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Elected representatives of Board of Deputies were among signatories of open letter objecting to actions in Gaza StripFive elected representatives to the largest body representing British Jews have been suspended for two years after criticising the Israeli government's actions in Gaza.All 36 signatories to an open letter published in April have been found to have breached the Board of Deputies' code of conduct after a two-month investigation. Continue reading...

The 350 air defence missiles mark the first time the UK has used Russia-linked funds to buy weapons for KyivKeir Starmer has announced a fresh package of military aid for Ukraine - this time paid for using the UK's interest haul from frozen Russian assets.The UK will send 350 advanced air defence missiles, built in Britain and adapted in record time for ground launch, using 70m of interest raised through the government's extraordinary revenue acceleration (ERA) scheme. The move marks the first time the UK has used Russia-linked funds to directly bankroll weaponry for Kyiv. Continue reading...

Starmer to unveil purchase of 12 F-35A jets that can deliver tactical nuclear weapons, which may be kept at RAF basesThe UK is to substantially expand its nuclear deterrent by buying a squadron of American-made fighter jets that are capable of delivering US tactical warheads that are likely to be stored on British soil.The announcement by Keir Starmer at the Nato summit marks the most significant change in Britain's nuclear posture since the end of the cold war, with US bombs set to return to the UK, and is bound to provoke alarm among arms control experts and campaigners. Continue reading...

The teenage heartthrob, who become an LAPD instructor, had announced he had stage 4 cancer earlier this yearBobby Sherman, whose winsome smile and fashionable shaggy mop top helped make him into a teen idol in the 1960s and 70s with bubblegum pop hits such as Little Woman and Julie, Do Ya Love Me, has died. He was 81.His wife, Brigitte Poublon, announced the death Tuesday and family friend John Stamos posted her message on Instagram: Bobby left this world holding my hand - just as he held up our life with love, courage, and unwavering grace." Sherman revealed he had stage 4 cancer earlier this year. Continue reading...

James Harding and Jayes Kharouti discussed plan to recruit hitman to kill rival on encrypted messaging serviceA pair of drug kingpins are facing jail for plotting to murder a rival and smuggling millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK after one of the largest EncroChat investigations.James Harding, 34, and his loyal right-hand man" Jayes Kharouti, 39, ran a vast criminal empire which made 5m in profits from importing drugs over 10 weeks in 2020 alone. Continue reading...

Exclusive: London mayor is most senior party figure to call for plans to be dropped, as Starmer vows to press aheadSadiq Khan has become the most senior Labour figure yet to urge the government to drop its controversial disability benefit changes, supporting a growing Labour rebellion that threatens to derail the plans.The London mayor warned that the welfare bill, which more than 100 Labour MPs have already threatened to vote against in the Commons next week, would destroy the financial safety net" for millions of people. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says investment in national security will also deepen Britain's commitment to NatoBritain will commit to spending 5% of its GDP on defence by 2035 after weeks of diplomatic pressure and intense negotiations with allies.The decision came as Keir Starmer, the prime minister, prepared to join Nato leaders at a summit dominated by global conflict and expectations of European military self-reliance. Continue reading...

Fifteen organizations call on GHF and other groups running aid delivery to cease operations or face legal consequencesFifteen international human rights organisations have called on the Israel- and US-backed Gaza food delivery group, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and other private groups running humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza to cease their operations or face legal consequences.In a letter sent on Monday to GHF and the affiliated Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, the rights advocates warned that private contractors operating in Gaza in collaboration with the Israeli government risk aiding and abetting or otherwise being complicit in crimes under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide". They also noted that the contractors may be liable under US law and in other jurisdictions. Continue reading...

Copper-coated figures are being returned to cathedral's reconstructed spire after devastating blaze of 2019Sixteen giant statues are to be hoisted back on to the spire of Notre Dame in the latest step of the cathedral's 700m (600m) reconstruction after the devastating fire of 2019.The copper-coated figures, each weighing almost 150kg, escaped the blaze because they were removed from the Parisian landmark for renovation just four days before flames consumed the roof and destroyed the spire. Continue reading...

Australia Post's proposed rise in stamp price for ordinary letters, which still requires communications minister's approval, would take effect in July

Penny Wong refuses to say whether Pine Gap communications facility in NT was used in US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites

Interior ministry says 145 people across the country reported being stabbed with needles at Fete de la Musique eventsFrench police have detained 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country's annual street music festival, officials said on Sunday.Millions of people took to the streets across France on Saturday evening for the Fete de la Musique, with authorities reporting unprecedented crowds" in Paris. Before the party, posts on social media had called for women to be targeted during the festivities. Continue reading...

