Caroline Marland, trailblazing Guardian executive, dies aged 80

Former DUP leader’s barrister said the woman was mistaken in linking the letter to his alleged sex offencesJeffrey Donaldson told a woman who has accused him of sexual assault that he regretted inflicting “hurt, pain and distress” but his comments were not related to the allegations, a court has heard.A lawyer for the former MP and Democratic Unionist party leader told Newry crown court on Friday that Donaldson’s letter to the alleged victim had “nothing to do” with her accusations of sexual abuse and referred to other behaviour. Continue reading...

Opposition says bill to prevent ‘foreign influence’ in elections gives ruling party carte blanche to annul will of votersSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Amid fierce criticism from opposition groups, Mexico’s senate has passed ‌a constitutional amendment to include “foreign interference” as grounds to annul election results in the country.The bill, which was presented by the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, defines foreign interference as “illicit financing, propaganda, the systematic ⁠dissemination of misinformation, digital manipulation, and ⁠the intervention of foreign governments ⁠or agencies”. Continue reading...

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad denied assaulting PC Zachary Marsden in 2024 incidentTwo brothers who were accused of assaulting a police officer at Manchester airport in 2024 will not face a third trial after prosecutors failed to provide evidence.Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, were filmed having a physical confrontation with PC Zachary Marsden in July 2024. Continue reading...

Two men arrested in raid in which 12,000 doses of unlicensed weight-loss medicines recoveredA country estate near Northampton has become the centre of the largest-ever seizure of unlicensed weight-loss medicines in the UK.Two men, both aged 29, were arrested during a raid in which the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recovered about 12,000 doses of unlicensed weight-loss medicines. Continue reading...

Kenneth Law, who sold lethal chemicals online with instructions on how to use them, admits counselling or aiding suicide ‘It was too easy’: families ask how Kenneth Law enabled so many suicidesA Canadian man who mailed “suicide packets” of poison to more than 100 people in dozens of countries – including Canada, the UK, the US, Italy, Australia and New Zealand – has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of assisting suicide.Kenneth Law appeared in a packed courtroom in Newmarket, Ontario, on Friday to enter the plea, and sentencing is expected to take place in September. Prosecutors agreed to withdraw 14 murder charges in exchange for Law’s plea. Continue reading...

Bushra Shaikh, from Surrey, who appeared in The Apprentice, ‘ highly active’ in spreading regime messageA UK television personality went on two state-sponsored tours of Iran this spring where she met senior officials and was “active” in spreading the regime’s message, according to an investigation by a Iranian fact-checking organisation.Bushra Shaikh, from Surrey, owned a luxury clothing brand and finished ninth on series 13 of The Apprentice in 2017, where she described herself as “inspired by Coco Chanel”. Continue reading...

Charles and Camilla to attend the Classic on 6 JuneRace attendance has suffered major recent declineThe king and queen will attend the 247th running of the Derby on 6 June, reviving what was a traditional engagement in the calendar for Queen Elizabeth II for most of her 70-year reign.The late Queen missed just two renewals of the Classic at Epsom Downs between 1953 – when her colt Aureole finished second, four days after her coronation – and the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Continue reading...

Refugee charities say the numbers revealed in Freedom of Information data are ‘shocking’Lone children were held at UK-run detention centres in France on nearly 300 occasions last year, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.Data obtained by the Guardian shows they are part of about 900 instances when unaccompanied minors have been detained at British short-term facilities near Calais and Dunkirk over the last four years. Continue reading...

David Rush’s trial for allegedly taking 303 gold bars and $2m in foreign currency from agency was pushed to next weekUS politics live – latest updatesA senior intelligence operative accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40m and hiding them at home remained in custody in Virginia on Friday after a judge pushed his first court appearance to next week.David Rush, a former executive service-level employee for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is alleged to have taken 303 bullion bars, each weighing 2.2lb (1kg), and more than $2m in foreign currency, from his government office, according to an eight-page FBI affidavit. Continue reading...

Man is ‘safe and sound’ after perilous operation, leaving four inside a small chamber and two still to be locatedThe first of seven men who have been trapped in a flooded cave in Laos for more than a week has been brought to safety by divers, in a perilous rescue mission that has required teams to crawl through narrow, deluged tunnels, navigating sharp rocks and collapse hazards.Four men remain inside a chamber about 300 metres (980ft) from the cave entrance, where they were found crouched and huddled together on a rocky ledge by rescuers on Wednesday. Two men are yet to be located. Continue reading...

Angus Taylor believes the former PM is uniquely placed to help the party as its new president, but some fear he will render it even more unelectableGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastImmediately after ousting Sussan Ley, Angus Taylor used his first press conference as opposition leader to debut a slogan he hoped would define a new era of Liberal conservatism.“The door must be shut,” Taylor said of his approach to prospective migrants who didn’t subscribe to Australia’s “core beliefs”. Continue reading...