This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereMeanwhile, the Latvian president, Edgars Rinkvis, has begun political consultations aimed at finding a parliamentary majority capable of forming a new government after the collapse of prime minister Evika Silia's administration.Rinkvis's office posted a short video from the meeting on its social media. Continue reading...
Muscat silent about plans - opposed by US - to charge fee and demand details on nationality of all transiting shipsOman has been caught in geopolitical crossfire after Iran said it was coordinating with Muscat over the future management of the strait of Hormuz, including Tehran's plans - opposed by the US - for fees to be paid by commercial shipping to a new Iranian government agency.The Omani exclave of Musandam lies to the south of the contested waterway, which normally carries a fifth of the world's seaborne oil traffic but has been blockaded for 10 weeks since since the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February. Continue reading...
Bafta winner tells preview screening in Bristol there is not enough on television about the female perspectiveThe Bafta-winning actor Katherine Parkinson has lauded the television series Rivals for its radical" depiction of sex from a woman's perspective.Speaking at a preview screening in Bristol, where much of the series was filmed, Parkinson, who plays the romance author Lizzie Vereker in the show, said there were not enough examples on television of a woman's view of sex. Continue reading...
Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura leads action after Republican speaker rescinds promise to bring bill to voteDemocratic state representatives in Minnesota staged an overnight sit-in in their house chamber on Thursday after the Republican speaker failed to put a gun violence prevention bill up for a vote.Samantha Sencer-Mura, a Democratic representative from Minneapolis, first announced the plan on Wednesday from the floor of the state's house of representatives, giving the speaker, Lisa Demuth, a candidate for governor, 24 hours to give the bill a vote before the sit-in would start. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Contract changes mean Post Office outlets inside TG Jones stores would be easier to close, with up to 60 possibly affectedThe owner of WH Smith's former high street business is aiming to change contracts with the Post Office to make it easier to close outlets within its stores, increasing fears that communities will become postal deserts".TG Jones operates 180 post offices and it is understood that as many as 60 could be closed under a restructuring plan by Modella, the private equity group that renamed the WH Smith high street chain as TG Jones after buying it last year. Continue reading...
by Julian Borger and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem on (#75MDC)
Members of radical Jewish groups scuffle with Palestinian residents, with both sides throwing chairs until being separated by policeIsraeli nationalists chanted death to the Arabs", may your villages burn" and Gaza is a graveyard" in a state-sponsored march through Jerusalem to mark the anniversary of the city's capture and annexation.The annual assertion of Jewish control over Palestinian East Jerusalem has grown more extreme in recent years, and Thursday's event culminated with the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, unfurling an Israeli flag in front of the al-Aqsa mosque, the holiest Islamic site in the city. Continue reading...
Backward' photo panned for display of patriarchy, signaling that women's voices don't matter in shaping global order'By the time Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met at Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Thursday, the bilateral had featured all the expected pomp and pageantry: a meticulously choreographed display of Chinese soldiers, children waving American and Chinese flags, and rows of senior officials and the US's top business executives.Conspicuously absent at the table, however, were women from either delegation - a stark visual that quickly drew criticism from observers who saw it as an unmistakable display of patriarchal power. Continue reading...
The 20,000 award for writers aged 39 or under goes to Joy Is My Middle Name, a collection about navigating race, addiction and womanhoodA debut poetry collection with themes including race, addiction and womanhood has won this year's Swansea University Dylan Thomas prize.American poet Sasha Debevec-McKenney took home the 20,000 prize - awarded to writers aged 39 or under in honour of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who died at that age - for her debut collection Joy Is My Middle Name. She was announced as the winner at a ceremony in Swansea, Thomas's birthplace. Continue reading...
Details of case in which group deny abusing girls for several years restricted amid dispute with media over transparencySix men have gone on trial at Bristol crown court accused of grooming and sexually assaulting vulnerable teenage girls in the city.They were allegedly part of a large group of men who abused girls over several years. All six men deny the charges against them, which involved multiple complainants". Continue reading...
Celeste Calocane gives evidence for first time at inquiry into Valdo Calocane's 2023 attacksThe mother of the man who killed three people in an attack in Nottingham in 2023 has told an inquiry that the mental health system is broken" and until there is a crisis no one listens to you".Valdo Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to a suspended hospital order in January 2024 after killing students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, a 65-year-old caretaker, on 13 June 2023, and attempting to kill three others. Continue reading...
by Jakub Krupa (now) and Taz Ali (earlier) on (#75KXE)
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz has strongly condemned the Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight, and rejected Vladimir Putin's suggestion that one of his predecessors could play a role negotiating a peace settlement.In a speech in Aachen, Merz said that while Ukraine and Europe want to help end this terrible war as quickly as possible," the Russian attacks speak a different language" to that of Putin's suggestions the war could be nearing an end.Last but not least, we Europeans decide for ourselves who speaks for us. No one else." Continue reading...
