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The dark lord - or someone dressed like him - said the technology would aid the empire in tracking rebel scum'A man dressed as Darth Vader appeared to poke fun at San Diego officials for using Flock Safety automated license plate readers at a city council meeting this week, a stunt that comes as the company faces growing backlash linked to spying concerns.The man, whose real identity remains unknown, masqueraded on Thursday as the Star Wars villain at a San Diego public safety committee meeting. Continue reading...

Erik Slavin says he was dismissed for insubordination after objecting to potential censorship in wake of furor sparked by reported conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln

A report released by thinktank Cap argues the deployment of the National Guard failed to have a measurable impact on crime, despite costing billionsThe Center for American Progress (Cap) received a letter from Donald Trump's lawyer threatening a $5bn lawsuit unless the liberal research organization retracts a report criticizing the effectiveness of the president's National Guard rollout.The report released 13 July argues that the National Guard deployment in Washington DC, Memphis and Los Angeles failed to have a measurable impact on crime in these cities despite an estimated cost of $1.7bn. The report looks at the falling rate of crime in cities without a National Guard intervention and concludes that they are not statistically different from the rate of decrease in those that had the intervention, noting that violent crime began falling well before Trump took office in 2025. Continue reading...

Chief justice signs temporary order to permit work while court considers emergency appeal from administrationThe US supreme court has allowed Donald Trump to continue construction of his controversial White House ballroom for now, temporarily pausing a lower court order that would halt much of the project.Supreme court chief justice John Roberts signed a temporary order on Friday, permitting work to continue on the planned White House addition - a top priority of the president - while the court considers an emergency appeal from Trump's administration. Continue reading...

European regulators have imposed billions in penalties on US technology companies due to privacy, competition and digital market rulesThe Dutch data protection authority has fined Uber 825m ($966m) for deactivating driver accounts through automated systems without adequately informing them, according to a 17 August decision.The penalty would be the second-largest issued yet under Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Continue reading...

Closing arguments could come on Monday as prosecutors seek murder conviction over deaths of three young childrenLindsay Clancy's defense in her murder trial rested on Friday after calling witnesses to testify about the ailing mother's mental state and attempts to seek help before she killed her young children.The defense wrapped more quickly than some expected given that the prosecution rested their case on Monday. Continue reading...

Asking people to weigh in on adoption of different categories in move that will sow confusion and create access challenges, say expertsThe Trump administration is asking for public feedback on changes to the ways it recommends vaccines - likely opening the door to greater access challenges and confusion, experts say.In a notice published by the health and human services (HHS) to the Federal Register on Friday, officials say they are now seeking comments from the public about the current categories for vaccine recommendations, which so far fall into routine, risk-based and shared clinical decision-making. Continue reading...

David Campanale seeks damages after what he says was organised campaign against his faith in Sutton and CheamHow much is a career in politics worth? The Liberal Democrats, despite admitting claims of religious discrimination, say about 22,800. A former Lib Dem candidate claims 790,000.It is a question before the Central London county court after David Campanale argued that discrimination against his Christianity cost him his political career in a civil case against the party. Continue reading...

UN secretary general has said UN faces imminent financial collapse' due to unpaid contributions from member statesThe Trump administration has started the process to transfer $725m to the United Nations, a congressional notification seen by Reuters showed - a move aid experts said was a welcome step towards paying billions in dues owed.There was no immediate response from Washington DC to questions about the reasons for the payment from an administration that has slashed funding to many UN agencies and blasted the global body for not living up to its potential. Continue reading...

Premier Ben Carroll says $230m would be earmarked for 10 public dental clinics to operate on a walk-in basis

Experts say more must be done to adapt to changing climate, after two trains derailed within 24 hours during a recent heatwaveRailway companies are racing to prepare for another brutal summer next year, as a developing El Nino could see 2027 break more heat-related records.Britain's railway system has already been under stress from extreme heat this summer, with several operators reducing timetables and train speeds. Continue reading...

MPs receive 858 Harry Styles concert tickets, Chelsea flower show tickets worth 1,839 and 3,432 of hospitality at Brit awardsMPs have been accused of failing to learn their lesson over freebies after taking almost 400,000 of hospitality to concerts, sport matches and other events this year, with Louise Haigh, Lucy Powell and Wes Streeting among those accepting tickets.Despite the previous outcry in 2024 over Keir Starmer accepting football tickets and gifts of clothing, MPs appear to have been declaring hospitality since the start of the year on a greater scale than previously seen. Continue reading...

