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Anthony Odiong was charged with exploiting his status to pursue sex with women he was giving spiritual direction toA jury in Texas has convicted a Roman Catholic priest charged with illegally exploiting his status as a clergyman to pursue sex with women to whom he was providing spiritual direction.Eight women and four men found Anthony Odiong, 57, guilty as charged of one charge of sexual assault in the first degree and two such counts in the second degree involving two women, each of whom testified during a trial that began with jury selection on Tuesday in Waco.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

The policy memo issued last week requires many foreigners to obtain green cards through their home countriesA new policy memo issued last week by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), requiring many foreigners in the US to leave the country and obtain green cards through their home countries, has sparked confusion and fear among hundreds of thousands of visa holders and families, as well as immigration advocates and lawyers.Multiple Guardian readers, speaking anonymously out of fear, said the memo threatens to upend lives they have spent years building in the US - from careers and homes to marriages and long-term plans for stability. Continue reading...

Pam Bondi defended the justice department's record under her leadership, saying there was unprecedented commitment to transparency' in handling the Epstein case

Christian Castro charged with assault and falsely reporting a crime after video emerged of non-fatal shooting in January

Ex-attorney general tells House committee she did not lead every aspect' of effort but rather delegated to Todd Blanche

Tehran denies deal has been reached that would open strait of Hormuz and eliminate country's nuclear programmeDonald Trump has claimed he could approve an Iran peace deal on Friday that contains major concessions from Tehran, including the opening of the strait of Hormuz and the elimination of the country's nuclear programme. However, top Iranian officials signalled a final agreement had not been reached.The two versions indicate Trump may once again be practising his art of the deal" as he seeks to talk his way out of a war that has disrupted global energy supplies and rocked the world economy. Continue reading...

Rare reprieve for people protected by temporary protected status granted after administration misses deadlineThe Trump administration has extended protections shielding about 11,000 Lebanese people from deportation, allowing them to stay and work in the United States for another six months.The decision, announced on Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), marked a rare reprieve for people protected by temporary measures that have been harshly criticized by Republicans. The extension comes amid ongoing fighting in southern Lebanon between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. Continue reading...

Ex-SNP leader says she appeared on more front pages than her husband this week, adding: I don't think that's right'Nicola Sturgeon said she should not be held responsible for the wrongdoing of men" after Peter Murrell, her estranged husband, admitted to embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds from the SNP this week.The former Scottish first minister told an audience at the Hay festival in Wales on Friday: My picture has been on more front pages in Scotland this week than my former husband's has, and I don't think that's right." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Some fear raising rate for people aged 18-20 will exacerbate unemployment while others point to lack of evidenceRising rates of youth unemployment have created a split at the top of government over how fast it should meet its promise to give young people the full minimum wage.Peter Kyle, the business secretary, is understood to believe now is not the time to give 18- to 20-year-olds the full minimum wage, which Labour promised to do in its manifesto. Continue reading...

Organisation cites abuse by security forces, including rape of male detaineesThe UN has added Israel and Russia to a blacklist for sexual violence in conflict, citing abuse by security forces including rape of male detainees. .The UN verified sexual abuse of 31 Palestinian men, women and children from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank between 2023 and 2025. Israeli attacks included repeated gang-rapes and the use of sexual violence as a form of torture, the report said. Continue reading...

Opposition says constitutional amendment would give bill ruling party carte blanche to overturn will of voters

Survey shows 44% increase on RSPB reserves of bird that almost became extinct in England in the 60sMore than half a century after the Dartford warbler almost vanished from the English countryside, the charismatic heathland bird appears to be staging a comeback.A survey has revealed the highest number of Dartford warblers ever recorded on reserves run by the bird conservation charity RSPB, with 264 pairs counted in 2025, a 44% increase in five years. Continue reading...

