The Guardian

Military reckoned ‘good’ Afghan insurgents were separate from ‘bad’ Pakistani insurgents but distinction has blurred Days after the Taliban swept to power in 2021, Pakistan’s then spymaster appeared in Kabul on what looked to many like a victory lap. Sipping tea in the lobby of the Afghan capital’s fanciest hotel, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed told reporters: “Don’t worry, everything will be OK.” This week …

Labour billed it as ‘two-horse race’ with Reform UK, but Greens’ media campaign, and Hannah Spencer’s authenticity, won the day From the outset of the Gorton and Denton byelection, Labour strategists were desperate to say the party was on course to win, but the party’s trouncing at the hands of the Greens has made this look laughable in hindsight. Hollie Ridley, Labour’s general secretary, sent a…

Plans to return humans to the moon will come in later mission as agency grapples with delays and glitches Nasa announced on Friday radical changes to its delayed Artemis III mission to land humans back on the moon, as the US space agency grapples with technical glitches and criticism that it is trying to do too much too soon. The abrupt shift in strategy was laid out by the space agency’s recentl…

The Green candidate, Hannah Spencer, overturned a 13,000 Labour majority to win the Gorton and Denton seat Keir Starmer is facing an ultimatum from his own party to change direction or see a leadership challenge within months after the Greens humiliated Labour with a historic byelection victory in Gorton and Denton . Overturning a 13,000 Labour majority from the general election, Hannah Spencer, …

Foreign minister says 272 Ghanaians are thought to have been drawn into battle since 2022, after he visited Kyiv At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine after being “lured into battle”, Ghana’s foreign minister has said after a visit to Kyiv in which officials raised the issue of Russian recruitment of African people. Reports of African men being attracted to Russia by…

Robert Easom violently assaulted Trudi Burgess, from Chorley, when she threatened to leave him A “violent and controlling bully” who broke the neck of his partner, leaving her paralysed and her life “destroyed”, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. Robert Easom, a landscape gardener, violently assaulted Trudi Burgess, a schoolteacher and former singer, when she threatened to leave him after …

CEO Jack Dorsey said 4,000 employees would be laid off as the fintech company, which owns Cash App, embraces AI Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Fintech company Block announced that it would be laying off 4,000 of its 10,000 employees because of gains in AI productivity. “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company,” Jack D…

Average life satisfaction still below pre-pandemic peak despite improving economic outlook, reports ONS The proportion of people in the UK who feel dissatisfied with life has failed to improve since the pandemic despite the economic outlook improving, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics said its quarterly survey of personal wellbeing in the UK shows that average life satisfa…

Deposition comes one day after Hillary Clinton testified and called proceedings ‘partisan political theater’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition on Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein , one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and c…

Police chief accused of caving to Republican demands by reversing decision to fire implicated duo A Detroit police department decision to reverse course on firing two officers who allegedly violated local law by coordinating an arrest with federal immigration agents has ignited outrage and accusations that the chief caved to Republican demands. It has also played into a debate in the US around th…

Second time in two weeks military used laser to attack what it mistakenly thought was a threat, disrupting air traffic Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Democratic members of Congress have expressed astonishment and anger at what they claim is the incompetence of the Trump administration after the US military used a laser on Thursday to shoot down what …

Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus will all be visible at same time in curved line across sky Six planets are set to parade across the sky this weekend in a rare celestial spectacle, experts have said. For the next few days, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus will all be visible at the same time in the night sky – although binoculars or a telescope will be needed…

Exclusive: Home affairs department intervened about the use of non-modified people movers after 500 detention centre staff flagged safety concerns Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The American private prison operator running Australia’s immigration network used an unsecured and unmodified Kia Carnival to transport a detainee who allegedly stabbed two of its staff durin…

Department of State also authorises non-essential officials and their families to book flights anywhere The US has authorised the departure of non-essential government workers and their families from Israel as the threat of an American strike on Iran looms. US citizens should “consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available”, the Department of State advisory added. It also urged ag…

Wave of strikes came after Taliban forces attacked Pakistani border troops following earlier action from Islamabad Pakistan has bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring that the hostile neighbours were in a state of “open war” as a cycle of retaliatory attacks escalated further . Witnesses in Kabul and Kandahar, the southern Afgha…