The Guardian

Outgoing health secretary declares Labour’s ‘plan for the NHS is working’ as hospitals hit key targetHospitals in England have hit a key target for improving the time it takes patients to get treatment, which prompted Wes Streeting to declare that Labour’s “plan for the NHS is working” before departing as health secretary.Streeting had told the NHS to ensure that hospitals treated at least 65% of patients within 18 weeks by the end of March. New NHS England figures published on Thursday showed that hospitals did so, treating 65.3% of people on the NHS waiting list within that timeframe in March.

Zeal for ‘the Hamptons of England’ has rubbed off on sales, with luxury British fashion brand back to a full-year profitThe luxury fashion brand Burberry has said a new £2,000 handbag named after the Cotswolds has bolstered sales, as the English region becomes increasingly popular with wealthy Americans.Joshua Schulman, the company’s chief executive, said its tote bags – which mix leather and the signature Burberry check – had helped drive its best performance in bag sales since 2023. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/14/burberrys-handbag-cotswolds-hits-sweet-spot-americans Author : Sarah Butler Publish date : 2026-05-14 11:38:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the

A Kitt lookalike was filmed speeding in Brooklyn but the fine was sent to a museum where a replica is on displayA replica of the talking car Kitt from the 1980s US television action series Knight Rider for years has been parked in a museum about an hour’s drive north of Chicago, so how did it get a speeding ticket in New York City?That is the question the Volo Museum is asking after it says it was recently mailed a $50 fine by New York City for a violation caught by traffic camera, alleging that its Knight Industries Two Thousand

GDP reading ties in with some surveys suggesting UK plc has kept up momentum despite rising fuel costsThe UK economy unexpectedly grew during the first full month of the Iran war, according to official figures, suggesting the Middle East conflict has not yet affected growth as much as feared.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed growth of 0.3% in gross domestic product (GDP) in March, from a revised 0.4% rise in February and 0% growth in January. The ONS had originally estimated that the economy grew 0.5% in February and 0.1% in January. Continue reading... Source link :

Ahead of the crucial talks, security has been heightened in Beijing, with trade, AI and the war in Iran set to dominate the meeting between the two leadersTrump lands in China for high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping as Iran war looms over talksExplainer: five key issues on the table at summitDonald Trump will drive through a Chinese capital that is smoggier than it was on his last visit in 2017, when the authorities launched emergency measures to clear the skies of pollution days before his first state visit to Beijing.Factories were ordered to halt production and heavily polluting cars were

Anthony Albanese praises Tyrrell as ‘a fighter’ after joining Labor party. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHolding Jewish people responsible for Israel a ‘building block’ of racism, inquiry hearsThere will always be “edge cases”, Dr Dave Rich has told the antisemitism royal commission, where there are good faith disagreements on whether something is antisemitic.Holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel is the justification provided by terrorists who murder Jews around the world, who attack Jews around the world while shouting abuse about Israel, about Gaza.I’m not pretending

Prime minister under pressure over failure to grant military service exemptions as multi-party government looks at risk of collapseIsrael’s ruling coalition has submitted a proposal to dissolve parliament to pave the way for early elections as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, came under mounting attack from ultra-Orthodox parties.The move, initiated by Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party, came as Netanyahu appeared to be facing a possible collapse of his fractious coalition. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/13/israels-ruling-coalition-proposes-early-elections-amid-ultra-orthodox-anger-at-netanyahu Author : Agence France-Presse Publish date : 2026-05-13 22:48:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Warsh will serve four-year term as chair, taking over amid rising inflation and pressure from Trump to lower ratesThe US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve, one of the most powerful roles in the federal government that holds enormous sway over the economy.The 54-45 Senate vote on Wednesday was split along party lines, with the exception of Democratic senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania, who joined the Republican majority. It was most divisive confirmation vote for the position in history. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/13/kevin-warsh-federal-reserve-chair Author : Gaya Gupta Publish date : 2026-05-13 20:10:00 Copyright for

