Lu Jianwang was accused of operating a ‘secret police station’ in Manhattan’s Chinatown at the behest of Beijing A New York man was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government after he was accused of operating a “secret police station” on behalf of Beijing in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Lu Jianwang, 64, should have alerted the US attorney general that he was a Chinese agent when he helped open the so-called police station in 2022. They also said he helped China’s government locate a pro-democracy activist living in California. Continue reading...

Péter Magyar says his government has summoned Russian ambassador over drone attack near Hungary’s border to ask when Vladimir Putin plans ‘to finally end this bloody war’. What we know on day 1,541 Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar says his new government has summoned the Russian ambassador over a massive drone attack near Hungary’s border in a significant shift from his predecessor’s friendly relations with Moscow. “The Hungarian government strongly condemns the Russian attack on Transcarpathia,” Magyar told journalists. He said the Hungarian foreign minister will speak with the Russian ambassador Thursday morning. Under the outgoing government voted out of office this month, Hungary blocked aid for Ukraine and tried to slow its efforts to join the EU. Magyar said his foreign minister will ask “when Russia and Vladimir Putin plan to finally end this bloody war”. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied on X: “Thank you for your compassion and strong position!” Russia fired at least 800 drones in a massive daytime barrage on about 20 regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, Peter Beaumont writes. The strikes came as Kyiv and Moscow traded long-range attacks after a brief ceasefire. Ukrainian monitors detected at least eight salvoes of Russian drones, including some entering from Belarus, with the apparent target being Kyiv’s critical infrastructure. Poland scrambled fighter jets as a preventive measure due to the Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, the Polish army said. The governors of two Russian regions bordering Ukraine, both frequent targets of Ukrainian attacks, have stepped down and their replacements met with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod Region, and Alexander Bogomaz, governor of the Bryansk Region, both stepped down at their own request, the Kremlin said. Russian media said Alexander Shuvaev, a highly decorated veteran, is the new governor of Belgorod, and Yegor Kovalchuk, a banking, legal and administrative specialist, has become governor of Bryansk. The governor of the border region of Kursk, another Russian border region, Alexei Smirnov, was dismissed after a mass incursion by Ukrainian forces in 2024 and jailed earlier this year on corruption charges. There was no word on any future duties for the two outgoing governors. Supporters of a bill in the US to aid Ukraine and sanction Russia have reached a critical threshold that allows them to bypass Republican leadership and force a vote on the House floor in the coming weeks. The legislation seeks to cement US assistance for Ukraine by approving more than $1bn in security aid and making another $8bn available in loans. Lawmakers on Wednesday gained 218 signatures on a petition that will force a House vote. While the measure is unlikely to become law, the vote will put lawmakers on record concerning their support for Ukraine. Supporters have called on Donald Trump to act more forcefully to deter Russia and boost Ukraine. Moscow authorities have imposed restrictions on the publication of photos and videos showing the aftermath of “terrorist attacks”, including drone strikes, the mayor’s office said. The directive was aimed at “preventing the dissemination of unreliable information”, a government website said. It prevents media, as well as individuals and emergency services, from publishing any pictures or videos of “terrorist acts, including drone attacks” until they appear on websites of the Defence Ministry or city government. Russia’s repeated airspace violations of countries on the eastern flank of Nato underline the urgent need to consolidate the alliance’s air defences against missiles and drones, the leaders of 14 allies said on Wednesday. They also called for greater cooperation in building up defence industry capacity in a joint statement, issued after a meeting of eastern flank allies in Bucharest hosted by Romania’s president Nicusor Dan and Polish president Karol Nawrocki. Romania, Poland and Baltic states have had their airspace repeatedly breached by Russian drones. Russia has denied targeting Nato states. Continue reading...

Mariyah Symone Collington and Kendrick Lamont Key Jr, who also died, had fallen off a cliff during an off-duty hike The remains of the second US army soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered, the army said on Wednesday, ending a multinational search operation that deployed air, naval and artificial intelligence assets. The soldier was identified as Spc Mariyah Symone Collington of Taveres, Florida, the US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement. She was 19 years old. Continue reading...

Medicines watchdog approves two treatments for patients with spinal muscular atrophy Hundreds of children with a rare muscle-wasting disease will be able to receive two drugs that can improve their survival in a move parents hailed as a “lifeline”. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has published final draft guidance recommending that any patient who would benefit can have either drug. Continue reading...

Greenpeace finds cocktail of pesticides including seven banned in EU may have been used on seven categories of vegetables and soft fruit It is a beautiful early summer Sunday afternoon and you have stopped for a pub lunch. A waiter sets down a roast served with carrots, peas, parsnips, potatoes and onion gravy, and then for pudding, strawberries and cream. It feels like the perfect rustic meal to accompany a day in the country. However, a report by Greenpeace, published on Thursday, has found that the ingredients of the traditional Sunday roast have potentially been treated with a cocktail of more than 100 pesticides. Data from the Fera pesticide usage survey for 2024, showed 102 – including seven banned in the EU – were used on seven vegetable and soft fruit categories. Continue reading...

