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Secretary of state says a deal could materialise today', while Trump says talks with Iran proceeding constructively as he faces criticism from within his own partyMarco Rubio also told reporters in New Delhi that Israel always has a right to protect itself".If Hezbollah is going to launch missiles or launches missiles at them, Israel has every right to respond to that, or to prevent that from happening," the US secretary of state was quoted as saying.That's always been understood. It's being understood during the ceasefire." Continue reading...

Under government's price cap typical gas and electricity bills are forecast to rise by 209 from this summerMinisters face growing calls to cut utility bills as millions of households in Great Britain face energy cost anxiety," with gas and electricity costs forecast to rise to almost 1,900 from this summer.The typical dual-fuel bill is expected to climb by nearly 13% under the government's energy price cap, adding 209 a year to household costs, in a blow to families already hit by rising prices for essentials. Continue reading...

Phil Thompson was suspended fter refusing to withdraw comments calling the Albanese government liars'. Follow today's news live

Mexican-themed Australian fast food chain accused of terminating staff without adequate pay or notice as it pulls out of the USAmerican workers at Guzman y Gomez's shuttered US stores have launched a class action lawsuit against the Mexican-themed Australian fast food chain over allegations staff were terminated without adequate pay or notice.The legal claim, filed in a US federal trial court in Illinois, was sparked by GyG's decision last week to immediately close its string of Chicago stores after giving up on its highly vaunted plans to expand in the US. Continue reading...

From blocking freedom of information requests to tabling documents when no one is looking, promises of an upfront approach to power are in rough shape

Most people have joyful memories of playing outside as children - and now wildlife charities are urging people to rewild their inner child'Climbing trees, squelching in mud, paddling in ponds or making dens in the woods - people's memories of playing outside as children are often vivid and, a new poll has found, overwhelmingly positive, even those who remember falling in cowpats.Almost 90% of UK adults had rosy memories of the excitement and the feeling of freedom that outdoor play had brought them, the survey found. However, almost half of adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings such as gardens, parks, fields or woods, according to the survey. For one in 10 it is less than one hour. Continue reading...

Ulf Kristersson aims to expand state-funded IVF as Sweden grapples with lowest fertility rate since records beganSweden's prime minister has promised to put IVF at the heart of his re-election campaign as he tries to win over female voters amid the country's record low birthrate.Ulf Kristersson's government recently increased the number of state-funded IVF attempts granted to aspiring first-time parents from three to six. Continue reading...

Paris police looking into more than 100 allegations of mistreatment by monitors' after parents' groups said they had fought for years to be taken seriouslyFrance is facing a child abuse scandal as monitors' at dozens of state nursery and primary schools are investigated for violence, sexual assault and rape.Paris police are examining more than 100 allegations of mistreatment, physical violence and rape of children as young as three by school monitors during lunch breaks, nap times and after-school activities, prosecutors have confirmed. Continue reading...

Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile are going to court for right to wed but face fierce opposition from church groupsBonolo Selelo was at Botswana's national museum for a Gaborone Pride event when she spotted Tsholofelo Kumile and was struck by her good looks. The two initiated a conversation and when Kumile expressed anxiety about what a tarot reading at the event might hold, Selelo thought nothing of offering her a hug. The reading turned out positive but Kumile claimed her hug anyway and they talked for hours.That was 1 October 2023. Two months later, they moved in together. Then, on a hike during the Easter holidays in 2024, Selelo proposed to Kumile. A year later, they visited a local government office to register their intent to marry and were told it wasn't legal. Continue reading...

Can Andy Burnham do a better job than Keir Starmer? Is Makerfield more important for Reform than Labour? Can the UK rejoin the EU? Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey answer your messages and emails Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. See our latest full report hereIn Lebanon, the civil defence agency said early on Sunday its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed by an Israeli strike.The Directorate General of Civil Defence said the building had collapsed and a large number of vehicles and equipment had been damaged by a direct hit in a hostile Israeli strike". Continue reading...

