Latest articles

The GuardianScandal
Food grown in illegal West Bank settlements being sold in Australia as ‘produce of Israel’

Food grown in illegal West Bank settlements being sold in Australia as ‘produce of Israel’

Analysis by human rights organisation Global Echo shows 85 of 132 shipments over eight years contained more than US$5m of organic dates grown in settlements Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Millions of dollars of food grown in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has been shipped to Australia labelled as “produce of Israel”, a new analysis of trade data has shown. The human rights legal organisation Global Echo has analysed commercial documents and official trade data from the Israeli government and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showing at least US$5m (A$7.2m) of organic dates grown in illegal settlements across the West Bank have been shipped to Australia over the past eight years.

16h ago
The GuardianElectionsUSA
Sports owners bet big on Republicans. What does their defeat mean for US sports?

Sports owners bet big on Republicans. What does their defeat mean for US sports?

A Democratic sweep has changed Washington’s balance of power. But from gambling legislation to stadium subsidies, both parties have helped build the system that enriches American sports’ billionaire owners Before a single vote was cast this election cycle, the technocrats and oligarchs who own American sports had already voted. Pro sports owners put more than $100m into this cycle, according to Front Office Sports. But Tuesday night was a referendum not just on Donald Trump and Maga policies, but on the puppeteers who pull America’s strings. The people voted, and the owners lost. Before anyone frames this as a rescue, a word about the rescuers. Democrats are the instrument for ending Maga, and they are also the other face of the same coin. Think Republicans are behind all of our ills? Think again. New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, placed his state’s first legal sports bet in 2018. Illinois governor JB Pritzker signed sports betting into law a year later. New York’s mobile sportsbooks went live under Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, with the state taking 51% of the revenue. Pritzker and Hochul both won Tuesday, and all of them are Democrats. In some of the biggest betting markets in the country, the bookmakers’ most reliable partner has been a Democratic statehouse.

2h ago
The GuardianScandalUSA
Tech barons cozied up to Trump. What will they do in newly blue America?

Tech barons cozied up to Trump. What will they do in newly blue America?

Democrats’ success was helped by popular anger over tech, AI and the super rich – life for billionaires could become much more difficult The photo of Silicon Valley centi-billionaires at Donald Trump’s inauguration – Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg, front row and side by side – now looks like a hitlist for a blue Congress hellbent on making life difficult for billionaires. The picture symbolized at the time the bending of the knee by the richest men in the world to its most powerful, a symbiosis of the ultra-rich. Already unfathomably wealthy, Silicon Valley tycoons believed a Maga-sized public shift to the right would enrich them even more. It did. For several years, while Trump seemed an everlasting kingmaker and AI’s expansion seemed unstoppable, their fortunes ballooned to values beyond comprehension. Elon Musk’s surpassed $1tn.

3h ago
Valor EconômicoPoliticiansUSA
Party still searching for a viable candidate for the White House

Party still searching for a viable candidate for the White House

Before all the votes in this U.S. midterm election had even been counted, analysts and politicians were already debating which Democrats had emerged strengthened for the 2028 presidential race. Some names were already in circulation, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, while others are now being seen as potential contenders to test, such as Senator James Talarico and Governor Gina Hinojosa, who made history in Texas.

4h ago
The GuardianElections
Both sides of the Atlantic sense more hope: voters are drawn to the ‘politics of love’ | Alexander Hurst

Both sides of the Atlantic sense more hope: voters are drawn to the ‘politics of love’ | Alexander Hurst

Trump’s rout could be part of a democratic spring that began in Hungary. But will it extend to the French elections next May? Hungary, Brazil, Serbia, and now the US. So far this year, when their hand has been held to the stove, voters have chosen what the Texas senator-elect James Talarico, the new face of the US’s Christian left, campaigned on as a “politics of love”: a society where we aren’t at each other’s throats, or a police state at ours. Is it any surprise that when there is clarity about the choice on offer, voters have started to shrink away from a vision fuelled by billionaire wealth and runaway inequality? Away from oligarchic rule and unapologetic corruption, connivance with aggression, expansion, colonialism and war; environmental degradation and the surrender of the human spirit to a reality mediated by the algorithm. Alexander Hurst writes for Guardian Europe from Paris. His memoir Generation Desperation is out now 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.

