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James Sherwin-Smith says field tilted against him after building society said it would give members quick vote' against his candidacy

Two 24-hour stoppages by drivers to take place next week as part of action over proposals for four-day weekStrikes by drivers on London Underground next week will go ahead, the RMT union has announced, paving the way for more days of transport disruption.Two 24-hour stoppages are to take place, from 00.01 to 23.59 on Tuesday 2 June and Thursday 4 June, because of differences over a planned four-day week. Continue reading...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for ceasefire among armed groups to help avoid deaths from preventable diseaseThe death rate of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is between 30% and 50%, the World Health Organization has said, as its head arrived in the country to support efforts to contain the disease.Anais Legand, from the WHO's high threat pathogens team, said the revised death rate estimate is based on confirmed cases. It's huge. It means that up to five out of 10 people are likely to die," Legand told reporters in Geneva. Continue reading...

Santiago Campos says he felt obligated to criticize the network's direction, which stains legacy of Mike Wallace'Standing in front of the most powerful and well-known people in the television news business on Wednesday night, in a glitzy New York City ballroom, 18-year-old high school student Santiago Campos shocked - but also delighted -many in attendance when he called out the network that funded the scholarship he received: CBS News.Campos, a graduating senior at the District of Columbia international school who had traveled to New York for the 47th annual news and documentary Emmy awards with his mother and teacher, was awarded the Mike Wallace memorial scholarship, honoring the legendary television interviewer. Campos was given the award by veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, who said: Mike would see something of himself in this year's recipient." Continue reading...

Plaintiffs say children's services uses emergency removal' disproportionately against Black and Latino families

OurCoop criticised by members after withholding annual profit-share payment despite soaring executive payOurCoop, an independent mutual that runs about 500 food stores across England, is facing criticism from members after it more than tripled its chief executive's pay to 2.2m despite falling sales and profits.The chain, which is a separate company from the Co-op Group but relies on the much bigger business to supply some products, has not approved an annual profit-share payment to members this year, although they have received discounts on shopping. Continue reading...

Policy U-turn comes after rightwing nationalist government was swept from power in April after 16-year rule

A new South Carolina act will exempt some heirs' property owners from increased property taxesIn a move that protects vulnerable people from forced property sales, South Carolina recently enacted an act that could help families keep land that has been passed down for generations. The Heirs' Property Tax Relief Act, signed into law by Henry McMaster, the state's governor, on 15 May, prevents counties from reassessing property values when heirs clear their property titles, or resolve disputes about the ownership.The act allows families with heirs' properties - land inherited by multiple owners who are not listed on the title - to transfer the title between family members without their real estate taxes increasing. Gullah Geechee people, the descendants of formerly enslaved west Africans who retained their culture and customs, are especially vulnerable to heirs' property issues. They can lead to their homes being sold at annual auctions for delinquent tax payments, predatory development and interfamily fighting. Continue reading...

UK's third biggest supermarket will use tech of online grocer, which already provides support for M&S and MorrisonsAsda has agreed a deal to use Ocado's technology to run its online grocery store and home deliveries from next year.Ocado software will be used to support Asda's grocery website and deliveries from its stores and dark stores" - smaller warehouses that are not open to the public - from early 2027, the companies announced on Friday. Continue reading...

Kenneth Law expected to admit to sending products internationally in knowledge they would probably be used to end livesBereaved families whose loved ones were the victims of an online supplier of suicide kits say they feel insulted by a decision not to prosecute him in the UK.Kenneth Law was due to appear in court on Friday in Ontario, Canada, accused of selling 1,200 suicide packages across 40 countries, including the UK. Continue reading...

Mark Rutte says Moscow's reckless behaviour is a danger to us all' after drone hit apartments during attack on Ukraine

Zeppelin Witheridge charged with public nuisance over Scientology speedrun' social media trend

Shanice Brookes, 30, was shot dead outside bar in city centre during early hours of bank holiday MondayA man and a woman have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old woman outside a bar in Sheffield in the early hours of bank holiday Monday.Shanice Brookes was shot near the One Four One bar in West Street shortly before 2.45am on Monday. Detectives have described her as simply an innocent bystander". Continue reading...

