Amid UK government proposals for a ban, experts discuss what other activities might really serve children wellWhen a Lancashire schoolgirl was asked what she would do if the proposed social media ban for under-16s came into effect, her answer hit a national nerve: Stare at a wall," she deadpanned.The clip went viral, not least because it distilled a question many parents have been asking themselves about the consequences of the government's proposed social media ban. Continue reading...
Tanker owner trade body says centre of strait will remain closed for some time', with vessels risking running aground by taking Omani routeThe centre of the strait of Hormuz is blocked with about 80 mines that will need clearing for normal shipping to resume, the independent tanker owner trade body has said.Several vessels began to exit the Gulf through the key maritime chokepoint on Thursday after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran. Continue reading...
JD Vance lambasted Israeli critics of the proposed deal, but did not travel to Europe as planned. Plus, at 82 years old, Keith Richards still gives some of the best interview quotes in townGood morning. Talks set to take place today between the US and Iran to implement a peace deal were abruptly cancelled. The White House said the US still looked forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible". Hezbollah-linked media reported Tehran was delaying sending its delegation due to Israel's ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.The talks were set to begin in the Swiss village of Obburgen two days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that opened a 60-day window to negotiate a permanent agreement over Iran's nuclear programme, while reopening the strait of Hormuz. The centre of the strait is blocked with about 80 mines that will need clearing for normal shipping to resume, the independent tanker owner trade body has said.What is happening in Lebanon? Hezbollah targeted Israeli forces near Nabatieh with several salvoes of rocket fire after Israeli shelling. Israel responded with a wave of airstrikes, killing at least 18 people and injuring 33. Iran has said Israel's attacks on Lebanon must end as part of any peace deal.What did JD Vance say to Israeli critics of the deal? In sharp words, the vice-president said: Donald J Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time. If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world."Why does Trump's Iran entanglement echo the Jimmy Carter years? In this excellent analysis piece Robert Tait reminds us that one of Trump's earliest political forays was lambasting the Democratic president during the 1980 Iran hostage crisis. Trump, Tait says, now finds himself in a position that uncannily resembles that of his predecessor - unable to bend Iran to his will despite superior US military power. Continue reading...
Cambridgeshire police say 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder is not fit to be interviewedA man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure has been released because he is not fit to be interviewed, police have said.The 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been bailed while detectives from the major crimes unit conduct further inquiries, Cambridgeshire police said. Continue reading...
by Jon Henley in Paris, Sam Jones in Madrid and Kate on (#76DY5)
More than half of France's population under severe weather warning with temperatures expected to exceed 40CMore than half of France's population is under a severe weather warning as large swathes of western Europe endure the second extreme heat event of the year with temperatures expected to exceed 40C (104F).The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called for extreme vigilance from everyone", asking citizens to take care of our oldest and most vulnerable people" and follow government advice. We are going through difficult days," he said. Continue reading...
Simone Venturini says proposal aimed at discouraging arrivals in periods of heightened tourist pressure'Venice's new mayor has said he hopes to raise a controversial entrance fee for day-trippers to the lagoon city to as much as 50 (43).Simone Venturini, the rightwing former tourism councillor who was elected mayor in late May, said the proposal was aimed at further discouraging arrivals during periods of heightened tourist pressure". Continue reading...
Fifa has defended its Aramco sponsorship, saying revenues are reinvested back into football at all levelsAs scorching temperatures beat down on World Cup soccer games across North America, climate activists - including former and current professional athletes - are calling for Fifa and other professional sporting organizations to cut ties with the oil and gas industry.Sport, especially football, has the power to influence and inspire billions of people," said David Wheeler, an English former professional footballer, who supports the campaign. Fifa should be harnessing that power to do good." Continue reading...
May heatwave drives up volume of sales 1.2%, the strongest monthly growth since January, says ONSRetail sales bounced back to growth in May as record hot weather spurred sales of fans and paddling pools, while online purchases also soared.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of retail sales in Great Britain grew 1.2% in May compared with the previous month, the strongest monthly rate of growth since January. Continue reading...
This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThere were two small earthquakes in New South Wales this morning, according to Geoscience Australia.A 3.4 magnitude quake hit near Orange around 5.45am this morning, with at least 108 people reporting they felt the shakes. And a 3.2 magnitude temblor hit near Wilcannia two hours earlier. Just two people reported feeling that quake.If we're given the choice between taking the easier path politically or doing the more difficult thing, but the right thing in the interests of particularly first home buyers, young people, workers in the tax system, then it will be worth it.Obviously, there's a big partisan political campaign against these changes. We understand that. We anticipated that. We expected that. But it's worth it because our job isn't just to take the easy political options.The more important thing than the politics of this is to get the policy right, to get the substance right. Because at the end of the day, what matters most is the tax system and the housing market are broken. We are acting to fix it. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#76DSE)
After winning the Makerfield byelection, the returning Labour MP faces a number of scenarios in his bid to replace Keir Starmer UK politics - live updates
Veteran campaigner Robin Hanbury-Tenison is raising money for a research station near his home in CornwallPedalling on water for more than a hundred miles in a heatwave, pushed back by east winds and having to navigate 31 locks would be a challenge for anybody. But when that body is 90 years old, with a bad knee, failing balance and malfunctioning arms and shoulders, it's a herculean feat.Rainforest campaigner Robin Hanbury-Tenison, 90, is pedalling 104 miles down the River Thames from Oxford to Richmond on a water-bike to raise money for a unique research station which is being built to study Britain's temperate rainforest. Continue reading...
