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The Guardian's Luke Harding is live now replying to your questions - from his new book on Trump and Putin to the state of the war in Ukraine, his explusion from Russia and his career as a foreign correspondentAsk a question: log in or sign up hereIscoBusquet asks: The report into Russian political interference in the UK stated that the security services were not given permission to look into any interference in the Brexit referendum because of political sensitivity. Is it possible for them to revisit this?Luke:We never got to see the confidential annex attached to the Russia Report. (If someone has a copy, please send to me Guardian!) But yes, it revealed that none of the state agencies investigated Russian interference in the run-up to the 2016 referendum. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives are especially keen to examine what happened.We know the following: that the Kremlin backed Brexit, seeing it as a way of weakening the UK, politically and economically, and estranging it from its European partners. Russian trolls posted thousands of pro-Brexit messages, as well as inflammatory stories about immigrants. I suspect there was espionage too. We need to find out what happened in order to safeguard elections in future.Yes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says North Korea is sending another 50,000 troops, in addition to the 12,000 who took part in the 2024-2025 battle for Russia's western Kursk region. Their arrival will enable the Kremlin to send additional forces to the eastern Donbas, Putin's main target, where intense battles continue.Over the past year and a half North Korean soldiers have experienced modern warfare. They have learned about surveillance and kamikaze drones, which saturate the frontline. This hard-won knowledge could be employed in a future peninsula conflict with South Korea. Continue reading...

10bn for housing with 60% social renting is at odds with PM's previous call for programme to be spent entirely on social homesMinisters are looking at a range of support" for vulnerable households struggling with rising bills, the energy secretary has said ahead of tomorrow's Ofgem announcement on the energy cap level.PA Media reports forecasts have indicated that households could see their bills rise by another 4% to the equivalent of 1,729 a year, as the widened conflict in the Middle East sparked by Donald Trump's war on Iran continues to push up wholesale energy prices. Continue reading...

Local media report discovery by German investigators after attempted attack on cargo and military logistics hub

US president has been obsessed with restricting the ability to vote by mail, despite using it himself. Plus why we are still so fascinated with Meg from the White StripesGood morning. The US supreme court has sided with Donald Trump in his effort to crack down on mail-in voting, though it is unclear whether or not his administration will be able to take action before the midterm elections in November. The court's justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to lift an injunction that a judge in Massachusetts had placed in June on an executive order issued by the president. But a second injunction remains in place, and the ruling leaves room for legal challenges.Trump has repeatedly likened voting by mail to cheating, despite his own use of it and overwhelming evidence that the system is secure. In March he ordered the government to create a state citizenship list" of eligible voters, requiring that mail-in ballots only be delivered to people on that list. He also directed the justice department to prioritise investigations and prosecutions of state and local election officials who issue ballots to people deemed ineligible to vote in federal elections.What did the dissenting judges say? In a blistering dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the decision needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections".How have rights organisations reacted? The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Derrick Johnson, said: Let this ruling be a reminder that democracy is never, ever guaranteed. We have to fight for it, we have to fight to keep it and we have to protect the rights we do have within it ... they are trying to do everything they possibly can to make it difficult for you to vote."How has Canada reacted? The country's prime minister, Mark Carney, told reporters that Trump's announcement was largely expected. It's not a surprise for us that the US would take some form of reprisal to our response to their unjustified tariff," he said. Carney has vowed to match the American tariffs dollar for dollar", and said Canada could not accept any proposed trade deal that would weaken French language protections. Continue reading...

Lake Ontario lays on the border between the two countries, with New York state on one side and Toronto, the capital of Canada's Ontario province, on the other

Self-described misogynist and his brother, Tristan are playing role to generate income from online attention, Miami court filing saysAndrew Tate rented supercars and borrowed a yacht to appear uberwealthy" and generate online engagement, his lawyer has said.Legal representatives for the self-described misogynist social media influencer and his brother, Tristan Tate, have claimed the pair deliberately portray themselves as far wealthier than they are because their business model depends on online attention". Continue reading...

UK PM to join delegation of leaders lobbying US president to step up supplies, as Kremlin accuses Burnham of wanting to continue war

Local governments working with firms also linked to fossil fuel giants, analysis of federal lobbying disclosures showsCongressional lobbyists working for fossil fuel firms that are exacerbating the climate crisis are simultaneously representing more than 300 local governments raising funding to recover from climate damage, according to a new analysis.The research by F Minus and Make Polluters Pay reviewed congressional lobbying disclosures for the first quarter of 2026, finding that another 568 local governments hired fossil fuel lobbyists to work on non-climate related issues during that time, some of which included climate adjacent issues, like healthcare and home insurance. Continue reading...

