Backlash

British disinfectant brand withdraws advert about a man’s efforts to find a ‘clean and untouched’ womanThe British hygiene brand Dettol has apologised after an advertisement released in China, which it said was intended to criticise “toxic men”, was widely condemned on social media as offensive to women.The five-minute advert for a multipurpose disinfectant, released across many online platforms at the end of May, features a man comparing his girlfriend with his former partner. Learning that his former girlfriend had previously lived with someone else, the man likens their relationship to a “secondhand service”. He then tells his friends that he intends to find a “clean and untouched” woman with whom he can be the first sexual partner. Continue reading...

Prime minister was forced to row back on some policies despite strong support among voters for climate actionKeir Starmer has faced a problem no Labour government has needed to deal with before. His energy and climate policies – core to solving the cost of living crisis – have come under attack from opposition parties, which have made dismantling the agenda one of their top priorities, second only to immigration, in their pitch to voters.This is new in British politics, where a cross-party consensus on the climate and environment has held at least since the days of Margaret Thatcher. She warned the UN of the climate crisis in 1988; David Cameron in 2006 urged voters to “vote blue, go green”; Theresa May enshrined in law the requirement to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; Boris Johnson championed the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow in 2021; even Rishi Sunak only tried a partial rollback of green policies as a last desperate throw before calling an election. Continue reading...

• The film "Bandhu 2.0" is facing significant social media backlash on June 18, 2026, with critics comparing its promotional material to a "Frooti" advertisement. • This controversy occurs as the industry prepares for the upcoming release of "Cocktail 2," adding tension to the current entertainment cycle. • The situation highlights the volatility of celebrity and film branding within the $2.83 trillion global entertainment industry.

Start-ups and testamentary trusts to receive carve-outs after criticism of Labor’s CGT changesAll of Australia’s 2.7m small businesses will receive “generous” exemptions from capital gains tax, as Anthony Albanese flagged startups and testamentary trusts would receive carve outs from the government’s contentious tax reforms.The prime minister’s announcement on Thursday follows weeks of sustained criticism from industry groups, who have labelled the move from a flat 50% CGT discount model to an inflation-linked approach as a “tax on growth”. Continue reading...

No 10 is worried about retaliation from White House over restrictions to under-16s’ internet useMinisters have embarked on a concerted lobbying operation to prevent a backlash from the Trump administration to the under-16s social media ban announced by Keir Starmer on Monday.Officials said they have spent weeks trying to reassure senior Trump officials and the US president himself that the restrictions were not specifically aimed at US technology companies. Continue reading...

Charging industry and electric vehicle manufacturers say measure could cost jobs and harm UK automotive sectorThe UK government’s plans to further weaken electric car targets have provoked a furious backlash from the charging industry and the electric car brand Polestar, which would lose out from the changes.The Labour government is expected to dilute rules known as the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Government sources have said it will reduce a target for pure electric cars from 80% of all sales by 2030 to 50%. Continue reading...

• FIFA is facing backlash after television broadcasts showed large sections of empty seats during South Korea’s 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic at the 2026 World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico. • The organization defended the attendance figures by claiming that some ticket holders chose to remain standing in the stadium concourses rather than in their assigned seats. • This incident has sparked widespread online criticism from fans who are now questioning the accuracy of official attendance reports and the fairness of ticket pricing.

Kate Dearden says reforms such as enhanced sick pay simply bring UK into line with other big economiesLabour’s radical workers’ rights reforms have simply put the UK on a “level playing field” with other big economies, the employment minister, Kate Dearden, has said.The government’s Employment Rights Act became law last year, with specific provisions being implemented this year and next. Continue reading...

African migrants say legal status offers little protection as rallies against illegal immigration gain momentumAfrican migrants in South Africa say they are living in fear after a series of marches calling for illegal immigrants to leave reignited long-held xenophobic sentiment in the country.March & March, a campaign group at the forefront of recent protests, has given people living illegally in the country until 30 June to leave, without specifying what will happen to those who do not. Continue reading...

Republican states rebrand June as ‘nuclear family month’ or ‘fidelity month’ in latest attack on LGBTQ+ communitiesJune is widely marked as gay Pride month – when LGBTQ+ communities march to protest discrimination and celebrate their identities in the month that the modern US gay liberation movement was born out of the 1969 uprising at New York’s Stonewall Inn – although not so much in certain Republican-led states this year.Some Republican governors have suddenly come up with alternative labels for the month, which both supporters and opponents view as counterprogramming. Continue reading...

