The gambling crisis demands a public health response' and should be regulated like alcohol or tobacco, expert saysGambling addiction is spiraling out of control" in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, demands a public health response", according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene. Continue reading...
Diplomats poke fun at Donald Trump, while elsewhere Madonna loses her corset off the back of a golf buggyThe one upside to a rolling international crisis is that it can give backroom people a rare chance to shine. Witness, this week, the breakout stars of the Iranian diplomatic corps, who from two different diplomatic missions managed to poke fun at Donald Trump while maintaining the base-level decorum that so eludes the American president. Continue reading...
One blaze broke out north-west of Fort Lauderdale in Florida, a state known for its wetlands and evergladesMuch of the US is battling a widespread drought after a very dry winter and start to spring. South-eastern areas, in particular the states of Florida and Georgia, are experiencing some of the worst of this prolonged bout of dry weather, with calls for the risk to be labelled a level 4 exceptional" drought in the region, the most severe category. In recent days, strong winds and low humidity conditions have brought an increased fire risk. These ingredients combined with such unusually dry ground have led to multiple large wildfires, particularly across Florida, a state known for its wetlands and everglades.A fire broke out early on Tuesday morning in Broward County, Florida, just north-west of Fort Lauderdale, scorching an area of more than 9,200 acres as of Thursday afternoon. The National Guard helped Broward Sherriff Fire Rescue tackle the blaze, which has since been brought to 50% containment. Residents nearby and farther west have been warned of reduced air quality as a result of travelling smoke. Fires have been breaking out elsewhere, with multiple active blazes across northern Florida, Georgia and into Alabama. Abnormally dry weather is set to continue over the next few weeks before the arrival of the rainy season, usually around June, with the drought and fire risk set to last. Continue reading...
Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbersA large ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world's highest peak.The serac between base camp and camp one is unstable and is risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal's department of mountaineering on Friday. Continue reading...
Industry sceptical as Nigel Farage's party goes on charm offensive to help win over former Labour heartlandsReform UK has asked steel bosses to draw up an alternative steel strategy" to rival recent government plans, stoking industry fears over a charm offensive by Nigel Farage's party as it eyes gains in former Labour heartlands.Richard Tice, Reform's deputy leader, met a group of bosses shortly before Labour announced new steel tariffs in March and commissioned them to draft a competing plan that will include scrapping net zero policies. Continue reading...
Recriminations continue over failure to bring in new laws allowing assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and WalesAmid the failure of an attempt to bring in new laws allowing assisted dying for terminally ill people with less than six months to live, campaigners on both sides of the debate vented their anger and frustration with the opposing side.Its supporters, including terminally ill people, blamed the failure of the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill, which passed in the House of Commons, on sabotage by a handful of unelected peers. Continue reading...
by Rob Davies, Atika Rehman, Jess Staufenberg and Mar on (#755SN)
MPs call for investigation into Essar Energy, owner of Stanlow refinery, which shifted loans from Putin's piggy bank' VTB to MauritiusDays after the first wave of Russian tanks surged over the border into Ukraine in March 2022, dockers at a port in northern England took a stand.Appalled by Vladimir Putin's brutality, workers at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire vowed never to unload any Russian oil destined for the nearby Stanlow refinery, a major hub for UK fuel supplies. Continue reading...
Labour MPs are reportedly urging colleagues to demand Burnham's return in order to position him as Starmer's eventual successorIf Keir Starmer is looking for a saviour to keep him in No 10 after the May elections and the scandal of the Mandelson saga, there is an unlikely figure in the north-west who might help him - temporarily.It has been the week where the prime minister seemed at his most isolated. But Labour MPs told the Guardian they were urging colleagues not to depose Starmer next month, and were instead preparing to demand that Andy Burnham return to parliament in order to succeed him before the next general election. Continue reading...
by Anna Bawden Health and social affairs corresponden on (#755SQ)
Nearly 40% of cancellations could be avoided, researchers sayAbout one in 10 operations in England are cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice or postponed, according to research..A study of elective surgery at 91 English NHS trusts found that 10% of operations were cancelled the day before the planned surgery date; while 9% were postponed when patients had their pre-op appointment. Continue reading...
