5 h. ago The Guardian view on a second ICE killing in Minneapolis: midnight in America | Editorial

The shooting of Alex Pretti was carried out by a federal agent licensed to act with impunity. The US must be rescued from Trump’s authoritarianismFollowing the fatal shooting earlier this month of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, his colleagues received reassurance that they continued to enjoy “federal immunity” for their actions. “Anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony,” the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, had previously stated. “No city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties.”Words have consequences. Ms Good, a US citizen and mother of three children, had in fact been attempting to drive away from a protest in Minneapolis, where ICE’s deportation snatch squads have terrorised migrants and those who have attempted to defend their rights. On Saturday, in the same...

Events

31 h. ago The Guardian view on Europe’s payments problem: sovereignty starts at the till | Editorial

Donald Trump’s leverage over Visa and Mastercard highlights a blind spot in Europe’s ‘independence’ strategy. Emulating India’s response might helpWhen the centre-left French politician Aurore Lalucq posted a warning last Wednesday that Donald Trump could cut off Europe from international payment systems, the clip went viral. To many, her message made sense. After all, if Mr Trump was prepared to test allies’ boundaries over Greenland, it is not far-fetched to imagine Visa and Mastercard becoming used against a recalcitrant Europe.The US can turn off payment systems it controls. Russia learned this first-hand after sanctions were rightly applied for its invasion of Ukraine. As up to 60% of Russian retail transactions depended on Visa and Mastercard for authorisation, the ban left many ordinary people stranded without access to funds and unable to buy goods. Under Mr Trump, America’s goal is to “help Europe correct its current trajectory”. Given such talk, Ms Lalucq, who chairs the&n...

Politics

31 h. ago The Guardian view on the future of cinema: gen Z is falling in love with the big screen | Editorial

Film is in a state of existential crisis. But a new generation of cinephiles might save it from the streaming giants“It was from a weekly visit to the cinema that you learned (or tried to learn) how to walk, to smoke, to kiss, to fight, to grieve,” Susan Sontag wrote 30 years ago, in an essay to mark 100 years of film entitled The Decay of Cinema. For Sontag, the onset of the “ignominious, irreversible decline” of the 20th century’s greatest art form was the arrival of television. Today it is the advent of streaming.Cinema is in a state of existential crisis. Netflix is bidding to take over Warner Bros, as the industry is still recovering from lockdown and the 2023 Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes. Leonardo DiCaprio, whose One Battle After Another received 13 Oscar nominations last week, having failed to break even at the box office, asked if people still have “the appetite” for movies, and if cinemas are in danger of becoming “silos – like jazz bars”. Matt Damon has...

Politics

3 d. ago The Guardian view on Syria’s crisis: Islamic State fighters are not the only concern | Editorial

As a lightning government offensive leaves the Kurdish-dominated SDF reeling, the political horizon needs attention as well as securityIn little more than a fortnight, a dramatic Syrian government offensive appears to have undone over a decade of Kurdish self-rule in the north-east and extended President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s control. The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) held around a quarter of the country and many critical resources – but were forced out of much of it within days. Though the SDF has effectively agreed to dissolution in principle, it has not shown it will do so in practice: a worrying sign for a fragile truce. A peaceful resolution is in everyone’s interests. Forcible integration by Damascus would risk breeding insurgency.The US relied upon the SDF in the battle against Islamic State. But Donald Trump has embraced “attractive, tough” Mr Sharaa – a former jihadist who had a $10m US bounty on his head until late 2024. The US administration became increasi...

Events

4 d. ago The Guardian view on Trump’s Board of Peace: an international body in service to one man’s ego | Editorial

It was supposed to give Gaza a future, but the US president is using it to attack the UN, international law and multilateralismOne glance at the logo of the Board of Peace tells you all you need to know. It is the globe and laurels of the UN – only gold, because this is Donald Trump’s initiative, and showing little of the world beyond North America.The charter of the board, formally launched in Davos on Thursday, suggests that this is less America First than Trump Always. It is not “the US president” but Mr Trump himself who is named as chair, for as long as he wishes. He can pick his successor, decide the agenda and axe whomever he chooses – even if they have coughed up the $1bn demanded for permanent membership. It is the institutional expression of his belief that he is bound not by law but “my own morality, my own mind”.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 publica...