Eric Horvitz's comments come despite reports that Microsoft is lobbying with Google, Meta and Amazon to support banMicrosoft's chief scientist has warned that Donald Trump's proposed ban on state-level guardrails on artificial intelligence will slow the development of the frontier technology rather than accelerate it.Dr Eric Horvitz, a former technology adviser to Joe Biden, said bans on regulation will hold us back" and could be at odds with making good progress on not just advancing the science, but in translating it into practice". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Investigation finds 76% rise in water taken from rivers and lakes for industrial or public consumption in two decadesThe amount of water being sucked from England's rivers has surged to record levels, with potentially disastrous consequences for people and wildlife, it can be revealed.An investigation into licensing data by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian found that the volume of water taken from rivers and lakes for industrial or public consumption has jumped 76% in two decades: 11.6m cubic metres (410 cu ft) were abstracted in the five years to 2023, up from 6.6m in the early 2000s. Continue reading...

Dmytro Chorny tells of hunger, beatings and torture before a mass prisoner exchange freed him to go home to - and marry - his girlfriend, DianaDespite all they have endured, it doesn't take much to draw shy smiles from Diana Shikot, 24, and Dmytro Chorny, 23.You could ask them about Chorny's sweetly bungled marriage proposal the day after his release from Russia's notorious penitentiary system, in which he languished as a prisoner of war for three years. Continue reading...

White House flags potential Chinese access to sensitive communications of one of our closest allies'A US intervention over China's proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution up in the air", campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site's proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables.The furore over a new super-embassy" on the edge of London's financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was deeply concerned" over potential Chinese access to the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Foreign secretary says training for 9,000 workers at European carriers is step towards more secure bordersThousands of European airline staff are being trained to stop people boarding flights to Britain without valid visas, in a move billed by the foreign secretary as a digital upgrade to border controls.David Lammy said the measures marked a step towards more secure, more digital and more effective" borders, but the move could raise questions about human rights safeguards. Continue reading...

Care Quality Commission demands urgent improvements at Leeds general infirmary and St James'sThe care of women and babies at two Leeds hospitals presents a significant risk to their safety, the NHS regulator has said, after the preventable deaths of dozens of newborns.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) demanded urgent improvements to maternity services at Leeds general infirmary and St James's hospital as it downgraded them to inadequate". Continue reading...

Government issued permit to shoot young female who entered Vilnius, despite only small number left in Baltic country

Former prime minister urges Labour PM to introduce proper sanctions amid concerns over promised ethics commission

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There are fears the crackdown against outsiders' is driving widespread persecution as expelled Indians are returned by Bangladesh border guardsThe Indian government has been accused of illegally deporting Indian Muslims to Bangladesh, prompting fears of an escalating campaign of persecution.Thousands of people, largely Muslims suspected of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, have been rounded up by police across India in recent weeks, according to human rights groups, with many of them deprived of due legal process and sent over the border to neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Continue reading...

Study from Nasa and Australian universities shows cloud coverage at the poles has shrunk over past 24 years, but mystery of 2023 global temperature spike remains

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In today's newsletter: HS2 was meant to revolutionise Britain's rail network and Labour promises a reset, but some question whether the high-speed project is still worth itGood morning. In 2009, I honestly thought it was quite likely that I'd see England win the World Cup in my lifetime. Maybe even by the time I reached the grand old age of 40. In the same year, the Labour government announced HS2, and said that the first phase, from London to Birmingham, would open by 2026. Well, it's 2025 now, I'm 41, England have just lost 3-1 to Senegal, and yesterday HS2 had its expected completion date pushed back from 2033 to ... we'll get back to you on that.By now, it is almost impossible to keep the endless setbacks to the UK's flagship major infrastructure project straight in your head. But yesterday's announcement is genuinely significant. On one hand, it reflects years of catastrophic mismanagement, and an even longer wait for the hotly debated benefits of the line to start to be realised. On the other, Labour would like you to believe they are taking a more realistic view than their predecessors, and finally getting a grip on costs that have spiralled further and further out of control.Middle East | Donald Trump has suggested it would make sense for the US to launch strikes against Iran only if bombing was guaranteed to destroy the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, according to people familiar with the deliberations. The sources said he has held off authorizing strikes to see if Iran is prepared to enter talks.Protest | Universities in England will no longer be able to enforce blanket bans on student protests under sweeping new guidance from the Office for Students. The regulator also advises administrators not to apply prolonged bans on protest encampments over the Israel-Gaza conflict.Gaza | Eleven Palestinians were killed early on Wednesday morning after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd waiting for food trucks in central Gaza, civil defence officials said. The deaths bring the toll at food distribution sites in recent days to more than a hundred.Health | Air pollution in the UK is costing more than 500m a week in ill health, NHS care and productivity losses, and killing more than 500 people a week, doctors have said. The Royal College of Physicians said that 99% of the population are breathing in toxic air".Air India crash | The sole survivor of the Air India crash has helped carry his brother's flower-heaped coffin to a crematorium in the western Indian coastal town of Diu, days after they plummeted into the ground shortly after takeoff. Continue reading...

