UK state threats bill could pull British journalists into terror prosecutions – experts

• The United Nations continues to serve as the primary global forum for addressing transnational challenges that individual countries cannot resolve independently. • The organization focuses on its core mandates of safeguarding international peace, protecting human rights, and managing global security.

• Iran launched missiles and drones targeting U.S. military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait following recent U.S. strikes on Iran's southern coast. • The attacks signal a breakdown of the ceasefire in the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions between the two nations.

• Venezuela is facing growing public frustration as the death toll from a recent earthquake has climbed to 1,430 people. • In the Persian Gulf, ongoing strikes indicate that the conflict involving Iran remains volatile and risks spinning out of control.

• China is positioning itself to lead the reconstruction of Iran following conflict, utilizing strategic investments and diplomacy to expand its regional influence. • The strategy involves transitioning from providing humanitarian relief to developing large-scale infrastructure, which Beijing views as a mechanism to solidify long-term energy security.

• The author analyzes the "shambolic diplomacy" between the administration of US President Donald Trump and Iran as a primary example of current global instability. • The piece argues that while world affairs may seem unintelligible or chaotic, today's major conflicts actually follow a consistent and recognizable pattern.

• Le Figaro has published an analysis suggesting that a potential war in Iran could significantly reshape China's strategic approach toward Taiwan. • The report highlights that modern conflicts, such as those in Ukraine and Iran, are increasingly defined by cyber operations, drones, information warfare, and societal resilience rather than traditional military hardware.

• A royal commission has identified social media as the "most significant vector" for the spread of antisemitism. • In separate diplomatic developments, Australia and Vanuatu have officially signed a new security pact to strengthen regional ties.

Plan to limit scrutiny of polluters and shift financial risks to taxpayers is attack on democracy, advocates sayThe Trump administration is attempting to shrink public comment periods for fossil fuel leasing on federal land while shifting the financial risks of cleanup to taxpayers and allowing for more planet-warming emissions. It’s part of a broader effort to dismantle public input processes and save polluting companies money, advocates say.“By ignoring public comment [requirements] while propping up companies,” said Alexa Dietrich, research director at the science advocacy organization Union of Concerned Scientists, “they’re really attacking democracy in a very clear way.” Continue reading...

Parcels of goods worth under €150 will no longer enjoy ‘de minimis’ exemption, exploited by platforms such as Temu and SheinBusiness live – latest updatesThe European Commission has said it hopes to prevent the “desertification” of Europe’s high streets, as it prepares to introduce a customs tax on small parcels in an attempt to curb cheap Chinese imports.Consumers have been able to buy up to €150 (£129) worth of goods, including fast fashion, cosmetics and toys, without any customs charges as part of a “de minimis” exemption, a tariff break meaning “too small to matter”. Continue reading...

New York City mayor says Democratic candidates he endorsed speak to people struggling to make ends meet. Plus the best pictures from weekend Pride events across the USGood morning. New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said on Sunday that he and a slew of Democratic socialist allies who prevailed in recent primary elections were carrying a “national message” to struggling working Americans hungry for a new kind of politics “coast to coast”. His endorsed candidates won Democratic nominations in three races for New York congressional seats, as well as for five state legislature positions in Albany.He said that collectively they were carrying a “New Deal understanding” of Democratic politics to Congress and on to the “national stage”. It spoke, he said, to Americans feeling exhaustion at struggling to make ends meet “every single day”. Mamdani remarked: “We don’t have to nationalize that message. That is a national message – it’s a national crisis.”How did other members of the Democratic party react? Fifteen self-labelled “moderate” Democrats in the US House signed an open letter that, though it did not mention Mamdani or his endorsed allies, was clearly targeted at them. “We are capitalist, not socialist,” they said. “We are mainstream, not extreme. We are proud, not ashamed, of America.”Who is affected by the supreme court decision? Thursday’s ruling is set to affect an estimated 350,000 Haitian and 6,000 Syrian immigrants who now face detention or deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as protections end. The US ⁠first provided temporary protected status (TPS) to Haitians after a devastating earthquake in ​2010, and ​to Syrians after their country descended ​into civil war in 2012. Continue reading...

Entertainment arm split from mobile and broadband in move that raises questions over future of Sky NewsBusiness live – latest updatesComcast is to spin off its media operation, which includes the Hollywood film studio, TV and theme park business NBCUniversal and Sky, into a separately publicly listed company.The move comes eight years after the US group, which said the separation will take a year to complete, acquired Sky’s European operations for £31bn. Continue reading...

Mangione, accused of killing health executive Brian Thompson, has pleaded not guilty in state and federal casesLuigi Mangione is scheduled to appear at Manhattan federal court on Monday morning in relation to the murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson.Mangione stands accused of the 4 December 2024 killing of Thompson on a New York City street. He faces murder and weapons charges in his state-level case, and stalking counts in the federal proceedings. Continue reading...