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Heidi Alexander criticises Green leader over retweet of post suggesting police used excessive force when arresting suspectAmid growing speculation about potential Labour leadership challenges being triggered by the expected disastrous local election results, the transport secretary insisted that the best person to lead our country" was Keir Starmer.Those demanding a leadership battle should give their head a gentle wobble", Heidi Alexander told Sky News. She explained:So I think here is the best person to lead our country through the period of extreme international volatility that we are experiencing at the moment.I don't think the public would thank us if the Labour Party turned into some sort of self indulgent debating society when there are pockets of the world that feel like they are going to hell in a handcart at the moment. Continue reading...

Carriers examining which flights can be cancelled with least disruption under plans to avoid summer travel chaosUK airlines will be able to cancel or consolidate flights this summer under new plans to conserve jet fuel as the war in the Middle East continues to disrupt supplies.The measures are being taken to avoid major disruption as Britons jet off on their summer holidays. Airlines are looking carefully at their timetables to see which flights can be cancelled in advance and cause the least delays. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Brainchild of Dominic Cummings, Aria is aimed at funding crazy' scientific projects to benefit the UKBritain's invention agency" has pledged 50m of UK taxpayer money to US tech companies and venture capital projects.Dreamed up by Dominic Cummings to fund crazy" ideas, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) is meant to restore Britain's place as a scientific superpower". Continue reading...

Man, 32, due to appear in court on Monday over incident at Rosemeadow in early hours of Sunday morning

Antwerp port is stepping up scanning of goods amid warnings country risks becoming a narco-stateSara Van Cotthem takes a safety knife and precisely slices open the side of a cardboard box to unpack its contents, an aluminium stepladder made in China. Working under harsh fluorescent lights at the border inspection post at the port of Antwerp, Van Cotthem checks the paperwork and taps the ladder with a magnet to check if it really is aluminium and not another metal.It is an everyday operation for customs officers at Antwerp, one of Europe's main commercial gateways, which handled the equivalent of 13.6m 20ft-long (6 metres) containers last year. Everything is in order and the lorry, jam-packed with identical boxed ladders, can get on its way to Germany. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Resistance to equity, diversity and inclusion drives affects hiring chances of people with convictions, says charityMore than a third of HR decision-makers in the UK said they have faced pushback against equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives over the past year, according to new research.The new YouGov poll, carried out for the national employment charity Working Chance, surveyed 565 HR decision-makers and found that resistance towards EDI was on the rise. Continue reading...

Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and Robert Jenrick, among others, have sung the praises of the JCB PotHole ProReform UK's leading figures have repeatedly promoted a new pothole-fixing machine by the construction company JCB, while the party received 200,000 from the British digger maker, the Guardian can reveal.Several Reform politicians including Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, Robert Jenrick, Zia Yusuf and Richard Tice have sung the praises of the JCB PotHole Pro machine. Continue reading...

Warlpiri girl went missing on Saturday 25 April from a town camp and was found dead five days later

From legitimate scrutiny to lurid scare stories, the Green party's rise has brought a sudden spike in attentionIt is the lot of smaller parties that grow rapidly that they tend to endure something of a trial by the media in the UK. The attention from some of the newspapers and broadcasters to the Green party before this week's elections has occasionally borne an unlikely resemblance to the height of Clegg-mania in the spring of 2010, when the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, was rewarded for his positive polling with the unlikely Daily Mail headline Clegg in Nazi slur on Britain".All manner of colourful tales have emerged about Green policies and personnel as the party has risen up the national opinion polls, making them something of a target for news editors and reporters. That attention has ranged from legitimate questions over the views of members to more eccentric warnings of a dire future for everyone in Britain from exotic animals to members of the clergy. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Two intimate conversations' held with writers, directors and producers, with a third due in JuneNato is holding closed-door meetings with film and TV screenwriters, directors and producers across Europe and the US, the Guardian can reveal, prompting accusations the alliance is seeking to use the arts to generate propaganda" for the bloc.The alliance has held three meetings with film and TV professionals in Los Angeles, Brussels and Paris and is due to continue its series of intimate conservations" next month in London, meeting with screenwriter members of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), which represents professional writers in the UK. Continue reading...

Iran says the ball is in the United States' court' as Trump says he is likely to reject new proposal from TehranDonald Trump said on Saturday he was going to review a new peace proposal from Tehran but cast doubt over its prospects, saying Iran had not yet paid a big enough price".Two semiofficial Iranian news outlets, Tasnim and Fars, believed to be close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said Iran had sent the US a new 14-point proposal via Pakistan. Continue reading...

