Modern slavery at record levels in UK and expected to worsen, report warns 05. May 2026 (01:01) Government’s anti-slavery commissioner says traffickers are exploiting a growing pipeline of vulnerabilitySlavery in the UK is at record levels and is expected to worsen over the next decade, the government’s independent anti-slavery commissioner has warned.According to the number of referrals to the national referral mechanism, which assesses potential victims of slavery and provides support to victims, numbers have almost doubled in the last five years from 12,691 referrals in 2021 to 23,411 in 2025, the highest ever number. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
California seeks millions in penalties from State Farm over alleged claims violations after LA wildfires 05. May 2026 (00:46) State’s top insurance regulator says insurance company violated law while handling claims from 2025 wildfiresCalifornia is seeking millions of dollars in penalties from State Farm after an investigation found the insurance company was slow to investigate and underpaid claims from the 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires, regulators announced on Monday.State Farm violated the law hundreds of times in a sampling of 220 cases, the state’s insurance commissioner, Ricardo Lara, said. The maximum penalty amount allowed by law would be about $4m if State Farm is found to be “willful” in violating state law. Regulators may also temporarily suspend the company’s license, effectively prohibiting the state’s largest home insurer from writing new policies for a year in California. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Person shot by law enforcement near Washington monument, Secret Service says 05. May 2026 (00:29) The person’s condition and the circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately knownAn individual was shot by law enforcement officers on Monday near the Washington monument, the Secret Service said. The shooting occurred shortly after JD Vance’s motorcade passed through the area.The individual was first identified by plainclothes officers, who said he looked suspicious and was believed to be carrying a firearm, according to Matthew Quinn, the deputy director of the Secret Service. These officers called in support from uniformed agents. When the individual saw the uniformed agents, Quinn said he fled on foot, drew his gun and fired. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Norwegian fish farms polluting fjords with waste likened to ‘raw sewage of millions of people’ 05. May 2026 (00:01) Exclusive: ‘Fish sludge’ in coastal waters now has nutrient levels equivalent to those in untreated effluent of country the size of Australia, report findsNorwegian fish farms are filling fjords and other coastal waters with nutrient pollution equivalent to the raw sewage of tens of millions of people each year, a report has found.Norway is the largest farmed salmon producer in the world, and nutrients in fish feed are excreted directly into coastal waters. Analysis from the Sunstone Institute found that Norwegian aquaculture released 75,000 tonnes of nitrogen, 13,000 tonnes of phosphorus and 360,000 tonnes of organic carbon in 2025. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia news live: four Australians among passengers on luxury cruise ship hit by deadly suspected hantavirus outbreak 04. May 2026 (23:45) MV Hondius remains off the coast of Cape Verde after a suspected respiratory virus outbreak killed three people and left three more seriously ill. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThanks so much to Martin Farrer for kicking us off this morning. I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be bringing you all the live news until mid-afternoon today.Mortgage holders are set to be hundreds of dollars worse off per month than they were at the start of the year as the Reserve Bank prepares to unload a third consecutive interest rate hike on borrowers, Australian Associated Press reports. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settle lawsuit over acrimonious It Ends With Us production 04. May 2026 (23:42) Settlement details were not revealed in the agreement that put an end to a highly anticipated trial before it beganSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have settled their legal dispute from the acrimonious production of their 2024 film It Ends With Us, just weeks before a highly anticipated scheduled trial.In a joint statement on Monday, legal representatives of both parties said: “The end product – the movie It Ends With Us – is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors – and all survivors – is a goal that we stand behind.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
GameStop shares fall 10% after CEO skirts questions over eBay acquisition details 04. May 2026 (23:33) Ryan Cohen said he didn’t understand questions about how the video games retailer could afford its $55.5bn bidSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailGameStop’s shares fell more than 10% on Monday as questions emerged about how the company would finance its surprise $55.5bn bid for eBay.In an interview with CNBC, Ryan Cohen, GameStop’s CEO, skirted repeated inquiries about how the video games retailer could afford the deal, saying he didn’t understand the questions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A test of our values’: Starmer to call for whole-society response to rising antisemitism 04. May 2026 (23:30) PM will say responsibility to stand with Jewish communities lies with ‘every one of us’ at event on TuesdayKeir Starmer will call for a whole-of-society response to rising antisemitism on Tuesday, saying that it is not enough simply to condemn the scourge, but people “must show it” through their actions too.Before a roundtable event at Downing Street, the prime minister will call for action on all forms of antisemitism, after a knife attack against the Jewish community in Golders Green last week, a spate of serious arson attacks and the terror incident in Heaton Park in October. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Zohran Mamdani condemns ICE after police and protesters clash in Brooklyn 04. May 2026 (23:25) Police forcibly broke up protest outside hospital where federal immigration agents took detainee for evaluationSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and other local officials on Monday condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after federal officers dragged a man out of a hospital building where he had been taken following an arrest, prompting a crowd of protesters to gather outside, where they clashed with police.The incident over the weekend has also drawn scrutiny from critics questioning the New York police department’s response at the scene, in relation to New York City’s sanctuary laws, which bar local police from assisting federal immigration authorities in civil immigration enforcement. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Three die in boating tragedy off NSW coast after rescue boat rolls while trying to help sinking yacht 04. May 2026 (23:18) Three people confirmed dead but four made it to shore after rescue went wrong in rough seasThree people are dead after a marine rescue turned deadly.NSW Police said four people made it to shore after two vessels became stricken in heavy conditions on Monday night. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