Foreign minister says ships must cooperate with Iranian navy, as vessel reportedly seized outside UAE portThe Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said ships entering the strait of Hormuz must cooperate with the Iranian navy, as reports emerged of a ship being seized outside a United Arab Emirate port and taken towards Iranian waters.The UK Maritime Trading Organisation said the docked ship was seized by unauthorised personnel" while it was anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah near the southern entry to the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...
Parole Board tells victims of black cab rapist that it had decided against open conditions or releaseThe black-cab rapist John Worboys has been denied parole for the second time.The Parole Board told his victims on Thursday that it had decided against either releasing Worboys or allowing him to move to open conditions within prison. Continue reading...
Merged institutions will become second largest mainstream university in UK with about 47,000 studentsKing's College London has agreed to merge with Cranfield University, creating a new UK super-university" that would rival many of its international competitors in size and research output.The merger would result in KCL taking on another 5,000 mainly postgraduate students and become the second largest mainstream university in the UK, with about 47,000 students, overtaking the University of Manchester and behind only University College London. Continue reading...
Privilege being mistaken for competence as study reveals no evidence to suggest companies run by state-educated peers underperformChief executives who attended private school are perceived by investors as a safer bet", according to a study, despite there being no evidence they perform or behave differently to their state-educated counterparts.Companies run by privately educated bosses tend to experience lower stock market volatility, even though there are no meaningful differences in their performance, decision-making or crisis management, the research from the University of Surrey found. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#75KWC)
Ronald dela Rosa, wanted over involvement in Duterte's war on drugs', reportedly left heavily guarded building before dawnA Philippine lawmaker wanted by the international criminal court for his alleged role enforcing Rodrigo Duterte's bloody anti-drugs crackdown has secretly fled the senate, after spending days holed up in the building to avoid arrest.The senate president, Alan Peter Cayetano, confirmed to media that senator Ronald dela Rosa was no longer in the building", after reports that he had slipped out of the heavily guarded building before dawn. Continue reading...
Designer suggests decision to stage show in Los Angeles is part of strategy to deepen label's cinema presenceLike Christian Dior, the founder of the house he now leads, fashion designer Jonathan Anderson's ambition is to be not just a Parisian couturier but a Hollywood power player. We think of Dior as this romantic character, but he was also a very savvy businessman," said Anderson before a blockbuster catwalk show in Los Angeles. Stage Fright, the Hitchcock caper-noir for which Dior dressed Marlene Dietrich, was the show's origin story. There is all this amazing correspondence between Dior, Dietrich and Hitchcock, which shows how he navigated the money that it cost to make that film. I think we underestimate how much negotiation Dior did with studio executives. He was very smart in that way."Anderson, 41, who was born in Northern Ireland but since being appointed to Dior splits his time between London and Paris, has his own Hollywood side hustle as the costume designer for Luca Guadagnino's films, and is set on reinvigorating Dior's relationship with the film industry. Continue reading...
Asymptomatic people allowed off ship from Wednesday afternoon but those infected ordered to remain in isolationA norovirus-hit cruise ship carrying mainly passengers from the UK and Ireland has had a French lockdown order lifted.All 1,701 people onboard Ambition were prevented from disembarking for more than 24 hours after it docked in Bordeaux on Tuesday, as one person died and dozens became ill with a vomiting virus. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#75KWA)
Member of army squad sent with medics to assist suspected hantavirus patient recounts descent to remote islandThe hardest part of the parachute jump, according to Capt George Lacey, is falling backwards through the air. It is Saturday and Lacey, and his squad of six plus two medics, have just leapt out of an RAF transport, 2,500 metres over the south Atlantic.The parachute can only go forward so quickly," he says, meaning that it has to be pulled at precisely the right moment. So you have to turn into the wind and basically fly backwards, which is a very weird sensation, as you can imagine." Continue reading...
Reform UK leader records video with Essex pastor to support his battle against council banning orderNigel Farage has been criticised for giving his full support to a Christian church leader who preached that homosexuality was an abomination" and would lead to eternity in hell.The Reform UK leader recorded a video with Stephen Clayden after Colchester council applied for a banning order to limit his street preaching. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent on (#75KWB)
As Keir Starmer's leadership totters, investors warn a Labour leadership contest ignoring public finances and market realpolitik could be disastrousA rise in borrowing costs and warnings to avoid a Liz Truss moment". As Keir Starmer faces a potential leadership challenge, the spectre of the bond market looms large.Amid febrile conditions in Westminster, the prospect of Britain switching prime ministers for a sixth time in seven years has fuelled a sharp sell-off in the market for UK government debt. Continue reading...
