World News Hub

Urban areas host 80% of England’s homes at high risk of flooding, study finds

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Exclusive: 839,000 homes in urban areas face threat of surface-water flooding, with social housing tenants most vulnerable to costsEight in 10 of the homes that are at high risk of flooding in England are now in towns and cities, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF), which said social housing tenants are disproportionately vulnerable to the financial cost.Research found t...

Australia news live: NT police urge public to ‘tell us where he is’ in search for man who allegedly abducted girl; unleaded fuel at or below pre-Iran war levels in most capitals

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland health minister still has major concerns about Thriving KidsTim Nicholls, the Queensland health minister, said the state still has major concerns about the federal government’s Thriving Kids program, which will move children under nine years old with mild development delays and autism off the NDIS. Queens...

Earlier specialised care could prevent 10,000 miscarriages a year, UK study finds

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Charity says starting specialised care after first miscarriage instead of third reduces risk of future lossesGiving women access to specialised care after their first miscarriage could prevent about 10,000 pregnancy losses a year across the UK, according to a study.Currently, women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible for specialist care on the NHS for early baby losses after they h...

‘It will never cover what’s authentic’: African music industry weighs up AI risks and rewards

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Delegates at event in Cape Verde highlight opportunities from tech while stressing AI is no replacement for talentLast July, the Nigerian singer-songwriter Fave found herself caught up in a viral moment: an unauthorised version of a track featuring an AI choir had been released, quickly becoming an internet sensation. To get ahead of the situation, she recorded her own remix that integrated the AI...

Lost copy of seventh-century poem in Old English discovered at Rome library

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Dublin scholars find 1,200-year-old manuscript of Caedmon’s Hymn composed by Northumbrian cattle herderA lost copy of a poem composed in the seventh century by a Northumbrian cattle herder – the earliest surviving poem in the English language – has been discovered in Rome.Scholars from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) uncovered the manuscript that contains Caedmon’s Hymn at the National Central Librar...

Rebel Wilson rejects ‘absolutely outrageous’ phone-dumping accusation as defamation trial continues

The Guardian • 4 months ago

The Pitch Perfect actor is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor of Wilson’s directorial debut, The DebHollywood star Rebel Wilson has rejected an “absolutely outrageous” accusation that she dumped her phone to avoid handing over key communications in a defamation case.The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the 27-year-old lead actor of the musical comedy The Deb. C...

Australia news live: PM rules out new gas export tax on existing contracts; protester refuses to enter plea over ‘insane’ pro-Palestine chant charge

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Meanwhile King Charles praises ‘ambitious’ Aukus and expresses pride in Australia in speech to US Congress. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland health minister still has major concerns about Thriving KidsTim Nicholls, the Queensland health minister, said the state still has major concerns about the federal government’s Thriving Kids program...

Justice department claims James Comey made ‘threat to kill’ Trump as it announces charges against former FBI director – as it happened

The Guardian • 4 months ago

This live blog is now closed.Justice department indicts ex-FBI director James Comey over Instagram post showing seashellsTrump v Comey: a timeline of the president and ex-FBI director’s feudSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump has reportedly signaled to his top advisers that he is dissatisfied with and unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which would reopen the s...

Anthony Albanese rules out gas export tax on existing contracts and criticises ‘populist’ campaign

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Prime minister says the middle of a global fuel crisis is ‘the worst possible time to jeopardise’ Australia’s partnerships with Asian trading partnersThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has confirmed next month’s federal budget will not include a new tax on existing gas export contracts as he criticised the “populist” campaign calling for a levy on producers.As reported last week, Albanese was p...

Justice department claims James Comey made ‘threat to kill’ Trump as it announces charges against former FBI director – live

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Charges appear to stem from photo posted on Comey’s Instagram account last year; former FBI director expresses faith that he will be exonerated at trialSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump has reportedly signaled to his top advisers that he is dissatisfied with and unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which would reopen the strait of Hormuz and leave discussion o...

A whole new world: Disneyland adds facial recognition to some entrance lanes

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Walt Disney Company says technology at California theme park will prevent fraud and streamline re-entryDisneyland, the beloved California adventure park, has outfitted some entrance lanes with facial recognition technology, a move its parent company says will prevent fraud and streamline re-entry.At certain entrance lanes, a camera will capture images of visitors, which can be converted via biomet...

Inflation jumps to 4.6% in Australia as Iran war fuel shock begins to bite

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Financial markets are betting the Reserve Bank will hike interest rates for a third straight meeting next Tuesday•Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastInflation jumped to 4.6% in the year to March, from 3.7% the month before, in what experts say is the start of an Iran war-linked fuel shock that will ripple through the economy over coming months.Financial markets are betting ...

