Meloni accused of ‘running scared’ with cap on foreign children in classrooms 25. September 2026 (13:31) Critics say decree also banning burqa in schools shows Italian PM worried about losing far-right voters in next year’s electionsThe Italian government has been accused of ramping up divisive rhetoric to try to court far-right voters ahead of next year’s general election after it passed a decree aimed at capping the number of newly arrived migrants in classrooms and banning the burqa and niqab in schools.The prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, said her government had approved what she called “commonsense measures that do not divide but genuinely help to integrate”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
When Trump’s narrative meets voters’ realities 25. September 2026 (13:30) By Donald Trump’s telling, we’re in a US ‘golden age’. Americans may feel differently. Plus: Anger at the elite and a gunfluencer runs in TexasThis was originally published in The Stakes 2026, a newsletter about the midterm elections. Sign up to get it in your inboxOne of Donald Trump’s greatest talents – deployed during his time as a real estate tycoon, source and subject of tabloid gossip, reality TV protagonist, and president of the United States – is his ability to tell stories. With six weeks until the US midterm elections, he is likely to lean on this instinct more than ever.Rarely does the US president appear more comfortable than when behind a microphone, speaking without interruption, sometimes for multiple hours. Long before entering the White House, he wholeheartedly embraced social media as a means of crafting his narrative, going so far as to launch his own social network when booted off others. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tall, dark and hated: plan to renovate ‘Paris’s ugliest building’ put on hold 25. September 2026 (13:25) Tour Montparnasse modernisation project at a standstill after clashes over pricing and other issuesIt has been called a carbuncle on the Paris skyline, a sombre skyscraper where visitors to its viewing platform often joke that the city looks better when you can’t see the building itself.The much-maligned Tour Montparnasse, a lone, dark monolith with tinted windows rising above a historic neighbourhood in the south of the city, is once again at the centre of controversy after its long-awaited renovation was halted this week because of disagreements between its many private co-owners. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Your body fights to stay cool’: workers toil in record heat as federal rule frozen 25. September 2026 (13:00) Trump officials and Republicans are rolling back protections against heat-related illnesses and deathsWhen it’s 90F on a hot summer day, Esther Minton wears a long-sleeved shirt to work.“Working outside, you don’t have cover. There’s nowhere for you to really go if you’re on a roof or if you’re on the side of a building,” said Minton, a member of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 28 in New York City. “Having the sun beaming on your skin all day long, you’ll never make it through, so what you wear makes a difference.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How the illegal dumping of toxic waste in a Croatian town sparked national calls for clean-up 25. September 2026 (13:00) After years of illegal mass flytipping in Gospić, fed-up residents decided to take matters into their own hands“Gospić is our home,” Željka Šikić shouted to a crowd of 40,000 people outside the Croatian parliament earlier this month. The slogan is the name of a campaign she helped to set up to protest against the illegal dumping of waste in Gospić, a town in the mountainous Lika region of central Croatia.Between 2022 and 2024, waste was illegally abandoned at several sites in the town. At one of the biggest, just 50 metres from Šikić’s home, an estimated 35,000 tonnes of waste, some of it hazardous, was dumped and buried. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Britain’s low-paid urged to sign up to savings scheme offering cash bonus 25. September 2026 (13:00) Government-backed help to save is aimed at working people on universal credit and pays 50p for every £1 saved over four yearsAmid claims that millions are missing out, the UK government is encouraging low earners to sign up to a savings scheme that offers free cash.Help to save is a government-backed savings account that lets people earn a bonus of 50p for every £1 they save over four years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
