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Mauritian foreign minister pledges to spare no effort' to regain control of islands, as US fails to give approval of dealA senior official in Mauritius' government has vowed that the Chagos Islands will be decolonised" after Keir Starmer was forced to shelve legislation to hand the islands back to Mauritius.On Friday, UK government officials acknowledged that they had run out of time to pass legislation within the current parliamentary session, which ends in the coming weeks, after a lack of support from Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health secretary warns of dangers of protest vote as he pitches NHS as key elections battlegroundVoters in May's local and devolved elections risk putting the NHS in jeopardy if they vote for populist parties, Wes Streeting has said, as he sought to make the health service a key battleground.The founding principles of the NHS are at greater threat than at any time since the NHS was founded in 1948," the health secretary said. Continue reading...

Demand at online marketplaces could settle at a new, higher normal, with the crisis leaving consumers scarred'Car buyers' interest in electric cars has surged across Europe since the start of the war in Iran, as the rising cost of petrol highlights the cheaper power available from a plug.Online marketplaces in the UK, Germany, France and Spain reported huge increases in inquiries about electric vehicles since the start of the conflict in February. Continue reading...

Oliuwadamilola Ogunyankinnu due to appear in court on Monday over fatal stabbing in north LondonA man has been charged with murder after the death of 21-year-old Finbar Sullivan, who was stabbed to death in Primrose Hill.The Metropolitan police said Oliuwadamilola Ogunyankinnu, 27, of Southbury Road in Enfield, had been charged with murder on Sunday and was due to appear at Stratford magistrates court on Monday. Continue reading...

Mo-Rez reduced or eliminated tumours in over 60% of patients and is expected to be a blockbuster drugGSK has revealed positive results for a treatment for gynaecological cancers as its chief executive, Luke Miels, seeks to speed up drug development at the group.The company said that in an early-stage trial Mocertatug Rezetecan, known as Mo-Rez, shrank or eliminated tumours in 62% of patients with ovarian cancer where chemotherapy had failed, and in 67% of those with endometrial cancer. Continue reading...

Report says company did not pay tens of thousands in tax on dividends given to Reform UK deputy leader and trustRichard Tice's company has been accused of breaking the law by allegedly failing to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax on dividends that were paid to him and his offshore trust.Reform UK's multimillionaire deputy leader is alleged to have received at least 91,000 in excess payments as a result, the Sunday Times reported. Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates - whose analysis was cited by the newspaper - said that further analysis suggested that the total in tax that should have been paid by Tice's company was about 120,000. Continue reading...

John Brennan says president who made volatile remarks about destroying Iranian civilization is clearly unhinged'The former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan has added his name to growing calls for the president to be ousted on grounds that he is unfit for the job, arguing that the US constitution's 25th amendment addressing involuntary removal from office was written with Donald Trump in mind".Brennan, who served as head of the spy agency during Barack Obama's presidency, told MS Now on Saturday that Trump's recent volatile remarks about destroying Iranian civilization and the danger he posed to so many lives merited his removal from the Oval Office. Continue reading...

PM tells Guardian Australia Hezbollah should cease reprisals and confirms Australia's military surveillance aircraft will remain in region

Experts say our preoccupation with net overseas migration figures has distracted from a more meaningful discussion on the scale of temporariness'

The two sides turned up to test one another's resolve. It was probably unrealistic to expect a dispute that has taken up years of discussion to be settled in one marathon session

Oil prices and borrowing costs are expected to rise this week as tankers remain stranded in the Gulf

Crime and corruption top voter concerns in highly unpredictable election with 35 candidates for presidentPeruvians go to the polls on Sunday hoping to break a cycle of instability that has produced nine presidents in a decade as well as surging violent crime, corruption scandals and overwhelming distrust in institutions and politicians.About 27 million people who are eligible to vote must choose between a record 35 presidential candidates as well as contenders for the bicameral congress - all from a ballot sheet measuring nearly half a metre, the longest in the country's history. Continue reading...

Democratic city does not control its police force - and reform attempts have been thwarted by RepublicansQuinton Lucas said he thinks his city's police department is a colonial system".I think it is anti-Black. I think it is anti-immigrant. I think it is anti-almost everything we stand for in terms of making sure that diverse populations in major cities have a voice in terms of navigating it," the Kansas City mayor said. Continue reading...

