Pakistan acting as backchannel as US and Iran inch towards deal, experts say

• The Trump administration has announced 'Operation Economic Fury,' implementing a comprehensive blockade against Iran as part of an expanded sanctions campaign. • The initiative represents a significant escalation in economic pressure against Iran, marking a shift in US foreign policy toward more aggressive measures. • This action comes amid broader geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and follows months of diplomatic tension between the US and Iran.

Watchdog says legal challenges from Consumer Voice and three lenders ‘create fresh uncertainty for millions of consumers’Business live – latest updatesThe UK financial watchdog is facing four legal challenges against its £9.1bn compensation scheme for victims of the motor finance scandal.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it will defend the scheme “robustly” as the “fastest, simplest route for consumers and the most efficient way for firms to put things right”. Continue reading...

Judge tells 70-year-old Nancy Pexton she showed no remorse for the ferocious attack on Jennifer AbbottA woman who murdered her sister in her London flat and stole her Rolex watch has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years.Nancy Pexton stabbed Jennifer Abbott 10 times and left her body for three days in the property in Camden, a court heard. Continue reading...

Agreements with artificial intelligence firms spark concerns over public spending, cyber security and domestic surveillanceSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Pentagon said on Friday it had reached agreements with seven leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies: SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.“These agreements accelerate the transformation toward establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters’ ability to maintain decision superiority across all domains of warfare,” the Pentagon said in statement. Continue reading...

Essa Suleiman is accused of stabbing two Jewish men in Golders Green and attacking another over personal dispute in south LondonA man has appeared in court charged with the attempted murders of three people during two knife attacks in London.Essa Suleiman, 45, is accused of stabbing two Jewish men in Golders Green on Wednesday, having already attacked another man over a personal dispute in south London. Continue reading...

Walkouts, marches and other gatherings planned for ‘May Day Strong’ demonstrations across the countryThousands are set to join an economic blackout for International Workers’ Day on Friday, as part of 3,500 “May Day Strong” events across the country. Organizers are calling for “no school, no work, no shopping” with walkouts, marches, block parties and other gatherings planned into the evening.May Day has long been an annual day of protest for the labor movement, and this year, many active movements are converging to fight for “a nation that puts workers over billionaires”. Demanding no ICE, no war, and taxing the rich, the May Day Strong coalition includes labor unions, immigrants rights groups, political organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America, and the organizers behind the No Kings protests. Friday’s economic disruption builds on a similar coordinated effort out of Minnesota in January, when tens of thousands of Twin Cities residents took off from school and work to flood the streets in protest of federal immigration agents storming the city. Continue reading...

The US president has criticised Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and raised the prospect of pulling US troops from Italy and Spain. Plus, 10 big lessons on ending the fossil fuel eraGood morning.Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw US troops from Italy and Spain a day after he saying was looking at curtailing the number deployed in Germany.What has Congress been saying about the war? A senior Democrat in the Senate grilled the US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday, accusing him of failing to give 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.What’s the latest on the suspect? The man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump agreed on Thursday to remain in custody while his federal criminal case moves forward. Continue reading...

Gaston Browne is on course to win 15 of the 17 seats in parliament after calling snap electionGaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, is set to win a fourth term in the country’s snap general election with preliminary results showing his party on course to win 15 of the 17 seats in parliament.Addressing supporters early on Friday morning, Browne said: “You have spoken, you have spoken clearly. You have indicated that the Antigua and Barbuda Labour party (ABLP) is the best institution to run this country.” Continue reading...

Philip Young changes all pleas to guilty after initially denying charges of making indecent images of childrenA former Conservative councillor who admitted nearly 50 offences of drugging, raping and sexually assaulting his former wife has pleaded guilty to additional offences of making indecent images of children.Philip Young, 49, pleaded guilty in January at Winchester crown court to 11 counts of rape and 11 counts of administering a substance with intent to stupefy his former wife Joanne Young, 48, who has waived her right to anonymity. Continue reading...

New law proposes up to 20 years in prison for promoting ‘foreign interests’, and restricts those who work with or are funded by overseas partnersUgandan opposition figures, human rights organisations and legal experts have condemned a sweeping bill that proposes up to 20 years in prison for promoting “foreign interests”, and imposes restrictions on a broad range of people and organisations that work with or receive funding from overseas partners.The protection of sovereignty bill 2026 is being fast tracked through parliament, with debate expected to conclude before the presidential swearing-in on 12 May. Continue reading...

Claire Freemantle accused of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving when 4x4 hit school in LondonThe driver of a 4×4 that crashed into a south-east London primary school has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after two eight-year-old girls were killed.Claire Freemantle, 49, is accused of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following the incident at The Study Prep school in Wimbledon in July 2023. Continue reading...

Anthony Odiong is accused of sexually abusing three spiritually vulnerable female congregants in WacoPlans are under way for the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans to remove a priest’s name from a chapel he helped build outside the city as a criminal trial looms in Texas for the clergyman on criminal charges that he sexually abused three spiritually vulnerable female congregants there, the Guardian has learned.Anthony Odiong had reportedly raised $600,000 to build and then open Our Lady of Guadalupe Healing Chapel in Luling, Louisiana, in 2020, while he was the pastor at an adjacent church, years before authorities criminally charged him in Texas, where he had also previously ministered. His name has since appeared on various inscriptions outside the chapel and on the structure itself even as the criminal case against him has progressed toward trial. Continue reading...