section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
3666 stories archived
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...
Save student loan plan ends, leaving millions of US borrowers 90 days to find a new one
The Trump administration is requiring borrowers to choose new repayment options after the Biden-era plan was ruled unconstitutional More than 7 million Americans will be forced to change their student loan repayment plan beginning on Wednesday, as the Save plan officially ends. The termination of the Biden -era initiative, which was launched in 2023, coincides with a larger overhaul of the US student loan repayment system. The seismic changes to the student debt landscape are the results of the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in 2025 and a March 2026 federal court ruling that the Save plan, an income-driven repayment program created with the goal of cutting undergraduate loans in half, was unconstitutional. Continue reading...
Businessman accused of ordering Daphne Caruana Galizia murder stands trial in Malta
Yorgen Fenech, who denies all charges, appears in court more than nine years after the journalist’s death The businessman accused of ordering the murder of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia goes on trial on Wednesday, more than nine years after her death in a car-bomb attack that sent shockwaves through Europe. Yorgen Fenech, the heir to a property empire worth hundreds of millions, is one of seven men prosecutors accused of involvement in the killing, and the last to face trial. Continue reading...
Crypto ventures and stock purchases: key takeaways from Trump’s financial disclosures
US president raked in more than $1bn from crypto – an industry he has sought to deregulate – and a total $2.2bn last year, documents reveal Alarm bells over conflict of interest as filing shows Trump raked in $2bn in 2025 Donald Trump’s money-making ventures across the globe enriched him by more than $2bn last year, according to newly released financial disclosures. The revenue was supercharged by the Trump family’s crypto projects, with the documents showing the US president made more than $1bn (£0.76bn) from crypto – an industry he has sought to deregulate . Continue reading...
Only the midwest saw US population growth in every state. Will new residents change its politics?
Lower costs in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Ohio raise questions about whether Republican strongholds will shift While it’s regarded as a quiet, safe place, many would agree that there’s not much to Greene county, Ohio. It’s a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities east of Dayton, Ohio ’s sixth largest city, with Greene county much like the rest of the midwest: a mix of strip malls, corn fields and an interstate connecting Columbus with Cincinnati. Continue reading...
Pilot program to provide cheaper GLP-1 via Medicare stokes shortage fears
Some adults aged 65 and above will be able to get the drug for $50 through Medicare GLP-1, a temporary program Kathryn, a retiree who worked in healthcare, has throughout her life experienced “cyclical weight-loss, weight-gain”. “Every time that that has happened, it’s been a little bit greater of the loss and the gain, which is really unhealthy,” said the 66-year-old who lives in Denver, Colorado, and requested that only her first name be used. At her heaviest, the 5ft 1in-woman weighed 220lbs. Continue reading...
UK national lottery review to give public more say in how funds are spent
Culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, launches consultation on first changes to system in more than two decades The government is to review the future of the national lottery for the first time in more than 20 years as the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, promised to give the public a greater say in how billions of pounds raised by ticket sales is spent. “The national lottery is played by millions of people every single week. It is not just public money, it is literally the public’s money and they must be in the driving seat of how it is spent,” said Nandy. Continue reading...
US cooking oil market shrinking due to Ice pressures on Latino households, Mazola owner says
Hispanic communities have taken economic hit over anti-immigration raids, prompting people to shop online and reuse oil UK politics live – latest updates The US cooking oil market is shrinking and unlikely to improve soon because of economic and immigration enforcement pressures on Latino households, the owner of the Mazola brand has said. George Weston, the chief executive of Associated British Foods (ABF), told City analysts that cooking oil sales had suffered as “our heavy use consumer is that Hispanic population who are under financial pressure, who are under pressure from Ice [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and are feeling a bit miserable”. Continue reading...
‘Most spectacular own goal in history’: new EU rules threaten to shut out UK car manufacturers
EU urged to make UK exempt from rules that risk becoming the most damaging consequence of Brexit yet The EU’s car industry has called for the UK to be fully included in new “Made in Europe” rules that threaten to shut out British manufacturers from their biggest export market. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea) on Wednesday urged Brussels to give the UK, Turkey and Morocco “justified, targeted exemptions” to the rules, which will require cars and parts to be made within the EU to qualify for subsidies or public procurement. Continue reading...
Salzburg bans tourists from driving into historic centre over summer
Day trippers face fines for entering Austrian city’s old town during July and August to curb ‘chaotic traffic situations’ Salzburg has begun enforcing a summer ban on visitors driving into its historic centre, picking up a policy modelled by other car-choked European cities plagued by overtourism . Authorities in Austria’s fourth largest municipal area said they hoped the “less traffic, more city” restrictions in July and August would reduce the number of vehicle entries by 1,000 a day. Continue reading...
Keir Starmer forced on back foot at PMQs over ‘weak’ defence plan
Prime minister says he will take no lectures from Tories after Kemi Badenoch says investment plan is insufficient UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer was forced on the defensive in the Commons over his long-delayed defence investment plan announced this week, which critics argue leaves his successor as prime minister, expected to be Andy Burnham, with an extra £4.7bn to find in his first budget. Starmer defended his £298bn defence investment plan (Dip) at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday despite a growing backlash from insiders in Burnham’s team and from ministers and MPs resentful over cuts to key transport infrastructure projects to fund it. Continue reading...
