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Received today — 1 May 2026 The Guardian World news

Friday briefing: How rising antisemitism is striking fear into the everyday lives of British Jews

1 May 2026 at 06:18

In today’s newsletter: The events in Golders Green this week are the latest in a line of attacks on the Jewish community that have led many to question their future in the UK

Good morning. It is a terrible fact of life for British Jews that few were surprised by Wednesday’s knife attack in Golders Green, north London, in which two men were stabbed in an area home to a large Jewish community. A 45-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder.

The incident is the latest in a string of antisemitic attacks, on people and property, that have struck fear into many British Jews in recent years. John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said many in the community are at “breaking point” and feel the UK is no longer a safe place for them to live.

Iran | Iran’s supreme leader has broken his recent silence with a defiant statement hailing Iran’s control over shipping in the strait of Hormuz and vowing to guard the country’s nuclear and missile programmes.

Environment | Governments have been asked to develop national “roadmaps” setting out how they will end the production and use of fossil fuels, after a landmark climate meeting involving nearly 60 countries.

UK news | Winston Marshall, a former member of the band Mumford & Sons and the son of the GB News co-owner Paul Marshall, has said Britain should construct a mine-laden “floating wall” to stop small boat crossings on the Channel.

Counter-terrorism | More and more young people are being drawn into the world of violent extremism, a senior police officer has warned, as a young neo-Nazi was convicted of planning a mass gun attack after being caught in an undercover MI5 sting.

UK economy | The Bank of England has left interest rates unchanged at 3.75% but said the UK may need to brace for increases later this year, as “higher inflation is unavoidable” as a result of the war in the Middle East.

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© Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

© Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

© Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

‘Profoundly distressing’: record number of deaths in custody and police operations in NSW

1 May 2026 at 06:15

There were 66 deaths in custody and police operations in 2025 – 18 more than the previous year

  • Warning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

There were a record number of New South Wales deaths in custody and police operations last year, with almost a quarter of prisoner deaths recorded as self-harm, a coroners court report states.

Of those who killed themselves, most were by hanging, despite millions being invested to remove ligature points.

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© Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP

© Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP

© Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • BAE faces £120m lawsuit over decision to scrap support for aid aircraft Mark Townsend
    EnComm Aviation says the firm’s action has cut off vital support for crisis-hit countries including South Sudan and the DRCBritain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, is facing a £120m lawsuit after scrapping support for aircraft used to deliver aid to some of the world’s neediest countries.EnComm Aviation, a Kenya-based aid cargo operator, claims the decision forced the cancellation of humanitarian contracts and reduced supplies to South Sudan, now threatened by famine, Somalia and the
     

BAE faces £120m lawsuit over decision to scrap support for aid aircraft

1 May 2026 at 06:00

EnComm Aviation says the firm’s action has cut off vital support for crisis-hit countries including South Sudan and the DRC

Britain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, is facing a £120m lawsuit after scrapping support for aircraft used to deliver aid to some of the world’s neediest countries.

EnComm Aviation, a Kenya-based aid cargo operator, claims the decision forced the cancellation of humanitarian contracts and reduced supplies to South Sudan, now threatened by famine, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), among others.

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© Photograph: Courtesy of Encomm Aviation

© Photograph: Courtesy of Encomm Aviation

© Photograph: Courtesy of Encomm Aviation

Man charged with attempted murder in connection with Golders Green attack

Essa Suleiman charged after two men stabbed in north London, say police

Essa Suleiman has been charged with attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, on Wednesday, the Metropolitan police has said.

The 45-year-old has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place over the incident, police said.

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© Photograph: Newsquest/SWNS

© Photograph: Newsquest/SWNS

© Photograph: Newsquest/SWNS

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Man who pocketed tiles from medieval priory as boy returns them 60 years later Steven Morris
    Simon White comes clean after finding clay pieces in toffee tin, saying he took them as souvenir from Wenlock PrioryFragments of a priory’s medieval tiled floor that spent almost 60 years stashed in a toffee tin after being pocketed by a nine-year-old boy during a family outing have finally been handed back.The three pieces of decorative clay tiles, dating from the late 13th to early 14th century, were taken as a souvenir by Simon White during a family visit to Wenlock Priory in Shropshire in th
     

Man who pocketed tiles from medieval priory as boy returns them 60 years later

1 May 2026 at 05:00

Simon White comes clean after finding clay pieces in toffee tin, saying he took them as souvenir from Wenlock Priory

Fragments of a priory’s medieval tiled floor that spent almost 60 years stashed in a toffee tin after being pocketed by a nine-year-old boy during a family outing have finally been handed back.

The three pieces of decorative clay tiles, dating from the late 13th to early 14th century, were taken as a souvenir by Simon White during a family visit to Wenlock Priory in Shropshire in the late 1960s.

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© Photograph: Simon White

© Photograph: Simon White

© Photograph: Simon White

Nearly twice as many men as women standing in May elections in UK

Exclusive: women ‘massively underrepresented’ in next week’s local and devolved elections, campaigners say

Women will be massively underrepresented on ballot papers across the UK next week, campaigners say, with research revealing that almost twice as many men as women are standing as candidates across the local, mayoral and devolved elections.