Another driver in critical condition as result of collision after man failed to stop for officers in Stratford-upon-AvonA man has died and a woman is critically injured after a police pursuit in Warwickshire.Police said officers tried to stop a black Audi on Birmingham Road in Stratford-upon-Avon at 5.23pm on Monday but the vehicle failed to stop and drove towards the A46. Continue reading...

There has been a 76% increase in under-construction gas-fired projects amid frenzy' to build more datacentersThe US has surged ahead of China in the building of new gas-fired power generation, largely to feed a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that is adding vast amounts of planet-heating emissions, a new analysis has found.For decades, China's rapid economic growth has seen it outpace the US in the addition of new gas power generation but a recent frenzy" in datacenter construction for AI has reversed this, said Global Energy Monitor (Gem) in its new report. Continue reading...

Maine Coon named Erebus Anomaly breaks previous record of 28 toes held for over two decades after overcoming illnessA Maine Coon kitten from Wisconsin overcame a bout with pneumonia to break a 24-year-old world record for most toes on a cat, setting the new mark at 29.Erebus Anomaly's unique story received US national media attention on Monday, when ABC's World News Now program recounted what one of his owners called a miraculous" recovery from illness in his infancy - and the subsequent Guinness World Record that he clinched. Continue reading...

Republican nominee to face Democrat Annie Andrews in midterm after rushed campaigns for Lindsey Graham's seatReese Boyd, the chair of the Horry county Republican party marveled on Monday afternoon at how little time Senator Darline Graham and Representative Ralph Norman have had to campaign for the Senate primary: This is not the normal way of things."This is something that usually lasts at least, you know, the better part of a year," he said. People normally spend the better part of 18 months getting ready for it. Who knows? This may be the right way to do it? Who knows." Continue reading...

Trump ally should cut budget deficit rather than try to suppress bond yields, says billionaire Stanley DruckenmillerScott Bessent's attempt to calm the bond markets and push down America's cost of borrowing have attracted a rebuke from the US Treasury secretary's former mentor.The billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who worked with Bessent at George Soros's fund management firm in the 1990s, has warned that his former pupil is courting danger by trying to suppress US bond yields. Continue reading...

The flagship environmental project has achieved negligible' results. Why so little progress, and what are the risks as the planet gets hotter? Plus, fusion dance pioneer Usha Jey Don't get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIndia set out to expand its forested areas a decade ago. Last week, however, we learned that the forest cover programme had barely taken root when the government's auditors released their findings of the flagship Green India Mission. The shortfall of 97.57% from India's initial pledge in 2014 was stark enough to alarm the government's own auditor, who described the progress as negligible".Yet if you ask the government about forest cover, you'll get a far greener picture. Continue reading...

Man arrested after being restrained and pinned down by heroic' bystanders, Victoria police say

Bills have jumped 42% in England over the past 10 years - and that excludes the cost of breakfast clubs and extracurricular activitiesParents of primary schoolchildren in England will pay 42% more for after-school childcare this year than they did 10 years ago, with annual bills now exceeding more than 2,800 a child in some parts of the UK.A Guardian analysis of data collected by the children's charity Coram has revealed that the annual cost of after-school care for children aged 5 to 11 in England has risen by 5% over the past year to 2,636. Continue reading...

Rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and illness, especially among older people, could drive up premiumsEurope's intense heatwaves could hit insurers' earnings as companies face a rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and worsening health conditions, the rating agency S&P has said.While a long summer of extreme heat will have increased drought and wildfire-related claims, the rating agency said there would also be fallout for life and health insurers, and for the reinsurers who provide financial protection to insurance companies. Continue reading...

