General news

• Slot machine firms target UK’s poorest areas and channel funds to billionaires

  18-05-2025 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Politicians including Andy Burnham call for councils to be given powers to stop new sites openingSlot machine companies are targeting Britain’s poorest neighbourhoods and channelling the proceeds to billionaire-owned overseas corporations and a Wall Street fund that uses an offshore lending structure, the Guardian can reveal.The number of slot machine shops has risen by 7% since 2022, as companies -friendly planning and licensing laws to flood Britain’s high streets with n
  
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• Dramatic dip in baby hospitalizations for RSV linked to vaccine and treatment

  18-05-2025 13:00 via theguardian.com
  But older children, who had no access to the shots, had higher rates this winter compared with lastNew vaccines and treatments are linked to a dramatic decline in RSV hospitalizations for babies, according to a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).This past winter was the first RSV season with widespread availability of a vaccine given during pregnancy and a monoclonal antibody treatment given in the first eight months of life to prevent RSV (respiratory syncyti
  
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• Biden ‘failed this country’ by seeking second term, says Beto O’Rourke

  18-05-2025 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Ex-Texas representative, who lost gubernatorial election to Greg Abbott, joins Democrats lambasting former presidentJoe Biden “failed this country in the most important job that he had” by deciding to run for another term as US president before dropping out of the election that returned Donald Trump to the White House, where he has unflinchingly assaulted democratic norms, the former representative Beto O’Rourke said recently.“We might very well lose the greatest country
  
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• Israel open to ‘ending fighting’ as part of Gaza deal if hostages released and Hamas fighters exiled, PM indicates – Israel-Gaza war live

  18-05-2025 12:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Office of Israeli PM says negotiation team working in Doha on deal as Gaza health ministry accuses IDF of systematic targeting of hospitalsIn an earlier post, we reported on the dire situation at the Indonesian hospital, which is reportedly under siege by Israeli forces.Now Gaza’s health ministry has said that all public hospitals in the north of the territory were “out of service”. Continue reading...
  
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• The right reviled Francis. How will Pope Leo XIV confront the schism in the US church?

  18-05-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Some conservatives rejected Francis for his leftist leanings, but Leo could be able to realize his forerunner’s visionsRightwing Catholic Americans in positions of power – from the vice-president, JD Vance, to Leonardo Leo – may have breathed a brief sigh of relief when, after the white smoke cleared, Pope Leo XIV emerged on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica donning a traditional red mozzetta with a papal stole.It was, observers pointed out, a starkly different choice th
  
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• Jeanine Pirro is latest loyalist to join Fox News to Trump administration pipeline

  18-05-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Tapping a TV host to lead one of the key US prosecutor’s offices? For image-obsessed Trump it’s a well-worn path When Donald Trump launched a series of scathing attacks on Fox News after the network in effect called the general election for Joe Biden in 2020, it seemed that one of the most enduring relationships in politics could be over.Now, in 2025, it’s clear that the relationship between rightwing news channel and the mercurial president is firmer than ever. Trump’s h
  
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• ‘We will pay a huge price’: Ukraine fears war could drag on for years

  18-05-2025 11:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Kyiv officials believe Moscow is not interested in peace despite talks in Istanbul and Trump’s interventionUkrainian officials believe a largely stalemated war of attrition with Russia is likely to continue for several more years, despite international efforts pushed by Donald Trump to end the fighting.Following the inconclusive breakup of the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul on Friday, and despite the US president’s planned calls with Russia’s Vladimir Pu
  
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• Israel systematically targeting hospitals, Gaza health ministry says, after scores die in new IDF strikes – Israel-Gaza war live

  18-05-2025 11:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Gaza officials says hospitals are overwhelmed but are being repeatedly hit by Israel as reports say more than 100 people died in new strikesAt least 53,339 Palestinian people have been killed and 121,034 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.“There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the roads,” the health ministry wrote in its latest update on Telegram. Continue reading...
  