This blog is now closedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWho's leading the fight against Labor's CGT reform - and what's in it for them?People with direct personal financial stakes in Labor's tax reforms are among the loudest voices opposing the changes. Continue reading...

Former prime minister elected Liberal party president on Friday after running unopposed

Health organisations refute assertion by Sunbed Association that tanning is protective and warn it could increase risk of skin cancerThe body that represents the UK's sunbed salons is wrongly insisting that a tan protects against sunburn, even though leading medical bodies say that claim is untrue.Health organisations have challenged the accuracy of information being disseminated by the Sunbed Association, which on its website asks: Is it true there is no such thing as a safe tan?" Continue reading...

London exhibition explores how care and protest improved rights and dignity of those living with diseaseFrom photos of a mass die-in" by Aids activists in Trafalgar Square, London, in the 1990s to plushie breasts, lips and vulvas hand-stitched by HIV-positive women, a new exhibition explores how care and protest have improved the rights and dignity of those living with the disease.The show, Tenderness and Rage, at the Wellcome Collection, London, reflects how different groups affected by HIV, including gay men, women of colour, and refugees in the UK and around the world have found power, solidarity, comfort and joy in Aids activism and support services. Continue reading...

Governor general Sam Mostyn, television personalities Richard Roxburgh, Julia Morris and Gretel Killeen among those who attended the packed public event in Sydney

In today's newsletter: As the virus spreads across borders, health workers warn that weakened global support is making a prolonged crisis more likelyEbola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month.Public health officials are scrambling to contain the virus in one of the toughest environments: Ituri province, the centre of the crisis, is a mining hub where thousands of people work in close proximity every day, and a conflict zone, with ongoing fighting between rebel groups. Medical facilities are modest, while waves of displaced people are being forced into overcrowded camps to escape fighting, making it even harder to control transmission. The virus has already spread to other regions in eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala.UK news | Britain risks a financial hit worth 125bn a year after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million.US-Israel-Iran | Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control.UK politics | Andy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on him.Ukraine | A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, authorities said, in what an official statement condemned as an irresponsible escalation" by Moscow.Climate crisis | Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to Tony Blair. Continue reading...

The Irish singer-songwriter says her rise has been increasingly tarnished by the fact that I would be allowed to enjoy it so much more if I was thin'The Irish singer-songwriter CMAT has responded to ongoing abuse she has received about her body and her weight following an appearance last week at BBC's Radio 1 Big Weekend.The musician, whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, wrote on Instagram on Thursday that she had felt compelled to wade in and speak for myself" after learning of the abuse being directed at photos taken of her on stage at the Sunderland festival on 24 May. Continue reading...

On Saturday, Donald Trump said talks with Tehran were going well and an agreement to end the war was largely negotiated'. On Sunday, the US launched strikes on Southern Iran. By Thursday, Donald Trump had circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies.This week, as the US-Iran deal remains in a precarious state, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group about why Trump keeps changing his mind on what to do to end the warArchive: AP, Reuters Continue reading...

Yates says we have let ourselves down' when dealing with allegations of client information being misused

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US president's move comes as both sides try to prevent fresh ceasefire breaches scuppering a potential deal

Rising heat in Saudi Arabia threatens millions of Muslim pilgrims - but cutting fossil fuels would keep it saferGlobal heating has fundamentally altered" the climate of Mecca and is exposing millions of hajj pilgrims to extreme and dangerous heat even in months outside summer, new analysis has found.Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels means scorching temperatures of 40C (104F) are now regularly experienced in May, the study showed. In past decades, such peaks would only have occurred in summer. The researchers said that hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, would take place amid dangerous heat almost all year round by the end of the century without a rapid transition away from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

Newly released evidence from inquiry into 80 deaths shows Afghan partner forces no longer willing to work alongside British by 2011Concerns about the number of Afghan civilians being killed by British special forces in the early part of the last decade prompted the country's then president to make a muscular" complaint to Nato commanders fighting the Taliban.Newly released evidence from a public inquiry into the deaths of up to 80 people during an SAS deployment also showed that Afghan partner military forces were no longer willing to work alongside the British by the spring of 2011. Continue reading...

