The measure would ease inequality and bolster healthcare – without draining our coffers or triggering a billionaire exodus On Tuesday, California voters will decide whether to enact Proposition 40, a one-time, 5% tax on the net worth of about 250 California billionaires. In recent months, a number of California billionaires and their apologists in the media and in government have come out swinging against the ballot measure. I’m not a billionaire, but I’m a Californian wealthy enough to know that they have no valid reason to fight the proposition. For multimillionaires like me, paying a 5% tax would not change our lives materially, and if we can afford this as people well below the billionaire line, certainly those at the very top can too. George Zimmer, a member of Patriotic Millionaires, is the chairperson, CEO and founder of Generation Tux, an online rental platform for tuxedos and suits. He is also the founder, former CEO and chair of the Men’s Wearhouse Continue reading...

Pardon the Interruption co-host to take leave of absence Wilbon did not go into detail but cited ‘worrisome signs’ Michael Wilbon, the co-host of ESPN’s popular Pardon the Interruption talkshow alongside good friend Tony Kornheiser announced on Monday he is taking a leave of absence because of what he described as “multiple health issues”. Wilbon, who turns 68 later this month, wrote in a post on X that he is taking a trip to “the injured list” but added he hopes it is “not an extended one”. Continue reading...

Republicans are focused on a race that could flip the Senate – and where an Alaska Native is favored Days before Alaskans get to vote, the federal government is already trying to overturn the result. Last week, at Donald Trump’s behest, the justice department sued to block the certification of Alaska’s US Senate race, if the Republican incumbent narrowly loses; a judge dismissed that suit on Sunday, though the administration said it planned to appeal. On Wednesday, Trump demanded that Mary Peltola, the Alaska Native Democrat whom polls favor to win, be removed from the ballot and prosecuted. Piling on, Alaska’s Republican governor has since ordered an investigation into Peltola’s campaign. Continue reading...

Kim Aris says ‘hearing her voice again means more than words can express’ amid loosening of detention restrictions The son of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to speak to the detained former democratic leader for the first time in more than five years. “Today, I was finally able to speak with my mother, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after more than five years. Hearing her voice again means more than words can express,” Kim Aris said in a post on Facebook on Thursday. Continue reading...

Devon nature reserve says ‘reckless’ theft of narrow-headed ant colony sets back years of conservation work A nest containing up to 5,000 of England’s rarest ant species has been stolen from a nature reserve, a conservation charity has said. Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) said a nest of narrow-headed ants had been dug up and taken from Chudleigh Knighton Heath nature reserve in south Devon, which is the last place in England where the species still exists. Continue reading...

Her latest plea comes three months after urging ‘someone to come forward’ with details about Nancy Guthrie Savannah Guthrie has issued a new plea for help on the whereabouts of her 84-year-old mother, who authorities believe was abducted in February. On Sunday, the Today show co-host shared a photo of an old drawing made by her daughter featuring an umbrella and the words: “I know it might not seem like it but I really need my mommy.” Continue reading...

Cryptocurrency theft is estimated to generate half of the country’s foreign currency income North Korea plays by its own rules. The isolated, secretive and autocratic country is largely cut off from the world’s economic system – but when it comes to generating foreign earnings it relies on some of the world’s most sophisticated hacking. Experts, such as TRM Labs, quickly attributed the extraordinary $6.3bn (£4.7bn) Binance cryptocurrency theft to TraderTraitor, an elite North Korean hacking unit that has also been known as the Lazarus Group. Though the link may not be proven yet, the pattern of behaviour is familiar. Continue reading...

Critics cite Lana Nusseibeh’s denial of accusations the UAE is fuelling Sudan war by supporting paramilitary RSF Members of the Sudanese diaspora and international human rights monitors have denounced the candidature of an Emirati diplomat for the top job at the UN, citing her denial of accusations that the United Arab Emirates is fuelling the war in Sudan by supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The UAE nominated Lana Nusseibeh last week to replace the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as he finishes his second five-year term ⁠this year, upending a race that had become gridlocked. Continue reading...

Commons committee says lack of coherent strategy is hampering business and leaving national security risks unaddressed The UK is making up policy on China “as it goes along” and risks having its strategy dictated by Washington or Beijing, a parliamentary report has concluded. An investigation by the Commons business, innovation, science and trade select committee said Labour’s failure to formulate a coherent strategy since 2024 “combined the worst of both worlds” for the UK in relation to China. Continue reading...

