Groups

Southern Poverty Law Center releases report as US government pursues federal fraud charges against groupA new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) finds hard-right groups have increasingly expanded their influence across the US government, which is pursuing a federal fraud case into the civil rights organization.Tuesday’s report – which identified 1,263 hate and anti-government groups in operation throughout 2025 – comes less than two months after it was indicted by the government it says the hard right has infiltrated. Continue reading...

Investigation reveals more than 4.4 million people live in ‘news deserts’ that lack dedicated local reportingLocal social media groups are fuelling misinformation in areas with no reliable sources of news, according to an investigation that reveals the scale of fake news flowing to vulnerable communities across Britain.Misinformation was nearly three times more common in areas with little or no recognised local journalism, according to a study of tens of thousands of posts seen by the Guardian. Immigration and Islamophobia were the most common topics of misinformation across Facebook and X. Continue reading...

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature twelve groups of nations (Groups A through L) competing for the championship title. • Qatar has qualified for the tournament for the first time after topping a fourth-round group that included Oman and the United Arab Emirates. • Switzerland is highlighted as a dominant force in Group B, led by captain Granit Xhaka and a roster of players from top European leagues.

Draft treaty claims sexual and reproductive health and rights are an existential threat to the African familyAn African treaty that rejects longstanding international human rights obligations moved a step closer to becoming policy this week as governments across the continent met in Ghana.The draft African charter on family, sovereignty and values, seen by the Guardian, asserts that African values and culture are under attack from “foreign ideologies” and urges states to withdraw from any agreements that do not align with the principles of the charter, including the 2003 Maputo protocol, which promotes gender equality and protects the reproductive and health rights of women and girls. Continue reading...

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup will expand to a 48-team field, marking the largest tournament in the event's history. • The competition will be joint-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, making it only the second World Cup held across multiple nations. • This expansion necessitates a revised tournament format, including new seeding and group stage structures to accommodate the additional teams.

• The 2026 World Cup will be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. • This tournament is set to be the largest in history, featuring an expanded format to accommodate more participating teams. • Key European contenders listed include football powerhouses such as England, France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal.

Watchdog says ‘publishers will now have effective tools to prevent content being used to power AI features in search’Publishers will be able to opt out of their content being used to train Google’s AI models and power its search summaries, the UK competition watchdog has announced as it imposes new conduct requirements on search services.“Publishers will now have effective tools to prevent their content being used to power AI features in search, such as AI Overviews,” the Competition and Markets Authority said. Continue reading...

More than 120 groups issued warning to 10 million visitors about ‘serious rights violations’ under TrumpWith the Fifa World Cup just two weeks away, immigrant rights advocates in the 11 US host cities are mobilizing to protect fans and residents from immigration enforcement activities this summer.In Los Angeles, a labor union representing more than 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium is threatening to strike if agents do not stay away from the venue, which is expected to draw about 70,000 fans per match. Continue reading...

• U.S. Navy Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs) are deploying to the Red Sea to project Marine power and secure critical international trade routes. • These forces utilize specialized amphibious connectors, such as Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft and Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels, to move personnel and equipment from ship to shore. • This capability is vital because it allows the U.S. to operate in areas without port facilities, enabling rapid responses to humanitarian crises or non-combatant evacuations.

• Medical specialty societies are increasing their outreach and evidence-based guidance to fill communication gaps left by federal public health officials. • The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is collaborating with the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and over a dozen other organizations to address public health needs. • This partnership is specifically focused on developing a comprehensive toolkit for clinicians and local health authorities to manage measles prevention and outbreak responses.

London exhibition explores how care and protest improved rights and dignity of those living with diseaseFrom photos of a mass “die-in” by Aids activists in Trafalgar Square, London, in the 1990s to plushie breasts, lips and vulvas hand-stitched by HIV-positive women, a new exhibition explores how care and protest have improved the rights and dignity of those living with the disease.The show, Tenderness and Rage, at the Wellcome Collection, London, reflects how different groups affected by HIV, including gay men, women of colour, and refugees in the UK and around the world have found power, solidarity, comfort and joy in Aids activism and support services. Continue reading...

Rival groups are vying for territorial control of strategic cocaine production and trafficking regionAt least 52 guerrilla fighters have been killed in clashes between two rival armed groups vying for territorial control of a strategic cocaine production and trafficking region in south-east Colombia, a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) involved in the fighting has said.The clashes, the most violent in recent months, took place in the jungles of the department of Guaviare, near the village of Barranco Colorado. Continue reading...

• FIFA has released the fixture schedule for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature a total of 104 matches across various host cities. • For the first time in tournament history, the competition will introduce a Round of 32, expanding the knockout phase before progressing to the Round of 16. • The group stage will conclude in late June, with the knockout fixtures officially beginning on 28 June 2026.

• Filipino journalist and Fort Pikit village council member Nestor Micator was shot dead in Cotabato, sparking urgent demands for justice from press groups. • According to the PEC, Micator is the third journalist killed in the Philippines and the 32nd media victim globally since January 1, 2026. • The killing highlights ongoing concerns regarding impunity and the persistent danger faced by media professionals operating within the Philippines.

Media regulator announces commitments by Elon Musk’s platform to crack down on terrorist and hate contentElon Musk’s X platform has pledged to block UK access to accounts linked to banned terrorist groups under an agreement with the communications regulator to crack down on terrorist and hate content.X will also review suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within 48 hours and seek expert advice on how to handle user reports of such content. Continue reading...

