84 m. ago The UK has a history of coddling authoritarian leaders – now it’s happening again | Andy Beckett

British politicians think they exercise a moderating force on strongmen. In practice, ‘diplomacy’ and ‘pragmatism’ only ease their pathWhy is Westminster, supposedly one of the world’s great centres of democratic moderation, so welcoming to far-right foreign governments? For more than a century, since the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, authoritarians have often found allies, apologists or a deliberate absence of criticism in the Commons, despite our parliament’s self-image as a historic enemy of fascism.One reason for this forgiving attitude is that foreign policy is a pragmatic business, and Britain has increasingly become a country that can’t afford to make enemies. The Starmer government’s determination to see no evil in the Trump administration can be partly explained in those terms.Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Culture

4 h. ago Trump administration briefing: hundreds fired from US climate agency as Americans feel economy getting worse

Democrats warn that cutting jobs at Noaa ‘will cost American lives’ – key US politics stories from Wednesday at a glanceThe Trump administration has fired hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency housed within the Department of Commerce, the Guardian learned on Thursday.“This will cost American lives,” said Democratic congresswoman and ranking member of the House science, space and technology committee, Zoe Lofgren, in a written statement. Her comments were issued alongside congressman Gabe Amo’s, the ranking member of the subcommittee on environment, after news of the firings broke. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Refugee aid groups say Trump administration is trying to circumvent court order

Major refugee aid groups say President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be trying to circumvent a federal court ruling this week that blocked his efforts to suspend the nation’s refugee admissions program

Events

7 h. ago Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s mass firings at federal agencies

Judge says office of personnel management lacks power to order firings, including those of probationary employeesA federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ordering the US defense department and other agencies to carry out the mass firings of some employees.The US district judge William Alsup said in San Francisco on Thursday that the US office of personnel management (OPM) lacked the power to order federal agencies to fire any workers, including probationary employees who typically have less than a year of experience. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago ‘Cruel and thoughtless’: Trump fires hundreds at US climate agency Noaa

Employees informed by email that their jobs would be cut off at end of day in move a worker called ‘wrong all around’Don’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.The Trump administration has fired hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), the US’s pre-eminent climate research agency housed within the Department of Commerce, the Guardian has learned.On Thursday afternoon, the commerce department sent emails to employees saying their jobs would be cut off at the end of the day, in a move that one worker called “wrong all around”. Other government agencies have also seen massive staffing cuts in recent days. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Harsh flu season has health officials worried about brain complications in children

Federal health officials are trying to tell if this year's harsh flu season led to an increase in a rare but dangerous brain complication in children

Society

9 h. ago Trump administration quietly shutters online form for student debt repayment

Removal comes after court decision pausing Joe Biden’s Save program, leaving millions of Americans in the lurchDon’t let a billionaire’s algorithm control what you read. Download our free app to get trusted reporting.The Donald Trump administration has taken down the online application form for several popular student debt repayment plans, causing confusion among borrowers and likely creating complications for millions of Americans with outstanding loans.Those seeking payment plans are unable to access the applications for income-driven repayment plans (IDR), which cap what borrowers must pay each month at a percent of their earnings, as well as the online application to consolidate their loans on the US Department of Education website. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Millions of immigrants to be surveilled under Trump, largest US immigration contractor says

Geo Group, an Ice partner, is moving at ‘unprecedented speed’ to build out its monitoring, executive chair saysThe Geo Group, the largest single private contractor to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), said it is building out its surveillance business to be able to monitor hundreds of thousands or millions more immigrants than it already does.The Geo Group, a private prison corporation and parent company of BI Inc, has contracted with Ice for nearly 20 years to manage the agency’s electronic monitoring program. It currently tracks approximately 186,000 immigrants using devices such as ankle monitors, smart watches and a facial recognition app, according to public Ice data. Due to increasing demand from Donald Trump’s administration, which has promised mass deportations, company executives said that they expect that number to grow past its previous peak of 370,000 to 450,000 immigrants within the next year. The remarks were made during the company’s fourth quarter earnings...

