6 h. ago As Waltz faces UN post hearings, an update on the Signal situation that led to his initial ousting

Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday for his confirmation hearing

Politics

8 h. ago CIA historian Tim Weiner: ‘Trump has put national security in the hands of crackpots and fools’

The longtime chronicler of the spy agency on his Legacy of Ashes follow-up and what keeps him up at nightIt may seem perverse to pity the Central Intelligence Agency. The powerful spy organization’s history is rich with failures and abuses – from the Cuban missile crisis to the post-9/11 torture program to its role in the overthrow of a long string of democratically elected leaders. But among the many consequences of Donald Trump’s open hostility toward America’s intelligence community is that no less a CIA critic than Tim Weiner now sounds like a defender.To understand why, Weiner – author of the unsparing history of the agency, the 2007 bestseller Legacy of Ashes – suggested a thought experiment in a recent interview: imagine spending years as an intelligence officer, working diligently to subvert the Kremlin, only to watch the US stand with Russia, Iran and North Korea, as it did in February when it voted against a UN resolution condemning the invasion of Ukraine. In that moment,...

Politics

8 h. ago In Trump’s game of chicken, the EU cannot afford to back down | Nathalie Tocci

When threatened with US tariffs, Europe was initially bullish. But the influence of nationalist leaders sympathetic to Trump has caused a splitDonald Trump’s trade policy has been labelled “Taco” – “Trump always chickens out” – by his critics. But when it comes to his latest trade war with the EU, it’s Brussels that risks chickening out. The US and the EU have been negotiating for months on an agreement. This week Trump made the shock announcement that the US would hit the EU with punitive tariffs on goods at a crippling 30% rate from 1 August. This was in addition to separate steel and aluminium tariffs, and cars at even more punitive rates.Blindsided Brussels negotiators calculated the economic damage, and ministers talked about retaliation. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, warned that “all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests” would be taken. But so far, despite the tough words, the EU is holding back.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Cont...

Politics

12 h. ago Employees at the nation's consumer financial watchdog say it's become toothless under Trump

Once a powerful watchdog for financial wrongdoing, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has seen its enforcement efforts grind to a halt under the Trump administration

Politics

14 h. ago Xi says Australia and China should ‘unswervingly’ work together despite global instability

Talks between leaders came after Australian camera crews were confronted by Chinese security guards and told to hand over footageFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastXi Jinping has told Anthony Albanese that geopolitical turbulence and Donald Trump’s growing trade war should not derail newfound stability between China and Australia, saying the two countries should “unswervingly” stick to cooperation.The prime minister met China’s president for the second time in Beijing on Tuesday, promising to find common ground despite differences on sensitive issues such as the ownership of the Port of Darwin and US pressure over the future of Taiwan.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Photos 'show moment alleged Russian spy dropped off USB stick in plot to leak sensitive details about ex

Phillips wanted to 'offer services' to Russian intelligence but the two handlers he corresponded with were British undercover security services agents, jurors have been told.

Culture

4 d. ago We’ve become inured to Trump’s outbursts – but when he goes quiet, we need to be worried | Jonathan Freedland

Across the US, without soundbites or stunts, the president is building a police state and eroding democracyIn the global attention economy, one titan looms over all others. Donald Trump can command the gaze of the world at a click of those famously short fingers. When he stages a spectacular made-for-TV moment – say, that Oval Office showdown with Volodymyr Zelenskyy – the entire planet sits up and takes notice.But that dominance has a curious side-effect. When Trump does something awful and eye-catching, nations tremble and markets move. But when he does something awful but unflashy, it scarcely registers. So long as there’s no jaw-dropping video, no expletive-ridden soundbite, no gimmick or stunt, it can slip by as if it hadn’t happened. Especially now that our senses are dulled through over-stimulation. These days it requires ever more shocking behaviour by the US president to prompt a reaction; we are becoming inured to him. Yet the danger he poses is as sharp as ever.Jonathan F...

Politics

4 d. ago We’re becoming inured to Trump’s outbursts – but when he goes quiet, we need to be worried | Jonathan Freedland

Across the US, without soundbites or stunts, the president is building a police state and eroding democracyIn the global attention economy, one titan looms over all others. Donald Trump can command the gaze of the world at a click of those famously short fingers. When he stages a spectacular made-for-TV moment – say, that Oval Office showdown with Volodymyr Zelenskyy – the entire planet sits up and takes notice.But that dominance has a curious side-effect. When Trump does something awful and eye-catching, nations tremble and markets move. But when he does something awful but unflashy, it scarcely registers. So long as there’s no jaw-dropping video, no expletive-ridden soundbite, no gimmick or stunt, it can slip by as if it hadn’t happened. Especially now that our senses are dulled through over-stimulation. These days it requires ever more shocking behaviour by the US president to prompt a reaction; we are becoming inured to him. Yet the danger he poses is as sharp as ever.Jonathan F...

