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Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has triggered global outrage after sharing footage of himself taunting bound activists who had been detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid. The video has been widely condemned by world leaders, including the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and by Israeli politicians, among them the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian's chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Move comes amid condemnation of Itamar Ben-Gvir after video posted showing detained protesters being tauntedIsrael has said it has deported all the foreign activists it seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla, after a global outcry over their treatment in custody that led the UK to join other countries in summoning Israeli diplomats for a formal dressing down.More than 430 activists from countries around the world had been placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory. Continue reading...

Decline to 171,000 last year will encourage ministers in what is seen as a battleground issue against Reform

Documents released by government also show late queen was very keen' for her son to have prominent role

Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?Several hours after dark in a quiet Caribbean neighbourhood, a cluster of environmental activists gather on plastic chairs between a mango tree and a courtyard wall emblazoned with the words: Colombia, respira!" (breathe Colombia).So many people have turned up that some are forced to stand. That is because tonight's speaker, Susana Muhamad, is one of the most admired socio-environmental campaigners in the world and this is a moment of profound historical significance. Continue reading...

Authorities in Galicia declare two days of mourning after toddler died during exceptionally high May temperatures

The Rolling Stone will play a lighthouse keeper in Three Incestuous Sisters, joining a cast including Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley and Saoirse RonanRolling Stones singer Mick Jagger is playing a lighthouse keeper in the new film from Happy as Lazzaro director Alice Rohrwacher, which is currently filming on the Italian island of Stromboli.According to reports in the Italian media, Jagger was photographed on arrival in Stromboli after flying in by helicopter to take a role in Three Incestuous Sisters, Rohrwacher's adaptation of the 2005 visual novel" by The Time Traveler's Wife author Audrey Niffenegger. Continue reading...

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Surprise rise in jobless rate will give Reserve Bank more reason to delay another interest rate hike at June meeting

British Trust for Ornithology says 2025 breeding season was especially disastrous for warbler species

Flea treatment chemicals fipronil and imidacloprid also implicated in lower cognitive scores in children with autismToxic chemicals found in pet flea treatment are devastating wildlife in rivers, parks and special conservation areas and the government should take urgent action to limit their use, according to a study.Chemicals that are banned for use as pesticides but still used in flea treatments are causing potentially irreversible harm to aquatic life as well as decimating birds and pollinators, according to the study published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Jack Clark describes vertiginous sense of progress' and profound changes' to society alongside risks of technologyAn AI system will work with humans to make a Nobel prize-winning discovery within 12 months and tradespeople will be helped by bipedal robots in two years, according to the co-founder of Anthropic.Jack Clark described a vertiginous sense of progress" in the technology and made a series of predictions, including that companies run solely by AIs would be generating millions of dollars in revenue within 18 months, and that by the end of 2028, AI systems would be able to design their own successors. Continue reading...

Cuba's government has also accused US of hypocrisy after acting US attorney general announced indictment of former Cuban president over downed planes

City made outsized contribution to falling levels of deprivation between 2010 and 2025, thinktank findsManchester has recorded the biggest fall in inner-city deprivation in Britain, according to a report, as Andy Burnham stakes a claim that he could replicate the city's revival nationwide.As the frontrunner to replace Keir Starmer, the Greater Manchester mayor has placed the city's economic performance at the heart of his campaign, describing Manchesterism" as a political philosophy for a more interventionist approach to the economy. Continue reading...

Ian Cheshire says media regulator must address perception it has been complacent and slow on online safetyOfcom's incoming chair has vowed to take on the tech bros", as he conceded there was now a perception the regulator had been complacent and slow over concerns about online safety.Ian Cheshire, the former Channel 4 chair who has secured the job overseeing the technology and media regulator, also told MPs he had personal concerns about the impact of social media on under-16s. Continue reading...

Police allege man took camera equipment from 61 year-old shooting victim then pawned it

Clashes between demonstrators and police in La Paz have entered second week, shaking centre-right presidentProtests blocking roads across Bolivia and turning the centre of the capital, La Paz, into a battleground between demonstrators and police have entered a second week.It is the most turbulent moment of the centre-right president Rodrigo Paz Pereira's mere six months in office since he ended nearly two decades of rule by the leftwing Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas). Continue reading...

International student Rodiyat Alabede, 22, died due to a perfect storm' of lax safety protocols, advocates sayPatient advocates in Canada have called for a new investigation into the death of a young woman who was donating blood plasma, describing a perfect storm" of lax safety protocols and poorly trained staff and warning of systemic issues" at plasma donation sites across the country.Rodiyat Alabede, an international student at the University of Winnipeg, died of cardiac arrest shortly after a plasma donation in October 2025 at a facility operated by the Spanish healthcare company Grifols. An initial investigation by Health Canada found no links between the plasma donation and her death. Continue reading...

Starmer has a reasonable list of achievements in power but has undermined himself with a lack of political storytellingNet migration down by three-quarters, the biggest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, knife crime cut by 10%, the economy growing the fastest in the G7, rising wages, energy bills and petrol prices held down, the biggest sustained rise in defence spending since the cold war, a massive expansion of free childcare ...If Keir Starmer did tub-thumping lists of Labour's achievements in the style of Gordon Brown, he would not actually have a shortage of things to talk about. Continue reading...

