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Charlotte MacInnes, who is suing Wilson for defamation, says social media post from Ramona Agruma-Wilson featuring animated character Dory, made her feel awful'

This blog is now closed. For the latest Middle East news, see our full report hereThe Pentagon abruptly announced that the secretary of the US navy, John Phelan, would be leaving his job yesterday. No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the navy's top civilian official, who had addressed a large crowd of sailors and industry professionals at the navy's annual conference in Washington just a day before the announcement.People familiar with the dynamics at the Pentagon told the Guardian Phelan was fired. Phelan had an increasingly rocky relationship with the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, and other senior staff. Continue reading...

US president says Tehran hobbled by infighting as Pentagon reportedly briefs mine clearance may take six months

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Radio presenter arrives by Rolls-Royce for case management hearing into allegations he breached his radio contract

US president accuses UK of thinking it can make an easy buck' from US tech companies, weeks after warning that UK-US trade deal can be changedDonald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms.The digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2% levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies. Continue reading...

Paramount Skydance CEO fetes administration as it weighs $110bn merger with CNN parent WarnerBros DiscoveryDozens of protesters, including members of Congress, gathered along the National Mall on Thursday to protest an intimate" dinner being held by Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison in celebration of the First Amendment" and honoring the Trump White House and CBS White House Correspondents", and attended by Donald Trump.Paramount has faced criticism for the dinner, which has been seen by some as illustrative of the cozy relationship between the Ellisons and the White House - right as the Trump administration is weighing whether to approve the company's $110bn merger with CNN parent company WarnerBros Discovery. The dinner comes before Saturday's White House correspondents' dinner, which Trump will attend. His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is expected to sit at one of the many tables bought by CBS News for the event. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry says remarks of conservative podcast host Michael Savage that were shared by US president were obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste'India on Thursday criticised as inappropriate a post by Donald Trump in which he shared comments that called the South Asian country a hellhole".The inflammatory post on Truth Social comes ahead of a planned visit next month to India by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is seeking to ease recent tensions between the normally friendly powers. Continue reading...

National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report further says crash prevention system didn't generate alertA firefighter whose truck collided with an Air Canada jet last month on a runway at New York's LaGuardia airport, killing both pilots, heard an air traffic controller warn stop, stop, stop" but didn't know who it was for, federal investigators said Thursday.The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on the 22 March collision that a crash prevention system for air traffic controllers didn't generate an audio or visual alert, and lights on the runway that act as a stop light for crossing traffic were on until about three seconds before the collision. Continue reading...

Force says it is confident there was no offence' and condemns shameful' behaviour by protestersThe investigation into reports of a rape outside a church in Epsom that led to widespread public disorder will close as police are confident there was no offence".Surrey police received a report on Saturday 11 April that a woman had been raped near a church in the early hours of the morning after leaving Labyrinth nightclub in Epsom. Continue reading...

Tensions around US negotiations may reflect mistake of assassinating more pragmatic and experienced figures

Justice department has already identified 384 foreign-born people whose US citizenship it wants to revokeThe Trump administration is reportedly pushing the justice department to pursue hundreds of denaturalization cases, in which Americans born outside of the US are stripped of their citizenship.The justice department has already identified 384 foreign-born US citizens, whose citizenship it wants to revoke and will begin the process in the coming weeks, according to the New York Times. Continue reading...

Hope Not Hate campaign identifies election hopefuls calling for a white Britain' and complaining of kowtowing to the black community'A Reform UK candidate who called for a white Britain" and said Keir Starmer should be shot is among a number of contenders fuelling doubts about the party's claim to have tightened up its vetting.The past comments of Linda McFarlane and other political hopefuls have been unearthed ahead of the 7 May elections, including one who complained about constant kowtowing to the black community" and others who endorsed the far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Continue reading...

Mandated release of files was marred by missed deadlines, leaked victims' information and excessive redactions

Police allegedly found images on iCloud account of singer accused of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas HernandezA Los Angeles prosecutor said that the singer D4vd, who was charged this week in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was in possession of a significant amount of child pornography".Police allegedly found the images on the iCloud account of the 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke. Continue reading...

