‘Deep unease’ at BBC Radio Scotland as majority of axed presenters are women

US president’s move comes as both sides try to prevent fresh ceasefire breaches scuppering a potential dealMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control and scuppering any deal.In an attempt to speed up the negotiations, Pakistan‘s foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will fly to Washington on Friday to meet his US counterpart, Marco Rubio. Continue reading...

Governor says law is a response to ‘legitimate anxiety’ about Trump’s tactics targeting Democratic-led cities and statesGavin Newsom, California’s governor, signed legislation Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from federal interference, saying he expected Donald Trump’s administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.The law, which took effect immediately and came days before next Tuesday’s primary, prohibits any person – including federal agents – from accessing voter rolls or election technology without a court order. Law enforcement officers are restricted from disrupting election workers, except in public safety emergencies. Continue reading...

Decision draws criticism from some commentators and free speech advocates as well as Tory leader, Kemi BadenochThe British Museum has postponed a lecture for Jewish culture month over concerns that the event would be disrupted by protesters.The museum announced that the talk on ancient Israel and Judah, which was scheduled to take place on Thursday, would be held at a later date yet to be decided. Continue reading...

Joshua Schulman – hired to help revive brand – was paid £4m in year to March, including bonus and relocation supportBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of Burberry could earn up to £12.2m after the luxury British brand introduced a new bonus scheme.Joshua Schulman, a former chief executive of the US fashion brand Coach who was hired in July 2024 to help revive Burberry, was paid £4m in the year to March, up from £2.5m for his first nine months in the job. Continue reading...

Labour’s Makerfield byelection candidate understood to have changed stance on no recourse to public funds policyUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on his policy positions.As Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham has called several times for an end to the rule known as no recourse to public funds (NRPF), which since 1999 has prevented new arrivals getting access to benefits or public housing before they are granted settled status. Continue reading...

Growing fleet of datacentres last year used 22% of the country’s electricityEnergy demand by datacentres in Ireland has added hundreds of euros to household electricity bills in a pattern that could be replicated across Europe, according to a new report.The centres have “drained” €715m (£620m) from the Irish economy and increased household bills by a cumulative average of €360 between 2015 and 2023, said the report commissioned by Friends of the Earth Ireland and Beyond Fossil Fuels. Continue reading...

White House made lengthy post about gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure in 2016The White House has posted on social media a tribute to mark Thursday’s 10th anniversary of the death of a figure it called “a true patriot”.The hero was not a human, however, it concerned the infamous case of the 400lb western lowland gorilla that had been named Harambe, which was shot dead at the Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure and mingled with the animal. Continue reading...

What’s Carol Vorderman moaning about? All I said was how fit she was online … must be going through the menopauseAnother sweltering sub-Saharan summer’s day in late spring. If this is global warming, I say: “Bring it on.” I go outside to the van, turn on the engine and leave it running. This is the kind of day you want to burn as many fossil fuels as possible. Back indoors, I turn on the radio where Tony Blair is talking. There’s a politician who talks sense.Bollocks to net zero. That’s what I say. It stands to reason. I mean, think back to the ice age. Let’s face it, there weren’t that many international flights a day while the Neanderthals were alive – five or six at most – and the world still got a whole lot hotter. So it’s all just woke nonsense. Make a note in my diary to ask if Tony is free to come up to Makerfield to do some door-knocking. Continue reading...

Government will consider the expert guidance, which concludes screening ‘likely to cause more harm than good’Most men in the UK will not be offered prostate cancer screening if the government accepts the final recommendation of an expert committee.The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) said attempting to detect the disease using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was “likely to cause more harm than good”. Continue reading...

Energy specialists say abandoning net zero and increasing oil and gas drilling would cause more instability for BritonsAbandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to claims by the former prime minister Tony Blair.“This is a bizarre intervention to make during the worst May heatwave on record and when the Iran crisis is providing yet more evidence of the enormous costs of oil and gas,” said Ed Matthew, the UK programme director at the E3G thinktank. “Clean energy is cheaper energy - it protects our bills from prices skyrocketing, its running costs are virtually zero, and it doesn’t cause climate change which threatens economic collapse ... The government should ignore Blair’s ideological nonsense and focus on what works.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Package of measures discussed with farmers, including pause on duty due to come into effect next year Ministers are in discussions about suspending a carbon tax on fertilisers, due to come into effect early next year, in an effort to curb food inflation.The move would be part of a package of measures, including the suspension of import tariffs on a range of foods including bread, biscuits and bananas. Continue reading...