E Jean Carroll asks judge to order Donald Trump to pay $5m he owes her
Move follows supreme court refusal to hear Trump’s appeal of civil case verdict in sexual abuse and defamation case The New York journalist E Jean Carroll asked a judge on Tuesday to mandate that Donald Trump pay her the $5m she is owed from a jury verdict that found the US president liable for sexually abusing her in the 1990s and defaming her after she publicly described in 2019 being attacked by him in a city department store. Lawyers for Carroll filed papers in a federal court in Manhattan one day after the US supreme court refused to hear Trump’s appeal of the civil case verdict in 2023. Continue reading...
Two people onboard small plane die after it crashes in field in Essex
Two-seat Cessna aircraft was carrying out short flight experience when it crashed in Ongar on Tuesday, police say Two people have died after a light aircraft on a “short flight experience” crashed in a field near Ongar in Essex, police have said. The two-seat Cessna plane crashed in a field off Mill Lane, Ongar, on Tuesday after taking off from North Weald airfield about seven miles west, Essex police said. Continue reading...
Alarm bells over conflict of interest as filing shows Trump raked in $2bn in 2025 | First Thing
President made more than $1bn from crypto businesses last year while federal government oversaw regulation. Plus, giant seal causes havoc in Tasmania – but locals love him Good morning. Donald Trump has raked in more than $1bn from his crypto businesses since returning to the White House, according to financial disclosures, making him substantially richer and ringing alarm bells over a conflict of interest. According to a 927-page document released on Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics, in all, Trump made more than $2.2bn last year, benefitting from a vast network of businesses and investments across the world including in China. Where else is Trump getting money from? The US president made millions last year from selling Trump-branded Bibles, sneakers and other small items in another unprecedented move for the presidency. In the Trump-branded watches category alone, the president earned $4.7m. Trump also racked up tens of millions from fees and licensing deals in a flurry of new hotel, resort and condo deals overseas. Many of those countries were at the same time negotiating with the US over tariffs, military aid and other important matters. Continue reading...
Duke of York’s theatre to be renamed after Tom Stoppard
New name recognises the playwright’s huge impact on British theatre with producer Sonia Friedman saying he would be ‘tickled pink’ The Duke of York’s theatre in the West End is to become the Tom Stoppard theatre in honour of the playwright who died in November. The theatre is currently presenting Carrie Cracknell’s revival of Stoppard’s 1993 masterpiece Arcadia and the same play was produced there in 2009 . The playwright’s wife, Sabrina Stoppard, said: “Tom was in his element whenever he had a play on in the West End, so I am thrilled to bits that this theatre will be named after him. It means that his memory will live on, not just through his plays, but also through this building.” Continue reading...
Fears of Catholic schism as defiant sect ordains ultra-conservative bishops
Consecrations by Society of Saint Pius X bring automatic excommunication for bishops – and crisis for Pope Leo A rebel group of ultra-conservative Catholics has defied Pope Leo by ordaining bishops without his consent, which they declared a “sacred duty” despite it causing their automatic excommunication. In a ritual-filled ceremony on Wednesday streamed live from the Swiss village of Ecône, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) went ahead with the consecrations of four bishops, one from Switzerland, one from France and two from the US. Continue reading...
Serena Williams in race against time to be fit for Wimbledon doubles with sister Venus
Former champion tweaked right knee in defeat against Joint The 44-year-old made return after nearly four years away Serena Williams’ appearance in the women’s doubles alongside her sister Venus later this week is in doubt because of a knee injury. The 23-times grand slam singles winner played her first singles match since the 2022 US Open on Tuesday, which ended in a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to the 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint on Centre Court, and is due to play with Venus at Wimbledon for the first time since they won their sixth doubles title a decade ago. Continue reading...
The USMNT’s quest for World Cup glory is currency in the attention economy
In Wednesday’s last-32 match, the US team have more than just a chance to win against Bosnia and Herzegovina. They’re playing to win over their country It took Mauricio Pochettino a little while to understand that he had accepted an innately vibes-based job. If club soccer boils down to managers exerting control and fitting their players into an intricate system, buttressed by cutting-edge tactics, ultra-modern analytics and first-in-class sports science, international soccer demands a different job entirely. And it tends to take long-time club coaches who are managing in the international game for the first time a bit to catch on to the difference. Continue reading...
New Orleans residents on warning to abandon sinking city: ‘Nobody wants to leave home’
After a recent study found New Orleans is at a ‘point of no return’ amid the climate crisis, some locals say they will ‘only leave if forced to’. But what would it take to stay? When a study in May concluded that New Orleans has hit a “point of no return” due to the climate crisis that will require people to eventually retreat from their storied yet ultimately doomed city, the local reaction was swift and fiery. The onward march of rising seas around a sinking city was unsettling, but the study is “more focused on generating publicity and clickbait headlines” than coming up with solutions, said Helena Moreno, New Orleans’ mayor. There is flooding in Miami, and wildfires and earthquakes near San Fransisco, Moreno pointed out, “yet no serious movement exists to declare those cities lost causes”. Continue reading...
‘The next 250 years belong to all of us’: 7 activists on rebuilding the US
Advocates describe this moment as both a crisis and an opening to reimagine the promises of freedom and democracy This Fourth of July marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence promised liberty and equality for all – even as it excluded most of the people living on the land it claimed to liberate. For many Americans, the semiquincentennial is less a celebration than a reckoning. The country arrives at this milestone amid sustained attacks on voting rights, civil rights and democratic institutions – challenges that organizers say are taking the country back generations. It’s a moment that activists and advocates describe as both a crisis and an opening to reimagine the promises of freedom and democracy. Continue reading...