David Farley says net overseas migration of 306,000 probably not' too much despite party policy to cap migrants at 130,000 per year

Investigators find explosives in car, which crashed into Multnomah Athletic Club shortly before 3am SaturdayA person was found dead after a vehicle plowed into a health club in downtown Portland, Oregon, early Saturday morning, police said. Investigators later found explosives inside the car.Portland police and the Portland fire and rescue department responded to the Multnomah Athletic Club shortly before 3am after the vehicle crashed through the front entrance and caught fire. Once the blaze was brought under control, a person was found dead inside the vehicle, police said in a statement. Continue reading...

Arena in Birmingham cleared after report of suspicious bag, with comedian pulled from stage mid-performanceA man has been charged over a bomb hoax after a live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham was stopped when a potentially suspicious bag" was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Republicans blame Biden administration block on JetBlue deal; Democrats point to fuel price surge amid Iran war

Senator Roger Wicker and representative Mike Rogers say move risks undermining deterrence and sending wrong signal to Putin

Orange county resident Tommi Jo Mejer's son was illegally riding e-motorcycle when he ran into 81-year-old

German government calls redeployment of 5,000 troops anticipated' and reminder of Europe's need to invest in its own defence

Four people are in hospital, with one 25-year-old man facing life-threatening injuriesA drive-by shooting in Brixton which left four people in hospital on Saturday has been called an act of indiscriminate violence" by police.Shots were fired in the early hours on Coldharbour Lane in the south London area, leaving one 25-year-old man in hospital with life-threatening injuries. Continue reading...

PM says there are instances in which he would support bans but organisers say this would strike at root of free speech'Organisers of pro-Palestine marches have said Keir Starmer's threat to ban some demonstrations opposing Israel's actions in the Middle East will strike at the root of free assembly and free speech" in the UK.On Saturday morning, the prime minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there are instances" in which he would support stopping some pro-Palestine protests altogether. Continue reading...

Tory leader says she did not sign off on video attacking Labour's Troubles legacy proposalsKemi Badenoch has apologised after footage from Bloody Sunday was used in social media posts criticising a bill on legacy issues in Northern Ireland.The Conservative leader said on Saturday that she did not sign off on the use of a clip from the massacre, in which British soldiers opened fire on unarmed civil rights demonstrators in Derry, and that it was distributed by very young people". Continue reading...

Anthony Marsh appears to be in commanding position in significant boost to opposition leader Jess WilsonThe Liberals have claimed victory in a key Victorian byelection seen as a preview of what to expect when the rest of the state hits the polls in November.As counting continued in the Mornington peninsula seat of Nepean, the Liberal candidate, Anthony Marsh, appeared to be in a commanding position in a significant boost to opposition leader Jess Wilson. Continue reading...

From Virginia to New York, the bugs drain vines, cut yields and leave growers resorting to one simple fix: squash themAround grape harvest time about three years ago, an employee at Zephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, Virginia, noticed bugs, about 1in long with gray and black wings and a bright red underwing, atop some trees.While the insects were pretty, they were there for the grapevines and not welcome guests at the vineyard, which sits atop a farm that the Zephaniah family has run since 1949. Continue reading...

GB News owner's son, who wants Channel to be mined to stop migrants, is latest to have a go at transatlantic rightwing commentaryOn a Los Angeles stage in 2011 Winston Marshall, then the banjo player for the folk rock band Mumford & Sons, could scarcely believe what was happening. Not only was he playing at the Grammys, he was playing alongside Bob Dylan, legendary composer of social justice anthems and one of his heroes.About 15 years later, Marshall once again found himself stateside, this time on a very different stage. Appearing on Fox News in his new guise as a conservative YouTuber, Marshall advocated what he admitted was an outlandish idea" to stop small boat crossings in the Channel. Continue reading...

Actors Richard E Grant, Michael Sheen and Bella Ramsey among star-studded cast hoping for victory as BBC's hit spin-off series returns to screensConsidering the Traitors is a game of murderous treachery played out in a castle, the Shakespearean actors in the cast of the new celebrity spin-off series should be well set.Oscar-winner Richard E Grant, acclaimed actor Michael Sheen and The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey will be among the thespians vying for victory this year, all of who have the Bard on their CV. Continue reading...

Calf was transported by water-filled barge in operation deemed inadvisable' because of low chance of survivalRescuers have released a young humpback whale that became a national sensation after it was beached in shallow waters off the coast in Germany, although marine experts have said its chances of survival are low.The whale, variously nicknamed Timmy or Hope, was released into the North Sea off Denmark after being transported there in a water-filled barge by rescuers. Continue reading...

