Noon briefing of 2 June 2026

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved over USD 67 million in new funding to strengthen climate resilience in eight vulnerable nations. • Recipient countries include Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Niue, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sudan, and Togo.

• Russia launched a series of deadly strikes on Kyiv following a week of repeated warnings and threats from Moscow. • The delayed timing of the attacks appeared designed to inflict a psychological toll on the residents of the Ukrainian capital.

• Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi called for renewed unity among Global South nations during a visit to Seoul, South Korea. • Mudavadi criticized the current state of international relations, arguing that diplomacy is being treated as a transaction and national sovereignty as a negotiable property.

• A truce in Lebanon announced by Donald Trump is collapsing as Israeli forces advance south of the Litani River and Hezbollah launches rocket attacks against Israeli tanks in Hadatha. • The European Union is finalizing a major migration reform following the 2024 Asylum Pact, which will establish "return centres" outside EU borders to accelerate the deportation of rejected asylum seekers.

Giving news websites the power to block their content from being used in AI summaries will have global ramificationsThe UK’s competition watchdog has ordered Google to change how it uses publishers’ content in its AI-powered search results, in a move that will have global ramifications.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is using powers that allow it to set bespoke rules for major tech firms that it deems to have “strategic market status”. Google, the world’s largest search engine, is one of those companies. Continue reading...

TfL says 60% of drivers worked on first day of stoppage as RMT confirms second day of action will go aheadA London Underground drivers’ strike will bring another day of transport disruption to the capital on Thursday, after the RMT union confirmed its action would go ahead.Transport for London (TfL) urged the union to call off the strike, the second 24-hour stoppage this week in a dispute over the introduction of a four-day working week. Continue reading...

Actor sentenced to probation for incident in which he attacked three men and yelled homophobic slurs, according to witnessesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Shia LaBeouf on Wednesday pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery charges filed against the actor after his arrest over allegations that he struck three men at a New Orleans bar in February.After his plea in the city’s criminal district courthouse, the Transformers film franchise star received a sentence of two years’ probation, rehabilitation for alcohol abuse, sensitivity training and anger management classes. Continue reading...

Badenoch differentiated herself from Nigel Farage in response to Henry Nowak’s murder and supporters say her ratings are risingKemi Badenoch has a hard-earned reputation for combativeness, especially on culture war issues, but at prime minister’s questions, with the murder of Henry Nowak in the headlines, Keir Starmer ended up thanking the Conservative leader for her “tone”. So is she a changed politician? Well, not exactly.To an extent, Badenoch’s approach ahead of her weekly Commons showdown with Starmer was shaped by events. Widespread concern on Wednesday at the police response to Nowak’s murder – the student who was handcuffed while he bled to death after being falsely accused of racism – spiralled into rioting on Tuesday night. The imperative not to inflame matters further was obvious. Continue reading...

New crisis at former vocational charity involves alleged withholding of data and breaching redundancy lawsCity & Guilds is facing potential legal and industrial action over claims it has been “dishonest” over plans to shed about 400 UK staff.Officials at the Unite union allege the owner of the training and qualifications body has been “unlawfully withholding key information during transfer consultations”, while also “advertising for new recruits when it is legally required to give staff at risk of redundancy first refusal”. Continue reading...

Airstrikes in south of country kill nine people and wound another 150, most of them medical staffMiddle East crisis – live updatesThree hospitals in southern Lebanon have been attacked by Israel in under a week, wounding more than 150 people and killing nine, according to Lebanon’s ministry of health.Israel carried out an attack in the immediate vicinity of the public hospital in Tebnine on Wednesday, just days after strikes next to the Hiram and Jabal Amel hospitals in Tyre. The attack next to Jabal Amel on Monday killed four people and injured 127 – most of whom were medical staff. Continue reading...

Hearing in New York state case over shooting of healthcare executive sealed at short notice ‘at request of the defense’Luigi Mangione’s New York state case in the killing of the healthcare executive Brian Thompson descended into secrecy on Wednesday when Judge Gregory Carro held sealed proceedings despite press objections.Mangione’s state trial for allegedly shooting dead Thompson on a Manhattan Street in late 2024 is scheduled for 8 September. Mangione also faces a federal trial in relation to Thompson’s killing. The murder triggered an intense manhunt but also prompted an outpouring of public rage against the practices of the for-profit US healthcare industry. Continue reading...