World news | The Guardian

Reform, Greens and pro-Gaza independents make significant gains, although no party has yet won majority

Whimsical film shows relay of animals carrying centennial card from Balmoral Castle to naturalist in LondonKing Charles has featured in a surprise birthday tribute to David Attenborough, with a cast of wild animals helping to relay his handwritten congratulatory centenary card.The whimsical film, A Very Special Delivery, begins with the king writing his tribute in the library of Balmoral Castle. Charles, wearing an animal-themed tie featuring elephants, reflects on more than 60 years of friendship with the renowned naturalist. Continue reading...

The Cohutta town council will discuss reinstating the police and consider request for mayor's immediate resignation'The town council in a small mountain community in the US state of Georgia called a special meeting on Friday evening to discuss reinstating the police department after the mayor fired the chief and all the officers.The notice for the meeting, posted outside the Cohutta town hall, says the council will also consider a request for the mayor's immediate resignation". Continue reading...

Parents will receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving hospital under new program aimed at alleviating expensesCalifornia families welcoming newborns will soon receive hundreds of free diapers before leaving the hospital under a first-in-the-country program announced on Friday by the state's governor, Gavin Newsom.During the program's first year, it will be offered at about 65 to 75 hospitals that handle about a quarter of births in the state and largely serve low-income patients, Newsom's office said. The initiative will expand to more hospitals statewide, though the governor's office did not say how many. The state has partnered with the non-profit Baby2Baby to manufacture the diapers under the label Golden State Start". Continue reading...

Among the releases is a 1969 debrief of Buzz Aldrin stating he saw a sizeable' object close to the lunar surfaceThe Pentagon on Friday released an initial group of previously secret files documenting reports of UFOs - a move sought for decades by some.These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation - and it's time the American people see it for themselves," Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said in a statement posted on X. Continue reading...

Reform makes gains in Labour's working-class heartlands, while Greens chip away at party's progressive baseKeir Starmer hates to lose. Unsurprisingly, he refused to walk away and end his premiership as Labour's local election losses began to trickle in on Friday morning. Upon entering Downing Street in July 2024 after leading Labour to a historic general election victory, Starmer promised the public that his government would fight every day until you believe again".Now, Starmer is faced with the uncomfortable truth that the frustrated yet united coalition that brought him into No 10 hoping for change is completely fractured and its discontent cannot be dismissed as early midterm blues. Continue reading...

Welsh nationalist party able to form minority government in Wales, blocking momentum of Reform UK

Nationwide Canvas outage left students and faculty dead in the water' and rushing to rearrange end of academic yearA system that thousands of schools and universities in the US use was offline on Thursday during a cyberattack, creating chaos as students tried to study for finals and underscoring education's dependence on technology.Students quickly took to social media to ask if others were unable to access Canvas, with many panicking that they could no longer view course materials housed within the platform to study for their final exams. Continue reading...

Network lawyers in a legal motion strongly pushed back against the FCC's investigation into The View talkshowLawyers representing an ABC station have accused the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of punishing the network for political purposes in a strongly worded attack on the Trump-controlled commission's investigation into top-rated talkshow, The View.In a legal motion filed on Thursday, KTRK-TV, a Houston-based local television station owned by ABC, pushed back strongly against the FCC investigation, accusing the purportedly independent agency of taking actions that threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to The View and more broadly". Continue reading...

US energy department says 13.5kg of uranium taken from reactor in Caracas - a fraction of the 408kg held by TehranDonald Trump has succeeded in removing a country's stash of highly enriched uranium - although that country is not Iran.On Friday, the US Department of Energy announced that thanks to President Trump's decisive leadership" 13.5 kilograms (about 30 pounds) of uranium had been removed from a legacy research reactor in Venezuela. Continue reading...

Whitaker Malem worked with pop art sculptor Allen Jones, visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen and a car bodyshop in KentAt Monday's Met Gala, it inevitably fell to Kim Kardashian to deliver the evening's biggest jolt. One of the few celebrities to straightforwardly interpret the fashion is art" dress code - which focused on how the dressed and undressed human body is the through-line in most works of art - she decided to forgo her usual role as a walking billboard for a major fashion house and instead arrived in an orange fibreglass breastplate created by a small east London art duo and a car bodyshop in Kent.Good art should start conversation, and Kim did exactly that," says 61-year-old Patrick Whitaker, half of the design practice Whitaker Malem, who made the breastplate just weeks before the gala. She was very clear on wanting a breastplate, very clear on the car body finish. And I think she was nervous really. She understands the competition." Continue reading...

