Record numbers of UK renters crowdfunding to cover bills

PM has shed authority in week that has made him look like an interim leader in office only until replacement foundIt was a minute or so into his BBC interview on Friday morning, after being asked about “moves” to remove Keir Starmer, that Steve Reed ran out of patience. “There is no contest,” he interrupted. “‘Moves’ mean nothing. People need 81 nominations to stand against the prime minister.”The housing secretary, a close ally of Starmer and a founding member of the Labour Together thinktank that catapulted him to power, was right, of course: no one has formally challenged the prime minister, let alone ousted him. Continue reading...

Supporters at the Victorian state library protested against prosecutors dropping a manslaughter charge against the man accused of killing herGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIsla Bell, the 19-year-old whose body was found in a Melbourne tip 18 months ago, has been remembered as a loving, courageous and open-hearted young woman with a green thumb and an “exquisitely beautiful soul”.Friends, family and supporters gathered outside the Victorian state library on Saturday to honour the teenager and protest against prosecutors dropping a manslaughter charge against the man who had been accused of killing her. Continue reading...

As Keir Starmer endures a slow ousting as PM, former Labour leader Corbyn recalls his own expulsion and looks at the runners and riders“Yeah, I do feel [sorry for him],” said Jeremy Corbyn, with only a little hesitation. “On a personal level it must be devastating. It is a horrible feeling. You suddenly realise that this person doesn’t trust you at all and really doesn’t wish you well at all, and you suddenly realise that any trust that was there actually disappears.”There are few in politics who have had the experience of being the subject of a Labour party-style coup, the British equivalent of being dragged from your office to be put up against a wall. Letters of resignations from so-called political friends, condemnatory statements on social media, all dripped out for maximum effect with the end goal of pushing the target, once the subject of standing ovations and gushing plaudits, out on their tail. Continue reading...

Firms do not offer cover for some models, or charge more than for equivalent petrol cars, research findsUK insurers are more hesitant to cover some hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) from China than cars from other countries, research suggests.While some drivers can save money by buying cars made in China, they may have more limited options to get insurance than those buying electric, hybrid and petrol cars from Europe, the US and South Korea. Continue reading...

Ahead of Nakba march, Sara Husseini says many feel they are being treated as suspects rather than victims of mass sufferingBritish Palestinians feel unable to speak openly about Israel’s war on Gaza, the director of the British Palestinian Committee has said, amid what campaigners believe is a growing climate of hostility around Palestinian identity and activism in the UK.Some were afraid to wear Palestinian symbols at work or display Arabic jewellery and keffiyehs in public, Sara Husseini said. Continue reading...

As continent faces tough headwinds, leaders are bearing brunt of delivering bad news to frustrated electorates“People hate you,” the adviser informed his leader. A think-piece in a daily newspaper noted that “almost everyone agrees on one thing: they don’t like him”.The recent disastrous set of local election results in the UK built on Keir Starmer’s longstanding reputational problem: only 11% of Britons believe he has been a good or great prime minister, and nearly 60% believe he has been poor or terrible, according to polling by YouGov. Continue reading...

US president calls Abu-Bilal al-Minuki ‘most active terrorist in the world’ and says he was eliminated in ‘very complex mission’Donald Trump has said US and Nigerian forces killed the “second in command” global leader of the Islamic State.“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” the US president said on his Truth Social platform Friday. Continue reading...

Dr Tracy Beth Høeg, the Food and Drug Administration’s top drug regulator, says she was fired from agency after declining to resignIn a major shake-up at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), top regulators left on Friday – including Tracy Beth Høeg, the acting drug chief, who says she was fired, and Katherine Szarama, the acting vaccines chief who has only been in the position for days. Jim Traficant, the chief of staff, has also been ousted.The FDA now has no permanent commissioner or deputy commissioner and no permanent leaders of two major centers, after the resignation of Marty Makary on Tuesday and other high-profile departures. Continue reading...

Voters in northern Brisbane electorate go to polls after sudden death of former independent MP Jimmy SullivanGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA byelection in the Brisbane seat of Stafford is expected to swing towards the sitting LNP Queensland government in a result experts say would likely be fatal to former premier Steven Miles’ leadership of the Labor party.Voters in the northern Brisbane electorate of Stafford have gone to the polls after the sudden death of former independent MP Jimmy Sullivan in April. Continue reading...

The US supreme court dealt a devastating blow to the 1965 Voting Rights Act when it ruled in Louisiana v Callais in April that states cannot consider race in redistricting. Southern states from Tennessee to Alabama have rushed to erase majority-Black districts, sparking chaos for the midterm elections. Kai Wright talks to Stacey Abrams, a voting rights activist and former Georgia house minority leader, about the fallout from the decision, and why, despite it all, she still believes the way forward lies in engaging more voters to participate in democracy. ‘They have fractured communities and said we’re going to scatter these seeds. Our job is to grow,’ she saysSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Family and supporters had hoped the US president could help free the 78-year-old British citizen during summit talks in BeijingDonald Trump raised the case of jailed Hong Kong democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping but was told it “is a tough one”.Family and supporters of the 78-year-old British citizen had hoped the US president could help secure his release. Continue reading...