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Terry Pitchford, who was 18 when convicted of murder, argued that Black jurors were excluded from his trial

Starmer launches long defence of his record when asked about former PM's essay critiquing current governmentPat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, is introducing Alan Milburn.He says Milburn's report is really important and powerful".I could see in the first few weeks after being appointed as the secretary of state what was happening, both in human and in financial terms, [in terms of youth unemployment].And I knew that we had to get properly under the bonnet of this problem, because there's a lot more thing than one thing happening here ... Continue reading...

Lawsuit says settlement fund was fraud on the court' that would funnel taxpayer dollars to Trump alliesDozens of former federal judges have joined the push to thwart Donald Trump's creation of a $1.776bn anti-weaponization fund" that would funnel taxpayer dollars to the president's political allies.The bipartisan group of 35 judges filed a lawsuit in the southern district of Florida on Wednesday seeking to reopen Trump's legal case against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leaking of his tax information by a whistleblower who was later sentenced to five years in prison. Continue reading...

Americans are growing frustrated with Trump's handling of the economy as cost of living soars ahead of midtermsUS inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in April, driven by higher energy prices amid the war with Iran, and cementing economists' views that the Federal Reserve could hold interest rates unchanged well into next year.Surging price pressures are eroding household income and could restrain consumer spending and economic growth this quarter. Income at the disposal of households after adjusting for inflation dropped for a third straight month in April, other data showed on Thursday. Given the soaring cost of living, Americans are growing frustrated with Donald Trump's handling of the economy. A Reuters/Ipsos survey last week showed the president's approval rating fell to nearly its lowest level since he returned to the White House, hit by a drop in support among Republicans. Trump won the 2024 presidential election in large part because of his promise to lower inflation. Continue reading...

EU chief diplomat says: Russia is on the back foot, militarily, economically, but also diplomatically'Meanwhile, Hungary's Magyar hits a bit more upbeat tone in his latest post on Facebook, saying that while there are still some issues that need to be resolved, the two sides managed to agree a deal on many important questions."In a Facebook video, he takes viewers into a meeting room in Brussels from which he is working on ironing out the final details.I will obviously not anticipate or prejudge what will be the outcome of that meeting, but a series of meetings has been taking place, as you know, between the teams on both sides to make as much progress as possible. ...Let's see what comes out of it. It's not much more time to wait. We give it another day, and we should know more in terms of how far have we managed to get on both sides." Continue reading...

Decision draws criticism from some commentators and free speech advocates as well as Tory leader, Kemi BadenochThe British Museum has postponed a lecture for Jewish culture month over concerns that the event would be disrupted by protesters.The museum announced that the talk on ancient Israel and Judah, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday, would be held at a later date yet to be decided. Continue reading...

Governor says law is a response to legitimate anxiety' about Trump's tactics targeting Democratic-led cities and statesGavin Newsom, California's governor, signed legislation Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from federal interference, saying he expected Donald Trump's administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.The law, which took effect immediately and came days before next Tuesday's primary, prohibits any person - including federal agents - from accessing voter rolls or election technology without a court order. Law enforcement officers are restricted from disrupting election workers, except in public safety emergencies. Continue reading...

First details of agreement published, heralding end to EU-UK checks on dairy products, eggs, fish and fresh red meat

Labour's Makerfield byelection candidate understood to have changed stance on no recourse to public funds policy

Energy specialists say abandoning net zero and increasing oil and gas drilling would cause more instability for BritonsAbandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to claims by the former prime minister Tony Blair.This is a bizarre intervention to make during the worst May heatwave on record and when the Iran crisis is providing yet more evidence of the enormous costs of oil and gas," said Ed Matthew, the UK programme director at the E3G thinktank. Clean energy is cheaper energy - it protects our bills from prices skyrocketing, its running costs are virtually zero, and it doesn't cause climate change which threatens economic collapse ... The government should ignore Blair's ideological nonsense and focus on what works." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Package of measures discussed with farmers, including pause on duty due to come into effect next yearMinisters are in discussions about suspending a carbon tax on fertilisers, due to come into effect early next year, in an effort to curb food inflation.The move would be part of a package of measures, including the suspension of import tariffs on a range of foods including bread, biscuits and bananas. Continue reading...