Pima county figures show highest number of monthly migrant deaths in two years as critics condemn US policyAccording to newly released data from the medical examiner's office in Pima county, Arizona, the remains of 19 migrants, including children, were recovered along the Arizona-Mexico border last month.The figure accounts for the highest number of monthly deaths in that area since 2024 and brings the number of total remains found to 73 this year, 14 more than the same time period last year.This article was updated on 21 August 2026 to correct the name of Octavio Fuentes. Continue reading...

ICE charter carrying more than 160 Haitian nationals landed in Cap-Haitien, after temporary protection status was revokedThe first deportation flight to Haiti since the US supreme court upheld Donald Trump's power to strip 350,000 Haitians - and others - of a key type of legal status in the US landed in the troubled nation on Thursday.The flight was carrying more that 160 Haitian nationals and landed in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city, aboard an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) charter. Continue reading...

Appeals court slashes judgment to $1.5m in a significant legal victory for the rightwing Infowars founderA Texas appeals court has slashed the $50m judgment to $1.5m against Alex Jones, founder of the rightwing platform Infowars, over falsely calling the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut a hoax.The ruling does not affect a $1.4bn judgment against Jones in Connecticut, but is a significant legal victory for Jones after he and his company, Free Speech Systems, were found liable for damages for claiming the mass shooting didn't happen. Continue reading...

First responders also rescued flood-stranded people after storms unleashed heavy rains in the US north-eastResidents in Delaware's capital and on Long Island, New York, were picking up the pieces on Friday after tornadoes touched down during sudden storms that battered the north-eastern US with heavy rains and left dozens of people stranded in their cars during flash flooding.In Atlantic Beach on Long Island, the long peninsula that stretches out into the ocean to the east of New York City, images posted on social media showed a large funnel cloud over the water and small buildings torn apart at a beach club. Continue reading...

Sources say US navy is working to rename carrier originally planned to honor second world war sailor Dorris MillerThe Trump administration has been accused of delivering a slap in the face" to US military veterans after reports that a navy aircraft carrier set to honor a Black war hero may, instead, be named after Donald Trump.The US navy had previously announced that the carrier under construction would be called the USS Doris Miller, in tribute to a sailor celebrated for his heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor in the second world war. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. See all our UK politics coverage hereAfter Emily Thornberry's call for the government to ban goods from the occupied West Bank (see post at 11:05), Peter Beaumont and Quique Kierszenbaum report on how Israeli settler attacks in areas designated for a future Palestinian state and currently under direct Palestinian control have almost doubled since 2025.They wrote:According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in 2026 have taken place in the so-called Areas A and B - placed under Palestinian Authority governance in the 1995 Oslo accords.The report, The Next Frontier, Violence by Israeli Civilians in Areas A and B, describes the rapid shift" in violence and pressure exerted by the government, military and settlers on Palestinians ... from Area C into Areas B and even A".No 10 North is putting more power into every postcode across the country so communities can unleash and unlock their own potential.I'm bringing together mayors from different political parties to work on these challenges, because people deserve problem-solving rather than point-scoring.The days of Westminster hoarding power are over.This government has kickstarted the biggest transition of power and resources in a generation, taking it from Whitehall and putting it back in the hands of local communities. Continue reading...

Audio recording of US vice-president apparently made at New York fundraiser and shared with Canadian PressLeaked audio from a private event has reportedly captured the US vice-president, JD Vance, mocking Canada for apparently capitulating in a trade deal and taunting the prime minister, Mark Carney, for trying to out-tough" Donald Trump.The recording, which was reportedly made at a fundraiser and shared with the Canadian Press, comes in the last stretch of a difficult negotiation in which the US president has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on Canada. Continue reading...

Police investigating after two cars set alight in attack caught on CCTVFirebombs were thrown at supercars outside a wedding venue in Birmingham, setting two alight and prompting guests to sprint out of the building.West Midlands police said they were investigating the incident, which happened in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham at around 8.30pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Late actor in May said beauty brand cut off its relationship with her after she spoke out about postpartum depressionThe beauty brand Neutrogena has acknowledged making its former ambassador Hayden Panettiere feel unsupported during a very difficult time" - alluding to when the late Hollywood actor said the company severed ties with her after she spoke about enduring postpartum depression (PPD).Neutrogena issued a statement addressing the situation four days after the 36-year-old actor was found dead at an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina. Continue reading...

Joint statement issued after IDF said it will not pursue criminal investigations into April 2024 strike that killed seven humanitarian workersBritain, Australia and Canada have called the decision of the Israeli military authorities not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of aid vehicles in Gaza shameful". The strikes killed seven humanitarian workers from the US-based World Central Kitchen (WCK) organisation.WCK staff from the three countries were among the casualties of the attack, which prompted global outrage. Continue reading...

