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There is no immediate military threat to Britain. We should spend less on defence | Simon Jenkins
Parliament, media and thinktanks are united in their view that more military spending is still not enough. But sacrificing domestic projects to pay for it is indefensible Britain should spend less on defence. It is a waste of money and should be reduced so more could be spent on supporting employment, welfare and growth. Why is there no such debate? Why should “defence” be awarded an almost religious invulnerability? At present, parliament, broadcasters, print and social media, thinktanks and pundits all admit to only two points of view. One is that Britain should spend more on defence, the other is that it should spend far more. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
A storm, overpriced food and a sad ferris wheel: inside Trump’s dreadful state fair
Attendance at the Great American State Fair is sparse and the heat is extreme, but at least you can pay $25 for a pretzel This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday I have been to some disappointing fairs in my time. There was one, in a small town in north-west England, where the main attraction was a little slide that you rode down on a burlap sack: except the guy who owned the slide had forgotten to bring the sacks, so me and my sister slid down on a T-shirt. Another time, at a village fete in a place called Longton, I won the main prize at the bingo. It was a whisky decanter with a bottle of whiskey. I was 11 years old, the decanter was broken and some bigger boys took the whiskey. More recently, I looked on as two farmers engaged in a shouting match over whose pumpkin was larger at a fair in Iowa. Continue reading...
Crypto, bibles and watches: how Trump made over $2bn last year - The Latest
President Trump cashed in on more than $2bn from crypto and other businesses ventures last year. As the US races to become the self‑declared ‘crypto capital of the world’, the president and his family have turned digital tokens, meme coins and merchandise into an unprecedented revenue stream. But just how rich can a sitting US president get? Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian reporter Aisha Down Continue reading...
Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover reveals Alzheimer’s diagnosis
The 79-year-old actor told media ‘I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life. There’s work to do. Your life continues’ Lethal Weapon actor Danny Glover has revealed he has been living with Alzheimer’s for several years. Glover, 79, announced the news during an interview on The Today Show, during which he explained that he had been diagnosed “not long” after receiving an honorary Oscar in 2022. “I could live with it, in a sense. I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing,” he said, adding that his movements, speech and memory have slowed. However, the support of his family, who he said “have got my back”, was getting him through. Continue reading...
How extreme heat is exposing extreme inequality
The climate crisis and worsening disparity could be responsible for more than 100,000 deaths a year in Europe, which should set off alarm bells for policymakers • Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Call it a tale of two heatwave experiences. As brutally hot conditions brought much of western Europe to its knees, an American writer living in Paris asserted that , for many, the heat was not “nearly as apocalyptic” as most media were suggesting. He said he had yet to buy a fan, instead relying on closed shutters, misting sessions and open windows in the evening to keep his ground-level flat cool. Continue reading...
Starmer gives Burnham a £4.7bn hole in defence spending as a goodwill token | John Crace
The PM bats away criticism from Kemi Badenoch over military funding but leaves behind a headache for his likely successor The search for the perfect present to welcome Andy Burnham to No 10 has been a worry for Keir Starmer. What do you give the man who seems to have everything? The support of his own MPs. The belief that Nigel Farage is beatable. The sense of being at ease with himself. Comfortable with who he is. The charisma. The ability to hold a room. Everything Keir would have wanted. He needed a small Welcome to Downing Street gift, a token of friendship. To show there was no bad feeling about losing his job. Continue reading...
Author of England maternity care review ‘listened to wrong voices’, says adviser
Dr Bill Kirkup said section of Valerie Amos’s report criticising ‘normal birth ideology’ was removed before publication The author of a major inquiry into maternity care altered its final report to remove criticism of “normal birth ideology”, one of her expert advisers claims. Dr Bill Kirkup said Valerie Amos had “listened to the wrong voices” before a section outlining the potential risks of encouraging women to have a vaginal birth “disappeared” from the final version of her government-commissioned report . Continue reading...
Trump takes first flight on Qatar-gifted Air Force One amid criticism
The US president flies to North Dakota on first trip aboard Qatar-gifted 747-8, as critics raise corruption concerns Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Donald Trump traveled to North Dakota on Wednesday for the first trip aboard the new Air Force One, a luxury Boeing 747-8 aircraft gifted by the Qatari government. The US president introduced the $400m aircraft last month as the replacement for the military-grade 747-2 that has transported US presidents for more than three decades. The gifted Boeing 747-8 is expected to remain in service until the air force receives a new fleet of Boeing presidential aircraft in the next two years. Continue reading...
