Campaigners decry slow progress in repaying victims of carer’s allowance crisis

Only 1.04% of estimated 230,900 cases reviewed in first five months of £75m three-year scheme

Campaigners have urged Andy Burnham to step in after it emerged just a handful of the tens of thousands of unpaid carers who unknowingly racked up huge debts when welfare officials unlawfully changed benefits guidance have been repaid.

The first official update on the carers allowance reassessment exercise launched by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in April confirms that progress in cancelling wrongful overpayments has started slowly.

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Andy Burnham hosts Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street – UK politics live

Burnham welcomes Ukraine’s president to No 10 for the first time since he became PM

PMQs is about to start.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

After @genevieve_holl reported this last night, various sources in the Trump administration who are supportive of Farage said Badenoch was needlessly trying to cause a political row (per @katyballs @MrHarryCole) and accused her of undermining the Anglo-American relationship.

It is possible that these people are particularly sensitive about this topic because they are still considering buying the islands, as @connorstringer and I reported earlier in the year. Domestic opposition to the idea of the US running Chagos in the UK would be a problem for the White House.

Calamity Kemi Strikes Again.

Kemi Badenoch has risked causing a diplomatic row with Britain’s allies, all because she cannot control the Tory spin doctors around her that oversaw the disastrous premierships of Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Theresa May, and even David Cameron.

Kemi and the Conservatives cannot be trusted by the Chagos people.

If they really have interest in the Chagos, why would you have started negotiating about things you already own?

We are confused at why @KemiBadenoch is attacking @Nigel_Farage …

We understood Nigel Farage’s comments to mean that we would get perpetual use of the base, which, frankly, we’ve always had.

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Mont Blanc, the ‘roof of Europe’, loses more than a metre of height in a year

Peak of French mountain now 4,807 metres high and fluctuates year by year due to changes in Alpine climate

Europe’s highest peak shrank by more than a metre last year, data has shown.

Mont Blanc in France now stands 4,807.47 metres above sea level, a team of surveyors from the Haute-Savoie regional department said on Wednesday, putting “the roof of Europe” 1.29 metres lower than in 2025.

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Boy, 17, accidentally shot dead with air rifle at Hampshire house party, inquest told

Connor Bell died of his injuries after his friend Jack Beechy, 18, pulled the trigger, mistaking it for the safety catch

A 17-year-old boy died after he was accidentally shot in the head with an air rifle by his friend at a house party, an inquest has been told.

Connor Bell had been drinking at a friend’s house in Basingstoke, Hampshire, on 8 November last year when Jack Beechy fired the fatal shot by mistaking the trigger for the safety catch, the inquest heard.

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Russell Brand was ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator, court told

Comedian faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six women

Russell Brand was a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator who boasted about wanting to have sex with 5,000 women, a court has heard.

The 51-year-old comedian is alleged to have had an “insatiable desire” to get what he wanted and treated women as a means to an end, jurors were told.

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France’s students are angry about more than crumbling classrooms and missing teachers

Beneath a wave of school protests in France lies a more existential worry: the future prospects of an entire generation

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Say what you will about France’s high schools, they still produce world-class slogan writers. Here’s a brief selection spotted during three weeks of blockades and marches over chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded classes and crumbling buildings:

“Pas d’avenir, pas de calme” (No future, no calm). “Diplômés aujourd’hui, précaires demain” (Graduates today, insecure tomorrow). “Vous détruisez notre futur, on bloque votre présent” (You destroy our future, we block your present).

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Ukrainian military’s access to Starlink satellite internet suddenly restricted

Launch of Russian ballistic missiles on Ukraine, with no US warning, coincides with outage of Starlink managed by Musk’s SpaceX

Ukraine’s military has suddenly had its access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted as the Trump administration has increased pressure on Ukraine to halt long-range strikes on Russia’s oil industry immediately.

The terminals, which are distributed and managed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, are a key component of Ukraine’s military operations and the sudden restrictions on the terminals travelling at high speeds on Tuesday evening led to the failure of several combat missions, said an adviser on military technology to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Texas prosecutor considering felony charges for ICE agent who ran over man

A conviction on the possible charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon could mean up to 20 years in prison

A Texas prosecutor said he was considering felony assault charges for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who ran over a man following an attempted traffic stop and broke his leg in multiple places.

Sean Teare, district attorney for Harris county, said video of the incident in west Houston on Saturday morning, in which the officer’s unmarked SUV is seen veering into the man as he runs away across an empty parking lot, could support a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

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Guinea-Bissau denies it has approved controversial vaccine trial in newborns

Health minister says government ‘did not authorize’ Danish-led hepatitis B trial in babies backed by RFK Jr

Guinea-Bissau has not approved the controversial hepatitis B study in newborns that would be funded by the US government and private partners, the African country’s minister of health said on Tuesday.

