Watchdog says only a third of local authorities are confident they will have enough places for September

The deployment of the government’s childcare scheme to tens of thousands more families is facing “significant uncertainties” and may struggle to meet its own targets, according to a report by Whitehall’s spending watchdog.

The National Audit Office revealed the Department for Education (DfE) had assessed the likelihood of being able to deliver the funded childcare places it promised for September 2024 and 2025 as “amber/red problematic”.

One in five people on average need at least three interactions – but for ethnic minorities figure rises to one in three

Ethnic minorities and young people require more visits than other people to the GP before being diagnosed with cancer, according to new analysis.

On average, one in five people across England require three or more GP interactions before being diagnosed with cancer. But for people from ethnic minority backgrounds, the figure rises to one in three, according to analysis of the NHS cancer patient experience 2022 survey by QualityWatch, a joint programme from the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation.

Juan Merchan reserves judgment on prosecutors’ request for maximum fine but tells Todd Blanche ‘you’re losing all credibility’

• Skeptical judge and National Enquirer deal: key takeaways
• Pecker says he was ‘eyes and ears’ of Trump campaign

The New York judge presiding in Donald Trump’s criminal trial held off on deciding whether he should be fined $10,000 for attacking expected trial witnesses in direct violation of the gag order designed to protect trial participants from being the target of Trump’s abuse.

The judge, Juan Merchan, reserved ruling from the bench. But he appeared deeply unconvinced by arguments from Trump’s lead lawyer Todd Blanche that a series of social media posts were just responses to political attacks on Trump and therefore permitted.

Full and part skeletons found in Mexico reveal body shape and anatomy of Pytchodus as well as its likely diet

Fossil experts say they have gained unprecedented insights into a type of enormous prehistoric shark, after finding complete skeletons of the creatures.

The specimens, discovered in small quarries in north-eastern Mexico within the last decade, belong to Ptychodus – a creature that roamed the seas from around 105m to 75m years ago.

PM pledges to put arms industry on ‘war footing’ with plan to raise defence budget to £87bn a year by 2030

Britain will boost its defence spending to 2.5% of national output by the end of the decade as Rishi Sunak pledged to put the UK’s arms industry on a “war footing” in response to global threats.

The prime minister’s plan, which he said would help the UK deal with an “increasingly dangerous” world, would steadily increase defence spending to £87bn a year by 2030.

Open letter says ‘callous and degrading’ police group WhatsApp message caused ‘more trauma than you can imagine’

The mother of one of the Nottingham attack victims has written an open letter to members of a police WhatsApp group in which a message was posted describing her son as being “properly butchered”.

Emma Webber, the mother of Barnaby Webber, 19, who with Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, and Ian Coates, 65, was stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane, has written to the Nottinghamshire police officer who she says posted graphic details of the victims’ injuries in the chat group.

UN and Council for Europe add voices to outcry as more people drown within hours of ‘cruel’ Rwanda bill being passed

Humanitarian groups have called for new safe routes to Britain after five people died trying to cross the Channel within hours of ministers passing the controversial Rwanda bill.

A child and four adults drowned on Tuesday while trying to reach the UK in a boat from Wimereux, in France. More than 110 people were said to have been on board the vessel when it left the French coastline at 5am.

• MPs vote in favour of progressing the Football Governance Bill
• Calls for regulator to have scope to amend parachute payments

MPs have called for the ­Independent Regulator for Football to have the scope to reintroduce replays to the FA Cup, amend the parachute ­payment system and to enforce an effective financial settlement between the Premier League and the EFL, as they voted in favour of progressing the Football Governance Bill.

The second reading of the bill was approved without a vote after a debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday. MPs from all sides of the house spoke in favour of the bill, including Conservative MPs who said they had previously been opposed to regulation. A number of politicians, ­however, called on the government to go ­further in granting the regulator power to achieve financial stability for the football pyramid.

Shares are up despite a revenue decline of 9% after company said it expects to release new vehicle models sooner than expected

Tesla shares surged nearly 10% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after posting earnings results, despite a revenue miss for the first quarter of 2024, a steep decline in profits and a recall of its most recently released car, the $100,000 Cybertruck.

The electric vehicle manufacturer posted $21.3bn in revenue, lower than the $21.48bn estimated and a 9% drop year over year – marking its biggest decline since 2012. Profit was $1.1bn, a 55% decline from the first quarter of 2023, the company said.

Regional armed forces admit ‘difficult situation’ as Kyiv awaits western military aid

Russian forces have made significant advances in a narrow corridor in eastern Ukraine as an offensive by Moscow to take territory before western military aid arrives appears to be gathering pace.

Footage posted by Kremlin military bloggers shows a Russian tricolour flying above the shattered village of Ocheretyne. Russian troops reportedly entered the territory on Sunday, north-west of the town of Avdiivka, after advancing about 5km in 10 days.