The Guardian

The Guardian

@theguardian.com

The need for independent journalism has never been greater. Become a Guardian supporter https://support.theguardian.com 🇺🇸 Guardian US https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com 🇦🇺 Guardian Australia https://bsky.app/profile/australia.theguardian.com

795.7K followers277 following64.3K posts

The Guardian
@theguardian.com

‘If a person isn’t conscious, they’re not saying yes’: Cynthia Erivo on her searing new film about sexual assault

theguardian.com‘If a person isn’t conscious, they’re not saying yes’: Cynthia Erivo on her searing new film about sexual assaultIn Prima Facie, she plays a rising-star barrister, well versed in defending men accused of sexual violence. Then she is raped by a colleague, and her world implodes. Erivo talks about the potential impact of the film – and how she is navigating her stratospheric success
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Our loos? They’re inspired by Milan’s Villa Necchi! The reborn planks-and-plasterboard theatre trouncing its flashy neighbours

theguardian.comOur loos? They’re inspired by Milan’s Villa Necchi! The reborn planks-and-plasterboard theatre trouncing its flashy neighboursA low-budget building by the Olympic site that was never meant to last has been given a £4m revamp full of Italian pizzazz. Now The Yard is putting bums on (heated) seats – and Ian McKellen is soon to star
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Number of UK businesses in financial distress ‘at two-decade high’

theguardian.comNumber of UK businesses in financial distress ‘at two-decade high’Administrator BTG says 738,144 firms struggling as calls grow for more support for private sector in budget * Business live – latest updates The number of UK businesses in financial distress has hit its highest level in more than two decades, as pressure grows on the chancellor to provide more support to the private sector in Wednesday’s budget. There were 738,144 businesses in “significant” financial distress in the third quarter of this year, up 1.6% compared with the same period last year, according to BTG. That is the highest level since the administrator’s closely watched “red flag” report began in 2004. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

UK officials discussing options including free movement with EU ahead of summit

theguardian.comUK officials discussing options including free movement with EU ahead of summitBusiness secretary says focus for November summit will be trade and youth mobility, but talks will also include ‘future options for relationship’ * UK politics live – latest updates British officials have begun discussions with the EU about a long-term relationship that could include a return to free movement, the business secretary has said while promising the British people “are the boss” when it comes to what the UK will accept. Jonathan Reynolds said the focus for British negotiations was the EU summit in November to seal an agreement to ease some trading restrictions and a youth mobility deal. But he said the prime minister, Andy Burnham, had made it clear he wanted to see a long-term and stable relationship with the bloc. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Two men charged with national security offences over RAF Fairford incident

theguardian.comTwo men charged with national security offences over RAF Fairford incidentOne charged assisting a foreign intelligence service and the other with entering a prohibited place, CPS says Two men have been charged with national security offences after an investigation into a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford. The Crown Prosecution Service said Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24, were both charged under the National Security Act 2023. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Tories dismiss PM’s budget ‘everyday fixes’ as little more than ‘cheaper gherkins’, and ‘an insult to families’ – UK politics live

theguardian.comTories dismiss PM’s budget ‘everyday fixes’ as little more than ‘cheaper gherkins’, and ‘an insult to families’ – UK politics liveRemoving tariffs on more than 100 products, including gherkins and baked beans, was one of five measures announced this morning before tomorrow’s budget Good morning. Prime ministers tend to get judged by posterity by the decisions they take on the big issues of the day. But little things matter too in the here and now, often disproportionately, and Andy Burnham, more than his predecessors, has decided that what he calls “everyday fixes” are worth focusing on too. Alexandra Topping wrote a good analysis about the pluses and minuses of this approach last week. But she filed too soon, because this morning Burnham has announced another five. These are all changes contained in tomorrow’s budget but being announced today – presumably because John Healey will have bigger surprises for MPs tomorrow, and the Treasury wants these measures to get some media attention today because tomorrow they will be overshadowed by another story. • Making higher tax-free mileage rates permanent and increasing support for nurses, care workers, self employed builders and others who drive for work. The chancellor is locking in the 55p per mile rate for the first 10,000 business miles and increasing the rate above 10,000 miles from 25p to 35p per mile, supporting around 3 million employees and self-employed people who use their own vehicle for work. • Extending parental pay to more than 150,000 additional parents per year, including self-employed dads and partners who have previously missed out, giving eligible parents two weeks of support currently worth up to £194 a week so they can spend more time with their child. Rampant borrowing, soaring taxes and an utter inability to cut spending mean inflation has already wiped out the benefits of Burnham’s ‘everyday fixes’. Shoppers face rising costs at the till and families are struggling to make ends meet, but Burnham’s plan is cheaper gherkins. This is an insult to families hammered by Labour’s tax rises. Part of the genius with this stuff is the negative polarisation, when people start attacking perfectly sensible and helpful – albeit small – changes. Actually I want longer Post Office queues please! Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Burnham in danger of sleepwalking into climate disaster, say campaigners