Events

10 h. ago Ice contractor plans for surveillance boom under Trump migrant crackdown

Geo Group, an Ice partner, is moving at ‘unprecedented speed’ to build out its monitoring, executive chair saysThe Geo Group, the largest single private contractor to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), said it was building out its surveillance business to be able to monitor hundreds of thousands or millions more immigrants than it already does.The Geo Group, a private prison corporation and parent company of BI Inc, has contracted with Ice for nearly 20 years to manage the agency’s electronic monitoring program. It currently tracks approximately 186,000 immigrants using devices such as ankle monitors, smart watches and a facial recognition app, according to public Ice data. Due to increasing demand from Donald Trump’s administration, which has promised mass deportations, company executives said that they expect that number to grow past its previous peak of 370,000 to 450,000 immigrants within the next year. The remarks were made during the company’s fourth-quarter earning...

Politics

11 h. ago Only two members of Trump’s top administration have a favorable view with the public. Here’s who

Respondents held least favorable views about vice president and Elon Musk

Politics

12 h. ago Andrew Tate insists he and brother Tristan are 'largely misunderstood' after landing in Florida

The brothers have arrived in the US after being allowed to leave Romania following an intervention by Donald Trump's administration.

Politics

12 h. ago Trump's permanent USAID cuts slam humanitarian programs worldwide: 'We are being pushed off a cliff'

Health groups and non-governmental organizations have expressed surprise and outrage after the Trump administration’s decision to cut 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts

Politics

12 h. ago Scientists scorn EPA push to say climate change isn't a danger, say just look around at the world

As President Donald Trump's administration looks to reverse a cornerstone finding that climate change endangers human health and welfare, scientists say they need to look around because it’s obvious how bad global warming is and how its getting worse

Politics

12 h. ago Andrew Tate slams 'media spinners trying to destroy the reputation of good people' with their 'lies' as he lands in Fort Lauderdale

The brothers have arrived in the US after being allowed to leave Romania following an intervention by Donald Trump's administration.

Politics

13 h. ago Andrew Tate lands in Florida aboard private jet after he was allowed to leave Romania where authorities are releasing his assets following intervention by Trump administration

Right-wing influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate have landed in the US in a private jet after being allowed Romania to resolve a series of family issues. 

Politics

15 h. ago White House demands agencies identify hundreds of thousands of potential layoffs

A memo from the Trump administration gives federal officials until 13 March to submit plans for additional firingsUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration is pushing for federal agencies to carry out a large-scale slashing of the federal workforce, demanding plans for hundreds of thousands of possible cuts within weeks.A White House memo gave officials until 13 March to submit a plan identifying “agency components and employees performing functions not mandated by statute or regulation who are not typically designated as essential” during government shutdowns. Continue reading...

Events

15 h. ago Trump and California don’t see eye to eye, but critique of high

Dream of going from LA to San Francisco in three hours is past deadline, over budget, and after 16 years, incompleteCalifornians know their state is a punching bag for Donald Trump’s administration, a “paradise lost” that the president intends to wrest back from the “radical left lunatics”. But when Trump took aim at the state’s much-delayed high-speed rail project earlier this month, saying it was “the worst managed project” he’d ever seen, some of those leftwingers – and more moderate voters – found themselves in the unusual position of conceding he might have a point.California’s beautiful dream of a bullet train whisking passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours has been more than 16 years in the making, approved by voters but dogged by so many delays, broken deadlines and cost overruns that it has only just reached the initial stages of laying down track. Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago Trump administration ends funding for UN program fighting HIV/Aids

Peter Marocco sends letter to UNAids terminating US involvement in serious blow to live-saving health serviceUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration has terminated its funding of the joint United Nations program on HIV/Aids, known as UNAids, delivering another devastating blow to the global fight against the disease.The notice that US funding of UNAids is being cut off is the latest move by the administration to staunch American involvement in life-saving health and anti-poverty programs around the world. It was issued by Peter Marocco, a Trump loyalist who is spearheading the evisceration of the US overseas aid program through USAid. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Trump live: Chief Justice John Roberts pauses order for administration to pay $2bn foreign aid

Supreme Court’s intervention comes hours before midnight payment deadline arrives

Politics

19 h. ago Trump awkwardly interrupts Musk to ‘let the cabinet speak for a second’ during administration’s first meeting

In an awkward moment in the Trump administration’s first cabinet meeting on Wednesday (26 February), President Trump interrupted Elon Musk, in attendance in an advisory role, in order to give his own answer to a reporter’s question.

Politics