Anger

Satirical project is viral sensation and outlet for protest on social media as it taps into young people’s frustrationIt began as a satirical online project after a high court judge compared unemployed young people to cockroaches. Now millions of young Indians are flocking to it as an outlet for their frustration.A parody political party with the insect as its symbol has exploded across India’s social media by turning absurdist humour into protest. Memes and short videos mocking corruption, joblessness and political dysfunction have flooded social media sites, where millions of users are embracing the cockroach – an insect known for its ability to survive harsh conditions – as a tongue-in-cheek symbol of endurance. Continue reading...

UK government calls incident ‘unacceptable’ after Su-27 jet comes within six metres of unarmed spy plane over Black SeaA Russian jet flew within six metres of an RAF spy plane flying at 500mph over the Black Sea, one of two mid-air incidents last month described as “dangerous and unacceptable” by the defence secretary John Healey.An Su-27 jet conducted six passes in front of an unarmed RAF Rivet Joint flying close to its nose, potentially risking a collision that could have triggered a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Continue reading...

US president, like a cult leader whose commune keeps getting smaller, commands fierce loyalty from a shrinking base“Thomas Massie caught in a throuple!” screamed the AI-generated attack ad that showed the Republican congressman supposedly dining with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar then checking into a hotel with the two progressives. “Thomas Massie betrayed President Trump!” it added.Crude but effective, as it turns out. Massie, from northern Kentucky, lost the most expensive House of Representatives primary election in history on Tuesday to Ed Gallrein, a farmer and former US Navy Seal backed by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

A ‘thrillingly fresh’ 30th-anniversary production of Jonathan Larson’s musical will open at the Duke of York’s theatre in London, directed by Luke SheppardThe Pulitzer prize-winning musical Rent will return to London this autumn in a 30th-anniversary production starring Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo in his West End debut.The rock opera, based on Puccini’s La Bohème and set in New York’s East Village during the Aids crisis, ran for more than 5,000 performances on Broadway and won four Tony awards. Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, music and lyrics, died aged 35 of an aortic aneurysm shortly before it opened in 1996. The musical also ran for 18 months in London, became a 2005 film and has had several major revivals including one directed by Luke Sheppard at Manchester’s Hope Mill theatre in 2020. Sheppard, who last month won an Olivier award for Paddington: The Musical, is staging the new revival, directly inspired by his Manchester production. Continue reading...

Voters in northern Brisbane electorate go to polls after sudden death of former independent MP Jimmy SullivanGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA byelection in the Brisbane seat of Stafford is expected to swing towards the sitting LNP Queensland government in a result experts say would likely be fatal to former premier Steven Miles’ leadership of the Labor party.Voters in the northern Brisbane electorate of Stafford have gone to the polls after the sudden death of former independent MP Jimmy Sullivan in April. Continue reading...

Prime minister under pressure over failure to grant military service exemptions as multi-party government looks at risk of collapseIsrael’s ruling coalition has submitted a proposal to dissolve parliament to pave the way for early elections as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, came under mounting attack from ultra-Orthodox parties.The move, initiated by Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party, came as Netanyahu appeared to be facing a possible collapse of his fractious coalition. Continue reading...

Decision made to grant US tech firm ‘unlimited access’ to data in project to build integrated platform, according to reportsUK politics live – latest updatesMPs have warned that an NHS decision to grant Palantir access to identifiable patient information in its plan to use AI to improve the health service is “dangerous” and will fuel public fears that data privacy is not being prioritised.NHS England has allowed staff from the US tech firm and other contractors access to patient data before it has been pseudonymised, despite internal fears of a “risk of loss of public confidence”, the Financial Times reported. Continue reading...

Legislature has eliminated the state’s one Democratic, Black-majority congressional districtSign up for the Breaking News US email Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. Tennessee’s Republican-dominated legislature passed redistricting maps on Thursday, eliminating the state’s one Democratic, Black-majority congressional district as GOP lawmakers scramble to improve their fortunes ahead of the November midterms.The new map splits Shelby County, the home of Memphis, a majority-Black city that played a critical role in the civil rights movement, into three separate Republican-leaning districts. Continue reading...

