Lindsay and Craig Foreman were given 10-year sentences after entering the country on a motorcycling tripThe terrified" family of a British couple jailed for 10 years in Iran on spying charges have said they have lost all contact with them.Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 53, were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through Iran during an around-the-world trip by motorcycle. Continue reading...
Elias Calocane says he thought violent messages sent by brother related to suicidal thoughts not harming othersThe younger brother of Valdo Calocane, who killed three people in an attack in Nottingham, said he felt powerless" over his sibling's mental ill health and believed violent messages his brother had sent concerned suicidal thoughts.Valdo Cacocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, stabbed to death Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on 13 June 2023, and seriously injured three others. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason, Jessica Elgot and Pippa Crerar on (#75KJJ)
Health secretary's move to force race sparks scramble on left of Labour for candidate to oppose himWes Streeting is preparing to launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer on Thursday if the health secretary can secure the support of enough MPs to trigger a contest.Streeting's move to force a race has sparked a frantic scramble on the left of Labour to find a candidate to oppose him, with Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner both possible contenders. Continue reading...
The covert meeting with the UAE's president is the latest milestone in a rapidly developing Middle East allianceBenjamin Netanyahu has revealed he made a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates at the height of the Iran war to meet president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.This visit has led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday night. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker, Jessica Elgot and Pippa Crerar on (#75KJN)
Health secretary's lack of challenge had reassured Starmer and his allies - but then briefings for a speculative Thursday launch emergedAs the unofficial political truce of the king's speech approached, with still no sign of a leadership challenge from Wes Streeting, some of his Labour colleagues assumed the health secretary's chance to go for the top job might have passed for ever.There is a risk he becomes the David Miliband of this generation if he doesn't do something," one MP said, a reference to another longtime heir apparent who never made the final step. Continue reading...
by Aamna Mohdin Community affairs correspondent on (#75KJP)
St John the Divine, Kennington has built one of UK's largest youth choral programmes in area marked by deprivationSt Paul's Cathedral school, one of the UK's most prestigious private schools, has long been associated with the musical elite. So was seven-year-old N'raeah, from south London, nervous about auditioning for its internationally renowned choir?No," she said, beaming. Everybody's counting on me to sing beautifully." Continue reading...
Greater Manchester mayor seeks to reassure his supporters after potential seats for him fail to materialiseAndy Burnham has told Labour MPs they should hold the line and that he has options to return to parliament after several seats identified by allies of the Greater Manchester mayor failed to materialise.Two seats his backers had described as nailed on" as recently as Monday night are now out of contention after the MPs concerned got cold feet. Continue reading...
Project organisers say high costs and energy crisis have scuppered green route from Camden to King's CrossThe Camden Highline, a multimillion-pound effort to transform a disused rail line into a greenery-filled walking and cycling paradise, has been all but scrapped.Nearly a decade since it was conceived as London's answer to New York's fabled High Line, the project has fallen victim to high costs and the energy crisis. Continue reading...
One of PM's expanding cohort of critics in Labour party says policy programme sums up where we have gone wrong'For Keir Starmer's Labour critics, his second king's speech, in which the government set out what it would do in parliament over the next 12 to 18 months, was a crystallisation of everything that was wrong with the prime minister's strategy.Over 34 bills and three draft ones, Starmer set out a programme he said would make this country stronger and fairer". But the package, which included limiting trial by jury, reshaping the NHS and moving the country closer to the EU, fell short of what some in the prime minister's party feel is needed to win back voters' trust. Continue reading...
Organisers as well as speakers will be held responsible for unlawful speech as police face exceptionally busy weekendThe Metropolitan police have said organisers of this weekend's Unite the Kingdom and March for Palestine demonstrations will be held responsible for any hate speech connected with the events, in what they expect to be one of the busiest days for policing in London in recent years".Tens of thousands of people are expected to march in the capital for the Unite the Kingdom event in central London and the Nakba: 78 March for Palestine from south Kensington to central London. Senior officers said protesters would face the highest degree of control". The FA Cup final is also due to be held at Wembley on Saturday. Continue reading...
Passengers will now continue their 45 days of isolation at home, with health officials confirming they remain asymptomaticSix people who were on the cruise ship linked to an outbreak of hantavirus have left Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral to isolate at home, health officials have said.Passengers from the MV Hondius were taken to the Merseyside facility for checks by specialists. Continue reading...