Figures for England and Wales prompt calls for more rigorous police investigations of casesOnly 3% of suicides related to domestic abuse in England and Wales in the past five years have resulted in any sort of prosecution, figures show.Between 2020 and 2025, 553 people took their own lives after suspected abuse in an intimate relationship, but only 17 posthumous charges were brought.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Government blocks RightsCon 2026 conference saying it did not align with national values'The world's largest conference on human rights and technology has been cancelled just days before it was due to start after the Zambian government told organisers it did not align with national values".Zambia's government had originally welcomed the RightsCon 2026 summit on human rights in the digital age", due to be held in the capital, Lusaka, on 5-8 May, but Thabo Kawana, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information & Media, said last week that the conference would not go ahead to allow time to ensure the gathering aligns with Zambia's national values, policy priorities, and broader public interest considerations". Continue reading...

US president says we took over the cargo, took over the oil. It's a very profitable business'

The race to succeed Gavin Newsom has teetered wildly, and with Democrats in disarray, the Republican ex-Downing Street adviser is leading in the polls. Can he really pull it off?Few political aspirations have proved more futile over the past two decades than running as a Republican for statewide office in California. Yet Steve Hilton - transplanted Brit, erstwhile business entrepreneur, a former Downing Street adviser to David Cameron and a former Fox News host who says he is friends with half of Donald Trump's cabinet - is having a remarkably good time of it.With less than six weeks to go before a primary election that has proved to be both dramatic and wildly unpredictable, most polls put Hilton narrowly ahead of a fractured field of Democrats in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor. It is an astonishing turn of events in a state where Democrats enjoy supermajorities in the state legislature and a two-to-one advantage over the Republicans in voter registration. Continue reading...

After correspondents' dinner shooting, administration has rushed to capitalize in pursuit of its political goalsLess than 72 hours after a man was arrested for trying to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House, the justice department rushed to court to make an extraordinary filing.The subject of the emergency was a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation seeking to halt the construction of a new White House ballroom. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that construction had to stop, though an appeals court later paused that ruling. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Contractor denies allegations including enforced disappearance' and will help locate unaccompanied minorsUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded a contract to a private security company that has faced accusations of torture" and enforced disappearance" to assist in tracking down undocumented immigrant children who arrived in the US alone, a contracting document shows.ICE has stepped up its work so much in pursuing these minors in the US that it has contracted out some of its mission to a third party to put boots on the ground" and locate immigrant children previously released from US government custody. Continue reading...

Spinosaurid fossil bought by Stuttgart institution in 1991 has been the subject of a long restitution campaignIt is a 113-million-year-old bone of contention.After Stuttgart's museum of natural history bought a fossilised dinosaur skull in 1991, researchers found it was the most complete spinosaurid skull known to date, belonging to a previously unknown genus of the huge meat-eating dinosaurs. Continue reading...

El Gamal family was released from detention and then re-arrested as US officials appeared to overstep judge's orderAn Egyptian mother and her children, previously jailed by immigration authorities, arrived back in their home in Colorado on Wednesday, after a days-long ordeal during which the Trump administration likely attempted to violate a federal judge's order.Their attorney, Eric Lee, claimed the US government's actions against the El Gamal family constituted kidnapping" after immigration officials re-arrested the family last week. Continue reading...

PM worried about cumulative' effect of marches, as Met chief says Jewish communities facing biggest threatSome pro-Palestinian demonstrations could be stopped, the prime minister has warned, as the UK's most senior police officer said the threat to the Jewish community was greater than it had ever been.Keir Starmer indicated he wanted the language expressed on some protest marches to be subjected to tougher action" as he sought to allay the fears of British Jews after a series of attacks on their communities in recent weeks. Continue reading...

As a Mast of Fraternity and Memory is unveiled in Nantes, calls are growing for Macron to announce framework for discussionsIn the French port city of Nantes, once France's largest departure point for ships that trafficked enslaved Africans across the Atlantic, a new wooden mast rises 18 metres into the sky from the waterside.The Mast of Fraternity and Memory, inaugurated this month, marks a turning point in France's complicated relationship with the legacy of its history of enslavement - just as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, comes under pressure to make key announcements on a process of reparatory justice. Continue reading...

Daytime temperatures on Friday were 10 to 14C above average in four states

Targeted support' means certain banks and financial institutions can offer free extra help with investments and pensionsMany Britons are daunted by the world of investing, but new City rules mean certain banks and financial institutions can offer free extra help with investments and pensions.Last month marked the launch of targeted support", a new regulated service that permits companies to suggest investments and pension products to customersthat might provide a better return. Continue reading...