Community leaders express disgust at Vickrum Digwa over murder of Henry Nowak amid fears of rise in racial tensionsAmandeep Singh, an educator with the charity Basics of Sikhi, is proud of his community’s deeply-rooted place in British society.“We’re a community that has probably been celebrated as one that is very successfully integrated into the British value system,” he said. “We’ve worn kirpans for hundreds of years and since we’ve been invited to settle in this country,” he said. Continue reading...

• Nvidia is expanding its high-end AI server manufacturing capabilities by initiating hiring efforts in Vietnam and partnering with Taiwan-based Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs). • The company's expansion into the Beitou-Shilin Tech Park has significantly increased local AI power demands, prompting Taipower to implement a dual-track strategy for substation development. • These strategic moves highlight Nvidia's push to diversify its supply chain and infrastructure to support the growing global demand for AI hardware.

Several MPs tell Guardian Australia they are keen to see tweaks, and some are engaging directly with treasurer’s officeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor MPs expect the government will agree to capital gains tax concessions for startup businesses after a meme-fuelled backlash to the budget, with some wary that scare campaigns could “get out of hand” without clearer explanation of the changes from Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers.Guardian Australia spoke to a number of Labor MPs nationwide. Speaking on condition of anonymity, several MPs said they were keen to see change on CGT, with some engaging directly with Chalmers’ office. Continue reading...

Critics of Royal Horticultural Society turn hose on corporate sponsorship, peat-free compost and general ‘wokery’There was King Charles and David Beckham as well as a nocturnal garden to support bats and a Viking-themed allotment full of edible plants in pots. The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea flower show, which ends on Saturday, was as lovely and celebrity-glittered as ever, most agreed.But dig a little deeper, say critics on the conservative wing of the RHS – including one spectacularly outspoken former contributor – and not everything is necessarily smelling of roses. Continue reading...

Mayor’s attempt to beautify the city with murals of mascot and plum paint jobs criticised as waste of resourcesThe giant purple axolotl peered up at Manuel Martínez from the black bitumen of the street. It was the second such painting of the rare amphibian he had walked past that morning. In recent weeks he had seen axolotl murals pop up in neighbourhoods across Mexico City.“It’s a waste of money,” he said. “You could use that budget for fixing potholes, traffic lights, security cameras. They’re spending on something that doesn’t benefit us at all – it’s just for tourists.” Continue reading...

Facility would require more power than entire state uses and suck up vast amount of water in drought-stricken areaA plan to create one of the world’s largest datacenters, a gargantuan project spanning an area more than twice the size of Manhattan, has provoked a furious public backlash in Utah amid concerns over its vast energy use and impact upon the state’s stressed water supplies.The Stratos artificial intelligence datacenter footprint will cover more than 40,000 acres (62 sq miles) over three sites in Box Elder county in north-western Utah. The facility will require about 9GW of power, which is more than the entire state of Utah currently consumes, and suck up a significant amount of water in an area that has been hit by severe drought in recent years. Continue reading...

US transportation secretary announces The Great American Road Trip amid transportation crises and rising fuel pricesSean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, hauled his family into a van for a wholesome, seven-month trek across the nation, which was filmed for an upcoming reality TV program, he told Fox News on Friday.The revelation drew immediate blowback as “tone-deaf”, from critics who pointed toward various crises that have recently hammered the country’s transportation sector. Continue reading...

The chief justice defends court’s impartiality after decisions on abortion, presidential immunity and voting rightsUS chief justice John Roberts has insisted supreme court judges are not “political actors” amid outrage over its recent decision undermining the Voting Right Act, and other moves that have benefited Donald Trump and his allies.“I think, at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, we’re saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,” Roberts told a conference for judges and lawyers in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. “I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.” Continue reading...

Former Scottish Labour leader says she understands that expressing respect for author caused ‘worry, anger and upset’The incoming chair of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, says she is “truly sorry” after she expressed “huge respect” for JK Rowling in an interview with the Guardian.Kezia Dugdale, the former leader of Scottish Labour, said she understood that her words had caused “worry, anger and upset and I am truly sorry about that”. Continue reading...

