Israeli troops open fire as aid group loses control of distribution centre

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, chosen by Israel, unprepared for thousands of hungry Palestinians, leading staff to abandon posts

Israeli troops have opened fire near thousands of hungry Palestinians as a logistics group chosen by Israel to ship food into Gaza lost control of its distribution centre on its second day of operations.

An 11-week total siege and a continuing tight Israel blockade mean most people in Gaza are desperately hungry. Hundreds of thousands walked through Israeli military lines to reach the new distribution centre in Rafah on Tuesday.

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Trump indicates ‘positive’ progress in US-EU trade talks

Wall Street up in early trading after US president commends bloc for calling to ‘quickly establish meeting dates’

Donald Trump has indicated there has been progress in US trade talks with the EU, helping send share prices rising on Wall Street, after he commended the bloc for calling to “quickly establish meeting dates”.

“I have just been informed that the EU has called to quickly establish meeting dates. This is a positive event, and I hope that they will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, saying the EU would be “very happy and successful” if it agreed a deal.

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Presley Chweneyagae, star of Oscar-winning drama Tsotsi, dies aged 40

South African actor gained international recognition for his role in the drama which won best foreign language film

Presley Chweneyagae, the South African actor who gained international recognition for his leading role in the 2005 film Tsotsi, which won South Africa’s first ever Oscar for best foreign language film, has died. He was 40 years old.

His talent agency MLA on Tuesday confirmed Chweneyagae’s death and said South Africa had lost one of its “most gifted and beloved actors”.

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Trump warns Putin he is ‘playing with fire’ after Russian attack on Ukraine

US president launches fresh criticism of Russian counterpart and suggests US sanctions could be increased

Donald Trump has warned Vladimir Putin that he is “playing with fire”, launching a fresh broadside at his Russian counterpart over stalled Ukraine peace efforts.

Trump’s latest comments came after he called the Kremlin leader “CRAZY” over the weekend following a mass Russian air attack on Kyiv, and warned that Moscow risked new sanctions.

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King Charles hails ‘strong and free’ Canada in speech to open parliament

Monarch makes no direct mention of Trump amid US president’s threats to make Canada ‘51st state’

King Charles has said Canadians can “give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away” as he gave a rare speech in the country’s parliament that served as a rebuke of the US president, Donald Trump, and his threats to annex the country.

Charles, who serves as Canada’s head of state, is the first monarch since 1957 to preside over the opening of a new Canadian parliament.

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Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says his country is committing war crimes

Leader from 2006 to 2009 says Palestinian victims are at ‘monstrous proportions’ and Netanyahu heads a ‘criminal gang’

The former prime minister of Israel Ehud Olmert has said Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza, and that “thousands of innocent Palestinians are being killed, as well as many Israeli soldiers”.

Olmert, who was the 12th prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, wrote in an opinion piece for the Israeli newspaper and website Haaretz that “the government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success”.

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Pornhub and three other adult websites face EU child safety investigation

European Commission alleges age verification systems are ineffective in preventing under-18s from watching

The EU executive has launched an investigation into four pornographic websites over alleged failure to prevent children from seeing adult content.

After analysis of company policies, the European Commission accused Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos of failing to have effective age verification measures to stop minors accessing their content.

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Forty-two people killed in central Nigeria in attacks blamed on herders

Attacks in state of Benue latest wave of violence amid conflict between Fulani herders and Indigenous farmers

Forty-two people have been killed in four communities in central Nigeria in attacks blamed on itinerant herders, in the latest wave of violence that continues to upend life in the rural region.

Reuters reports quote a local official, Victor Omnin, the chair of the Gwer West local government area in Benue state, as saying 10 people were killed in a Saturday attack on the villages of Tyolaha and Tse-Ubiam. Thirty-two others were killed the following day in a separate attack in the nearby Ahume and Aondona villages.

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Gaza’s youngest influencer aged 11 among children killed by Israeli strikes

Yaqeen Hammad offered tips for surviving in war zone and is one of dozens of minors who have died in recent attacks

Her life was one of war but Yaqeen Hammad somehow found a reason to smile. The 11-year-old was Gaza’s youngest influencer, whose bright smile reached tens of thousands, including other children, while she offered practical survival tips for daily life under bombardment, such as advice on how to cook with improvised methods when there was no gas.

