Migratory bird numbers fall in Britain despite last year’s warm spring 21. May 2026 (07:00) British Trust for Ornithology says 2025 breeding season was especially disastrous for warbler species
After a mild, wet and stormy winter in the UK, spring 2025 was one of the warmest and driest ever, while the summer was the hottest since records began, most particularly in England and Wales.Good news, you might think, for migratory birds – especially for eight species of warblers that travel here from their winter quarters in Africa. Yet according to data from bird ringers, collated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), last year’s breeding season was pretty disastrous. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia’s unemployment rate jumps to 4.5% in ‘tentative signs labour market is buckling’ 21. May 2026 (05:50) Surprise rise in jobless rate will give Reserve Bank more reason to delay another interest rate hike at June meetingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s unemployment rate has jumped to 4.5% in April to reach the highest in about four-and-half-years, amid fears rising interest rates and the global oil crisis will smash economic growth.The number of employed people unexpectedly fell by 18,600 in the month – the first decline this year – dragging the jobless rate up from 4.3%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ex-DoJ prosecutor charged with sending sealed Jack Smith Trump report to personal email 21. May 2026 (03:58) Carmen Mercedes Lineberger accused of hiding files related to Trump documents investigation as bundt cake recipeA former Department of Justice prosecutor is facing felony charges after emailing herself a sealed Biden-era investigative report concerning Donald Trump and attempting to hide the documents as cake recipes, federal authorities said on Wednesday.Carmen Mercedes Lineberger, who worked as a managing assistant US attorney in Florida, is facing two counts of theft of government money or property in addition to charges related to her alleged alteration of the documents, according to the indictment. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Papua New Guinea warns against fishing in New Ireland after mystery deaths of marine life 21. May 2026 (02:52) Initial testing found evidence of metals in water samples, months after province’s residents began reporting unusual numbers of dead fish washing ashorePapua New Guinea’s government has warned communities not to fish from parts of the New Ireland coastline as preliminary tests show evidence of metals in some water samples, after months of residents reporting dead marine life in the area.On 7 May the fisheries minister, Jelta Wong, said initial testing conducted by an independent company detected various metals in water samples taken from affected areas around Kafkaf village and Larairu lagoon in New Ireland, an island in eastern PNG. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Voters across parties believe UK net migration is rising despite sharp drop 21. May 2026 (01:01) Study, published as latest migration figures are released, shows incorrect perceptions driving immigration debatePeople mistakenly believe net migration is rising in Britain despite figures dropping to their lowest level in years, a leading thinktank has found.New research from British Future, published ahead of latest government figures on migration, has revealed a chasm between reality and public perception of net migration, with a substantial portion of the public believing it has increased, despite figures showing a sharp fall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Manchester shows biggest fall in inner-city deprivation in boost for Burnham 21. May 2026 (01:01) City made outsized contribution to falling levels of deprivation between 2010 and 2025, thinktank finds Manchester has recorded the biggest fall in inner-city deprivation in Britain, according to a report, as Andy Burnham stakes a claim that he could replicate the city’s revival nationwide.As the frontrunner to replace Keir Starmer, the Greater Manchester mayor has placed the city’s economic performance at the heart of his campaign, describing “Manchesterism” as a political philosophy for a more interventionist approach to the economy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Incoming Ofcom chair vows to take on ‘tech bros’ 21. May 2026 (01:00) Ian Cheshire says media regulator must address perception it has been complacent and slow on online safetyOfcom’s incoming chair has vowed to take on the “tech bros”, as he conceded there was now a perception the regulator had been complacent and slow over concerns about online safety.Ian Cheshire, the former Channel 4 chair who has secured the job overseeing the technology and media regulator, also told MPs he had personal concerns about the impact of social media on under-16s. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nvidia’s revenue blows past Wall Street expectations as AI boom accelerates 21. May 2026 (00:45) Many analysts view company’s financial performance as a broader referendum on AI buildoutNvidia continued its years-long streak of beating Wall Street’s expectations for growth on Wednesday, reassuring most investors that the AI boom, particularly the global explosion of datacenters, will continue apace.“The buildout of AI factories – the largest infrastructure expansion in human history – is accelerating at extraordinary speed,” said Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, in a statement. “Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value, and scaling rapidly across companies and industries.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia news live: Penny Wong rebukes Israel over ‘shocking and unacceptable’ treatment of flotilla activists 20. May 2026 (23:52) Australia’s foreign minister condemns video posted by Israel’s national security minister taunting detained activists. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThousands of childcare workers prepare walk off job over key federal government paymentAs many as 20,000 childcare workers are preparing to walk off the job around the country in July, after the Albanese government failed to extend a key workers retention payment in last week’s federal budget.We cannot go backwards. Educators fought hard for this and the government had every opportunity in the Budget to finish the job. The 15 per cent pay rise recognised that early childhood educators had been undervalued for too long. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘We will not go back to Jim Crow’: thousand of Mississippians rally for voting rights 20. May 2026 (23:36) Demonstration, held at historic location where the ‘Mississippi Plan’ was enacted, comes as southern states race to dilute Black voting powerThousands of Mississippians, along with allies from other southern states, gathered at the state’s War Memorial Building auditorium on Wednesday in support of voting rights. It was the latest in a series of actions protesting the supreme court’s recent decision gutting the provision of the Voting Rights Act preventing racial discrimination, and held on a site integral to the state’s history of Black disenfranchisement.Section 2 “stopped states, counties, cities, from passing redistricting maps that discriminate against Black voters and it led to the biggest growth of Black political power since Reconstruction”, said Amir Badat, the southern states director at the voting rights group Fair Fight Action. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
