Urban areas host 80% of England’s homes at high risk of flooding, study finds

Exclusive: Cambridge research finds socioenvironmental stressors may influence body’s ability to function healthily in pregnancyStress from racism and deprivation could explain why black women are more likely to die during childbirth, a study has found.Researchers reviewed 44 existing studies that examined three physiological pathways associated with worse pregnancy outcomes: oxidative stress, inflammation, and uteroplacental vascular resistance, and found black women had higher levels of the three metrics. Continue reading...

Labor under pressure to scrap group voting tickets as Avi Yemini details plan to funnel votes to conservative parties at state election A rightwing provocateur’s plan to register the “Free Palestine party” and use it to funnel votes to conservative parties in Victoria’s state election has renewed concern over the state’s voting system.Avi Yemini, a former Israeli solider and self-styled investigative journalist who creates content for his YouTube channel Rebel News Australia, on Tuesday announced plans to register the party, which he said would “flow our preferences on to parties that want to free Palestine from Hamas” in the November poll. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: As Labour braces for heavy local election losses, senior figures ​are signalling unease and​ morale ​is sinking​, can the prime minister hang on?Good morning. Keir Starmer is on thin ice. The prime minister survived a bruising Tuesday in the Commons as MPs continued to scrutinise his account of the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Almost all Labour MPs backed Starmer in a key vote on whether he should face an inquiry into whether he misled parliament.But in Westminster there is a growing feeling that the Labour leader is on borrowed time. Next week’s local and parliamentary elections, which Starmer will face as one of the most unpopular prime ministers since records began, is likely to see public dissatisfaction crystallise. “He’s in last chance saloon,” one minister said after last night’s vote.US | King Charles has extolled the importance of Britain’s “special relationship” with the US in a speech to Congress that made pointed reference to the importance of Nato, the defence of Ukraine and the climate crisis.Middle East | Britain is facing a £35bn economic hit and the risk of a recession this year as the fallout from the Iran war adds to the pressure on Keir Starmer’s government, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has warned.Oil | The UAE has quit the Opec oil cartel after 60 years of membership, in a heavy blow to the group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, as global energy markets contend with the biggest supply crisis in history.UK news | The chair of NatWest was forced to defend the bank against accusations of “climate backtracking” at a chaotic annual shareholder meeting, which was temporarily suspended owing to singing protesters.Women’s rights | Fifa has given permission for Afghan Women United – a squad composed of refugees scattered around the world in Australia, the Middle East and Europe – to represent Afghanistan in official competitions without requiring the approval of the Taliban, which banned the team. Continue reading...

Badge holders and carers report being harassed, filmed and threatened by strangers who think they are faking disabilityDisabled people who use blue badges to go about their daily lives have said they are being harassed, questioned and even assaulted, as anti-benefits rhetoric becomes more mainstream in the UK.About 3 million people in the UK now have a blue badge, including 1 in 15 adults in England. The number of people who qualify for the scheme – which allows drivers to park in more accessible spaces – has caused some to warn of misuse and fraud. Continue reading...

Dublin scholars find 1,200-year-old manuscript of Caedmon’s Hymn composed by Northumbrian cattle herderA lost copy of a poem composed in the seventh century by a Northumbrian cattle herder – the earliest surviving poem in the English language – has been discovered in Rome.Scholars from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) uncovered the manuscript that contains Caedmon’s Hymn at the National Central Library of Rome. Continue reading...

Charity says starting specialised care after first miscarriage instead of third reduces risk of future lossesGiving women access to specialised care after their first miscarriage could prevent about 10,000 pregnancy losses a year across the UK, according to a study.Currently, women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible for specialist care on the NHS for early baby losses after they have had a minimum of three miscarriages. Continue reading...

The Pitch Perfect actor is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor of Wilson’s directorial debut, The DebHollywood star Rebel Wilson has rejected an “absolutely outrageous” accusation that she dumped her phone to avoid handing over key communications in a defamation case.The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the 27-year-old lead actor of the musical comedy The Deb. Continue reading...

Delegates at event in Cape Verde highlight opportunities from tech while stressing AI is no replacement for talentLast July, the Nigerian singer-songwriter Fave found herself caught up in a viral moment: an unauthorised version of a track featuring an AI choir had been released, quickly becoming an internet sensation. To get ahead of the situation, she recorded her own remix that integrated the AI-assisted song and added it to her discography.“In my view, [that] was smart and very business aware,” Oyinkansola Fawehinmi, a Lagos-based entertainment lawyer, observed a few months later. “She essentially reclaimed the ‘AI version’ and released it as her own official expression.” Continue reading...

Prime minister says the middle of a global fuel crisis is ‘the worst possible time to jeopardise’ Australia’s partnerships with Asian trading partnersThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has confirmed next month’s federal budget will not include a new tax on existing gas export contracts as he criticised the “populist” campaign calling for a levy on producers.As reported last week, Albanese was poised to reject pressure to introduce a 25% tax on gas exports amid concerns the intervention could alienate the same Asian trading partners Australia is relying on for supplies of diesel and petrol. Continue reading...

Walt Disney Company says technology at California theme park will prevent fraud and streamline re-entryDisneyland, the beloved California adventure park, has outfitted some entrance lanes with facial recognition technology, a move its parent company says will prevent fraud and streamline re-entry.At certain entrance lanes, a camera will capture images of visitors, which can be converted via biometric technology into unique numerical values, according to the Walt Disney Company’s website. Continue reading...

Financial markets are betting the Reserve Bank will hike interest rates for a third straight meeting next Tuesday•Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastInflation jumped to 4.6% in the year to March, from 3.7% the month before, in what experts say is the start of an Iran war-linked fuel shock that will ripple through the economy over coming months.Financial markets are betting the Reserve Bank will hike interest rates for a third straight meeting next Tuesday, as officials struggle to manage the “nightmare scenario” of containing inflation even as growth is expected to slow sharply. Continue reading...