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Exclusive: Leaked draft statement says party cannot continue on its current path' under PMKeir Starmer will not lead his party into the next general election, Labour-supporting unions have predicted, in an intervention that threatens to further destabilise the prime minister after a damaging few days.The 11 Labour-affiliated unions - which include Unite, Unison and the GMB - are expected to issue a joint statement on Wednesday saying at some stage" the party will have to put a plan in place to elect a new leader. Continue reading...

Activists claim use of laws to curtail internet freedoms part of well-documented history of cracking down on dissentWhen Gabon's media regulator indefinitely suspended major social media platforms in February, citing security concerns during anti-government protests, it became the talk of town - literally.Within weeks of the announcement, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the restrictions surged in the central African country. When gendarmerie began stopping young men at road checkpoints in the capital Libreville and other urban centres to confiscate mobile phones with VPNs installed or detain the owners, warnings spread by word of mouth. Activists and opposition members said their accounts were also suspended due to efforts of state officials. Continue reading...

The Murdoch papers sharpened their sickles and hammered Jim Chalmers' budget for the most radical redistribution of wealth since the Whitlam era'

Legal and child advocates have criticised the changes, which include eroding the Aboriginal child placement principle, as dangerous, ignorant and wrong'

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is about 60 times more carcinogenic than believed in 2006, research findsA new Trump administration plan to rescind 2024 regulations for toxic ethylene oxide (EtO) pollution more broadly aims to limit the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to strengthen public health protections around hazardous emissions and could result in more of the toxin being released into the air.Recent research has found EtO is about 60 times more carcinogenic than thought when the last regulations were developed in 2006. In 2024, the Biden EPA passed a rule that strengthened the regulations to reflect the updated science, and required the nation's EtO emitters to collectively cut their emissions by about 90%. Continue reading...

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More than half of the benefit of the CGT concession went to the top 1% of income earners, the most recent data shows

Despite concerns super-rich are leaving due to tax burdens, 88% of those surveyed were proud to live in UK and would pay more to fund public servicesNine in 10 UK millionaires are proud to live in Britain and three-quarters would be willing to pay more tax to ensure public assets get the funding they need, according to research.Despite widely reported concerns that the wealthy are choosing to leave the country owing to higher taxes, the survey found millionaires were much more concerned about medical workers moving away than wealthy people emigrating. Continue reading...

Researchers find 50+ hours a week can be detrimental to health but lighter responsibilities have positive effectThe stresses and strains of caring for someone for 50 hours or more a week leads to accelerated cognitive decline" in middle-aged and older people, research shows.However, providing care for only five to nine hours a week has the opposite effect, boosting brain health so much that the benefits last until older age. Continue reading...

The behavioural cue of flexible self-protection' is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say

Kyle Diamantas, a top official at the agency, will replace Makary and serve as acting FDA commissioner

Real estate executive got an unexpected earful when she spoke of living in a time of profound change'Though college graduations usually consist of a speaker giving advice to students, one recent ceremony featured students giving the speaker their opinions - loudly.The University of Central Florida's 2026 graduating class booed as a real estate development executive spoke about how the rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution" and about living in a time of profound change". Continue reading...

A number of Streeting's allies resigned from their ministerial posts on Tuesday and called for Keir Starmer to quit

Congresswoman says she did not condone radio host's language about Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat

Downing Street insiders suggest health secretary does not yet have the support for a leadership pushKeir Starmer was increasingly confident that he had seen off the immediate threat to his job on Tuesday after a challenge from Wes Streeting failed to materialise despite several of the health secretary's allies quitting the government.Downing Street insiders suggested that the health secretary did not yet have the required support from the 81 MPs he needed to formally launch a leadership bid after Starmer issued a put up or shut up" ultimatum to his cabinet. Continue reading...

Health officials in Paris say French woman who contracted disease on MV Hondius is on ventilator in intensive careThe head of the World Health Organization has told countries to prepare for more hantavirus cases as authorities in Paris said a French woman who contracted the virus onboard the MV Hondius had the most severe form of the disease and had been put on a ventilator.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Spain for the compassion and solidarity" it had shown by taking in the stricken cruise ship and urged authorities to follow the WHO's advice and recommendations, which include a 42-day quarantine and constant monitoring of high-risk contacts. Continue reading...