Politics

5 d. ago Donald Trump hurries along West African leaders boasting about natural resources

In a moment captured on video, Trump appears exasperated as he turns to the side while Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani speaks about the resources in his nation's seawater.

Politics

5 d. ago Trump administration holding immigrants from 26 countries at Guantánamo prison

The increase in immigration detainees at the island prison comes as the Supreme Court has freed up the Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants to countries beyond their nation of origin

Events

6 d. ago Ice is about to become the biggest police force in the US | Judith Levine

Trump’s budget bill is creating a colossus with more resources than many national militariesOn Thursday, congressional Republicans passed Trump’s 1,000-page budget, and the president signed it on Saturday. The rich will get obscenely richer. The poor will be hungrier and sicker, work more precarious, and the planet unrelentingly hotter. The symmetry is elegant: cuts to healthcare and food programs average about $120bn each year over the next decade, while the tax cuts will save households earning more than $500,000 about $120bn a year.Trump got what he wanted. But enriching himself and his wealthy friends at the expense of everyone else has long been his life purpose. It was not until he became president, with the Heritage Foundation’s wonks, the deportation czar Stephen Miller, and six loyal supreme courtiers behind him, that he could reshape the US in his own amoral, racist, violence-intoxicated image. In fact, the latter goal may be dearer to him than the former. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Did National Weather Service cuts lead to the Texas flood disaster? We don’t know | Rebecca Solnit

We all need to be careful about how we get information and reach conclusions – especially nowWhy exactly so many people drowned in the terrible Independence Day floods that swept through Texas’s Hill Country will probably have multiple explanations that take a while to obtain. But it’s 2025, and people want answers immediately, and lots of people seized on stories blaming the National Weather Service (NWS).There were two opposing reasons to blame this vital government service. For local and state authorities, blaming a branch of the federal government was a way of avoiding culpability themselves. And for a whole lot of people who deplore the Trump/Doge cuts to federal services, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, the idea that the NWS failed served to underscore how destructive those cuts are. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago UK airport security rules: What you need to know about changes to 100ml liquid regulations

Advanced CT scanners mean liquids and laptops can stay in the traveller’s bag – with some airports removing the 100ml size limit

Events

7 d. ago Business news live: Trump sends 12 nations new tariff rates letters and Apple appeal €500m EU fine

Stock markets updates and business news from Tuesday

Politics

8 d. ago Brics nations hit back at ‘emperor’ Trump over tariff threats

Host Brazil criticises US president as being ‘very irresponsible’ for vowing extra levies on states aligned to the group

Events

8 d. ago Migrants deported from US to Salvadoran prison remain under US control, Salvadoran officials tell UN

The government of El Salvador has acknowledged to United Nations investigators that the Trump administration maintains control of the Venezuelan men who were deported from the U.S. to a notorious Salvadoran prison, contradicting public statements by officials in both countries

Events

8 d. ago Debate erupts over role job cuts played in weather forecasts ahead of deadly Texas floods

Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trump’s staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives

Events

8 d. ago UK airport security rules: What to know as some airports remove 100ml liquid requirements

Advanced CT scanners mean liquids and laptops can stay in the traveller’s bag – with some airports removing the 100ml size limit

Events

9 d. ago Texas flood victims furious as local officials blame Trump's National Weather Service over failed warnings

Victims of the flash floods wrecking havoc on Central Texas are infuriated as local officials blame the National Weather Service for failing to warn communities of the dire threat.

Events

9 d. ago Maga influencer and de facto national security adviser Laura Loomer holds outsized sway on Trump

The 32-year-old was instrumental in high-profile national security firings, and has cheerled the attacks on IranAfter years of claiming to be the vanguard of a new “America First” isolationist movement rebelling against the neoconservative policies of the George W Bush administration that led to the bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Maga’s online influencers are cheering for another war in the Middle East.And not just any war: they are applauding Donald Trump’s high-risk decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that was considered a war too far even by the Bush administration. Continue reading...

Politics