Kirsty, 11, seeks more Kirstys to help raise money for brain tumour research 04. May 2026 (15:00) Kent schoolgirl tracks down 10,000 namesakes as part of campaign – but non-Kirstys are welcome to donate tooCalling all Kirstys! A schoolgirl from Tunbridge Wells in Kent is seeking people who share her name to help raise money for research into paediatric brain tumours like the one for which she is being treated.Kirsty Waugh, who turns 12 on Monday, has already persuaded more than 10,000 Kirstys, Kirsties, Kersties and assorted other variants to plot their locations on a map that shows Kirstys can be found everywhere from Colombia to Malaysia, and even at the Rothera research station in Antarctica. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Reform government could cause Truss-style chaos, says renewables industry 04. May 2026 (15:00) Lobbyist Tara Singh says stripping projects of subsidy contracts would undermine investor confidence in UKBritain could be beset by levels of economic chaos last seen under Liz Truss if a Reform UK government were to fulfil its promise to strip renewable energy projects of subsidy contracts, according to the industry’s chief lobbyist.The anti-renewables policy put forward by Nigel Farage’s populist party would severely undermine investor confidence in the energy industry and across the wider UK economy, the new chief executive of RenewableUK said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Europe must face up to ‘tensions’ with Trump, Keir Starmer says 04. May 2026 (14:55) Comments at European Political Community summit come as Britain seeks to join EU’s loan scheme for UkraineUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has acknowledged that “tensions” between Donald Trump and Europe are high as he attends a summit of the European Political Community dominated by the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.With European leaders concerned over the US president’s waning interest in the Ukraine war, the prime minister will use the summit in Armenia to begin negotiations to participate in the European Union’s loan scheme for Kyiv. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least 13 hurt in shooting at Oklahoma campground party 04. May 2026 (14:53) No arrests made, police say, and site of shooting – a heavily wooded area – is slowing search for evidence and suspectAt least 13 people were hurt in a mass shooting during a party at a campground in Oklahoma on Sunday night, authorities said.The shooting took place at Spring Creek Park on Arcadia Lake about 15 miles north-east of downtown Oklahoma City, when gunfire erupted during a gathering of young people at about 9pm. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran executes three men in relation to January anti-regime protests 04. May 2026 (14:43) Hangings are latest wave of near-daily killings as authorities seek to instil fear in Iranian societyMiddle East crisis – live updatesIran has executed three men charged in connection with political protests this January, authorities said, the latest in a wave of hangings against the backdrop of the war against the US and Israel.Iranian authorities have carried out executions on a near-daily basis in recent weeks, in what activists have denounced as a bid to instil fear in society at a time of international and domestic tension. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jeremy Bamber banned from communicating with media from prison 04. May 2026 (14:42) Bamber, 65, has long used press interviews to campaign against convictions for murder of five family membersJeremy Bamber, who has served more than 40 years in prison for murdering five members of his family, has been banned from communicating with the media.Bamber was convicted in 1986 by a 10-2 majority of shooting his adoptive mother and father, his sister and her six-year-old twins at the parents’ family farmhouse in Essex a year earlier. He has always protested his innocence. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labor extends EV tax break to encourage cheaper vehicles amid soaring fuel prices 04. May 2026 (14:30) As the cost of the scheme blows out, the government has announced the full discount will be retained for another year, after which it will only apply to EVs costing less than $75,000Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor has opted to retain its electric vehicle discount in full for another year, as Australians rush to buy EVs amid soaring fuel costs linked to the Iran war.But the budget next Tuesday will include a number of “sensible changes” that wind back the scale of support over the next three years, as the government acknowledges the need to deliver a “more financially sustainable” tax incentive for EVs amid ballooning costs of the scheme. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
France’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon announces 2027 presidential bid 04. May 2026 (14:26) The radical left leader will seek presidency for the fourth time – despite previously vowing to stand aside Jean-Luc Mélenchon, France’s radical left leader, has confirmed he will run again for president next spring, saying it was urgent for the country to stand up against war being waged by the US and Israel in the Middle East.The 74-year-old veteran leader of La France Insoumise (LFI), announced in an interview with the French broadcaster TF1 that he would run for the presidency for the fourth time in 2027. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Shropshire council staff met with rising ‘abuse and intimidation’ over removal of flags 04. May 2026 (14:24) Authority says workers and councillors ‘threatened for explaining the council’s position’ as union jack and St George’s flags taken downResidents, council staff and councillors have been subject to rising “abuse, harassment and intimidation” directly linked to the removal of unauthorised flags, a local authority has said.Shropshire council said it had recorded a rise in reports of abuse with staff and members “being threatened for explaining the council’s position” on the removal of flags and when they attempt to do so – “even in day-to-day work to repair street lighting”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cruise ship at centre of suspected hantavirus outbreak blocked from docking in Cape Verde 04. May 2026 (14:06) Officials say they will not authorise docking ‘to protect public health’ after deaths of three passengers What is hantavirus, the infection thought to have killed three on cruise ship?Officials in Cape Verde have said they will not allow a cruise ship believed to be harbouring an outbreak of a rare respiratory virus to dock in its ports, after the deaths of three passengers onboard.The statement on Monday came hours after global health officials said they were scrambling to investigate the suspected outbreak of hantavirus, a disease primarily found in rodents, on the cruise ship in the Atlantic. Continue reading...(The Guardian)