7 h. ago London protests LIVE: Police brace for Palestine Action supporter rally after powers expanded

Today’s event is one of a series of actions taking place in 18 towns and cities between November 18 and 29

Events

18 h. ago Why Britain is allowing China’s new ‘super embassy’ in London

Why Britain is allowing China’s new ‘super embassy’ in London  The Independent

Politics

30 h. ago Keir Starmer is set to approve China's new super embassy in London despite spying fears after Beijing warned of 'consequences' if development was rejected

The Prime Minister is reportedly planning to approve the controversial plan for the Royal Mint Complex near the Tower of London.

Events

49 h. ago China’s ‘super app’ WeChat has become a powerful police surveillance tool

Around the world, governments are partnering with private tech companies for policing and security

Events

2 d. ago Antisocial behaviour triggers extra police powers in Welsh town

The dispersal order will be in affect for 48-hours

Events

4 d. ago New Slovenian law treats entire Romany minority ‘as a security threat’

Parliament approves law giving police powers to raid and surveil homes in what are demarcated as security risk areasSlovenia’s government has been accused of turning Roma neighbourhoods into “security zones” after the passing of a law giving police powers to raid and surveil homes in so-called “high-risk” areas.At midnight on Monday, the country’s parliament backed the “Šutar law”, named after Aleš Šutar, who was killed in an altercation with a 21-year-old Romany man after rushing to a nightclub after a distress call from his son. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago ‘Fear really drives him’: is Alex Karp of Palantir the world’s scariest CEO?

His company is potentially creating the ultimate state surveillance tool, and Karp has recently been on a striking political and philosophical journey. His biographer reveals what makes him tickIn a recent interview, Alex Karp said that his company Palantir was “the most important software company in America and therefore in the world”. He may well be right. To some, Palantir is also the scariest company in the world, what with its involvement in the Trump administration’s authoritarian agenda. The potential end point of Palantir’s tech is an all-powerful government system amalgamating citizens’ tax records, biometric data and other personal information – the ultimate state surveillance tool. No wonder Palantir has been likened to George Orwell’s Big Brother, or Skynet from the Terminator movies.Does this make Karp the scariest CEO in the world? There is some competition from Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Palantir’s co-founder Peter Thiel. But 58-year-old Karp could giv...

Transport

4 d. ago How a top New Zealand police officer's downfall provoked public fury and scrutiny of police powers

New Zealand's police agency faces a trust crisis and greater scrutiny of its powers after a sexual misconduct scandal involving former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming

Events

6 d. ago Police descend on town centre after trouble involving up to 60 people erupts

A dispersal order is now in force which gives police powers to order trouble-makers to leave or face arrest

Events

7 d. ago Starmer’s predecessor as Director for Public Prosecutions to lead major review of protest laws

Exclusive: Home secretary commissions review into laws amid ‘growing concern about protests and hate crime in this country’

Events

8 d. ago The Guardian view on 10 Downing Street: not up to the job | Editorial

The Labour leadership briefing furore highlights failures at the centre of government. Keir Starmer needs to raise his gameSir Keir Starmer went to north Wales on Thursday to announce the building of a new nuclear power station. This is a significant policy event, with local and national implications. However, the prime minister did not spend much time in Wales promoting solutions to UK energy needs. Instead, he spent it trying to draw a line under the Labour leadership briefing row, telling reporters that No 10 had not, in fact, briefed against the health secretary’s ambitions earlier this week.As such, Sir Keir’s day was a microcosm of what his prime ministership has now become more generally. On the one hand, he wants his government to be doing, and to be seen to be doing, important things. On the other hand, he is unable to achieve this because of the way he – and to an extent the country more generally – now does politics and government.Do you have an opinion on the issues...

