Cabinet ministers asked to look for cuts to fund UK defence spending increase

• President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the outcome of the conflict with Russia will determine the future of Europe as he prepares for the upcoming G7 Summit. • Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine is fighting for its statehood, independence, and the fundamental right to choose its own sovereign path.

• Donald Trump announced via social media that a peace deal with Iran is scheduled to be signed this Sunday. • The proposed agreement aims to end Iran's efforts to develop or acquire nuclear weapons and ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open to all maritime traffic.

• India has increased diplomatic pressure on Washington to ensure the safety of Indian citizens at sea following attacks on ships. • The move comes as tensions escalate between the US and Iran, with Donald Trump blaming Iran for the maritime attacks.

‘Coastal uplift’ exposes coral and kills marine life, as residents say shorelines extended by up to 200 metresA powerful earthquake that killed at least 61 people in the Philippines this week raised the seabed by as much as 2 metres (6.6 feet), exposing coral and harming marine life, the environment department said on Sunday.At least 40 people are still missing after the 7.8-magnitude tremor in southern Mindanao island on Monday, according to updated tolls from the disaster agency. Continue reading...

Reform leader claims ‘anti-whiteness is institutionalised’ in UK as polls suggest Labour have lead in MakerfieldUK politics live – latest updatesNigel Farage said he would ban foreign nationals from social housing and then deport them if they could not find private sector homes, in a hardening of anti-immigration rhetoric before the Makerfield byelection.It comes as two new polls in Makerfield suggests Farage’s Reform UK continues to leak potentially crucial support to its far-right rival Restore Britain, which is led by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe. Continue reading...

Activists are challenging colonial-era law and demanding ‘free, legal, unfettered, forever rights’ to use beachesJamaica’s beach access crisis: ‘We shouldn’t be forced to fight for what is already ours’Campaigners in Jamaica are heading to court next week to try to prevent the government from cutting off access to more of their beaches.They argue that ceding their shorelines to big hotel chains enriches private investors and benefits tourists and outsiders while depriving Jamaicans who depend on the sea for their livelihoods, leisure and health. Continue reading...

Activists argue business model is ‘plantation tourism’ designed to benefit elite and disadvantage most JamaicansCampaigners go to court to fight privatisation of Jamaican coastDevon Taylor remembers when the Mammee Bay shoreline in St Ann, Jamaica, was filled with children frolicking in the ocean after school, fishers haggling with locals over the price of their daily catch and craft vendors carving souvenirs under almond trees.“I grew up on Mammee Bay,” Taylor says. He recalls fetching seawater in bottles for his grandmother when she was no longer able to go to the beach, learning to swim in the shallows, and watching generations of fishers cast their nets. “That beach raised us. It fed us.” Continue reading...

Poolbeg Pharma to test the treatment in NHS hospitals and says it is also developing a GLP-1 weight loss pillA London-based startup is about to trial a drug at six NHS hospitals that could stop people on cancer immunotherapy getting a life-threatening side-effect.Poolbeg Pharma said its oral drug POLB 001 could make treatment for blood cancer safer by preventing cytokine release syndrome (CRS), when the immune system goes into overdrive and attacks the body, leading to organ damage. Continue reading...

Election of new Hungarian government in April has paved way for EU member states to agree to open talks Ukraine and Moldova will take a decisive step towards joining the EU on Monday, as they embark on the first phase of membership negotiations.The start of substantive negotiations, launched by senior EU officials and ministers from both countries in Luxembourg on Monday, will be a highly symbolic moment for the two countries that were both part of the former Soviet Union. It comes after Russia has intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities, while sustaining huge losses for little territorial gain. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says operation involving UK armed forces has delivered ‘yet another blow’ to Russia and PutinBritish armed forces intercepted and boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel in the early hours of Sunday, Keir Starmer has confirmed.In a six-hour operation, the first of its kind to be led by the UK, Royal Marine commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency boarded and took control of the vessel, Smyrtos, which was sailing under a Cameroonian flag. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Recovery efforts remain slow and passing of time makes it more likely they will be skeletonisedThe International Committee of the Red Cross has said the risk that the thousands of Palestinians buried beneath Gaza’s rubble may never be identified is increasing by the day, as recovery efforts remain slow and many victims have yet to be retrieved, the Guardian can reveal.“There is no doubt that these bodies could soon become difficult to identify,” said Pat Griffiths, the ICRC spokesperson in Jerusalem. “The longer it takes for human remains to be recovered, the more difficult it can be to identify them. The longer the deceased lie beneath the rubble, the more likely they will be in advanced stages of decomposition – even skeletonised – when eventually recovered.” Continue reading...