The US president’s late-night Truth Social vitriol riddled with erratic capitalization and spelling? That’s leadershipThis was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every WednesdayGas prices are soaring because of blockages in the strait of Hormuz as part of the unauthorized war in Iran. There’s a highly consequential meeting with the president of China on the books for this week. The FDA director just stepped down over a disagreement on fruit-flavored vapes. Southern states are redrawing maps at break-neck pace to gerrymander Black voters out of their electoral voices.You know what that

Watchdog to examine whether Reform UK leader should have declared donation received before entering parliamentNigel Farage is facing a formal investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over a £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.The Reform UK leader received the money weeks before announcing he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/13/nigel-farage-inquiry-gift-crypto-billionaire-reform-uk-christopher-harborne Author : Ben Quinn and Peter Walker Publish date : 2026-05-13 14:48:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Health secretary met with Keir Starmer this morning in brief meeting at No 10 ahead of the king’s speechStreeting to resign and challenge Starmer, allies sayFarage faces inquiry over £5m gift from crypto billionaireLibby Brooks is the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent.An odd dispute of interpretation has emerged overnight between the Scottish and UK governments. Yesterday evening a Scottish government spokesperson announced that, during a call between first minister John Swinney and prime minister Kier Starmer, both parties agreed to meet face to face next month to discuss a referendum on independence.It is particularly welcome that the prime minister agreed to meet

British pop-metallers’ frontman Oli Sykes suffers concussion after phone strikes him on the head, in latest in spate of similar incidents faced by musiciansEric Clapton and Bring Me the Horizon’s frontman Oli Sykes have both been struck by objects thrown at them while performing, the latter incident leaving Skyes with concussion.As Bring Me the Horizon performed in St Louis on Monday, a member of the audience threw a phone at Sykes, striking him on the head. Sykes continued to perform but cut one of the songs from the band’s set as well as a fan interaction section. Continue reading... Source

Umer Khalid, accused of role in Palestine Action break-in, alleges he has not received proper treatment or wheelchairA prisoner with a muscle-wasting condition accused of taking part in a Palestine Action protest claims he has been forced to crawl around the jail – including to get medicine – because of lack of treatment and a wheelchair.Umer Khalid, who is being held at Wormwood Scrubs in west London, awaiting trial for alleged involvement in last year’s break-in at RAF Brize Norton, also alleges he was left in his cell when the prison was evacuated because of a fire alarm and went

Lawyers calling for all charges to be withdrawn after Sydney town hall rally against Israeli presidentFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCharges laid under a now defunct law against people who attended a Sydney protest against Isaac Herzog will be dropped, police have confirmed, but it remains unclear how many of the 30 protesters charged the decision affects.The New South Wales police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said on ABC Radio on Wednesday morning that, pending a review, police would drop charges laid under the public assembly restriction declaration (Pard)

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is about 60 times more carcinogenic than believed in 2006, research findsA new Trump administration plan to rescind 2024 regulations for toxic ethylene oxide (EtO) pollution more broadly aims to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to strengthen public health protections around hazardous emissions and could result in more of the toxin being released into the air.Recent research has found EtO is about 60 times more carcinogenic than thought when the last regulations were developed in 2006. In 2024, the Biden EPA passed a rule that strengthened the regulations to reflect the updated science, and required the

Patel and Chris Van Hollen, ranking member of the Senate appropriations subcommittee, trade accusations in heated budget hearingSign up for the Breaking News US emailThe Pentagon revealed on 29 April that the US war on Iran had cost about $25bn for roughly two months of spending. Today, when asked if there are any updated costs associated with the war, Jules Hurst III, chief financial official for the Pentagon, said:“At the time of testimony … it was $25bn dollars. But the joint staff team and the comptroller are constantly looking at estimates and now we think it is closer to 29.”

