5+ min ago (466+ words) Six people killed and 14 injured after drones and missiles fired overnight, as Kremlin targets energy infrastructure Russia launched a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight, killing six and injuring 14 in Kyiv as a fresh round of US-brokered peace negotiations began in Abu Dhabi. A total of 22 missiles, including four hypersonic Kinzhals, and 464 drones, were fired by Russia in attacks that principally targeted Kyiv and the surrounding area, according to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "All partners must remember that lives need to be saved every single day," the president said. "Weapons and air defence systems are important, as is the sanctions pressure on the aggressor. There can be no pauses in assistance." The Ukrainian leader said the Kremlin must not feel it was able to win the war while talks continued. He said: "What matters most…...

42+ min ago (455+ words) Lawsuit filed in West Virginia maintained that Justice and his wife received notice of the funds due since 2009 but didn't pay Jim Justice, the Republican US senator, and his wife have agreed to pay more than $5m that the couple owes in back taxes shortly after they were sued over the 16-year-old debt by the federal government. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in their home state of West Virginia, maintained that the Justices had received notice from the US treasury department of the funds due since 2009 but had "neglected or refused to make full payment of those assessments. The suit demanded that Jim and Cathy Justice " a member of West Virginia's state board of education " pay back the balance of nearly $5.2m along with any other relief that the court deemed "just and proper. A separate filing later on Monday…...

44+ min ago (205+ words) Genius and arrogance play leading roles in a new biography of the man who helped uncover the structure of DNA Most people could tell you that Francis Crick, together with James Watson, discovered the double helix structure of DNA, and'shaped our understanding of how'genes work. Fewer know that Crick also played a key role in modern'neuroscience and inspired our'continuing efforts to understand the biological basis of consciousness. Far from being the stereotypical reclusive genius, labouring in isolation, Crick was loud-talking and charismatic, a philanderer, poetry lover and thrower of risque parties. Crick's inspiration and breakthroughs came through intense encounters with others, and he was skilled at bringing researchers from different disciplines together to solve scientific puzzles. In a passage explaining how a rare'mutation, if advantageous, can become widespread, Crick observes that "when times are tough, true novelty is needed " chance…...

44+ min ago (619+ words) In her quiche-pie hybrid, Alice Zaslavsky chooses kataifi for its exquisite crunch, eggs and feta for the filling, and a herby honey for the finish Of all the styles and shapes in the pantheon of pastry, kataifi is the most playful. It loves to be twisted and turned, bathed in butter or oil, baked or fried until glowing with the promise of crispy flakes on your chin, lap and heart as you crunch into its golden, glassy fuzz. With origins in the Ottoman empire that spread across the Balkans and Middle East, you'll find it bunched and crisped into nests for syrup-soaked sweets like baklava, ekmek, and k'nefe, knafeh or kunafa; wrapped around seafood like scallops and prawns; or layered into savoury pies that blur the curly lines between crunch and comfort. But where you couldn't find it earlier this…...

46+ min ago (549+ words) Travel firm says package destinations are Majorca, Tenerife, Costa Blanca, Dalaman and Lanzarote EasyJet has reported a rise in annual profits as strong demand for its package holidays to destinations including Tenerife and Lanzarote offset more difficult trading for its airline. Europe's second-biggest budget airline upgraded its outlook for its holidays division, where it raised prices by an average of 5% to "698 for each break. Its most popular package holiday destinations were Mallorca, Tenerife, Costa Blanca, Dalaman and Lanzarote. Top city breaks included Amsterdam, Paris, Prague, Krakow and Barcelona. Analysts said the results indicated that consumers saw family holidays as "almost sacrosanct" despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. EasyJet said it had invested in longer leisure and city routes, to Cape Verde, Marrakech, Turkey and Egypt. It opened new bases at Milan Linate, Rome Fiumicino and London Southend, while two underperforming bases,…...

48+ min ago (1609+ words) Reeves expected to reveal cut in growth forecasts for next five years in budget As flagged in the introduction, sterling volatility has indeed soared as traders brace for tomorrow's budget. The cost of protection against swings in sterling has surged to a seven-month high this morning, as traders try to protect themselves against wild swings in the currency's value. Bloomberg has the details: Overnight volatility versus the euro jumped to the highest since mid-April on an intraday basis, and is at the strongest closing level since June 2023 as traders load up against near-term price gyrations. Options now trade at the widest premium to realized swings in three years, signaling hedges are way overpriced relative to what the market has recently delivered. UK risk is being routed mostly through the euro, sidestepping the US macro influence on pound-dollar. Still, positioning has…...

1+ hour ago (610+ words) While banning the burqa might play with the Sky After Dark audience, it is miles from a broad concern among punters Nearly 30 years after she first entered politics with a firebrand maiden speech about Asian immigration, Pauline Hanson remains a committed fringe dweller, with narrow political interests and bad instincts. Suspended from the Senate on Tuesday, her decision to don a burqa in the chamber a day earlier badly disrupted proceedings and drew near universal condemnation. It is only the fifth time since 1901 that a seven-day suspension has been put in place, and the first time since 1979. Prompted by the refusal of Labor and the Coalition to entertain her latest push for a bill to ban face coverings in public, the stunt was a replay from 2017, and shows her political playbook is threadbare " even when One Nation's parliamentary ranks are…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago (212+ words) From public service broadcasting to an independent judiciary, these are the things that we must fight to keep How can we defend our democracies against those who would destroy them? We talk a lot about strategies for keeping anti-liberal, nationalist populists out of power, but Donald Trump's daily wielding of a wrecking ball shows that it's equally important to reinforce your democracy so it can withstand a period of populists in power. Here are a few things to look at, if you want to populist-proof your democracy. A little nerdy perhaps, but this matters. The absurdly archaic US system, in which each of the 50 states has its own different procedures, is a standing invitation to partisan gerrymandering, voter suppression and all the other dirty tricks on which Republicans are plainly hellbent in advance of next autumn's midterm elections. For what's…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago (960+ words) Ten years ago Arsenal were thrashed by the Bavarian giants " now Mikel Arteta's men are rated the best side in Europe November 2015. The Allianz Arena, Munich. A decade ago, yet a lifetime away for Arsenal in the Champions'League. That night Ars'ne Wenger's team were so shredded in a 5-1 defeat by Bayern'Munich that my Guardian colleague David Hytner likened them to "the'chicken feed from the lower reaches of the Bundesliga that Bayern routinely gobble up. It was Arsenal's joint'worst result in Europe. And to rub it in, Bayern repeated the trick the following season. Twice: 5-1 at home, then 5-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Now look. Arsenal are now the best team in Europe, at least according to Club Elo ratings, based on every team's results and the strength of their opponents. Bayern, who travel to the Emirates'Stadium on Wednesday, are third. And,…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago (64+ words) The Nature inFocus photography competition 2025 announced its winners at the Nature inFocus festival hosted at Jayamahal Palace in Bengaluru, India.Close to 16,000 images were submitted by more than 1,250 photographers from more than 38 countries. Continue reading... Winner: Wildscape & animals in their habitat Special mention: Wildscape & animals in their habitat Runner-up: Wildscape & animals in their habitat...