Latest articles

The GuardianHumanityArizona
The abortion doctor who leads with her faith: ‘God is forgiving’

The abortion doctor who leads with her faith: ‘God is forgiving’

Dr DeShawn Taylor runs Arizona’s only Black woman-owned abortion clinic amid rapid legal changes When gynecologist and abortion provider Dr DeShawn Taylor has conversations with patients about the afterlife, they ask her if they will be condemned for their choices. To quell their concerns, she shares with them bible verses about free will. “If God wants that vessel, that spirit to get here, God will choose another vessel. You get to say, ‘I’ll pass,’” Taylor said at her clinic one spring afternoon, her short curly hair matching the color of her maroon scrubs. “I think that makes people feel a lot better with that understanding.” As the founder and CEO of Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix, Arizona, Taylor heads the only Black woman-run abortion clinic in the state, which also boasts a staff of women of color. On a Tuesday in March, pop music wafted throughout the waiting room filled mostly with Black and brown women, some with their children in tow. Bilingual posters about abortion care taped to the wall reflected the diversity of the clinic’s staff and clientele. On 6 February, an Arizona judge struck down state laws requiring patients to receive an ultrasound and to wait at least a day before receiving an abortion. With abortions now more accessible, a steady stream of clients poured into the office the week that the laws were repealed. By mid-March, appointments had petered out to a more manageable about 10 services a day.

12h ago
The GuardianHumanityUnited Kingdom
It’s absurd that ‘Black English’ is not on the census. We should be free to claim that identity if we choose | Calum Jacobs

It’s absurd that ‘Black English’ is not on the census. We should be free to claim that identity if we choose | Calum Jacobs

The arguments have been endless and they are fatuous. Wales and Scotland stopped conflating national identity with race: why can’t England? In 2021, the then shadow justice secretary, David Lammy, asserted his Englishness on the Saturday LBC programme he hosted, only for a caller named Jean to insist that his African-Caribbean heritage disqualified him. He could be British, she maintained, but “never be English”. Jean defended Englishness as though it were a possession she would never surrender to the country’s Black populace. Lammy’s entreaties to recognise it as a civic identity were ignored, as Jean attempted to demarcate its racial boundary live, on air. After cross-party condemnation of Jean’s nativist screed, Lammy would go on to appeal for census options that would allow him, his children and other Black people building lives in England to identify as English, but the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stood firm. A spokesperson responded: “The evidence did not support a change to include Black English in England.” This was despite the ONS having recommended Black Welsh and Asian Welsh categories, with equivalent options available in Scotland. In Wales, the change followed criticism that census categories recognised Welsh identity among white respondents but not ethnic minorities; Scotland’s approach was informed by research and consultation showing that Scottishness was integral to the identities of many people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

18h ago
The GuardianDiplomacyWestern Europe
Andy Burnham says UK has ‘lost more than we gained’ through Brexit

Andy Burnham says UK has ‘lost more than we gained’ through Brexit

PM accuses Tories of burning ‘all our bridges’ and says deal he is pursuing with EU will ‘get food prices down’ Andy Burnham has said the UK has “lost more than we gained” since leaving the EU, the prime minister’s latest in a string of comments criticising Brexit. Outlining his desire to form closer ties with Brussels, Burnham accused the Conservative party of having “burned all our bridges” with the bloc after Brexit and said a new deal he hopes to secure with the EU next week will “get food prices down” and put more money in the pockets of British exporters.

8h ago
The GuardianElectionsUnited Kingdom
Andy Burnham urges Labour to ‘rearm’ for Kemi Badenoch comeback

Andy Burnham urges Labour to ‘rearm’ for Kemi Badenoch comeback

No 10 sources say PM wants party to refocus on Tories as electoral threat after prioritising Reform and Greens Andy Burnham has instructed the Labour party to “rearm” to fight the Conservatives at the next election amid concern inside government that they must take the prospect of a Kemi Badenoch-led recovery seriously. Downing Street sources said the prime minister wanted Labour headquarters to refocus on the Tories as an electoral threat after more than two years of prioritising Nigel Farage’s Reform and, on their left flank, the Greens.

