Articles about Ban

Commons rejects proposal by 256 to 150 to side with government on plan to tackle online harms affecting childrenMPs have voted against a proposal to ban under-16s from using social media for the second time, as the prime minister summoned tech bosses to demand tougher action on internet safety.The House of Commons rejected a Lords amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill that imposed a new age limit on using social media platforms, amid pressure from parents and campaign groups for greater urgency in tackling online harms. They voted by 256 to 150, a majority of 106, to side with the government on its plan to tackle social media-linked harms affecting children. Continue reading...

Decision to seek contact ban orders for people who repeatedly call about non-criminal matters is believed to be UK firstPeople who call with complaints about their neighbours could face a contact ban for wasting police resources, a police force has said.In a social media post on the weekend, North Wales police (NWP) said they had responded to four antisocial behaviour callouts in 24 hours for disputes such as “neighbours who don’t put their bins away or kids playing in the garden making too much noise during the day”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ministers consider restricting pesticide-based treatments, which can get into waterways and harm wildlifePet owners across the UK could be banned from buying flea treatment for cats and dogs under new government rules.Ministers have begun an eight-week consultation on letting only veterinary practitioners or pharmacists give out the potent, pesticide-based flea treatments, to ensure “correct usage”. At the moment, the flea and tick treatments can be bought from any pet shop. Continue reading...

Six lenders, including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan report jump in first-quarter earningsBusiness live – latest updatesBig US banks raked in nearly $50bn (£37bn) worth of profits in the first three months of the year, as they benefited from stock market turbulence triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.Wall Street’s largest lenders have reported a jump in first-quarter earnings, reflecting the surge in demand for trading services as investors dumped risky stocks and bonds and sought safer havens for their cash. Continue reading...

Former US Fed chair says lowering rates to reduce debt service cost can lead to inflation getting out of controlBusiness live – latest updatesThe former US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has attacked Donald Trump’s push for lower interest rates, comparing it to the actions of a “banana republic”.The US president has repeatedly urged the central bank to slash interest rates, in the hope of cutting the government’s borrowing costs on its $39tn (£29tn) debt. Continue reading...

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Lebanese and Israeli military commanders in Washington D.C. on Tuesday as the Trump administration seeks to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. • Israel has signaled that negotiations will focus on disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah, while Hezbollah has called on the Lebanese government to withdraw from talks with Israel. • The latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalated on March 2, following the US-Iran military exchange, making the diplomatic effort a high-stakes initiative for regional stability.

Interior minister is ‘highly determined’ to block US rapper from performing in the southern city in June due to his past antisemitic remarks, sources sayFrance’s interior minister is seeking to block the US rapper formerly known as Kanye West from performing in the southern city of Marseille in June due to his antisemitic remarks, a source close to the minister said Tuesday.The interior minister, Laurent Nunez, is “highly determined” to ban the 11 June concert at Marseille’s Velodrome stadium and is exploring “all possibilities”, the source told Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

ASA rules ads on Instagram and Daily Mail website broke ban on promoting items high in fat, salt and sugarLidl and Iceland have become the first companies to have ads banned after the introduction of rules cracking down on the marketing of junk food in the UK.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has been policing the ban on ads featuring junk food on TV before 9pm, and in paid online advertising at any time of the day, since 5 January. Continue reading...

After Singapore last week, the PM visits supplier of 9% of Australia’s diesel as treasurer travels to Washington for G20 finance ministers’ meetingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has arrived in Brunei Darussalam, the first Australian prime minister to fly to the oil-rich country for a meeting with the sultan, where he’ll discuss fuel supplies with the world’s longest serving monarch, Andrew Greene has reported from the travelling media pool.Arriving in Bandar Seri Begawan yesterday for his second trip to Asia in a week, Albanese was officially welcomed on the tarmac before making his way to the Brunei Darussalam-Australia memorial to lay a wreath. Continue reading...

• The UN's top aid official has warned that Sudan's humanitarian crisis is being abandoned as the war between rival militaries enters its fourth year, with attacks intensifying and humanitarian access shrinking following a deadly airstrike on a funeral gathering in West Kordofan. • Civilians caught in the conflict face mounting dangers as the situation deteriorates, with the UN condemning the escalating violence and calling for renewed international attention to the neglected crisis. • The warnings come as the global community grapples with multiple concurrent conflicts, raising concerns about resource allocation and diplomatic focus on overlooked humanitarian emergencies.

• Finance ministers and central bank governors gathered in Washington for IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings are confronting an unprecedented global energy shock caused by the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz closure, according to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. • Georgieva warned that "there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo ante," indicating long-term economic impacts regardless of ceasefire outcomes or efforts to reopen shipping routes. • The energy crisis is already affecting hundreds of millions of people globally, with decisions made at the meetings regarding resource allocation and emergency funding expected to have tangible impacts on livelihoods in the coming weeks.

