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• The city of El Obeid in North Kordofan, Sudan, faces an imminent ground offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies after 18 months of siege-like conditions. • Credible reports indicate a high risk of atrocity crimes and widespread human rights violations as the conflict intensifies in the region. • This escalation underscores the urgent need for international intervention to prevent mass atrocities and ensure accountability for perpetrators.

Fund manager Geoff Wilson says he did not watch full video and deleted it after ‘inappropriate associations were identified’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe fund manager Geoff Wilson, a prominent public critic of the government’s tax changes, has deleted an inflammatory AI-generated video he reposted from a rightwing nationalist account portraying Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers taking money from white Australians and giving it to recently arrived migrants wearing Islamic face coverings.Wilson said he had not watched the full video before sharing it or examined other accounts, some of whose content he reposted on Wednesday morning – which included content relating to the QAnon conspiracy theory – and deleted his posts after being contacted by Guardian Australia. Continue reading...

• OCBC Malaysia has integrated Singpass to allow Singaporean and Singapore Permanent Resident business owners to remotely authenticate their identities for account applications. • This digital transition aims to significantly accelerate the business account opening process, reducing the turnaround time from approximately three weeks to as little as five working days. • Eligible customers holding business accounts in both Singapore and Malaysia can now apply for single sign-on access to manage both accounts via a unified dashboard.

Nearly one in six pieces of news shared in local Facebook groups during the campaign is false, Social Market Foundation report findsGood morning. Andy Burnham seems to be on course to win the Makerfield byelection on Thursday. But, if he does win, it will be despite a huge increase in the amount of hostile, fake news about him circulating on local Facebook groups. This has been documented in a report out today by the Social Market Foundation thinktank that has important implications not just for Makerfield, but for how politics functions today in a social media environment awash with lies.In its report, the SMF says:Nearly 1 in 6 pieces of news shared in local Facebook groups during the campaign is false, with misinformation heavily targeting Labour and its candidate Andy Burnham, a new study has found.The Social Market Foundation analysed over 1,800 posts across four local Facebook groups – representing different towns and settlements within the constituency with 66,000 members across them in total – and found that the share of news posts classified as misinformation jumped from 4% before the by-election was called to 16% during the campaign, a four-fold increase. Continue reading...

• A new survey reveals that 70% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are now acting on financial advice provided by AI before consulting with professional accountants. • Business owners are increasingly relying on AI tools for financial decision-making, with many expecting software to soon automate complex compliance tasks. • This shift signals a potential disruption in the accounting industry as AI reduces the traditional reliance on human experts for routine financial guidance.

• Driven by public demand and survivor advocacy, members of the U.S. Congress are attempting to set aside party politics to seek accountability for Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse network. • The effort focuses on identifying those who enabled Epstein, though survivors argue that the U.S. response has been insufficient compared to international efforts. • In contrast to the U.S., senior government officials in the UK, Sweden, Norway, and Slovakia have already been forced to resign due to their ties to Epstein.

• The U.S. Treasury announced on May 28, 2026, that it has launched the Trump Accounts app on nationwide app stores as the next step in rolling out Trump Accounts. • The program is designed to let users access the new accounts digitally, with Treasury describing the launch as part of the implementation process for the savings vehicle. • The rollout matters because it introduces a new federal consumer finance product that could affect families, retirement-style saving behavior, and related financial institutions.

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...

US social media firms acting on orders from Middle East kingdom accused of being ‘instruments of repression’Major US social media companies including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms have blocked the accounts of Saudi Arabian dissidents so they are no longer visible inside the kingdom, following orders by Saudi authorities.Those affected include Abdullah Alaoudh, a US-based activist and vocal critic of Saudi human rights violations, and Omar Abdulaziz, a Canada and UK-based activist who worked closely with Jamal Khashoggi before the journalist’s murder by Saudi agents in 2018. Continue reading...

Criticism of budget funding comes amid warnings the Australian National Audit Office will struggle to meet its targets for independent reviewsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor has been accused inadequately funding one of the central institutions safeguarding public administration, with transparency advocates and independent David Pocock criticising commitments for the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in this week’s budget.Parliament’s Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit has previously warned the Albanese government that the auditor general’s financial position is unsustainable and of “serious concern” – even as the number of government agencies and functions subject to oversight expands significantly. Continue reading...

