- Three months in, is Trump losing the war against Iran? The Times of Israel
- Three months in, is Trump losing the Iran war? Reuters
- An ever-expanding catastrophe over Iran is not inevitable. Trump can and must be stopped | Simon Tisdall The Guardian
- The Key Sticking Points for a US-Iran Peace Deal Bloomberg.com
- Donald Trump’s risky military options to break Iran deadlock Financial Times
UK needs ‘national consensus’ over rejoining EU, David Miliband says
Ex-foreign secretary urges reset at ‘higher dosage’ after officials revealed to have pitched single market for goods
Britain needs a “national consensus” about rejoining the European Union, David Miliband has said, in response to revelations that the UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU to the bloc.
The former foreign secretary, who is now president of the International Rescue Committee, said he thought the UK needed a reset of its relations with the EU at “a much higher dosage” than the government was planning.
Continue reading...Chile’s MAGA-inspired border control – NPR
The remains of 4 Italian divers killed in a Maldives cave dive have been repatriated – AP News
- The remains of 4 Italian divers killed in a Maldives cave dive have been repatriated AP News
- Dead Maldives divers were just minutes away from reaching surface as tragic new details emerge New York Post
- After 6 Dead in a Maldives Scuba Tragedy, the Safety Lessons We Need to Take Away Outside Magazine
- Divers killed in Maldives cave may have taken wrong tunnel, recovery firm CEO says: "No way out" CBS News
- Five cave divers slipped beneath the waves in the Maldives. Why didn’t they resurface? CNN
Pope Leo decries ‘dizzying’ profits earned by companies that pollute – Reuters
- Pope Leo decries 'dizzying' profits earned by companies that pollute Reuters
- Pope decries ‘unscrupulous’ polluters at deadly, mafia-linked dumping ground The Guardian
- Pope Leo meets families of youth lost to illegal toxic waste dumping in Italy’s ‘Land of Fires’ NBC News
- Pope to visit Italy’s ‘Land of Fires,’ victims of Mafia’s toxic waste dumping EWTN News
- Pope Leo in Acerra: 'Let us take responsiblity and serve life' Vatican News
Reeves’s tax cut on children’s meals a political ‘soundbite’, say restaurateurs
Chancellor’s measure to help families save money during summer holidays ‘won’t make any difference’
Cutting tax on children’s meals is a political “soundbite” that will make little difference to families or businesses, restaurateurs have said.
This week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced a temporary reduction in VAT on the children’s menu in restaurants from 20% to 5% between June and September, in order to help families with the cost of living crisis and offer a boost to the hospitality sector.
Continue reading...Board of Peace focus on Hamas risks return to war in Gaza, critics say
US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts say
The top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed board’s lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war.
The “high representative for Gaza”, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the “principal obstacle” to the ceasefire’s continued implementation because “it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition”.
Continue reading...Fact check: 28 separate false claims Trump made this week – CNN
China mine explosion: death toll leaps to 90 after gas blast
Xi Jinping urges authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in rescue operation after blast in northern Shanxi province
At least 90 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in China’s northern Shanxi province, the country’s deadliest mining accident since at least 2009.
The gas explosion occurred late on Friday at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, with 247 workers on duty underground, the state news agency Xinhua reported.
Continue reading...DR Congo players told to isolate before World Cup
The Democratic Republic of Congo's World Cup squad must isolate for 21 days before they can enter the US because of the Ebola outbreak.
Gaza flotilla activists allege abuse by Israeli forces while detained
The detainees say they were slapped, hit, humiliated and even subjected to sexual violence, but Israel's prison service says the allegations are false.
Fraudster trying to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s foiled over bogus invoices
Paperwork supplied by Andrew Crowley, 46, found to be made using printing methods 25 years too modern
A fraudster who tried to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s was foiled when his bogus accompanying paperwork was found to be written with printing methods that were 25 years too modern, a court has heard.
Andrew Crowley, 46, asked the auctioneers to value three Cycladic figures and one Anatolian stargazer statuette that he had inherited from his grandfather, Southwark crown court in London was told on Friday.
Continue reading...Iran war day 85: Tehran says major gaps remain in US talks – Al Jazeera
- Iran war day 85: Tehran says major gaps remain in US talks Al Jazeera
- Iran war live: Tehran sends ‘mixed’ messages as mediators depart Iran Al Jazeera
- Araghchi tells UN chief that US is making ‘repeated excessive demands’ The Times of Israel
- Iran says talks not necessarily close to agreement despite Munir's visit ایران اینترنشنال
- Middle East live: Iran in ‘final stage’ of drafting framework for US deal, state media reports France 24
Albanese joins coalition of nations calling for an end to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank
Australia joins the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand in condemning illegal settlements
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The Israeli government is undermining stability in the West Bank as settler violence reaches unprecedented levels, a coalition of western countries says, as its leaders call for an end to construction of Israeli settlements it says breach international law.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, Anthony Albanese and the leaders of the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand said:
Continue reading...Burn-like rashes and hunger: Gaza’s children face skin disease crisis
Overcrowded camps in Gaza see a surge in skin diseases. Children are most affected as healthcare services collapse.
Trump releases new batch of previously classified UFO files
The Trump administration has released a second batch of previously classified files on UFO sightings.
Jacinta Allan launches state-sponsored apprenticeships at Victoria’s Labor conference ahead of election
The premier is offering 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission as part of a pre-election push
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Jacinta Allan has used Labor’s final state conference before the election to announce a plan for a government-owned electricity body to hire apprentices to address significant workforce shortages and job insecurity.
The Victorian premier announced the plan in a speech that drew on her father’s experience as a linesman at the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which was revived by Daniel Andrews in 2023 after being privatised by former premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s.
Continue reading...Stephen Hawking’s father worried his son ‘does not study much’, diaries reveal
Exclusive: New biography uncovers Frank Hawking’s papers in which he lamented that his son had ‘little initiative’
In exploring the physics and geometry of the universe, Stephen Hawking became a world-renowned pioneer of black hole theory, writing the bestselling book A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 13m copies, and inspiring people to “look up at the stars and not down at your feet”.
But, during Hawking’s student years and as he approached adulthood, his father was deeply concerned about how his son would turn out. Frank Hawking lamented that “he hangs round the house with little initiative and does not study much”, according to previously unknown diaries that he had written partly in code.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese visibly emotional after defending Labor’s capital gains tax and negative gearing changes
Prime minister launches impassioned argument in favour of much-maligned reforms announced in last week’s federal budget
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A visibly emotional Anthony Albanese has launched an impassioned defence of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount and family trusts, saying he will “not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some”.
The prime minister has faced sustained criticism to the reforms, which include limiting negative gearing to new-builds while grandfathering existing properties, changing how CGT is calculated and imposing a new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts.
Continue reading...Over 1.6 million pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia for hajj pilgrimage
More than 1.6 million Muslim pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage