80 m. ago In Norway we see ourselves as ethically virtuous – so why is our oil wealth enabling genocide? | Sindre Bangstad

With an election looming, will politicians finally listen to the majority of citizens, who want to divest from Israeli arms companies?Oil has made Norway extremely rich. We have the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, which was established with petroleum revenues in 1990. Headed by the wealthy banker and art investor Nicolai Tangen, the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), has a current value of more than 20 239bn Norwegian kroner (£1.4tr). With holdings in about 8,500 companies in 69 different countries, it is the largest single investor in the world.Norway also purports to have a human-rights-based foreign policy, and the sovereign wealth fund is supposed to adhere to a set of ethical guidelines. Companies may be excluded if there is a risk that they contribute to or are responsible for serious human rights violations, or are involved in the sale of weapons to states that violate international law in armed conflicts. A Council on Ethics makes recommendations about exclusions ...

Politics

2 h. ago China turns against Nvidia’s AI chip after ‘insulting’ Lutnick remarks

Comments by US commerce secretary trigger Chinese regulatory effort to stop tech groups buying H20 processors

Politics

3 h. ago State Department employee fired after questioning talking points on Israel and Gaza

The State Department has fired a press officer responsible for drafting Trump administration talking points about policy toward Israel and Gaza

Politics

3 h. ago DWP puts thousands of Universal Credit claims under review after blocking £1bn payments

The Department for Work and Pensions has said it has stopped over £1bn in overpayments of Universal Credit, with more than one million claims now reviewed.

Economics

4 h. ago Israel calls up 60,000 reservists with invasion of Gaza's largest city imminent

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to prepare for a major ground assault on Gaza City, where almost half of the territory's displaced residents are now sheltering

Politics

4 h. ago Netanyahu convenes security cabinet as Israel prepares ground assault on Gaza City

Israel's military is set to launch a major ground assault on Gaza City, with tens of thousands of soldiers being sent as part of "preliminary actions" to occupy the heavily populated civilian area

Events

5 h. ago CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Mudtown: Let off a pet killer? This soft

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Are you an easy touch, a bleeding-heart liberal? Take this simple quiz to find out, based on a courtroom scene in the South Wales crime drama Mudtown.

Events

6 h. ago Texas Republicans pass gerrymandered congressional map requested by Trump

Redrawn map fiercely opposed by Democrats next goes to the state senate where it is expected to passUS politics – live updatesThe Republican-controlled Texas house on Wednesday approved a redrawn congressional map requested by Donald Trump and fiercely opposed by Democrats who led a weeks-long protest to stall the effort that kicked off a redistricting arms race between red and blue states.With the house’s approval, the measure next goes to the state senate where it is expected to pass, possibly as soon as Thursday. Continue reading...

Politics

6 h. ago Hostage on Netflix review: a sharp, twisty, and engrossingly topical thriller

Even if it occasionally veers too far into pulp, the show’s powerhouse main performances are reason enough to watch

Events

6 h. ago Hostage review – Chic Suranne Jones thriller is let down by a wonky storyline

Jones and Julie Delpy star as formidable world leaders in this Netflix drama – it’s just a shame the series chases jump-the-shark plot points instead of grappling with the uncomfortable questions at its heart

Events

7 h. ago Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough review – a candid portrait of a literary one

Paul Sng’s documentary finds the Trainspotting author as funny, sharp and unrepentant as ever – from boyhood in Leith to globetrotting fame and a hallucinogenic trip in CanadaNo one would reject the title of national treasure more fiercely, but more good-humouredly, than Irvine Welsh. The brilliant Scottish writer and creator of Trainspotting takes centre-stage in Paul Sng’s documentary with just the same unassumingly athletic ease as in all of his other public appearances. For someone who has done as much drink and drugs and as many late nights as Welsh, he looks very good.This film is a great way to round off the Edinburgh film festival; Welsh is, after all, Edinburgh’s greatest living public figure. His 60s childhood in Leith and Muirhouse was followed by a spell in London, then twentysomething years back in Edinburgh during the 80s, studying at Heriot-Watt and working for the council, during which time he began to write. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Tech stocks slip as investors rotate towards defensive sectors

Concerns about durability of AI rally dent sentiment for second day

Events

8 h. ago 'I took a driverless taxi in LA as tech giants prepare to bring them to UK'

An army of driverless 'robotaxis' is heading for UK shores after taking to the roads in the US - the Mirror's Jeremy Armstrong took one for a spin in Los Angeles

Politics

8 h. ago Stephen Miller brands citizens protesting deployment of the National Guard in DC ‘elderly white hippies’

Top Trump aide Stephen Miller has attacked “elderly white hippies” protesting against the deployment of the National Guard in Washington DC.

Events

8 h. ago Trump orders Southern US border to be painted black so it's too hot for migrants to climb

The Trump administration is throwing in high-tech gadgets too, with cameras and sensors to catch anyone brave enough to try their luck as illegal crossings continue to plummet

Politics

8 h. ago JD Vance booed during hamburger handout to national guard troops in DC

US vice-president, at Washington’s Union Station with Stephen Miller and Pete Hegseth, defends use of troops in area with less crimeJD Vance was booed and heckled with chants of “Free DC!” during a photo op with national guard troops at Union Station in Washington on Wednesday afternoon.Handing out burgers to troops deployed last week by Donald Trump, at the station’s Shake Shack alongside the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, Vance told soldiers “we appreciate everything you’re doing” and asserted: “We brought some law and order back.” Meanwhile, a crowd of demonstrators protested outside. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago JD Vance booed in DC as he awkwardly greets National Guard at Union Station Shake Shack

Veep was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller, who promised additional resources to DC crime crackdown while calling protesters ‘stupid white hippies’

Events

9 h. ago Microsoft reviewing Israeli military's use of its tech amid worker protests

Worker-led protests have erupted at Microsoft headquarters as the company promises an urgent review of the Israeli military's use of its technology in Gaza

Events

9 h. ago Trump administration to expand review of Smithsonian museums to ‘get Woke out’

Exclusive: White House flagged institutions including those for Latino, African and Asian art for review, document showsAmid the Donald Trump administration’s heavy-handed review of Smithsonian museums, the Guardian has seen a document compiled by the White House that argues the widely visited cultural institutions have overly negative portrayals of US history, from a Benjamin Franklin exhibit that links his scientific achievements to his ownership of enslaved people and a film about George Floyd’s murder that it says mischaracterizes the police.The document, based on public submissions shared with the administration, shows that seven museums have so far been flagged for review: the National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Latino, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of African Art, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Museum of Asian Art. Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Funeral procession for world's longest serving KFC worker passes by her restaurant in Somerset

Pauline Richards worked at KFC for 47 years

Politics