Labour condemns Reform’s plan for £100bn in cuts as ‘half-baked’ and ‘incredibly reckless’ – UK politics live
Labour chair says uch cuts ‘could mean vital public services like hospitals, schools and law enforcement are put at risk’
The Electoral Commission has released political donation figures for the second quarter of 2026. They show that Reform UK continues to rake in far more than other parties. Nigel Farage’’s party had declared donations worth £5.3m. Labour got £3.6m, and the Conservatives £2.8m.
Most of Reform UK’s money came from Ben Delo, who gave £4m. As Rowena Mason reported earlier this year, Delo is a British billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls in his cryptocurrency business.
Continue reading...Trump $1 coin makes him first living president on US currency in a century
Why Farage and Bardella’s anti-immigration alliance won’t be smooth sailing – politico.eu
- Why Farage and Bardella’s anti-immigration alliance won’t be smooth sailing politico.eu
- Reform UK latest: Nigel Farage ‘didn’t take an illegal penny in funding’ The Times
- France's National Rally Would Stop Migrants Reaching UK, Says Bardella U.S. News & World Report
- Reform UK live: Farage and Bardella sign pact to ‘stop the boats forever’ The Telegraph
- Who is Jordan Bardella, the French politician appearing at Reform UK conference? | ITV News ITVX
Hillary Clinton leads tributes to Gloria Steinem: ‘Her activism was rooted in optimism’
Ex-secretary of state joins Nancy Pelosi, Jill Biden, Roxane Gay and others in heralding groundbreaking feminist
Gloria Steinem, groundbreaking feminist campaigner, dies aged 92
‘We badly need to raise our boys more like our girls’: Gloria Steinem – a life in quotes
Leading figures from politics, entertainment and wider society led glowing tributes to Gloria Steinem on Thursday, with Hillary Clinton hailing the American feminist icon who died at 92 at home in New York as “one of the architects of the entire structure of women’s equality”.
Clinton, a former US secretary of state, presidential candidate and first lady, was among the first to jump in with praise early on Thursday when she appeared on the CBS Mornings TV show to share her respect and gratitude for Steinem.
Continue reading...EU’s ability to defend against invasion remains in doubt, finds official report
Fragmented infrastructure and reliance on US continue to hinder ‘defence readiness’, says European court of auditors
The EU’s ability to respond to a foreign invasion by 2030 remains in doubt due to a continuing reliance on the US and fragmented national defence systems, according to a report from its official auditor.
The European court of auditors (ECA) said the EU was much better prepared than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine of 2022, but achieving its goal of defence readiness by the end of the decade would be difficult.
Continue reading...Manchester synagogue attack: ministers seek to block MI5 files from inquest
Government lawyers tell coroner disclosing intelligence would pose serious risk to national security
Ministers are seeking to block intelligence material from being heard at an inquest into the death of two men killed in the 2025 Manchester synagogue attack.
Lawyers for Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, told a coroner on Thursday that disclosing the MI5 files would pose a serious risk to national security.
Continue reading...Palestinian teens killed during settler attack on West Bank village, officials say – BBC
- Palestinian teens killed during settler attack on West Bank village, officials say BBC
- Israelis shoot dead two Palestinian teenagers after settlers encircle village The Guardian
- Israeli Military Kills Two Palestinian Youths in Village Raid, Residents Say The New York Times
- Two Palestinians killed as settlers, Israeli forces raid West Bank village aljazeera.com
- Riot in West Bank as terrorists throw cinder blocks, stones at IDF soldiers, Israeli civilian jpost.com
Palestinian teens killed during settler attack on West Bank village, officials say
Aid operations in aftermath of deadly Nepal floods hampered by conditions | First Thing
Guardian reporters in Nepal have witnessed first-hand the scenes of destruction and grief after the flash floods. Plus, a not-to-be-missed interview with the legendary Mr T
Good morning. Thousands remain missing and the delivery of aid has been hampered by treacherous conditions in communities almost wiped out of existence by the flash flooding in Nepal and Tibet. A week after the disaster, survivors who fled up mountainsides are still being collected by army helicopters and evacuated.
The mountain village of Syabru Besi was among those destroyed, with even the road to the village gone. According to local government officials, at least 500 people there are missing, a quarter of the population. The village resembles nothing more than a muddy riverbed, with just one building left standing.
What have Guardian reporters witnessed? Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Gaurav Pokharel have been in the Betrawati and Rasuwa districts with the photographer Ahmer Khan. In this video, Ellis-Petersen explains what she has seen alongside haunting footage of the debris. They have spoken to multiple survivors in a region now full of human suffering.