Australia’s central bank expected to hit mortgage holders again on Tuesday, as war in Middle East combines with collapsing house prices Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s economy is set for a “sharper, longer slowdown”, major bank economists say, as the Reserve Bank is forced to keep interest rates higher to rid the nation of persistent inflationary pressures. The RBA is widely expected to hit mortgage holders with a fifth rate hike on Tuesday, in a move that will push the cash rate to its highest since 2008 amid rising worries the economy could even be tipped into recession. Continue reading...

Forums for discussion of feminist and LGBTQ+ views face growing intolerance from Chinese state, say experts Beijing’s annual independent queer film festival has been cancelled after what is understood to have been a campaign of sustained harassment from authorities. Beijing Queer film festival, which was due to begin on Friday in China’s capital, is one of the country’s oldest independent film festivals. Continue reading...

Ibstock, which has cut production by a fifth, criticises government for delay in help for housing sector Sales at the UK’s largest brickmaker plunged by more than a fifth over the summer, as it criticised the government for not introducing fresh help for the housing sector faster. Leicestershire-based Ibstock said on Monday that sales slumped by 22% below its expectations in the three months to the end of September, prompting it to slash production levels by a fifth. Continue reading...

Anger and protest have put liberal democracy on trial. It’s vital to understand the rage that now unites a generation We have not yet reached a 1968 moment, when students at the Sorbonne lit a fuse that detonated a crisis that eventually brought down the De Gaulle government. But in late 2026, starting with the symbolic act of young French people climbing the July Column at Paris’s Place de la Bastille, the world is experiencing the biggest outbreak of student demonstrations for 60 years. When Italian students subsequently occupied a high school in Rome, they opened their demand for change with the words “like in France”. Youth demonstrations are now raging from India – where the government has responded with repressive force to the Cockroach movement – to Albania, where, after being out on the streets for nearly five months, students are demanding not only an end to corruption, but the replacement of the government. Continue reading...

IISS study questions overreliance on American support and ‘overdependence on expensive, high-end systems’ Gulf states are going to have to reconfigure their trillion-dollar defences given the damage inflicted on their economies and the questionable continued value of US bases in the face of Iranian attack, according to a study by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The report says that in the weeks before the 8 April ceasefire, 12 regional states, overwhelmingly in the Gulf, faced 4,670 Iranian one-way attack drones and more than 1,400 ballistic missiles. Nearly half were aimed at the United Arab Emirates. Although the vast majority were repelled, one estimate of the damage to energy infrastructure cited by the report is put as high as $58bn (£43bn). Continue reading...

Trust admits Danielle Brown’s baby would have survived had she not been sent home from RVI days earlier A woman whose unborn baby had died was sent home from hospital with a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth. Danielle Brown, 31, was seven months pregnant when she was first discharged from hospital with pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. She returned to hospital days later, when scans revealed that her daughter, Maisie, had died. Continue reading...

Peru’s anchoveta have made up about a 10th of the entire global commercial fishing catch since 1970, more than any other fish. A combination of warming seas and decades-long overfishing spells disaster By Geoff Mann. Read by Adam Sims Read the text version here Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpod Continue reading...

Case filed in 2022 by patient unable to afford medicine leads to cap on drug prices for millions who face ruin if diagnosed The Indian government has moved to reduce the price of cancer drugs after a retired bank clerk took her case to the supreme court. From next month, 137 cancer drugs in India will be cheaper as the government tries to tackle the tragedy of poorer patients either forgoing treatment, selling land or falling into debt to meet the high cost of some medicines, which are making large profits for hospitals and pharmacists. Continue reading...

Survey finds UK government’s decision to impose trade ban was not a decisive factor in how Israelis voted in election The UK government’s decision to impose a ban on trade in goods from illegal settlements was not decisive in how Israelis voted in their general election, but a majority think the Israeli government’s settlements policy should change if it is going to lead to further sanctions, a new poll of Israelis shows. There had been fierce criticism of the UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband’s decision in September to impose a trade ban and wider sanctions on illegal settlements, with some claiming it would drive Israeli voters into the arms of Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...

Regulators lift block on supplier, enabling it to install meters in homes of people unable to afford energy bills British Gas has resumed force-fitting prepay meters in the homes of people unable to afford their energy bills months after paying the largest settlement on record for sending debt collectors into the homes of vulnerable customers. The industry regulator has lifted a block going back almost four years that prevented British Gas from clawing back unpaid bills by fitting such meters in customers’ homes after extracting a settlement worth more than £100m from the supplier for its role in the prepay scandal at the height of the Russian gas crisis. Continue reading...

