“The lack of high-quality rail infrastructure in the north of England holds back its potential.” What lifts reviving the £36bn HS2 leg to Manchester above a pipe dream, is how he says it should be paid for. “There’s a cleverer way of funding this": trib.al/zzn1Xdp

Peace with Persia, a circus and building a Triumphal Arch. x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2066…

Just the beginning of a legendary night at the People’s House. 📸🇺🇸

BREAKING: A Russian drone has struck the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Built in 1051, the monastery is the most important site of Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine.

2/ This is what caught people's attention. A 2-bed flat near Notting Hill Gate.Nearby properties on market for c£1.1-3m, (albeit in a different spec/condition). Market rent c£4,000/month. Occupied by a social tenant at c£600/month — with the legal right to swap that tenancy with another social tenant anywhere in the country.

Buckinghamshire council spent £819 million over a five year contract period on taxis. £163 million a year on average. This is insane. The council could run an equivalent transport service for a fraction of this cost

🚨NEW: Bluesky will not be included in the under-16s social media ban

BREAKING: There were 25 crew members of various nationalities on board the Russian shadow fleet vessel that was intercepted by UK forces in the Channel, according to Lieutenant Colonel Tom Quinn, Commanding Officer, 42 Commando. They are "in the care" of the National Crime Agency

JUST IN: 🇯🇵 Japan signs nuclear deal with Rolls Royce to build modular reactors.

In the early hours of this morning, I directed our Armed Forces to intercept a shadow fleet oil tanker attempting to pass through the English Channel. This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fueling Putin's war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide. I want to thank those involved, including our Armed Forces and law enforcement officers who keep this country safe 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

EXC: Andy Burnham says Westminster has failed Northern towns for decades *Says many MPs couldn't find Makerfield on map *Vows to unite “too factional” Labour party *Says by-election will shape UK for years *Warns Britain risks US style division *Joined on doorstep by Steve Coogan

This week the most advanced AI model on the planet got switched off by a foreign government. British researchers were studying it. British companies were testing it. British hospitals were piloting it. Not any more. This isn't an AI story. It's the story of every industry we used to lead. Britain has some of the best AI talent in the world. DeepMind was built here. Our AI Safety Institute writes the rules other countries follow. We have the researchers, the universities, the standards. What we don't have is the power stations to run the data centres, the planning system to build them, or the industrial base to make the chips. So the work happens here and the value lands somewhere else. We invent. Others build. Others decide. Then we read about it on Saturday morning. Same story as the kit our soldiers don't have. Same story as the factories we used to. I spent nine months in government making this argument inside the room. I'll make it louder from outside.