17h ago
The GuardianElectionsUSA
Not just Congress: Democrats’ blue wave washes over state legislatures across US

Not just Congress: Democrats’ blue wave washes over state legislatures across US

Democrats gain hundreds of seats in historic victories – and party set to embark on aggressive legislative spree The blue wave that swept Republicans out of power across the United States didn’t just strike Congress. In Tuesday’s midterm elections, Democrats gained hundreds of seats in state legislatures across the country, under-the-radar victories that may have major implications for life in America. Though ballots are still being counted, the party’s success appear to be historic – Democrats haven’t won full control of government in Arizona in 60 years, in Pennsylvania since the 1990s, and Wisconsin since their wipeout in 2010. In Michigan and Minnesota, they regained trifectas they lost after the 2024 election, while in Texas, they will control the state house for the first time since 2002.

2h ago
Daily PostElections
2027 Elections: INEC seeks UK support on cybersecurity, technology, voter education

2027 Elections: INEC seeks UK support on cybersecurity, technology, voter education

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has called for stronger collaboration with the United Kingdom to strengthen Nigeria's electoral system ahead of the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, made the appeal when he received the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Peter Vowles, and his delegation during a courtesy visit to the commission. […] 2027 Elections: INEC seeks UK support on cybersecurity, technology, voter education

18h ago
The GuardianDiplomacyThames Valley
British lawyer Dapo Akande elected to UN top court in big diplomatic win

British lawyer Dapo Akande elected to UN top court in big diplomatic win

Akande joining the international court of justice comes a decade after previous British judge failed to get re-elected A British judge has been elected on to the UN’s international court of justice, in a big British diplomatic victory that comes almost 10 years after a previous British judge failed to get re-elected. Dapo Akande will now serve as one of the ICJ’s 15 judges for a minimum nine-year term.

1d ago
The TelegraphScandalUnited Kingdom
Bosses risk jail if staff use wrong pronouns under trans law

Bosses risk jail if staff use wrong pronouns under trans law

Bosses risk jail if their staff use the wrong pronouns to address trans people under the Government’s new conversion therapy law, campaigners have warned. The contentious draft Conversion Practices Bill states that company directors and leaders of other organisations can be held liable if one of their employees tries to suppress or change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, its opponents have said.

16h ago
The TelegraphScandalSouth East England
Braverman: Hampshire police chief must quit over Nowak failings

Braverman: Hampshire police chief must quit over Nowak failings

Suella Braverman has said Hampshire’s chief constable should quit over his force’s “failings” in handling the murder of student Henry Nowak. The former Tory home secretary, now the Reform UK MP for Fareham, and Colin Sutton, Reform’s policing adviser, have called on Alexis Boon to step down, alleging that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has “lurched from scandal to scandal under its current leadership”.

1d ago
The GuardianHumanitySouth West England
Palestine Action activists used similar tactics to the suffragettes, court told

Palestine Action activists used similar tactics to the suffragettes, court told

Lawyers tell supreme court decision to proscribe organisation as terrorist group is attack on freedom of speech and protest Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist group after using tactics similar to – or less extreme than – the suffragettes, the UK’s highest court has heard. Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action, is challenging last year’s decision to proscribe the direct action organisation, placing it alongside groups such as al-Qaida and Boko Haram.

20h ago
The GuardianHistory
Kemi Badenoch says Africans should apologise for slavery. She should read a history book

Kemi Badenoch says Africans should apologise for slavery. She should read a history book

Enslavement’s devastating impact on Caribbean and African nations means that cross-diasporic solidarity has become central in addressing its legacy Don’t get The Long Wave delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Despite reports that the UK attempted to keep reparations off the formal agenda for the Commonwealth summit attended by King Charles and the UK prime minister, they are in the air. British Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch is among those detractors who have argued that it is African nations who should apologise for the transatlantic slave trade. It may seem like a spectacular case of whataboutery (it is) but it also touches on an enduring tension in some Black communities surrounding African involvement in capturing and enslaving people. This week, I speak to two historians to sort fact from fiction. When discussing slavery, we should be “honest about the whole history”, Kemi Badenoch wrote in a recent post on X. Her statement comes after months of mounting pressure on Britain’s monarchy and politicians to formally apologise for its role in the transatlantic slave trade, and offer reparations to affected Caribbean nations. Badenoch continued: “If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who captured, sold and profited from the trade?”

