12 h. ago White House says Canadian PM ‘caved’ to Trump demand to scrap tech tax

Trump officials hail U-turn as Mark Carney says decision to rescind digital services tax means revival of trade talksThe United States has said that Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney “caved” to demands from the White House after his government abruptly scrapped their digital services tax on US technology companies, which was set to go into effect on Monday.“It’s very simple. Prime minister Carney and Canada caved to president [Donald] Trump and the United States of America,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a daily briefing. Continue reading...

Politics

12 h. ago No 10 plan to avert Labour welfare rebellion in chaos amid division over scale of concessions

MPs including select committee chairs express doubts that concessions agreed last week go far enoughDowning Street’s plans to see off a major Labour welfare rebellion were in chaos on Monday night, amid continued brinkmanship between MPs and the government over the scale of the concessions.There was significant division between government departments over how to respond to rebels’ demands – with seemingly little idea how to quell continuing anger ahead of the knife-edge vote on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Events

15 h. ago Government demands investigation after Lindsey oil refinery owner collapses

Energy minister Michael Shanks said the firm’s collapse was ‘deeply concerning’ and the company had left the Government with ‘little time to act’.

Politics

17 h. ago Urgent concerns over UK fuel supplies as oil refinery owner collapses

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the firm’s collapse was ‘deeply concerning’

Politics

18 h. ago Fears mount over UK fuel supplies after Lindsey oil refinery owner collapses

Unite has called on the Government for urgent intervention as it raised concerns that the failure of the firm could impact UK oil supplies.

Politics

4 d. ago BoE’s Bailey sees signs of softer jobs market and predicts further rate cuts

Central bank governor highlights lower labour demand and ‘significant decline’ in wage growth

Politics

4 d. ago BoE’s Bailey sees signs of softer jobs market after National Insurance rise

Central bank governor highlights lower labour demand and ‘significant decline’ in wage growth

Politics

5 d. ago Three Revolutions by Simon Hall review – Stories from the frontlines of revolution

The uprisings in Russia, China and Cuba seen through the eyes of reporters John Reed, Edgar Snow and Herbert MatthewsIf the word “revolution” implies, etymologically, a world turned around, then what unfolded in Russia in 1917 was just that. Everything changed. Old-school deference was dead; the proletariat was in power.The communist American journalist John Reed witnessed a contretemps that captured the suddenness of the change. In simpler times, sailors would have yielded to senior ministers, but on the day of the storming of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, they weren’t having it. When, in a last-ditch effort to save the Provisional Government, two liberal grandees demanded that they be let in, one of the sailors replied, “We will spank you! And if necessary we will shoot you too. Go home now, and leave us in peace!” Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Three Revolutions by Simon Hall review – how Russia, China and Cuba changed forever

A historian explores eyewitness accounts of the most dramatic political unpheavals of the 20th centuryIf the word “revolution” implies, etymologically, a world turned around, then what unfolded in Russia in 1917 was just that. Everything changed. Old-school deference was dead; the proletariat was in power.The communist American journalist John Reed witnessed a contretemps that captured the suddenness of the change. In simpler times, sailors would have yielded to senior ministers, but on the day of the storming of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, they weren’t having it. When, in a last-ditch effort to save the Provisional Government, two liberal grandees demanded that they be let in, one of the sailors replied, “We will spank you! And if necessary we will shoot you too. Go home now, and leave us in peace!” Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead | Editorial

The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected waysWhat can help to protect women’s health, boost the incomes of impoverished families and thus allow girls to avoid early marriage? What – when it disappears – can set back children’s education, damage mental wellbeing, drive conflict within communities and become a vector for racial hatred?The humble donkey has rarely been in the spotlight. Yet Chinese demand for its skin proved so destabilising that African governments agreed to a continent-wide ban on the slaughter of the animal for its hide last year. This week, officials are meeting in Ivory Coast to discuss implementation.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Voices: Whitehall isn’t working – here’s how the PM can fix it

