Acting attorney general says Trump’s $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund is scrapped

• UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed released a report detailing the impact of the UN development system's efforts through 2025. • Key achievements include providing food aid to 121 million people, measles vaccinations to 191 million children, and social protection to 84 million individuals.

• A summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping took place, characterized by significant pageantry but lacking in substantive policy outcomes. • The event occurred amidst a shifting global landscape, featuring reported cracks in Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship and evolving tensions between major powers.

• Political risk analyst Ian Bremmer asserts that President Trump is currently the primary driver of global risk. • Bremmer argues that Trump prioritizes personal desires and "vainglorious" goals over the stability of critical U.S. alliances.

• The BMJ Group has launched a new collection focusing on the geopolitics of global health, examining how political power dynamics now shape health priorities over scientific or epidemiological needs. • The collection highlights a critical shift where traditional multilateral systems are under threat, leading to increased uncertainty in how global health is managed.

• Political risk analyst Ian Bremmer asserts that President Donald Trump currently represents the primary driver of global risk. • The analysis suggests that Trump's unpredictable approach to governance and foreign policy creates significant instability for international relations.

Patients with knee arthritis who took medications for at least three years at reduced risk of needing surgeryTaking weight-loss drugs for at least three years could prevent thousands of knee replacements a year, research suggests.Globally, more than 500 million people have osteoarthritis. Knee arthritis is the most common form, affecting about 14 million people in the US and more than 5 million in the UK. Many will require knee surgery. In the UK more than 120,000 knee replacements are carried out every year. Continue reading...

Ocean Observatories Initiative, $368m network that has provided crucial climate data, latest victim of Trump cutsThe Trump administration plans to dismantle a $368m deep-sea observation system that has for more than a decade provided crucial data on ocean systems and climate change.In a notice, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it had “initiated descoping of the Ocean Observatories Initiative” (OOI), a vast ocean observation network comprising more than 900 instruments that collect data on ocean health, including current patterns, climate variability and marine biodiversity. Continue reading...

Experts say deluge of last-minute absentee ballots and notoriously slow system could delay results in tightest racesCalifornia’s primary elections, including its fiercely fought gubernatorial contest, will be at the mercy of a notoriously slow vote-counting system after the polls close on Tuesday, and it could be days or even weeks before the outcomes of the tightest races become clear.Voting experts expect the state’s 58 county elections offices to be deluged with last-minute absentee ballots, as they have been in the last few election cycles, and spend weeks undertaking a painstaking ballot-by-ballot verification process. Continue reading...

All the latest results and updates as New Jersey, South Dakota, New Mexico and Montana also vote in primariesCalifornia elections: governor, LA mayor and Congress at stakeSign up for the Breaking News US emailVoters in six states have been casting their ballots in the US midterm election primaries. Here are some of the images from polling stations that have dropped on the news wires today:A wave of Democratic doctors, scientists and public health professionals across the country are seeking office in the midterm elections in a rebuke to Donald Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr’s health policies. Continue reading...

Tommy Robinson attends demonstration outside police station, while others clash with officers near killer’s homeHundreds of people gathered outside a Southampton police station to protest against the murder of Henry Nowak and dozens clashed with police close to the home of his killer, Vickrum Digwa.The far-right activist Tommy Robinson was among speakers who addressed the crowd outside Southampton central police station at the “Justice for Henry Nowak” protest. Continue reading...

Senate estimates told it was a ‘joint idea’ to rework the nuclear submarine deal. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s preference was always to receive secondhand nuclear powered submarines under the Aukus deal, defence officials have revealed, prompting the Coalition to question if the original arrangement was “imposed” on the Albanese government.The defence secretary, Meghan Quinn, was grilled at Senate estimates on Tuesday night about the announcement that Australia would buy three used Virginia-class submarines from the US rather than a combination of new and old vessels.Australia’s position is that we would have always … had a preference for three in-service (submarines).They imposed a new submarine on us and said you must take a new submarine even if you want three in-service?This is a joint exercise over many decades, working collaboratively with an alliance partner to deliver a capability which is significant and is very important for Australia’s national defence. So there are many reasons why three in-service (submarines) would be simpler, lower-cost through the training of staff, the sustainment arrangements, the maintenance requirements, and all of those considerations. Continue reading...