22h ago
The GuardianPublic Policy
Thursday briefing: ‘A dignified life for all must be the north star’: economist Isabella Weber answers your questions

Thursday briefing: ‘A dignified life for all must be the north star’: economist Isabella Weber answers your questions

In today’s newsletter: From the cost of living to the AI bubble and the fight against fascism, Weber answers Guardian readers’ questions on how to build a fairer economy and world Good morning. As stateside celebrations die down, the Democratic party will be forced to confront a (deceptively) simple question: now what? Their colossal midterm successes will curtail Trump’s power during his remaining time in office, but the battle to shape the Democratic platform heading into next year’s presidential primaries is only just getting started. While rallying against Trump is one thing, sustaining support by making a tangible difference to the lives of voters struggling with the cost of living is another. It’s a challenge for progressive parties facing down the far right across the world. UK | Cocaine has overtaken heroin as the biggest cause of drug deaths in England and Wales, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. France | Hundreds of thousands are expected to march in demonstrations across France as trade unions call for a nationwide strike expected to extend to hospital workers, air traffic control, the post office, teachers and rail staff. Commonwealth summit | The UK has agreed to “structured dialogue” in the next year with Caribbean nations affected by the slave trade and its legacy, Commonwealth leaders have said. US news | Pete Hegseth is increasingly looking like he may take the fall for Republicans’ midterm losses, despite Donald Trump’s vocal support for his defense secretary, even calling him a champion of war. Ebola | A British healthcare worker with Ebola is being evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the UK for medical treatment, it has been confirmed.

5h ago
The GuardianHumanityEngland
Labour to end cooperation with Greens in 11 councils over ‘Zionism is racism’ policy

Labour to end cooperation with Greens in 11 councils over ‘Zionism is racism’ policy

Deals with six Green council groups that have condemned the motion are to remain in place, says Labour UK politics live – latest updates Labour is to stop cooperating with the Green party in 11 councils across England following an ultimatum for Greens in local government to disown a new policy stating that “Zionism is racism”. A statement from Labour said coalitions or other deals with Greens would stop in all local authorities where they had refused to condemn the policy motion passed at their party conference last month, which also called for a single Palestinian state in place of Israel.

2d ago
The GuardianImmigrationUnited Kingdom
How irrational are Labour’s plans for migrant workers? To find out, read the small print | Frances Ryan

How irrational are Labour’s plans for migrant workers? To find out, read the small print | Frances Ryan

Despite the partial U-turn on care worker visas, the staff who keep the system afloat still face a hostile environment If you want to see the senselessness of Britain’s immigration debate play out in real time, look no further than the crackdown on care workers’ visas that came to a head this week. As part of its plans to force low-paid migrant workers to wait 15 years before settlement in the UK, the Home Office has been in a battle behind the scenes for the past six months to controversially include care workers in the policy. This is despite the social care system already facing critical staff shortages and the number of British citizens and immigrants taking the jobs dwindling. Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist

6h ago
The GuardianImmigrationEngland
Why the UK settlement rule changes are unjust | Letters

Why the UK settlement rule changes are unjust | Letters

Readers question the motives and fairness behind Shabana Mahmood’s new immigration proposals This week, the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced that many migrants on skilled worker visas earning below £50,000, outside the social care sector, will have to wait for 10 years to “earn” settlement (Shabana Mahmood softens immigration plans in face of cabinet backlash, 2 November). This blatantly overlooks the contribution of those whose work cannot be measured in high salaries. I arrived in the UK in September 2022 to pursue a master’s degree, for which I paid more than twice the fee that domestic students pay. Since then, I have worked for two organisations, including the Institute of Development Studies, a leading institution for development research. I have paid my taxes and met the financial requirements of successive visas, paying substantial fees twice, first for a graduate visa and then for the skilled worker visa, including the immigration health surcharge. I would like the government to explain what more I must do to demonstrate that I have “earned” the right to settle.

