The Guardian

Japan’s ban on married couples having different surnames has prompted an event to highlight people’s reluctance to change their name At the very least, the three men and three women calming their nerves on a Friday evening at a venue in Tokyo know they have one thing in common. Spaced out across booths, they will soon be placed in pairs and given 15 minutes to get to know one another. Continue re…

People encouraged to ‘come forward as normal’ when BMA members begin industrial action over pay on Tuesday The NHS is urging patients not to put off seeking the care they need when resident doctors press ahead with strike action from Tuesday, a stoppage that the health secretary has called “disappointing”. Tens of thousands of resident doctors in England are to stage a six-day strike after the go…

Councils urged to crack down on misuse of parking permits that help people with disabilities and health conditions Councils in England have been urged to crack down on the misuse of blue badge parking permits – legitimate and counterfeit – as the proportion of people holding them has reached one in 15. The AA called for more to be done to detect offences such as people using fake or stolen badges…

Levy on inherited farms and family businesses worth £2.5m or more comes into force 6 April A new inheritance tax regime for UK farms and family businesses comes into force on Monday and will present “significant challenges” for those affected, according to accountants. In October 2024 the government announced plans to levy inheritance tax on farms – prompting an outcry in many quarters. Continue …

Announcement of eight young futures hubs made as concerns grow over the number of knives on the streets Eight young futures youth hubs aimed at giving young people support towards work and away from street crime are to open across England, ministers have announced. The youth centres are supposed to help people aged up to 18 with employment advice, health and wellbeing, and are also aimed at preve…

Driver treated for burns after truck was carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline at time of collision outside Fort Worth An 18-wheel fuel tanker crashed into another vehicle, toppled power lines, then burst into flames outside Fort Worth early Sunday morning, according to local authorities. The truck was carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline at the time of the collision. Continue reading...

State upper house MP runs unopposed after initially being dropped during a preselection challenge. Follow today’s news live Good morning, and happy Monday. Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s news. Let’s dive in. Continue reading...

Sponsors pull out after Keir Starmer calls decision to book rapper who wrote song titled Heil Hitler ‘deeply concerning’ Pepsi and Diageo have said they will withdraw their sponsorship of a UK music festival that is due to be headlined by Kanye West after Keir Starmer joined criticism of the event. The musician is understood to have not yet made an application to come to Britain and could be bloc…

South Asian Muslim and caste-oppressed Hindu community representatives accuse multiculturalism minister and department of discrimination Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Australian Human Rights Commission is investigating a complaint against the New South Wales multiculturalism minister and his department over allegations of racial discrimination against organisati…

Rally met with bipartisan support after US border patrol revealed plans for steel wall across parts of beloved parks Thousands of people gathered at the steps of the Texas capitol on Saturday to protest against the construction of a border wall through Big Bend, in a show of bipartisan opposition to the White House’s plans. More than 2,000 people attended the rally, according to Texas Public Radi…

President shifts deadline again for attacking power plants and bridges in expletive-ridden social media post Middle East crisis – live updates Donald Trump issued an expletive-laden warning on Sunday that Tehran had until Tuesday night to reopen the strait of Hormuz or the US would obliterate Iran’s power plants and bridges. Iran’s parliament speaker responded with a warning that the US president…

Incident prompts political scrutiny across Hungary as Viktor Orbán trails in polls before next Sunday’s election Serbia has said it found “explosives of devastating power” near a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Hungary and beyond, sparking claims by Hungary’s leading opposition candidate of a possible “false flag” operation aimed at influencing the country’s elections. On Sunday, Hun…

Jared Isaacman says odds of evidence we are not alone are ‘pretty high’ four days after Artemis II rocket lifted off Nasa’s Orion spaceship four days into Artemis II mission: in pictures The top official at Nasa says that the chance of alien existence is a factor in how the US space agency plans its missions. Speaking on Sunday, Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman told CNN’s Meet the Press that inv…

Members reportedly agree rise of 206,000 barrels a day in May but move symbolic with strait of Hormuz effectively closed Middle East crisis – live updates Iranian drones struck Kuwait’s oil infrastructure on Sunday, causing “severe material damage” that threatened to further disrupt oil supplies already hit by the US and Israel’s war with Tehran. It came hours before members of the Opec+ group th…

Marjorie Taylor Greene and Bernie Sanders among those responding with alarm to Trump writing ‘open the fuckin’ strait, you crazy bastards’ Middle East crisis – live updates Some US politicians have reacted with alarm and questioned the US president’s mental state after Donald Trump issued an abusive, expletive-laden threat to Iran in which he called on the regime to “open the fuckin’ strait [of H…