Data from 22 police forces shows spending has more than tripled since the ban came into force in 2024Police spending on kennels and veterinary bills in England and Wales has more than tripled since the XL bully ban came into force, with some forces recording an almost 500% spending increase since the new law was enacted in 2024.Data from 22 police forces obtained via freedom of information requests showed police spending had soared from an average of £137,400 per force in 2022-23 to £423,136 in 2024-25. Continue reading...

Hezbollah says it will not abide by agreements that result from the Lebanon-Israel talks in the US; Trump claims Iran wants to make a dealUS starts naval blockade of Iranian ports after deadline passesThe Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the US, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official has said.Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, spoke on the eve of talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US.Trump said the blockade would be on all Iranian ports along the strait from Monday onward. About 20% of the global oil and gas supply moved through this waterway before the war. Seafarers as well as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations received advisories indicating Trump’s blockade would apply to all ship traffic, regardless of the vessel’s flag.Trump claimed that Iran wanted to reach a deal. He insisted the US would not agree to any deal that would permit Iran to have a nuclear weapon. “We can’t let a country blackmail or extort the world,” he said at a last-minute press conference at the White House on Monday.After receiving a McDonald’s delivery at the beginning of the presser, Trump invoked bellicose language in discussing Iran. “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, and we’re going to get the dust back. We’ll get it back, either we’ll get it back from them, or we’ll take it,” he said. At one point, when questioned about some sort of prior ultimatum regarding Iran, Trump said: “I don’t want to comment on that but it won’t be pleasant.”Talks are expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, will meet face-to-face in direct talks. Lebanese officials are looking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.There were reports indicating that US officials were continuing talks with Tehran. One official told CNN: “There is continued engagement between the US and Iran and forward motion on trying to get an agreement.” Meanwhile, some administration officials were having internal talks about how a second sit-down with Iranian officials might look, should the opportunity arise, CNN reported.Trump blasted Pope Leo XIV on social media in response to the pontiff’s call for an end to the war. The president claimed the pope was trying to appease the “radical left”. The pope said he had “no intention to debate” Trump over Iran but would continue to advocate for peace. US vice-president JD Vance urged the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality”. Continue reading...

Incident took place in small village on day pupils were due back in class for first time in more than 40 daysIsraeli forces have fired teargas at Palestinian schoolchildren who were staging a sit-in in the occupied West Bank after settlers blocked access to their school.The Israeli military said it had dispersed an “unusual gathering”, but did not specify whether its troops had fired teargas at the children on the first day of class since the start of the Iran war. Continue reading...

Experts say natural kratom may offer benefits and blame synthetic derivatives for surge in poisonings noted by CDCA recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report shows that kratom poisonings have soared in the US, but experts say this is probably due to synthetic derivatives like 7-OH, and that blanket kratom bans could harm people using natural kratom to aid pain management or addiction recovery.Walter Prozialeck, a pharmacology professor at Midwestern University, said he was unsurprised by the report, which found that kratom-related poisonings went up by about 1,200% over the last decade, with a marked surge in 2025. Continue reading...

• Anthropic postponed releasing Claude Mythos, an AI excelling at coding and vulnerability scanning, following high-level meetings with US financial regulators. • Mythos demonstrated ability to chain unknown security flaws in software at unprecedented speed, sparking 'agent-to-agent war' concerns in cyberspace. • Partners like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Cisco, CrowdStrike, and JPMorgan Chase received restricted previews under Project Glasswing.

Australian prime minister says it’s ‘disappointing’ that there was no resolution on freedom of movement during weekend’s talksFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese says peace negotiations to end the growing Middle East war should resume quickly, as Australia called for the full reopening of the strait of Hormuz and free navigation for all countries.Hours after the US president, Donald Trump, said he would institute an American blockade of the strategic waterway from Tuesday morning, Australian time, Albanese urged Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations in Pakistan. Continue reading...

PM tells Guardian Australia Hezbollah should cease reprisals and confirms Australia’s military surveillance aircraft will remain in regionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has urged Israel to stop its attacks on Lebanon and raised concern over its intensified military campaign on Beirut and the country’s south after the ceasefire in the Middle East.Albanese also called on Hezbollah to cease attacks on Israel, reiterating his government’s belief that the Middle East ceasefire must include Lebanon. The prime minister also confirmed Australia’s military surveillance aircraft would remain in the region for at least another month beyond its initial deployment. Continue reading...

Label tried to keep band members out of trouble during first tour, Nick Lachey says in Boy Band ConfidentialAs they embarked on their first tour and their record label tried to limit their potential for legal issues, members of the 1990s US boyband 98 Degrees were equipped with a handbook listing the age at which people across the nation can lawfully consent to sex , the group’s lead singer, Nick Lachey, reveals in a new documentary.“This is going to sound super shady, but … I remember our first tour, someone at the label gave us a book, and it was the age of consent in every state in the country,” Lachey says in Boy Band Confidential, which is premiering on Monday at 9pm ET on the cable network Investigation Discovery. “And like, we kept that book on the tour bus.” Continue reading...

