Ministers seek law change to make £72m donations to Reform illegal 14. September 2026 (22:01) Plans to strengthen legislation already going through parliament might mean donors having to meet stricter UK residence requirementsAndy Burnham’s government could thwart Reform’s unprecedented £72m donations with retrospective restrictions on political donors that will include tough new residency requirements, ministers have announced.In a move that is likely to set off furious complaints from Nigel Farage’s party, the government will table amendments to legislation going through the House of Lords within weeks that puts the legality of Reform’s latest donations in doubt. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Firefighters make progress to contain northern California’s Lucas fire 14. September 2026 (21:53) Cal Fire official says Sunday was ‘big turning point’ to reduce blaze in Lake county, now 30% containedFirefighters made progress toward containing northern California’s Lucas fire, state officials said on Sunday.Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, which has burned more than 4,120 acres across Lake and Mendocino counties. The fire was 30% contained by Monday morning, according to the California department of forestry and fire protection, or Cal Fire. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mahmoud Khalil sues Columbia University over years of alleged anti-Palestinian discrimination 14. September 2026 (21:34) Lawsuit accuses university of ‘deliberate indifference’ and failure to respond to ‘persistent and coordinated harassment’Mahmoud Khalil announced on Monday that he’s sued Columbia University, accusing the New York City school he attended of a years-long history of anti-Palestinian discrimination, indifference to harassment, and retaliation.Khalil, a US green card holder of Palestinian descent, was a graduate student at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) when he was arrested at his university apartment by federal immigration agents in March 2025, the first of a number of foreign nationals that the Trump administration has detained and sought to deport over their pro-Palestinian advocacy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Alligator Alcatraz held detainees in cages the size of phone booths, DHS watchdog says 14. September 2026 (20:53) Office of inspector general’s report says practice at Florida immigration jail is not aligned with ‘humane treatment’Before the facility was shuttered, detainees at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” federal immigration jail were frequently locked in outside metal cages no bigger than a phone booth, according to a damning government watchdog report that said the practice “does not align with standards for humane treatment”.The findings from the office of the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were published on its website – and offer rare criticism of the Trump administration by one of its own agencies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Europe must build own AI or risk getting cut off by US or China, says ECB’s Lagarde 14. September 2026 (20:41) Central bank chief says continent’s AI dependency could give trade partners unprecedented leverage in negotiationsEurope must develop its own AI technology and build more datacentres in order to nullify the threat of being cut off by the US or China, according to the president of the European Central Bank.Christine Lagarde said the continent needed AI models – the technology that powers AI tools such as chatbots – that were “good enough” to carry out most tasks and run from domestic datacentres. If Europe invests in its own AI tech, said Lagarde, “the threat of being cut off loses its force”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
States and cities sue Trump administration over policy restricting green card benefits 14. September 2026 (20:36) The policy allows immigration officers the authority to deny green cards to those using public benefits A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday over a new policy that would allow individual immigration officers to deny green cards based on use of public benefits.The new policy changes a long-established “public charge” rule, which dates back to the Immigration Act of 1882, established to ensure that newcomers to the country would be able to provide for themselves without relying on governmental benefits. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Microsoft proposes limits on its AI with code of conduct amid safety debate 14. September 2026 (20:19) Firm publishes AI guidelines with Microsoft AI CEO saying: ‘AI must be subordinate and always in service of people’Microsoft published a provisional “code of conduct” Monday to apply to the training of new artificial intelligence models, taking a step towards limiting the capabilities of the company’s AI as anxiety rises over the prospect that technology companies could lose control of AI products.Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, published the code on social media early Monday, writing: “AI must be subordinate and always in service of people. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russian oligarch close to Putin reportedly paid for part of Donald Trump Jr’s lavish wedding 14. September 2026 (20:17) US president’s eldest child married Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in three-day celebration across two exclusive private islandsUS politics live – latest updatesA top Democrat has demanded answers after it was reported that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr’s wedding in the Bahamas earlier this year.Trump Jr, the US president’s eldest child, married Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in a lavish three-day celebration across two exclusive private islands in May, which according to ProPublica was partially bankrolled by Umar Kremlev, a member of the Russian president’s circle. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
British man accused of drugging and raping wife over two decades admits 60 offences 14. September 2026 (20:07) Man, who cannot be named to protect anonymity of his victim, admits scores of criminal offencesA man has pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting his wife over a period of 20 years as he admitted 60 criminal offences.The man, who cannot be named in order to protect the anonymity of his victim, is in his 60s and before his arrest lived in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andrew Davies admits to drawing on ‘stimulating’ Made in Chelsea for Jane Austen adaptation 14. September 2026 (19:41) Screenwriter points to parallels between two worlds while academic says some of author’s characters ‘would make perfect reality show contestants’If Jane Austen’s novels run on closed social worlds, courtship rituals, status anxiety, gossip and relentless scrutiny of who’s coupling with who, it follows that the obvious contemporary equivalent would be reality television.That’s according to Andrew Davies, the writer who has spent decades modernising British period dramas. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
