Middle East crisis live: Iran says it needs guarantees against attacks before Gulf can be stable

• Analyst James Dorsey reported on June 12, 2026, that while negotiations between Iran and the U.S. may be possible, deep strategic disputes persist. • Regional actors, including Israel, Gulf states, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, continue to influence the conflict's trajectory based on their own priorities.

• Multinational banks are reassessing their cross-border strategies as geopolitical considerations increasingly influence how they organize international operations and evaluate risk. • Financial institutions are now balancing the pursuit of robust financial performance with the need to manage complex geopolitical exposure.

• Envoys from the UK, France, and Germany issued a joint statement following diplomatic discussions in Moscow. • The representatives formally conveyed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request for direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Paris meeting draws up proposals and calls for ‘urgent diplomacy’ towards two-state solution at summit next weekPalestinian and Israeli civil society groups meeting in Paris on Friday have urged G7 leaders to act at their summit in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains next week to save the narrowing chances of a two-state solution.The groups called for specific action on enforcing a ceasefire, disarming Hamas and starting reconstruction in Gaza, and said the various peace processes including the Board of Peace initiative should be integrated into one programme. Continue reading...

Trump administration created fund to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returnsSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA US federal judge agreed on Friday to extend a court-ordered block on the Trump administration’s creation and operation of a $1.8bn settlement fund for compensating people who claim to be victims of a weaponized government.Earlier this month, Todd Blanche, the acting US attorney general, told Congress that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund in the face of a fierce bipartisan backlash. Government attorneys have argued that lawsuits challenging the fund are now moot, but plaintiffs’ attorneys aren’t satisfied by Blanche’s assurances that the fund won’t move forward. Continue reading...

Public figures sign open letter calling for scheme to be moved from Home Office to independent bodyUK politics live – latest updatesThe prime minister and the home secretary have been urged to remove the Windrush compensation scheme from Home Office control.About 70 public figures have signed an open letter backing a call by the Windrush Justice Community Collective (WJCC) for a radical overhaul of the scheme, which was set up to compensate those, mainly Black Britons, who were wrongly classed as illegal migrants and stripped of citizenship rights over decades. Continue reading...

Report by Labor-led joint human rights committee says cuts to the $50bn scheme could limit support for those in needGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSweeping changes to the NDIS appear “retrogressive” and lack alignment with a landmark independent review to improve the $50bn-a-year scheme, a Labor-led committee has found.The 57-page scrutiny report from the joint human rights committee, released on Friday, examined the proposed changes under the Albanese government ahead of a separate report due next week by a Senate inquiry. The Labor-chaired committee questioned the human rights implications of winding back access for more than 200,000 participants in the coming years, which could leave many without sufficient disability support. Continue reading...

Exclusive A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAntarctica’s west coast is missing an area of winter sea ice the size of France, sparking concerns for threatened penguins other marine life and global sea levels.One expert said the loss of ice in the Bellingshausen Sea was “depressing” and the failure of ice to form could have intensified a heatwave over the continent’s peninsular last week that saw daytime temperatures peak at 15.4C which is more than 20C above average. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Economists say falling house prices are largely in the more expensive parts of Sydney and Melbourne’s markets and are less likely to affect first-time property ownersFears that first-time buyers with tiny deposits will find their mortgages are worth more than their homes may be assuaged by new data showing falling prices are concentrated in the top end of the Sydney and Melbourne property markets.Climbing inflation, interest rates and worries about the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict have helped depress housing values in the country’s two biggest cities. Continue reading...

While venues could stay open until 2am, rising costs remain a far bigger concern for many landlords Picture the scene: it’s 1am on a sultry July night and Jude Bellingham has just scored the decisive penalty to send England into the World Cup semi-final. Cue wild celebrations among millions of pub goers, fuelled by the realisation that there is still an hour until closing time.Keir Starmer may have imagined a national morale-boosting spectacle such as this when his government told hospitality venues that they could stay open until 2am on some World Cup match days. Continue reading...

One man died in Iowa after a tree fell on him as nearly 700 severe weather events were recorded over three daysSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailAn Illinois man whose home was destroyed by a tornado on Thursday was pulled from the rubble by a police officer and a photojournalist, who captured the terrifying storm and subsequent rescue in dramatic video footage.Scott Lasker, who describes himself as a storm chaser, recorded the tornado ripping through the town of Streator and was filming the damage it inflicted when he came across the man trapped in the debris of his house. Continue reading...

Former defence secretary’s accusation, that PM lacks impetus and is easily swayed by chancellor’s demands, is familiar territoryOne of the most scathing accusations made by John Healey in his resignation letter on Thursday was that the prime minister lacks the authority to stand up to his chancellor.“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” the former defence secretary wrote. Continue reading...