- Poland's far-right lays down demands to presidential hopefuls Reuters
- Race for Poland’s presidency blows wide open politico.eu
- Poland Election: Trzaskowski Wins Critical Vote for President The New York Times
- Polish centrist and nationalist presidential candidates to face off in 2nd round CNN
- Donald Tusk: next two weeks will ‘decide future of Poland’ The Guardian
Biden’s cancer diagnosis raises fresh questions about his health in White House
The news that he has "aggressive" prostate cancer has some medics asking why it was not detected sooner.
French police launch prison hunt for mini Chinese-made phones
The phones, no bigger than a cigarette-lighter, were being used to mastermind crimes from inside jail.
Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘buying time’ to stall truce talks
It follows Donald Trump saying Russia and Ukraine will "immediately" start negotiating, after a two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Iran’s Khamenei doubts US nuclear talks will lead to agreement
"We don't think it will lead to any outcome," the supreme leader warns, saying the US is making "outrageous" demands on uranium enrichment.
Tornado outbreak concerns grow in U.S. And, Hamas-Israel talks hit impasse – NPR
Seven Mexican youths shot dead at church festivity
The young men were shot dead in Guanajuato, a state where rival cartels are vying for territory.
Ukraine, Russia say drone strikes continue after Trump-Putin call – CNN
- Ukraine, Russia say drone strikes continue after Trump-Putin call CNN
- Russia attacks Ukraine with drones after Trump-Putin call ABC News
- Russia Unleashes One of Its Largest Drone Barrages of the Ukraine War The New York Times
- Russia launches war's largest drone attack ahead of Putin-Trump call Reuters
- Russia launches biggest drone attack since invasion began, says Ukraine BBC
Qatar defends offer of plane gift to Trump as ‘a normal thing between allies’ – US politics live
PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani dismisses concerns country is trying to buy influence as Schumer introduces bill to block such a move
President Donald Trump is expected to head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet congressional Republicans as they aim to reach agreement on a sweeping tax-cut bill, with their narrow majority divided over the scope of spending cuts, reports Reuters.
Hardline Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Friday briefly blocked the advance of the bill – which nonpartisan analysts say could add $3tn to $5tn to the federal government’s $36.2tn debt – but relented on Sunday.
Continue reading...Zelenskyy says Russia ‘trying to buy time to continue war’ – Ukraine war live
Ukrainian president posts on social media after Putin refuses to agree to a ceasefire in phone call with Trump
The European Union has adopted new sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, focusing on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, human rights violations and hybrid threats, the EU’s foreign policy chief said.
Kaja Kallas said in a post on X:
The EU has approved its 17th sanctions package against Russia, targeting nearly 200 shadow fleet ships.
New measures also address hybrid threats and human rights.
Continue reading...UN warns 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours without aid – Israel-Gaza war live
UN’s humanitarian chief says aid lorries, which contain baby food and nutrition, are technically in Gaza but have not reached civilians
Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of Unrwa, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, has been speaking to Euronews.
He said US President Donald Trump has the unique power to force Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “change the situation” in Gaza.
I do believe that President Donald Trump has the necessary influence to change the situation in Gaza and make sure that the siege be lifted and that the population get access to the assistance it deserves.
It’s an outrage that we are confronted by a situation of starvation when it comes to Gaza. It’s a completely fabricated one. We are in a situation where hunger and food are being weaponised for political and military purposes…
What is needed in Gaza is a massive, unhindered, uninterrupted assistance of supply to make sure that we are reversing the trend of the spreading hunger.
Continue reading...UK suspends trade talks with Israel as Lammy calls Gaza blockade ‘morally wrong’ and ‘unjustifiable’ – as it happened
Foreign secretary tells parliament that the Israeli government’s ‘egregious actions and rhetoric’ are isolating the country from its friends and partners. This live blog is closed
The Scottish secretary has said the new UK-EU trade deal provides “12 years of certainty and stability” for the fishing industry, amid criticism from the industry that the government has made too large a concession to the EU on fishing rights.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has described the deal as a “horror show”, but Ian Murray said: “I don’t agree with that.”
It gives 12 years of certainty and stability for the industry, it doesn’t change any of the deal that was put in place in 2019, which is 25% more quotas for UK and Scottish trawlers and it gives wide access, of course to the new markets of the EU, in terms of pushing away all that red tape that was there before.
Not one more fish will be taken out of Scottish waters by an EU trawler as part of this deal and that provides that stability and certainty.
