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Prosecution alleges Tony Bartlett shook four-week-old Atticus Bartlett so violently he suffered fatal brain damageA mother has described in court the moment she came downstairs to find her four-week-old baby floppy and grey after her partner allegedly shook him so violently he caused brain damage.Atticus Bartlett collapsed at the family home in Chard, Somerset, after the alleged attack by his father, Tony Bartlett, 39, who was a postal worker. He denies murder and manslaughter. Continue reading...

US president says Netanyahu has to be more responsible', as Hezbollah says deal hinges on Israel withdrawing

Ex-defence secretary John Healey and ex-defence minister Al Carns have given resignation statements to MPsSpeaking to reporters at the G7, Keir Starmer also defended the defence investment plan (DIP) draft that led to John Healey's resignation as defence secretary last week. Starmer confirmed that Dan Jarvis, the new defence secretary, is getting some input before the publication of the DIP in its final version.Starmer said:The position on investment in defence is firstly that we increased last year defence spending from 2.3% to 2.6%, that's the biggest increase since the 1980s, and that means 270bn will be spent this parliament on defence.On top of that [the] defence investment plan which obviously gives us capability for the future. We will put even more money in relation to that. I've been really clear that's required difficult decisions, I have taken the decision to reallocate money from other departments. Continue reading...

Oklahoma primary set to test Donald Trump's iron grip on the Republican party, while closely watched runoff underway in Georgia

Eleanor Ross cited an abundance of caution for potential perception of bias' over a Fani Willis-linked eventA federal judge who was disciplined after an investigation found that she had sex with a police officer in her chambers and attended a partisan event - then lied when confronted with the allegations - has recused herself in a fight over Georgia election records after the US justice department raised questions about her ability to be impartial.The justice department sought to remove Eleanor Ross, a US district judge, from the case, citing her reported attendance at an event for Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney who prosecuted Donald Trump in between his two presidencies. Ross on Tuesday filed an order recusing herself, writing that she was doing so out of an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias". Continue reading...

MEPs agree to implement deal almost 12 months after it was proposed and just days before deadline of US threat to raise tariffsThe European parliament has given its final approval to implement last July's tariff agreement with Donald Trump.Facing a threat of increased tariffs if the deal was not sanctioned by 4 July, MEPs agreed to approve the deal, with two main provisos. Continue reading...

A group of 12 people - nine skydivers, two tandem jumpers and a pilot - were killed in the weekend crash in ButlerA high school music teacher, a cancer survivor and a new father with two baby boys have been identified by family members as victims of a weekend skydiving plane crash in Missouri that killed 12 people.According to the Bates county department of emergency management, the aircraft, a Pacific Aerospace P750XL, was carrying nine experienced skydivers, two tandem jumpers and a pilot. Continue reading...

Ministry of Defence investigates after shots apparently fired within 500 metres of vessel near Isle of WightThe Ministry of Defence is investigating reports that a Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots within 500 metres of a British yacht sailing a little over 20 miles south of the Isle of Wight.No injuries or damage have been reported by the yacht, which continued its journey. A boat from HMS Tyne, a patrol vessel, has visited the yacht to gather details and check the crew are safe. Continue reading...

James Bond actor, who is only the second non-royal woman to be celebrated in this way, called the honour truly overwhelming'Dame Judi Dench is to have a West End theatre renamed after her, becoming only the second non-royal woman to be honoured in such a way.The Shaftesbury theatre will be known as the Judi Dench theatre from February 2027 in celebration of the actor's unparalleled contribution to British theatre and the performing arts". Continue reading...

Conservatives accused of attack on crucial safeguards' and of fostering climate of hostility' towards judiciary

Any sense of relief is offset by doubts over durability of agreement and feelings of betrayal by Trump administration

Environment secretary raises concerns that customers would face undue burden' from 10bn plan

Call at G7 summit in France comes as Ukraine president tells US counterpart Kyiv is no longer losing on battlefield

Ridglan Farms facility in Wisconsin was at the center of protests against the practice of using animals for researchA beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin that has been the focus of animal rights protests is shutting down, and a rescue group in Florida is taking in the remaining dogs.Not one dog will remain," Lauree Simmons, founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Florida, said in a press conference announcing the news on Monday. No more breeding, no more testing, no more anything." Continue reading...