Beloved animated series will return for 36th season in the fall after telecoms giant Bell Media reaches deal with DisneyFans of Les Simpson have a message for anyone who doubted the future of the beloved and long-running Quebecois version of the animated satirical show: Mange de la crotte.Les Simpson will return for its 36th season in the fall after telecoms giant Bell Media said it had reached an agreement with Disney for the rights to air and dub the show. The deal caps nearly a year of uncertainty surrounding the adaptation, which is beloved in Canada's lone francophone province. Continue reading...
New rules would enable single-ticket bookings across multiple rail operators throughout EuropeCross-border train journeys through several European countries are the stuff of many a holidaymaker's dreams.But the reality of trying to buy the tickets, navigating multiple websites without knowing who can help if a connection is missed, can prove less than relaxing. As one MEP puts it, it can often require five tabs, three apps and a prayer". Continue reading...
This blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereResponding to the Guardian's questions, the operator also confirmed that the vast majority of the 1,187 guests on board are British. There are also 514 crew members.Ambassador Cruise Line also confirmed that a 92-year-old man died on board earlier this week, but he did not report any symptoms at the time and the cause of his death is yet to be established. Continue reading...
by Jennifer Rankin Brussels correspondent on (#75KB2)
The country's new leadership has pledged to reverse years of democratic backsliding, but they must act quickly Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereUnder blue skies on Saturday, crowds cheered as the EU flag was raised on the facade of the Hungarian parliament after a long absence. It was a powerful symbol on the day Peter Magyar was sworn in as Hungary's prime minister, with a declaration that Hungarians had given his party a mandate to launch a new chapter" in the country's history, and change the system.The new government, seen as an experienced technocratic team, immediately signalled its new direction. Hungary's place is in Europe; naturally, firmly and without question," foreign minister designate Anita Orban said. Soon after, Hungary dropped its long-standing veto over sanctions against violent Israeli settlers - a sign it no longer sought to be outside the EU mainstream. Continue reading...
About 50 people on vessel carrying mostly British and Irish passengers have symptoms, say officialsFrench authorities have confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew members to a cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after an outbreak of suspected norovirus, officials have said.The vessel, Ambition, which is carrying 1,233 passengers, most of them British or Irish nationals, arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday. About 50 people had shown symptoms of the virus, French health officials said. Continue reading...
Lineup to include pastor who called Democratic platform demonic', Christian author who said he would die in fight to overturn 2020 election and rabbi who has defended tortureThe defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will this weekend headline a faith rally on the National Mall in Washington DC hosted by a private foundation operating in partnership with the White House, which includes some speakers that experts have characterized as Christian nationalist or extremist.Rededicate 250, billed as the faith-based component of America's semiquincentennial, features speakers including a Detroit pastor who has called the Democratic platform demonic" and launched his own memecoin after praying at Trump's second inauguration; a rabbi who has defended the use of torture and authored an essay titled The Virtue of Hate"; and a Christian author and radio host who said in 2020 he would die in the fight to keep Joe Biden out of the White House and was later named in a defamation suit over 2020 election fraud claims. Continue reading...
US authorities arrested French citizen Marie-Therese Ross-Mahe after she missed an immigration appointmentThe wailing at the Louisiana immigration detention facility began at night, Marie-Therese Ross-Mahe remembered, back at home in France. Children crying, and even babies."The 85-year-old's detention last month as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown made international headlines. Now, nearly a month after her release, she was ready to talk about it - and the late-in-life love story that had brought her to the US. Continue reading...
The ex-lawyer who Trump described as very talented' was previously deputy commissioner for food at the FDAThe new acting commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who Donald Trump described as a very talented person", is a former corporate lawyer who previously defended a popular formula maker against claims of its product harming premature babies.Kyle Diamantas, who most recently served as the FDA deputy commissioner for food, will be taking over as acting FDA commissioner. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#75K8X)
Ronald dela Rosa, accused of crimes against humanity by international criminal court, in standoff with authoritiesGunshots have been fired in the Philippine senate, as a senator who is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) remained holed up in the building to evade arrest.Ronald dela Rosa, a Philippine senator accused of crimes against humanity for his role in overseeing the former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs", has spent two nights in the country's senate in a standoff with the authorities. Continue reading...
