Puffins, dolphins and bumblebees in running to feature on new UK banknotes 03. June 2026 (01:01) Bank of England says updated imagery will celebrate native wildlife while bolstering anti-counterfeit featuresPuffins, dolphins and bumblebees are among the wildlife that could feature on new banknotes in the UK as the Bank of England announces its shortlist.There has been controversy over the decision, with figures including Nigel Farage criticising the Bank for, he claimed, wanting to replace Winston Churchill with a beaver. The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, said it was “a silly thing to do”, and Reform UK’s Farage called it “absolutely crackers”. In the end, no beaver appeared on the shortlist. Mammal options include bottlenose dolphins and red foxes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
GPs in England too ‘overloaded’ to help older people at risk of falling, say MPs 03. June 2026 (01:01) NHS bosses giving evidence to public accounts committee admit current position is unacceptableGPs in England are so “overloaded” that they cannot help older people who are at risk of falling in what NHS bosses accept is an unacceptable failure of care, the House of Commons’ public accounts committee has said.Pressure on GPs’ time has intensified as a result of the government’s decision to give patients online access to their services, according to a report by the influential cross-party group of MPs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Weight-loss drugs may prevent thousands of knee replacements, study suggests 03. June 2026 (00:30) Patients with knee arthritis who took medications for at least three years at reduced risk of needing surgeryTaking weight-loss drugs for at least three years could prevent thousands of knee replacements a year, research suggests.Globally, more than 500 million people have osteoarthritis. Knee arthritis is the most common form, affecting about 14 million people in the US and more than 5 million in the UK. Many will require knee surgery. In the UK more than 120,000 knee replacements are carried out every year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Politics live: Australia always preferred secondhand Aukus submarines, defence secretary says 02. June 2026 (23:59) Senate estimates told it was a ‘joint idea’ to rework the nuclear submarine deal. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChaney said: AI companies should be able to unlock the majority of global content with a handful of individual deals – in the same way that every other industry licenses copyrighted content.Government could further work to facilitate this process for the remainder of the copyrighted content, either directly or through a centralised mechanism. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Protesters clash with police in Southampton over Henry Nowak murder 02. June 2026 (23:03) Demonstration follows family’s plea for death not to be used to create divisionHundreds of people gathered outside a Southampton police station to protest against the murder of Henry Nowak and dozens clashed with police close to the home of his killer, Vickrum Digwa.The far-right activist Tommy Robinson was among speakers who addressed the crowd outside Southampton central police station at the “Justice for Henry Nowak” protest. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Acting attorney general says Trump’s $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund is scrapped 02. June 2026 (22:58) However, Todd Blanche said the IRS will still be prohibited from auditing Donald Trump, his family and related entities‘Outright theft’: legal experts decry $1.8bn Trump anti-weaponization fundThe federal government is abandoning an effort to create a $1.8bn secretive fund to compensate Donald Trump’s allies, but is maintaining an agreement that prohibits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from auditing Trump, his family and related entities, the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, said on Tuesday.“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche said during a House appropriations committee hearing on Tuesday. “The reasons for the fund is something that President Trump talked about for a long time, which is the fact that there were a lot of people in this country who had their government weaponized against them. The reasons for the fund, I think, remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer urges calm as far right seeks to exploit Henry Nowak murder 02. June 2026 (22:28) Prime minister echoes family’s plea that case should not be used to target communitiesPoliticians and community leaders have called for calm amid fears that the populist right is using the murder of Henry Nowak by a Sikh man to whip up racist resentment against minority ethnic Britons.After Nigel Farage called for the public to respond with “pure, cold rage”, Keir Starmer condemned the Reform UK leader, saying Nowak’s family had explicitly asked that the case not be used to target particular communities. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
British couple jailed in Iran have lost appeal against convictions, family say 02. June 2026 (22:13) Craig and Lindsay Foreman given 10-year sentences in February for alleged espionage, which they denyA British couple jailed on spying charges in Iran have lost an appeal against their convictions, their family has said.Craig and Lindsay Foreman, both aged 53, were handed 10-year prison sentences in February after being convicted of espionage, which they deny. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump endorses absent Republican incumbent in New Jersey House primary 02. June 2026 (21:26) Tom Kean has been out with health issue since March. Democrats are sharpening their knives for general electionUS politics live – latest updatesOn the day Donald Trump endorsed him as a tireless advocate for New Jersey’s seventh district, the representative Tom Kean Jr was, as he has been since early March, nowhere to be found.Kean, a New Jersey Republican, was last seen when he cast a House floor vote on 5 March, and he is running unopposed in Tuesday’s Republican primary. The Democratic race in his district, meanwhile, has attracted multiple candidates and ample fundraising. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration proposes 25% tariffs on Brazil despite US trade surplus 02. June 2026 (20:56) US claims world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in ‘unreasonable’ trade practices that ‘restrict US commerce’Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe Trump administration proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil, charging that the world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are “unreasonable’’ and that “burden or restrict US commerce”.Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he received the decision “with indignation”. The Brazil president also blamed the decision by the US administration on his rival in October’s elections, Flávio Bolsonaro, the senator who visited Washington last week. The senator is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, once nicknamed “the Trump of the Tropics” by his allies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
