12 h. ago Trump’s DC takeover is a move of staggering hypocrisy | Rebecca Solnit

Donald Trump is concocting a drama in DC because he would like us to really stop talking about the Epstein filesThe most violent day in the history of Washington DC, leaving aside the War of 1812, was 6 January 2021, and the instigator was Donald J Trump, who this week has endeavored to seize control of the nation’s capital, after reports that a former employee of the “department of government efficiency” (Doge) was assaulted in the city.In a sense the new event echoes the old; both are illegitimate power grabs made on the basis of lies. In 2021 it was a lie about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election; in the summer of 2025 it’s lies about crime levels. Reliable sources – including the Biden Department of Justice in January – have noted that violent crime there is at a 30-year low. Five people died as a result of that 2021 attack on Congress, and dozens of law enforcement officers were injured, some gravely, by the mob Trump incited. On his first day in office in 2025 he par...

Politics

20 h. ago Russian hackers seized control of Norwegian dam, spy chief says

Beate Gangås says attack in April by Norway’s ‘dangerous neighbour’ aimed to cause fear and chaosEurope live – latest updatesRussian hackers took control of a Norwegian dam this year, opening a floodgate and allowing water to flow unnoticed for four hours, Norway’s intelligence service has said.The admission, by the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), marks the first time that Oslo has formally attributed the cyber-attack in April on Bremanger, western Norway, to Moscow. Continue reading...

Politics

62 h. ago Trump’s military takeover of Washington DC is a sheer demonstration of power | Moira Dongan

No one believes that the deployment of troops to America’s most liberal, most racially diverse, and most culturally thriving cities is about solving a real problemPresident Trump imposed a military takeover of the nation’s capital on Monday, sending National Guard troops to Washington. He also seized control of the DC municipal police department, invoking an obscure section of the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act which allows the president to take control of local law enforcement in the district for a period of one month in times of emergency.That there is no emergency is irrelevant: Trump has declared one in order to exercise powers that are only available to him in a state of exception, which is, of course, what the whole country increasingly finds itself to be experiencing as the president expands the powers of his office from those of a constitutional executive into something more like the power of authoritarian control.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Trump takes extraordinary action to crush 'bloodshed and bedlam' in DC by seizing control of local police and unleashing National Guard

President Donald Trump announced Monday his intentions to deploy federal law enforcement officials to clean up Washington, DC and further combat violent crime in the city.

Events

6 d. ago ‘I will live here, and I will die here’: Palestinians defiant as Israel plans to seize control of Gaza Strip

While some in Gaza City are preparing to evacuate to the south, others refuse to be displaced againDisplaced repeatedly. Forced to live in tent camps or amid the ruins of their homes. Stricken by hunger and deprived of medical supplies.Now, 22 months into the war, around 1 million Palestinians are bracing for another catastrophe after the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to take control of the entire Gaza Strip. Such an offensive would force them toward the south of the territory, and an uncertain future. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago ‘I will live here, and I will die here’: Palestinians defiant as Israel plans to seize control of Gaza City

While some in Gaza City are preparing to evacuate to the south, others refuse to be displaced againDisplaced repeatedly. Forced to live in tent camps or amid the ruins of their homes. Stricken by hunger and deprived of medical supplies.Now, 22 months into the war, around 1 million Palestinians are bracing for another catastrophe after the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to take control of Gaza City. Such an offensive would force them toward the south of the territory, and an uncertain future. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Vance to arrive in UK for Lammy meeting as Starmer denounces Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City – UK politics live

The foreign secretary is to welcome the US vice-president to Chevening, his grace-and-favour residence, and Gaza is expected to be on their agendaJohn Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, says Israel’s decision to occupy Gaza City is “completely and utterly unacceptable”. In a message on social media, the SNP leader said:The decision of the Israeli government to seize control of Gaza City is completely and utterly unacceptable. It will create even more human suffering for the Palestinian people and further escalate the conflict. The international community must stop Israel and secure a ceasefire.Netanyahu’s brutal plan to take control of Gaza is yet another declaration of intent to commit war crimes. The UK must do more than express disapproval: end military cooperation and arms sales, recognise Palestine, demand an immediate ceasefire and accountability for war crimes. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago ‘A million calls an hour’: Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians

Revealed: The Israeli military undertook an ambitious project to store a giant trove of Palestinians’ phone calls on Microsoft’s servers in EuropeOne afternoon in late 2021, Microsoft’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, met with the commander of Israel’s military surveillance agency, Unit 8200. On the spy chief’s agenda: moving vast amounts of top secret intelligence material into the US company’s cloud.Meeting at Microsoft’s headquarters near Seattle, a former chicken farm turned hi-tech campus, the spymaster, Yossi Sariel, won Nadella’s support for a plan that would grant Unit 8200 access to a customised and segregated area within Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Stella Rimington, Britain's first female MI5 spy chief, dies at 90

Stella Rimington, the first female chief of Britain's MI5, has died at the age of 90

Events

3 w. ago How the Lions’ half backs seized control of Test series against Australia

Half backs Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell controlled proceedings well as the Lions took a first Test lead

Politics

3 w. ago Air of inevitability blows in as Scottie Scheffler seizes control of the Open

Dominant Scheffler moves four clear of the fieldLi Haotong and Matt Fitzpatrick lead pursuitScottie Scheffler still had 20 holes of this Open Championship still to play. History tells us leads can evaporate in just one. Dense rough, links bunkers, the scale of pressure attached to the oldest major. Open calamity is written in folklore. The ghost of Jean van de Velde still lingers. And yet, the bookmakers had Scheffler at only 1-8 to lift the Claret Jug. The fat lady had cleared her throat. Twenty holes. What sporting planet is this?It is possible to run out of adjectives for Scheffler. Unflappable, remarkable, relentless. Nobody will ever match the impact of Tiger Woods on golf but it really is no exaggeration to suggest Scheffler can be similarly dominant. Come Sunday evening on the Causeway Coast, Scheffler will surely be a four-time major winner and three-quarters of the way towards a career grand slam. This is only his 24th major start as a professional. In one of them, his purs...

Politics

3 w. ago The inside story of how Starmer seized back control of Labour – but with a risk

As the long summer recess approached, the PM dramatically suspended four Labour MPs to reassert his authority. Political editor David Maddox looks at how events unfolded and what it means through the eyes of those involved

Events

3 w. ago The inside story of how Starmer seized back control of Labour

As the long summer recess approached, the PM dramatically suspended four Labour MPs to reassert his authority. Political Editor David Maddox looks out how events unfolded and what it means through the eyes of those involved

Politics