United Kingdom

Opposition candidate Péter Magyar holds rally outside Budapest as Orbán visits Székesfehérvár ahead of Sunday election Ashifa Kassam and Flora Garamvolgyi in Budapest As a child growing up in Budapest, Péter Magyar had a poster of Viktor Orbán – at the time a leading figure in the country’s pro-democracy movement – hanging above his bed. Continue reading...

Amendment calling for step-incest to be included in ban on harmful content tabled by Conservative peer Gabby Bertin The government has agreed to ban the production of porngraphy depicting sex acts between stepfamily members following a vote in the House of Lords. An amendment calling for step-incest to be included in a ban on harmful content was tabled by Conservative peer Lady Gabby Bertin, who led a review into pornography regulation that was published last year. Continue reading...

Prime minister says conversation with US president on Thursday night focused on need for ‘practical plan’ to open strait of Hormuz Tony Blair, the former Labour prime minister, has joined those saying the government should allow drilling for oil and gas in the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea. Both applications were approved by the last Conservative government, but then overturned by a court ruling. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has to make a decision about the revised applications operating in a quasi-judicial capacity, which means he has to follow due process and can’t take the decision purely on political ground. The current debate [on energy policy] is deadlocked between two incomplete responses. The government argues the answer is to accelerate Clean Power 2030, focusing on decarbonising the electricity system as quickly as possible. The opposition argues that the answer is to expand domestic oil and gas production. Both positions contain elements of truth, but ne

Credit can be used to offset future bills as full-year losses at UK division widen to £41.3m and it adds 92 stores Starbucks’s UK retail arm received a £13.7m corporation tax credit last year, even as its sales increased 6% and it added more than 90 stores. The credit, which can be used to offset future tax bills, comes after losses widened to £41.3m in the 12 months to the end of September – almost matching the £40m it paid in royalty and licence fees to its parent company. Continue reading...

Vice-president leading US delegation in negotiations due to take place in Islamabad on Saturday Netanyahu says there is no ceasefire in Lebanon as Israel launches fresh strikes The streets of Islamabad are on strict lockdown as Pakistan’s capital prepares to play host to historic negotiations between Iran and the US that have dangled the promise of an end to war that has devastated the Middle East. Even as the US-Iran ceasefire looked increasingly precarious, amid Israel’s continued bombardment of Lebanon and disputes over the terms of the talks, Pakistani officials insist that the make-or-break peace negotiations will be going ahead over the weekend as planned Continue reading...

Celebrities including Annie Lennox and Miriam Margolyes sign letter to force after pro-Palestine march route rejected Annie Lennox and Miriam Margolyes are among artists who have accused the Metropolitan police of giving preferential treatment to a far-right demonstration led by Tommy Robinson over a pro-Palestine protest in London on the same day. The pro-Palestine movement has had its preferred route through central London for its annual commemoration of Nakba – the mass expulsion of Palestinians – rejected by the Met, while the “Unite the Kingdom” demonstration will take place on the same date in Kingsway, the Strand, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Square. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, posted on X: “London is ours on May 16th.” Continue reading...

‘Predatory industry’ adept at pivoting quickly to target new mediums and markets, says independent senator David Pocock Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor’s plan for a partial ban on gambling advertising is ripe for exploitation, say experts and crossbench MPs, including David Pocock, warning rules applying to podcasters, social media platforms and influencers need to be tightened. But industry sources say podcast companies including Apple could consider removing all wagering advertising if there were no simple mechanism to work within the rules. Continue reading...

Rebels put forward amendments to courts bill in attempt to stop government plans to cut back on jury trials Labour MPs are hoping to hijack plans to cut back on jury trials in England and Wales by proposing specialist courts for sexual offences with fixed dates for trial. Those behind the amendment want to block the wider plan to stop thousands of cases being potentially eligible for jury trials – a measure ministers say is needed to cut court backlogs – and they say the specialist courts alone could still solve much of the problem. Continue reading...

Kimberley Milne jumped to her death in Scotland in July 2023, but prosecutors in a landmark case said on Friday that she was driven to do it by her husband’s physical abuse. Lee Milne, 40, was sentenced to eight years in prison following his conviction in Glasgow’s High Court for culpable homicide and engaging in abusive behaviour. It was the first case in which Scottish prosecutors asked jurors to find an abusive spouse responsible for the death of a victim who takes their own life. “Lee Milne...

Exclusive: Dozens of organizations write to Congress after general announced plan to ‘deal with’ those fleeing any humanitarian crisis on the island Dozens of US and international human rights organizations are decrying the Trump administration’s plans to establish a migrant “camp” for fleeing Cubans at the Guantánamo Bay military base if the island nation’s crisis worsens under pressure from the US, according to a letter to members of Congress on Friday. The 85 groups plan to submit the joint letter, exclusively shared with the Guardian, to US senators and House representatives, expressing their “profound concern” with comments made last month by a top Department of Defense commander, and describing any prospect of further migrant detention at the base as “deeply troubling and unacceptable”. Continue reading...