Polls and surveys are methods of collecting people’s opinions and data to understand public views, preferences, and trends.
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Trump may release US-Iran deal before Friday, Vance says
on June 16, 2026 at 7:21 am
The US vice-president says the agreement is "about a page and a half" and "very general", meaning many details will be worked out later.
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'Dancing girl's' bare torso restored in Indian textbook after backlash
on June 16, 2026 at 7:05 am
A picture in a new school textbook had covered up the naked torso of the famous figurine with dark shading.
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Thames Water nationalisation moves closer as government ‘objects to rescue deal’
by Julia Kollewe on June 16, 2026 at 7:05 am
Environment secretary reportedly raised concerns that customers would face ‘undue burden’ from £10bn planThames Water should be nationalised, says BurnhamBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK environment secretary has reportedly objected to a £10bn rescue proposal for Thames Water because it would place an “undue burden” on consumers, pushing the troubled utilities firm closer towards public ownership.Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, wrote to Ofwat, the regulator, on Monday to raise concerns about the plan for the UK’s biggest water company, according to the Times, as she is worried that customers will lose out. Continue reading...
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Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax isn’t far off Labour’s housing policy. Not that you’ll ever hear Starmer say it | Anna Minton
by Anna Minton on June 16, 2026 at 7:00 am
The UK has its own progressive policies such as the second home and ‘mansion’ taxes. So why isn’t the PM shouting it from the rooftops?In April, to mark the day on which Americans are expected to file their taxes, the New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani, filmed himself on Billionaires’ Row, an enclave of super-tall apartment buildings just south of Central Park. When he took office, he said, he would tax the rich, and now, outside the hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin’s $238m penthouse, he was ready to make good on his pledge. “Today, we’re taxing the rich,” he said with a flamboyant smile, zooming his face into the camera. It was the opening to a short film unashamedly titled Happy Tax Day, New York.He went into battle armed with stats. According to Mark Levine, NYC’s comptroller (a senior financial executive), the pied-à-terre tax on second homes will raise about $500m annually fromabout 11,200 properties.Anna Minton is reader in architecture at the University of East London. Her new book, Superprime: The Sterilisation of the City, will be published by Penguin next year Continue reading...
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Mail on Sunday attacks Restore as split right creates headache for UK papers
by Michael Savage Media editor on June 16, 2026 at 6:00 am
Some titles that once backed the Tories now ‘flirting with Farage’ as they try to gauge where readers standIt was a Mail on Sunday headline with all the ferocity usually reserved for general elections, directed squarely at a political opponent. But in this case, the traditionally Conservative-supporting title was not targeting Labour.The party in its crosshairs was Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain, the vehemently rightwing outfit that regards Nigel Farage’s Reform UK as too weak on deporting migrants. Continue reading...
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Japan raises interest rate to highest since 1995
on June 16, 2026 at 5:35 am
The Bank of Japan has been raising rates from near-zero since 2024.
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‘Unbelievable’ waste and inefficiency at MoD, says ex-defence minister Al Carns
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on June 16, 2026 at 5:17 am
Exclusive: Carns, who quit last week, says he was angered by unwillingness to confront sunk costs of legacy programmesThere is “unbelievable” waste and inefficiency at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the former armed forces minister Al Carns has said, adding that every time he would “turn a stone over” he would get another shock.Carns said that during his time as a defence minister he had been angered by the unwillingness to confront the sunk costs of legacy programmes – and suggested mismanaged programmes such as tanks investment should be scrapped in favour of new technology. Continue reading...
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Division in UK probably worse now than in run-up to Brexit, says Kim Leadbeater
by Peter Walker and Nosheen Iqbal on June 16, 2026 at 5:00 am
Labour MP warns of voices fanning hatred on eve of 10th anniversary of the murder of her sister, the MP Jo CoxPolitical hatred and division in the UK is probably worse now than during the Brexit referendum, when Jo Cox was murdered, says Kim Leadbeater, Cox’s sister who is now also a Labour MP.Speaking to the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast Leadbeater, who was elected to the same Yorkshire seat held by Cox in a 2021 byelection, said everyone in public life had a responsibility to try and ease tensions. Continue reading...
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The old ‘warfare v welfare’ arguments are back – but it’s Britain’s real duty to spend on both | Frances Ryan
by Frances Ryan on June 16, 2026 at 5:00 am
While we need protecting from foreign enemies, slashing benefits in favour of defence will make millions less, not more, safeAs the row over the military budget grows, Keir Starmer has spent much of the past few days insisting he’s spending huge sums of taxpayer money on defence. Every single government department has made cuts to fund next month’s defence investment plan (Dip), the prime minister promised, resulting in “the biggest sustained increase since the cold war”. On Sunday, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, told the BBC that cabinet ministers have been asked to look for further reductions to help fund defence.Now squint and replace the word “defence” with “welfare”. Imagine Starmer – or any prime minister for that matter – boasting they’ve pinched cash from the NHS or schools to boost benefit payments. Indeed, swap “defence” for any sort of progressive cause – think housing, social care or net zero – and you’d be hard-pressed to picture a politician trying to save their career by pledging vast levels of spending, let alone if that spending was lifted from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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Iranian-Americans protest against Iran team at World Cup
on June 16, 2026 at 4:25 am
The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil was outside the Iran v New Zealand opening round match as protesters called for an end to Tehran’s clerical regime.
