Digital blackouts reached a record high in 2024 in Africa as more governments sought to keep millions of citizens off the internet than in any other period over the last decade. A report released by the internet rights group Access Now and #KeepItOn, a coalition of hundreds of civil society organisations worldwide, found there were … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Andrew Roth There was an audible gasp in the room at the Council on Foreign Relations as Keith Kellogg, the White House’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, characterised the US decision to cut off intelligence sharing and military aid to … Read more
Housing associations are facing allegations of mis-selling so-called “affordable” homes, with service charges that have soared, in some cases by more than 400%, after residents moved in. Marketing and property documents examined by the Observer reveal how buyers who may be struggling financially are enticed to buy shared ownership homes with estimated monthly service charges … Read more
As the Nobel laureate Robert Lucas quipped during the 2008 financial crisis: “I guess everyone is a Keynesian in a foxhole.” Donald Trump’s upending of the postwar security consensus has underlined the enduring wisdom of Lucas’s observation. But now, instead of bank bailouts and emergency bond buying, European firepower is being directed at bombs, tanks … Read more
Mastercard and Visa are processing payments for illegal gambling websites accused of scamming UK customers out of thousands of pounds. An investigation has found that the payment giants are failing to stop their networks being used to make transactions on unlicensed sites despite a previous pledge to do so. Last week, Mastercard was offered alongside … Read more
There was an audible gasp in the room at the Council on Foreign Relations as Keith Kellogg, the White House’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, characterised the US decision to cut off intelligence sharing and military aid to Kyiv as like beating a farm animal with a piece of wood. “Very candidly, they brought … Read more
Millions of pounds of fines imposed on water firms will fund environmental schemes to protect the country’s waterways after fears the money would be diverted to the Treasury. The water restoration fund was set up by the Conservative government to ensure that polluting water firms paid for the damage they caused. The fund received £11m … Read more
The letter the US president, Donald Trump, says he sent to Iran’s leadership offering to reopen talks on the country’s nuclear programme comes at a point when Iranian domestic politics is at its most unstable for years. In the past month, the conservative-dominated parliament has asserted its power over the broadly reformist president elected last … Read more
Just a few short weeks ago, Nigel Farage’s Reform party was riding high. It was consistently polling above Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative party and in some surveys had even edged ahead of the Labour government. Donors who had previously handed over large amounts to the Tories were switching sides, while Farage was relishing having the ear … Read more
When he rose to his feet at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Keir Starmer delivered a stirring tribute to six British soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan 13 years ago. He read out their names very deliberately, one by one. The House was silent. The prime minister then added a tribute to a 22-year-old … Read more