Early England election results make it clear: we are in an era of five-party politics 08. May 2026 (11:28) While Labour losses and Reform gains are obvious, the nature of how people actually voted is much more nuancedElections 2026 – live updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesEnglish local election results require careful interpretation. Not all places have them at the same time, a relatively small proportion complete their counts overnight and the early headlines may not reflect outcomes later in the day.But the headline number on Friday morning – that Labour has lost more than 250 councillors - will only grow as the day progresses. While Labour will want to stress that these “mid-term” elections often go badly for the incumbent Westminster government, they rarely go quite as badly as this. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hong Kong dissident Nathan Law on China spies in UK: ‘We’re not surprised’ 08. May 2026 (11:00) Law says conviction of two men for spying raises serious concerns about how they accessed sensitive informationNathan Law, an exiled leader of the Hong Kong student protest who lives with a £100,000 bounty on his head from the Chinese authorities, was not surprised to discover a spy ring had photographed him entering the Oxford Union for an evening debate in November 2023.The conviction at the Old Bailey of Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 38, and Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 65, for assisting a foreign intelligence service, was a sobering first – no Chinese spies had been convicted in British criminal history before Thursday – but the details that came out in the nine-week trial mainly served to confirm his suspicions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer vows to fight on as PM despite heavy local election losses for Labour 08. May 2026 (10:54) Leader defiant in face of calls from some of his MPs to quit but admits ‘results are tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it’Election 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesKeir Starmer has vowed to fight on as prime minister despite early results in local elections showing his party suffering heavy losses, many at the hands of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.Starmer struck a defiant note on Friday morning in the face of calls from some of his MPs to quit, insisting he remained as determined as ever to deliver the promises on which he was elected less than two years ago. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Three hikers dead and 10 missing after Indonesia’s Mount Dukono volcano erupts 08. May 2026 (09:38) Two foreigners among the dead, say authorities, after early morning eruption spews ash miles into airThree hikers have died and 10 are missing after an eruption of Mount Dukono, on Indonesia’s eastern Halmahera island, spewed an ash cloud about 6 miles (10km) into the air, police have said.“There are three dead: two foreigners and one resident of Ternate [an island in east Indonesia],” Erlichson Pasaribu, the police chief of North Halmahera district, told Kompas TV. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labour’s disastrous night puts focus on Keir Starmer’s future as leader 08. May 2026 (09:03) Leadership in peril as party loses seats in heartlands and control of councils in Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and TamworthElection 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesHartlepool once nearly triggered Keir Starmer’s resignation – results overnight mean it may yet do so in the coming days.Five years ago, Labour crashed to a humiliating defeat in a byelection for the city’s Westminster seat, prompting Starmer to consider resigning as opposition leader. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rebel Wilson is a ‘fantastical liar’ who ‘made up terrible allegations against multiple people’, court told 08. May 2026 (08:06) Barrister for actor Charlotte MacInnes, who is suing the Pitch Perfect star for defamation, also accused Wilson of ‘a complete revision of history’. Wilson has rejected defamation claims.Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRebel Wilson has been accused in court of being a liar who made up terrible claims about her colleagues and completely rewrote history.The Pitch Perfect star copped the blunt assessment in the dying hours of a fiery defamation battle where she is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor in musical comedy The Deb which Wilson directed, co-produced and starred in. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
One Nation candidate David Farley sought involvement with independent ‘Voices’ movement 08. May 2026 (07:19) Exclusive: Farley discussed preferences and suggested platform before Voices group endorsed his rival Michelle Milthorpe as its candidateGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation’s Farrer candidate, David Farley, sought to cooperate with the community independent “Voices” movement before the last election, including discussing preferences and suggesting a platform for a House and Senate campaign, before the group endorsed Michelle Milthorpe as their candidate.Documents seen by Guardian Australia show Farley – who is expected to win the Farrer byelection ahead of Milthorpe on Saturday – had been keen to meet with the independent Voices campaign in 2023 and 2024, including buying a ticket to their event, sharing ideas, and even discussing election preferences. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Being human helps’: despite rise of AI is there still hope for Europe’s translators? 08. May 2026 (06:00) A booming tech sector has disrupted translation jobs in publishing – but they could be needed for a while longer yetIn February 2022, while he was plugging away at rendering the US writer Dana Spiotta’s novel Wayward into French, the literary translator Yoann Gentric decided he needed a bit of light relief. He would test whether AI could put him out of work.Gentric had been grappling with a short non-verbal sentence that described the book’s protagonist’s feelings upon opening a window: “Bright, sharp night air, bracing.” He put the prompt into DeepL, a neural-network-powered machine translation engine that regularly outperforms Google Translate in accuracy assessments. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Story of enslaved boy featured in 1748 Joshua Reynolds portrait emerges in new study 08. May 2026 (06:00) Exclusive: Until now nothing was known about ‘Jersey’, depicted with naval officer, but research raises hopes he may have won freedomFor hundreds of years, he was known only as “Jersey”, an enslaved boy of about 11 rendered in oil on canvas by the great 18th-century portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.But now the life of the youngster, believed to be Reynolds’ earliest depiction of a person of colour, has begun to emerge, thanks to a research project. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Water flows to parched NSW wetlands could be turned back on within weeks as drought fears loom 08. May 2026 (05:45) Water minister Rose Jackson calls drying in Gwydir region ‘devastating’ as bill passes upper house Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereWater flows to parched New South Wales wetlands where an urgent rescue mission to save dying wildlife unfolded are a step closer to resuming after legislation passed the state parliament’s upper house.The water minister, Rose Jackson, told the parliament on Thursday night the impact of a halt to water flows in the internationally significant Gwydir region had been “devastating” as she introduced legislative amendments she said would allow flows to resume.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...(The Guardian)