Researchers say magic mushrooms' can help with traumatic symptoms, but urge caution as states expand access

From Vance's interest to Trump's commitment to disclosure, administration's fascination with UFOs has experts feeling close to evidence of aliensLike most politicians, Donald Trump did not campaign on the issue of space aliens. But 15 months into his second term, UFO enthusiasts have been buoyed by the Trump administration's apparent fascination with extraterrestrials, with one expert claiming the human race has never been closer" to being presented with hard evidence of aliens.After a largely alien-free first 12 months, the president has committed himself to UFO disclosure in 2026. In February, Trump directed various departments to release government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life", and the White House took the unusual step of registering domain aliens.gov" in March, setting pulses racing among believers online. Continue reading...

Two-time Grammy nominee was one of Bollywood's most versatile and celebrated voicesThe Indian singer Asha Bhosle, whose voice defined Bollywood music through the 1970s and 80s, has died aged 92, her family said.The two-time Grammy nominee had been admitted to hospital in Mumbai with complaints of extreme exhaustion" and chest infection. Continue reading...

Officials said many killed at popular tourist site were young, with more people reported injured or missingAt least 30 people, many of them young, have died and dozens more are reported to have been injured after a crush at a mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti that is a popular tourist spot.Jean Henri Petit, the head of civil protection for the country's Nord department, said the incident took place on Saturday at Citadelle Henry - also known as Citadelle Laferriere - a large 19th-century fortress built shortly after the Caribbean country's independence from France, which was packed with students and visitors. Continue reading...

Use of interns by Plum Sykes, an ex-assistant of Anna Wintour whose family owns a Yorkshire estate, reignites debate about creative industriesShe is said to have been the inspiration for a character in The Devil Wears Prada and was a personal assistant of Anna Wintour, so Plum Sykes knows a thing or two about the arduous and often unglamorous life of being a fashion industry intern.But that recognition does not, it appears, extend to paying her own interns a fair wage. Or, indeed, any wage at all. Continue reading...

Last year's drop may reflect rising unemployment and improved right to request flexible working, experts sayThe number of workers in Great Britain taking their bosses to employment tribunals over remote working fell last year for the first time since Covid hit, with a tightening labour market making some more reluctant to leave roles despite return-to-office mandates.There were 54 employment tribunals decided in England, Scotland and Wales in 2025 that cited remote working, according to an analysis of records by the HR consultants Hamilton Nash: down 13% compared with 2024. Continue reading...

President's proposed budget slashes health department by 12% while throwing $1.5tn - a 42% increase - to the militaryAmericans are dying in droves. Deaths due to avoidable causes in the United States -which could be dealt with via prevention or proper healthcare - far outpace those in most of country's peers in the industrialized world. Most notably, Americans die of treatable conditions at nearly twice the rate as Spaniards, French, Japanese and Australians.They would most likely live longer if they enjoyed better access to healthcare. Americans are the most likely to skip a doctor's appointment due to its cost, the most likely to skip a medical test and to skimp on prescription drugs. This is unsurprising, given the extraordinary lack of public health insurance in the United States. Americans face the highest out-of-pocket expenses for medical services in their peer group. Continue reading...

Exclusive: closures are part of pledge by Labour to end all use of hotels for asylum seekers by end of this parliamentThe Home Office is to announce the closure of 11 asylum hotels this week as part of its pledge to close all such facilities by the end of this parliament.The use of hotels to house asylum seekers has been controversial since it became widespread at the start of the Covid pandemic. Anti-migrant protesters have staged demonstrations outside hotels, claiming asylum seekers are living a life of luxury there. Continue reading...

Iranian sources, however, blame excessive' demands from Washington for breakdown of talks in Islamabad to resolve US-Iran conflict

Label tried to keep band members out of trouble during first tour, Nick Lachey says in Boy Band ConfidentialAs they embarked on their first tour and their record label tried to limit their potential for legal issues, members of the 1990s US boyband 98 Degrees were equipped with a handbook listing the age at which people across the nation can lawfully consent to sex , the group's lead singer, Nick Lachey, reveals in a new documentary.This is going to sound super shady, but ... I remember our first tour, someone at the label gave us a book, and it was the age of consent in every state in the country," Lachey says in Boy Band Confidential, which is premiering on Monday at 9pm ET on the cable network Investigation Discovery. And like, we kept that book on the tour bus." Continue reading...