In one social media post, Yaqeen wrote: “I try to bring a bit of joy to the other children so that they can forget the war.”

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Israel-Gaza war: UN says it is unsure how much aid has been delivered inside Gaza by Israeli-backed logistics group – as it happened

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says lorry loads of food have been delivered to sites in Gaza but UN humanitarian agency says it is unaware if any aid has been distributed

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has written a powerful opinion piece in Israeli newspaper Hareetz, saying Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza and carrying out the “indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing” of Palestinian civilians.

Olmert said that over the last year he had publicly rejected accusations of genocide and war crimes being levelled at Israel, arguing that although “excessive killing happened” the Israeli government did not “give orders to hit Gazan civilians indiscriminately”. But he said his view has changed over recent weeks. Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009, wrote in the Hareetz opinion piece:

What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians.

We’re not doing this due to loss of control in any specific sector, not due to some disproportionate outburst by some soldiers in some unit. Rather, it’s the result of government policy – knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated. Yes, Israel is committing war crimes.

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Gaza influencer, 11, among dozens of children killed by recent Israeli strikes | First Thing

Yaqeen Hammad is one of dozens of minors killed by Israeli attacks. Plus, US faces another summer of extreme heat

Good morning.

Eleven-year-old Yaqeen Hammad, Gaza’s youngest social media influencer, is among the dozens of children killed by Israel in recent strikes as its forces intensify their military offensive across the Palestinian territory.

How has Israel intensified its attacks on Gaza in recent days? Israeli airstrikes killed at least 52 people on Monday, including 31 in a school turned shelter that was struck as people slept, igniting their belongings, according to local health officials.

What is the latest with Israel’s aid blockade? A US-backed group tasked with delivering supplies said it had begun operations on Monday, in a plan endorsed by Israel but rejected by the UN.

How are Israel’s allies responding? The UK, France and Canada have called for Israel to end the siege of Gaza, with the British foreign secretary calling Israeli actions “monstrous”. But, as Patrick Wintour explains in Today in Focus, allies have not yet used all the tools at their disposal.

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KFC plans to invest £1.5bn in UK and Ireland, creating thousands of jobs

Fast-food chain’s plan on back of booming fried chicken market includes opening 500 new restaurants

KFC is to invest almost £1.5bn and create thousands of jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next five years, as the fast-food chain seeks to capitalise on the booming popularity of fried chicken.

The chain, which is celebrating its 60th year of operations in the UK, said it plans to invest £1.49bn to grow and upgrade its existing 1,000-outlet estate.

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Uganda accused of ‘state bigotry’ and attacks on LGBTQ+ people

Report from Human Rights Watch criticises Museveni regime for arbitrary arrests and detentions, violence and extortion since draconian new law enacted

The Ugandan authorities have “unleashed abuse”, perpetrating widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ people in the two years since the world’s harshest anti-gay laws were enacted, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The government’s policies in Uganda had encouraged attacks and harassment against people and organisations seen as being supportive of gay rights, said researchers from the rights group.

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‘We carry on with the sadness’: new projects honor life and legacy of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira

Friends and colleagues of Phillips, killed in the Amazon in 2022, completed his book, which coincides with launch of investigative Guardian podcast

Three years after the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian activist Bruno Pereira were murdered in the Amazon, two major new projects will celebrate their lives and work – and the Indigenous communities and rainforests both men sought to protect.

Friends of Phillips have completed the book he was writing at the time of his death – How to Save the Amazon – which will be published in the UK, the US and Brazil on 27 May.

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New Zealand teenager dies after tackle game linked to viral Run It Straight challenge

Police confirmed the 19-year-old died in hospital on Monday night after he suffered a critical head injury

A New Zealand teenager has died after playing a tackling game, believed to have been inspired by a controversial new high impact collision sport trending on social media.

Police confirmed the 19-year-old died in hospital on Monday night after he suffered a critical head injury while playing a tackle game with friends in the North Island city Palmerston North on Sunday.

