Missing boy Gus Lamont’s grandmother fined for firearms offence unrelated to his disappearance

• The war in Ukraine has officially surpassed the duration of World War I, leading analysts to draw unsettling parallels between the two conflicts. • The comparison highlights a pattern where initial technological innovations in warfare fail to provide a lasting strategic advantage.

• The UN Peacebuilding Fund has approved $4.8 million for a new program targeting central Mali. • The initiative aims to strengthen local institutions and communities in regions severely impacted by violent extremism.

• President Donald Trump has implemented a new "action-based" strategy in the Middle East aimed at achieving tangible results through direct engagement and accountability. • The U.S. is supporting the Syrian government's efforts to counter terrorism, eliminate chemical weapons, stop drug trafficking, and secure humanitarian aid for its citizens.

Gambling business, which also owns Betfair, to focus on New York in latest high-profile blow to UK stock marketBusiness live – latest updatesThe gambling group that owns Paddy Power and Betfair is to scrap its listing on the London Stock Exchange, in yet another blow for the UK’s shrinking stock market.Flutter Entertainment, the world’s largest online betting company, told investors that it will cancel its London shares on 3 August, blaming low levels of trading in the stock and high costs. Continue reading...

Ministry says on WeChat that animals fitted with sensors by foreign agencies are ‘collecting sensitive marine data’China’s ministry of state security has claimed that foreign espionage and intelligence agencies are using innovative new methods to monitor the country’s waters, including deploying “spy” animals fitted with sensors.In a post on the Chinese platform WeChat on Friday, the ministry warned that an “invisible secret war” was quietly playing out in the seas around China as foreign agencies were collecting sensitive data “through a variety of new spying devices” to produce underwater maps that pose a “serious threat to our national security”. Continue reading...

Location scans from the globally popular augmented reality game have helped train AI to recognise and interpret physical spacesAn AI model trained on data collected from users of Pokémon Go will potentially help military drones find their location in war zones.Pokémon Go, a 2016 augmented reality mobile game, allowed users to find and catch Pokémon in the real world using the cameras on their mobile phones, and exploded in popularity across the world. In 2018, the company reported having more than 800m downloads worldwide. Continue reading...

Former street seller celebrates newfound rights after debacle in claiming €500,000 scratchcard prize while undocumentedA Nigerian man who won €500,000 in an Italian lottery – but was barred from collecting his windfall because he was undocumented – said the hardship of his more than decade-long immigration journey had been eased after he was finally granted a residency permit.“I’ve been praying for this moment ever since I arrived in Italy,” said Imagbe Ehizomwengie, 36. “It’s a huge relief. You might think it’s incredible, but receiving the permit means more to me than winning the money. I want to work and contribute to society.” Continue reading...

US president says ‘great settlement’ reached but Iranian spokesman says there has been no final conclusionFull report: Trump claims US and Iran on verge of signing peace agreementHello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.Iran’s foreign ministry has contradicted claims from Donald Trump that a peace deal between Washington and Tehran could be signed as soon as this weekend.Trump said he was cancelling a third day of US airstrikes and bombings that he had earlier said would happen because “discussions” with Iran “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved”. He also said on social media: “Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.”Israel, however, said it was “not a party to” what prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described as an emerging memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. But the office said Netanyahu had spoken with Trump and that the final agreement at the conclusion of negotiations would include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran’s support for its terrorist proxies in the region – measures that have been red lines for Iran in the past.The strait of Hormuz would open “as soon as we sign” the documents of the “great settlement” reached with Iran, Trump said. “The whole Middle East is happy.”Iranian media said the country’s forces had stopped a “violating tanker” from entering the strait of Hormuz. The report from the Fars news agency – closely linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards – came shortly after the sound of explosions were reportedly heard near the port city of Bandar Abbas.Trump had earlier posted on social media that the US would seize Iran’s Kharg Island “in the not too distant future”, but later said the seizure would be off the table “if we sign this agreement”.The price of oil rose after Trump threatened a “very hard” attack on Iran, but plunged hours later after he said he was cancelling the strikes. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.9% to $86.08 a barrel, on top of a 2.6% drop overnight, and Brent dropped 1.5% to $89.08 a barrel, having fallen nearly 3% overnight. Asian stocks joined a global rally, with South Korea’s Kospi surging 7.4% and Japan’s Nikkei up 2.7%.A strike wounded 10 staff members of a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tyre on Thursday, the facility’s director told the AFP news agency, as Israeli raids continued in the country’s south. All three of the historic city’s hospitals have been hit since the start of the latest war between Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel in early March.India’s government voiced a “strong protest” after three Indian seafarers were killed in US military strikes against oil tankers travelling through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

GDP hit by higher energy prices caused by Middle East conflict, after 3% rise in MarchThe UK economy contracted by 0.1% in April as the Iran war began to take its toll on growth, official figures show.As energy prices have risen as a result of the conflict, after Iran closed off the strait of Hormuz – a key shipping route for global trade – the UK’s strong expansion in the first quarter had been expected to slide into reverse. Continue reading...

Event to go ahead at an undisclosed location after Moonee Ponds restaurant cancelled at the eleventh hourFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation has been forced to move a planned fundraising event to an undisclosed location in Melbourne, after the venue decided not to hold it due to planned protest activity. The event was due to be attended by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce.A spokesperson for the party told Guardian Australia on Friday that it would move the fundraiser from Giorgio Casa, a bistro in Moonee Ponds, after Victorian police “did express concern about protest activity at the event”. Continue reading...

Flood of tributes for Victorian athlete, who died while overseasFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLocal Australian athletics organisations have paid tribute to 2025 Stawell Gift finalist Jemma Stapleton, 25, who died while on holiday overseas with her family.The cause of death has not yet been disclosed, though an online fundraising page shared by her brother said she “tragically lost her life in an accident”. Continue reading...