French authorities say situation still being assessed after taxi-boat' sank between France and UKTwo men and two women have died after a small boat sank in the Channel between France and Britain, French local authorities have said.A taxi-boat sinking occurred today. The situation is still being assessed and remains subject to change," local authorities in Calais stated. Continue reading...
The high court has dismissed his bid to clear his name of findings that, on the balance of probabilities, he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019
In today's newsletter: The truce offers a reprieve after weeks of turmoil, but unresolved disputes and competing interpretations of what was agreed, threaten to pull the region back toward crisis at a moment's noticeGood morning. On Tuesday, just an hour before the deadline imposed by Donald Trump for Iran to reopen navigation in the strait of Hormuz or face a wave of civilisation-ending" strikes, a two-week pause in hostilities was announced. After weeks of US and Israeli attacks on Tehran, and Iranian retaliation across the region, the news prompted relief among world leaders.But unanswered questions are piling up. Israel's assault on Lebanon continues, with Trump describing that conflict as a separate skirmish not included in the deal, despite Iran seeming to think otherwise. Overnight the US president has used social media to warn that the shootin' starts,' bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before" unless Tehran complies with the real agreement".Middle East | The fate of the two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict looked in peril as both sides gave divergent versions of what had been agreed. Iran halted the passage of oil tankers because of an alleged Israeli ceasefire breach.Middle East | Israel carried out its largest attack on Lebanon since its war with Hezbollah began, killing at least 254 people and wounding 837.Middle East | The UK has a job" to help reopen the strait of Hormuz, Keir Starmer said on arriving in the Middle East, as Iranian reports said the key shipping route was closed again just hours after the supposed US-Iran ceasefire.Ukraine | The US has ignored compelling evidence that Russia has been helping Iran to target US bases in the Middle East because it misguidedly trusts" Vladimir Putin, according to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Education | Many English universities are taking excessive financial risks with borrowing and expansion of student numbers, threatening not only their own survival but that of others in the sector, the thinktank Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) has warned. Continue reading...
Council backs 700,000 plan to save historic landmark at former RAF base in the New ForestA unique RAF watch office that has been crumbling for decades is to be turned into a smart hideaway home to be shared by holidaymakers - and the bats that already use it.The Landmark Trust, which rescues at-risk buildings, has been given permission to convert the ruined property in Hampshire into a holiday retreat with four bedrooms and a roof terrace. Continue reading...
Local school closes in Daejeon city as hundreds of emergency service and military personnel scour area around O-World theme park where the wolf escaped fromAuthorities are hunting for a wolf after it escaped from a zoo in Daejeon, a South Korean city with a population of 1.5million.More than 300 people - including firefighters, police and military personnel - are taking part in the search operation, an official from the Daejeon fire headquarters said. Continue reading...
White House says only person committing war crimes is actor for his awful movies and terrible acting ability'The long-running war of words between the George Clooney and the White House has ignited again after the Oscar-winning actor criticised Donald Trump's threat to Iran that a whole civilization will die tonight".On Wednesday, in a speech to 3,000 high school students in Cuneo, Italy, Clooney said the US president had committed a war crime with his threat. Continue reading...
Marine Conservation Society warns that fish numbers have reached dangerous point of declineConsumers should completely avoid" buying UK-caught cod, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has said, as it warned that populations have reached a dangerous point of decline despite zero-catch recommendations.The MCS, an environmental charity, publishes a Good Fish Guide to help consumers and businesses make sustainable seafood choices. Continue reading...
Proposal to help people heat two rooms, provide hot water and run key appliances without incurring more debtIn order to cut rising bills all UK households should receive a minimum amount of energy at rates subsidised by the government through North Sea taxes, a thinktank has suggested.Providing all homes with enough energy to heat two rooms, provide hot water and run key appliances such as a fridge and washing machine, at rates frozen at current levels, would require a subsidy of about 4.5bn, according to the New Economics Foundation. Continue reading...
by Josh Butler, Nick Visser and Guardian staff on (#74T92)
PM calls pause in hostilities a fragile piece' as Australia issues joint call with Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone and UK for aid worker protections
by Mark Saunokonoko (now); Lucy Campbell, Adela Sulim on (#74SHW)
This blog has now closed. Follow the latest ceasefire news and updates in our Iran war live blog here.A genocidal threat, and then the US president, Donald Trump, blinked - without any apparently meaningful concessions from Iran. As in so much concerning the second Trump administration, the two week ceasefire deal" that will see the strait of Hormuz reopened - if it can be described as such - is maddeningly vague and short on detail, apparently kicking the can on key issues down the road.Iran's nuclear issue, Trump said, would be solved perfectly." It was a big day for world peace", Trump posted on Truth Social. Iran can start reconstruction" he added. Big money" could be made. Yada. Yada. Yada. Continue reading...
