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Australian man arrested in Thailand after 17-year-old’s body found in suitcase
The 46-year-old was stopped at about 9.30pm on Friday while preparing to board a Jetstar flight to Perth, according to police and local media Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast An Australian man has been arrested at a Thai airport in connection with the alleged murder of a 17-year-old girl whose naked body was found in a suitcase, according to local police. The man , 46, was stopped at about 9.30pm on Friday while preparing to travel on a Jetstar flight to Perth, according to local media. Continue reading...
Venice protest planned for US ambassador’s superyacht visit
Activists aim to repeat disruption of Jeff Bezos’s wedding when billionaire Tilman Fertitta drops anchor Protesters in Venice are planning to disrupt a visit by the billionaire US ambassador to Italy in his 117-metre superyacht, which they fear he plans to dock in the lagoon city. “We ruined the party for Jeff Bezos’s wedding last year – this year let’s ruin the ambassador’s tour!” said Stella Faye, a 28-year-old researcher and activist, at a meeting of about 40 demonstrators on Thursday. Continue reading...
Prosecutors in England and Wales expect rise in domestic abuse during World Cup
CPS urges victims to go to police, saying they will be taken seriously and it ‘won’t hesitate’ to bring abusers to justice Prosecutors in England and Wales are expecting incidents of domestic abuse to increase during the men’s World Cup, and have urged victims to come forward, saying those responsible “will be held accountable”. “We often see more domestic abuse cases around major football tournaments like these,” the CPS national stalking lead, Olivia Rose, said. “The point that we want to get across is that those responsible will be held accountable, and that we won’t hesitate to bring them to justice.” Continue reading...
People in Britain used to agree to disagree. Since Brexit, they no longer dare to talk about difficult things | Elif Shafak
Studies suggest the country is more divided than ever – but we won’t come together unless we begin to talk rationally and calmly Read more from the Brexit Vote: 10 Years On series When I first moved to England, nearly two decades ago, I was invited to attend a talk in London on “the future of British identity”. It was a heated debate from the start, and it became all the more intense when the subject of putting colonial history in the school curriculum was raised. The two main speakers held opposite views and they traded barbs wrapped in velvet – scathing but polite at the same time. It wasn’t just the particulars of the oratory that stayed with me, but what happened afterwards. When the session was over, I saw the speakers shake hands, and then I heard one of them casually ask the other whether he would like to go for a pint. Off they went looking for a nearby pub, these two men who were at loggerheads on so many issues. I stood there absorbing what I had just witnessed. That two people with clashing worldviews could still find the openness of heart to share a drink together somehow left a bigger impact on me than anything that had been said that evening. This is because I came from Türkiye, a country of profound political chasms and unhealed social fractures. Equally, I had lived in the US for about five years in the aftermath of 9/11 – writing and teaching in various universities in Boston, Michigan and Arizona, which gave me the chance to observe the deepening fissures between liberal campuses and anti-liberal small towns. Continue reading...
Two tickets for Wimbledon Centre Court? That’ll be £586,000 please
A pair of debenture tickets changed hands this week for a sum far beyond the means of ordinary tennis fans Like many of us, Marcos Ortega enters the Wimbledon public ticket ballot every year in the hope of seeing some championship tennis. In seven straight years of trying, however, he has never got lucky. So he was delighted – initially, at least – to learn there was a way to secure a ticket for every game played on Centre Court. But Ortega’s hopeful delight quickly turned to anger when he discovered that it would cost him £293,000. Continue reading...
‘You’re history itself!’: how Arab World Cup commentators fuel fans’ passions
Arabic’s rich history of poetry lends itself well to ‘beautiful commentary that … sounds like a love letter to football’ Even before Cristiano Ronaldo’s close-range shot had hit the back of net, the commentator had begun shouting. “Allllllllaaaaaaah!!!!” exclaimed Amer al-Khudhiri, an Omani football announcer for BeIN Sports, as the Portugal star scored his first goal of the 2026 World Cup against Uzbekistan on Tuesday. He took a deep breath and then began his soliloquy. “I knew you were coming for revenge. I knew you would answer everyone, the world, the World Cup, the doubters, those who have lost their memory,” al-Khudhiri said. “Oh history, put Ronaldo here as Portgual’s all-time top scorer, through all its history. Allah, Allah, Allah!” Continue reading...
Snow and ice on Swiss glaciers melting at alarming rate amid heatwave, expert says
Accumulation on Switzerland’s glaciers from last winter expected to all be gone by Monday amid ‘enormous’ melt rates across Alps Swiss glaciers are set to lose an enormous amount of ice due to the heatwave battering Europe, according to the head of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (Glamos). The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland’s glaciers is expected to have all melted away by Monday, marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day. Continue reading...