Albrecht Weinberg spent years teaching students about Nazi atrocities after being imprisoned at Auschwitz and Belsen

If current precarious ceasefire between US and Iran ends, Emirates are more likely to be targeted by Tehran

Bond yields soar and pound falls against dollar as investors brace for potential Labour leadership change

Jess Phillips, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Alex Davies-Jones and Zubir Ahmed join more than 80 MPs calling for PM to go

Green party leader admits he may have failed to pay correct amount while living on a houseboatLabour has urged London assembly officials to investigate the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, after he admitted that he may have failed to pay the correct council tax while living on a London houseboat.Polanski had faced mounting questions over whether the houseboat, moored in east London, was his primary residence. A spokesperson for his party described the situation as an unintentional mistake" and said Polanski had immediately taken steps" to pay any tax owed. Continue reading...

Appointment confirmed by plenary vote in Senedd after party ended 100 years of Labour rule in last week's electionRhun ap Iorwerth has been voted first minister of Wales after Plaid Cymru's Senedd electoral victory ended 100 years of Labour hegemony and held off Reform UK.Ap Iorwerth was confirmed after a plenary vote on Tuesday with the support of the 43 members of his party in the Senedd and the two Greens, while Welsh Labour and the sole Liberal Democrat in the Siambr, the debating chamber, abstained. Continue reading...

At least one person killed as Moscow launches drone strikes on energy facilities and apartmentsEuropean culture editorIt was meant to be the crowning moment of a seemingly never-ending success story: the 70th anniversary of the world's biggest and ever-expanding live music event, held in a city steeped in history both dramatic and musical. Continue reading...

Judge's ruling was not disclosed to jurors in two trials and can only now be revealed after reporting restrictions liftedFour Palestine Action activists convicted after a retrial over a violent protest at an Israeli arms manufacturer's UK site face being sentenced as terrorists despite the jury not being told this.In an unprecedented move in a criminal damage case, the judge, Mr Justice Johnson, ruled before the first trial that there appeared to be a terrorist connection" to the offences - even though the protest took place before Palestine Action was proscribed - but this could not be told to the jury. The finding and the restriction on telling the jury continued for the retrial. Continue reading...

Treasurer announces changes to the capital gains tax discount in the 2026 federal budget in parliament. Follow the latest updates

As human rights advocate is treated in Tehran hospital after transfer from Zanjan prison, prize winners demand her freedomMore than 110 Nobel laureates have called for the immediate and unconditional release of Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Iranian human rights activist and Nobel peace prize laureate, after she was transferred to hospital amid concerns over her rapidly deteriorating health.In a statement released on Tuesday, 112 Nobel laureates urged the Iranian authorities and the international community to act without delay" to secure Mohammadi's release and ensure her continued access to medical treatment. Continue reading...

Horses seized and several people questioned after animal rights activist shares video of race along country roadsA video showing an illegal horse race in Sicily, with spectators firing pistols into the air and brandishing Kalashnikov rifles, has prompted a police investigation that has led to the seizure of the animals.The clip, reportedly filmed last Friday, shows two jockeys driving horse-drawn carts at breakneck speed along country roads in the town of Palagonia, near Catania, in eastern Sicily. Behind them, dozens of people follow on scooters, firing shots into the air. The footage was posted on social media by an animal rights activist named Enrico Rizzi. Continue reading...

Prime minister says process for challenging a leader has not been triggered and Labour should get on with governing UK politics live - latest updates

Taxpayers and first home buyers are the winners in Labor's 2026 budget, while rich families could be among the losers. Find out who is better off and who is worse off in Chalmers' budget

Exclusive: Marie Rimmer backs Keir Starmer and deals blow to Greater Manchester mayor's byelection hopes

With Starmer under growing pressure to resign, Growth and Tribune groups put forward ideas for policy revamps

Decades-long campaign powered by patient perspectives results in switch from PCOS - a name that caused confusion and undue suffering - to PMOS What is PCOS, what are the symptoms and treatment, and why is it being renamed PMOS?

Rising cost of living such as high gas prices also a concern in election that will have record number of votersVoters in the Bahamas head to the polls on Tuesday in a hotly contested general election featuring high-profile candidates such as the former basketball champion Rick Fox.Voters in the Caribbean archipelago are divided over concerns about immigration, especially from neighbouring Haiti, and the rising cost of living, with significant spikes in gas prices caused by war in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Country with a population of just 2.5m credits investment in young athletes for its rise but this progress is under threatIt was a fairytale ending to the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone. In the final strait, Collen Kebinatshipi surged past South Africa's Zakithi Nene to win the men's 4x400m relay for Botswana. The home crowd, a sea of light blue, went wild.It means so many things to us," Letsile Tebogo, 22, the reigning 200m Olympic champion, who ran the second leg, told reporters afterwards. Not just the team ... but for the people that always cheer for us behind the TV. Now they had that experience to see first-hand how much effort, how much pressure, how much we give for them." Continue reading...