Some MPs accuse Greater Manchester mayor of undermining local election campaign message over Change:Now event Politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham’s decision to appear at a progressive rally alongside prominent Green and Liberal Democrat figures has sparked anger among some Labour MPs, who have accused him of undermining their local election message.The Greater Manchester mayor, who is seen as one of the most likely challengers to Keir Starmer, will be speaking at the Change:Now event this month organised by the left-wing group Compass. Continue reading...

US president directs fresh criticism at pontiff days before secretary of state Marco Rubio’s visit to VaticanMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has issued a fresh verbal attack against Pope Leo XIV, accusing the pontiff of “endangering a lot of Catholics” because “he thinks it’s fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”.The remarks come two days before Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, meets Leo at the Vatican in an effort to ease the tensions sparked by Trump’s previous broadside against the Chicago-born pontiff over his condemnation of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Continue reading...

WhatsApp group has bought tens of thousands of meals for people via Facebook pageCarl used to own pubs – several of them – and a string of hotels. Then two years ago, rising costs forced him into bankruptcy. Now he sleeps on the beach in summer, and in winter sits in an all-night McDonald’s nursing a single cup of coffee.Carl’s daughters are in a different part of the country with his ex-wife. To maintain the illusion that he lives a normal life, Carl is careful only to video-call them from the local Wetherspoon’s with a meal and a drink carefully positioned in shot. That way, he reasons, he looks like a man with somewhere to be. Continue reading...

Plans to install traffic lights on Clachan Bridge will ruin tourist attraction and endanger pedestrians, critics warnTraffic lights are to be installed beside the scenic Clachan Bridge on Scotland’s wild Argyll coast despite fears it will be a “desecration” of a nationally-significant heritage site.Known since the early 19th century as the “Bridge over the Atlantic” the 233-year-old crossing from the mainland to the Isle of Seil attracts visitors eager to boast of their trans-oceanic journey, but there are concerns motorists on green will soon act aggressively towards pedestrians on what is a much-photographed landmark. Continue reading...

Rural dwellers reveal failings in backup plans, as campaigners call for deadline to be extended from 2027 to 2030“Every time there is a power failure I lose all means of communication with the outside world,” says Robert Dewar of life in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands since the landlines were transferred from the old copper cable network to broadband connections.Blackouts also knock out the village’s mobile phone signal. “Our most recent power cut lasted for 42 hours,” Dewar says. The interruption outlasted his five-hour emergency backup battery. “If I had had a heart attack there is damn all I could have done about it, except compose myself, say my prayers, and await the outcome.” Continue reading...

Senator Jack Reed says at hearing that defense secretary failed to give Trump accurate picture of war in IranUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailPete Hegseth has failed to give Donald Trump an accurate picture of the war on Iran while resorting to “dangerously exaggerated” statements to create an inaccurate picture of a US military triumph, a senior Democrat told a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday.Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, told Hegseth, the defense secretary, that far from victory, US citizens were having to bear the cost of a war they did not support in the form of increased fuel prices. Continue reading...

Tech giant accused of ‘cynical attempt to bust the union’ in decision to shutter location in Towson, MarylandWorkers at the first Apple store to unionize in the US are pushing back against the company’s decision to shut down the store by June, alleging the company’s decision is rooted in “a cynical attempt to bust the union”.On Monday, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against Apple, alleging unionized employees at the store in Towson, Maryland, are being denied transfer rights and other rights compared with workers at non-unionized stores. The union is also alleging retaliation for being unionized. Continue reading...

Tees Transporter Bridge and a former working men’s club in Barrow-in-Furness among sites at risk of decay or neglectTeesside’s Transporter Bridge, a disinfecting station in Hackney and a former working men’s club in Barrow-in-Furness have been included on a list ringing alarm bells for Victorian and Edwardian heritage.The Victorian Society has published its annual top 10 endangered buildings list, intended as a way of drawing national attention to at-risk places in England and Wales. Continue reading...

Blazes in US south-east have blown smoke over a wide area, and contributed to at least one death in FloridaTwo wildfires in south-eastern Georgia that have destroyed more than 120 homes continued to threaten property and lives on Saturday as officials warned that strong winds could spread the flames.The Brantley county manager, Joey Cason, called it a “dynamic situation” in a Saturday-morning video posted to social media and begged residents to “please evacuate” if they are ordered to do so. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry says remarks of conservative podcast host Michael Savage that were shared by US president were ‘obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste’India on Thursday criticised as inappropriate a post by Donald Trump in which he shared comments that called the South Asian country a “hellhole”.The inflammatory post on Truth Social comes ahead of a planned visit next month to India by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is seeking to ease recent tensions between the normally friendly powers. Continue reading...