Australia news live: PM rules out new gas export tax on existing contracts; major childcare chain to close dozens of centres after abuse scandal

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Meanwhile King Charles praises ‘ambitious’ Aukus and expresses pride in Australia in speech to US Congress. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland health minister still has major concerns about Thriving KidsTim Nicholls, the Queensland health minister, said the state still has major concerns about the federal government’s Thriving Kids program...

Australia news live: more than 100 people searching for missing girl near Alice Springs; protester charged over Palestine slogan pleads not guilty

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Meanwhile King Charles praises ‘ambitious’ Aukus and expresses pride in Australia in speech to US Congress. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland health minister still has major concerns about Thriving KidsTim Nicholls, the Queensland health minister, said the state still has major concerns about the federal government’s Thriving Kids program...

Teaching in classes grouped by ability does not hamper progress of less able pupils, study finds

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Research on maths teaching in English secondary schools upends decades of debate over mixed-ability educationTeaching pupils in classes grouped by ability improves the results of high-flyers but does not affect the progress of less able children, according to a study that upends decades of debate over mixed-ability education.The research by University College London’s Institute of Education found ...

UK faces £35bn hit and risk of recession this year over impact of Iran war, thinktank warns

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Niesr says even under best-case scenario, economy would grow at slower pace in 2026 and 2027 because of conflictBritain is facing a £35bn economic hit and the risk of a recession this year as the fallout from the Iran war adds to the pressure on Keir Starmer’s government, a leading thinktank has warned.The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said that even under a best-case ...

Australia news live: $1.5m boost for EV network; markets braced for inflation shock

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Meanwhile King Charles praises ‘ambitious’ Aukus and expresses pride in Australia in speech to US Congress. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQueensland health minister still has major concerns about Thriving KidsTim Nicholls, the Queensland health minister, said the state still has major concerns about the federal government’s Thriving Kids program...

Deaths projected to outnumber births in UK every year from 2026

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Latest ONS figures also suggest lower population growth in coming decades than previously expectedDeaths are projected to outnumber births in the UK every year from 2026 and the population is expected to grow at a slower rate over the next few decades than previously reported, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).About 1.7 million people are projected to join the population betwee...

Trump administration blocks US wind energy projects in switch to oil and gas

The Guardian • 4 months ago

US representatives Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin earlier this month called agreements outrageous and unlawfulSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Trump administration blocked two permitted US wind energy projects from development this week, with an agreement to pay millions of dollars in refunds to the companies behind them if those funds are reinvested...

Man arrested in ‘one of most heinous, notorious cold cases’ more than 30 years after mother’s murder

The Guardian • 4 months ago

James Lawhead was arrested after forensic DNA analysis lead in decades-old killing of Cindy WannerSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA 64-year-old man was arrested last week in connection to a decades-old murder investigation that had long haunted an affluent suburb of Sacramento, where it occurred.On 25 November 1991, Cindy Wanner, 35, vanished from her s...

Beverley Martyn, spirited British folk singer, dies aged 79

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Singer-songwriter was known for collaborations with former husband John Martyn as well as star-studded 1960s singles and 2014 comeback albumBritish folk singer Beverley Martyn, known for her collaborations with her former husband John Martyn as well as spirited, sublime solo work, has died aged 79.A statement from the family of the late John Martyn announced the news, saying she died peacefully at...

King Charles praises Nato and urges defence of Ukraine in key speech during Trump visit

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Remarks marking 250th anniversary of American independence tell US lawmakers: ‘The actions of this great nation matter’King Charles has extolled the importance of Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States in a speech to US Congress that made pointed reference to the importance of Nato, the defence of Ukraine and the climate crisis.In a speech that will be read as a veiled plea to Don...

Justice department claims Comey made ‘threat to kill’ Trump as it announces charges against former FBI director – live

The Guardian • 4 months ago

New charges against president’s political enemy appear to stem from photo posted on Comey’s Instagram account last yearSign up for the Breaking News US emailDonald Trump has reportedly signaled to his top advisers that he is dissatisfied with and unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which would reopen the strait of Hormuz and leave discussion of Iran’s nuclear program for a la...

News live: King Charles praises ‘ambitious’ Aukus and expresses pride in Australia in speech to US Congress

The Guardian • 4 months ago

Nuclear submarine mentioned in part of king’s speech that emphasised defence ties. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.Consumer price data coming out today is expected to show the sharp shock that the US-I...

US to issue ‘America250’ passports featuring Donald Trump’s image

The Guardian • 4 months ago

The limited-edition versions will place the US president’s portrait inside cover alongside declaration text and flag motifsUS politics live – latest updatesThe United States government, marking 250 years of independence from a monarchy, will this summer issue passports featuring a large photograph of its most senior leader’s face.The limited-edition documents, billed as a commemoration of America’...