The Guardian

Health secretary poised to make leadership bid after May local elections to pre-empt a potential challenge from rival Rayner, MPs close to him say Allies of Wes Streeting expect him to try to depose Keir Starmer within weeks, despite the health secretary insisting he backs the prime minister and is not intending to move against him, the Guardian has been told. Starmer attempted to regain authorit…

Another night of demonstrations in Sydney after criticism of police actions at Monday’s protest. Follow updates live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast In his opening statement, Burgess cautioned those judging the agency’s actions in retrospect with the benefit of hindsight. Naveed first came under Asio’s purview in August 2019 after suspected links to possible Islamic e…

Labour peer Matthew Doyle has apologised for links to Sean Morton who was convicted of possession of indecent images of children Keir Starmer’s longstanding communications chief has been suspended from the Labour whip in his new role in the Lords after it emerged that he had campaigned on behalf of a friend who had been charged with possessing indecent images of children. Matthew Doyle, who stepp…

Downing Street initially feared Scottish Labour leader’s move was part of a wider leadership challenge Downing Street is increasingly confident that Anas Sarwar’s call for Keir Starmer to stand down was not part of a coordinated plot by a leadership rival to bring down the prime minister, the Guardian understands. The Scottish Labour leader spoke to several cabinet ministers including Wes Streeti…

When piloted, initiative that provided €325 a week to eligible artists recouped more than its net cost, study shows Ireland is creating a scheme that will give artists a weekly income in the hope of reducing their need for alternative work and boosting their creativity. The Basic Income for the Arts (BIA) initiative will provide €325 (£283) a week to 2,000 eligible artists based in the Republic o…

Tehran’s intervention comes as the Israeli prime minister heads to a hastily arranged White House encounter Tehran has told the US not to allow Israel to destroy the chance of reaching an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme amid speculation that Benjamin Netanyahu intends to use a hastily arranged White House meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday to divert negotiations. Iran’s intervention c…

Teenagers routinely see content promoting weight-loss drugs, steroids and skin-whitening creams, research finds Children are being “bombarded” with harmful products online, including weight-loss drugs, steroids and skin-whitening chemicals, a study has found. Research conducted for the children’s commissioner for England found that teenagers were routinely exposed to harmful products on social me…

Former Doctor Who star is also facing allegations of exposure and sexual assault by touching The actor Noel Clarke has been arrested over an attempted rape, which allegedly took place in 2007. The former Doctor Who star is also facing allegations of exposure and sexual assault by touching. Continue reading...

As he faces calls from lawmakers to resign, Lutnick testifies that he and his family visited disgraced financier in 2012 The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, had lunch with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the disgraced financier’s private island, he said on Tuesday, as he faces mounting calls to resign from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. “I did have lunch with him, as I…

Series of meetings is mandated by $305m settlement agreement for 600 survivors of decades-long abuse scandal A small number of victims of New Orleans’ Catholic clergy abuse scandal filed into a local church office recently for the first of 10 group meetings with Archbishop Gregory Aymond. The New Orleans archdiocese agreed to the meetings as part of settling its six-year-old federal bankruptcy pr…

Christos Flessas being detained in case seen as exposing Beijing’s strategy of infiltrating western military and security services A Greek air force officer arrested on suspicion of spying for China has been detained pending trial after appearing before a military judge in a case that is seen as exposing Beijing’s determination to infiltrate Europe’s security and intelligence services. Surrounded…

Cold spell means cars can cross 20km stretch of frozen sea but drivers must be able to exit quickly in case of a problem Temperatures in northern Europe have been so low that citizens of Estonia can now drive across a 20km stretch of frozen sea linking the country’s two main islands. The so-called “ice road” connecting the islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, located in western Estonia between the Ba…

Agency says person ‘appears to have tampered’ with Nest camera as hunt for Savannah Guthrie’s mother continues The FBI on Tuesday released new photos of someone the agency’s director described as “an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie’s front door the morning of her disappearance ”. FBI director Kash Patel published the images on social media as the searc…

Trump earlier had ranted against bridge and also warned that China would ‘terminate’ hockey in Canada Mark Carney said he had held a “positive” conversation with Donald Trump after the US leader threatened to block a key bridge between their two countries, reminding the president that Canada paid for the structure – and that the US shares ownership. Late on Monday, Trump posted a lengthy message …

Exclusive: Norway’s chief of defence Eirik Kristoffersen, who served in Afghanistan, was critical of Trump’s claim Nato troops stayed off frontlines Norway’s army chief has said Oslo cannot exclude the possibility of a future Russian invasion of the country, suggesting Moscow could move on Norway to protect its nuclear assets stationed in the far north. “We don’t exclude a land grab from Russia a…