Battle of the blockades may still have more time to run as the US and Iran try to assert control over the strait of HormuzDonald Trump's decision to extend the naval blockade of Iran indefinitely may do nothing to reduce world oil prices - but it could amount to a recognition that further US military escalation in breach of the nominal ceasefire comes with greater risk against a regime disinclined to surrender.In theory, Trump's military options are increasing. A third US carrier strike group, the George HW Bush, is due to arrive in the Middle East within days after rounding South Africa. A second taskforce of 2,500 US marines is sailing from the Pacific and is due to arrive by the end of April. Continue reading...

Proposal at heart of offer made during a 30-country two-day meeting jointly organised by France

Taskforce report examines how effects of slavery and Jim Crow in Fulton county continue to harm Black residentsA Georgia taskforce has released a landmark report that details the lasting impact of slavery and its afterlives in Fulton county.The report, spanning more than 600 pages, is based on original research by the Fulton county reparations taskforce and a review of primary source documents. It is the first - of its kind in the nation, according to county leaders and researchers. Rather than examining the impact of slavery and racism at the federal or state level, the harm report investigated the role of the county government. Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen hails good news' after Hungary's lifting of vetoes allows leaders to sign off on agreementsEU leaders have welcomed the end of diplomatic deadlock over a long-awaited 90bn (78bn) loan for Ukraine, after the bloc finalised the agreement along with a 20th sanctions package against Russia.After weeks of delay, the EU signed off on the loan on Thursday, in time for a summit in Cyprus that began in the evening and will include talks over a dinner with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...

National broadcaster confirms it will not broadcast world's largest live music eventNational broadcasters in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia will not air the Eurovision song contest this year, after they decided to boycott the event over Israel's participation.Having announced it would not submit a national entry, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV confirmed on Thursday it would implement a broadcasting blackout of the world's largest live music event and instead show a series of films about Palestine. Continue reading...

Jim Taiclet spoke in earnings call as company expands contracts with the US government amid the Iran warLockheed Martin's CEO has called the Trump administration a golden opportunity" for the company as it expands its contracting work for the federal government amid the conflict in the Middle East.In an earnings call on Thursday covering the first quarter of 2026, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet told investors that the company is well positioned based on more available resources for us". Continue reading...

With the EU approving a 90bn loan for Ukraine, a surprise visit from Prince Harry, and data suggesting Russian troops made almost no territorial gains in March - are there reasons for optimism in Kyiv? Lucy Hough speaks to senior international correspondent Luke Harding - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Firm went bust in February amid fallout from the scandal over Mandelson's links to Jeffrey EpsteinLittle says in March she had a meeting when she asked to see the Foreign Office's documentation about the decision to grant Mandelson vetting. She said she was asking because this was documentation covered by the humble address. She said was told that that information would not be forthcoming".In the middle of March, I have a meeting with Sir Olly and a senior member of his team, and this is after the point that I've been told that this summary document exists.I specifically ask to see this document and any decision-making audit trail around those judgments at the time. It was made clear to me that that information would not be forthcoming.I took the very unusual judgment that I should directly request the information from UK Security Vetting.And I did that because I go back to my responsibilities, to discharge the humble address, which is a responsibility that is unique to me and I take very seriously. Continue reading...

Committee to Protect Journalists says Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was found innocent after 52 days in detention

Woman raped by two men while a third filmed ordeal after she became separated from friends on night outThree men have been found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman on Brighton beach in a cynical, predatory and callous" attack after she became separated from her friends on a night out.The woman was targeted by the men as she was incapacitated in the early hours of 4 October last year, the trial at Hove crown court was told. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Officials warn department will lose access to database of 26,000 verified cases by cutting fundingThe Foreign Office unit tracking potential breaches of international law by Israel in Gaza and more recently Lebanon has been closed because of cuts within the department, the Guardian can reveal.The decision to shut the international humanitarian law cell follows a review by Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office dismissed last week by the prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal. Continue reading...

