American academic held in Thailand charged with insulting monarchy

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Paul Chambers detained under strict lese-majesty law, which can lead to 15 years in jail on a single charge

A prominent American academic has been detained in Thailand after being charged with insulting the monarchy, a rare case in which a foreign national has fallen foul of the country’s strict lese-majesty law.

Paul Chambers, who specialises in civil-military relations and democratisation in south-east Asia, was denied bail on Tuesday and is being held at Phitsanulok provincial prison in northern Thailand, his lawyers said.

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Iran sceptical over coming US talks, Iranian officials say – Reuters

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  1. Iran sceptical over coming US talks, Iranian officials say  Reuters
  2. An emboldened US and a weakened Iran will hold nuclear talks. Is there space for a deal?  CNN
  3. State Department says talks with Iran are not a negotiation, will be direct  ABC News
  4. Trump envoy Witkoff to lead high-stakes nuclear negotiations with Iran  Axios
  5. Iran insists on 'indirect' talks with the U.S., refuting Trump  NPR
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King and Queen visit Colosseum during state visit to Italy – BBC

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  1. King and Queen visit Colosseum during state visit to Italy  BBC
  2. UK royals meet Italy’s president and enjoy a special tour of Rome’s Colosseum  AP News
  3. King Charles and Queen Camilla Star in New Photos Taken at an Italian Villa to Mark 20th Anniversary  People.com
  4. King Charles makes state visit to Italy  Vatican News
  5. The King and Queen visit Italy  The Royal Family
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Two Chinese nationals caught fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

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Ukrainian president says men’s capture shows Moscow is trying to involve Beijing in the war ‘directly or indirectly’

Ukrainian forces have captured two Chinese nationals fighting with the Russian army in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president said they were two of many more Chinese members of the Russian armed forces, and he accused the Kremlin of trying to involve Beijing in the conflict “directly or indirectly”.

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San Sebastián locals write to Fifa saying they don’t want to host 2030 World Cup

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  • Six neighbourhood associations join forces in letter
  • Fears it would add to ‘touristification’ of city

Six neighbourhood associations in the Basque city of San Sebastián have asked Fifa to withdraw it as a venue for the 2030 men’s World Cup. The letter – which was criticised by the city’s mayor on Tuesday – comes three months after the city was named as one of 11 Spanish venues for the tournament taking place in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.

Signed by associations representing several areas around the San Sebastián’s historic centre as well as a platform of residents pushing for “tourism degrowth,” the letter said: “Hosting the Fifa World Cup will only worsen living conditions in our city,” adding that it would “further exacerbate the touristification” of the city.

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Executions at highest level since 2015, Amnesty International says – BBC

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  1. Executions at highest level since 2015, Amnesty International says  BBC
  2. Executions at 10-year high after huge increases in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia  The Guardian
  3. Global execution figures hit highest level in almost a decade, says Amnesty  Euronews.com
  4. Iran responsible for majority of executions as 2024 marks deadliest year since 2015  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Global: Recorded executions hit their highest figure since 2015  Amnesty International
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Rachel Reeves rejects calls for a ‘Buy British’ campaign amid tariffs crisis – UK politics live

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Chancellor also says fiscal rules will not be changed, saying ‘we saw what happened when the previous government lost control of the public finances’

Half of Britons (51%) think the government should impose retaliatory tariffs on imports from the US, according to polling by More in Common, a campaign group. Last week, just before the Trump tariffs were announced, YouGov published figures suggesting 71% of Britons would favour retaliatory tariffs against the US.

Yesterday YouGov also released polling suggesting that only around a third of voters think Keir Starmer and the government played a significant role in ensuring the US tariffs imposed on the UK are relatively low.

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Coalition releases long-awaited modelling showing energy plan could drive down household gas bills by 7%

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Peter Dutton says policy would be ‘gamechanger’ despite experts questioning whether it would work

The Coalition’s plan to create a domestic gas reservation for the east coast would drive down household gas bills by 7% and industrial gas bills by 15%, newly-released estimates.

The opposition’s long-awaited modelling by Frontier Economics, released on Tuesday evening, estimated the changes would bring down new domestic gas supplies to $9 or $10 a gigajoule, and came after experts shed doubt on whether the policy could drive down prices through a government market intervention.

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London mural by key postwar artist saved from demolition

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William Mitchell artwork saved but Blackheath community centre in which it was housed will be torn down

A rare piece of postwar art that was under threat of being demolished along with the south London building it was housed in has been saved.

The work, a mural by William Mitchell, was created for a community centre in Blackheath that is to be torn down to make way for social housing. The mural will now be preserved by Heritage of London Trust (Holt).

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