The US has apparently had to agree to unfreeze billions of Iranian assets for a regime more hardline than before the war
On 24 May each year, Iranians celebrate a historic victory in the war with Iraq: the liberation of Khorramshahr in 1982.
This year, some were hoping a peace deal looking likely to be signed with the US might mark a similar turning point in their country’s history.
Continue reading...Trump insists US won’t rush talks with Tehran after rebukes from Republicans, including Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham
Republican hawks have issued a rare rebuke of Donald Trump over his planned peace deal with Iran, describing it as a “disaster” and questioning why the US president launched the war in the first place.
Allies of Trump who strongly backed his controversial decision to order war on Iran alongside Israel urged him to “hold the line” this weekend, despite mounting economic costs and no sign of progress on many of the the initial objectives set out by his administration.
Continue reading...Suspect who died after exchanging fire with agents had tried to enter the complex last summer, records show
A gunman who opened fire outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents was already known to the US Secret Service, court records show.
The man, 21, was taken to a nearby hospital, before he was later pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in DC superior court in 2025, following an arrest nearby.
Continue reading...American president says he is not rushing into a deal after proposed plan to end war prompts Republican backlash
Donald Trump defended himself against criticism from fellow Republicans on Sunday as he appeared on the verge of agreeing a deal with Iran to end the war.
As hawks in his party called the proposed agreement a disaster and questioned why the US president had launched the conflict in the first place, Trump claimed on social media that his deal would be “THE EXACT OPPOSITE” of the one agreed by Barack Obama, which Trump pulled out of in 2018.
Continue reading...Former Labour minister says complete disengagement has potential ‘for us to end up in a very, very difficult position’
David Miliband has said Europe should have “separate bedrooms” from the US, but not seek a “divorce” from its traditional alliance, despite the Trump administration’s impact on the relationship.
The former Labour foreign secretary, who has served as the president of the International Rescue Committee since 2013, said at the Hay literary festival on Sunday: “You can see the argument that strategic autonomy for Europe means divorce from the United States. I really counsel the dangers of that.
Continue reading...Global prices are approaching a tipping point that could trigger inflation, shortages and, over time, recession
If a US-Iran deal is about to be reached, three months on from the launch of Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, it will not be a day too soon for oil markets, which are approaching a dangerous tipping point.
The cost of a barrel of crude on the spot market – for immediate purchase, effectively – has bounced about $100 since Iran predictably responded to the onslaught from the US and Israel by closing the strait of Hormuz.
Continue reading...Proposed framework hinges on a 60-day truce, reopening strait of Hormuz, and revived talks on limiting Iran nuclear programme
• Middle East crisis: live updates
Donald Trump has said a “memorandum of understanding” in talks to end the US-Israel war on Iran “has been largely negotiated”.
Official details of the deal remain scant and it remains possible some aspects of the memo could change, but here is what we know so far about the potential agreement that could bring an end to the war.
Continue reading...US imposed sanctions on nine judges and a prosecutor after ICC issued arrest warrants for members of Israeli cabinet
A former prosecutor at the international criminal court has called for an EU-wide statute blocking what she describes as “thuggish” and “bullying” US sanctions imposed on members of the court that are designed to send the court into oblivion.
In February 2025, the US imposed sanctions on 11 ICC officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor as well three Palestinian organisations, in response to the ICC decision in 2024 to issue arrest warrants for members of the Israeli cabinet, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Continue reading...Rightwing commentator says she is hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket and claims she was misled by promoter Rocksman
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None of the 15,000 ticket holders for conservative influencer Candace Owens’ cancelled Australian tour are expected to get their money back from the promoter, after it spent all its money then collapsed.
Owens herself says she is hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket and claims she was misled by the promoter, Rocksman, a company with links to the influential conservative lobby group Turning Point Australia.
Continue reading...First responders hospitalized and decontaminated after four people were found apparently overdosing
Three people died and 18 first responders were sickened by exposure to fentanyl in a rural New Mexico home this week, New Mexico state police said.
Police initially found four people unconscious at the home in Mountainair, 90 miles (145km) east of Albuquerque. Two were declared dead at the scene and a third died at a hospital.