Removal site in Dunkirk will hold people of 10 nationalities trying to reach UK in small boats under new deal with French

The merger will still require governmental approval and could be delayed by a lawsuit seeking to block itShareholders of Warner Bros Discovery voted overwhelmingly" to approve the company's $110bn merger with Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News, on Thursday.But shareholders voted against generous proposed compensation packages for WBD executives, including a $550m payout to the outgoing chief executive, David Zaslav. Continue reading...

British foreign secretary told to impose new measures, with ruble-pegged cryptocurrency A7A5 being supported in countryMore than 20 MPs and peers have called on the foreign secretary to take action against institutions and individuals in Kyrgyzstan allegedly facilitating large-scale Russian sanctions evasion.They urged the UK to levy personal sanctions against three top Kyrgyz officials for their alleged role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion more broadly, and more specifically for allowing Kyrgyzstan to host infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency A7A5. Continue reading...

Move comes after Hungary and Slovakia dropped opposition following reopening of the Druzhba oil pipelineMeanwhile, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Kyiv will seek to receive the first tranche of the 90bn European Union loan by the end of May, or early June.This is strengthening of our army," he told reporters in a WhatsApp chat, reported by Reuters. Continue reading...

Rosemarie Milsom, who formed and runs Newcastle writers festival, will take over from Louise Adler after the literary festival imploded over invitation to Randa Abdel-FattahIn January, as the implosion of Adelaide writers' week made headlines around Australia and the world, Rosemarie Milsom was watching closely.The Adelaide festival board, which oversees AWW, had overridden the literary festival's director, Louise Adler, and disinvited the Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah over past comments she'd made about Israel and Zionism. This decision resulted not in a quieter, less-controversial festival as the board members may have hoped, but a boycott by 200-odd writers, the resignation of Adler - followed by the whole board - a potential defamation lawsuit against the South Australian premier and the collapse of AWW. Continue reading...

Bills are response to election petitions challenging Godwin Friday and fellow politician's eligibility to be MPs because of dual citizenshipThe St Vincent and the Grenadines government has delayed a controversial effort to amend a section of the country's constitution that the opposition says renders the prime minister ineligible for his position in parliament.Two bills, among six listed for the parliament session on Tuesday this week, were aimed at clarifying a section of the 1979 constitution governing the citizenship eligibility of members of parliament. Continue reading...

State's strict gun policies heralded as data shows 35% reduction in homicides between 2022 and 2024California officials are touting a historic three-year decrease in homicides and gun violence that has led to the state's lowest number of killings on record.The number of homicides in California decreased by 35% between 2022 and 2024, with 2,304 deaths reported in 2022 and 1,768 in 2024, according data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The dip in homicides was most pronounced for teenage and young adult Black and Latino males, who have historically faced the highest risk of being killed or injured by gunshot wounds. Suicides, the most common type of gun deaths, also fell to record lows, according to the report. Continue reading...

Order to speed hallucinogen research hailed as threshold moment' but concerns remain over access and protectionsThe scene seemed so far-fetched you could be forgiven for thinking you might be hallucinating.On the weekend in which psychonauts celebrate Bicycle Day" - the anniversary of the first LSD trip - Donald Trump was in the Oval Office double-checking that he was correctly pronouncing the name of a lesser-known psychedelic, ibogaine, as he signed a landmark executive order to accelerate research into hallucinogens, and to increase access. Continue reading...

Karl Turner, who lost Labour whip after criticising PM, calls for privileges committee to examine if Starmer misled parliament

Brand, who will be tried in October over allegations of rape and sexual assault, tells podcast he slept with 16-year-old when he was 30Russell Brand said he had exploitative" consensual sex with a 16-year-old girl at the height of his fame.The comedian, actor and podcaster, 50, will be tried in the autumn over allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him by six women. Brand denies all the charges, which date from 1999 to 2009. Speaking about his past actions in an appearance on the YouTube show of the US journalist Megyn Kelly, Brand described himself selfish" and an exploiter of women". Continue reading...

At least 18 people hurt after crash involving two local services north of Denmark's capitalTwo trains have collided head-on in Denmark, injuring at least 18 people, five of whom are in a critical condition.The crash happened on Thursday morning at a level crossing at Isterodvejen, near Hillerod, a town about 19 miles (30km) north-west of Copenhagen. Emergency services received a report of the collision just before 6.30am. Continue reading...

