World news | The Guardian

Photosynthesis does not always result in wood growth, a key factor in carbon dioxide sequestrationTrees may not be able to store as much planet-heating carbon as hoped, a study suggests, with researchers finding photosynthesis does not always lead to wood growth.Scientists studied 137 sites across the US and found trees stopped growing months before the point in the year at which photosynthesis stopped. Continue reading...

Geert Wilders' PVV altered sketch of jailed Syrian brothers to make them look more menacingA Dutch court artist has received damages after an MP for the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) used one of her drawings without permission and manipulated it with AI to make the subjects look more menacing.Petra Urban, a court artist for 19 years, was shocked to discover a drawing she had made last year of two Syrian brothers jailed for the murder of their sister had been reworked and used in a video on Instagram and Facebook by the party's Noord-Brabant region. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed - see our latest full report on the Middle East crisisIran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) has cautioned against media speculation about a potential memorandum of understanding to end the war, particularly on claims regarding the strait of Hormuz.IRNA reported that Iran will not surrender its control of the strategic waterway and the US will have no role in its future management.Contrary to some bizarre claims in the media, Iran in no way makes a commitment in this text to hand over its management or to restore the strait of Hormuz to the state before the military aggression of the US and Israel. The only point mentioned is the normalisation of transit through the strait of Hormuz upon the end of the war, the establishment of maritime security by the coastal states, the end of the illegal blockade, and the removal of threats to commercial shipping by the US and Israel. At Iran's request, the US will have no role whatsoever in the future management of the strait of Hormuz. It has been made clear that the future administration of the strait will be based on an Iranian initiative and proposal, within the framework of a matter pertaining to the countries of the region. In this framework, discussions about the future of the strait of Hormuz will not take place even in negotiations after the signing of the agreement, and Tehran will directly resolve this issue in talks with Oman." Continue reading...

A woman in her 30s has been transported to hospital with arm and leg injuries and beaches in Sydney's east have been closed after the attack

This live blog is now closed.

President says Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores killed in swift and lethal' military strike with help from VenezuelaThe US military has killed a leader in the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, with the help of Venezuela, Donald Trump announced on Friday.At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Nino Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Continue reading...

Officials given 21 days to comply with order after Angel Kelley condemns administration for telling half-truths'A US district court judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate any history or science materials it removed from the nation's public monuments, finding that the White House's actions set a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization".In March 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order titled restoring truth and sanity to American history", calling upon the secretary of interior to examine monuments, memorials and statues to see if they had been altered after January 2020 to represent a false construction of American history". Continue reading...

Deal still under UK scrutiny with new investigation, and could face lawsuit from state attorneys generalDonald Trump's Department of Justice has decided to approve the $111bn merger of Paramount Skydance, controlled by the Ellison family, and Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of networks like CNN and HBO.The deal was approved by the justice department's anti-trust division after months of review, and despite the concerns of many people in the entertainment and media industries who believe it will hurt competition by reducing the number of film studios and - most likely - merging two news networks, Paramount's CBS News and CNN. Continue reading...

In video, The Hills actor, who did not contest the outcome of the election, said his campaign to save' LA was just startingSpencer Pratt appeared to concede the Los Angeles mayor's race on Friday in a new video where he says the campaign portion of my mission to save Los Angeles is coming to a close", but declares war" against the two candidates advancing to the city's general election.In the video posted on social media, Pratt notably did not contest the results of the election, despite Donald Trump's repeated, but unfounded claims the race was rigged". Trump, who endorsed Pratt, called California's elections crooked". Continue reading...

Beloved movie critic and arts reporter was known for bushy hair and mustache and affection for groan-inducing punsGene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the Today show over four decades who was known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.Shalit's family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life". Continue reading...

Climate minister Chris Bowen says country must prepare for changing world and can play bigger role in reducing emissionsAustralia will find exporting fossil fuels increasingly difficult but can switch to exporting clean energy products, the president of the next UN climate negotiations has declared.Speaking at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, Chris Bowen, Australia's minister for climate change and energy, argued his country had led the global push to transition away from fossil fuels" - based on the rapid growth of renewable energy and batteries in its domestic power grids - and that its economy could manage the switch. Continue reading...

Data analytics company loses on 22 out of 23 counts in lawsuit disputing how Swiss government rejected firm's servicesThe US technology company Palantir has lost a legal challenge to force a Swiss independent magazine to publish its responses to articles about how the Swiss government rejected its services.The data analytics company lost on 22 out of 23 counts of the suit. In a ruling on Friday, Zurich's commercial court dismissed the majority of counterstatement requests filed by the company and its Swiss subsidiary finding that only a single passage in one article warranted a published response from the company. Continue reading...

