Likely

• Sen. Brian Schatz, positioned to become the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, warned President Donald Trump that a Democratic majority this fall would lead to a significant ideological fight. • Schatz attributed current political shifts to voter frustration over the high cost of living and the age of the presidency, emphasizing the need to regain trust among working-class voters. • He argued that sweeping election-year agendas are often overrated, suggesting the party should instead focus on disciplined messaging regarding healthcare and cost reductions.

• A Uttar Pradesh minister has claimed that several MPs and MLAs from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress are in contact with the ruling party, suggesting potential defections. • The Samajwadi Party has denied these claims, asserting that their house is in order and all their lawmakers are fully accounted for. • These developments follow recent political shifts involving the TMC and Shiv Sena, raising the possibility of the BJP-led NDA achieving a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Analysis says expansion could also harm access to housing, education, healthcare, open spaces and transportConstruction of a third runway at Heathrow is likely to have significant adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of up to 3 million people living nearby, an official report has said, as the government launched the next stage of its rapid airport expansion plan.An analysis for the Department for Transport has found that expanding London’s hub airport could have “major adverse” impacts on the health of the most local population. Continue reading...

Fathers particularly affected, with almost 15% reporting suicidal plans after relationship breakdowns, according to survey of 20,000 menGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMen who have recently gone through a breakup are seven times more likely to report a suicide attempt than those who haven’t, a new study showsThe Ten to Men project has followed more than 20,000 Australian men and identified the mental health risks in relationship breakdowns, which can include changes in their contact with their children, in their finances, and in their support network. Continue reading...

• Microsoft is reportedly considering the adoption of the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's latest model to reduce operational costs for its enterprise artificial intelligence services. • This potential move is expected to trigger a clash with the U.S. government due to ongoing national security concerns and trade restrictions regarding Chinese technology. • Separately, South Korean President Lee has urged Donald Trump to lead a peaceful resolution to the North Korean issue, to which Trump responded that he would make efforts.

Victoria and NSW police search seven properties as they examine where shooter travelled after killing two officers in PorepunkahTwo more men have been arrested as police continue their investigation into Porepunkah shooter Dezi Freeman’s months on the run after he killed two police officers.In a statement on Tuesday, police also revealed they believed Freeman travelled between Victoria and New South Wales in the seven months between the August 2025 shooting at Porepunkah and when he was found on a remote property in Thologolong, near Walwa on the Victoria-New South Wales border, on 30 March. Continue reading...

Brian Gu says he sees Chinese car firms competing on quality rather than launching price war as at homeMotorists in the UK and EU should not expect a sharp drop in the cost of electric vehicles despite increased competition among Chinese manufacturers, one of the country’s biggest electric carmakers has said.Brian Gu, the vice-chair of the manufacturer Xpeng, said that Chinese carmakers could compete on quality to win customers in the EU and UK, rather than unleashing a brutal price war as they have in China. Continue reading...

• South Korean defender Kim Taehyun (Kashiwa Reysol) has been sidelined due to a sudden ankle injury ahead of the national team's match against the Czech Republic. • Coach Hong Myung-bo may now start Lee Ki-hyuk (Kangwon FC), a surprise selection who had not been called up to the national team since the 2022 East Asian Cup. • Lee's inclusion is based on his standout domestic performances this season, offering a potential solution to the team's defensive crisis.

Meteroogists forecast it will rival – or exceed – record El Niño from 1997 and further heat globe El Niño, Nature’s chaotic climate agent, has formed in a warmed-up Pacific Ocean and is expected to grow to historic strength, meteorologists announced Thursday.Experts said the El Niño, a natural warming cycle, should further heat a globe already warming from fossil fuel pollution and will probably turbocharge extreme weather across the planet. Meteorologists forecast it will rival – or exceed – a record El Niño that began in 1997 and helped trigger billions of dollars in damage from heatwaves, floods, droughts, tornadoes and wildfires. Continue reading...

The UCL study also found physically punished children were more likely to struggle in schoolChildren smacked by their parents struggle to get good exam results and are more likely to bully others, causing a negative impact on society, according to new research calling for smacking to be banned.The study by University College London (UCL) found that children in England who were physically punished at the ages of three, five and seven were significantly less likely to pass GCSE exams compared with other children, even after factors such as family background were taken into account. Continue reading...

