Court cases in Kenya point to a growing market for ants as exotic pets in Asia and Europe that has implications for conservation and biosecurity In the biblical text Book of Proverbs, King Solomon describes the harvester ant as a model of wisdom and industriousness: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” Almost 3,000 years later, the thriving international parallel market for a distinct species of the ant native to east Africa has been thrust into the global spotlight after a series of convictions in Kenya for ant smuggling. Continue reading...

Chinese government appears to be using the workaround of a different character to represent part of the secretary of state’s name, to allow him to visit the country for the upcoming Trump summit US secretary of state Marco Rubio is heading to Beijing with president Donald Trump despite being under Chinese sanctions – a breakthrough that might have been made possible after China changed his name’s transliteration. As a US senator, Rubio, who is visiting China for the first time, fiercely championed human rights in China, which retaliated by imposing sanctions on him twice – adopting a tactic more often used by the US against adversaries. Continue reading...

Civilian deaths in several regions and baby girl has leg blown off; Kallas says Putin’s weakening position could mean ‘opportunity for ending war’. What we know on day 1,540 Russian forces launched attacks in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on Tuesday, killing at least six people, regional officials said, after the expiry of a ceasefire. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched more than 200 drones overnight, putting an end to hopes that the three-day ceasefire that ended on Monday would be extended. A drone attack on an apartment building in the president’s home town, the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killed two and injured four, including the dead couple’s nine-month-old granddaughter whose leg was severed, said the regional governor and local military administration head. North-east of Kryvyi Rih, an aerial bomb strike killed four and injured three, said officials. “After the end of the partial three-day ceasefire, Russia continues to kill and maim Ukrainians and pressure on it must therefore in no way be weakened,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy said drones were intercepted over several regions but reported damage to energy facilities, apartment buildings, a kindergarten and a civilian locomotive. In Kyiv, debris from a downed drone fell on the roof of a 16-storey residential building in the northern Obolon district, sparking a fire, said the mayor, Vitali Klitschko. Two people were hurt in the central Cherkasy region, and damage was also recorded in the Zhytomyr region, farther west, and in the Chernihiv region on the Russian border. Two people were injured in strikes on the south-eastern city of Dnipro and the southern city of Kherson. Russian drones also hit energy infrastructure in the Mykolaiv region, causing blackouts in the region, said Vitaliy Kim, the regional governor. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck gas facilities in Russia’s central Orenburg region more than 1,500 km (900 miles) from Ukraine’s borders. “Overall, Ukraine’s current position on the frontline, in our long-range [strikes] and in our joint results with our partners are at their highest level in years. We must maintain this level and continue to achieve results,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation. Zelenskyy said Kyiv was working with its allies in Europe to develop technologies to defend against ballistic missiles, adding that 13 countries and Nato representatives had participated in talks on the issue on Tuesday. Signs that Vladimir Putin’s position is weakening could open a window to ending the war in Ukraine, the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on Tuesday. Putin over the weekend suggested that the war in Ukraine was “heading to an end” after more than four years of bloodshed. “What his statement really shows is that he’s not in a strong position,” Kallas said after a meeting with EU defence ministers. “So I think there’s an opportunity for ending this war.” Continue reading...

Collins, a pioneer for inclusion and an ambassador for the NBA, died after eight-month battle with glioblastoma Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, who went on to become a pioneer for inclusion and an ambassador for the league, has died after an eight-month battle with an aggressive form of a brain tumor, his family announced on Tuesday. Collins spent 13 years as a player in the league for six different franchises, including the Boston Celtics and the New Jersey Nets. He revealed in 2013 that he was gay, an announcement that came toward the end of his playing career. Continue reading...

Party held out prospect of act while in opposition but plan did not make it into election manifesto Ministers should bring forward a new clean air act that would ban wood burning, clear diesel vehicles from the roads and force councils to cut pollution, a group of more than 60 charities have urged before the king’s speech on Wednesday. Labour held out the prospect of a clean air act while in opposition in 2023, but this was dropped from the final election manifesto, and the government has made no move to reinstate it. Continue reading...