Liam Byrne, who chairs Commons business committee, says too many operators are still waiting for redressThe Japanese tech company at the centre of the Post Office IT scandal is facing calls from a parliamentary committee to make an immediate" payment towards the compensation bill for victims.Fujitsu supplied the faulty Horizon software to the UK Post Office, which led to branch operators being wrongly prosecuted over discrepancies in their business accounts. Continue reading...
Musical stars and retired politicians from less polarised era seeming antidote to cage fights on White House lawnThe Barack Obama presidential center opened in Chicago on Thursday after more than a decade in the making amid a musical fanfare and paeans to democratic principles that evoked a previous age, all while delivering an implied rebuke to Donald Trump.Featuring appearances by a cast of musical stars and retired politicians from a less polarised era, it was a seemingly perfect antidote to the crass spectacle of cage fights on the White House lawn. Continue reading...
Officers arrest man on suspicion of attempted murder as child is treated in hospital for serious injuriesA man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure, Cambridgeshire police said.The force said officers were called to Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdonshire at 1.24pm on Thursday over reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure". Continue reading...
Legal team of alleged gunman, 28, reverses position on extreme emotional disturbance' defense after one dayIn a stunning reversal, Luigi Mangione's legal team said on Thursday they would no longer pursue a psychiatric defense in his upcoming state trial over the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.Just one day earlier, Mangione's lawyers told Judge Gregory Carro they would pursue a defense claiming the 28-year-old was suffering an extreme emotional disturbance" at the time of Thompson's killing on 4 December 2024. Continue reading...
Several inches of rain expected in south-eastern US as forecasters expect storm to cause life-threatening floodingTropical Storm Arthur was downgraded from a cyclone to a low pressure area along the upper Texas coast as it made landfall and lost wind intensity on Thursday.Forecasters still expect the storm to cause life-threatening flooding, property damage and disruptions to commerce and travel. Continue reading...
Reports say Texas recruits ill from outbreak, which comes weeks after defense secretary made flu vaccine optionalAn influenza outbreak has reportedly sickened more than 150 recruits in training at Lackland air force base in San Antonio, Texas.The outbreak comes just weeks after the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ended mandatory flu vaccination for the military, citing the need for bodily autonomy for servicemembers. Continue reading...
by Callum Jones and Rachel Leingang in Washington on (#76DKP)
Interior department insists water at Washington landmark is crystal clear' as witnesses report murky green poolUS federal government workers continue to take on the green hue that has swept across Washington's reflecting pool, an increasingly fiendish battle the Trump administration compared to its war with Iran.After Donald Trump ordered a $14.2m refurbishment to turn the monument American Flag blue" in time for the country's 250th birthday celebrations, the administration encountered a formidable foe: algae. Continue reading...
MP for Tewkesbury understood to have been arrested by Gloucestershire police on Wednesday nightA Liberal Democrat MP has had the whip and membership of the party suspended after he became the subject of a police investigation.Cameron Thomas, the MP for Tewkesbury, was arrested by Gloucestershire police on Wednesday night, it is understood. Continue reading...
City councillor who ran on expanding childcare, education and housing slated for office after opponent concedesDemocratic socialist Janeese Lewis George is slated to be the next mayor of Washington DC after her opponent conceded on Thursday.Lewis George, a city council member, ran on a platform of expanding childcare, education and housing, and revoking the district's cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#76DJ0)
Supermodel completely abdicated' her trustee responsibilities at Fashion for Relief, Charity Commission tells hearingNaomi Campbell showed herself to be unfit to run a charity after the supermodel completely abdicated" her responsibilities as a trustee of her now defunct Fashion for Relief project, according to the charity watchdog.The Charity Commission told a tribunal that Campbell, who is trying to overturn a five-year ban on running a charity, was highly culpable" for mismanagement and misuse of funds at Fashion for Relief, the former charity she founded in 2015. Continue reading...