1d ago
The GuardianElectionsWestern Europe
Fight the climate crisis or go for growth? There is a way Burnham can do both | Jonathan Freedland

Fight the climate crisis or go for growth? There is a way Burnham can do both | Jonathan Freedland

The environmental and economic dilemmas he faces are formidable but, with a bold plan, he could set an example for leaders around the world For politicians of the centre-left especially, it’s the great dilemma of the age. How do you do what everyone can see is essential to save the planet from boiling – even as your voters demand action to get the economy growing and to make life more affordable? Plenty of activists will tell you there’s no contradiction, that tackling the climate crisis makes economic as well as ecological sense and, in the long term, you know they’re right. But you don’t live in the long term. You’re running the government right now and facing several unavoidable, binary choices. Andy Burnham is a prime example. This week, he addressed the Cop summit in Antalya, promising “a new era of British leadership” in the struggle against global heating. It’s important to him to talk that way: his political strategy relies on shrinking the appeal of the Green party, whose electoral success earlier this year helped remove his predecessor. But talk only takes you so far. Eventually the words have to be matched by action. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

1d ago
The TelegraphHumanityUnited Kingdom
McFadden: Having a disability does not rule out working

McFadden: Having a disability does not rule out working

Young people with a disability or health condition must accept that “this doesn’t always rule out work”, Pat McFadden has said ahead of a major shake-up of benefits. The Work and Pensions Secretary will this week throw his weight behind a major review by the government’s youth unemployment tsar Alan Milburn, which will say young people should lose benefits if they refuse help to get back into work.

4h ago
The GuardianPublic PolicyUnited Kingdom
Guardian to follow lives of eight young people in their search for work

Guardian to follow lives of eight young people in their search for work

How long will it take? What challenges will they face? Series to shine light on one of biggest crises facing UK ‘The social contract is broken’: young people on feeling shut out of careers Britain is at risk of creating a lost generation. Across the country, almost a million young people – one in eight – are struggling to make the leap from school to the world of work on a lasting basis. Before the landmark Alan Milburn review, which is expected on Tuesday, the Guardian is launching a new series to chronicle the lives of eight young people battling to get a start on the career ladder.

14h ago
The GuardianHumanityUnited Kingdom
No 10 considering expanding under-25s benefits overhaul to older age groups

No 10 considering expanding under-25s benefits overhaul to older age groups

Exclusive: Plans to replace key disability benefits for young people with work and training could affect adults Downing Street is considering whether plans to replace key disability benefits with work and training for people under-25 should be expanded to older age groups, the Guardian has learned, in a move that risks reigniting Labour tensions over welfare changes. Andy Burnham and other cabinet ministers are looking at applying the idea of “participation first” to all people of working age, meaning spending billions more on support to enter the workplace while cutting or removing some disability benefits.

1d ago
The GuardianHumanityUnited Kingdom
Some young disabled people to lose Pip in Milburn plan – but can apply to local fund

Some young disabled people to lose Pip in Milburn plan – but can apply to local fund

Exclusive: Former health secretary wants to ‘tear up the old approach’, and end ongoing payments to certain under-25s Some young people with disabilities will lose their personal independence payments but will be able to apply to a local fund for short-term expenses and equipment, Alan Milburn’s review will recommend. While those with the most severe needs’ entitlement will be protected, others will be asked to apply for money for specific purposes rather than an ongoing payment.

2d ago
The TelegraphSex & Identity
Labour’s new trans law is worse for gays and lesbians than Section 28

Labour’s new trans law is worse for gays and lesbians than Section 28

There are only a few days left for the public to respond to the call for evidence on the Government’s draft Conversion Practices Bill, and those of us who consider it dangerous are doing all we can to get our voices heard above the din from trans activists. Among the legislation’s opponents is the feminist philanthropist and author JK Rowling, who this week endorsed a post on X explaining how the bill, if passed, will adversely affect lesbian and gay rights.