Politics

4 d. ago The Guardian view on toddlers and screens: more reasons to be fearful of big tech | Editorial

Growing concerns about the impact of smartphones on the youngest children must be addressedThe first UK government guidance on young children’s use of tablets, smartphones and other screens, expected in April, cannot come soon enough. The laissez-faire approach to the boom in social media, handheld devices and other digital technology was arguably nowhere less suitable than when such machines were placed in front of babies. The Department for Education’s ongoing Children of the 2020s study has found that 98% of two-year-olds watch screens on a typical day for more than two hours. Those who spent the most time had smaller vocabularies, and were twice as likely as other children to show signs of emotional and behavioural difficulties.Correlation must not be mistaken for causation. This is still a relatively new area of research, and much remains uncertain. But the findings of a recent survey by the charity Kindred Squared, combined with observations by teachers, are highly concerning....

Politics

4 d. ago How screen time affects toddlers: ‘We’re losing a big part of being human’

In the UK, 98% of two-year-olds watch screens on a typical day, on average for more than two hours – and almost 40% of three- to five-year-olds use social media. Could this lead to alarming outcomes?At Stoke primary school in Coventry, there are many four-year-olds among those starting in reception class who can’t sit still, hold a pencil or speak more than a four-word sentence. Lucy Fox, the assistant headteacher and head of foundations, is in no doubt what is causing this: their early exposure to screens, and a lot of it. When the children experiment with materials and creativity, and make things in the classroom, she says, “We notice a lot of children will cut pieces of cardboard out and make a mobile phone or tablet, or an Xbox controller. That’s what they know.”At another school in Hampshire, a longtime reception teacher says in the last few years she has noticed children getting frustrated if activities aren’t instant and seamless – something she thinks comes from playing game...

Politics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on Keir Starmer and Donald Trump: quiet diplomacy has reached its limit | Editorial

The prime minister has a duty to be candid with the British public about the scale of the global realignment caused by a volatile US presidentOne foreign policy achievement that Donald Trump prefers not to boast about is his role in helping Mark Carney win last year’s Canadian general election. The incumbent Liberal party faced crushing defeat before Mr Trump threatened to annex Canada. Mr Carney’s candidacy was buoyed up by a patriotic rally against US bullying.Perhaps because his country has also been coveted by Mr Trump, Mr Carney has given one of the most clear-sighted responses of any democratic leader to the US president’s designs on Greenland. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, the Canadian prime minister set out the challenge for countries whose security and prosperity have depended on a global system underwritten by the US.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 b...

Politics

6 d. ago The Guardian view on the French far right: mainstream parties are running out of time | Editorial

A Paris appeals court will decide if Marine Le Pen can stand in next year’s presidential election. But legal troubles have not damaged the fortunes of her partyIn a Paris courtroom, the first act of the 2027 French presidential election is already under way. On Tuesday Marine Le Pen began to answer judges’ questions in her appeal against a conviction relating to the embezzlement of European parliament funds. If she wins, the far-right leader will be free to run for the presidency for a fourth time. If the sentence is upheld, her 30-year-old protege, Jordan Bardella, is almost certain to take her place in the race.Having presented the original verdict as an assault on democracy by judges bent on thwarting her political ambitions, Ms Le Pen has softened her stance. If the appeals court is swayed by arguments that offences committed by her National Rally party were inadvertent, a five-year ban on running for public office may be reduced or overturned. Even if she loses, however, her po...

Politics

8 d. ago The Guardian view on Trump and Greenland: get real! Bullying is not strength | Editorial

Tariff threats over the Arctic island expose the limits of coercive diplomacy. Europe’s united response and pushback shows fear is fadingFor all Donald Trump’s bluster about restoring American strength, his attempt to bully European allies over Greenland reveals a deeper weakness: coercive diplomacy only works if people are afraid to resist. Increasingly, they aren’t. And that is a good thing. Bullies often back down when confronted – their power relies on fear. Mr Trump’s threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Europeans unless they acquiesce to his demand to “purchase” Greenland has stripped his trade policy bare. This is not about economic security, unfair trade or protecting American workers. It is about using tariffs as a weapon to force nations to submit.The response from Europe has been united and swift. That in itself should send a message. France’s Emmanuel Macron says plainly “no amount of intimidation” will alter Europe’s position. Denmark has anchored the issue firmly insid...

