Man arrested for entering Manchester mosque allegedly carrying weapon 25. February 2026 (11:11) Witness claims suspect entered mosque during Ramadan evening prayers armed with axePolice in Manchester have arrested a suspect after he allegedly entered Manchester Central Mosque “acting suspiciously” and carrying an offensive weaponA witness said the suspect, whom he described to be in his late 40s, entered the mosque on Tuesday evening armed with an axe. Four people quickly restrained the suspect and hit him with a fire extinguisher, he said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Members of Iran’s elite accused of hypocrisy over children’s lives in west 25. February 2026 (11:00) Opposition campaigners claim top figures in regime use state wealth to fund lifestyles counter to those they preachMembers of Iran’s ruling elite have been accused of brazen hypocrisy by allegedly using the state’s wealth to help to fund their adult children’s lives in the west while presiding over growing economic misery and repression at home.Opposition campaigners made the accusation against some of the clerical regime’s most powerful figures as a military confrontation with the US appears increasingly likely. Donald Trump has deployed a vast armada in the Middle East and confirmed he is considering strikes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Aston Martin to cut 20% of workforce in effort to save £40m 25. February 2026 (10:45) Details emerge after struggling carmaker reports pre-tax losses of £363.9m for 2025 The luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda is to cut its workforce by 20% as it looks to save about £40m after reporting widening losses.The group, which said earlier this month it was consulting on the latest redundancy programme, said it would reduce its workforce by up to a fifth after action at the start of last year that cut 170 jobs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Evelyn Araluen wins $125,000 for ‘politically uncompromising’ poetry at Victorian premier’s literary awards 25. February 2026 (10:00) Poet’s second collection The Rot won the Victorian prize for literature and the Indigenous writing categoryGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailEvelyn Araluen has won both the $100,000 Victorian prize for literature and the $25,000 Indigenous writing category at this year’s Victorian premier’s literary awards, for her second poetry collection The Rot.Selected from almost 700 books entered for the prize, The Rot won the two awards on Thursday night, having also been shortlisted in the poetry category. The Goorie and Koori poet won the 2022 Stella prize, and was shortlisted for three premier’s literary prizes, for her debut collection Dropbear.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Student loan crisis in England and Wales is a scam on graduates, say angry MPs 25. February 2026 (10:00) Debate to take place in Westminster as some backbench Labour members join calls for a shake-up of the systemAngry backbench Labour MPs have attacked ministers over the student loans crisis, claiming graduates are being “outrageously scammed”.Ahead of a Commons Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday morning, some Labour MPs joined calls for an urgent shake-up of the current “unfair” system. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
HSBC boss signals overhaul of bank is almost over despite drop in profits 25. February 2026 (09:15) Lender ‘becoming a simple, more agile, focused bank built for a fast-changing world’, says Georges Elhedery The chief executive of HSBC has signalled that his planned overhaul of Europe’s largest lender is drawing to a close despite a slide in annual profits.The bank’s chief executive, Georges Elhedery – who took over in 2024 – said it was “becoming a simple, more agile, focused bank built for a fast-changing world”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Behind the Guardian’s analysis of 100 years of MPs’ language on immigration 25. February 2026 (09:00) Methodology: how we trained a machine learning model to analyse rhetoric on immigration in the UK parliament over the course of a centuryThe Guardian has revealed a significant rightward shift toward sentiment relating to immigration among MPs speaking in the House of Commons in the past five years.
To do this analysis the Guardian’s Data Science and Data Projects teams, in collaboration with University College London, developed an in-house machine learning model to measure linguistic sentiment in debates in the Commons over the course of a century.Unlike off-the-shelf sentiment models, the Guardian’s version distinguishes sentiment directed specifically at immigration from general emotionally charged language about any topic. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Energy bills will fall by £117 for millions of households in Great Britain from April 25. February 2026 (08:00) Ofgem cap drops by 7% to £1,641 a year for consumers’ average gas and electricity costsBusiness live – latest updatesAnnual energy bills will fall by £117 for millions of households from April after Rachel Reeves’s plan to cut £150 a year from bills was partly foiled by rising costs.The energy regulator Ofgem’s quarterly cap will fall by 7% a year for the three months from April to £1,641 for the average combined gas and electricity bill in Great Britain, from £1,758 under the current January-March cap. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jobs, gas prices and ending wars: factchecking Trump’s State of the Union claims 25. February 2026 (07:58) The president’s lengthy speech to Congress contained myriad inflated, misleading or simply false claimsDonald Trump officially made the longest State of the Union address in history on Tuesday night, with broad claims about the successes achieved during the first year of his second term.But the speech that stretched across more than an hour and 41 minutes was filled with strong statements, many of them inflated, misleading or simply untrue. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Why the longest-ever State of the Union address was the most inconsequential 25. February 2026 (07:50) Amid Trump’s lies and xenophobic rants, people struggling to pay bills and make ends meet are unlikely to be movedHe wanted to give the king’s speech. Donald Trump entered the US House chamber on Tuesday like a medieval monarch, with Republicans lined up eager to touch his royal robes (or, in two cases, grab a selfie with him). But within moments, the illusion was shattered.As the US president strolled by, soaking up adulation, Democratic representative Al Green of Texas held aloft a handwritten sign: “Black people aren’t apes!” – a reference to Trump recently sharing a racist video depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
