UK security services helped devise act that gave amnesty over Troubles killings

• The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosted a press briefing previewing the upcoming summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping, with Taiwan expected to be a central issue. • CSIS said Xi highlighted Taiwan as the most important issue in U.S.-China relations during a February 2026 phone call and urged Washington not to provide arms to Taiwan.

Temperatures did not fall below 21.3C on Monday night at Kenley airfield in south LondonThe UK experienced a “tropical night” on Monday as the record for highest daily minimum temperature in May was broken for the second consecutive day.Temperatures did not fall below 21.3C on Monday at Kenley airfield in south London after the UK recorded its hottest May day since Met Office data began, the forecaster said. Continue reading...

Animal and Plant Health Agency forced to release reports showing scale and cause of deaths on some fish farmsMillions of fish deaths caused by accidental poisoning and suffocation on Scottish salmon farms have been revealed after the inspection agency was forced to share its reports.The UK government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) had refused to release inspection reports, claiming it would cause “significant detriment” to companies, including to their reputations. Continue reading...

Cohort of 12 children and seven women who were held in a Syrian camp expected to fly into Sydney and Melbourne on TuesdayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA group of 19 Australian women and held in Syria since the defeat of Islamic State will return to Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, bringing an end to seven years of detention while thrusting themselves into a heated political debate about their future.The cohort of 12 children and seven women left a Syrian detention camp last week before boarding flights home. Most either left Australia more than a decade ago, or were born in Syria or Iraq after their parents travelled to the so-called caliphate. Continue reading...

Commissioner says a number of witnesses reported ‘a dramatic increase in online hate messages’Jewish Australians have reported a dramatic increase in harassment and intimidation online after giving evidence at the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion.Before starting hearings on Tuesday morning the commissioner, Virginia Bell, said at least one instance had been referred to the Australian federal police. Continue reading...

Seven years after Lisa Wiese went missing, a police raid on the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light has given her family a glimmer of hopeAs he watched the footage of a convoy of police vehicles driving through the security gates of the headquarters of a religious sect, AbdelRahman Hashem felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe now his two children would get answers to what happened to their mother.The last time the children heard from her was seven years ago. In an email sent from a budget hotel in India, she had written: “Mommy loves and misses them so much, so very much … they are both my best friends and my favorite people in the whole world.” Two days later, she disappeared. Continue reading...

Book containing early versions of the Merlin and Grail legends has remained in private hands for 700 years In one illustration, painted on vellum and decorated with gold leaf, the sorcerer Merlin is depicted as a powerful shape-shifter who has transformed into a talking stag. In another, the Knights of the Round Table are shown returning, victorious, from battle.The illustrations appear in one of the earliest manuscripts to tell the tale of King Arthur and the search for the holy grail – a richly illuminated medieval tome which, for more than 700 years, has been in private hands. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: Our Russian affairs reporter on Vladimir Putin’s slipping approval and singular goal – as discontent ripples from wider society to the reachers of the KremlinGood morning. There is little doubt that when Vladimir Putin ordered his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he did not expect his troops to still be embroiled there in 2026. And he surely never envisaged a scaled-down victory parade in Moscow, stripped of military hardware, for fear of Ukrainian drone attacks on his own capital.Putin has survived dangerous moments before, but with the Russian economy stuttering, his popularity is waning – not only with the public but also with the elites who have underpinned his regime for decades. An undoubted master of survival, the unwritten contract the president has with the Russian people is starting to fray.Middle East | The US has launched strikes on southern Iran in a test of the seven-week long ceasefire, as both sides played down hopes for an imminent peace deal even as negotiators from Tehran began new talks in Qatar.UK politics | Rachel Reeves has instructed cabinet colleagues to award government contracts in four critical industries directly to British companies, making clear her irritation that ministers have been sending too much government business abroad.Scotland | Peter Murrell, once one of the most powerful people in British politics, faces a long prison sentence after he admitted to stealing more than £400,000 from the Scottish National party to fund a lavish personal lifestyle.Cost of living | Higher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt “for many months to come”.UK news | The fierce heat sweeping across Europe over the bank holiday weekend has beaten the UK’s all-time temperature record for May, with scorching highs of close to 35C. Continue reading...

Former DUP leader faces charges spanning 21 years in case that triggered political earthquake in Northern IrelandThe trial of former Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson for alleged sex offences is set to begin in a case that triggered a political earthquake in Northern Ireland.Donaldson, 63, is charged with rape, gross indecency and other sexual offences spanning 21 years. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, 60, is charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault and will be subject to a trial of facts. Continue reading...

Data shows even if Iran war ends, shop price inflation on rise, while only 16% of firms left unscathed by conflictHigher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt “for many months to come”.Disruption to global shipping, coupled with soaring prices for energy and raw materials, have driven up costs for UK companies, with the impact already filtering through to prices paid at the tills, according to fresh inflation figures. Continue reading...

US Central Command claims targets also included boats trying to lay mines, rattling ceasefire, while Iranians meet with Qatari prime minister in DohaIsrael escalates strikes in Lebanon as Netanyahu vows to ‘crush’ HezbollahWelcome to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.US forces attacked missile sites in southern Iran and boats trying to lay mines on Monday, US Central Command said, as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for talks to end the war.Trump said the enriched uranium held by Iran could be destroyed inside the country, in a process overseen by an international nuclear agency. Experts said his announcement could amount to a major concession to Tehran.Trump also said any deal to end the war with Iran should require certain countries in the region – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan – to sign up to the Abraham accords. The agreements aimed at normalising relations with Israel were brokered by the US during Trump’s first term.Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush” Hezbollah in Lebanon, dealing another blow to hopes for a US-Iran deal. Tehran has demanded that any peace accord apply to the fighting in Lebanon as well.Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi praised Hezbollah for the Tehran-backed militant group’s ongoing resistance in Lebanon against Israel. Continue reading...