19h ago
The GuardianImmigrationUnited Kingdom
UNHCR criticises UK’s 30-year ‘earned settlement’ plans for refugees

UNHCR criticises UK’s 30-year ‘earned settlement’ plans for refugees

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood maintains rigorous rules for those who arrive on small boats The UN refugee agency has said a government plan to make refugees wait up to 30 years before they get permission to settle in the UK “raises significant concerns”. The strategy was unveiled earlier this week by Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, as she announced a softening of aspects of her immigration plans, but kept some of the rigorous rules drawn up by her office last year.

21h ago
The GuardianImmigrationWestern Europe
These cruel new plans to ‘stop the boats’ show the government completely misunderstands refugees like me | Anonymous

These cruel new plans to ‘stop the boats’ show the government completely misunderstands refugees like me | Anonymous

Harsher settlement rules wouldn’t have stopped me fleeing hell in Syria to reach the UK. Now I’m here, they will just pile trauma on top of trauma I am a refugee and I am in shock at the home secretary’s announcement that people like me will now have to wait up to 30 years before they can apply for settlement in the UK – a sixfold increase on the current time period. It feels like a pile-on at a time when asylum seekers and refugees are already facing a barrage of hostility in this country. Even before the announcement, refugees felt under siege. With the withdrawal of the right to ever become citizens for those of us who have “made a dangerous journey” and with frequent reviews of our refugee status to check if we are still deserving enough of protection or if we should be deported, our security in the UK is more vulnerable than ever. As told to Diane Taylor 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.

1d ago
The GuardianHistorySouth West England
Repairing the legacy of slavery: what are campaigners calling for?

Repairing the legacy of slavery: what are campaigners calling for?

Debate has focused on cash payments, but advocates say reparatory justice must address much more than money The debate in much of the British media over reparations has focused almost entirely on cash payments: how much Britain might owe for its role in transatlantic enslavement, who should pay and whether people today should be held responsible for the actions of those who came before them. But some campaigners warn that this narrow focus overlooks the broader goals of the reparations movement.

2h ago
The GuardianElectionsUSA
The great sleeping giant of America has awakened | Robert Reich

The great sleeping giant of America has awakened | Robert Reich

The real question in my mind is whether Democrats will take advantage of the new age of populism The great sleeping giant of the US has awakened, taken a hard look at what’s become of the nation, and roared a thunderous “NO!” What occurred on Tuesday was not – as some are saying – the inevitable midterm swing of the pendulum against the party in power. Texas hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1988. The last time Kansas elected a Democratic senator was 1932. Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now in the US and in the UK

17h ago
The GuardianDiplomacyNorth West England
Has Britain finally pulled off a diplomatic victory in the row over reparations?

Has Britain finally pulled off a diplomatic victory in the row over reparations?

A formal apology over slavery without direct reparations will give the UK the moral high ground but no legal liability A beach in Antigua is not the ideal place for a prime minister to be photographed less than a week after his first budget where the focus was the crushing cost-of-living crisis. Add to the beachside cocktail a row about reparations for the British role in the slave trade, one of the favoured punching bags of the right-wing press, and it becomes easy to understand why Andy Burnham was wary of even attending the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.

6h ago
The GuardianPoliticians
UK and Caribbean to begin ‘dialogue’ within next year after slavery reparations call

UK and Caribbean to begin ‘dialogue’ within next year after slavery reparations call

Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister says there was a consensus at Commonwealth summit on way forward The UK has agreed to “structured dialogue” in the next year with Caribbean nations affected by the slave trade and its legacy, Commonwealth leaders have said. Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister, said there was a “consensus” in discussions between governments about a way forward on slavery reparations at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm).

12h ago