Treasury secretary says banknote would celebrate US's 250th anniversary but Democrats vow to block moveThe White House is pushing Congress to approve a $250 bill bearing Donald Trump's portrait, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said, which would require changing longstanding federal law that prohibits any living person from appearing on US currency.Speaking from the White House at a news conference, Bessent said the bill would be in celebration of the country's 250th anniversary of independence, and that the treasury has already started preparing for the possibility of the new currency. Continue reading...

Murrell has been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to embezzling more than 400,00 from SNPNicola Sturgeon said she was deceived, betrayed and lied to" by her estranged husband, Peter Murrell, as he embezzled hundreds of thousands of pounds from the SNP.The former first minister told an audience in Ireland at her first public appearance since Murrell pleaded guilty that she was coming to terms with being married to someone she did not know at all", and acknowledged people would have questions. Continue reading...

Central American country says its president spoke with Pete Hegseth to confirm terms of cooperation

Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state sued as ICE seeks plates in Trump's immigration crackdownThe Trump administration is suing to challenge the refusal of four US states to issue confidential license plates to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, saying the states have long provided them to other law enforcement agencies conducting undercover operations.The US Department of Justice on Thursday said it had filed lawsuits against Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state after states led by Democratic governors refused to rescind their policies. ICE is seeking access to such plates to carry out arrests as part of Trump's immigration crackdown. Continue reading...

Rival groups are vying for territorial control of strategic cocaine production and trafficking regionAt least 52 guerrilla fighters have been killed in clashes between two rival armed groups vying for territorial control of a strategic cocaine production and trafficking region in south-east Colombia, a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) involved in the fighting has said.The clashes, the most violent in recent months, took place in the jungles of the department of Guaviare, near the village of Barranco Colorado. Continue reading...

Job seekers say the lack of opportunities has affected their mental health and left them fearing for the futureWhen Catherina finished her degree in digital film production in London, she thought her prospects of finding work were good, but she has found the jobs market tough. Continue reading...

AP review finds unprecedented number of suicide deaths as critics attack failures of Trump's immigration crackdownBrayan Rayo Garzon was distraught. Detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), he was on his fourth day of isolation in a Missouri jail as he battled the fevers and chills of Covid.His request for mental health treatment had been put off, records show, and staff had forbidden Rayo from making his nightly call to his mother, as a precaution intended to prevent the spread of illness.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Trump administration in a bind as it faces mounting economic costs ahead of midterms from Iran warThe terms of a purported 60-day deal to negotiate peace in the Iran war have trapped the Trump administration between mounting economic costs ahead of midterm elections and anger from Republican hawks who accuse the US government of surrendering to Iran.The public rift between Trump and Senate Republicans over his shift toward diplomacy with Iran has also been matched within his administration, where the dovish JD Vance and traditional neoconservative Marco Rubio have been forced to pirouette between Trump's policies as he shifts to exit the war as soon as possible. Continue reading...

Alan Milburn's landmark report says unemployment among young costs UK 125bn a year and warns of lost generation'

DNA testing proved Anthony Odiong fathered child with woman to whom he had been providing spiritual guidance, authorities say

Happy was the focus of a high-profile court case launched in 2018 over whether she had the legal rights of a personHappy, an elephant that became embroiled in a high-profile court case over whether she had the legal rights of a person, has died after being euthanized at New York City's Bronx zoo at the age of 55.The Asian elephant, was euthanized on Tuesday after zoo staff determined that progressive, age-related health conditions" required the decision, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs four zoos and an aquarium in New York. Continue reading...

The pop singer said that suggestions that a recent outfit was childlike' were rooted in sexist attitudes toward womenOlivia Rodrigo has responded to controversy over a recent babydoll dress she wore while performing on stage in Spain.The singer faced backlash online after she wore a short puffy dress with a floral pattern while performing her recent single Drop Dead at Barcelona's Teatre Grec on 8 May. She also wears a similar style dress on the cover of her upcoming album. Continue reading...