Keir Starmer complains that the government machine is slow to crank into life when he demands action. To prevent his ‘mission-driven’ domestic agenda from being doomed to failure, the prime minister should first get rid of the Cabinet Office, says Andrew Grice

Events

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone factory attacked, 1,000km away in Tatarstan

Factory making Iranian-designed Shahed drones is hit, far from Russia-Ukraine border; Russian strikes damage energy and other civilian facilities in Poltava oblast. What we know on day 1,209See all our Ukraine war coverageUkraine’s military said on Sunday it had attacked a Russian drone factory in the city of Yelabuga in Russia’s Tatarstan region. The target is around 1,000km from Ukraine. The Ukrainian military general staff said the factory produced, tested, and launched drones at Ukraine, in particular against energy and civil infrastructure. Videos on social media showed an explosion said to be at the factory in Yelabuga, also known as Alabuga, which builds Iranian-designed Shahed drones. The Russian local governor confirmed the attack.Russian forces hit the Kremenchuk oil refinery in Ukraine’s Poltava region with missiles and drones, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denounced the attack on the central Poltava region as a vile s...

Events

2 w. ago Starmer resists recognising Palestinian state as unions’ demand deepens Labour split

Exclusive: The Independent has seen a communique between the TUC and the French and Canadian union umbrella bodies demanding their governments recognise Palestine as a state immediately, with Labour on the brink of a civil war over the issue

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer resists recognising unilateral Palestinian state as unions demand deepens Labour split

Exclusive: The Independent has seen a communique between the TUC and the French and Canadian union umbrella bodies demanding their governments recognise Palestine as a state immediately with Labour on the brink of a civil war over the issue

Politics

2 w. ago Starmer resists recognising unilateral Palestinian state as Labour split deepens

Exclusive: The Independent has seen a communique between the TUC and the French and Canadian union umbrella bodies demanding their governments recognise Palestine as a state immediately with Labour on the brink of a civil war over the issue

Politics

2 w. ago Nightclub owner arrested following deadly roof collapse which killed 236 people

The club was packed with government officials, musicians, and retired Major League Baseball players

Events

2 w. ago Owner of Dominican club whose roof collapsed and killed 236 is arrested along with his sister

The owner of an iconic nightclub in the Domincan Republic whose roof collapsed in April and killed 236 people has been arrested along with his sister

Events

2 w. ago Government urged not to weaken ‘Hillsborough Law’ as MPs demand Bill is passed

Labour MPs have insisted that the law that would ensure a duty of candour on public bodies and workers must not be watered down amid further delays.

Politics

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Labour’s nuclear bet: big promises, but bigger questions remain unanswered | Editorial

A bold state investment signals nuclear revival, but unresolved issues around cost, waste and safety demand urgent ministerial clarityThe government’s decision to invest £14.2bn in nuclear energy, on top of existing funds, marks a return to significant state funding of nuclear power after Hinkley Point C, financed by the private sector, was dogged by delays and cost overruns. It is also a decisive shift in energy policy. Ministers have high hopes of a nuclear energy renaissance. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, described the prospect of a new reactor in Suffolk, Sizewell C, combined with new money for modular reactor development and fusion research, as a “golden age”. This was a striking choice of words from the greenest voice in the cabinet.The Climate Change Committee’s latest advice to the government took a more restrained view of nuclear, which drew industry ire. Mr Miliband’s commitment to renewable energy is not in doubt. The government has made good...

Events

3 w. ago Thousands protest in Madrid against government of prime minister Pedro Sánchez

Ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party has faced series of corruption allegations over past yearTens of thousands of people have gathered in central Madrid to protest against the government of Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, and to demand an early general election as his party, his administration and his family continue to be beset by a succession of corruption allegations.Sunday’s protest, called by the opposition conservative People’s party (PP) under the slogan “Mafia or democracy”, attracted between 45,000 and 50,000 people, according to the central government’s delegation to the region. Organisers, however, put the attendance at 100,000. Continue reading...

Politics