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Nicola Jennings on the proposal to house asylum seekers in Oxfordshire – cartoon

The Guardian•Nicola Jennings5h ago

Trump 2.0 has cut or frozen $177bn in grants across every state, analysis finds

Cuts hit all 50 states and DC, with environment, health, nutrition and disaster relief making up the largest share The Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177bn in federal grants since the president took office for his second term, according to a tracking tool released Wednesday by a pro-democracy non-profit and a group of researchers and scientists. The cuts affected all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with health, nutrition, the environment and disaster relief making up the largest share of cuts, the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness organization found. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Associated Press6h ago

Epstein survivors praise House committee for recommending Leon Black be held in contempt

Black has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he did not know of Epstein’s criminal activities More than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein ’s abuse praised the House oversight committee for unanimously voting to recommend that billionaire investor Leon Black be held in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas by the panel seeking his testimony and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) as part of its investigation into Epstein. “We commend Chairman Comer for showing real resolve in pursuing accountability in the Epstein investigation,” the survivors said in a statement. They said that the 41-0 vote sends a “clear message that wealth and influence do not put anyone beyond the reach of congressional oversight”. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Anna Betts6h ago

I have faced abuse, assaults and death threats because I’m an MP. It’s making politics a no-go zone | Dawn Butler

A new report highlights the dangers experienced by those who seek to serve the public. People are being deterred and your democracy is suffering There is a rising tide of abuse in our politics and I feel it every day. This week, the Electoral Commission warned that harassment and intimidation are changing how candidates campaign , what they feel able to do and whether they stand again. This is a threat to our democracy – and we cannot ignore it. The figures are stark. Commission research into the May 2026 local and mayoral elections in England found that 55% of candidates said harassment or intimidation was a problem, up from 47% in 2025. Women, ethnic minority candidates and those with disabilities were most likely to encounter abuse. The experience was so unpleasant that a third considered not standing again. Dawn Butler is Labour MP for Brent East 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...

The Guardian•Dawn Butler6h ago

The secret of Mozart’s genius unlocked – has a teenager succeeded where generations of musicologists have failed?

US student Linus Chen-Plotkin has analysed music by four canonical composers looking for patterns. Turns out Mozart’s music moves in the least predictable way It’s a question that has taxed musical thinkers for centuries: just what is it about one composer’s music that makes it more distinctive than anyone else’s? Entire disciplines of academic thought, of music analysis and historical musicology, as well as the formation of classical music’s canon of “great” composers, have been given over to this single idea: can it be proved that Mozart, say, was measurably “better” than other composers? Our instinctive feeling about the sensual magic of Mozart’s music is part of the equation, but accounting for precisely how his pieces can sustain a lifetime of listening, why their pleasures never seem to pall and are still capable of seeming to surprise us even when we know them inside out: that’s the million-dollar musicological question. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Tom Service6h ago

Matt Fitzpatrick casts doubt on Dubai title defence over fears of ongoing conflict

World No 4 may snub World Tour Championship ‘I’m not comfortable playing in the Middle East’ Matt Fitzpatrick, the world No 4, has admitted to reservations over appearing at the DP World Tour’s end of season events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai because of the conflict in the Middle East. The Englishman, who is due to defend the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, has accused the Tour of being “very vague” over plans to retain or move the tournaments. In Fitzpatrick’s mind, it is a “no brainer” to play elsewhere but believes his sentiment will not feature strongly in the thoughts of the Tour’s hierarchy. Fitzpatrick even suggested Formula One is reconsidering staging the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December after races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were called off this year due to the Iran war, though it remains on the calendar . Continue reading...

The Guardian•Ewan Murray at Wentworth6h ago

The 'apex predator' of fires choking south-east Asia - podcast

Indonesia is in the middle of a climate emergency, experiencing what Nasa calls the ‘apex predator’ of wildfires. It’s burning an area three times the size of Singapore and choking millions across south-east Asia with toxic haze. But while Europe’s catastrophic summer made headlines in Australia, the climate emergency happening to one of our closest neighbours is less well known. Kate Lamb joins Matilda Boseley to talk about just how consequential these fires could become Read more : El Niño-fuelled wildfires destroy precious Indonesian forests – in pictures The women saving Borneo: battling fire, patriarchy and super El Niño on Indonesia’s peatland frontlines Indonesian wildfires threaten leading orangutan research site in Borneo Continue reading...

The Guardian•Presented by Matilda Boseley with Kate Lamb. Produced by Cheyne Anderson with mixing and sound design by Lu Hill. Molly Glassey is executive producer6h ago

Labor seats get more than 90% of funding distributed under controversial multi-million dollar grants program

Guardian Australia analysis adds to concerns over the federal scheme, which is to be the subject of a Senate inquiry Federal Labor seats have received over 90% of funds already awarded in the first five months of a controversial multi-million dollar grants program, adding to concerns over the scheme’s selection process. The $568m community grants scheme will be the subject of a Senate inquiry after a report by the Centre for Public Integrity last week revealed the scheme favoured projects in notionally Labor-held electorates, including a $6m grant for a golf club in Anthony Albanese’s electorate . Continue reading...