Media regulator announces commitments by Elon Musk’s platform to crack down on terrorist and hate contentElon Musk’s X platform has pledged to block UK access to accounts linked to banned terrorist groups under an agreement with the communications regulator to crack down on terrorist and hate content.X will also review suspected illegal terrorist and hate content within 48 hours and seek expert advice on how to handle user reports of such content. Continue reading...

Richard Adam, Zafar Khan and three others are also fined by Financial Reporting CouncilBusiness live – latest updatesFive former executives at the collapsed government contractor Carillion have been bannedby the UK’s accountancy regulator, effectively ending the career of its former finance chief, after they “acted recklessly”.Before Carillion collapsed into compulsory liquidation in January 2018 – one of the biggest corporate failures in UK history – it was a large multinational construction and facilities management services company and employed 43,000 people around the world. Continue reading...

Coroner examines circumstances that led to 2021 death of Werribee man Kyle Hudson, who held multiple betting accountsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Melbourne man gambled $895,733 through online betting platforms in the four years between his 18th birthday and the day he took his own life, an inquest has heard.Victorian coroner Paul Lawrie’s inquest into the circumstances of Kyle Hudson’s death on 6 July 2021 began on Monday, and will interrogate whether betting companies accurately assessed the risk of gambling-related harm in the years prior to Werribee man’s death. Continue reading...

Jewish children face antisemitic abuse, swastikas etched on school walls and other students performing Nazi salutes, hearing toldFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJewish children in Australia face antisemitic abuse at school, see swastikas daubed on walls and witness classmates perform Nazi salutes: they live with antisemitism “all day, every day”, a Sydney Jewish mother has told a royal commission hearing.The woman, known as Dina before the commission, said Australia had become a more hostile, more dangerous place for Jews, most horrifically demonstrated by the Bondi massacre in December in which 15 people were shot and killed. Continue reading...

HMRC is contacting 21-year-olds as part of a new awareness drive around lost child trust funds, with an average balance of £2,200Rather than demanding money, HMRC is giving it away for once with a new campaign to reunite thousands of young Britons with forgotten savings accounts typically containing £2,200.HM Revenue and Customs is contacting 21-year-olds as part of a new awareness drive around lost child trust funds (CTF) – the tax-free savings accounts set up for children born between September 2002 and January 2011. Continue reading...

Justin Sun alleges World Liberty Financial installed tools to prevent sale of his tokens after they became tradeableBillionaire crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun on Tuesday sued World Liberty Financial, the digital currency venture co-founded by Donald Trump and his sons, alleging that World Liberty illegally froze his holdings of tokens issued by the company.Sun, the largest investor in World Liberty, alleged in the lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California, that the company secretly installed tools to prevent the sale of his tokens after they became tradeable in September 2025. The lawsuit also alleges that World Liberty threatened to “burn” – or permanently delete – his holdings, even while they were in Sun’s digital wallet. Continue reading...

Sacked civil servant tells select committee of ‘pressure’ to give clearance and ‘dismissive’ attitude to vettingThe civil servant sacked by Keir Starmer has given a devastating account of his government, saying Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador despite the concerns of vetting officials.Olly Robbins, the former top official at the Foreign Office, said No 10 took a “dismissive” attitude to vetting, and Mandelson was given access to the Foreign Office building and to “higher-classification briefings” before he was granted security clearance. Continue reading...

Sacked Foreign Office chief tells MPs he was briefed that UKSV considered Mandelson ‘a borderline case’UK politics live – latest updatesAn account of Peter Mandelson’s vetting process given by the former top civil servant Sir Olly Robbins has raised new questions about whether Robbins was misled about the findings of the agency responsible for vetting.Robbins, who was sacked from his role of permanent secretary at the Foreign Office last week after revelations in the Guardian, gave testimony about the process to a select committee. Continue reading...

