The byelection, Wes Streeting and Europe: your questions answered – podcast

Under government’s price cap typical gas and electricity bills are forecast to rise by £209 from this summerMinisters face growing calls to cut utility bills as millions of households in Great Britain face energy cost “anxiety,” with gas and electricity costs forecast to rise to almost £1,900 from this summer.The typical dual-fuel bill is expected to climb by nearly 13% under the government’s energy price cap, adding £209 a year to household costs, in a blow to families already hit by rising prices for essentials. Continue reading...

Secretary of state says a deal could materialise ‘today’, while Trump says talks with Iran proceeding constructively as he faces criticism from within his own partyHello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Monday that a deal to end the war with Iran could materialise “today”. Continue reading...

From blocking freedom of information requests to tabling documents when no one is looking, promises of an upfront approach to power are in rough shapeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFriday afternoon can be a dangerous time to be a journalist.Editors racing to put together weekend editions lob last-minute requests and governments routinely release uncomfortable information late in the day. Continue reading...

Paris police looking into more than 100 allegations of mistreatment by ‘monitors’ after parents’ groups said they had fought for years to be taken seriouslyFrance is facing a child abuse scandal as ‘monitors’ at dozens of state nursery and primary schools are investigated for violence, sexual assault and rape.Paris police are examining more than 100 allegations of mistreatment, physical violence and rape of children as young as three by school monitors during lunch breaks, nap times and after-school activities, prosecutors have confirmed. Continue reading...

Ulf Kristersson aims to expand state-funded IVF as Sweden grapples with lowest fertility rate since records beganSweden’s prime minister has promised to put IVF at the heart of his re-election campaign as he tries to win over female voters amid the country’s record low birthrate.Ulf Kristersson’s government recently increased the number of state-funded IVF attempts granted to aspiring first-time parents from three to six. Continue reading...

Most people have joyful memories of playing outside as children – and now wildlife charities are urging people to ‘rewild their inner child’Climbing trees, squelching in mud, paddling in ponds or making dens in the woods – people’s memories of playing outside as children are often vivid and, a new poll has found, overwhelmingly positive, even those who remember falling in cowpats.Almost 90% of UK adults had rosy memories of the excitement and the feeling of freedom that outdoor play had brought them, the survey found. However, almost half of adults now spend less than three hours a week in natural settings such as gardens, parks, fields or woods, according to the survey. For one in 10 it is less than one hour. Continue reading...

Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile are going to court for right to wed but face fierce opposition from church groupsBonolo Selelo was at Botswana’s national museum for a Gaborone Pride event when she spotted Tsholofelo Kumile and was struck by her good looks. The two initiated a conversation and when Kumile expressed anxiety about what a tarot reading at the event might hold, Selelo thought nothing of offering her a hug. The reading turned out positive but Kumile claimed her hug anyway and they talked for hours.That was 1 October 2023. Two months later, they moved in together. Then, on a hike during the Easter holidays in 2024, Selelo proposed to Kumile. A year later, they visited a local government office to register their intent to marry and were told it wasn’t legal. Continue reading...

Commission also told NSW police declined to provide static police presence at Hanukah by the Sea but four officers at event when attack beganWithin 30 seconds of opening fire at Bondi beach on 14 December, two gunmen targeting Jewish Australians had shot 11 people, killing 10 of them, the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion has heard.The second block of public hearings opened in Sydney on Monday morning, taking evidence about what was known about the two shooters.The Jewish organisation, the Community Security Group, asked NSW police to provide a static police presence at the Hanukah by the Sea event for the entirety of the celebration;NSW police declined to provide a static police presence for the entire event, instead allocating a “mobile tasking, that is police officers were instructed to attend the event from time to time during the evening”;At the time the two gunmen opened fire on Jewish community members, there were four police at Archer Park;Within 29 seconds of the start of the shooting, eleven people had been shot, 10 of them fatally;Three police officers were shot and injured in the court of the attack;Within five minutes, there were 11 police officers on the scene;The first shooter was shot and killed and the second shooter was shot and apprehended within seven minutes and 41 seconds after the start of the shooting. Continue reading...

Film starring Pedro Pascal next to ‘Baby Yoda’ took $165m globally on opening weekend, failing to surpass the opening of 2018 flop SoloThe Mandalorian and Grogu may have blasted into first place at the box office – but its launch was far, far away from impressive, having the lowest opening weekend for a Star Wars film since Disney took over the franchise.The film, which stars Pedro Pascal as the titular helmeted warrior who travels the galaxy with a tiny companion better known as “Baby Yoda”, made $102m at the domestic box office (North America and Canada) over the US’s four-day Memorial day weekend, contributing to a total $165m global box office. Continue reading...

Warringah MP among those most active in alliance discussions while Monique Ryan, Helen Haines and Kate Chaney distance themselves from possible moveFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastZali Steggall says funding rules that disadvantage independents and looming changes to donations laws are factors in favour of “teal” independents forming their own party, but some fellow MPs have already ruled out the idea.Sources close to crossbench MPs say discussions about forming an alliance of independent politicians are not new and have been happening for months, but that there is no general agreement – even among the more closely aligned inner-city members referred to as teals – about such a plan. Continue reading...

Directions hearing over deaths of Victoria police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim De Waart-Hottart told of new details of Porepunkah shootingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe alleged sexual assault of a child has been revealed as the reason for a search warrant against Dezi Freeman that ended with him shooting dead two Victorian police officers.Fresh details into the August deaths of Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson, 59, and Sen Const Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35, at Freeman’s home were detailed in a coroner’s court directions hearing on Monday morning. Continue reading...