Groups say supreme court justice, who owns oil stocks, may be violating ethics codes by participating in certain casesSupreme court justice Samuel Alito, who owns stock in oil companies, may be violating court ethics codes by participating in certain cases that could benefit big oil, government watchdog groups say.In a Thursday letter, a coalition of watchdog organizations called on the Senate judiciary committee to investigate Alito, the sole supreme court justice with holdings in energy companies. Continue reading...

With Starmer under growing pressure to resign, Growth and Tribune groups put forward ideas for policy revampsUK politics live – latest updatesGroups connected to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, have proposed large changes to government policy, giving a sense of how the country may change should either one succeed Keir Starmer.The Growth Group, allied to Streeting, and the Tribune group of Labour MPs, allied to Burnham, have published competing visions for how Britain should run, including sweeping tax cuts, help with the cost of living and big reforms to government machinery. Continue reading...

• Greens are increasingly conflicted but starting to benefit from embracing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' movement. • Environmental groups publicly rejected Kennedy during his presidential run, but some are now quietly aligning with the longtime environmental attorney. • The shift matters as it bridges divides between traditional greens and MAHA's health-focused agenda, potentially amplifying influence on policy.

Members of minority communities in Birmingham and elsewhere fear results could lead to rise in hostile rhetoricConceding defeat at the election count at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Friday, the outgoing Labour leader of the city council, John Cotton, made a plea. “What I would encourage the next administration in this city to do, whatever form that administration takes, is that it ensures it champions the diversity of this city,” he said.Labour’s 14-year rule of the local authority had come to a crashing end, with Reform emerging as the largest party with 22 councillors so far, followed by the Greens on 19, albeit both parties a long way off the 51 needed for a majority. Continue reading...

• In April 2025, China-aligned attackers exploited a Taiwanese software company's server as a malware distribution point, highlighting aggressive regional tactics. • Earth Kasha, linked to APT10, expanded spear-phishing from Japanese think tanks in 2024 to Taiwanese government agencies in March 2025 using ANEL malware. • Groups like Earth Preta, Baxia, and Kurma targeted APAC governments and telecoms with backdoors, rootkits, and cloud exfiltration, shifting the global cyber balance.

Families under pressure to stay silent amid internet blackout as executions reportedly surge with 24 killed in MarchMiddle East crisis – live updatesIran is carrying out near-daily executions of prisoners in secrecy and, in some cases, refusing to hand the bodies of the dead to their families, according to rights groups and sources close to the relatives of the dead.Many families only learn of executions after they have been carried out, with some facing harassment and pressure not to speak publicly on the personal impact of the state killings, the sources said. Continue reading...

As communities push for publicly owned electricity, private utilities may be deploying dark money and local front groups to stop themThe utility industry is quietly dispatching a network of front groups to thwart the growing push for public power across the US – a push that comes amid mounting frustration over sky-high utility bills, electric outages, a slow transition to clean energy and private utilities’ soaring profits.Communities from Ann Arbor, Michigan to San Diego, California and St Petersburg, Florida are exploring municipalizing their grids to join the country’s approximately 2,000 public power companies. Continue reading...

‘Clinical consensus statement’ also urges heart doctors to advise patients to not eat late at night, and chew slowlyWant to reduce your intake of ultra-processed food? If so, cook at home more often, don’t eat late at night and chew your food more slowly.Those are among some of the tips doctors have offered to help people limit the amount of UPF they consume given the acute and growing danger it poses to human health worldwide. Continue reading...

Without offering details or evidence, US Southern Command described the people killed as ‘narco-terrorists’The US military said on Tuesday it struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing three people, in the latest such attack that rights groups label as “extrajudicial killings” and Washington describes as targeting “narco-terrorists”.US Southern Command posted about the strike on social media Tuesday evening, alleging that the vessel struck on Tuesday was operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” that it did not identify. Continue reading...

Advocates expressed alarm as new project drills deeper into ocean bed, pointing to company’s failures at Deepwater Horizon spillSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxEnvironmental groups have sued the Trump administration over its approval of BP’s huge new ultra-deep oil drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico, 16 years to the day since the company’s Deepwater Horizon disaster caused the worst oil spill in US history. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ministers urged to consult sector on proposed social cohesion measures meant to tackle extremismSeveral leading civil society organisations have urged the government to consult the sector before introducing new powers for the Charity Commission, which they warn risks “suppressing legitimate advocacy” at a time when civic space is under increased pressure.Signatories including leaders from some of the UK’s largest civil society bodies, alongside faith-based and community organisations, wrote to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, saying the proposed social cohesion measures could lead to the “suppression of lawful advocacy, campaigning and community engagement”. Continue reading...

Filing seeks to overturn seditious conspiracy charges of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members who laid siege to US Capitol in 2021The US Department of Justice has requested that a federal appeals judge overturn convictions for members of far-right groups Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, who were previously found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the violent siege of the US capitol in 2021.Jeanine Pirro, the Donald Trump-appointed US attorney for the District of Columbia, signed separate motions on Tuesday to vacate convictions for a slew of individuals, including the Proud Boys’ leaders Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs as well as Stewart Rhodes, a former attorney who founded the Oath Keepers’ militia. Continue reading...

Three human rights groups are seeking to subpoena permit documents from Richard MarlesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA trio of Palestinian human rights groups have launched a legal bid to force Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, to shed light on whether the government has approved Israel-bound export permits, which could violate international law.The groups – the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al-Haq and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights – will attempt to subpoena arms export documents after filing an affidavit in the federal court last week. Continue reading...