Politics

8 d. ago The Guardian view on microplastics research: questioning results is good for science, but has political consequences | Editorial

Errors in measuring microplastic pollution can be corrected. Public trust in science also needs to be shored up It is true that science is self-correcting. Over the long term this means that we can generally trust its results – but up close, correction can be a messy process. The Guardian reported last week that 20 recent studies measuring the amount of micro- and nanoplastics in the human body have been criticised in the scientific literature for methodological issues, calling their results into question. In one sense this is the usual process playing out as it should. However, the scale of the potential error – one scientist estimates that half the high-impact papers in the field are affected – suggests a systemic problem that should have been prevented.The risk is that in a febrile political atmosphere in which trust in science is being actively eroded on issues from climate change to vaccinations, even minor scientific conflicts can be used to sow further doubt. Given that there...

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on ICE and Renee Good’s killing: Trumpism’s brutal tactics don’t end with migrants | Editorial

The US president wants Americans to believe they are facing an emergency. The real danger is from his administrationIn Minnesota, armed and masked agents are ripping families apart. They are seizing parents while they wait with their child at a bus stop, going door to door seeking undocumented migrants and breaking car windows to drag people out. Last Wednesday an officer shot dead Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen. Her killing is a tragedy for all who loved her, and most of all for the three children left motherless. It also marks her country’s crossing of a Rubicon.Where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) once preferred to keep a low profile, it now seeks publicity and confrontation – pumped up on billions of dollars in funding, the aggression and brazenness of the administration and the licensing of bigotry. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago The Guardian view on Trump’s assault on the Fed: it is part of an affordability blame game | Editorial

Attacking Jerome Powell distracts from Republicans’ thin legislative record and policies that continue to squeeze American household incomesThe US government’s authoritarian and vexatious attack on Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, should be seen in the light of America’s affordability crisis, which Donald Trump once dismissed, but is now scrambling to claim as his cause. The cost of living is eroding his support ahead of the congressional midterms. By launching a legal assault on the Fed, Mr Trump is trying to shift blame for borrowing costs.Yet despite controlling the presidency, Senate and the House, Republicans have passed little beyond a large tax-cutting bill that benefits the rich. They have not legislated on housing supply, childcare, healthcare costs or wages. Indeed most of their actions are worsening affordability, notably deferring action even though millions face a sharp rise in their health insurance bills. Mr Trump’s sudden enthusiasm for credit card ca...

Politics

1 week ago Warning issued over excessive screen time as toddlers show delayed vocabulary

New research warns children born in 2020s spending double the recommended time on screens

Events

1 week ago Children born in 2020s spending double the recommended time on screens, study warns

Researchers say toddlers who spend more time watching screens score lower on vocabulary tests

Events

2 w. ago The Guardian view on regulating big tech: politicians must back Ofcom’s challenge to Musk | Editorial

A flood of non-consensual deepfake bikini shots on X is putting the UK’s Online Safety Act to the testThe unleashing on X (formerly Twitter) of a torrent of AI-generated images of women and children wearing bikinis, some in sexualised poses or with injuries, has rightly prompted a strong reaction from UK politicians and regulators. Monday’s announcement that X is being investigated was Ofcom’s most combative move since key provisions in the Online Safety Act came into force. None of the other businesses it has challenged or fined have anything like the global reach or political clout of Elon Musk’s social media giant. Whatever happens next, this is a defining moment. What is being defined is the extent to which some of the wealthiest companies on the planet are under democratic control.But the announcement is only a first step. Ofcom has given no indication of how long its investigation will take. On Friday Downing Street described as insulting the decision to li...

Politics

2 w. ago Dad shares 7 things he does with toddler to keep them occupied without a screen

One dad has shared the activities he does with his toddler to keep them entertained without the need for a screen

Events

2 w. ago Parents warned that screen time damages toddlers’ ability to speak

The first-ever state guidance will be published in April

Events

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Europe’s stalling night train revival: don’t let it hit the buffers | Editorial

The most romantic way to traverse the continent is environmentally friendly and popular with the public. But market challenges need addressingWhen the European Union made its 2020 commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, there was a wave of excitement about what that might mean for the continent’s most romantic form of travel. The golden era of night trains had, it was previously assumed, gone for good amid the rise of low-cost, short-haul flights. But the new environmental imperatives suggested that they could be a glamorous part of a greener future, delivering a climate impact that was 28 times less than flying. The European Commission enthusiastically identified a plethora of potential new routes that it judged could be economically viable.Sadly, due to a series of challenges that Brussels and national governments have done too little to address, the renaissance appears to be stalling. Last month, a two-year-old night service linking Paris w...

Events

2 w. ago Toddlers glued to smartphones and TVs for five hours a day say fewer words: Researchers warn parents over excessive screentime

The government is to give parents guidance on how long under-fives should spend watching TV or looking at computer screens.

Events