World news | The Guardian

Follow today's news live 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...

JD Vance's staff were at the airbase ready to fly to summit in Burgenstock for Iran talks before trip was suddenly cancelledTalks set to take place on Friday between the US and Iran in Switzerland to implement a peace deal were cancelled as Hezbollah targeted Israeli forces and Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes in south Lebanon which killed at least 18 people.The talks were set to begin in the tiny Swiss village of Obburgen on Friday, two days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that opened a 60-day window to negotiate a permanent understanding over Iran's nuclear program, while getting oil traffic moving through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

May figure of 23.3bn underlines challenge facing Andy Burnham if he ends up as Labour leader

IDF claims continuing strikes come after Iran-backed group repeatedly violated ceasefire; JD Vance cancels trip as US-Iran talks set for Friday cancelled

Burnham hails a turning point' for the country after a resounding victory over Reform UK and Restore that may force prime minister Keir Starmer to step aside

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...

Labour mayor giving advisory roles to ex-Bank of England economist and others seen as attempt to reassure markets

Greater Manchester mayor says result represents Labour's final chance to change', after soundly beating Reform UK and hardline Restore Britain

Tories' Douglas Lumsden says city has spoken loud and clear' in support of the North Sea oil and gas industry

In a sharp rebuke to critics of Trump's deal with Iran, the vice-president referenced the billions in defence aid Israel recieves from the US

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...

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...

US president says he encourages Middle East countries to maintain commitment to allowing our negotiations to beautifully unfold'

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...

Number of people infected now tops 1,000 though health officials say the global risk remains low

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...

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...

Former negotiator believes in an unstable world, it is perfectly possible' the UK can rejoin the EU with old opt-outs

Exclusive: Former chief Brexit negotiator says staying out of euro and Schengen area would be perfectly possible'

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

Kyiv says attack, which also forced evacuation at Russia's biggest airport, was in response to strike on historic monastery

Jamie Varley jailed for life and partner John McGowan-Fazakerley jailed for 25 years over death of Preston DaveyA secondary school teacher has been jailed for life for sexually abusing and murdering the baby boy he was adopting with his partner.Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced to a whole-life order on Thursday for abusing and killing 13-month-old Preston Davey. It means he will stay in prison for the rest of his life and never be eligible for parole, the judge Mr Justice Turner said. Continue reading...

Waiting period before receiving medication was included in draft law to gain support for abortion ban in 2018 referendumIreland's parliament has voted to remove a mandatory three-day wait for abortion during early pregnancy after campaigners said the rule was an unnecessary restriction.The Dail passed the bill on Wednesday night, clearing a path for the legislation to go to a parliamentary committee and become law later this, or next, year. Continue reading...

Boseley won for her high-profile, multiplatform political explainer series, Parliamen-Tea: explaining the chaos of Australian politics

Exclusive: Muslim Council of Britain national guidance also urges mosques to strengthen police ties and improve CCTVMosques are being advised to carry out lockdown drills, strengthen ties with local police and improve CCTV coverage under new national guidance published amid growing concerns about anti-Muslim attacks.The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has released new security and preparedness framework for mosques, trustees and volunteers, warning that places of worship and community centres face an increasing threat from vandalism, intimidation, threats and targeted hostility. Continue reading...

Generator's shares rise as regulator finds no evidence of misleading statements about fuel's sustainability

This blog is now closed

John Ray, 17th-century botanist who coined words petal and pollen, was a tutor at Cambridge when he created his first gardenHe coined the terms petal and pollen, helped to lay the foundations of modern biology and is widely regarded as the greatest English naturalist of the 17th century.But it was while he was a young college tutor at Cambridge in the 1650s that the botanist John Ray - also known as the father of natural history" - created his first known garden and began to systematically study plants for the first time. Continue reading...

Drop will put pressure on Bank of England to raise interest rates despite peace deal in Iran war

Exclusive: Ex-minister accuses Labour of overcautiousness' and says his proposal was cut from manifestoWes Streeting has said his plan to ban private equity sharks" from the social care sector was removed from the Labour manifesto, as he accused the government of overcautiousness" in reforming the industry.In a Fabian Society report on how to create a national care service, Streeting said overhauling social care was one of the defining challenges of our age" but an absence of good political leadership" was holding back change. Continue reading...

UK's biggest retailer reports better figures than expected by City analysts and is cheered by strong online sales