22 h. ago Everybody panic – the workplace has become too ‘feminized’! | Arwa Mahdawi

This week, Mexico’s president was groped in public. But a New York Times podcast is fretting about excessive wokenessLean in (to misogyny), ladies!Are you a woman? Do you want to rapidly raise your profile and get booked on the speaking circuit? Are you good at mental gymnastics?Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

66 h. ago Mamdani’s mayoral race was marred by unhinged Islamophobia. It’s not going away soon | Arwa Mahdawi

The racist abuse that Zohran Mamdani is still facing proves how normalized bigotry is. We need to keep calling it outPack your bags and flee, infidels: New York City has fallen to a cabal of socialist jihadists. With Zohran Mamdani to become the city’s first Muslim mayor, many are celebrating the democratic socialist’s historic win. Billionaires, Islamophobes and Republicans, however, are in the throes of hysteria. But what’s new? The New York mayoral race has been marred by bigotry so unhinged it’s almost impossible to parody.Far-right activist and unofficial Trump adviser Laura Loomer posted on X, for example, that “there will be another 9/11 in NYC” under Mamdani. New York City councilmember Vickie Paladino called the 34-year-old a “known jihadist terrorist”. Actor Debra Messing, meanwhile, has been having a Mamdani-induced meltdown on Instagram, posting story after story about how the puppy-eyed politician is a threat to civilization. She recently posted: “In Judaism and Christi...

Politics

4 d. ago Trump and his media buddies are taking the muddling of reality to a whole new level | Arwa Mahdawi

How scared should we be by Trump’s heavily edited appearance on a US news programme this weekend, and Elon Musk’s Grokipedia?You know how I’m going to be able to tell that I’ve really made it as a writer in America? When our very handsome (much better-looking than Zohran Mamdani!) and very high-IQ leader Donald Trump gives me a personal shoutout to commend me on what a wonderful job I’m doing. As we all know, a good journalist should always make the rich and powerful feel comfortable.While I wait for that day to come, I’m watching and learning from the head honchos at CBS. Trump appeared on CBS News’s 60 Minutes on Sunday night for his first sit-down with the show in five years and commented on how much better the network has become after its owner, Paramount, was taken over by his billionaire allies, the father-and-son duo Larry and David Ellison. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Katie Miller is threatening the citizenship of a critic | Arwa Mahdawi

Threatening to deport your critics, even those with US citizenship, seems to have become Maga policySome couples bond over shared hobbies; others over shared values. The Maga bigwigs Stephen and Katie Miller, on the other hand, appear to have connected over their shared love of terrorizing immigrant children.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago British soldier who died of 'gunshot to the head' in Ukraine after being injured by bomb was 'concerned about how war casualties were being dealt with', inquest told

Former Royal Marine commando Oliver Bovey, 27, was fighting against Russian forces in the Donetsk region when an explosion left him with leg injuries

Events

1 week ago Trump’s third term? Don’t laugh. He’s never let the rules stop him before | Arwa Mahdawi

He has floated the idea more than once – and his inner circle is already gaming it out. The US constitution might say no, but Trump has a habit of finding his way around even the biggest obstaclesLet me tell you a secret about the US constitution: it’s just a piece of paper. It’s not immutable law created by a higher being. It was made by men, it’s been amended by men, and it can be destroyed by men. It’s only as strong as the institutions that uphold it – institutions which Donald Trump has been systematically weakening as he expands his executive power.I say this because there are still lots of people who have faith that the constitution can stop the US from gradually turning into an electoral autocracy like Hungary. There are still people so drunk on American exceptionalism that they think it’s ludicrous to believe Trump might seek a third term, because such a move is explicitly outlawed by the 22nd amendment of the constitution. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Why is Trump demolishing the White House's East Wing? Because he wants to | Arwa Mahdawi

The president’s mega-project raises a lot of questions – including when he’s planning on leavingDonald Trump has quite the passion for American history. If there’s a controversial statue commemorating a dead white supremacist out there, there’s a good chance the president has gone to bat for it.“Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,” Trump tweeted in 2017, in response to a push to remove Confederate monuments. “You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who’s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!” Trump added.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Woman shot dead as part of drug gang turf war, murder trial told

Joanne Penney, 40, was shot in the heart when she opened the door of a flat in Talbot Green, near Cardiff.

Events

3 w. ago A congressman’s ex got a protective order against him. His boss has little to say about it | Arwa Mahdawi

This isn’t the first time Cory Mills has faced allegations of misconduct – but the House speaker wants to talk about ‘serious’ thingsMeet Cory Mills, a Republican congressman representing Florida. He is rabidly anti-abortion, incredibly anti-immigration, and obsequiously pro-Trump. Earlier this year, perhaps in a desperate bid to get Dear Leader to notice him, he introduced a bill, dubbed the “DON-ument Act”, which would make the wall on the US-Mexico border a national monument.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago We are told the ‘war’ against Gaza is finally ‘over’. Is it? | Arwa Mahdawi

I am not celebrating the end of the ‘war’ because this was not a war – and it’s not over, eitherThank you, Donald Trump. Thank you, Benjamin Netanyahu. Thank you, Jared Kushner. Let’s all pause, shall we, and have a moment of appreciation for these three wise men who have finally brought peace to the Middle East. Blessed are the peacemakers!And, of course, thank you to the Israeli military which, as a US taxpayer, I have done my part to help fund. To echo Kushner: “Instead of replicating the barbarism of the enemy, [Israel] chose to be exceptional.” Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Where do babies come from? Robert F Kennedy Jr doesn’t seem to know | Arwa Mahdawi

