World News Hub

Soft toys, memes and a movie villain: Labor tries to simplify the message but selling a budget isn’t child’s play

The Guardian • 3 months ago

As the budget fight plays out fiercely online, Labor senator Ellie Whiteaker turns to a zebra and a giraffe for helpGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSelling a complicated federal budget isn’t exactly child’s play, but Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers could do worse than following the example of their colleague’s toy giraffe and zebra to help explain their contentious tax...

Republicans race to back Ken Paxton as runoff sets up closely watched US Senate battle in Texas

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Donald Trump moves quickly to unite Republicans behind the Texas attorney general as Democrats eye rare openingUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailRepublican leaders rushed to throw their weight behind Ken Paxton following his big primary victory in Texas over the four-term US senator, John Cornyn, amid anxiety within the party over his prospects in No...

Republicans race to back Ken Paxton as runoff sets up closely-watched US Senate battle in Texas

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Donald Trump moves quickly to unite Republicans behind the Texas attorney general as Democrats eye rare openingUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailRepublican leaders rushed to throw their weight behind Ken Paxton following his big primary victory in Texas over the four-term US senator, John Cornyn, amid anxiety within the party over his prospects in No...

‘He doesn’t mention inequality once’: Burnham hits back at Blair’s Labour criticism

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Burnham joins senior figures such as Torsten Bell saying the former PM’s essay does not address today’s challengesUK politics live – latest updatesTony Blair’s criticism of the Labour party fails to engage with inequality and the “extremes of austerity”, senior party figures have said.Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, who is widely expected to launch a leadership challenge if he wins ...

Blair’s advice for Labour fails to engage with inequality, senior party figures say

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Andy Burnham and Torsten Bell say the former Labour PM’s essay does not address today’s challengesUK politics live – latest updatesTony Blair’s criticism of the Labour party fails to engage with inequality and the “extremes of austerity”, senior party figures have said.Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, who is widely expected to launch a leadership challenge if he wins next month’s Makerfi...

WHO chief calls for DRC ceasefire to tackle Ebola outbreak

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns of ‘catastrophic collision of disease and conflict’, with suspected cases at 900The head of the World Health Organization has called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to help tackle the Ebola outbreak there.Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on social media that the region was in the midst of a “catastrophic collision of dise...

Minneapolis police chief resigns after scandal over sexual misconduct investigation

The Guardian • 3 months ago

A report found that Brian O’Hara probably interfered with investigation in what mayor called a ‘breach of trust’The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, resigned on Tuesday after a report found that he probably interfered with an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.O’Hara stepped down after a meeting with the Minnesota city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, who earlier this month nominated him to s...

Extreme heat in Europe ‘a brutal reminder’ of climate crisis, UN chief says

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Simon Stiell said burning fossil fuels was driving intense heatwaves as UK and France broke temperature records on consecutive daysThe UN climate chief has said an extreme early heat event sweeping parts of western Europe was “a brutal reminder of the spiralling impacts of the climate crisis”, after France and the UK set new temperature records for May on two consecutive days.Simon Stiell, the exe...

Thirty-five people want to be the next president of France. What could possibly go wrong?

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Unless the mainstream gets its act together, next year’s election looks likely to hand the keys of the Élysée to the far right• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here“The real risk,” France’s prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, reportedly said last month, “is that this tangle of ambitions reflects such a lack of engagement with reality on the part of all these candidates tha...

Burnham hits back at Blair: ‘He doesn’t mention inequality once’ – UK politics live

The Guardian • 3 months ago

‘If you don’t get how that’s driving politics now…then you are not understanding what’s going on,’ Burnham saysTony Blair tells Starmer and rivals: abandon net zero and move closer to TrumpZack Polanski, the Green party leader, posted this on social media about Tony Blair’s latest intervention this morning.Tony Blair.What the billionaire class have paid for.Spot the difference between “Tony Blair ...

Water safety experts warn of dangers of outdoor swimming as heatwave grips UK

The Guardian • 3 months ago

At least seven people have died in recent days as people have tried to cool off in Britain’s waterwaysWater safety experts have warned about the dangers of outdoor swimming after a spike in drownings as people try to escape soaring temperatures by cooling off in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other bodies of water.In recent days, emergency services have reported at least seven deaths because of wat...

Resident doctors in England to stage four-day strike in June

The Guardian • 3 months ago

BMA blames new health secretary for decision to stage 16th strike in long-running jobs and pay disputeUK politics live – latest updatesResident doctors in England will next month stage the 16th strike in their long-running jobs and pay dispute and blamed the new health secretary for their decision.They will strike for four days from 7am on Monday 15 June until 6.59am on Friday 19 June. Continue re...

One skydiver killed and one injured after midair collision in Washington state

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Randy Hubbs died and Nicole Klein was injured after the two collided during a group jump at West Plains SkydivingA skydiver was killed and another injured after the two collided midair during a group jump in Washington state, authorities said this week.The Adams county sheriff’s office said in a statement on Monday that authorities were called Sunday evening regarding reports that “two skydivers w...

