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Commissioner says multiple witnesses reported a dramatic increase in online hate messages'

Book containing early versions of the Merlin and Grail legends has remained in private hands for 700 yearsIn one illustration, painted on vellum and decorated with gold leaf, the sorcerer Merlin is depicted as a powerful shape-shifter who has transformed into a talking stag. In another, the Knights of the Round Table are shown returning, victorious, from battle.The illustrations appear in one of the earliest manuscripts to tell the tale of King Arthur and the search for the holy grail - a richly illuminated medieval tome which, for more than 700 years, has been in private hands. Continue reading...

Seven years after Lisa Wiese went missing, a police raid on the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light has given her family a glimmer of hopeAs he watched the footage of a convoy of police vehicles driving through the security gates of the headquarters of a religious sect, AbdelRahman Hashem felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe now his two children would get answers to what happened to their mother.The last time the children heard from her was seven years ago. In an email sent from a budget hotel in India, she had written: Mommy loves and misses them so much, so very much ... they are both my best friends and my favorite people in the whole world." Two days later, she disappeared. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Our Russian affairs reporter on Vladimir Putin's slipping approval and singular goal - as discontent ripples from wider society to the reachers of the KremlinGood morning. There is little doubt that when Vladimir Putin ordered his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he did not expect his troops to still be embroiled there in 2026. And he surely never envisaged a scaled-down victory parade in Moscow, stripped of military hardware, for fear of Ukrainian drone attacks on his own capital.Putin has survived dangerous moments before, but with the Russian economy stuttering, his popularity is waning - not only with the public but also with the elites who have underpinned his regime for decades. An undoubted master of survival, the unwritten contract the president has with the Russian people is starting to fray.Middle East | The US has launched strikes on southern Iran in a test of the seven-week long ceasefire, as both sides played down hopes for an imminent peace deal even as negotiators from Tehran began new talks in Qatar.UK politics | Rachel Reeves has instructed cabinet colleagues to award government contracts in four critical industries directly to British companies, making clear her irritation that ministers have been sending too much government business abroad.Scotland | Peter Murrell, once one of the most powerful people in British politics, faces a long prison sentence after he admitted to stealing more than 400,000 from the Scottish National party to fund a lavish personal lifestyle.Cost of living | Higher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt for many months to come".UK news | The fierce heat sweeping across Europe over the bank holiday weekend has beaten the UK's all-time temperature record for May, with scorching highs of close to 35C. Continue reading...

Revelation that policing and state agency figures were in secret policymaking group angers victims' groupsThe British security services were involved in formulating the controversial Legacy Act, which offered an amnesty to soldiers and paramilitiaries despite MI5's role in many killings during the Northern Ireland Troubles, it can be revealed.The presence of policing and state agency figures among a secret policymaking group involved in devising the act - a fact established through an investigation by Belfast-based newsletter the Detail and shared with the Guardian - has angered victims' groups already critical of the legislation. Continue reading...

A 48-year-old and 35-year-old will be interviewed by police after their arrests at two separate locations in north-east Victoria

This blog is now closed - our live coverage continues hereEbrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, has said that time is working against the US and warned that Iran does not respond well to threats.In a post on X, he wrote:During the military war, our tactic was an eye for an eye; in the diplomatic war, it is action against action. Do not believe the bluff of the failed president; time is against the Americans.If they want an agreement, they should negotiate; if they want $6 gas, they should stand firm and bluff until the grass grows under their feet. Iran does not bow to force or threats. Continue reading...

Data shows even if Iran war ends, shop price inflation on rise, while only 16% of firms left unscathed by conflictHigher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt for many months to come".Disruption to global shipping, coupled with soaring prices for energy and raw materials, have driven up costs for UK companies, with the impact already filtering through to prices paid at the tills, according to fresh inflation figures. Continue reading...

Lack of Pfas regulations raised in parliament after Guardian revealed former Miteni plant bought by Indian companyProtests over the production of cancer-linked Pfas chemicals have spread across India, after an investigation revealed that an Italian factory shut down due to an environmental scandal was bought by an Indian company and partly rebuilt.At the end of last year, the Guardian revealed that the former Miteni plant in Vicenza had been acquired by the Indian company Laxmi Organic Industries. The factory produced Pfas and was shut down in 2018 after being linked to one of Italy's worst environmental contamination scandals. Continue reading...

