US claims of Cuba’s ‘unique threat’ jar with reality of hunger and blackouts 21. July 2026 (15:33) State department’s 100-page report is latest push in Trump administration campaign to bring down governmentThe US government’s latest allegations that Cuba is behind “many of the most significant upheavals in recent American political history” and that its leaders pose “a unique threat to American homeland security” have come as startling revelations to those living under the six-month-long US oil blockade in Havana, where desperate people search through piles of uncollected rubbish for food, or else swelter at home in 24-hour-plus blackouts.The unsigned 100-page report, Cuba: Capital of 21st-Century Communism, published by the US state department on Monday, blames Havana for everything from “the George Floyd riots to the rise of antifa to the explosion of pro-terrorist activism on American college campuses”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tropical Storm Bertha strengthens as Gulf coast braces for flooding and surge 21. July 2026 (15:07) Storm warnings stretch from Florida to Louisiana as Bertha brings heavy rain, flooding risk and possible tornadoesTropical Storm Bertha strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico and was moving slowly toward the Florida Panhandle and Alabama, causing a tropical storm warning and storm surge watches, forecasters said.The storm was about 110 miles (177km) south of Panama City, Florida, and 170 miles south-east of Mobile, Alabama, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Tuesday morning. It was moving north-west at 5mph (8km/h) with maximum sustained winds of 50mph. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Canada ready to ‘intensify’ trade talks as Trump reportedly prepares to hit more countries with new tariffs – US politics live 21. July 2026 (14:52) Mark Carney says Canada has made proposals to resolve dispute as tariffs are due to be imposed on wide range of goodsSign up for US Breaking News emailLindsey Graham’s funeral will take place in Washington on 28 July, and will include a short ceremony at the US Capitol in the Rotunda, before a full service at Washington National Cathedral for invited guests. Donald Trump is set to speak at the funeral, alongside others that are yet to be announced.Graham’s remains will the be transported to South Carolina for a service at the state house on 29 July, followed by a procession in the capital, Columbia. There will be a ceremony open to the public, before a private family burial in Pickens County, where Graham was born and raised. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration sought phone records of New York Times journalists and their relatives 21. July 2026 (14:31) Officials sought identity of sources ‘long before’ reporters wrote about the president’s Air Force One jet from QatarDonald Trump’s administration sought phone records of several New York Times journalists and even those of some of their relatives, according to a motion unsealed Monday – an unusually aggressive attempt to unmask the confidential sources of reporters who wrote about the president’s Air Force One jet from Qatar.The Trump administration’s push to compel the identity of sources in the form of additional subpoenas comes at a time when the executive branch’s relationship with the press is increasingly contentious. The efforts, described in a letter-motion filed by the Times over the weekend, were more expansive than previously known, the newspaper noted – and also covered a time frame that exceeded the news articles in question. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two in five Americans believe stock market only serves the top 1% 21. July 2026 (14:00) Exclusive Harris poll for Guardian reveals Americans’ assumptions about stock market and wider economyTwo in five Americans believe the stock market isn’t for them and only benefits the top 1%, according to a new Harris Poll poll exclusive to the Guardian that surveyed investing habits and knowledge about the economy.The poll found a similar share of Americans had incorrect assumptions about the relationship between the economy and the stock market. Nearly 40% did not know that the economy and the stock market were not the same thing. And two-thirds of Americans incorrectly believed that a growing stock market means the overall economy is growing.This survey was conducted online by the Harris Poll from 9-11 July, among a nationally representative sample of 2,154 US adults, with 1,667 reporting some level of investing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Thames Water investors offer ‘golden share’ in bid to head off nationalisation 21. July 2026 (13:55) Move would give government veto over big decisions and hostile takeovers, after Burnham’s call for greater public controlBusiness live – latest updatesThe group of investors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have offered the government a “golden share” in a last-ditch attempt to persuade Andy Burnham not to nationalise Britain’s biggest water company.London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of 100 institutional investors that hold £17bn of the company’s £21bn debt, said it recognised the new prime minister wanted greater public control and to strengthen the accountability of the water company. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
First Nations groups devastated by Canada’s wildfires say government did not help 21. July 2026 (13:45) Chiefs in Ontario say they were left to self-evacuate before homes burned to ground, after being told there was no imminent threatFast-moving wildfires have burned two First Nations communities in Canada to the ground, as members said they were left to self-evacuate without government help or emergency alerts.Thirteen communities in Ontario province have been ordered to evacuate because of wildfires, most of them First Nations. The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, told reporters on Monday that close to 2,000 people had been evacuated so far to cities including Toronto and Niagara Falls. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
What the EU wants from Andy Burnham 21. July 2026 (13:31) European leaders have made positive noises about the new UK PM, but he is likely to face the same restrictions as StarmerUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham is unknown in Brussels, but that will soon change. In his schedule for the autumn is an EU-UK summit that may underscore the same dilemmas that have confronted previous British prime ministers in the relationship with Europe.EU leaders were quick to offer congratulations to Britain’s prime minister, the seventh since the 2016 Brexit referendum. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she looked forward to strengthening the EU-UK partnership “for the security of our shared continent” and “the prosperity of people on both sides of the Channel”. The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, invited Burnham to visit Berlin “very soon”, noting that the UK and Germany’s “deep connection is particularly evident in these times”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘No electricity, no water, no fuel’: Ukrainian drone strikes bring darkness to Crimea’s summer 21. July 2026 (13:00) Interviews with residents of Russian-held region point to frustration with Moscow as Ukrainian campaign to isolate it takes toll on daily lifeFirst, the guests stopped coming. As Ukrainian drones and missiles pounded Crimea throughout the spring and into the summer, Russian tourists began cancelling their bookings at the small guesthouse Marina runs in Yevpatoria, a resort town on the peninsula’s Black Sea coast.Then petrol became scarce, making it harder to stock the business with food and other essentials. Now, electricity and running water are cut off for much of the day, just as the summer heat sets in. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Muslim leader speaks out after more than 80 days in ICE detention: ‘It brought back memories from Palestine’ 21. July 2026 (13:00) Salah Sarsour, president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque, said ‘dehumanizing’ treatment reminded him of time spent in Israeli military jailThe president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque said he was subjected to “dehumanizing” treatment during more than 80 days in federal immigration custody – treatment that reminded him of the time he spent in Israeli military prisons in occupied Palestine nearly four decades ago.“It all brought back old memories of things that happened to me when I was tried in Palestine,” said Salah Sarsour in his first interview since being released last month. “The humiliation, the treatment by guards, the way they talk to people, the way they try to put people down.” He said he lost more than 30lb while in immigration detention. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
