Starmer gives tech firms ultimatum to block explicit images on children’s phones 08. June 2026 (10:48) Companies such as Apple and Google have until September to install software or face legislation, says PMUK politics live – latest updatesApple and Google have been given until September to install software that blocks explicit images on children’s mobile phones or face legislation enforcing its requirement, Keir Starmer said on Monday.The prime minister said tech companies must activate nudity-detection algorithms or other technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to prevent users taking photos or sharing images of genitalia unless they are verified as adults. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Armenia’s pro-Europe party wins election and cements shift away from Russia 08. June 2026 (09:20) Result strengthens PM Nikol Pashinyan’s drive for deeper integration with Europe despite warnings from MoscowArmenia’s ruling pro-Europe party has won parliamentary elections, confirming the country’s pivot towards Europe and away from its traditional ally, Russia.Final results in the small South Caucasus country showed the prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party securing a slim majority, while the Strong Armenia alliance, led by the Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, won 25% of the seats in parliament. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Push to regulate UK bailiffs too slow, warns supervisory body 08. June 2026 (09:00) A year after government pledge to regulate sector, ECB criticises ‘lack of visible progress’ and ‘no clear plan’The UK government has been accused of dragging its feet over plans for the mandatory regulation of bailiffs amid concerns about harmful practices in an industry that collects more than £1bn a year from indebted Britons.A year on from an announcement by the Ministry of Justice that it would legislate to make independent regulation of bailiffs mandatory, the body that now oversees the industry, the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), criticised the lack of “visible progress”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Octopus surge spreads up UK coast as far as Scotland, study finds 08. June 2026 (09:00) Record numbers linked to warming waters is mixed news for fishers, with shellfish catches down but octopus catches boomingRecord numbers of octopuses found off the south-west coast of England last year have now spread as far as Scotland and Wales and are transforming the fishing industry and the marine ecosystem, according to a study.The surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Middle East crisis live: Israel and Iran exchange fresh round of strikes as attacks intensify 08. June 2026 (08:49) Despite Trump’s calls for calm, IDF says it struck military targets in central and western Iran in response to attacks by TehranIsrael strikes Iran despite Trump plea as Middle East crisis threatens to escalateYemen announced that it had joined the war for the first time since the 8 April ceasefire. The Houthi leadership fired missiles towards Jaffa Israel and said Israeli linked commercial shipping would be blocked entering the Red Sea, a decision that will unnerve other shipping.Iranian officials had earlier suggested the revival of the blockade of Bab al-Mandab strait for Israeli linked shipping was being considered by the Houthi leadership. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More than 1,300 deaths a month in England due to long A&E waits, figures suggest 08. June 2026 (08:00) Senior medical staff call for solutions to tackle root causes of excess deaths amid tenfold increase in a decadeMore than 1,300 patients a month in England are dying needlessly due to long A&E waits, a tenfold rise in a decade, figures suggest.There were more than 300 deaths linked to long waits every week in 2025, up from 30 a week in 2015, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Japanese city shuts down nearly 100 schools after unprecedented bear sighting 08. June 2026 (07:56) Police and hunters in Utsunomiya, 100km north of the capital, resume their search for animal that is not usually seen so close to TokyoA city in Japan has closed all its 94 primary and secondary schools after a bear was spotted in the municipality for the first time.Officials in Utsunomiya, a city of half a million people about 100km (62 miles) north of Tokyo, took action after a medium-sized black bear – estimated to be about one-metre-long – was seen near a park in the city on Saturday. The bear was spotted again on CCTV running just in front of two startled young men in the city centre, in the early hours of Sunday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Queensland magistrate suppresses identity of man with ‘high public profile’ in extortion case 08. June 2026 (07:52) Media outlets argue man’s name should be made public and police acting to protect him from ‘embarrassment’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Queensland magistrate has suppressed the name of a man with a “high public profile” during an ongoing extortion case in Cairns.The man – referred to in court as MM – is not a party to the case, which was back before the Cairns magistrates court on Monday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Extra £174m earmarked for ‘spiralling’ bill for Lower Thames Crossing 08. June 2026 (07:00) More than £3bn is due to be spent on the proposed road tunnel between Kent and Essex, which is estimated to have higher costs per mile than HS2Ministers have earmarked more than £170m extra to help build the Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel, fuelling concerns over the “spiralling” costs of one of the UK’s largest planned infrastructure projects.The proposed £11bn route under the Thames between Kent and Essex is already estimated to cost more each mile than the HS2 high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham. It was given the funding boost as part of a plan to spend £3.1bn of public money on the project, before a hoped-for injection of £7.5bn by a private sector firm. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Killer of trust’: social media groups fuel misinformation in UK, report finds 08. June 2026 (07:00) Investigation reveals more than 4.4 million people live in ‘news deserts’ that lack dedicated local reportingLocal social media groups are fuelling misinformation in areas with no reliable sources of news, according to an investigation that reveals the scale of fake news flowing to vulnerable communities across Britain.Misinformation was nearly three times more common in areas with little or no recognised local journalism, according to a study of tens of thousands of posts seen by the Guardian. Immigration and Islamophobia were the most common topics of misinformation across Facebook and X. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
