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Exclusive: Scotland Yard had been in talks to use Palantir’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysisA £50m Met police deal with the controversial US tech company Palantir has been blocked by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, with City Hall citing a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules.Scotland Yard had been in talks, revealed by the Guardian last month, to use Palantir’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations. But Khan intervened on Thursday to stop the flagship contract, which would have been Palantir’s largest yet in British policing. Continue reading...

• The CDC said on May 2, 2026, it is responding to a deadly outbreak of Andes virus, a type of hantavirus, among passengers and crew on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. • The agency said no cases have been confirmed in the United States from the outbreak and that the risk of a pandemic and the overall risk to American travelers is “extremely low.” • Andes virus can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a severe and potentially deadly lung disease, making the outbreak notable for public health monitoring.

US vice-president appeared to align with attendees of Tommy Robinson’s ‘unite the kingdom’ rally in LondonUS vice-president, JD Vance, has urged anti-immigration activists in the UK to “keep on going” after tens of thousands gathered for a rally in London.Vance appeared to align himself with those who attended a march on Saturday where the far-right activist Tommy Robinson told supporters to prepare for the “battle of Britain”. Continue reading...

SBS also declines to adopt International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, which some claim conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitismFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesSign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media newsletter hereThe ABC has chosen not to adopt the definition of antisemitism used by the Bondi royal commission and will use its internal editorial guidance on hate speech instead, in order to maintain its independence.The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion announced in February that the inquiry would apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Continue reading...

Train operator says passenger demand will still be met as it trims summer timetable at government’s behestAvanti West Coast is to cut about one in seven trains on its busiest intercity routes this summer to reduce costs.The train operator said it was reducing its timetable between London Euston and Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester in response to a government request to lower spending. Continue reading...

Police investigate incident on Thursday after witness claims seeing Raise the Colours logo on side of vehiclePolice are investigating an incident where a man was run over by a van after a group of people were taking down union flags put up by Raise the Colours campaigners in Birmingham.A man, in his 30s, suffered a broken leg that required surgery. He remains in hospital after the incident on Thursday evening in the Birmingham suburb of Stirchley, police said. Continue reading...

Transcripts reveal billionaire Ted Waitt’s relationship with Epstein accomplice and $7.2m breakup payoutSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Ted Waitt, the billionaire cofounder of the Gateway computer company, told lawmakers during a closed-door interview that he was in a romantic relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell from 2004 to 2010, but said that “if I knew then what I know now about Ms Maxwell, I never would’ve befriended her or allowed her to be around my four children”, according to a transcript of his testimony released by the House oversight and reform committee.“I never would’ve spent six years in a romantic relationship with her,” Waitt said in his opening statement before the committee on 30 April, according to the transcript released on Wednesday. His testimony provided new details about his relationship with Maxwell, and he also disputed Maxwell’s previous statements that their relationship ended after a mysterious blackmail attempt related to Epstein’s civil cases. Continue reading...

All 11 aboard survived after the plane made an emergency landing near the BahamasSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA military rescue crew in Florida has spoken of the “pretty miraculous” survival of all 11 people it saved from a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean, and its own scramble to safety with five minutes of fuel left.Members of the 920th rescue wing, based at Patrick Space Force base, not far from Cape Canaveral, raced on Tuesday to reach the passengers and crew in choppy seas. They had emerged from a small Beechcraft twin-propeller aircraft that ditched into the water about 80 miles east of Melbourne on Florida’s east coast. Continue reading...

Duke of Sussex says legitimate concerns over situation in Middle East should not lead to hostility toward Jewish community in UKPrince Harry has described rising antisemitism in Britain as “deeply troubling”, saying that while people were entitled to feel anger over events in the Middle East, there could be no justification for hostility towards individuals or faith communities.The Duke of Sussex appeared to make a veiled criticism of the Israeli government, while stressing that legitimate protest should never tip into hatred. Continue reading...