We should never trust Keir Starmer. You know, he’s screwing things up domestically, so he gets on the international bandwagon.
He’s selling us out, not just on Brexit, but on Chagos and … we’re hearing all sorts of things about Gibraltar. We’ll hold them to account on this. Where Labour negotiates, Britain always seem to lose.
Continue reading...India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ flooded after heavy rains
Three people have been killed in Bengaluru after the city received heavy rainfall from Sunday night.
Call for safety review after producer injured by falling palm tree at Cannes film festival
Festival attendee was hospitalised by a falling tree on the celebrated Croisette boulevard
The producers of a Japanese film which screened at the Cannes film festival have called for an investigation and safety review after one of their team was struck and badly injured by a falling palm tree on the famous Croisette boulevard.
The incident occurred on Saturday as the team behind Brand New Landscape, which was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, were walking along Cannes’ celebrated seafront road when a three-metre tree fell on to the pavement. Local authorities said a man in his 30s was injured.
Continue reading...Thames Water chair could face questions after comments to MPs on bonuses
Exclusive: Sir Adrian Montague told select committee paying bonuses out of emergency £3bn loan was insisted upon by creditors
The chair of Thames Water could face more questions over his statement to parliament that large bonuses to be paid to senior bosses out of an emergency £3bn loan were insisted upon by creditors.
Sir Adrian Montague told the environment, food and rural affairs (Efra) select committee last week that the lenders had insisted that “very substantial” bonuses of up to 50% of salary should be paid to company executives from the controversial loan in order to retain key staff.
Continue reading...Jailed wife of ex-Tory councillor loses sentence appeal over Southport tweet
Lucy Connolly was imprisoned for 31 months for stirring racial hatred online after deadly knife attacks
A childminder who was jailed for 31 months after calling for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire after the Southport attacks has lost an appeal against her sentence at the Court of Appeal.
Lucy Connolly, who was married to a Conservative councillor, said in an X post in July last year: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care … if that makes me racist so be it.”
Continue reading...Tommy Robinson due for release in days after 18-month sentence cut
High court reduces far-right activist’s contempt of court sentence by four months
Tommy Robinson is due to be released from prison within days after his 18-month sentence for contempt of court was cut by four months.
The high court reduced the sentence for the civil offence, for which Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed in October. He was sent to prison after admitting multiple breaches of an injunction, made in 2021, that prevented him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.
Continue reading...First Thing: UN says 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours under Israeli aid blockade
UK, France and Canada warn Israel of action if ‘egregious’ conduct in Gaza continues. Plus, Trump and Putin discuss Ukraine
Good morning.
The UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC this morning that 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid did not reach them in time. Five aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday but Fletcher described this as a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for the population’s needs.
What else is the UN saying about Israel’s aid blockade, in place since 2 March? A UN-backed report recently estimated that one in five people in the territory were facing starvation. The UN posted a statement on Monday reading: “Everyone in Gaza is hungry. Without immediate action, nearly a quarter of the population could be pushed into famine. Food aid must be allowed into Gaza now to prevent a catastrophe.”
Here’s what the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said: Israel decided on Sunday to resume the entry of a “basic quantity” of food, after coming under increasing international pressure. But yesterday Netanyahu hit back at the UK, France and Canada for condemning Israel, calling on them to follow Donald Trump’s example.
What’s the latest with Israel’s ongoing military bombardment? Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israel had killed at least 44 people in Gaza today. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces bombed a pharmaceutical laboratory. Hundreds of people have been killed in the past week, many of them women and children, as Israel’s attacks have intensified.
Continue reading...Reeves eyes Gulf trade pact as ‘next deal,’ Bank of England’s Pill says pace of interest rate cuts ‘too rapid’ – as it happened
China and Australia cut interest rates; Shell faces protests calling for clean-up in Niger Delta
Here’s our full story on Greggs.
Sales at Greggs have picked up after the UK’s biggest bakery chain branched out into iced drinks, pizza boxes and a macaroni cheese that has gone viral on social media.
These are important issues and we respect the right of people to express their view. But for many years the vast majority of spills in the Niger Delta have been caused by third parties acting unlawfully, such as oil thieves who drill holes in pipelines, or saboteurs.
These challenges are managed by a joint venture which Shell’s former Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, operated, cleaning up every spill from the joint venture’s facilities.
Continue reading...Titan of Russian ballet Yuri Grigorovich dies at 98
Acclaimed Russian ballet choreographer, Yuri Grigorovich, received top Soviet and Russian honours.