Elon Musk gets an apology from California regulators as SpaceX lawsuit is settled

Foreign affairs minister says China has agreed to facilitate exports of jet fuel to ease supply disruptions. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.Penny Wong has been busy on her latest overseas trip, saying China has agreed to negotiate on jet fuel sales to help ease the global oil crisis. Continue reading...

Decision gives mapmakers in Republican states power to crack districts into pieces and dilute votes into oblivionThe Voting Rights Act was a political peace compact written in John Lewis’s blood.The Callais v Landry decision by the US supreme court, which set aside much of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, whitewashed that blood from history, along with that of thousands of other Americans who fought segregationist white supremacists at lunch counters and bus stations and courthouses for political equality. Continue reading...

Russian president welcomed decision to extend Iran ceasefire in what US president said was a ‘very good conversation’Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the war in Iran and floated a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine in a phone call on Wednesday.In the call, which lasted more than 90 minutes, the Russian president said Moscow viewed the prospect of a US ground operation in Iran as dangerous, while welcoming Trump’s decision to extend a ceasefire in the region, according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy adviser. Continue reading...

Sophie Corcoran challenging 10,000 Interns Foundation, which works with people from under-represented groupsAn influencer is taking a charity that organises internships for black and minority ethnic people to court because they do not organise schemes for white people.Sophie Corcoran, a GB News commentator, applied to a programme the 10,000 Interns Foundation was running with the Bar Council. She said she was “shocked to discover that the scheme is restricted to applicants of a particular racial background”. Continue reading...

Fed officials cite elevated inflation, slow job growth and uncertainty in Middle East as reasons for holding ratesSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its latest board meeting, defying once again Donald Trump’s call for a cut as the central bank prepares for a leadership shake-up next month.On Wednesday, Fed officials continued to cite elevated inflation, slow job growth and uncertainty in the Middle East as reasons why rates were left untouched. Continue reading...

Housing secretary and housing minister latest to criticise idea, which has also been ruled out by No 10Senior ministers have poured scorn on the idea of freezing private sector rents for a year, less than 48 hours after the Guardian revealed Rachel Reeves was considering it.Steve Reed, the housing secretary, and Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, became the latest government figures to criticise the idea, which has since been ruled out by No 10. Continue reading...

England’s higher education regulator must rebuild trust with troubled sector after series of blunders under previous leadershipIn its brief and unhappy life, England’s Office for Students has been offered a series of challenges it has largely failed to meet. This week the latest and most embarrassing of those was unveiled when the high court decisively rejected the higher education watchdog’s attempts to fine the University of Sussex more than £500,000 for regulatory failings relating to Kathleen Stock’s time as an academic at Sussex.Stock quit Sussex in 2021, saying she felt ostracised and targeted for her views on gender identity and transgender rights. Here was the highest profile test case that the OfS had seen: a subject of enormous controversy and sensitivity, involving key issues of academic freedom and freedom of speech. But as we now know from Mrs Justice Lieven’s ruling, in its rush to intervene, the OfS managed to tie together its own shoelaces. Continue reading...

Matthew Pennycook says ending system must be done slowly to avoid hitting housing supply and legal pitfallsA ban on new leasehold properties in England and Wales is unlikely to come into force until after the next election, the housing minister has said, as he defended the government’s piecemeal attempts to dismantle the system.The long-promised end would take years to “switch on”, Matthew Pennycook said, even though the ban of leaseholds on new houses was passed in 2024 and the government intends to pass one on new flats soon. Continue reading...

Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures are at risk of losing their seats in Alabama’s Black congressional districts after rulingThe lawmakers who represent Alabama’s two Black congressional districts, who are now at risk of losing their seats after the supreme court effectively decimated the Voting Rights Act, said the decision sends the US “backwards”.The 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v Callais on Wednesday weakens a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for Republicans to eliminate majority-minority congressional districts across the south, and representatives Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures stand in the crosshairs. Continue reading...

Accusation vessel contains grain looted from Russian-occupied territories triggers diplomatic spat between both nations Ukraine has asked Israel to seize a vessel it claims is carrying grain looted from Russian-occupied territories, triggering a rare diplomatic spat between the two countries.The dispute spilt into public view this week when president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that “another vessel” carrying grain “stolen by Russia” had arrived at a port in Israel and was preparing to unload. Continue reading...

Rival parties demand investigation as Tory party chair refers Reform UK leader to commissioner over gift from crypto tycoonExclusive: Farage given undisclosed £5m by crypto tyoonAnalysis: Farage’s attempt to get ahead of story raises more questionsNigel Farage has been referred to parliament’s standards watchdog after the Guardian revealed he received an undeclared £5m gift from a party donor.The referral was made by the Conservative party citing rules that require MPs to declare any “personal benefit” they have received in the 12 months before taking office, and to do so within a month of being elected. Continue reading...