The Guardian•Luca Ittimani, Sarah Basford Canales and Benita Kolovos6h ago

Health officials in turmoil over 11th-hour backflip on aged care algorithm override powers, emails reveal

Ministers given emergency briefing about changes to algorithm decisions just three days before tool rollout Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Senior department of health officials were in turmoil before the rollout of an algorithm to determine funding packages for older Australians, after discovering legislation had been drafted so rigidly that the tool could not legally be overridden by aged care assessors. Emails published under freedom of information (FoI) by the department of health, disability and ageing show that, despite assessors long receiving reassurance from the department that they would have powers to change incorrect algorithm decisions, officials realised at the 11th hour this would violate proposed regulations. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Melissa Davey Medical editor6h ago

‘Godfather of AI’ says tech regulation is nearing Covid-style pivot moment

Safety crisis makes it more likely that governments will be spurred into action, says Yoshua Bengio Concerns over AI safety are reaching a point where governments realise they must act to protect the public, similarly to in the Covid pandemic, according to one of the “godfathers” of the technology. Yoshua Bengio said recent events, including a “swarm” of OpenAI agents hacking a startup and tech insider warnings of an existential threat , were cutting through – making government action more likely. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Dan Milmo Global technology editor6h ago

US officials decide against backing Saudi Arabia in Yemen after meeting Houthi leaders

Armed group appears to reach agreement with Trump administration over safety of Red Sea shipping Officials from the US met Houthi leaders over the weekend at the country’s embassy in Muscat, Oman, it has been confirmed, leading to the US decision not to intervene to help Saudi Arabia drive back a Houthi advance inside Yemen . The Houthis reassured the US that the ceasefire agreement between the two sides struck in 2025 still held and the movement had no intention of attacking US shipping in the Red Sea. Only Saudi-linked shipping was regarded as a target owing to its blockade of Yemen, the Houthis confirmed. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor6h ago

Union claims victory as ministers agree to fully fund pay rise for teachers in England

National Education Union welcomes news that schools will not have to partly fund increase from their own budgets The UK’s biggest education union is claiming a major victory after the government bowed to pressure and agreed to fully fund a forthcoming pay increase for teachers in England in a sudden U-turn on previous policy. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) were due to vote in a ballot for strike action next month over the government’s recent pay offer which provided for a 3.5% increase from this month, with an additional 3% from next September. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Sally Weale Education correspondent6h ago

At least five Reform councillors joined Facebook group linked to far-right Patriot Platform

Politicians from Solihull, Gateshead and Kent were in online group linked to balaclava-clad far-right agitators At least five Reform UK councillors have been members of a Facebook group linked to the far-right group involved in the blockades of Dover and Portsmouth by masked men, according to anti-fascist campaigners. Nigel Farage’s party has been wrestling with internal divisions over its position on the Patriot Platform group, whose activities have been condemned by Farage and across the political spectrum. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Ben Quinn and Amelia Gentleman6h ago

Football Daily | Madrid endure an awkward night after T-shirt trouble and Elche scare

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Anxious to sample some traditional Spanish culture while taking in a La Liga match years ago, Football Daily and some friends decamped to Gran Alicant. As we prepared to leave a quaint bodega (the Dick Turpin), where we’d been sampling the local hooch (Guinness), to travel to the nearby stadium, an elderly local resident with an unmistakable mackem accent informed us that the Elche home game to which we were heading was not being played until the following evening. It had fallen victim to Spanish TV’s infuriating habit of rescheduling random top-flight matches with little or no notice or consideration for Johnny-come-latelys who might have travelled from afar to watch them. We never did get to see Elche play in the flesh but did get to watch the current La Liga basement-dwellers give José Mourinho an almighty fright on TV on Tuesday night, as they went this close to snatching a point from Real Madrid. I almost wish I was a West Ham fan. As an eternally suffering Spurs supporter, I find myself looking enviously towards the London Stadium these days. The Hammers are top of the table, banging in goal after goal (already 20 more than Spurs’ tally in the league). They score even when they lose and seem to have bought a proper No 9. My Spurs, meanwhile, continue the tradition of the last two years in style, sitting comfortably in 17th with 1,047 wingers on contract, and getting knocked out of one of the competitions they could ‘conceivably’ have won, the only competition they seem to be able to score goals in as well. In hindsight, West Ham made the right choice to go down. Hammers fans, you are welcome!” – Yannick Woudstra (and no others). Hugh Fordham’s idea [ Tuesday’s Football Daily letters ] has some merit. But it reminded me of a pithy comment by Bill Nicholson. ‘Do you think he was interfering with play?’, he was asked. Nicholson responded: “If he’s not interfering with play, what’s he doing on the pitch?!’” – Harry McDonald. In support of Hugh Fordham’s suggestion, I remember discussing the idea of interfering with play while on a training course for referees back in the 1960s. We were told that unless someone was ‘lying injured near the corner flag’ any player should be treated as being involved in play. Not a lot of room for subjectivity in those days. And obviously no thought of stopping play for the hypothetical injured player!” – Trevor Field. This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions . Continue reading...

