EU spends three times more on imports from China than bloc exports there 22. September 2026 (13:54) Study shows trade deficit ran at more than €1bn a day in July, days before Xi Jinping’s summit with Donald TrumpBusiness live – latest updatesConsumers and businesses in the EU are spending three times more on Chinese imports than their counterparts in China are buying from the bloc, a study has shown.Customs data showed the gap between the EU’s imports from China and exports to China, the trade deficit, ran at more than €1bn (£860m) a day in July. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
OpenAI’s George Osborne says datacentre nimbys holding back Britain 22. September 2026 (13:46) Former chancellor, now senior figure at OpenAI, says UK needs datacentres to maintain ‘sovereignty’ over AI techUK politics live – latest updatesDatacentre nimbys are holding Britain back, George Osborne has said in reaction to nationwide protests about the giant water- and energy-guzzling structures.The former Tory chancellor is now the head of AI for countries at OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. His job is to represent the company to governments around the world and he also has a role in enabling the building of datacentres and other infrastructure. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Piers Morgan says he will sue Earl Spencer over ‘fabricated inaccuracies’ 22. September 2026 (13:45) Broadcaster refutes memoir claim that he was behind publication of gym photos of Diana, Princess of WalesPiers Morgan has said he will sue Earl Spencer over “fabricated inaccuracies” and “examples of brazen falsity” in his book about Diana, Princess of Wales.The earl has made a series of claims in Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, including that King Charles said “we’ll forget her soon enough” after she died, which has prompted a war of words between him and Buckingham Palace. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Poorer nations will be among the last to benefit if global emissions cut to net zero 22. September 2026 (13:13) Scientists found unequal impact of the climate crisis would not be reversed even if implicit goal of the 2015 Paris agreement is achievedThe unequal impact of the climate crisis on the world’s poorest people, including those in tropical areas, has been highlighted by new research that finds they will be among the last to feel the benefits if global greenhouse gas emissions are cut to net zero.Temperatures have risen more significantly in tropical areas relative to their historic range than at higher latitudes, including in wealthier countries in Europe and North America. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Why the CDC is excluding measles deaths in Pennsylvania even as outbreak appears to be ‘accelerating’ 22. September 2026 (13:00) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refuses to count four measles deaths in the state though doctors are ‘seeing new forms’ of diseaseThe US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its measles dashboard on Friday – but it’s still not counting four measles deaths in Pennsylvania, where the outbreak appears to be accelerating and cases are appearing in ways providers have never seen before.Members of Congress on Monday requested an “immediate briefing” on the decision to change how measles deaths are reported as cases continue to rise throughout the United States, reaching levels not seen in decades. A possible measles exposure was reported in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia last week. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘The choice was prison or exile’: journalists who fled Russia publish grim portrait of Putin 22. September 2026 (12:58) Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin, who were forced to move abroad in 2021, tell of president capable of ‘limitless cruelty’At 6am on 29 June 2021, the Russian journalist Roman Badanin was woken by a knock on the door of his family’s Moscow apartment. “Come quickly, someone has scratched your car in the courtyard,” a voice shouted from outside. As he opened the door, masked men pushed their way in.Across the city, a similar raid was happening at the home of Badanin’s colleague Mikhail Rubin. The masked men were officers of the FSB, the Russian intelligence service, instruments of the “climate of fear and violence” that the journalists say Vladimir Putin has imposed on Russia in their forensically detailed biography of the Russian president. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU deadlocked on changes to Russia sanctions ahead of key Ukraine, Greenland talks - Europe live 22. September 2026 (11:54) Without an agreement sanctions on nearly 3,000 entities accused of supporting the war on Ukraine will lapse at the end of the dayMeanwhile, the Kremlin said it considered all western sanctions on Russian individuals to be illegal and that they should all be revoked.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was answering a question about a push by some EU countries to lift sanctions on Russia-linked billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman in return for keeping thousands of other individuals and businesses under sanctions related to the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported (11:15). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Middle East crisis live: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warns it will ‘change geography of war’ if US escalates conflict 22. September 2026 (11:45) The US president said in an interview ahead of the United Nations meeting that he was considering ‘wiping Iran out’The UK has agreed to provide defensive air support to Saudi Arabia to help counter Houthi fighters and restore stability in the Middle East while driving down the cost of living at home, Andy Burnham has said, ahead of his first meeting with Donald Trump.The prime minister said he had agreed to a request for air-to-air refuelling of Saudi jets to defend energy infrastructure against the Iran-backed rebels and help keep oil flowing from the Gulf to ease global economic turmoil. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK not ‘on the slide’, Burnham to tell UN as he gears up for first meeting with Trump – UK politics live 22. September 2026 (11:42) Burnham is heading to New York for the United Nations general assemblyThe comment from Andy Burnham criticising Donald Trump from 2017 quoted earlier (see 9.58am) referred to the prospect of Trump visiting Manchester during his state visit. In fact, he never went near the city. But next year he may be there, because No 10 has announced that it will host the G20 summit.In its report on the story, the Manchester Evening News says:The move to host the G20 in Manchester was reportedly set up months ago after Andy Burnham became prime minister, using his first phone call with Mr Trump to invite him to the city, and which is said to have been accepted by the American President.It is understood that planning has already started for the enormous gathering, which will require the biggest security operation the city has ever seen …We have received a request from Saudi Arabia for military support and … I agreed to that request for defensive air-to-air refuelling. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
AI could be a bubble and is not yet making Australia more productive, Michele Bullock says 22. September 2026 (10:54) RBA governor says AI is ‘great white hope’ but its adoption is so far adding to inflation, rather than economic growthGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank governor said AI could be a bubble and there was no evidence it is making the economy more efficient, as the Albanese government claims the technology will solve Australia’s economic malaise.Ahead of an expected interest rate rise next week Michele Bullock also said the slump in house prices was deeper than others in Australia’s recent history. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