Charlotte MacInnes, who is suing Wilson for defamation, says social media post from Ramona Agruma-Wilson featuring animated character Dory, made her feel awful'
by Adam Fulton, Coral Murphy Marcos, Matty Edwards, T on (#754VC)
This blog is now closed. For the latest Middle East news, see our full report hereThe Pentagon abruptly announced that the secretary of the US navy, John Phelan, would be leaving his job yesterday. No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the navy's top civilian official, who had addressed a large crowd of sailors and industry professionals at the navy's annual conference in Washington just a day before the announcement.People familiar with the dynamics at the Pentagon told the Guardian Phelan was fired. Phelan had an increasingly rocky relationship with the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, and other senior staff. Continue reading...
US president accuses UK of thinking it can make an easy buck' from US tech companies, weeks after warning that UK-US trade deal can be changedDonald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms.The digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2% levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies. Continue reading...
Paramount Skydance CEO fetes administration as it weighs $110bn merger with CNN parent WarnerBros DiscoveryDozens of protesters, including members of Congress, gathered along the National Mall on Thursday to protest an intimate" dinner being held by Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison in celebration of the First Amendment" and honoring the Trump White House and CBS White House Correspondents", and attended by Donald Trump.Paramount has faced criticism for the dinner, which has been seen by some as illustrative of the cozy relationship between the Ellisons and the White House - right as the Trump administration is weighing whether to approve the company's $110bn merger with CNN parent company WarnerBros Discovery. The dinner comes before Saturday's White House correspondents' dinner, which Trump will attend. His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is expected to sit at one of the many tables bought by CBS News for the event. Continue reading...
Foreign ministry says remarks of conservative podcast host Michael Savage that were shared by US president were obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste'India on Thursday criticised as inappropriate a post by Donald Trump in which he shared comments that called the South Asian country a hellhole".The inflammatory post on Truth Social comes ahead of a planned visit next month to India by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is seeking to ease recent tensions between the normally friendly powers. Continue reading...
National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report further says crash prevention system didn't generate alertA firefighter whose truck collided with an Air Canada jet last month on a runway at New York's LaGuardia airport, killing both pilots, heard an air traffic controller warn stop, stop, stop" but didn't know who it was for, federal investigators said Thursday.The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on the 22 March collision that a crash prevention system for air traffic controllers didn't generate an audio or visual alert, and lights on the runway that act as a stop light for crossing traffic were on until about three seconds before the collision. Continue reading...
Force says it is confident there was no offence' and condemns shameful' behaviour by protestersThe investigation into reports of a rape outside a church in Epsom that led to widespread public disorder will close as police are confident there was no offence".Surrey police received a report on Saturday 11 April that a woman had been raped near a church in the early hours of the morning after leaving Labyrinth nightclub in Epsom. Continue reading...
Justice department has already identified 384 foreign-born people whose US citizenship it wants to revokeThe Trump administration is reportedly pushing the justice department to pursue hundreds of denaturalization cases, in which Americans born outside of the US are stripped of their citizenship.The justice department has already identified 384 foreign-born US citizens, whose citizenship it wants to revoke and will begin the process in the coming weeks, according to the New York Times. Continue reading...
Hope Not Hate campaign identifies election hopefuls calling for a white Britain' and complaining of kowtowing to the black community'A Reform UK candidate who called for a white Britain" and said Keir Starmer should be shot is among a number of contenders fuelling doubts about the party's claim to have tightened up its vetting.The past comments of Linda McFarlane and other political hopefuls have been unearthed ahead of the 7 May elections, including one who complained about constant kowtowing to the black community" and others who endorsed the far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Continue reading...