Police conducted manhunt for Jacob Daniel Baker after bodies of men were discovered separately earlier this week

Marco Rubio made announcement after meeting president's far-right challenger Flavio BolsonaroBrazil will not be treated as a tinpot country," the country's president, Luiz Inacio da Silva, said on Friday after the United States designated Brazil's two largest criminal gangs, the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command, as foreign terrorist organisations.The announcement, made by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, on Thursday, is being widely seen in Brazil as a setback for Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president who had strongly opposed the designation - and a boost for Lula's main challenger in October's presidential election, the far-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro. Continue reading...

Former DUP leader's barrister said woman was mistaken in linking letter to his alleged sex offencesJeffrey Donaldson told a woman who has accused him of sexual assault that he regretted inflicting hurt, pain and distress", but his comments were not related to the allegations, a court has heard.A lawyer for the former MP and Democratic Unionist party leader told Newry crown court on Friday that Donaldson's letter to the alleged victim had nothing to do" with her accusations of sexual abuse and referred to other behaviour. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedMinisters are proposing new laws to crack down on damage to undersea cables amid hostile activity by Russia", the Press Association reports. PA says:Tougher penalties for ship owners and operators who recklessly damage underwater infrastructure will be set out in a white paper later this year, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said.Acts of sabotage linked to a hostile state already carries life imprisonment for the most serious cases but undersea malicious activity sometimes operates in a grey zone" which is difficult to prosecute, DSIT said.It's astonishing that Reform have admitted they knew about Kenyon's social media accounts. Nigel Farage needs to urgently explain to the public why, if his party was aware of his online history, he was happy to put forward a candidate who has made vile degrading comments about women, multiple homophobic posts and spread dangerous false narratives about the Manchester Arena bombing.I am rough around the edges. I have made mistakes in my life. I'm not perfect. Nobody is. Not a single person in the world is perfect. I think everybody does say things that eventually they regret.It was a crude attempt at a joke to probably about 50 followers.No offence was meant, and it's not something I'd do now.I think I've addressed the issue. I think that no offence was meant and it wasn't a direct comment to her. If you go into any building site in the area or any public barracks, I think you'd hear a hundred times worse said. Continue reading...

Two men arrested in raid in which 12,000 doses of unlicensed weight-loss medicines recoveredA country estate near Northampton has become the centre of the largest-ever seizure of unlicensed weight-loss medicines in the UK.Two men, both aged 29, were arrested during a raid in which the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recovered about 12,000 doses of unlicensed weight-loss medicines. Continue reading...

Magyar says the negotiations continued last night and early this morning, with total funds equivalent to about 13% of Hungary's state budgetThe incident comes just days after the Czech president, Petr Pavel, has urged Nato to show its teeth" in response to Russia's repeated testing of the alliance's resolve on its eastern flank, suggesting a range of options including switching off its internet, cutting off its banks from global financial systems and shooting down jets that violate allied airspace.Speaking to the Guardian in Prague last week, Pavel called for decisive enough, potentially even asymmetric" responses to counter Moscow's provocative behaviour against the alliance or risk the Kremlin intensifying its actions. Continue reading...

Kenneth Law, who sold lethal chemicals online with instructions on how to use them, admits counselling or aiding suicide

Reform UK leader has claimed hostile actors' linked to Moscow accessed his data and leaked information on 5m gift

Bushra Shaikh, from Surrey, who appeared in The Apprentice, highly active' in spreading regime messageA UK television personality went on two state-sponsored tours of Iran this spring where she met senior officials and was active" in spreading the regime's message, according to an investigation by a Iranian factchecking organisation.Bushra Shaikh, from Surrey, owned a luxury clothing brand and finished ninth on series 13 of The Apprentice in 2017, where she described herself as inspired by Coco Chanel". Continue reading...

