz v Zverev, Cobolli v Fery in quarter-finals – live
Updates from Wednesday’s last-eight action in SW19 Arthur Fery: the wildcard carrying GB hopes | Mail Katy Hello and welcome to the Wimbledon quarter-finals – Part II! When the 19-strong British contingent suffered a near-wipeout in the singles first round, the idea that Arthur Fery, one of the few survivors, would go on to reach the quarter-finals seemed utterly outlandish. The 23-year-old, who was born in France but grew up five minutes from the All England Club, had won only one match at Wimbledon before this year, and only two grand slam matches in his whole career. Continue reading...
Housebuilder Vistry warns of losses amid heavy discounting on unsold homes
Group blames expected £30m loss in first half of year on weakening market and lower consumer confidence Vistry Group , one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, has warned it will make a loss in the first half of the year, after it resorted to heavy discounting to attract buyers for unsold homes . Vistry shares fell by 8% after the firm also announced its finance director was leaving. Continue reading...
More Reform UK transactions worth millions reported to National Crime Agency
Exclusive: Bankers have raised potential money-laundering concerns over loans and donations involving senior party figures UK politics live – latest updates A host of transactions involving Reform UK’s most senior figures and donations to the party caused bankers to report potential money-laundering concerns to the National Crime Agency, a Guardian investigation has found. On Tuesday, the Guardian revealed that the undisclosed £5m gift provided to the Reform leader, Nigel Farage, by a cryptocurrency billionaire shortly before the 2024 general election was reported to the NCA . One relates to a £1m donation made to Britain Means Business, a fundraising organisation for Reform UK, before the last general election. Half of the £1m was then transferred by Tice, as director of the company, to Reform UK. Renamed from Leave Means Leave, Britain Means Business is a company that is used to help fund Reform. The £1m seemingly came from the aristocrat and Reform UK donor Fiona Cottrell. In this instance, the Guardian understands bank staff were not satisfied that the funds had ultimately come from her. The NCA has sought help from a foreign partner agency to trace the original source of the funds. Two other SARs relate to a loan from George Cottrell to Tice. The loan was made shortly before Tice finalised a property purchase and made a party donation, and was not repaid until after those two transactions were completed, according to sources. George Cottrell is the son of Fiona Cottrell, and is a convicted fraudster, former deputy treasurer of Ukip and close associate of Farage. A fourth relates to the £5m gift from the Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne to Farage, which was first revealed by the Guardian in April. Continue reading...
US launches retaliatory strikes on Iran after Hormuz ship attacks - video
Explosions and flames were seen in Iran after the US military launched strikes on targets around the strait of Hormuz in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels near Oman. US officials said that the strikes hit more than 80 targets, including air defence systems, command and control networks, anti-ship missile capabilities and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats. The US also revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Tehran to export oil. Iran accused the US of violating the agreement aimed at ending the war and responded by launching attacks on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. Continue reading...
What does Sam Kerr’s return to the NWSL mean for the league, Gotham FC and the player herself?
The Australian superstar returns to the US after a seven-year absence – and will find a vastly changed landscape When Sam Kerr last played for the National Women’s Soccer League’s Big Apple-adjacent club, it was called Sky Blue, and the playing conditions were comparatively abysmal. The Australian striker spent three years (from 2015-17) accruing accolades for a team infamously bereft of locker rooms or running water at its training facility. This July, she returned to a vastly evolved franchise that has won two NWSL Championships in three seasons while implementing a comprehensive overhaul of its players, personnel and prioritization of player conditions. Kerr’s return, called “a landmark moment for our club” by the president of soccer operations, Yael Averbuch West – whose role was intrinsic to Gotham’s progress – feels like an exciting moment of nostos for one of the greatest to ever play women’s professional soccer in the United States, and a sign of continued ambition for a program that has worked hard to overhaul its operations. Continue reading...
Unions in Europe press for new worker protections to counter heat stress
Climate crisis prompts calls for workplace temperature limits and rights to heat breaks and adjusted working hours As Europe’s sweltering summer continues, trades unions are mounting a push for new laws to counter deadly heat stress that is linked to an estimated 230 workplace deaths a year. This year’s toll may be even higher, with 1,300 excess European deaths already connected to the June heatwave by the World Health Organization , and other estimates running as high as 20,000 . Continue reading...