Europe suffers under record heatwave as temperatures forecast to reach 44C

• Iran has reportedly walked away from peace negotiations in Switzerland following aggressive threats from Donald Trump, who vowed to "blow the s*** out of them" and take over the country. • The diplomatic mission included JD Vance and his wife Usha, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, who arrived in Switzerland on Sunday.

• The United States and Iran have reported "progress" in diplomatic negotiations currently taking place in Switzerland. • The talks aim to establish a formal deal to resolve a conflict that has persisted for four months.

• Professor Neta Crawford of the University of St Andrews argues that the US-led military actions against Iran were unnecessary and have caused widespread global harm. • Crawford highlights a critical but often overlooked consequence of the conflict: the significant military emissions produced during warfare, which contribute to global climate degradation.

• JD Vance is currently meeting with top Iranian officials in Switzerland to engage in diplomatic discussions. • Simultaneously, Donald Trump is issuing threats against Tehran from a distance, creating a dual-track approach of diplomacy and pressure.

• A former head of the Army has urged Andy Burnham to adopt a "Churchill-like" approach by preparing Britain for the possibility of war. • The military leader warned that Burnham would be "foolish in the extreme" if he believes the UK's current defense spending blueprint is sufficient to ensure national safety.

Greenspan served under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W BushAlan Greenspan, the influential economist who ​steered US ⁠monetary policy ⁠during ​his ‌five ‌terms as chairman ‌of the Federal Reserve ‌under four presidents, ​has died aged 100, ⁠NBC News ​reported ​on ​Monday.In a statement that she shared with the network, Greenspan’s wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, said he died from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Continue reading...

US president threatened Iran over strait of Hormuz in sweary outburst. Plus, Starmer to step down as UK’s PM two years after historic landslideGood morning. Iran’s foreign minister has declared “progress” after the first day of talks between high-ranking officials from Washington and Tehran ended in Switzerland, despite a tense opening marked by Donald Trump’s threats to restart attacks.Abbas Araghchi said Pakistani and Qatari mediation “has delivered major progress to end [the] Lebanon war”. Iran has been adamant that Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon must end as part of any deal. The Israelis are not directly participating in the talks.What has been agreed? A joint statement from mediators Qatar and Pakistan said the ⁠US and Iran agreed a roadmap towards⁠ a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks between lower-ranked officials ​will continue for the rest of the week. In a development that is critical to unlocking progress, the US Treasury was also preparing to issue a 60-day waiver lifting sanctions on oil, petrochemicals and derivatives.What threat did Trump issue to the Iranians? Over the weekend, Iran said it had reinstated its blockade in the strait of Hormuz in protest at the continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon. The US president responded on social media, saying: “You close it and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your fucking country.”What impact has the war had on support within Iran for the government? Saeed Shah reports that the war has triggered a rare moment of solidarity in a country that was reeling from the killing of thousands of protesters by the authorities at the start of the year.Why has Starmer stood down? After months of internal party pressure and plunging poll numbers, his downfall has been triggered by key political misjudgments including appointing the Jeffery Epstein-linked Peter Mandelson as US ambassador despite a failed security vetting. Policy reversals have led to his MPs viewing him as weak, a sentiment reinforced by devastating losses in the May elections that underscored his deep unpopularity with voters. Continue reading...

People in southern Wales and area of England from Kent and Sussex to Somerset and Birmingham urged to protect themselves from extreme heatThe UK’s Met Office forecasters have issued a rare red weather warning for Wednesday and Thursday in the face of extreme heat and humidity.It covers southern Wales as far west as Swansea, and an area of England that includes London and runs from the inland areas of Kent and Sussex, all the way across to Somerset, as far north-west as Birmingham, and as far north-east as southern Cambridgeshire. Continue reading...

Prime minister was forced to row back on some policies despite strong support among voters for climate actionKeir Starmer has faced a problem no Labour government has needed to deal with before. His energy and climate policies – core to solving the cost of living crisis – have come under attack from opposition parties, which have made dismantling the agenda one of their top priorities, second only to immigration, in their pitch to voters.This is new in British politics, where a cross-party consensus on the climate and environment has held at least since the days of Margaret Thatcher. She warned the UN of the climate crisis in 1988; David Cameron in 2006 urged voters to “vote blue, go green”; Theresa May enshrined in law the requirement to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; Boris Johnson championed the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow in 2021; even Rishi Sunak only tried a partial rollback of green policies as a last desperate throw before calling an election. Continue reading...

Investment company Castlelake made bid public for shareholders to evaluate but carrier describes offer as ‘cheap’Business live – latest updatesThe US investment firm trying to buy easyJet has gone public with its latest £4.7bn takeover proposal for the budget airline, its third and latest offer to be rejected.Castlelake said on Monday that an all-cash offer of 625p a share, valuing easyJet at just over £4.7bn, had been rejected by the airline’s board on Sunday, after previous offers at 560p and 600p. Continue reading...

From north-east Scotland to Romford, London, what do those who spoke to the Guardian during the referendum campaign make of how it all panned out?The Guardian has revisited five bellwether constituencies we reported on during the 2016 EU referendum campaign, and asked those we spoke to at the time how they now feel about Brexit a decade on from the vote. Continue reading...

Barron Trump has a new yerba mate and Kai Trump a ‘bold’ energy drink – would their offerings pass the taste test?Do you like sugary soft drinks? Do you like Donald Trump and his family? Do you want to support nepotism?If the answer is yes to all these questions, then have I got the products for you: a pineapple yerba mate co-founded by Trump’s son, and a syrupy, energy-drink-thing developed by his granddaughter. Continue reading...