Five big stories<\/p>\n
UK politics | Andy Burnham has blamed Brexit and Margaret Thatcher <\/a>for a decade of low growth in the UK, arguing that Britain needs to be brutally honest about having taken \u201ca series of wrong turns\u201d in the last 40 years.<\/p>\n Nepal-Tibet | A week on from the flash flooding disaster, authorities are urging relatives <\/a>of the thousands of missing and dead to provide blood samples.<\/p>\n Middle East | The US has launched new airstrikes<\/a> on Iranian targets, prompting counter strikes by Tehran targeting American interests in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, fuelling concerns about a \u2060wider renewal of hostilities.<\/p>\n Ukraine | Russia has opened a deadly new phase <\/a>in its war against Ukraine by deliberately targeting the country\u2019s railway network, with six employees killed on Tuesday in the latest strikes on Kyiv.<\/p>\n US news | Mark Carney has rebuked Donald Trump\u2019s administration<\/a> and urged officials in Washington to \u201cstart being serious\u201d amid escalation trade tensions between the US and Canada.<\/p>\n In depth: \u2018We\u2019re in an extremely anti-democratic moment with AI\u2019Campaigners trying to prevent a new AI datacentre planned for the old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. Photograph: David Levene\/The Guardian<\/p>\n In August I attended a meeting of campaigners and councillors in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets, where the government has recently approved plans for a 5,200 sq metre datacentre on the site of an old brewery off Brick Lane. The meeting, held on a sunny Monday evening, went on for three hours, in a stifling hall so packed that organisers had to create an overflow room. It\u2019s a testament to how divisive the subject has become.<\/p>\n The new east London datacentre won\u2019t be anywhere near as large as the \u201chyperscale\u201d datacentres that power AI, which are typically 10,000 square feet or more. Neither is it the first to be built in the area (there are already three similarly sized developments nearby). But attenders I spoke with shared the same concerns as other campaign groups globally. They worried about the amount of energy the building will consume (5.2MW, according to a local campaign group, which is enough to power 15,000 homes), about its use of water (projections for this haven\u2019t been released), and about the noise and heat it could emit.<\/p>\n They have good reasons to be concerned. The IMF estimates that by 2030, datacentres will consume more energy than all but the world\u2019s three largest state emitters (China, India and the United States). They are already driving up electricity prices: one analysis found that wholesale electricity prices rose 267% over five years in locations near datacentres in Virginia. And although the industry argues that technology in newer AI datacentres consume less water than older facilities, not even the Environment Agency knows how much water datacentres use. It\u2019s one of many unknowns.<\/p>\n Much of the anger here centres on how it\u2019s been approved. Despite fierce opposition from local residents and Tower Hamlets council, which wants the site to be used for hundreds of homes, housing secretary Angela Rayner<\/a> intervened, overruling the council to approve the application, citing its creation of 44 homes (only six of which will be socially rented) as a \u201csignificant\u201d public benefit.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have Andy Burnham<\/a> talking about devolution and democracy, this feels like a slap in the face,\u201d Henna Khanom, a Tower Hamlets resident, told me. \u201cTo me, it feels like many of these are springing up in places where low-income, ethnic minority communities just don\u2019t have the power to resist these changes.\u201d<\/p>\n This reflects a feature common to many of these battles: locals feel that datacentres are being forced on them against their will, with very little transparency or democratic oversight.<\/p>\n How many datacentres exist?<\/p>\n Globally, the number of \u201chyperscale\u201d datacentres has nearly tripled<\/a> since 2018. The UK had 52 datacentres in 2000, and today there are an estimated 520, roughly 48 of which are \u201chyperscale\u201d, though it\u2019s impossible to get exact figures, since nobody (not even the government) knows the total number that have been built. In the US, where local governments have signed NDAs<\/a> with tech companies, information is shielded from scrutiny. In the EU, Microsoft and other American tech companies successfully lobbied <\/a>to conceal the environmental impact of their developments.<\/p>\n Secrecy is power, particularly when your industry devours massive amounts of energy, much of it powered by fossil fuels. Because developers can wait years for an electricity grid connection, many are now opting to build their own gas-fired power plants instead. In the UK, more than 100 datacentres<\/a> intend to burn gas to generate their electricity. It\u2019s possible that some may do this permanently. These are reasons you might expect more scrutiny of these developments, not less.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in an extremely anti-democratic moment with AI,\u201d the Guardian\u2019s tech correspondent Aisha Down tells me. It\u2019s no wonder, then, that so many protests are kicking off. Several weeks ago, police in Scotland warned one developer that public anger over these buildings was so great it now poses a security risk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why does the government want more of them?<\/p>\n The Starmer government tended to proselytise about the benefits of big tech. In documents outlining the UK\u2019s AI strategy last year, it argued that datacentres were \u201cthe engines of the AI age\u201d, and set out its plans to accelerate construction. So far, Burnham\u2019s government seems to agree: last week, he rejected the Green party\u2019s proposal for a moratorium on new developments, arguing this would \u201csend investment and good jobs abroad\u201d.<\/p>\n Since the start of this year, the government has allowed datacentres to opt into Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPS), where the secretary of state rather than local councils make planning decisions, enabling developers to bypass local scrutiny. Two of the first datacentres to opt into the NSIPs scheme are applying to build new private gas power stations to fire up their operations, which will together be responsible for more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon emissions. \u201cMost people don\u2019t want diesel generators running constantly near where they live,\u201d Aisha says. \u201cThat sort of thing is upsetting to communities.