First Thing: Trump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in Texas primary

• The United States has paused its participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, the long-running U.S.-Canada military consultation forum, according to a CSIS analysis published this week. • CSIS says the pause comes about six weeks before the mandatory USMCA joint review, which makes the timing politically sensitive for both countries.

• A Horn Institute publication says the U.S.-Israel war on Iran has widened into a broader conflict with effects that are now reaching Africa. • The analysis describes mounting diplomatic and security dilemmas for African states as regional shockwaves spread beyond the Middle East.

Daniela Klette sentenced to 13 years for crimes committed during three decades of hiding in plain sightA German court has sentenced Daniela Klette, a former member of the Red Army Faction, also know as the Baader-Meinhof group, to 13 years’ in jail for armed robberies committed during three decades hiding in plain sight.Long Germany’s most-wanted woman, Klette was the last female member of the far-left terrorist network still on the run before her arrest at her home in Berlin in February 2024. Continue reading...

After the initial euphoria of victory, Zoë Garbett prepares to begin running one of England’s most diverse and deprived boroughsFor the first time in decades the person sitting behind the desk in the wood-panelled office of Hackney’s imposing art deco town hall is not a Labour politician.Zoë Garbett was elected as the east London borough’s first Green party mayor in this month’s local elections, surfing a wave of support which resulted in the party winning more than 500 seats, taking control of five councils and winning two mayoralties. Continue reading...

Agreement averts strike and shows latest impact of AI boom as two more chipmakers join $1tn clubBusiness live – latest updatesEmployees at Samsung Electronics’s memory chip division are to receive bonuses averaging about £310,000 each through a landmark profit-sharing agreement, as the AI boom drives up chipmakers’ profits.Fears of a strike at Samsung were averted on Wednesday after two unions for the world’s largest memory chipmaker said that 74% of the 62,616 workers who cast their votes had backed the deal. Continue reading...

Domestic abuse commissioner ‘deeply concerned’ by move as councils in England and Wales struggle to fund reviewsThe Home Office has rejected a proposal to allocate government funds for reviews into domestic abuse-related deaths.Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, said it was “deeply concerning” that local authorities in England and Wales would not receive direct resources to help them carry out domestic homicide reviews (DHRs) and urged officials to be “braver and bolder” in their decision making.In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...

More Americans are using small solar panels in their back yards or balconies as a clean way to cut their electric billsIf you feel like your electricity bill just keeps climbing, you aren’t imagining it. Since 2020, US residential energy prices have surged by about 30%, making power the largest household energy expense behind gasoline, according to the US Energy Information Administration.But for residents like Alex Curtis, the days of feeling powerless against rising costs are coming to an end. Curtis is waging a war on his electric bill, and his new weapon of choice is a lightweight, thin-film solar panel. Continue reading...

UK private equity investor with reputation for hard-nosed restructuring says it is backing existing managementBusiness live – latest updatesFlying Tiger is the latest retailer to be snapped up by Modella Capital, the British investment firm which already owns the former high street arm of WH Smith, now called TG Jones.The Danish company, known for its cut-price homewares and craft kit, operates about 1,000 stores worldwide, including 80 in the UK, where it employs more than 1,000 people. Continue reading...

Video appears to show divers discovering group sitting on a rock surrounded by flood water, as search efforts continue for the missingFive villagers stuck in a flooded cave in central Laos for more than a week have been found alive, rescuers said on Wednesday, but two others are missing.The villagers entered the cave in Xaisomboun province on 19 May, but heavy rain triggered flash flooding that blocked the exit and trapped seven people, according to Lao and Thai rescue teams involved in the operation. Continue reading...

Scientists warn of ‘new reality’ of heat extremes that claim three times more lives than car crashes and 16 times as many as murderersMalcolm Mistry knew it was going to get “very warm, very quickly” on Monday morning but a slow start out of bed delayed his plans for an early game of cricket with his son. It was already 10am by the time the pair arrived at the sun-soaked nets of their local club in south-west London, and to the embarrassment of the 48-year-old scientist, who played cricket in his youth, his body was struggling after just half an hour of bowling.Had he continued for another hour, Mistry reckons he would have probably suffered from heatstroke. Had he and his son stayed until noon, they would have found themselves straining their bodies in direct sunlight while a nearby weather station logged the UK’s hottest May temperature since records began. Continue reading...

Party spent £252,000 in last two weeks of campaign on its main Facebook pages compared with Labour’s £276,000UK politics live – latest updatesReform UK ramped up the funding and sophistication of its political Facebook ads in the final weeks of campaigning for the May elections, in a sign of the growing financial muscle of Nigel Farage’s party.There were several days in the fortnight before the party’s breakthrough electoral performance when Reform spent more than any other party on the influential platform. Continue reading...