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Instead of relying on tax-enhanced speculation, investors must now look at established properties based on actual profitability - leaving space for first home buyers

Success of far-right presidential candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella, suggests some voters are fed up with politics'The far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and the leftwing senator Ivan Cepeda have just under three weeks to compete for the roughly 3.6m votes that did not go to either of them in the first round of Colombia's presidential election.That is no insignificant number, given that De la Espriella's lead over Cepeda amounted to little more than 670,000 votes - 43.7% to 40.9%. Continue reading...

International money transfer service's shares tumble as it confirms discussions with prosecutor's office

People from Delaware to Montreal reported either hearing loud booms or seeing the fireball in the sky over weekendA meteor over Massachusetts during the weekend ultimately prompted reports of booms and sightings across New England into Canada.The American Meteor Society said that the meteor in question was about 3ft (1 meter) wide as it entered the atmosphere around the New Hampshire border with Massachusetts, north of Boston. Continue reading...

Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker, who have both been accused of propagating antisemitism, barred from visiting for eventThe UK is failing to protect freedom of speech, prominent activists have said, after the government banned two leftwing US political commentators from entering the country to attend speaking engagements.Cenk Uygur, the host of the Young Turks online political talkshow, and Hasan Piker, who runs his own hours-long stream each day, were both due to appear at SXSW London, while the former said he had also been due to speak at an event run by University of Oxford students. Continue reading...

Casting shifts to EU talent as paperwork delays and visa limits make hiring British crews less viableFrom blacklists for UK passport holders to being asked to work illegally while on holiday, the plethora of extra costs and red tape thrown up post-Brexit are restricting opportunities for British actors seeking work in the EU.Mainland Europe has always been a springboard for those in the creative industries, from gaining crucial first credits on a TV, film or theatre production to building a marketable resume and paying the bills while attempting to make it big in the UK or US. Continue reading...

Letting nature take over at a former dairy farm has resulted in a surge of species in just three yearsThree years of rewilding on a former dairy farm in east Somerset have seen recorded bird species soar from 67 to 94, butterfly species rise from 11 to 24 and small mammals grow in number.Heal Somerset, the first site acquired by the charity Heal Rewilding, has produced a state of nature report mirroring a national survey by environmental charities that has tracked the decline in nature. Continue reading...

Rampant Bull needed a makeover after wear and tear from tourists, but refurbishment castrated' it, critics sayThe restoration of a floor mosaic in Milan called the Rampant Bull has been mocked after the works appear to have erased a crucial anatomical detail - its testicles.The 19th-century mosaic in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade needed a makeover because a small crater had formed in the tiny pink tiles featuring the bull's testicles, due to the constant stream of tourists performing a heel-spinning gesture. Continue reading...

Latest figures show the company's delivery performance has worsened compared with the previous year

President Macron says ship subject to sanctions and posts video of operation that took place with UK supportA suspected Russian oil tanker has been detained in the Atlantic, France has announced, in the latest seizure aimed at combatting Moscow's shadow fleet" of vessels contravening international sanctions.The Tagor was detained on Sunday morning in international waters more than 400 nautical miles (740km) west of Brittany with the help of the UK and other partners, said the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading...

Rwanda had sued UK government over alleged breach of agreement, after scheme scrapped by Labour on first day in officeThe UK will not have to pay the Rwandan government millions of pounds over a failed migrant deportation scheme set up by Boris Johnson's administration, an international court has ruled.The east African nation had sued the current UK government for more than 100m, claiming it was owed after a breach of an agreement. Continue reading...

Children of those on care worker visas, who came legally before rule change, told to leave even if parents can stayChildren as young as five who are living legally in the UK are being told by the Home Office they must leave the country even if their parents have been given permission to remain.The Guardian has seen five letters sent to children by the Home Office telling them they must leave the UK. A sixth letter has been sent to a woman who is six months pregnant and lives in the UK with her husband, telling her she must leave him and return to her country. The children have parents on care worker visas, which until March 2024 had allowed them to bring partners or children with them to the UK. Continue reading...

Backrooms stunned industry observers by taking $81m in its first weekend, a record for studio A24Kane Parsons has become the youngest film-maker to open a film at number one at the North American box office for his directing debut Backrooms.Parsons, 20, is seven years younger than the previous record holder, Josh Trank, who was 27 when his debut Chronicle recorded a $22m opening in 2011. Backrooms stunned industry observers by taking $81m in its first weekend in North America - which was also a record for its studio, A24. Continue reading...

