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Prime minister reveals defence spending plans and says UK must be fastest military innovator in NatoHere is the clip of Keir Starmer in his Today programme interview refusing to say when the government will raise defence spending to 3% of GDP.In an interview with the Times published on Saturday John Healey, the defence secretary, said that he had “no doubt” that Britain would reach...

Russian shelling and air attacks kill five near Zaporizhzhia before second round of peace talks in IstanbulWhen Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, he demanded that Ukraine renounce joining Nato, sharply cut its army, and “protect” Russian language and culture to keep the country in Moscow’s orbit.He since has also demanded that Kyiv withdraw its forces from the four...

Nawrocki’s victory over Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski is a blow to Donald Tusk’s pro-EU Polish governmentNawrocki wins presidential election runoff in blow to TuskAnalysis: Nawrocki win threatens Poland’s standing in EuropePresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said she expects “very good cooperation” to continue between the EU and Poland under the presidency of newly elected Karol Nawrocki.In a post on...

Beijing says it will safeguard its interests after Donald Trump claimed it had ‘totally violated’ agreementBusiness live – latest updatesChina has accused the US of “seriously violating” the fragile US-China detente that has been in place for less than a month since the two countries agreed to pause the trade war that risked upending the global economy.China and the US agreed on 12 May...

Victory of radical-right candidate could seriously destabilise the coalition government of pro-EU prime minister Donald TuskEurope live – latest updatesThe victory margin of the nationalist Karol Nawrocki in Poland’s presidential elections may have been wafer-thin, but it marks a huge upheaval in the country’s political landscape whose impact will be felt not just in Warsaw but across the EU.Backed by the previous ruling conservative...

Parts of eastern NSW recorded wettest May on record as rainfall in Victoria and South Australia was 70% below average for the monthGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia saw a tale of two weather extremes last month, with extremely dry conditions continuing across southern parts of the country as parts of eastern New South Wales recorded the wettest May...

WA senator says ‘what you can’t do from the crossbench is make change’ as Anthony Albanese says Cox approached the government about moveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGreens senator Dorinda Cox has defected to the Labor party, in a move which shocked colleagues and boosts Anthony Albanese’s numbers in federal parliament.The Western Australian senator appeared alongside the prime minister...

This blog is now closedGreens senator Dorinda Cox announces shock defection to Labor partyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIndependent senator calls on Labor to change timing of Help/Hecs indexationThe independent senator for Tasmania, Tammy Tyrrell, has urged Labor to change the timing of indexation on Help/Hecs debts after they rose by 3.2% on Sunday.Wiping 20% off every student debt...

PM says he will not indulge in ‘performative fantasy politics’ before launching strategic defence reviewUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has refused to give a date for the UK to spend at least 3% of GDP on defence, saying he would not indulge in “performative fantasy politics”, as he prepared to launch the government’s strategic defence review.Speaking at a defence facility in Scotland,...

Telecoms groups’ £16.5bn tie-up will create largest mobile network in UK with more than 27 million subscribersBusiness live – latest updatesVodafone has promised to invest more than £1bn in expanding its network coverage in the next year, as it sealed a £16.5bn merger with its former mobile rival Three UK.The new business, named VodafoneThree, will invest £11bn in its coverage over the next decade,...

Triple murder accused gives evidence as first defence witness in death cap mushroom poisoning case that left three dead after beef wellington lunchWho are Erin Patterson and the other key figures in Australia’s mushroom murders trial?Erin Patterson has described her religious conversion and a “never-ending battle” with low self-esteem and weight issues in emotional evidence to her own triple murder trial.Colin Mandy SC, Patterson’s...

Police alleged the man yelled ‘Free Palestine’ as he threw an incendiary device at people gathered to show support for Israeli hostages in GazaEight people were injured in an attack in Boulder, Colorado after a man is alleged to have thrown an incendiary device into a crowd and yelled “Free Palestine”, in what the FBI is treating as an “act of terrorism”.The 45-year-old man,...

Exclusive: Cost-saving for 2024-25 follows pledge by Wes Streeting to cut the amount going to agencies by 30%Spending on agency staff across the NHS in England dropped by almost £1bn in the last financial year, ministers have said, after a pledge by Wes Streeting to cut the amount going to agencies by 30%.According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the total spent...

This blog is now closedErin Patterson details ‘never-ending battle’ with low self-esteem and religious conversion in emotional testimony to murder trialThe jury is back in the courtroom in Morwell.Mandy concludes the defence’s cross-examination. Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan seeking ‘urgent review’ of decision to ban adverts from British Pregnancy Advisory ServiceThe mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has stepped in to reverse a ban on adverts on the London transport network calling for abortion to be decriminalised.It is understood that the mayor is seeking an “urgent review” of a Transport for London (TfL) decision to ban the adverts from the British...

The right-wing candidate narrowly beat liberal Rafał Trzaskowski, official results showedRight-wing opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki narrowly won Poland’s second round presidential election, official results showed, dealing a huge blow to prime minister Donald Tusk’s reform agenda.Nawrocki won Sunday’s election with 50.89% of votes, the electoral commission said early on Monday on its website, ahead of his rival, Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal Warsaw mayor and...

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest report on Poland’s presidential election hereAny moment now…Are you ready? Continue reading...

On visit to Morocco, David Lammy commends Rabat’s plan for limited self-rule in disputed territoryThe UK has thrown its weight behind Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara, marking a shift in Britain’s position on one of Africa’s longest-running territorial disputes.Speaking during a visit to Rabat on Sunday, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, said Britain considered Morocco’s 2007 autonomy proposal “the most credible, viable and...

Officials say about 100 people, many high school students, were present when one or more people began firingAt least 80 shots were fired in a North Carolina neighborhood, killing one person and injuring 11 others, authorities said Sunday.The shooting early Sunday took place in Hickory, the Catawba county sheriff’s office said. No arrests have been made, but authorities said there was more than one...

Move that seeks political control of doctors’ and scientists’ published research fits a pattern of censorship by the Trump administration, veterans advocates saySenior officials at the US Department of Veterans Affairs have ordered that VA physicians and scientists not publish in medical journals or speak with the public without first seeking clearance from political appointees of Donald Trump, the Guardian has learned.The edict, laid...

President of sheriffs’ association says ‘noncompliant’ list ‘violated the core principles of trust’ with law enforcementThe US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removed a list of “sanctuary” states, cities and counties from its website following sharp criticism from a sheriffs’ association that said a list of “noncompliant” sheriffs could severely damage the relationship between the Trump administration and law enforcement.DHS on Thursday published a...

Most evacuated residents are from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last weekMore than 25,000 residents in three provinces have been evacuated as dozens of wildfires remain active and affect air quality in parts of Canada and the US, according to officials.Most of the evacuated residents were from Manitoba, which declared a state of emergency last week. About 17,000 people there were evacuated...

Amid bipartisan opposition, director of management and budget office says Trump prefers to use ‘executive tools’Russell Vought, the director of the office of management and budget (OMB), on Sunday cast doubt on the constitutional obligation of the White House to ask Congress to sign off on Donald Trump’s massive cuts to the federal workforce spearheaded by Elon Musk.Vought indicated the White House preferred to...

Witnesses say Israeli forces opened fire on people near distribution point run by Israel-backed foundationMore than 30 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on Sunday as they went to receive food at an aid distribution point set up by an Israeli-backed foundation in Gaza, according to witnesses, and a hospital run by the Red Cross confirming it was treating many wounded.Witnesses said Israeli forces...

John Miller and Chinese national Cui Guanghai are facing extradition in connection with an FBI investigationA British businessman has been indicted in the US with attempting to traffic sensitive American military technology to China and silence a critic of the Chinese president.John Miller, 63, was named by US authorities at the weekend after his arrest in Serbia, where he is facing extradition in connection...