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement announce four shows at Wellington venue Meow Nui from next week - their first gigs since 2018New Zealand's self-described fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo-a cappella-rap-funk-comedy-folk duo" Flight of the Conchords sold out their first shows in eight years in minutes this week, sparking a frenzy among fans.Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement formed the musical comedy act in 1998, soaring to worldwide fame off the back of their HBO comedy series of the same name with tunes including Business Time and Hiphopopotamus vs Rhymenoceros. Continue reading...
Prosecutors alleged Gerhardt Konig, 47, had planned to kill Arielle Konig during a birthday trip to HonoluluA Hawaii anesthesiologist who was accused of trying to murder his wife on a cliffside hike last year has been convicted of attempted manslaughter, a lesser charge.A Honolulu jury returned the verdict against Gerhardt Konig, 47, on Wednesday after a day of deliberations. Continue reading...
Courtney Williams accused of sharing material with reporter examining deaths and drugs at US military baseThe FBI has arrested a former military special operations employee accused of providing classified information to the media, the agency's director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday.The US Department of Justice said in a press release that the former employee, identified as Courtney Williams, 40, was arrested on Tuesday and indicted on Wednesday for allegedly sharing classified material with a journalist. Continue reading...
Mark Rutte praises very frank' talks but declines to say if president discussed potential withdrawal from allianceMark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, has said Donald Trump was clearly disappointed" that the US's allies had refused to join its war against Iran, following a closed-door meeting in Washington on Wednesday.Speaking to CNN after his private meeting with the US president, Rutte declined to say directly whether Trump raised his threat to withdraw from the military alliance over the Iran war, but described the exchange as a very frank, very open" discussion between two good friends". Continue reading...
Customers make hundreds of thousands of dollars as records show substantial bets made before announcementA group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the US and Iran would reach a ceasefire on Tuesday, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.These bets were made even though, in the hours before a two-week ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, Donald Trump's rhetoric had escalated sharply and there were few signals that a ceasefire deal was imminent. Early in the day Trump had issued a warning on social media that a whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran did not meet his demand to open the Ssrait of Hormuz by his 8pm ET deadline. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Transdev undertook coupling project' after teen trapped between carriages in 2023. Trial restarted after second fatality, ex-employee claims, while Transdev denies assessment' ever shelved
USC student Tucker Collins's attorney accuses homeland security of overt act of repression' at Los Angeles protestA freshman at the University of Southern California has lost an eye after he was shot last month with a less-lethal" projectile by a Department of Homeland Security agent at a No Kings march, according to his attorney.On 28 March, Tucker Collins, 18, took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles to photograph throngs of protesters, who held signs and chanted slogans denouncing the Trump administration's policies, his lawyer V James DeSimone said in a statement on Wednesday. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent on (#74TA7)
Threat of losing benefits will be lifted but campaigners say more help needed to tackle hostile workplacesThe government has unveiled its plan to allow disabled people to try work without fear of losing their benefits, but campaigners warn the policy does not go far enough to tackle hostile workplaces.Legislation laid before parliament on Thursday will mean that people who start work or volunteering no longer automatically face a benefit reassessment, a prospect disabled people said was holding them back from trying to gain employment. Continue reading...
AI company says purpose of its Claude Mythos model is to bolster defenses against hacking in common applicationsAnthropic on Tuesday said its yet-to-be-released artificial intelligence model called Claude Mythos has proven keenly adept at exposing software weaknesses.Mythos has laid bare thousands of vulnerabilities in commonly used applications for which no patch or fix exists, prompting the San Francisco-based AI startup to form an alliance with cybersecurity specialists to bolster defenses against hacking and withhold wide distribution. Continue reading...
