01/05/2025 05:48
The Guardian
In today’s newsletter: With more than 1,600 council seats and key mayoralties in play, Reform UK eyes its first chance at governanceGood morning. You may not be terribly excited about today’s local elections in England, but let me tell you: a significant cadre of political dorks are swivel-eyed with anticipation.In play today are more than 1,600 council seats in 37 councils, six mayoralties, and a byelection in Runcorn for good measure. Those choices will give us the first real-world measure of how the public’s view of the parties has shifted since the general election – and for Labour and the Conservatives, it’s likely to be a very stern test indeed.US news | The US’s economy has shrunk in the first three months of Donald Trump’s second term, triggering fears of an American recession and a global economic slowdown. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter of the year, and comes alongside a huge fall in consumer sentiment, which dropped 32% in April.Climate crisis | Tony Blair has faced a storm of criticism over his claims that the political case for phasing out fossil fuels is “doomed to fail”. As Downing Street officials accused Blair of undermining Keir Starmer on a key issue, his thinktank issued a statement saying that the government’s net zero policy was “the right one”.Ukraine | The US and Kyiv have signed an agreement to share revenues from the future sale of Ukrainian minerals and rare earths, sealing a deal that Donald Trump has said will provide an economic incentive for the US to continue to invest in Ukraine’s defence and its reconstruction after he brokers a peace deal with Russia.Health | Scientists have used living human brain tissue to mimic the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, in a breakthrough that will accelerate the hunt for a cure. The groundbreaking move could make it easier to test new drugs and boost the chances of finding ones that work.UK news | Video footage of what prosecutors say is the moment the Sycamore Gap tree was felled has been shown to the jury in the trial of the two men accused of illegally cutting down the famous tree on Hadrian’s Wall, which stood in a gap in the wall for over a century. Continue reading...
Continua a leggere su "The Guardian"