Trump launches America’s 250th birthday celebrations with partisan attack

In a speech at Mount Rushmore, the US president claimed a resurgent ‘communist menace’ posed a severe threat to the country

Donald Trump has kicked off America’s 250th birthday weekend with an extraordinary partisan attack on the “communist menace” in America, framing its supporters as “the enemy of July 4th 1776”.

The US president spoke for half an hour on Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the latest stop on his tour celebrating the milestone anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from Britain.

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Crowds gather as six-day funeral for former Iranian supreme leader begins

Up to 30 million people expected to attend delayed events for Ali Khamenei, killed at start of war with US and Israel

The funeral of the former Iranian supreme leader has begun as the gates of the sprawling Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran let in thousands of mourners early morning who had been waiting through the night to enter the grounds.

Iran is staging mass funeral processions for Ali Khamenei – whose ⁠37-year reign was brought ⁠to an ​end in February by the first airstrike of the war launched by the US and Israel.

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Labour MPs call on water firms to save Britain’s lost lidos

Group, whose constituencies have derelict or at-risk pools, are campaigning to make outdoor swimming available for all

Cooling, blue expanses of water have been a lifesaver for many lucky enough to live near a lido during the recent UK heatwave.

Now, a group of 20 MPs, along with the Fabian Society, are calling for this relief to be made accessible for all by getting water companies to fund the reopening of the country’s lost lidos.

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Overseas education project for women and girls axed by UK after two years

The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cuts

A leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has been axed by the British government just two years after it was announced.

The scheme, Strengthening higher education for female empowerment (SHEFE), which was unveiled with some fanfare two years ago by the outgoing Conservative government, had a £45m budget to increase access to higher education for 1 million students worldwide. It has now had its tender withdrawn, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

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‘My childhood stopped’: woman sues CPS after taking stepfather to abuse trial

Annie’s lawyers argue that prosecution was so badly executed it breached her human rights

At her kitchen table, in a village in southern England, Annie* sits with a blue folder stuffed with court documents, witness statements and correspondence relating to the trial of her stepfather, whom she had reported to police for alleged childhood abuse.

As she prepared to tell her story for the first time, she was flooded with emotion when a photograph fell from the folder. The square Polaroid showed a young girl standing in a field beside a pony, dressed in jodhpurs and a riding hat.

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Pull an all-nighter? How parents, schools, fans and police plan to cope with England’s 1am kick-off

Popular national pastimes of drinking and football will make post-Mexico Monday a day of sore heads and sleepy children

England are through to the round of 16 in the World Cup and, as is customary in the run-up to a major international footballing fixture, the country may be losing its mind.

Because piled on top of the 60 years of hurt for the men’s team, England fans have another obstacle to overcome with the forthcoming fixture: a gruelling kick-off time of 1am BST.

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As the US marks 250, does the special relationship still exist – or is the UK just irrelevant?

The gap between America and Britain has grown economically as Trump asserts ‘the UK is dying’. Culturally, however, it’s a different story

On 1 June 1785 John Adams travelled to London to become the first US ambassador to Britain, in which capacity he was to meet George III. By his own admission, Adams trembled at the encounter. After all, it had been less than a decade since he helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence denouncing the king as an absolute “tyrant” who had “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people”.

A trepidatious Adams trudged through the London drizzle to St James’s Palace, where he presented his credentials to King George. He bowed three times, then declared he would be “the happiest of men if I can be instrumental in recommending my country more and more to your Majesty’s royal benevolence”.

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Cornwall van dwellers face homelessness amid council crackdown

Half of county’s planning infringement notices target caravans in fields, fuelling eviction fears for vulnerable people

People living in caravans and horseboxes on farms in Cornwall because they can’t afford or find a house to rent are facing homelessness after a crackdown by the council.

Cornwall council recently announced that it was one of the top five authorities in England for enforcing infringements of planning regulations. Half of those notices, it said, were served on caravans in agricultural fields.

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Third teenager charged after 15-year-old Melbourne boy allegedly left to die from stab wounds

Darweish Mohamed was found critically wounded outside Craigieburn community hospital on Wednesday evening

A third teenager has been charged over the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy found outside a Melbourne hospital.

A 14-year-old from Victoria’s Hume area was arrested on Friday evening and was charged with murder, police said.He has been scheduled to appear before a children’s court.

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Russia looks to students to make up for mounting losses in Ukraine – BBC

  1. Russia looks to students to make up for mounting losses in Ukraine  BBC
  2. Russian jobs website posts ad for drone operators to defend Moscow  Reuters
  3. Russia's Drone Force Needs A Different Kind Of Recruit  Forbes
  4. Russians are mass-recruiting residents of the temporarily occupied territories into UAV units via the "Makh" messenger - CNS  Українські Національні Новини (УНН)
  5. Russia recruits Ukrainians in occupied territories through new MAX messenger – National Resistance Center  Цензор.НЕТ
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Two people dead and a third injured in shooting at Michigan shopping mall

A fight between two groups of young people who knew each other escalated into gunfire, police said

A shooting altercation between two groups of young people at a shopping mall in Dearborn, Michigan, left two people dead and a third injured over what is typically the most violent weekend of the year in the US, police said.

The shooting occurred as the US began celebrating the Fourth of July, historically a holiday weekend that sees higher rates of gun violence across the country. In 2024, the Gun Violence Archive reported more than 500 shootings over Independence Day weekend.

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Russian defence ministry says its forces captured Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine – Reuters

  1. Russian defence ministry says its forces captured Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine  Reuters
  2. Putin hails claimed capture of strategic Donetsk city Kostyantynivka  Yahoo
  3. Russia Says It Seized Eastern Ukrainian Stronghold Of Kostyantynivka  NDTV
  4. Russia claims seizure of 11 Ukrainian towns  EFE - Agencia de noticias
  5. Another trump card was knocked out of Zelensky's hands: Putin said — and the brothers did not let him down  EADaily
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Keiko Fujimori officially declared winner of Peru presidential race – Al Jazeera

  1. Keiko Fujimori officially declared winner of Peru presidential race  Al Jazeera
  2. Keiko Fujimori declared winner of razor-edge Peru election  CNN
  3. Keiko Fujimori declared winner of Peru presidential race  Reuters
  4. Conservative Keiko Fujimori officially declared winner of Peru's presidential runoff election  Fox News
  5. Fujimori elected president of Peru, as Latin America shifts rightward  The Washington Post
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CDC investigates parasite that’s caused cases of ‘explosive’ diarrhea in 18 US states

Parasite cyclospora spreads through produce and water contaminated with feces and causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis

The US Centers for Disease Prevention has been working to find the source of a parasitic illness that causes “explosive”, watery diarrhea, with more than 400 cases of the sickness reported across 18 states.

The parasite, cyclospora, spreads through raw produce and water contaminated with human feces – and it causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis, whose symptoms include cramps, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, low-grade fever and vomiting. The most commonly reported symptom is “watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements”, according to the CDC.

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