Manchester University to offer work placements to all undergraduates

• Diplomacy between Tehran and Washington has accelerated after weeks of escalation, with regional mediators helping drive a new round of Iran-U.S. talks. • The reporting says the confrontation follows more than six weeks of disruption tied to Iran’s pressure on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a U.S.-enforced naval blockade.

Officials say a hazardous materials incident injured several people but there is no immediately threat to the publicSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailAuthorities in Washington state are responding to an “implosion” at a packaging plant early on Tuesday morning that left multiple people with chemical burns.The Longview fire department said in a statement there was a hazardous materials incident at Nippon Dynawave Packaging that occurred when a vat of “chemical treatment” imploded. According to the state, the plant has a kraft pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging facility, and employs roughly 1,000 employees. Continue reading...

Robert Kenyon has been linked to vaccine scepticism and advised a person with the virus to ‘stop having boosters’The Reform UK candidate in this month’s Makerfield byelection appeared to doubt the seriousness of Covid and the efficacy of vaccines for the virus, in another tranche of messages unearthed from now-deleted social media posts.Previously seen messages from Robert Kenyon showed him interacting with far-right figures, and expressing strong support for Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Campaigners reject claims that tougher rules will deter hiring – and lock young people out of jobsMinisters should press ahead with a ban on zero-hours contracts, campaigners say, despite claims by business leaders that it would deter hiring and lock out more young people from the labour market.Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and the union umbrella organisation the TUC were among eight signatories to a letter to the department of business and trade, calling on the government to “ignore the noise” from businesses, which want zero-hours contracts to remain. Continue reading...

Historical events like Spanish Inquisition show the ‘velocity’ at which rumours move to conviction, says Celebrity Traitors contestantHistory might explain why Faithfuls find it so difficult to root out Traitors in the hit BBC show, suggests one member of the Celebrity Traitors cohort, who were record-breakingly bad at the game.The roundtable – where contestants discuss who should be cast out – was somewhat “frightening” because of the “velocity in which something goes from a suspicion to belief, to faith, to condemnation”, said the broadcaster and historian David Olusoga. Continue reading...

US health secretary gets nip from one of two serpents he grabbed at home of fellow Trump official Dr OzHealth secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr on Tuesday added to his lengthening catalog of bizarre wild animal encounters by posting to social media a video of himself in Florida wrestling with two snakes.Kennedy, who has previously admitted dumping the carcass of a bear cub in New York’s Central Park, and is also alleged to have cut the penis of a road-kill raccoon, is seen grabbing the pair of serpents with his bare hands. Continue reading...

Water cannon also used at rally addressed by Özgür Özel who has been dismissed from office despite being electedRiot police in Turkey have fired teargas and water cannon to break up a rally called by ousted opposition leader Özgür Özel, days after a court dismissed him from office.The protest in Izmir on Tuesday came two days after riot police battered their way into the main opposition CHP’s headquarters in the capital, Ankara, firing teargas and beating party members before throwing them out, Özel told AFP on Sunday. Continue reading...

Tehran condemns ‘definitive violation’ but announces no specific reprisals as negotiations near decisive stageMiddle East crisis – live updatesA proposed peace agreement between Iran and the US seemed to still be in prospect on Tuesday despite US bombings of Iranian targets – the first military action by Washington since the 8 April ceasefire.The Iranian foreign ministry denounced the US attack – aimed at missile launchers and efforts to lay fresh mines in the strait of Hormuz – as “an act of bad faith” and “a definitive violation of the ceasefire”, adding that it would not leave aggression unanswered. But it conspicuously did not pull out of the talks that were continuing under the joint mediation of Pakistan and Qatar. Continue reading...

Dana Weinger was dining outside Driftwood Grill in Summerton, South Carolina, when she was hitSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA woman in South Carolina died in a freak accident after she was struck in the neck by a restaurant table umbrella that had been picked up by a strong gust of wind.Local NBC TV news station WYFF4 reported that the incident happened at the Driftwood Grill in Summerton when the woman was dining outside on the restaurant patio with her husband on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Age limits and changes to allegedly addictive design features could be in place by the end of the yearLabour is expected to announce a social media crackdown within weeks as the prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Tuesday said he would act “very, very quickly” despite splits between campaigners and child safety experts on what the new rules should be.New limits on social media access for children could be presented before the Makerfield byelection next month after an avalanche of responses to a public consultation have been analysed with the help of an AI system called Consult and an expert panel led by an eminent paediatrician. The consultation closes on Tuesday. Continue reading...

With many homes poorly designed for extreme heat, retailers report high demand for air conditioning and outdoor shadeFans are selling at a rate of three a minute and sales of ice cubes have tripled, retailers have said, as shoppers search for everything from ice baths to cooling eye masks to combat May’s record temperatures.The UK experienced a “tropical night” on Monday after temperatures earlier in the day had hit a provisional all-time meteorological spring record of 34.8C (94.6F) at Kew Gardens in south-west London. The record was broken again on Tuesday when temperatures provisionally reached 35C (95F) at Heathrow and Kew Gardens. Continue reading...