World news | The Guardian

US president says in online post he reserves ultimate alternative' if Tehran refuses to sign agreementDonald Trump said on Saturday that the US is set to sign a new agreement with Iran the following day, claiming that the deal would prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, as well as reopen the strait of Hormuz to international shipping.In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Iran no longer want a Nuclear Weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement". Continue reading...

Police make several arrests as rival demonstrators take to streets of Brighton, Liverpool, Sheffield and GlasgowFar-right marches took place across the UK on Saturday after violent unrest in Belfast and Southampton in recent days.Several people were arrested on Saturday afternoon as far-right groups clashed with anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstrators in Brighton, Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow. Continue reading...

Four-ton Paige, brought in as surprise for attenders, made gushing debut after governor finished keynote speechAn African elephant weighing roughly 4 tons that was brought to the Texas Republican party's annual convention to excite attenders ended up drawing widespread attention for the wrong reasons after she urinated on the convention floor and became the focus of animal welfare concerns.Inside the George R Brown convention center in Houston on Friday, attenders had been told to prepare for a larger-than-life surprise" after governor Greg Abbott finished his keynote speech. Organizers also displayed a message asking people to keep the aisles clear. Continue reading...

Frederic Priestley, 34, falsely advertised property he did not own for rent on Facebook, obtaining payments and depositsA man has been jailed after defrauding more than 30 people out of more than 77,000 in a rental scam, police said.Frederic Priestley, 34, from Southwark, London, falsely advertised a property for rent on Facebook between April and September last year. Continue reading...

More than 100 UK lawmakers urge government to cancel London event, warning it is linked to land stolen from Palestinians'More than 100 UK lawmakers have called for the cancellation of an Israeli real estate event scheduled to take place in London on Sunday, which had appeared to advertise the sale of land in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.In a letter sent to the foreign secretary on Friday, 101 parliamentarians and members of the House of Lords, warned the event was firmly embedded in Israel's project of colonial expansion by facilitating the sale of land that has been stolen from Palestinians" and called on the government to take all necessary steps" to stop the event from going ahead in the capital. Continue reading...

Chris Farrell was given benefit for six months despite his repeated requests for payments to stopA former unpaid carer has urged welfare officials to get their act together" after they continued to pay him carer's benefit for six months after the death of his husband, potentially landing him with debts of more than 1,300.Chris Farrell, 65, who claimed carer's allowance for four years while providing full-time care for his late husband repeatedly tried to get the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to stop paying him the 86.45 a week benefit.A carer who has accumulated more than 2,000 of unwanted carer's allowance since their mother went into a care home 10 months ago. They said they had contacted the DWP to cancel the benefit five times, by phone and online form, to no avail.A carer who found it impossible to get the DWP to stop carer's allowance payments despite reporting over a year ago she had taken on a new work contract and was no longer eligible for the benefit. She had been overpaid more than 2,650.A man trying to manage work and care for his father, who claimed carer's allowance for several months after being made redundant, has been unable to stop the benefit despite telling officials repeatedly he no longer needed it after finding a new job. Continue reading...

Former congresswoman nevertheless said she hoped the fighting event would be great' and wished president wellMarjorie Taylor Greene has criticized Donald Trump's plan to hold a UFC fight on the White House lawn, as the president prepares to host seven fights on Sunday.The former rightwing Republican congresswoman, a once fierce defender of Trump who turned on him towards the end of her time in office, told NewsNation the location is inappropriate for the mixed martial arts event. Continue reading...

Funeral procession travels to palace as people remember royal's campaigning and work for underprivilegedAs the sun began to set on the golden spires and gilded finials of Bangkok's Grand Palace, the gates were open, waiting for the return of a princess.Since December 2022, Princess Bajrakitiyabha had been in hospital, having collapsed while out training her dogs. After nearly four years in a coma, the princess died earlier this week. Continue reading...

Fencing removed at environmentally sensitive site, mirroring protests against Trump son-in-law's projectAbout 200 protesters on Saturday tore down metal and razor-wire fences surrounding a luxury development site on Albania's Adriatic coast, in another sign of growing anger against construction in environmentally sensitive areas.Albanians have been protesting for weeks against a planned luxury resort backed by a company linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump, near Vlora, which is famed for its flamingos and a turtle nesting site. Continue reading...

Footy Addicts helps amateur players find a game at short notice - and tackles the problem of lonelinessCries of Boss! Boss! Boss!" emerge from the pitch during a hard-fought game of football in a London park. There aren't a lot of names used in this game, because most players only met just before kick-off. They were brought together by an app that's injecting life into grassroots football.Footy Addicts was invented to solve an infuriating problem for amateur players - the late dropout, which can lead to unbalanced teams and ruined games. The app brings together strangers who are desperate to play football, and who can step in after a cancellation to make up the numbers at short notice. Continue reading...

