Hospital waiting times in England have improved, Streeting says

• President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held high-stakes talks in Beijing focusing on resolving escalating trade tensions, technology competition, and coordinating responses to Middle Eastern developments. • The two leaders discussed tariff rollbacks, semiconductor supply chain restrictions, and potential joint initiatives on artificial intelligence regulation, with both nations seeking to avoid further economic deterioration.

• Diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran have advanced ceasefire talks, with both nations signaling willingness to negotiate a formal agreement to end months of escalating regional conflict. • Officials from both countries met in a neutral location this week to discuss terms, including sanctions relief, prisoner exchanges, and military de-escalation measures along disputed maritime boundaries.

West Bank home described as ‘ideal for outdoor gatherings’ is among 41 listed rentals in illegal Israeli settlements Some of Mohammad al-Sbeih’s fondest childhood memories are of his small farm in the hills south of Bethlehem, where three generations of his family grew wheat and barley.“It was a hard plot to farm as it was on a hillside with terraces, but it was so beautiful,” Sbeih remembers. Continue reading...

King Charles visits Golders Green to show support as commissioner discloses counter-terrorism team leading 11 investigationsCounter-terrorism officers in London have launched 11 investigations and arrested 35 people after “a sustained period of attack” upon the Jewish community, the head of the UK’s biggest police force has disclosed.In one of his most stark comments on antisemitism in the UK Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, told MPs in a letter: “British Jews are not currently safe in their capital city.” Continue reading...

A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery aims to bring people together in increasingly atomised countryCan a collective portrait of Britain hold together a country that feels as if it is splintering apart? That is the quietly radical hope behind Es Devlin’s new installation at the National Portrait Gallery: a living portrait comprised not of monarchs, politicians or celebrities but of thousands of ordinary faces drifting slowly into and out of one another.Created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab, A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery invites people across the UK to upload a selfie, which is then transformed into a portrait rendered in Devlin’s smoky charcoal-and-chalk style before joining a constantly evolving and revolving carousel of portraits projected on to a framed screen. Continue reading...

Streeting, who is on the party’s right, had long been rumoured to be gathering support for tilt at leadershipUK politics live – latest updatesWes Streeting has quit as health secretary and called on Keir Starmer to resign as prime minister, saying it would have been “dishonourable” to remain in post and that there should now be a contest for the Labour leadership.But Streeting, who is on the party’s right, will not immediately launch a challenge and said he wanted to see a leadership contest with a broad range of candidates – a suggestion that the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, could fight in the contest. Continue reading...

The US-based site, whose operators were fined £950,000 by Ofcom, appears in Google’s search results and can be accessed in UKGoogle has denied breaching the Online Safety Act by promoting a “nihilistic” suicide forum associated with 164 deaths in the UK where it is supposed to be banned.The UK’s internet regulator fined the forum’s US-based operator £950,000 because the site, which “presents a material risk of significant harm”, can still be accessed in the UK despite British laws criminalising encouraging or assisting suicide. Continue reading...

South Carolina’s state senate majority leader offered a nuanced case for rejecting Trump’s redistricting demands How does a Republican leader say no to Donald Trump? How do they criticize the US president’s policies without facing a social media riot, or losing their career?As the party scrambles to redraw key congressional districts after the supreme court effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act that prevented racial discrimination, all eyes turned this week to South Carolina.I had never had the privilege of speaking with the president of the United States until last week. And it really was – it was a privilege. I enjoyed the conversation. It was a very good conversation. He gave me more time in a phone call than I could have expected…The president told me, he said: “Look, I hope you can help us out.” He said: “But I understand you got to do what you’re comfortable with, you got to do what you think is right.”I would hope that the home team can retain the majority. And I would also hope that if the home team retains the majority, that they’ll actually do something productive with it. Over the last year and a half, I suspect if we look back at what they’ve done with the majority, I don’t know that anybody in here could name more than one piece of legislation they’ve passed.And no matter how big and beautiful it was, there’s a whole lot more that they’ve left on the table. And that, to me, is disappointing – to have a majority that doesn’t do anything with it.Trying to go to 7-0 I think is extremely risky from a political standpoint. I think at best you’re going to get 6-1 and you may even go 5-2. I’ve told the press a number of times, I think if you get cute with this, you could end up in a 5-2 scenario. I don’t want to go 5-2.I don’t want [Democratic House minority leader] Hakeem Jeffries as the speaker of the House. I think the best chance that South Carolina has to prevent that from happening is with our current maps.I cannot in good conscience surrender this authority that has been preserved to, for, and by the states, and merely take orders from those who are not in South Carolina …I absolutely understand what the president’s concern is here. I understand what the president’s issue is here. I don’t disagree with that. But there are other concerns that we have to consider. Those concerns have not been considered at all with the proposal that we have. Those concerns affect South Carolina and South Carolinians. And it is up to us to consider those things.We’ve been able to punch above our weight regardless of the administration, regardless of who the president is, regardless of who occupies the White House. South Carolina has been able to deliver not just for South Carolina, but for the country and the world.We have had that influence. Doing this will absolutely diminish that influence. It just will. And everybody knows it. Everybody in here, everybody who’s familiar with the process, we understand what’s going to happen here … Continue reading...

Doctor in Brandenburg state allegedly committed the crimes, including child rape, between 2013 and 2025German prosecutors have charged a paediatrician with 130 counts of sexual abuse, including the rape of children, most of them in his care, in a case that has caused shock and prompted clinics to step up safeguards for young people.The 46-year-old doctor, whose name has not been released, has been in custody since November after a mother suspected an assault against her child and notified authorities. The doctor worked in clinics in Brandenburg state, surrounding Berlin. Continue reading...

Despite slim majority of 528, many constituents of potential Labour leadership candidate seem rather fond of himUK politics live – latest updatesWes Streeting’s potential leadership bid has been the subject of mockery from figures within Labour, while the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s slapdown of the now former health secretary in the Commons on Wednesday went viral on social media.However, in Streeting’s parliamentary seat of Ilford North, his constituents seem rather fond of him and pleased with the prospect that their MP could get the keys to No 10. Lesley, who works in Tesco in Barkingside, said: “He’d be very good. He comes into Tesco’s a lot, he’s a nice man. He talks to all of us.” Continue reading...

Evika Siliņa stands down after coalition collapses following sacking of defence ministerEurope live – latest updatesLatvia’s centre-right prime minister has resigned over her government’s handling of Ukrainian drones that strayed into Latvian territory from Russia, bringing down her coalition government months before elections, due in October.Evika Siliņa announced her resignation on Thursday, a day after the Progressives party, her left-leaning coalition partner, withdrew its support over her decision to fire the defence minister, Andris Sprūds, a Progressives member. Continue reading...