The Amazon founder has denied any personal involvement in the film, which failed to recoup its budget on releaseJeff Bezos has defended Amazon's controversial Melania documentary as a good business decision" while denying any personal involvement.The Amazon founder and executive chairman was asked about the film during an interview on CNBC this week. The film, which followed the first lady in the period before Donald Trump's second inauguration, was purchased by the company for $40m with Melania herself making a reported $28m. Amazon also spent around $35m on marketing. Continue reading...

Bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walter, 32, and Rebecca Walter, 31, from London, were recovered from sea last WednesdayThree women whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton beach last week have been identified as sisters from London.Emergency services were called after concerns were raised for a person's welfare at about 5.45am on 13 May, before three bodies were pulled from the water near Madeira Drive. Continue reading...

White Australia group says it does not want to doxx' members as it challenges designation as banned hate group

Choreography of back-to-back visits appeared deliberately mirrored but China made sure the differences were noticedDays after Donald Trump was greeted in Beijing with a military band, an honour guard and dozens of youths waving American and Chinese flags, Vladimir Putin arrived in China to an almost identical spectacle.The choreography of the two welcomes appeared deliberately mirrored, designed to showcase Beijing's ability to host leaders from Washington and Moscow with equal grandeur. Continue reading...

Vilnius residents urged to take shelter during alert, after Nato and EU warn that Russia is diverting Ukraine's drones

Short-term' measures on import of jet fuel and diesel, and shipping of LNG, aimed to help tackle soaring prices

Wife of former PM, who encountered Worboys in 2007, says parole refusal last week was huge relief'Carrie Johnson, the wife of the former prime minister Boris Johnson, has said there could be up to 1,000, if not more", victims of the black-cab rapist, John Worboys.Johnson, who helped bring the serial sex attacker to justice, said she had been contacted by more women who believed they had been assaulted by him. Continue reading...

China has already eaten much of German industry's lunch and is preparing to start on dinner,' thinktank says

Tom Phillips on life in the country four months after the US abduction of the former president Nicolas MaduroThe last time I flew out of Venezuela was right at the start of August 2024, just after the disputed presidential election," the Guardian's Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, tells Annie Kelly.It was a moment of real turmoil. There was a huge wave of repression that was unfolding as Nicolas Maduro tried to silence any kind of dissent to his bogus claim to have won that election. Thousands were thrown in prison, many were going underground, and journalists were racing to get out of the country." Continue reading...

Move brings an end to a 60 day visa-free stay that was agreed with 93 countries, including the UK, US and much of EuropeThailand is drastically cutting the length of visa-free stays for tourists from more than 90 countries in an effort to curb crime involving foreign nationals, officials said on Tuesday.Tourism is vital to the south-east Asian nation's economy, but foreign arrivals are yet to return to their pre-Covid levels. Continue reading...

Russian president is welcomed to Beijing with an honour guard after saying relations with China have reached an unprecedented level'Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing for a state visit, four days after Donald Trump left China.Putin was greeted by China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, when he landed on Tuesday evening, with an honour guard alongside Chinese youths waving China and Russia's national flags in a welcome ceremony on the tarmac. Continue reading...

Retail sources rebuff government proposal as unjustified' and likely to push costs up across boardUK supermarkets have been asked by the government to consider freezing the prices of some essential foodstuffs to protect the public from inflation fuelled by the Middle East conflict.Retailers rejected the plan, criticising its potential cost amid rising taxes, fuel and energy costs and arguing it could push up prices for shoppers overall. Continue reading...

Landmark report calls for widespread air conditioning and says UK temperatures forecast to exceed 40C by 2050British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global heating, the government's climate advisers have warned in a report, as measures such as drawing curtains, opening windows and growing trees for shade are not likely to be enough.Air conditioning should be installed in all care homes and hospitals within the next 10 years, and in all schools within 25 years, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which published a major report on adapting to the impacts of global heating on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Research appears to challenge previous studies but some experts call aspects of it misguided'People who are the least fit need to do 30-50 minutes more exercise a week than the fittest to get the same reduction in cardiovascular risk, according to research.Researchers examined data from more than 17,000 British adults taking part in the UK Biobank study. They completed a cycle test to measure their baseline cardiorespiratory fitness (estimated VO max) and wore a fitness tracker for a week to record typical exercise levels. Continue reading...

US vice-president appeared to align with attendees of Tommy Robinson's unite the kingdom' rally in LondonThe US vice-president, JD Vance, has urged anti-immigration activists in the UK to keep on going" after tens of thousands gathered for a rally in London.Vance appeared to align himself with those who attended a march on Saturday where the far-right activist Tommy Robinson told supporters to prepare for the battle of Britain". Continue reading...

Paul Singer is founder of a leading creditor in the hedge fund consortium locked in talks with the UK governmentA billionaire Donald Trump donor could make millions from a deal being struck between the government and Thames Water.The UK's largest water company, ministers and creditors are at an impasse as they try to agree a rescue deal to stave off Thames's collapse. The water company built up a 17.6bn debt pile in the decades after its privatisation. Continue reading...