Sussex police say officers are working to identify the women and understand what happened to themThe bodies of three women have been recovered from the sea off Brighton, police said.Emergency services were called after concerns were raised for the women's welfare at about 5.45am on Wednesday, and their bodies were pulled from the water near Madeira Drive. Continue reading...
Demarcation of 410,000 hectares of territory is intended to protect the Amazonian community from farming, illegal mining and loggingMore than 25 years after the existence of one of the Amazon's most vulnerable nomadic hunter-gatherer communities was confirmed, the Brazilian government has begun demarcating the Pardo River Kawahiva Indigenous territory, giving greater protection to the uncontacted people.The demarcation of the 410,000-hectare (1m-acre) territorylocated between the states of Mato Grosso and Amazonas in north-west Brazil, was confirmed by the National Indigenous Peoples' Foundation (Funai) last week. But the process remains fraught, with legal challenges from groups linked to the country's agribusiness sector, and the forthcoming presidential election in October. Continue reading...
Industry body says energy consumption driven by AI up 15% globally in two years as it warns of societal backlashDatacentres are consuming 6% of electricity in the UK and US, with the growing strain of AI on energy supplies prompting community resistance, according to research.The proportion of electricity used by vast warehouses stacked with microchips to power AI and the internet has risen 15% worldwide in the past two years as annual global investment in datacentres approaches $1tn (740bn) - nearly 1% of the global economy, according to the International Data Center Association (IDCA). Continue reading...
Ally of health secretary calls for prime minister to set out timetable for departure ahead of king's speech UK politics live - latest updatesWes Streeting has held talks with Keir Starmer in Downing Street as an ally of the health secretary renewed calls for the prime minister to resign, saying his authority had irretrievably ebbed away".Streeting arrived in No 10 on Wednesday morning amid intense speculation over Labour's leadership crisis and his own future within the party. He left approximately 16 minutes later without commenting to the media. Continue reading...
Rapper known as Ye must pay six-figure sum to four plaintiffs who successfully argued he infringed copyrightKanye West has lost a lawsuit which alleged he infringed on other artists' copyright by playing an uncleared sample of their work during a live event.In July 2021 the artist, now legally known as Ye, played his then-unreleased album Donda to 40,000 fans at a listening party held at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The version of the song Hurricane featured a sample of MSD PT2, an instrumental composed by four musicians: Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Sam Barsh, Josh Mease and Dan Seeff. They had made the instrumental in 2018, and it made its way to Ye via another producer. Continue reading...
Defence minister says E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft deployed to Gulf in March will join UK and France-led defensive effort to calm Iran conflict
Exclusive: Where parties fielded multiple candidates in last week's vote, those at top of list were more likely to be pickedFancy your chances in politics? Then perhaps you should change your name to Aaron Aaronson or Aaliyah Aardvark, figures from last week's local elections in England suggest.A Guardian analysis of election results compiled by the website Democracy Club points to a striking alphabet effect. In wards where a party fielded three candidates, those listed nearer the top of the ballot paper - with a surname nearer the start of the alphabet - finished ahead of their party colleagues in 2,200 cases, or 65% of the time. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#75K1Z)
Umer Khalid, accused of role in Palestine Action break-in, alleges he has not received proper treatment or wheelchairA prisoner with a muscle-wasting condition accused of taking part in a Palestine Action protest claims he has been forced to crawl around the jail - including to get medicine - because of lack of treatment and a wheelchair.Umer Khalid, who is being held at Wormwood Scrubs in west London, awaiting trial for alleged involvement in last year's break-in at RAF Brize Norton, also alleges he was left in his cell when the prison was evacuated because of a fire alarm and went 26 days without a shower while waiting for a shower chair to be provided. Continue reading...
US overdose deaths have plunged, but experts warn the supply shock' from Chinese precursors may only be a temporary fixAs Donald Trump travels to Beijing this week, fentanyl - and China's role in its supply chain - remains an enduring point of acrimony in bilateral relations.At a UN meeting in March, the US again accused China of failing to stop its chemical industry selling the precursors required to make the potent synthetic opioid, while China suggested the US was shifting the blame for its domestic drug problem. Continue reading...