Georgia players celebrated championship at White HousePresident shakes hands of men, not women in videoFormer tennis star Navratilova leads criticismA White House photo celebrating a champion women’s sports team has drawn backlash due to the positioning of Donald Trump and a group of men, who overshadowed the female athletes by lining up in front of them.The University of Georgia women’s tennis team was one of several collegiate teams to visit the White House on Wednesday to mark a recent championship win. In a photo shared by press aide Margo Martin, a group of six men, including Donald Trump, took up the front row of a stage setup, with 11 women standing in the background largely obscured. Continue reading...

Bills are response to election petitions challenging Godwin Friday and fellow politician’s eligibility to be MPs because of dual citizenshipThe St Vincent and the Grenadines government has delayed a controversial effort to amend a section of the country’s constitution that the opposition says renders the prime minister ineligible for his position in parliament.Two bills, among six listed for the parliament session on Tuesday this week, were aimed at clarifying a section of the 1979 constitution governing the citizenship eligibility of members of parliament. Continue reading...

• Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine voice, praised President Trump's nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz as CDC Director and expressed his intention to work with her to restore the agency's mission. • Kennedy's public endorsement of the pro-vaccine nominee marked a sharp reversal from his previously hard-line stance on CDC leadership and sparked significant backlash among MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) loyalists online. • The shift comes amid congressional scrutiny of Kennedy's conflicting rhetoric on measles vaccination safety during a Thursday hearing, as measles outbreaks rise across the U.S.

Petition started by workers gained more than 7,300 signatures after CEO said flags would be removedA San Francisco-based coffee chain that sparked backlash with a policy to remove Pride flags from their stores has reversed its decision over a week later.“I made a mistake and I am sincerely sorry,” said Mahesh Sadarangani, the chief executive of Philz Coffee, in a statement on Friday. “The Pride flag is a symbol of safety and belonging for people who don’t always find that in the world, and that is not something I want to take away from anyone who walks into a Philz.” Continue reading...

Péter Magyar’s stunning victory in Hungary is a boost for liberal democracy. But don’t bank on similar upsets in upcoming European electionsWhen future historians come to write about the stunning electoral overthrow of Viktor Orbán on 12 April 2026, let’s hope they devote at least footnotes to zebras and golden toilet brushes. The zebras were spotted by drones on the sprawling grounds of a countryside palace belonging to Orbán’s extended family. The 72 gilded toilet brushes were said to have been bought at a cost of almost €10,000, for a lavish renovation of Hungary’s central bank. For Orbán’s opponents, such excesses became symbols of the rampant corruption among cronies of Orbán’s ruling party Fidesz, which drained Hungary’s economy and earned the country the worst ranking on the crookedness league tables in the EU, as Ashifa Kassam and Flora Garamvolgyi reported.In the end, it was disgust with corruption and how that corruption affected people’s livelihoods that were the main factors behind Sunday’s election rout. But the landslide achieved by Peter Magyar’s Tisza party – despite an electoral system designed to favour Fidesz – suggests that these eye-popping details were merely the last straws for a population desperate to reclaim their country as a functioning democracy. Continue reading...

• Justin Bieber drew furious fan backlash for his headline set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, labeled as 'lazy' and underwhelming. • Critics pointed to minimal effort in choreography and vocals during the high-profile event. • The reaction impacts Bieber's reputation amid his return to major festival stages.

Petition with 4,000 signatures decries ‘slap in the face’, saying Philz made fortune off LGBTQ+ communitySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPhilz, a popular coffee chain with locations across California, is facing growing criticism after news broke that the San Francisco-based company planned to remove Pride flags from its stores.The move is part of an effort to “[create] a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor”, Mahesh Sadarangani, the company’s CEO, said in a statement to SFGate. The company did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment. Continue reading...

Rapper who has previously made antisemitic remarks responds to criticism over his booking at London festivalThe rapper formerly known as Kanye West has broken his silence and offered to “meet and listen” to members of the UK’s Jewish community after a fierce backlash over his booking at London’s Wireless festival.West, who is legally known as Ye, has been criticised for making antisemitic remarks including voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Last year he released a song called Heil Hitler, a few months after advertising a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. Continue reading...

US president’s 19-minute Wednesday address at the White House was met with bewilderment from commentatorsDonald Trump’s primetime nationwide address on the war with Iran caused widespread bewilderment, with commentators voicing shock at his vow to continue bombing to “bring them back to the stone ages”.Speculation before Wednesday’s speech from the White House Blue Room suggested that the president might be about to signal a winding up of the US military effort, which began on 28 February. Continue reading...