Kyiv monastery set on fire in night of Russian attacks across Ukraine

Dormition Cathedral at Unesco world heritage site struck along with residential buildings across capital

A massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv has badly damaged the Dormition Cathedral in the Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, a Unesco world heritage site and one of Ukraine’s most significant religious and cultural sites.

Five people were killed in Kyiv, where waves of drones and missiles drove residents to underground shelters and heavy explosions echoed throughout the capital. Kyiv’s Oleksandr Dovzhenko national film studio, which houses Ukraine’s largest and oldest costume collection, was also hit.

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Attacks on education, pupils and staff around the world up by 40%, says study

Cases reported in 83 countries, with at least 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted or arrested, GCPEA says

Attacks on education globally have surged by 40% with more than 8,556 recorded incidents and 10,600 students and staff killed, injured, abducted, arrested or otherwise harmed in 2024 and 2025, according to new research.

Attacks were reported in 83 countries, with the highest incidences recorded in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Palestine and Ukraine.

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Peace deal between US and Iran announced, with strait of Hormuz expected to reopen

Exact terms of the deal not clear amid differing claims from both sides on when access to the global shipping route would be restored

A peace deal between the US and Iran has been reached following nearly four months of fighting in the region, Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials have said.

Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the agreement in televised comments in the early hours of Monday, saying it puts an “immediate end” to the countries’ war, and that it included Lebanon.

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Anger among Iranian hardliners at terms of deal agreed with US

Those in favour forced to defend themselves against claims the terms amount to capitulation

Iranian hardliners have mounted a rearguard rejection of a deal with the US as as they say it does not guarantee sanctions relief, compensation or control of the strait of Hormuz.

“The fact that they say we won and America has retreated is a blatant lie,” said the Iranian MP Kamran Ghazanfari. Meysam Nili, the managing director of Rajanews and brother-in-law of the hardline former president Ebrahim Raisi, called the deal on the table a catastrophic capitulation. He urged Iranians not to sit quietly.

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JD Vance says he will discuss 2028 presidential run after midterm elections

Vice-president says he tries not to make decisions until he ‘absolutely must’ but has ‘no doubt’ Trump will support him

JD Vance said that he will discuss a 2028 US presidential run with his wife after the 2026 midterms.

The US vice-president gave insight into his ongoing decision on whether to run during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning where he spoke on his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, which details his conversion to Catholicism.

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Trump reportedly tells Putin he is prepared to help end war in Ukraine

Trump also says in ‘friendly and frank’ phone call that US is nearing peace deal with Iran, according to Putin adviser

Donald Trump told Vladimir Putin that ending Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine was critical and that he was prepared to help, reported Russia’s TASS news agency.

During a phone call on Sunday, Trump also informed the Russian president that the US was nearing a peace deal with Iran as the US-Israel war against the country continues, according to Yuri Ushakov, a Putin adviser. The call between Trump and Putin, which lasted about an hour, was described as “friendly and frank” by Ushakov.

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US musician Oliver Tree, 32, killed in helicopter crash in Brazil

Alternative singer and internet personality among six who died when two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro

The American musician Oliver Tree has died in a helicopter crash in Brazil at the age of 32, according to reports.

Two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning and crashed in the city’s western zone, killing all six people onboard, including Tree, several Brazilian media outlets reported.

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Pilot and 11 skydiving passengers killed in private plane crash in Missouri

Crash reportedly occurred shortly after departure from Butler Memorial airport on Sunday morning

Twelve people were killed in a plane crash near Butler, Missouri, on Sunday.

According to Bates county emergency management, a private plane that had departed Butler Memorial airport shortly before 11.30am turned back before crashing near Business 49 Highway, Fox 4 reported.

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Mitch McConnell receiving medical care after being admitted to hospital

US senator is getting ‘excellent care’ after being hospitalized on Sunday morning, spokesperson says

Mitch ⁠McConnell, a US senator ⁠from Kentucky, was admitted ​to ‌the ‌hospital ‌on Sunday morning, ‌a ​spokesperson ⁠said ​in ​a statement.

“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” the statement read.

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Police stop Tommy Robinson on his way back to London from Russian trip

Met seizes far-right activist’s phones after he disembarks flight at Heathrow under counter-terrorism provisions

British police say they stopped the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and seized his phones as he returned from a trip to Russia.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, met Elon Musk’s father in Moscow during his trip.

