The Guardian

Leaked assessment says clearing mines could take half a year; US navy secretary leaves office ‘immediately’‘Impossible’ to reopen strait of Hormuz amid ‘flagrant’ ceasefire breaches, Iran saysThe Pentagon abruptly announced that the secretary of the US navy, John Phelan, would be leaving his job yesterday. No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the navy’s top civilian official, who had addressed a large crowd of sailors and industry professionals at the navy’s annual conference in Washington just a day before the announcement.People familiar with the dynamics at the Pentagon told the Guardian Phelan was fired. Phelan had an increasingly

More than 70% have cut down in past year on teaching assistants, who play key role in helping children with SendTwo-fifths of school leaders in England have been forced to cut back on support for children with special educational needs due to a financial crisis “more than a decade in the making”, according to a poll.Seven out of 10 (71%) leaders say they have cut down on teaching assistants (TAs) in the past year, while 49% have reduced support staff. The crisis could escalate as 81% warn of further cuts in the year ahead. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/apr/23/schools-forced-to-cut-back-on-support-for-send-pupils-in-england-poll-finds

Exclusive: MPs say profit-making levels in England are ‘scandalous’ and call for cap on amount private companies can make from NHSPrivate firms providing services to the NHS including healthcare and consultancy have made £1.6bn in profits over the last two years, research reveals.The findings – on the basis of contracts worth £12bn – have prompted claims of “scandalous” profiteering, concern that the health service is being “taken for a ride” and calls for ministers to impose a cap on maximum profit levels.£2bn of the £12bn of contracts went to firms with owners based outside the UK.£533m of that £2bn went

Centcom says blockade of Iranian ports to begin at 10am ET; Iran’s negotiator says ‘we will not bow to threats’; oil prices rise. Follow the latest newsFull report: Trump says US will blockade strait of Hormuz after Iran peace talks failPlaneloads of negotiators and too little time: US and Iran’s 21 hours of talksLloyd’s List Intelligence have said that “all traffic” through the strait of Hormuz stopped after President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the US would blockade the waterway. It said two vessels that were leaving the strait turned around after the post.A trickle of traffic had

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says ‘if you fight, we will fight’, reports state media, as US president also threatens to bomb Iran’s water treatment facilitiesJD Vance and US delegation leave Pakistan after failing to reach deal with IranPlaneloads of negotiators and too little time: US and Iran’s 21 hours of talksA post about an hour ago on the Israel Defense Forces Telegram channel claimed that overnight, the IDF “identified a rocket launcher positioned and ready to launch toward the State of Israel in the area of Jouaiyya in southern Lebanon”.Shortly after the identification, the launcher was struck and dismantled in a

Government seeks to secure Australia’s supply of diesel, fertiliser and other critical goods. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTips for saving fuelThe fuel-saving tips include a few simple actions motorists are encouraged to take, including:Looking after your vehicle’s tyres, which could reduce fuel consumption by up to 5%.Travelling light and minimising drag, which can increase fuel efficiency.Using air conditioning and heating on low settings, which can make a difference in fuel consumption.Only filling up with fuel when you need and not overfilling your fuel tank.Monitoring your speed an acceleration, and minimise idling.

President has long been a fan of mixed martial artsIvanka and Donald Trump Jr also at eventDonald Trump and US secretary of state Marco Rubio attended a UFC event in Miami night on Saturday night as peace talks with Iran failed on the other side of the world.Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9pm alongside several members of his family and UFC chief Dana White, who has been a supporter of the president since his first term. Seated nearby was Rubio as well as the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, the rapper Vanilla Ice and former FBI deputy

Police arrest man, 37, on suspicion of being in charge of dog dangerously out of control and causing injury resulting in deathA 19-year-old woman who died after a dog attack in Essex has been named by police as Jamie-Lea Biscoe. Police said the victim was found with serious injuries after emergency services were called to a property in Leaden Roding at 10.45pm on Friday. Biscoe was pronounced dead at the scene. A 37-year-old man from Dunmow, who was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury resulting in death, has been

