The Guardian

Passengers describe carriages full of seriously injured people after crash that has claimed at least 68 lives Josimar Medina woke a little before 9am on Wednesday to find himself airborne and hurtling through his carriage on the fast train from Madrid to Seville. “I remember flying through the air and looking for my girlfriend, who was also shooting through the air,” said Medina, a 37-year-old to…

Columnist’s relations with some senior editorial figures said to be strained over subjects she raised in her columns The controversial Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson is understood to be in negotiations about leaving the broadsheet as the newspaper’s new owner makes significant newsroom cuts. Sources told the Guardian that Pearson – firmly on the right of the Telegraph’s roster – is pre…

US central bank last month raised rates for first time since 2023, in move that infuriated Donald Trump The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday during its last board meeting before the midterm elections, keeping rates at one of the highest pre-election levels seen in over 20 years. Two board members voted against the pause, preferring to raise rates by a quarter point th…

James O’Keefe and Cam Higby were trying to show vulnerabilities in allowing a voter to vouch for another Two rightwing influencers have been charged with felonies in Minneapolis over attempts in the state’s election primary to disguise themselves in what they called “Muslim garb” and claim they were local voters. James O’Keefe and Cam Higby went to polling places in Minnesota during the state’s A…

Research looked at prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in 2,362 players who died in 2008-2023 A new study published on Wednesday estimates that about 75% of former NFL players who died over a 15-year period had evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The research, published in Jama Network Open and conducted by a Boston-based team, examined the estimated prevalence of the d…

How the Burnham government’s first attempt to ease cost of living pressure pans out for key stakeholders Budget 2026: key points at a glance Every budget has its winners and losers, and John Healey’s first as chancellor was no exception. While some gained from tax breaks and rule tweaks, others will either pay more, or had their hopes of reforms dashed. Here are some of those with reason to cheer…

Jonathan Reynolds’ team has written to Gordon Brothers, which bought retailer for £1 last summer, to ‘establish the facts’ The business secretary’s team has written to the owner of Poundland amid fears that the cut-price retailer could collapse into administration, threatening to overshadow John Healey’s budget. Sources said that Gordon Brothers, the US investment firm that bought the 600-store P…

Mohamed Amersi is suing over Panorama episode that made claims of his suspected involvement in corruption A Conservative and Reform UK donor lost out on a knighthood and a peerage amid claims of his involvement in corruption, the high court has heard at the start of his defamation case against the BBC. An episode of Panorama in 2021 and a BBC article caused “very serious harm” to Mohamed Amersi, …

Both Obama and Trump are on the campaign trail, but only one of them appears to be descending into madness This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday . Barack Obama versus Donald Trump . It is the presidential election that never happened but has come to define an era of US politics. Obama is back on the campaign trail for the midt…

Prime minister warns cabinet not to express opinions about future relationship with Brussels before review of options Andy Burnham has warned ministers not to express their opinions about how the government should approach Brexit, as he argued that the Conservatives’ deal with Brussels had been more extreme than that promised in the 2016 referendum. In another series of announcements connected to…

Charges against him are unclear after return to Iran despite being sentenced last year for ‘propaganda activities’ An Iranian court has handed the award-winning film director Jafar Panahi a new prison sentence of five years and one month and ordered the seizure of all his assets. The 66-year-old, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year for It Was Just an Accident , was sentenced in absentia, h…

With nearly all votes counted, Netanyahu’s coalition government has lost its majority, but main opponents also fail to gain outright majority; marked gains by Palestinian parties Israel election – live updates Full report: Coalition talks loom in Israel Analysis: Rise of Palestinian parties will redraw political landscape With almost all votes counted, Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government ha…

Warnings of escalating clampdown on press freedom come after Cairo court convicts Attalah of managing an unlicensed website Lina Attalah, a prominent Egyptian journalist and the editor-in-chief of the news outlet Mada Masr, has been released from detention by Egypt’s authorities and had her website ordered to be shut down by a court amid an intensifying crackdown on independent media in the count…

Questions were raised before Toledo crash over rail safety in a country where train travel has surged by 40% Deadly Spanish rail collision – latest updates Spain’s high-speed rail network, the most extensive in Europe and the second largest in the world after China, has long ranked as a point of pride in the country. But Wednesday’s deadly crash – the second in nine months – has recast the spotli…

NSW government imposes water restrictions after Menindee water volumes fall below 2021 levels Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Water levels at Menindee Lakes in western New South Wales have fallen to their lowest point in five years, prompting the state government to impose upstream water use restrictions as experts warn of potential mass fis…