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• Pope Leo XIV calls for unity and 'missionary spirit' during inaugural mass

  18-05-2025 11:50
  
  An open-topped popemobile carrying Pope Leo XIV drove through St Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday morning, ahead of his inaugural mass.
  
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• Elton John says UK government being ‘absolute losers’ over AI copyright plans

  18-05-2025 11:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Songwriter says he thinks it is a ‘criminal offence’ to let tech firms use protected work without permissionSir Elton John has called the UK government “absolute losers” over proposals to let tech firms use copyright-protected work without permission.The songwriter said it was a “criminal offence” to change copyright law in favour of artificial intelligence companies. Continue reading...
  
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• Tusk’s coalition hopes to win over frustrated voters as Poland decides next president

  18-05-2025 11:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Rafał Trzaskowski still favourite to win as first round begins, despite KO’s slow progress on promises since 2023 Poles are voting in the first round of the presidential election on Sunday, in a vote seen a “make or break” moment for the country’s pro-European coalition government, which is still attempting to reverse damage inflicted on the rule of law by the previous populist-nationalist administration it ousted two years ago.Rafał Trzaskowski, the staunchly p
  
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• Climber scales Everest for 19th time, breaking record for most climbs by a non-Sherpa

  18-05-2025 11:02
  
  A British mountain guide has scaled Mount Everest for the 19th time, breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Sherpa guide
  
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• Russia fires 273 drones at Ukraine in largest attack since start of war

  18-05-2025 10:31 via theguardian.com
  
  One woman killed in Kyiv region in air offensive that follows first direct peace talks between the two sidesThe largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and wounded at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday.The attack came two days after Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks since 2022 and a day before a planned phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...
  
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• LIVE: Pope Leo XIV celebrates inaugural mass: ABC News Live

  18-05-2025 10:03
  
  24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events
  
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• Ten dead in ‘brutal’ attacks by Isis-linked militants on Mozambique wildlife reserve

  18-05-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Thousands have been displaced and conservation work halted as series of killings jeopardises decades of work in Niassa, one of Africa’s biggest protected areasOne of Africa’s largest protected areas has been shaken by a series of attacks by Islamic State-linked extremists, which have left at least 10 people dead.Conservationists in Niassa reserve, Mozambique, say decades of work to rebuild populations of lions, elephants and other keystone species are being jeopardised, as conservati
  
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• UK train companies could have to pay disabled passengers more compensation after rule change

  18-05-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Regulator says claims over failures no longer limited to the cost of a ticket in bid to toughen accessibility rulesRailway operators in the UK could soon have to pay out far greater sums in compensation to disabled passengers left unable to access trains despite booking assistance.The rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), has warned companies running trains and stations that compensation claims for failures can no longer be limited to the cost of a ticket. Continue reading...
  
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• Layla Moran urges more action on Israel and warns of ‘cruel destitution’ in Gaza

  18-05-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Lib Dem MP says UK’s recent tone is tougher but ‘in terms of concrete actions, not much has changed’Layla Moran has told the UK government to match its tougher tone on Israel with action as she warned that people in Gaza face “unbearably cruel levels of destitution”.The Lib Dem MP called for further action, including recognition of a Palestinian state, in a renewed appeal for the family of Mohammad, an NHS doctor who operated on her last year, whose elderly parents
  
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• Albanese to meet von der Leyen in Rome amid hopes EU free-trade deal can be revived – as it happened

  18-05-2025 07:40 via theguardian.com
  
  This blog is now closedLiberals must ‘build from the bottom up’ after election disaster – RustonAsked why the Liberals were now reviewing their embrace of the Paris climate agreement under the former government of Scott Morrison, Ruston says the walloping voters handed the party meant “absolutely everything” was up for review.To be quite frank, we have to build from the bottom up again because that election result was quite disastrous for the Liberal party and we ne
  
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• ‘Too big to fit in your mouth’: sunny spring delivers crop of ‘giant’ UK strawberries