UK heatwave triggers price rises for items such as hot tubs and air conditioning units

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Of 11 seasonal items in Guardian price comparison, six hit highest price in last three months, with some nearly doubling in price in last weekThe heatwave has triggered a surge in prices for seasonal items, with the cost of one inflatable hot tub nearly doubling in a week, while an industry expert said air conditioning units have risen by about 17% since April.The Guardian looked at the cost of po...

Democrats say they were shut out of fraud event after Vance says crackdown ‘should not be a partisan’

The Guardian • 3 months ago

State attorneys general say their deputies were turned away and criticized the White House for ‘politicizing’ fraud issuesThree Democratic state attorneys general said their deputies were turned away from a roundtable hosted by JD Vance on Tuesday, sowing confusion about what the White House has billed as a bipartisan crackdown on fraud.After attorneys general – including New York’s Letitia James,...

Democrats say they were shut out of ‘fraud crackdown’ event hosted by JD Vance

The Guardian • 3 months ago

State attorneys general say their deputies were turned away despite Vance saying crackdown ‘shouldn’t be partisan’Three Democratic state attorneys general said their deputies were turned away from a roundtable hosted by JD Vance on Tuesday, sowing confusion about what the White House has billed as a bipartisan crackdown on fraud.After attorneys general – including New York’s Letitia James, Califor...

Zelenskyy asks Trump for help with air defences as Russia continues attacks – Europe live

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Ukrainian president writes letter to Trump and the US Congress to request more ammunition for its Patriot air defence systemsIn recent days across parts of Europe, temperatures have soared, heat records have been broken and spring has felt more like the height of summer.Météo France, the French national weather service, has attributed this to a “heat dome”, with warmth held in place by a high-pres...

Revealed: Mandelson vetting warned of ties to senior figures in China, Russia and Israel

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Vetting officials also flagged £1m loan when recommending he should be denied security clearanceKey questions: did ‘mitigations’ cover links to China and Russia?Peter Mandelson’s associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel were among the concerns raised by the UK’s vetting agency when it concluded he should be denied clearance, multiple sources have told the Guardian.Mandelson’s l...

Assistant who injected Matthew Perry with ketamine to be sentenced

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Kenneth Iwamasa pleaded guilty over role in Friends actor’s death from drug overdose in 2023Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe personal assistant who injected Matthew Perry with ketamine several times with no medical training, including on the day the Friends actor was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles residence, will be sentenced on Wednesday.Kenneth Iwamasa, 61, pleade...

Lord Howe Island got rid of its rats and mice – now its ‘wonderful’ insect life is back

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Invasive vermin decimated the island’s native flora and fauna – but its unique cockroaches and beetles are thriving once again In the summer months, Lord Howe Island’s unique stag beetle, with wing cases that appear forged from iridescent green metal, fly around the ancient tree tops looking for a mate.“That’s really something wonderful,” said Ian Hutton, a naturalist and nature guide on the World...

Biden sues justice department to block release of Hur interview audio

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Former president says disclosure of recordings tied to classified files inquiry would violate his privacyJoe Biden, the former president, has filed a lawsuit to try to prevent the justice department (DoJ) from releasing transcripts and audio of interviews that exposed his frequent memory lapses and helped derail his 2024 re-election campaign.The decade-old conversations with the author of his biog...

Young asylum seekers far more likely to be assessed as adults by immigration officers than by social workers

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Local authorities deem UK arrivals to be children more than twice as often as border forces, Home Office data showsYoung asylum seekers in the UK are more than twice as likely to be assessed as adults by immigration officers than by social workers, according to home office data.Between July 2025 and March 2026, 4,320 initial age decisions made by immigration officials found just 1,363 new arrivals...

Hungarian MPs vote to remain member of ICC, overturning decision made by Orbán

The Guardian • 3 months ago

Since Péter Magyar’s election victory he has vowed to reverse withdrawal from court before it took effectLawmakers in Hungary have voted overwhelmingly for the country to remain a member of the international criminal court, reversing a decision made by the previous government of Viktor Orbán.Wednesday’s vote came days before the country was poised to become the only EU member state not to recognis...

Israel launches more than 120 airstrikes against Lebanon in a day

The Guardian • 3 months ago

One of heaviest days of bombing in weeks complicates peace talks as Israel targets sites linked to HezbollahMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael launched more than 120 airstrikes against Lebanon on Tuesday in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks, as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his military was escalating its offensive against Hezbollah.A ceasefire brokered by th...

Israeli launches more than 120 airstrikes against Lebanon in a day

The Guardian • 3 months ago

One of heaviest days of bombing in weeks complicates peace talks as Israel targets sites linked to HezbollahMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael launched more than 120 airstrikes against Lebanon on Tuesday in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks, as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his military was escalating its offensive against Hezbollah.A ceasefire brokered by th...