Ahmed al-Doush's health said to be in sharp decline since his arrest in 2024 in relation to social media postsThe wife of a British national who has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia since 2024 for social media posts, has pleaded for his release as his wellbeing declines.In November, the UN working group on arbitrary detention found Ahmed al-Doush was being detained arbitrarily under international law and recommended his immediate release, as well as the payment of compensation. The findings followed its eight-month inquiry Continue reading...
by Jason Burke International security correspondent on (#75KV3)
Millions of documents chronicling generations of trauma saved from Gaza and East Jerusalem in 10-month Unrwa operationEast Jerusalem to Amman should have been an easy trip: a short drive down to the Dead Sea, across the border checkpoint and swiftly on to the Jordanian capital.But in the early summer of 2024, the distance appeared an almost insurmountable obstacle to humanitarian workers from Unrwa (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), as they sought to safeguard huge quantities of archival documents vitally important to decades of recent Palestinian history. Continue reading...
All Her Lives is only the fifth short story collection to win the prestigious NZ$65,000 prize in 58 yearsFirst-time fiction writer Ingrid Horrocks has won New Zealand's richest literary prize for her debut short story collection, All Her Lives.The Wellington-based poet, essayist and memoirist won the prestigious NZ$65,000 (A$53,000, 28,500) Jann Medlicott Acorn prize for fiction at the 2026 Ockham New Zealand book awards on Wednesday night. The book follows nine women across nine different life stages and generations, as they navigate politics, gender and motherhood. Continue reading...
Researchers say budget decision to cut commercialisation program to fund the CSIRO and other science initiatives undermines the government's own priorities
Mariyah Symone Collington and Kendrick Lamont Key Jr, who also died, had fallen off a cliff during an off-duty hikeThe remains of the second US army soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered, the army said on Wednesday, ending a multinational search operation that deployed air, naval and artificial intelligence assets.The soldier was identified as Spc Mariyah Symone Collington of Taveres, Florida, the US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement. She was 19 years old. Continue reading...
Homebuyers more cautious due to possible mortgage rate rises and higher inflation as sellers sit on propertiesFears of higher mortgage rates and rising inflation as a result of the Middle East conflict are leading to a subdued and downbeat housing market, according to estate agents.Demand from potential homebuyers across England and Wales has shown a noticeable softening" recently, according to a monthly survey of estate agents by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Continue reading...
by Damien Gayle Environment correspondent on (#75KQY)
Greenpeace finds cocktail of pesticides including seven banned in EU may have been used on seven categories of vegetables and soft fruitIt is a beautiful early summer Sunday afternoon and you have stopped for a pub lunch. A waiter sets down a roast served with carrots, peas, parsnips, potatoes and onion gravy, and then for pudding, strawberries and cream. It feels like the perfect rustic meal to accompany a day in the country.However, a report by Greenpeace, published on Thursday, has found that the ingredients of the traditional Sunday roast have potentially been treated with a cocktail of more than 100 pesticides. Data from the Fera pesticide usage survey for 2024, showed 102 - including seven banned in the EU - were used on seven vegetable and soft fruit categories. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#75KQX)
Medicines watchdog approves two treatments for patients with spinal muscular atrophyHundreds of children with a rare muscle-wasting disease will be able to receive two drugs that can improve their survival in a move parents hailed as a lifeline".The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has published final draft guidance recommending that any patient who would benefit can have either drug. Continue reading...
Prime minister under pressure over failure to grant military service exemptions as multi-party government looks at risk of collapseIsrael's ruling coalition has submitted a proposal to dissolve parliament to pave the way for early elections as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, came under mounting pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties.The move, initiated by Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party, came as Netanyahu appeared to be facing a possible collapse of his fractious coalition. Continue reading...
Dalton Eatherly, 28, known as Chud the Builder, accused of firing at another man outside courthouse in ClarksvilleAn influencer has been detained in Tennessee following his alleged involvement in a shooting, according to local police.On Wednesday afternoon, Dalton Eatherly, 28 - known online as Chud the Builder - was involved in a confrontation with another man outside the Montgomery county courthouse in Clarksville, Tennessee, during which shots were fired, the office of the district attorney general said in a statement. Continue reading...
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