The Guardian
1 day ago
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Target pensions or welfare, not banks, IMF tells John Healey
Supporters of planned tax, however, say banks were bailed out by taxpayers during financial crisis and can afford to pay more nowJohn Healey poised to raise taxes on banks in budgetThe International Monetary Fund has urged John Healey to target savings on pensions and welfare, instead of taxing Britain’s banks at the budget later this month.Helge Berger, deputy director of the IMF’s European department, was asked about bank taxes after the Guardian revealed Healey plans to tap the sector for additional revenue. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
UK risks losing key role in European space industry over satellite contract, says Airbus boss
Guillaume Faury writes to Andy Burnham warning him against choosing US firm Lockheed Martin to build Skynet satellitesThe boss of Airbus has told Andy Burnham that choosing its US rival Lockheed Martin to manufacture military satellites could cost the UK a key role in the European space industry, intensifying a last-minute lobbying effort for the £2.4bn contract.It is understood that Guillaume Faury, the chief executive of France-headquartered Airbus, has written to the prime minister suggesting that the choice of provider of the Skynet system could have effects for decades to come on the UK’s strength in military satellites in Europe, in an effort to tip the contract away from its US rival. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
The ultra-rich are spending one million dollars a day fighting California’s proposed billionaire tax
Tech billionaires have raised more than $340m to defeat Prop 40, a one-time 5% wealth tax that will fund healthcare and educationTech billionaires have been dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the fight against a wealth tax in California. They’ve raised more than $340m, and the campaign they’re funding is spending more than $1m a day to defeat the measure, according to state financial disclosures.With the election less than a month away, those funds are being spent at a stepped-up pace. During the first 19 days of September, according to the most recent campaign filings, the opposition campaign plowed through at least $21.2m to fight the billionaire tax – surpassing $1m per day. Voters are being inundated with robotexts, mailers and advertisements that warn a tax on billionaires would “expose all Californians to higher taxes”, as one ad reads. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Elon Musk reveals ‘world’s first flying car’ at Tesla event
The Tesla Roadster 2 drove up a curved ramp before using SpaceX rocket thrusters to fly, flip and landElon Musk has revealed Tesla’s latest model, which he claims will be the world’s first flying car, using technology from his aerospace company SpaceX to “basically fly like a rocket”.The billionaire, who hosted a demonstration of the Tesla Roadster 2 at the SpaceX rocket development and testing facility in Texas, said the sports car could go from 0 to 60mph in a record time of less than a second and had thrusters. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
‘We should all be worried’: calls grow to limit London rollout of robotaxis
Protest planned at Wayve HQ as Uber drivers fear for their future and city’s politicians demand TfL should have power over licencesFor passengers in Britain who want to try the latest ride, robotaxis are eagerly awaited: more than 100,000 are on Uber’s waitlist in London after the first UK services started in September.Others view them with trepidation. “I think we should all be worried,” said Florentina Ghiuzan, an Uber driver from Essex. “I was shocked TfL approved it so soon. I knew change would come. But I thought it would come with a solution for us.” Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
AI threatens democracy. But we are not powerless: here’s how to fight back | Carine Fouteau
Tech platforms pillage public-interest journalism for profit. But we have leverage as they sow the seeds of their own downfallCarine Fouteau is president and publishing director of the French investigative news outlet MediapartBig tech companies pose an immeasurable threat: socially, politically, militarily and ecologically. They are also causing a profound crisis of information. The tools they design now serve as weapons of mass destruction against democracy. There is so much at stake that an urgent and broad mobilisation is required.From the harvesting of personal data and the weaponisation of public opinion, to the destruction of jobs, the infringement of civil liberties and environmental damage, ordinary citizens are the main victims of this predatory economy – an economy with an agenda that aligns with the interests of the planet’s most authoritarian and reactionary states.Carine Fouteau is president and publishing director of the French investigative news outlet MediapartMediapart is hosting Hacking Big Tech, a public event about technology, AI and democracy in partnership with the Guardian, in Paris on Saturday 17 October 2026. The conference will be live-streamed free on Mediapart’s website, app and YouTube channel and can be accessed here from 1pm CEST on 17 October Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Revealed: VW, Ford and Tesla batteries linked to destructive deforestation of indigenous lands
Mines in supply chains of western carmakers linked to widespread deforestation of primary rainforest in nickel-rich lands inhabited by Tolaki people in IndonesiaVolkswagen, Ford and Tesla are among the electric carmakers whose batteries may contain nickel mined in indigenous woodlands plagued by deforestation, an analysis has found, highlighting the struggle to make vehicles that are free from environmental destruction.Corporate disclosures and trade flows from the last two years show mines in the battery supply chains of automotive giants are linked to the loss of trees in Sulawesi, a wildlife hotspot in Indonesia that houses the world’s largest nickel deposits. The metal is widely used in cathodes in car batteries because it boosts energy density and increases range. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
