New Yorkers vote as Democrats weigh competing visions in era of Trump

• U.S. officials, including JD Vance, met with representatives from Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar at a Swiss resort for a first round of talks to end the current conflict. • Iran reaffirmed its commitment to not procure or develop nuclear weapons, a primary catalyst for the attacks initiated by Donald Trump.

• Vice President JD Vance announced on Monday that high-level talks in Switzerland between the U.S. and Iran have established a "good foundation" for a deal to end the war. • As a key outcome of the marathon negotiations, Tehran has agreed to allow United Nations nuclear inspectors to return to the country.

• JD Vance stated that recent discussions with Iranian officials in Switzerland have established a "good foundation" for a potential deal to end the ongoing war. • The talks represent a diplomatic effort to stabilize regional tensions through direct engagement between the U.S. and Iran.

• Qatar has established itself as a premier global mediator, leveraging diplomacy rather than military power to facilitate peace agreements across various conflict zones. • The nation has successfully brokered deals in multiple countries, including Libya, Syria, Somalia, Chad, Djibouti, and Eritrea, while managing critical prisoner exchanges and humanitarian evacuations.

• Iranian Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf announced that the United States will release $12 billion in frozen Iranian funds. • Donald Trump claimed the released funds would be used to purchase U.S. produce, a statement that Tehran immediately rejected.

• On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Donald Trump asserted that Iran "will agree" to permit international weapons inspections amidst ongoing conflict. • The statement comes during a period of heightened military tension involving a combined US-Israel war effort against Iran.

It’s 10 years since Brexit – and it’s also another one of those weeks in British politics … Guardian columnist Rafael Behr will be here at 5pm to answer your questions about Burnham, Starmer, Brexit and more. Sign up here to join the discussion and post your questionsWelcome to our latest Q&A with a Guardian journalist. Raf will be joining us at 5pm. We have originally asked him to take questions about Brexit as we mark 10 years since the UK’s vote to leave the EU. But … you may well have questions about the last 48 hours as Andy Burnham looks certain to become the next prime minister.In the meantime, though, Andrew Sparrow is covering another busy and dramatic day in Westminster on the politics live blog and here’s some more on the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership: Continue reading...

Decision comes after Aden Duale was held in contempt for ignoring previous high court ruling to stop work The Kenyan health minister told a court he has ordered a halt to preparations for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility, after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work order.Kenyans have strongly opposed the plan, and deadly protests have erupted since the facility was announced in May for US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is grappling with a large-scale Ebola outbreak. Continue reading...

Study warns AI datacenters are vulnerable to the climate hazards that their global greenhouse gas emissions bolsterAmid rising concern that the artificial intelligence boom is fueling the climate crisis, a new report has found that nearly 80% of datacenters are also exposed to extreme climate hazards, including flooding, extreme winds and wildfires.Those impacts are leaving the infrastructure vulnerable to disrupted operations, increased time offline and inflated insurance and repair costs, the research from climate risk analytics firm First Street shows. Continue reading...

Force describes footage of police response to incident in Rotherham as ‘nothing short of shocking’South Yorkshire police have described video footage that appears to show officers shoving and drawing batons and stun guns on teenage girls as “nothing short of shocking”.The footage, widely shared on social media over the weekend, shows police officers being confronted by a number of girls dressed up for a night out, before one of the officers appears to shove one of the teenagers and then draws his baton. Continue reading...

The 76-year-old allegedly ordered he should have 12 wives to ‘repopulate’ the world. He and his wife deny the chargesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe leader of a cult and his wife allegedly groomed a young girl over a decade so she could bear 45 of his children in a post-apocalyptic world.William Kamm, also known as “Little Pebble”, was the leader of the Order of Saint Charbel, a religious cult run from a property on the New South Wales south coast. Continue reading...

Central California US district court rejected claim policy was ‘unconstitutional’. Plus House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke on being sworn at by people wanting selfiesGood morning. A California court has dismissed a lawsuit filed ⁠by Donald Trump’s administration against Los Angeles over a city ordinance making it a “sanctuary city” and limiting ⁠its cooperation with federal ⁠immigration ​authorities.Fernando Olguin, a judge in the central California US district court, rejected the administration’s argument that the city’s policy was unconstitutional. ⁠He gave the administration permission to file an amended complaint. The White House did not ⁠immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.What did the city say about the victory? The Los Angeles ‌city attorney, Hydee ‌Feldstein Soto, said: “This order reinforces the well-established principle that local governments have the authority to decide how to use their personnel and resources. The goal of this ordinance … is to encourage victims of and witnesses to crime to feel safe coming forward to seek help from LAPD regardless of their immigration status. It does not obstruct or impede lawful federal immigration enforcement operations.”Why did both sides want the act to pass? The legislation comes as Democrats and Republicans prepare for November’s midterm elections, in which concerns about affordability are expected to loom large in the minds of voters. A shortfall in construction of new homes is seen as a key driver of housing costs, which have crept higher in recent years. Continue reading...