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Exclusive: McSweeney summoned by foreign affairs select committee in rare step, as Mandelson vetting row continuesMorgan McSweeney is facing a showdown with MPs who will grill him on whether he placed extreme pressure on the Foreign Office to approve Peter Mandelson as ambassador.The prime minister's former chief of staff will be questioned next Tuesday by the foreign affairs select committee over allegations made by the former Foreign Office permanent secretary Olly Robbins, who said No 10 had questioned why Mandelson should be subject to any vetting. Continue reading...

Health secretary says I had nothing to do with the measles outbreak' and claims to support measles and MMR vaccinesHealth secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr faced intense questioning from several US senators on Wednesday during a hearing largely focused on how the administration has responded to the measles outbreak and the spread of vaccine misinformation.In his opening remarks to the Senate finance committee, the senator Ron Wyden criticized Kennedy's messaging on vaccines, saying: When it comes to vaccines, Robert Kennedy has used this once-in-a-lifetime platform to make parents doubt themselves and doubt their doctors," before adding: The secretary has ducked, bobbed and weaved without taking the responsibility of saying what needs to be said: vaccines save lives in America." Continue reading...

Police catch woman, 28, climbing colossal 16th-century statue of Neptune to touch its genitals as a dareA tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank.Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria. Continue reading...

Backed by Abigail Spanberger, the measure could boost Democrats and counter Donald Trump's redistricting pushVirginia voters will decide on Tuesday whether to adopt new congressional maps that could help Democrats win control of the House of Representatives and scuttle Donald Trump's effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve Republican control of Congress.Polls show the referendum to redraw the maps has only a narrow lead in a state that Kamala Harris won two years ago. The issue appears to have engaged many voters, with nearly more than 1.37m ballots cast in early voting. Continue reading...

Budget outlines funding for autonomous drone warfare program as experts say military unprepared for risksThe Pentagon is aiming to increase funding more than a hundredfold for an autonomous drone warfare program, according to budget documents released this week, signalling a major pivot towards AI-powered war.In its 2027 budget, the Pentagon has asked for over $54bn to fund the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, a 24,000% increase on last year. Continue reading...

Lawyers for oligarch claim freezing of 5.3bn of assets unfair and abusive' amid row over use of funds for UkraineRoman Abramovich has gone to the European court of human rights (ECHR), claiming that a criminal investigation into his financial affairs by the Jersey authorities has breached his human rights, according to reports.The former owner of Chelsea FC, who is sanctioned in the UK over his links to Vladimir Putin, is under investigation in Jersey over allegations of corruption and money laundering. Continue reading...

Jonathan Brash says own goals' are distracting from Labour's achievementsUK inflation accelerated to 3.3% in March after the Iran war triggered the biggest jump in fuel prices for more than three years, Richard Partington reports.Today the Liberal Democrats staged a photocall to publicise their line about this being Trumpflation". Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader and Treasury spokesperson, said:People across our country have been struggling for years with a devastating cost-of-living crisis and Donald Trump's idiotic war in Iran has added to it. The cost of fuel is soaring, mortgage rates are rising and fixed energy deals are already going up by hundreds of pounds.But what is utterly inexcusable is that there are politicians in this country - Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch - who are happy to cheerlead Donald Trump as he hikes people's bills. All the while this Labour government promised to fix the country but instead we've got political Groundhog Day: yet more sleaze and scandal. Continue reading...

Justin Sun alleges World Liberty Financial installed tools to prevent sale of his tokens after they became tradeableBillionaire crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Tuesday sued World Liberty Financial, the digital currency venture co-founded by Donald Trump and his sons, alleging that World Liberty illegally froze his holdings of tokens issued by the company.Sun, the largest investor in World Liberty, alleged in the lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, that the company secretly installed tools to prevent the sale of his tokens after they became tradeable in September 2025. The lawsuit also alleges that World Liberty threatened to burn" - or permanently delete - his holdings, even while they were in Sun's digital wallet. Continue reading...

