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A judge earlier denied a last-minute request from Trump's handpicked board to pause a ruling that ordered the removal by today

Unidentified officer removed from frontline duties in the first known case of its kind in the UKA police officer is under criminal investigation over the alleged use of artificial intelligence and has been removed from frontline duties in the first known case of its kind in the UK.The officer, who has not been named, is being investigated over allegations of using the technology to create evidential material in a number of cases" and perverting the course of justice. Continue reading...

Iran's foreign minister says end to war on all fronts includes Lebanon but Tehran won't give up nuclear programme; US president has reportedly talked to NetanyahuIran'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...

Midland police reported that suspected shooter was dead after two-hour standoff

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...

No injuries reported as fire in Tracy destroys medical equipment warehouse and authorities investigate causeA fire at a 1m sq ft warehouse complex continued to burn out of control in California early on Friday, as authorities warned the blaze could take days to extinguish and may contain toxic hazards.The raging inferno was pumping thick black smoke up in billowing clouds as flame and a red hot glow were visible beneath from aerial images. The fire has destroyed the medical equipment warehouse in Tracy, in northern California, and prompted evacuations of other nearby facilities, with no injuries reported. Continue reading...

Agents seized phones and laptops of Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a group that does voter registration workThe FBI raided the office of a voting rights group in Ohio on Thursday, prompting immediate concerns the Trump administration is cracking down on such organizations ahead of the midterm elections.FBI agents raided the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a grassroots group that does voter registration work, said Prentiss Haney, a board member of the group. Agents seized computers and phones, he said, and also showed up at homes of people affiliated with the group throughout the state and interviewed them. 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

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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

Imperial College scientists analysed health records before and after introduction of air pollution reduction zonesLow emission and clean air zones attract controversy whenever they are proposed, but there is growing evidence that they work in improving air quality. The Bradford zone was followed by a reduction of about 25% in GP visits for heart and breathing problems and survey data shows that the central London zone was followed by a reduction in the likelihood of a person taking sick leave.Now analysis of health records has found emergency admissions to hospital reduced after the introduction of the T-charge and ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) in central London. Continue reading...

Green surge in local elections and recent polling of Labour members may cause government to toughen stance on Israel

This blog is now closed - see our latest full report on the Middle East crisisThree Indian seafarers were killed in a US attack on an oil tanker earlier this week, India's shipping minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said.It is deeply unfortunate to learn of the tragic incident aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello. Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after bodies have been located and identified," he wrote in a post on X.The Middle East is being pulled deeper into crisis & the consequences reach far beyond the region." Continue reading...

Ayoub Junaid, seven, given new pair but needs surgery as Gaza's children remain unable to access treatmentA video of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Gaza who suffers from a severe visual impairment crying over his shattered glasses has drawn widespread attention across social and international media.The footage of Ayoub Junaid has shone a light on the plight of the many visually impaired children in Gaza who, because of Israel's blockade and the devastation caused by the war, have been unable to access eye examinations, corrective lenses or specialist ophthalmic surgery. Continue reading...

Figures suggest common travel area being exploited in both directions, but particularly UK to IrelandUp to 90% of asylum seekers in Ireland may have entered the country via the Northern Ireland land border in the last three years, figures suggest.Irish government data shows the common travel area (CTA) is being exploited in both directions but suggests it may be more popular for those seeking asylum in Ireland than in the UK. Continue reading...

More than 20,000 votes cast in Butterfly Conservation's poll of 60 native species to find nation's favourite for first timeThe votes are in on Britain's favourite butterfly, and it is one of the most ubiquitous yet spectacular backyard beauties that has flown to victory.With its lavender, yellow and maroon eye spots and luscious rusty red and black colouration, the peacock butterfly is both beautiful and commonplace, flying throughout spring, summer and autumn in all corners of the British Isles. Continue reading...

After nights of violence across Belfast this week, politicians continue to call for calm, but what else can be done to stop the violence spreading? Plus, Jessica Elgot has been to Makerfield and spoken to undecided voters on the doorstepThe full list of candidates for the Makerfield byelection: Continue reading...

A luxury resort backed by the US president's family may be built on a wildlife-rich nature reserve in one of Europe's poorest nationsIf the real estate dreams of a billionaire political family come true, an island in one of Europe's poorest countries will become a luxury hotel complex, sweeping up stretches of the wildlife-rich nature reserve that sits across the water.No public consultation has taken place, but there are signs the idea is on the way to becoming reality. Albania has been rocked by nearly two weeks of fierce protests after fences and heavy machinery came to a sensitive wetland and preparatory work began on the tourism vision of Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. Continue reading...

The Guardian reporter Hannah Al-Othman on the anti-immigrant rioting in Northern Ireland and the residents afraid for their livesStella and Sumayah are housemates. Both care workers and students from Uganda, they live together in west Belfast.On Tuesday night, the riots across the city came to their street. The neighbouring houses were set on fire, smoke was coming through the door, masked men were outside. Continue reading...