Formerly unloved vegetable casts off lowly roots to feature in Great Pavilion after online craze among young gardenersThey are an unloved root vegetable traditionally grown for cattle feed, and when pulled from the ground they look like an ingredient destined for a witch's cauldron.But the humble mangelwurzel will be in pride of place in the Great Pavilion at this year's Chelsea flower show (19-23 May), after becoming the subject of an online craze among young gardeners. Continue reading...

As president Patrice Talon steps down after a decade, the west African country's finance minister is favourite to winThis Sunday, just four months after a failed coup, Benin heads to the polls for a presidential election that feels more like a coronation than a contest.Patrice Talon, the businessman turned politician who has been president since 2016, is ineligible to run again after serving two five-year terms. Continue reading...

War with Iran has brought 15 American sites across the UK countryside firmly into the spotlightThey are dotted across the UK countryside, often obscured from public view behind highly secured perimeter fences. Technically, they are on British soil, and misleadingly most have Royal Air Force" in their name.But in many respects, these military outposts are under the control of the US president and commander-in-chief. Continue reading...

Cyclone crossed coast near Maketu peninsula, packing destructive winds exceeding 130km/h (80 mph), heavy rain and large swellsCyclone Vaianu made landfall in New Zealand's North Island on Sunday, triggering floods, power outages and forcing hundreds to evacuate.The cyclone crossed the coast near the Maketu peninsula, packing destructive winds exceeding 130km/h (80 mph), heavy rain and large swells, national weather provider MetService said, describing Vaianu as a life-threatening" system. Continue reading...

Estate agents say rising mortgage costs have created a mood of fear, with Canterbury among the cities being hit

Rightwing leader trails in polls to Peter Magyar, despite support from JD Vance on recent visitHungarians are heading to the ballot boxes to vote in a hard-fought parliamentary election that could oust Viktor Orban after 16 years in power and potentially reshape the central European country's relations with the EU, Moscow and Washington.In the campaign, Orban - the EU's longest-serving leader - has trailed in the polls as he faces an unprecedented challenge from Peter Magyar, a former elite member of Orban's Fidesz party. Continue reading...

Australia's foreign affairs minister says priority must be to continue the ceasefire and return to negotiations'

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Industry experts say booking of controversial US rapper was calculated risk that has implications for all festivalsThe fallout over Wireless announcing Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) as its 2026 headliner was both swift and considerable.Last Sunday, major sponsors of the three-day festival, including Pepsi and Diageo, began to withdraw their involvement in the face of a significant backlash to Ye's shocking pronouncements on the Jewish community and the Holocaust. UK Jewish groups threatened to protest if the shows went ahead. Keir Starmer called the decision to book the rapper who wrote a song titled Heil Hitler deeply concerning". Continue reading...

Exclusive: US state is targeting corporate heavyweights in the UK with subsidies and incentives

Described as the must-have' home accessory of 2026, sales of posh' matchboxes are up 121% at SelfridgesGoodbye Swan Vesta, hello Cartier. Matchboxes are the latest home accessory to get a luxury makeover - and some of the price tags are striking.At the upmarket department store chain Selfridges, sales of posh matchboxes are up 121% year-on-year and it said they were the must-have home accessory for 2026". The store has more than doubled its range to meet demand, selling over 100 styles at prices ranging from 5 to more than 230. Continue reading...

US vice-president says Iran chose not to accept American terms for a deal, including to not build nuclear weapons

Catherine King says while peace talks were best chance' at lowering fuel prices, further help may be included in budget

Study identified eight areas that can sustain a population and government has given 1m for recovery programmeThe world is grown so bad that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch." So wrote Shakespeare in Richard III, in a line of social commentary that feels ever more relevant with age.A note of good news then, in a world of so much bad, that the eagles the Bard was probably referring to could finally be reintroduced to England after more than 150 years. Continue reading...

Suspect in 40s arrested after man apparently climbed on to USAF C130 Hercules transport plane on remote taxiway in County ClareA man has been arrested after entering an unauthorised area of an airport in the Republic of Ireland and allegedly causing damage to a US military aircraft, police have said.The suspect, aged in his 40s, was arrested for alleged criminal damage and remains in custody over the incident on Saturday at Shannon airport in County Clare. Continue reading...