Research for Roundhouse in London shows 87% of 18- to 30-year-olds believe they have fewer artistic opportunitiesRising costs, the disappearance of third spaces and reduced access to artistic opportunities are causing young people to feel disconnected, isolated and locked out of creativity", according to research commissioned by a youth arts charity.The Roundhouse, a multi-arts venue in north London that reopened in 2006 with a focus on running youth programmes, has released the findings to coincide with the publication of its 20-year impact report on Monday. Continue reading...

Airline's shares hit highest level in three months as investment group Castlelake says it is considering offer

Labor MP Mike Freelander says party must continue to help under-pressure workers, including considering further income tax cutsLabor will seek to highlight Pauline Hanson's record of opposing cost-of-living relief for working people as it tries to prevent One Nation further eroding its voter base.As the government grapples with how to deal with Hanson's surge, one Labor MP predicted One Nation's support had peaked and the right-wing populist party wouldn't be able to replicate its polling success at a federal election. Continue reading...

Alleged threat on regional school north of Brisbane was quite well advanced', Queensland counter-terrorism police sayQueensland counter-terrorism police have charged a 13-year-old with planning an attack on a regional school north of Brisbane.The teenager was arrested last Thursday after allegedly making threats at a business in Maryborough, armed with a knife. Continue reading...

Graphic videos on social media appear to show upset onlookers after police accidentally ran over animal in Mount Isa street

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Scientific dating proves streaks on walls of Bacon Hole, near the Mumbles in south Wales, is Palaeolithic rock artIn 1912, the Guardian reported on the discovery of Palaeolithic rock art on the walls of Bacon Hole, a cave near the Mumbles in south Wales - only for the painted panel's authenticity to be dismissed by 1928.A series of horizontal bands in red pigment were subsequently deemed no more than a natural phenomenon and the newspaper added an updated statement: It was later established that the red streaks ... turned out to be red oxide mineral seeping through the rock and not prehistoric art." Continue reading...

Megafires' in California, Canada, South Korea and Europe in 2025, but changes to farming slowed spread in parts of AfricaDevastating" wildfires ripped across the wealthier parts of the world in 2025, a study has found, even as globally, the area ravaged by flames fell.Catastrophic blazes claimed lives, homes and jobs last year in California, Canada, Europe and South Korea. But the 335m hectares burned was the second-lowest since 2002, the review found, largely owing to the expansion of African farms that have fragmented landscapes and hampered the spread of large savannah fires. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 25 years after race riots in north of England, Arooj Shah says extremist groups and lies about grooming scandal are poisoning OldhamIdentity politics is tearing communities apart", the former leader of Oldham council has warned, in the week marking the 25th anniversary of race riots across the north of England.Arooj Shah quit as leader of the Greater Manchester borough earlier in May, after the local elections left the council with no group in overall control. Continue reading...

Preschooler Jordan Dashwood killed in Werribee blaze with father now in a coma in hospital

Sterling Nasa had tickets to see Justin Hurwitz's La La Land in Concert. When the keyboardist suddenly fell ill, he found himself on stage performing

Exclusive: MP and campaigners say sensitive citizen and company data could be subject to US disclosure lawsThe UK's financial watchdog is being urged to prove its relationship with the US tech company Palantir will not provide the Trump administration with backdoor access to troves of sensitive citizen and commercial data.A US law that can oblige tech companies to disclose information to American authorities may apply to Palantir's deal to help the Financial Conduct Authority detect crime, Martin Wrigley MP, a member of the House of Commons science and technology select committee, has warned. Continue reading...

Annette Bramley says Holly's Law would stop perpetrators acquiring pets and raise awareness of domestic abuse linkAnnette Bramley fondly remembers her daughter Holly as being family-oriented and a lover of animals. She adored anything small and furry, or even not. I mean, she thought orangutans were beautiful," she said.When Holly ended up in a controlling and abusive relationship, her husband, Nicholas Metson, was quick to use this passion against her. He bought Holly a puppy and then tried to kill it by putting it in a washing machine at their home in Lincoln. After it was rescued by Holly, he drowned it in a bath. Continue reading...

Star says her older sister, an actor and film-maker, died in her home, in nature, at peace'Jamie Lee Curtis has announced the death of her sister, the actor Kelly Curtis, at the age of 69, describing her as talented" and jaw droppingly beautiful".Jamie Lee said her sister had died in her home, in nature, at peace" on Saturday, having had roles in films including Trading Places (1983), in which the pair both appeared, Magic Sticks (1987) and The Devil's Daughter (1991). No cause of death was given. Continue reading...

