23 h. ago Why does this billionaire have 100 kids in 12 countries? | Arwa Mahdawi

Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, plans to leave his money to all his offspring – conceived out of ‘civic duty’Pavel Durov is a Russian-born billionaire whose interests include doing half-naked photoshoots with baby goats and having lots and lots of (human) kids. The 40-year-old billionaire founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram revealed last year– in a post on his own app – that while he isn’t married and prefers to live alone, he has over 100 biological children in 12 countries via sperm donation.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Why establishment Democrats still can’t stomach progressive candidates like Zohran Mamdani | Arwa Mahdawi

The anti-Mamdani mobilization is depressingly predictable, with a party that is allergic to fresh blood and new thinkingWho’s afraid of Zohran Mamdani? The answer, it would seem, is the entire establishment. The 33-year-old democratic socialist and New York City mayoral candidate has surged in the polls in recent weeks, netting endorsements not just from progressive voices like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders but also his fellow candidates for the mayoralty, with Brad Lander and Michael Blake taking advantage of the ranked-choice voting system in the primary and cross-endorsing Mamdani’s campaign.With the primary just around the corner, polls have Mamdani closing the gap on Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor of New York. This has spooked the establishment, which is now doing everything it can to stop Mamdani’s rise. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago What SJP's selfie trick tells us about the terrifying rise of conspiracy theories | Arwa Mahdawi

The actor used to point vaguely to the sky and suggest the government was watching when asked for a photo. Nowadays, that could lead to some very awkward conversationsSarah Jessica Parker, the Sex and the City star and Booker prize judge, has a nifty trick for getting out of taking selfies with her fans. “I did this for a really, really long time and it worked for ever,” Parker said in an interview with Howard Stern. “I used to say, ‘I can’t, because of the government,’ and I’d do this,” Parker said, pointing up to the sky. “It really confused people. This was through different administrations, so it wasn’t political.”It is not entirely clear why Parker – who has said she refuses to take selfies and would rather “have a conversation” instead because “it’s much more meaningful” – stopped using this brilliant excuse. But one does have to wonder whether it is because the US has become a nation of conspiracy theorists. Rather than backing away from the weird “the government is watching”...

Events

7 d. ago Let women be horny – but Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover isn’t helping | Arwa Mahdawi

The Man’s Best Friend image has reopened a debate: sex-positive feminism or soft porn for the male gaze?Please join me for a quick game of “is this sex-positive feminism or just a lazy repackaging of the patriarchy”? Today’s protagonist is Sabrina Carpenter, a pop star whose music videos have got a Brooklyn priest demoted and might have played a small role in getting the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, indicted.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Strangers on the street: please stop asking me if my wife is my twin sister | Arwa Mahdawi

My spouse and I do, indeed, look vaguely similar, but being asked repeatedly whether we are twins isn’t a load of fun – especially during PrideIt is Pride month, and you know what that means. Anyone identifying as heterosexual must immediately present to the Office of Homosexual Affairs (OHA) to receive a list of instructions on how to comport themselves during this most hallowed of holidays.OK, fine, I may be misrepresenting things somewhat. But I’m in manifesting mode: putting my hopes and dreams out there. And, in the absence of OHA, this gay has one humble request. Strangers on the street: please stop asking me if my wife is my twin sister! Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago I really hate to say it, but I agree with JD Vance. Britain has a free speech problem | Arwa Mahdawi

Despite the ongoing crackdown on protesters in Los Angeles, the US constitution (for now) provides far more freedom of speech than there is in the UKHello from the US where, if you’re a fan of things such as civil liberties and not getting shot in the leg by masked thugs sporting law enforcement badges, the situation is somewhat suboptimal. Over in Los Angeles, national guard troops have been brought in to rough up protesters who are demonstrating against immigration raids. There were at least 27 attacks on journalists by law enforcement recorded at the protests between 6 and 8 June, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).One of the most alarming things about the crackdown against protesters in LA is the memo greenlighting it. It acts pre-emptively, a first in the US, authorising the military to be deployed in locations where protests are “likely to occur”. Scarier still, Donald Trump has said he won’t rule out invoking the Insurrection Act: an 1807 law that empowers the presi...

Politics

2 w. ago Women of West Virginia: inform on yourself to the miscarriage police! | Arwa Mahdawi

A prosecuting attorney warns women to get ahead of law enforcement in a state where abortion is all but banned“911. What’s your emergency?”Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Trump v Musk: the two worst people in the world are finally having a big, beautiful breakup | Arwa Mahdawi

The bromance might be over but Trump has kissed and made up with his enemies before. Enjoy it while it lastsIf you paid attention during physics class you will remember the third law of ego-dynamics. Namely: when two egos of equal mass occupy the same orbit, the system will eventually become unstable, resulting in an explosive separation and some very nasty tweets.To see this theory in action please have a gander at the dramatic collapse of the Donald Trump and Elon Musk bromance. The news has been a nonstop horror show for what feels like forever. Watching two of the very worst people in the world direct their nastiness at each other is extremely cathartic. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Are we heading for a recession? Show me your nails | Arwa Mahdawi

Who needs boring old facts and figures? According to a host of entirely authoritative influencers, changing tastes in manicures can tell us all we need to know about the economyIs there going to be a recession this year? Economists have been umm-ing and ahh-ing and crunching the numbers, but the answer could be at the tip of your fingers. According to various expert sources (influencers on TikTok), a wobbly economy means people are ditching elaborate and expensive manicures for more understated styles. Cue numerous headlines about “recession nails”.When I first saw these headlines, I felt pretty smug. An inadvertent trendsetter, I have been rocking recession nails for the past decade now. Except I have been calling them “freelance lesbian nails”. Or, alternatively, “harried parent nails”. Then I read past the headlines and was no longer quite so smug. Turns out that the trend doesn’t mean frantically cutting your nails with a cheap clipper while yelling “BE THERE IN A MINUTE!” to yo...

