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The GuardianHumanityCanada
Little Bird: this beautiful, moving Canadian drama will fill you with visceral anger

Little Bird: this beautiful, moving Canadian drama will fill you with visceral anger

There is dignity and tenderness to this drama based on the real story of the Sixties Scoop – the scandal of First Nations children who were forcibly taken from their parents and adopted by white familiesHere’s one you’ll like: a man comes home to find his wife handcuffed to the wall and his young children missing. They have been taken by child protection services due to the lack of a fridge in the house, which is treated as a sign of neglect. When he confronts law enforcement officials outside, they beat him to death. Decades later, one of the children, now adopted into a Jewish home in Montreal, goes looking for the family she lost, risking the collapse of her new life to do so. I never said it was a joke. Although it turns out there was a fridge, behind the house.Watching Little Bird (18 August, 9pm, Sky Atlantic), I was reminded that TV is capable of more than mere entertainment, something we lose sight of when we think of it as a purely profit-or loss-making enterprise. I felt the visceral anger and sadness of this story of a First Nations woman caught between cultures, robbed by forces beyond her control and stonewalled by the authorities. Set in Canada, the attitude, if not the events, feel shamefully familiar.

2h ago
The GuardianScandalUSA
Trump asks ⁠US supreme court to allow construction of White House ballroom

Trump asks ⁠US supreme court to allow construction of White House ballroom

Administration ‌asks justices to keep appeals court ​decision to halt work on hold ​while it ​prepares ‌a full ​appealThe Trump administration has asked ⁠the ⁠US supreme court to allow construction of the president’s controversial $400m ⁠White House ballroom to proceed after ​an ‌appeals ‌court work to halt.In a case testing Donald Trump’s presidential authority, the Washington-based US ⁠court of ​appeals for the District of Columbia circuit ruled last week that the controversial ‌project lacked the necessary approval from US Congress.

13h ago
The GuardianScandalUSA
Trump’s spying on left-wing groups recalls J Edgar Hoover’s Cointelpro | Ken Roth

Trump’s spying on left-wing groups recalls J Edgar Hoover’s Cointelpro | Ken Roth

The FBI from the 1950s to the 1970s tried to infiltrate and discredit leftist organizations. Trump seems to be repeating that sordid practiceIt is bad enough that the Trump administration a federal criminal when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent killed Renee Good as she was turning her car from him in Minneapolis the past January. Just before the shooting, Good and her partner had been observing and against ICE officers.Instead, it turns out the administration has been progressive and even groups that have been involved in protests against Donald Trump’s sweeping deportations, according to newly released government documents.

15h ago
The GuardianPoliticiansSouth East England
First Thing: Court files show how federal agents spied on anti-ICE protesters | Martin Belam

First Thing: Court files show how federal agents spied on anti-ICE protesters | Martin Belam

Undercover agents infiltrated meetings, private chats and local events. Plus Wile E Coyote returns to the big screenGood morning. The extent to which federal law enforcement targeted political opponents and peaceful organizers has been .Internal investigative files reveal that the Department of Homeland Security launched a sweeping surveillance operation against anti-ICE protesters, major labor unions and left-leaning advocacy groups – sending undercover agents to infiltrate community meetings and issuing administrative subpoenas to seize financial records. The documents show that DHS investigators obtained financial records of unions and non-profits, as part of an inquiry into “domestic terrorist financing”.What did undercover government agents do? They infiltrated community meetings, joined private activist Signal chats and surreptitiously recorded audio at local events – including a “resistance skills training” at a public library and a sparring session at a church gym, where an agent accidentally dropped his recording device. Agents posed as activists and actively engaged participants by offering to help with “direct-action” protests.How have activists responded? Emilia González Avalos, the executive director of Unidos MN, a Minneapolis social justice non-profit group, said: “I believe that this is a clear attempt to intimidate us, to punish and politically repress disagreement and difference. And that is not the America that we have built through hundreds of years. And it’s definitely not the America that we are organizing for.”Where did the attack take place? The attack took place in Sevastopol, the biggest city in Russian-annexed Crimea. ​The regional governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said a woman had been arrested on suspicion of ⁠assassinating Shageyev on behalf of Ukrainian special services.What has Poland said about Russian activity there? A Russian plan to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out, . Donald Tusk said it was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” had sought to attack a US citizen on the territory of another Nato country.

