How Olly Robbins’ knightly charm glossed over burning questions on Mandelson vetting

Christina Snow was one of two women injured when gunman opened fire on a family in Shreveport, killing eightSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe mother of three children killed over the weekend in a mass shooting in Louisiana is reportedly recovering in hospital with a bullet still lodged in her face.Jamarckus Snow told NBC News that his cousin, Christina Snow, was one of the two women who were shot and injured early Sunday when a gunman opened fire on his family in Shreveport. Police described the shooting as a “violent domestic incident” in which 31-year-old Shamar Elkins fatally shot eight children – including seven of his children and a cousin. Continue reading...

Iran’s goal is to maintain chokehold on global economy even as some say it could run out of oil storage by SundayMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump’s indefinite shelving of the plan to bomb Iran’s bridges and power station on Tuesday night is being widely described as leaving the conflict in limbo, but that is anything but the truth.Pakistan insists the prospect of talks in Islamabad has not evaporated, and positive messages are still being exchanged, but in the meantime the site of kinetic activity has switched from land to sea. Both sides are vying to prove they can enforce their blockade of the strait of Hormuz more effectively than the other. It has become a form of gunboat diplomacy brought to life in the most significant geopolitical waterway in the world. Continue reading...

Fauci was joined by actor Jesse Eisenberg and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer in reading for DC Climate WeekWhen Anthony Fauci put on a pair of sunglasses, the hall erupted in cheers and applause. “Ah, how terrible it is to know when, in the end, knowing gains you nothing,” Fauci said. “I knew this once, but must have somehow forgotten, or else I never would have come.”At the age of 85, the scientist, doctor and public servant who rose to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic was making his debut as an actor. Fauci played Tiresias, the blind prophet (hence the sunglasses), in a dramatic reading of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King at Georgetown University in Washington on Tuesday night. Continue reading...

Lord Robertson says diplomatic tone from White House is at ‘historic low’ and two allies are likely to keep divergingUK politics live – latest updatesBritain’s high military dependence on the US “is no longer tenable” and the UK has to become increasingly independent of the special relationship with Washington, a former Nato chief has warned.Lord Robertson, who last week accused British leaders of a “corrosive complacency” towards defence, said on Wednesday the traditional allies were diverging over values – and that even after Donald Trump, the separation was likely to continue. Continue reading...

Samuel Corner, 23, says he struck Sgt Kate Evans to protect co-defendant amid 2024 Elbit Systems raid near OxfordA Palestine Action activist who struck a police officer with a sledgehammer during a protest at an Israeli-linked arms factory acted to protect a co-defendant he believed was being seriously hurt, a court has heard.Samuel Corner, 23, is accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Sgt Kate Evans during a raid on the Elbit Systems facility, in Filton, near Bristol, on 6 August 2024. Continue reading...

Agreement for urgently needed loan reached after Ukraine resumed pumping Russian oil to Hungary and SlovakiaEurope live – latest updatesEU member states have reached agreement on unblocking an urgently needed €90bn (£78bn) loan for Kyiv and a new package of sanctions against Moscow after Ukraine resumed pumping Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, prompting Budapest to lift its veto.Cyprus, which holds the bloc’s rotating presidency, said member states’ ambassadors had agreed to launch “written procedures” for the final approval of the loan and the sanctions package, with formal sign-off on both due by Thursday afternoon. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Corrective Services investigates how Richard Guilliatt of The Australian was able to interview Rob and Karen Gilfillan for Shadow of DoubtFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCorrective Services New South Wales is investigating how a journalist from The Australian was able to interview a man and a woman convicted of abusing their daughter for a podcast that raised questions about their guilt.After legal restrictions were lifted last month the victim said the podcast had been highly detrimental to her mental health. Continue reading...

Amid growing congressional scrutiny of his conduct, Patel has claimed he has ‘never been intoxicated on the job’US politics live – latest updatesHouse judiciary Democrats have launched a formal inquiry into FBI director, Kash Patel’s alleged drinking habits, demanding he complete a standardized alcohol abuse assessment and submit the results to Congress.In a letter sent on Tuesday, led by Jamie Raskin, a Maryland representative, Democrats on the committee called on Patel to take the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Audit) – a 10-question World Health Organization screening tool used to identify harmful patterns of drinking – along with a sworn statement attesting to his answers. Lawmakers also requested all security clearance questionnaires Patel has completed since taking the role. Continue reading...

NSW and Queensland governments ‘severely underdelivered’ on promised infrastructure to improve water flows, independent review findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo state governments have drastically underdelivered more than $160m in infrastructure measures to improve river health in the northern Murray-Darling basin eight years since they were promised, a major independent review has found.This includes failure by the New South Wales government to secure any of the private land access needed to improve water flows over floodplains in the state’s Gwydir region where scientists had to scramble to rescue turtles in dried up wetlands last week. Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s conflict with Iran could speed the EU’s green revolution – if panicking governments can hold their nerve on clean energy• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereA surge in demand for electric vehicles across Europe may be evidence of what George Monbiot greeted as the silver lining of the Iran war. Sales of electric cars in continental Europe rose by 51% in March.The International Energy Agency has called the disruption in the strait of Hormuz the “biggest energy crisis in history”, but it appears, on one level, to be accelerating Europe’s green revolution. Yet, even if car-owners are rushing to the EV showrooms, some European governments, facing a groundswell of anger over soaring petrol and gas prices, are at risk of sending the clean energy transition into reverse. Continue reading...

Sources say cabinet ministers warned PM against alienating civil service after firing of official over Mandelson scandalUK politics live – latest updatesCabinet ministers have expressed concern about Keir’s Starmer’s decision to sack Olly Robbins as the Foreign Office’s top official over the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal as they warned him not to alienate the civil service, sources have told the Guardian.Several ministers spoke out about the decision to sack Robbins during a gloomy cabinet meeting on Tuesday, according to multiple government sources. Continue reading...