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EU defence commissioner says he expects a lot of loan requests from member states under 150bn programmeA 150bn (126bn) loans programme to rearm Europe that was finalised this week could be a very important breakthrough" in the EU's military support for Ukraine, the bloc's defence commissioner has said.Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania who is the EU's first defence commissioner, said he expected a lot of member states to request EU-backed loans under the 150bn Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme, which was approved on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Northern Irish group say charge is political policing' to stop them speaking out about genocide in Gaza'The Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap have claimed a campaign is being mounted to prevent their performance at Glastonbury this summer, at a surprise gig staged a day after one of its members was charged with a terror offence.The group told the crowd at the 100 Club in central London on Thursday night that they were being used as a scapegoat" because they spoke about the genocide [in Gaza]" at Coachella in April. Continue reading...

Research also shows deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent high streetsThe number of vape shops on high streets across England has increased by almost 1,200% over the past decade, while deprived areas have up to 25 times as many bookmakers and pawnbrokers as affluent ones, according to research.In 2014, only 33.8% of 317 local authorities in England had a vape shop, rising to 97.2% in 2024. Similarly, in 2014 less than 1% of local authorities in England had 10 or more vape shops, rising to 28% in 2024. Continue reading...

Committee says Karen Kneller's position no longer tenable in damning report on miscarriage of justice watchdogThe miscarriage of justice watchdog for England, Wales and Northern Ireland has continually failed to learn from its mistakes and its chief executive should follow the organisation's chair out the door, MPs have said.In a damning report on the leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the House of Commons justice committee said Karen Kneller had provided it with unpersuasive evidence and her position was no longer tenable. Continue reading...

Popular stop on M5 tops Which? survey with Tebay second, while Bridgwater is judged the worst with one-star ratingThere are less than 80 miles between them, but the gulf in quality is massive, according to a Which? survey that ranked Gloucester services top of the stops, and Bridgwater bottom.For many people motorway service stations are a place to take a break, grab a snack and use the toilet, but the rankings from the consumer recommendation group, which surveyed users of nearly 100 service stations across Great Britain, highlight the best and worst. Continue reading...

Microsoft president declares victory' in Call of Duty maker deal as FTC chair says case doesn't fit with Trump's agendaThe US Federal Trade Commission dropped a case that sought to block Microsoft's $69bn purchase of the Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, saying on Thursday that pursuing the case against the long-closed deal was not in the public interest.Andrew Ferguson, the FTC chair, is seeking to use the agency's resources for cases that fit with Donald Trump's agenda, such as an investigation related to whether advertisers colluded to spend less on X. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Israel-Gaza war, read our full report:

Scott Mescudi said his Porsche was set on fire with a molotov cocktail on day nine of Combs's trial in New YorkScott Mescudi, known as the rapper Kid Cudi, testified on Thursday in the federal racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking trial of music mogul Sean Diddy" Combs, alleging that Combs broke into his home in 2011 after discovering that he was dating Combs's on-again, off-again girlfriend, the singer Casandra Cassie" Ventura, and told the court how a molotov cocktail was thrown at his car a few weeks later.Combs, 55, faces charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in September, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Continue reading...

Whoever leaked deputy PM's memo to the Telegraph, some believe it will have helped her leadership chancesWhat is Angela Rayner up to? To every Labour MP reading the leaked memo in the Daily Telegraph setting out the deputy prime minister's alternative tax-raising measures, it felt like firing the starting gun on a race to succeed Keir Starmer as leader.It has infuriated Starmer loyalists because of long memories of the breakdown in relations after Labour lost the Hartlepool byelection just a year into Starmer's leadership, when he considered quitting and allies of Rayner encouraged her to stand against him. Starmer then attempted to demote her, leading to a fierce standoff and Rayner emerging with a clutch of new job titles. Continue reading...

Pop star recognised for sharp yet candid songcraft on Brat, but loses best album category to Berwyn at awards honouring songwriting excellenceCharli xcx continues her victory lap after the success of her zeitgeist-grabbing 2024 album Brat, winning songwriter of the year at the Ivor Novello awards, which honour the best in British and Irish songwriting and screen composition.Brat marked a career high for the British pop artist, topping the UK charts and reaching No 3 in the US, and earning huge praise for Charli's sardonic yet soul-baring lyrics. She won five Brit awards earlier this year, the second-highest number of wins in one night in the awards' history, as well as three Grammys. Continue reading...