Egypt v Iran: World Cup 2026 – live
⚽️ Kick-off time: 8pm local/1pm AEST/4am BST/11pm EDT ⚽️ Third-place table | Player guide | Golden Boot | Mail us ⚽️ New Zealand v Belgium – follow live match updates This is going to be a multiscreen/multitab experience. I recommend opening up another window and inviting Sam Lewis to keep you informed on all things New Zealand v Belgium. Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Egypt v Iran as Group G reaches its conclusion in Seattle. Kick-off at Lumen Field is 8pm local time (11pm EDT / 4am BST / 1pm AEST). Continue reading...
Trump news at a glance: president tests out a new ‘red scare’ ahead of midterms
Republican strategists believe rise of Mamdani could present opportunity to tag Democrats with most extreme views of the left – key US politics stories from Friday 26 June Donald Trump has previewed a Republican strategy for the midterm elections, seizing on a progressive sweep in New York to portray Democrats as “godless communists” who pose an existential threat to the nation. The US president, who was a child during the “red scare”, seized on wins by democratic socialists backed by the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani , to stoke fears that the Democratic party has embraced extremism that could lead to the violent persecution of Christians. Continue reading...
New Zealand v Belgium: World Cup 2026 – live
⚽️ Kick-off time: 8pm local/1pm AEST/4am BST/11pm EDT ⚽️ Third-place table | Player guide | Golden Boot | Mail Sam ⚽️ Egypt v Iran – follow live World Cup match updates Hello and welcome to the final match day of Group G with New Zealand taking on Belgium at BC Place in Vancouver. Kick-off for today’s match will be 8:00pm local time (11pm EDT/4am BST/1pm AEST). This is the third and final match of Group G, with all four teams playing simultaneously to see who will qualify out of one of the tightest groups of this World Cup. Continue reading...
Polygamous sect leader guilty of abuse after girls found in trailer on highway
Self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman already serving 50-year prison sentence over child sexual abuse A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was convicted Friday on state child abuse charges after girls were found in an unventilated trailer he was hauling through Arizona. Someone alerted authorities about the trailer in 2022 after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Police stopped Samuel Bateman’s vehicle as he was driving through Flagstaff and found three girls inside, who were ages 11 to 14 at the time. The trailer was enclosed with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs. Continue reading...
Yukon’s Gavin McKenna becomes only second Indigenous player selected No 1 in NHL draft
Whitehorse winger goes first overall Justin Bieber announces Leafs’ top pick Penn State star hails from Yukon capital With most of Yukon watching and a loud presence of Maple Leafs fans in the stands, Toronto selected Penn State forward Gavin McKenna with the first pick in the NHL draft on Friday night. The 18-year-old McKenna is from Yukon’s capital of Whitehorse and has been a prolific scorer on both sides of the border, with his selection validating the projections of the left winger being his age group’s top prospect more than two years ago. Continue reading...
Utah governor orders ban on fireworks as wildfires rage across state
Fireworks prohibition comes alongside state of emergency as wildfires prompt evacuations and red-flag warnings Utah governor Spencer Cox has announced a state of emergency and accompanying temporary prohibition on the use of personal fireworks until 5 July. The announcement comes as the state experiences an unprecedented wildfire season with blazes that have prompted evacuations in Eureka, a small town about 80 miles south of Salt Lake City. Under the governor’s executive order, the state forester is allowed to ban the use of fireworks anywhere in the state. The order temporarily suspends a 2024 law that disallowed the forester from banning fireworks in cities across the state. Continue reading...
Trump attacks Democrats as ‘godless communists’ in test of midterms message
President seizes on wins by Mamdani-backed candidates to warn darkly of threat to ‘traditional American way of life’ Donald Trump has previewed a Republican strategy for the midterm elections, seizing on a progressive sweep in New York to portray Democrats as “godless communists” who pose an existential threat to the nation. The US president, who was a child during the “red scare”, seized on wins by democratic socialists backed by the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani , to stoke fears that the Democratic party has embraced extremism that could lead to the violent persecution of Christians. Continue reading...
Michigan parents charged with murder in death of seven-year-old son weighing 250lbs
Authorities say couple failed to take young boy to doctor and did not provide safe environment at home A Michigan couple has been charged with murder after authorities say their son died weighing more than 250lbs (113kg) despite being just seven years old. The investigation into the case’s circumstances began on 4 November 2025 after a 911 call reported a young boy in medical distress at a home in Flint township, Michigan. The child, identified as Casper O’Brien, died after being taken to a hospital. Continue reading...
California appeals court upholds Weinstein’s rape conviction but says he must be resentenced
In California, Weinstein was convicted in December 2022 of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 16 years in prison Harvey Weinstein’s 2022 rape and sexual assault conviction was upheld Friday by a California appeals court, but the three-judge panel said the former movie executive must be resentenced. The unanimous decision came a day after prosecutors in New York decided Weinstein would not face a fourth trial there, dropping the #MeToo-era case on Thursday after the accuser said she could not bear to testify again. Continue reading...