20h ago
The GuardianScandalUSA
US conducted ‘mass spying campaign’ against leftwing groups and anti-ICE protesters, records reveal

US conducted ‘mass spying campaign’ against leftwing groups and anti-ICE protesters, records reveal

DHS sent undercover agents to meetings and infiltrated chats of groups opposing Trump’s immigration crackdownNewly disclosed records reveal the US government extensively spied on prominent leftwing organizations and on protesters as part of a vast operation into groups opposing the immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year.Internal investigative reports show the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent undercover agents to community meetings in the Twin Cities and New York, infiltrated Signal chats and obtained financial records of mainstream unions and left-leaning nonprofit groups.

1d ago
The GuardianScandalUSA
Surrogate mother who fled to Texas gives birth to baby with severe heart defect

Surrogate mother who fled to Texas gives birth to baby with severe heart defect

McKenna West initially agreed to an abortion after diagnosis, but then fled to state where abortion is illegal and broke contact with biological parents, attorney allegesA surrogate mother who traveled to Texas, where abortion is illegal, claiming she was pressured to end the pregnancy after the discovery of a severe heart defect, gave birth on Wednesday to a baby boy.The child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, confirmed the birth through their lawyer, while denying they forced McKenna West, who is from Alaska, to undergo an abortion, the Texas Tribune .

2d ago
The GuardianImmigrationUSA
People detained at Mississippi ICE facility say they were sickened by gas leak and denied medical care

People detained at Mississippi ICE facility say they were sickened by gas leak and denied medical care

Facility also had no air conditioning for two days amid extreme heat, according to one of the people detainedPeople detained at an overcrowded federal immigration camp in Mississippi were sickened by a mystery gas leak, then denied medical care when they complained of headaches and other symptoms, it has been alleged.A lengthy power outage at Adams county detention center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility run by the private operator , also left it without air conditioning for two days this week, according to one detainee who contacted the Guardian through his family.

15h ago
The GuardianHistoryUSA
How the mob took Hollywood: the story of organized crime and the movies

How the mob took Hollywood: the story of organized crime and the movies

Hollywood Crime Story: The Mob Takes Over the Movies looks back at how criminals insinuated themselves in the film business“From the foundation of Hollywood, organized crime is there.” So claims Tom Patterson, producer and director of new three-part documentary series, Hollywood Crime Story: The Mob Takes Over the Movies.Organized crime’s connection to the film industry actually predates Tinseltown, being present for the foundation of the medium itself, when inventor Thomas Edison sicced his hired goons on competitors in an attempt to maintain total control over early motion picture technology. As covered in Hollywood Crime Story, this resulted in said competitors – mostly Jewish businessmen from the east coast – fleeing westward and establishing the town and studio system that would become synonymous with movies as we know them.

23h ago
The GuardianDiplomacyLondon
Concerns grow over increased global ties with Taliban in Afghanistan

Concerns grow over increased global ties with Taliban in Afghanistan

Campaigners fear deeper diplomatic contacts are undermining demands for improvements in human rights The Taliban in Afghanistan have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses., an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare.

3h ago
The GuardianHumanityAfghanistan
Five years into Taliban rule, Afghanistan plunges into a state of collapse – visualised

Five years into Taliban rule, Afghanistan plunges into a state of collapse – visualised

The stark figures show that since the hardliners seized power in 2021, women have been erased from public life, poverty is forcing hopeless families to marry off their daughters and healthcare is on the brink of failure‘I married off my daughter so that none of us would die of hunger.” Malika hesitated before saying the words aloud. The 46-year-old lives with her husband and four youngest children (three girls and a boy) in Chihil Dukhtarān, one of Kabul’s poorest neighbourhoods.Poverty pushed the family to the brink before Malika and her husband made what they describe as the hardest decision of their lives: marrying off their eldest daughter, Maryam, for 200,000 afghanis (£2,270). She was still a teenager.