Police allegedly found images on iCloud account of singer accused of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas HernandezA Los Angeles prosecutor said that the singer D4vd, who was charged this week in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was in possession of a significant amount of child pornography".Police allegedly found the images on the iCloud account of the 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#755DZ)
Battle of the blockades may still have more time to run as the US and Iran try to assert control over the strait of HormuzDonald Trump's decision to extend the naval blockade of Iran indefinitely may do nothing to reduce world oil prices - but it could amount to a recognition that further US military escalation in breach of the nominal ceasefire comes with greater risk against a regime disinclined to surrender.In theory, Trump's military options are increasing. A third US carrier strike group, the George HW Bush, is due to arrive in the Middle East within days after rounding South Africa. A second taskforce of 2,500 US marines is sailing from the Pacific and is due to arrive by the end of April. Continue reading...
Taskforce report examines how effects of slavery and Jim Crow in Fulton county continue to harm Black residentsA Georgia taskforce has released a landmark report that details the lasting impact of slavery and its afterlives in Fulton county.The report, spanning more than 600 pages, is based on original research by the Fulton county reparations taskforce and a review of primary source documents. It is the first - of its kind in the nation, according to county leaders and researchers. Rather than examining the impact of slavery and racism at the federal or state level, the harm report investigated the role of the county government. Continue reading...
Ursula von der Leyen hails good news' after Hungary's lifting of vetoes allows leaders to sign off on agreementsEU leaders have welcomed the end of diplomatic deadlock over a long-awaited 90bn (78bn) loan for Ukraine, after the bloc finalised the agreement along with a 20th sanctions package against Russia.After weeks of delay, the EU signed off on the loan on Thursday, in time for a summit in Cyprus that began in the evening and will include talks over a dinner with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...
by Philip Oltermann European culture editor on (#755E4)
National broadcaster confirms it will not broadcast world's largest live music eventNational broadcasters in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia will not air the Eurovision song contest this year, after they decided to boycott the event over Israel's participation.Having announced it would not submit a national entry, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV confirmed on Thursday it would implement a broadcasting blackout of the world's largest live music event and instead show a series of films about Palestine. Continue reading...
Jim Taiclet spoke in earnings call as company expands contracts with the US government amid the Iran warLockheed Martin's CEO has called the Trump administration a golden opportunity" for the company as it expands its contracting work for the federal government amid the conflict in the Middle East.In an earnings call on Thursday covering the first quarter of 2026, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet told investors that the company is well positioned based on more available resources for us". Continue reading...
by Presented by Lucy Hough with Luke Harding; produce on (#755BC)
With the EU approving a 90bn loan for Ukraine, a surprise visit from Prince Harry, and data suggesting Russian troops made almost no territorial gains in March - are there reasons for optimism in Kyiv? Lucy Hough speaks to senior international correspondent Luke Harding - watch on YouTube Continue reading...
Firm went bust in February amid fallout from the scandal over Mandelson's links to Jeffrey EpsteinLittle says in March she had a meeting when she asked to see the Foreign Office's documentation about the decision to grant Mandelson vetting. She said she was asking because this was documentation covered by the humble address. She said was told that that information would not be forthcoming".In the middle of March, I have a meeting with Sir Olly and a senior member of his team, and this is after the point that I've been told that this summary document exists.I specifically ask to see this document and any decision-making audit trail around those judgments at the time. It was made clear to me that that information would not be forthcoming.I took the very unusual judgment that I should directly request the information from UK Security Vetting.And I did that because I go back to my responsibilities, to discharge the humble address, which is a responsibility that is unique to me and I take very seriously. Continue reading...
Woman raped by two men while a third filmed ordeal after she became separated from friends on night outThree men have been found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman on Brighton beach in a cynical, predatory and callous" attack after she became separated from her friends on a night out.The woman was targeted by the men as she was incapacitated in the early hours of 4 October last year, the trial at Hove crown court was told. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Officials warn department will lose access to database of 26,000 verified cases by cutting fundingThe Foreign Office unit tracking potential breaches of international law by Israel in Gaza and more recently Lebanon has been closed because of cuts within the department, the Guardian can reveal.The decision to shut the international humanitarian law cell follows a review by Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office dismissed last week by the prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal. Continue reading...
