Strait of Hormuz Shipping Remains Disrupted Despite US-Iran Ceasefire

On Monday, a public inquiry will reopen, nine years after the plan was proposed and a toxic local battle beganWhen Fidelma O’Kane retired more than a decade ago from her career as a social worker and lecturer, she thought she would be “travelling and having a glass of wine and eating chocolate and reading books” while based in the quiet, hilly corner of rural County Tyrone where she has lived almost all her life.It didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, an idle remark from a neighbour would set O’Kane on a path that would become an all-consuming mission. A mining company, the neighbour told her, was planning to drill for long-rumoured reserves of gold in the Sperrins, the low peatland mountain range in Northern Ireland where O’Kane’s family has lived for generations. Continue reading...

Corruption scandals and a surging opposition have turned the vote into the biggest test yet for the long-serving populist leaderThe drone footage showed a sprawling residence in northern Hungary, complete with manicured gardens, a swimming pool and an underground garage. But it was what came next that captured much of the country’s imagination: zebras darting across the countryside. Continue reading...

Ex-footballer to decorate gnome for annual event after organisers lift ban on the ornaments dating back to 1927 Rare roses and stunning irises are usually among the most coveted items at the Chelsea flower show. But this year, the star attraction might be pink, sequined – and decorated by David Beckham.The former England football captain is co-designing a garden at the May event with King Charles and as part of that effort he has been given a garden gnome to paint. It will be auctioned off for charity. Continue reading...

Engineers link reduced lifespan of roads to shift to heavier cars, some bought to navigate damaged surfacesDrivers who choose SUVs are compounding the pothole problem, experts have warned, as research showed hundreds of thousands of people bought bigger cars to navigate damaged roads.Scientists said the cumulative effect of increasing numbers of heavier vehicles was a contributory factor in Britain’s potholes getting worse. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Guardian analysis suggests young people who pose ‘catastrophic’ threat still slipping through systemMinisters are “failing to learn the lessons” from the Southport attack and allowing violence-obsessed teenagers to remain a “catastrophic” threat to society, lawyers for victims of the atrocity have said ahead of the findings of an official inquiry.A report on the July 2024 attack by the judge Sir Adrian Fulford, to be released on Monday, is expected to strongly criticise failings by a series of agencies, including the counter-terrorism programme Prevent. Continue reading...

Vaianu, forecast to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 130 kmh (80 mph), is expected to hit on SundayThousands of New Zealanders were ordered to evacuate their homes on Saturday as the country’s North Island braced for Cyclone Vaianu, which authorities warned could cause coastal flooding and landslides.Vaianu, forecast to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 130 km/h (80 mp/h), was expected to hit on Sunday, then pass west of the remote Chatham Islands on Monday, the country’s weather forecaster said. Continue reading...

Massive fire followed explosion at 5,000-sq-ft warehouse near Esparto, an hour from Sacramento, on 1 July Multiple people have been charged with murder in connection to a fatal fireworks-warehouse explosion in California that killed seven people and injured two others in July.The explosion at the 5,000-sq-ft warehouse sparked a massive fire near the small town of Esparto, about an hour outside Sacramento. The explosion took place on 1 July; local celebrations to commemorate the Fourth of July holiday were cancelled that year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Move comes after Guardian Australia revealed Gemma Seymour was facing potential suspension over video criticising RMIT’s ties to weapons companiesRMIT University has dropped a misconduct case against a student who accused the institution of being “complicit in genocide” in Gaza, because of its defence and aerospace research centre’s ties to weapons companies.Guardian Australia this week revealed the student, Gemma Seymour, faced potential suspension over a social media video calling for the university’s Sir Lawrence Wackett Defence and Aerospace Centre to be shut down. Continue reading...

Allies of Democratic governor contender withdraw support after accusations in San Francisco Chronicle and on CNNCalifornia gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell’s campaign suffered a major blow on Friday as several staffers resigned and prominent political leaders withdrew their support in the wake of multiple allegations of past sexual misconduct.The San Francisco Chronicle published an account of a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Swalwell on two separate occasions. Continue reading...

Vice-president’s war doubts and his boss’s desperation to reopen Red Sea look like a weak deck against bolstered opponentsAs JD Vance arrives in Islamabad to negotiate a peace deal with Iran, his first high-profile assignment of the war looks to be a poisoned chalice.Vance, a vocal opponent of US wars in the Middle East gone quiet since the beginning of the current military campaign, will now face off with Iranian negotiators who feel emboldened by their new control of the Hormuz strait and their resilience in the face of the largest US-Israeli onslaught in history. Vance’s presence at the talks as vice-president will make it the highest-level meeting since the Iranian revolution of 1979. Continue reading...

Erik Duran in 2023 threw cooler at fleeing suspect Eric Duprey, who then crashed his motorized scooter and diedSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA former New York police department sergeant has been sentenced to three to nine years in prison for tossing a picnic cooler full of ice and drinks at a fleeing suspect, who then crashed his motorized scooter and died.Erik Duran, 38, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2023 death of 30-year-old Eric Duprey. The ex-sergeant said he was trying to protect other officers from the approaching scooter. He is the first former NYPD officer sentenced to prison for an on-duty death in at least two decades. Continue reading...