The Guardian

Exclusive: Equalities minister says Tories are ‘chasing Reform into the gutter’ as they drop support for planned law to ban ‘conversion therapy’ Kemi Badenoch has “no interest in supporting LGBT+ people” or promoting tolerance more widely, a government minister has said, after the Conservatives dropped support for a planned law to ban so-called “conversion therapy”. The comments by Bridget Philli…

Lisa Nandy expected to meet leaders from television, film and publishing and could legislate if voluntary action deemed insufficient Ministers are considering changing the law to force the entertainment industry to better protect women and children in the wake of the revelations over David Walliams and the conviction of Russell Brand . Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, is expected to meet leader…

Alexander Darchiev, who previously served as ambassador to Canada, died ‘suddenly’, said Russian foreign ministry Russia ’s ambassador to the United States, Alexander Darchiev, has died “suddenly” at the age of 66 after just one and a half years in the job, Moscow’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday. The ministry called Darchiev an “outstanding diplomat, an experienced leader and a kind col…

US envoys to visit Moscow and Dublin on Thursday for talks with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy respectively Russia and Ukraine have agreed to the “largest prisoner exchange” of the war at their first US-brokered talks since February, but made little progress towards a broader peace agreement. Both sides sent senior delegations to the two-day talks, led by Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushn…

Even her own MPs were stony-faced as the Tory leader ran though her set list of gags from the budget to Russell Brand UK politics live – latest updates Well, there was one person at least who thought Kemi Badenoch had absolutely nailed it at this week’s prime minister’s questions. And that person was Kemi Badenoch. She could not have been more pleased with herself if she had tried. No one laughed…

Departure of Tom Waterhouse, Reform’s ‘latest fall guy’, will be blow to party amid push towards professionalisation UK politics live – latest updates Reform UK’s general secretary has left the role as Nigel Farage’s party continues to face turmoil over questions about vetting failures and professionalisation. The departure of Tom Waterhouse comes after Reform UK’s leader on Hampshire county coun…

White House warns Democratic pledges to investigate president ‘may cross line into blatant criminality’ The incoming Democratic chair of the powerful congressional oversight committee said it appears Donald Trump has “something to hide” after the White House threatened criminal investigations over the party’s planned scrutiny of the administration. Robert Garcia, ranking member of the oversight c…

Ethics watchdogs question necessity of the US secretary of state flying between DC and Gainesville so often Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has emerged as a superfan of the University of Florida’s football team, spending more than $1.2m of taxpayers’ money on frequent personal trips to watch them play, a report published Wednesday claims. Ethics watchdogs have questioned the necessity of …

Eleven Democrats missed the key procedural vote on the impeachment effort, which failed by just seven votes US politics live – latest updates Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage at nearly a dozen of their colleagues for missing a vote Tuesday evening to impeach the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth , allowing Republicans to squash the effort. Eleven Democrats missed the key procedural vote on th…

Lawyer says Britain wrong to believe in historic doctrine that Crown has sovereignty over parts of oceans Britain should not be permitted to act as a 17th century colonial power treating the waters around the Falkland Islands as a Dominium maris Britannici , Argentina has told an international tribunal. Marcelo Kohen, representing Argentina at a hearing in Hamburg, mocked Britain for apparently b…

Far-right populists remain insurgent and pro-EU governments are braced for Trump’s betrayal. But the midterms also showed that democracy can fight back • Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here “Is Maga dead?” asked Margaret, a Guardian reader in Switzerland, in a live Q&A with our correspondents after the seismic US midterm elections. If Margaret’s query expressed a hope t…

Children’s author and comedian, who wrote the book on which the movie Fing! is based, will also be removed from the publicity tour Revealed: David Walliams accused of using celebrity status to prey on young women for sex What are the key legal issues surrounding the David Walliams case? The distributors of an upcoming Australian film based on a book by children’s author and television personality…

Memorial FC Barcelona, part of upgrade to Camp Nou stadium, will consist of 26,000 niches where fans can deposit their ashes Lifelong supporters of Barcelona football club will soon be able to cheer on the club from beyond the grave – but, like everything else at Barça, eternal devotion comes at a price. As part of an upgrade to the Camp Nou, the club has inaugurated the Memorial FC Barcelona, co…

Tomás Beltrán was shot dead amid gang warfare that has turned Latin American country into one of its most violent Tomás Beltrán was manoeuvring his car into his garage on Sunday night when the Ecuadorian journalist was shot dead. Beltrán ran a Facebook page with news about Calceta, a small city in the province of Manabí, whose Pacific coastline has made it a key flashpoint in the gang warfare ove…

While young people are drinking less across the board, one expert says a small minority are actually drinking huge and damaging amounts of alcohol Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Rising numbers of young people are being hospitalised with severe, irreversible liver disease, as alcohol-related hospital admissions remain above pre-pandemic levels after peaking during Cov…