Law due to expire at midnight tonight following unhappiness over Trump’s pick for intelligence chiefA key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) is due to expire on Friday night amid a backlash to Trump’s announcement that Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a major Republican donor, would be acting DNI.While Trump has moved to contain the furor – announcing his nomination of another top official, Jay Carney, to take the role on a permanent basis – US Congress has so far failed to extend section 702 of Fisa in time for Friday’s deadline.Pulte has to go. He cannot be in the DNI role. It’s too important.Donald Trump declared “a great settlement” with Iran, which could be signed soon “maybe in Europe, over the weekend”.Trump’s hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center is mounting a last-minute effort to keep his name on the facade of the performing arts facility before a court-ordered deadline to remove it by Friday. The board voted on Thursday to seek a stay of US district judge Christopher Cooper’s 29 May ruling that said Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, according to a person familiar with the move who requested anonymity to discuss a private meeting.Congressman Robert Garcia, who is in line to chair the House oversight committee next year if Democrats win back the majority in November, called for testimony from vice-president JD Vance and other senior officials over what he called “the White House cover-up” of the Epstein files revealed by the New York Times.US federal authorities are investigating what appears to be a massive etching of “8647” into the grass of the National Mall. Live webcam footage from atop the Washington Monument as of Thursday afternoon shows the markings, with a highly visible “8,” along with less visible “6”, “4” and “7”. Continue reading...
Ofcom figures show the company’s delivery performance has worsened compared with the previous yearBusiness live – latest updatesThe postal regulator has launched an investigation into Royal Mail for once again missing its annual delivery targets, with almost a quarter of first-class mail arriving late.The company, which has been fined £37m since 2023 for routinely failing to meet delivery targets set by Ofcom, revealed on Friday that 24.3% of first-class mail failed to arrive on time in the year to the end of March. Continue reading...
Tribunal orders company to pay Shabin Shaji for care work he was not given after coming to UK, in landmark caseAn Indian citizen who came to the UK to work as a care worker through the post-Brexit visa scheme has been awarded nearly £30,000 in a landmark case, because his employer failed to give him a single day of work for a year.An employment tribunal ordered the care company Swan Care Solutions Ltd to pay Shabin Shaji wages for the work he was “ready, able and willing to do”. Continue reading...
Investigation launched into activity in Coalsnaughton, Clackmannanshire, a former mining villageNearly 100 homes have been evacuated following reports of ground movements in a former mining village in Scotland.Properties began being evacuated on 18 May and an investigation has since been launched into the activity in Coalsnaughton, Clackmannanshire. Continue reading...
Survey shows 44% increase on RSPB reserves of bird that almost became extinct in England in the 60sMore than half a century after the Dartford warbler almost vanished from the English countryside, the charismatic heathland bird appears to be staging a comeback.A survey has revealed the highest number of Dartford warblers ever recorded on reserves run by the bird conservation charity RSPB, with 264 pairs counted in 2025, a 44% increase in five years. 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...
Additional funding for the costly 90km public transport project promised ahead of state’s November electionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe federal budget will include another $3.8bn for the Suburban Rail Loop, Melbourne’s controversial and costly 90km public transport project.Prime minister Anthony Albanese will announce the additional funding alongside the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, on Friday ahead of the 12 May budget and as early campaigning for the state election heats up. Continue reading...
On its fourth day of public hearings, royal commission into antisemitism also hears Jewish Australians have been pressured to resign and verbally abusedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJewish Australians have been told to use “less obviously Jewish” names, felt pressure to resign and been verbally abused by colleagues in the wake of 7 October 2023.On its fourth day of public hearings, the antisemitism royal commission also heard evidence from Australia’s antisemitism envoy, who said hatred towards Jews had become “almost fashionable”, while a Sydney nurse said New South Wales Health was “not safe for Jewish people”. Continue reading...