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DNA from 2,000-year-old grape seeds points to origins of modern winemaking

Researchers also discover that the ancient vines of Chianti, famed for its red wines, produced white fruit

DNA extracted from 2,000-year-old grape seeds found in ancient wells in Tuscany has enabled scientists to map the most extensive genetic history of grapevines recovered from a single site, revealing that vineyards of the Roman era formed part of the empire’s sophisticated agricultural network that might have influenced the development of modern winemaking.

The research led by scientists at the University of York also found that white grapes once dominated the site in Chianti, an area of Tuscany famous for its red Sangiovese wines.

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Dangerous hormone-disrupting chemicals found in US breast milk samples

Study of mothers in Seattle underscores ‘widespread, systemic problem’ of chemical contamination, experts say

Breast milk samples from mothers in Seattle contain alarming levels of dangerous hormone-disrupting chemicals, including BPA, BPS, melamine, cyanuric acid, and triclosan, new peer-reviewed research has found.

The chemicals present a serious risk to infants because they likely interfere with hormones that are critical to newborns’ proper development, and have been found to be harmful at very low levels of exposure. About 92% of 50 samples were contaminated with at least one of the anti-microbials or plasticizers for which researchers checked.

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Deadly Philippines earthquake found to have raised seabed by up to 2 metres

‘Coastal uplift’ exposes coral and kills marine life, as residents say shorelines extended by up to 200 metres

A powerful earthquake that killed at least 61 people in the Philippines this week raised the seabed by as much as 2 metres (6.6ft), exposing coral and harming marine life, the country’s environment department has said.

At least 40 people are still missing after the 7.8-magnitude quake off southern Mindanao island on Monday, according to updated tolls from the disaster agency.

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Jamaican beach access campaigners go to court to fight privatisation of coast

Activists are challenging colonial-era law and demanding ‘free, legal, unfettered, forever rights’ to use beaches

Campaigners in Jamaica are heading to court next week to try to prevent the government from cutting off access to more of their beaches.

They argue that ceding their shorelines to big hotel chains enriches private investors and benefits tourists and outsiders while depriving Jamaicans who depend on the sea for their livelihoods, leisure and health.

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Ukraine and Moldova to enter first phase of EU membership negotiations

Election of new Hungarian government in April has paved way for EU member states to agree to open talks

Ukraine and Moldova will take a decisive step towards joining the EU on Monday, as they embark on the first phase of membership negotiations.

The start of substantive negotiations, launched by senior EU officials and ministers from both countries in Luxembourg on Monday, will be a highly symbolic moment for the two countries that were both part of the former Soviet Union. It comes after Russia has intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities, while sustaining huge losses for little territorial gain.

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Trial of 12mph bike lane speed limit grinds gears of Dutch cyclists

Increase in road deaths amid rise of e-bikes prompts Houten to test willingness of freedom-loving cyclists to slow down

As road deaths increase and cycle lanes overflow with e-bikes, the Netherlands is considering a cycling speed limit of 12mph (20km/h).

The government has started a two-week trial in Houten, near Utrecht, to gauge whether freedom-loving Dutch cyclists are willing to slow down – and whether they have any idea how fast they are going in the first place.

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MPs call for end to real estate event over fear it pushes sale of Israeli settlements

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.

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Albanians protest against another luxury development on Adriatic coast

Fencing removed at environmentally sensitive site, mirroring protests against Trump son-in-law’s project

About 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.

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Tropical heron spotted in UK for first time as more exotic birds arrive to thrill birdwatchers

Appearance of a western reef heron in north Wales is unlikely to be the last, as heating temperatures mean species can survive Britain’s winter, say experts

It is a tropical bird typically encountered between west Africa and India, but last week a western reef heron arrived in north Wales in what is believed to be the first ever sighting in the UK.

The heron was first spotted in Foryd Bay at the weekend before flying to nearby Caernarfon harbour where it fed among the boats.

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Swiss wait to hear result of ballot on capping population at 10 million

The far-right proposal would require the government to put restrictions in place to limit the population by 2050

A national ballot on an unprecedented far-right proposal to limit Switzerland’s population to 10 million concludes this weekend, amid warnings of devastating consequences for the country’s economy if voters back the initiative.

A “yes” vote would require the Swiss government to take steps to cap the population at 10 million by 2050, enacting tough restrictions on family reunification, residency permits and asylum if the number reaches 9.5 million before that date.

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