\u201d<\/p>\n What are they good for?<\/p>\n With all the recent attention on datacentres, it\u2019s worth noting many have existed for years, quietly whirring away and processing information you need to send emails or read newsletters like this one. Clearly, we need some datacentres. The question is whether we need the \u201chyperscale\u201d variety.<\/p>\n There has been lots of noise among policymakers about the UK being an \u201cAI maker, not an AI taker\u201d that can\u2019t afford to be left behind in the AI \u201crace\u201d or lose its AI \u201csovereignty.\u201d But nobody seems to agree on exactly how datacentres achieves these vague aims. Will they rejuvenate post-industrial areas with shiny new jobs? Probably not. Will they help the UK \u201cshape the AI revolution\u201d? It\u2019s hard to see precisely how, when US tech companies building many of the datacentres on UK soil retain control over infrastructure, IP and profits. \u201cPeople in the highest echelons of power seem to be making policy based on AI Fomo and vibes,\u201d Aisha says.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll return to this vibes-based strategy and the risky financing of the AI boom in future newsletters. For now, it\u2019s clear these fights reflect a feeling that datacentres are something done to communities, regardless of whether they consent. The Burnham government hopes to reignite people\u2019s faith in democracy by giving them more control. The battle over datacentres will be a major test of that commitment.<\/p>\n What else we\u2019ve been enjoyingFollowers of the Christian podcast Girls Gone Bible cry during their live show stop at the Atlanta Symphony Hall in Atlanta, Georgia. Photograph: Jessie Wardarski\/AP<\/p>\n Having written about the True Love Waits Christian purity campaign in the 90s, I wasn\u2019t overjoyed to see its latest iteration in Girls Gone Bible. Alaina Demopoulos<\/a> explains why it makes sense for so many Gen Z women. Libby<\/p>\n I spent a childhood summer in France convinced I could communicate (via hee-haws) with the donkey in a nearby field. Decades on, I feel vindicated by this episode of Science Weekly<\/a> on human\/whale interspecies dialogue. Michael<\/p>\n If the notion of an on-demand scotch egg excites you as much as it does me, Joanna Partridge<\/a> has written about farmers using vending machines to bring fresh milk and local produce to rural locations that lack nearby shops. Libby<\/p>\n After learning yesterday about the US non-profit Leaving Maga which helps people step away from the far-right, I found these reflections from four former Trump voters<\/a> to be particularly thoughtful. Michael<\/p>\n As a former Scotland correspondent, I was interested to read First Edition alumnus Patrick Greenfield on how the SNP is setting up yet more constitutional fisticuffs with the UK government over supermarket price capping. Libby<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to First Edition<\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n SportEnzo Fern\u00e1ndez has signed a five-year deal at Manchester City after joining from Chelsea for \u00a3125m. Photograph: Manchester City FC<\/p>\n Football | Manchester City have equalled the British transfer record<\/a> with a \u00a3125m deal to sign midfielder Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez from Chelsea.<\/p>\n Tennis | The Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery lost 6-3, 6-3, 7-5<\/a> to Lorenzo Musetti while Elena Rybakina sailed into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 success.<\/p>\n Cricket | Maia Bouchier hit 104 to power England to victory<\/a> in the first ODI against Ireland, as they won by six wickets in Leicester.<\/p>\n The front pages Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cBrexit and Thatcher to blame for UK\u2019s era of low growth, says PM\u201d, is the Guardian\u2019s front page headline today, while the Times has \u201cBurnham lays blame on Brexit for UK\u2019s woes\u201d, the Mail writes \u201cBritain\u2019s problems? I blame Thatcher and Brexit, says Burnham\u201d, and the Telegraph says \u201cMarkets turn on Burnham\u201d.<\/p>\n The i Paper leads with \u201cBurnham pushes welfare cuts into 2027 \u2013 as he plans bolder devolution\u201d, the Express says \u201cKemi: New PM wants to take us back to 70s\u201d and Metro\u2019s take is \u201chistoric battle\u201d. Elsewhere, the FT splashes \u201cRussia secretly helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles\u201d, and the Mirror writes \u201cA fresh start versus Farage farce\u201d.<\/p>\n The Latest British activist abducted by West Bank settlers deported by Israel<\/p>\n A British activist who was forcibly abducted by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank has been deported to the UK. The treatment of 22-year-old Finn Joughin comes after a surge of settler violence against Palestinian people in the West Bank that has been widely condemned internationally and also by many prominent figures within Israel. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian\u2019s chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison \u2013 watch on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron Illustration: Ella Baron\/The GuardianThe Upside<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/p>\n Waxahatchee performing at London\u2019s Kentish Town Forum in 2024. Photograph: Sonja Horsman\/Sonja Horsman \/ The Guardian<\/p>\n From Waxahatchee and Ratboys in the US to Westside Cowboy and Little Grandad in the UK, Michael Hann sat down with<\/a> some of the bands bringing new life \u2013 and new audiences \u2013 to country music.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a genuine desire among young people,\u201d Ratboys singer Julia Steiner tells him, \u201cto embrace earnest storytelling and our humanity, in the face of this monolith of corporate suits drooling over AI and the internet and trying to tell us what\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1000.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Finn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/574.jpg\")
Finn Joughin. Photograph: Finn Joughin detained credit @thatshow itwork\/@thatshow_itwork<\/p>\n