Other NHS staff decry their award, with teachers angered that part of their pay rise will come from school budget

Speaking at book festival in east Sussex, former supreme court president says reaction to judgment very binary'The supreme court's ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex has been misinterpreted", Lady Hale has said.Speaking at the Charleston literary festival in east Sussex, the first female president of the supreme court said the last thing she wants now that she has retired is to undermine the court and its authority by being critical of its decisions". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Contributors to Gaza: Medics Under Fire may withdraw consent due to BBC's delays to broadcast itDoctors and whistleblowers who featured in a much-delayed Gaza documentary that the corporation was accused of censoring by Susan Sarandon, Gary Lineker and other cultural figures, are threatening to withdraw their consent due to the continued refusal to broadcast the film.This month it emerged that the BBC had shelved broadcasting Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which was ready to air in February, until it finishes investigating a separate, unrelated film called Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was pulled from iPlayer after it emerged its young narrator was the son of a Hamas official. Continue reading...

Leading figures say compulsory program is ethically unsound' and would be challenged in courts

Shadow defence secretary attacks PM's assertion that opponents of the deal were on the side of Russia and ChinaThe Conservatives are taking the credit for the near-50% fall in net migration. They say it is the changes to visa rules that they introduced that brought the numbers down.This is from Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary.Net migration has halved - dropped by 430,000 - in 2024 compared to 2023This is thanks to measures put in place by the last Conservative GovernmentThis drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place.Labour will try to claim credit for these figures but they criticised me at the time, and have failed to fully implement the changes. Continue reading...

Office for National Statistics estimate shows fall from 860,000 in 2023 to 431,000 last year

Steepest drop in nearly eight months as club misses out on lucrative place in next season's Champions LeagueManchester United shares have slumped after the football club was defeated in the final of Europe's second-tier tournament, which will ultimately lead to 100m in lost revenues.United lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in the Uefa Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday night, dealing a further blow to its billionaire owners, the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe. It means the club has failed to qualify for next season's lucrative Uefa Champions League, Europe's top-tier football competition. Continue reading...

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday nightThe two victims of the shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday night have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two employees of the Israeli embassy.The country's ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, told reporters the two were in a relationship and Lischinsky had purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week in Jerusalem". Continue reading...

Celia Ramos was one of thousands of women subjected to government's brutal policy in the 1990s. A ruling by the inter-American court of human rights could open way for reparationsThe case of a forced sterilisation carried out in Peru in the 1990s will be heard by an international court on Thursday, 28 years after the procedure - one of many thousands - resulted in a woman's death.Celia Ramos was 34 when she died in 1997, 19 days after surgery for a tubal ligation caused respiratory failure. The mother of three was harassed" into accepting the procedure, which was part of a nationwide family planning programme. Continue reading...

Friedrich Merz visits Lithuania to mark the official formation of Germany's first permanent overseas military unit since the second world warPortugal wants European energy regulators' agency ACER to lead an independent investigation into the causes of the huge power outage that brought most of Spain and Portugal to a standstill last month, its acting energy minister told Reuters.Maria da Graca Carvalho said prime minister Luis Montenegro wants an independent investigation led by the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators to complement the technical report being prepared by the European network of transmission system operators ENTSO-E. Continue reading...

Northern Irish trio say charge against Liam Og O hAnnaidh is intended to stifle criticism of Israel's war in GazaThe Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap have described a terror offence charge against one of their members as political policing" that is intended to stifle criticism of Israel's war in Gaza.14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us," the group said in a statement on X on Thursday. This is a carnival of distraction. We are not the story, genocide is." Continue reading...

Environment groups say nature and biodiversity has also been short-changed by the Victorian budget

Reconciliation would be a win for Sussan Ley but, according to one senior Liberal MP, jeopardises David Littleproud's leadership of National party

Exhibition will showcase her entire career, from French surrealism to fashion and war photographyThe UK's largest retrospective of the American photographer and photojournalist Lee Miller, who produced some of the most renowned images of the modern era, will take place at Tate Britain this autumn.The exhibition will showcase the entirety of Miller's career, from her participation in French surrealism to her fashion and war photography. Continue reading...