1d ago
Daily PostTechnology
Microsoft fixes global outage after services disruption

Microsoft fixes global outage after services disruption

Microsoft has announced that its services are fully back to normal following a major global outage that disrupted businesses, public services and millions of users across several countries. The technology company confirmed on Saturday that it had resolved the technical problem and restored access for all affected customers and regions. “We have completed our efforts […] Microsoft fixes global outage after services disruption

5h ago
The GuardianScandalHungary
Hungary seizes $19.5m in cash found buried in forests amid graft inquiry

Hungary seizes $19.5m in cash found buried in forests amid graft inquiry

Anti-corruption agency carried out searches as part of investigation into Orbán-era minister accused of taking bribes Hungary’s anti-corruption agency said on Friday it had seized cash worth $19.5m (£14.8m) buried in forests and hidden elsewhere while investigating an ex-minister of nationalist former leader Viktor Orbán’s cabinet. Miklós Seszták, Hungary’s minister of national development between 2014 and 2018, is accused of taking bribes in a scheme involving the state transport company, purchasing secondhand buses at inflated prices.

1d ago
The GuardianPublic Policy
What the choice between Chuck Schumer and Chris Van Hollen for Senate leader is all about | Bernie Sanders

What the choice between Chuck Schumer and Chris Van Hollen for Senate leader is all about | Bernie Sanders

This is not a personality contest. This is a debate about the future of the Democratic party The election for Democratic Senate leader between Chuck Schumer and Chris Van Hollen must be understood for what it is. This is not a personality contest. This is a debate about the future of the Democratic party. It is a debate about whether the Democratic party remains a top-down party dominated by billionaire campaign contributors, inside-the-beltway consultants and 30-second TV ads, or whether we can transform it into a grassroots party of, by and for the working families of our country.

1d ago
The GuardianElectionsUSA
Progressive versus moderate? Democrats deny party rift as they head into new Congress

Progressive versus moderate? Democrats deny party rift as they head into new Congress

Incoming lawmakers have more in common with each other than they have divisions, even across ideological factions Democrats who won in the midterms, including those in places previously considered off the blue map and those in Democratic strongholds, crafted their campaigns around economic populism and accountability. Lawmakers in the anti-establishment incoming congressional class have more in common with each other than divisions, even across ideological factions. Voters sent a resounding message to work on affordability and rein in the Trump administration, and Democrats across the party have many more shared goals than Republicans, who face a more existential level of discord.

8h ago
The GuardianPoliticians
Corporate Democrats are weaponizing identity politics to smear progressives | Arwa Mahdawi

Corporate Democrats are weaponizing identity politics to smear progressives | Arwa Mahdawi

House members have responded to legitimate criticism with cynicism. Let’s not have another ‘Bernie bros’ moment Before we get started, some ground rules. You are, of course, completely free to disagree with everything I have to say here. However, doing so might mean that you’re racist, homophobic and/or sexist. (Not to boast, but I have a lot of oppression cards to play.) So, you might want to tread carefully, OK? That might sound ridiculous, but I don’t make the rules: I’m just taking a page from the corporate Democrat playbook. From Haley Stevens to Hakeem Jeffries, cynically weaponizing identity politics to ward off reasonable criticism seems to be all the rage. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

11h ago
The GuardianElections
As Van Hollen wages a challenge, Senate Democrats are torn on whom to elect as their leader

As Van Hollen wages a challenge, Senate Democrats are torn on whom to elect as their leader

Maryland senator’s bid against Chuck Schumer for leadership could decide direction of the Democratic party US politics live – latest updates Ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Democratic officeholders and voters alike have been divided over whether their leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, is up to the task of taking the president on. That debate intensified on Thursday, when the Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen announced he will challenge Schumer for the post of Democratic Senate leader, which will become one of the most powerful jobs in Washington when the party takes control of Congress’s upper chamber next year.

