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A study suggests the global population has been undercounted - but we shouldn't let the overpopulation alarmists win the argumentAccording to the UN, the world's population stands at just over 8.2 billion. However, a recent study suggests the figure could be hundreds of millions or even billions higher. This news might sound terrifying, but it is important to remember that anxieties about overpopulation are rarely just about the numbers. They reflect power struggles over which lives matter, who is a burden or a threat and ultimately what the future should look like.The world's population reached 1 billion just after the turn of the 19th century. The number of people on the planet then began to grow exponentially, doubling to 2 billion by about 1925 and again to 4 billion about 50 years later. On 15November 2022, the UN announced the birth of the eight billionth human.Jonathan Kennedy teaches politics and global health at Queen Mary University of London, and is the author of Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History Continue reading...

Time and time again over the past four months, reality has failed to match Trump's rhetoricTariffs are easy," Donald Trump claimed in March. For his administration, and the world, they have proven anything but. Now an obscure New York court has blocked his signature trade policy, setting up a battle that looks sure to end up in the supreme court.The plan was simple. For decades, Trump has made the case for tariffs. Now, in his second term, he would dramatically hike them on the world; raise trillions of dollars for the federal government; cut taxes for Americans; and lure manufacturers to the country's industrial heartlands, creating millions of jobs. Continue reading...

California parole board says 77-year-old - the state's longest-serving female inmate - poses little risk of reoffendingA California prisons panel has recommended that Patricia Krenwinkel, serving a life sentence for her role in the 1969 Los Angeles killing spree by followers of cult leader Charles Manson, be released on parole.The state Board of Parole Hearings found that Krenwinkel, 77 - the longest-serving female inmate in California prisons - posed little risk of reoffending based on her age and a spotless behaviour record while incarcerated, according to the CBS News affiliate in San Diego, KFMP-TV. Continue reading...

Politicians reviled environmental minister Marina Silva in the senate this week, but new legislation is fuelling the firePolitical bullying is rarely as brutal as it was in Brazil this week when the environment minister Marina Silva was ambushed in a senate meeting. Her thuggish tormentors - all white male politicians on the infrastructure committee - took turns to publicly belittle the 67-year-old black woman, who has done more than anyone to protect the natural wealth of the country - the Amazon rainforest, Pantanal wetlands, Cerrado savannah and other biomes - from rapacious abuse.One by one, they lined up to attack her for these globally important efforts. Decorum gave way to name-calling and sneering: Know your place," roared the committee head, Marcos Rogerio, a Bolsonarist who cut Silva's microphone as she tried to respond. The leader of the centre-rightPSDB, Plinio Valerio, told her she did not deserve respect as a minister. The Amazonas senator Omar Aziz - from the Centrao party and a supporter of president Lula - talked over her repeatedly. Continue reading...

Exclusive: British officials hope to have deals covering cars, metals and aeroplane parts within weeksBritish officials are forging ahead in their trade talks with the US despite a recent court decision overturning many of Donald Trump's tariffs, and hope to have a deals covering cars, metals and aeroplane parts in place within weeks.A team of British negotiators spent much of last week in Washington talking to their American counterparts about how to implement the deal was signed earlier this month, including how quickly it can be passed by parliament and Congress. Continue reading...

Speaking at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, the US defence secretary outlined a range of new joint projects in the regionThe US secretary of defence has called on Asian countries to boost their military spending to increase regional deterrence against China, which was rehearsing for the real deal" when it comes to taking over Taiwan.Pete Hegseth, addressing the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, reiterated pledges to increase the US presence in the Indo-Pacific and outlined a range of new joint projects, including expanding access to military ship and plane repair, including in Australia. Continue reading...

President tells Pennsylvania rally tariffs will aid workers but questions raised over nature of Nippon Steel investmentDonald Trump announced on Friday he was doubling foreign tariffs on steel imports to 50%, as the president celebrated a blockbuster" agreement for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in US Steel during a rally in Pennsylvania.Surrounded by men in orange hardhats at a US Steel plant in West Mifflin, Trump unveiled the new levies, declaring that the dramatic rate increase would even further secure the steel industry in the United States". Continue reading...