Technique that examines fragments of foetal DNA in mother's bloodstream could limit need for invasive screening, according to researchersA new maternal blood test that can detect thousands of serious genetic conditions in the developing foetus could limit the need for invasive screening during pregnancy, according to scientists.The test, to be described at the European Society for Human Genetics conference in Gothenburg on Saturday, relies on detecting tiny fragments of a foetus's DNA that circulate in the mother's bloodstream during pregnancy. Using advanced sequencing techniques, scientists were able to identify a very high proportion of genetic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, that are currently only reliably diagnosed using amniocentesis or other invasive tests. Continue reading...

Journalist and healthcare campaigner was driving force behind patient safety initiative after death of 13-year-old daughterThe healthcare campaigner and journalist Merope Mills has been made a CBE in the king's birthday honours list for services to patient safety.Mills, a senior editor at the Guardian, was a driving force behind the introduction of an initiative in England said to have potentially saved hundreds of lives. She has spent years campaigning for the introduction of Martha's rule under which patients, relatives and staff can seek a second opinion if they have concerns about the care being provided. Continue reading...

Eljay Crisp-Carr was arrested on Thursday, and police are still searching for another suspect in Toledo shootingPolice in Ohio have arrested a suspect in a recent shooting that wounded 12 people at a crowded weekend neighborhood street festival.Eljay Crisp-Carr, 20, was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with 11 counts of felonious assault. Court documents do not list an attorney for him, and no one answered a call to a phone number associated with him on Friday morning. Continue reading...

Four found guilty get tougher conditions as judge says actions were designed to intimidate the UK government and a section of the public'A judge has imposed lengthy custodial sentences on four Palestine Action activists who smashed up drones and other equipment at an Israeli arms manufacturer's UK factory after ruling that there was a terrorist connection" to their offending.Charlotte Head, 30, and Leona Kamio, 30, were each jailed for five years and Fatema Rajwani, 21, was sentenced to four years and 8 months for criminal damage in relation to a 2024 break-in at the Elbit Systems UK site in Gloucestershire. Samuel Corner, 23, who was additionally convicted of grievous bodily harm without intent for striking Sgt Kate Evans with a sledgehammer, was sentenced to seven years and eight months. Each will also spend an additional year on licence and be subject to 15 years of terrorist notification requirements. Continue reading...

Endorsement by former soldier, despite party's apparent efforts to distance itself from him, is likely bid to attract Restore Britain votersReform UK's candidate in the Makerfield byelection has been criticised for welcoming an endorsement by Ant Middleton, the former soldier and TV presenter who the party had distanced itself from over his increasingly extreme views.Robert Kenyon shared a video of himself with Middleton, who he described as one of my heroes". Middleton has previously said well done Southampton" in the wake of violence after the murder of Henry Nowak, and has repeatedly used his own X account to make anti-Muslim comments. Continue reading...

Bell hotel in Epping was scene of violent protests after asylum seeker living there sexually assaulted girl and womanAsylum seekers have been removed from the Epping hotel that became a flashpoint for anti-immigration protests across England last summer as the Home Office terminates its contract with the establishment.The hotel on the outskirts of the Essex town was the scene of increasingly large protests after an asylum seeker who was living there sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman. Continue reading...

Police call for calm before anti-racist protests in Belfast and Glasgow as MPs warn of failure over online misinformationPolice said 19 people, including a 16-year-old boy, had now been arrested after two nights of rioting in Northern Ireland following a knife attack earlier in the week.The violence broke out after far-right activists called for demonstrations in response to the attack, which was captured in a graphic video. Continue reading...

Dylan Phelan, 21, of Leeds, sentenced to more than six years for encouraging the suicide of 21-year-old Travis DyerA Yorkshire man has been sentenced to more than six years in jail after admitting encouraging a US citizen to kill themselves while on a video call.Dylan Phelan, 21, was sentenced on Friday at Leeds crown court after previously pleading guilty to intentionally doing an act that was capable of encouraging the suicide of another person.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereAs armed forces minister, Al Carns was not involved in work on the defence investment plan (Dip). In his resignation letter, he said it was flawed not just because of the amount of funding involved; he also claimed it focused too much on the wrong capability. He said (and I've highlighted the key phrases in bold):The character of conflict is changing faster than our procurement can keep up with. We are still purchasing capability suitable for the last war while our adversaries arm for the next one. Platforms that cost billions can be defeated by systems that cost thousands. Any serious defence investment plan has to start from that reality.While I had no hand in the defence investment plan, that distance does allow me to say plainly that it is not built for the threat we face.I want to see a higher percentage for uncrewed systems, AI, data - data is the new gunpowder - and we've got to move that forward if we are going to win the next war.Too many working people in this country feel insecure even when they are doing everything right. They work hard, contribute, pay their taxes and still feel one setback away from trouble. Public confidence in our institutions is weakening and politics increasingly looks performative while everyday life gets harder.The machinery of government itself has been left to decay. Decisions that should take days, take months. Departments fight each other instead of the problem. Officials and ministers who know the truth are not always rewarded for telling it. We are trying to govern a more dangerous world with processes designed for a calmer one, and the gap is now showing in the things that matter most. Continue reading...

