75 m. ago Armed police threatened to arrest Kent protester for holding Palestinian flag

Officers accused Laura Murton who also had a sign saying ‘Free Gaza’ of supporting a proscribed organisationArmed police threatened a peaceful protester with arrest under the Terrorism Act for holding a Palestinian flag and having signs saying “Free Gaza” and “Israel is committing genocide”, accusing her of supporting a proscribed organisation.Officers told Laura Murton, 42, that her demonstration in Canterbury, Kent, on Monday evening expressed views supportive of Palestine Action, which was banned under terrorism legislation earlier this month. Continue reading...

Events

13 h. ago The Guardian view on the Afghan leak superinjunction: a dangerous precedent is set | Editorial

In an era of mistrust in politics, the government now has a duty to bring maximum transparency to a very opaque scandalOne of many extraordinary features of the data breach that put tens of thousands of Afghan lives in jeopardy is the length of time between the original leak and the government taking action. The email containing a highly sensitive dataset was sent from a Ministry of Defence computer in February 2022. Ministers were not aware of the problem until August 2023.The fact that the MoD’s systems were lax enough for the error to have been made is worrying enough. The delayed response is more alarming still. And then there is the disturbing mechanism by which the whole scandal was kept from the public eye.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...

Politics

37 h. ago The Guardian view on the children of Gaza: when 17,000 die, it’s more than a mistake | Editorial

Israel’s military blamed the deaths of six Palestinian children on Sunday on a technical error. But a staggering toll continues to mountOn Sunday, an Israeli strike killed six Palestinian children – and four adults – as they queued for water in a refugee camp. The deaths of children may be the most terrible part of any war. It is not only the suffering of the innocent and powerless, and the unimaginable pain of surviving parents – as dreadful as those are – but the knowledge of lives ended when they had barely begun, of futures that should have stretched long into the distance severed in an instant.As shocking as Sunday’s deaths were, they are commonplace in Gaza: a classroom-worth of children have been killed each day since the war began. What marked them out was that so many deaths happened at once and publicly; and that Israel’s military felt obliged to acknowledge its responsibility – though without any great contrition. It claimed that a “technical error with the munition” caus...

Events

61 h. ago The Guardian view on a climate reckoning: an annual address could set a new standard for political accountability | Editorial

The energy secretary framed environmental action as practical and patriotic, not in terms of wordy ideological pieties. But holding the line won’t be easyEd Miliband is a target for the political right; not because he’s irrelevant, but because he’s effective. The bacon sandwich gags and “Red Ed” jokes mask a deeper unease: that Mr Miliband, with his dogged insistence on science, public investment and long-term thinking, is right. Now, as energy secretary, he has delivered what he calls an exercise in “radical truth-telling” and a stark warning to MPs that rejecting climate action is a betrayal of future generations. The language, for once, isn’t overblown. It’s belated.By highlighting the Met Office’s annual State of the UK Climate report, Mr Miliband shows that the hotter, wetter and more arduous future we feared has already arrived. Extremes are becoming the norm: the number of very hot days has quadrupled; in the last 250 years, six of the 10 wettest winter half-years have o...

Politics

61 h. ago The Guardian view on Europe’s Trump challenge: Brussels must hold its nerve and think big | Editorial

A renewed threat of punitive tariffs from the White House is a reminder that the EU must invest in its own values in a volatile and transforming worldAs the world has grown used to Donald Trump delivering aggressive ultimatums that are then revised or watered down, the shock-and-awe effect of a presidential edict on Truth Social has somewhat diminished. On Saturday, Mr Trump unexpectedly announced that the United States would hit the European Union with swingeing tariffs on goods of 30% from 1 August. That certainly prompted urgent weekend discussions in Brussels, Paris and Berlin. But for now, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is placing all countermeasures on hold, in the hope that what the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, described as “reasonable solutions” can be found.Given the stakes, betting on the success of a softly, softly approach to trade negotiations remains sensible. Mr Trump’s previous imposition of 25% tariffs on European carmakers ...

