Vodafone to take full control of UK mobile operator in £4.3bn deal 05. May 2026 (11:03) Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison agrees to sell 49% stake as it attempts to reshape its portfolioBusiness live – latest updatesVodafone is to take full control of the UK’s biggest mobile operator in a £4.3bn buyout deal with the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison.The billionaire Li Ka-shing’s business said it had agreed to sell its 49% stake in VodafoneThree – a network with more than 27 million subscribers – to its partner Vodafone. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Group is a lifesaver’: strangers buy Wetherspoon’s meals for homeless people through app 05. May 2026 (11:00) WhatsApp group has bought tens of thousands of meals for people via Facebook pageCarl used to own pubs – several of them – and a string of hotels. Then two years ago, rising costs forced him into bankruptcy. Now he sleeps on the beach in summer, and in winter sits in an all-night McDonald’s nursing a single cup of coffee.Carl’s daughters are in a different part of the country with his ex-wife. To maintain the illusion that he lives a normal life, Carl is careful only to video-call them from the local Wetherspoon’s with a meal and a drink carefully positioned in shot. That way, he reasons, he looks like a man with somewhere to be. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Remains of US airman missing since second world war laid to rest in Florida 05. May 2026 (11:00) Robert Cyr Jr, a US navy airman, had gone missing in 1944 when his seaplane crashed in the Segond channelThe remains of a US military aviator who went missing after his crew crashed during the second world war were recovered and identified through DNA analysis and his family recently laid him to rest in Florida, according to officials.US navy airman Robert Cyr Jr’s burial in Clearwater, Florida, brought to an end a decades-long saga that began on 22 January 1944, when he and eight fellow crewmates crashed while they were aboard a seaplane as it took off in the Segond channel in what is now the south Pacific’s Republic of Vanuatu. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Explosion at fireworks factory in China kills at least 26 05. May 2026 (10:34) Other fireworks manufacturers in Liuyang, in central Hunan province, ordered to halt production after deadly blastAn explosion at a fireworks plant in a central Chinese province has killed at least 26 people and injured 61, prompting the halting of all firework manufacturing near the site.The blast occurred in the city of Changsha, in Hunan province, on Monday afternoon, China’s official news agency Xinhua said. China Daily said the plant was operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co in the Changsha-administered, county-level city of Liuyang. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cabinet minister warns Labour against ‘doomscrolling’ through leaders like the Tories 05. May 2026 (10:26) Steve Reed urges MPs not to move against Keir Starmer and says most people are ‘sick and tired of all this psychodrama’Labour should not be “doomscrolling” through leaders like the Conservatives, the communities secretary, Steve Reed, has said, urging MPs not to move against Keir Starmer after the May elections.MPs who fear Starmer cannot lead the party into the next general election because of his unpopularity are understood to have been discussing whether to lay out a timetable for his departure to present to the prime minister. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Alan Jones claims invalid warrants, police impropriety and ‘willy-nilly’ search in sex abuse investigation 05. May 2026 (10:09) Broadcaster’s lawyers say NSW police should reveal which officers accessed or downloaded material from Jones’s phoneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPolice stand accused of engaging in impropriety when raiding the home of former shock jock Alan Jones during a sexual assault investigation.Officers searched the 85-year-old’s Sydney home in November 2024 after an eight-month investigation into reports of historical sexual abuse. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jefferson Lewis excused from appearing in court over alleged murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby 05. May 2026 (09:53) Lewis, 47, did not appear at first hearing since being charged over death of girl, 5, who was allegedly abducted from an Alice Springs town campWarning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have diedJefferson Lewis, the man accused of murdering five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby near a town camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory last week, has been excused from his first court appearance.Lewis, 47, was expected to appear in the Alice Springs local court via video link on Tuesday morning, charged with murder and two other charges that cannot be published for legal reasons.Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Mensline on 1300 789 978 Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Middle East crisis live: US targets Iranian boats amid tense push for control of strait of Hormuz 05. May 2026 (08:49) US says it has destroyed six small Iranian military boats – which Tehran denies – while Iran launched barrage of attacks on US-allied United Arab EmiratesDonald Trump sends warships to break Iran’s strait of Hormuz blockadeThe Israeli military has issued more forced displacement orders for people in southern Lebanon – this time for those in the towns of Jabsheet and Sarafand.In a statement on social media, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said these residents should evacuate their homes “immediately and move away from the villages and towns for a distance of at least 1000 metres to open areas”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Salisbury Cathedral restores stained-glass treasure by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris 05. May 2026 (08:00) Project to refurbish ‘Angels’ hailed huge success as dean says it will ‘lift spirits and rekindle hope’Sam Kelly admitted there had been some nights of broken sleep as he led a two-year project to restore one of Salisbury Cathedral’s treasures, a stained-glass window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris.“It would be wrong to say I didn’t lie awake sometimes,” said the head glazier. “You are working on something that is very precious and if it fell on the floor, it would be very bad.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia eyes security pact with Fiji as pushback from Beijing undermines agreement with Vanuatu 05. May 2026 (07:34) Foreign minister Penny Wong visits Fiji this week to progress the security and economic agreementFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia looks close to signing a landmark security and economic agreement with Fiji as part of the Albanese government’s efforts to contain China’s growing influence across the Pacific.But pushback from Beijing has undermined a separate pact with Vanuatu’s government, resulting in a scaling back of a deal aimed at locking in Australia as the country’s primary security partner. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