Trump administration created fund to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns

British journalist becomes one of most prominent appointments made by embattled editor-in-chief Bari WeissCBS News has hired the prominent British broadcaster Trevor Phillips, as its senior global affairs correspondent, in a significant hire for embattled top editor Bari Weiss.The network said that reporting by Phillips, who currently presents the flagship Sunday political show on the UK's Sky News channel, would appear on all CBS News programs and platforms". Continue reading...

Consumer sentiment still remains at historically low levels amid Iran war and rising inflation, new survey showsEasing gas prices are making Americans feel better about their personal finances and the economy in June, but consumer sentiment remains at historically low levels amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East, according to new survey data from the University of Michigan.The latest numbers come as SpaceX marks its historic stock market debut, which has made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. Yet many Americans still feel like they are struggling even as the stock market reaches record highs. Continue reading...

President is first in US history to be impeached twice, over abuse of power and inciting an insurrectionDonald Trump is pressing Congress to erase one of the darkest chapters of his political career, urging Republicans to pass a resolution that would symbolically nullify the two impeachments he suffered during his first term in office.The effort, first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by a White House official, would allow Trump to claim a symbolic victory on a key grievance from his first term. But experts say it would have little legal significance, since the constitution provides no procedure for undoing an impeachment. Continue reading...

PM promises to fight any leadership challenge, saying any successor would face same problems as him

Exclusive: Economists say falling house prices are largely in the more expensive parts of Sydney and Melbourne's markets and are less likely to affect first-time property ownersFears that first-time buyers with tiny deposits will find their mortgages are worth more than their homes may be assuaged by new data showing falling prices are concentrated in the top end of the Sydney and Melbourne property markets.Climbing inflation, interest rates and worries about the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict have helped depress housing values in the country's two biggest cities. Continue reading...

While venues could stay open until 2am, rising costs remain a far bigger concern for many landlordsPicture the scene: it's 1am on a sultry July night and Jude Bellingham has just scored the decisive penalty to send England into the World Cup semi-final. Cue wild celebrations among millions of pub goers, fuelled by the realisation that there is still an hour until closing time.Keir Starmer may have imagined a national morale-boosting spectacle such as this when his government told hospitality venues that they could stay open until 2am on some World Cup match days. Continue reading...

Exclusive A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice depressing'

Report by Labor-led joint human rights committee says cuts to the $50bn scheme could limit support for those in need

Bradford-born painter, who made his name with sunkissed visions of California and never stopped breaking barriers, going on to become one of contemporary art's most important figures, has died

Guardian reporters Fabiola Cineas and Adria Walker held a Reddit Q&A about Louisiana v Callais - here's a rundownIn April, the supreme court's decision in Louisiana v Callais struck a massive blow to the Voting Rights Act, eliminating a key provision that gave minority voters representation in Congress.Within days of the decision, Republican-led states in the south moved to redraw congressional maps to erase majority-Black districts. Some of those maps have already gone into effect ahead of the midterms. Continue reading...

Belligerent backdrop to tournament tests Fifa's football unites the world' sloganIran will present a major challenge to Fifa's football unites the world" slogan on Monday by becoming the first country in World Cup history to compete on the soil of a host nation with which it is at war.The national team's opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles will kick off amid continuing hostilities between Iran and the US that have intensified in recent days, as a fragile ceasefire has failed to hold and attempts at reaching a negotiated settlement have sputtered. Continue reading...

Starmer shows no will to pursue the main options for rising commitments: spending cuts, tax rises or borrowingWhen Keir Starmer wanted to promise Donald Trump that the UK would increase defence spending, he decided to fund it by slashing the UK's aid budget - losing a cabinet minister, Anneliese Dodds, in the process.This time around, with John Healey's Ministry of Defence (MoD) demanding an additional 18.5bn over four years to fund the defence investment plan, there was no such lever to hand. Continue reading...