Measure would tighten eligibility for health and food programs for the poor and could add $3.8tn to US debtThe Republican-controlled US House of Representatives narrowly passed a sweeping tax and spending bill that would enact much of President Donald Trump's policy agenda on Thursday and saddle the country with trillions of dollars in debt.The bill would fulfill many of Trump's populist campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and border enforcement. It will add about $3.8tn to the federal government's $36.2tn in debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Continue reading...

Global oil prices tumble after reports that Opec+ may increase output despite weaker demand for fossil fuelsGlobal oil prices have tumbled by more than $1 a barrel in a sign that pressure on hard-pressed households at the petrol pumps could ease further.The price of Brent crude fell to $63.86 a barrel on Thursday after reports that the Opec oil cartel and its allies may increase their production for July despite weaker global demand for fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Facility said to be no longer needed after recent trade deal with EU that eases need for checksThe UK government is reportedly considering selling a post-Brexit border check facility in Kent that could fall out of use as a result of this week's trade pact with the EU.The site, based in Sevington, Ashford, was erected in 2021 with capacity for 1,300 lorries that were expected to face extra checks on plants and animal goods, including dairy and meat, entering and leaving Britain after Brexit. Continue reading...

George Simion, a pro-Trump ultranationalist, had alleged foreign interference in rerun vote won by Nicuor Dan

Liberals will attend a virtual party room meeting this afternoon after Ley and Littleproud attempt to broker agreement two days after dramatic split. Follow today's news live

The Liberals and Nationals are likely to get back together - not because the bickering exes are a perfect match, but because there's too much to lose in the divorce

Joel Cauchi suffered deterioration in performance IQ' and some cognitive functions leading up to attack, expert tells Sydney coroner's court

Government had been due to give green light to deal handing sovereignty of islands to MauritiusA high court judge has blocked the UK government from concluding its deal to hand over the Chagos Islands with an injunction granted in the early hours of Thursday.The agreement to hand sovereignty over the Chagos islands to Mauritius was due to be given the green light by ministers on Thursday. Continue reading...

Kisunla is first new treatment registered by TGA in 25 years but could cost patients more than $80,000 and less than one in five will be eligible

April figure more than expected and comes despite chancellor's increase in employment taxesThe UK government borrowed more than expected in April, underscoring the challenge for Rachel Reeves to fix public services and grow the economy while meeting her fiscal rules.With the chancellor under pressure on Labour's tax plans, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing rose to 20.2bn in April, 1bn more than the same month a year earlier and the fourth-highest April borrowing figure on records dating back to 1993. City economists had forecast borrowing of 17.9bn. Continue reading...

Nationals leader suggests dispute could be settled before parliament resumes in late July

Charities say more should be done to support girls who experience prolonged bleeding and severe menstrual painHeavy, prolonged periods and severe menstrual pain are linked with lower school attendance and poorer GCSE scores, according to new research.The England-based study found that more than a third of girls (36%) who participated experienced heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, which was associated with missing an additional 1.7 days of school every year. Continue reading...

South Korea said the destroyer was lying sideways in the water after ceremony to launch the new 5,000-tonne shipA ceremony to welcome a new addition to North Korea's naval fleet has ended in embarrassment following a major accident during the ship's launch that the country's dictator, Kim Jong-un, described as a criminal act".Kim was present when the 5,000-tonne destroyer appeared to go off balance during its launch in the eastern port city of Chongjin on Wednesday. The tipping caused damage to sections of the hull, the state-run KCNA news agency said on Thursday. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read more of our US politics coverage hereA federal judge has rejected a bid by the US treasury department to cancel a union contract covering tens of thousands of IRS staff, Reuters reports, in an early blow to Donald Trump's efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many federal workers.US district judge Danny Reeves in Lexington, Kentucky, said in a written opinion late on Tuesday that the department lacked legal standing to bring a lawsuit against the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). Continue reading...

They're being executed,' US president tells Cyril Ramaphosa in chaotic meeting in Oval Office

Pheobe was last seen near Bundaberg airport and police have since declared crime scenes at Gin Gin

President says he will speak with advisers about taking public firms that support about 70% of US mortgagesDonald Trump said he will make a decision in the near future about taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public, a move which he said he is giving very serious consideration".In a post on Truth Social, the US president said he will speak with treasury secretary, Scott Bessent; commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick; and federal housing finance director, William Pulte, about doing so. Continue reading...