Supermarkets across Europe have experienced temperature-control meddling The fake nuclear threats to Ukraine came as Russia resumed its attacks on the southern city of Kherson, just hours after the end of a ceasefire during which hundreds of people were evacuated from the nearby Kremlin-controlled town of Oleshky. Kherson’s military administration said a Russian drone hit a hospital at 7.40am. Video footage showed wrecked rooms, with windows blown out, doors broken, and debris on the street. Nobody was hurt, officials said. Continue reading...

The unprecedented number of empty seats at the fifth plenum – a symbol of expulsions – serve as a symbol for the scale of the purges under Xi Jinping China expelled a record number of officials from the Chinese Communist party (CCP) as it concluded a major political gathering, which saw an unprecedented number of empty seats indicating the scale of the purges under Xi Jinping. A record 33 members were expelled at this week’s fifth plenum, a gathering of top officials that takes place roughly once a year. Continue reading...

Executive director of external affairs at the Refugee Council called the proposals ‘unfair and unworkable’ Downing Street has declined to say how much it cost for the plane carrying Andy Burnham and UK delegates to a Commonwealth leaders’ summit to stop in Manchester to pick him up (see 10.28am), the Press Association reports. At the morning lobby briefing, asked if this was an appropriate use of public money, the PM’s spokesperson said: The prime minister’s travel arrangements are made on the basis of security, operational requirements, and value for money for the taxpayer. The prime minister’s travel arrangements reflect where he was carrying out official government business at the end of last week. Continue reading...

Action taken to prevent bottom trawling in the marine protected area and conserve porpoise populations Greenpeace activists have dropped boulders in the North Sea to snag the dragnets of industrial trawlers fishing in a marine protected area. Activists onboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise dropped the giant stones to form an underwater barrier around the Southern North Sea marine protected area (MPA) – the UK’s most bottom-trawled MPA. Continue reading...

British prime minister has now agreed to structured dialogue on reparatory justice but issue remains off formal Chogm agenda British officials reportedly insisted that discussions of reparations for slavery should not be on the agenda of the Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Antigua and Barbuda – and even warned that Andy Burnham would not attend the meeting if the subject was formally included, according to a leading Caribbean political figure. Ralph Gonsalves, a former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and a senior figure in the reparatory justice movement Repair Campaign, welcomed Britain’s decision to enter structured dialogue on reparations, but said the UK had come “kicking and screaming” to the conversation. Continue reading...

Led by Congress party, India’s opposition alliance channels anger over removal of 130 million names from voter roll Thousands of opposition supporters have gathered in Delhi as protests against the Narendra Modi government continue to gather momentum. Led by the Congress party, India’s opposition alliance has brought together supporters from across the country, amid growing anger over a large-scale revision of the country’s voter roll that has seen 130 million names erased. Continue reading...

Commanders suspected of sexual violence during the largest and fastest slaughter of civilians in more than 30 years have been subjected to travel ban and asset freeze Senior Sudanese commanders implicated in a “campaign of rape” have been targeted by the UK on the first anniversary of a mass atrocity that saw tens of thousands of civilians killed over several days. A year after the fall of El Fasher, the British government said it had sanctioned military leaders from both sides in the country’s ongoing conflict whom it suspected of sexual violence during the siege of the city. Continue reading...

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 country. Attalah was taken briefly into custody after a Cairo court convicted her of managing an unlicensed website, prompting fresh international concerns over press freedom in Egypt. Continue reading...

Cryptocurrency exchange says 90% of losses covered as FBI blames North Korean state-sponsored group TraderTraitor The cryptocurrency exchange Binance has started to allow its customers to withdraw their funds from the platform, as it recovers from a record $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack. The exchange was hit by the theft on Thursday, which has since been described as the biggest heist in history, with experts identifying North Korea as the likely culprit. Continue reading...

Simon Richardson hit Michael Mullins, dragged him for more than a mile under his Volvo XC90, and ran him over A driver who ploughed into a headteacher who was cycling home from school and dragged him, trapped under his car, for more than a mile has been jailed for life. Simon Richardson, who ignored give-way signs at a junction before the collision, was told he must serve a minimum of 25 years after a jury last week found him guilty of murder. Continue reading...