Attorney general considering appeal after justice Desmond Fagan knocks back terror order request for Mohommed Farhat who wrote Fuk Israel' on cars

David Elliott and Eleni Petinos believe they were brought down by their own party. The Icac hearing has given them a chance to set the record straight

Germany seeking to extradite suspect from Romania over guns it is feared could have been used in assassinationsGermany is seeking to extradite a suspect from Romania over the discovery of an underground stash of weapons in a forest near Berlin that German media reports have linked to Russian intelligence.Two weeks after German authorities found a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport, the interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, confirmed federal prosecutors had opened an investigation related to the secret cache of guns on suspicion of preparing a serious act of violence that threatens national security". Continue reading...

Judge orders payment within seven days towards legal costs in failed case over alleged unlawful information gatheringThe Duke of Sussex and six other high-profile claimants must make a 9.54m interim payment by 4pm on 28 August towards the Daily Mail publisher's legal costs after losing their high court case over allegations of unlawful information gathering, a judge has ruled.Associated Newspapers Ltd strongly denied the claims made by Prince Harry and co-claimants including Doreen Lawrence and Elton John. Continue reading...

Activists who targeted bank in Burnley were found guilty in June of causing damage exceeding 200,000Five Palestine Action activists who vandalised a Barclays branch in Burnley will not be sentenced as terrorists, a judge has ruled.Dubbed the Barclays five, Brendon O'Hagan, 28; Amanda Kelly, 31; Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31; Mohammed Malik, 28; and Alma Yaniv, 70, were all found guilty in June of causing damage exceeding 200,000, after breaking windows and throwing red paint at a branch of Barclays Bank in Lancashire in August 2024. Continue reading...

Many males are returned even if they have been trafficked but Home Office must now consider new legal guidance

Pre-tax earnings slump at chef's food and media group after one-off costs including for a new cookery schoolJamie and Jools Oliver have paid themselves a 1.5m dividend - more than 40% down on last year - after profits at their cookery and media empire almost halved.Sales at Jamie Oliver Holdings remained broadly steady at 28.4m in 2025, 160,000 less than in the previous year, as a strong performance at the group's own restaurants, franchise business, cookery schools and TV productions offset a decline in royalties, licensing and endorsements. Continue reading...

Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a weekAirbus has reportedly bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series strikes over its chief executive's return-to-the office orders.The world's largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. Currently, staff are able to work remotely for two. Continue reading...

Business owner Assim Alkhawaja was arrested by ICE as he dropped off Lyft passengers at a military base. Now he's stuck in a terrifying fight to stay in the USDeep within the bowels of San Diego's federal courthouse, Assim Alkhawaja sat on the floor outside a nondescript office, waiting to be called for his ICE-mandated immigration appointment. He stared straight ahead, his posture tense, his face a mask.The hallway was brown, as was the carpet. Above Alkhawaja's head hung a framed stock photo of a waterfall. A few paces away, official government signs encouraged people without legal status to self-deport. Leave on your own terms," they read, in several languages. Claim a free flight and an exit bonus for each member of your family." Continue reading...

The tabloid boasted in a now-deleted article that they found White and promised to reveal her secret new life'The Daily Mail newspaper secretly tailed and photographed a woman in Detroit and then published an article and photographs falsely accusing her of being former The White Stripes drummer Meg White, even after she told the newspaper it had mistaken her identity, multiple sources have told the Guardian.The rightwing British tabloid quietly removed the article and photographs, first published on 6 August, from its website last week. The Mail did not issue a correction or editor's note explaining the removal. Continue reading...

UK Foreign Office condemns use of national security law to convict activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tungTwo Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China's deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 have been found guilty of incitement to subversion" in one of the most high-profile cases in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed its national security law in 2020.Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power", a press summary handed out to reporters said. The defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, with sentencing expected at a later date. Continue reading...

With plentiful jobs and community support, one Mexico City neighbourhood has become a haven for those who have lived much of their lives in the USWith its wide avenues lined with tall palm trees, its quaint cafes and old-school cantinas, as well as the mix of English and Spanish spoken on the street, the Tabacalera neighborhood in downtown Mexico City has a certain US feel - so much so that it is has become known as Little LA.The nickname is about more than appearances, however. In recent years, this corner of the metropolis has become a haven for many Mexicans deported from the US, particularly those who spent years or decades living across the border and for whom Mexico feels like a foreign country. In Little LA, they have found a more familiar place to belong. Continue reading...

Art of international significance planned for 17m redevelopment of museum whose closure sparked uproarWorks by Tracey Emin, Steve McQueen and Olafur Eliasson have gone on display at a new contemporary art gallery and museum in north-east England which aims to show works of international significance.The Light is a 17m redevelopment of a museum in Durham that closed 10 years ago to local uproar. Continue reading...

