Iran targets American base in region after US strikes Iranian air defences

• ACCORD is analyzing the evolving African mediation landscape, questioning if current mediation architectures are failing to keep pace with rapidly changing conflict dynamics. • A critical "seventh shift" identified is geopolitical fragmentation, where global powers have moved away from multilateral norms toward pursuing transactional interests.

• The Taliban administration has officially welcomed China's expanded role in managing Afghanistan-related discussions and draft resolutions at the United Nations. • This diplomatic shift indicates a growing reliance on Beijing to mediate Afghanistan's international standing and navigate complex UN processes.

• Max Hastings argues that the United Nations' global influence has significantly declined, leaving it unable to effectively mediate modern conflicts. • The analysis highlights a shift from Cold War-era relevance to a current state of great-power deadlock that hampers international cooperation.

• Evidence suggests the current Ebola outbreak is broader, more fragmented, and more entrenched than the initial assessment of a regional emergency. • Public health officials are struggling to contain the virus, indicating that critical lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic have not been applied.

• India expanded its defense diplomacy during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh conducting high-level bilateral meetings. • The engagements focused on strengthening security ties and strategic cooperation with senior counterparts from the Netherlands and Australia.

Auction success hit a new low for the year on the last Saturday in May, with just 54.5% of homes soldFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has suggested falling auction clearance rates may be a “good thing” for first home buyers if it means they aren’t competing against as many property investors.After data was released showing home prices in Australia’s capital cities had begun to fall and buyers were abandoning auctions, Chalmers on Monday said Labor’s proposed property tax reforms weren’t the only thing slowing the housing market. Continue reading...

Powerful winds and rain expected in parts of Japan and Australia, while temperatures in Spain could hit 40CA powerful tropical storm is forecast to track near Okinawa, Japan, on Monday before moving towards the south-east of the country. Typhoon Jangmi (also known as Typhoon No 6) has formed within the monsoonal gyre over the Philippine Sea.A monsoonal gyre is a large, slow-rotating weather system that spawns typhoons through smaller vortices formed within it. This flow can intensify storms. Such typhoons are typically characterised by a broad areas of low pressure and extensive wind fields, often without a distinct eye. Continue reading...

Nationwide finds typical price was £278,024 in May, as Savills says Iran war has ‘fundamentally changed’ outlookBusiness live – latest updatesHouse prices fell in the UK for the first time this year in May, as rising interest rates triggered by the war in Iran hurt homebuyer demand.The price of the average UK home dropped 0.6% in May compared with the month before, according to the lender Nationwide. Continue reading...

Scientific dating proves streaks on walls of Bacon Hole, near the Mumbles in south Wales, is Palaeolithic rock artIn 1912, the Guardian reported on the discovery of Palaeolithic rock art on the walls of Bacon Hole, a cave near the Mumbles in south Wales – only for the painted panel’s authenticity to be dismissed by 1928.A series of horizontal bands in red pigment were subsequently deemed no more than a natural phenomenon and the newspaper added an updated statement: “It was later established that the red streaks … turned out to be red oxide mineral seeping through the rock and not prehistoric art.” Continue reading...

‘Megafires’ in California, Canada, South Korea and Europe in 2025, but changes to farming slowed spread in parts of Africa“Devastating” wildfires ripped across the wealthier parts of the world in 2025, a study has found, even as globally, the area ravaged by flames fell.Catastrophic blazes claimed lives, homes and jobs last year in California, Canada, Europe and South Korea. But the 335m hectares burned was the second-lowest since 2002, the review found, largely owing to the expansion of African farms that have fragmented landscapes and hampered the spread of large savannah fires. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 25 years after race riots in north of England, Arooj Shah says extremist groups and lies about grooming scandal are poisoning Oldham“Identity politics is tearing communities apart”, the former leader of Oldham council has warned, in the week marking the 25th anniversary of race riots across the north of England.Arooj Shah quit as leader of the Greater Manchester borough earlier in May, after the local elections left the council with no group in overall control. Continue reading...