Politics

2 w. ago Move over Harry and Meghan: Britain’s real royal family are now dominating the US headlines | Arwa Mahdawi

Family fallout. Two feuding brothers. An ambitious American actor wife the Beckhams certainly seem to have a lot in common with the SussexesSo long, and thanks for all the jam. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and queen of Montecito, recently announced that she is reimagining As Ever, her raspberry spread and “flower sprinkle” business. In an interview with Fast Company, which Meghan conducted in fluent buzzword, the actor and entrepreneur said she is thinking bigger than jarred goods and partnering with Netflix to bring forth a vision in which “content and commerce meet, not in a product placement way, but rather in an ideological way”. (I think the ideology she is referencing here is capitalism). Meghan is now involved with so many different projects that she notes: “If I had to write a résumé, I don’t know what I would call myself.”It looks as though her husband, Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor, doesn’t know what to call himself either. The big Harry news from recent days...

Politics

3 w. ago A dystopian surveillance fear has become reality in Texas | Arwa Mahdawi

Law enforcement used license-plate readers in several states to search for a woman who had an abortionHello and welcome to the latest edition of “lo and behold, the dystopian thing that women and activists warned would happen ends up happening”. This time the issue is automated license plate readers (ALPRs), which capture (no prizes for guessing!) license plate data and allow law enforcement to build a picture of where a particular vehicle has been. There’s no opting out of being tracked: if you drive, you should simply assume that these cameras, which are sometimes hidden in objects like traffic cones, are logging your movements. And you should assume that this license plate data can be combined with other surveillance data to paint a very detailed picture of your life. Privacy only exists for our billionaire overlords these days. The rest of us are just data points.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Have you looked at images of Gaza on Google Maps? You should | Arwa Mahdawi

If you don’t trust Palestinians, maybe you’ll trust Google Maps. Satellite imagery shows the extent of the devastationA picture says a thousand words. And the imagery slowly seeping out of Gaza tells a story that many politicians and media figures are still doing their best to ignore or obfuscate. Updated satellite imagery on Google Maps of the devastated region, drone shots of dystopian aid checkpoints, and military maps of so-called “safe zones” make it increasingly hard to argue that Israel’s military “operation” (to use a sanitizing word the media is incredibly fond of) is about eradicating Hamas. This isn’t an operation – it’s a cremation: one with the ultimate goal of eradicating not just Palestinian life in Gaza, but Palestinian identity altogether.First, though, I want to stress that there still isn’t a lot of imagery coming out of Gaza. This is by design – and something I wish more of my colleagues in the western media were outraged about. Israel has not allowed foreign jou...

Politics

3 w. ago Have you looked at satellite images of Gaza? You should | Arwa Mahdawi

Imagery is filtering on Google Maps through from October and November 2023. If that was the reality then, imagine what it looks like nowA picture says a thousand words. And the imagery slowly seeping out of Gaza tells a story that many politicians and media figures are still doing their best to ignore or obfuscate. Satellite imagery on Google Maps showing the devastated region as of October and November 2023, drone shots of dystopian aid checkpoints, and military maps of so-called “safe zones” make it increasingly hard to argue that Israel’s military “operation” (to use a sanitizing word the media is incredibly fond of) is about eradicating Hamas. This isn’t an operation – it’s a cremation: one with the ultimate goal of eradicating not just Palestinian life in Gaza, but Palestinian identity altogether.First, though, I want to stress that there still isn’t a lot of imagery coming out of Gaza. This is by design – and something I wish more of my colleagues in the western media were out...

Politics

3 w. ago How long will it be before Melania steps aside for MelanAI? | Arwa Mahdawi

Mrs Trump is seemingly so disinterested in her role as first lady that along with being mostly absent from the White House, she’s got an AI to read her audiobook. How long before she replaces herself with a robot?I imagine students at the US Military Academy at West Point are trained to handle unexpected situations, but I’m not sure anyone could have prepared them for the bonkers speech Donald Trump delivered to graduates on Saturday. I wish I could point you to a government transcript, but the White House recently started removing official transcripts of the president’s public remarks, replacing them with curated videos instead. I imagine (just a hypothesis!) that this is to make Trump seem more coherent.One of the “highlights” of the disjointed ramble Trump delivered at West Point was his thoughts on trophy wives: “I must tell ya. A lot of trophy wives, doesn’t work out [sic],” he mused in the middle of an anecdote about a divorced real estate developer (not him). This has raised ...

Politics