9 h. ago Indirect talks over Gaza ceasefire continue as Netanyahu arrives in Washington

Israeli minister says meeting with Trump will focus on ‘a new Middle East’ with 60-day pause discussed in DohaMiddle East crisis – live updatesIndirect talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza continued for a second day on Monday, hours before a meeting in Washington between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump.Avi Dichter, an Israeli minister and member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said he expected Trump’s meeting with the Israeli prime minister would go beyond Gaza to include the possibility of normalising ties with Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia – an ambitious project that is central to the US president’s policy in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago Super junior ministers ‘acting as a collective authority in Cabinet meetings’

The High Court is hearing a challenge by Sinn Fein TD Pa Daly.

Politics

4 d. ago Israel steps up deadly bombardment of Gaza before ceasefire talks

Officials say about 90 people killed since Wednesday night as Israeli security cabinet prepares for meetingIsrael has escalated its offensive in Gaza before imminent talks about a ceasefire, with warships and artillery launching one of the deadliest and most intense bombardments in the devastated Palestinian territory for many months.Medics and officials in Gaza reported that about 90 people were killed overnight and on Thursday, including many women and children. On Tuesday night and Wednesday the toll was higher, they said. Casualties included Marwan al-Sultan, a cardiologist and director of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, who died in an airstrike that also killed his wife and five children. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago French PM François Bayrou failed to act on abuse at Catholic boarding school, report says

Damning report by MPs comes after inquiry into allegations of decades of physical abuse, rape and sexual assault at Notre-Dame de Bétharram schoolThe French prime minister, François Bayrou, failed to act to prevent physical and sexual abuse at a private Catholic school in south-west France when he served as education minister between 1993 and 1997, a parliamentary report has said.The damning report issued by French lawmakers on Wednesday comes after a long parliamentary inquiry into allegations of decades of physical abuse, rape and sexual assault at the Notre-Dame de Bétharram boarding school near Pau in south-west France. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Heads of State review – John Cena and Idris Elba sell fun throwback Amazon comedy

US president and UK prime minister team up for a well-modulated mix of action and comedy that deserved a theatrical releaseRather than give the world an escape, Heads of State, Amazon’s throwback buddy comedy, thrums the tension in US foreign relations. Suicide Squad veterans Idris Elba and John Cena are redeployed in this gun show from Nobody director Ilya Naishuller, respectively, as the UK prime minister and US president at loggerheads. President Derringer, barely six months in office, resents the PM for not doing more to help him get elected. Prime Minister Clarke, a six-year incumbent mired in an approval ratings slump, has already dismissed the president – a swaggering former action hero – as a Schwarzenegger knockoff. After a joint press conference goes sideways and spoils the announcement of a Nato-supported energy initiative, the pair are forced on an Air Force One ride to help repair the PR damage – but it gets worse when the plane is shot down.As it turns out, the Nato en...

Politics

6 d. ago Keir Starmer hit by new major rebellion as 49 Labour MPs refuse to back his government's welfare cuts

Ministers had taken drastic action as furious MPs lined up in the Commons to attack the plan to make it harder to claim Personal Independence Payments (Pip) and health-related universal credit.

Politics

6 d. ago Foreign agents must register with UK authorities from TODAY or face jail but Labour is accused of 'kowtowing' to Beijing as China is spared from the toughest rules

The new Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) came into effect on Tuesday as ministers look to crack down on covert action by foreign governments.

Events

6 d. ago What time will the welfare vote be? Sir Keir Starmer faces opposition from Labour rebels

Sir Keir Starmer will meet with his Cabinet today ahead of a fresh debate about his controversial welfare reforms.

