World News Hub

‘A shift has taken place’: Starmer faces the music after weekend of reflection

The Guardian • 2 months ago

While PM’s desire to fight was strong, time with his inner circle at Chequers sharpened his sense of the inevitableOn Friday, as the dust settled on Andy Burnham’s thumping victory in the Makerfield byelection, Keir Starmer was in defiant mood. “I have said repeatedly, I am not going to walk away,” the prime minister said, adding: “Let’s pull together as a party and a movement.”Just 48 hours later...

Starmer expected to announce exit plan to clear way for Burnham to become PM

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Ministers say Starmer will set out his intentions on Monday morning with an autumn departure the most likely optionKeir Starmer is expected to announce a timetable for his departure on Monday morning, clearing the way for Andy Burnham to become prime minister without a formal contest by the autumn.Cabinet ministers say Starmer will set out his intentions outside No 10 Downing Street, starting a pr...

Starmer expected to announce exit plan that will clear way for Burnham to become PM

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Ministers say Starmer will set out his intentions on Monday morning with an autumn departure the most likely optionKeir Starmer is expected to announce a timetable for his departure on Monday morning, clearing the way for Andy Burnham to become prime minister without a formal contest by the autumn.Cabinet ministers say Starmer will set out his intentions outside Downing Street on Monday morning, s...

Trump says beleaguered reflecting pool will ‘probably’ be drained for repairs

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Algae blooms and peeling paint mar $14.2m renovation as president blames problems on ‘disgraceful Vandalism’The troublesome Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington is “probably” going to be drained for repairs, Donald Trump has said, after algae blooms and peeling paint marred the controversial recent renovation efforts for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations next month.In a Truth Soci...

Teenager rescues two men who fell from inflatable toy boat off Isle of Skye

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Archie Law, 15, sailed his own boat to save men in distress, beating lifeboat service to the sceneA 15-year-old boy rescued two men who had fallen from an inflatable toy boat off the Isle of Skye by sailing his own boat to save them – beating the lifeboat service to the scene.The teenager, Archie Law, beat a volunteer crew of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to the rescue on Saturday...

Starmer expected to announce departure on Monday as growing numbers of MPs back Burnham for PM – as it happened

The Guardian • 2 months ago

PM said to be reflecting on ‘political realities’, as president Trump joins in criticism of his leadership saying he has ‘failed badly’ Keir Starmer expected to announce departure as prime minister on MondaySome commentators have said Andy Burnham is a better communicator than Keir Starmer, but have questioned how different he is on policy.The Guardian’s policy editor, Kiran Stacey, has helpfully ...

Transition timetable: what a Starmer autumn handover could look like

The Guardian • 2 months ago

New leader could be chosen unchallenged or after a quick contest while outgoing PM has time to finalise his legacyUK politics live – latest updatesIf the predictions are proved correct and Keir Starmer does announce a timetable for an autumn departure from Downing Street, the machinery of government will again kick into gear for a handover of power – but one that will be, by UK standards, relative...

Trump threatens fresh attacks on Iran as peace talks take place in Switzerland

The Guardian • 2 months ago

US president tells Iran to stop Hezbollah ‘causing trouble’, while Tehran continues to demand full ceasefire in Lebanon Middle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has threatened to attack Iran again unless it stops Hezbollah “causing trouble”, as direct talks took place in Switzerland with the Iranian demand for a full ceasefire in Lebanon at the top of the agenda.Iran said it had remounted its...

Newsom declares state of emergency for LA as firefighters battle warehouse blaze

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Crews struggle to contain stubborn fire that has raged for days and continues to spew smoke across the metro areaCalifornia’s governor has declared a state of emergency for the city of Los Angeles, as firefighters struggle to contain a stubborn warehouse blaze that has raged for days and continues to spew smoke across the metro area.The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, announced on Saturday that he...

Train driver killed in Bedford crash named as family pay tribute

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Family of Shaun Burton, 60, say they are ‘devastated by his loss’ and their thoughts are ‘also with those affected’ Does Bedford train crash raise wider questions about safety?Police have named the driver killed in the Bedford train crash on Friday, as his family paid tribute to him.British Transport police said Shaun Burton, 60, was the East Midlands Railway driver killed in the collision on the ...

Burnham ally to unveil ambitious plan to reverse decades of privatisation

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Exclusive: Productive State policy paper envisages state regaining control of basics to make life affordable, in fleshing out of ManchesterismAndy Burnham’s government should reverse 40 years of privatisation with a long-term plan to take over failing utilities in administration, issuing “bonds for shares” and setting up state competitors, according to a new blueprint for “Manchesterism”.The polic...

Secret correspondence claims suggest tensions at top of Iranian government

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Former negotiating team member gives shock interview claiming supreme leader’s instructions were not followedMiddle East crisis – live updatesA former member of Iran’s negotiating team in the previous round of talks in Islamabad is facing the threat of prosecution and dismissal from parliament after he went on the main state broadcaster to reveal what he claimed were confidential letters from the ...