Democracy campaigners say men of all political stripes are likely to dominate local government, with women’s views on issues from social care to bin collections sidelined by the huge gap between the numbers of male and female candidates.

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© Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

Iran war may cause food shortages in Africa, world’s largest fertiliser firm says

1 May 2026 at 04:00

Yara CEO warns of global auction that would leave poorest countries scrambling for supplies they can ill afford

The Iran war could have “dramatic consequences”, causing food shortages and price rises in some of Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, the head of the world’s largest fertiliser company has said.

Svein Tore Holsether, the chief executive of Yara International, said world leaders needed to guard against soaring prices and shortages of fertiliser causing a de facto global auction that would leave the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, scrambling for supplies they could ill afford.

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© Photograph: Julian Lott/Alamy

© Photograph: Julian Lott/Alamy

© Photograph: Julian Lott/Alamy

Danish treatment of Greenlandic mother may be ‘ethnic discrimination’, says UN

1 May 2026 at 04:00

Exclusive: Letter sent to government about case of Inuit woman whose baby was removed after now-banned test

The United Nations has warned Denmark that the treatment of a Greenlandic mother whose newborn child was removed by Danish authorities as a result of controversial parenting competency tests “may amount to ethnic discrimination”.

Keira Alexandra Kronvold’s daughter, Zammi, was taken away from her when she was two hours old and placed in foster care in November 2024 after Kronvold was subjected to so-called FKU (parental competence) psychometric tests. At the time, she was told that the test was to see if she was “civilised enough”.

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© Photograph: Juliette Pavy/The Guardian

© Photograph: Juliette Pavy/The Guardian

© Photograph: Juliette Pavy/The Guardian

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • ‘It ruined my night’: photographers accused of targeting women at St Andrews May Dip Zainab Haji
    Students taking part in university’s annual ritual say images of them in swimwear are being published without consent in national newspapersWhen the sun rises at dawn on Friday, hundreds of St Andrews University students will brave the chilly North Sea for the annual May Dip, an undergraduate ritual said to bring good luck in exams. But the students won’t be alone at the beach. In recent years this quirky ritual has become a target for agency and freelance photographers looking to cash in on ima
     

‘It ruined my night’: photographers accused of targeting women at St Andrews May Dip

1 May 2026 at 04:00

Students taking part in university’s annual ritual say images of them in swimwear are being published without consent in national newspapers

When the sun rises at dawn on Friday, hundreds of St Andrews University students will brave the chilly North Sea for the annual May Dip, an undergraduate ritual said to bring good luck in exams. But the students won’t be alone at the beach. In recent years this quirky ritual has become a target for agency and freelance photographers looking to cash in on images of students in bikinis, including some who camp out overnight on the East Sands dunes near the Fife coastal path.

“It ruined my night,” said Anna, one of the students whose photo appeared in a spread published by the Scotsman. “Now when I think about that May Dip, I think about that image, and that’s it.”

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© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

Police say they will charge people with unrest in Alice Springs after arrest over death of Kumanjayi Little Baby

Five-year-old’s grandfather and senior Warlpiri elder appeals for calm, saying: ‘It is time now for sorry business’

• Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have died

Northern Territory police say one person is facing charges and more are expected to be over unrest in Alice Springs after the arrest of a man in connection with the death of five-year-old girl.

The grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found on Thursday 5km from the Old Timers town camp where she was last seen alive on Saturday night, called for calm in the central Australian town on Friday, saying the violent confrontation between police and others at Alice Springs hospital was not “our way”.

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© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/EPA

‘He’s probably good’: Donald Trump Jr gets muted endorsement from his father for The Apprentice reboot

1 May 2026 at 03:14

Speculative reports say Amazon is considering relaunching the reality show once hosted by the US president, with his eldest son floated as a possible host

Amid speculative reports that Donald Trump Jr is being considered by Amazon to lead a reboot of The Apprentice, he’s already received a slightly muted endorsement from the reality show’s former host: his father.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Amazon was considering rebooting The Apprentice, which was hosted by the now US president Donald Trump between 2004 and 2015, for its streaming service Prime Video.

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© Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

© Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

© Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Scientology ‘speed running’ trend has LA abuzz and church unhappy Uwa Ede-Osifo
    Religious group ‘reviewing all available remedies’ after clips of young people rushing its buildings in ‘raids’ go viralOn any given day, Los Angeles’s Hollywood Boulevard teems with tourists and street performers clustered near the area’s many landmarks. But in recent months, the strip has been set abuzz for a new reason.Throngs of mostly adolescent boys and young men have been rushing the Church of Scientology’s international headquarters on the famed street. Continue reading...
     

Scientology ‘speed running’ trend has LA abuzz and church unhappy

1 May 2026 at 01:40

Religious group ‘reviewing all available remedies’ after clips of young people rushing its buildings in ‘raids’ go viral

On any given day, Los Angeles’s Hollywood Boulevard teems with tourists and street performers clustered near the area’s many landmarks. But in recent months, the strip has been set abuzz for a new reason.

Throngs of mostly adolescent boys and young men have been rushing the Church of Scientology’s international headquarters on the famed street.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: George Rose/Getty Images

© Photograph: George Rose/Getty Images

© Photograph: George Rose/Getty Images

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