‘Please think again’: fury over Exeter University plan to scrap dozens of humanities posts
Rowan Williams and Mark Kermode join campaign against proposed cuts for arts and social sciences Leading writers, broadcasters, academics and theologians have thrown their weight behind a campaign to save 150 jobs at the University of Exeter, amid growing outrage at a sector-wide hollowing out of the humanities. In excess of 21,000 people – and counting – have signed a petition railing against the proposed redundancies at Exeter, which are expected to disproportionately fall on the humanities, arts and social sciences for which the highly ranked Russell Group university is famed. Continue reading...
Teachers in England get two-year 6.6% pay rise but schools to foot part of bill
Unions pleased with rise above forecast inflation but concerned nearly a third of it will come from school budgets UK politics live – latest updates Teachers in England will receive a 3.5% pay rise from September and a further 3% next year, with extra school funding to meet most but not all of the higher wage bill, the government has announced. Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said the government would accept the pay recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), which were substantially higher than the government’s initial proposals. Continue reading...
Brother of Baltimore Ravens’ Calais Campbell charged with mother’s murder
Brother of Calais Campbell charged with murder Police found Campbell’s mother dead in Atlanta Family asks for privacy after mother’s death The brother of NFL player Calais Campbell has been charged with murder after police found their 71-year-old mother dead at a home in Atlanta during a welfare check. Arrest warrants say Nateal Campbell’s throat was cut and Ciarre Campbell was found in possession of a knife. Officers found her unresponsive when they arrived at around 12.30pm Tuesday, according to a police statement. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham says ‘nothing off table’ in case of Rochdale grooming gang leader
Labour leader-in-waiting wants to close loophole preventing deportation of sex offender Andy Burnham will explore “all possible options”, if he becomes prime minister, to close a legal loophole that prevented the deportation of a “vile” Rochdale grooming gang leader. In his first significant intervention as Labour leader-in-waiting, Burnham said nothing would be “off the table” in the case of Shabir Ahmed, 73, who is expected to be released from prison on Thursday. Continue reading...
England has just had its hottest June on record, Met Office data shows
Chief scientist says dangerous heatwaves, which are getting more likely, ‘bring home the implications of climate change’ The month of June was the warmest in England on record, driven by a searing heatwave in the final days of the month, which for the first time had red heat alerts for three days, according to Met Office data. The Met Office said provisional statistics showed Wales and the UK as a whole had recorded their second-warmest June since 1884. Continue reading...
Bayeux tapestry tickets generate nine-hour online queues as public scramble for access
Reports say up to 80,000 people waiting by mid-afternoon for chance to see historic artwork at British Museum People keen to see the Bayeux tapestry faced online queues of up to nine hours when tickets went on sale for the first time on Wednesday morning. The British Museum, which is hosting the wool-on-linen artwork from September, saw huge traffic to its ticketing website as a scramble for access began. Continue reading...
At least 3.3m people were victims of Dutch enslavement, research claims
Figure is more than five times the widely used 600,000 figure widely cited in apologies by king and politicians At least 3.3 million people were enslaved in the Netherlands during the transatlantic slave trade, research claims – more than five times the 600,000 figure widely used in history books and cited in apologies by the king and politicians. King Willem-Alexander referred to the more than 600,000 people who were brought from Africa on Dutch ships to be sold as enslaved people when he apologised three years ago for the role of the Netherlands in the transatlantic slave trade. Continue reading...
Arts degrees to cost $50,000 until at least 2028 as measures to lower Australian university fees put on hold
Barney Glover, head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, says he will provide advice about degree funding to the government next year Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The man tasked with reforming the controversial Job-ready Graduates (JRG) program says he will not recommend any interim measures to reduce the $50,000 cost of arts degrees, despite calling the scheme a failure. Under the scheme introduced by the Morrison government, costs for science and maths courses were slashed to encourage students to take up Stem subjects, while arts and humanities fees rose sharply. The change led to university enrolments of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds falling in some arts subjects, with critics warning of a “segregated” higher education system . Continue reading...
Rapid demand for AI datacentres in Australia could stoke inflation, experts warn – and crowd out land for housing
Calls are growing for new datacentre approvals to be halted until stronger protections are considered Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Transport for NSW and the Reserve Bank have warned datacentres could take scarce land from logistics firms and housing developments, pushing up prices and overheating the economy, as calls grow for a national pause on the booming sector. The rapid growth of datacentres has raised concerns for the transport and logistics sector, with Transport for NSW telling the state parliament inquiry on datacentres there was already significant pressure on the availability of industrial land and infrastructure. Continue reading...
