Humza Yousaf says he hopes Peter Murrell gets ‘hefty’ sentence over embezzlement charges

• 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.

• 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.

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...

Albert Manifold says he was removed without warning and ‘will not allow a false narrative to go unchallenged’The ousted chair of BP, Albert Manifold, has accused the oil company of firing him without warning and disputed reports about his conduct, amid the latest boardroom turmoil to rock the company.In an emailed statement, Manifold said he was “removed without warning and without explanation” by the FTSE 100 company. Continue reading...

The heritage site was destroyed by contractors building transmission lines for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zoneGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIndigenous community members have described their shock and anger after an Aboriginal rock shelter was “damaged beyond recovery” by contractors building transmission lines for a New South Wales renewable energy zone.The heritage site was destroyed by bulldozers in March during the construction of access tracks for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone, a transmission line project located about 300km north-west of Sydney. Continue reading...

Victor who secured Republican nomination for Senate seat praises president after defeating incumbent CornynSign up to the Breaking News US emailHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Texas attorney-general Ken Paxton said Donald Trump’s endorsement is “the most powerful force in politics” as he comfortably won the Republican nomination for the Senate last night.Christian Menefee defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017. Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn.Two Republican-led efforts to redraw congressional maps in Alabama and South Carolina hit setbacks. In Alabama, a federal court said the proposed map could not be used because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters. The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state’s congressional map due to political and administrative reasons.Construction is under way on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage-match next month to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June.Donald Trump completed his annual physical after year of public attention to health issues. Trump, the oldest inaugurated president in US history, completed a physical exam on Tuesday at Walter Reed national military medical center, amid questions around his health. “Everything checked out PERFECTLY,” the US president declared in a social media post.The Trump administration considered asking federal workers to sign NDAs. The goal of asking federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements is to prevent them from sharing confidential information with journalists. Continue reading...

‘At some point the statements have got to end and the action needs to begin’, member for Chifley saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor MP Ed Husic says Australia has tolerated poor behaviour from the Israeli government for too long, calling for a “red line” from Canberra including tougher sanctions, an end to defence cooperation and a block on supplying parts for the F-35 fighter jet.Husic - the former industry and science minister – said a pattern of bad behaviour from the government of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, included mistreatment of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and the destruction of Australian war graves. Continue reading...

Heavy rain forces postponement of trip to rural Maryland as negotiations to end Iran war reach crucial stageDonald Trump will host the 12th cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday as talks on ending the nearly three-month war with Iran reach a crucial stage amid conflicting signals over whether an agreement is close.The gathering had originally been scheduled to take place in the bucolic setting of Camp David, the presidential retreat that had previously been the site of sensitive Middle East negotiations, including the historic Israeli-Egyptian peace accords. Continue reading...

Rodents arrived on the subtropical island more than a century ago, decimating its native flora and fauna – but its invertebrates are once again boomingIn the summer months, Lord Howe Island’s unique stag beetle, with wing cases that appear forged from iridescent green metal, fly around the ancient tree tops looking for a mate.“That’s really something wonderful,” said Ian Hutton, a naturalist and nature guide on the World Heritage-listed island. Continue reading...