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson says his objective is to ‘defeat’ changes to capital gains and negative gearing. Follow today’s news liveSee all our Australia budget 2026 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Climate Council came out of the blocks quickly to decry a “massive free kick” in the budget for fossil fuel multinationals while consumers are “left exposed” to global energy price spikes and climate harm.The council said last night that by maintaining more than $19bn in annual fossil fuel subsidies and foregone gas tax revenue, the budget ignored “major opportunities to expand clean energy

Kelvin Evans pleads guilty to stealing hard drives and laptops from a car before singer’s Atlanta tour dates in 2025A man arrested for stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music has pleaded guilty in an Atlanta court on Tuesday.Kelvin Evans was arrested by the Atlanta police department in September in connection to a July 2025 car robbery where two suitcases containing Beyoncé music and tour plans were stolen from a rental car. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/12/man-sentenced-car-robbery-beyonce-music Author : Owen Myers Publish date : 2026-05-12 18:14:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Zubir Ahmed becomes the fourth minister to quit the government today in protest of Starmer’s leadership after the PM said he would not step down on TuesdayStarmer tells cabinet he will not quit without leadership challengeHere are some pictures from No 10 this morning.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the PM, is now being interviewed on the Today programme. Nick Robinson, the presenter, is asking him if he knows whether Keir Starmer has decided how to respond to the pressure on him to resign. Jones is avoiding the question, as he did on Sky News earlier. (See 7.43am.) Continue reading...

Online marketplace takes into account uncertainty around US video games retailer’s financing proposalThe board of eBay has rejected the US video games retailer GameStop’s surprise $55.5bn bid (£41bn) for the online marketplace, describing the proposal as “neither credible nor attractive”.Earlier this month, GameStop made an unsolicited bid for eBay, publishing a letter on its website outlining a half-cash, half-stock proposal. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/12/gamestop-bid-for-ebay-rejected-as-neither-credible-nor-attractive Author : Joanna Partridge Publish date : 2026-05-12 12:53:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

At least one person killed as Moscow launches drone strikes on energy facilities and apartments Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany must “pull itself together” or risk being left behind in a rapidly changing world, in a speech to trade unionists on Tuesday that sparked jeers, whistles and boos, Reuters reported.After a year in office, Merz’s popularity has sunk and his government has become embroiled in disputes over how far and how fast to reform Europe’s largest economy to revive growth and tackle ballooning healthcare and pension costs.“Germany must therefore pull itself together. Germany must tackle the structural problems that we

US president says Tehran’s peace proposal ‘totally unacceptable’ and ‘a piece of garbage’​Donald Trump said one of his central objectives in launching ‌a war against Iran was to ensure Tehran does not develop a ​nuclear weapon.​Iran – which insists its nuclear programme is peaceful – is reportedly yet to hand over more than 400 kg ⁠of uranium enriched up to 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/may/12/middle-east-crisis-us-iran-israel-donald-trump-ceasefire-peace-plan-latest-news-updates Author : Yohannes Lowe Publish date : 2026-05-12 08:02:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Since the start of the current conflict, more than 20,500 Ukrainian children have been taken by RussiaIt looks like a typical teenager’s bedroom: football shirts on the wall, crumpled clothes on the floor, exercise books open on the desk. But it is a work of political art, intended to evoke the empty rooms of more than 20,500 Ukrainian children unlawfully taken to Russia.The work was on display on Monday at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, as delegates from 63 countries and international organisations gathered to discuss how to bring Ukraine’s children home. “It’s essentially a way for

Farrer win casts shadow over budget as government signals it’s alive to populist rightwing threat Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation has cast a shadow over the federal budget and influenced decisions to reform negative gearing and taxes, with Jim Chalmers admitting many Australians are feeling economic anxieties that are “driving them to consider” rightwing populist parties.The treasurer and Anthony Albanese have conceded that many people are locked out of the housing market and that the problem is getting worse, not better, under Labor. With Pauline

Treasurer says housing market ‘isn’t working’ and tax system around it is ‘out of whack’. Follow the latest updatesFederal budget 2026: what we know so farSee all our Australia budget 2026 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast‘Let’s build more houses … not start taxing them’, shadow finance minister saysClaire Chandler, the shadow minister for finance, spoke a moment ago.You don’t make more of something by increasing taxes on it. Taxes are inherently a disincentive to create more of something.If we need more houses in this country, let’s build more houses. Let’s not start taxing them.It’s