theguardian.comBurnham in danger of sleepwalking into climate disaster, say campaignersLetter to PM argues series of wrong choices on North Sea oil, Heathrow, EVs and heat pumps will scupper net zero plans Andy Burnham will “sleepwalk” into climate disaster if he fails to get a grip on a series of important policies whose combined impact could scupper plans to reach net zero, campaigners have said. Big decisions on North Sea drilling, the expansion of Heathrow airport, electric vehicles (EVs) and grants for heat pumps are awaiting decisions from ministers. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

UK government met 137 businesses over AI datacentres – but no environmental groups

theguardian.comUK government met 137 businesses over AI datacentres – but no environmental groupsInvestigation finds dozens of ministers and civil servants moved into AI roles as government developed datacentre expansion plans The UK’s policy on datacentres and AI was developed without any meetings with environmental groups, an investigation has found. The nonprofit organisation Spotlight on Corruption said a “considerable revolving door” shaped the government’s development of “AI growth zones”, a central plank of the former prime minister Keir Starmer’s AI and economic policy, with 38 ministers, senior civil servants and special advisers hired to positions in AI companies between July 2024 and September 2026. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Kylian Mbappé dropped by Chinese brands for ‘offending national sentiments’

theguardian.comKylian Mbappé dropped by Chinese brands for ‘offending national sentiments’* Video appears to show football star refer to Mao Zedong as a ‘dictator’ * Dongpeng Beverage and Mengniu end deals with France captain Kylian Mbappé was dropped Tuesday by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which the French football superstar apparently joked about former leader Mao Zedong. In China jokes about Mao, the country’s founding leader who died in 1976, are considered disrespectful and remain a social taboo. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Landowners could scupper free Land Registry access plans, campaigners warn

theguardian.comLandowners could scupper free Land Registry access plans, campaigners warnProposed lifting of paywall would reveal who owns vast majority of land in England and Wales Plans by the government to give the public free access for the first time to information on who owns England’s land are at risk of being scuppered by landowners, campaigners have said. On Tuesday the government set out its proposals to lift the paywall on the Land Registry, arguing that opening it would help the UK build more houses, protect nature and improve strategic planning. The plans will be open to public consultation for eight weeks. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Super-rich get ‘double dividend’ from causes and costs of climate crisis, report finds

theguardian.comSuper-rich get ‘double dividend’ from causes and costs of climate crisis, report findsOxfam says investing by rich in disaster recovery widens inequality and gives incentive to delay climate action The world’s wealthiest people are not just profiting from the polluting causes of climate breakdown, they are also increasingly cashing in on the catastrophic consequences, according to a study by Oxfam. The global equality organisation has found that the richest 0.1% of the world’s population are heavily invested in disaster preparedness, recovery and reconstruction – a market that is projected to grow from $70bn to $92bn a year by 2029. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