Despite concerns super-rich are leaving due to tax burdens, 88% of those surveyed were proud to live in UK and would pay more to fund public services Nine in 10 UK millionaires are proud to live in Britain and three-quarters would be willing to pay more tax to ensure public assets get the funding they need, according to research. Despite widely reported concerns that the wealthy are choosing to leave the country owing to higher taxes, the survey found millionaires were much more concerned about medical workers moving away than wealthy people emigrating. Continue reading...

Researchers find 50+ hours a week can be detrimental to health but lighter responsibilities have positive effect The stresses and strains of caring for someone for 50 hours or more a week leads to “accelerated cognitive decline” in middle-aged and older people, research shows. However, providing care for only five to nine hours a week has the opposite effect, boosting brain health so much that the benefits last until older age. Continue reading...

The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Do insects feel pain? Crickets certainly seem to, according to new research which finds they stroke and groom a sore antenna in much the same way as a dog nurses its hurt paw. Associate Prof Thomas White, an entomologist from the University of Sydney, said the experience of pain was a “longer, drawn-out, ouchy feeling”, that differed from a hardwired nerve response. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

In this punchy documentary, satirist Munya Chawawa steps into the ring to trash-talk Trump’s obsession with apeing the world of WrestleMania. The result? A bodyslam Trump is the ultimate showman. He’s a master of it, a billionaire Barnum, but with a greed so insatiable it moves him ever further from entertainment into malevolence. If the Democrats had realised this earlier and recognised the strength the man was playing to and the particular voting public weaknesses he was preying upon, instead of sneering with distaste, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess. In fact, if they had done what comedian and satirist Munya Chawawa does in his punchy, passionate and weirdly uplifting documentary Wrestling With Trump, it might be a slightly better world today. Chawawa takes the not-new but certainly underused idea that Trump and his team’s campaigns and style of government use the same playbook as that created by the US pro-wrestling industry’s most famous promoters, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). WWE was founded by Vince McMahon and his since-estranged wife, Linda. Vince resigned from various business roles in 2024 in the wake of allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault (he has vigorously denied these allegations). Linda is now the US secretary of education. Continue reading...

Southampton advanced to the playoff final against Hull City, though it seems unlikely it will be quite that straightforward from here owing to the alleged foul play that dominated the buildup to a fraught second leg that went the distance, more than 130 minutes in total. If found guilty of cheating, Middlesbrough will demand Southampton are adequately punished. Is there even a world where Kim Hellberg’s train for the next couple of weeks in the event of the unprecedented? Just what is it about Shea Charles and big moments, his latest coming in the 116th minute to send Tonda Eckert’s side to Wembley? It was the midfielder who scored the winning goal to send Arsenal packing in the FA Cup quarter-finals, his 96th-minute winner that clinched the 4-3 comeback victory against Leicester in February and now this. Charles was out on the right flank, the game edging towards a penalty shootout, when he sent the ball in with his left foot – it was surely a cross – and the ball sailed past the Boro defender Dael Fry and in at the back post. Continue reading...

Research on weight limits of elevators made in UK and Europe 1972-2004 raises concerns over safety and equity Lifts are no longer big enough to fit the UK’s larger citizens, according to researchers. A study of maximum capacity in elevators in the UK and mainland Europe found lifts have not kept up with increasing obesity levels, raising concerns about safety and equity. Continue reading...

Comedian will host the 99th Oscars in 2027 after viewership dipped this year despite rise in social media engagement Conan O’Brien’s era as Oscars host is becoming a trilogy. The Emmy-winning comedian will be back to host the 99th Academy awards in 2027, leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science said on Tuesday. O’Brien hosted the last two Oscar ceremonies to positive reviews. Earlier this year, in his opening monologue, he said he was “honored to be the last human host of the Academy Awards … Next year it’s going to be a Waymo in a tux.” Continue reading...