• Malaysia's Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is almost certain to go solo in the next general election, announced Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
• The decision signals potential shifts in political alliances ahead of the polls, amid ongoing unity government dynamics.
• This development could reshape Malaysia's opposition landscape and influence regional stability in Southeast Asia.
Demographic also overrepresented when police officers use force such as handcuffs, firearms or Tasers, says children’s commissionerBlack children across England and Wales are almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched by police than their white counterparts, a report has disclosed.Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, said Black children are also overrepresented when officers use force and were more likely to have their “size, gender or build” cited as justification. Continue reading...
‘Stone age’ system of booking cross-border rail tickets holding back climate action by consumers, says thinktankEurope’s “stone age” system of booking train tickets makes it needlessly difficult for travellers to avoid polluting flights, a report has found.Booking equivalent train tickets is “difficult or impossible” on almost half of the EU’s busiest international air routes, analysis from the Transport & Environment (T&E) thinktank shows. Continue reading...
Shirine Khoury-Haq and other managers did not receive annual bonus after damaging cyber-attack in 2025The former boss of the Co-op collected almost £2m before her sudden departure last month despite a difficult year when the retailer was pushed into the red by a damaging cyber hack.Shirine Khoury-Haq’s total annual pay package amounted to £1.9m in 2025, including a £165,000 “rewarding growth” bonus that was approved by the mutual’s board despite falling sales and the slide to an underlying loss of £125m. Continue reading...
Russian advances slowing, thinktank’s data shows; 14 killed in Ukraine in massive drone and missile salvo. What we know on day 1,501Russia’s army recorded almost no territorial gains on the frontline in Ukraine in March for the first time in two-and-a-half years, according to analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) conducted by Agence France-Presse. The Russian army has been slowing in its advances since late 2025 – because of Kyiv’s localised breakthroughs in the south-east of the country. Across the entire frontline, the Russian army seized only 23 sq km (8.9 sq miles) in March, losing territory in some areas, according to the analysis. This figure excludes infiltration operations conducted by Russian forces beyond the frontline, as well as advances claimed by the Russian side but neither confirmed nor denied by the ISW.The Russian army made 319 sq km of gains in January and 123 sq km in February, which was then the smallest advance since April 2024. Its advance in March was the smallest since September 2023. The ISW attributed the slowdown to Ukrainian counteroffensives, but also to “Russia’s ban on using Starlink terminals in Ukraine” and “the Kremlin’s efforts to restrict access to Telegram”. The messaging app – very popular among Russians, including those fighting on the front – has been barely usable in recent months due to blocks imposed by the authorities. As in February, Russia lost ground on the southern section of the frontline, between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.Russian strikes killed 14 people in Ukraine on Friday, officials said, as Moscow launched the latest in an increasing number of daytime barrages. Moscow has been firing aerial broadsides at Ukraine throughout its more than four-year invasion, mostly at night, but in recent weeks has stepped up daytime attacks. The Russian military used more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles in its salvo on Friday, according to the Ukrainian air force.Russia’s Baltic oil export hubs at Ust-Luga and Primorsk remain unable to handle shipments after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks, prompting the country’s refineries to find alternative routes for export, industry sources said on Friday. The attacks have damaged port infrastructure and continued through the last two weeks of March, with at least five strikes on Ust-Luga in the space of 10 days. Sources said the export restrictions, along with disruptions at large refineries, could lead to a decrease in oil production in Russia. Traders said refineries had been unable to deliver diesel fuel to Primorsk for export since 22 March, leaving refineries in European Russia and Siberia without their most viable export route. Traders said refineries were having to consider more expensive rail transport routes to other export terminals.Zelenskyy has called on lawmakers to pass key legislation next week to avert a funding crisis, help Ukraine fight the war against Russia, and enact key reforms required for EU accession. Due to lagging reforms and slow legislative progress in late 2025 and early this year, Ukraine missed deadlines to unlock billions from its key lenders, economists said. With the need for external financing standing at $52bn this year – equivalent to about a quarter of annual economic output – the budget situation is desperate. “I have a list of key draft laws that are critical for securing funding,” the Ukrainian president said in remarks released on Friday. They range from strengthening the court system to reforming energy sector procedures. “I believe that members of parliament from all parties must understand the importance of these bills for Ukraine’s budget,” said Zelenskyy, who has a majority in parliament but its relations with his government have soured. Continue reading...