James Sherwin-Smith says field tilted against him after building society said it would give members quick vote' against his candidacy

Two 24-hour stoppages by drivers to take place next week as part of action over proposals for four-day weekStrikes by drivers on London Underground next week will go ahead, the RMT union has announced, paving the way for more days of transport disruption.Two 24-hour stoppages are to take place, from 00.01 to 23.59 on Tuesday 2 June and Thursday 4 June, because of differences over a planned four-day week. Continue reading...

Conservation groups warn slashing Darwin Initiative will put species and habitats in jeopardy, and set back efforts to halt decline in natureOne of the UK's longest-standing funds for global nature protection is being drastically cut back, the Guardian has learned.At least 89 countries will lose eligibility for funding for biodiversity projects under the Darwin Initiative, in a round of cuts that conservationists warned would put species and habitats in jeopardy, and set back global efforts to halt the precipitous decline in nature. Continue reading...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for ceasefire among armed groups to help avoid deaths from preventable diseaseThe death rate of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is between 30% and 50%, the World Health Organization has said, as its head arrived in the country to support efforts to contain the disease.Anais Legand, from the WHO's high threat pathogens team, said the revised death rate estimate is based on confirmed cases. It's huge. It means that up to five out of 10 people are likely to die," Legand told reporters in Geneva. Continue reading...

Santiago Campos says he felt obligated to criticize the network's direction, which stains legacy of Mike Wallace'Standing in front of the most powerful and well-known people in the television news business on Wednesday night, in a glitzy New York City ballroom, 18-year-old high school student Santiago Campos shocked - but also delighted -many in attendance when he called out the network that funded the scholarship he received: CBS News.Campos, a graduating senior at the District of Columbia international school who had traveled to New York for the 47th annual news and documentary Emmy awards with his mother and teacher, was awarded the Mike Wallace memorial scholarship, honoring the legendary television interviewer. Campos was given the award by veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, who said: Mike would see something of himself in this year's recipient." Continue reading...

Plaintiffs say children's services uses emergency removal' disproportionately against Black and Latino families

OurCoop criticised by members after withholding annual profit-share payment despite soaring executive payOurCoop, an independent mutual that runs about 500 food stores across England, is facing criticism from members after it more than tripled its chief executive's pay to 2.2m despite falling sales and profits.The chain, which is a separate company from the Co-op Group but relies on the much bigger business to supply some products, has not approved an annual profit-share payment to members this year, although they have received discounts on shopping. Continue reading...

Policy U-turn comes after rightwing nationalist government was swept from power in April after 16-year rule

A new South Carolina act will exempt some heirs' property owners from increased property taxesIn a move that protects vulnerable people from forced property sales, South Carolina recently enacted an act that could help families keep land that has been passed down for generations. The Heirs' Property Tax Relief Act, signed into law by Henry McMaster, the state's governor, on 15 May, prevents counties from reassessing property values when heirs clear their property titles, or resolve disputes about the ownership.The act allows families with heirs' properties - land inherited by multiple owners who are not listed on the title - to transfer the title between family members without their real estate taxes increasing. Gullah Geechee people, the descendants of formerly enslaved west Africans who retained their culture and customs, are especially vulnerable to heirs' property issues. They can lead to their homes being sold at annual auctions for delinquent tax payments, predatory development and interfamily fighting. Continue reading...

Speaking at Amazon's AI on the Lot event, the Rogue One film-maker Gareth Edwards said it'll do anything you ask' and it's going to be better than CGI'Jurassic World Rebirth and Rogue One director Gareth Edwards has enthusiastically endorsed the use of generative AI in film-making, saying it is a fucking genius at helping you" and it's going to be better than CGI".Edwards was speaking at AI on the Lot, an event in Culver City, California, organised by Amazon, and in remarks reported by the Hollywood Reporter said: I can't see a reason why you wouldn't become interested in this stuff as a film-maker. It's so clearly a tool that might be up there with the camera. It's going to be better than CGI." Continue reading...