Details of potential threat were not immediately disclosed, after event was held on Donald Trump's 80th birthday

Administration had claimed algae at Lincoln Memorial pool would be cleared after the renovation, but it has proliferated amid warm weatherDonald Trump's $14.2m bid to turn the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool from what the US president described as a filthy" and dirty" site into a beautiful" monument has encountered a hitch.The water is green again. Continue reading...

With election denialists installed in key positions, officials using series of measures to change voting rulesThe Trump administration is waging war on voting rights using justice department lawsuits, FBI investigations, and an executive order to limit voting by mail, moves mirroring the US president's false claims he lost the 2020 election due to voting fraud, say election experts and ex-officials.Since Donald Trump began his second term, numerous 2020 election denialists have been installed in key agencies such as the DoJ, the FBI and elsewhere to pursue widely discredited claims of fraud, which can intimidate election workers and voters in swing states that Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020. Continue reading...

Country acts amid Iran war inflation pressures, but US Fed and Bank of England expected to hold rates

Hania Ahmed, 9, died after Punjab police opened fire on suspected robbers as well as her family in Chakwal

Former SAS soldier had been invited along with all other living Victoria Cross recipients, judge told

ABF's bakeries arm would be likely to exit the market entirely if the deal did not proceed, CMA finds

Victoria and NSW police search seven properties as they examine where shooter travelled after killing two officers in Porepunkah

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Few analysts believe final settlement can be reached in 60 days - and even if it is, war and instability could soon returnIn much of the Middle East, news that the US and Iran had come to a fragile agreement was greeted with relief tempered with doubt that any deal would resolve the turbulent region's deep problems or even prevent a future return to war.In Kuwait, a frequent target of Iranian drone strikes during the 15-week conflict, Iyad Joumma, a 37-year-old Jordanian engineer, spoke for many. Continue reading...

Reserve Bank of Australia decision on Tuesday comes after three consecutive cash rate hikes this year

El Nino events linked with extreme weather around the world - and can increase risk of bushfires in Australia and coral bleaching on Great Barrier Reef

Play at Gillian Lynne theatre in London will cycle through versions with weekend crowds able to pick oneIn keeping with its well-earned reputation for cloak and dagger, the stage adaptation of the hit gameshow Traitors will present audiences with different renditions of the story depending on which night they attend.The Traitors: Acts of Betrayal will take the form of a five-play cycle, with weekend crowds able to determine which version of the BBC show dramatisation they see. Continue reading...

Some titles that once backed the Tories now flirting with Farage' as they try to gauge where readers standIt was a Mail on Sunday headline with all the ferocity usually reserved for general elections, directed squarely at a political opponent. But in this case, the traditionally Conservative-supporting title was not targeting Labour.The party in its crosshairs was Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain, the vehemently rightwing outfit that regards Nigel Farage's Reform UK as too weak on deporting migrants. Continue reading...

Emily Lal - paid $6,000 to provide freebirth support package to Stacey Warnecke - tells coroner her role was primarily to be a supportive friend'

In today's newsletter: An argument about money has also spotlighted questions about Britain's place in the world and the changing face of warfareGood morning. What conflict has raged longer than the hundred years war? The fight between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury over defence spending.I'd love to claim this as my own, but avoid patter theft this early in the day. So I'll credit my colleague Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian's defence and security editor, who spoke to me ahead of this week's G7 meeting, in France, where Keir Starmer arrived yesterday for what could be his final international summit. The prime minister can anticipate candid discussions about international partnerships in conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, both of which may soon demand increased involvement from the British military.Middle East | Donald Trump has declared that the strait of Hormuz will be completely open" from Friday, as western leaders gathering at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains battled to prevent the fragile US deal with Iran from almost immediately unravelling.UK politics | Political hatred and division in the UK is probably worse now than during the Brexit referendum, when Jo Cox was murdered, says Kim Leadbeater, Cox's sister who is now also a Labour MP.Crime | A schoolteacher described as a serial manipulator and a serial liar" has been found guilty of sexually abusing and murdering a baby he and his partner had adopted.Environment | Half of the world's children are exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards threatening their health, education and survival, according to a Unicef report.US news | Eight people are presumed dead after a B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff on Monday morning at a US air force base in California's Mojave Desert, officials said. Continue reading...