The study, which would not investigate the safety or effectiveness of vaccines but would instead track “nonspecific” health outcomes like overall mortality or neurodevelopmental conditions, has been championed by Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

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Ken Paxton stirs vaccine skepticism to ingratiate himself with Maha movement

Texas AG and US Senate hopeful announced inquiry into alleged conspiracy between pediatricians, vaccine makers and insurance firms

Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas and the Republican candidate for the US Senate, is aligning himself with the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement by investigating pediatricians for giving vaccines – actions that could further restrict access to vaccines as deadly outbreaks unfold.

Paxton announced he would investigate an alleged conspiracy between pediatricians, vaccine makers and insurance companies in January, and at least one Texas pediatrician now says she is under investigation. Paxton linked his efforts to a campaign against vaccines from Donald Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and directly referenced the Maha movement in his announcement. The president endorsed Paxton’s Senate run in May.

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Joni Mitchell becomes US citizen: ‘A journey that began 62 years ago’

Canada-born singer-songwriter, 82, posts footage of citizenship ceremony to Instagram

Joni Mitchell has become a US citizen, after first moving to the country in the mid-1960s. The Canada-born singer-songwriter, 82, posted footage of her citizenship ceremony on her Instagram account, along with a photo of her next to an American flag, accompanied by the caption: “A journey that began 62 years ago.”

It means that Mitchell can now vote in US elections, something that she had complained she wasn’t able to do.

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Child safety officer incorrectly assessed Elizabeth Struhs as ‘safe’ day after she was admitted to hospital in coma

Inquest into death of eight-year-old Queensland girl who was denied insulin by her religious parents told her case was complex

A child safety officer incorrectly assessed Elizabeth Struhs as “safe” one day after she arrived at hospital in a coma and nearly died due to the neglect of her parents, a coroner’s court has heard.

A Queensland coronial inquest heard evidence on Wednesday from one of the two child safety officers who ultimately decided to return the then six-year-old, who had type 1 diabetes, to the care of her parents at their home in Toowoomba.

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Video recording device found in cabin of HMAS Leeuwin navy ship in Cairns

Defence announcement comes after Jacqui Lambie tells parliament a camera had been found concealed in a women’s shower on board

A “video recording device” was found in the cabin of a Royal Australian Navy ship in Cairns, the defence department has revealed, just hours after senator Jacqui Lambie alleged in parliament that a camera had been found concealed in a women’s shower on the vessel.

The department confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that a device had been found aboard the HMAS Leeuwin three days earlier. In a statement after Guardian Australia had contacted the department for response to Lambie’s allegations, a spokesperson said police were investigating, but did not reveal further details about where the device was located.

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CNBC Daily Open: Zelenskyy heads to UK for talks on fresh support – CNBC

  1. CNBC Daily Open: Zelenskyy heads to UK for talks on fresh support  CNBC
  2. Zelenskyy to meet Burnham in London as Kyiv seeks more help against Russia  The Hill
  3. Zelenskiy visits Britain as Burnham pledges fresh support for Ukraine  Reuters
  4. Zelensky and Burnham to meet in Downing Street  BBC
  5. Burnham says UK to increase supply of anti-drone missiles to Ukraine, ahead of PMQs and Zelenskyy – UK politics live  The Guardian
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SpaceX limits Starlink operations in Ukraine, disrupting military missions, presidential aide says – Reuters

  1. SpaceX limits Starlink operations in Ukraine, disrupting military missions, presidential aide says  Reuters
  2. Ukrainian soldiers in combat have access to Starlink satellite internet restricted  The Guardian
  3. Ukraine blindsided by Starlink restrictions and intelligence gaps during Russian attack  Financial Times
  4. Zelenskyy adviser: Starlink operations restricted in Ukraine overnight  Euronews.com
  5. Starlink’s operation was restricted this night - former adviser to the Minister of Defense  Українські Національні Новини (УНН)
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Australian industry reliant on gas for ‘foreseeable future’, resources minister tells press club

Madeleine King says national gas reservation scheme, expected to come into effect from 2028, will reduce power prices

The resources minister, Madeleine King, says Australian industry will be reliant on gas for the “foreseeable future”, and that the national gas reservation scheme will push down power prices.

But the Western Australian MP did not put a price tag on the cost of gas under the proposal – as the former opposition leader Peter Dutton once did – nor predict when households and businesses would start to see that financial relief.

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