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Labour MPs doubt EHRC guidance on court’s biological sex ruling is workable
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on June 16, 2026 at 4:00 am
Exclusive: Commons motion calls for code of practice to be blocked amid concerns over impact on transgender peopleA number of Labour MPs are increasingly doubtful that the guidance on how organisations should implement the supreme court ruling on sex as it applies in the Equality Act is workable in the real world, with some predicting it will unleash a wave of competing legal claims.A total of 135 MPs, 69 of them from Labour, have signed a Commons motion calling for the code of practice drafted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, approved last month, to be blocked, primarily because of worries about its impact on transgender people. Continue reading...
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Trust in news hits a new low, research suggests
on June 16, 2026 at 3:57 am
The Reuters Institute records its lowest trust figures since the annual research began in 2015.
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Iran deal presents political nightmare for Netanyahu
on June 16, 2026 at 3:40 am
Donald Trump's ceasefire agreement with Iran leaves the Israeli PM trapped in a new political and security dilemma.
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Trump Arrives for Group of 7 as Allies Rethink Their Relationship With U.S.
by Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Erica L. Green on June 16, 2026 at 2:55 am
President Trump has long been at odds with European leaders over trade, Ukraine and NATO, but he has lashed out in recent weeks over their refusal to support the U.S. war with Iran.
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Eight dead after US Air Force B-52 bomber crashes in California
on June 16, 2026 at 1:49 am
The incident occurred on Monday morning while the aircraft had been on a routine test mission.
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U.S. and Iran Sign a Framework Deal, Leaving Major Issues for Future Talks
by Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Erica L. Green, Max Bearak and Lara Jakes on June 16, 2026 at 12:59 am
U.S. and Iranian officials said the deal included a 60-day cease-fire to pave the way for negotiations toward a final peace agreement and talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
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Australia to probe assault claims by Gaza flotilla activists against Israeli forces
on June 16, 2026 at 12:11 am
Australian activists claim they were kidnapped, raped and tortured after being detained in May.
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What one country's experiment says about attempts to boost birth rates
on June 15, 2026 at 11:56 pm
Why did Hungary’s pronatalist approach deliver an early rise in births only then to fall back? And what lessons does it offer to other countries desperate to lift fertility?
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Montana Democrats Are Divided Over How to Win a Republican-held Senate Seat
by Kellen Browning and Jack Healy on June 15, 2026 at 11:50 pm
A rift in Montana between the Democratic nominee and an independent candidate could boost Republican hopes of holding on to an open seat in conservative territory.
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Married at First Sight Australia allegations 'disturbing', says country's watchdog
on June 15, 2026 at 11:40 pm
The claims also prompted a response from UK media regulator Ofcom, who called them "deeply concerning".
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Recovery of Ebola patients offers rare moments of joy at epicentre of outbreak
on June 15, 2026 at 11:26 pm
There are glimpses of happiness in the Democratic Republic of Congo's fight against the virus that has killed more than 170.
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What did Trump do differently to Obama on Iran?
on June 15, 2026 at 11:11 pm
The BBC's Gary O'Donoghue looks at the contrasting approaches of the two presidents as Trump touts a new peace deal.
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A year on, six questions still haunt the Air India crash investigation
on June 15, 2026 at 11:09 pm
From fuel switches to engine failures, here are the biggest mysteries around the Air India crash inquiry.
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California's Gavin Newsom alleges justice department is investigating his wife and ex-staff
on June 15, 2026 at 11:06 pm
A source familiar with the investigations says they had been ongoing for "roughly a year".
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'Greatest feeling ever': Cape Verdeans tell BBC of joy at holding Spain to draw
on June 15, 2026 at 11:01 pm
The streets of the capital, Praia, shook with wild celebrations as the small island nation held Spain to a shock 0-0 draw.
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VAR official says hand gesture was 'involuntary, subconscious twitch'
on June 15, 2026 at 10:29 pm
Video assistant referee Shaun Evans has denied "intentionally" making a hand gesture "to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind" and claimed it was a "an involuntary, subconscious twitch" that he was "unaware" of.
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Potential End of War Tests Trump’s Promise of Quick Economic Rebound
by Tony Romm on June 15, 2026 at 9:56 pm
Gas prices and other goods could remain elevated for months, adding to the political challenge facing the White House in the midterm elections.
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Kennedy Orders Woman to Stay in Hantavirus Quarantine, Despite C.D.C. Recommendation
by Apoorva Mandavilli on June 15, 2026 at 9:47 pm
Others who were in the facility have been allowed to return to their homes in recent weeks for monitoring by local health officials.
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Alabama and Georgia Runoff Elections Offer a New Test of Trump’s Influence Tomorrow
by Katie Glueck on June 15, 2026 at 9:30 pm
The Peach State, as well as Alabama, will offer new tests of Trump’s influence.
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Starmer vows new sanctions on Russia and nuclear energy support for Ukraine
by Alexandra Topping in Évian les-Bains on June 15, 2026 at 9:30 pm
G7 told ‘we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes’, with Russia’s finance networks and shadow fleet targetedKeir Starmer has vowed to “choke off” Russian revenue with further sanctions and to provide hundreds of millions of pounds worth of energy support for Ukraine, as he met world leaders in France for the G7.After a torrid political week at home, the British prime minister sought to put himself on the front foot on the international stage at the meeting of the group of seven, which kicked off on Monday in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva. Continue reading...