FoI data reveals that 438 people with criminal convictions were given licences in Wolverhampton, UK's taxi capital'More than 150 people convicted of violent crimes were granted taxi licences last year by Wolverhampton city council, dubbed the UK's taxi capital", data has revealed.The Guardian obtained data via a freedom of information request that revealed 438 people with criminal convictions were last year granted taxi and private hire driver licences by the West Midlands local authority - which has issued far more taxi licences than any other authority. Continue reading...

Reductionprocedures and implant removals reflect shift toward comfort and more active lifestyles, surgeons sayBreast reductions and implant removals have overtaken enlargements for the first time, data shows, as experts link the shift to more active lifestyles.The latest annual audit from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) shows there were 4,761 breast enlargement procedures in 2025, down 8% on the previous year. Continue reading...

Judge's repeal of Trump ban on gender-affirming care for children a meaningful win for patients', experts sayA federal judge overturned the Trump administration's ban on gender-affirming care for children on Saturday, decrying Robert F Kennedy Jr's wanton disregard" for the law that causes very real harm to very real people".It's another loss for Kennedy's agenda as secretary for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the second Trump administration - an agenda that has focused on restricting healthcare, including vaccines, abortion and gender-affirming care. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Brussels seeks to stall awarding of contract to firm fronted by US president's lawyer in letter seen by GuardianThe EU risks a confrontation with Donald Trump after it sought to stall the awarding of a lucrative Balkans pipeline contract to a company fronted by his personal lawyer, documents seen by the Guardian show.Brussels has clashed with Trump over trade, Ukraine and military spending, but the intervention in the Southern Interconnection pipeline project appears to mark the first time it has challenged a commercial venture by those close to the president. Continue reading...

Analyst who worked on Internet Watch Foundation report says content exists across all social media platforms' and is very easy' to findThe number of commercial child sexual abuse websites has doubled in a year as experts say that criminal gangs are making huge profits" from online sexual exploitation.According to data collected by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), 15,031 commercial child sexual abuse sites were found in 2025, compared with 7,028 found in 2024, a 114% increase. Continue reading...

Savitha Prakash, a first-generation immigrant running in local elections in Harrow, says Reform UK aims to put Britain first'Savitha Prakash, an NHS doctor living in the London borough of Harrow, believes there are similarities between the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, and India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. He's [Modi] one of those people, like Nigel, he walks the talk. He made [a] difference to the country," said Prakash, who chairs Reform UK's branch in Harrow.In particular, the 47-year-old said Farage and Modi - who have each been accused by their critics of scapegoating marginalised communities - were focused on putting the needs of the majority first. Continue reading...

Industry groups dismayed at hints policy will not be in king's speech, as touts make huge sums from BBC Radio 1 eventKeir Starmer has been urged to honour his pledge to ban ticket touting, amid fears that the policy will be left out of next month's king's speech, potentially costing fans hundreds of millions".Music industry groups called on the prime minister to act as fresh evidence showed that professional ticket traders" had targeted BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend next month, making huge mark-ups through sites such as Viagogo and StubHub. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labour MP calls on DVLA to take action, saying speeding, hit and runs and other crimes are going unpunishedMore than 18,000 vehicles are being used in the UK without proper records of where their owners live, it has emerged, part of what a Labour MP has called an increasing problem of ghost owners" who cannot be held accountable for their driving.According to a freedom of information request to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, 18,260 vehicles were listed in its records as being registered to the DVLA's own address, meaning the owner's location was not known. Continue reading...

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But Iran war likely to blow hole in Rachel Reeves's carefully crafted fiscal headroom' in coming months

The campaign is part of government initiative to boost financial risk taking, amid fears UK growth is being stymied

Retailer WH Smith joins supermarket in warning on effects of Middle East conflictSainsbury's has warned that profits could fall this year as the conflict in the Middle East squeezes customers' budgets and pushes up business costs.The supermarket group said the conflict will impact both our customers and our business" and it was unclear how large the effect would be. Continue reading...