David Lammy says those affected by a heinous crime cannot be expected to engage with the justice system within the existing 28-day limitVictims and bereaved families will be given six months to challenge unduly lenient" sentences handed to criminals, under changes announced by David Lammy.Relatives of murder victims campaigned for the government to scrap the 28-day time limit to submit a formal request after an offender is sentenced. Continue reading...
Delo, pardoned by Trump after violating US banking law, describes himself as champion of free speechA British billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls in his cryptocurrency business has given 4m to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.Ben Delo, 42, who is now based in Hong Kong, wrote in the Telegraph that he had made the donation since the start of the year, before the government's cap on donations to political parties by British citizens living abroad. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent on (#74T4F)
Situation still volatile as Tehran and Washington issue conflicting messages about opening of Hormuz channelA plunge in the oil price, stock market rally and renewed hopes for the global economic outlook. After the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, the relief in financial markets was palpable. But it is far from absolute.For the past six weeks, the economic damage had been steadily mounting, as the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz by Tehran triggered the worst energy crisis of the modern era. Continue reading...
by Shrai Popat in Washington and Lucy Campbell on (#74T4H)
Over 70 Democratic lawmakers are calling for amendment to be invoked to remove Trump from office amid warDemocratic party leaders have vowed to renew the effort to curb Donald Trump's war in Iran next week after several days of escalating tactics that culminated in a temporary ceasefire on Tuesday evening.In recent months, several war powers resolutions have failed in Congress after a handful of Democrats continued to vote alongside Republicans. But Trump's aggressive overtures this week - including a Truth Social post that said a whole civilization" could be wiped out if Iran didn't agree to demands, have pushed some to act. Continue reading...
Attorney general says court ruling against Chad Bianco reins in the destabilizing actions of a rogue sheriff'The California supreme court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff and gubernatorial candidate who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his investigation into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.The order came after the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, last month asked the court to step in, arguing the sheriff has no authority over election materials. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#74T2A)
Record high set on Monday and raised on Tuesday, with 14.4GW of electricity generated in sunny spring weatherBritain's sunny spring weather powered the grid to new solar energy records on two consecutive days this week.Solar farms in England, Wales and Scotland generated 14.1 GW of low-carbon electricity at lunchtime on Monday, surpassing the previous high of 14GW in July last year. Continue reading...
New York Times report claims London-born Adam Back is creator of the cryptocurrency after comparing writingsA British computer scientist has insisted he is not the elusive developer of bitcoin, after a report claimed to unmask him as its creator.A story in the New York Times details a years-long effort to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious author of the bitcoin white paper which laid the theoretical foundations for modern digital currencies. Continue reading...
High of 26.5C recorded in Kew Gardens in south-west London, but rain and cooler conditions are on the wayMany across the UK witnessed soaring temperatures as the country recorded its warmest day of the year so far - and one of the hottest April days in the last 80 years.Temperatures reached a high of 26.5C (79.7F) in Kew Gardens, south-west London, on Wednesday, the Met Office said. It was the hottest day recorded in the first half of April since 1946, according to the forecaster. Continue reading...
Cheryl Bartley is charged with gross negligence manslaughter after 2023 death of Robert Smith, 61A pastor has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter after the drowning of a 61-year-old man at a baptism ceremony in Birmingham in 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service said.Robert Smith, from Brixton in south London, died at an address in Erdington on 8 October 2023. Malcolm McHaffie, the head of the special crime division, said: We have decided to prosecute Cheryl Bartley, 48, with one count of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her role as a pastor during a baptism. Continue reading...
Defense secretary spoke to reporters in first press briefing since Trump announced ceasefire deal after 40 days of warAfter 40 days and 40 nights of war, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, on Wednesday pointed to divine providence while telling reporters that Iran's weapons factories had been reduced to rubble, its military rendered ineffective for years and its supreme leader left wounded and disfigured, all for a temporary ceasefire.Iran begged for this ceasefire, and we all know it," Hegseth said at the Pentagon's first press briefing since Donald Trump announced a two-week pause in hostilities on Tuesday night. Operation Epic Fury decimated Iran's military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come." Continue reading...
by Helena Smith in Athens and Jon Henley Europe corre on (#74SY2)
Prime minister says ban would come into force next year and calls for united action across European UnionGreece has announced a social media ban for under-15s from 1 January, with the country's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, citing rising anxiety, sleep problems and the addictive design of online platforms - although he acknowledged it may incur the wrath of some children.We have decided to go ahead with a difficult but necessary measure: ban access to social media for children under 15 years old," he said in a TikTok video intended to address a young audience. Continue reading...
