Middle East crisis live: tanker hit by ‘projectiles’ in strait of Hormuz after Trump says US will help ‘guide’ stranded ships

• Author Laala Bechetoula argues that Donald Trump's presidency is characterized by a unique political style of constant, public self-contradiction and reversal. • Global warnings have emerged regarding the rapid evolution of AI, suggesting that current safeguards are insufficient to prevent sophisticated hacking.

• China is expanding its mediatory diplomacy to address intensifying international conflicts and a weakening global order. • The strategy consists of three reinforcing components: multi-level peace-brokering roles, the Global Security Initiative (GSI) conceptual framework, and the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed).

• A new book titled "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump" reveals that a former cabinet member referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "special needs child for the Europeans." • The derogatory comment reportedly occurred during a meeting focused on discussing a proposed minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine.

Extreme weather breaks MRI scanners and cooling units, as workload rises for sleep-deprived staff on sweltering wardsDoctors have sounded the alarm over the disastrous impact of extreme heat on the NHS in England, with radiotherapy machines and MRI scanners failing, critical IT systems stalling and cooling units that serve entire hospitals breaking down.The hot weather has also prompted a surge in admissions and people arriving at A&E, causing severe overcrowding in some places and exacerbating heat-related pressures on infrastructure. Continue reading...

Advocates condemn change that caps loans at $20,500 per year – less than half median annual cost of PA programStrict new caps on federal student loans are causing would-be physician assistants to reconsider training, groups representing physician assistants said.An overhaul of the federal student loan system scheduled to go into effect 1 July strictly caps the annual amount of federal loans physician assistants can borrow to $20,500 per year – less than half the median annual cost of a PA program. Continue reading...

Buildings collapse after double quakes of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude. Plus, the apartment renters facing a tide of feesGood morning.Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has declared a state of emergency after the country was struck by two powerful earthquakes that collapsed dozens of buildings, killing at least 164 people and injuring 971 more, with experts predicting the death toll could rise still further.What do we know? The US Geological Survey (USGS) said Venezuela had been hit by two quakes: a magnitude 7.5 “mainshock” and a 7.2 “foreshock” 39 seconds earlier. “High casualties and extensive damage ⁠are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” ⁠the USGS said.How does the damage look on the ground? Rodríguez, who confirmed the death toll, said the airport had been closed after sustaining “severe damage” and added that the metro and train systems had been halted. A Guardian reporter saw at least three buildings that had collapsed in Altamira, an upmarket area of Caracas that is home to many foreign embassies, after the quakes hit shortly after 6pm on Wednesday.This is what the company said: In a statement, Greystar told the Guardian it disagreed with the allegations in the court actions and was “actively defending” the cases. In various court filings, the company has called tenants’ legal complaints factually deficient, implausible and “futile”.In other housing news: Donald Trump abruptly cancelled his plan to sign a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the cost of housing on Wednesday, holding the bill – which passed both the House and Senate – hostage until Congress passes the Save America Act, which would impose new identification requirements on voters and curtail mail-in voting. Continue reading...

Airports CEO says letting non-EU passengers skip entry-exit system was only way to avoid peak season travel chaosRome’s airports will have to suspend the EU’s new digital border system for non-EU citizens to avoid a “disaster” during the peak tourism summer months, according to the head of the airports company.Marco Troncone said that allowing passengers to skip the biometric entry-exit system (EES) was the only way of avoiding travel chaos over the summer amid warnings from other European airport officials. Continue reading...

LSE analysis highlights litigation linked to energy sources, water consumption and air pollutionThe proliferation of datacentres and AI is increasingly at the forefront of environmental litigation around the world from Chile to Ireland, a report has found.In an analysis of about 3,600 climate-related lawsuits filed since 2015, the latest annual review of climate litigation by the London School of Economics (LSE) found a growing number of cases challenging the energy sources, water consumption and air pollution of datacentres, all of which have related climate implications. Continue reading...

Randy Smith’s resignation was part of plea deal after attack on podcaster Bobby Couvillion at a Madisonville restaurantA suburban New Orleans sheriff who had held one of his community’s most prominent political offices for a decade has retired shortly after pleading guilty to battering a podcaster who often criticized him.Randy Smith, 61, also agreed to serve more than a year of probation after admitting to a late May beating at a steakhouse where he had bought 18 alcoholic beverages on his tab on a Friday afternoon – which all but halted his four-decade policing career. Continue reading...

Tenants push for tougher rules against unfair add-on charges. Industry players argue against policies that they say could limit the ‘effective use of fees’‘Extremely overwhelmed’: apartment renters face rising tide of feesAcross the US, many renters are calling for national action to stem add-on charges that spike their housing costs and increase their risk of eviction.“The rental housing market is one where consumers have little power,” Farah Momin, a renter in Seattle, told the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in April. “Landlords can impose fees through take-it-or-leave-it lease terms, and the cost/disruption of moving means that tenants may absorb unfair charges rather than leave. Federal baseline protections are needed to level this playing field.” Continue reading...

Duty on imports outside new quota will double in move echoed by similar changes in EU limitsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK government will halve the amount of tariff-free steel imports allowed in an attempt to counter a global oversupply of cheap Chinese metal and boost its beleaguered local industry.New “safeguards” will be introduced on 1 July and will coincide with similar new limits being introduced by the EU for the same purposes. Continue reading...

The vice-president, leading a foundering peace deal to end the kind war he’s opposed in the past, is left holding the bagJD Vance has taken the greatest gamble of his vice-presidency by making himself the face of the Iran ceasefire deal – a shaky agreement that already seems to be unraveling at the seams.But after months spent in limbo due to the war, it may be the best chance for him to find his feet again. Continue reading...