Former DUP leader faces charges spanning 21 years in case that triggered political earthquake in Northern IrelandThe trial of former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson for alleged sex offences is set to begin in a case that triggered a political earthquake in Northern Ireland.Donaldson, 63, is charged with rape, gross indecency and other sexual offences spanning 21 years. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 60, is charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault and will be subject to a trial of facts. Continue reading...

Netanyahu's joint war with the US began with talk of regime change in Tehran but may leave him with few strategic gains

Director general of World Health Organization urges neighbouring countries to take immediate actionThe World Health Organization has warned that the Ebola outbreak is outpacing response efforts and countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at high risk from the disease.We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us," said the WHO's director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as he urged neighbouring countries to take immediate action. Continue reading...

Former husband of Nicola Sturgeon faces long prison sentence after admitting stealing from party to fund lavish lifestyle

Scientists say record-breaking heat is a reminder of how climate crisis is affecting livesThe fierce heat sweeping across Europe over the bank holiday weekend has beaten the UK's all-time temperature record for May, with scorching highs of close to 35C.A temperature of 33.5C was recorded at Heathrow airport on Monday lunchtime, according to provisional data from the Met Office, beating the previous May record that was set in 1922 and reached again in 1944. Later in the afternoon a temperature of 34.8C was recorded at London's Kew Gardens. Continue reading...

Brent crude futures down 6% to lowest level in two weeks and stock markets riseOil prices fell below $100 a barrel on Monday and stock markets rose on hopes that the US and Iran are inching closer to a peace deal.Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down 6% to $97.43 a barrel, the lowest level in two weeks, with hopes that an agreement to end the near three-month US-Israeli war on Iran can be struck. Continue reading...

Strongly anti-Turkish party doubles its seats although mainstream parties did not see vote crumble as predictedAn anti-immigrant far-right party, inspired by Greece's defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, made the biggest gains in Sunday's parliamentary election in Cyprus.Elam, the Greek National People's Front, which has pushed for the closure of checkpoints on the ethnically split island and is vociferously anti-Turkish, doubled its seats in the 56-member legislature after securing 10.9 % of the vote. Continue reading...

Ciaran Martin says Reform UK leader's allegation over Guardian report on 5m gift entirely unsubstantiated'Nigel Farage's claim that a Russian hack was behind a Guardian report on the 5m gift he received from a crypto billionaire has been described as without any merit" by a former head of the National Cyber Security Centre.Ciaran Martin, founding chief executive of the agency, which is part of GCHQ, said Farage's allegation, if true, would have major implications for UK policy towards Russia but that the Reform UK leader had yet to provide a shred of evidence". Continue reading...

Figures raise questions over ministers' plans to raise qualifying period for settled status from five years to 10Higher-earning immigrants are less likely to remain in the UK long-term and could be further deterred from staying by the government's planned crackdown on settlement rights, analysis has revealed.A report from the Migration Advisory Committee's , Who Stays, Who Leaves?, follows about 900,000 journeys between 2014 and 2024. Continue reading...

Links between Trump Organization and Ivanishvili family for Tbilisi skyscraper raise new conflict of interest concernsA Trump Tower planned for the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, is to be built on land currently part-owned by the son of the US-sanctioned leader of the country, according to official records.The proposed skyscraper, a joint venture between a local consortium and the Trump Organization, which is managed by the US president's sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, will be on a plot whose current registered owner is the International Charity Fund Cartu. Continue reading...

Monday predicted to be hottest May day on record by large margin, as UK braces for super El Nino' summerTemperatures are expected to hit 35C in parts of England on Monday, in an unprecedented" May heatwave.The Met Office is already predicting that records will be broken. A spokesperson said: Today will be the hottest day in May in the UK in our temperature records, with highs of 35C expected. The current May record is 32.8C. Records are usually only broken by tenths of a degree, making this heatwave unprecedented for the time of year." Continue reading...

Dangers include unintended pregnancies, taking unnecessary medication and missed diagnoses, say expertsMisinformation about perimenopause is putting women at risk of unintended pregnancies, unnecessary medication and missed diagnoses, experts have said.Awareness of menopause and treatments such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been raised by efforts including a prominent documentary by Davina McCall. Continue reading...

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Brereton says ongoing focus on matters relating to me personally' is undermining commission's core purpose of strengthening integrity'

Rain overwhelms sewer system in parts of US city, while temperatures in France break May recordNew York City saw flash flooding on Wednesday, as large parts of Brooklyn and Queens received about 2in (50mm) of rainfall in as little as 20 minutes. Officials said the deluge caused water to flow into the sewer system at a rate of up to 6in an hour, quickly overwhelming an aged network that was designed to accommodate just 1.75in an hour.Residents and commuters found themselves wading knee-deep through flood water that flowed with dangerous speed in places. One video showed a woman alighting from a bus losing her footing and being dragged along by the torrent of water. Several major roads were blocked, including the Long Island Expressway, and subway services were disrupted as water spilled into stations. Large amounts of mud and other debris was left behind; videos showed bags of rubbish being swept down streets along with loose litter. Continue reading...