Airline projected a $2bn increase in fuel costs this quarter amid volatility in oil markets sparked by the warThe CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian, braced customers for higher fares following the surge in oil prices sparked by the US-Israel war on Iran, amid strong demand from passengers.Though rising oil prices have cost the company an extra $330m in fuel expenses, and it projected a $2bn increase in fuel costs in the current quarter, Delta forecast that revenue would grow 10% as flyers continue to book flights. Continue reading...
With former ministers and party heavyweights being dragged into court, the country is once again confronting the unresolved legacy of political graft and shady backroom deals Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereEaster will not have been a particularly celebratory time for Spain's two biggest political parties. In a quirk of judicial fate, both the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' party (PSOE) and the conservative People's party (PP) are bracing themselves after two high-profile trials involving former senior figures from each party began in Madrid this week.Though vastly different, both cases have the potential to seriously dent each party's claims of having zero-tolerance for corruption as voters in Andalucia, Spain's most populous autonomous community, prepare for next month's regional election. That will be followed by a general election next year. Continue reading...
US vice-president has praised Orban and criticised EU and UK energy policies in speech at private school in BudapestOh, you can see where this is going to go.In his second question, the moderator tries to bait JD Vance into criticising Ukraine, as the chair asks about what he says are Ukrainian intelligence services attempting to influence" elections in the US or Hungary.I've also been told that the vice-president of the United States coming and saying that Viktor Orban is doing a good job and is a helpful statesman to the cause of peace, that's foreign influence.But what's not foreign influence is when the European Union threatens billions of dollars withheld from Hungary because you guys protect your borders; that's apparently not foreign influence.We would never do that because we respect the Hungarian people enough to respect their sovereignty. The fact that so many foreign actors, whether they're transnational organisations like the bureaucrats in Brussels or whether it's foreign governments, are literally threatening the Hungarian people vote this way or we're going to exact our revenge on you - that should make you very angry." Continue reading...
PM will meet leaders in the region to discuss diplomatic efforts to support the ceasefire agreed between the US and IranOpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is proposing the extension of the four-day working week, as a response to AI taking over some of the work done by humans. But for the Conservative party the four-day working week, at least in the public sector, is viewed as a menace. Officially, that's a value-for-money position, but it also overlaps with their opposition to civil servants working from home, which has some of the traits of a culture war obsession.Today the Conservatives have announced that, if they were in government, they would ban councils from letting staff work a four-day working week on full pay. Explaining why, the Tories say in a news release:The four-day working week, as introduced by Liberal Democrat-run South Cambridgeshire district council, has left residents with more council tax for less public service. Bin collectors and social housing officials receive 100 per cent of their pay for around 80 per cent of their originally contracted hours.The Labour government have failed to act. As communities secretary, Angela Rayner scrapped [Whitehall opposition to the South Cambridgeshire policy]. Labour are refusing to legislate against a four-day week, giving councils an effective green light to get away with charging more for less work. Consequentially, Labour-run Cambridge City Council has become the second council to sign up to the four-day week.Those areas which saw a statistically significant improvement include: the percentage of calls answered by the contact centre; the average number of days taken to update housing benefit and council tax support claims; the average number of weeks for householder planning applications to be decided; the percentage of planning applications (both large and small) decided within target or agreed timescales; the percentage of council house repairs complete within 24 hours; [and] the percentage of complaints responded to on time.If performance variations caused by Covid are discounted, every single service monitored either got better or stayed the same. Continue reading...
Executive complaints unit finding relates to broadcast of N-word during awards ceremonyThe BBC breached its editorial standards when it broadcast a highly offensive" racial slur during the Baftas, which was unintentional", a review has found, and made a serious mistake" in not removing it immediately from iPlayer.The broadcast containing the N-word remained on BBC iPlayer overnight before coverage was taken down. It had been said by John Davidson, the Tourette syndrome campaigner, who shouted it as Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan, the stars of the film Sinners, were on stage presenting an award. Continue reading...
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