Company said US government believes safeguards can be bypassed and product used to identify software vulnerabilitiesAnthropic said it will abruptly disable" its most advanced AI models for all users after the US government ordered it to suspend access to the models for foreign nationals, citing national security concerns.The company received the export control directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all foreign nationals, without being given specific details of the national security concern, Anthropic said in a statement. Continue reading...

Dmitriy Popov fatally stabbed O'Shae Sibley in Brooklyn in 2023 and was found guilty of manslaughter as a hate crimeA New York City man who was recently convicted of a hate crime in the 2023 stabbing death of vogue dancer O'Shae Sibley is facing a prison sentence of between eight and 25 years.Sentencing for Dmitriy Popov, who was 17 at the time of Sibley's slaying, was tentatively scheduled for 30 June following his conviction. Continue reading...

Boy, 14, among three people held after 21-year-old was found critically injured in Central Park, ChelmsfordThree teenagers, including a 14-year-old boy, have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 21-year-old man in a park in Essex.Emergency services attended Central Park in Chelmsford at about 7pm on Friday, where the victim was found with critical injuries. Continue reading...

Excoriating article under Caroline Dinenage's name remains on ConservativeHome websiteIt was a crisis that toppled a BBC director general and his head of news. After contentious accusations of bias by a former external adviser, Michael Prescott, both Tim Davie and Deborah Turness quit the corporation.At the height of the media storm that ensued last November, the corporation was struck by another blow. A key figure in scrutinising the BBC - the chair of the Commons culture, media and sport committee - delivered an equally damning verdict. Continue reading...

The country is ready to blow away decades of dashed hopes and celebrate, with marching bands and all-night partiesScotland is leaning into one of its most treasured traditions: embracing the hope and anxiety of a football World Cup, with a healthy dose of self-deprecating style.There are brash new tartans, an Edinburgh bar offering free Irn-Bru-infused fiery ginger" beers for patrons with red hair, a collaboration between Scottish whisky firms and a Brazilian distiller, and all-night parties in nightclubs repurposed as fanzones. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Greater Manchester mayor serious' about taking over essentials of life' if he becomes PM, a move critics say could cost taxpayer billionsA decade-long project to bring water and energy into public control will lie at the heart of Andy Burnham's agenda should he become prime minister, according to sources close to the Greater Manchester mayor.Several close allies of Burnham have said he wants to take over broad swathes of UK utilities in an effort to improve performance and potentially reduce bills for consumers. Continue reading...

Change in viewing habits offered by match times at 2026 tournament could mean using cheaper off-peak powerWatching late-night or early hours football could provide UK households with a practical opportunity to cut their energy bills, as even just doing the washing when cheaper electricity rates apply can net a decent saving.At a time when energy costs are back at worrying highs, research by E.ON Next shows the potential to save money on a time-of-use tariff - in this case, its Next Smart Saver deal, which has three rates: peak, off-peak and super off-peak. Continue reading...

Pauline Hanson claimed fundraiser was moved from original location due to too many bookings', not because of expected protests

Exclusive: Fighting Dirty taking legal action against government over proposal it says could import weaker standardsAn environmental campaign group is taking legal action against the government over proposals that it claims could fast-track chemical hazard classifications from other countries with lower standards into UK law.Fighting Dirty claims proposals to change the classification and labelling of potentially hazardous chemicals could result in the UK weakening standards on cancer-causing substances. Continue reading...

Other western acts have attempted to crack country's music scene since singer's breakout success in 2018One week after announcing she was cancer free", the British pop star Jessie J did what any recovering patient would do and travelled thousands of miles around the world to perform for an audience of more than a billion people.On 29 May, the singer-songwriter, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, belted out a stage-rattling rendition of Frank Sinatra's My Way on the stage of Singer, a hugely popular Chinese singing competition similar to The Voice. She also performed her new song, California, briefly adapting the lyrics to change California to Changsha, the Chinese city where Singer is hosted. Continue reading...

Claims of two-tier policing and uncontrolled immigration may not be borne out by the facts, but that has not stopped them being played up for political endsAs the people of Glengormley, on the northern edge of Belfast, tidied up and prepared for more violence in the midst of what has been described as a modern-day pogrom, a court 500 miles away in Southampton, on the south coast of England, started to deal with its own outbreak of thuggery.The trigger for this week's riots in the Northern Irish capital had been the image of a black assailant who appeared to be stabbing and slashing his supine white victim in the face and neck while shouting in Arabic. The suspect was later revealed to be a refugee from Sudan. Continue reading...

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...

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

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...