Homebuyers more cautious due to possible mortgage rate rises and higher inflation as sellers sit on properties Fears of higher mortgage rates and rising inflation as a result of the Middle East conflict are leading to a subdued and downbeat housing market, according to estate agents. Demand from potential homebuyers across England and Wales has shown a “noticeable softening” recently, according to a monthly survey of estate agents by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Continue reading...

Prime minister under pressure over failure to grant military service exemptions as multi-party government looks at risk of collapse Israel’s ruling coalition has submitted a proposal to dissolve parliament to pave the way for early elections as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, came under mounting attack from ultra-Orthodox parties. The move, initiated by Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party, came as Netanyahu appeared to be facing a possible collapse of his fractious coalition. Continue reading...

In House committee transcript, commerce secretary denied any further contact with disgraced financier Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told lawmakers in a closed-door interview earlier this month that he met Jeffrey Epstein only three times and had no “personal or professional relationship” with the disgraced financier, according to a newly released transcript of the meeting. “I unequivocally condemn the conduct attributed to Jeffrey Epstein and everyone who participated in his illegal activities,” Lutnick said in his opening statement before the House oversight and reform committee. Continue reading...

Swedish study of 600,000 patients between 17 and 60 years old suggests there is no safe age to get heavier Gaining weight as an adult increases the risk of cancer by up to five times, according to research involving more than 600,000 patients. Obesity can cause 13 different cancers and is thought to be linked to another eight. But less is known about the impact on cancer risk of the amount of weight put on – and when in life it is gained. Continue reading...

Georgian opens the scoring as PSG beat rivals 2-0 Inter victorious over Lazio in Coppa Italia final Paris Saint-Germain secured a fifth successive Ligue 1 title by beating their nearest challengers, Lens, 2-0 in their penultimate match of the league season on Wednesday. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored after 29 minutes and the substitute Ibrahim Mbaye grabbed a stoppage-time goal to put PSG on 76 points, out of the reach of Lens, who are assured of second place on 67 points. Continue reading...

Kelechi Iheanacho scored a penalty winner nine minutes into stoppage time after a video review, boosting Celtic’s Premiership defence thanks to a comeback win at Motherwell as the most dramatic title race in decades took another sensational twist. Iheanacho slotted a spot-kick as former Hearts midfielder Sam Nicholson was penalised for handball after jumping to head the ball away. The ball appeared to hit his raised hand right in front of his head. Continue reading...

With Mexico under pressure from Trump to tackle drug trafficking groups, analysts say ‘it’s the most tense situation since the 1980s’ Relations between Mexico and the United States are being pushed to breaking point amid accusations by Washington that Mexican officials have been “in bed for years” with drug traffickers, and reports of CIA agents freely operating south of the border. “There are many who are betting on the defeat and failure of the Mexican government,” said Claudia Sheinbaum tersely on Wednesday, when asked about the allegations at a news conference. ”We want a good relationship with the United States government. What are our limits? The defence of sovereignty and respect for the Mexican people and their dignity.” Continue reading...

Last summer, had anyone carrying a magic lamp offered supporters of Hearts the prospect of claiming a point on the final day of the season to win Scotland’s Premiership the response would have been emphatic. Hearts have not been champions since 1960. Old Firm dominance of has lasted four decades. Breaking both moulds had been portrayed as fanciful. Being placed in that exact scenario will give palpitations to those in maroon between now and Saturday. Hearts will travel to Celtic Park with their fate in their own hands but in opposition to a dominant club, for whom domestic success comes as second nature. Continue reading...

No Erling Haaland, no Rayan Cherki and no Jérémy Doku from the start. The result: a canter to victory against Crystal Palace that takes Manchester City back to within two points of Arsenal with each having played 36 games. The good news for Pep Guardiola is that a much-changed team did the business, with Phil Foden once again displaying the magic that can make him a force. The poorer tidings are that Arsenal host Burnley on Monday and the chances of them dropping points to the relegated visitors appear slim to say the least. By then City may be FA Cup holders or losing finalists on Saturday to Chelsea at Wembley. Continue reading...

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were given 10-year sentences after entering the country on a motorcycling trip The “terrified” family of a British couple jailed for 10 years in Iran on spying charges have said they have lost all contact with them. Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 53, were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through Iran during an around-the-world trip by motorcycle. Continue reading...

Elias Calocane says he thought violent messages sent by brother related to suicidal thoughts not harming others The younger brother of Valdo Calocane, who killed three people in an attack in Nottingham, said he felt “powerless” over his sibling’s mental ill health and believed violent messages his brother had sent concerned suicidal thoughts. Valdo Cacocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, stabbed to death Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on 13 June 2023, and seriously injured three others. Continue reading...

