Colombia prepares to go to polls in election shadowed by resurgence of political violence

Stew Peas focuses on obeah, an enduring African magic practice in Jamaica banned by colonisers in the 1700sA new movie from award-winning Jamaican film-maker Sosiessia Nixon shines a spotlight on Jamaica’s enduring west African-based magic and spiritual healing tradition known as obeah.Nixon’s tense, feature-length suspense, Stew Peas, tells of the story of Jamaican detective Tessa, who is obsessed with an old murder case. Continue reading...

Centrepoint warns young people facing ‘huge scarcity of work opportunities’ after Alan Milburn’s report on crisisThe growing number of young people not in work or education is driving more into unstable housing or homelessness, charities have warned.A government-commissioned review into the crisis facing young people in the UK said there could be a 25% rise in young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) to 1.25 million by the early 2030s without intervention. Continue reading...

Trump’s pursuit of policies that drive up prices, including tariffs and war, might be punished in November’s electionsFor such an uncannily successful politician, Donald Trump exhibits a perplexing political myopia. His most recent own-goal was endorsing Ken Paxton, a state attorney general, against four-term senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary for Senate in Texas. Trump’s endorsement helped push the ethically compromised Maga firebrand over the top, to run against popular Democrat James Talarico in November, complicating the Republicans’ chances to keep the seat.But what truly screams “I want us to lose the midterms” is what Trump is doing about inflation, which is becoming his most vulnerable issue. According to a New York Times/Siena poll of registered voters earlier in May, Trump’s approval on handling the cost of living is underwater by 42 percentage points, poorer than his rating on handling the economy (minus 31 points) and the unpopular war in Iran (minus 34 points). Continue reading...

Two still missing as divers make their way deeper into cave through muddy water and sharp rocks to find themFour more miners who were trapped in a flooded cave in Laos for 10 days have been freed by divers, but two people are still missing as rescuers continue to crawl through narrow, deluged tunnels and sharp rocks to find them.The first of the party of seven men was rescued on Friday in a perilous rescue mission which has required teams to drain water from the cave and navigate collapse hazards. Continue reading...

At least six new pubs and taphouses have opened in recent months, including the Pig & Swill in Cardiff On a hot Thursday evening in Canton, a buzzy Cardiff neighbourhood, a steady stream of people in sunglasses, shorts and dresses went back and forth between bar and garden at the city’s newest pub, the Pig & Swill.Next door, in Victoria Park, the splash pad was still heaving with families making the most of the tail-end of the May heatwave. Many parents and carers stopped by for takeaway pints and small plates. Continue reading...

Sobering reality for president after three-month odyssey that threatens to take him back to where he startedAfter the hubristic beginnings came the reality.The road travelled since the most momentous foreign policy decision of his presidency seems to have delivered Donald Trump to a sobering destination: that Iran has been the nemesis of several US presidents before him for a reason and is an adversary not to be taken lightly. Continue reading...

North Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Alaska are key targets for a party bullish after a bruising Republican primary in TexasAfter Texas Republicans chose the beleaguered attorney general, Ken Paxton, as their party’s nominee for US Senate on Tuesday, Democrats are feeling bullish that they could pull off a victory in the red-leaning state – and maybe win back the Senate in this year’s midterm elections.Paxton – whose history includes an impeachment, fraud charges and an alleged affair – beat incumbent John Cornyn after receiving Trump’s blessing in the most expensive primary this year. In November he will face James Talarico, a young state lawmaker and pastor, who won the Democratic primary amid a rising national profile. Continue reading...

Entry-exit system which replaces passport stamps with digital registration causing huge delays at border checksBritish passengers returning home via European airports should arrive three hours before their flights are due to depart, an airline boss has advised, amid concerns about new security procedures causing large queues.The EU entry-exit system (EES), which replaces passport stamps with a digital registration, has been gradually been introduced in Europe since October 2025 and became fully operational last month. Some have faced huge delays at border checks, airports have said. Continue reading...

While some found this week’s heat a breeze, many in poorer areas face health risks in furnace-like homesTravelling from his air-conditioned flat to the air-conditioned Elizabeth line to his air-conditioned office, 27-year-old banker Aykhan found this week’s heatwave a breeze.Smiling while grabbing lunch in the shopping centre under the gleaming One Canada Square skyscraper in Canary Wharf, he said he’d been sleeping very well over the last few days. “It’s a new flat, the air-con is great, my bedroom is cool.” Continue reading...

Hong Qi, who orchestrated protest against Communist government, claims interpreter on 101 call launched political tiradeA Chinese dissident who orchestrated an anti-government protest in China after fleeing to the UK has claimed that a “pro-regime” interpreter used by a British police force berated him when he sought help.Hong Qi, who made headlines last year after using a mobile phone while in the UK to remotely project anti-regime slogans on to a building in his home city, Chongqing, contacted police after discovering that his bank accounts had been frozen. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Local authority asked what steps it is taking after hordes of splashing revellers seen disturbing nesting birdsMinisters have written to the City of London demanding it stop people from swimming in a protected pond on Hampstead Heath, after disturbing scenes of cygnets and eggs being disrupted went viral on social media.Swans and their 12-day-old cygnets were disturbed by hordes of splashing revellers in the north London park on Monday as temperatures reached a record 35C in the capital. In one video, a swan was seen poking an unhatched egg with its beak after it fell into the water during the chaos. Continue reading...