  18-05-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  ‘Perfect’ weather conditions produce berries that growers say are between 10% and 20% bigger than usualThe UK’s sunny spring weather has provided “perfect” conditions to produce strawberries so big you “cannot fit them in your mouth”, UK growers have said.With nearly 20 years’ experience, Bartosz Pinkosz, the operations director at the Summer Berry Company, has “never seen anything like it”. The strawberries being harvested this month b
  
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• 2 dead, 19 injured after Mexican Navy sailboat crashes into Brooklyn Bridge

  18-05-2025 06:57
  Everyone who was injured was on the boat. Officials said they did not believe the bridge sustained any structural damage.
  
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• These are the Americans at risk of losing coverage due to proposed Medicaid cuts

  18-05-2025 06:22
  Republicans are proposing cuts to Medicaid as part of President Donald Trump's spending bill. Some Americans are worried the cuts will cause them to lose their coverage.
  
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• Victoria announces free public transport for under-18s, as state’s debt projected to rise

  18-05-2025 06:04 via theguardian.com
  The Jacinta Allan government says more than 1 million children and their families will benefit from the $318m programGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEvery Victorian child will get free public transport from 1 January next year, the state government has pledged.A new youth Myki, valid across the state, will save families up to $755 a year (the cost of a yearly student pass) under the scheme. Anyone under 18 in non-Myki areas will also be eligible to travel for free.Sign
  
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• Romanian run-off the most crucial on Europe’s ‘Super Sunday’ of elections

  18-05-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  A far-right win is real possibility in eastern European state on same day as votes in Poland and PortugalRomanians are voting in a pivotal presidential run-off that could radically alter their country’s strategic alignment and economic prospects, as voters in Poland and Portugal also cast their ballots in a European electoral “super Sunday”.The Romanian contest, the most consequential of the three, pits a brash, EU-critical, Trump-admiring populist against a centrist independen
  
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• Pope Leo XIV to hold inaugural mass at St Peter’s Square in front of 250,000

  18-05-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  World leaders to attend papal mass in Rome as first US pontiff receives fisher’s ring and wool palliumAn estimated 250,000 pilgrims and a host of world leaders and royals, including the US vice-president, JD Vance, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, and Britain’s Prince Edward, are expected to attend St Peter’s Square for the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV.The service, which begins on Sunday at 10am local time, marks the official
  
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• Pope Leo XIV holds inaugural mass at St Peter’s Square

  18-05-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  Volodymyr Zelenskyy and JD Vance among those present as Leo says he wants Catholic church to be ‘leaven of unity’Pope Leo XIV said he wanted the Catholic church to be a “small leaven of unity” in a time of “too much discord and too many wounds” during his inaugural papal mass attended by world leaders including the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the US vice-president, JD Vance.Calling for more love and unity, Leo said the church’s “t
  
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• ‘I pray this calm lasts’: fear lingers in Kashmir amid uneasy peace

  18-05-2025 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Residents of India-administered Kashmir worry root cause of conflict remains and return of violence is inevitableA week after fleeing artillery fire from across the border, Rina Begum returned to find her home in Kashmir devastated. The walls were cracked, the roof crumbling, windows blown inward, and glass shards scattered across the floor, mingling with the ashes of her daughter’s books.The 45-year-old gazed out through a fractured window frame at the looming mountains. “Hell has b
  
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• Trump admin live updates: Trump to speak with Putin on war in Ukraine next week

  18-05-2025 05:59
  President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he has a phone call scheduled with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday at 10 a.m.
  
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• Mexican navy ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge leaving two people dead

  18-05-2025 05:09 via theguardian.com
  Three of the ship’s masts could be seen snapping and partially collapsing after they brushed the bridge in New York CityA Mexican navy sailing ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday during a promotional tour in New York City, the top of its mast brushing the iconic span as it sailed through the East River.New York City mayor Eric Adams said two people were killed in the incident – another 19 people were injured, including two critically. There were 277 people aboard the ship &ndash
  
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