Bruno Fernandes owes Manchester United a performance, Mathys Tel has arrived at Spurs and Liverpool are improving Premier League top scorers Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes held clear-the-air talks this week. Fernandes was an unused substitute against Bournemouth after criticising Carrick’s tactics during the Champions League defeat at Como but it seems the situation has been resolved – for now. Dropping Fernandes did not do United any good against Bournemouth, who ran riot at Old Trafford, and the captain is expected to return to the starting lineup for the trip to Chelsea. If that happens, he owes Carrick a performance. Fernandes has been poor this season and it is time he did his talking on the pitch. Jacob Steinberg Chelsea v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT) Manchester City v Brighton, Saturday 3pm Continue reading...

Binance exchange says it will cover customer losses as it scrambles to freeze affected assets, with about $3bn located so far Q&A: How big a deal is the $6.3bn crypto heist? Tell us: have you been affected by the Binance hack? The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has been hit by a record $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack described as the biggest heist in history, with experts identifying North Korea as the likely culprit. Binance said it would cover all customer losses as it froze $3bn of the affected assets. Continue reading...

Acquisition will supercharge DoorDash’s grocery delivery, ‘one of the hardest things to get right online’, CEO says DoorDash is gobbling up Instacart in a $17bn acquisition that will supercharge its grocery delivery business. DoorDash said the Instacart brand name and app will remain, and Instacart shoppers can continue fulfilling orders for Instacart. Grocers can also choose to work with Instacart or DoorDash. Instacart customers will now have access to 50,000 additional stores covered by DoorDash, the company said. Continue reading...

From experiencing racism growing up in Newcastle to becoming a derby hero and now a member of the executive team, the former striker has been on a remarkable journey “There were times where I feared for my life as a kid, being harassed and chased by different groups of people,” Shola Ameobi says. “There were situations where I had to sprint to get away from groups of lads who didn’t like me because of what I looked like.” Ameobi is recalling growing up in Newcastle during the late 1980s and 1990s, having moved from Nigeria aged six. There were lots of moments like that. Continue reading...

Unusually, all clubs in the top flight have the same manager with whom they began the season – but the first sacking may not be far away No Premier League manager has yet lost his job this season. In only three of the past 10 campaigns was November reached without a club making a managerial change. The 2026-27 season commencing with 11 managers who were appointed at some point in 2026 has probably contributed to the early season stability. They have to be given a chance to fashion their side as they see fit. But with roughly a quarter of the season played and only one more round of fixtures before an international break, the first sacking may not be far away. Continue reading...

Our NextGen picks from five years ago show that breaking through early does not guarantee longevity or future success Read the full updates on our class of 2021 here and here In 2021, as every year, we picked 80 players from around the world who had a chance of making it in world football – 20 from the Premier League and 60 from the rest of the world – as part of our Next Generation series. We then follow these talented boys on their journeys for five years. Often it is almost impossible to predict how they will get on (OK, when Sid Lowe sent over Lamine Yamal in 2024 we had an inkling he might do well). The ball-playing central midfielder comes from a footballing family and academy staff believe his tactical awareness is born from growing up around the game. His father, Adam, played for Brighton and is now manager along the coast at Worthing FC, while Martin (his great uncle), Paul (his grandad), and Wally (his great grandad), all enjoyed careers as players. The youngest to play in the Bundesliga at 16 years and one day, youngest player to appear in the Champions League 17 days later, youngest goal scorer in Bundesliga 11 days after that and youngest player and youngest goal scorer for the Germany Under-21 team before he has turned 17. Continue reading...

From Jonathan Penrose to Bodhana Sivanandan, young talents have specialised in defeating established stars Nearly half a century ago, at Brighton 1977, the 10-time British champion, Jonathan Penrose, faced a 12-year-old boy, Nigel Short, in round three of the national title contest. Short already had a fast-growing reputation after defeating the legendary Viktor Korchnoi in a simultaneous display in London the previous year. David Bronstein, watching that game, compared the winner’s rook infiltration via the fifth rank after move 40 to José Capablanca’s strategy against Aron Nimzowitsch at New York 1927. Continue reading...