Serious Fraud Office investigation relates to firms allegedly submitting false invoices for work they failed to carry outThe UK's Serious Fraud Office has arrested four people on suspicion of a home insulation scam that may have cost energy companies as much as 44m.The SFO and the National Crime Agency said on Wednesday the unnamed people were arrested in coordinated dawn raids across England on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Continue reading...

A six-month-old girl was found alone in a stroller at a busy intersection in the famed Manhattan sightseeing area

Iran's goal is to maintain chokehold on global economy even as some say it could run out of oil storage by Sunday

Mandelson received two clearance denied' red ticks yet top Foreign Office civil servant says he did not have access to file - which he later read

European Union formal procedures expected to conclude on Thursday as Druzhba pipeline reopensDuring his press conference, Fico also doubles down on his criticism of the incoming Hungarian government led by Peter Magyar, in a further sign that the relations between Bratislava and Budapest could change dramatically in the next few months.Fico has been close friends with Orban, often teaming up with him on energy issues, but it doesn't look like this Slovak-Hungarian partnership will continue under the new management in Budapest. Continue reading...

Reuters-Ipsos, AP-NORC and NBC polls show approval in mid-30s, with economy, Iran and immigration concerns

Exclusive: Internal concerns over allowing US firm linked to ICE and Israeli military to process highly sensitive dataThe Metropolitan police has held talks with Palantir that could lead to the London force buying the US spy-tech company's AI technology to automate intelligence analysis for criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned.Palantir, whose software is used by Donald Trump's ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, demonstrated its systems to senior officers in the intelligence division at the UK's largest police force last month. Intelligence staff have been tasked with finding intelligence systems that AI could automate to increase productivity. Continue reading...

Budget airline says change will take effect from November and will give passengers more time to clear securityRyanair will close airport check-in desks 20 minutes earlier to avoid passengers missing flights, it has announced, amid concern over border queues in Europe.The budget airline, which carries 200 million passengers annually, will require all passengers dropping bags or checking in at the airport to do so one hour before take-off rather than the current 40-minute deadline. Continue reading...

FAA investigates event of one jet flying too close to another, though both crews responded to alerts and landed safelyThe US Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday it was investigating a close call at New York's John F Kennedy international airport between two passenger jets.The crew of Republic Airways Flight 4464 performed a go-around at John F. Kennedy International Airport after missing the intended approach path and flying too close to Jazz Aviation Flight 554, which was cleared to land on a parallel runway. Both flight crews responded to onboard alerts," the FAA said in a statement about the Monday incident. Continue reading...

Residents waking to find line has moved overnight and they are now in free-fire zone as army takes more territoryIsraeli forces have been moving an agreed truce line in Gaza westwards over the six months since the ceasefire, expanding their zone of control and making the state of limbo ever more dangerous for Palestinians.The yellow line" agreed in the US-brokered ceasefire in October was supposed to be temporary pending further Israeli withdrawals, but the partially observed truce has stalled after its first phase amid disagreements over the disarming of Hamas, and continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Continue reading...

British singer and guitarist wrote and performed Traffic classics including Feelin' Alright? before platinum-selling solo albums and work with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac and moreDave Mason, the co-founder of rock band Traffic who also collaborated with Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac and many other A-list musicians, has died aged 79.A statement from his representative said he died peacefully on Sunday at his home in Gardnerville, Nevada, having settled in the US in 1969. Dave Mason lived a remarkable life devoted to the music and the people he loved," the statement added. Continue reading...

Firm had to repatriate almost 12,000 guests and staff, including from two cruise ships in Abu Dhabi and DohaThe Iran war has cost the travel company Tui 40m (34.7m) so far, including repatriating almost 12,000 holidaymakers and staff, and forced it to cut its profit forecast for this year.Europe's biggest holiday operator said that it had taken the hit in March owing to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, as it was forced to bring home 5,000 guests from two cruise ships anchored in ports in Abu Dhabi and Doha. Continue reading...