Premium editions of Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! cost up to $250 but some say signatures are unnaturally identicalLiza Minnelli fans who bought signed copies of her memoir are seeking refunds because they believe her signature is fake.Copies of Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by the American 80-year-old singer were marketed around the world as hand-signed collectibles", with premium editions costing up to $250 (185). Continue reading...

Health secretary's soft-right credentials put him at a disadvantage even with reduced membership under Starmer

Since the start of the current conflict, more than 20,500 Ukrainian children have been taken by RussiaIt looks like a typical teenager's bedroom: football shirts on the wall, crumpled clothes on the floor, exercise books open on the desk. But it is a work of political art, intended to evoke the empty rooms of more than 20,500 Ukrainian children unlawfully taken to Russia.The work was on display on Monday at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, as delegates from 63 countries and international organisations gathered to discuss how to bring Ukraine's children home. It's essentially a way for someone to step into Ukraine without having to actually travel there," Isaac Yeung, a co-creator of the installation, said. Continue reading...

Seventeen-year-old, previously charged over alleged extremist material, now faces additional charges relating to allegedly preparing for an attack

Anti-graft agencies say Andriy Yermak suspected of participating in criminal group that laundered $10.5m in housing project, which he denies ownership inUkrainian authorities have named Volodymyr Zelenskyy's powerful former chief of staff as a suspect in a major corruption investigation, a move likely to pile pressure on the president's office at a sensitive moment in the war with Russia.Kyiv's political class was rocked by a wide-ranging probe last year that had fuelled public anger and prompted the ex-top adviser and Zelenskyy's right-hand man, Andriy Yermak, to resign. Continue reading...

Absence of big US films heralds renewed focus on international cinema that underpins festival's reputationFor decades, Cannes has occupied a unique place in the cultural imagination - not just as the world's most prestigious film festival, but as Hollywood's most glamorous overseas outpost.From Grace Kelly on the Croisette, Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman at the Pulp Fiction premiere, Julia Roberts walking barefoot up the red carpet, to Tom Cruise shutting down the Riviera with fighter jets overhead, Hollywood has made its mark on Cannes. Continue reading...

Hundreds of four-year-olds among extremely overweight' patients at 39 specialist centres since 2021More than 6,000 children living with obesity, including hundreds as young as four, have required treatment at specialist NHS weight-loss clinics, new figures reveal.NHS England data, published for the first time, underlines the scale of the growing childhood obesity crisis. Continue reading...

Marat Ganiev will instead be charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice over death of 19-year-old whose body was found in tip

Farrer byelection win casts shadow over 2026 federal budget as government signals it's alive to populist rightwing threat

Aditya Chakrabortty on the Labour leader's predicament - and if he may be the last prime minister of the two-party systemIn these highly polarised times, dunking on the prime minister - and this PM in particular - is the one thing that seems to unite people in fury, disappointment and loathing. So as he rolled his sleeves up to address the nation on Monday morning, after one of the worst election results in Labour's history, Keir Starmer had quite the job on his hands.The Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty was watching - and wincing. There are times when I watch Keir Starmer promising he's going to change," he said. He looks to me like a guy on the verge of divorce, holding flowers from the nearest petrol station and saying: 'Trust me. Honestly, it's going to be different this time. Honestly, love, stick with me.'" But why does there seem to be such antagonism towards the Labour leader - and can anyone guide the party out of the mess they have found themselves in? Continue reading...

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Eileen Wang, 58, mayor of Arcadia, agreed to plead guilty over the felony count brought by the justice departmentEileen Wang, the mayor of a southern California city, resigned suddenly on Monday after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced she had been charged with acting as an illegal foreign agent of China.Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony count and could face a sentence of 10 years in prison. Continue reading...

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Move comes as administration seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned landThe interior department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as Donald Trump's administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned land.The 2024 rule adopted under former president Joe Biden was meant to refocus the interior department's Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the US. It allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling. Continue reading...

Health minister Mark Butler says six people from MC Hondius plus flight crew from charter plane to be isolated for weeks

Taiwan, tariffs and the strait of Hormuz are on the meeting's agenda for Beijing - but will the US president be forced to ask for help in ending his war with Iran?On 20 February, a White House official confirmed that US president Donald Trump would be travelling to Beijing the following month to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Top of the agenda: the US-China trade war.One week later, Trump approved joint strikes with Israel against Iran, starting a new war in the Middle East. Its ramifications have spread far beyond the region and caused alarm in Beijing. The presidential summit was postponed. Continue reading...