The Guardian•Barry Glendenning7h ago

EU moves closer to social media ban for under 13s

Ursula von der Leyen announces draft law to stop apps ‘depriving children of their childhood’ The EU will move forward with plans for an under 13s social media ban , the head of the European Commission has confirmed. Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that social media apps were “depriving children of their childhood” and that big tech platforms needed to prove the safety of their products. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Jennifer Rankin in Strasbourg7h ago

‘Very authoritarian, very brutal’: three decades after the UK’s anti-rave crackdown, why is France doing the same?

With tear gas, grenades and a new law, French authorities are targeting unlicensed music gatherings. Those in the rave scene explore the parallels with the UK in the 90s When Spiral Tribe fled England in 1992, they left behind an indelible mark on rave history. The itinerant sound system collective are best known for their involvement with Castlemorton Common festival, an unlicensed free party drawing more than 30,000 people and lasting nearly a week. After a drawn-out and notoriously expensive trial for public order offences, Spiral Tribe were acquitted of all charges. They decided to drive their repurposed military caravans out of the UK and never look back. Their documented history often stops there. But little known is the fact that they then kicked off “the biggest illegal underground movement that Europe had ever seen”, says Spiral Tribe associate Sebastian Vaughan, AKA electronic musician 69db. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Whitney Wei7h ago

Chewing Gum Dreams review – Michaela Coel’s horny teenage heroine is still a force to reckon with

Theatre503, London Lauryn Ajufo makes Tracey her own in a vibrant revival of Coel’s monologue, capturing the cruelty, confusion and comedy of adolescence The self-flagellations of adolescence and its suddenly streaking hormones can make great fodder for comedy. Harry Enfield’s 13-year-old defined its comic pains for one generation. His Kevin is every bit matched by Michaela Coel’s exuberant and offensive Tracey. This revival of Coel’s 2012 debut proves her eternal relevance as a character: Black British and downtrodden, she is upstart, bully, trusty friend and a bewildered girl defined by class and race by her own schoolteacher. She is also horny and desperately infatuated with a white boy, Connor. Beginning as a monologue performed by Coel herself , it is about friendship, sexual discovery and abuse, with Tracey telling us about everything from the girl in class who can lick her own vagina to her beautiful best friend with a controlling boyfriend 10 years her senior. The show went on to be adapted for the Channel 4 TV series Chewing Gum, which turned Coel’s one-woman polyphony into an ensemble of immensely colourful characters and fabulous comedy, but also lost some of its intensity and darkness. At Theatre503, London , until 17 October Continue reading...

The Guardian•Arifa Akbar7h ago

TV reporter and pilot who died in Los Angeles helicopter crash were covering a story

NBC4 colleagues Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw were working to report on a collision between a bus and an SUV More details are emerging after a local news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday evening, killing two people on board and one person on the ground. Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist, and pilot George Marciniw were identified as two of the victims. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Anna Betts7h ago

Alcina review – Handel’s opera of sex and sorcery comes alive in vivid staging

Royal Opera House, London This revival of Richard Jones and Antony McDonald’s 2022 staging has kept most of its excellent original cast Lisette Oropesa is imperious and gleaming as the enchantress Alcina Handel, but make it fun. Perhaps that was Richard Jones’s brief for his production of Alcina, first seen here in 2022 and revived by Sarah Fahie, its original movement director. And of all Handel’s operas perhaps it’s this one, with its desert-island storyline of sorcery and sex – what happens on the island stays on the island – that invites this treatment. Jones makes the “good guys” into members of a kind of puritan cult, so the tension between the moral world and the sensual, instinctive one is less of a gentle pull, more a tug of war. Alcina’s prisoners are transformed by a squirt of her eponymous perfume into birds and animals – a parrot, a mandrill, a King Charles spaniel, all wearing prosthetic heads so beautifully made that for the past year or two they have been in display cases in the Royal Opera House foyer. The animals are kept busy fawning over Alcina or moving Antony McDonald’s sets around: there’s a huge bed, a greenhouse and an enchanted forest on wheeled platforms, found behind the doors of what might be a hotel corridor. It’s a wide stage, and there’s often at least one singer running across it. Amid all this, the opera’s moments of warmth, insight and introspection risk getting lost or at least overshadowed. It’s brittle, but it is entertaining. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Erica Jeal7h ago

Bondi attacks prompt creation of new institute for emergency care of children in NSW

NSW Institute for Paediatric Trauma will help doctors, researchers and specialists prepare for trauma cases Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast A new institute dedicated to improving emergency medical care for severely injured children will be established in New South Wales following recent high-profile trauma events in the state. Based at the Sydney Children’s hospital in Randwick, the NSW Institute for Paediatric Trauma will bring together clinicians, researchers and specialists to deliver advanced training and simulations across the health system. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Ima Caldwell7h ago