Robert Butler leaped into action to save child who was running into busy intersection in downtown Phoenix

American Lung Association report comes amid Trump EPA's expansive rollback of environmental protectionsNearly half of children in the United States are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, according to a new report, as experts warned Donald Trump's expansive rollback of protections will make the situation worse.The 27th annual air quality report from the American Lung Association (ALA) released on Wednesday evaluates pollution across the country by grading levels of ground-level ozone - also known as smog - as well as year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution, commonly referred to as soot. The report analyzed quality-assured data collected between 2022 and 2024. Continue reading...

Announcing a major overhaul of the scheme, health minister Mark Butler said it was costing too much and is growing too fast'

Macaques have learned to eat soil to avert gut irritation caused by salty and sugary snacks, researchers believeTroops of monkeys living on the Rock of Gibraltar have learned to eat soil in what scientists believe is an effort to settle their stomachs after all the junk food they receive - and sometimes steal - from crowds of tourists.Researchers spotted the intentional mud eating, known as geophagy, while observing groups of Barbary macaques in the territory. Monkeys that had the most contact with tourists ate the most soil and consumption peaked in the holiday season, they found. Continue reading...

News follows Guardian report on licence given to British firm exporting machinery to Armenian firm linked to Russian war effortBritish firms will face much tougher" controls to prevent their goods from reaching Russia via other countries, undermining sanctions and aiding Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine.Under plans to be unveiled on Wednesday, the government will be able to require UK manufacturers to obtain a licence if they want to export to a country suspected of acting as a staging post for exports ultimately destined for Russia. Continue reading...

Council proposal to use glyphosate to tidy up pavements criticised over potential harm to humans and wildlifeCornwall is famed for its glorious gardens and verdant landscapes but a bitter row has broken out over a plan to tackle a less glamorous type of vegetation - roadside weeds.The unitary authority has announced plans to use the controversial herbicide glyphosate to tidy up pavements and kerbsides, after largely phasing out its use over the last decade amid concerns about potential harm to humans and the peninsula's rich ecosystems. Continue reading...

Conservative host says he's tormented' by previous support for Trump - could this presage his own run for president?He can't live with him and can't live without him. But, finally, the conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson seems to have made up his mind about Donald Trump. Their up-and-down marriage of political convenience is heading for the divorce court.On Tuesday Carlson admitted that he will be tormented" for a long time by his support for Trump in the 2024 US presidential election and I want to say I'm sorry for misleading people". What he did not say is whether this presages his own run for president in 2028. Continue reading...

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Experts say regulation of child influencers sits in a legal grey area as children promote products on social media

Program portrayed efforts to wean Australia off fossil fuels as morally bankrupt, trashing rainforests and enslaving Australia to China

Annual March rate adds to pressure on household finances and follows warnings of slowdown to UK economy

Wilson is being sued for defamation by Charlotte MacInnes over social media posts alleging a sexual harassment complaint

Human rights groups have warned that the collective prosecutions violate due process and block defendants from accessing legal counselA Salvadoran court on Tuesday began a collective trial of 486 alleged gang members, in one of the biggest mass trials under president Nayib Bukele's crackdown on gang violence through controversial emergency powers.Prosecutors say the charges against alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13, span more than 47,000 crimes committed between 2012 and 2022, including a weekend that was El Salvador's bloodiest since its civil war. Continue reading...

Senior manager at supermarket giant gives evidence on day two of case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Officials warn a conflict situation could cause disruption similar to recent major ransomware incidentsThe UK could face hacktivist attacks at scale" if it becomes embroiled in a conflict and the impact could be similar to recent high-profile ransomware incidents, according to the head of the country's online security agency.Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), will warn today that nation states now account for the most significant incidents the NCSC deals with. Continue reading...