Animals were used legally as fishing bait, sheriff's office confirms after incident shook locals in Guemes IslandA Washington state sheriff's office says it has solved the mystery of nearly two dozen dead canines who washed ashore recently.The animals were foxes being used legally as bait for fishing operations, the Skagit county sheriff's office said on Friday. Continue reading...

Human rights lawyers say NDIS workers and their clients remain at risk despite newly bolstered whistleblower protections

Ukraine reports 469 violations of Putin's 32-hour ceasefire, hours after deadly drone attacks on Odesa and KhersonRussia continued to strike Ukrainian positions with drones after a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire took effect on Saturday, a Ukrainian military officer said.The ceasefire is not being observed by the Russian side," said Serhii Kolesnychenko, a communications officer for the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade. Continue reading...

JD Vance leads American delegation while Iran's negotiators headed up by Iran's parliamentary speakerPeace talks between Iran and the US began in Islamabad this afternoon, with senior negotiators from both countries meeting face to face at the highest level for the first time since 1979, in the presence of mediators from Pakistan.Pakistani state TV said US and Iranian officials were sitting directly at the same table" - which was later confirmed by the White House - and discussions were beginning in a positive atmosphere, despite fighting continuing in Lebanon. Continue reading...

Police rescued boy after neighbour reported sounds of a child coming from vehicle in Hagenbach in eastern FranceA malnourished nine-year-old boy was rescued after being locked in his father's van since 2024 in eastern France, a prosecutor said.A neighbour alerted police to sounds of a child" coming from a vehicle in the village of Hagenbach, near the borders of Switzerland and Germany. Continue reading...

Three arrested by federal agents had family ties to Iranian military general, regime spokesperson or security chiefUnited States federal agents arrested three Iranian nationals - including the son of a revolutionary at the center of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis - after the US state department terminated their green cards, the department announced on Saturday.State department officials revoked the green card status of Seyed Eissa Hashemi, whose mother was an Iranian revolutionary who served as the spokesperson for Iran's regime during the hostage crisis that defined the late Jimmy Carter's presidency. The state department also revoked the green card - or legal permanent resident - statuses of Hashemi's wife and son. Continue reading...

Arrests and detentions took place at first mass demo since group's ban was ruled unlawful by high courtMore than 200 people have been arrested at the first mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action since the group's ban was ruled unlawful by the high court.Hundreds of people gathered in Trafalgar Square in London and presented signs reading: I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." Hundreds of demonstrators sat on camping chairs and on the ground as they held up their placards on Saturday afternoon. The Metropolitan police said 212 people had been arrested by 4.50pm, with their ages ranging from 27 to 82. Continue reading...

Officials accept that time has run out to pass law to allow transfer of islands to MauritiusThe UK government has been forced to shelve its legislation to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after the US dropped its support for the agreement.On Friday, UK government officials acknowledged that they had run out of time to pass legislation within the current parliamentary session, which ends in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

Trump has upped the stridency and threatening nature of his complaints, but the US and Europe need each otherCollateral damage is a universally acknowledged hazard of war - more commonly known for its impact on truth and non-combatant civilians.Its consequences are much less frequently visited on military alliances. Continue reading...

Police arrest man on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury resulting in deathA 19-year-old woman has died after being attacked by a dog at a property in Essex.Police have arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury resulting in death, after the incident on Friday. He is now in police custody. Continue reading...

Lynette and Brian Hooker, from Michigan, were years into a sailing adventure when Brian said his wife fell overboardLynette Hooker bounced around the deck of the docked Soul Mate, smiled into the camera and proclaimed, We're finally leaving Kemah," referring to a Texas port town.It's only been four months," she said as her husband, Brian, tugged on some rigging as they got ready to set sail. Continue reading...

Conservative leader promises biggest peacetime rearmament effort in UK history if her party is re-electedThe Conservatives would reinstate the two-child benefit cap and use the savings for a wide-ranging spending splurge on defence in what Kemi Badenoch said would be the biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country's history".Speaking at a defence conference in London, the Tory leader criticised the government for Britain's lack of readiness" for war, which has been exposed by recent world events. Continue reading...