Secretive

Letter follows a Guardian investigation into irregular ways the Trump administration was transporting detainees. Plus, top World Cup tickets to retail at almost $33,000Good morning.A group of 40 House Democrats have described “grave concerns” over the Trump administration’s secretive program of deportation flights and demanded that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) address allegations of mistreatment and inhumane conditions on ICE charter jets.By how much have deportation flights increased under Donald Trump? The number of ICE flights during 2025 has surged by 84% compared with 2024, according to monitoring by human rights groups.What has Tehran said? Trump’s latest comments came after oil prices jumped again when Iran said there would be no further talks about ending the blockade unless he accepted its terms.Follow the latest updates on our liveblog. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In a letter 40 lawmakers demand the FAA address allegations of mistreatment of immigrants and the ‘urgent need for transparency’ A group of 40 House Democrats have described “grave concerns” over the Trump administration’s secretive program of deportation flights and demanded the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) address allegations of mistreatment and inhumane conditions on ICE charter jets.In a letter shared with the Guardian and addressed to FAA administrator Bryan Bedford, the lawmakers describe the “urgent need for transparency” over ICE’s expanded use of commercial airliners to transfer detained immigrants and its “inappropriate and dangerous” efforts to shield these flights from public scrutiny. Continue reading...

This year’s conference had plenty of newsworthy aspects, but it’s a mystery why the press fails to talk about itThe 72nd meeting of the Bilderberg group, the elite and secretive policy conference that is the longtime subject of endless conspiracy theories, was held at the weekend in Washington DC. A security cordon went up around the opulent Salamander hotel for the notoriously media-shy summit, which was packed as ever with prime ministers, military leaders, tech billionaires and the heads of giant investment companies.Bilderberg, which since the 1950s has been the intellectual engine room of Nato, took place this year at a time of immense crisis and uncertainty for the alliance. In recent weeks, with Trump threatening at every turn to withdraw from the “paper tiger” of Nato, the “Trans-Atlantic Defence-Industrial Relationship” (as it’s called on the agenda) has reached a strained breaking point. Continue reading...

Licensed school teacher and one-time police officer among those participating in riot-style gatherings as experts warn of threat to public safetyA network of militant neo-Nazi active clubs from around the US has been participating in riot-style combat events with other white nationalist groups in Virginia as part of what their founder called a “tip-off point for a fascist cultural revolution”.Social media posts and group chats show members of so-called active clubs from Texas, Tennessee and Pennsylvania have in recent weeks and months travelled to Lynchburg, Virginia to train together at a secretive compound. The compound is run by the Wolves of Vinland, which the civil rights watchdog the Southern Poverty Law Center identifies as a neopagan white nationalist hate group. Also present were members of the white supremacist hate group Patriot Front and the neo-Nazi skinhead group known as the Hammerskins. Continue reading...