Politics

7 d. ago Palestine Action spraying paint is not terrorism. As ministers abuse their powers, I feel a duty to speak out | Juliet Stevenson

We have laws to deal with crimes linked to protest. What this is really about is a government complicit in the Gaza atrocities seeking to silence dissentJuliet Stevenson is an award-winning actorStrongly worded emails are not doing it. Appeals to MPs are not doing it. Taking to the streets in our hundreds of thousands with banners and placards is not working. Elected representatives from every party in parliament have stood in the Commons and asked the government to act. Some government ministers themselves have condemned Israel’s starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. Every poll of public opinion shows that the nation demands we stop arming Israel, and wants to see an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. But none of these things are working.Keir Starmer and his cabinet remain impervious to all calls for humanitarian intervention, and Israel is still killing children in Gaza with the support of the British government.Juliet Stevenson is an award-winning actor Continue read...

Politics

7 d. ago Lesotho activist arrested after video on unemployment rates angers prime minister

Tšolo Thakeli had long campaigned on youth joblessness, but a post questioning Sam Maketane’s promises on work creation landed him in prisonIt took a single video complaining about Lesotho’s unemployment rate to turn Tšolo Thakeli into the prime minister’s enemy. Within a day of posting there were armed police at his door.It was Father’s Day, and the 31-year-old father of two was in his pyjamas when they arrived. He had no idea his post would land him in trouble; after all, he had campaigned for a long time, under different governments, for action on jobs for young people. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Video of Labour's broken promises to nuke veterans gets 3 million views as pressure grows

Labour is under pressure to act on the Nuked Blood scandal after a video of ministers' broken promises was seen by 3 million people

Events

9 d. ago Starmer urged to act after Trump threatens Commonwealth ally Canada

Exclusive: Labour prime minister facing calls to act ahead of US President’s state visit to the UK, where he will meet King Charles

Politics

1 week ago Fears ‘deadly’ Scottish seagulls could kill someone after spate of attacks

Scottish ministers were accused of failing to act on soaring gull attacks as Tories call for national summit

Events

1 week ago Putin warns Keir Starmer 'I majored in law' as he claims UK has 'robbed' Russia

Russia President Vladimir Putin is seemingly playing a game of 'I'm a bigger lawyer than you' with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, despite not actually doing anything law-related for decades

Events

1 week ago Angela Rayner's civil servants launch 'work to rule' protest after being told they cannot WFH

Staff at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, will begin the industrial action next week.

Events

1 week ago Welsh councils told to only collect rubbish every three or four weeks

The Welsh Government has told local authorities a collection every three to four weeks is 'sufficient'

Politics

1 week ago UK should 'actively prepare' for WAR  on British soil amid Russia, Iran and North Korea threat, ministers are warned

In the national security strategy published today, ministers said the UK now finds itself in 'an era in which we face confrontation with those who are threatening our security'.

Events

1 week ago Now Starmer hails Trump's Iran bombing for 'alleviating threat' of regime getting nuclear weapon... after ministers spent days refusing to say it was the right thing to do

After days of ministers desperately dodging on whether they supported the action, Keir Starmer sounded a much more positive tone as he arrived at the Nato summit in The Hague.

Events

2 w. ago The Guardian view on Palestine Action: if red paint is terrorism, what isn’t? | Editorial

Labelling direct action as an act of terror criminalises dissent, chills speech and redefines nuisance as extremism under the banner of national securityThe UK government’s intention to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 marks a significant escalation in the treatment of civil disobedience. It elevates a group known for throwing red paint at buildings and military aircraft into the same legal category as al-Qaida and Islamic State. If there’s a serious threat from these activists, we’ve yet to see it – just a ministerial statement discussing civil disobedience in the language of counterinsurgency.If this is all that Palestine Action can be accused of, then the government is wrong. Ministers are setting a dangerous precedent by using terror laws to outlaw protest – and penalising protesters not for violence but for making a nuisance and vandalism. The cost will be felt in press freedom, political accountability and the right to resist. The home secretary’s statem...

Events

2 w. ago Armed forces minister claims it is ‘not for him to comment’ on US action in Iran

The armed forces minister refused to comment on whether Britain was pleased or disappointed about US military action in Iran

Politics