The US president told steelworkers he was planning to double the tariffs to 50%. Key US politics stories from Friday 30 May at a glanceDonald Trump said he was doubling tariffs on imported steel to 50% at a rally celebrating a partnership" deal between US Steel and Japan-based Nippon Steel on Friday.Speaking in front of an audience of steelworkers, the US president said: We are going to be imposing a 25% increase. We're going to bring it from 25% to 50%, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States." Continue reading...

The US president marked his billionaire ally's departure from Doge - but said Elon's not really leaving'Donald Trump hosted an Oval Office press conference with Elon Musk on Friday to mark the end of the tech billionaire's tenure as a special government employee overseeing the so-called department of government efficiency", or Doge.Musk's departure comes after weeks of increasing pressure over his time leading Doge, in which he slashed thousands of jobs, resources and public spending. Continue reading...

President says director Kim Sajet has been fired but experts suggest president does not have legal grounds to do soDonald Trump says he is firing the first female director of the National Portrait Gallery, which contained a caption that referenced the attack on the US Capitol that his supporters carried out in early 2021.The president announced the termination on Friday in a post on his social media platform that accused Sajet - born in Nigeria, raised in Australia and a citizen of the Netherlands - of being a strong supporter" of diversity initiatives that his administration opposes as well as highly partisan". He cited no evidence for either claim. Continue reading...

Send-off of special government employee', who oversaw Doge, dogged by drug use report and tax bill criticismAnother day, another made-for-great-television encounter between Donald Trump and the media in the Oval Office.The president, quite perversely, prides himself on the access he grants to a group of professionals he has routinely denounced as the fake news" and enemies of the people" - although any pain suffered from doing so has been eased by widening the net to include formerly fringe rightwing news organizations, who have responded in kind by lobbing friendly questions. Continue reading...

Elena Rybakina demolished Jelena Ostapenko while Carlos Alcaraz surprisingly dropped a set against Damir DzumhurXheng goes through, having beaten Mboko 6-3 6-4. Amanda Anisimova, the American is involved in a ding dong with Denmark's Clara Tauson. The first set went to Anismova 7-6, and it's 3-3 in the second set.Sabalenka claims the first set, having swiftly pulled her game back together after losing those two games. Continue reading...

US president presents top ally with golden key as Musk says Doge unit will only grow stronger over time'Donald Trump saw Elon Musk off from the White House on Friday, as the Tesla chief concluded his more than four months leading the so-called department of government efficiency's disruptive foray into federal departments that achieved far fewer cost savings than expected.Standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office, Musk, who faced a 130-day limit in his tenure as a special government employee that had ended two days prior, vowed that his departure is not the end" of Doge. Continue reading...

Police announce allegations against Christian Anderson, 33, after body of Adan Manzano, 27, found on 5 FebruaryAuthorities investigating the apparent drugging death and robbery of a Telemundo reporter who was covering February's Super Bowl have arrested a third suspect in the case.On Friday, the Kenner police department in Louisiana announced the arrest of 33-year-old Christian Anderson on allegations that he had a role in the death of Adan Manzano, 27, whose body was found on 5 February in his hotel room in the city just west of New Orleans. Continue reading...

Elon Musk credited his bruised right eye to his five-year-old son X during an Oval Office appearance on 30 May marking the end of his formal role in President Donald Trump's administration. Initially Musk quipped that he wasn't 'anywhere near France', a reference to a video of that country's president, Emmanuel Macron, being pushed in the face by his wife. Trump was asked about the Macron incident earlier in the news conference, and whether he had any advice for the President of France. 'Make sure the door remains closed. That was not good,' Trump responded

Remains dating back to late 18th century are being repatriated and interred, with commemoration and jazz funeralIn the late 1800s, 19 Black New Orleanians' heads were dismembered and shipped to Leipzig University in Germany for research. The 19 had died at New Orleans' charity hospital between 1871 and 1872, and the research, which was commonplace at the time, sought to confirm and explore the now widely debunked theory that Black people's brains were smaller than those of other races.In the 1880s, Dr Henry D Schmidt, a New Orleans physician, sent the skulls to Dr Emil Ludwig Schmidt. They were taken from the bodies of 13 men, four women and two unidentified people. Continue reading...

