Middle East crisis live: US claims blockade has ‘completely halted economic trade’ into Iran, as Trump hints at return to talks in Pakistan

Research shows generations of children in England will grow up homeless unless government addresses council housing debt, charity saysIt would take more than a century to clear the social housing waiting lists in England at the government’s current speed of delivering new social homes, research by Shelter has shown.The housing charity found that more than 1.3m households are on a waiting list for a social home, but only 12,198 were built by councils, housing associations or private developers across England last year. This equates to an average of 110 households waiting for every new social home delivered, and it would take 119 years to clear the waiting lists if building continued at the same rate. Continue reading...

Exclusive: deal in 2020 had sought to stimulate local battery making but industry says it still cannot meet targetsThe EU and UK car industries are urging the European Commission to adjust the Brexit trade deal and suspend, for a second time, tariffs on imports of electric vehicles.They have expressed concerns that they will not be able to meet the conditions set for 1 January 2027 for tariff-free sales. This is because of strict rules of origin over what products can qualify for tariff-free trade under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement which has applied since 2021. Continue reading...

Commuters were forced to run for cover after a group of youths allegedly fought with knives at Flinders Street station on Saturday nightFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Victorian government has defended the efficacy of its machete ban after multiple teens were arrested over an alleged machete brawl in the heart of Melbourne.Shocked commuters ran for cover after a group of youths – some armed with machetes – brawled at Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station concourse on Saturday night. Continue reading...

Buyers are ripped off after assuming online stores were genuine because they are recommended by an AI toolYou want to buy a new bag and so you ask ChatGPT for help. You have always liked Russell & Bromley so you ask ChatGPT what is popular there at the moment.The artificial intelligence (AI) assistant gives you cross body, shoulder, casual and formal options with the prices listed beside them. You click through from the sources to what looks like the official Russell & Bromley site and buy your new bag, which is conveniently on sale. Continue reading...

Legal papers, expert investigations and social media posts tell story of how a 32-year-old Iraqi appeared to run ‘proxy’ campaignOn Monday, a slightly dishevelled Iraqi man, shackled and dressed in beige prison overalls, was ushered into a Manhattan courtroom.Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, 32, pleaded not guilty to a series of terrorism-related offences, then gestured toward the judge and prosecutors. “I’m a prisoner of war. I’m not a threat,” he told them. “Children and women are being killed by your rockets.” Continue reading...

David Shoebridge says Australia could become embroiled in a US war with China if purchase of Virginia-class attack submarines proceedsAnthony Albanese has reiterated that Aukus is “full-steam ahead” after the Greens renewed calls to cancel the nuclear-powered submarines deal, which the minor party warned could draw Australia into a potential US war with China.Debate over the security pact has resurfaced after the announcement that Australia would buy secondhand Virginia-class submarines from the US, rather than a mix of old and new vessels. Continue reading...

Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of 1990s leader Alberto, is vying with a congressman to become country’s ninth president in a decadePeruvians go to the polls on Sunday in an election runoff that pits a perennial rightwing candidate, Keiko Fujimori, against a leftist congressman, Roberto Sánchez. Amid rising crime, chronic political instability, corruption scandals and voter apathy, they are vying to become Peru’s ninth president in a decade.Fujimori, who is the daughter of the late president Alberto Fujimori, won 17% of the vote in the first round in April. Sánchez, a former trade and tourism minister, took 12 % of the vote, edging out Rafael López Aliaga, an ultra-conservative former Lima mayor. The stage is set for a polarised left-right replay of the country’s last election in 2021. Continue reading...

In late March, his polling hovered near 3%, but in a stunning reversal Becerra has advanced to the general electionXavier Becerra, the former Biden cabinet official whose California gubernatorial campaign survived a deeply underwhelming start, has advanced to the general election, in a stunning reverse of political fortune.If he prevails in November, Becerra would make history as the state’s first Latino governor since 1875, when California was briefly led by Romualdo Pacheco, who was born in the territory when it was still part of Mexico. Continue reading...

Lincoln Folo has been tasked with helping rebuild after two federal election defeats. Follow liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to the live blog for Sunday 7 June. I’m Josh Taylor and I’ll be bringing you the news for today.The Liberals have appointed a new top strategist as the new federal president, Tony Abbott, begins to make his mark on the party. Continue reading...

Widow of French ex-president Jacques Chirac was a steely behind-the-scenes operator known for her charity workBernadette Chirac, the formidable widow of the former French president Jacques Chirac and a driving force behind his political rise, has died at the age of 93.As France’s first lady for 12 years, Chirac was a steely behind-the-scenes operator in support of her husband, who served twice as prime minister, 18 years as mayor of Paris and two terms as president. Continue reading...

Eighteen-year-old man arrested after car collides with cyclist Anthony Canty, who died in hospital four days laterA lottery winner has died after a suspected hit-and-run in Essex, police said.Officers were called to the collision between a cyclist and a black Ford Ka in Tiptree at 6.30am on 21 May. The cyclist, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital where he died four days later, Essex police said. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend meeting along with French president Macron and German chancellor MerzKeir Starmer will host Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz for talks in Downing Street on Sunday to discuss support for Ukraine.The Ukrainian leader will visit the UK with the French president and German chancellor after a week of heightened hostilities and Vladimir Putin’s rejection of his proposal of face-to-face talks on Moscow’s war. Continue reading...