Firms turning crude oil into the ‘workhorse’ fuel stand to gain most despite economic fallout from record pricesDays after Donald Trump announced a deal to import Russian diesel into the US in an effort to lower soaring pump prices, the world’s energy watchdog has warned that the global fuel shortage will drag into 2027.Trump’s temporary sanctions reprieve was criticised for offering “too little, too late” to temper the sky high pump prices triggered by the shutdown of war-damaged refineries in the Middle East and Russia – once the world’s second-largest diesel exporter behind the US. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 12:26 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

At Bybi in Copenhagen, a dedicated group of staff and volunteers have built a community for all centred on the production of honey – much of which is given away for nothing. Could it be replicated elsewhere?The bees at Bybi, a collective of beekeepers in Copenhagen, live on the roof. Their home is a complex of Victorian buildings, right in the centre of the city, that looks like an idealised vision of the modern social enterprise, ennobled by the architecture of the past. It’s a place of cottage industry in concert with nature, where the marginalised are brought in from the fringes and corporations stand waiting to help, where jobs happen but a lot of the work is done by volunteers, and where – this bit is important – a lot of time is spent discussing ideas.Oliver Maxwell, Bybi’s 48-year-old founder, encourages me to examine the buildings more closely. They were once a prison, a workhouse and a hospital; their functions today – a homeless shelter, a young offender institution and, until recently, a job centre – are not so different. Denmark’s Victorian transformation, from “agricultural backwater to industrialised agriculture”, was reflected in how they treated people, Maxwell says. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 09:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Some of Britain’s wealthiest financiers, including Sir Paul Marshall, have given a platform to critical coverage or are linked to its leading opponent“This is virtue signalling,” said Nigel Biggar. “These are elites who are trying to demonstrate that they are being progressive.”The target of his scorn was one that has obsessed him for years: the movement to pay reparations for the slave trade, and specifically the Church of England’s plan to spend £100m atoning for its involvement. Continue reading...

13 Oct 2026 05:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Siam Amazing Park was forced to close after rising water damaged rides and left parts of the park inaccessibleWith its mouth agape, the giant lion’s head is frozen in a roar. No water rushes down the log flume that descends from its heights, while at ground level, the vast amusement park stands empty of noise and activity except for leaves blowing in a light breeze.Welcome to Siam Amazing Park, billed as the longest-running amusement park in south-east Asia, and certainly in Thailand. Up to a million people rush in every year for thrills on rides like the Boomerang, an orange rollercoaster that loop-the-loops at 80km/h (50mph), or to splash around under the tropical sun in one of the world’s largest wave pools. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 01:36 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Andy Burnham is being accused of a serious misjudgment over his comments about meetings with Manchester City’s owners. Kiran Stacey discusses the controversy after returning from a trade trip to India with the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and the new Greater Manchester mayor, Bev Craig, during which Stacey discovered that a representative of the football club was also present. The club was recently found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League rules. What could the fallout mean for Burnham?You can watch Politics Weekly on our YouTube channel here Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 13:22 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Workers have always been monitored by their bosses, first through output targets, and then via computer software labelled ‘bossware’. But AI is transforming the capabilities of these systems, processing huge volumes of data to provide minute-by-minute accounts of activity, and productivity. To find out more, Ian Sample hears from UK technology editor Robert Booth. He explains which sectors are adopting this approach, why they are doing it, and how it could end up being counterproductive. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 11:10 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

The vast majority of Americans say they are struggling to pay for gas and groceries, and are cutting back on luxuries. But what or who is actually behind these price rises? We asked you to tell us what's gotten too expensive in your own life. Now, Kai Wright and Carter Sherman enlist Guardian columnist and former labor secretary Robert Reich to explain why you’re feeling the pinch. From breaking down the market factors behind the cost of a $16 cheesesteak, to explaining why AI is playing into the price of a Nintendo Switch 2, Reich reveals who you should point the finger at in this economy. Additional music by Epidemic SoundRobert Reich has written this week’s edition of How We Win, a pop-up opinion newsletter with bold ideas for defeating Trumpism. Sign up hereSend us your questions on how the US economy is shaping the US election Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 09:45 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN