The Guardian

FTSE 250 firms Paragon and OSB Group, owner of Kent Reliance and Precise Mortgages, slide on London Stock Exchange Rachel Reeves considering rent freeze to limit Iran war fallout Business live – latest updates Shares in some of the UK’s biggest buy-to-let lenders such as Paragon and One Savings Bank have fallen after it emerged that the chancellor may make private landlords commit to a one-year r…

Vice-president faces challenges as he assumes potential role of point man in endeavor to end a war he opposed As a man who wears his Christian beliefs on his sleeve, JD Vance is no doubt acutely conscious of Jesus Christ’s dictum from his sermon on the mount declaring that “blessed are the peacemakers”. Yet the US vice-president, a Catholic convert who recently found himself at odds with Pope Leo…

Teacher at Marist College Ashgrove claims she suffered ‘serious psychiatric injury’ after the schoolyard incident Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A teacher at one of Brisbane’s top private boys’ schools has claimed she was subject to a “culture of misogyny” after being surrounded by hundreds of Catholic school students and pelted with food in an incident that left her…

Philip Barton says there was pressure over pace of vetting from No 10, which he says was ‘uninterested’ in process UK politics live – latest updates The former Foreign Office chief has said he was concerned about Peter Mandelson’s links to Jeffery Epstein – and said there was “absolutely” pressure from Downing Street over the pace of vetting. Giving evidence to the foreign affairs select committe…

Bank’s chief executive points to rising fraud as it sets aside a further £105m for motor finance compensation Business live – latest updates Barclays is pulling back from lending to risky borrowers, as its chief executive warned of increasing numbers of fraud cases and the bank took a £228m hit from the failure of a mortgage lender. The mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) collapsed i…

State visit of UK royals continues as monarch to tell US lawmakers that ‘our countries have always found ways to come together’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to our coverage of US news as the Trumps continue hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla during their state visit . As expected, the British royals have a packed itinerary of events this morning including been gree…

Defendant, 21, in court with second man over alleged scheme to kill music fans outside Vienna stadium The trial against a man accused of plotting to attack one of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna nearly two years ago began in Austria on Tuesday. The plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still canceled Swift’s three performances in August 2024. The singer’s fans were devastated, but rallied…

Audias Flores, known as ‘El Jardinero’, of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, captured in western state of Nayarit Mexican special forces have arrested one of the top commanders of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel in the western state of Nayarit. Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero”, is a regional commander in control of swathes of CJNG territory along Mexico’s Pacific coast. He was c…

Briefings obtained by freedom of information warned a ‘cascade of withdrawals’ could lead to collapse of 2026 South Australian festival Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Adelaide writers’ week was sacrificed to save the 2026 Adelaide festival, an event that ploughs more than $60m into South Australia’s economy each year, documents show. After the 8 January announcement …

Australia is dependent upon UK’s ability to deliver new submarines but report says ‘cracks are already beginning to show’ “Cracks are already beginning to show” in the UK’s funding for the Aukus agreement that could derail the ambitious nuclear submarine plan, a British parliamentary inquiry has found, highlighting a threat to Australia’s security. UK shipbuilding has been under-funded for decade…

France’s president, who is also co-prince of the micro-state, expected to speak frankly about issue in country with some of strictest abortion laws in Europe France’s president Emmanuel Macron is in Andorra, performing his duties as the state’s co-prince, alongside the Catholic Bishop of Urgell, Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat. That in itself could be at best a factoid for your next politics geek pu…

Education secretary says children will face restrictions and government will consider range of views on their form Children in the UK will face restrictions on their use of social media but the government remains open-minded about what form the limits will take, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has said. Phillipson told broadcasters on Tuesday she had concerns about the content that u…

Lauren Ashley Mastrosa given 18-month community corrections order after book was read by handful of advance readers The author behind an offensive novel depicting toddler role-play has been convicted but spared jail for penning child abuse material. Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, a 34-year-old former marketing executive for a Christian charity, wrote Daddy’s Little Toy under the pen name Tori Woods and …

Philip Barton gives evidence to foreign affairs committee, with Morgan McSweeney due later this morning, ahead of vote this afternoon Q: Where you ever asked your view about appointing Peter Mandelson? Barton says he was first told about this on 15 December 2024. In the end, this is an appointment to the most senior job in our foreign service. I was head of the diplomatic service. So I think it i…

Tehran’s UN envoy says ‘full respect’ of Iran’s rights also key for lasting regional stability US is being ‘humiliated’ by Iran’s leadership, says Friedrich Merz We are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Iran needs “credible guarantees” against more US-Israeli attacks before it can ensure security in the Gulf, Tehran’s envoy to the UN has said, while on a Russian visit Ir…