Trump says US navy like ‘pirates’ while seizing a ship in Iranian blockade 02. May 2026 (12:37) US president says ‘we took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business’Middle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has said the US navy acted “like pirates” as he described an operation seizing a ship amid the tit-for-tat American blockade of Iranian ports.“We … land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” said Trump at a rally in Florida on Friday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Steve Hilton: could this British former Fox News host be California’s next governor? 02. May 2026 (12:00) The race to succeed Gavin Newsom has teetered wildly, and with Democrats in disarray, the Republican ex-Downing Street adviser is leading in the polls. Can he really pull it off?Few political aspirations have proved more futile over the past two decades than running as a Republican for statewide office in California. Yet Steve Hilton – transplanted Brit, erstwhile business entrepreneur, a former Downing Street adviser to David Cameron and a former Fox News host who says he is friends with half of Donald Trump’s cabinet – is having a remarkably good time of it.With less than six weeks to go before a primary election that has proved to be both dramatic and wildly unpredictable, most polls put Hilton narrowly ahead of a fractured field of Democrats in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor. It is an astonishing turn of events in a state where Democrats enjoy supermajorities in the state legislature and a two-to-one advantage over the Republicans in voter registration. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
German museum to return rare Irritator dinosaur skull to Brazil 02. May 2026 (12:00) Spinosaurid fossil bought by Stuttgart institution in 1991 has been the subject of a long restitution campaignIt is a 113-million-year-old bone of contention.After Stuttgart’s museum of natural history bought a fossilised dinosaur skull in 1991, researchers found it was the most complete spinosaurid skull known to date, belonging to a previously unknown genus of the huge meat-eating dinosaurs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The White House power play post-dinner shooting: do what we say or else 02. May 2026 (12:00) After correspondents’ dinner shooting, administration has rushed to capitalize in pursuit of its political goalsLess than 72 hours after a man was arrested for trying to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House, the justice department rushed to court to make an extraordinary filing.The subject of the emergency was a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation seeking to halt the construction of a new White House ballroom. A federal judge ruled earlier this month that construction had to stop, though an appeals court later paused that ruling. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Deplorable’: ICE hires firm accused of ‘torture’ to track down undocumented children 02. May 2026 (12:00) Exclusive: Contractor denies allegations including ‘enforced disappearance’ and will help locate unaccompanied minorsUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded a contract to a private security company that has faced accusations of “torture” and “enforced disappearance” to assist in tracking down undocumented immigrant children who arrived in the US alone, a contracting document shows.ICE has stepped up its work so much in pursuing these minors in the US that it has contracted out some of its mission to a third party to put “boots on the ground” and locate immigrant children previously released from US government custody. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Family of six held by ICE arrives back in Colorado as lawyer attacks ‘kidnapping’ 02. May 2026 (12:00) El Gamal family was released from detention and then re-arrested as US officials appeared to overstep judge’s orderAn Egyptian mother and her children, previously jailed by immigration authorities, arrived back in their home in Colorado on Wednesday, after a days-long ordeal during which the Trump administration likely attempted to violate a federal judge’s order.Their attorney, Eric Lee, claimed the US government’s actions against the El Gamal family constituted “kidnapping” after immigration officials re-arrested the family last week. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Germany says it expected Trump’s withdrawal of US troops as row over Iran comments grows – live 02. May 2026 (11:52) German defence minister responds to US president’s announcement that 5,000 US troops will leave bases in GermanyHere is the full statement from German defence minister Boris Pistorius in response to the US’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany:The presence of American troops in Europe, particularly in Germany, serves the interests of both the US and ourselves.We collaborate closely with our US partners in Ramstein, Grafenwöhr, Frankfurt and elsewhere – to foster peace and security in Europe, to support Ukraine and to uphold joint deterrence. The US presence in Europe also serve its own security interests in Africa and the Middle East. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Some pro-Palestinian protests could be banned amid attacks on British Jews 02. May 2026 (11:29) PM worried about ‘cumulative’ effect of marches, as Met chief says Jewish communities facing biggest threatSome pro-Palestinian demonstrations could be stopped, the prime minister has warned, as the UK’s most senior police officer said the threat to the Jewish community was greater than it had ever been.Keir Starmer indicated he wanted the language expressed on some protest marches to be subjected to “tougher action” as he sought to allay the fears of British Jews after a series of attacks on their communities in recent weeks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Asylum seeker sent back to France in ‘one in, one out’ scheme to be returned to Syria 02. May 2026 (11:00) Kurdish Syrian man, 26, said he fled forced conscription by YPG militia because he ‘didn’t want to kill people’An asylum seeker sent back to France under the controversial “one in, one out” scheme faces being returned to Syria after authorities in Paris ruled it was safe to do so, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind.When the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced the “groundbreaking” deal in July 2025 to stop small boats crowded with asylum seekers from crossing the Channel – by forcibly returning one small-boat asylum seeker to France in exchange for bringing one in northern France legally to the UK – they emphasised that France was a safe country for returnees. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Letters and photos from Beatles’ early days to go on show in Hamburg 02. May 2026 (11:00) Exclusive: The collection, including donations from Paul McCartney’s brother Mike, shows band’s development in early 60sA rare set of letters and photos from the early days of the Beatles, in which they write about feeling like stars for the first time, is to go on display in Hamburg.The collection, from an influential period when the band lived in the German city, includes the only letter in existence with words from both Paul McCartney and John Lennon, which was written to the bassist’s brother, Mike McCartney. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
