Volcanic eruption halts flights at Jakarta and seven other Indonesian airports

• Donald Trump visited Moscow for a "semi-routine" trip to maintain diplomatic and intelligence contacts between the United States and Russia. • Trump stated he hoped these direct communications could contribute to efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Schools and councils express financial concerns as EHCP applications surge before potential change in provision‘Powerful example’: minister looks to Essex school for blueprint to transform Send provisionSchools and councils across England are expecting the proportion of children with special needs plans to double to one in 10, with families rushing to secure support before ministers bring in changes.Headteachers have reported an “unreal” surge in applications for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) mandating support for needs or disabilities such as speech and learning difficulties, autism or ADHD. In 2025, just one in 20 school-age children had EHCPs. Continue reading...

Beijing wants banks and insurers to bolster investment in stock market as it helps to replenish cash reservesChina will inject $54bn (£40bn) into its financial sector as Beijing attempts to shore up banks and insurers in the face of faltering economic growth.A host of financial institutions said they were due to receive billions of yuan in capital from state institutions including the ministry of finance and even the company that runs the country’s tobacco monopoly. Continue reading...

Greens defence spokesman says ‘words are just distractions’ until government takes action‘Guilt by association’: why seven international aid workers were killed in Israeli airstrikeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Greens have criticised inflammatory statements from the former Israel Defense Forces officer who ordered the attack which killed Zomi Frankcom, accusing the Albanese government of weakness over its failure to halt military exports and impose new sanctions.Australian aid worker Frankcom and six of her colleagues were killed in 2024 while bringing food to the people of Gaza. Former IDF reserve colonel Nochi Mendel has said he would do “exactly the same thing” again and that those killed in the World Central Kitchen (WCK) humanitarian convoy in Gaza were “not innocent”. Continue reading...

Carmaker, which is battling Trump tariffs and Chinese competitors, faces talks with union leaders and governmentThe government has signalled that it will not invest taxpayers’ money to limit job losses at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), after it emerged that the UK’s biggest carmaker is planning up to 4,000 redundancies.Before crunch talks on Tuesday between JLR, union leaders and government officials, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said it was not his job to “intervene and run businesses”. Continue reading...

Isar Aerospace plans rapid expansion amid race to capitalise on expanding satellite-launch marketA German startup has launched the first commercial rocket to reach orbit from continental Europe, a milestone for Europe’s efforts to secure independent access to space.Isar Aerospace said on Sunday that it would rapidly ⁠expand satellite deployments after the ⁠first orbital launch of ​its uncrewed Spectrum rocket from Arctic Norway, marking a ⁠breakthrough for a region where several countries are seeking a foothold in the fast-growing market for satellite launches. Continue reading...

Slavery’s legacy continues ‘to deprive our country and our people’, says minister, as group prepares to appeal to Jamaica’s head of stateA landmark petition is to be handed to King Charles by Jamaican over slavery reparations, aiming to confront historical crimes that still disadvantage former British colonies, the Caribbean nation’s culture minister has said.The petition will be lodged with Charles, Jamaica’s head of state, on Monday. Continue reading...

Kalie McCrystal was hoping to break record in AlpsAthlete was last seen on Tuesday afternoonCanadian athlete Kalie McCrystal has gone missing during preparations for a record attempt in the Alps.McCrystal, from Squamish in British Columbia, was on a “reconnaissance/training session” in the run-up to her attempt at ascending and descending the 14,692 ft (4,478m) Matterhorn on the Swiss-Italian border. Continue reading...

Arrival marks the pair’s first visit to Ukraine and comes day after ‘substantive plans’ were discussed in MoscowThe US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have arrived in Kyiv for a second day of talks on how to end the war in Ukraine.Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met Kushner and Witkoff in Sophia Square, in front of Kyiv’s historic Saint Sophia Cathedral. Zelenskyy greeted Witkoff with a hug, saying: “It’s good to see you, Steve.” Continue reading...

Robert Jenrick says party has followed legal protocol ‘at all times’ as Met police consider launching investigationNigel Farage has acknowledged the overseas donation row engulfing Reform UK “looks bad” for his party but denied it had ever taken foreign money in breach of electoral law.The Reform leader, who is battling to contain the fallout from the allegations, was asked to categorically rule out that foreign money had ever been funnelled to his party. He replied: “I can … never happened.” Continue reading...

Business secretary says masked anti-immigration protest was ‘not something we would want’ on British streetsA cabinet minister has condemned the blocking of Dover roads by dozens of masked and black-clad people on Saturday.Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said that although peaceful protest was an “essential part of British life”, this differed from “dressing up in costumes like this and disrupting people’s lives”. Continue reading...