Science tells us that foetuses develop in the uterus, rather than the placenta – but the US health secretary has a different take. Why are Republicans so clueless about women’s bodies?Robert F Kennedy Jr is the father of six children. He’s also the US health secretary. Two facts that might lead a reasonable person to assume he possesses a basic understanding of how foetuses develop.In a shocking development, however, it seems that Kennedy – an anti-vaxxer who says his brain was partly eaten by a parasitic worm – may not know what he’s talking about. During a cabinet meeting last Thursday, Kennedy reasserted unproven claims that taking the common painkiller acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol or paracetamol, while pregnant causes autism. Doubters of this theory, he said, were motivated by Trump derangement syndrome. To underscore his point, he referenced a TikTok video he’d seen of a pregnant woman “gobbling Tylenol with her baby in her placenta”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Good news: men have stopped disrupting women’s sport with dildos. Bad news: now they’re betting on their periods | Arwa Mahdawi

Speculating on basketball players’ menstrual cycles is creepy and intrusive. In other words, it’s just what you’d expect when women must be punished for standing outForget the bald eagle or the Statue of Liberty – the best symbol of modern America may well be a neon green dildo. Women’s basketball fans will know exactly what I’m talking about. On 29 July, a brightly coloured sex toy was thrown on to the court during the final minutes of play in a WNBA game between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream. In the weeks that followed, more neon dildos were flung at female basketball players, with at least six WNBA games disrupted.The culprits were reportedly members of a cryptocurrency group trying to boost a memecoin called Green Dildo Coin. It was all very 2025: brainrot stunts, get-rich-quick schemes and memeified misogyny. And, of course, the Trump family joined in. Donald Trump Jr, who fancies himself an edgelord, posted a crude picture of his dad throwing a green dildo o...

Politics

3 w. ago Horrors endured by Israel's last 20 hostages: Chained, tortured, and starved. As they are finally released from Gaza, captives reveal how Hamas made them suffer

The last 20 living hostages held by Hamas have revealed, for the first time, how the terror group made them suffer for the last two years. 

Events

3 w. ago 'Now we can breathe again': Family of Israeli hostage who was starved and forced to dig his own grave jump for joy as the Daily Mail joins them to watch his release

For 738 days all they saw of Evyatar David were images of his torture in the bowels of Gaza but today those who love him most finally saw a picture to make them smile.

Politics

3 w. ago The Guardian view on peace in Gaza: the relief is real, but Trump’s promise of a ‘golden age’ rings hollow | Editorial

Hostage and prisoner releases are bringing joy to families. But there is no guarantee that the ceasefire will end Palestinian sufferingThe reprieve brought by the end of fighting in Gaza is immense. In Israel, the release of the living hostages has led to widespread elation. In Gaza and the West Bank there are also celebrations, as up to 2,000 Palestinian detainees start to be released – though there is distress, too, due to uncertainty about who is being freed and where they will be sent. In northern Gaza, people can finally return to dig through rubble for the remains of an estimated 10,000 missing people.As recently as three weeks ago, the likelihood of a ceasefire appeared remote. But it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump travelled from Jerusalem, where he was cheered in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a high-powered peace summit of more than 20 world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer. The plan for peace begun there is due to be c...

Politics

3 w. ago 'Now we can breathe again': Family of Israeli hostage who was starved and forced to dig his own grave jump for joy as Mail joins them to watch his release

For 738 days all they saw of Evyatar David were images of his torture in the bowels of Gaza but today those who love him most finally saw a picture to make them smile.

Politics

3 w. ago 'You are coming home': surviving Israeli hostages freed after two years in Gaza – video report

All 20 remaining living Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas after more than two years in captivity in Gaza. Hostages were handed over to the Red Cross before finally rejoining their families with the help of the Israeli army. Hamas had allowed some of the hostages to make video calls home on Monday morning before their release.Emotional footage was shared by Israeli broadcasters to an estimated 65,000 people gathered in front of large screens in 'hostages square' in Tel Aviv and to millions more watching the coverage at home. Hundreds were there from the early hours of Monday and tens of thousands more joined them as the morning went on where they watched live footage of events from large screens on two sides of the square. Israeli ministers had approved overnight a list of 1,718 Palestinian prisoners due to be releasedHamas releases 20 remaining living Israeli hostages after two years in GazaGaza ceasefire – live updatesAs Donald Trump heads to Gaza ‘peace summit’ in Egypt...

Events

3 w. ago Free at last! Israeli hostages hug one another in joy as all 20 living captives are finally handed over by Hamas following 738 days in Gaza hell as part of Trump's historic peace deal 

'This is my great honour. A great and beautiful day, a new beginning,' Trump wrote in the guestbook, standing next to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Politics

3 w. ago Free at last! Hostages hug one another in joy as they are finally released from Gaza following 738 days in captivity as part of Trump's historic peace deal

The historic exchange is part of a Donald Trump-brokered deal between Israel and Hamas that aims to bring an end to the devastating two-year war.

Economics

4 w. ago Why is this Fox News host speculating about AOC’s sex life? | Arwa Mahdawi

Even his colleague has dubbed Jesse Watters’s claim about Ocasio-Cortez and Stephen Miller ‘creepy’Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and United States homeland security adviser, is one of the most influential people in the Trump administration. He is also such a hate-filled little man that members of his own family are publicly rebuking him.During Donald Trump’s first term, in 2018, Miller’s uncle, Dr David Glosser, wrote a piece for Politico calling Miller an “immigration hypocrite”. Glosser noted that if Miller’s hardline immigration policies “had been in force a century ago, our family [Jewish refugees who fled to the US from Europe to avoid persecution] would have been wiped out”.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics