Schools are ‘pipeline’ to joblessness for many people, says ex-Labour adviser

Gerry ‘the monk’ Hutch has won fans in north Dublin byelection campaign with anti-immigrant rhetoricElaine Roe, 61, a cafe worker, has no doubt what is the most important issue in this week’s byelection for Dublin’s north inner city. “The government is wrecking our country, they’re bringing in rapists and murderers and kidnappers. It’s a shame. I might vote Hutch, he seems a normal person.’That would be Gerry “the monk” Hutch, a prominent gangland figure who is running as an independent in an election that is far from normal. The 63-year-old – who was jailed for robbery convictions in his youth – is a celebrity candidate in a contest for a parliamentary seat that has been dominated by xenophobia and immigration. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: Behind the packed stadiums and record revenues lies a growing tension​ of a sport thriving financially while the supporters who built it ​are increasingly ​left behindGood morning. The men’s football season is reaching the sharp end. This week, Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions and last night Aston Villa won the Uefa Europa League. The men’s Fifa World Cup is just around the corner.But fans in England are also at the sharp end: rising prices inside and outside grounds, kick-off times being altered on the whim of TV channels, and a creeping sense that some clubs are desperate to replace the “legacy fan” with a premium-paying “high-yield customer”.UK politics | Andy Burnham is backing Shabana Mahmood’s controversial changes to the immigration system, his allies have said, in a blow to those in Labour who hope to soften them.AI | The Electoral Commission has called for new legal controls over misinformation from AI chatbots, after a thinktank found they had made serious mistakes during the recent Scottish election.Ebola | Doses of a potential vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus that is causing an Ebola outbreak in central Africa will not be available for six to nine months, the World Health Organization said.Middle East | Israel’s far-right national security minister has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid.UK news | Rainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the government has been told.In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, soccer writer Jonathan Wilson will explain how the tournament became a global phenomenon with cultural, social and political weight that extends far beyond each game. Sign up for the newsletter here. Continue reading...

Without urgent intervention England faces water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, peers tell governmentRainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the government has been told.Without intervention, England will face severe water shortages in the coming decades, as climate change-induced weather patterns, population growth and the expansion of industries such as water-intensive datacentres put excessive demand on supplies and endanger life, according to a House of Lords report published on Thursday.Changes to building regulations to require new homes to achieve a maximum water usage of 105 litres a person a day and accelerated grey water reuse.Nature-based solutions such as restoring peat bogs and reconnecting rivers to their natural flood plains to enhance water retention.An urgent awareness campaign for the whole of society to reduce water usage.A full environmental and economic assessment of drought to weigh the cost of inaction against the value of resilience.The rolling out of nature-based solutions more widely in urban and rural settings. Continue reading...

British Trust for Ornithology says 2025 breeding season was especially disastrous for warbler species After a mild, wet and stormy winter in the UK, spring 2025 was one of the warmest and driest ever, while the summer was the hottest since records began, most particularly in England and Wales.Good news, you might think, for migratory birds – especially for eight species of warblers that travel here from their winter quarters in Africa. Yet according to data from bird ringers, collated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), last year’s breeding season was pretty disastrous. Continue reading...

Flea treatment chemicals fipronil and imidacloprid also implicated in lower cognitive scores in children with autismToxic chemicals found in pet flea treatment are devastating wildlife in rivers, parks and special conservation areas and the government should take urgent action to limit their use, according to a study.Chemicals that are banned for use as pesticides but still used in flea treatments are causing potentially irreversible harm to aquatic life as well as decimating birds and pollinators, according to the study published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Guide retires award for eco-friendly practices – and says restaurants will no longer be able to advertise they have itWith rare bluefin tuna and red meat often on their menus, Michelin-starred restaurants have not always prioritised sustainability.In an effort to consider the climate crisis, in 2020 Michelin began awarding green stars to chefs who cooked eco-friendly ingredients and reduced waste. But now the body has abruptly retired the prize and said chefs will no longer be able to advertise that they have it. Continue reading...

Surprise rise in jobless rate will give Reserve Bank more reason to delay another interest rate hike at June meetingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s unemployment rate has jumped to 4.5% in April to reach the highest in about four-and-half-years, amid fears rising interest rates and the global oil crisis will smash economic growth.The number of employed people unexpectedly fell by 18,600 in the month – the first decline this year – dragging the jobless rate up from 4.3%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Continue reading...

Jack Clark describes ‘vertiginous sense of progress’ and ‘profound changes’ to society alongside risks of technologyAn AI system will work with humans to make a Nobel prize-winning discovery within 12 months and tradespeople will be helped by bipedal robots in two years, according to the co-founder of Anthropic.Jack Clark described a “vertiginous sense of progress” in the technology and made a series of predictions, including that companies run solely by AIs would be generating millions of dollars in revenue within 18 months, and that by the end of 2028, AI systems would be able to design their own successors. Continue reading...

Carmen Mercedes Lineberger accused of hiding files related to Trump documents investigation as bundt cake recipeA former Department of Justice prosecutor is facing felony charges after emailing herself a sealed Biden-era investigative report concerning Donald Trump and attempting to hide the documents as cake recipes, federal authorities said on Wednesday.Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, who worked as a managing assistant US attorney in Florida, is facing two counts of theft of government money or property in addition to charges related to her alleged alteration of the documents, according to the indictment. Continue reading...

Initial testing found evidence of metals in water samples, months after province’s residents began reporting unusual numbers of dead fish washing ashorePapua New Guinea’s government has warned communities not to fish from parts of the New Ireland coastline as preliminary tests show evidence of metals in some water samples, after months of residents reporting dead marine life in the area.On 7 May the fisheries minister, Jelta Wong, said initial testing conducted by an independent company detected various metals in water samples taken from affected areas around Kafkaf village and Larairu lagoon in New Ireland, an island in eastern PNG. Continue reading...

Study, published as latest migration figures are released, shows incorrect perceptions driving immigration debatePeople mistakenly believe net migration is rising in Britain despite figures dropping to their lowest level in years, a leading thinktank has found.New research from British Future, published ahead of latest government figures on migration, has revealed a chasm between reality and public perception of net migration, with a substantial portion of the public believing it has increased, despite figures showing a sharp fall. Continue reading...