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• A Pennsylvania state court ordered election officials to draw a new congressional map by June 2026, ruling that the current Republican‑backed map unlawfully diluted the voting strength of Black and Latino communities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. • The judge found that the existing districts concentrated minority voters into a handful of “safe” Democratic seats, limiting their influence in neighboring competitive districts and violating state constitutional protections for equal representation. • The decision threatens Republican hopes of holding a narrow House majority in 2026 and could force the legislature into a court‑supervised redistricting process if lawmakers cannot agree on a replacement map.

Decision follows backlash from Italian government and European CommissionThe jury of the Venice Biennale has quit just days before the prestigious art exhibition was due to begin, amid a row over the decision to allow Russia to participate.The resignation of the five-member international jury was announced late on Thursday in a brief statement by the Venice Biennale organisers, and came a day after the Italian culture ministry sent inspectors to Venice in search of information about the decision to allow Russia to have a pavilion at this year’s event. Continue reading...

DoJ announces changes including ‘loophole’ that allows people to buy guns at shows without background checkThe US justice department has rolled back several significant restrictions on guns, including reinstating the so-called “gun show loophole”, which allowed people at such events to buy firearms without a background check.The changes, announced by the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, amount to a shift in firearm policy advocated by supporters of the second amendment, who are prominent in Donald Trump’s supporter base. Continue reading...

The World Press Freedom Index, which assessed 180 countries, finds established journalism is ‘being asphyxiated’Press freedom around the world is at its lowest ebb in a generation, according to an influential annual index that highlights growing authoritarian pressure on the media.The average score for the 180 countries assessed by the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), was the lowest in the index’s 25-year history. Continue reading...

Electoral Commission is investigating claims money given to MP came from US businessman now convicted of wire fraudUK politics live – latest updatesLabour has called on Robert Jenrick to give up almost £40,000 donated to his campaign to be Conservative leader in 2024 following allegations that the sum came from an impermissible foreign donor now convicted of fraud.The party called for Jenrick to make a donation to charity after the Guardian revealed the Electoral Commission has been investigating claims that £37,500 out of £100,000 given to his campaign by a UK company Spott Fitness ultimately came from a company run by a US-based businessman, Gary Klopfenstein. Continue reading...

First quarter output, driven by AI investment and government spending, rose as oil shock fuels inflation fearsUS gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated 2% in the first three months of 2026, though consumer spending is slowing as the war with Iran continues to impact energy prices.The last GDP reading for the fourth quarter of 2025 showed that US economic growth slowed to a 0.5% pace, largely due to a contraction in government spending after massive layoffs of federal workers last year. The federal government is down 355,000 workers, or 11.8% of the workforce, since October 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue reading...

Move comes as airline industry reacts to uncertainty over Iran war and increase in price of Brent crudeBusiness live – latest updatesAir France-KLM has cut its capacity growth forecasts for this year as the Iran war drives up its fuel costs by billions of dollars.The French-Dutch airline expects its fuel bill to increase by $2.4bn (£1.8bn) this year as a result of the surge in costs since the Middle East conflict began. In response, it has trimmed its expectations for capacity growth to between 2% and 4% this year, down from 3% to 5% previously. Continue reading...

• The United Arab Emirates withdrew from OPEC yesterday, marking a historic split from Saudi Arabia during the escalating regional crisis. • This decision coincides with the Strait of Hormuz being almost entirely shut down due to a US naval blockade aimed at halting Iranian oil exports. • The US is threatening to cut off major Chinese banks from its financial system to prevent processing of Iranian oil, intensifying global energy tensions.

US president’s threat comes after Germany’s Friedrich Merz suggests Trump team is being outplayed in its negotiations with IranThe US may reduce its number of troops deployed in Germany, Donald Trump has announced, days after the country’s chancellor said America was being “humiliated” by Iran.In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president said his administration was “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time”. Continue reading...

• In New York City Council race, Zohran Mamdani's endorsement faces doubt as the incumbent struggles with low polls and a split base. • The defiant candidate refuses to step aside for a centrist challenger despite poor numbers. • This local race signals shifting Democratic dynamics in urban politics for national implications.

• Backers introduced over three dozen bills in statehouses to expand raw milk access, despite public health warnings and at least five outbreaks in the past year. • Current E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk cheddar cheese from California-based Raw Farm has sickened nine people, half children under 5, with one developing lifelong kidney complications. • Public health officials warn unpasteurized milk harbors risky germs, alarming experts as more states legalize sales.

Fans in Buffalo, only a few miles from Ontario, filled the silence when a microphone cut out at the start of a matchThe Electric City. Nickle City. Queen City. City of No Illusions.Buffalo, New York, has accrued many nicknames over the years, but in an age of growing tensions between two traditional allies, one such epithet has taken on extra resonance: the City of Good Neighbors. Continue reading...

Government request follows contingency to stop planes being grounded if Iran war supply shocks continueBusiness live – latest updatesBritish refineries have been asked to maximise jet fuel supply as part of government contingency planning, amid growing fears the Iran war will force planes to be grounded.Energy minister Michael Shanks said the government is closely monitoring UK jet fuel stocks and working with airlines, airports, fuel suppliers and other governments, as carriers face rocketing fuel costs as a result of the conflict. Continue reading...

The regional bloc agreed to safeguard regional energy security through strengthened cooperation, timely policy responses and engagement with dialogue partners.

Ukraine commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster on Sunday, amid fears that Russia's four-year war could spark a repeat of the world's worst nuclear accident that led to thousands of deaths and devastating environmental consequences.

