Democratic chair faces calls to quit over ‘shambles’ of election autopsy release

Former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn says firms must offer more flexibility and mental health supportAn “anxious generation” of young people is struggling to adapt to the outdated world of work, according to the government’s jobs adviser.Alan Milburn, a former Labour health secretary, will say this week in a report that businesses must adapt by offering more flexibility and mental health support for young people to stave off an “economic catastrophe.” Continue reading...

Growing numbers of people are seeking improbable cosmetic surgery based on chatbots’ recommendationsPlastic surgeons are increasingly concerned about the rise of “AI face”, as more and more clients arrive in their offices with unrealistic AI-generated visions of what they want to look like.Dr Nora Nugent, a cosmetic surgeon from Tunbridge Wells, has seen this first hand. Clients have started coming to her office with photos of themselves beautified by AI and a false expectation that those results are achievable with surgery. She is also the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, and says many colleagues are having similar experiences. Continue reading...

As Canada tightens asylum rules, refugees reuniting with family say they were turned over to ICE and jailed for months after failed border claimsAs each day in US detention passes, Markens Appolon can feel the life he had dreamed of slipping away.The 25-year-old fled Haiti to escape the rampant gang violence that upended his university studies in economics, and planned to join family in Montreal. Continue reading...

Prewar US gas prices averaged about $3 a gallon nationally – kiss that number goodbye for 2026Sorry, US drivers, but don’t expect pump prices to return to prewar levels any time soon, even if the US and Iran agree to a lasting peace deal tomorrow.As the war with Iran enters its third month, drivers have become infuriated by rising gas prices – and inflation – and Donald Trump is facing a historic backlash in the polls. The president promised recently that relief will be swift once the war ends. “I see it going down very substantially when this is over, I think very rapidly too, at levels that you’ve never seen,” he said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ‘Desperate’ man, in hiding after returning in a lorry, says he knows of 18 others from scheme who live in Britain covertlyAn asylum seeker sent from the UK back to France under the “one in, one out” scheme has covertly returned to Britain and is now in hiding, the Guardian has learned.In the first interview with a one in, one out returnee living under the radar in the UK, the man told the Guardian his situation was “desperate”. Continue reading...

Ex-foreign secretary urges reset at ‘higher dosage’ after officials revealed to have pitched single market for goodsThe UK needs a “national consensus” about rejoining the European Union, David Miliband has said, in response to revelations that the UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU to the bloc.The former foreign secretary, who is now president of the International Rescue Committee, said he thought the UK needed a reset of its relations with the EU at “a much higher dosage” than the government was planning. Continue reading...

Pastoral visit took in conversations with affected residents of polluted area around Naples seeking justicePope Leo XIV has greeted families who lost loved ones to illegal toxic dumping in an area near Naples, as many paused to share photographs and other mementos of children and young people who have died or are battling cancer – illnesses tied to a multi-billion criminal racket run by the mafia.Leo’s visit to the so-called Terra dei Fuochi, or Land of Fires, came on the eve of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ big ecological encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be), and indicates Leo’s commitment to carry on his predecessor’s environmental agenda. Continue reading...

As Europe’s leading donor countries slash budgets, the result could be more than 11.5m preventable deaths, report suggestsCuts to foreign aid budgets by the UK, France and Germany could contribute to more than 11.5 million preventable deaths by the end of the decade, according to a new report, which warns that Europe is abandoning its role as a pillar of global health and development.Three separate studies within the report reveal the extent to which the nations have slashed their foreign aid budgets, and illustrate the impact worldwide. UK official development assistance (ODA) spending is projected to fall by 45% between 2020 and 2026, Germany’s by 37% between 2023 and 2026, and France’s by 30% over the same period, according to the research.This report was a collaboration with European newspapers El Pais and Le Monde Continue reading...

Chancellor’s measure to help families save money during summer holidays ‘won’t make any difference’Cutting tax on children’s meals is a political “soundbite” that will make little difference to families or businesses, restaurateurs have said.This week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced a temporary reduction in VAT on the children’s menu in restaurants from 20% to 5% between June and September, in order to help families with the cost of living crisis and offer a boost to the hospitality sector. Continue reading...

US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts sayThe top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed board’s lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war.The “high representative for Gaza”, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the “principal obstacle” to the ceasefire’s continued implementation because “it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition”. Continue reading...

Chancellor’s supporters urge MPs to back her if Keir Starmer is replaced, saying she is only candidate who can safeguard UK’s financesRachel Reeves has launched a rearguard action to save her job as chancellor, telling friends she would like to stay in the post even under a new prime minister.The chancellor’s supporters have been urging MPs to back her if Keir Starmer is replaced later this year, saying she is the only candidate who can safeguard the country’s finances. Continue reading...