Suicide bombing near railway track in Pakistan kills at least 23 people

Trump insists US won’t rush talks with Tehran after rebukes from Republicans, including Ted Cruz and Lindsey GrahamRepublican hawks have issued a rare rebuke of Donald Trump over his planned peace deal with Iran, describing it as a “disaster” and questioning why the US president launched the war in the first place.Allies of Trump who strongly backed his controversial decision to order war on Iran alongside Israel urged him to “hold the line” this weekend, despite mounting economic costs and no sign of progress on many of the the initial objectives set out by his administration. Continue reading...

Alleged incident said to have happened at racing event in 2002, the year of the queen’s Golden Jubilee, according to the Sunday TimesPolice investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are looking into an allegation that he behaved inappropriately towards a woman at Royal Ascot, according to a report.The alleged incident is said to have happened at the annual five-day racing event in Berkshire in 2002, according to the Sunday Times. Continue reading...

Speaking at Hay literary festival, former Labour minister says complete disengagement has potential ‘for us to end up in a very, very difficult position’ Former foreign secretary David Miliband has said Europe should have “separate bedrooms” from the US, but not seek a “divorce” from its traditional alliance, despite the Trump administration’s impact on the relationship.Speaking at the Hay literary festival on Sunday, the former Labour minister, who has served as the president of the International Rescue Committee since 2013, said: “You can see the argument that strategic autonomy for Europe means divorce from the United States. I really counsel the dangers of that.” Continue reading...

Forecasters say temperatures could hit 34C on Monday, with amber health alerts in place across much of EnglandA heatwave is expected to be declared in parts of the UK on Sunday, with temperatures nearing May records.The Met Office said readings at Heathrow at midday on Sunday showed temperatures had reached 28C (82F) across three consecutive days – the threshold for declaring a heatwave. Continue reading...

At least four people died and dozens of others were injured in the attack Russia used its powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile for a third time in Ukraine as part of a massive attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region that killed at least four people and injured dozens.Russia hit the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region with the missile, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He described a Russian assault that hit a water supply facility, burnt down a market, damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools, as well as the Oreshnik missile strike. Continue reading...

Charter to be adopted along river’s entire catchment from Cambrian mountains to Chepstow and Bristol ChannelThe entire catchment of the River Wye has been formally recognised as a living ecosystem with intrinsic rights in a charter, a UK first that campaigners hope will help save the highly polluted river.The charter was celebrated at a community event at the Hay-on-Wye literary festival on Sunday. It includes the right to flow, to biodiversity, to be free from pollution, to be supported by a healthy catchment, to regenerate, and the right to be represented, described as a “significant step” towards protecting and restoring one of the UK’s most beloved rivers. Continue reading...

Ohio State is grappling with sexual abuse allegations and questions over donor influence as financial pressures mount across higher educationWhen Rocky Ratliff transferred to Ohio State University in Columbus to study political science and wrestle for the college in the mid-1990s, he soon found himself being sexually abused by a prominent member of the university athletic department’s medical staff.At the time, Dr Richard Strauss, who is believed to have abused hundreds of student athletes over a period of decades at Ohio State, and who killed himself in 2005, would subject young men to intense abuse, including rape. Continue reading...

Global Pepfar program has long had Republican leadership and bipartisan support, but initiative is under fire US midterm voters overwhelmingly support Pepfar, an initiative to end HIV/Aids that also has strengthened health systems against other infectious disease threats but has come under fire from the Trump administration.About three in four (74%) of likely voters in the US midterm elections say they support funding the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar), with voters more likely to back candidates who support Pepfar, according to a recent poll. Four in five (80%) of the voters said there is a moral argument for supporting lifesaving treatment for people at risk for or living with HIV/Aids, regardless of their personal choices. Continue reading...

The discussions highlight how seriously senior Labour figures are treating Burnham’s path back to WestminsterAndy Burnham has sought advice from Baroness Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, on how to manage a potential transition into Downing Street if he returns to Westminster and succeeds the prime minister.Gray is understood to have advised Burnham on how a future government could be formed as Labour’s internal succession chatter intensifies before the Makerfield byelection. Continue reading...

Global prices are approaching a tipping point that could trigger inflation, shortages and, over time, recessionIf a US-Iran deal is about to be reached, three months on from the launch of Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, it will not be a day too soon for oil markets, which are approaching a dangerous tipping point.The cost of a barrel of crude on the spot market – for immediate purchase, effectively – has bounced about $100 since Iran predictably responded to the onslaught from the US and Israel by closing the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

One or two clauses yet to be clarified, Iran officials tell Pakistani mediators, after US says deal ‘largely negotiated’Middle East crisis: live updatesIran’s supreme leader and national security council still need to approve the proposed peace deal between Tehran and Washington, Iranian officials said on Sunday.One or two clauses in the proposed peace deal between the US and Iran must be clarified to Iran’s satisfaction before the memorandum of understanding can be sent to Iran’s supreme national security council and the supreme leader Motjaba Khamenei for ratification, Iranian officials said on Sunday, adding this had been conveyed to the Pakistani mediators. Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that a peace deal with Iran “has been largely negotiated”, after calls with Pakistan, Gulf allies and Israel. Continue reading...