Volume of goods sold in stores and online dropped 0.5% in July, ONS says

Downpours break records and cause transport chaos, evacuations and deaths, as people get trapped inside vehiclesSouth Korea and Japan were hit by extreme rain late last week and into this week. On 13 August in the city of Chiba near Tokyo there was a record-breaking 115mm of rainfall in just one hour, while the nearby city of Sakura broke its own record with 97mm in one hour. Local authorities issued a level 5 emergency warning for heavy rain, the highest alert level and the first time one has been issued since the system was implemented in May.More than 100,000 households were asked to evacuate, with more than 20,000 in the Chiba prefecture left without power, while thousands of people were stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport. Thirteen people have been confirmed dead, at least three of whom were found trapped inside their vehicles. One person is still missing. Continue reading...

Film emerges as France says it has stopped 185 small boat events' in three months since new 660m deal with UKFootage has captured the moment French police officers clashed with people on a beach in northern France as the authorities tried to intercept a dinghy attempting to reach the UK.Men wearing lifejackets appear to throw objects at the police to try to keep them away from their dinghy. The officers then use Pava spray before slashing the inflatable boat with a knife. Continue reading...

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Vladmir Teslov, 27, charged after allegedly seeking to provide information about Ukrainian forces to Russian intelligence services'Australian police have charged a man who allegedly joined the Ukrainian military and sought to provide information about its activities to people he suspected were Russian agents.Vladimir Teslov, a dual Russian-Australian citizen, appeared in court on Friday after the Australian federal police (AFP) charged him with an attempted foreign interference. The offence carries a 20-year prison sentence. Continue reading...

July data shows total public debt was 2.98tn, or 94% of GDP - up 96bn on a year earlier

David Elliott tells inquiry of branch stacking and death threats as Catholic Schools NSW sack boss after appearance

Report says violence is moving from Israeli-controlled areas to those earmarked for a future Palestinian stateViolent Israeli settler attacks in the two areas of the occupied West Bank under direct Palestinian rule have almost doubled since 2025, as settlers pursue a self-proclaimed great settlement revolution" in the very heart of the territory earmarked for a Palestinian state.According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in 2026 have taken place in the so-called Areas A and B - placed under Palestinian Authority governance in the 1995 Oslo accords. Continue reading...

Church director tells parliamentary inquiry reporting by Nine newspapers a complete lie'

Decade-long study finds stark gender difference in outcomes of people with heart diseaseMillions of men with heart disease have a higher risk of developing and dying from cancer, according to a decades-long study.The biggest drivers behind male cases were smoking, obesity and drinking too much alcohol, researchers said, with the link most pronounced in lung and oesophageal cancers. Continue reading...

National Trust's Holnicote estate says restored wetlands and rivers offer proof of resilience to drought, wildfires and floodingAerial footage of an estate in Somerset has revealed the benefits of rewilding land in the face of extreme weather brought about by the climate crisis.The area of the National Trust's Holnicote estate where rivers have been returned to their natural courses and wetlands have been restored have remained green and lush during the five heatwaves across the summer. In contrast, the surrounding countryside has become parched and brown. Continue reading...

Pacific fleet launched missile drills near what Moscow calls the Kuril Islands but Japan regards as its Northern TerritoriesJapan has criticised missile tests carried out by Russia's navy around the disputed islands visited by Vladimir Putin last week amid continuing tensions between the two countries.Russia's Pacific fleet said on Thursday that it had fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, the largest island in the disputed archipelago, simulating an attack on enemy vessels, hitting all of its targets approximately 300km away. Continue reading...

Jenny Ware, member of inquiry that recommended wagering advertising ban, says public health crisis' demands stronger response from major parties

Chester zoo resident, 23, back to her usual feisty self' after electrochemotherapy for tumour in her jawA 15ft (4.5-metre) python is believed to be the first snake in the world to be given a pioneering, life-saving cancer treatment normally used on humans.The 50kg reticulated python, named Jodie Foster after the Hollywood star, has just turned 23 and lives at Chester zoo. Keepers first became concerned that she may be unwell when she began eating less and spending more time inactive in her habitat. Continue reading...

Value of banknotes in circulation rises from 1bn in 2016 to 1.6bn in 2026 as people advised to keep stash of cashThe number of banknotes in circulation in the EU is increasing despite widespread smartphone payments, new data shows, with wildfires ripping through parts of Europe fuelling demand for an emergency stash of cash.While cash plays second fiddle to contactless payments in many cities across Europe, the amount in circulation is actually going up, Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), said at the MacGill summer school conference in Ireland. Continue reading...