Supporters of Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late shah, are clashing with those who oppose a return of monarchyWearing a bucket hat, a blue Adidas hoodie and khaki shorts, Tony Mohraz, also known as 021kid, chest-bumps a friend in front of a memorial wall in Golders Green, in north London.Photographs can be seen behind him of those who were killed protesting against the Iranian regime. As a large lion and sun flag used in Iran before the Islamic revolution is waved overhead, Mohraz starts to rap. Continue reading...

Hitting government's target of getting 80% of workers into jobs would reduce cost of universal credit by 10bnTackling the root causes of joblessness, instead of cutting benefits, is the best way to get the welfare bill down, and polling shows voters support that approach, according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.In a forthcoming report, JRF economists show that hitting the government's target of getting 80% of the working age population into jobs would cut the cost of universal credit by 10bn - an eighth of the current bill. Continue reading...

As former Soviet Republic goes to the polls, it finds itself in a strategic tug of war between Russia, the US, Turkey, Europe and AzerbaijanTo describe Yerevan, a charming city of liberal values encased in imposing Soviet architecture, as the centre of the world is a stretch, but Armenia's claim that it can become the strategic crossroads of the landmass of Eurasia is becoming less and less fanciful. As the former Soviet Republic goes to the polls on 7 June for national elections, it finds itself in a five-way tug of war between Russia, the US, Turkey, Europe and Azerbaijan.The interest has in part been sparked by the possibility of an end to Armenia's conflict with its neighbour Azerbaijan - and the chance this represents for Armenia to end its physical isolation and become part of the middle corridor, a vital trade route linking western China and Europe, bypassing both Russia's northern corridor and the Suez canal. Continue reading...

Radiologists say ballooning' costs reflect staffing failures, forcing a reliance on lower-quality private scan reportsThe NHS is paying private firms record sums to analyse diagnostic scans because hospitals are too busy and understaffed to do the work themselves, research has revealed.The amount being spent on outsourced the interpretation of CT and MRI scans is spiralling out of control" and reflects a short-sighted failure to train enough doctors, ministers are being told. Continue reading...

Commission also told NSW police declined to provide static police presence at Chanukah by the Sea but four officers were at event when attack began

Inmates at Barinas prison allege they were peacefully protesting when prison staff opened fire, leaving some woundedInmates at Venezuela's western Barinas prison staged a protest on its roof on Sunday, piling flaming mattresses and calling for the removal of the facility's director, who they accused of overseeing guards as they shot unarmed prisoners.We want justice. They are shooting us, the guards and the wardens," a prisoner said in a video shared by the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, a local NGO, on X, in which a man is seen with a bullet wound in his chest. Continue reading...

Under government's price cap typical gas and electricity bills are forecast to rise by 209 from this summerMinisters face growing calls to cut utility bills as millions of households in Great Britain face energy cost anxiety," with gas and electricity costs forecast to rise to almost 1,900 from this summer.The typical dual-fuel bill is expected to climb by nearly 13% under the government's energy price cap, adding 209 a year to household costs, in a blow to families already hit by rising prices for essentials. Continue reading...

From blocking freedom of information requests to tabling documents when no one is looking, promises of an upfront approach to power are in rough shape

Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile are going to court for right to wed but face fierce opposition from church groupsBonolo Selelo was at Botswana's national museum for a Gaborone Pride event when she spotted Tsholofelo Kumile and was struck by her good looks. The two initiated a conversation and when Kumile expressed anxiety about what a tarot reading at the event might hold, Selelo thought nothing of offering her a hug. The reading turned out positive but Kumile claimed her hug anyway and they talked for hours.That was 1 October 2023. Two months later, they moved in together. Then, on a hike during the Easter holidays in 2024, Selelo proposed to Kumile. A year later, they visited a local government office to register their intent to marry and were told it wasn't legal. Continue reading...

Can Andy Burnham do a better job than Keir Starmer? Is Makerfield more important for Reform than Labour? Can the UK rejoin the EU? Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey answer your messages and emails Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. See our latest full report hereIn Lebanon, the civil defence agency said early on Sunday its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed by an Israeli strike.The Directorate General of Civil Defence said the building had collapsed and a large number of vehicles and equipment had been damaged by a direct hit in a hostile Israeli strike". Continue reading...