Outcome of contest for seat just outside Wigan could change the course of British politics for years to comeAndy Burnham will face Reform UK's Robert Kenyon in next month's crucial Makerfield byelection in a clash that could change the course of British politics for years to come.Reform are billing Kenyon, a plumber and army reservist who contested the seat just outside Wigan in the 2024 general election, as a local champion taking on a professional politician who is using the seat for his own advantage. Continue reading...

The online publication Puck previously reported Weiss could be moved to a new role with less oversight of the network

US vice-president says Iran must agree to never have a nuclear weapon; Tehran warns US against resuming hostilities

President claims planned Tehran attack postponed to allow talks to continue - but no indication peace plan is imminentAs he seeks an exit from the Iran war, Donald Trump is increasingly outsourcing his policymaking to US allies in the Middle East, while the White House appears unable to find a simple way to end the fighting and reopen global shipping lanes held by Tehran.In Trump's telling, the dealmaker-in-chief" has maintained a consistent policy toward Iran aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, leveling threats and incentives to reach a new deal that would also open the Strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

As campaigners take to the streets for what could be the most significant byelection for decades, the Reform leader's absence remains a mysteryIt has been six days since Nigel Farage cancelled a scheduled appearance at a Reform UK rally in Sunderland, a key election target in Labour's heartlands.The reasons given - chaos in government and what appeared to be an impending Labour leadership race - seemed logical. After all, as a quotation sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte goes: never interfere with an enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself. Continue reading...

Metropolitan police says it is yet to receive criminal reports following claims made in BBC programmePolice have urged potential victims of sexual assault who appeared on Married at First Sight (MAFS) UK to contact them, after female participants made allegations of rape and sexual misconduct.A BBC Panorama episode that aired on Monday evening documented accusations from contestants about their time on the reality TV show. Two women, who are not named, alleged they were raped by their on-screen husbands, while a third woman who agreed to be identified, Shona Manderson, accused her on-screen husband of taking things too far during sex. All the men deny the claims. Continue reading...

Government announces a near tenfold increase but forces fear it will not cover anticipated cost of dedicated teamsKeir Starmer's government has announced a near tenfold increase in funding for detectives hunting grooming gangs but has been warned by police that the amount will likely fall short" of what is needed.Operation Beaconport, which was set up last year to review closed group-based sexual exploitation inquiries in England and Wales, will receive nearly 38m, a Home Office statement said - up from 4m given last year. Continue reading...

The bank's interim chief executive says this issue should never have happened', but warns it may take time to process claimsNational Savings and Investments bank will start to contact thousands of families affected by a missing savings scandal next week, as it confirmed how much they are owed.In March, the chief executive of the state-backed bank was forced out after it emerged there had been long-running problems with the tracing of accounts belonging to customers who had died. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedThe latest drone alerts come as Ukraine and Latvia were this morning forced by Russia to repeatedly refute Moscow's claims that Kyiv was preparing attacks against Russia from Latvia.Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that Ukraine does not use the territory of Latvia for its operations against Russia and refuted Moscow's claims.Russia is lying about Latvia allowing any country to use Latvian airspace and territory to launch attacks against Russia or any other country." Continue reading...

Jonathan Andic released on 1m bail after being questioned in connection with death of Isak Andic in 2024The son of Isak Andic, the founder of the fashion chain Mango, has been released on bail of 1m (866,000) after being arrested and questioned in connection with his father's death in Catalonia almost 18 months ago.Andic died in December 2024 after apparently falling 100 metres down a ravine while hiking in Montserrat, near Barcelona, with his son, Jonathan. His death aged 71 prompted tributes to him from politicians, journalists and the fashion world. Continue reading...

Officials from Baltic states say Moscow behind latest such incident but also tell Kyiv to be more careful with its routing

Exclusive: Science agency is planning to sack a third of the team working on the national climate model, sources say

It's heartless to cut supports we need to leave the house, work and study at a time when the cost of living has dramatically increased', advocate says

Abstract expressionist's Number 7A, 1948, becomes the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auctionA Jackson Pollock painting has sold for a record $181.2m (135.3m) at Christie's in New York.The sale on Monday made Number 7A, 1948 the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auction, according to ARTnews. Continue reading...

A thrillingly fresh' 30th-anniversary production of Jonathan Larson's musical will open at the Duke of York's theatre in London, directed by Luke SheppardThe Pulitzer prize-winning musical Rent will return to London this autumn in a 30th-anniversary production starring Stranger Things' Gaten Matarazzo in his West End debut.The rock opera, based on Puccini's La Boheme and set in New York's East Village during the Aids crisis, ran for more than 5,000 performances on Broadway and won four Tony awards. Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, music and lyrics, died aged 35 of an aortic aneurysm shortly before it opened in 1996. The musical also ran for 18 months in London, became a 2005 film and has had several major revivals including one directed by Luke Sheppard at Manchester's Hope Mill theatre in 2020. Sheppard, who last month won an Olivier award for Paddington: The Musical, is staging the new revival, directly inspired by his Manchester production. Continue reading...