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Office closures, staffing and service cuts, and policy changes at the Social Security Administration (SSA) have caused “complete, utter chaos” and are threatening to send the agency into a “death spiral”, according to workers at the agency. The SSA operates the largest government program in the US, administering social insurance programs, including retirement, disability and … Read more

At a screening of the new Snow White movie in London last month, influencers walked through an artificial fairytale forest, complete with a full-size thatched cottage filled with models of furry animals. In the US, Disney paraded an actual bunny in a brown knitted jumper down the red carpet at the film’s Hollywood premiere. But … Read more

A Briton held captive by the Taliban for more than nine weeks has said he is living in dire conditions in a prison in Kabul, describing it as “the nearest thing to hell I can imagine”. In a recording of a phone call from Pul-e-Charkhi maximum-security jail, Peter Reynolds, 79, also spoke of his fears … Read more

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature UK’s PM warns ‘the world as we knew it has gone’ as countries mull response to Trump’s tariffs Welcome back to our live coverage of the economic fallout from Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs last week. Almost $5tn (£4tn) was … Read more

Workers building the troubled Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor in Somerset have raised concerns that the construction site is overrun by rats. The Unite and GMB trade unions are understood to have warned the developer, the French energy giant EDF, that urgent action is needed because the rodents are “everywhere”. The growing vermin population has … Read more

Ben Britton has been dumped as a Liberal candidate for the New South Wales seat of Whitlam after it was revealed he had expressed a string of controversial views on fringe podcasts before his preselection. Britton was taken off the Liberal party’s website, and sources have told Guardian Australia he was no longer being endorsed, … Read more

Kirill Dmitriev’s meetings with US officials in the White House last week went largely below the radar. And deliberately so. The dapper investment envoy to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who also serves as a key negotiator for Moscow on Ukraine, posted an image of his flight plan on social media to make the point that … Read more

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is set to travel to Washington to meet with US president Donald Trump to discuss issues including tariffs, Gaza and the “Iranian threat”, his office has confirmed. The meeting will take place on Monday, a White House official said on the condition of anonymity. The US and Israel are … Read more

Paramedics across England are watching patients die in the back of ambulances because of delays outside emergency departments, according to a survey by Unison. The gridlock of patients in some of the country’s hospitals has led to queues of up to 20 ambulances outside casualty departments in certain areas. In a number of cases, crews … Read more

A Jordanian national has been charged after he allegedly attempted to open the doors of a Sydney-bound plane mid-flight. Australian federal police (AFP) say the man, 46, allegedly tried to open the rear emergency exit door of the plane, travelling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday night. They said the airline staff escorted him to … Read more