SEC sued Binance in 2023 over alleged trading irregularities and misleading investors about surveillance controlsThe US on Thursday voluntarily dismissed its civil lawsuit against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The move extends the new, friendly approach to cryptocurrencies of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a major financial regulator, since Donald Trump re-entered the White House.A joint stipulation of dismissal signed by lawyers for the SEC, Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, was filed in the Washington DC federal court. Its dismissal is with prejudice, meaning the SEC cannot pursue the case again. The SEC said that dismissing the enforcement case was appropriate in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter". Continue reading...

President took to social media to denounce Beijing in the latest development in his ongoing tariff warDonald Trump declared that China has totally violated its agreement" against the US on trade just two weeks after the countries reached a deal, raising fears that the trade war will continue to rattle the global economy.I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US." Continue reading...

Alfred Williamson's future in doubt after US president's attempt to stop foreign nationals studying at the universityA British freshman at Harvard fears he will not be able to return to the US to complete his degree after Donald Trump demanded the university stops teaching international students.Alfred Williamson, 20, from Cardiff, left Boston when the academic year ended two weeks ago to visit family in Denmark, only to wake up on 23 May to dozens of missed calls and messages from loved ones about the decision to prevent the Ivy League university from enrolling or retaining foreign nationals. Continue reading...

State department move to cancel student visa interviews at all US embassies has shocked international scholars

Director Ryan Coogler kicked off screenings and a cultural festival in the influential Mississippi delta cityIn April, the director Ryan Coogler released Sinners, a thriller about two brothers in the 1930s who return home to Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint. Less than a month after the film was released, Sinners made over $200m in the US and Canada, something no original film has done in almost a decade.But residents in Clarksdale, a town with about 14,000 people, the majority of whom are Black, had no way to see themselves on screen in their community. There are no active movie theaters in or near the town. Continue reading...

Report finds US children would have extra 25.4m cavities in five years if plan backed by RFK Jr were implementedA new study published in Jama Health Forum estimates that if the US were to remove fluoride from public drinking water supplies - as Donald Trump's health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has advocated - American children would suffer an additional 25.4m cavities in five years.The additional cases represent a 7.5% increase in cavities, an added cost of $9.8bn and the loss of 2.9m quality-adjusted life years. Those cases would disproportionately be borne by children most at-risk for tooth decay - those on public health insurance or who lack insurance entirely. Continue reading...

Kell Morris' wife held his head above water to prevent him from drowning while waiting for rescuers to arriveAn Alaska man who was pinned facedown in an icy creek by a 700lb (318kg) boulder for three hours survived the ordeal with only minor injuries, thanks in part to his wife's quick thinking and lots of luck.Kell Morris' wife held his head above water to prevent him from drowning while waiting for rescuers to arrive after Morris was pinned by the boulder, which crashed onto him during a hike near a remote glacier south of Anchorage. Continue reading...

Wiles' contacts on her personal cellphone were purportedly hacked and AI used to communicate with lawmakers

CEO of Europe's largest industrial group says he has been in direct talks with Donald Trump's administrationVolkswagen, Europe's largest industrial group, has said it will make a massive" investment in the US. The group, which includes Porsche, revealed it has been in direct talks with Donald Trump's administration as it faces damaging tariffs.Oliver Blume, who heads the group, said the talks were constructive" and fair", in an interview that suggests the company, whose market capital is 44bn, is not willing to leave tariff negotiations to Brussels alone. Continue reading...