Amazon and Sony among firms that may have sourced coltan, used in phones, from supply chains controlled by the M23 rebels, says Global WitnessLeading global brands including Amazon, Ericsson and Sony are “likely” to have sourced minerals linked to a militia accused of widespread sexual violence, summary executions and torture, a new investigation claims.The companies allegedlybut unknowingly, acquired coltan smuggled from mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that are occupied by the M23 militia, which has committed myriad atrocities in eastern DRC. Continue reading...

• Indian stock indices, Sensex and Nifty, are expected to open lower due to rising crude oil prices triggered by escalating conflict in West Asia. • Market sentiment is further strained by persistent Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) outflows and growing concerns regarding U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions. • Regional risk aversion is evident as the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index fell 3.4%, with South Korea's KOSPI plunging 6.9% and Japan's Nikkei dropping 4.4%.

• The 2026 World Cup in North America will feature an expanded tournament format, creating numerous opportunities for players to break long-standing historical records. • Spain's 18-year-old star Lamine Yamal is highlighted as a primary contender to challenge the record for the youngest Golden Boot winner. • The current record was set 16 years ago by a Bayern Munich forward who won the Golden Boot and Best Young Player award at age 20.

The Hampshire force whose officers responded to the murder of Henry Nowak have a higher than average racial disparityThe police force accused of anti-white racism following the murder of Henry Nowak is over five times more likely to subject black people to a stop and search than white people, according to the latest figures.The racial disparity in the Hampshire force is higher than the average for England and Wales, and has gotten worse in recent years. Continue reading...

• Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip N. Jefferson said in a May 27 speech that recent U.S. growth has been solid, but he expects a more modest pace ahead. • Jefferson placed the U.S. economy in a global context, pointing to recent international developments while focusing his remarks on domestic conditions and the outlook for growth. • The comments matter because signals from senior Fed officials can influence expectations for interest rates, bond yields, and equity-market pricing.

Local authorities deem UK arrivals to be children more than twice as often as border forces, Home Office data showsYoung asylum seekers in the UK are more than twice as likely to be assessed as adults by immigration officers than by social workers, according to home office data.Between July 2025 and March 2026, 4,320 initial age decisions made by immigration officials found just 1,363 new arrivals (32%) to be children. Continue reading...

• The Sensex and Nifty are expected to experience volatility on May 27, 2026, driven by escalating tensions between the US and Iran. • Nifty has slipped below its 50-day EMA but continues to test the upper band of the 23,200-23,850 breakout zone. • Market activity shows selling pressure in Private Bank, Realty, and Consumer Durable indices, while Metal, FMCG, and Auto stocks saw selective buying.

Data shows even if Iran war ends, shop price inflation on rise, while only 16% of firms left unscathed by conflictHigher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt “for many months to come”.Disruption to global shipping, coupled with soaring prices for energy and raw materials, have driven up costs for UK companies, with the impact already filtering through to prices paid at the tills, according to fresh inflation figures. Continue reading...

Prewar US gas prices averaged about $3 a gallon nationally – kiss that number goodbye for 2026Sorry, US drivers, but don’t expect pump prices to return to prewar levels any time soon, even if the US and Iran agree to a lasting peace deal tomorrow.As the war with Iran enters its third month, drivers have become infuriated by rising gas prices – and inflation – and Donald Trump is facing a historic backlash in the polls. The president promised recently that relief will be swift once the war ends. “I see it going down very substantially when this is over, I think very rapidly too, at levels that you’ve never seen,” he said. Continue reading...

Over 15 months, the ex-Democrat with no notable relevant background took actions seemingly meant to flatter TrumpTulsi Gabbard’s tumultuous 15-month tenure as the US’s top intelligence official ended Friday, when Gabbard submitted her resignation as director of national intelligence.Gabbard was an unconventional choice for the role, given she was a former Democrat with no notable intelligence background. Her political views, particularly on foreign intervention, have at times diverged from Donald Trump’s. But she also undertook norm-breaking actions as the country’s top intelligence chief that appeared designed to flatter Trump and his agenda of election denial. Continue reading...