Poll of 10,000 teachers also finds ‘overwhelming’ exam anxiety and rising absenteeism linked to poor mental healthAlmost half of primary school teachers are seeing pupils with eating disorders “at least occasionally”, rising to four in five at secondary level, according to a survey by the UK’s largest education union.The findings emerged in a poll of 10,000 teachers in English state schools about pupils’ mental health, which also revealed “overwhelming” exam anxiety in secondaries and dwindling numbers of counsellors to support students. Continue reading...
Consumers brace for ‘awful April’ and Iran war cost hikes, which have pushed UK’s gas market past three-year highs Households in Great Britain could see their energy bills increase by about £290 a year to almost £2,000 from this summer in a “tough pill to swallow” for consumers already braced for a volley of “awful April” cost hikes from Wednesday.A typical gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,929 a year from July under the industry regulator Ofgem’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. Continue reading...
People’s payments, account details and national insurance numbers visible to other users, says Treasury committeeLloyds Banking Group exposed the personal data of nearly 500,000 customers in an IT glitch that left people’s payments, account details and national insurance numbers visible to other users, a committee of MPs has revealed.A letter from Lloyds, published by MPs on the Treasury select committee on Friday, blamed the glitch on a software defect introduced during an IT update to its Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland mobile banking apps overnight into 12 March. Continue reading...
Trump administration announces deal with TotalEnergies to redirect investment in wind to oil and gas insteadAs a fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran drives up global fossil fuel prices, the Trump administration has announced it will pay French energy major TotalEnergies $1bn to kill plans to construct wind farms off the US east coast.The deal is the latest blow to the US offshore wind industry, which has faced repeated disruptions to multi-billion-dollar projects under Donald Trump. Continue reading...
University polling and focus groups found sharpest increase in those worried about national security was cohort aged 18 to 24Nearly half of Australians believe a foreign military will attack the country within five years, as anxiety over national security issues rises sharply, a new study suggests.The Australian National University’s National Security College report found that two-thirds of those polled in 2026, including an increasing number of teenagers and young adults, were worried about national security issues. Continue reading...
Israeli air defence systems fail to intercept at least two projectiles during attacks on cities of Arad and Dimona Middle East crisis live – latest updatesIranian ballistic missile barrages wounded about 100 people in southern Israel on Saturday, striking the cities of Arad and Dimona after air defence systems failed to intercept at least two projectiles.Among the injured were a 12-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, both reported to be in serious condition. Continue reading...
Consultancy’s forecast of £1,972 annual dual fuel bill follows conflict pushing UK’s gas market past three-year highsBusiness live – latest updatesHousehold energy bills in Great Britain could soar by more than £330 a year to almost £2,000 from this summer after the war in Iran pushed the UK’s gas market past three-year highs.A typical combined household gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,972 a year from July under the UK government’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by Cornwall Insight, an energy consultancy. Continue reading...
Sergey Brin gives $25m on top of $20m he’s already given to Super Pac trying to blocking state’s proposed 5% wealth taxA Google founder has more than doubled his financial contribution to the fight against a proposed wealth tax in California. New filings with the state show that former Alphabet president Sergey Brin donated $25m to a Super Pac dedicated to blocking the tax on top of $20m he had already given.Brin is not alone among Google’s top brass in upping his financial stake in the campaign against the ballot proposal. The company’s former CEO Eric Schmidt donated $1.02m, adding to a previous $2m contribution. Continue reading...