Former PE teacher will serve time for crimes perpetrated at Traralgon high school in Gippsland concurrently with prior 48-year sentence

Exclusive: Carns, who quit last week, says he was angered by unwillingness to confront sunk costs of legacy programmesThere is unbelievable" waste and inefficiency at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the former armed forces minister Al Carns has said, adding that every time he would turn a stone over" he would get another shock.Carns said that during his time as a defence minister he had been angered by the unwillingness to confront the sunk costs of legacy programmes - and suggested mismanaged programmes such as tanks investment should be scrapped in favour of new technology. Continue reading...

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launches federal court action against restaurant over Tree Day Tuesday campaignThe consumer regulator has sued Grill'd over allegations the burger retailer engaged in greenwashing by dramatically overstating how much money it was donating towards one of its key environmental campaigns.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Tuesday announced it had launched federal court action against Grill'd, alleging it misrepresented its Tree Day Tuesday campaign for more than three years. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Commons motion calls for code of practice to be blocked amid concerns over impact on transgender peopleA number of Labour MPs are increasingly doubtful that the guidance on how organisations should implement the supreme court ruling on sex as it applies in the Equality Act is workable in the real world, with some predicting it will unleash a wave of competing legal claims.A total of 135 MPs, 69 of them from Labour, have signed a Commons motion calling for the code of practice drafted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, approved last month, to be blocked, primarily because of worries about its impact on transgender people. Continue reading...

So-called good behaviour' legislation fiercely criticised by opposition politicians and rights groupsSweden's parliament has voted to escalate the country's crackdown on immigrant rights, backing laws that allow authorities to revoke residency permits based on a vague criteria of bad behaviour and obliging most public sector workers to report anyone suspected of being undocumented.The new legislation comes ahead of parliamentary elections in September, pitting the centre-right government, which currently depends on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats to govern, against a far right that has said its intent is to create one of Europe's most hostile environments for non-Europeans. Continue reading...

The closures, so employees can watch a recorded lecture, will cost the company an estimated 2.1bn won ($1.4m) in salesStarbucks Korea will simultaneously close all its stores for a mandatory history lesson, after a disastrous promotion that evoked memories of a pro-democracy massacre sparked public and political backlash.More than 2,000 stores will temporarily close at 3pm on 22 June, the company said, so staff can watch recorded lectures on modern Korean history and engage in social sensitivity" training. The half-day closures will cost Starbucks an estimated 2.1bn won ($1.4m) in lost sales, according to data firm IGAWorks. Continue reading...

Experts say criminal networks favour Sri Lanka due to ease of getting tourist visas and limited regulation on sim cards and internet connectionsExperts have warned that Sri Lanka is emerging as a hub for transnational cybercrime, after a crackdown in south-east Asia pushed Chinese-run criminal networks to relocate their vast scam operations.Sri Lankan police spokesperson Fredrick Wootler said the country was witnessing an alarming increase of cybercrimes" perpetrated by people entering the country as tourists, and then illegally setting up scam operations targeting people across the world. Continue reading...

Health advocates criticized Kennedy's move demanding answers from journal that removed flawed' vaccine studyRobert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, is demanding answers from a medical journal that recently removed a paper suggesting a link between vaccines and infant death, saying their decision was of great interest to me".Public health advocates immediately criticized the move, and said Kennedy appeared to be trying to intimidate and influence the journal's editorial process. The journal Toxicology Reports had removed the paper this spring after editors determined it was so seriously flawed it could harm patients and pose a risk to public health. Continue reading...

But overall interest in news has increased, particularly among women and young people, 2026 Digital News Report finds

Welsh singer, best known for 1983 hit Total Eclipse of the Heart, had emergency intestinal surgery in MayWelsh pop star Bonnie Tyler is no longer in a coma but remains very unwell" in intensive care at a hospital near her home in Faro, Portugal.The 75-year-old singer received emergency intestinal surgery in May and was placed in an induced coma to aid her recovery. Continue reading...

