Retired high court judge to review Peter Mandelson’s vetting process

• The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire contingent on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, prompting President Donald Trump to withdraw threats of devastating strikes. • Iran's Supreme National Security Council confirmed acceptance of the ceasefire and announced negotiations with the US will commence in Pakistan on Friday. • The deal follows US strikes on over ninety targets on Kharg Island, described by officials as 'restrikes' to further damage prior sites, amid heightened tensions.

Exclusive: The club, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, received the grant without a contract or final state aid assessment in placeWrexham AFC, the football club part-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, was given a £3.8m government grant without a contract or a finished state aid assessment in place, raising questions over whether the award was lawful.The club has received £18m in taxpayer-funded grants – far more than any other in the UK – to help to redevelop its stadium, the Racecourse Ground (Y Cae Ras in Welsh). Continue reading...

Social media corporation terminated Sama contract after allegations its staff viewed private scenes filmed by Meta’s smartglassesMore than 1,000 low-paid workers in Kenya have been abruptly sacked by an outsourcing company for the US social media corporation Meta, in what activists said was a “shocking” move exposing the precariousness of global south tech workers.Sama, a company based in Nairobi to which Meta outsourced content moderation and AI training work, announced on Thursday that the workers were being laid off after Meta terminated a contract. That came in the after reports some of the Kenyan workers involved in data annotation were asked to view content filmed by the company’s AI smart glasses showing wearers using the toilet or having sex. Continue reading...

8-0 ruling gives companies new day in federal court after firms including Chevron ordered to pay millions for cleanupThe supreme court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in Louisiana.The 8-0 procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740m to clean up damage to the state’s coastline, one of multiple similar lawsuits. Continue reading...

Boy, 16, among those charged in connection with attempted firebombing at Volant Media offices in WembleyThree people, including a 16-year-old boy, have appeared in court charged in connection with the attempted firebombing of a Persian media company in north-west London.Oisin McGuinness, 21, Nathan Dunn, 19, and a 16-year-old boy appeared together in the dock at Westminster magistrates court on Friday charged with arson with intent to endanger life. Continue reading...

Noah Sibanda died after he was physically restrained while being put to sleep at Fairytales Day Nursery in DudleyA nursery worker has been sentenced to more than three years in prison and the nursery fined £240,000 after a 14-month-old boy was restrained and died in their care.Noah Sibanda died after he was physically restrained face-down with a blanket over his head while being put to sleep at the Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley in December 2022. He was left unchecked for two hours before he was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead an hour later in hospital. Continue reading...

How did the PM’s chosen US ambassador fail security vetting but still get approved, what exactly did he know, and who is to blame?Downing Street has tried to do a lot of explaining, as has Keir Starmer himself. But there are still plenty of things we do not know about how Peter Mandelson failed security vetting, and what the prime minister did or did not know about it. Continue reading...

The prime minister says ministers were left in the dark, but friends of the former top civil servant suggest it was a case of politicians looking the other wayUK politics live – latest updatesFiddling with his reading glasses, the then cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald – sitting alongside the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, Sir Olly Robbins – suddenly appeared a little tense.The bonhomie evident in earlier answers had quite disappeared. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer says it is ‘staggering’ and ‘unforgivable’ that he was not told Peter Mandelson had failed security vetting before taking up the role of US ambassador. The comments follow a Guardian investigation that exclusively revealed Mandelson had initially been denied clearance after a background check by security officials, but that the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s head of investigations, Paul Lewis – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Trump repeatedly demanded that Republicans unify to pass a longer extension of the Fisa warrantless spying lawBoth chambers of Congress voted in quick succession Friday to pass a brief 10-day extension of a controversial warrantless surveillance law after Republican infighting tanked plans for a much longer renewal of the law with no changes.Donald Trump had repeatedly demanded that Republican holdouts “UNIFY” behind Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, in favor of an extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) without changes. But chaos ensued late Thursday as Republican leadership tried and failed twice in votes attempting to reauthorize the surveillance program, before resorting to a stopgap measure. Continue reading...

Lasting peace depends on resolving a border dispute dating back to 2000 and dealing with Hezbollah’s weaponsMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s security cabinet first heard about the ceasefire with Lebanon from a social media post by Donald Trump. Hezbollah first heard about the ceasefire from the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon. Each side shot off as many bombs, drones and rockets as they could before the ceasefire – imposed from above – came into effect.Despite the US president claiming it is the 10th war he has ended, the situation on the ground in Lebanon looks anything but stable. Continue reading...

One insider estimates Australians pay A$10 in fees per ticket, with fans bearing the burden of monopolised music tour schedules and inflated artist valuesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia is being urged to improve ticketing transparency after a US federal court found Live Nation Entertainment had a harmful monopoly over big concert venues.This week, a New York jury found the global entertainment giant and its subsidiary Ticketmaster liable for systematically stifling competition to extract excessive profits from concertgoers. The jury identified a baseline overcharge of US$1.72 for every ticket sold by Live Nation since 2010 – totalling an additional US$595m in 2025 alone. Continue reading...