section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
3098 stories archived
Heidi Levine recounts how Palestinian youths helped save her in settler attack
US photojournalist describes ‘protective shield’, vows to return to work in West Bank and criticises Netanyahu comments on incident The Washington Post photojournalist who was attacked and seriously injured by Israeli settlers on the West Bank on Friday has described how she was saved with the help of local Palestinians. Heidi Levine sustained four fractured vertebrae, two broken ribs and four puncture wounds when she was knocked to the ground and repeatedly beaten by a crowd of masked settlers while she and other journalists were covering the olive harvest in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah, north of Ramallah. Continue reading...
‘You are a humanitarian also, sir’: the US feeds Putin with lies as Ukraine’s children take cover and die | Andrew Roth
Steve Witkoff’s flattery of the Russian leader could be just the start of a mendacious stratagem from a US president who says Moscow ‘has been fine on Ukraine’ They say the first casualty of war is truth. For the Trump administration, the road to peace with Russia now encompasses some extraordinary lies. Steve Witkoff delivered one as he sat down with Vladimir Putin in his native St Petersburg on Wednesday, aiming to close the deal on Russia’s land grab in Ukraine with the White House’s strategy of maximum pressure on Kyiv and saccharine flattery of the Kremlin. Continue reading...
‘Climate vandalism’: Jackdaw gasfield approval condemned - The Latest
Climate campaigners have condemned the UK government’s decision to allow the drilling of the Jackdaw gasfield. Critics argue the move will put climate targets at risk, while failing to reduce energy bills and the cost of living crisis. But there could be a significant victory for green activists when it comes to the much larger Rosebank oilfield, with the energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, leaning towards rejecting approval. Michael Safi speaks to environment correspondent Matthew Taylor – watch on YouTube Continue reading...
The Guardian view on drilling in Jackdaw: a truly pragmatic approach would focus on Britain’s green transition | Editorial
Opening the North Sea gasfield will deliver minimal benefits for households, while sending a dismal signal before next month’s Cop summit This week a report from the UN Environment Programme concluded that holding global temperatures to a 1.5C warming limit – the centrepiece commitment of the Paris climate agreement – is no longer achievable. If the disastrous consequences of a significant overshoot are to be mitigated, it argued, governments must start delivering the short-term actions to meet long-term targets on reducing fossil fuel consumption. Disappointingly, Andy Burnham and his energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, took a different view of short-term priorities on Wednesday. Before the November Cop summit, where regaining lost momentum on climate action will be crucial, their decision to approve new drilling in the Jackdaw gasfield sent a dismal signal. The prime minister justified it as a pragmatic move “at a time when people are really struggling”. But the pragmatic arguments don’t stack up. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on the Republicans’ midterms struggle: Trump has circuses, but voters also want bread | Editorial
As prices keep rising, more of the president’s supporters are asking what happened to the economic good times he promised It is no great revelation that Donald Trump is enriching himself as president. He raked in $2.2bn in 2025, with his position and his personal interests frequently overlapping. Yet this week’s poll finding that 34% of Republicans (and 66% of all American voters) think that he is using his position to make himself rich merits attention . Separately, voters in a Fox News poll last week put government corruption at the top of their list of concerns – just ahead of inflation and high prices. Mr Trump pledged that people would be better off if they voted for him. The billionaires are; not the rest. He promised to lower the costs of groceries (they have risen again) and to cut the price of gasoline to below $2 a gallon. It’s more than double that, thanks to his reckless and illegal war on Iran. Tariffs have bumped up the cost of living too. Incumbents will always struggle when the economy does. But the gulf between his own prosperity and the daily life of his base now looks less like an inspiration and more like an insult. Cash offers seem unlikely to help much. Continue reading...
Chemical tank explosion in Toledo, Ohio, prompts mass evacuation
Officials say the explosion released an airborne irritant that can cause burning of the eyes, nose, mouth and skin Officials are investigating a tank explosion in Toledo, Ohio, that released a chemical into the air, causing a mass evacuation in the area. One person, a first responder, was injured and taken to the hospital, but officials believe the injuries are non-life threatening. They are also unsure about the cause of the explosion. Continue reading...
Supreme court blocks Trump’s bid to restrict gender care for trans prisoners
Decision stands in contrast to recent trans rights actions from court that often sides with Trump administration The US supreme court went against Donald Trump ’s administration on Wednesday, refusing to allow the immediate enforcement of sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender individuals held in prisons and federal facilities. The decision marks an unusual victory for transgender rights before the nation’s highest court, which has largely sided with the administration and other opponents of transgender rights in several major cases. Continue reading...
Controversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns halted
Hepatitis B study in Guinea-Bissau that was to be funded by CDC and that drew global backlash ‘will not move forward’ The US-backed hepatitis B vaccine trial in African newborns that drew global backlash was halted, the lead researcher said on Wednesday. It is “now clear” that the study “will not move forward in Guinea-Bissau”, Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer, a Danish researcher, wrote on LinkedIn, adding, “we were not given the necessary governmental approval.” Continue reading...
Burnham approves Jackdaw – and Labour’s unity on climate action is imperilled with the stroke of a pen | Zoe Williams
This foolish decision undermines hopes that this government will take the necessary steps the climate crisis demands When the news broke that the UK government had approved the Jackdaw gasfield , I was at a Guardian climate event at the Royal Geographical Society. Appropriately, the theme suggested by readers was what can the public actually do in the face of what feels like paralysing climate doom? There is so much going on that is hopeful: biodiversity tracking, river protection, rewilding. Shruti Suresh, from the independent watchdog Global Witness, told those in attendance that if they wanted to effect change, they should protest against Jackdaw and the Rosebank oilfield project. The message was so well understood that it didn’t need labouring. The mood in the room when the news came in was one of audible dismay. People had just watched the minister for climate transition declare that she could see the challenges ahead and was ready for them. The Jackdaw announcement will face immediate protest and legal challenge, but it sends a very clear signal from the government: we don’t mean what we say about ending emissions. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Pollster admits to fabricating data for ‘social experiment’ to expose flaws of industry
Wedgewood Polls said project was designed to highlight lack of scrutiny over polling sector by mainstream media A polling firm has admitted to using fabricated data in surveys that were picked up by national media outlets in the US, claiming the project was a “social experiment” designed to expose the lack of scrutiny over the sector. Wedgewood Polls released a statement on Tuesday on social media, after polling and election analysis site FiftyPlusOne reached out for comment on an investigation it had conducted into their surveys and data. Continue reading...
As Miatta ignites the speaker’s gas-fuelled inferno, Reform show up as snowflakes | John Crace
The energy secretary’s trip north provokes Hoyle’s futile rage, while ITV’s exposé leaves Zia Yusuf immensely sad When is a licence not a licence? When it’s a new licence that is an old licence. After months of faffing around – there were the small matters of a party conference and a byelection to negotiate first – the government finally gave the go-ahead to drilling in the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea. What swung it wasn’t so much the irresistible excitement of creating 27 new jobs and securing 2% of the UK’s gas supply for the next 10 years, it was the politics. If other countries were going to carry on drilling then we might as well do so, too. There would still be the same amount of greenhouse gases created and we wouldn’t have to rely on anyone else for our gas supply. Though we would for the other 98%. Small steps and all that. At a time of global insecurity and rising energy costs, it was time to drill, baby, drill. So the inconvenience of a Labour manifesto that promised no new North Sea licences could be rethought. It was now merely re-allowing a licence that had already been granted and then deemed unlawful by the courts. AKA dancing on the head of the pin. Continue reading...
US Park Police spend $343,000 on mobile surveillance cameras in Washington DC
Cameras reportedly set up near site for Trump’s proposed arch, Arlington Memorial Bridge and reflecting pool The US Park Police are spending $343,000 to lease mobile surveillance cameras from a company that also supplies Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) , federal contract records show. The deal comes as Donald Trump has insisted that vandals damaged the reflecting pool, one of Washington’s best-known landmarks – charges that have since been dismissed. The Department of the Interior, which oversees the Park Police, awarded the lease to the Utah-based company LiveView Technologies (LVT) on 14 September, on a fully obligated government contract that runs through the end of February. The records do not say how many camera trailers are covered. Continue reading...
Ben Jennings on Andy Burnham’s decision to approve the Jackdaw North Sea gasfield – cartoon
Continue reading...
24-year-old Kansas man arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot Donald Trump
Jaden J Read was arrested after federal authorities say he posted threats online before president’s Wichita rally A 24-year-old Kansas man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot Donald Trump . Authorities arrested Jaden J Read, of Clearwater, Kansas, last Saturday after he allegedly posted threats to kill the US president at his rally in the Wichita area on Monday, according to the justice department. Continue reading...