Justin Sun said World Liberty Financial built a ‘backdoor blacklisting function’ that froze his account. ‘We have the truth. See you in court,’ the company respondedSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe largest investor in Donald Trump’s crypto venture has claimed that the firm “secretly” implemented a tool to unilaterally freeze his holdings of its cryptocurrency. He claimed the company could do the same to any other user.In posts on social media platform X on Sunday, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun said, without offering evidence, that World Liberty Financial had embedded what he described as a “backdoor blacklisting function” in the blockchain-based contracts used for the WLFI tokens. Continue reading...

In hardline rhetoric, leader Angus Taylor also says ‘many’ prospective migrants would be a ‘net drain’ on the countryGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Coalition government would end Australia’s non-discriminatory immigration program and introduce Trump-style social media vetting for visa applicants, as Angus Taylor accuses Labor of allowing migrants of “subversive intent” into the country.As the opposition loses support to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Taylor says too many people seek to use Australia’s generosity “for self-serving purposes”, promising to speed up rejections of asylum seekers from countries deemed safe to return to. Continue reading...

Customers make hundreds of thousands of dollars as records show substantial bets made before announcementA group of new accounts on the prediction market Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the US and Iran would reach a ceasefire on Tuesday, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.These bets were made even though, in the hours before a two-week ceasefire was announced on Tuesday, Donald Trump’s rhetoric had escalated sharply and there were few signals that a ceasefire deal was imminent. Early in the day Trump had issued a warning on social media that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not meet his demand to open the Ssrait of Hormuz by his 8pm ET deadline. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sources believe AI tech company’s engineers have been granted access to directory of up to 1.5m staff UK politics live – latest updatesHealth service staff have expressed alarm that engineers working for controversial tech company Palantir have been given NHS email accounts.Employees using NHS.net email accounts have access to a directory with the contact details of up 1.5 million staff. Sources believe Palantir staff were granted the same access. Continue reading...

• Artificial intelligence-native startup Modus Audit Inc. announced an $85 million funding round on April 7, 2026, to accelerate its product development and partnerships in audit technology. • The investment targets expansion of AI tools designed to streamline accounting processes for enterprises, positioning Modus as a leader in the sector. • This funding underscores growing investor confidence in AI applications for financial services amid rising demand for automation in compliance-heavy industries.

City released video of January shooting after charges against two Venezuelan men involved were droppedThe city of Minneapolis released a video Monday that undermined the initial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) account of a shooting involving an agency officer and two Venezuelan men in January.The video, from a city-owned security camera, captured federal officers chasing one of the men to his residence. Another Venezuelan man who lives there was shot during the confrontation, which eventually led to the suspensions of two federal officers involved in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, the so-called Operation Metro Surge. Continue reading...

Levy on inherited farms and family businesses worth £2.5m or more comes into force 6 AprilA new inheritance tax regime for UK farms and family businesses comes into force on Monday and will present “significant challenges” for those affected, according to accountants.In October 2024 the government announced plans to levy inheritance tax on farms – prompting an outcry in many quarters. Continue reading...

Dozens of videos have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram showing harassment of Palestinians and activistsTikTok has removed an account belonging to an ultranationalist, pro-settlement Israeli influencer for breaching hate speech and bullying rules after the Guardian flagged videos showing him harassing activists in the occupied West Bank.The Guardian has reviewed dozens of videos posted by various social media figures that have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram documenting the harassment of Palestinians as well as physical attacks on Israeli and international activists. Continue reading...

• Health savings account companies, benefiting from Trump's tax bill, formed the Great American Health Alliance (GAHA) dark money group to push for further HSA expansions. • The lobbying effort aims to broaden tax advantages amid growing industry influence in policy debates. • Critics highlight potential risks of prioritizing industry gains over consumer protections in health financing.

With two unprecedented trial defeats, big tech firms face crisis akin to that faced by cigarette makers in the 1990sIn the span of just two days, the most powerful social media company in the world faced a more severe public reckoning than it has in years.Jurors in California and New Mexico gave back-to-back verdicts this week that for the first time ever found Meta liable for products that inflict harm on young people. For years, lawmakers, parents and advocates have raised red flags over how social media can hurt children, but now the tech firms are being held to account via court rulings that could set long-lasting precedents. Continue reading...