Modernisation bill would require GPs and hospitals in England to share data, reducing errors and duplicationSharing access to patients' health data across NHS providers in England could result in 20,000 fewer A&E visits a year and save 20m annually, the government has claimed, before the second reading of the NHS modernisation bill on Monday.The bill, which would also abolish NHS England, sets out measures including single patient records (SPR) for every person receiving health and social care in England, requiring GPs and hospitals to securely share data as part of the government's 10-year health plan. Continue reading...

Fans estimated at hundreds of thousands fill north London streets to celebrate women's and men's teams' triumphsAbout 75 people had to be rescued from height and 16 people were arrested during Arsenal's victory bus parade on Sunday, emergency services said.What were estimated as hundreds of thousands of fans lined the streets around the Emirates stadium in north London to celebrate the Gunners winning the men's Premier League for the first time since 2004 and the women's team lifting the first ever Fifa Women's Champions Cup. Continue reading...

Social housing landlords to be able to evict perpetrators, while right-to-buy tenancy requirements to riseSocial housing landlords will be able to evict domestic abuse perpetrators under a new bill, which will also increase the length of tenancy required before residents qualify for the right-to-buy scheme from three to 10 years in England.The government said the bill, which will be debated in the House of Lords on Monday, would fix the long-term decline in social housing" and offer new protections for social tenants who were subjected to domestic abuse. Continue reading...

The Bristol trip-hop group will perform in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in AugustMassive Attack are set to tour Australia for the first time in 16 years.The influential British trip-hop group, made up of Robert 3D" Del Naja and Grant Daddy G" Marshall, will play Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in August. The upcoming tour will be the band's fourth appearance in Australia and their first Australian shows since 2010. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Papers to be published on Monday cast doubt on assurances provided by senior Whitehall officials

Experts say capture is largely symbolic, but it complicates efforts to extend the ceasefire between US and IranIsraeli troops have captured a clifftop castle as they made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than 26 years, further shattering a nominal US-brokered ceasefire and complicating efforts to extend the separate truce between the Washington and Tehran.After days of intense fighting and airstrikes in nearby villages, the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the military had captured Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Shaqif, which it had used as a base during its previous occupation of southern Lebanon between 1982 and 2000. Continue reading...

Attempted murder investigation launched after police officer struck by vehicle in DownpatrickPolice have launched an attempted murder investigation after an officer was hit by a stolen police vehicle in Northern Ireland.The officer, who fired his gun during the incident at 4.45am on Sunday, had been chasing a suspect on foot after another vehicle had earlier failed to stop for police in the Fountain Street area in Downpatrick, County Down. Continue reading...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus makes appeal after protests against protocols for handling victims' bodies in Ituri provinceContaining the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo requires community cooperation and is everybody's business", the World Health Organization has said.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organisation's director general, made the plea on Sunday during a visit to eastern Congo where some residents have protested against stringent medical protocols for handling victims' bodies. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Costings commissioned by independent MP Monique Ryan show possible savings for university graduates, as Hecs debts increase by $1bn on Monday

Buyers abandon auctions and Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra median house prices end May lower than they were at the end of 2025

Former Scottish first minister says she will not apologise for actions of her ex-husband found guilty of embezzlementNicola Sturgeon has said she feels as if she is serving a sentence for a crime she did not commit, as she denied ever consciously" seeing the motor home bought by her estranged husband with money embezzled from the Scottish National party.Scotland's former first minister said the luxury camper was parked round the side" of her mother-in-law's house and had been recorded in the party's accounts as motor vehicles" so its purchase had not rung alarm bells. Continue reading...

Tribunal orders company to pay Shabin Shaji for care work he was not given after coming to UK, in landmark caseAn Indian citizen who came to the UK to work as a care worker through the post-Brexit visa scheme has been awarded nearly 30,000 in a landmark case, because his employer failed to give him a single day of work for a year.An employment tribunal ordered the care company Swan Care Solutions Ltd to pay Shabin Shaji wages for the work he was ready, able and willing to do". Continue reading...

