Rivers are unlikely to be granted the protections of bathing water status under the government’s changes to the system, campaigners have said. River activists have reacted with fury as details of the reforms were revealed on Wednesday. In an unexpected move, ministers are imposing a feasibility test on any waterway where a community is seeking … Read more
The UK’s embattled statistics agency cannot reverse a pandemic-era decision to release official data on the state of the economy before financial markets open because its creaking website could crash, it has emerged. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had sought views on whether to revert to releasing statistics – such as GDP and inflation … Read more
The centre-right Democrat party has won the most votes in Greenland’s parliamentary elections, a surprise result as the territory went to the polls in the shadow of US president Donald Trump’s threat to take control of it “one way or another”. None of the parties are set to win a majority of the 31 seats … Read more
The European Union has announced it is launching €26bn (nearly £22bn) of trade “countermeasures” in retaliation to Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, escalating a global trade war. The European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, called the 25% levies on the metals coming into the US, which came into force at 4am … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Opening summary Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the global response to Donald Trump’s new tariffs. The 25% global tariffs on steel and aluminium came into effect at midnight ET “with no exceptions or exemptions”. The European Commission responded … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Russia says Moscow will make decisions about Ukraine, not the US Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Moscow would make its own decisions about the conflict in Ukraine after Kyiv said it was ready to support Washington’s … Read more
Poverty, abuse and discriminatory laws are driving a huge rise in the number of women in prison globally, according to a new report. With the rise of the far right and an international backlash against women’s rights, the research said there was a risk that laws would increasingly be used to target women, forcing more … Read more
Mental health charities in England are struggling to cope with the number of sick patients referred to them by GPs, with under-qualified professionals increasingly tasked with treating the seriously ill. Experts told the Guardian that some desperate GPs were “signposting” patients to services not always equipped to deal with them. These are provided by unregulated … Read more
Legal, human rights and First Nations groups have condemned the Victorian government’s overhaul of the state’s bail laws, which will force courts to treat children accused of serious crimes like adults when deciding whether to remand them or release them into the community. The premier, Jacinta Allan, on Wednesday announced proposed changes to the Bail … Read more
The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining why he and his quartet have cancelled a summer tour of the US. “There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on,” Tetzlaff said, describing his horror at the authoritarian polices of Donald Trump and the response of US elites to … Read more