UK prime minister likely' to attend UN general assembly, after meeting Zelenskyy and saying supply problem is fixable

Bitcoin rises above $80,000 for the first time since May amid uncertainty over US fiscal plans

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Royal commission recommended First Nations healing centres in 2021 but the Indigenous health service says the state has done nothing' to fund it

NSW parole authority says Mohommed Farhat followed extremist ideology of antisemitic character' while separately judge ruled Fuk Israel' was political comment'

Australia's biggest oil and gas company recorded a 27% increase in sales profit to $1.67bn in the six-month reporting period

Bathla Group says softening sales and impacts from federal government's May budget contributed it being placed in voluntary administration

Australian consumer watchdog says it received hundreds of complaints about the US-based dating site and its memberships

Coles full-year results show that despite gaining market share over past 12 months, sales fell over four weeks of competitor's collectables campaign'

In Indonesia's Kalimantan, fires have ravaged tens of thousands of acres, with suffocating smoke reaching Malaysia and putting Singapore on alertSuwadi can barely see five metres in front of him when he steps outside his home in Indonesian Borneo.Each breath, he says, feels like smoking a cigarette". Continue reading...

In her first media interview since the June incident, Leah Stewart, 34, says her thoughts while being bitten were of her one-year-old daughterAn Australian woman who lost an arm after a shark attack at a beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs has recalled the moment she came face-to-face with the monster".Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher and mother of a one-year-old daughter, was attacked by a large shark while on a morning swim at Coogee beach on 13 June. Continue reading...

Eight costumes spanning Queen frontman's career will feature in a free trail developed with his former fianceeEight famous costumes worn by Freddie Mercury, including the outfit featured on the cover of Queen's debut album and the catsuit from the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, are to go on display at the V&A in London this autumn to mark what would have been the singer's 80th birthday.Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, a free trail developed with Mercury's former fiancee and close friend Mary Austin, will run from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. Austin is lending seven of the looks, which span Mercury's career from the 1970s to his final years. Continue reading...

NHS has target of eliminating the cancer by 2040, but up to 4 million eligible women are not up to date with screeningMillions of women in England who have missed cervical screening appointments will be offered free home testing kits on the NHS.The move comes amid concerns that only two-thirds of women attend in-person cervical screening appointments when asked to do so, leaving as many as 4 million women not up to date. Continue reading...

A day after suggesting other projects were more important to Victorians, Ben Carroll says train line will go ahead but at a slightly reduced cost

Three boys, two aged 14 and one aged 13, on bail and yet to enter a plea after alleged assault in Sydney's east

Ombudsman Iain Anderson says he is concerned police had no clearly understood definition of racial profiling'

After repairs to Hirosaki Castle in Aomori prefecture, officials employed a technique known as hikiya to move the structure more than two metresTo chants of so-re, so-re", about 1,800 people came together in northern Japan over the weekend to pull a 360-tonne castle keep a little more than two metres closer to its original resting place as part of ongoing renovations.The keep - a fortified tower within a castle - had to be moved to repair a wall that was damaged in a major earthquake. Continue reading...

Far-right leader echoes ally Donald Trump and says operations to track down illegal immigrants' should begin this week, amid earthquake aftermathColombia's far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced a crackdown on immigrants, ordering authorities to detain and deport people who are in the country irregularly or have committed crimes.In office for just over two weeks, the millionaire former lawyer made the announcement on Sunday as the country continued to grapple with the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on 10 August that killed more than 300 people and destroyed more than 30,000 homes. Continue reading...

Death rate three to four times higher than among general population blamed on isolation of those leaving care

US Southern Command has struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two accused of trafficking drugsThe US military has launched a deadly strike on a vessel in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people accused of drug trafficking.On Monday, US Southern Command (SouthCom) announced it executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific". Continue reading...

About 40% of 10bn from Affordable Homes Programme will now go on types of housing such as sheltered and shared ownershipAndy Burnham has backtracked on his proposal to rip up the government's housing plans and boost social home building.Ministers laid out plans on Monday to spend an initial 10bn from the 10-year Affordable Homes Programme on a mix of subsidised housing types in England, in line with the Starmer government's policy. Continue reading...

Blaze near Crawley destroyed 140 vehicles, damaged nearby businesses and led to power cuts on Saturday nightA man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire tore through a car park used by people flying from Gatwick airport, destroying about 140 vehicles.The blaze erupted at Caldyne business park near Crawley, about eight miles from the airport just after 9pm on Saturday. Images showed vehicles on fire and enormous plumes of smoke rising close to overhead power lines. Continue reading...

Washington launches campaign to isolate Tehran but it is unclear whether it will apply measures to ChinaThe US has threatened to impose severe sanctions against any country or entity maintaining economic ties with Iran, hoping to achieve with economic measures what military means have so far failed to do.It is unclear, however, how far the Trump administration is prepared to go in confronting China, Iran's biggest trading partner, which has signalled its resistance to US economic pressure to cut off links with an ally. Continue reading...