Yves Sakila died after being restrained by security guards in broad daylight'Irish authorities have agreed to a second postmortem on the body of a Congolese man who died after being restrained by shop security guards on a Dublin street, prompting an outcry and comparisons to the death of George Floyd.A forensic pathologist from England is to conduct an independent postmortem this week on Yves Sakila, 35, an alleged shoplifter who was pursued and pinned to the ground in the city centre on 15 May. The police force, An Garda Siochana, is investigating. Continue reading...

Survey finds frustration with connectivity to 4G or 5G, highlighting weaknesses in digital infrastructureMore than four in 10 people in the UK struggle to access 4G or 5G on their mobile devices for at least half the time they are on the move, according to a survey that highlights the poor state of the country's digital infrastructure.The poll of more than 2,000 users of digital devices found that 45% felt frustrated with mobile connectivity outside the home at least once a week. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, that figure rose to 57%. Continue reading...

From watching their team win to watching their mayor in the nosebleeds, residents are feeling hopefulNew York City, hardly a city deprived of energy, is having a moment. In the past two weeks, the bars have been even more packed than usual. Several nights a week, usually at around 11pm, there has been a seemingly synchronized honking of horns.Walking around the city, it doesn't take long to find out why. People wearing New York Knicks jerseys are high-fiving each other, and Knicks flags fly from cars, windows and bodegas, as people celebrate the team reaching the NBA finals - and having the chance to overcome five decades of (mostly) failure. Continue reading...

Scottish family on low income receives 15,000 more a year than identical household in EnglandThe emergence of welfare nationalism" in the UK has created striking differences in benefit entitlement that result in a Scottish family on a low income receiving 15,000 a year more in state support than an identical household over the border in England.A typical out of work couple with four children would have received 22,000 a year benefit income in York, compared with 32,000 in Belfast and 37,000 in Glasgow, according to new research on the impact of devolved welfare approaches Continue reading...

Exclusive: Experts say homelessness is primary driver of crisis that led to 77 avoidable' deaths in 2025

The far shorter Middle East war has rapidly revealed the strategic weakness of US firepower in an interconnected worldIn a 1965 speech justifying the war in Vietnam, Lyndon B Johnson argued that the goal was to ensure every country can shape its own destiny" since only in such a world could the US secure its own freedom. However, he also admitted such were infirmities of man that force must often precede reason, and the waste of war, the works of peace".It was the kind of elegant justification of the country's moral mission to which successive US presidential speechwriters have turned at times of war. Continue reading...

Ballots are being cast in the first round of the South American nation's presidential electionsColombians are casting ballots in the first round of the South American nation's presidential election, choosing between candidates with radically diverging visions for the future of peace in a country haunted by decades of armed conflict.The vote on Sunday, seen as a referendum on outgoing President Gustavo Petro's policies, comes 10 years after Colombia signed a historic peace pact with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). Continue reading...

Community programs are more effective at reducing violence than simply making arrests, advocates sayHomicides in the US have fallen dramatically in recent years after a spike during the Covid-19 pandemic, but now some advocates for community violence intervention programs worry federal funding cuts by the Trump administration will reverse that trend.In April 2025, more than $800m in grants was cut from the Department of Justice's office of justice programs aimed at preventing and responding to gun violence, among other causes. Continue reading...

Midos Management denies ties to property group accused of making millions from bogus prayer roomsA property investor who sells temporary accommodation to local councils is part of a family accused of avoiding tax by hosting bogus prayer sessions, a Guardian investigation can reveal.Publicly available records raise questions about the business interests of members of the Schreiber dynasty, who preside over a nationwide commercial property portfolio via a family-owned" investment vehicle, Midos Group. Continue reading...

Woman, who says Anthony Odiong pressured her into sex acts, says church officials failed to act when told of abuseThe first woman to publicly accuse a Roman Catholic priest who was convicted by a Texas jury on Friday of repeated adult, criminal clergy sexual abuse has said she can only hope he is kept from continuing to use faith as his net, his snare and a tool to manipulate current and future victims".I'm grateful to the jury for listening to the evidence and seeing the truth" about the convicted clergyman, Anthony Odiong, said the woman in a statement on Saturday, referred to in court proceedings by the pseudonym Hadassah Doe. Continue reading...

Labour leadership hopeful says NI reduction for firms could incentivise' hiring, particularly of younger peopleWes Streeting has called for national insurance cuts for businesses, and for the government to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.The former health secretary and potential Labour leadership candidate told the Sunday Times there should be a targeted reduction" of employers' national insurance contribution as a way to actively incentivise" hiring, particularly of young people. Continue reading...