Israeli forces opened fire on people heading towards aid distribution site run by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, say witnessesThe Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a newly created private logistics group backed by the US and endorsed by Israel, has given a response to reports that dozens of Palestinian people were killed when Israeli tanks opened fire near one of its aid distribution sites in Gaza earlier...

Hamdi al-Najjar, 40, was critically injured when Israeli forces bombed the family house in Khan YounisMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesA Palestinian father who had lost nine of his 10 children in an Israeli airstrike has died from wounds sustained in the same attack, local health officials have said.Hamdi al-Najjar, 40, a doctor at Nasser hospital, was critically injured when Israeli forces bombed...

Artists and legal experts are outraged over MC Poze do Rodo’s detention over supposed non-violent offencesThe arrest of a well-known Brazilian funk singer on charges of allegedly inciting crime in his lyrics and an alleged connection to a major criminal gang has sparked outrage among artists, intellectuals and legal experts.MC Poze do Rodo, 26, who has 5.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, was arrested...

France lobbies western nations as it prepares to co-host two-state solution summit with Saudi ArabiaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia is under pressure to join an international push to recognise Palestinian statehood as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, rallies global support for a new Middle East peace pact.France has been lobbying western nations – including Australia and the UK...

Prime minister also reaffirms policy on Taiwan while hitting back at Donald Trump’s doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminium importsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has responded to the United States’ calls for a huge rise in defence spending amid fears about China, while hitting back at Donald Trump’s move to double tariffs on steel and aluminium.On...

MoD document expected to highlight dangers posed by Russia and China, and shortfall in UK troop numbersBritain is facing “a new era of threat” with drones, artificial intelligence and other technologies changing the nature of warfare more fundamentally than at any other point in history, the government’s strategic defence review is expected to conclude on Monday.The 130-page document written by three advisers to the...

Threat by Israel Katz comes as UN warns that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of famineGaza is hungriest place on Earth, warns UNThe commander of Kurdish forces that control north-east Syria said on Friday that his group is in direct contact with Turkey and that he would be open to improving ties, including by meeting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reports...

Another child in critical condition after suffering serious injuries in south Gloucestershire crash involving a BMWTwo adults and a teenager have died, while a second child suffered serious injuries, in a car crash on the M5 in south Gloucestershire.A white BMW crashed at about 9pm on Friday when it left the northbound carriageway between junction 14 and Michaelwood services, Avon and Somerset police said....

Once rivalling film premieres for theatrics, could Smyths’ revival of the midnight launch tap into a desire for shared real-world experience?There was a time when certain shops would resemble nightclubs at about midnight: a long queue of excitable people, some of them perhaps too young to be out that late, discussing the excitement that awaits inside.The sight of throngs of gamers looking to get...

Biometrics app not ready, meaning travellers through Port of Dover will have to exit vehicles to have identity verifiedBritish citizens who travel frequently to the EU face having their fingerprints individually checked each time they cross the border into the Schengen area because of delays in developing an app to verify biometrics digitally, it has emerged.It will be “business as usual” this summer but...

The man ‘pushed and pulled’ the ancient clay warriors and damaged them to varying degrees, said authoritiesA domestic tourist climbed over a fence and jumped into a section of the world-famous display of China’s terracotta army, damaging two ancient clay warriors, authorities said on Saturday.The 30-year-old was visiting the museum housing the terracotta army in the city of Xi’an on Friday when he “climbed...

Exclusive: Ex-minister to call for wealth tax, and Andy Burnham to demand focus on housing and educationNext month’s spending review must be an “economic reset” based on a bold wealth tax and higher public investment, the former cabinet minister Louise Haigh will argue, as Keir Starmer faces renewed pressure from within Labour to change course.Haigh’s comments come as Andy Burnham called for Labour to...

Dissatisfaction among MPs has created a febrile mood, with ambitious cabinet ministers assessing their optionsA lesson in comms for any prime minister: when asked whether you will serve another term, try to express some enthusiasm at the prospect.When at the end of his first term, David Cameron breezily told a reporter he would not serve a third, he inadvertently fired the starting gun for...

Médecins Sans Frontières report sparks calls for Sudan’s warring parties to be held to account for rapes and attacks As Sudan’s Darfur region has been overrun by militias, women are facing the constant threat of sexual violence, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported.The medical charity said in the South Darfur region alone its workers treated 659 sexual violence survivors between January and March this...

Time and time again over the past four months, reality has failed to match Trump’s rhetoric“Tariffs are easy,” Donald Trump claimed in March. For his administration, and the world, they have proven anything but. Now an obscure New York court has blocked his signature trade policy, setting up a battle that looks sure to end up in the supreme court.The plan was simple. For...

California parole board says 77-year-old – the state’s longest-serving female inmate – poses little risk of reoffendingA California prisons panel has recommended that Patricia Krenwinkel, serving a life sentence for her role in the 1969 Los Angeles killing spree by followers of cult leader Charles Manson, be released on parole.The state Board of Parole Hearings found that Krenwinkel, 77 – the longest-serving female inmate...

Austria and Slovenia are exceptions in continent where just a third of militaries even know their carbon footprintRevealed: Nato rearmament could increase emissions by 200m tonnes a yearCarbon footprint of Israel’s war on Gaza exceeds that of many entire countriesJust two of 30 European countries have set a date to stop their militaries from emitting planet-heating emissions, a Guardian analysis has found, raising concerns...

Exclusive: British officials hope to have deals covering cars, metals and aeroplane parts within weeksBritish officials are forging ahead in their trade talks with the US despite a recent court decision overturning many of Donald Trump’s tariffs, and hope to have a deals covering cars, metals and aeroplane parts in place within weeks.A team of British negotiators spent much of last week in Washington...

Polls show close-run contest after first round in which one rural municipality was decided by a single voterPoles will cast their votes on Sunday in the closest presidential runoff since the fall of communism, in an election that pits two different visions of the nation against each other. In Poland’s previous election in 2020, the conservative populist incumbent Andrzej Duda narrowly won the second-round...

Examples from six countries include segregated housing for Roma and holding centres for asylum seekersHundreds of millions in European Union funds have been used in projects that violate the rights of marginalised communities, a report alleges, citing initiatives such as segregated housing for Roma, residential institutions for children with disabilities and holding centres for asylum seekers.The report, based on information compiled by eight NGOs...

Not all is going smoothly after Friedrich Merz’s promise to build up German army and ‘no limits’ on helping UkraineWithin days of Russia launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Olaf Scholz announced a Zeitenwende, or historical “turning point”. The then German chancellor promised a security transformation by increasing defence spending, sending more aid to Ukraine, taking a tougher approach to authoritarian states...

Speaking at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, the US defence secretary outlined a range of new joint projects in the regionThe US secretary of defence has called on Asian countries to boost their military spending to increase regional deterrence against China, which was “rehearsing for the real deal” when it comes to taking over Taiwan.Pete Hegseth, addressing the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday,...

Don Farrell says US president’s latest tariffs announcement ‘an act of economic self-harm’ and he will continue to advocate for their removalGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, has described Donald Trump’s trade tariffs as “unjustified and not the act of a friend”, after the US president announced he would double import duties on steel and...

President tells Pennsylvania rally tariffs will aid workers but questions raised over nature of Nippon Steel investmentDonald Trump announced on Friday he was doubling foreign tariffs on steel imports to 50%, as the president celebrated a “blockbuster” agreement for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in US Steel during a rally in Pennsylvania.Surrounded by men in orange hardhats at a US Steel plant in West...

This liveblog is now closed.The Republican nominee for governor of Virginia has recently tried to distance herself from her longstanding, hardline anti-abortion record, declining recently to state whether she would support any restrictions on abortion access if she is elected to lead the state this fall. But her record reveals a candidate staunchly opposed to the procedure.Winsome Earle-Sears, now the state’s lieutenant governor, supported...