‘Defeated by conspiracy’: West Bengal chief minister refuses to resign after election loss 06. May 2026 (15:46) Mamata Banerjee says Narendra Modi’s party ‘forcefully captured’ election that ended her party’s 15 years in powerA political showdown is taking place in the Indian state of West Bengal as the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, India’s most powerful female politician, has refused to resign after she lost elections to the prime minister’s party this week.Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) won an overwhelming victory on Monday in state elections in West Bengal, where Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party (TMC) have been in power for 15 years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pope Leo rejects claim he supports nuclear weapons after Trump tirade 06. May 2026 (14:58) Pontiff responds after US president accuses him of ‘endangering a lot of Catholics’ with stance on Iran warMiddle East crisis – live updatesPope Leo has said he has never supported nuclear weapons and that those who criticise him need to speak the truth, in response Donald Trump’s latest tirade accusing him of “endangering a lot of Catholics” with his stance on the Iran war.Speaking to journalists on Tuesday night after leaving the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, the first US-born pontiff said: “The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to preach peace.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
World’s most powerful are suing media outlets before stories are even published, says editor 06. May 2026 (14:48) Editor-in-chief of Wall Street Journal says those with deep pockets launching legal challenges as a PR strategyPowerful figures are increasingly suing media outlets before they have even published a story, the editor of the Wall Street Journal has said.Emma Tucker, whose title is being sued by Donald Trump over its reporting of his relationship with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said the act of reporting itself was now under threat from the use of “lawfare”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Reform-led Lancashire county council to quit refugee resettlement scheme 06. May 2026 (14:42) Councillor announces plan to withdraw from government-funded programme in run-up to May electionsUK politics live – latest updatesThe Reform-led Lancashire county council will withdraw from the government’s refugee resettlement scheme, one of its cabinet members has said.Councillor Joshua Roberts announced plans for Lancashire to leave the scheme, which would make it the first local authority to do so. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s commerce chief Lutnick to face Epstein grilling in closed-door interview – US politics live 06. May 2026 (14:37) Howard Lutnick has acknowledged he visited Epstein’s island with his family in 2012 after earlier claiming he severed ties in 2005Sign up for the Breaking News US emailA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest developments out of the Middle East at our dedicated live blog. This includes the reaction to Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to halt Project Freedom – the administration’s operation to “guide” stranded ships through the strait of Hormuz as the naval blockade in the waterway continues.On Truth Social, Trump expressed optimism that the Iran war “will be at an end” and the strait of Hormuz “open to all” if Iran agrees to the US’s truce proposal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Airlines among companies using fuel surcharges to cover surge in costs, UK survey shows 06. May 2026 (14:33) Firms raising prices at fastest rate in three years, driven by soaring energy and wage bills but also extra materials costsBusiness live – latest updatesOil prices fall as Trump hails ‘progress’ on Iran dealAirlines and other companies are increasingly using fuel surcharges to cover soaring costs, a survey has found, in a further sign of Iran war-linked inflation hitting the economy.A poll of companies in the services sector, which includes airlines, found rising fuel prices had contributed to businesses raising prices at the fastest pace in more than three years in April. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US cancels tourist visas for board members of top Costa Rica newspaper 06. May 2026 (14:03) La Nación has been critical of Costa Rica president and Donald Trump ally Rodrigo ChavesThe US state department has cancelled tourist visas for more than half of the board members of Costa Rica’s leading national newspaper, La Nación, which has been a critical voice against the country’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, an ally of Donald Trump.During Chaves’s 2022 presidential campaign, La Nación published several articles documenting allegations of sexual harassment against him that had forced him out of his job at the World Bank. The paper also reported on allegations of illegal campaign financing, which Chaves denied. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Coyote swam 2 miles to Alcatraz Island, going farther than scientists expected 06. May 2026 (14:00) Biologists had guessed coyote paddled a shorter distance to former prison in the San Francisco Bay earlier this yearA lone coyote stunned biologists and others when earlier this year it paddled its way to the remote Alcatraz Island, a former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay surrounded by swift, choppy waters notorious for thwarting prisoners’ escapes.At the time, biologists guessed the coyote swam from San Francisco, which is a little over 1 mile (1.6km) from the fortress. But it turns out the male coyote actually made an even longer swim from nearby Angel Island, 2 miles (3.2km) away. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Alaska’s 2025 mega tsunami highlights risk to cruise lines as glaciers retreat 06. May 2026 (14:00) Researchers say 481-metre wave in fjord was triggered by rockslide linked to climate crisisA mega tsunami in Alaska last year in a fjord visited by cruise ships is a stark warning of the risks of coastal rockslides and glacier retreat fueled by the climate crisis, a new study warns.Scientists recorded the world’s second-tallest tsunami after it struck the Tracy Arm fjord in south-east Alaska last August after a massive rockslide around the toe of a glacier. The tsunami reached 481 metres (1,578ft) in height; by comparison the Eiffel Tower is 330 metres (1082ft). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Reform and Plaid likely to benefit from polarisation of Welsh politics 06. May 2026 (14:00) Polls suggest Reform could win most seats in Senedd election but party is unlikely to be able to form governmentUK politics live – latest updatesOn a sunny but cold evening in a shopping centre car park on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil, Reform UK supporters enjoyed free pizza and loud music as they waited for what the party leader, Nigel Farage, said was his last big speech before Thursday’s Welsh Senedd, Scottish parliament and English local elections.Reform could win the most seats under Wales’s new more proportional voting system but it is unlikely to be able to form a government, as other parties have ruled out going into coalition with it. Yet Farage’s outfit is the first rightwing party with a shot at winning in Wales since the 1850s. The surge in support for a party that got 1% of the vote in the last Senedd election is impossible to ignore. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