1d ago
Irish IndependentDiplomacyEurope
Micheál Martin's big week: EU Summit, public sector pay deal and the Taoiseach's future

Micheál Martin's big week: EU Summit, public sector pay deal and the Taoiseach's future

Dublin has been the main attraction on the political stage this week as 50 world leaders came to the capital for the European Political Community summit. Micheál Martin has been enthusiastically playing host, and it appears to have largely turned out to be a positive week for the Taoiseach. The Irish Independent‘s political team of Mary Regan, Aisling Moloney and Cónal Thomas have convened to break it all down; from continued full-throated support of Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky to what kind of food the various dignitaries have been enjoying. There’s also the public sector pay deal and the Taoiseach’s political future to consider, following what has proved a very busy week indeed. The Indo Daily is part of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalismThis episode of The Indo Daily is brought to you by Indo Politics – keep up with the show on YouTube.

1d ago
The GuardianRelationships
How I survived being forced into pornography: ‘I died in that hotel room. I was a walking corpse’

How I survived being forced into pornography: ‘I died in that hotel room. I was a walking corpse’

In 2016, Mariah Rief, then 19, thought she was going to a modelling job at a hotel. Once there, she was sex trafficked. She knows of 15 fellow victims who have since died by suicide or drug overdose – and is determined to stop it ever happening again When people ask Mariah Rief about her experience as a survivor of sex trafficking, they tend to start with the Craigslist ad which led the then 19-year-old to a “modelling shoot” at the Hilton hotel in San Diego. For others, the story starts when Rief enters the lobby and meets Theodore Gyi, the “photographer”. Or after they’ve taken the elevator up to a room, Rief standing at the threshold, Gyi behind her blocking her exit – and just inside the door, the silhouette of a second man waiting. Whenever she talks about it, and whatever the questions, Rief always braces herself for blame, because, to some, it makes no sense. “You get, ‘But why did she answer that ad?’ ‘Why did she walk inside?’ and, my favourite, ‘Where were her parents?’” says Rief. “If you live in an idyllic world, it’s hard to imagine how this could happen.” The true starting point is years earlier. Rief’s beginnings, her childhood, layers of trauma and chaos, fast-tracked her to that hotel room in November 2016, believing that finally, life might be giving her a break. “It’s painful to say it but I was truly the perfect victim,” she says. “I saw that job as an opportunity. When I arrived at that hotel, I thought I was so lucky.”

19h ago
The GuardianPublic Policy
World is now in ‘age of electricity’, energy agency chief says

World is now in ‘age of electricity’, energy agency chief says

Exclusive: Fossil fuels no longer dominant energy source, IEA leader says, as summit considers electrification pledge The world has left behind the age of coal, oil and gas and is now firmly in “the age of electricity”, the world’s leading energy economist has said. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), said more than twice as much electricity generation would be added to the global economy in the next decade than in the last, as countries scramble to secure their energy supplies against fossil fuel price volatility and supply shocks, such as the Iran war.

1d ago
The GuardianSustainability
‘I spend less, that’s all that matters’: life in the world’s most electrified countries

‘I spend less, that’s all that matters’: life in the world’s most electrified countries

Owning an electric car, driving an electric motorbike taxi, riding scooters – we speak to people in Oslo, Kigali and Shanghai about their everyday routines The race to electrification has emerged as a key theme of this year’s UN climate summit: increasing the use of electricity – particularly from clean sources – has the potential to improve daily life for people around the world. The summit’s co-hosts are now trying to get countries to promise to increase their electricity use to 35% of all energy used by 2035. The global figure currently stands at 23%, but some countries are already striding ahead. As 100,000 delegates, negotiators and world leaders thrash out the details in Antalya, Turkey, the Guardian spoke to three people in Norway, Rwanda and China to find out what life looks like in more highly electrified countries.

1d ago
The GuardianPublic PolicyUSA
Mamdani and Trump agree to delay on food stamp rules that put benefit at risk for millions

Mamdani and Trump agree to delay on food stamp rules that put benefit at risk for millions

New York City mayor says deal will allow bodegas and convenience stores across the country more time to comply Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, has struck a deal with Donald Trump to secure a 90-day delay on new rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), so that bodegas and corner stores across the country have time to comply. The extension, Mamdani said, starts Friday as a result of conversations he had with Trump and Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary.