Environmentalists hail decline but warn weakened laws could reverse gainsBrazil’s Atlantic forest, the country’s most threatened biome, last year recorded its lowest level of deforestation since monitoring began 40 years ago, a new report shows.The forest is Brazil’s most populous biome, and home to 80% of the population and major cities such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In 2025 it recorded 8,658 hectares of deforestation, marking the first time it has fallen below 10,000 hectares since 1985. Continue reading...

• Shanghai unveiled an AI-powered aviation science fiction theme park in its Lingang New Area, opening to media on Monday, centered on China's Nantianmen Project for immersive aerospace experiences. • The park features interactive exhibits simulating moon landings, hypersonic flight, dual-mode propulsion, metamaterial stealth, directed-energy weapons, and AI decision-making, with a full-scale 'Baidi' sci-fi fighter jet model for pre-flight simulations. • General Manager Zhou Yixiao highlighted hidden games, storylines, and upcoming AI-driven interactive content to enhance visitor engagement.

UK expert tells Australian inquiry how antisemitism developed and that governments must define it in order to develop policies against itFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOld tropes about Jewish people – such as those found in the fraudulent and debunked Protocols of the Elders of Zion – have morphed and been melded into modern-day antisemitism, the royal commission has heard.On Thursday morning, the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion heard from Dr Dave Rich, the Community Security Trust’s policy director. Continue reading...

After Reform politicians were cheered and progressive rabbis booed at rally against antisemitism, some fear longstanding alliances are fracturingRabbi Charley Baginsky, the co-leader of Progressive Judaism, admitted she felt apprehensive before speaking at last weekend’s central London rally against antisemitism.As she addressed the crowd, there were some boos. It wasn’t the first time – last year, on a similar stage outside Downing Street, Baginsky and her fellow co-lead, Rabbi Josh Levy, were jeered off stage. Continue reading...

In apology, William Paul said he had had ‘too much to drink’ and the things he said ‘don’t represent who I really am’Republican senator Rand Paul’s son William apologized on Wednesday for a drunken tirade at a bar in Washington DC, in which he reportedly told a Republican congressman he “hates Jews and hates gays”.“Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” William Paul posted on social media under the handle TastyBrew1776. Continue reading...

Medicare has already paused hospice and home healthcare agency signups as potential fraud is investigatedUS politics live – latest updatesJD Vance has threatened to “turn off” federal funding for government health insurance programs in states that refuse to comply with the Trump administration’s crackdown on suspected fraud.States which fail to “get serious” about fraud would lose Medicaid and Medicare funding, the US vice-president announced on Wednesday, sparking fresh accusations that Trump officials are using unfounded allegations to punish political rivals. Continue reading...

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network says criticism of Israel is routinely misrepresented as antisemitic – and that Palestinian voices are being excluded from debateGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPalestinian voices are being excluded from the debate on social cohesion, the peak body for Palestinians in Australia has said after it was refused leave to appear before the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion.The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (Apan) made detailed submissions on the issues of antisemitism – including how it is defined – as well as on racism and social cohesion, but was told it did not have a “direct and substantial” interest in the public hearings, which are under way in Sydney. Continue reading...

• Health officials addressed a hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, announcing the return of 18 Americans evacuated to Nebraska for quarantine on May 11, 2026. • Adm. Brian Christine, assistant secretary for health, stated 'the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low,' noting the Andes variant requires prolonged close contact like sharing utensils or 15 minutes within six feet of symptomatic individuals. • Most evacuees are monitored at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the nation's only federal quarantine unit and a leading high-risk infectious disease facility.

Health minister Mark Butler says six people from MC Hondius plus flight crew from charter plane to be isolated for weeksFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians and New Zealanders who were aboard the deadly hantavirus-hit cruise ship will undergo the first three weeks of their quarantine at the Bullsbrook national resilience centre, just outside Perth.The flight crew that brings them back to the country will have to join them, Australia’s health minister, Mark Butler, said. 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...

