Air France and Airbus guilty of corporate manslaughter for 2009 plane crash 21. May 2026 (14:38) Verdict is latest legal milestone over France’s worst ever air disasterA Paris appeals court has found Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio-Paris plane crash that killed 228 passengers and crew in France’s worst air disaster.The verdict is the latest milestone in a legal marathon involving two of France’s most emblematic companies and families of the mainly French, Brazilian and German victims. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It’s broken English’: MP’s attempt to speak Jamaican in parliament sparks language row 21. May 2026 (14:38) Parliamentary rule that only English is allowed has reignited debate about language, legitimacy and postcolonial identityWhen the Jamaican MP Nekeisha Burchell stood up to give her maiden speech, she was keenly aware of how much her country’s parliament mirrored the Westminster version thousands of miles away in London.As in the UK, the session on 12 May had started with the arrival of the ceremonial mace – a 1.7-metre ornamented silver staff representing the British monarch’s authority over parliament – which now rested on a table between the government and the opposition. Despite the heat outside, debate was presided over by the speaker dressed in a ceremonial robe. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK summons Israel’s chargé d’affaires over video of minister taunting activists 21. May 2026 (14:18) Foreign Office denounces treatment of Gaza flotilla activists as outcry over Itamar Ben-Gvir’s video escalatesThe UK has summoned Israel’s chargé d’affaires as international outrage escalates over a video posted by the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, in which he is seen taunting activists detained after a Gaza-bound flotilla was intercepted.The global outcry continued as Israel began releasing hundreds of the activists who attempted to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Authorities are in the process of deporting them, according to a legal organisation working with the flotilla. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Record number of dams dismantled in Europe in effort to help wildlife thrive 21. May 2026 (14:14) Weirs, culverts and sluices among 602 barriers demolished in year in attempt to restore 15,500 miles of rivers by 2030A few miles downstream from a lava field in western Iceland, the gargle of free-flowing water is unbroken for the first time in decades after hydraulic peckers chipped away at a dilapidated dam that once powered a farm. The structure on the River Melsá had continued to block fish migration long after falling into disrepair.“It wasn’t providing any electricity; the old power house had sheep living in it,” said Hamish Moir, a river engineer from CBEC, a Scottish firm that provided technical support for the demolition in December. To see the river restored to its natural state was “really rewarding”, he said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
JPMorgan banker countersues accuser, says sexual assault 'lies' ruined her life 21. May 2026 (14:06) Investment banker Lorna Hajdini says ex-colleague Chirayu Rana’s ‘malicious’ allegations ‘wreaked havoc’The JPMorgan Chase investment banker accused of sexual assault in an explosive lawsuit that went viral countersued her accuser, saying his malicious lies destroyed her reputation and “wreaked havoc” on her life.In papers filed on Tuesday night in a New York state court in Manhattan, Lorna Hajdini said her former colleague Chirayu Rana fabricated allegations that she raped and drugged him, in order to attract maximum press coverage, cause her pain and extract millions of dollars from her and JPMorgan. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
No evidence of formal security vetting when Andrew became UK trade envoy, minister says 21. May 2026 (13:59) Documents released by government also show late queen was ‘very keen’ for her son to have prominent roleUK politics live – latest updatesFormal security vetting and due diligence appears not to have been carried out before the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy, the government has said, as it emerged that the late queen was “very keen” for her son to take up a prominent role in promoting Britain’s interests.The first batch of documents relating to the appointment of the former prince as trade envoy by Tony Blair in 2001 includes a memo dated 25 February 2000 and addressed to Robin Cook, then the foreign secretary, in which the then chief executive of British Trade International, David Wright, said Queen Elizabeth II’s “wish” had been for Mountbatten-Windsor, then the Duke of York, to take on the role. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK service sector activity slumps in one of sharpest declines for a decade 21. May 2026 (13:55) Firms hit by ‘perfect storm’ of uncertainty about Labour leadership and impact of Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesCompanies in the UK’s dominant services sector have reported one of the sharpest declines in business activity in a decade, according to a closely watched index.Businesses are grappling with a “perfect storm” of domestic political uncertainty around Keir Starmer’s leadership as prime minister and the growing impact of the Iran war, leading to soaring costs, supply shortages and job cuts, the report said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
RFK Jr fires leaders of group that sets guidelines for preventive healthcare 21. May 2026 (13:48) US Preventive Services Task Force had already been largely sidelined before health secretary fired its two chairsThe Trump administration has fired the two leaders of an influential health group that determines when insurance must provide free preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, for millions of Americans.In letters dated 11 May, the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, notified the two doctors who chaired the US Preventive Services Task Force that he was terminating their appointments immediately, before the end of their multiyear terms. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Record 274 climbers summit Everest from Nepalese side in single day 21. May 2026 (13:06) Climbers take advantage of clear weather after threat of ice fall on normal route delayed start of spring season A record 274 climbers have reached the summit of Mount Everest from the Nepalese side in a single day after a spring season that started late because of the threat of ice fall on the normal tourist route.The climbers took advantage of the clear weather on Wednesday, said Rishi Ram Bhandari, of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Video shows ICE violently arresting Oregon farm workers and using facial recognition 21. May 2026 (13:00) Exclusive: Body-cam footage shared with the Guardian shows agents forced workers out of a van in what a judge has called ‘unlawful’ arrestNewly released body-camera footage shows US immigration officers stopping a van of farm workers in Oregon, smashing their windows and using facial recognition software to try to identify one of them.Videos from a 30 October 2025 operation were disclosed in court as part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) arrest tactics and racial profiling by agents. Lawyers for one of the detained farm workers shared the footage with the Guardian. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