Prime minister has been trailing in the polls to Péter Magyar in race that could have repercussions for Europe, the US and RussiaHello from Budapest where Hungarians are voting in a closely contested election that could oust Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power and potentially reshape the central European country’s relations with the EU, Moscow and Washington.Pre-election day polls appeared to suggest that Péter Magyar of the centre-right Tisza party could be on course to win the election, ending Orbán’s era, much criticised for weakening the rule of law and civil liberties, and raising hopes of a more pro-European

Crime and corruption top voter concerns in highly unpredictable election with 35 candidates for presidentPeruvians go to the polls on Sunday hoping to break a cycle of instability that has produced nine presidents in a decade as well as surging violent crime, corruption scandals and overwhelming distrust in institutions and politicians.About 27 million people who are eligible to vote must choose between a record 35 presidential candidates as well as contenders for the bicameral congress – all from a ballot sheet measuring nearly half a metre, the longest in the country’s history. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/10/peru-election-polls-instability Author :

Label tried to keep band members out of trouble during first tour, Nick Lachey says in Boy Band ConfidentialAs they embarked on their first tour and their record label tried to limit their potential for legal issues, members of the 1990s US boyband 98 Degrees were equipped with a handbook listing the age at which people across the nation can lawfully consent to sex , the group’s lead singer, Nick Lachey, reveals in a new documentary.“This is going to sound super shady, but … I remember our first tour, someone at the label gave us a book, and it was

As president Patrice Talon steps down after a decade, the west African country’s finance minister is favourite to winThis Sunday, just four months after a failed coup, Benin heads to the polls for a presidential election that feels more like a coronation than a contest.Patrice Talon, the businessman turned politician who has been president since 2016, is ineligible to run again after serving two five-year terms. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/12/benin-presidential-election Author : Eromo Egbejule in Praia Publish date : 2026-04-12 07:00:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Study identified eight areas that can sustain a population and government has given £1m for recovery programme“The world is grown so bad that wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch.” So wrote Shakespeare in Richard III, in a line of social commentary that feels ever more relevant with age.A note of good news then, in a world of so much bad, that the eagles the Bard was probably referring to could finally be reintroduced to England after more than 150 years. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/12/golden-eagles-reintroduced-england-150-years Author : Sammy Gecsoyler Publish date : 2026-04-11 23:01:00 Copyright for syndicated

Catherine King says while peace talks were ‘best chance’ at lowering fuel prices, further help may be included in budgetFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesTrack Australia’s fuel prices, service station outages and shipments in chartsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Albanese government is contemplating further relief for struggling households and businesses in next month’s federal budget, as peace talks continue between the US and Iran amid a fragile ceasefire.The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, said the success of those talks was the “best chance” at bringing down fuel prices. But she warned there

Follow the day’s news liveAlbanese didn’t return with shiploads of diesel. That doesn’t mean his Singapore visit wasn’t a successGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastElectric vehicle users currently don’t pay fuel excise. An alternative that has been floated is a road user charge; King said her department has been investigating what a road user charge might look like but said the government is keen not to disincentivise the uptake of electric vehicles.She said:We’ve been working within my department on the model for what a road user charge might look like. That’s no surprise to anyone.

US and Iranian media report peace talks have begun in Islamabad, while Netanyahu says Israel remains committed to fighting IranUS and Iran hold talks in Islamabad as Pakistan seeks to broker peace dealUS officials claim Iran unable to find mines it laid in strait of HormuzThe UK will host a strait of Hormuz meeting next week, bringing together multiple countries aiming to restore free movement of ships through the strait, which has been blockaded by Iran since the beginning of the war and inflicted heavy damage on the global economy.A British official told AP that the meeting will oppose the

Police rescued boy after neighbour reported sounds of a child coming from vehicle in Hagenbach in eastern FranceA malnourished nine-year-old boy was rescued after being locked in his father’s van since 2024 in eastern France, a prosecutor said.A neighbour alerted police to “sounds of a child” coming from a vehicle in the village of Hagenbach, near the borders of Switzerland and Germany. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/11/french-man-charged-keeping-nine-year-old-son-locked-van-hagenbach Author : Nadeem Badshah Publish date : 2026-04-11 18:11:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