Politics

9 d. ago Minister says police and crime commissioners will be abolished in 2028 because system has failed – UK politics live

Elected policing roles will be phased out and their powers transferred to mayors in England in move that could save £100mPA Media has more on what the monthly performance figures from NHS England show. PA says:The data shows 180,329 people in England had been waiting more than a year to start routine hospital treatment at the end of September, down from 190,549 at the end of August.Some 2.4% of people on the list for hospital treatment had been waiting more than 52 weeks in September, down from 2.6% the previous month.The NHS waiting list is 230,000 lower than July last year, even as the health service ‘approaches its limit’ with A&E and ambulances facing record demand ahead of winter.The overall waiting list for September was 7.39m (an estimated 6.24m patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July 2024.Thanks to the investment and modernisation this government has made, waiting lists are falling and patients are being treated sooner The past ye...

Events

1 week ago Brutish, bullying, imperialistic: the Ugly American is back | Steven Greenhouse

Donald Trump is using US power to insert himself into other countries’ affairs, treating them as vassalsFor decades, president after president has sought to rid the US of its image as a bullying, imperialistic nation. But with his blustering, often brutish behavior toward other countries, Donald Trump has rapidly revived that notion. Under Trump, the Ugly American is back.Trump has done this by using US power in aggressive and arrogant ways – by attacking other countries’ policies and then threatening to punish them if they don’t bow to his demands. Trump is doing exactly what international law says national leaders shouldn’t be doing. He has repeatedly inserted himself into other countries’ affairs, browbeating their leaders, berating their policies and disrespecting their sovereignty. Too often, Trump treats other countries as vassals of the US (and of his ego). Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago US and China seek to project power with huge and expensive aircraft carriers

China launches £5.4bn ship capable of carrying 60 aircraft that Beijing values as much for maintaining its global influence as for its use in warfare In port, the 80,000-tonne Fujian aircraft carrier would be impossible to miss. More than 300 metres long and capable of carrying about 60 aircraft, the £5.4bn super-vessel places China second among the world’s navies, with three aircraft carriers, though still a long way behind the global leader, the US, which has 11.Yet for all the great power projection of the new warship, nearly 5,000 miles away from its home port another conflict appears to suggest size may not matter. In the Black Sea, Ukraine achieved an extraordinary military success by inflicting a “functional defeat” on Russia’s naval fleet using swarms of skilfully targeted sea drones. Continue reading...

Transport

2 w. ago Police enforce new powers in Manchester city centre after man left fighting for life with woman arrested

A woman has been arrested

Events

2 w. ago ‘It is very hard for us’: Maccabi Tel Aviv aim to give absent fans reason to smile

Fans banned from attending match at Aston VillaPolice granted section 60 stop-and-search powersThe Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Issouf Sissokho urged his teammates to make their supporters smile against Aston Villa, after away fans were banned from the politically charged Europa League match on Thursday.The Israeli club’s fans were prohibited from attending on public safety grounds but, despite the ban, West Midlands police have been granted section 60 stop-and-search powers and plan to deploy more than 700 officers around Villa Park to cope with protests and potential unrest. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Cops poised for firework disorder as officers watch over Bonfire Night displays

Police in Edinburgh have been given additional powers to stop and search people and vehicles as they aim to tackle the widespread Bonfire Night disorder seen in previous years.

Events

2 w. ago Dick Cheney’s role in ‘war on terror’ may have paved way for Trumpism

Former US vice-president a key figure in expanding White House’s power and ‘corrupting the intelligence-policy relationship’ to sell Iraq warDick Cheney, vice-president and giant of Republican politics, dies aged 84Dick Cheney, who has died aged 84, came to be seen as a moderate in his later years for his staunch opposition to Donald Trump, but he also stands accused of paving the way for Trumpism by undermining the independence of the intelligence agencies and US adherence to international law.As George W Bush’s second-in-command in the “war on terror” declared after the 9/11 attacks, Cheney made himself one of the most powerful vice-presidents in US history, and was a key protagonist in the push to invade Iraq, as well as the use of torture on suspected al-Qaida members detained without charge in the CIA’s offshore “black sites”. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Police given extra powers in Cardiff after 'fireworks shot at homes'

Police in one Cardiff neighbourhood have been given extra powers over Bonfire Night after reports of anti-social behaviour on Halloween

Events

2 w. ago China Seeks to Construct ‘Super Embassy’ in the Heart of London

China Seeks to Construct ‘Super Embassy’ in the Heart of London  National Review

Politics