Normal

• Energy markets reacted sharply to escalating tensions in the Middle East, with Brent crude rising to approximately $97 per barrel and U.S. oil trading between $94 and $95. • The price surge, representing a jump of more than 4.5%, indicates that traders are rapidly reintroducing a geopolitical risk premium into oil valuations. • This volatility reflects a "new normal" where Iran employs a stop-start strategy, transforming intermittent security risks into a structural feature of global markets.

The pop singer said that suggestions that a recent outfit was ‘childlike’ were rooted in sexist attitudes toward womenOlivia Rodrigo has responded to controversy over a recent babydoll dress she wore while performing on stage in Spain.The singer faced backlash online after she wore a short puffy dress with a floral pattern while performing her recent single Drop Dead at Barcelona’s Teatre Grec on 8 May. She also wears a similar style dress on the cover of her upcoming album. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: As heatwaves intensify, ​B​ritain must confront the limits of a society built for cool​er weather, forcing policymakers, communities and households to rethink how ​w​e live, work and stay coolThe UK swelters once again. On Tuesday, temperatures surged to 35C, condemning millions of people to another sticky night in homes ill-prepared for such warm conditions.The heat is record-breaking: we are still in spring, yet temperatures are close to extremes we once never expected even in high summer. Yorkshire experienced its first ever “tropical night” in spring on Monday, when the evening temperature failed to fall below 20C. Health alerts remain in effect across large parts of the country due to the increased likelihood of deaths, particularly among vulnerable and elderly people. Yet, experts warn, this may just be the road to a new normal.UK politics | Tony Blair has accused Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting of putting Labour’s future at risk by abandoning the centre ground, warning that the party’s “almost infinite capacity for self-delusion” means it is likely to lose the next election.UK news | One out of every five people arrested after their participation in the 2024 summer riots has since been reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose.Middle East | The continuing US-Israel war on Iran has compounded other global disasters to drive record numbers of people into hunger at a time when funding to combat famine has fallen dramatically, the head of the UN World Food Programme has said.UK news | The court of appeal will review the non-custodial sentences given to three teenage boys for the rape of two girls, Keir Starmer has announced.US politics | Alabama cannot use a new Republican-friendly map in this year’s midterm elections because it intentionally discriminates against Black voters, a panel of three federal judges have ruled. 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...

• Eurozone inflation has climbed to 3% year-on-year as of May 21, 2026, driven primarily by rising energy costs. • The economic surge is being hindered by an ongoing conflict with Iran, which caused confidence indicators and the composite PMI to drop below the expansion threshold in April. • This spike in inflation is significant as it threatens a fragile economic recovery and may take up to a full year to stabilize.

Figures disclosed by nursing union show big rise on reported incidents which may only be ‘tip of the iceberg’Racist abuse of NHS nurses has jumped by 86% in the last few years, which their union’s boss has blamed on the normalisation of extreme views in politics and the media.One nurse was called a monkey by a colleague, a patient threw a hot drink at a nurse and followed up with racial abuse, and in several cases others were called the N-word, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) disclosed. Continue reading...

From economic woes to concerns that war could break out again at any moment, underlying worries run deepIn the weeks since the fragile ceasefire with the US and Israel took hold, life in Tehran has – on the surface at least – largely returned to something like pre-war normality. Many security checkpoints have been taken down, coffee shops are bustling, parks are full of people gathering for picnics, musicians are playing again in the streets, highways are jammed with traffic and the metro - free to use since the war - runs packed.But underlying worries run deep, and many Iranians fear the war could return at any moment. The uncertainty was underlined on Monday when the US and Iran launched fresh attacks in the Gulf as the two sides continue to blockade of the strait of Hormuz. The war’s economic toll has been severe too. Many people have lost their jobs and inflation is surging. The International Monetary Fund estimates it could reach 70% this year. Continue reading...