Canada prime minister urges greater economic cooperation between the two countries in speech delivered in New YorkCanada's prime minister, Mark Carney has called for a new relationship with the United States to help make America great again".In a speech delivered in New York on Thursday, Carney said that there should be a true partnership" that reimagines cooperation in specific sectors challenged by global competition. Continue reading...

PM says predecessor misunderstands government's successes and very different' situation compared with 1997Keir Starmer has dismissed Tony's Blair's argument that his government is on the wrong track, saying he is implementing the policies needed for today, not the very different situation faced by the former prime minister in 1997.You won't be surprised to know that I don't agree with much that Tony says about what the government is doing," Starmer said during a visit to an apprentice training centre in west London. Continue reading...

Ten people, all of whom were e-scooter riders, were killed in collisions compared with six in 2024Nearly 500 people were seriously injured in collisions involving e-scooters in Great Britain last year, government statistics have shown.The Department for Transport (DfT) said there had been an estimated 1,484 casualties in crashes involving electric scooters, compared with 1,390 in 2024. Continue reading...

Office for Product Safety and Standards advises stopping use of Maxi-Cosi FamilyFix Slide Pro bases immediatelyA baby car seat product that poses a risk of injuries to children because of a malfunctioning safety indicator has been recalled by its manufacturer.Maxi-Cosi is recalling all of its FamilyFix Slide Pro bases from buyers, information on the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) website shows. Continue reading...

Terry Pitchford, who was 18 when convicted of murder, argued that Black jurors were excluded from his trial

Starmer launches long defence of his record when asked about former PM's essay critiquing current governmentPat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, is introducing Alan Milburn.He says Milburn's report is really important and powerful".I could see in the first few weeks after being appointed as the secretary of state what was happening, both in human and in financial terms, [in terms of youth unemployment].And I knew that we had to get properly under the bonnet of this problem, because there's a lot more thing than one thing happening here ... Continue reading...

Lawsuit says settlement fund was fraud on the court' that would funnel taxpayer dollars to Trump alliesDozens of former federal judges have joined the push to thwart Donald Trump's creation of a $1.776bn anti-weaponization fund" that would funnel taxpayer dollars to the president's political allies.The bipartisan group of 35 judges filed a lawsuit in the southern district of Florida on Wednesday seeking to reopen Trump's legal case against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leaking of his tax information by a whistleblower who was later sentenced to five years in prison. Continue reading...

Americans are growing frustrated with Trump's handling of the economy as cost of living soars ahead of midtermsUS inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in April, driven by higher energy prices amid the war with Iran, and cementing economists' views that the Federal Reserve could hold interest rates unchanged well into next year.Surging price pressures are eroding household income and could restrain consumer spending and economic growth this quarter. Income at the disposal of households after adjusting for inflation dropped for a third straight month in April, other data showed on Thursday. Given the soaring cost of living, Americans are growing frustrated with Donald Trump's handling of the economy. A Reuters/Ipsos survey last week showed the president's approval rating fell to nearly its lowest level since he returned to the White House, hit by a drop in support among Republicans. Trump won the 2024 presidential election in large part because of his promise to lower inflation. Continue reading...

EU chief diplomat says: Russia is on the back foot, militarily, economically, but also diplomatically'Meanwhile, Hungary's Magyar hits a bit more upbeat tone in his latest post on Facebook, saying that while there are still some issues that need to be resolved, the two sides managed to agree a deal on many important questions."In a Facebook video, he takes viewers into a meeting room in Brussels from which he is working on ironing out the final details.I will obviously not anticipate or prejudge what will be the outcome of that meeting, but a series of meetings has been taking place, as you know, between the teams on both sides to make as much progress as possible. ...Let's see what comes out of it. It's not much more time to wait. We give it another day, and we should know more in terms of how far have we managed to get on both sides." Continue reading...

Decision draws criticism from some commentators and free speech advocates as well as Tory leader, Kemi BadenochThe British Museum has postponed a lecture for Jewish culture month over concerns that the event would be disrupted by protesters.The museum announced that the talk on ancient Israel and Judah, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday, would be held at a later date yet to be decided. Continue reading...