US reporter urges supreme court to halt ruling forcing her to reveal sources or pay $800-a-day fine
Catherine Herrridge makes final bid to stave off penalty related to series of stories she wrote in 2017 for Fox News More than two years ago, a US district court judge took the extraordinary step of holding the veteran investigative journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt, ordering her to pay a steep daily fine of $800 per day unless she reveals her sources for a series of stories she wrote in 2017 for Fox News. Since then, the case has slowly moved through the appeals process, with Herridge dealt a series of defeats . On Tuesday, the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit issued a one-sentence ruling denying Herridge’s plea to stay the February 2024 ruling holding her in contempt, an order made by district court judge Christopher R Cooper. Continue reading...
Pete Buttigieg says family investigated over baseless child abuse allegation
Buttigieg calls anonymous tip ‘politically motivated’ and says separation from his kids was among his ‘darkest hours’ Pete Buttigieg , the former US transportation secretary, said on Friday an anonymous and baseless accusation of child abuse led child protective services to investigate his family. In a Substack post published on Friday, Buttigieg described the incident – which resulted in him being separated from his four-year-old twins – as “among the darkest hours of my life” and likened the accusation to “swatting”, the practice of calling police with a false report of an emergency to trigger a law enforcement response. Continue reading...
Prosecutor in Charlie Kirk shooting case held in contempt by judge
Judge rebukes Christopher Ballard for talking to media but declines defense’s request to take death penalty off table A Utah judge held a prosecutor in contempt on Friday for speaking to the media about the murder case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk , but did not grant the defense attorney’s request to bar the death penalty as punishment in the case. Defense attorneys for Tyler James Robinson, the Utah man who allegedly shot Kirk, a conservative political activist, last September, argued in a March court filing that deputy Utah county attorney Christopher Ballard had violated a pre-trial media gag order. Continue reading...
US says it struck Iran targets after attack on cargo ship on the strait of Hormuz
Strike was in response to drone attack a day earlier on a commercial vessel The US military conducted strikes against Iran on Friday, Central Command said in a statement, adding that US aircraft struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Tehran’s attack on a commercial ship in the strait of Hormuz. The US strike was in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the strait, a provocation that President Donald Trump said violated the ceasefire. Continue reading...
‘Release the footage’: Mississippi protest over police killing of one-year-old
About 100 marchers demand transparency after Kohen Wiley was shot dead in a car outside a Walmart About 100 people gathered on Friday morning outside of the Walmart in rural Senatobia, Mississippi, to protest about the killing of a one-year-old boy by police earlier this month. Walmart itself was closed, its doors barricaded. During a protest at the Walmart earlier in the week, officers deployed teargas on those gathered to force the crowds to disperse. Continue reading...
Advocates demand inquiry into Florida’s recently closed Alligator Alcatraz detention center
Environmentalists and immigrant-rights advocates demand accounting of damage done by notorious Everglades facility While they welcome the recent closure of the controversial Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention center, leading environmental groups and their allies say they want an independent investigation into the environmental damage the facility inflicted on the surrounding wilderness during its 12 months of operations. Those groups made that demand alongside immigrant-rights advocates and members of Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe at a news conference on Friday outside the entrance to the shuttered detention center, where the Friends of the Everglades (FOE) executive director, Eve Samples, condemned the camp as a “failure, an obscene waste of taxpayer dollars and an abuse of the Everglades”. Continue reading...
White House mandates move away from overdose prevention in US health programs
Experts say move signals greater political interference into public health and will exacerbate opioid overdose crisis Health programs receiving federal funding must agree within days to new priorities from the Trump administration , including a focus on “parental authority” in education and a move away from proven overdose-prevention methods like harm reduction, suggesting greater political control over public health. The new priorities will likely affect progress against the opioid crisis , and they could signal an attack on vaccination requirements at schools, which are set at the state and local level. The priorities may also weaponize public health to quash “public disorder.” Continue reading...
US Soccer offers contract renewal to Mauricio Pochettino through 2030 World Cup
Pochettino has been in charge of the US since late 2024 Former Spurs and PSG boss expected to have club interest The US Soccer Federation has offered US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino a contract extension that would keep him in charge of the team through the 2030 World Cup, multiple sources familiar with the offer said on Friday. Sources spoke with the Guardian on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. Pochettino and the federation have been discussing a new deal for about three months, said one source. Pochettino, along with US Soccer CEO JT Batson, have both spoken publicly about contract negotiations as recently as late May, around the time that Pochettino was reported to have had talks with Serie A side Milan. Pochettino was coy when pressed about that particular advance, but Batson spoke openly about it, saying that the federation had received many inquiries in regards to Pochettino’s services. Continue reading...