2h ago
The GuardianWar & Conflict
Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy warns Egypt of food supply threat caused by Russian strikes in Black Sea

Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy warns Egypt of food supply threat caused by Russian strikes in Black Sea

Kyiv says exports to Egypt under threat from Russian attacks; Moscow dismisses idea of Black Sea ceasefire. What we know on day 1,635Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Egyptian counterpart Abdel ⁠Fattah al-Sisi of possible food supply shortages caused by Russian strikes on ⁠cargo vessels in the Black Sea. “Ukraine is one of ⁠the largest food suppliers to ​Egypt and to ‌a significant number ‌of other countries in Africa ‌and the Middle East. These supplies are now under serious threat because of Russia’s war,” Zelenskyy said on X. “We are already seeing ‌a significant reduction in supplies, and this could have very ​unpleasant consequences due to rising prices and shortages,” he said, adding that the two countries had agreed to ⁠work on solutions.Russia on Friday dismissed the idea of a ceasefire ‌with Ukraine in the Black Sea, saying it saw no grounds for “half-measures” that would ​offer a respite to the other side. In a statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of “brazen acts of terrorism” against shipping, while making no ⁠mention of Russia’s own attacks. “We view these attacks (by Ukraine) as a ​deliberate policy aimed at destabilising civilian ‌shipping in the Black ‌Sea region,” Zakharova said. “At the same time, we see no signs of improvement in the situation and, consequently, no grounds for half-measures that merely grant the Kyiv regime a temporary breathing space.”Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in recent weeks against commercial ships in the ​Black Sea, driving world grain prices higher. Zakharova’s comments followed an earlier Ukraine proposal for both sides to halt their attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea in an apparent attempt to reopen a crucial grain corridor. Kyiv is said to have made the offer through a third party.Russia has intensified its online disinformation campaign in Poland, using a dispute between Warsaw and Kyiv over second world war massacres ⁠to inflame tensions between Ukraine and ⁠its key ally, Polish ​officials and researchers say. The messaging, mostly posted on social media accounts in Polish, also tries to foment anger in Poland against refugees, as opinion polls show support for the far-right growing ahead of closely contested ⁠parliamentary elections in 2027.The long-running second world war dispute between Poland and Ukraine centres on the Volhynia massacres, in which Poland says Ukrainians killed about 100,000 Poles between 1943 and 1945. The dispute intensified after ⁠Zelenskyy named an army unit after insurgents who perpetrated the massacres, prompting hard-right president Karol Nawrocki to strip his Ukrainian counterpart of a top Polish ​honour in June.Russian authorities acknowledged Friday that some regions face new petrol shortages, as Ukraine continues to attack the country’s oil refineries to blunt Russia’s capacity to pursue the war. Russia has shut down one big refinery at Orsk – about 1,300km (810 miles) from the frontline – for six months after it was attacked this week. “The situation remains tense in several regions of the country regarding fuel supplies to service stations,” the government said in a social media post. Oil companies are “taking the necessary measures to increase deliveries to the most vulnerable regions”, it said.Russian jet-powered drones have struck a home in northern Ukraine, killing a 29-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son. This attack comes after the United Nations reported that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion. At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 wounded last month. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones have targeted Russian infrastructure, including a major port north of Moscow.Romania found ⁠a second drone in national ⁠territory on ⁠Friday, ​in the south-eastern village ⁠of Plauru near the Danube border with ⁠Ukraine, the defence ​ministry said ‌on ‌Friday, after a ‌low flying drone undetected by radar systems crashed earlier. The ministry did not specify ‌the origins of the drone. ​The Nato state has seen Russian drones repeatedly breach ⁠its airspace over the ​last four ​years.Russian president Vladimir Putin told North Korean ⁠leader Kim Jong-un that Moscow and Pyongyang were cooperating across all areas to ensure ⁠regional ​security and stability, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Saturday. Putin said in a message ⁠to Kim marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule that he was confident Russia and ⁠North Korea would continue “constructive joint work” on bilateral and international ​issues, KCNA said. Kim had ‌visited Pyongyang’s Liberation ‌Tower on Friday to pay tribute to Soviet soldiers who fought ‌Japan in the second world war, KCNA reported.

