ATO issues $1,650 fine to 97-year-old woman who had not ‘prioritised tax obligations’ after husband’s death 20. May 2026 (17:00) Tax office apologises as ombudsman delivers stinging criticism, saying ‘ATO won’t learn unless people highlight the mistakes’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian Taxation Office fined a 97-year-old Brisbane woman $1,650 because she had not “prioritised her tax obligations”, despite the recent death of her husband who managed their financial affairs.The decision was only overturned after her accountant posted details of the incident on LinkedIn – catching the attention of industry associations and the tax ombudsman, who issued a stinging rebuke direct to the ATO. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
ChatGPT and other AI bots made huge errors before Scottish election, study finds 20. May 2026 (16:56) Exclusive: Electoral Commission calls for new controls as Demos finds tools made up fake scandals, invented candidates or gave wrong dateUK politics live – latest updatesThe Electoral Commission has called for new legal controls over misinformation from AI chatbots, after a thinktank found they had made serious mistakes during the recent Scottish election.The thinktank Demos said its investigation had found that AI services gave voters misinformation to 34% of the questions it posed, which it said raised worrying questions about the lack of regulation of AI platforms in the UK. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Google DeepMind in talks with UK unions amid staff concern over US and Israel’s AI use 20. May 2026 (16:41) Exclusive: Google DeepMind agrees to Acas talks after workers sign petitions about governments’ use of AI for defence and intelligenceGoogle DeepMind has agreed to enter formal talks with UK tech workers that could lead to trade union representation amid growing staff concerns about the use of its AI by the US and Israeli governments’ defence and intelligence.In a groundbreaking move, the artificial intelligence arm of the multi-trillion dollar Google empire, led by the Nobel prize winner Demis Hassabis, has agreed to meet the Communications Workers Union and Unite at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) after several hundred workers at its London headquarters this month voted to unionise. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
DWP pursued woman’s employer for nonexistent ‘benefit debt’ 20. May 2026 (16:41) Exclusive: Employer of woman who cares for disabled mother was asked to deduct ‘debt’ from salary despite court ruling she had nothing to payA woman providing full-time unpaid care for her elderly disabled mother says her job was put in jeopardy after welfare officials wrongly pursued her employer for a nonexistent “benefit debt” quashed by the courts nearly four years ago.The 44-year-old woman said she was staggered when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrote to her employer out of the blue this month demanding they deduct the long-forgotten universal credit overpayment “debt” from her salary. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US and Israel ‘hoped to install Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leader’ 20. May 2026 (16:40) Airstrike at the start of the war was aimed at freeing populist ex-president from house arrest, US newspaper claimsMiddle East crisis – live updatesFresh questions have been raised over the US and Israeli effort to depose the Iranian regime after it was claimed that Israel wanted to put the populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power.Ahmadinejad’s turbulent presidency, from 2005 to 2013, was marked by incendiary attacks on Israel but he recast himself as a critic of the regime and champion of the poor after falling out with the supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US puts pressure on Palestinian leaders to withdraw bid for UN vice-presidency role 20. May 2026 (16:24) In state department cable, Jerusalem embassy told to issue protest to Palestinian Authority leaders, warning ‘consequences will follow’ if they failed to complyThe US has ordered its Jerusalem embassy to pressure the Palestinian leadership into dropping a bid for a UN general assembly vice-presidency, anxious that the role could allow Palestinians to chair high-profile debates on the Middle East.A 19 May state department cable seen by the Guardian instructed the US embassy in Jerusalem to issue a démarche (a formal protest) to the leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) pressuring them to withdraw the bid by 22 May, warning that “consequences will follow” if they failed to comply. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brexit may be back, but Britain needs to know what it wants 20. May 2026 (16:20) A decade after the referendum, EU leaders would welcome closer ties – once the UK has understood the ‘European deal’• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereBrexit’s back. Well, sort of. If it ever really went away. At any rate, an awful lot of ink has been spilled – in Britain, at least – over last weekend’s remarks by a would-be PM that Brexit was “a catastrophic mistake” and the UK’s future lay “back in the EU”.That reflects, first, just how deep the wounds of Brexit still run. A decade after the referendum unleashed an identity politics so powerful it still dominates UK debate, Britain’s voters remain divided into the two warring tribes of remain versus leave. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Same but different: how Xi and China welcomed Trump and Putin 20. May 2026 (15:44) Choreography of back-to-back visits appeared deliberately mirrored but China made sure the differences were noticedDays after Donald Trump was greeted in Beijing with a military band, an honour guard and dozens of youths waving American and Chinese flags, Vladimir Putin arrived in China to an almost identical spectacle.The choreography of the two welcomes appeared deliberately mirrored, designed to showcase Beijing’s ability to host leaders from Washington and Moscow with equal grandeur. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lithuanian leaders rushed to bunkers as drone violates country’s airspace 20. May 2026 (15:43) Vilnius residents urged to take shelter during alert, after Nato and EU warn that Russia is diverting Ukraine’s dronesEurope live – latest updatesLithuania’s president and prime minister were rushed to underground bunkers and residents of the capital, Vilnius, urged to take shelter during a warning issued after a drone violated the country’s airspace.Air and train traffic in and around the city was suspended after the mobile phone “take shelter” alert, the first issued in an EU and Nato country since the start of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More than £52m reserved for social housing at risk after collapse of investment firms 20. May 2026 (14:52) Exclusive: 3,500 social homes could switch to private sector after companies run by Heylo Housing group go into administrationMore than £52m in public money earmarked for social housing is at risk after the partial collapse of one of the England’s fastest-growing housing providers.Two of the investment companies run by the Heylo Housing group, which is backed by the asset managers Blackrock, have gone into administration leaving the government regulator scrambling to find a rescue deal to protect taxpayers’ money and prevent 3,500 social homes switching to the private sector. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