Flat Earth: Stolon Press, which was called off after Sabsabi was dumped as Australia's representative at the Venice Biennale, will now open on 29 May

Justice secretary expected to back radical sentencing reforms, including use of libido-suppressing drugs in England and WalesShabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, is considering mandatory chemical castration for the most serious sex offenders, according to government sources.The minister's department is planning to expand a pilot to 20 regions as part of a package of radical" measures to free thousands of prisoners and ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales.Ensure custodial sentences under 12 months are only used in exceptional circumstances.Extend suspended sentences to up to three years and encourage greater use of deferred sentences for low-risk offenders.Give courts greater flexibility to use fines and ancillary orders like travel, driving and football bans.Allow probation officers to adjust the level of supervision based on risk and compliance with licence conditions.Expand specialist domestic abuse courts to improve support for victims.Expand tagging for all perpetrators of violence against women and girls.Improve training for practitioners and the judiciary on violence against women and girls.Change the statutory purposes of sentencing so judges and magistrates must consider protecting victims as much as they consider punishment and rehabilitation when passing sentences. Continue reading...

Attendances are up and average ticket prices down, even in the West End, but the sector faces mounting and unsustainable strainA report by the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, released on Thursday, puts the spotlight on an industry struggling with rocketing production costs and in need of urgent funding. The sister trade associations have called for the government's comprehensive spending review to dramatically increase public investment, including 500m for infrastructure, and to support its Theatre for Every Child initiative which aims to ensure all pupils attend a professional theatre production before leaving school.The organisations' co-CEOs, Claire Walker and Hannah Essex, said: Theatres are doing more with less - and the strain is showing. Rising costs, shrinking support and ageing infrastructure are putting the sector under unsustainable pressure. We are seeing world-class organisations forced to cut programmes, delay maintenance and scale back outreach. If we want to maintain the UK's position as a global leader in theatre - and continue to inspire the next generation of actors, writers, and technicians - then government must act." Continue reading...

New Labour initiative created remarkably long-lasting' health and education improvements, says reportSure Start children's centres provided 2 of savings for every 1 in costs, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), prompting calls for the government to look at such services as potentially paying for themselves.The centres, championed by the last Labour government, created 2.8bn in savings and revenues at the scheme's peak in England, according to the IFS study. Continue reading...

President calls government meeting to address finding that Muslim Brotherhood poses threat to national cohesion'Emmanuel Macron's centrist political party has suggested banning girls under 15 from wearing the Muslim headscarf in all public places, as the president chaired a high-level government meeting to discuss what it called political Islamism" in France.The French president's office said he had asked ministers to come up with proposals before June to address the serious" findings of a report that Macron commissioned last year into the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in France. Continue reading...

Officials at animal refuge near Culiacan, capital of violence-torn Sinaloa state, faced threats from powerful drug gangsHundreds of animals including elephants, crocodiles, lions and tigers have been moved from a violence-torn Mexican cartel heartland to a new home in an operation described as a 21st-century Noah's Ark".The transported species, which also included exotic birds, had been housed at the Ostok animal refuge near Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, home to one of the country's most powerful drug gangs. Continue reading...

Homeland security agent Gerard Gannon testifies about federal raid on Miami Beach property in March last yearThe federal trial of Sean Diddy" Combs entered its eighth day of testimony in New York on Wednesday, with a homeland security agent resuming testimony about the federal raid of Combs's Miami property last year.Combs, 55, is facing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in September and has pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...

Liam O'Hanna accused of displaying banned flag in breach of UK terrorism lawsLiam O'Hanna, who performs with the Irish rap trio Kneecap, has been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in London, police said.

PM gives news conference, saying Israel is prepared for an opportunity for a temporary ceasefire and hostage release dealReuters has spoken to Mahmoud al-Haw at one of the soup kitchens in Gaza. The father-of-four says he has been regularly waiting in crowds for up to six hours to obtain food, and sometimes returns empty-handed.I have a sick daughter. I can't provide her with anything. There is no bread, there is nothing," the 39-year-old told the news agency. Continue reading...