High street bank to buy UK business from US fintech company Acorns as it targets young people

Plus, Brexit at 10, dinner as protest, 100 best novels and not watching the World Cup (yet)We're approaching the 10-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum. Documentaries are being aired and newspaper features are being written. But one thing seems to be missing. Why aren't all those big names who campaigned for Brexit back in 2016 now shouting from the rooftops about what a great success it has been? Continue reading...

Desperate US parents pay up to $20,000 a session for a procedure scientists say could be bogusAutistic children as young as 18 months old are being injected with human stem cells derived from umbilical cords in unapproved, unproven and potentially harmful treatments" that scientists warn are proliferating across the US under the active encouragement of the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.Clinics in Florida, Texas and other states are selling what they bill as regenerative medicine" to families with autistic children who have intensive care needs. Parents who have taken their children through the process talked to the Guardian about their hopes and fears for a therapy that appears to be gaining ground in the US. Continue reading...

Arrest of Min Zin, who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy, comes just month after Trump visit to BeijingChina has arrested a US scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of spying.Min Zin was suspected of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China's national security," China's ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, said on Friday. Continue reading...

People tell of feeling alienated in own city, disruption to daily life including healthcare, and frustration with politiciansBelfast residents have reacted with anger and disgust at the disorder in the city in response to a an online callout by the Guardian.People were asked if they had been affected by the unrest sparked by the stabbing of Stephen Ogilvie in the city earlier in the week. Continue reading...

Relatives of those killed on flight AI171 are still struggling to obtain answers about what happenedWhen Sagar Patel's mother boarded Air India flight AI171 on 12 June last year, she called her son as she always did before takeoff. The flight was due to leave Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, and was destined for Gatwick.We always had a little traditional thing," said Patel, a business manager from London. Once she got on the flight, she would sit down and call me. She'd tell me: Yep, I'm on the flight. See you later.'" Continue reading...

Grande is the latest in a series of pop musicians including Sabrina Carpenter and SZA who have been angered by Trump administration videosAriana Grande has rebuked Donald Trump's White House over use of her music in a video documenting the detaining of immigrants.Earlier this week, the White House posted a montage of ICE agents handcuffing and detaining people, with the caption Bye-bye President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history". It was soundtracked by Grande's 2024 song Bye. Continue reading...

With matches in 16 cities across the US, Mexico and Canada, players and fans face an array of weather-related challengesWith the 2026 World Cup now under way, all 48 teams face a common opposition: summer weather across North America. Matches will be played in 16 cities, from southern Mexico to Canada, with a range of weather risks possible at each venue.Thunderstorms disrupted play before the tournament had even begun. England's warm-up against Costa Rica in Orlando was delayed by about an hour after storms brought lightning and heavy rain that waterlogged the pitch. Safety regulations at US venues mean play is suspended when lightning is recorded within roughly 8 miles of a stadium, not resuming until 30 minutes after the last strike. Continue reading...

Former armed forces minister, who quit hours after John Healey, heavily hints he would run for Labour leadership

This blog is now closed

Ministry says on WeChat that animals fitted with sensors by foreign agencies are collecting sensitive marine data'China's ministry of state security has claimed that foreign espionage and intelligence agencies are using innovative new methods to monitor the country's waters, including deploying spy" animals fitted with sensors.In a post on the Chinese platform WeChat on Friday, the ministry warned that an invisible secret war" was quietly playing out in the seas around China as foreign agencies were collecting sensitive data through a variety of new spying devices" to produce underwater maps that pose a serious threat to our national security". Continue reading...

Gambling business, which also owns Betfair, to focus on New York in latest high-profile blow to UK stock market

Former street seller celebrates newfound rights after debacle in claiming 500,000 scratchcard prize while undocumentedA Nigerian man who won 500,000 in an Italian lottery - but was barred from collecting his windfall because he was undocumented - said the hardship of his more than decade-long immigration journey had been eased after he was finally granted a residency permit.I've been praying for this moment ever since I arrived in Italy," said Imagbe Ehizomwengie, 36. It's a huge relief. You might think it's incredible, but receiving the permit means more to me than winning the money. I want to work and contribute to society." Continue reading...

Flood of tributes for Victorian athlete, who died while overseas

GDP hit by higher energy prices caused by Middle East conflict, after 3% rise in MarchThe UK economy contracted by 0.1% in April as the Iran war began to take its toll on growth, official figures show.As energy prices have risen as a result of the conflict, after Iran closed off the strait of Hormuz - a vital shipping route for global trade - the UK's strong expansion in the first quarter slid into reverse. Continue reading...

Event to go ahead at an undisclosed location after Moonee Ponds restaurant cancelled at the eleventh hour