Daryl McLune, who was 16 at the time, was held for 23 hours on suspicion of the attempted murder of his mother after she had tried to take her own lifeA teenager who was wrongly arrested for the attempted murder of his mother minutes after she had tried to kill herself has won a race discrimination claim against the Metropolitan police.A jury found that the Met discriminated against Daryl McLune, who was 16 at the time, because he was black. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#76DF7)
US defence secretary addresses allies in latest attempt to get Europe to raise military budgetsPete Hegseth has announced a review of US military presence across Europe, in a combative address to Nato allies where he threatened to cut force numbers in countries spending the least on defence.The US defence secretary, speaking at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, accused some countries of free riding" and others of being shameful for not allowing their airbases to be used by US jets bombing Iran in the spring. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#76DFA)
Exclusive: Richard Hermer's department understood to be first in government to restrict use after recent riotsThe attorney general has told his office to no longer post on X, making it the first UK government department to stop using the Elon Musk-owned platform amid increasing worries about its use to incite violence and racism.Richard Hermer's office last posted on X on Friday, and it is understood that officials have been told to no longer use the site, unless for the specific purpose of combatting disinformation there. Continue reading...
by Natricia Duncan Caribbean correspondent on (#76DFB)
Updated document, which emphasises harm done to African women, is being considered by other Caribbean countriesBarbados's prime minister, Mia Mottley, has announced a new manifesto from Caribbean leaders asserting the moral, ethical and legal case" for reparations over damage caused by hundreds of years of enslavement.Mottley was speaking at a historic" conference in Ghana to advance the push for reparatory justice after the United Nations adopted a landmark resolution declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#76DCC)
Analysis says expansion could also harm access to housing, education, healthcare, open spaces and transportConstruction of a third runway at Heathrow is likely to have significant adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of up to 3 million people living nearby, an official report has said, as the government launched the next stage of its rapid airport expansion plan.An analysis for the Department for Transport has found that expanding London's hub airport could have major adverse" impacts on the health of the most local population. Continue reading...
by Rachel Savage in Johannesburg and agencies on (#76DCD)
Mastermind' Dawie Groenewald given fine of 2m rand or four-year jail term almost 16 years after arrestTwo traffickers of rhino horns have been sentenced by a South African court in what police said was the world's largest such case, partly bringing to an end an almost two-decade legal saga.Dawie Groenewald and Tielman Erasmus had faced more than 1,700 charges ranging from illegally hunting and dehorning rhinos to racketeering and money laundering. Continue reading...
Education secretary cites admissions data for England, saying Labour is rebalancing the system to focus on 94% of kids in state schools'Adding VAT to private school fees has failed to trigger an exodus of pupils into the state sector despite widespread speculation that it would, the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has said.The Labour government applied 20% VAT to private school fees from the start of 2025. They had previously been exempt from the tax. Newly published admissions data for England showed there had been no influx towards state schools since then. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Analysis shows men aged 18 to 25 are less likely to vote for rightwing parties than other age groups of menYoung men are not turning to rightwing politics more than any other demographic, according to a study of election data, which undermines claims that this group has been a key driver of the recent success of parties such as Reform UK.The analysis of data from the British Election Study, which polls about 30,000 people every year, showed age to be a bigger determining factor in voters' political opinions than gender. Continue reading...
Ukraine's president ramps up rhetoric after overnight drone strikes on Russian capitalHegseth makes it clear that the review will not be just a box-ticking exercise.It's a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours. In the end, the review is intended to both improve US force posture and basing and strengthen Nato 3.0."It will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe."Where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues, contributions will go down. Nato will be a two-way street." Continue reading...
A decade in the making, the museum will reopen in November in two restored market halls that will house 7m objects and host late-night DJ setsThe new London Museum will be a social space for the city", its director has said, hosting afternoon tea events, monthly dinner clubs and late-night DJ sets where visitors can mingle among the artefacts while dancing.Sharon Ament said that when it reopens later this year the museum will be a democratic" space that engages with all Londoners rather than merely a repository for its collections, which stretch from the city's neolithic prehistory to modern acquisitions. Continue reading...
Miguel Diaz-Canel cites China and Vietnam as possible models for opening up the country's economyCuba's economy needs urgent changes" to overcome a major crisis intensified by a US oil blockade, president Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a speech to Communist party leaders.
by Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspon on (#76D9A)
Other lawmakers respond with shame on you' in heated confrontation over passing of plan to increase deportationsRightwing MEPs have come under fire after they celebrated a vote aimed at increasing deportations across the EU with chants of send them back", leading other lawmakers to respond with cries of shame on you".The heated confrontation in the European parliament came on Wednesday after lawmakers voted 418 to 218 to approve controversial measures aimed at increasing deportations of undocumented people. Continue reading...
Peter Wai and Bill Yuen sentenced to 10 and eight years at Old Bailey in first convictions under National Security ActA UK Border Force officer and a Hong Kong trade official based in London have been jailed for spying for China in what is the first such conviction in British criminal history.Peter Wai, who conducted shadow policing" operations on Chinese dissidents in the UK, was sentenced to 10 years while his handler, Bill Yuen, received an eight-year term. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Fran Singh and Siraj Datoo ( on (#76D29)
Andy Burnham hopes a successful byelection will mean he can encourage Keir Starmer to step aside as prime ministerThe trial of two Russian-linked arsonists who targeted property connected to Keir Starmer shows that the UK is under attack from bad actors who want to exploit division" and destabilise our democracy", the prime minister has said.Roman Lavrynovych, 22, from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, from Romania, were found guilty on Monday of conspiring to carry out arson attacks on property linked to the prime minister, and appear to have operated under the instruction of an online handler with links to Russia. Continue reading...
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