South African stands out, not just because of his height, but England and Australia now find themselves looking for an equivalent If you were to bioengineer a cricketer in a laboratory, which attributes would you give them? You would make them tall, with long limbs and a whiplash action to extract steep bounce. Add speed, movement both ways and a left arm to offer a point of difference. With the bat, make sure they can whack sixes but also go down the gears when an innings starts to unravel. For an added trait, have them catch meteorites in the outfield and the cordon. You might end up with Marco Jansen. At the start of the third Test, the 6ft 8in South African had taken 99 Test wickets at 20.81. His 85 against Australia at Gqeberha in the second Test came after South Africa had slumped to 110 for six before his counterattack helped turn a precarious position into an innings victory. Jansen is still developing as a batter, but his 25.66 average before this current Test understates his potential. Continue reading...

Lancashire have moved on without him, but the 44-year-old England stalwart wants to keep going as long as his body allows Jimmy Anderson could teach Philip Marlowe a thing or two about The Long Goodbye. England’s leading wicket-taker in Tests is of that sporting breed who have no interest in bowing out at the top. Like Andy Murray before him, he has shown little enthusiasm to bow out at all, as long as his body allows him to keep doing the thing he loves: getting opposition batsmen out. It was little surprise, then, that when Lancashire announced this week they would not be renewing his contract after 25 years, there was no immediate retirement announcement. Instead there was an irked Instagram post, then silence, as the one-club man considered his options. One of those, apparently, was a T10 cricket tournament in Rome. And lo, it is now confirmed that Anderson will lead (and even “co-own”) the Napoli Knights for 12 days next month. Continue reading...

Glamorgan opener played for Jersey in Kenya last month Entry ban brought in by St Kitts and Nevis government The Glamorgan opener Asa Tribe has been barred from joining the ­England Lions tour of the Caribbean fol­lowing a visit to Kenya and concerns over the recent outbreak of Ebola in east Africa. Tribe is able to represent his native Jersey until he wins a first senior England cap and played three List A games for the associate nation in ­Nairobi last month. From there he was due to join the ­England Lions squad in St Kitts and Nevis. Continue reading...

Dortmund did not read the script, remaining level on points with the defending champions at the top of the table It was the moment they had all been … not so much waiting for, but planning, pushing and yearning for. In the videos that announce the starting lineup on the giant scoreboard before kick-off, every Bayern Munich player turns to face the camera with their personal salute, greeting or goal celebration, the playful progression from the standard folding of arms. Except on Saturday evening, the No 9 turned around smiling, and cradling the golden trophy. In the midweek DFB Pokal stroll against Magdeburg there had been a salute, the players welcoming Harry Kane on to the pitch with a guard of honour to commemorate his Ballon d’Or victory two nights before. This, however, was the real party, the moment where the England captain’s and Bayern’s successful union and the apex it has reached was celebrated in front of a global audience. There was every reason to believe it would be a full and satisfying victory lap, even in Der Klassiker, with proper competition so often bringing the best out of the Rekordmeister. Continue reading...

It makes sense that sports teams want to keep influencers out of their games. The battle some clubs are waging with their fans, however, is a different dilemma By all appearances, things on the Yellow Wall seemed as they always had been. The stadium announcer hollered out the first names of Borussia Dortmund’s starting lineup and the supporters responded with their last names, tens of thousands of voices bellowing as one. Dozens of black and yellow flags waved over Europe’s largest standing terrace, a mass of faces fixed on the field beneath them. And then Signal Iduna Park, sold out with 81,365 fans, roared when Max Beier’s lone goal led Dortmund to victory over Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday, putting the home side even on points with Bayern Munich atop the Bundesliga standings. Continue reading...

Gunners edged north London derby while new United manager put the brakes on Manchester City’s winning start The penalty that allowed Arsenal to come from a goal behind to take the lead may have come with a healthy helping of luck, with the ball having come off Ella Morris’s raised arm as her teammate attempted to clear it, but it could prove to be the turning point Arsenal needed. “It’s been tough. We haven’t got the results we wanted,” penalty scorer Alessia Russo told the BBC afterwards. “This was an important win as far as north London derbies goes. It was really important and this was a great opportunity to try and turn it around.” It has taken seven games for the Gunners to secure their second league win of the season despite high hopes ahead of the new campaign and, while the result was a significant one, there is still a long way to go if Arsenal are to salvage anything from the most disappointing of starts. The performance against Tottenham was far from perfect and, in the first half in particular, sloppy and lacking fight. Tightening up their passing and harnessing the grit they found as they clung onto their lead towards the end of the match will be critical if they are to really kick on from this result. Suzanne Wrack Continue reading...