Iran considering US proposal as Trump says war will be ‘over quickly’
Mediator Pakistan says it is "endeavouring to convert this ceasefire into a permanent end to this war".
Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary
Julie, once a circus elephant, and Kariba, from a Belgian zoo, are to be moved to a former ranch in Portugal
Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary, which is opening to offer a more natural environment for some of the 600 animals still held in captivity across the continent, is to receive its first arrivals.
Julie, Portugal’s last circus elephant, will be moved next month to the animal charity Pangea’s multimillion pound sanctuary in the Alentejo, 200km (124 miles) east of Lisbon, close to the border with Spain.
Continue reading...Cut UK speed limits to reduce Iran war impact on consumers, thinktank urges
Cap of 20mph in towns and cities and 60mph on motorways would cut fuel demand and combat rising prices, IPPR says
Britain should lower speed limits for drivers as part of a package of measures to reduce the impact of the Iran war on consumers, a thinktank has said.
Capping legal speeds at 20mph in towns and cities and 60mph on motorways would help reduce fuel demand and combat soaring oil prices triggered by conflict, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Continue reading...French professor accused of ‘gigantic hoax’ after inventing Nobel-style prize
Authorities investigate Florent Montaclair over award given to himself and others including Noam Chomsky
At a ceremony at the French national assembly attended by Nobel prize winners, former government ministers, MPs, decorated scientists and academics, all attention was on a previously unknown literature professor.
Florent Montaclair, then 46, a balding, bespectacled figure in an ill-fitting suit and rosé-coloured shirt, was receiving the 2016 Gold Medal of Philology - the study of linguistics – from an international society of the same name.
Continue reading...Hantavirus-hit cruise ship leaves Cape Verde after three evacuated
A British man is among three evacuees sent to the Netherlands after displaying symptoms while aboard the MV Hondius.
Ted Turner, media mogul who revolutionised TV news by launching CNN, dies at 87
The media mogul pioneered the modern 24-hour news culture when he launched the Cable News Network in 1980.
Australian director Phillip Noyce shoots feature film for Saudi Arabia celebrating ‘heroism of security men in combating drugs’
Exclusive: Regime, which executed 243 people last year for drug offences, accused of investing in entertainment to whitewash its human rights record
The acclaimed Australian film-maker Phillip Noyce is being paid by the Saudi regime to make a feature film portraying the repressive state’s narcotics officers as heroes.
The Watchful Eyes, based on a real Saudi ministry of interior narcotics case, is billed as a dramatic depiction of the “heroism of security men in combating drugs”.
Continue reading...Argentina races to find origins of cruise ship hantavirus outbreak, amid reports some passengers have returned to US
Argentina, where the MV Hondius cruise departed, consistently ranked by WHO as having highest incidence of hantavirus in region
Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to determine if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped an Atlantic cruise ship, amid reports that a number of passengers have already returned to their home countries.
Argentina, where the cruise to Antarctica departed, is consistently ranked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having the highest incidence of the rare, rodent-borne disease in Latin America. Investigators there are working to contact trace the source of contamination.
Continue reading...US says migration has made Europe an ‘incubator’ for terrorism in new counter-terrorism strategy
The 16-page report was led by Trump-ally Sebastian Gorka, and places drug cartels in the Americas at the centre of counter-terrorism efforts
The Trump administration has accused Europe of being an “incubator” for terrorism fuelled by mass migration, in a new counter-terrorism strategy unveiled on Wednesday.
The strategy also focuses on rooting out “violent left-wing extremists” including “radically pro-transgender” groups, as Trump’s conservative administration steps up its political attacks on opponents.
Continue reading...German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race
The man sued his tour operator for allowing people to reserve sun loungers with towels despite a hotel ban on the practice.
Federal authorities arrest 18 people in Los Angeles raid amid drug crackdown
Justice department targets MacArthur Park, which has long struggled with fentanyl use, overdoses and homelessness
Federal authorities arrested 18 people in Los Angeles in a crackdown on drugs in MacArthur Park, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
The DoJ said it was targeting an “open-air drug market” in the park near downtown, which has long struggled with fentanyl use and overdoses and has at times had large encampments of unhoused people.
Continue reading...Cook more at home to reduce ultra-processed food intake, say cardiologist groups
‘Clinical consensus statement’ also urges heart doctors to advise patients to not eat late at night, and chew slowly
Want to reduce your intake of ultra-processed food? If so, cook at home more often, don’t eat late at night and chew your food more slowly.
Those are among some of the tips doctors have offered to help people limit the amount of UPF they consume given the acute and growing danger it poses to human health worldwide.
Continue reading...Man charged in DC shooting was walking near JD Vance’s motorcade, agent says
Michael Marx was shot by authorities multiple times and then taken to a hospital after bystander was wounded
A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement officers near the Washington monument this week was walking along the path of JD Vance’s motorcade before the shooting and made a vulgar remark about the White House after the confrontation, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was shot multiple times during Monday’s confrontation and was in the back of an ambulance on his way to a hospital when he said: “‘F—k the White House’ and ‘Kill me, kill me, kill me’”, a Secret Service agent said in an affidavit.
Continue reading...UCLA medical school illegally used race in admissions, justice department finds
University of California at Los Angeles says admissions are ‘based on merit’ and it complies with state and federal laws
The US Department of Justice found on Wednesday that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles illegally considered race in admissions as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges’ processes for selecting students.
The finding escalates the Trump administration’s ongoing standoff with UCLA, which has focused mostly on the main campus’s response to allegations of antisemitic harassment.
Continue reading...Three evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship as Spain says vessel can dock
British guide Martin Anstee, 56, among those evacuated from MV Hondius, which is now heading for Canary Islands
Three people with suspected hantavirus have been medically evacuated from a cruise ship.
They include a British man who was an expedition guide onboard the ship, the MV Hondius. He was named on Wednesday evening as Martin Anstee, 56.
Continue reading...Fertiliser shortages will have ‘dramatic’ effect on global food prices, warns farming boss
Powerful property and farming firm Grosvenor Group says knock-on effect of Iran war could arrive next year
Fertiliser shortages caused by the Iran war have driven up costs for UK farmers by up to 70% and will have a “dramatic” impact on food prices globally next year, according to one of Britain’s most powerful property and farming companies.
Mark Preston, executive trustee of the 349-year-old Grosvenor Group, controlled by the Duke of Westminster, said fertiliser “was already quite expensive” before the 50% to 70% surge in prices since the start of the Iran war in late February.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer makes late pitch to voters turning to Greens and Reform
As Labour faces record-breaking losses in Thursday’s local elections, prime minister says rivals are unfit to lead
Labour is braced for record-breaking losses in Thursday’s local elections in England, which could be decisive for Keir Starmer’s future as prime minister.
In a message to voters on Thursday, Starmer said Reform’s Nigel Farage and the Greens’ Zack Polanski were “not fit to meet this moment of great global instability” and that only Labour was putting the national interest first.
Continue reading...‘Enjoy the show. Ignore the war’: Venice Biennale faces backlash after including Russia
Protests have taken place at the prestigious arts fair over the inclusion of Russia for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Gas tax: How beer fuelled a debate on Australia’s energy giants
Campaigners say Australia is giving away its gas 'for free' and should tax exports like Norway and Qatar.
Israel strikes Beirut for first time since Hezbollah ceasefire
Israel says it targeted a senior Hezbollah figure in the capital, the first strike of its kind since mid-April.