Kerik was hailed as a hero after September 11 before a dramatic fall from grace that ended with him behind barsBernard Kerik, who served as New York City's police commissioner during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and later pleaded guilty to tax fraud before being pardoned, has died. He was 69.Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel said that Kerik's death Thursday came after an unspecified private battle with illness". Continue reading...

Winsome Earle-Sears called abortion genocide' and implied equivalence between consenting to sex and consenting to pregnancyThe Republican nominee for governor of Virginia has recently tried to distance herself from her long-standing, hardline anti-abortion record, declining recently to state whether she would support any restrictions on abortion access if she is elected to lead the state this fall. But her record reveals a candidate staunchly opposed to the procedure.Winsome Earle-Sears, now the state's lieutenant governor, supported a 15-week abortion ban and has previously said she wants to make abortion illegal in almost all cases. In audio obtained by the Guardian, Earle-Sears also suggested an equivalence between consenting to sex and consenting to pregnancy. Continue reading...

Researchers point to contaminated water after forever chemicals' found in all but one of 23 sampled beers

President rails against judges who ruled against him as appeals court grants pause until challenge is heard. Plus, what the Guardian's Jerusalem correspondent learned in four years in the role

Judging by Musk's approval ratings, Tesla investors won't be the only ones happy to see the dethroning of the king of DogeI can't believe that Elon Musk is leaving Doge, the government department he named after a tired and basic meme that most of the internet had moved on from around a decade ago. As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end," Musk wrote this week (capital letters: model's own), I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful government spending." Oh man. Thank you for the opportunity"?! At some level you have to salute Donald Trump's ability to turn even the world's richest man into an Apprentice candidate who leaves in week four after completely wiping out in the hotdog stand task.Musk arrived in government promising to slash spending by $2tn. He leaves it a mere $1.86tn short of that target, even by his own estimations. Meanwhile, the president's new tax bill is set to add $2.3tn to the deficit. I imagine Musk thought his government finale would be a spectacular extravaganza - you're welcome, Washington!" - involving 2,000 chainsaw-wielding chorus girls. Instead, it's a tweet. And yes - we DO all still call them tweets.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The media has focused on the price tag and potholes. But history may mark 14 June as the ceremonial birth of US fascismIn 2017, watching a two-hour Bastille Day procession, Donald Trump told the French president that we'd have one too, only better. That time, the grown-ups said no. The reasons given were costs - estimates ran to $92m - hellish logistics, and the Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser's worried that tanks and other armored vehicles would tear up Washington's streets.Some retired generals objected publicly to the totalitarian-adjacent optics, especially given the US president's praise for such bad actors as Saddam Hussein and Vladimir Putin. Several Republican lawmakers also expressed their distaste. Confidence is silent, and insecurity is loud," the Louisiana senator John Kennedy told MSNBC. America is the most powerful country in all of human history ... and we don't need to show it off. We're not North Korea. We're not Russia, we're not China," he continued, and I don't wanna be." Continue reading...

Crypto venture with Abu Dhabi could enrich pair with millions - and Democrats say ethics conflict is plain as day'President Trump received plenty of attention this month when he happily accepted a $400m Boeing 747 from the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar.Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our country," Trump posted on social media. Continue reading...

After celebration turned to chaos, Liverpudlians stepped in to help those in need - while the usual suspects spread liesThis doesn't sound good at all." The message flashed up on a group chat I am in with other journalists in Liverpool and Merseyside. My blood cooled instantly upon reading it. I have heard those words before and I know what they mean. They mean something has happened. Something big and something bad. It wasn't long before we all started to realise quite how big and quite how bad.After a day of joyous celebration that turned Liverpool into a sea of brilliant red, hundreds of fans were heading back into the city when they looked up to see an ambulance moving through a temporarily pedestrianised route on its way to help a stricken individual. The fans, anxious to assist, moved to the side, when a Ford Galaxy suddenly emerged from behind it and in a few terrible moments, turned elation and harmony into chaos and pain.Liam Thorp is political editor at the Liverpool EchoDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, who lost in a lightning-round tiebreaker last year, outlasted eight other accomplished spellers to win the title. Told to take a deep breath before his final word, 'eclaircissement,' he collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter.

