The Guardian

Stuart Prior, who was elected in Essex last week, allegedly celebrated the rape of Sikh woman and called Muslim people ‘rats’ A Reform UK councillor has resigned days after being elected, after he allegedly celebrated on social media the rape of a Sikh woman in the Midlands, declared white people the “master race” and called Muslim people “rats”. Stuart Prior was elected as a councillor for Essex…

Chuck Schumer accuses GOP of ‘asking working families to pay the price while Trump pockets the perks’ in letter US politics live – latest updates Chuck Schumer , the US Senate’s top Democrat, has vowed to oppose a Republican plan to spend $1bn on security improvements for the ballroom Donald Trump is seeking to build on the White House’s former East Wing. The money is set to be included in a meas…

Move comes after PM insisted he would prove his doubters wrong and fight any leadership challenge UK politics live – latest updates More than 60 MPs have called on Keir Starmer to set a timetable to depart as prime minister, including backers of his leadership rivals Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting. MPs from across the party’s ranks said the prime minister had failed to convince them he had what i…

Month was one of driest Aprils on record with rainfall 23% less than average, according to Met Office figures One of the driest Aprils on record for central and southern England has left river levels below normal, raising fears of drought in some areas over the summer. The latest UK hydrological survey – which tracks river and groundwater levels – suggests central and southern England and eastern…

IDF says two soldiers will spend weeks in military prison over incident it said was viewed with great severity Two Israeli soldiers will spend weeks in military prison for the desecration of a Christian object after one stuck a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in southern Lebanon and the other photographed it. The photo of the soldier, a cigarette dangling from his own mouth,…

Exclusive: Britain expected to be allowed to keep ban on live animal exports, sources say, in fillip for Keir Starmer UK politics live – latest updates Brussels is preparing to offer Keir Starmer a key concession in talks over an agricultural deal, giving the beleaguered prime minister an important victory in his efforts to move closer to the EU. European officials have conceded that the UK can k…

Zbigniew Ziobro entered US despite having been stripped of passports, with reports Donald Trump was personally involved Polish prosecutors are investigating how a former justice minister wanted on multiple criminal charges managed to flee to the US from Hungary, where the former prime minister Viktor Orbán had granted him political asylum. On Saturday, as the inauguration of Péter Magyar as Hunga…

Jimmy Fallon will produce show, which will begin filming over the summer, based on New York Times’ hit word game Savannah Guthrie is to present a TV game show based on the New York Times’ hit word game Wordle, the newspaper announced Monday. It will be the first new onscreen venture for the host of NBC’s Today show since her return in April after the disappearance two months earlier of her mother…

Survey of 27,000 Australian supermarket items found some products boasting environmental benefits had significantly higher emissions than unlabelled counterparts Foods in supermarkets boasting environmental terms such as “natural” or “sustainable” are mostly just using marketing speak, rather than verified claims, Australian researchers have found. More than 27,000 packaged foods sold at Coles, W…

Report suggests that popular initiatives such as NT Live and NT at Home are making UK audiences more adventurous Theatre streaming services and cinema screenings of stage performances are not a threat to “in-person” attendance and are making audiences more adventurous, according to new research commissioned by the National Theatre . Introducing the findings on Monday, the NT’s director, Indhu Rub…

Discovery was made by Union Pacific employee inspecting stopped train at the yard in Laredo before it continued its journey north Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Rail workers in Texas found six people dead inside a boxcar at a yard close to the Mexican border on Sunday afternoon, officials said. The discovery was made by a Union Pacific employee inspecting the stopped train at t…

Exclusive: state is now without caps on political donations or disclosure requirements, months out from November election Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast “Unlimited dark money” will keep flooding into Victorian politics after Labor failed to reach agreement with the Liberals or the Greens about donation reforms the Allan government vowed to fast-track through parliame…

Labor’s anticipated reforms are not a panacea, but they could nudge Australia toward a more equitable trajectory Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Albanese government is preparing to unveil a budget that will recast housing as shelter – rather than a financial tool – in changes that have already sparked heated warnings that rents will rocket and housing supply will …

Exclusive: Push to register unaffiliated party with identical name to grassroots group follows Avi Yemini’s plan to use ‘Free Palestine party’ to funnel votes to One Nation Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Muslim Votes Matter (MVM) has complained to the Victorian Electoral Commission over an anonymous bid to register a political party under the same name ahead of the s…

Casting director urges Keir Starmer to intervene in case of Paata Burchuladze, 71, jailed for seven years after singing at anti-regime demonstrations The Royal Opera House in London has urged Keir Starmer to intervene in the case of Paata Burchuladze, a world-renowned bass singer who has been imprisoned in Georgia since October on a charge of leading a coup against the country’s authoritarian lea…