6h ago
The GuardianWar & ConflictUkraine
Ukraine ‘offering Russia deal to halt attacks on civilian ships in Black Sea’

Ukraine ‘offering Russia deal to halt attacks on civilian ships in Black Sea’

Kyiv reportedly suggested mutual agreement in attempt to reopen crucial grain corridor Ukraine has proposed a deal with Russia for both sides to halt their attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea in an apparent attempt to reopen a crucial grain corridor, Reuters reports.Kyiv is said to have made the offer through a third party. Moscow has yet to respond, the news agency added. The busy waterway is a key export route for both Russia and Ukraine, used to transport grain and other vital foodstuffs worldwide.

1d ago
The GuardianScandalIslamic World
Israeli military plans to transfer law enforcement in occupied West Bank to police

Israeli military plans to transfer law enforcement in occupied West Bank to police

Palestine’s vice-president calls plan ‘flagrant violation of international law’ and a step towards full Israeli annexationIsrael’s defence minister wants to transfer law enforcement powers for Israelis in the occupied West Bank over to the police, a plan that Palestine’s vice-president described as a “flagrant violation of international law” and step towards full Israeli annexation.Israel Katz announced that he had ordered the military to draw up plans for the handover of responsibility for policing Israeli settlers amid domestic and international criticism of .

14h ago
The TelegraphCrime & SafetyUnited Kingdom
Petition to keep Pc Harper’s killers in jail hits one million

Petition to keep Pc Harper’s killers in jail hits one million

The petition set up to stop the early release of Pc Andrew Harper’s killers has passed one million signatories. Thames Valley Police Federation, where Pc Harper was an officer, announced the milestone three weeks after The Telegraph revealed that two of his killers, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, were eligible to be released early from their 13-year jail sentences for his manslaughter.

23h ago
The GuardianScandalAustralia
Nepo babies and exclusive clubs: the ties binding young Liberals with the conservative Catholic ecosystem

Nepo babies and exclusive clubs: the ties binding young Liberals with the conservative Catholic ecosystem

Icac hearings delve into links between Catholic Schools NSW and the Reformers, a shadowy group of rightwing Liberal operativesGet our , or The right are fond of criticising elites: inner-city elites, Canberra elites, university elites, public service elites.Just ask the Liberal leader, Angus Taylor, and Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, who regularly rail against elites.

17h ago
The GuardianElectionsUSA
WNBA condemns ‘bad-faith’ efforts to fuel transgender player debate

WNBA condemns ‘bad-faith’ efforts to fuel transgender player debate

League says no immediate eligibility mattersTwo former NBA players declared for 2027 draftUnion says players will not be ‘political pawns’The WNBA on Wednesday criticized those trying to create a narrative about transgender women playing in the league.“There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,” a league spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement, hours after an anti-hate task force met virtually and discussed a variety of topics, including social media vitriol and transgender athletes.

1d ago
The GuardianClimate
El Niño may peak at the worst time for the Amazon – and it should worry us all

El Niño may peak at the worst time for the Amazon – and it should worry us all

Delay to rainy season in forest already damaged by human-driven heating could trigger powerful ‘Godzilla’ El NiñoAs a supercharged climate scorches and deluges , the Amazon is bracing for a drought that strikes fear into the hearts of forest defenders and food producers alike. But it should worry even more of us.Scientists are of El Niño will occur at the worst possible time for the world’s biggest tropical rainforest: the end of the dry season between October and December, when rivers are at their lowest and undergrowth is most likely to be tinder dry. This will be a period of extreme vulnerability for the forest, which plays a globally important role in stabilising the climate and irrigating crops.

22h ago
The GuardianClimateBrazil
‘Everyone is scared’: flood-hit Porto Alegre braces for another El Niño

‘Everyone is scared’: flood-hit Porto Alegre braces for another El Niño

Two years after southern Brazil’s worst climate disaster ravaged the city, and with poor areas still recovering, many fear official neglect has left them exposed once againIn the backstreets of Porto Alegre, a state capital in southern , you can still see signs of the devastating flood that swept through the city two years ago: scattered debris, waterlogged homes and destroyed businesses.In May 2024, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and displaced . The neighbourhood of Sarandi was one of the , with water levels reaching up to 5 metres above normal, completely submerging many of its streets.

1d ago