Manager says ‘referees didn’t do their job’ in FA Cup finals Khusanov and Rodri doubts for crucial match with Palace Pep Guardiola believes officiating decisions are a “flip of a coin” and constantly urges his Manchester City players to perform better in order to overcome this. Refereeing and the use of the video assistant referee are being scrutinised once more after Callum Wilson’s late disallowed goal in West Ham’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal at the London Stadium on Sunday. The decision came after the referee Chris Kavanagh awarded the strike before being advised by the game’s VAR, Darren England, to review the incident at the pitchside monitor. On doing so, Kavanagh ruled the goal out for a foul on Arsenal’s goalkeeper, David Raya. Arsenal’s victory moved them to 79 points, five ahead of City, with two matches left, meaning that even if Guardiola’s side win their three remaining games they may not be able to catch Mikel Arteta’s team. The first of those comes against Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening. Continue reading...

Club president launches scathing attack on media No mention of turmoil, fights or José Mourinho “Good afternoon, I regret to inform you that I’m not going to resign.” In a hot, packed press room at Valdebebas before an audience hurriedly summoned to witness a news conference so bizarre that they could barely believe what they were seeing, Florentino Pérez sat at a desk with a phone that he kept looking at and some papers that he didn’t, and announced that he was calling presidential elections at Real Madrid. What he didn’t announce was a date, an electoral commission, the resignation that is required for polling to actually happen, or indeed any details at all. There was nothing about Madrid’s on-field issues either, nothing about the coach, no mention of José Mourinho, no explanation for the season they have just suffered. “I’m not here to talk about sporting issues,” Pérez said. Instead, he was there to deliver a surreal, repetitive rant that lasted over an hour, way after his own staff had tried to bring it to a close. A room of people, including the directors in the front row and lined up against one wall, looked at each other: yes, this was actually happening. Pérez went on and on, and on, the incoherent ramblings of a 79-year-old man who insisted “my health is perfect”. Continue reading...

Planned legislation includes housing, immigration and energy measures, and comes amid awkwardness with the palace over Charles’s role Keir Starmer will attempt to regain the political initiative on Wednesday as his government announces a package of 35 bills for the next parliamentary session, covering everything from housing to immigration. The embattled prime minister will release details of dozens of bills that he intends to pass over the next 12 months, even as his own MPs line up to demand his resignation. Additional reporting by Caroline Davies Continue reading...

Pierre Salvadori’s whimsical period farce about a fake medium and a grief-stricken painter has charm and elegance, but its romantic fantasy never quite ignites This year’s Cannes menu begins with something left over from the sweet trolley: a gooey, glutinous and slightly flat confection, a comedy about art for which not everyone has the palette or the palate. A fake spiritualist at the time of France’s picturesque belle époque pretends she is in contact with the dead lover of a grieving and creatively blocked artist – but she has been secretly put up to it by the painter’s wily agent, convinced that his client’s ecstatic contact with this amour from beyond the grave will inspire him to recommence the production of hugely expensive paintings. The film is directed and co-written by Pierre Salvadori and the result is something like a moderate mid-period Woody Allen or Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit – though Allen and Coward would surely have followed the obvious narrative possibility of the dead person disconcerting the conspiracists by actually speaking through this bogus medium. In fact, this movie is not unlike Cédric Klapisch’s Colours of Time from last year’s Cannes, though with more strained comedy and farce. Continue reading...

How Labour party leader lost authority over two days of confusion and drama before state opening of parliament As the afternoon faded in Westminster, final preparations were being made for Wednesday’s state opening of parliament, where King Charles will set out a year-long legislative programme for a government that even its most ardent allies fear might not last the week. Once again, here we are. Keir Starmer is still the UK’s prime minister. It is even possible he might be in a few months from now. But after two days punctuated by confusion and drama on a scale that belies Labour’s promise to end years of political upheaval, his authority appears shredded. What is less certain is what exactly that means. Continue reading...