Bond yields drop as market fears ease that Labour leader will be replaced by a more leftwing rival

US secretary of state has been meeting Italian leader amid strained tensions over IranThe European Commission also insisted that airlines must not charge customers extra fuel fees after they have already bought tickets, as the aviation sector feels the pain from high energy prices because of the Middle East war, AFP reported.Airlines may adapt their published fares to the situation, but adding a fuel surcharge to a ticket after it has been bought cannot be justified," EU spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told reporters in Brussels. Continue reading...

Roman Lavrynovych is one of three accused of arson attacks on a vehicle and two houses in London tied to the prime ministerA Ukrainian man has admitted setting fire to a car that once belonged to Keir Starmer for 3,000, after telling a court he had been being threatened by a powerful" Russian-speaking man using the pseudonym El Money.Roman Lavrynovych, 22, is accused, along with Stanislav Carpiuc and Petro Pochynok, of arson attacks on a vehicle and two houses in north London linked to the prime minister. Continue reading...

Party makes gains in Portsmouth and Richmond upon Thames in local elections but loses a Scottish stronghold

Keira Alexandra Kronvold's daughter Zammi was forcibly removed from her when she was two hours oldA Greenlandic woman whose newborn baby was forcibly removed by Danish authorities as a result of controversial parenting competency tests has won a landmark case in the high court ruling that their actions were illegal.Keira Alexandra Kronvold's daughter Zammi was taken away from her when she was two hours old and placed in foster care in November 2024 after Kronvold was subjected to so-called FKU (parental competence) psychometric tests. At the time she was told that the test was to see if she was civilised enough". Continue reading...

Jordan Devlin, who was acquitted at trial where four co-defendants were convicted, says he was saving livesA Palestine Action activist who was acquitted over a protest at an Israeli arms manufacturer's UK site has said he and his five co-defendants did the right thing".Four of those who stood trial with Jordan Devlin were convicted of criminal damage in relation to the direct action protest at the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol on 6 August 2024, but he said they had been acting to save Palestinian lives. Continue reading...

Carmaker gives one of biggest warnings yet of conflict's impact on businesses while Trump tariffs also take tollToyota has reported a 3bn hit from costs from the war in Iran, as prices of parts and materials soared and sales dropped.The world's biggest carmaker said profits declined in its financial year to March as it was likely unable to absorb newly added impact from the Middle East", in one of the largest warnings yet of the war's impact on businesses. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Co-chair Vula Tsetsi says it is time to trigger debate, as statement is agreed at annual leadership meeting in BrusselsThe European Green party has urged the UK to consider rejoining the EU and draw a line under the political and economic failure" of Brexit.A text declaring that the United Kingdom's future lies in the European Union" was adopted by a large majority of European green parties at the movement's annual leadership meeting on Friday, the day before Europe Day. Continue reading...

US president expresses impatience at speed of EU's implementation and warns of much higher' tariffs

Promises to cut emissions and use more fuel-efficient planes fail to stop rise, with Ryanair's carbon footprint 50% up on 2019Emissions from flying in Europe have now passed pre-pandemic levels, with Ryanair's carbon footprint 50% higher than in 2019, research has shown.Total aviation emissions continue to increase despite industry pledges to decarbonise and the introduction of more fuel-efficient planes, driven by the massive expansion of low-cost carriers. Continue reading...

Two Singaporeans and local person were in a no-go zone when they were killed, say officialsThree hikers - two Singaporeans and an Indonesian - have died in an eruption of Indonesia's Mount Dukono volcano, where they found themselves in a no-go zone, officials said.The eruption, on Halmahera island, sent an ash cloud about 6 miles (10km) into the air, with no towns of villages near enough to face any immediate threat. Continue reading...

Janai Safar, 32, one of four women who returned to Australia who were allegedly linked to Islamic State fighters. Follow updates

No 10 prepares for battle as party loses seats in heartlands and control of councils in Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth

Janai Safar, 32, will remain in custody in Sydney. Two other women facing separate charges are expected to apply for bail in Melbourne on Monday

Barrister for actor Charlotte MacInnes, who is suing the Pitch Perfect star for defamation, also accused Wilson of a complete revision of history'. Wilson has rejected defamation claims.

Reform runaway winners in north-east, likely pushing Labour into opposition in Hartlepool, with other losses for Starmer in Chorley, Wigan, Redditch and Tamworth

Exclusive: Farley discussed preferences and suggested platform before Voices group endorsed his rival Michelle Milthorpe as its candidate

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A booming tech sector has disrupted translation jobs in publishing - but they could be needed for a while longer yetIn February 2022, while he was plugging away at rendering the US writer Dana Spiotta's novel Wayward into French, the literary translator Yoann Gentric decided he needed a bit of light relief. He would test whether AI could put him out of work.Gentric had been grappling with a short non-verbal sentence that described the book's protagonist's feelings upon opening a window: Bright, sharp night air, bracing." He put the prompt into DeepL, a neural-network-powered machine translation engine that regularly outperforms Google Translate in accuracy assessments. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Until now nothing was known about Jersey', depicted with naval officer, but research raises hopes he may have won freedomFor hundreds of years, he was known only as Jersey", an enslaved boy of about 11 rendered in oil on canvas by the great 18th-century portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.But now the life of the youngster, believed to be Reynolds' earliest depiction of a person of colour, has begun to emerge, thanks to a research project. Continue reading...