Images of Merlin, a two-year-old duck, parading on the streets of Mexico City celebrated by fans on social mediaJulian Quinones and Raul Jimenez may have scored the goals, but a duck stole the show.As Mexico celebrated its World Cup-opening victory over South Africa on Thursday, Merlin, a two-year-old duck dressed in the national team's colors, became an unlikely internet sensation and the tournament's first unofficial mascot. Continue reading...

G7 told we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes', with Russia's finance networks and shadow fleet targetedKeir Starmer has vowed to choke off" Russian revenue with further sanctions and to provide hundreds of millions of pounds worth of energy support for Ukraine, as he met world leaders in France for the G7.After a torrid political week at home, the British prime minister sought to put himself on the front foot on the international stage at the meeting of the group of seven, which kicked off on Monday in the French spa town of Evian-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva. Continue reading...

Preliminary agreement between Washington and Tehran has prompted anger in Israel, and widespread criticism of Netanyahu's leadershipBenjamin Netanyahu has hailed a historic victory over Iran and ruled out any immediate withdrawal from Lebanon, saying that Israel's forces would remain there for as long as necessary".We established deep security zones around the State of Israel. We did this in Gaza, in Lebanon, and in Syria," the Israeli prime minister said in a televised press conference on Monday. And I want to make it clear: we will remain in these security zones ... to protect our country." Continue reading...

California governor says Trump is coming after me because I am considering running for president'Gavin Newsom said on Monday that Donald Trump directed the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate him and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom.The California governor said in a video statement that federal agents had knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees in recent days as part of an effort to find a crime, demanding records and abusing the grand jury process". Continue reading...

President's son says screenshots that appeared to show him asking analyst Daniel Cormier for information were fake'Eric Trump has denied cheating allegations after screenshots shared online appeared to show UFC commentator Daniel Cormier receiving a message from an account under Trump's name asking whether any of the White House's UFC fights on Sunday would be rigged.Several screenshots posted - and then later deleted - on Cormier's X account showed alleged messages from Donald Trump's 42-year old son that said: Anything you can tell me about the fighters tomorrow? Who you got winning?" Continue reading...

Decision comes as the museum in Charleston says it faces a shift in the political and funding environment'The International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, announced on Wednesday that, beginning in July and lasting through 31 December, all of its staff will be furloughed. The 20-daylong furlough will be staggered over the months and impact all levels of staff, including the museum's leadership. The museum will remain fully operational, museum officials said.The decision comes as the museum faces financial pressure", the IAAM said in a statement. Continue reading...

Varley presented himself in court as a doting dad to Preston Davey but prosecution said he used adopted boy as a sexual plaything'They were an ordinary couple," said one neighbour. Their baby was happy, he was smiley, he was beautiful," said a friend. There were nobig concerns about the teacher and the sales manager who were doing what thousands do every year - adopting a child.In reality, Jamie Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, were child abusers and Varley murdered the baby boy they adopted, Preston Davey, when he was 13 months old. Continue reading...

Dan Jarvis under pressure about why Russian oil tanker in Channel was captured days after his predecessor resignedDan Jarvis has told MPs that the Russian oil tanker seized on Sunday had been monitored for several days as he deflected suggestions that its seizure had been ordered by a prime minister under pressure after the resignation of John Healey last week.The new defence secretary, flanked supportively in the Commons by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the Smyrtos had been closely tracked" as he faced a question from the Conservatives as to why the capture took place over the weekend. Continue reading...

US president says strait of Hormuz will be open from Friday but questions remain over waterway fees and Israeli breaches of ceasefire in Lebanon

Mark Carney says Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise office hasn't been effective' since its 2019 setupCanada is eliminating a watchdog that investigates alleged human rights violations committed by Canadian companies operating abroad, after Mark Carney said the office hadn't been effective" since it was set up in 2019.The move comes as Canada faces criticism from Donald Trump's administration over its unacceptable" efforts to combat forced labour. Continue reading...