The OpenAI chief rejects claims he deceived Elon Musk as high-stakes AI trial nears its end Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, took the stand on Tuesday to defend himself and his company against a lawsuit by Elon Musk. Altman is set to be one of the final witnesses in the trial, which has pitted two of the tech industry’s most powerful men against each other in a dramatic courtroom showdown. Musk has accused Altman and OpenAI of breaking the AI firm’s founding agreement by restructuring it into a for-profit enterprise, alleging that Altman essentially swindled him into co-founding the company and providing tens of millions in financial backing. Musk also claims Altman unjustly enriched himself in the process and is seeking the CEO’s removal from OpenAI, the redistribution of $134bn to the firm’s non-profit and the undoing of its for-profit conversion. Continue reading...

Downing Street insiders suggest health secretary does not yet have the support for a leadership push UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer was increasingly confident that he had seen off the immediate threat to his job on Tuesday after a challenge from Wes Streeting failed to materialise despite several of the prime minister’s allies quitting the government. Downing Street insiders suggested that the health secretary did not yet have the required support from the 81 MPs he needed to formally launch a leadership bid after Starmer issued a ‘put up or shut up’ ultimatum to his cabinet. Continue reading...

FBI director also dismisses allegations of unexplained absences as Democrats challenge him over Atlantic report US politics live – latest updates Embattled FBI director Kash Patel has denied under oath allegations of excessive drinking and unexplained absences on the job, dismissing them as “baseless” during a fiery congressional hearing. Patel sought to push back as Democrats challenged him over the “extremely alarming” reports, which ran in the Atlantic, which they argued would a mount to a “gross dereliction” of duty. Continue reading...

Club also interested in Silva, Glasner and Filipe Luís Alonso undecided on future after leaving Real Madrid Chelsea have held encouraging discussions over a move for Xabi Alonso but are keeping their options open and are closely monitoring Andoni Iraola’s situation. The west London club are looking for a permanent head coach and it is understood that Alonso and Iraola have emerged as the top picks for the role. Other managers are still under consideration, though, and Chelsea are not expected to rush a final decision on who to appoint. Continue reading...

PM accused of dragging heels on forcing tech firms to block transmission of nude photos on children’s phones Internet safety and children’s rights campaigners say they have been frustrated for months by Keir Starmer’s lack of leadership on blocking child abuse images on children’s phones, speaking out after Jess Phillips resigned from the government saying she was tired of seeing “opportunities for progress stalled and delayed”. The influential Labour politician was one of four ministers who quit on Tuesday and joined more than 80 MPs to have called for the prime minister to go. Continue reading...

Wilson goal chalked off for Pablo’s foul on Raya Webb: ‘On the video, it’s clear and it’s obvious’ Howard Webb has commended the process that led to West Ham’s equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday being overturned, describing Pablo’s foul on goalkeeper David Raya as “clear and obvious”. In what has been described as the most consequential decision in VAR history, the referee Chris Kavanagh eventually chose to rule out Callum Wilson’s late goal at the London Stadium, in the process handing Arsenal a distinct advantage in the title race. While Webb, the chief officer of Professional Game Match Officials, did not blame the official for missing the initial incident he argued it was inevitable that VAR “would have to get involved”. Continue reading...

There is a revolution reshaping how people want and get their information. News brands can and must react, but the time is now This is an extract from the Sir David Nicholas memorial lecture that Deborah Turness delivered in London on Tuesday evening No one can dispute that, today, the news industry is once again experiencing a revolution; a revolution that is reshaping news for a new generation of consumers. The disruption transcends all news brands. It impacts all journalists and all journalism, everywhere. I am an optimist. I believe there are very good reasons to believe in a bright future for what I call the established news providers. So I am determined, having spoken to many people for this dispatch from the frontline, to set out a positive way forward. Continue reading...

Kelvin Evans pleads guilty to stealing hard drives and laptops from a car before singer’s Atlanta tour dates in 2025 A man arrested for stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music has pleaded guilty in an Atlanta court on Tuesday. Kelvin Evans was arrested by the Atlanta police department in September in connection to a July 2025 car robbery where two suitcases containing Beyoncé music and tour plans were stolen from a rental car. Continue reading...