Catherine King says while peace talks were ‘best chance’ at lowering fuel prices, further help may be included in budgetFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesTrack Australia’s fuel prices, service station outages and shipments in chartsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Albanese government is contemplating further relief for struggling households and businesses in next month’s federal budget, as peace talks continue between the US and Iran amid a fragile ceasefire.The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, said the success of those talks was the “best chance” at bringing down fuel prices. But she warned there would be a “long tail” from the crisis even if the strait of Hormuz – which was still being blocked by Iran and strangling global oil supplies – reopened imminently. Continue reading...

• University of Alabama announced Nick Saban's hiring as interim football program director, a newly created role overseeing recruitment and player development. • Saban, 74, brings his 17 years of Alabama head coaching experience and seven national championships to the athletic department position. • The move aims to stabilize the program following recent coaching changes and NCAA compliance investigations.

Having received assurances from Singapore over refined fuels, diesel supply will surely be next on the prime minister’s agendaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese isn’t coming back from Singapore with a shipload of diesel in his checked baggage. That doesn’t mean his whistle-stop visit wasn’t a success, or that it won’t be seen in future as a pivotal moment if fuel stocks continue to be choked by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.The government never expected that the quick whip to Singapore, with just one full day on the ground, would elicit a new supply of petrol or diesel. Singapore already supplies 55% of Australia’s unleaded, 22% of jet fuel and 15% of diesel. Continue reading...

• Iran has laid out preconditions for ceasefire negotiations with the United States, including a truce in Lebanon and the release of frozen Iranian assets before substantive talks can proceed. • The Iranian position reflects the broader regional conflict dynamics, with fighting extending beyond US-Iran direct confrontation to proxy conflicts in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern locations. • These conditions complicate already delicate negotiations in Pakistan, as the US and its allies assess whether such demands can be accommodated within broader regional security frameworks.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized direct negotiations with Lebanese representatives, marking a potential diplomatic breakthrough in the broader Middle Eastern conflict landscape alongside US-Iran ceasefire talks. • The parallel diplomatic tracks suggest efforts to compartmentalize various conflicts within the region and create opportunities for broader de-escalation beyond direct US-Iran confrontation. • These negotiations involve coordination with US authorities, reflecting Washington's strategic interest in achieving regional stability across multiple conflict zones simultaneously.

Adams was granted citizenship and a passport from Balkan country by a special decree from the republic’s presidentFormer New York City mayor Eric Adams has obtained citizenship and a passport from Albania, according to reports on Friday from the Balkan country which received effusive compliments from him during a visit months earlier.The Albania Daily News first reported that Adams had requested both and was granted them by a special decree from the republic’s president, Bajram Begaj. Euronews Albania also reported the same development, and it was evidently chronicled in the nation’s official government journal. Continue reading...

• JPMorgan Chase announced Thursday the acquisition of a fintech startup specializing in regional bank digitalization for $5.2 billion in cash, marking one of 2026's largest financial services M&A deals. • The acquisition will expand JPMorgan's capabilities in serving mid-sized regional banks, addressing a strategic gap as community lenders face increased competition from digital-native competitors. • JPMorgan executives stated the deal is expected to generate $200 million in annual cost synergies by 2028 and will close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

Amendment calling for step-incest to be included in ban on harmful content tabled by Conservative peer Gabby BertinThe government has agreed to ban the production of porngraphy depicting sex acts between stepfamily members following a vote in the House of Lords.An amendment calling for step-incest to be included in a ban on harmful content was tabled by Conservative peer Lady Gabby Bertin, who led a review into pornography regulation that was published last year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dozens of organizations write to Congress after general announced plan to ‘deal with’ those fleeing any humanitarian crisis on the islandDozens of US and international human rights organizations are decrying the Trump administration’s plans to establish a migrant “camp” for fleeing Cubans at the Guantánamo Bay military base if the island nation’s crisis worsens under pressure from the US, according to a letter to members of Congress on Friday.The 85 groups plan to submit the joint letter, exclusively shared with the Guardian, to US senators and House representatives, expressing their “profound concern” with comments made last month by a top Department of Defense commander, and describing any prospect of further migrant detention at the base as “deeply troubling and unacceptable”. Continue reading...

Designer said to be considering options for his 40% stake in fashion house ahead of negotiations with bank lendersStefano Gabbana left his post as chair of Dolce & Gabbana at the start of this year, the design house he co-founded with his then partner, Domenico Dolce, in 1985 has said.The Italian luxury fashion house said Gabbana had tendered his resignation, effective as of 1 January, “as part of a natural evolution of its organisational structure and governance”. Continue reading...

Australia and Singapore will ‘make maximum efforts to meet each other’s energy security needs’ in refined fuels and LNG, according to new agreementGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s largest petrol source has pledged not to cut supplies, with Singapore’s prime minister telling Anthony Albanese that fuel will keep flowing despite the international crisis.Albanese’s whistle-stop visit with his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, culminated in a new agreement that the two countries would keep sending one another fuel and liquefied natural gas, amid the “acute energy crisis” caused by the war in the Middle East. Australia and Singapore will also add a legally binding addendum to their free trade agreement on essential supplies like energy. Continue reading...