US senator says he was pepper sprayed by federal agents during protest at ICE facility

• Diplomacy between Tehran and Washington has accelerated after weeks of escalation, with regional mediators helping drive a new round of Iran-U.S. talks. • The reporting says the confrontation follows more than six weeks of disruption tied to Iran’s pressure on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a U.S.-enforced naval blockade.

• The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosted a press briefing previewing the upcoming summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping, with Taiwan expected to be a central issue. • CSIS said Xi highlighted Taiwan as the most important issue in U.S.-China relations during a February 2026 phone call and urged Washington not to provide arms to Taiwan.

Exclusive: Police data shows 21% of the 949 people detained in England and Northern Ireland were later accused of violence against intimate partnerOne out of every five people arrested after their participation in the 2024 summer riots has since been reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose.Police data released under freedom of information (FoI) laws shows that 21% of 949 people arrested for taking part in the violent disorder have been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence since August 2024. Continue reading...

Janice Nix convicted of manslaughter after brother of Andrea Bernard alters account of incident in 1978A woman has been found guilty of killing her five-year-old stepdaughter by punishing her in a scalding hot bath almost 50 years ago.Andrea Bernard’s death in 1978 in Thornton Heath, south London, was treated as an accident until her older brother, Desmond Bernard, went to police in 2022 with a new account of what happened, Isleworth crown court heard. Continue reading...

Owners’ lack of motivation due to ‘split incentive’ is main reason rental properties are missing out on energy upgrades, research findsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRenters make up nearly a third of Australian households, yet many are missing out on energy upgrades – such as insulation, appliances and rooftop solar – that could slash their power bills and improve home comfort.The problem, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), is landlords’ lack of motivation. Continue reading...

Kentucky conservative says ‘I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run’Thomas Massie is planning his comeback.The conservative Kentucky congressman filed to run again for the US House of Representatives in 2028, less than a week after losing to Donald Trump’s hand-picked challenger Ed Gallrein 55-45 in a bruising primary. Continue reading...

Prediction sites, which allow bets on all topics from weather to politics, may be in breach of country’s rulesSpain’s ministry of consumer rights has blocked access to Polymarket and Kalshi while it investigates whether the leading prediction market sites are violating Spanish law by operating without a gambling licence.On Tuesday the ministry said it had launched disciplinary proceedings against the two platforms, which allow users to bet on everything from the weather to political events, amid allegations that they lacked the “necessary administrative authorisation” to operate in Spain. Continue reading...

Police responded to reports of gunfire at store in town of Scottsbluff and found that a dog triggered the shotgun blastPolice responding to reports of a shotgun blast at a convenience store sounds like the opening of countless American crime movies, but when cops in Nebraska responded to a recent such call they found an unusual culprit: a dog.Local TV station KNOP News 2 reported that police in the town of Scottsbluff were called out to a local store recently after reports of a blast involving a shotgun. Continue reading...

Seamus Maguire believed to have been killed and buried in County Antrim by republican paramilitaries in 1976Half a century after Seamus Maguire was abducted and became one of the “disappeared” of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, a search for his remains has begun in two acres of County Antrim farmland.A team of forensic experts started the dig on Tuesday in the Derryclone townland where republican paramilitaries are believed to have killed and secretly buried the 29-year-old in 1976. Continue reading...

Former deputy Labour leader says Nigel Farage could say Manchester mayor is a ‘usurper’ and he may seek his own mandateUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK may find itself “tipped into a general election” if Andy Burnham replaces Keir Starmer as prime minister, Labour’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman said on Tuesday.If Burnham replaces Starmer as prime minister in the coming months, he may feel he needs to secure his own mandate, partly because Nigel Farage would accuse him of being a “usurper”, she told an audience at the Hay literary festival. Continue reading...

The British-born conductor will replace Gustavo Dudamel as the orchestra’s chief conductorThe Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced that Daniel Harding is to be its next music director.The UK-born Harding, 50, will begin his tenure in the 2027/28 season, with an initial contract for six years. Gustavo Dudamel, the orchestra’s music director since 2009, leaves the role in August 2026 – the Venezuelan conductor is heading east to become music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, but he will retain close connections with the Los Angeles orchestra as its artistic and cultural laureate. Continue reading...