Reeves poised to cancel planned fuel duty rise to help with cost of living

Bookies’ favourite to replace Keir Starmer tones down stance on government borrowing to assuage City investorsUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has always faced a narrow path to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister: a tricky byelection, a leadership contest that is yet to be declared, and a far from constructive bond market backdrop.In making his pitch, assuaging City investors in particular has led the Greater Manchester mayor to dance on a pin. Continue reading...

The ‘Tank Day’ event has been described as ‘malicious mockery’ of a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protestersThe chief executive of Starbucks in South Korea has been fired after the company ran a promotional event using slogans that evoked a massacre of pro-democracy protesters during the country’s dictatorship era, sparking outrage and boycott calls.The coffee chain launched a “Tank Day” campaign on 18 May for its “Tank” tumbler series. The date coincides with one of the most politically sensitive days in South Korea’s calendar, when citizens commemorate the 1980 democratisation movement in Gwangju, 167 miles (270km) south-west of Seoul. Continue reading...

Andy Burnham may already be facing a tricky obstacle in his push to return to Westminster. Past comments about rejoining the EU have come back to haunt him, particularly given that the Makerfield constituency voted overwhelmingly to leave in the Brexit referendum. Plus, Wes Streeting has confirmed he will stand in any leadership contest, raising fresh questions about where all this leaves Keir Starmer Continue reading...

Deal would create largest regulated US utility, serving 10 million customers as AI-driven demand for power surgesNextEra, a US energy giant, announced on Monday that it will buy Dominion Energy in a $67bn deal, creating what the companies say will be the world’s largest regulated utility business.The deal comes as the appetite for energy sources has swelled with the construction of massive data centers across the country, built largely to supply rising demand for AI. Continue reading...

Transport secretary to give budget details of troubled high-speed line, which backers hope will stay well below £100bnThe latest estimate of the cost of HS2 and a timetable to complete construction of the high-speed railway will be set out by the government on Tuesday, including plans to run trains slower to trim costs.The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, is expected to give the first official reckoning of the troubled project’s budget in 2026 prices, which HS2’s backers hope will remain substantially below £100bn. Continue reading...

Étienne Davignon, 93, was last living person targeted in investigation into assassination of DRC’s first PM, Patrice LumumbaA 93-year-old Belgian former diplomat who became the first person to be charged in the murder of the Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba has died before he could stand trial.The death of Étienne Davignon, an aristocrat who served as a European commissioner during a decades-long career as one of Belgium’s leading diplomats and industrialists, was confirmed by the Jacques Delors Institute thinktank, where he had served on the board. Continue reading...

Registration form informs patients that if they do not wish AI to be used, they will need their referring doctor to refer them to a different service providerGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Melbourne psychiatrist has refused new patients unless they agree to allow her to use an AI scribe to transcribe the conversations in their sessions.AI-driven note taking tools are becoming popular within the medical industry – with two in five general practitioners now using such scribes, according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Continue reading...

Police will be able to question children without an adult present and hold them after being charged under draft laws introduced by the CLPGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Northern Territory government has been accused of “funnelling Aboriginal children into prisons” over draft youth justice laws that would give police the power to charge, detain and question young people for up to 48 hours without a legal guardian.Under the proposed amendments to the NT Youth Justice Act, introduced by the corrections minister, Gerard Maley, young people charged with an offence would be able to be held for up to 48 hours in police watch houses, interviewed if they have “knowledge in relation to an offence”, and questioned without an adult present if it is “in relation to a serious and urgent matter concerning public safety”. Continue reading...

Half of the teens who have been blocked say they are seeing less news than before – but they are not necessarily going back to traditional sourcesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s social media ban is preventing teens from accessing news, a new study has found, with half of the teens who have been blocked saying they’re seeing less news than before.Two-thirds of under-16s have remained on social media platforms since the ban came into effect in December. But for those who were kicked off, the change has meant seeing less news than before the ban. Continue reading...

US president’s approval rating falls to 37% days after he said Americans’ financial situation is not motivating him to broker deal with IranDonald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest point of his second term, amid mounting frustration over the cost of living and the US-Israel war on Iran.As November’s US midterm elections loom, most American voters believe Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran was the wrong choice, according to polling released on Monday. Continue reading...

Closure of local shops and poor public transport leaves households struggling to access healthy and affordable food‘Absolutely beautiful’ but no shops for miles: the Cotswolds’ rural food desertsRural Britain is becoming a “food desert” for lower-income families as the closure of local shops and poor public transport leaves them at disproportionately high risk of hunger and cost of living pressures, new research shows.Over half of households with an annual income of under £40,000 a year living in the countryside struggle to access affordable and healthy food including fresh fruit and vegetables, the Sheffield University study estimates. Continue reading...