Filmmaker who was long on the outer in Hollywood over #MeToo allegations will scout locations for Rush Hour 4, according to spokeswomanBrett Ratner, the director behind the Rush Hour movies and a documentary on Melania Trump, is accompanying Donald Trump to China for his summit with Xi Jinping.Trump is due to hold talks with the Chinese leader on Thursday and Friday over pressing economic and geopolitical issues, including Iran and Taiwan. The US president was accompanied on Air Force One by CEOs and top executives from major US tech and finance firms, including Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla's Elon Musk and BlackRock's Larry Fink. Ratner was among the groups as well. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: A leadership crisis once again grips Westminster, with the Labour party currently split, the prime minister may not last the weekGood morning. First as tragedy, then as farce. Once again, the UK is shrouded in political uncertainty as a deeply unpopular prime minister clings to power. It has become a familiar cycle in recent years: the wait to find out which perishable good will survive longer than our next doomed premier.Keir Starmer insists he is not leaving - a serious leader for a serious time - and will have been boosted by last night's lifeline, when Wes Streeting's challenge failed to materialise. However, his authority with Labour MPs remains weak. Each new resignation attempts to undermine his position. For now, Starmer remains in charge by default.UK politics | Keir Starmer will attempt to regain the political initiative today as his government announces a package of 35 bills for the next parliamentary session, covering everything from housing to immigration.World news| Donald Trump is due to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday evening, the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade, as he seeks to mend power and prestige weakened by the war in Iran.UK news | Nine in 10 UK millionaires are proud to live in Britain and three-quarters would be willing to pay more tax to ensure public assets get the funding they need, according to research.Middle East | The risk of some Gulf states becoming embroiled in a direct war with Iran has risen after it was reported the United Arab Emirates had secretly launched a major attack on Iran during the conflict.Health | After more than a decade of global consultation, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) - a condition that affects one in eight women - has been renamed. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Leaked draft statement says party cannot continue on its current path' under PMKeir Starmer will not lead his party into the next general election, Labour-supporting unions have predicted, in an intervention that threatens to further destabilise the prime minister after a damaging few days.The 11 Labour-affiliated unions - which include Unite, Unison and the GMB - are expected to issue a joint statement on Wednesday saying at some stage" the party will have to put a plan in place to elect a new leader. Continue reading...
Activists claim use of laws to curtail internet freedoms part of well-documented history of cracking down on dissentWhen Gabon's media regulator indefinitely suspended major social media platforms in February, citing security concerns during anti-government protests, it became the talk of town - literally.Within weeks of the announcement, use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the restrictions surged in the central African country. When gendarmerie began stopping young men at road checkpoints in the capital Libreville and other urban centres to confiscate mobile phones with VPNs installed or detain the owners, warnings spread by word of mouth. Activists and opposition members said their accounts were also suspended due to efforts of state officials. Continue reading...
Legal and child advocates have criticised the changes, which include eroding the Aboriginal child placement principle, as dangerous, ignorant and wrong'
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is about 60 times more carcinogenic than believed in 2006, research findsA new Trump administration plan to rescind 2024 regulations for toxic ethylene oxide (EtO) pollution more broadly aims to limit the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to strengthen public health protections around hazardous emissions and could result in more of the toxin being released into the air.Recent research has found EtO is about 60 times more carcinogenic than thought when the last regulations were developed in 2006. In 2024, the Biden EPA passed a rule that strengthened the regulations to reflect the updated science, and required the nation's EtO emitters to collectively cut their emissions by about 90%. Continue reading...
Despite concerns super-rich are leaving due to tax burdens, 88% of those surveyed were proud to live in UK and would pay more to fund public servicesNine in 10 UK millionaires are proud to live in Britain and three-quarters would be willing to pay more tax to ensure public assets get the funding they need, according to research.Despite widely reported concerns that the wealthy are choosing to leave the country owing to higher taxes, the survey found millionaires were much more concerned about medical workers moving away than wealthy people emigrating. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#75JWC)
Researchers find 50+ hours a week can be detrimental to health but lighter responsibilities have positive effectThe stresses and strains of caring for someone for 50 hours or more a week leads to accelerated cognitive decline" in middle-aged and older people, research shows.However, providing care for only five to nine hours a week has the opposite effect, boosting brain health so much that the benefits last until older age. Continue reading...
Real estate executive got an unexpected earful when she spoke of living in a time of profound change'Though college graduations usually consist of a speaker giving advice to students, one recent ceremony featured students giving the speaker their opinions - loudly.The University of Central Florida's 2026 graduating class booed as a real estate development executive spoke about how the rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution" and about living in a time of profound change". Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian