The Guardian

SNP leader hails prospect of success for parties in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that want to break up union The UK is facing an “absolutely seismic moment”, John Swinney has said, with the prospect of the election of first ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in May who are all committed to the break-up of the union. Speaking at the Scottish National party’s campaign confere…

Exclusive: Senior party figures conclude outsiders or existing senior staff deemed more suitable should take over from current permanent secretaries A Reform UK government would expect to dismiss the top civil servant in every government department and replace them with people seen as more likely to implement the party’s priorities, the Guardian has learned. Senior Reform figures have concluded t…

Royal couple criticise Tom Bower’s ‘fixation’ on them and describe released extracts as ‘conspiracy and melodrama’ The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have launched a scathing attack on a “deranged” author whose new book claims Queen Camilla once told a friend: “Meghan’s brainwashed ‌Harry.” The royal couple hit out at Tom Bower, the author of Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of th…

Joshua Nass, of alleged $600,000 extortion plot, played role in pardon of man convicted of failing to pay $40m in taxes A New York lobbyist and attorney connected to a presidential pardon issued by Donald Trump in November has been charged with attempting to extort a former client and the client’s son over an alleged $500,000 debt. Joshua Nass, 34, was arrested on Friday after being charged in fe…

Rare action began peacefully but ‘degenerated into vandalism’ according to state-run newspaper Five people have been arrested in Cuba for acts of “vandalism” after a small group of protesters broke into a provincial office of the Cuban Communist party and set fire to computers and furniture. The incident, which also affected a pharmacy and another shop, took place in the town of Moron, a little m…

Habermas’ political consensus-building theory argued formation of public opinion vital for democracies to survive The influential German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas has died at the age of 96, his publisher has said. Habermas, a towering figure in the intellectual history of postwar Germany, is best known for his theory of political consensus-building. Widely considered one of most…

US president urges nations to deploy vessels to keep key oil shipping route open amid conflict with Iran Donald Trump has said the UK should send warships to help keep the strait of Hormuz open. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, the US president urged the UK and other countries to deploy vessels to the strait amid the conflict with Iran. Continue reading...

The war is deeply unpopular, and the spike in oil prices will mean long-term high prices across the board for Americans Donald Trump is still high on the capture of Nicolás Maduro . The easy abduction of the Venezuelan president didn’t just grant Trump control of the nation’s oil and critical minerals resources. It allowed him to throttle the government of Cuba by denying it access to energy, rai…

A Chevron station just outside downtown charges more than $8 a gallon – nearly $3 more than the city’s average It’s tempting to think that a gas station charging more than $8 a gallon is a glamorous Los Angeles curiosity. Sort of like shopping at Erewhon, the healthy grocery chain that wows with a premium experience – and commands up to $22 a smoothie. But there’s no glamour at the 901 N Alameda …

Defense secretary appeared to endorse killing prisoners, a violation of international law, during press briefing A top Democratic lawmaker with a military background has reacted strongly to US defense secretary Pete Hegseth ’s call for “no quarter” for US enemies during a Friday press briefing at the Pentagon, calling such an order – if followed by troops – a potential violation of international …

The facility was attacked on Friday night, bringing the toll of medical staff to 31 killed in past 12 days Israel killed 12 medical workers in a strike on a medical centre in south Lebanon on Friday night, bringing the toll of healthcare staff killed in the country by Israel to 31 over the past 12 days. A primary healthcare facility in the town of Burj Qalaouiyah was struck by Israeli rockets lat…

Motaz Malhees is an actor in The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film about a Palestinian girl killed by the IDF in Gaza in 2024 Palestinian actor Motaz Malhees said a travel ban imposed by Donald Trump is preventing him from attending Sunday’s Academy Awards , whose nominees include a movie in which he has a starring role. The Voice of Hind Rajab , a film about a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by …

EU citizens with post-Brexit settlement status in UK will not have to present British passport to airlines British dual nationals who are EU citizens with post-Brexit settlement status in the UK will not have to use a British passport to return to the UK, the Home Office has said in a significant U-turn on its controversial dual national border rules. The change, which critics say was “hidden awa…

Closure of strait of Hormuz puts pressure on region’s economies amid growing resentment about conflict started by US and Israel Middle East crisis – live updates An eerie quiet hangs over Ras Al Khaimah’s industrial port. Usually a thriving maritime hub of the United Arab Emirates, now ships stand docked and silent. Not far out along the hazy horizon, a backlog of hundreds of tankers have lined u…

Greenhouse gases dropped just 0.1% last year as environment minister criticises lack of improvement Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025. Emissions decreased by just 0.1% last year compared to the previous year, according to data from the German Environment Agency. Continue reading...