Family of British couple jailed in Iran say they have lost contact

• Bahrain has accused Iran of launching a drone attack targeting the island kingdom, escalating tensions in the region. • The United States and Iran have exchanged military strikes following U.S. accusations that Tehran attacked a cargo ship, threatening a fragile ceasefire.

• Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting stability in Sudan, focusing on securing a ceasefire and preserving the nation's territorial integrity and state institutions. • According to a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday, the Kingdom emphasized that the crisis must be resolved through a Sudanese-led political solution.

• Professor Michel Chossudovsky published an analysis on June 26, 2026, arguing that the United States has been engaged in a continuous conflict with Russia and the Soviet Union for over a century. • The article details a historical timeline of US-led wars and strategic initiatives aimed at destabilizing and eventually eliminating the Soviet Union from the global map.

• Venezuelan citizens are conducting their own search and rescue operations as the death toll continues to rise following a devastating earthquake. • The U.S. State Department announced the creation of a "Military Coordination Group for Lebanon" to implement a new strategic framework for the region.

• On Friday, June 26, 2026, the United States launched military strikes against Iran following threats from Donald Trump to respond to fires in the Gulf region. • The escalation occurs amidst a broader conflict involving a US-Israel war against Iran and ongoing Israeli military attacks targeting Lebanon.

Former Westminster correspondent earned a reputation for uncovering political wrongdoing in the 1990sThe acclaimed journalist David Hencke, whose career at the Guardian spanned more than three decades, has died from liver cancer aged 79.Hencke, the Guardian’s former Westminster correspondent, was instrumental in exposing the “cash for questions” scandal that forced the resignations of two Conservative ministers, as well as the scoop that led to Peter Mandelson’s first resignation from government. Continue reading...

Leader of local authority in Oxfordshire faces backlash over injunction ‘to maintain neutral, safe space for residents’While Londoners scurried from building to building seeking shade on another baking hot day this week, one man paused in the shadow of the Royal Courts of Justice.The leader of Oxfordshire county council, Tim Bearder, was not only satisfied in the shade of the court’s gothic towers. He had just won a landmark legal victory. Continue reading...

After outrageous insults from Donald Trump, Haitians have helped to revive Springfield – now their future is uncertainThe embattled Haitian community of Springfield, Ohio is among many groups reeling after this week’s ruling from the supreme court that strips the legal immigration status from hundreds of thousands of Haitians living and working in the US – and could be a threat to more than a million.The Springfield community in particular had worked hard to remain resilient beyond the outrageous besmirching by Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign and further insults about Haiti delivered after he became the US president again. Continue reading...

Next250’s Declaration of Interdependence, a new art gallery that features Americans’ collective values and hopes for the future, will open in McPherson SquareThousands are expected to gather a block away from the White House today to unveil their vision for America’s future.At the Next250 All of US rally, held a week before the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, organizers will launch their Declaration of Interdependence, an art installation featuring the collective values they believe should define the next 250 years of America’s story. The pledge – a take on the Declaration of Independence, the country’s founding text – aims to build a country where everyone can earn a living wage, have access to green spaces and feel safe in their communities, activists said. Continue reading...

Editor-in-chief has developed network of UK thinkers she believes reject what she regards as overly ‘woke’ consensusIn the six years since she very publicly resigned from the New York Times, and in her tumultuous eight months as editor-in-chief of one of the US’s most prestigious television networks, Bari Weiss has become renowned as a media disruptor and challenger of what she regards as an overly “woke” journalistic consensus.As Weiss continues to face bitter internal and external opposition to her leadership of CBS News, she has been turning to figures from UK journalism in her attempts to tackle what she sees as US newsroom “groupthink”. Continue reading...

US president says levy would be imposed immediately and supersede pre-existing trade deals with the country Donald Trump threatened on Friday to place a 100% import tariff on any European country that imposes a tax on digital services from US companies.Writing on Truth Social, the US president said that “numerous European countries” had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies and that “some of these countries are close to actually doing this.” Continue reading...

Relocation of Action on World Health raises questions over why Reform UK leader is involved in a US pressure groupNigel Farage’s campaign against the World Health Organization (WHO) is moving to the US with a new board of lobbyists, raising questions over why the Reform UK leader is involved in an American pressure group.The Action on World Health campaign, co-founded by Farage, is relocating to the US state of Delaware as a charitable foundation and grassroots non-profit. Continue reading...