Film starring Pedro Pascal next to Baby Yoda' took $165m globally on opening weekend, failing to surpass the opening of 2018 flop SoloThe Mandalorian and Grogu may have blasted into first place at the box office - but its launch was far, far away from impressive, having the lowest opening weekend for a Star Wars film since Disney took over the franchise.The film, which stars Pedro Pascal as the titular helmeted warrior who travels the galaxy with a tiny companion better known as Baby Yoda", made $102m at the domestic box office (North America and Canada) over the US's four-day Memorial day weekend, contributing to a total $165m global box office. Continue reading...

Commission also told NSW police declined to provide static police presence at Chanukah by the Sea but four officers were at event when attack began

Warringah MP among those most active in alliance discussions while Monique Ryan, Helen Haines and Kate Chaney distance themselves from possible move

Directions hearing over deaths of Victoria police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart told of new details of Porepunkah shooting

Highest temperatures of 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as Kew Gardens in London reaches 32.3CEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded their highest temperatures of 2026 on Sunday, which was also the UK's hottest May day for at least 79 years.Kew Gardens in west London recorded 32.3C (90.1F), Cardiff 27.4C and Armagh 23.4C. Continue reading...

Education secretary asks UK watchdog to look into nursery practices, including non-refundable deposits and add-onsBridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is ordering a competition review of hidden childcare charges amid concerns parents are being hit with extra charges, despite the government's flagship expansion of funded childcare hours.Phillipson has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) asking it to examine practices including non-refundable deposits and compulsory add-ons. Continue reading...

Assault hits water facility, market, residential buildings and schools, killing at least four and injuring dozensRussia used its powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for a third time in Ukraine as part of a massive attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region that killed at least four people and injured about 100.Russia hit the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region with the missile, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said. He described a heavy Russian assault that also hit a water supply facility, burned down a market and damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader claims counter-espionage experts' suggest state-sponsored hackers are behind the disclosure of 5m giftNigel Farage is under mounting pressure to provide evidence for his claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure of the 5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage's phone by counter-espionage experts" suggested that Farage's phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, using spear phishing tactics", before the Guardian revealed details of his undeclared gift last month. Continue reading...

Exclusive: prison multinational MTC uses a minimalist staffing model' that critics say is putting detainees and staff in serious danger

Regulators and gambling harm advocates have been closely watching the rise in popularity of Polymarket and Kalshi

Former justice secretary Alex Chalk KC says figures Channel 4 obtained show the horror show' in the systemAlmost 60,000 arrest warrants were issued for defendants who skipped court in England and Wales last year, up nearly 50% since 2020 in further evidence of the horror show" in the criminal justice system.The figures, obtained in an investigation by Channel 4's Dispatches to air on Friday, also show that more than 30,000 failure-to-appear warrants are outstanding, meaning that tens of thousands of criminals could be on the run after being charged. It is unclear how many have more than one warrant to their name. Continue reading...

Boys, aged 15, given youth rehabilitation orders for two separate attacks against two girls in HampshireA judge's decision not to jail the teenage boys who raped two girls has been described as a rock straight in my face" by one of their victims.Southampton crown court heard the two boys, both aged 15 at the time, raped the teenage girls in two separate attacks that occurred on 26 November 2024 and 17 January 2025 in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. Continue reading...

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US imposed sanctions on nine judges and a prosecutor after ICC issued arrest warrants for members of Israeli cabinetA former prosecutor at the international criminal court has called for an EU-wide statute blocking what she describes as thuggish" and bullying" US sanctions imposed on members of the court that are designed to send the court into oblivion.In February 2025, the US imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor as well three Palestinian organisations, in response to the ICC decision in 2024 to issue arrest warrants for members of the Israeli cabinet, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...

Rightwing commentator says she is hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket and claims she was misled by promoter Rocksman

Temperature reaches 30.5C in Kent as amber health alerts issued before bank holiday temperatures riseThe UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 30.5C in Kent as forecasters warned more extreme heat could follow over the bank holiday weekend.The temperature in Frittenden also marked the first time since 2012 the UK has reached 30C in May, according to the Met Office. Continue reading...