Continue reading...But Trump administration will not return detainees deported to third countries in disease-stricken region
The Trump administration will temporarily pause the removal of refugees to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a spiraling Ebola outbreak, according to reporting by Politico, but experts say the move won’t help prevent the spread of the disease.
At least one woman is now in limbo after officials moved her to Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, and now say they won’t bring her back because of the Ebola travel ban – despite a judge’s order for her return.
Continue reading...Department of Justice acknowledges removal of information about criminal cases related to 2021 US Capitol rioters
The Department of Justice is acknowledging it has removed from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack, calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda”.
The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions and sentencings is the latest step by the Trump administration to dramatically rewrite the history of the assault on the US Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to halt the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Continue reading...The US president’s reversal on calling for a safety review of new AI models is a green light for tech’s unchecked power
Only hours before Donald Trump was set to sign a long-awaited executive order on Thursday that would have called for a government safety review of new artificial intelligence models before their release, the president abruptly backed out. Despite growing public backlash to the technology and experts warning new models will pose critical security risks, Trump vowed the US government would not slow down the AI race.
During a meeting with reporters on Thursday, Trump cited both American dominance and competition with China and as his reasoning behind the reversal.
Continue reading...As Canada tightens asylum rules, refugees reuniting with family say they were turned over to ICE and jailed for months after failed border claims
As each day in US detention passes, Markens Appolon can feel the life he had dreamed of slipping away.
The 25-year-old fled Haiti to escape the rampant gang violence that upended his university studies in economics, and planned to join family in Montreal.
Continue reading...Phone company launched by Donald Trump’s family says names and contact details appear to be affected, but not credit card or banking information
A phone company launched by Donald Trump’s family business is investigating a potential security flaw on its website that appears to have exposed the personal details of an estimated 27,000 people who sought to buy a gold-coloured smartphone.
Trump Mobile said in a statement that it was investigating the issue – “with the assistance of independent cybersecurity professionals” – in which the full names, addresses and phone numbers of people who filled out preorder forms appeared to be exposed.
Continue reading...The launch is the 12th test flight of the mega-rocket that CEO Elon Musk is building to get people to Mars one day
SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.
The redesigned mega-rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world.
Continue reading...Secretary of state suggests July meeting of alliance will be fraught as US demands help in strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump is disappointed that Nato allies refused to become more actively involved in attacking Iran, the US secretary of state has said, setting up what could become a fraught summit of the alliance in July.
Marco Rubio, meeting with foreign ministers of the military alliance, emphasised that he expected the rift would be discussed at the July meeting in Ankara, making the summit “one of the more important” in Nato’s 77-year history.
Continue reading...The 192-page report does not mention Gaza or Joe Biden’s age. Plus, is the world heading for another Ebola crisis?
Good morning.
On Thursday, the Democratic party published a postmortem – spanning 192 pages – of its 2024 election defeat, after an initial decision to withhold the document prompted an angry backlash.
What’s in the postmortem? It focuses on key demographics that Kamala Harris lost, including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states. “Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate,” the report says. “The math doesn’t work.” The autopsy says that Democrats must focus less on “abstract issues and identity politics”.
What does the move tell us? The cancellation, which avoided political embarrassment for Donald Trump, is the latest signal that congressional support for the US president’s war is diminishing.
What happens next? The vote has been postponed until lawmakers return from a recess in June, when it appears likely that the resolution could pass.
Continue reading...Media company says it is ‘committed to good faith bargaining’ amid claims including contract violation
Workers at local newspapers owned by Hearst allege the company is trying to “destroy unions” amid claims of widespread anti-union tactics, including violating union contracts and bad-faith bargaining.
The Albany Newspaper Guild, which represents the Times Union newspaper in Albany, New York, said it had been more than 17 years since the union had a contract and there had been little progress toward reaching a new one.
Continue reading...US secretary of state says president would like a negotiated agreement with Havana but likelihood ‘is not high’
The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the island’s former leader.
“Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,” Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an event in the Oval Office. “And it looks like I’ll be the one that does it. So I would be happy to do it.”
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