UK shop price inflation ‘highest since 2024’ as retailers struggle to limit price rises

theguardian.comUK shop price inflation ‘highest since 2024’ as retailers struggle to limit price risesBritish Retail Consortium says ‘dam is starting to break on the huge wave of costs’ being kept from consumers Shop price inflation has risen to the highest level in two and a half years, according to the British Retail Consortium, which warned that “the dam is starting to break” when it comes to retailers trying to limit price rises for customers. The lobby group said shop price inflation was 2.1% year on year in October, a sharp rise compared with 1.4% in September, and an indication that retailers were beginning to pass on the rising costs of energy and food ingredients since the Middle East conflict broke out. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

‘Digital hostile environment’: AI secretly being embedded across Home Office, report claims

theguardian.com‘Digital hostile environment’: AI secretly being embedded across Home Office, report claimsTasks from determining asylum seekers’ ages to border surveillance now involve AI, says Open Rights Group AI has been embedded across the Home Office in near-total secrecy, reinforcing the so-called hostile environment for immigration, according to research. Tasks from the detection of potential sham marriages to determining the age of asylum seekers and checking through the contents of phones of new arrivals now involve use of the technology, according to a report by Open Rights Group (ORG). Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Harry Kane claims men’s Ballon d’Or to end England’s 25-year wait for winner

theguardian.comHarry Kane claims men’s Ballon d’Or to end England’s 25-year wait for winner* Alexia Putellas picks up women’s award for third time * England captain acclaimed in London ceremony Harry Kane is the Ballon d’Or winner for 2026, the first Englishman to win football’s most prestigious individual trophy in 25 years. Two hours into a lavishly excitable ceremony at the Palladium Theatre in London, Kane’s name emerged from the final envelope to wild cheers inside the auditorium. The women’s Ballon d’Or, awarded moments earlier, was won by Alexia Putellas of London City Lionesses, a third Ballon, five years on from her first in the colours of Barcelona. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Carers allowed to earn over the weekly limit without losing out as ‘cliff-edge’ abolished in the budget

theguardian.comCarers allowed to earn over the weekly limit without losing out as ‘cliff-edge’ abolished in the budgetControversial mechanism that hit unpaid carers with huge penalties to be scrapped following Guardian investigation The controversial rule that led to unpaid carers being punished with penalties amounting to thousands of pounds is to be abolished, the Guardian can reveal. The chancellor, John Healey, is to announce a new digital taper system for the so-called carer’s allowance in Wednesday’s budget, effectively ending what is regarded as one of the UK benefit system’s most feared and unfair administrative practices. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

Ballon d’Or 2026: updates from London as Lamine Yamal wins men’s young talent award – live

theguardian.comBallon d’Or 2026: updates from London as Lamine Yamal wins men’s young talent award – live⚽️ Ballon d’Or updates from 8.45pm GMT/4.45pm ET ⚽️ Ceremony returns to England in nod to Stanley Matthews ⚽️ Women’s power rankings: will a new winner be crowned? ⚽️ Send your thoughts to Daniel via email Talking of UK winners, it’s absolutely insane to think that, in 1968, three winners – Denis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best – played in the same Manchester United team. Now, though, despite the money in the Premier League and with the exception of Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes, the best attackers are found in La Liga and Ligue 1. That looks likely to change only in the next generation and only if English clubs develop their own elite talent DAZN have just interviewed Michael Owen, since the sad death of Kevin Keegan the only surviving British winner. If I’m honest, he did pretty well to get that, which isn’t to decry his efforts – in Rome and Cardiff especially – but the best player in the world? Not for me, Clive. Continue reading...
The Guardian
@theguardian.com

‘Autonomy, not flesh’: RAF chief outlines AI drone-powered future

theguardian.com‘Autonomy, not flesh’: RAF chief outlines AI drone-powered futureAir Chief Marshal Harv Smyth says technological advances will reduce need for human involvement in warfare A future Royal Air Force will rely on “autonomy not flesh”, its chief said on Monday as he described plans in which Typhoon fighters are accompanied by four AI-enabled drones capable of patrolling hundreds of miles in the distance. The technological shift would revolutionise warfare, limit the role of military personnel “towards the outside” and ease the pressure on recruitment, Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth said in a speech in London. Continue reading...