Politics

67 h. ago Charlotte Church campaigns against ban on Palestine Action group

The Welsh singer said: "We will not be silenced"

Politics

3 d. ago Palestine Action protesters arrested in Cardiff released on bail

The individuals were held on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation under at the protest in the vicinity of Central Square on Saturday.

Events

3 d. ago The Guardian view on Brics growing up: A new bloc seeks autonomy – and eyes a post

The expanding group of emerging powers is building new rules, new tools and a shared industrial future – with or without Donald TrumpThe Brics summit in Brazil last week revealed a loose alliance of emerging powers becoming more complex – and perhaps more consequential. For Brics, heft matters. It now counts 11 member states – including Indonesia, which joined this year – representing half the world’s population and 40% of the global economy, outpacing the G7 by $20tn.Yet its size hides its contradictions. The grouping’s call for more inclusive global institutions sounds welcome, but there is a preponderance of autocracies within its own ranks. Brics is right that international law should be upheld in Middle Eastern conflicts. But it climbs down from its moral pedestal by condemning Ukraine’s strikes on Russian infrastructure – while staying silent on Moscow’s relentless attacks on civilians. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago The Guardian view on private prosecutions: access to justice should not depend on people’s ability to pay | Editorial

An option that should provide a safety valve when the state falls short appears to be increasingly a tool for businesses – sometimes to draconian effectIn England and Wales, anyone can take a suspected criminal to court. Private criminal prosecutions, which can be initiated by individuals, companies or charities, can give people a shot at justice. They can also be open to abuse. The Post Office brought 918 successful private prosecutions against its employees to protect its own commercial interests – at a shocking human cost laid bare by an official report last week. Rail companies take the draconian measure of prosecuting people for mistakenly buying the incorrect ticket: in 2023, a woman received a criminal record for erroneously using her railcard to save a total of £1.60.In the context of a depleted justice budget, these prosecutions appear especially dystopian, allowing the wealthy to pay for their day in court. No official record exists for the number now taking place, though&...

Economics

3 d. ago Police issue update following arrests at Manchester city centre Palestine Action support protest

The arrests followed the banning of direct action group Palestine Action under the terrorism act

Events

3 d. ago More than 70 Palestine Action supporters arrested as group stages second wave of demonstrations in the capital

Protesters (pictured) gathered in central London on Saturday for the second consecutive week to oppose the decision to ban the campaign group.

Events

4 d. ago More than 40 arrests at protest in London in support of banned group Palestine Action

More than 40 arrests at protest in London in support of banned group Palestine Action  Yahoo

Events

4 d. ago More than 70 people arrested at protests supporting banned Palestine Action

The Metropolitan Police made 42 arrests in central London on Saturday, while there were 16 arrests in Manchester and 13 arrests in Cardiff.

Events

4 d. ago More than 50 people arrested at protests supporting banned Palestine Action

Two groups of protesters gathered underneath both the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela statues in Parliament Square on Saturday.

Events

4 d. ago Police arrest dozens of protesters for supporting banned Palestine Action including vicar after activists' vows to go 'floppy'

A vicar was among the 42 people arrested by Scotland Yard officers as activists gathered for a second week in a row next to a statue of Gandhi in Parliament Square.

Events

4 d. ago London police arrest over 40 supporters of banned group Palestine Action

London police arrest over 40 supporters of banned group Palestine Action  South China Morning Post

Events

4 d. ago Police make 16 terror arrests at Manchester city centre Gaza ceasefire protest

The arrests follow the banning of direct action group Palestine Action under the terrorism act

Events

4 d. ago More than 40 arrested at London protest in support of banned group Palestine Action

More than 40 arrested at London protest in support of banned group Palestine Action  The Hill

Events

4 d. ago UK police arrest dozens at protests against Palestine Action ban

UK police arrest dozens at protests against Palestine Action ban  Al Jazeera

Events

4 d. ago UK police detain dozens at London protest against Palestine Action ban

UK police detain dozens at London protest against Palestine Action ban  Al Jazeera

Events