Continue reading...BoM forecasts strongest El Niño on record as research points to ‘alarming’ climate change influence
Bureau of Meteorology suggests El Niño has already broken records, with Pacific ocean temperature change exceeding 2C in six months
The growing El Niño weather phenomenon to Australia’s east is already breaking heat records, with forecasts showing it will likely easily surpass previous events, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, as seperate research suggested climate change had greatly shortened the odds of the event hitting record extremes.
On Thursday the UN’s weather agency said the event in the Pacific was continuing to strengthen and would probably persist until early 2027, warning it had the “potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world”.
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Continue reading...General charged over Kyiv children’s hospital strike shot in Russia – Euronews.com
- General charged over Kyiv children's hospital strike shot in Russia Euronews.com
- Russian general accused of masterminding the attack against Kyiv’s children’s hospital injured in assassination attempt cnn.com
- Russian serviceman hospitalized after a shooting, authorities say apnews.com
- Aerospace Forces General Reportedly Shot and Wounded in Saratov Region The Moscow Times
- Russian general linked to attack on children’s hospital ‘shot in head’ The Times
Rival Ukrainian Intelligence Units Open Fire Against Each Other in Kyiv – The New York Times
- Rival Ukrainian Intelligence Units Open Fire Against Each Other in Kyiv The New York Times
- Ukraine war briefing: ‘Shameful’ – Zelenskyy furious after shootout between Kyiv’s spy services The Guardian
- Ukrainian intel agencies in Kyiv firefight: What happened and why? aljazeera.com
- Gunfight in Kyiv Deepens Feud Between Ukraine’s Powerful Spy Agencies WSJ
- Ukraine war latest: Gunfight erupts between two Ukrainian spy services in Kyiv - as Putin responds to strikes Sky News
Rise of far-right leader Roberto Vannacci challenges Meloni as she celebrates Italian milestone
Futuro Nazionale party’s speedy poll rise poses questions whether PM will return to her roots before election
Giorgia Meloni’s government has become the longest-running in Italy since the second world war – a milestone the prime minister is determined not to let pass unnoticed.
In the port area of Bari, the capital of the southern Italian region of Puglia, where Meloni hosted the G7 in 2024 and where she spends her summer holiday, preparations are well under way for a festival-style showcase of her rightwing administration.
Continue reading...Moscow and region under drone attack since midnight – Ukrinform
- Moscow and region under drone attack since midnight Ukrinform
- The New Jet-Powered Drones That Are Breeding Anxiety in Ukraine The New York Times
- Russia’s jet-powered drones overwhelm Ukraine, killing dozens Al Jazeera
- Ukraine racing to develop new interceptors as Russian drones and missiles ravage the country CNN
- Russia’s jet-powered drones are overwhelming Ukraine’s air defenses The Washington Post
Hong Kong court upholds convictions of Cardinal Joseph Zen and others over protester relief fund – apnews.com
Anthony Joshua’s driver attempted overtake before fatal crash, trial hears
Top House Republican Says US is Clearly ‘Stalled’ in Iran: ‘No Question’ About it – Mediaite
- Top House Republican Says US is Clearly ‘Stalled’ in Iran: ‘No Question’ About it Mediaite
- Trump turns to a dual economic and military approach in latest attempt to squeeze Iran apnews.com
- Trump's Iran strategy: Could this become a forever war? dw.com
- ‘We Are Stalled’: US-Iran Conflict Stuck With No End in Sight Bloomberg.com
- How Much Is the Iran War Costing Americans? The New Yorker
UK mortgage borrowers brace for rate jump amid global bond sell-off
Swap rates rise to three-year high as increase in oil prices leads to fears of higher inflation
Homeowners in the UK are braced for a jump in mortgage rates, driven by higher inflation and interest rate increase expectations amid turmoil in the global bond markets.
UK swap rates, which lenders use to price mortgages, have risen to a three-year high, as this week’s global bond market sell-off ripples through the economy.
Continue reading...More than 1,700 fall sick from Indonesia free school meals in three days – Reuters
- More than 1,700 fall sick from Indonesia free school meals in three days Reuters
- Indonesia: Around 2,000 fall ill after eating free school meals BBC
- More than 800 students and teachers in Indonesia suffer food poisoning after eating government free meals The Guardian
- Indonesian officials say government-supplied meals tested after more than 500 students fall ill CNA
- Indonesia: Thousands fall sick from free school meals dw.com