Staff members claim hit Channel 4 show's culture was toxic from the top down' amid allegations of rape by female cast membersMarried at First Sight UK had an unhealthy" focus on whether cast members were having sex, former and current workers on the show have said.One former crew member said the culture on the hit Channel 4 show was toxic from the top down". The claims from crew members were reported by the BBC, which previously broadcast allegations from two female cast members that they were raped by their on-screen partners. Continue reading...

European Commission finds shoppers on Chinese website very likely to find unsafe items and imposes 200m penaltyEU regulators have fined the Chinese shopping website Temu 200m (173m) for failing to stop the sale of illegal and dangerous products.The European Commission imposed the penalty after a 19-month investigation that found consumers were very likely to encounter illegal or unsafe products including baby toys and electronics on the firm's website. Continue reading...

It's a thumbs up from the country's 3 million students, who can now buy cheap meals up to twice a dayWhere in France can you get a nutritious and balanced three-course meal for 1?If you are one of the country's estimated 3 million students in higher education, the answer is: the university restaurant or cafe. Continue reading...

Wet weather batters parts of Queensland, NSW and Tasmania amid warnings of heavy falls on Friday

Legal action claims newspaper tarnished reputation by describing card to Jeffrey Epstein as bearing his signatureDonald Trump has refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge threw out an earlier version over legal deficiencies.The lawsuit is one of several the US president has brought in his personal capacity against news organisations and is part of what critics say is a wider pressure campaign against the media. Continue reading...

Tribunal decision on Geoffrey Dalton comes as advocacy group releases data showing 30 greyhounds have died at or after Victorian races this year

Human rights groups and lawyers say policy amounts to ethnic cleansingIsrael's defence minister has said he is committed to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through large-scale migration of Palestinians as part of Israel's long-term plans for the territory.Israel Katz said the government would implement a plan for large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza at the right time and in the right manner", in a statement on Wednesday marking the targeted killing of Mohammed Odeh, Hamas's most recent military commander. Continue reading...

Albert Manifold disputes reports about his behaviour and says he always tried to set exampleThe boardroom turmoil at BP deepened after its ousted chair, Albert Manifold, claimed allegations about his conduct were lies".In a new and lengthy statement, Manifold disputed reports about his conduct, insisting at no point in my tenure as chairman of BP has anyone raised with me any issue about my conduct or my relationship with my colleagues". Continue reading...

Parents face anxious wait for updates after blaze tears through Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru countyA fire that ripped through a dormitory at a girls' school in Kenya overnight has killed at least 15 students, according to police, while dozens more were injured.Gilgil police station said at least 15 girls died at Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru county, about 76 miles north-east of Nairobi, according to a police report seen by Reuters. Continue reading...

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Gavan Reynolds cites commercial-in-confidence nature of the contract' in declining to answer Greens senator's question in parliament

Hugh Marks refuses to confirm or deny to Senate estimates that he threatened to terminate Stevens if he didn't resign

Vetting of former UK ambassador to Washington warned of ties to senior figures in China, Russia and IsraelA former head of MI6 has said it would have been totally impossible" for the Foreign Office to put in place mitigations to manage Peter Mandelson's associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel when he was the UK's ambassador to the US.On Wednesday, the Guardian revealed some of the concerns that contributed to security officials recommending that Mandelson be denied developed vetting clearance in early 2025. Continue reading...

As the UK experiences some of its hottest ever May weather, five people share their concerns - and tips for keeping coolThe UK is experiencing some of the hottest May weather ever recorded, with temperatures surpassing 35C in parts of England on Tuesday.Campaigners have warned that Britain's public buildings are dangerously unprepared for rising temperatures, calling for better cooling systems in hospitals, care homes and other spaces used by vulnerable people. Continue reading...