Sherman theatre, Cardiff Connor Allen’s autobiographical show is a twister that winds in everything from gothic mystery to therapy sessions in an ambitious, rather incoherent mix Connor Allen’s autobiographical show features plenty of smoke and mirrors, literal and figurative. Smoke swirls from a pit on a darkened stage, jagged mirrors stand like rocks across it. It is an emotionally anguished play featuring a mixed-heritage protagonist (played by Allen) who has been abandoned by his Jamaican father and raised by his Welsh mother. His inability to forgive his father takes him back to Jamaica where he experiences a psychic watershed. This twister of a drama shifts ambitiously in form and tone, sliding between gothic thriller, family psychodrama and standup-style direct address at one point when Allen interacts with the audience with tipples of gin in warmly comic tones. At Sherman theatre, Cardiff, until 23 May Continue reading...

Health secretary’s move to force race sparks scramble on left of Labour for candidate to oppose him UK politics live – latest updates Wes Streeting is preparing to launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer on Thursday if the health secretary can secure the support of enough MPs to trigger a contest. Streeting’s move to force a race has sparked a frantic scramble on the left of Labour to find a candidate to oppose him, with Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner both possible contenders. Continue reading...

Emirates’ foreign ministry rejects claims that Netanyahu visited the country describing them as ‘baseless’ Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed he made a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates at the height of the Iran war to meet the president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “This visit has led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE,” the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Wednesday night. Continue reading...

Warsh will serve four-year term as chair, taking over amid rising inflation and pressure from Trump to lower rates The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve, one of the most powerful roles in the federal government that holds enormous sway over the economy. The 54-45 Senate vote on Wednesday was split along party lines, with the exception of Democratic senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania, who joined the Republican majority. Warsh was confirmed for a four-year term as chair and a 14-year appointment on the Fed’s rate-setting board. Continue reading...

British author Donna Fisher has won the Libraro prize for the unpublished manuscript of her ‘provocative and timely’ book, Sheep’s Clothing An unpublished novel exploring cancel culture in the post-#MeToo era has won the inaugural Libraro prize, a £50,000 award set up to “sidestep the traditional barricades of the book industry” by allowing readers to select a shortlist from manuscripts uploaded to a platform directly by writers. British author Donna Fisher won the prize for her novel Sheep’s Clothing, which follows a singer and her on-and-off friendship with a bestselling author who is accused of sexual assault. Continue reading...

Health secretary’s lack of challenge had reassured Starmer and his allies – but then briefings for a speculative Thursday launch emerged As the unofficial political truce of the king’s speech approached, with still no sign of a leadership challenge from Wes Streeting, some of his Labour colleagues assumed the health secretary’s chance to go for the top job might have passed for ever. “There is a risk he becomes the David Miliband of this generation if he doesn’t do something,” one MP said, a reference to another longtime heir apparent who never made the final step. Continue reading...

Cannes film festival: Léa Drucker gives a bravura performance as a brilliant surgeon whose already chaotic life is further complicated by a same-sex affair with a journalist Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s new film is a hectic, garrulous, breezily agreeable comedy of midlife emotional upheaval, unencumbered by any serious or permanent concern about any of the passion and heartache that it briefly encounters. It’s also a movie that declines to allow its characters to be changed in any way by the excitements and disappointments that life has to throw at them. Léa Drucker carries off the lead with terrifically competent elan; there’s hardly a scene in which she is not interrupted by a call on her mobile, going into bravura walk-and-talk acting on the phone while on the street, arriving at the office or getting into or out of her car. She plays Gabrielle, a brilliant surgeon – what other sort is there in the movies? – who specialises in maxillofacial reconstruction. Gabrielle is battling budget cuts, scolding her idle interns, doing outstanding work and is heavily reliant on her assistant Kamyar (Laurent Capelluto). At home, she has a tricky relationship with her partner Henri (Charles Berling), whose teen children from his previous marriage she has raised while resenting his ingratitude for this, as well as for his somewhat semi-detached attitude to their relationship. She is also deeply concerned by her elderly mother Arlette (tenderly played by Marie-Christine Barrault) who is entering the twilight of dementia. Continue reading...

The health secretary’s backers have different – not always ideological – reasons for supporting him Wes Streeting plans to resign and mount leadership challenge, allies say For all that Labour’s left denounce Wes Streeting as a reincarnated Blairite, he has friendships and alliances across various Labour factions, not all of which lean into each other. As he considers a possible bid to challenge Keir Starmer, the MPs supporting him are not ideological clones. Some are personal allies, while others simply see him as one of the few senior Labour figures capable of communicating beyond Westminster. Continue reading...

St John the Divine, Kennington has built one of UK’s largest youth choral programmes in area marked by deprivation St Paul’s Cathedral school, one of the UK’s most prestigious private schools, has long been associated with the musical elite. So was seven-year-old N’raeah, from south London, nervous about auditioning for its internationally renowned choir? “No,” she said, beaming. “Everybody’s counting on me to sing beautifully.” Continue reading...