Israel carries out strike on Beirut suburbs, first near capital in weeks – Reuters

  1. Israel carries out strike on Beirut suburbs, first near capital in weeks  Reuters
  2. Israel Strikes Beirut, Expanding Offensive in Lebanon  The New York Times
  3. Israeli military strikes southern suburb of Beirut before crucial Lebanon-Israel talks in Washington  AP News
  4. Israel intensifies attacks on southern Lebanon, killing at least 16 people  Al Jazeera
  5. Israeli strikes kill at least 14 in major Lebanon city ahead of Washington talks  NBC News
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‘True patriot’: White House pays bizarre tribute to Harambe 10 years after gorilla’s death

White House made lengthy post about gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure in 2016

The White House has posted on social media a tribute to mark Thursday’s 10th anniversary of the death of a figure it called “a true patriot”.

The hero was not a human, however; it concerned the infamous case of the 400lb western lowland gorilla that had been named Harambe, which was shot dead at the Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure and interacted with the animal.

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Japan woos Philippine leader during state visit with arms sales and China in mind – AP News

  1. Japan woos Philippine leader during state visit with arms sales and China in mind  AP News
  2. Takaichi to Meet Philippines’ Marcos to Deepen Security Ties  Bloomberg.com
  3. Japan, Philippines to discuss information sharing pact to ease arms exports  Reuters
  4. Japan and Philippines agree to elevate ties to new level amid China concerns  The Japan Times
  5. Takaichi, Marcos agree to launch formal negotiations on GSOMIA | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News  nhk.or.jp
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Ukraine Opened Russia’s Notorious Oreshnik Missile. Here’s What’s Inside – UNITED24 Media

  1. Ukraine Opened Russia’s Notorious Oreshnik Missile. Here’s What’s Inside  UNITED24 Media
  2. Could Russia Hit Harder? It at Least Wants Ukraine to Think So.  The New York Times
  3. Russia Tells US to Evacuate Its Diplomats and Citizens From Kyiv  Bloomberg.com
  4. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 25, 2026  Institute for the Study of War
  5. Russia hits Ukraine with Oreshnik missile in one of war's biggest attacks on Kyiv  Reuters
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‘Hidden datacentre tax’ costing Irish households millions, report says

Datacentres used 22% of country’s electricity last year, pushing up household bills, study suggests

Energy demand by datacentres in Ireland has added hundreds of euros to household electricity bills in a pattern that could be replicated across Europe, according to a report.

Ireland’s growing number of datacentres last year used 22% of the country’s electricity, more than all urban homes combined, according to the Central Statistics Office. The equivalent figure in the US and UK is 6%.

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Victorian greyhound trainer avoids ban despite dog being found with cocaine in system

Tribunal decision on Geoffrey Dalton comes as advocacy group releases data showing 30 greyhounds have died at or after Victorian races this year

A veteran greyhound trainer whose dog was found to have cocaine in its system at a race has avoided a temporary ban despite the industry regulator calling for one.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Vcat) on Thursday decided not to impose tougher penalties on Geoffrey Dalton, who was fined $300 after the dog tested positive for cocaine before a 2024 race.

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Most UK men should not be offered prostate cancer screening, experts say

Government will consider committee’s guidance, which says mass screening ‘likely to cause more harm than good’

Most men in the UK will not be offered prostate cancer screening if the government accepts the final recommendation of an expert committee.

The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) said attempting to detect the disease using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was “likely to cause more harm than good”.

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France Finally Repeals Its 17th-Century Slavery Law – Newser

  1. France Finally Repeals Its 17th-Century Slavery Law  Newser
  2. France overturns law classing people as property – 178 years after it abolished slavery  The Guardian
  3. Opinion | The Brutal History That France Prefers to Ignore Is Being Heard at Last  The New York Times
  4. What to know about Code Noir, a shocking French law that oversaw the slavery of 1.4 million Africans  AP News
  5. France moves to symbolically repeal slavery legislation  dw.com
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Kallas Says Russia Must Face Same Military Restrictions It Demands From Ukraine – Kyiv Post

  1. Kallas Says Russia Must Face Same Military Restrictions It Demands From Ukraine  Kyiv Post
  2. Russia on the back foot with dynamics of war shifting in Ukraine’s favour, EU says – as it happened  The Guardian
  3. EU countries insist on unity to avoid falling into Russia's special envoy 'trap'  Euronews.com
  4. Before Europe Anoints Someone to Talk to Putin, It Debates What to Talk About  The New York Times
  5. EU ministers to discuss Russia strategy as Kyiv pushes for European role  Reuters
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Swinney rejects call for Holyrood inquiry into Murrell – BBC

  1. Swinney rejects call for Holyrood inquiry into Murrell  BBC
  2. Sturgeon says she was deceived, betrayed and lied to over Murrell embezzlement  BBC
  3. Inside Peter Murrell’s mind: what drives wealthy embezzlers?  The Times
  4. Sturgeon says 'deceived' and 'betrayed' by former husband over SNP funds scandal  RTE.ie
  5. Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell admits embezzling party funds  BBC
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Update 352 – IAEA Director General Statement on Ukraine – International Atomic Energy Agency

  1. Update 352 – IAEA Director General Statement on Ukraine  International Atomic Energy Agency
  2. IAEA reports longest communications outage at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant  Українська правда
  3. IAEA reports fire at electrical substation due to military activity  Reuters
  4. Main  Odessa Journal
  5. The Zaporizhzhia NPP lost external power supply for the sixteenth time at night  Бабель
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EU fines Temu for failing to stop sale of illegal and dangerous products

European Commission finds shoppers on Chinese website very likely to find unsafe items and imposes €200m penalty

EU regulators have fined the Chinese shopping website Temu €200m (£173m) for failing to stop the sale of illegal and dangerous products.