Waltham Forest in the east of the capital has seen a wave of industrial action in schools, with more to comeThe gates to South Grove primary school in Walthamstow were closed to pupils last week.Teachers were on strike as part of a disparate wave of industrial action by members of the National Education Union (NEU) in schools across the borough of Waltham Forest in east London. Continue reading...

When an Inner Mongolia farmer sought two herders to tend his 3,000 sheep, he was swamped with applicants including graduates, factory labourers and white-collar workersA Chinese farm owner's recruitment drive for shepherds has ended in success after his job advert seeking people to work on his Inner Mongolia ranch went viral, drawing the attention of city dwellers struggling to find work and highlighting growing strains in China's labour market.Zuo Xiaoyong posted an advert on Chinese social media in late April seeking two shepherds, preferably a couple, to take 3,000 sheep out to graze on a 2,000ha pasture in the summer. The shepherds would also undertake indoor feeding and cleaning during the winter when temperatures can drop below -30C at his ranch roughly 300km from Xilinhot city, near the Mongolian border. Continue reading...

Industry figures warn of national security risk and call for ministers to address impact of extreme weather, inflation and Iran warBritain is sleepwalking into a food crisis" caused by extreme weather, inflation and the impacts of the Iran war - and the government is failing to take the threat seriously, food experts have said.Farmers are facing severe strain from the current heatwave following a dry spring, with many crops likely to yield less as temperatures rise beyond their tolerance. Livestock are also suffering heat stress and there is a rising risk of wildfires. Economic losses are likely to be measured in the hundreds of millions of pounds. Continue reading...

The WasteBar food truck hopes the eye-catching deal will change people's attitude to waste in the NetherlandsUsing cigarette butts to buy buttery Dutch pancakes? That is the deal one food truck is offering at festivals in the Netherlands as a way to get people thinking about litter.Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic waste in the world, with more than 4.5tn butts produced every year. In the Netherlands the estimated figure is in the hundreds of millions. Continue reading...

CEO tells investors firm won't exert any effort' while it awaits approvals as opponents urge the miner to spike the project finally'

Federal government seeks more than $2bn in damages from multinational manufacturer in its largest legal claim ever

Musician says we've lost that direction for our energy' as his play The Last Ship returns to West EndThe fact many men no longer use their hands and physicality on a daily basis may be driving some of the toxic traits in modern masculinity, according to Sting.The singer, who on Wednesday announced that his musical about the last days of a shipyard was coming to the West End this autumn, told the Guardian that one of the byproducts of deindustrialisation was the loss of physical productivity for men.The Last Ship will be at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 22 Sep to 3 Oct. Tickets go on sale from midday on 28 May. Continue reading...

Volunteers head to Dorset countryside to restore the figure, but increasing heat means techniques have had to be adaptedFor centuries, the custodians of the Cerne Giant have clambered up the dizzyingly steep hill every decade or so to rechalk the outline, making sure the hulking figure can be seen far and wide across the rolling Dorset countryside.But the painstaking job, which involves hacking out the grubby old chalk by hand and packing in fresh, felt all the more urgent this week because effects put down to the climate emergency are making the giant a little duller and perhaps a touch more fragile. Continue reading...

After 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratoryAfter 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger. Continue reading...

Joanna Howe posts on social media that if purported images of human foetuses are in fact sugar gliders, it doesn't actually matter'

Bundaberg man, 36, allegedly drove into and assaulted multiple people in Childers and North Isis on Wednesday

Urgent action needed to avoid lost generation', says the former Labour health secretary's report, due on ThursdayBritain risks a 25% rise in the number of young people not in work or education to 1.25 million by the early 2030s without urgent government action to avoid a lost generation", a landmark report has warned.Alan Milburn, the leader of the review into why so many young people are economically inactive, said the UK risked opening up a generational fault line" between young and old without urgent steps to overhaul schools, the health service, the welfare system and the jobs market. Continue reading...

