Man arrested on suspicion of planning mass shooting at New Orleans festival 23. April 2026 (19:19) Man from North Carolina arrested at Florida hotel with a handgun and about 200 rounds of ammo, authorities saySign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxAuthorities say a man suspected of planning a mass shooting at a large New Orleans festival was arrested at a Florida hotel with a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.The event was not named, but the New Orleans jazz and heritage festival, commonly known as JazzFest, runs from Thursday through 3 May. The gathering celebrates Louisiana’s music, food and culture, and attracted about 460,000 people last year, organizers said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senate Republicans advance $140bn plan to fund Trump immigration crackdown amid DHS shutdown 23. April 2026 (17:59) Bill clears 50–48 vote to boost ICE and CBP funding as Democrats oppose and shutdown continuesUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailSenate Republicans on Thursday approved a plan to fund Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants for the remainder of his term and pave the way for an end to the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).The budget resolution adopted along a near party line vote in the early morning hours sets the stage for Congress to craft legislation allocating as much as $140b to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), two agencies at the forefront of Trump’s mass deportation agenda that have been without funding since mid-February, when the DHS shutdown began. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Has Starmer’s sacking of Olly Robbins backfired? – podcast 23. April 2026 (17:43) After Keir Starmer’s statement to the Commons and gripping evidence from the sacked top civil servant Olly Robbins, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talk about how the story of Peter Mandelson’s vetting for his job as UK ambassador to the US, which was first broken by the Guardian last Thursday, has unfolded this week Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Campaign launched to reunite young Britons with forgotten savings accounts 23. April 2026 (17:41) HMRC is contacting 21-year-olds as part of a new awareness drive around lost child trust funds, with an average balance of £2,200Rather than demanding money, HMRC is giving it away for once with a new campaign to reunite thousands of young Britons with forgotten savings accounts typically containing £2,200.HM Revenue and Customs is contacting 21-year-olds as part of a new awareness drive around lost child trust funds (CTF) – the tax-free savings accounts set up for children born between September 2002 and January 2011. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU formally approves €90bn Ukraine loan and 20th sanctions package against Russia 23. April 2026 (17:28) Leaders will discuss how to respond to surging energy prices amid the war in the Middle EastEurope live – latest updatesEU leaders have welcomed the end of diplomatic deadlock over a long-awaited €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine, after the bloc finalised the agreement along with a 20th package of sanctions against Russia.After weeks of delay, the EU signed off on the loan on Thursday, in time for summit talks in Cyprus that are scheduled to begin in the evening and will include talks over a dinner with the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man who raped young men and deliberately gave them HIV jailed for life 23. April 2026 (17:27) Adam Hall, of Tyne and Wear, will serve at least 23 years in prison, with victims describing lasting traumaA “callous, calculating sexual predator” who raped and deliberately infected young, vulnerable men with HIV has been jailed for life and told he must serve at least 23 years.Adam Hall, 43, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, is the second man in the UK ever to be found guilty of intentionally setting out to spread the virus. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nine in 10 UK voters across parties support right to abortion, poll finds 23. April 2026 (17:00) YouGov survey shows cross-party consensus – but that many fear abortion access could be reduced New polling has found that whatever their party political leanings, an overwhelming majority of people support the right to access an abortion – although young people, in particular, fear reproductive rights may be reduced.The YouGov polling, commissioned by MSI Reproductive Choices to mark its 50th anniversary, found nine in 10 people support the right to access an abortion. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK to pay for French officers to deport asylum seekers from war-torn countries 23. April 2026 (16:53) Removal site in Dunkirk will hold people of 10 nationalities trying to reach UK in small boats under new £660m deal with FrenchUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK will pay for 200 French officers to detain and deport people seeking asylum from some of the world’s most oppressive and war-ravaged regimes under a new UK-France deal to try to reduce Channel crossings.In what is being billed as the first time the French government has agreed to target those heading to the UK in small boats, a removal site in Dunkirk will be used to hold people from 10 countries: Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria, Vietnam and Yemen. The Home Office said they were the top 10 nationalities who crossed the Channel by small boat last year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Warner Bros Discovery vote to approve $110bn merger with Paramount Skydance 23. April 2026 (16:50) The merger will still require governmental approval and could be delayed by a lawsuit seeking to block itShareholders of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) voted “overwhelmingly” to approve the company’s $110bn merger with Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News, on Thursday.But shareholders voted against generous proposed compensation packages for WBD executives, including a $550m payout to the outgoing chief executive, David Zaslav. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Take action over officials in Kyrgyzstan ‘helping Russia evade sanctions’, MPs and peers say 23. April 2026 (16:45) British foreign secretary told to impose new measures as ruble-pegged cryptocurrency A7A5 is supported in countryMore than 20 MPs and peers have called on the foreign secretary to take action against institutions and individuals in Kyrgyzstan allegedly facilitating large-scale Russian sanctions evasion.They urged the UK to levy personal sanctions against three top Kyrgyz officials for their alleged role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion more broadly, and more specifically for allowing Kyrgyzstan to host infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency A7A5. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
