‘Standing up for our children’: parents divided over London teachers’ strikes

President’s remarks indicate the two countries remain far apart over initial deal to end warAfter 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger.The Israeli military declared a new swathe of southern Lebanon a combat zone and said residents in the area should move north, warning it would act “with great force” against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in the zone. The statement on Wednesday appeared to signal a further escalation after more than 120 strikes hit Lebanon’s south and east on Tuesday, despite a ceasefire.The major Lebanese city of Tyre has come under constant Israeli bombardment, according to local media. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is hitting Hezbollah targets in the ancient coastal city in southern Lebanon, a day after issuing a warning forcing thousands of people to leave Tyre and surrounding areas. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported two people were killed in Tyre in an Israeli drone strike on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

Vetting of former UK ambassador to Washington warned of ties to senior figures in China, Russia and IsraelA former head of MI6 has said it would have been “totally impossible” for the Foreign Office to put in place mitigations to manage Peter Mandelson’s associations with senior figures in China, Russia and Israel when he was the UK’s ambassador to the US.On Wednesday, the Guardian revealed some of the concerns that contributed to security officials recommending that Mandelson be denied developed vetting clearance in early 2025. Continue reading...

Imitation versions of Shakhtar and Zorya in RussiaUkrainian FA urged Uefa to take action last yearUefa is yet to take action against the integration of clubs from illegally occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia’s football system despite being urged to do so by the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) last year.Imitation versions of Shakhtar Donetsk and Zorya Luhansk, two of the most successful clubs in Ukraine’s Premier League, have been competing in Russia’s fourth tier since its season began in March. They have joined the Crimea-based sides Rubin Yalta and FC Sevastopol in group 1 of the regionalised Football National League 2B, meaning a quarter of the teams in their division purport to represent areas of occupied Ukraine. Continue reading...

As the UK experiences some of its hottest ever May weather, five people share their concerns – and tips for keeping coolThe UK is experiencing some of the hottest May weather ever recorded, with temperatures surpassing 35C in parts of England on Tuesday.Campaigners have warned that Britain’s public buildings are dangerously unprepared for rising temperatures, calling for better cooling systems in hospitals, care homes and other spaces used by vulnerable people. Continue reading...

When an Inner Mongolia farmer sought two herders to tend his 3,000 sheep, he was swamped with applicants including graduates, factory labourers and white-collar workersA Chinese farm owner’s recruitment drive for shepherds has ended in success after his job advert seeking people to work on his Inner Mongolia ranch went viral, drawing the attention of city dwellers struggling to find work and highlighting growing strains in China’s labour market.Zuo Xiaoyong posted an advert on Chinese social media in late April seeking two shepherds, preferably a couple, to take 3,000 sheep out to graze on a 2,000ha pasture in the summer. The shepherds would also undertake indoor feeding and cleaning during the winter when temperatures can drop below -30C at his ranch roughly 300km from Xilinhot city, near the Mongolian border. Continue reading...

Industry figures warn of national security risk and call for ministers to address impact of extreme weather, inflation and Iran warBritain is “sleepwalking into a food crisis” caused by extreme weather, inflation and the impacts of the Iran war – and the government is failing to take the threat seriously, food experts have said.Farmers are facing severe strain from the current heatwave following a dry spring, with many crops likely to yield less as temperatures rise beyond their tolerance. Livestock are also suffering heat stress and there is a rising risk of wildfires. Economic losses are likely to be measured in the hundreds of millions of pounds. Continue reading...

The WasteBar food truck hopes the eye-catching deal will change people’s attitude to waste in the NetherlandsUsing cigarette butts to buy buttery Dutch pancakes? That is the deal one food truck is offering at festivals in the Netherlands as a way to get people thinking about litter.Cigarette butts are the most common form of plastic waste in the world, with more than 4.5tn butts produced every year. In the Netherlands the estimated figure is in the hundreds of millions. Continue reading...

Federal government seeks more than $2bn in damages from multinational manufacturer in its largest legal claim everFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government said on Thursday it had launched legal action against the multinational manufacturer 3M over Pfas chemical contamination at defence bases, seeking damages of more than $2bn (US$1.4bn).The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals”, in firefighting foam had caused major environmental and economic harm, resulting in the largest legal claim ever brought by the federal government. Continue reading...

After CEO’s comments to investors, opponents urge miner to ‘stop stringing everybody along and spike the project finally’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSantos chief executive, Kevin Gallagher, has told an investor briefing the company will not be “exerting any effort” on its Narrabri gas project while it awaits outstanding approvals, prompting fresh questions about the future of the controversial development.Gallagher told investors this week the company was prioritising exploration in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin, where it is pursuing an expansion. Continue reading...

Musician says ‘we’ve lost that direction for our energy’ as his play The Last Ship returns to West EndThe fact many men no longer use their hands and physicality on a daily basis may be driving some of the toxic traits in modern masculinity, according to Sting.The singer, who on Wednesday announced that his musical about the last days of a shipyard was coming to the West End this autumn, told the Guardian that one of the byproducts of deindustrialisation was the loss of physical productivity for men.The Last Ship will be at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 22 Sep to 3 Oct. Tickets go on sale from midday on 28 May. Continue reading...

Volunteers head to Dorset countryside to restore the figure, but increasing heat means techniques have had to be adaptedFor centuries, the custodians of the Cerne Giant have clambered up the dizzyingly steep hill every decade or so to rechalk the outline, making sure the hulking figure can be seen far and wide across the rolling Dorset countryside.But the painstaking job, which involves hacking out the grubby old chalk by hand and packing in fresh, felt all the more urgent this week because effects put down to the climate emergency are making the giant a little duller and perhaps a touch more fragile. Continue reading...