Lambie, Hanson and Pocock form unlikely alliance to protect transparency campaigner Rex Patrick
Exclusive : Patrick is using freedom of information rules to seek where nuclear waste from Aukus submarines will be kept Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Jacqui Lambie, Pauline Hanson and David Pocock have joined a push for the government to stop a legal threat against Rex Patrick, after bureaucrats unexpectedly escalated a transparency case to the federal court. Patrick, a transparency campaigner and former senator , is seeking documents detailing where nuclear waste from the Aukus submarine fleet will be kept within Australia, and won an administrative appeal under freedom of information rules in May. Continue reading...
Venezuelan police officers arrested over alleged looting after earthquakes
Anger at authorities and government grows as local people, volunteers and rescue teams continue search for survivors Four Venezuelan police officers have been arrested and are facing dismissal after being accused of looting cash from the rubble of a building that collapsed during last week’s devastating twin earthquakes . Local people and national and international rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the aftermath of the back-to-back quakes, which have killed almost 2,000 people, injured more than 10,000, and left tens of thousands missing. Continue reading...
Canada to join Eurovision song contest from 2027
Country is first to join since Australia in 2015 as event director says it ‘continues to welcome the world’ Canada will join the Eurovision song contest next year, becoming the first new participant since Australia in 2015, organisers have announced. Participation is not limited to countries in geographic Europe and instead is open to all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which Canada joined last week. Australia is an associate member. Continue reading...
It’s a truly Trumpian tragedy: he’s made billions of dollars but can’t buy love or respect | Emma Brockes
Potus pocketed over $2.2bn last year – but with an algae-filled reflecting pool and his State Fair a fiasco, what price happiness? From certain angles, it might appear as if President Trump is having a tough month. He messed up the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which he blamed on acts of vandalism no one has been able to stand up. The supreme court rejected both his bid to appeal against the $5m (£3.8m) civil judgment against him for defaming and sexually abusing E Jean Carroll, and his executive order to end birthright citizenship . And the war with Iran keeps rumbling on. And yet, after Trump’s mandatory financial disclosure report was released on Tuesday , headlines drew attention to the fact the president made more than $2.2bn in revenue in 2025 – more than three times what he pulled in the year before his inauguration. Contrary to appearances, perhaps everything is going exactly to plan. It is always a question with Trump as to how much the wealth he has accrued in his second term in office is the spoils of strategy rather than the lucky result of his scattergun but industrial-scale hustle. Looking at the numbers in his financial report, one is reminded that before he became president, Trump piloted a series of failed businesses – six of which declared bankruptcy – and gave every indication of being a lousy businessman. It’s often pointed out that if Trump had simply invested the vast inheritance left to him by Fred Trump, his father, in a standard tracker fund, he would’ve made more money than through his lacklustre business career, and there’s nothing to suggest this was likely to change. Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Trump accused of ‘disgusting’ crypto greed after earning over $1bn since return to office
Elizabeth Warren and colleagues demanded tighter rules on political figures’ crypto dealings, citing disclosures of large-scale Trump family profits US politics live – latest updates Donald Trump has again been accused of “brazen crypto corruption” after financial disclosures revealed his family’s cryptocurrency ventures generated more than $1bn in his first year back in the White House. Elizabeth Warren , the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee, said the figures showed why US Congress needed to act. “The crypto legislation heading to the Senate floor must prevent the President, Vice President, senior administration officials, members of Congress, and their families from profiting off the crypto industry,” she said. “If it does not, it will only turbocharge Donald Trump’s brazen crypto corruption.” Continue reading...
Australia’s mortgage burden is now above 1989 levels – when interest rates were 17%
KPMG analysis rebuts claims older generations had it harder when it came to buying and paying off a home Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia’s national mortgage burden is heavier now than it was when lending rates reached 17% at the end of the 1980s, new analysis reveals. Terry Rawnsley, an urban economist at KPMG, said his research was in part a “myth-busting” exercise aimed at rebutting oft-repeated claims that previous generations had it harder when it came to buying and paying off a home. Continue reading...
‘Beautiful blobs’: synthetic life a step closer as scientists make cells using lab-made DNA
Tiny, quivering spheres designed to feed and multiply raise prospect of artificial organisms to make drugs, food and fuel Researchers claim they are closer to creating life from scratch after building tiny, quivering blobs that use lab-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in a dish. The synthetic cells were made from chemical compounds and are believed to be the first to demonstrate the complete cell cycle of growth, genetic replication and splitting to produce the next generation. Continue reading...