Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the US and Israel’s unlikely choice to lead Iran

Director of Armageddon and Transformers to team up with Universal Pictures for drama based on recent eventsMichael Bay is set to direct a military drama based on the recent rescue of two US crew members who crashed in Iran.According to Deadline, the director of action films such as Armageddon and Transformers will work with Universal Pictures to bring the story to the screen. In April, two soldiers were rescued after their fighter jet was downed, something Donald Trump called “one of most daring search-and-rescue operations in US history”. Continue reading...

Officials say sinkhole discovered at about 11am as emergency crews rush to complete repairsA sinkhole was discovered at New York’s LaGuardia airport on Wednesday, shutting down a runway while emergency crews sought to determine its cause and how to fix it.In a post on X, LaGuardia, which handles domestic travel, said the sinkhole had been discovered at about 11am “near runway 4/22” while the airport’s operator was conducting its daily morning inspection. Continue reading...

Announcement made due to computer error at Radio Caroline’s main studio in EssexA radio station has apologised for “any distress caused” after accidentally announcing that King Charles had died.The erroneous announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon due to a computer error at Radio Caroline’s main studio in Essex. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Greater Manchester understood to support home secretary’s push to limit legal and illegal migrationAndy Burnham is backing Shabana Mahmood’s controversial changes to the immigration system, his allies have said, in a blow to those in Labour who hope to soften them.The Greater Manchester mayor is understood to be keen to reframe the changes but supportive of the home secretary’s attempts to limit legal and illegal migration, which have been criticised by some senior Labour MPs as un-British and mimicking Trump. Continue reading...

Far-right figure Itamar Ben-Gvir shares footage of himself taunting bound international detaineesIsrael’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid.There was a rapid and furious response from countries whose citizens were on board the boats, including the UK, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland, in many cases delivered in person from the top of government. Continue reading...

Starmer has a reasonable list of achievements in power but has undermined himself with a lack of political storytellingNet migration down by three-quarters, the biggest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, knife crime cut by 10%, the economy growing the fastest in the G7, rising wages, energy bills and petrol prices held down, the biggest sustained rise in defence spending since the cold war, a massive expansion of free childcare …If Keir Starmer did tub-thumping lists of Labour’s achievements in the style of Gordon Brown, he would not actually have a shortage of things to talk about. Continue reading...

PM’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, among aides who were briefed on investigation into journalists writing about Labour TogetherKeir Starmer’s most senior advisers were briefed about an “indefensible” investigation into journalists writing critical pieces about the Labour Together thinktank, according to a newly released document.Among the aides who received updates on the probe, commissioned by the thinktank’s director, Josh Simons, were Morgan McSweeney, the former chief of staff to the prime minister. Continue reading...

Case hailed as human rights victory as Tromsø court says Tommy Olsen’s actions are lawful and protected under international treatiesThe decision of a Norwegian appeals court to dismiss the extradition of an activist accused of facilitating the illegal entry of people into Greece has been hailed as a rare victory for human rights.In a judgment described as unprecedented by lawyers representing Tommy Olsen, the Norwegian founder of the NGO the Aegean Boat Report, the court unanimously rejected the request saying his actions were not only lawful but protected under international treaties to which both countries adhered. Continue reading...

Births of the mammals extremely rare in captivity, say keepers, with ‘Womble’ only the second calf born at ChesterInside a heated incubator at Chester zoo, a wrinkled newborn aardvark nicknamed “Womble” spent its first weeks being bottle-fed milk through the night by keepers determined to keep the rare calf healthy.Named after the creatures in Elisabeth Beresford’s children’s books and the subsequent animated TV series, the nocturnal animal is only the second aardvark born at the zoo in its 94-year history. Keepers say births of the species are extremely rare in captivity, with the last aardvark calf born in the zoo in 2022. Continue reading...

Ian Cheshire says media regulator must address perception it has been complacent and slow on online safetyOfcom’s incoming chair has vowed to take on the “tech bros”, as he conceded there was now a perception the regulator had been complacent and slow over concerns about online safety.Ian Cheshire, the former Channel 4 chair who has secured the job overseeing the technology and media regulator, also told MPs he had personal concerns about the impact of social media on under-16s. Continue reading...

Charges filed in Miami against 94-year-old for allegedly shooting down exiles’ planes in 1996The United States has issued a federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, Cuba’s former president, on Wednesday, and five others in a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign to oust the country’s six-decades-old communist regime.The 94-year-old political figurehead was charged in Miami, Florida, with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft, according to court filings obtained by CBS. Continue reading...