Badenoch to vow to scrap public sector equality duty in effort to fend off Reform 08. June 2026 (23:25) In speech on Tuesday, Tory leader will claim obligation to consider equality being used to advance ‘divisive agendas’Kemi Badenoch will vow to scrap the duty on public bodies to consider how they can promote equality as she seeks to head off the challenge from Reform UK by presenting her party as responsible but also in tune with populist anger.Badenoch, who was Conservative minister for equalities between 2020 and 2022, will commit to scrapping the public sector equality duty (PSED), a legal requirement obliging those bodies to think how they can improve society and promote equality in their day-to-day business. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump nominates his ex-lawyer Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general 08. June 2026 (23:14) Acting in the role since April, Blanche faces Senate confirmation after controversial DoJ movesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailDonald Trump nominated Todd Blanche to serve permanently as attorney general on Monday, lining up his former personal lawyer to be the country’s top law enforcement officer.The US president suggested earlier this week that Blanche, who was appointed on an acting basis in April after the president fired Pam Bondi, was set to receive the nod. “He’s a very talented guy,” Trump told a podcast. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How Trump acolytes seized on UK teen’s killing to push anti-immigration agenda 08. June 2026 (23:04) Senior administration officials jump on death of Henry Nowak – and statements echo language of the far rightOver a breathtaking few days that spanned Saturday’s 82nd anniversary of D-day, senior Trump administration officials have trampled over diplomatic protocol to tear into Europe’s immigration and anti-racism policies and argue that such actions could end western civilization.From the United States, Vice-President JD Vance and other administration officials jumped on a controversial murder case in Britain to accuse Keir Starmer’s government of lacking the Trump administration’s “political will and leadership” to stop mass migration and defend national sovereignty. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Apple debuts revamped ‘Siri AI’ and new child safety features for iPhones and iPads 08. June 2026 (22:47) At his final WWDC keynote, Tim Cook highlights AI-forward upgrade to the voice assistant to be widely released in fallAfter years of anticipation, user frustration and false starts, Apple announced a major upgrade to Siri at its annual developer conference on Monday. The voice assistant will come integrated with Apple’s artificial intelligence tool, Apple Intelligence, and has been rechristened “Siri AI”.The new Siri, which will be widely released in the fall, will more closely resemble AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, than a question-and-answer tool that draws from the web. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gordon S Wood, Pulitzer-prize winning historian, dies after being struck by a car in Rhode Island 08. June 2026 (21:32) A renowned academic, Wood was hit by a car as he was crossing a supermarket’s parking lot and later died of the injuriesGordon S Wood, a Pulitzer prize-winning author and historian, was killed on Sunday when he was struck by a car in a supermarket parking lot in Rhode Island.Wood, 92, won the Pulitzer in 1993 in the history category for The Radicalisation of the American Revolution, a landmark tome that advanced the theory of the break with Britain being at least as much of an internal social and political transformation as a desire to be rid of colonial masters. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Zelenskyy hopes Reform UK councils will allow Ukraine flags to be flown again 08. June 2026 (21:00) Exclusive: Ukrainian president says ‘small mistake can break a big friendship’ in wide-ranging interview with GuardianVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said the decision by some Reform UK councils to take down the Ukrainian flag was the kind of “small mistake that can break a big friendship”, as he underlined the significance of strong bilateral relations.The Ukrainian president tempered his rare foray into UK domestic politics by stressing how much the two countries “need each other” in the battle against Russia, which he said posed a threat not only to Ukraine but to Britain too. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Scores of firefighters tackle major blaze at south London recycling centre 08. June 2026 (20:53) Fire in Bermondsey sends huge plumes rising high over the city and disrupts train travel in the areaFifteen fire engines and about 100 firefighters have been called to tackle a major fire at a recycling centre in south London.Fire control officers were first called just after 5.30pm on Monday to the centre on Landmann Way in Bermondsey. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Federal judge rules Trump’s $100,000 fee for H-1B visas unlawful 08. June 2026 (20:47) President dramatically raised cost of visa for highly skilled workers in executive order last yearA US judge has invalidated Donald Trump’s $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications, ruling it an unlawful tax that violated federal administrative law and the constitution.US district judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued the 42-page ruling in a lawsuit filed by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenging a fee Trump announced in September that dramatically raised the cost of obtaining H-1B visas.. The ruling vacated the sweeping fee, which was a 20-to-50 fold increase on existing rates, and the Trump administration is widely expected to appeal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US confirms three new cases of flesh-eating screwworm in livestock 08. June 2026 (20:34) Department of Agriculture ays new cases in Texas and New Mexico as officials move to combat parasite’s spreadThe US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday confirmed three additional cases of New World screwworm – two more in Texas and the other in New Mexico, according to the agency’s animal health arm.The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the two Texas cases affected a calf in La Salle county and a goat in Gillespie county. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Complex relationship between Trump and Netanyahu continues to undermine Middle East ceasefire 08. June 2026 (20:23) Recent exchange of missiles between Iran and Israel highlights diverging views between US president and Israeli PM The latest eruption of hostilities between Iran and Israel appears to have been contained for now after Donald Trump insisted he called “all the shots” in the Middle East, but in a dangerously fragile region Benjamin Netanyahu has again shown he is ready to take shots of his own.The exchange of missiles on Sunday and Monday was ample demonstration of the inherent instability of the current limbo between war and peace, but it also shone a bright light on the complex and conflicted relationship between the US president and the Israeli prime minister, frenemies who could determine the fate of the current ceasefire. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