Anna Turley gives Reform leader 24 hours to report Russian hacking claim in public and national interest'The Labour chair has given Nigel Farage 24 hours to report to security services the claim that his phone was hacked by Russia-linked actors or the party will do it for him.In a letter to the Reform UK leader, Anna Turley said it was in the public and national interest" to ensure that a suspected overseas hack of a senior politician's phone by a hostile state was properly investigated. Continue reading...

BMA blames new health secretary for decision to stage 16th strike in long-running jobs and pay disputeResident doctors in England will next month stage the 16th strike in their long-running jobs and pay dispute, and have blamed the new health secretary for their decision.They will strike for four days from 7am on Monday 15 June until 6.59am on Friday 19 June. Announcing the move, the British Medical Association warned that resident doctors would mount a further stoppage in July unless progress towards meeting their demands was made. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Vetting officials also flagged 1m loan when recommending he should be denied security clearance

Sexual offender attended Interlochen camp in Michigan as teenager and donated hundreds of thousands of dollarsA Michigan summer arts camp and boarding school where Jeffrey Epstein has been accused of meeting at least two of his victims will tear down a lodge that once bore his name.The Interlochen Center for the Arts said this week that its board of trustees has approved a plan to demolish the Green Lake Lodge, which had been known as Jeffrey E Epstein Scholarship Lodge until the school cut ties and scrubbed references to the late millionaire sex offender after his first conviction in 2008. Continue reading...

Kenneth Iwamasa pleaded guilty over role in Friends actor's death from drug overdose in 2023

There is no evidence Elliott Broidy's links to Trump helped AI company win contract to monitor prisoners' phone callsThe day before Donald Trump's first term ended in 2021, he inked a pardon for Elliott Broidy, a scandal-plagued Republican fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official who had pleaded guilty three months earlier to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration.Last month, a company headed by Broidy won a $106m contract from the Department of Justice, according to federal contracting records. Continue reading...

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Former MP charged with 18 sexual offences involving two alleged victims, and his wife charged with aiding and abettingJeffrey Donaldson sexually assaulted a child and apologised to her years later at a church-brokered meeting, a court has heard.The former MP and Democratic Unionist party leader allegedly committed the abuse with complicity from his wife, Eleanor Donaldson, a prosecutor told Newry crown court, in County Down, on Wednesday. Continue reading...

US president tells cabinet Tehran is delaying in hope of better terms after November congressional electionsDonald Trump has accused Iran of trying to stall on making a peace agreement by running down the clock before November's US midterm elections in the hope of getting better terms.They thought they were going to out-wait me, you know, We'll out wait him, he's got the midterms," the US president told a meeting of his cabinet at the White House on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Anne Keast-Butler says Russian forces are going backwards on the battlefield' for first time since late 2022Nearly half a million Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the start of Vladimir Putin's invasion more than four years ago, according to a new estimate from the head of the British spy agency GCHQ.Anne Keast-Butler, the chief of the electronic intelligence agency, said in her first speech in the job that Russian forces were going backwards on the battlefield" inside Ukraine for the first time since late 2022. Continue reading...

Sharyn Alfonsi confirms contract expiration after decrying network over the spread of corporate meddling' last monthThe Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi has accused CBS News of penalizing her for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting" and sending a chilling message" to the newsroom by declining to renew her contract for the show.Alfonsi was at the center of a national firestorm after the CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, shelved a segment she had reported on a notorious prison in El Salvador. She confirmed to the Guardian that she had not been offered a contract to return for the show's 59th season, which begins in the fall. Continue reading...

Igor Lytvynchuk is scheduled to appear in court on charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereZack Polanski, the Green party leader, posted this on social media about Tony Blair's latest intervention this morning.Tony Blair.What the billionaire class have paid for.Spot the difference between Tony Blair says" and Nigel Farage says" Continue reading...