Film starring Pedro Pascal next to Baby Yoda' took $165m globally on opening weekend, failing to surpass the opening of 2018 flop SoloThe Mandalorian and Grogu may have blasted into first place at the box office - but its launch was far, far away from impressive, having the lowest opening weekend for a Star Wars film since Disney took over the franchise.The film, which stars Pedro Pascal as the titular helmeted warrior who travels the galaxy with a tiny companion better known as Baby Yoda", made $102m at the domestic box office (North America and Canada) over the US's four-day Memorial day weekend, contributing to a total $165m global box office. Continue reading...

Warringah MP among those most active in alliance discussions while Monique Ryan, Helen Haines and Kate Chaney distance themselves from possible move

Highest temperatures of 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as Kew Gardens in London reaches 32.3CEngland, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded their highest temperatures of 2026 on Sunday, which was also the UK's hottest May day for at least 79 years.Kew Gardens in west London recorded 32.3C (90.1F), Cardiff 27.4C and Armagh 23.4C. Continue reading...

Education secretary asks UK watchdog to look into nursery practices, including non-refundable deposits and add-onsBridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is ordering a competition review of hidden childcare charges amid concerns parents are being hit with extra charges, despite the government's flagship expansion of funded childcare hours.Phillipson has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) asking it to examine practices including non-refundable deposits and compulsory add-ons. Continue reading...

Assault hits water facility, market, residential buildings and schools, killing at least four and injuring dozensRussia used its powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for a third time in Ukraine as part of a massive attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region that killed at least four people and injured about 100.Russia hit the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region with the missile, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said. He described a heavy Russian assault that also hit a water supply facility, burned down a market and damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader claims counter-espionage experts' suggest state-sponsored hackers are behind the disclosure of 5m giftNigel Farage is under mounting pressure to provide evidence for his claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure of the 5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage's phone by counter-espionage experts" suggested that Farage's phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, using spear phishing tactics", before the Guardian revealed details of his undeclared gift last month. Continue reading...

Exclusive: prison multinational MTC uses a minimalist staffing model' that critics say is putting detainees and staff in serious danger

Regulators and gambling harm advocates have been closely watching the rise in popularity of Polymarket and Kalshi

Former justice secretary Alex Chalk KC says figures Channel 4 obtained show the horror show' in the systemAlmost 60,000 arrest warrants were issued for defendants who skipped court in England and Wales last year, up nearly 50% since 2020 in further evidence of the horror show" in the criminal justice system.The figures, obtained in an investigation by Channel 4's Dispatches to air on Friday, also show that more than 30,000 failure-to-appear warrants are outstanding, meaning that tens of thousands of criminals could be on the run after being charged. It is unclear how many have more than one warrant to their name. Continue reading...

Boys, aged 15, given youth rehabilitation orders for two separate attacks against two girls in HampshireA judge's decision not to jail the teenage boys who raped two girls has been described as a rock straight in my face" by one of their victims.Southampton crown court heard the two boys, both aged 15 at the time, raped the teenage girls in two separate attacks that occurred on 26 November 2024 and 17 January 2025 in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. Continue reading...

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US imposed sanctions on nine judges and a prosecutor after ICC issued arrest warrants for members of Israeli cabinetA former prosecutor at the international criminal court has called for an EU-wide statute blocking what she describes as thuggish" and bullying" US sanctions imposed on members of the court that are designed to send the court into oblivion.In February 2025, the US imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor as well three Palestinian organisations, in response to the ICC decision in 2024 to issue arrest warrants for members of the Israeli cabinet, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...

Rightwing commentator says she is hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket and claims she was misled by promoter Rocksman

Temperature reaches 30.5C in Kent as amber health alerts issued before bank holiday temperatures riseThe UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching 30.5C in Kent as forecasters warned more extreme heat could follow over the bank holiday weekend.The temperature in Frittenden also marked the first time since 2012 the UK has reached 30C in May, according to the Met Office. Continue reading...

Xi Jinping urges authorities to spare no effort' in rescue operation after explosion in northern Shanxi provinceAt least 82 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in northern China's Shanxi province, in the country's worst mining disaster in 17 years.The explosion happened on Friday at 7.29pm (12.29 BST) while 247 workers were underground at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, the state media agency Xinhua reported. Continue reading...