After Calvin Duncan served 28 years for a murder he didn’t commit, he won an election to serve as criminal court clerk. But now the office might be shut downA man imprisoned for nearly 30 years before being exonerated won a landmark election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him. Now, Louisiana’s governor, Jeff Landry, and the Republican-controlled state legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in.Calvin Duncan won 68% of the vote last November to become the Orleans parish clerk of criminal court after pledging to reform the justice

Conservative leader promises biggest peacetime rearmament effort in UK history if her party is re-electedThe Conservatives would reinstate the two-child benefit cap and use the savings for a wide-ranging spending splurge on defence in what Kemi Badenoch said would be “the biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country’s history”.Speaking at a defence conference in London, the Tory leader criticised the government for Britain’s “lack of readiness” for war, which has been exposed by recent world events. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/apr/11/tories-reinstate-two-child-benefit-cap-fund-defence-kemi-badenoch Author : Geraldine McKelvie Publish date : 2026-04-11 13:17:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked

Former Ukrainian major general says 4kg of material was most likely an attempt to influence Hungary’s electionHungary elections explainerThe amount of explosives discovered in Serbia last week would not have been enough to destroy the Balkan Stream gas pipeline, prompting an expert to conclude it was probably a Russian intelligence plot aimed at influencing Hungary’s impending election.A former Ukrainian major general and a munitions specialist told the Guardian calculations made by his company showed the 4kg of explosives recovered by Serbia’s military security agency in Kanjiža could not have seriously ruptured the pipe. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/11/explosives-serbia-pipeline-likely-russian-provocation-says-military-expert-hungary-ukraine Author

Officials accept that time has run out to pass law after US dropped its support for planThe UK government has been forced to shelve its legislation to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, after the US dropped its support for the agreement.On Friday, UK government officials acknowledged that they had run out of time to pass legislation within the current parliamentary session, which ends in the coming weeks. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/11/uk-forced-to-shelve-legislation-to-return-chagos-islands-to-mauritius Author : Geneva Abdul Publish date : 2026-04-11 08:18:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Exclusive: Guardian analysis suggests young people who pose ‘catastrophic’ threat still slipping through systemMinisters are “failing to learn the lessons” from the Southport attack and allowing violence-obsessed teenagers to remain a “catastrophic” threat to society, lawyers for victims of the atrocity have said ahead of the findings of an official inquiry.A report on the July 2024 attack by the judge Sir Adrian Fulford, to be released on Monday, is expected to strongly criticise failings by a series of agencies, including the counter-terrorism programme Prevent. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/11/state-failing-lessons-southport-attack-victims-lawyers Author : Josh Halliday North of England editor Publish date

Massive fire followed explosion at 5,000-sq-ft warehouse near Esparto, an hour from Sacramento, on 1 July Multiple people have been charged with murder in connection to a fatal fireworks-warehouse explosion in California that killed seven people and injured two others in July.The explosion at the 5,000-sq-ft warehouse sparked a massive fire near the small town of Esparto, about an hour outside Sacramento. The explosion took place on 1 July; local celebrations to commemorate the Fourth of July holiday were cancelled that year. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/10/murder-charges-california-fireworks-explosion Author : Gloria Oladipo Publish date : 2026-04-11 00:22:00 Copyright for syndicated

Former allies of Democratic contender withdraw support after accusations in San Francisco Chronicle and on CNNCalifornia gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell is facing escalating pressure to drop out of the race following an allegation of sexual assault and multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.The San Francisco Chronicle published on Friday an account of a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Swalwell on two separate occasions. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/10/eric-swalwell-california-sexual-assault-allegations Author : Uwa Ede-Osifo Publish date : 2026-04-11 00:38:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Erik Duran in 2023 threw cooler at fleeing suspect Eric Duprey, who then crashed his motorized scooter and diedSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA former New York police department sergeant has been sentenced to three to nine years in prison for tossing a picnic cooler full of ice and drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.Erik Duran, 38, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey. The ex-sergeant said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter. He is the first former NYPD officer