Palestine Action Group barrister says rally at Sydney's Great Synagogue in late 2024 wasn't targeting religious event' but rather Israel Defense Forces speaker

The state's offence rate has increased by 15%, with cost-of-living pressures linked to a rise in theft

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Study commissioned by NHS finds that sickle cell disease care lags behind that for conditions such as cystic fibrosisPeople living with sickle cell disease face substandard care as its treatment significantly lags behind advances relating to other genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, a report has found.The study, commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory and carried out by researchers at Imperial College London, analysed various measures of care for sickle cell disease between 2010 and 2024, including clinical trials, approved drugs and reviews of existing studies. Continue reading...

Exclusive: the likelihood of a successful US strike on the Iranian nuclear facility buried deep underground at Fordow is a topic of deep contention, defense officials sayDonald Trump has suggested to defense officials it would make sense for the US to launch strikes against Iran only if the so-called bunker buster" bomb was guaranteed to destroy the critical uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, according to people familiar with the deliberations.Trump was told that dropping the GBU-57s, a 13.6-tonne (30,000lb) bomb would effectively eliminate Fordow but he does not appear to be fully convinced, the people said, and has held off authorizing strikes as he also awaits the possibility that the threat of US involvement would lead Iran to talks. Continue reading...

As the world's attention moves to Iran, what are Israeli forces doing in Gaza? Emma Graham-Harrison reportsIsrael faced growing international pressure earlier this month as hundreds of starving people in Gaza were killed as they tried to reach aid distribution sites. Since Israel launched its attacks on Iran on Friday, however, that diplomatic outcry has largely disappeared.The Guardian's chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, tells Nosheen Iqbal that the killings in Gaza have by no means stopped and that many aid experts believe the current food distribution system, based around an opaque organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been doomed from the start. Continue reading...

Wellington says it has paused payment of some funding until Pacific island nation takes steps to repair the relationship and restore trust'New Zealand has halted millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands over the breadth and content" of agreements the smaller Pacific nation made with China, officials from the New Zealand foreign minister's office has said.New Zealand, which is the Cook Islands biggest funder, won't consider any new money for the nation until the relationship improves, a spokesperson for foreign minister Winston Peters told the Associated Press on Thursday. Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...

The border dispute has led to a surge in nationalist sentiment and tit-for-tat actions by both governmentsCambodia has banned imports of fruit and vegetables from Thailand, the latest escalation in a series of retaliatory actions sparked by a long-running border dispute between the South-east Asian neighbours.Tensions flared in May when troops briefly exchanged fire at a contested area of the border, killing a Cambodian soldier. Continue reading...

I may do it, I may not do it,' US president says as Tehran reportedly prepares to strike US bases in responseDonald Trump said he had not decided whether or not to take his country into Israel's new war, as Iran's supreme leader said the US would face irreparable damage" if it deployed its military to attack.Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had made a huge mistake" by launching the war, in his first comments since Friday. Continue reading...

Campaign group accuses Holyrood of intolerable' delays to new policies required after landmark caseThe Scottish government has been given a deadline to implement the UK supreme court's ruling on biological sex across all public bodies or face further legal challenges.Sex Matters, the UK-wide gender-critical campaign group, has threatened legal action in 14 days if ministers continue intolerable" delays to new policies and guidance required by April's landmark ruling that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 does not include transgender women who hold gender recognition certificates. Continue reading...