Ex-Parramatta council chief executive Gail Connolly and ‘close network’ allegedly promoted friends while targeting others for reprisalsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA New South Wales anti-corruption inquiry is investigating whether three friends in powerful positions at a western Sydney council, who called themselves the “Pink Ops”, subverted recruitment and promotion processes to benefit friends.The NSW Independent Commission against Corruption (Icac) held its first day of public hearings on Monday into allegations concerning Parramatta council’s former chief executive Gail Connolly, as well as council employees Roxanne Thornton and Angela Jones-Blayney and other staff. Continue reading...

• Seventeen passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are being flown to the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, the same facility used during the early COVID-19 pandemic, after potential hantavirus exposure aboard the vessel. • CDC officials confirmed three deaths related to the outbreak and are monitoring at least nine Americans across six states—Arizona, California, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey—for possible infections, though none have shown symptoms yet. • Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, stated the outbreak "is on the end of its run right now," noting hantavirus has very limited person-to-person transmission capability and is a "rare exception" for spread.

• Israel's Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved bills giving the government sole discretion over senior civil service appointments, reducing oversight mechanisms. • The committee deferred decisions on more radical proposals, including bills to cancel the Oslo Accords and restrict immigration and citizenship for non-Orthodox converts. • These moves signal a push toward greater executive control, amid ongoing debates on judicial and administrative reforms.

• An Andes hantavirus outbreak has been confirmed aboard an Atlantic cruise ship, with seven Americans who were passengers now returning to their homes in Arizona, Georgia, California, Texas, and Virginia. • The acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya stated that US health agencies are equipped to handle the hantavirus response and have been coordinating closely with international partners to contain the outbreak. • New Jersey has joined a growing list of US states now monitoring for hantavirus cases related to the cruise ship incident, expanding surveillance across multiple regions.

Conservative and Reform leaders cheered as they address crowd, while Labour’s Pat McFadden met with boos and shouts of ‘where is Starmer?’Thousands of people gathered outside Downing Street on Sunday to protest an increase in antisemitic hate crimes and violence, as senior politicians and interfaith leaders called for unity.The Standing Strong: Extinguish Antisemitism rally, backed by more than 30 Jewish groups, drew thousands of people to Whitehall, as Conservative and Liberal Democrat party leaders, alongside Labour and Reform representatives, addressed a crowd studded with Israeli and union jack flags, and ‘Where is Keir?’ placards. Continue reading...

Open letter criticising invitation to Nigel Farage warns of association with ‘racism and inflammatory rhetoric’Political leaders have been invited to a rally opposing antisemitism on Sunday, with British Jews hoping the “silent majority” will join them for a “million mensch march” across central London.The prime minister, Keir Starmer, is considering attending the Standing Strong: Extinguish Antisemitism rally, which is backed by more than 30 Jewish groups, while the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to speak. The Liberal Democrats’ leader, Ed Davey, has also been invited. Continue reading...

NSW police called to incident in Maroubra amid reports of offensive comments made at under-12s gameFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPolice are investigating an alleged antisemitic comment made at a children’s netball game involving a Jewish-led team in Sydney.New South Wales police said it was called to netball courts at Heffron Park in Maroubra just after 10am on Saturday, after reports a woman had made offensive comments towards a group of people at an under-12s game between the Maccabi and Saints netball clubs. Continue reading...

Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, charged with religiously aggravated harassmentTwo men have been charged with religiously aggravated harassment over allegations they travelled to north London to film antisemitic TikTok videos.Officers were called to reports of a hate crime involving a group of men allegedly harassing members of the Jewish community on Clapton Common at about 9pm on Thursday, the Metropolitan police said. Officers arrested five men in Hackney after the incident, it added. Continue reading...

US CDC personnel are reportedly meeting ship in Canary Islands to accompany Americans on a flight to NebraskaThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly sending personnel to the Canary Islands to meet the cruise ship affected by the hantavirus outbreak, with plans to accompany American passengers back to the US on a chartered flight and place them into quarantine in Nebraska.An additional CDC team is already headed to Nebraska, according to unnamed sources who spoke with CNN. The sources indicated that passengers are expected to undergo quarantine measures there to help prevent any possible spread of the virus. Nebraska is home to both the federally supported National Quarantine Unit and the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. Continue reading...