- What’s next after Thai PM Paetongtarn’s suspension and who’s taking over? Reuters
- Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra Suspended Amid Cambodia Dispute The New York Times
- Thailand’s Most Divisive Family May Have No More Moves Left Bloomberg
- Thailand: PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended over leaked phone call BBC
- Dynasty in distress: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn's fate in limbo Reuters
Wednesday briefing: Has Starmer’s welfare reform bill victory left a fractured Labour party in its wake?
In today’s newsletter: After frantic late negotiations, the government’s welfare overhaul has passed – now saving almost none of the money that the government said was crucial to its success
Good morning. To his loveless landslide, Keir Starmer can now add a vapid victory. Last night, the government’s flagship welfare reform bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons by 335 votes to 260 – a majority of 75. But after last-minute concessions from the government to secure the bill’s passage, a set of measures whose intended savings had already fallen from £5bn to £2.5bn a year, now looks like recouping much closer to nothing.
The central climbdown, where plans for deep cuts to the personal independence payment (Pip) in the future were shelved, has been celebrated by disabled people and the charities who represent them. They had feared that the support they rely on was about to be ripped away. But it is also a measure of how disastrous the whole process has been for Starmer.
Israel-Gaza war | Donald Trump says that Israel has accepted conditions of a ceasefire after US-Israeli talks and urged Hamas to agree. The US president did not give details of the terms and there is no indication that Hamas will accept them.
NHS | Three bosses at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, police have said. The three, who have not been named, were arrested as part of the investigation into the actions of leaders at the Countess of Chester hospital.
UK news | The home secretary is coming under increasing pressure to abandon plans to ban Palestine Action, as UN experts and hundreds of lawyers warned that proscribing the group would conflate protest and terrorism.
US news | The jury in the high-profile federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs concluded the day without a verdict on Tuesday, unable to come to a decision on one of the five counts. The judge advised the jury to “keep deliberating”.
Extreme heat | Outdoor working has been banned during the hottest parts of the day in more than half of Italy’s regions, as an extreme heatwave that has smashed June temperature records in Spain and Portugal continues to grip large swathes of Europe.
Continue reading...Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ passes Senate: What’s in it, who voted how?
The measure was approved after almost 48 hours of reading, debate and voting on various amendments.
UK universities have failed to protect gender-critical academics, report finds
Report’s author raises ‘stark concerns about barriers to academic freedom’
UK universities have failed to protect gender-critical academics from bullying and career-threatening restrictions on their research, according to a report.
The report, by Prof Alice Sullivan of University College London, recommends that students and staff “taking part in freedom-restricting harassment should face consequences commensurate with the seriousness of the offence”.
Continue reading...Qantas says hackers breached system holding data on 6 million customers
Australia's flagship carrier says it believes a 'significant' amount of personal data was stolen in a cyberattack.
Quad countries agree to diversify critical mineral supplies amid China concerns – The Guardian
- Quad countries agree to diversify critical mineral supplies amid China concerns The Guardian
- Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with the Quad Foreign Ministers U.S. Department of State (.gov)
- US, Japan, India, Australia announce minerals initiative DW
- US, Indo-Pacific partners agree to strengthen maritime, critical minerals cooperation AP News
- Quad Summit: Jaishankar says South China Sea an 'issue of great concern'; joint statement opposes forcefu The Times of India
Qantas data breach exposes up to six million customer profiles
The airline was hit by a cyber attack on a platform storing names, email addresses and phone numbers.
Qantas data breach exposes up to six million customer profiles
The airline was hit by a cyber attack on a platform storing names, email addresses and phone numbers.
US, Japan, India, Australia announce minerals initiative – DW
- US, Japan, India, Australia announce minerals initiative DW
- US, Indo-Pacific partners announce minerals initiative as Rubio hosts counterparts Reuters
- Quad countries agree to diversify critical mineral supplies amid China concerns The Guardian
- Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with the Quad Foreign Ministers U.S. Department of State (.gov)
- Quad Summit: Jaishankar says South China Sea an 'issue of great concern'; joint statement opposes forcefu The Times of India
A new tech race is on. Can Europe learn from the ones it lost? – politico.eu
- A new tech race is on. Can Europe learn from the ones it lost? politico.eu
- EU turns to private funding to boost quantum technology ambition Yahoo Finance
- Brussels launches Quantum Strategy to stay in global tech race Euronews.com
- EU wants to bridge finance gap for quantum computing, says tech chief Financial Times
- Quantum strategy: Don’t regulate what hasn’t matured – fund it, build it, and scale it DigitalEurope
Brussels fiddles on climate target while Europe burns – politico.eu
- Brussels fiddles on climate target while Europe burns politico.eu
- Gulf Between U.S. and Europe’s Climate Targets Just Got Wider WSJ
- EU includes international CO2 credits in climate goal for first time Reuters
- EU’s proposed 2040 emissions target signals its retreat as leader on climate action The Guardian
- What a 90% emissions cut could mean for EU citizens Euractiv
US university bars trans athletes from women’s sports after Trump order
University of Pennsylvania removes times set by trans swimmer as part of resolution to civil rights investigation.
Ukraine fears increased Russian aggression after US halt of weapons supply
On Tuesday the White House said that it had cut off some weapons deliveries to Ukraine in order "to put America's interests first".
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,224
Here are the key events on day 1,224 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
US halts weapons shipments to Ukraine over fears its stockpiles are too low
Some shipments have been stopped ‘to put America’s interests first’, White House says
The Pentagon has halted shipments of US Patriot air defence systems and other precision weapons to Ukraine after concern that US stockpiles were running too low, prompting alarm in Kyiv.
A decision was quietly taken last month by the Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby. Kyiv said halting weapons shipments would only encourage Russian aggression, but the White House said it had been done “to put America’s interests first following a DoD [Department of Defense] review”.
Continue reading...Judge blocks Kristi Noem from ending temporary protected status for Haitians
Homeland security secretary attempting to end legal status for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrants
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s bid to end temporary deportation protections and work permits for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrants before the program’s scheduled expiration date.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded Joe Biden’s extension of temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians through 3 February. It called for the program to end on 3 August, and last week pushed back that date to 2 September.
Continue reading...Two Chinese nationals charged for trying to recruit spies in US military
The FBI has accused the pair of working on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security to gather naval intelligence.
How ‘blood gold’ is fuelling conflict in West Africa
Gold appears to be a lifeline for military juntas and jihadist groups in the Sahel region, analysts say.
US Senate passes Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’, sending it to the House
Trump has set a July 4 deadline for bill, which extends tax cuts, slashes social safety nets and surges national debt.
‘They took shrapnel from my heart’ – the magnets saving lives in Ukraine
A magnetic extractor is changing the face of front-line medicine in Ukraine.