Head of monitoring boards urges justice secretary to suspend rollout of Pava in England and WalesThe rollout of synthetic pepper spray for use to incapacitate jailed children is wholly irresponsible" while black and minority prisoners are more likely to be subjected to force than white inmates, a watchdog has said.Elisabeth Davies, the national chair of the Independent Monitoring Boards, whose members operate in every prison in England and Wales, said the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, should pause the use of Pava spray in youth offending institutions (YOIs) until ministers had addressed the disproportionate use of force on minority prisoners. Continue reading...

In letter to culture secretary, carnival's chair says more money essential' to event's future, but does not give a figureThe future of the Notting Hill carnival could be in jeopardy without urgent funding" from the government, according to a leaked letter from its organisers.The carnival's chair, Ian Comfort, has written to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, to request public money, the BBC reported on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Jennifer Abbott, 69, was found dead in her Camden flat with tape on her mouthA missing diamond-encrusted Rolex watch may be linked to the stabbing of a 69-year-old woman who was found dead in her north London flat, the Metropolitan police have said.Jennifer Abbott, who was known professionally as Sarah Steinberg, was discovered fatally injured with tape on her mouth. Continue reading...

UK continues to urge de-escalation as concerns grow about possible US intervention in Middle East

We want freedom on our own terms,' says one Tehran resident, while another writes, Someone is helping us'Despite a substantial internet blackout, news spread quickly in Iran on Tuesday night: the US was considering joining Israel in its war on Iran.

Known as Sam the Wheels, he filmed aspects of community life in south London, including Brixton riots of 1981Clovis Salmon, regarded as the first black documentary film-maker in the UK, has died at the age of 98.His family said he died at King's College hospital in Camberwell on Wednesday morning. Continue reading...

UK Foreign Office causes confusion as it urges British nationals to register their presence but not to leave

Work and pensions secretary publishes her welfare reform bill, but concessions do little to placate angry Labour MPsBritain's benefits system faces collapse without cuts to disability payments, Liz Kendall has said, as the government published plans that put it on a collision course with dozens of angry Labour MPs.Kendall published her welfare reform bill on Wednesday, confirming it would lead to benefit cuts for 950,000 people by 2030. She said the country's 326bn social security net might cease to exist if costs continued to escalate. Continue reading...

Donald Trump initially appeared to discourage attacks but Israeli officials claim they always had his supportAlong the Ayalon highway, in the centre of Tel Aviv, two huge illuminated signs have appeared, portraying Donald Trump against a billowing stars-and-stripes backdrop and bearing the blunt appeal: Mr President, finish the job!"Israel's attack on Iran may have been carried out with Trump's approval, as government officials in Israel claim, but it appears to have been unleashed only in the expectation - rather than any certainty - that the US will ultimately be drawn into the war. Continue reading...

Forensic scientist says strong evidence' links Ryland Headley, 92, with murder and rape of Louisa DunneA forensic scientist was able to produce a full DNA profile for the suspected murderer of a woman who died in 1967 after examining her skirt and hair that had been kept in police storage for almost 60 years, a jury has been told.Andrew Parry told the court there was strong scientific evidence" to link the skirt Louisa Dunne was wearing when she was found and hair police took from her body with 92-year-old Ryland Headley, who is on trial for her rape and murder. Continue reading...

Regulators say online retailer not doing enough to prevent sale of counterfeit clothes and unsafe children's toysThe European Commission has accused the online retailer AliExpress of a systemic failure" to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous goods on its platform, as Brussels steps up its case against the Chinese company.Issuing formal findings of an investigation launched in March last year, EU regulators said on Wednesday that AliExpress was failing to do enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit clothes and dangerous children's toys, among other items. Continue reading...

Annabel Rook, 46, who helped refugees and women fleeing domestic violence, described as profound force for good'A woman found fatally stabbed in her home after a gas explosion has been described as a profound force for good" who dedicated her life to supporting women.Annabel Rook, 46, was found with stab wounds at a house in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, north London, just before 5am on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Truro coroner concludes Ben Corser unlawfully killed as he sat in car outside supermarket in Colima in 2022A British traveller and keen skateboarder shot dead alongside two friends in Mexico was in the wrong place at the wrong time", his inquest has heard.Ben Marshall Corser, 36, from St Just in Cornwall, was killed while sitting in the back of a car outside a supermarket in Colima, in western Mexico. Continue reading...

Change is part of general business shift away from working from homeJohn Lewis is asking head office staff to spend at least three days a week in the office or out on the road in the latest shift away from working from home.The department store group said members of its commercial teams - which include those working in buying and merchandising - should work no more than two days a week from home from July. Previously they were allowed to work up to three days a week at home. Continue reading...