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Tuesday briefing: Trump’s statements about Putin have changed. Will his actions catch up?

In today’s newsletter: As the US president becomes more disillusioned with Vladimir Putin, a look at how his stance towards the Russian leader is – and isn’t – shifting

Good morning. Nobody is more surprised than Donald Trump, but he is starting to think that Vladimir Putin is not a straight shooter. “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him,” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “He has gone absolutely CRAZY! I’ve always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that’s proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!”

As ever with Trump, a part of you admires the chutzpah: the idea that Trump has long been troubled by Putin’s imperial ambitions is, of course, an absolutely warped version of the real history. But – even if Trump also criticised Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, grumbling that “everything out of his mouth causes problems” – there does seem to be a sense that the US president is becoming more seriously disillusioned with Putin as a partner, and seeking ways to avoid blame for the consequences.

Israel-Gaza war | The UK must impose sanctions on the Israeli government and its ministers and also consider suspending it from the UN to meet its “fundamental international legal obligations”, more than 800 lawyers have said. Signatories to a letter to the prime minister include former supreme court justices, court of appeal judges and more than 70 KCs.

UK news | Liverpool FC’s Premier League victory parade descended into chaos on Monday evening after a car collided with pedestrians in the city centre, injuring nearly 50 people. A 53-year-old man was arrested at the scene of the incident, which is not being treated as terrorism.

The race report | Senior figures in British business have described a chilling effect on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, saying they are being “rebranded” to avoid attracting unwanted political attention.

Cost of living | Food inflation in the UK has risen for the fourth month in a row, figures show, driven by increases in the cost of fresh produce, including steak. The annual rate of food price rises hit 2.8% this month, after a 2.6% rise in April.

Gender guidance | Formal guidance on how organisations should implement the supreme court ruling on gender may not be fully signed off for months, officials and MPs have said. The warnings come amid increasing worries about the capability of the government’s equalities watchdog following criticisms of its chair, Kishwer Falkner.

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France spent €90,000 countering research into impact of Pacific nuclear tests

Documents suggest campaign to discredit revelation that tests contaminated many more people than acknowledged

France’s Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) has spent tens of thousands of euros in an effort to counter research revealing that Paris has consistently underestimated the devastating impact of its nuclear tests in French Polynesia in the 1960s and 1970s.

Days before a parliamentary inquiry presents its report on the tests, documents obtained by the investigative outlet Disclose, and seen by Le Monde and the Guardian, suggest the CEA ran a concerted campaign to discredit the revelations.

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Japan introduces rules to put outlandish baby names to bed

The change is designed to halt the use of kirakira (shiny or glittery) names that have proliferated among parents hoping to add a creative flourish

Parents in Japan will no longer have free rein over the names they give their children, after the introduction this week of new rules on the pronunciation of kanji characters.

The change is designed to halt the use of kirakira (shiny or glittery) names that have proliferated among parents hoping to add a creative flourish to their children’s names – creating administrative headaches for local authorities and, in some cases, inviting derision from classmates.

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UK must impose sanctions on Israel to meet legal obligations, say more than 800 lawyers

Exclusive: Letter to PM signed by retired supreme court justices among others says lack of action will imperil international legal system

The UK must impose sanctions on the Israeli government and its ministers and also consider suspending it from the UN to meet its “fundamental international legal obligations”, more than 800 lawyers, academics and retired senior judges, including former supreme court justices, have said.

In a letter to the prime minister, they welcome Keir Starmer’s joint statement last week with the leaders of France and Canada warning that they were prepared to take “concrete actions” against Israel. But they urge him to act without delay as “urgent and decisive action is required to avert the destruction of the Palestinian people of Gaza”.

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Thousands of Israelis join violent, racist march through Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter

State-backed flag day march shut down Palestinian life in Old City to celebrate Israel’s 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem

Thousands of Israelis have joined a state-funded march through the Muslim quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem, where large groups chanted racist slogans including “Gaza is ours”, “death to the Arabs” and “may their villages burn”.

The annual march, paid for and promoted by the Jerusalem city government, celebrates Israel’s capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and its holy sites in the war of 1967. The Israeli takeover is not recognised internationally.

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