American Lung Association report comes amid Trump EPA’s expansive rollback of environmental protections Nearly half of children in the United States are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, according to a new report, as experts warned Donald Trump’s expansive rollback of protections will make the situation worse.The 27th annual air quality report from the American Lung Association (ALA) released on Wednesday evaluates pollution across the country by grading levels of ground-level ozone – also known as smog – as well as year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution, commonly referred to as soot. The report analyzed quality-assured data collected between 2022 and 2024. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer’s decision to oust senior official may have knock-on effect for No 10’s relationship with civil serviceFury within Whitehall about the treatment of Olly Robbins remains white hot, several days on from Keir Starmer’s decision to sack the senior Foreign Office civil servant.“It’s just total self-serving, narrow, selfish, political endgame stuff,” said one supporter of Robbins, who was dismissed for failing to tell the prime minister that the now disgraced former US ambassador Peter Mandelson had not passed UK security vetting. Continue reading...

Trump ally grilled by lawmakers over ‘terrible decisions’ on vaccines, public health and funding cuts to key programsUS politics – latest updatesVaccines and public health dominated a frequently contentious hearing with Robert F Kennedy Jr on Thursday before the US House ways and means committee.Kennedy, the controversial health secretary and a longtime vaccine opponent, has overseen sweeping changes to routine vaccination recommendations and has promoted misinformation even amid the biggest measles outbreak in decades. Continue reading...

• Jacob Wilson’s two-run single in the eighth inning lifted the Oakland Athletics to a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers, snapping a seven-game losing streak. • The win came on Wednesday night in a tight contest where pitching dominated early. • This victory boosts Oakland's momentum in the AL West race amid a challenging season.

A top UN official has criticised lack of global urgency as reports confirm the world’s largest humanitarian crisis is worseningEfforts to end Sudan’s catastrophic war have been criticised as “unacceptable” by the country’s top UN official as a series of new reports confirm that the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis is worsening.Speaking to the Guardian on the eve of the third anniversary of the war, Denise Brown expressed her concern over the apparent lack of political urgency to end a conflict that has forced 14 million Sudanese to flee their homes. Tens of thousands of people are missing. Continue reading...

• Cole Reinhardt scored his second goal with 1:50 left to lead the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night. • Reinhardt and Mackie Samoskevich scored in the first period for a 2-0 lead, with Quick making 14 saves in his retirement finale after 19 seasons and three Stanley Cups. • The win spoils Jonathan Quick's last NHL appearance as the three-time champion announced his retirement beforehand.

Typhoon expected to make landfall Tuesday in Northern Mariana Islands and bring heavy winds, rain and floodingA dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote US islands.Super Typhoon Sinlaku is expected to make landfall Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said Monday. Continue reading...

Unite Here co-president demands improvement in working conditions and urges Fifa to keep ICE away from matchesA hospitality union that represents about 2,000 workers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles has threatened to strike during the World Cup if Fifa leaders do not heed their concerns about working conditions and the presence of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).This summer, SoFi Stadium will be thrust into the national spotlight as it hosts eight World Cup matches. Between June and July, Los Angeles is estimated to see 150,000 more out-of-town visitors than typical for the time period. Continue reading...

• The Texas Rangers signed future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer to a four-year, $80 million contract to bolster their 2026 rotation. • Scherzer, 41, posted a 3.28 ERA across 28 starts last season with the New York Mets, demonstrating continued durability. • The Rangers project as World Series contenders with the addition of Scherzer joining Corey Seager and Kyle Schwarber in their lineup.

Campaigners say birds could die trying to access ancestral nests that were sealed during rail refurbishmentSome swifts returning to Britain to breed will be unable to access their ancestral nesting holes after they were blocked in a £7.5m refurbishment of a Derbyshire railway viaduct, campaigners say.Nature lovers had appealed to Network Rail to unblock three holes which were among at least nine swift nesting sites on the twin viaducts at Chapel Milton, on the edge of the Peak District. Continue reading...