Starmer tells MPs Foreign Office has been stripped of power to overrule vetting

Large-scale attack on Russian regions and huge oil refinery comes after 24 were killed when missile hit flats in KyivUkraine has launched a large-scale long-range drone attack targeting several regions in Russia including the huge Ryazan oil refinery, after several days of massive strikes by Moscow against Ukraine.Kyiv’s attack on Friday followed three days of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, including on the capital, Kyiv, where a cruise missile hit an apartment block on Thursday, killing 24 people including three children. Continue reading...

China calls for ceasefire and opening of seaway, while Donald Trump says Xi feels ‘very similar’ about ending the war in IranTrump in China – latest updatesDonald Trump has claimed that the US and China “feel very similar” about ending the war in Iran but offered no details about a possible breakthrough.The US president was speaking alongside Xi Jinping of China at the Zhongnanhai garden in Beijing on the second and final day of the leaders’ summit. Continue reading...

Statement follows speculation party would not field candidate in Makerfield or barely fight seat UK politics live – latest updatesThe Greens are going to campaign for the upcoming Makerfield byelection, complicating Andy Burnham’s potential route back to parliament against what is expected to be a strong Reform UK challenge.A statement from the Greens said candidate selection was in process, and that the party had learned from its win in another Greater Manchester seat in February, when they overcame a 13,000 Labour majority in Gorton and Denton. Continue reading...

Record heat in North and Central America coincides with egg-sized hailstones in eastern ChinaExtreme weather across several parts of the world this week has brought record-breaking temperatures to Honduras, North America and Indonesia.Honduras smashed its all-time May maximum temperature record earlier this month – only for it to be broken again on 13 May in Choluteca, known as the furnace of Central America. Temperatures climbed to 42.2C (107.9F), surpassing the previous record of 42.1C. With intense heat forecast to persist over the coming weeks, more records are expected to fall. Continue reading...

Tube stoppages due on two 24-hour periods from midday on Tuesday and Thursday next week but sources say RMT seeking talksHopes have been raised that next week’s strikes by London Underground drivers could yet be averted, after sources said the RMT union had put out feelers for talks.The RMT members, almost half of London’s Tube drivers, are due to strike for two 24-hour periods from midday on Tuesday and Thursday, closing some lines entirely and bringing widespread travel disruption to the capital until the weekend. Continue reading...

All victims of US strikes in eastern Pacific and the Caribbean identified so far came from extremely poor communitiesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA five-month investigation has named 13 previously unidentified victims of US attacks on boats allegedly carrying narcotics in a campaign that has killed nearly 200 people in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.It is unclear if the US has ever identified any of its 194 victims before attacking them, and the names of just three had previously emerged, after their families launched legal cases against the White House. Continue reading...

Homework, social pressure and jobs still keep teens up but now screen time and social media rob their sleepA new study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health shows that today’s teenagers are sleeping less than ever before.The findings, which appeared in Pediatrics, showed a consistent decline in sleep across every age category. The latest figures revealed record-low sleep levels for all groups, with only 22% of older adolescents saying they slept at least seven hours each night. Continue reading...

Under aviation regulator proposals rival companies would bid to design and build parts of airport expansionHeathrow could be forced to allow other companies to design and build its third runway and new terminal after the UK aviation regulator argued that rival bids could keep construction costs down.A long-awaited review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposes changes to the regulatory model that governs how Heathrow runs and covers its costs. Continue reading...

The death toll included three children, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidAt least 24 people, including three children, were reported killed in yesterday’s Russian attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.The death toll update came after a night of search and rescue operations.“A Russia like this can never be normalised – a Russia that deliberately destroys lives and hopes to remain unpunished. Pressure is needed. It is Ukraine that is defending Europe and the world so that such strikes, in which children are killed, do not spread further.” Continue reading...

Crypto billionaire goes straight into top 10 on Sunday Times list, with Noel and Liam Gallagher among other first-timersBusiness live – latest updatesUK politics live – latest updatesChristopher Harborne, the crypto billionaire who controversially gifted Nigel Farage £5m, has been named in the list of the UK’s wealthiest people for the first time.Other first-timers in the top 350 include Noel and Liam Gallagher and Emily Eavis, the daughter of Glastonbury festival founder Michael Eavis, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List published on FridaySanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family: £38bnDavid and Simon Reuben and family: £27.971bnLeonard Blavatnik: £26.852bnIdan Ofer: £24.481bn: £24.481bnGuy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family: £18.939bnChristopher Harborne: £18.177bnNik Storonsky: £16.411bnAlex Gerko: £16.006bnJim Ratcliffe: £15.194bnIgor and Dmitry Bukhman: £14.26bn Continue reading...

Pressure is intensifying on Keir Starmer after Andy Burnham was given a route back to parliamentGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics.Housing secretary Steve Reed has been on the media round this morning urging Labour colleagues to put the “country first, party second”, even as he admits Keir Starmer is “unpopular”. Continue reading...

Housing secretary Steve Reed says no one has numbers for challenge and Labour should row in behind prime ministerOne of Keir Starmer’s closest allies in the cabinet has conceded that the prime minister is “unpopular” but has insisted Labour should not repeat the same pattern of changing leaders that damaged the Conservatives.The housing secretary, Steve Reed, one of Starmer’s most loyal ministers and staunch defenders, told broadcasters on Friday that no one had the numbers to challenge him and the party should come together behind the prime minister. Continue reading...