The merger will still require governmental approval and could be delayed by a lawsuit seeking to block itShareholders of Warner Bros Discovery voted overwhelmingly" to approve the company's $110bn merger with Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News, on Thursday.But shareholders voted against generous proposed compensation packages for WBD executives, including a $550m payout to the outgoing chief executive, David Zaslav. Continue reading...
British foreign secretary told to impose new measures, with ruble-pegged cryptocurrency A7A5 being supported in countryMore than 20 MPs and peers have called on the foreign secretary to take action against institutions and individuals in Kyrgyzstan allegedly facilitating large-scale Russian sanctions evasion.They urged the UK to levy personal sanctions against three top Kyrgyz officials for their alleged role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion more broadly, and more specifically for allowing Kyrgyzstan to host infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency A7A5. Continue reading...
Move comes after Hungary and Slovakia dropped opposition following reopening of the Druzhba oil pipelineMeanwhile, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Kyiv will seek to receive the first tranche of the 90bn European Union loan by the end of May, or early June.This is strengthening of our army," he told reporters in a WhatsApp chat, reported by Reuters. Continue reading...
Rosemarie Milsom, who formed and runs Newcastle writers festival, will take over from Louise Adler after the literary festival imploded over invitation to Randa Abdel-FattahIn January, as the implosion of Adelaide writers' week made headlines around Australia and the world, Rosemarie Milsom was watching closely.The Adelaide festival board, which oversees AWW, had overridden the literary festival's director, Louise Adler, and disinvited the Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah over past comments she'd made about Israel and Zionism. This decision resulted not in a quieter, less-controversial festival as the board members may have hoped, but a boycott by 200-odd writers, the resignation of Adler - followed by the whole board - a potential defamation lawsuit against the South Australian premier and the collapse of AWW. Continue reading...
by Natricia Duncan in Kingston and Demion McTair in K on (#7555G)
Bills are response to election petitions challenging Godwin Friday and fellow politician's eligibility to be MPs because of dual citizenshipThe St Vincent and the Grenadines government has delayed a controversial effort to amend a section of the country's constitution that the opposition says renders the prime minister ineligible for his position in parliament.Two bills, among six listed for the parliament session on Tuesday this week, were aimed at clarifying a section of the 1979 constitution governing the citizenship eligibility of members of parliament. Continue reading...
State's strict gun policies heralded as data shows 35% reduction in homicides between 2022 and 2024California officials are touting a historic three-year decrease in homicides and gun violence that has led to the state's lowest number of killings on record.The number of homicides in California decreased by 35% between 2022 and 2024, with 2,304 deaths reported in 2022 and 1,768 in 2024, according data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The dip in homicides was most pronounced for teenage and young adult Black and Latino males, who have historically faced the highest risk of being killed or injured by gunshot wounds. Suicides, the most common type of gun deaths, also fell to record lows, according to the report. Continue reading...
Order to speed hallucinogen research hailed as threshold moment' but concerns remain over access and protectionsThe scene seemed so far-fetched you could be forgiven for thinking you might be hallucinating.On the weekend in which psychonauts celebrate Bicycle Day" - the anniversary of the first LSD trip - Donald Trump was in the Oval Office double-checking that he was correctly pronouncing the name of a lesser-known psychedelic, ibogaine, as he signed a landmark executive order to accelerate research into hallucinogens, and to increase access. Continue reading...
Brand, who will be tried in October over allegations of rape and sexual assault, tells podcast he slept with 16-year-old when he was 30Russell Brand said he had exploitative" consensual sex with a 16-year-old girl at the height of his fame.The comedian, actor and podcaster, 50, will be tried in the autumn over allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him by six women. Brand denies all the charges, which date from 1999 to 2009. Speaking about his past actions in an appearance on the YouTube show of the US journalist Megyn Kelly, Brand described himself selfish" and an exploiter of women". Continue reading...
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