Concerns over therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Prison officers’ union calls for immediate end to practice at HMYOI Wetherby over fears for child and animal welfarePet ferrets kept as therapy animals at the UK’s largest children’s prison have been co-opted by managers to kill rats, resulting in a bloody incident and concerns over child and animal welfare.The unorthodox method of vermin control was waved through last month at HMYOI Wetherby in W...

Therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Prison officers’ union calls for immediate end to practice at HMYOI Wetherby over fears for child and animal welfarePet ferrets kept as therapy animals at the UK’s largest children’s prison have been co-opted by managers to kill rats, resulting in a bloody incident and concerns over child and animal welfare.The unorthodox method of vermin control was waved through last month at HMYOI Wetherby in W...

Dutch PM apologises for Moluccan soldiers’ mistreatment after Indonesian independence

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Rob Jetten acknowledges grief and pain of Moluccan families as crowdfunded monument unveiled in RotterdamThe Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten, has formally apologised for the “heartless” mistreatment of thousands of Moluccan soldiers who fought for the Dutch colonial army during Indonesia’s struggle for independence.About 12,500 men from a group of Indonesian islands who served in the Royal Dutch ...

Coal companies to reap billions more in taxpayer diesel subsidies as Labor approves new mining

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Albanese government under pressure to wind back fuel tax credit scheme for multinational miners as analysis shows cost to budgetGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCoal companies could receive an extra $6.2bn in taxpayer refunds for the diesel they use if the Albanese government greenlights just half the mine developments up for approval.The finding, in an analysis released ...

‘Native children belong in Native communities’: tribes decry New Mexico drug-exposed newborn rule

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Groups say new directive fails to respect Native sovereignty amid complicated history of Indigenous child removalsOne morning early last July, Micha Bitsinnie arrived at work to an onslaught of messages from confused families.New Mexico’s governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had just issued a directive mandating the state’s child welfare department seek custody of all newborns who had been exposed to d...

Australia is publishing books too quickly – and everyone is losing out

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Thanks to rushed deadlines, financial pressure and overworked staff, titles are going to market before they’re ready – and then sliding from view immediatelyA Sydney author – I’ll call her Rebecca – vowed never to write another book after the deranging experience of publishing her first. She’s using a pseudonym because one day she might change her mind; the notoriously small Australian publishing ...

Colombians vote in runoff election expected to trigger shift in decades-long armed conflict

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Frontrunner Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to return to full-scale military confrontation with armed groupsGhost of far-right paramilitaries hovers over Colombia’s presidential runoff voteColombians are going to the polls in a presidential runoff expected to trigger to a dramatic shift in the country’s decades-long armed conflict, now at its most violent point since the landmark 2016 peace agr...

UK climate activists fear case delays could cost them right to jury trial

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Defendants worry that changes could remove chance of acquittal based on jurors’ consciences in defiance of the lawClimate activists fear that delays to their cases may mean they lose the right to a trial before jurors, who are typically more likely to acquit them than a judge.Scores of defendants facing trials for protests as long ago as 2021 have had proceedings repeatedly postponed and worry tha...

Badenoch attacks Farage over £5m gift and rules out Tory-Reform pact

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Conservative leader says Reform UK’s poor showing in this week’s byelections leaves idea of deal ‘stone-dead’UK politics live – latest updatesKemi Badenoch has attacked Nigel Farage over the £5m gift he received before the general election as she ruled out an electoral pact with Reform UK.The Tory leader questioned Farage’s acceptance of the gift from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christop...

Major disruption after Bedford train crash to continue for at least a week

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Engineers need to create access for cranes to lift carriages from site before track can be assessed and repairedMajor disruption on the rail line between Bedford and Luton will continue for at least a week after the collision of two trains which killed a train driver and injured 100 people.In a statement setting out the effects on some services until 28 June, Network Rail said the disaster had bee...

Man falls to his death during Madison Square Garden concert, police say

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Officers find man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an ‘elevated position’A 51-year-old man fell to his death during a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night, police said.Officers responding to a 911 emergency call around 9.51pm found the man unconscious and unresponsive with injuries indicating a fall from an “elevated position”, New Yo...

France cancels events and restricts alcohol consumption amid brutal heatwave

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Sports and nationwide music festival affected, with temperatures for some expected to reach 42C from MondayAuthorities in France have placed more than a third of the country under a red heat alert, cancelled some outdoor sports events and restricted alcohol consumption at the nationwide Fête de la Musique event amid a brutal heatwave forecast to push temperatures above 40C.Level one or two heat al...

Los Angeles declares state of emergency as firefighters battle warehouse blaze

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Crews struggle to contain fire from cold-storage facility that continues to spew smoke across the metro areaMayor Karen Bass has declared a state of emergency for the city of Los Angeles, as firefighters still struggle to contain a blaze from a cold-storage facility that continues to spew smoke across the metro area.“This emergency declaration is crucial because Boyle Heights is not just respondin...