WHO prequalification of Coartem Baby means newborns can be safely treated rather than using medication for older childrenThe first malaria treatment for babies has been approved by the World Health Organization, opening the door to widespread use around the globe.In parts of Africa, up to 18% of children under six months will be infected with malaria, but there has historically been no safe treatment for the smallest of them. There were 610,000 deaths from malaria in 2024, about three quarters of which were under-fives in Africa. Continue reading...

Documentary makers seek to start informed conversation' in country where public is allowed on just 8% of landAnger and momentum are building for Scottish style rights of access to mountains, meadows, rivers and woodlands in England where the public is allowed on just 8% of land, a new documentary suggests.Our Land, a film whose title is a nod to the protest song by Woody Guthrie, explores the rise of the right to roam movement in England. Continue reading...

Staff warned news operations face 15% cut, above BBC-wide 10% target, as corporation pushes through 600m savings planThe BBC's news operation is to cut costs by a steeper-than-expected 15%, with staff told to expect heavy redundancies.The division, home to about a quarter of all BBC staff, is being saddled with one of the highest cost-cutting targets as the corporation attempts to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest downsizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years. Continue reading...

The East West Rail project linking Oxford to Milton Keynes was finished in 2024. There's just one hitch: no servicesThe rumbling noise in the night, still enough to waken the unhabituated, is what really goads some people living in Winslow, Buckinghamshire. Freight trains running through the new station since late 2024 prove this stretch of railway is operational. But the long-promised passenger services have yet to appear - and there is no sign of any arriving soon.Welcome to East West Rail, open or not. For well over a decade, ministers have talked up a new railway linking Oxford to Cambridge via Milton Keynes to accelerate the drive for housing, jobs and growth - an arc of tech industry hailed as the UK's answer to Silicon Valley. Continue reading...

Rural dwellers reveal failings in backup plans, as campaigners call for deadline to be extended from 2027 to 2030Every time there is a power failure I lose all means of communication with the outside world," says Robert Dewar of life in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands since the landlines were transferred from the old copper cable network to broadband connections.Blackouts also knock out the village's mobile phone signal. Our most recent power cut lasted for 42 hours," Dewar says. The interruption outlasted his five-hour emergency backup battery. If I had had a heart attack there is damn all I could have done about it, except compose myself, say my prayers, and await the outcome." Continue reading...

The social and economic impact of people living longer and having fewer babies is hitting countries worldwide. Adaptation is keyIn Japan, there are now companies that specialise in cleaning the apartments of elderly people who have died alone and gone undiscovered for weeks or months, while adult incontinence pads have outstripped nappy sales for more than a decade. In Italy, depopulating villages are selling homes for 1 to attract new residents and keep services running. In the UK, falling pupil numbers are already closing schools and classrooms in parts of London.These are not isolated curiosities, but signs of a broader shift taking place across much of the developed world. In the EU in 2024, 21 of 27 countries had more deaths than births," said Prof Sarah Harper, the director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. Across Asia and the Americas, too - from Japan and South Korea, to Cuba and Uruguay - many countries are seeing the same pattern. Continue reading...

Gurindji families mourn a life so precious, gone far too soon'

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The US sanctions target people operating in broad sections of Cuban economy, including energy, defence and miningCuba's government has said new sanctions imposed on the island by Donald Trump amounted to collective punishment", as an enormous 1 May procession outside the American embassy in Havana vowed to defend the homeland".In an executive order on Friday, the US president said he would impose sanctions on people involved in broad sections of the Cuban economy, as he seeks to put more pressure on Havana after ousting Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this year. Continue reading...

Marvel praises undeniable and indelible impact' of celebrated comic book writer who also worked for DCGerry Conway, a renowned comic book writer who helped create characters and stories for Marvel and DC, including the Punisher character in the Spider-Man comics, has died. He was 73.In a Monday statement announcing his death, Marvel described Conway as a legendary comic book writer with a prolific career. He died of pancreatic cancer on Sunday in Thousand Oaks, California, his wife, Laura Conway, told the Associated Press. Continue reading...

Wilderness Society says changes undermined intent of national standards intended to reverse decline of plants, animals and ecosystems

US president says European countries are absolutely horrible' to refuse to support operations in strait of Hormuz Why does the US have military bases in Germany? Trump tells Merz to fix his broken country' in new attack on German chancellorThe US is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday, as Donald Trump also threatened Italy and Spain for not helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz.The president's move to reduce the number of personnel deployed in Germany came after the country's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said the US was being humiliated" by Iran. Continue reading...