Sacked civil servant acknowledges debate' about release of documents after question about alleged cover-up'Olly Robbins responded to a question about an alleged cover-up" on Tuesday by confirming that government officials had considered withholding Peter Mandelson's secretive vetting documents from parliament.Robbins, who was sacked by Keir Starmer as the Foreign Office's top civil servant last week, appeared to confirm a report in the Guardian that senior officials were debating whether to withhold from parliament sensitive documents that revealed the vetting agency did not believe Mandelson should get clearance. Continue reading...

2Apply's over-collection of personal information adds to the power of the real estate industry in the competitive rental market, Carly Kind says

This blog is now closed. See our latest full report here: Trump announces extension of Iran ceasefire until discussion concluded'Iran's armed forces are ready to deliver an immediate and decisive response" to any renewed hostile action by its adversaries, Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as having said.He said Tehran had the upper hand militarily, including in the management of the strait of Hormuz, and would not allow Donald Trump to create false narratives over the situation on the ground." Continue reading...

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Todd Blanche announces 11-count indictment over payments to informants in extremist groups including Ku Klux Klan

Cursor is aSilicon Valley startup using AI to automate coding as Elon Musk's firm seeks foothold in the AI marketSpaceX said it has secured an option to either acquire code-generation startup Cursor for $60bn later this year, or pay $10bn for their new partnership, as it pushes deeper into the lucrative market for AI developer tools.Along with OpenAI and Anthropic, Cursor is one of several Silicon Valley startups that has drawn waves of developers by using artificial intelligence to automate coding, a business where AI companies have found early commercial traction. Continue reading...

The trend has been accelerated by the US-Israel war on Iran, leaving households - and cafe owners - glum, surveys suggest

Karex produces more than 5 billion condoms annually and is a supplier to leading brands like Durex and Trojan, as well as the NHSThe world's top condom producer, Malaysia's Karex Bhd, plans to raise prices by 20% to 30% and possibly further if supply chain disruptions drag on due to the Iran war, its chief executive has said.Karex is also seeing a surge in condom demand as rising freight costs and shipping delays have left many of its customers with lower stockpiles than usual, CEO Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Three other men already charged over February abduction and death remain before the courts

Declaration comes amid intense efforts to bring two sides together in Pakistan for new round of talksDonald Trump unilaterally announced an extension of the two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday amid frantic efforts to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.Hours after announcing that he expected to be bombing", the US president adopted a starkly different tone in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he would extend the ceasefire until Iranian negotiators submitted a proposal for peace. Continue reading...

State attorney general said inquiry will look into whether AI tool offered significant advice' to campus shooting suspect

Pilot made emergency landing on small plot of grass at Temecula home amid low fuel and shifting windsA balloon landed in a southern California back yard - a balloon with 13 people.The enormous hot-air balloon, with a pilot and passengers in the basket, descended perfectly on Saturday on a small plot of grass at a home in Temecula. Hunter Perrin said he had no idea that he had visitors until a neighbor alerted him. Continue reading...

US president says on Truth Social attacks are on hold until Iran submits proposal and talks reach end

Analysis finds 53 allegations against 30 lawmakers; nine still in office amid wave of resignations in CongressFifty-three allegations of workplace sexual harassment have been made against at least 30 House and Senate lawmakers over the past two decades, an advocacy group said in a study that was released Tuesday amid a spate of ethics-fueled resignations in Congress.Most of the lawmakers from 13 states and Guam who have faced allegations have since left office, but nine continue to hold seats, the nonpartisan National Women's Defense League (NWDL) said. Continue reading...

Sacked civil servant tells select committee of pressure' to give clearance and dismissive' attitude to vettingThe civil servant sacked by Keir Starmer has given a devastating account of his government, saying Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador despite the concerns of vetting officials.Olly Robbins, the former top official at the Foreign Office, said No 10 took a dismissive" attitude to vetting, and Mandelson was given access to the Foreign Office building and to higher-classification briefings" before he was granted security clearance. Continue reading...