Xi Jinping urges authorities to spare no effort' in rescue operation after explosion in northern Shanxi provinceAt least 82 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in northern China's Shanxi province, in the country's worst mining disaster in 17 years.The explosion happened on Friday at 7.29pm (12.29 BST) while 247 workers were underground at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, the state media agency Xinhua reported. Continue reading...

Guests on Only in Monroe included Jack White and Jeff Daniels, with appearances by Steve Buscemi and EminemAfter his last appearance on CBS as host of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert continued his television hosting duties -on a public access show in Michigan.Colbert on Friday night hosted Only in Monroe in Monroe, Michigan, just one day after signing off from The Late Show. Colbert had been the host of The Late Show since 2015 and his tenure came to an end this week after CBS canceled the 33-year-old network staple, due to a financial decision" by CBS's parent company, Paramount. Continue reading...

First responders hospitalized and decontaminated after four people were found apparently overdosingThree people died and 18 first responders were sickened by exposure to fentanyl in a rural New Mexico home this week, New Mexico state police said.Police initially found four people unconscious at the home in Mountainair, 90 miles (145km) east of Albuquerque. Two were declared dead at the scene and a third died at a hospital. Continue reading...

Wait times of more than two hours reported at terminal for cross-Channel ferry to FranceFrench police have temporarily suspended extra EU border checks at the port of Dover as thousands of holidaymakers face long delays in the hot weather.Waiting times of more than two hours were reported at the terminal in Kent for the cross-Channel ferry to France. Continue reading...

New strain of virus, aid cuts, and cultural norms around burials and touch add to difficulties in stemming outbreakThe warnings from aid groups and healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been stark, their calls for coordinated international action impassioned.As the country reels from the return of the Ebola virus, there is growing concern that its fragile healthcare system will struggle to cope with an outbreak that experts say goes well beyond the number of confirmed cases. Continue reading...

People killed in strikes across multiple locations after child and six paramedics die in attacks a day earlierIsrael has carried out overnight strikes on Lebanon's Bekaa valley and the southern province of Tyre, killing at least four people and reducing buildings to craters.The strikes on southern Lebanon continued on Saturday morning, hitting close to Lebanese army barracks, killing a man on a motorcycle in the town of Nabatieh, and killing and wounding people in the town of Chehabiyeh, where the death toll is not yet known. Continue reading...

As Canada tightens asylum rules, refugees reuniting with family say they were turned over to ICE and jailed for months after failed border claimsAs each day in US detention passes, Markens Appolon can feel the life he had dreamed of slipping away.The 25-year-old fled Haiti to escape the rampant gang violence that upended his university studies in economics, and planned to join family in Montreal. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Desperate' man, in hiding after returning in a lorry, says he knows of 18 others from scheme who live in Britain covertlyAn asylum seeker sent from the UK back to France under the one in, one out" scheme has covertly returned to Britain and is now in hiding, the Guardian has learned.In the first interview with a one in, one out returnee living under the radar in the UK, the man told the Guardian his situation was desperate". Continue reading...

Prewar US gas prices averaged about $3 a gallon nationally - kiss that number goodbye for 2026Sorry, US drivers, but don't expect pump prices to return to prewar levels any time soon, even if the US and Iran agree to a lasting peace deal tomorrow.As the war with Iran enters its third month, drivers have become infuriated by rising gas prices - and inflation - and Donald Trump is facing a historic backlash in the polls. The president promised recently that relief will be swift once the war ends. I see it going down very substantially when this is over, I think very rapidly too, at levels that you've never seen," he said. Continue reading...

Former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn says firms must offer more flexibility and mental health supportAn anxious generation" of young people is struggling to adapt to the outdated world of work, according to the government's jobs adviser.Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, will say this week in a report that businesses must adapt by offering more flexibility and mental health support for young people to stave off an economic catastrophe." Continue reading...