The EU is Israel's biggest trading partner - and that gives it leverage to finally change the course of this brutal warEuropean consciences have started waking up to the Israeli government's crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories - and it is about time. What has caused this long and slow awakening? Is it Israel's killing of more than 54,000 Palestinians since Hamas's horrific attack on 7 October 2023? Thousands of babies at risk of dying from starvation and malnutrition? Civilians burning alive? Israeli ministers' plans to reoccupy and recolonise the Gaza Strip, expelling Palestinians? Or perhaps it's the Israeli army firing shots at diplomats, including Europeans, in the West Bank - or the racist chanting, during a state-funded march in Jerusalem, of death to the Arabs" and may their villages burn"?It's probably a combination of all the above, as well as the recognition that principled pressure on Israel will certainly not come from Washington. Whatever the triggers for it, Europe may be nearing an inflection point on the graph, turning the dark page of its complicity with Israel's nearly 20-month war in Gaza.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

While students around the world dream of classrooms, students in Gaza dream of survivalBefore the war, students in Gaza were surrounded by books, not bombs. They woke each morning to the voices of their mothers urging them to get ready for school, not to the sound of airstrikes and screaming. They were focused on building a future, working hard to shape a better life for themselves and their homeland.Before the war started, my best friends and I used to go to the restaurants that were near the university, talking, laughing, eating and studying together, eating our breakfast together under a blue sky before going to the first lecture.Nadera Mushtha is a writer and poet from Gaza who is studying English language education at the Islamic University of Gaza. Her writing has been published on Al Jazeera, Mondoweiss, the Electronic Intifada, and the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Continue reading...

The indiscriminate, cruel and criminal killing of civilians may see us be banished from the family of nations and summoned to the ICC, with no good defenseThe government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning, and with no chances of success. Never since its establishment has the state of Israel waged such a war. The criminal gang headed by Benjamin Netanyahu has set a precedent without equal in Israel's history in this area, too.The obvious result of Operation Gideon's Chariots is, first and foremost, the confused activity of Israeli military units deployed around Gaza. This is true particularly in neighborhoods where our soldiers have already fought, were hurt and fell while killing many Hamas combatants, who deserve to die, and many more innocent civilians. These have joined the statistics of pointless victims among the Palestinian population, reaching monstrous proportions.Ehud Olmert is a former prime minister of IsraelThis op-ed originally appeared in Haaretz Continue reading...

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Appeals court grants temporary stay of ruling that blocked tariffs as president's allies rail against major blow to signature policy - key US politics stories from Thursday at a glancePresident Trump's tariffs remain in place, at least for now, after an appeals court ruled that his administration can continue to collect import fees.The latest ruling came just a day after a separate court ruled that Trump had overstepped his power, a judgment that his administration has pushed back against. Continue reading...

Director, composer and actor appeared at event in Clarksdale attended by hundreds after community petitionHundreds of people packed inside a local auditorium on Thursday to see the hit film Sinners, set in their community and steeped in Mississippi Delta culture.The special screening of the blockbuster horror film included an appearance by director Ryan Coogler and was made possible by a community petition. Continue reading...

The National Spelling Bee, which began Tuesday and will conclude with Thursday's nationally televised championship finals, invited 243 spellers to compete for a $50,000 cash prize and orthographic immortality

The target was delivered by Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, and triples figures from earlier this yearThe Trump administration has set aggressive new goals in its anti-immigration agenda, demanding that federal agents arrest 3,000 people a day - or more than a million in a year.The new target, tripling arrest figures from earlier this year, was delivered to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) leaders by Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, and Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, in a strained meeting last week. Continue reading...