Populist former president’s falling-out with the Tehran regime allegedly drew him into a takeover plotUS and Israel hoped to install Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leaderFor all their outward differences, there always seemed to be things that linked Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Donald Trump.A visit to the then Iranian president’s rather humble Tehran neighbourhood nearly 20 years ago highlighted cost of living problems that prefigured those facing Trump now. Continue reading...

Government announces a near tenfold increase but forces fear it will not cover anticipated cost of dedicated teamsKeir Starmer’s government has announced a near tenfold increase in funding for detectives hunting grooming gangs but has been warned by police that the amount will “likely fall short” of what is needed.Operation Beaconport, which was set up last year to review closed group-based sexual exploitation inquiries in England and Wales, will receive nearly £38m, a Home Office statement said – up from £4m given last year. Continue reading...

YouGov polling reveals support for prospective challenger, with members believing Starmer could not secure another victory Unemployment in the UK has unexpectedly risen to 5% while wage growth has slowed, according to official figures, in the first snapshot of how companies are reacting to the impact of the Iran war, Tom Knowles reports.Good morning. A week ago, at cabinet, Keir Starmer delivered a “put up or shut up” message to his critics. Wes Streeting, his leading opponent, decided to do neither – declining to launch a leadership bid, but going public with his lack of confidence in the PM and resigning. And then Andy Burnham found a potential seat, meaning that, if Burnham can win the byelection, a leadership challenge has not been averted, just postponed.Labour members would rather have Burnham than Starmer as leader. Here are the figures when members were asked to rank eight possible candidates. Continue reading...

Former David Cameron adviser says a vote for him will make California ‘Califordable’ – not everyone is convinced He “knows how to wind people up like Trump”, according to friends, and made his name in the UK with zany policy ideas including making the country sunnier using state-owned cloud busters.Now the controversial strategist Steve Hilton, named the “pint-sized Rasputin” of Conservative politics, has become an unlikely frontrunner in the primary race for California governor. Continue reading...

Polls suggest Reform could win most seats in Senedd election but party is unlikely to be able to form governmentUK politics live – latest updatesOn a sunny but cold evening in a shopping centre car park on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil, Reform UK supporters enjoyed free pizza and loud music as they waited for what the party leader, Nigel Farage, said was his last big speech before Thursday’s Welsh Senedd, Scottish parliament and English local elections.Reform could win the most seats under Wales’s new more proportional voting system but it is unlikely to be able to form a government, as other parties have ruled out going into coalition with it. Yet Farage’s outfit is the first rightwing party with a shot at winning in Wales since the 1850s. The surge in support for a party that got 1% of the vote in the last Senedd election is impossible to ignore. Continue reading...

In-depth study also reveals patients from black African and Caribbean backgrounds are less likely to receive timely carePeople from black backgrounds in England are twice as likely to experience strokes as their white counterparts, while also being less likely to receive timely care, according to the largest study of its kind.The study, conducted by researchers at King’s College London and presented at the European Stroke Organisation conference, analysed 30 years of stroke incidents from the South London Stroke Register, one of the longest-running population-based stroke registers in the world. Continue reading...

Treasurer tells Commonwealth Bank podcast that he aims to ‘recognise the decisions that people have taken in the past’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastExisting property investors look set to avoid paying more tax under Labor’s mooted changes to CGT in next month’s budget, after Jim Chalmers said he wanted to “make sure that we recognise the decisions that people have taken in the past” and flagged any reforms would not generate “a huge amount of revenue”.The treasurer is widely expected to modify the flat 50% tax discount on profits from the sale of assets held for more than one year, potentially returning to the pre-1999 model where capital gains are adjusted for inflation. Continue reading...

Matthew Pennycook says ending system must be done slowly to avoid hitting housing supply and legal pitfallsA ban on new leasehold properties in England and Wales is unlikely to come into force until after the next election, the housing minister has said, as he defended the government’s piecemeal attempts to dismantle the system.The long-promised end would take years to “switch on”, Matthew Pennycook said, even though the ban of leaseholds on new houses was passed in 2024 and the government intends to pass one on new flats soon. Continue reading...