Water minister Rose Jackson calls drying in Gwydir region devastating' as bill passes upper house

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Jeremiah Manele toppled after months of political upheaval in the nation seen as one of China's closest partners in the PacificSolomon Islands prime minister Jeremiah Manele lost power in a no-confidence vote in the South Pacific country's parliament, ending months of political uncertainty.Parliament was adjourned to allow the governor general to make arrangements for the election of a new prime minister. Continue reading...

Two women charged in Melbourne on Friday with another charged in Sydney on Thursday night after group of 13 fly home

Norfolk police charge 39-year-old from Suffolk, who will appear in court laterA man has been charged after allegedly threatening Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor near his new home on the Sandringham Estate.The former Duke of York was out walking his dogs when the incident occurred in Wolferton, close to his Marsh Farm property, shortly after 7.30pm on Wednesday, the Telegraph reported previously. Continue reading...

Revocations will start on Friday for those who owe $100,000 or more, and then expand to those who owe $2,500 or more

Results of elections for councils in England, the Senedd in Wales and the Scottish parliament could transform Great Britain's political landscape

Ryan Cohen selling tube socks and baseball cards after offering $55.5bn, although source of funds remains unclearThe CEO of GameStop, Ryan Cohen, said he was selling vintage video games, baseball cards, GameStop merchandise and a $14,000 pair of tube socks to help fund the company's proposed $55.5bn acquisition of eBay.His platform of choice? eBay, of course. Continue reading...

One person died and a dozen others were injured in the attack, during a June 2025 demonstration in BoulderA man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty on Thursday to killing one person and injuring a dozen others in a 2025 firebombing attack on a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza.Mohamed Sabry Soliman looked down at a desk throughout the sentencing at the Boulder district court. He has meanwhile pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges for the attack last June. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege SPLC funneled over $3m to sources in extremist groups but legal experts say case is weak

Man, 69, is in intensive care in Johannesburg, while expedition guide Martin Anstee, 56, receiving care in Netherlands

Move comes days after supreme court ruling weakened Voting Rights Act protections against racial gerrymandering

Weeks before her death, Annabel Rook, 46, from Stoke Newington, left her sister a voice message about Clifton George's abusive behaviourThe co-founder of a social enterprise who was fatally stabbed by her partner said he was on the warpath" shortly before she died, in a voice message that was played during a murder trial.Clifton George, 45, is accused of murdering 46-year-old Annabel Rook during an argument at their home in north London last June. Continue reading...

Appliance giant slashes earnings forecast and hikes prices by 10% with another 4% spike plannedWith the war in Iran and economic concerns putting pressure on consumers and how they spend their money, Whirlpool is having to adjust to Americans delaying big-ticket purchases while also raising prices to help stabilize its North American business.The company known for brands such as KitchenAid, Maytag and its namesake, said that the Iran war led to a recession-level industry decline" in America as consumer confidence collapsed in late February and March. Revenue dropped nearly 10% in the quarter as sales of major appliances in North America declined more than 7%. Continue reading...

Latest briefings float hope of basic deal that would keep peace and free shipping while further negotiations continue

Riyadh told White House it would deny access for operation to provide tankers military escort through strait of Hormuz

Agency says FBI director followed all applicable ethical guidelines' in giving out personalized bourbon bottlesThe FBI said that agency director Kash Patel followed all applicable ethical guidelines" after a report in the Atlantic alleged that he distributed customized bourbon whiskey bottles as gifts.In an article published on Wednesday, the Atlantic described Patel as travelling with a stock of personalized branded bourbon" that he allegedly hands out frequently to people around him. Continue reading...

Prosecution says Rico Gedel attacked Ian Watkins in HMP Wakefield then handed homemade knife to Samuel DodsworthA prisoner accused of murdering the disgraced former Lostprophets singer told guards they could be talking to someone famous" after stabbing Ian Watkins in the head and neck with a homemade knife, a court has heard.Rico Gedel carried out the attack on Watkins, who was serving a 29-year sentence for child sexual offences, in his cell at HMP Wakefield, a high-security prison, on 11 October, Leeds crown court heard. Continue reading...

President indicated that deal had materialised but truth was that Saudi Arabia had stopped US use of its bases