Cost of living has hit campaign group while multinationals are threatening to squeeze out independent breweriesFor centuries, the wooden real ale pump has been the hallmark of a good British boozer. But now problems are brewing for the proper pint, as the Campaign for Real Ale has seen its membership sink to an eight-year low and its accounts show it is firmly in the red, making an 800,000 loss last year.Real ale is a traditional draught cask beer, a living" product that is produced and stored in its cask. It differs from a cold, fizzy lager, in which the yeast is killed and carbon dioxide is added. Real ale contains live yeast so it continues fermenting until it is served. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen, who was attending meeting in Kyiv, advises high-profile women to embrace self-acceptanceSick of getting unsolicited beauty tips on social media, even while she's in a war zone, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen rebuffed a male cosmetic surgeon's offer to fix" her and advised women in similar situations to embrace self-acceptance.Frederiksen, a Social Democrat and Denmark's second female prime minister, posted on Instagram that she had just returned from a trip to Ukraine where she was subjected to air raid sirens when she found a message proposing some help with her appearance. Continue reading...

Coalition of the Willing condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, pledges to work on constraining Russia's war chest'Here's the full quote from Kremlin's Peskov, via AFP:Britain is methodically and regularly throwing oil on the fire and methodically and regularly plotting schemes to prevent even the slightest progress in the peace process." Continue reading...

Restore Britain leader paid up to 1,476 an hour by platform, which critics say is financially incentivising inflammatory contentRupert Lowe, the leader of Restore Britain, is on course to earn as much from the social media platform X as he does from his salary as an MP, after surging income from posts that include demands for mass deportations.Lowe has earned 932 an hour for his posts on X, formerly Twitter, since the start of the year, according to his own declarations in the register of MPs' financial interests, which detail how many hours he has spent on X for each payment he received from the platform. Continue reading...

Spokesperson for Duke of Sussex says he remains an active and avid supporter' of African Parks' missionThe Duke of Sussex has stepped down from the board of a major African wildlife charity that had been at the centre of a human rights controversy.Prince Harry's spokesperson confirmed he was no longer a trustee of African Parks, which admitted last year that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in the Republic of the Congo. Continue reading...

As well as pledging military help and diplomatic backing, the prime minister could be useful in dealing with the USSince moving into Downing Street in July, Andy Burnham - a foreign policy neophyte - has expressed strong support for Ukraine. But on Monday he saw the bitter human cost of the war up close for the first time, visiting Kyiv during his first international trip as prime minister.The occasion was the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave awards to the families of fallen soldiers. Relatives wept, hugging Ukraine's president. Photos of young men in their prime were shown on a giant screen. Continue reading...

The host also discussed the rise of forgotten monthly subscriptions for anything from dishwashers to litter boxesOn the Sunday night episode of his HBO show, John Oliver discussed the rise of subscription-based business models across the worlds of music, film and TV, beauty, food, cleaning services and more.Subscriptions are now basically everywhere and many of us don't even realize how much we spend on them," Oliver said. Continue reading...

After higher prices for winter kick in, energy debt unpaid for more than 30 days likely to rise, says Energy UKHouseholds in Great Britain could owe their energy suppliers as much as 7bn by the end of the year after higher gas and electricity prices forecast for the winter kick in, an industry group is warning.Domestic energy debt and arrears climbed by about 500m over the past year to a record 6bn at the end of June as the Middle East conflict continued to stoke rising gas market prices. Continue reading...

Virus has already caused catastrophic losses in pinnipeds in South America and sub-Antarctica, particularly among pups

Downing Street repeats calls for social media platforms to review content and policies as companies urged to uphold legal dutiesLee Anderson, the Reform UK MP for Ashfield, is first up to speak. He says young people in his constituency - and in many areas across the country - have absolutely no chance" of securing council housing or social housing. He says that Reform's government would put British people first" in a housing system he characterises as being unfair.Reform UK will use a press conference that is due to begin at 11am to announce its pledge to prioritise British-born workers under 35 when allocating social housing. We will bring you the key lines from the conference, fronted by deputy leader, Richard Tice, and the party's chairman, Lee Anderson, here. You can watch it live: Continue reading...