Two US service members missing after military exercises in Morocco

Andrew Weissmann argues for new law to hold political liars like US president accountable for harming democracyPoliticians must be held accountable if their lies damage democracy, according to a former US federal prosecutor and FBI general counsel who was pursued by Donald Trump.The US must be “as creative as possible” and introduce sweeping structural reforms if it escapes its current “mess”, said Andrew Weissmann, laying out a proposal for a legislative crackdown on election deceit.Liar’s Kingdom: How to Stop Trump’s Deceit and Save America is out now Continue reading...

Labour MP writes to chair amid concerns building societies are overusing quick votes and failing to add members to boardsNationwide is under pressure to address “emerging governance issues” across the building society sector, amid concerns bosses are bundling voting options and failing to allocate board seats for members.The Stockport Labour MP Navendu Mishra has sent a formal letter to the chair of Nationwide, Kevin Parry, outlining growing unease over the way executives, including at Nationwide, have been engaging with members who ultimately own their building societies. A letter raising similar concerns was sent to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Proposed framework hinges on a 60-day truce, reopening strait of Hormuz, and revived talks on limiting Iran nuclear programme• Middle East crisis: live updatesDonald Trump has said a “memorandum of understanding” in talks to end the US-Israel war on Iran “has been largely negotiated”.Official details of the deal are scant and it remains possible that some aspects of the memo could change. Here is what we know so far about the potential agreement that could bring an end to the war. Continue reading...

Research by National Preparedness Commission calls for ‘worst-case scenario’ planning by European statesBritain’s vital supply chains are unprepared for the prospect of a major shock such as war with Russia, and bold steps are needed to catch up with “worst-case scenario” planning by European states, ministers have been warned.Donald Trump’s “America First” transformation of the US, which has made what was once a trusted UK ally a much less reliable partner, should also feed into that planning, according to a new report. Continue reading...

Gerry ‘the monk’ Hutch comes fourth in contest won by Daniel Ennis of Social DemocratsThe Irish gangland figure Gerry “the monk” Hutch has failed in his bid for a parliamentary seat in a Dublin byelection.The 63-year-old came fourth in a contest won by Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats, a victory for progressive politics after a campaign dominated by concerns over the cost of living and immigration. Continue reading...

Boys, aged 15, given youth rehabilitation orders for two separate attacks against two girls in Hampshire A judge’s decision not to jail two teenage boys who raped two girls has been described by one of the victims as a “rock straight in my face”.A trial at Southampton crown court heard the girls were raped in two separate attacks in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, the first attack on 26 November 2024 and the second on 17 January 2025. Continue reading...

Department for Transport is understood to back reducing levy, which critics have called a ‘pavement tax’Business live – latest updatesGovernment officials considered cutting the VAT charged on electricity used at public EV chargers from 20% to 5% at the last budget, but the Treasury under chancellor Rachel Reeves rejected the proposal amid disagreement between departments.Officials in the Department for Transport encouraged electric car charge point operators to write to the Treasury explaining how they would respond to a VAT cut, according to three industry sources. The charger companies said that they would pass the tax cut on to consumers. Continue reading...

More than 20,000 attacks on markets, farmland and food distribution systems have been recorded since 2018Hunger is being increasingly exploited as a weapon of war with more than 20,000 documented incidents of “food-related violence” in the past eight years, new analysis reveals.Attacks include 1,261 strikes on markets used by families for daily groceries and 863 incidents in which food distribution systems were targeted and workers killed. Continue reading...

Travellers warned to beware of debit card cons after one was charged £1,500 for a kebab and another £3,000 for corn on the cobWhen Lisa Selby* used her debit card to pay for two slices of barbecued cheese from a beach vendor in Rio de Janeiro, she expected to pay 40 reais (£5.90) for the snack.But shortly after the payment had gone through, she realised that she had been charged 4,000 reais (£590) after the vendor added two extra zeros to the card reader. Continue reading...

PR executives say UK companies are forcing them to present ordinary automation as artificial intelligence UK companies are performing “yoga-level” stretches to describe themselves as AI specialists in an attempt to capitalise on the buzz around the technology, public relations firms have said.Weary communications executives tasked with securing media coverage for brands have complained that bosses in low-tech industries or running businesses that use automation but not generative AI, are increasingly demanding they are pitched to journalists as artificial intelligence companies. Continue reading...

The 39-year-old was reportedly fishing at Kennedy Shoal between Cairns and Townsville when emergency services alerted about middayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA man has died after a shark attack on the Great Barrier Reef south of Cairns.The 39-year-old had reportedly been fishing at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef about 50km off the Queensland coast, between Cairns and Townsville. Continue reading...

Global events and the climate crisis have left Britain’s food system dangerously exposed and in desperate need of an overhaulThe news that the Treasury was asking UK supermarkets to cap price rises on essential foods was greeted with predictable squeals of horror this week. Supermarkets were reportedly “furious”, while luminaries from the former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies to the former chair of M&S could be found harrumphing about the evils of price controls.But this caterwauling is a distraction from two unpleasant facts. Firstly, the food price surge over the summer and beyond is likely to be significant – and will come on top of a near-40% rise in the price of food since 2020 – due to a devastating combination of the Iran war and a forecast record-breaking El Niño, which will hammer global food production. And secondly, Britain’s food system is painfully exposed to such shocks. The long-held assumption that a global food system can be relied on to meet the nation’s needs, at a reasonable price, no longer applies. Continue reading...