Monday briefing: How is it possible the prime minister didn’t know about Mandelson’s vetting failure?

• J. Ricardo Martins argues that the "Geneva fiasco" demonstrates the danger of replacing professional diplomats with business-oriented dealmakers in international relations. • The author contends that these dealmakers mistakenly viewed compromise as weakness, which escalated a negotiable crisis into an active conflict with Iran.

• Israel's military operations, which began with the destruction of Gaza, have expanded into Lebanon, Iran, and the Gulf region. • The escalation is being sustained through significant financial support and arms shipments provided by the United States.

Peter Kyle says British politics fails to reward political accomplishment and Labour risks aping Tory instabilityThe Labour party has not learned the right lessons from the Conservatives about changing leader, a senior cabinet minister has warned, saying in a swipe at potential challengers that “entitlement is not a qualification”.Peter Kyle, the business secretary, said he was worried that British politics “rewards the wrong behaviour” and there was little credit for the work of his own department, including negotiating trade deals, rescue packages for companies and preserving British industry. Continue reading...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador says Washington is using investigations into governors and propaganda to boost rivalsMexico’s former president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has accused US officials of trying to weaken the governing party to strengthen the opposition, amid rising tensions between the two countries over Washington’s investigations into several Mexican governors.“Some US officials are plotting to weaken Morena and strengthen the rightwing opposition in Mexico with the aim of restoring a subservient, corrupt, mafia-like, and cruel government,” López Obrador wrote in a lengthy letter posted on X on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad made a surprise appearance at a performance of Abba VoyageAbba Voyage concerts can be deafening enough. But when the real-life Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad made an appearance in the hall, which was packed with hundreds of schoolchildren, even security staff present were surprised by the din.On Tuesday, at the custom-built Abba Arena in east London, the virtual concert residency launched its expanded education programme, which aims to support young people across the area getting into creative industries. Continue reading...

Beluga whales, which Marineland threatened to euthanize in 2025, will be moved to sanctuaries in Spain or across USCanada and an embattled marine park have reached a tentative deal on the future of 30 beluga whales, ending a saga that has captivated the public and angered animal rights groups.The federal fisheries ministry announced this week that all of Marineland’s belugas would be shipped to either Spain or one of four locations in the US, ending whale captivity in Canada. Continue reading...

US president accused of ‘putting polluters first’ by invoking Defense Production Act to prop up coal outputDonald Trump is to use a wartime presidential authority to hand $700m to coal-fired power plants in the US, the latest move by the president to bolster what he calls “beautiful clean coal” despite it being the dirtiest of fossil fuels.Trump is using the Defense Production Act, a cold war-era statute used to accelerate American industrial output in times of national need, to provide grants to more than a dozen existing coal plants across the US, including facilities capable of exporting coal. Continue reading...

Lt Lily-Mae Fisher, Lt Cmdr Chris Grayson and Petty Officer Owen Green died during Royal Navy training exerciseBritain’s only serving female naval commando has been named as one of the three people who died in a helicopter crash during a military training exercise in Devon on Wednesday.The victims have been named by the Ministry of Defence as Lt Lily-Mae Fisher, 31, Lt Cmdr Chris Gayson, 42, and Petty Officer Owen Green, 24. Continue reading...

Saudi national, 21, held on suspicion of attempted murder over incident at Manor Park student village in GuildfordA former University of Surrey student has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was shot with a crossbow in Guildford.The victim, who is in his 50s and a member of the university’s campus safety team, was seriously injured in the incident and is being treated at Royal Surrey County hospital close to the scene of the shooting. Continue reading...

The Hampshire force whose officers responded to the murder of Henry Nowak have a higher than average racial disparityThe police force accused of anti-white racism following the murder of Henry Nowak is over five times more likely to subject black people to a stop and search than white people, according to the latest figures.The racial disparity in the Hampshire force is higher than the average for England and Wales, and has gotten worse in recent years. Continue reading...

With three weeks to go until the Makerfield byelection, where an Andy Burnham victory could change the direction of the Labour party, Pippa Crerar joins him on the campaign trail in Wigan and Leigh, speaking to voters on their doorsteps Continue reading...

Hair stylist Frédéric Fekkai and ex-Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine accused in new testimony, lawmakers revealRepublican lawmakers have asked the Department of Justice to investigate sexual assault allegations involving two men made by Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistant.In a transcribed closed-door interview in late May, as part of a congressional investigation into Epstein, Sarah Kellen, one of the late sex offender’s former aides, told the House oversight and reform committee she was “sexually and psychologically abused” by him during her employment – but also alleged she was sexually assaulted by the French celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai, and by Philip Levine, the former mayor of Miami Beach, in separate incidents in the early 2000s. Continue reading...