The European Commission imposed the penalty after a 19-month investigation that found consumers were very likely to encounter illegal or unsafe products including baby toys and electronics on the firm’s website.

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Argentina’s ‘European’ self-image under renewed scrutiny after racist incidents in Brazil

Case involving seven-year-old boy is latest flashpoint in debate over race relations in Latin America

‘Argentina needs to end its fantasy of being a European country’: Lucrecia Martel on the story of a killing

A woman celebrating her 32nd birthday on a train journey in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais was horrified when a fellow passenger alerted her that an unknown man had been secretly filming her seven-year-old son.

When confronted, the man – an Argentinian tourist – initially refused to show his phone. But after being pressed by other travellers, the man admitted he had sent the images to a WhatsApp contact.

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US abortion restrictions are hindering access to miscarriage care, study finds

States with abortion bans are turning away from medications to a wait-and-see approach, with care falling below standards

Abortion restrictions in the US have made it more difficult to access care for miscarriages, a new study stays.

The new research found that since the June 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning Roe v Wade, pregnancy care has fractured along state lines; it’s getting increasingly harder to access healthcare for miscarriages in US states with abortion restrictions.

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The race for oil: will Jamaica be the next country to drill and what does that mean for its green pledges?

With early tests suggesting the presence of crude oil, the Caribbean island has begun to debate whether it could justify becoming a producer

Jamaica is closer than ever to drilling for oil. Tests on samples from the seabed off the Caribbean island’s south coast earlier this year identified hydrocarbons, which suggest the presence of crude oil below ground.

Jamaica imports all its fuel, which costs about $1.5-2bn (£1.1bn-1.5bn) annually, depending on global oil prices. It is a persistent drag on an economy that generated $4.3bn from tourism, its biggest earner, in 2024.

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Pressure Grows on Spain’s Leader After Police Search His Party Office – The New York Times

  1. Pressure Grows on Spain’s Leader After Police Search His Party Office  The New York Times
  2. Spain's Sanchez running out of road as corruption probes stack up  Reuters
  3. Scandal after scandal lands Spain’s Sánchez on the ropes  politico.eu
  4. Spanish police raid HQ of governing Socialists as corruption probe escalates  BBC
  5. Factbox-The Court Cases Plaguing Spain's Ruling Socialist Party  U.S. News & World Report
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Dormitory fire at Kenyan girls’ school kills at least 16 students

Parents face anxious wait for updates after blaze tears through Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru county

A fire has ripped through a dormitory at a girls’ school in Kenya’s Rift valley, killing at least 16 students.

The fire broke out just after midnight at Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru county, about 76 miles north-west of Nairobi, police said.

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Blond Bangladeshi buffalo nicknamed ‘Donald Trump’ saved from Eid sacrifice

Rare albino buffalo spared due to security concerns over unusual level of public interest in 700kg animal

A rare albino buffalo in Bangladesh nicknamed “Donald Trump” for its distinctive blond tuft has been spared from Eid al-Adha sacrifice after a last-minute government intervention, according to a home ministry official.

The nearly 700kg (1,543lb) animal had already been sold for ritual slaughter when authorities stepped in, citing security concerns after a surge of public interest before Thursday’s festival.

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‘I felt my humanity was bastardised’: Cynthia Erivo says reaction to Ariana Grande red carpet incident rooted in racism

Wicked co-star said reactions to the incident, which included suggestions she was Grande’s ‘bodyguard’, reflect an insidious view of Black women

Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has said that reactions to the incident at the Singapore premiere of Wicked: For Good, in which she stepped in to fend off a red-carpet invader who grabbed co-star Ariana Grande, revealed “the insidious nature of how we view Black women” and put her off campaigning for Oscars.

In an interview with Variety, Erivo said that she and Grande were “terrified” when Johnson Wen jumped a barrier at Universal Studios Singapore and rushed towards them. “Nobody moved. Nobody moved. So I moved because my brain went, ‘Get him away! Get him out of here!’ … And what people couldn’t see is that he wouldn’t let go [of Grande]. He wouldn’t let go. So I just kept pushing at him to get him off.”

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Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ US ally Oman if it does not ‘behave’ over strait of Hormuz | First Thing

President makes comments after reports Iran and Oman have discussed jointly charging a toll for ships. Plus, how ‘balcony solar’ could help fight rising energy costs

Good morning.

In a casual aside during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman, a US ally, if it failed to “behave” over the reopening the strait of Hormuz.

What is the latest on a deal to end the war? Negotiations are continuing but the US earlier this week struck Iranian targets, reportedly killing four members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which prompted an apparent Iranian retaliatory attack on an American airbase in Kuwait.

What is happening inside Iran? Internet restrictions were partially lifted this week, revealing increasing anger from Iranians over rapid food price inflation.

What is the humanitarian toll of the war? More than 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced in the latest round of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, which began in March. At least 3,213 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the start of the war, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The office of Israel’s prime minister reported that 23 Israeli soldiers and a defence contractor had been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians had been killed in northern Israel.

What is life like inside Israel’s “yellow line”? The Guardian’s William Christou, in Kfarchouba, Lebanon, spoke to the villagers living in fear of nightly raids and daytime bombings from the Israeli military occupying their land.

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