Labour asks Electoral Commission to investigate Reform UK over donations 30. July 2026 (17:18) Exclusive: Reform’s Robert Jenrick says party confident it followed all rules at the time, after latest Guardian revelationsThe Electoral Commission has been asked to investigate whether Reform UK has broken donations rules, after the Guardian revealed that the convicted fraudster George Cottrell transferred more than $2m to his mother in the days before her donations to the party in 2024.Labour’s new chair, Bridget Phillipson, wrote to the commission on Thursday asking for it to examine the donations and whether they had been recorded correctly. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Supreme court says Palestine Action co-founder can challenge ban on group 30. July 2026 (17:03) UK’s highest court gives permission for Huda Ammori to challenge court of appeal rulingThe co-founder of Palestine Action has won permission to challenge the ban against the group at the UK’s highest court.The direct action group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July last year but its co-founder, Huda Ammori, has been fighting to have it overturned amid a mass civil disobedience campaign. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Governor general warns of ‘growing catastrophe’ that threatens to undermine democracy in Australia 30. July 2026 (17:00) Sam Mostyn says there is a widespread ‘failure to understand and engage with and feel proud of the very civic underpinnings of our democracy’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia faces a “growing catastrophe” from poor understanding of the country’s constitutional foundation, the governor general, Sam Mostyn, has warned as attacks on institutions and threats against elected officials undermine democratic participation.Two years after her appointment as King Charles’s representative in Canberra, and as she brings a modern touch to the role of vice regal, Mostyn said that knowledge of how the country’s system of government operates was in steady decline and better civics education was needed. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Icac revelations have left Angus Taylor’s colleagues anxious – and his factional enemies angry 30. July 2026 (17:00) The opposition leader is the highest-profile person mentioned so far at the NSW anti-corruption commission – and the political figure with the most to loseGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAfter the opening days of an inquiry exposing a dark underbelly of the New South Wales Liberals, the prevailing mood among Angus Taylor’s colleagues is one of apprehension.The federal opposition leader is not a specific target of Operation Rosny, which is investigating allegations of corruption against people associated with the NSW branch. He is not accused of wrongdoing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Democrats demand answers over treatment of wounded US troops after Iran strike 30. July 2026 (16:58) Lawmakers question delays in medical care, casualty figures and Pentagon’s handling of drone attack in KuwaitUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration is facing growing demands to explain why wounded US soldiers went more than a week without adequate hospital care after a March drone strike in Kuwait, just days into the US-Israel war on Iran.In a letter to the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, congressional Democrats urged the Pentagon to answer their questions – which include why the Pentagon’s public casualty count for the war with Iran briefly changed – by 12 August. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pope Leo invokes immigrant and slavery roots in call for US to honour founding ideals 30. July 2026 (16:51) First US pope praises principles of freedom and opportunity in implicit critique of Donald Trump’s policiesPope Leo, the first US pontiff, has expressed “great love” for his home country and its core principles of freedom, opportunity and welcoming immigrants, but qualified that he “just happens to be American”.In an interview with the US broadcaster NBC on the sidelines of a prayer event in Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat near Rome, Leo, who has condemned the immigration policies of Donald Trump’s administration, spoke about his own family history in describing his relationship with the US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Three-quarters of Americans think Trump isn’t focusing on top US issues – poll 30. July 2026 (16:46) Trump’s overall approval rating slumps to 34%, according to new CNN poll, as midterms testing Republican power loomThree-quarters of Americans believe Donald Trump is not paying enough attention to the country’s most important problems, and two-thirds think he places himself above the needs of the US, according to a new poll.The CNN survey, conducted by the market research company SSRS, comes less than 100 days before November’s midterm elections in which the president’s Republican party is widely expected to lose control of one or both chambers of Congress. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference 30. July 2026 (15:59) State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in BrazilA US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online.Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the Aids 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the state department’s new health agreements. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It was a big shock’: new border rules left couple stuck in Kraków after living in UK for 80 years 30. July 2026 (15:10) Maria and Czeslaw Krupa, who arrived as children of displaced Polish veterans, told they have no post-Brexit rights to return home to BuryTwo Polish citizens who have lived in the UK for nearly 80 years after their parents fled the second world war have spoken of their terrifying experience after being told they did not have post-Brexit rights to return to the UK.In May, while visiting Poland, they learned that although they had been welcomed as refugees after the war, they now needed special post-Brexit paperwork to return to their home in Bury. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Europe burns: a visual guide to the wildfires 30. July 2026 (15:00) Ferocious flames continue to rage in parts of France and Spain, with no sign of abating. We chart the destruction in graphics and picturesThe hellish infernos that have torn through parts of France and Spain have caused deaths, the evacuation of 330,000 people from their homes, widespread destruction and clouds of toxic smoke. Records have already been smashed and with the fourth heatwave of the European summer setting in, there are few signs of the waves of wildfires ending.France has already surpassed the worst previous year for the size of the area burned, with August, usually the hottest month, yet to come. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