Federal raids unfold in Twin Cities amid ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and Minnesota officialsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxFederal agents under the command of the Trump administration have descended on Minnesota’s Twin Cities again to primarily target alleged fraud at daycares after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s so-called “Operation Metro Surge” all but wound down earlier in the year.“Today the FBI with federal, state and local law enforcement is involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation,” the US justice department told the Guardian in a statement on Tuesday. Continue reading...

State visit of UK royals continues as monarch to tell US lawmakers that ‘our countries have always found ways to come together’Sign up for the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to our coverage of US news as the Trumps continue hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla during their state visit.As expected, the British royals have a packed itinerary of events this morning including been greeted by Donald and Melania Trump at the White House, signing the guest book and exchanging gifts. Continue reading...

• Florida's KidCare expansion remains stalled in legal limbo since February 2024, preventing coverage for more children. • Uninsured children in the state have risen to 400,000, one of the highest tallies nationwide. • Delay exacerbates access issues as federal funds await resolution, impacting low-income families significantly.

John Edwards, the data privacy watchdog, says he is fully cooperating with ICO’s independent report into ‘HR matters’The UK’s information commissioner has stepped back from his job after the data protection regulator launched an independent workplace investigation into unspecified “HR matters”.John Edwards, the national watchdog for information rights, data privacy and transparency among public bodies, said he was cooperating with the investigation in a post on his LinkedIn account. Continue reading...

The singer’s company filed three applications on Friday after Matthew McConaughey launched similar strategyTaylor Swift has filed applications to trademark her voice and image in a move seemingly designed to protect against AI misuse.On 24 April, Swift’s company TAS Rights Management filed three trademark applications, Variety reports. Two of these are sound trademarks which cover Swift saying the phrases “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor.” Continue reading...

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Islamabad on April 27, 2026, to push a new proposal through Pakistani mediators aimed at ending the US-Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. • The proposal reached the White House, but President Trump canceled planned envoy visits by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, citing lack of progress, while indirect talks continue. • Araghchi headed to Moscow for talks with President Putin after blaming the US for failed peace efforts; Russia urged Washington to abandon ultimatums in Vienna negotiations.

US president says there’s ‘no reason to meet’ Tehran unless they agree never to have nuclear weaponsWelcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.Donald Trump has said Iran can telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to the war and that it must agree never to have a nuclear weapon, while Pakistan’s leaders have sought to revive the stalled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.Iran gave the US a new proposal on reopening the strait and ending the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage, according to the news site Axios. The US state department and White House did not immediately comment on the Sunday report, which cited an unnamed US official and two sources.Araghchi’s talks with Pakistani officials on Sunday had included “implementing a new legal regime over the strait of Hormuz, receiving compensation, guaranteeing no renewed military aggression by warmongers and lifting the naval blockade”, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. In the talks with Omani leader Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Araghchi called for a regional security framework free of outside interference.Araghchi would meet with Putin “in continuation of the diplomatic jihad to advance the country’s interests and amid external threats”, Iran’s envoy in Russia, Kazem Jalali, said on X.Two US air force C-17s carrying security staff, equipment and vehicles used to protect US officials flew out of Pakistan after the latest diplomatic trip was called off, two Pakistani government sources told Reuters on Sunday. Continue reading...

• The S&P 500 index closed at 6,450.06, down 16.52 points or 0.26%, reflecting cautious trading in US equities over the past day. • Broader market showed divergence with Dow Jones ETF down 0.16% at 492.21, while S&P ETF rose 0.77% to 713.94 and Nasdaq QQQ gained 1.88% to 663.88. • Gold prices fell to 4,725.40 per ounce, down 15.50, amid shifting investor risk appetite ahead of economic data releases.

• UN International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez stated that the blockading of ships in the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran conflict has turned international shipping and seafarers into leverage in geopolitical disputes. • The crisis highlights how vessels and crews, not involved in the conflict, are being caught up in hostilities between the United States and Iran, disrupting global trade routes. • This development underscores critical weaknesses in global shipping networks, potentially leading to supply chain disruptions, higher costs, and risks to maritime security worldwide.

Car bomb kills Sadio Camara at home during coordinated assaults by rebel groups including West African al-Qaida affiliateMali’s defence minister was killed in an attack on his residence, the government said on Sunday, a high-profile fatality during coordinated assaults staged the previous day by insurgents including the West African affiliate of al-Qaida.A car laden with explosives driven by a suicide attacker drove into Sadio Camara’s residence in the town of Kati, the spokesperson, Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, said in a statement read out on state television. A firefight ensued, and Camara sustained injuries from which he later died in a hospital, Coulibaly said, adding that Mali would observe two days of mourning. Continue reading...

• President Trump is attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner, colliding politics and media in a highly charged event. • Flashback highlights include Stephen Colbert roasting George W. Bush and Axios reporter Alex Thompson calling out colleagues. • The dinner underscores ongoing media-political tensions, especially post-executive orders and impeachment talks.

Members will plan how to come to each other’s aid in the event of an attack as Nato faces worst crisis in its historyBrussels officials will draw up a plan on how to use the EU’s little-known mutual assistance pact in the event of a foreign attack, as Donald Trump’s criticism of Nato intensifies.EU leaders have agreed that the European Commission “will prepare a blueprint” on how the bloc will respond if the mutual assistance clause is triggered, according to Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, who is hosting the talks. Continue reading...