UK's third biggest supermarket will use tech of online grocer, which already provides support for M&S and MorrisonsAsda has agreed a deal to use Ocado's technology to run its online grocery store and home deliveries from next year.Ocado software will be used to support Asda's grocery website and deliveries from its stores and dark stores" - smaller warehouses that are not open to the public - from early 2027, the companies announced on Friday. Continue reading...

Kenneth Law expected to admit to sending products internationally in knowledge they would probably be used to end livesBereaved families whose loved ones were the victims of an online supplier of suicide kits say they feel insulted by a decision not to prosecute him in the UK.Kenneth Law was due to appear in court on Friday in Ontario, Canada, accused of selling 1,200 suicide packages across 40 countries, including the UK. Continue reading...

Mark Rutte says Moscow's reckless behaviour is a danger to us all' after drone hit apartments during attack on Ukraine

Zeppelin Witheridge charged with public nuisance over Scientology speedrun' social media trend

Josh Richards joins international mission to extract five found alive and search for missing two

Shanice Brookes, 30, was shot dead outside bar in city centre during early hours of bank holiday MondayA man and a woman have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old woman outside a bar in Sheffield in the early hours of bank holiday Monday.Shanice Brookes was shot near the One Four One bar in West Street shortly before 2.45am on Monday. Detectives have described her as simply an innocent bystander". Continue reading...

This blog is now closedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWho's leading the fight against Labor's CGT reform - and what's in it for them?People with direct personal financial stakes in Labor's tax reforms are among the loudest voices opposing the changes. Continue reading...

Former prime minister elected Liberal party president on Friday after running unopposed

Health organisations refute assertion by Sunbed Association that tanning is protective and warn it could increase risk of skin cancerThe body that represents the UK's sunbed salons is wrongly insisting that a tan protects against sunburn, even though leading medical bodies say that claim is untrue.Health organisations have challenged the accuracy of information being disseminated by the Sunbed Association, which on its website asks: Is it true there is no such thing as a safe tan?" Continue reading...

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...

Governor general Sam Mostyn, television personalities Richard Roxburgh, Julia Morris and Gretel Killeen among those who attended the packed public event in Sydney

In today's newsletter: As the virus spreads across borders, health workers warn that weakened global support is making a prolonged crisis more likelyEbola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month.Public health officials are scrambling to contain the virus in one of the toughest environments: Ituri province, the centre of the crisis, is a mining hub where thousands of people work in close proximity every day, and a conflict zone, with ongoing fighting between rebel groups. Medical facilities are modest, while waves of displaced people are being forced into overcrowded camps to escape fighting, making it even harder to control transmission. The virus has already spread to other regions in eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala.UK news | Britain risks a financial hit worth 125bn a year after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million.US-Israel-Iran | Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control.UK politics | Andy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on him.Ukraine | A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, authorities said, in what an official statement condemned as an irresponsible escalation" by Moscow.Climate crisis | Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to Tony Blair. Continue reading...

The Irish singer-songwriter says her rise has been increasingly tarnished by the fact that I would be allowed to enjoy it so much more if I was thin'The Irish singer-songwriter CMAT has responded to ongoing abuse she has received about her body and her weight following an appearance last week at BBC's Radio 1 Big Weekend.The musician, whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, wrote on Instagram on Thursday that she had felt compelled to wade in and speak for myself" after learning of the abuse being directed at photos taken of her on stage at the Sunderland festival on 24 May. Continue reading...

On Saturday, Donald Trump said talks with Tehran were going well and an agreement to end the war was largely negotiated'. On Sunday, the US launched strikes on Southern Iran. By Thursday, Donald Trump had circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies.This week, as the US-Iran deal remains in a precarious state, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group about why Trump keeps changing his mind on what to do to end the warArchive: AP, Reuters Continue reading...

Yates says we have let ourselves down' when dealing with allegations of client information being misused

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US president's move comes as both sides try to prevent fresh ceasefire breaches scuppering a potential deal