1d ago
The GuardianAI
Jensen Huang built an AI kingdom. Now he’s gone, will Nvidia’s ramparts be breached?

Jensen Huang built an AI kingdom. Now he’s gone, will Nvidia’s ramparts be breached?

CEO’s affair and resignation has brought company’s murky corporate contracts and supply chains into sharp focus Can the AI economy survive without its “central bank”? What does Jensen Huang’s fall mean for the world’s second-most valuable company, and what might a tremor in its fortunes mean for the world? Nvidia’s sky-high valuation is based on the fact that it designs and sells the advanced AI chips, called graphics processing units (GPUs), that underpin the AI economy. Without these, AI models such as ChatGPT and Claude could not be trained and would not run.

2d ago
Revista OesteEducation
Whoever tells the story can say whatever they want: the age-old art of erasing the facts

Whoever tells the story can say whatever they want: the age-old art of erasing the facts

I had an uncle, my maternal grandfather’s brother, who would always tell me and the many children in our family: “Whoever tells the story can say whatever they want.” That was because Uncle Simão, a gifted storyteller despite being illiterate and a rough-hewn man from the fields of São Bento do Sapucaí, would rarely tell his “tales”—mostly ghost stories—exactly the same way twice, even when the plot was the same.

2h ago
The GuardianScandal
Trump ‘whiplash’ on deportations putting Afghans in turmoil: ‘People already survived a war’

Trump ‘whiplash’ on deportations putting Afghans in turmoil: ‘People already survived a war’

Members of Congress and advocates warn that returning people to their home countries could be a death sentence Dozens of Afghans who are currently in the US but fear being deported back to Afghanistan along with a larger group and possibly killed by the Taliban are experiencing “fragile relief” this weekend after it appeared that the Trump administration had put on hold plans to remove them within days. Members of Congress and advocates have repeatedly warned that the deportations could effectively be a death sentence.

11h ago
The GuardianScandalEurope
Public media freedom has been eroded across central Europe. Now Czechs are rallying to protect theirs

Public media freedom has been eroded across central Europe. Now Czechs are rallying to protect theirs

Huge protest planned in Prague to oppose government’s plan to scrap licence fee, which critics say could give ministers more leverage over newsrooms Daniel Stach was an erstwhile junior international slalom kayaker when he first walked into the headquarters of Czech Television in 2010. He had answered a Facebook ad inviting viewers to a behind-the-scenes tour of his favourite programme, a current affairs show called Hyde Park CT24. He did not expect to be offered a job shortly afterwards. Stach, now 38, presents a science offshoot of that show doing long-form interviews. But he has also emerged as one of the most recognised public faces of the campaign to save the mandatory licence fees that fund the nation’s public broadcasters.

14h ago
Irish IndependentHousingHighlands & Scottish Isles
Patience in New Ross wears thin as council’s efforts to take over housing estates described as ‘unbelievably slow’

Patience in New Ross wears thin as council’s efforts to take over housing estates described as ‘unbelievably slow’

Wexford County Council (WCC) has revealed the housing estates in the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD) that it intends to ‘take in charge’ in the coming months. When an estate is taken in charge the council assumes legal responsibility and liability for maintaining public infrastructure like roads, footpaths, and public lighting.

1d ago
Irish IndependentHumanityHighlands & Scottish Isles
Rigid housing policy does not account for children with neurodivergent conditions says Wexford councillor

Rigid housing policy does not account for children with neurodivergent conditions says Wexford councillor

A mother of two boys, one of whom has “severe ADHD”, has been unable to acquire a three-bed home from Wexford County Council (WCC) due to the government’s “black and white” housing policy. Raising the issue at the November meeting of WCC, Councillor John Dwyer said the woman in question wished to relocate to be closer to her family but has been told she would only be eligible for a two-bed house.

1d ago