No ‘tailor-made’ deal for UK if it wants to rejoin bloc, say former EU Brexit officials 18. May 2026 (20:45) Britain likely to face ‘warm, welcoming stance’ if it seeks re-entry but also a ‘hard-headed one’ – with no special dealsBritain would not be able to rejoin the EU on the special terms it enjoyed in the past, veterans of the Brexit negotiations have said.According to former officials from around Europe, the UK should not expect to achieve as beneficial a deal as it once had if it decided to begin negotiations on re-entry. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham vows to ‘change Labour’ in direct challenge to Keir Starmer 18. May 2026 (20:33) Expected candidate in Makerfield byelection says party ‘needs to change if we are to regain people’s trust’Andy Burnham drew the battle lines for the future of the Labour party on Monday as the Greater Manchester mayor promised he would “change Labour” and win back the voters the party had lost.Burnham, who is expected to be Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield byelection, claimed it would be no ordinary campaign and said he would make it about national issues where Labour was failing, in a direct challenge to the prime minister. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘It is heartbreaking’: panic in eastern DRC over return of Ebola 18. May 2026 (20:33) Residents of Ituri province fear spread of disease and economic impact of outbreak six years after the last“On public transport, in bars and at mass gatherings, everyone is talking about Ebola,” said Gloire Mumbesa, 38, a resident of Mongbwalu, a mining town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He said cases of the disease had been reported locally and panic was engulfing the area because of the lack of a vaccine for the Bundibudyo strain. “The fear is that this disease may spread to many other areas.”Residents of Ituri province in eastern DRC, where the World Health Organization announced an outbreak of Ebola last week, are living in growing fear of the possible continued spread of the disease and its deadly impacts, nearly six years after the last outbreak in the region ended. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Over 145,000 US children separated from parents since Trump’s ICE surge, study estimates 18. May 2026 (19:53) About 36% of children whose parents were detained were younger than six, Brookings Institution study foundMore than 145,000 US children have likely experienced a parent being detained by immigration authorities since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency, according to a new report published by a reputed US thinkthank.The report, released Monday by the Brookings Institution, estimates that about 146,635 children who are US citizens have had a parent detained during the mass deportation campaign the Trump administration embarked on after he retook office in early January. The study further found that of those children, more than 22,000 experienced the detention of all of their co-resident parents. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
London stabbing of journalist ordered by third party acting for Iran, court told 18. May 2026 (19:48) Pouria Zeraati, who worked for a dissident Farsi-language broadcaster, was attacked outside his home in 2024The stabbing of a journalist in London was a planned attack ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state, a court has heard.Pouria Zeraati, a British journalist of Iranian origin, had worked for Iran International, a Farsi-language dissident Farsi-language broadcaster, when he was stabbed in the leg outside his west London home in 2024. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Makerfield byelection is about more than Andy Burnham 18. May 2026 (19:47) If most popular Labour politician cannot win this seat then party’s electoral problems run deeper than Keir StarmerThe Makerfield byelection is bigger than Andy Burnham. Of the Labour MPs who were back on the constituency’s doorsteps in Hindley Green and Winstanley, just after an intensive local election campaign, many said the fight felt existential.It matters because it is probably the closest the UK will ever come to a direct presidential-style election, run through one single constituency and likely to decide the future of the Labour party. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Farage claim he bought £1.4m house with I’m a Celebrity fee under scrutiny 18. May 2026 (19:44) Accounts for Reform UK leader’s media company suggest money was not withdrawn at time of property purchase Nigel Farage is facing fresh scrutiny over his claim that he paid for his £1.4m house from a reality show fee rather than the millions gifted to him by a crypto billionaire.Accounts for the Reform leader’s personal media company, Thorn in the Side Ltd, suggest that money was not withdrawn from the firm at the time of the house purchase. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Halifax could disappear from UK high streets as Lloyds assesses branding strategy 18. May 2026 (19:44) Bank founded 174 years ago could be phased out from as early as 1 July as part of group’s reviewBosses at Lloyds Banking Group are considering axing the Halifax as a standalone brand, as part of a sweeping review that could result in the historic 174-year-old lender disappearing from Britain’s high streets.Lloyds has been assessing the future of its branding strategy and whether it will continue to operate everyday banking under three different brands – Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland – after government-backed rescue efforts at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Disposable’ operatives for hire are a new menace for western countries 18. May 2026 (19:30) A court case in New York has highlighted how Iran is using technology to recruit agents who may not even be regime supportersWhen on Friday a 32-year-old Iraqi was brought before a court in New York to be charged with planning to attack Jewish community sites in the US, a curtain was suddenly lifted on a corner of a shadowy world.The detention of Mohammed Saad Baqer al-Saadi in Turkey last week revealed rare details of Iran’s efforts to use terrorism to sow discord among communities in Europe, the UK and the US – but also the outlines of an uncertain and threatening future. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran makes new proposal for deal to end war, regional officials say 18. May 2026 (19:21) Tehran is said to have made or reiterated some concessions but source in mediator Pakistan appears pessimisticMiddle East crisis – live updatesIran has made a new proposal for a deal to definitively end the war in the Middle East, officials in the region said on Monday, though there was no sign of any immediate breakthrough in the stalled peace negotiations.A ceasefire has paused most violence after six weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, but there has been little progress since Donald Trump said the ceasefire was “on life support”, and reports in Israeli media suggest a resumption of hostilities is imminent. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