Ex-tennis pro Megan Rose appointed to lead 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup in US
Tournament coming to the US for the first time Rose says tournament is a huge opportunity World Rugby has appointed Megan Rose, an American tennis pro turned United States Tennis Association (USTA) executive, as managing director of the 2031 men’s Rugby World Cup, a key appointment as the governing body prepares to host what is by some measures the third-biggest global sporting event on American soil for the first time. Rose said: “Rugby World Cup is one of the iconic events in global sport, defined by unforgettable moments on the pitch and the passion of fans around the world. To be entrusted with bringing Men’s Rugby World Cup to the United States for the first time is an extraordinary honour, and I’m thrilled to join this team.” Continue reading...
Jeffrey Donaldson investigated over alleged rape in UK parliament
Met police investigating after referral from PSNI about allegation former DUP leader raped woman in 2016 The Metropolitan police are investigating an allegation that the former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson raped a woman inside parliament in 2016. Scotland Yard confirmed it received a report from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on 13 October about an alleged rape in the Palace of Westminster involving a man now aged 63. Continue reading...
Taiwan charges five men over plot to run over comedian for making Xi Jinping jokes
Person named ‘K’ from China paid five defendants to injure Huang Yi-hao badly enough to require hospitalisation, New Taipei prosecutors say Taiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping. Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take by force if necessary. Continue reading...
Husband and wife charged in shooting death of teen driving to St Louis Halloween party
Alyssa Wilson, 17, was driving to a party at city zoo when prosecutors say Willie Herndon fired a gun at her car A Texas husband and wife are facing criminal charges following the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old girl who was driving to a Halloween celebration at the St Louis zoo when gunfire struck her vehicle on a Missouri highway. St Louis county prosecutor Melissa Price Smith announced on Monday that Willie Herndon, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the death of Alyssa Wilson. His wife, 45-year-old Taiya Herndon, is also facing a charge of hindering prosecution. Continue reading...
Reform UK fined for failing to pay fine for elections rule breach
Party had been sanctioned by Electoral Commission after failing to declare it was the publisher of campaign material Reform UK has been fined more than £2,000 for failing to declare it was the publisher of campaign material seen by voters – including an additional penalty for failing to pay on time. Nigel Farage’s party was sanctioned by the Electoral Commission after four items of elections material were missing an “imprint” – a declaration of the publisher so voters know who has paid for the promotional message. Continue reading...
Woman told Russell Brand he treated her ‘like an animal,’ court hears
Brand, 51, faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six women A woman said Russell Brand degraded her and treated her like “a piece of meat” when he raped her at his London townhouse, a court has heard. She alleged she repeatedly begged the 51-year-old comedian to stop the assault which left her bleeding for days and in pain. Continue reading...
Bush’s brother crosses party lines to vote for James Talarico for Senate
Republican Neil Bush says he was ‘deeply troubled’ by Ken Paxton’s conduct and ‘enormously impressed’ with Talarico US politics live – latest updates Neil Bush, a son of former president George HW Bush and a lifelong Republican, announced on Tuesday that he crossed party lines to vote for James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas. In a Facebook post, Neil Bush said he chose to vote early for Talarico over Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate and current Texas attorney general, because he was “deeply troubled” by Paxton’s conduct and was “enormously impressed” by Talarico’s principles. Continue reading...
Indian court orders release of two leaders of Cockroach movement
Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka spent a week in jail after defying restrictions on protests in Delhi amid government crackdown An Indian court has ordered the release of two leaders of India’s Cockroach movement, who were jailed last week amid a mounting state crackdown on youth-led protests. The two leaders of the Cockroach Janta party (CJP) movement, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, had spent a week in Delhi’s Tihar jail after being arrested by Delhi police last week. Continue reading...
Home Office lifts deportation order for man, 62, who has lived in UK for 50 years
Department drops efforts to return Tony Hall to Barbados, a country he left at 12 and where he has no living relatives The Home Office has lifted a deportation order handed to a 62-year-old man who has lived in Britain for 50 years after criticism of the department’s attempts to remove him to Barbados, a country he left as a child. The Home Office wrote to Tony Hall on Tuesday to inform him that his deportation order had been revoked. His case had been highlighted in the Guardian a day earlier. Continue reading...
Poland’s parliament votes to ease abortion ban but faces likely veto from president
Measures would remove some penalties for those helping women access abortion but are ‘small-scale step’, say campaigners Poland’s lower house of parliament has approved two bills aimed at loosening a near-total ban on abortions, in what campaigners have described as a “small-scale step” ahead of protests calling on the government to fulfil its promises to overhaul the country’s laws. The new measures, which are likely to be vetoed by Poland’s nationalist president, would remove some of the criminal penalties for those who help women to access abortion care and allow terminations in cases of foetal abnormalities. Continue reading...