From Dallaglio’s medals to Cantona’s shorts, sporting memorabilia is big business | Emma John
Like transfer fees and ticket prices, mementoes are one more marker of sport’s rampant self-inflationThe auctioneer cradled his gavel in his palm like a pipe, the handle pointing towards him. It gave his patter the air of a Victorian gentleman holding forth by the mantelpiece in a period drama. “Are you bidding, Wilf? You’re waving at me.” Under the hammer was a Barclays Manager of the Month trophy, complete with travel case, but no indication of which Premier League luminary once owned it. It outstripped its estimate and sold for £700.An hour and a half into what Budds auction house dubbed its “Octoberfest” of sporting memorabilia, David Convery at the podium showed no sign of fatigue, save the occasional swig from a water bottle. There were 332 lots in total; Convery regularly manages sales with twice as many. In his three decades as an auctioneer he’s even secured some world-record prices, from the oldest surviving FA Cup to Pelé’s 1970 World Cup final shirt. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Homes with striking interiors for sale in England – in pictures
From a brick stable block renovated into an eco home to a Georgian townhouse painted in atmospheric shades of grey Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
The right’s scrounger rhetoric dominates the benefits debate. Labour must fight back – and win | Frances Ryan
The prime minister has a once-in-a-generation chance to reintroduce fairness to the system. He has to seize the momentBack in 2009, months before the coalition government unleashed sweeping austerity, the then Conservative backbencher Iain Duncan Smith produced a study that would go on to lay the foundations for the rollout of universal credit. Now, nearly two decades later, Duncan Smith and his thinktank, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), has published State of Dependency: a landmark report promising to expose “the full scale of Britain’s worklessness crisis”.The study paints a picture of mass benefits reliance: it identifies 3,400 local areas where more than half the working-age population are on out-of-work benefits, or “economic opiates”, as the authors call them. They’ve even provided an interactive map (in the yellow and black colours of a road hazard sign, no less) so members of the public can type in their postcode to see if their neighbourhood is “a welfare hotspot”.Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Commercial kitchen staff exposed to high levels of air pollution, study finds
US research says nitrogen dioxide in restaurants that cook with gas can exceed WHO limits, which also affects dinersEach time we enjoy a meal out or order a takeaway, someone cooks for us in a commercial kitchen. In the UK, 3.6 million people work in catering and hospitality. In the US it is estimated at close to 16 million. A first-of-its-kind study in the US has found catering staff can experience high air pollution at work – and that this can affect diners too.Dr Drew Michanowicz, senior author of the study at non-profit research institute PSE Healthy Energy, said: “I was motivated by what we have learned over the years about what just 30 minutes of gas cooking can do to air quality in homes with the realisation that millions of people cook for a living for hours on end.” Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
‘A completely unique opportunity’: the secretive process that will decide the BBC’s future – podcast
Every decade, the BBC’s continued existence must be secured through an elaborate multi-year negotiation with the government. But what does charter renewal actually involve – and will it secure the BBC’s long-term future?By Barbara Speed. Read by Carlyss PeerRead the text version hereSupport the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpod Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Is Andy Burnham in hot water over Manchester City? – podcast
Andy Burnham is being accused of a serious misjudgment over his comments about meetings with Manchester City’s owners. Kiran Stacey discusses the controversy after returning from a trade trip to India with the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and the new Greater Manchester mayor, Bev Craig, during which Stacey discovered that a representative of the football club was also present. The club was recently found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League rules. What could the fallout mean for Burnham?You can watch Politics Weekly on our YouTube channel here Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Energy bills through the roof? Five signs your house is leaking heat
From finding draughts to buying a thermal leak detector – there are simple, cost-effective ways to start sorting heat lossHow to storm-proof your home, from roof tiles to garden fencesPick a day when there is a good breeze, and heat the house to its usual temperature. Then wander around with a candle or smoke pen (about £20). Alternatively, buy a thermal leak detector. This flashes blue for cold, green for normal and red for warm. Continue reading...
The Guardian
3 days ago
BT charged me for more than a year despite landline being dead
It is billing £32.99 a month but I have had no functioning phone line since it switched me to Digital VoiceI’ve had no landline since May 2025 when BT switched it to Digital Voice. Weeks passed, and each call to BT involved at least an hour waiting on hold and answering security questions before being passed between departments.Eventually, last December, two engineers were sent and discovered that a wire had been severed during the upgrade. They said they needed a cherry picker to reconnect it to its original location and would return. They did not. Continue reading...
The Guardian
4 days ago
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