As Europe's leading donor countries slash budgets, the result could be more than 11.5m preventable deaths, report suggestsCuts to foreign aid budgets by the UK, France and Germany could contribute to more than 11.5 million preventable deaths by the end of the decade, according to a new report, which warns that Europe is abandoning its role as a pillar of global health and development.Three separate studies within the report reveal the extent to which the nations have slashed their foreign aid budgets, and illustrate the impact worldwide. UK official development assistance (ODA) spending is projected to fall by 45% between 2020 and 2026, Germany's by 37% between 2023 and 2026, and France's by 30% over the same period, according to the research.This report was a collaboration with European newspapers El Pais and Le Monde Continue reading...

Chancellor's measure to help families save money during summer holidays won't make any difference'Cutting tax on children's meals is a political soundbite" that will make little difference to families or businesses, restaurateurs have said.This week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced a temporary reduction in VAT on the children's menu in restaurants from 20% to 5% between June and September, in order to help families with the cost of living crisis and offer a boost to the hospitality sector. Continue reading...

US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts sayThe top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed board's lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war.The high representative for Gaza", Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the principal obstacle" to the ceasefire's continued implementation because it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition". Continue reading...

Chancellor's allies urge MPs to back her if Keir Starmer is replaced, saying she is only candidate to safeguard UK's financesRachel Reeves has launched a rearguard action to save her job as chancellor, telling friends she would like to stay in the post even under a new prime minister.The chancellor's supporters have been urging MPs to back her if Keir Starmer is replaced later this year, saying she is the only candidate who can safeguard the country's finances. Continue reading...

Paperwork supplied by Andrew Crowley, 46, found to be made using printing methods 25 years too modernA fraudster who tried to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby's was foiled when his bogus accompanying paperwork was found to be written with printing methods that were 25 years too modern, a court has heard.Andrew Crowley, 46, asked the auctioneers to value three Cycladic figures and one Anatolian stargazer statuette that he had inherited from his grandfather, Southwark crown court in London was told on Friday. Continue reading...

Living archive' will mark loss of Northumberland landmark with storytelling, sound and sculpture using saved woodA new artwork will transform preserved wood from the felled Sycamore Gap tree into a living archive" after a public vote.The community arts charity Helix Arts and George King Architects were named winners of the vote on Saturday, after being shortlisted for a National Trust commission in March. Continue reading...

Exclusive: New biography uncovers Frank Hawking's papers in which he lamented that his son had little initiative'In exploring the physics and geometry of the universe, Stephen Hawking became a world-renowned pioneer of black hole theory, writing the bestselling book A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 13m copies, and inspiring people to look up at the stars and not down at your feet".But, during Hawking's student years and as he approached adulthood, his father was deeply concerned about how his son would turn out. Frank Hawking lamented that he hangs round the house with little initiative and does not study much", according to previously unknown diaries that he had written partly in code. Continue reading...

Councils fix a pothole every 17 seconds - but getting on top of the repair backlog would cost 18.6bn. Why is it so hard to solve a problem that drives the nation crazy?Marsh Street in the historic centre of Bristol is a modest little stretch of road with an office block at one end, a Thai restaurant at the other, and an almighty mess in between.Along its length of 200 metres or so, the tarmac surface of the road is pockmarked with many dozens of cracks, patches, divots and holes. In some spots where the surface has worn away, three or more layers of road structure are exposed beneath. What is a bouncy enough ride in a bus or car is even more of an assault course for cyclists, a number of whom weave carefully down its length as they cut through the city centre. Continue reading...

Prime minister launches impassioned argument in favour of much-maligned reforms announced in last week's federal budget

A 42-year-old fled from police before being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Sans Souci, police say

Iran has threatened to impose tolls on shipping, while US demands that Iran hand over its highly enriched uranium may be deferred. Is there an end in sight?Qatar has rushed a team of mediators to Tehran in a sign that talks to open the strait of Hormuz, in return for the lifting of US sanctions and asset freezes, are reaching a climax.The aim would be to sign a memorandum of understanding on the strait that would lead to 30 days of talks on Iran's nuclear programme - so deferring discussion of the US demand that Iran hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Continue reading...

Michael Agzarian was charged despite internal legal advice that the images were political satire', court hears

Former general Petr Pavel says Moscow's testing of alliance's eastern flank should be met with firm lineThe 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, 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...